Page 161 of Dark Souls

“I’m going through a portal to the middle of nowhere. I won’t be seen. If Ronnie has information about Luka, I need to know. I can’t sit here and wait for this all to come to me. I need to be proactive.”

“Just let her come. Keeping her here would be more of a headache for everyone than it’s worth,” Leif groaned and I smiled. He knew me so well. “Right, let’s go get this naked runaway before he gives the locals the fright of their lives.”

Bloodlust

“Don’tmakeanysuddenmovements that will spook him,” Grandpapi whispered as we stood a respectful distance away from Ronnie’s naked form. He was on his knees, leaning over and digging at something in the soil. “His blood thirst will make him extremely volatile right now.”

Leif scoffed. “As much as I take pleasure in watching a naked man bending over, I am too confused to truly appreciate that tight ass and those bouncing balls right now. What the fuck is he doing?”

Raiden turned his back on Ronnie and shoved Leif’s shoulder before balling his fists into his eye sockets. “The visual. The description. Urgh. So unnecessary.”

“Whatishe doing?” I whispered. Dry soil flung backwards behind him as he continued to dig with his bare hands, his arms moving with an unnatural speed that no human could muster. Suddenly, he stopped. His muscular back and shoulders were rising and falling with every panted breath, and then he fell back into a sitting position, seemingly giving up on his mission to reach the Earth’s core.

“I’m going to speak to him,” Sienna said, braving a step forward. Raiden grabbed her hand protectively.

“We will all go.”

Cautiously, we approached at a snail’s pace, trying our best not to make any sudden movements that would cause him to either attack or flee. When Leif knocked a stone with his foot and sent it tumbling across the ground, Ronnie’s head snapped around, and we all froze.

“Shit,” Leif muttered.

Ronnie’s eyes glowed a deep crimson as if they had been set on fire from within, showing his insatiable hunger. They darted between us all, almost chaotically and with hypnotic intensity, paralysing us all in place with the erratic danger they represented.

“Ron?” Sienna said softly, pulling his attention to her face. His gaze narrowed as he studied her. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time and trying to place her face. “Ron. It’s me. Sienna. Phoenix. Little bird.”

Ronnie jerked his head to the side unnaturally, opening his mouth and baring a full set of razor-sharp fangs. Sienna gasped, slamming her hand over her mouth and took a step back into Raiden’s chest. Even I could admit, seeing him this feral and primal was rather shocking and guilt lodged itself in my chest. He was never meant to get dragged into my shit and become collateral damage.

“Ronnie? It’s Ilaria.” I tried next, taking one step closer. His whole body twisted towards me, and his head twitched to the side as if he was trying to keep control of his body’s volatile actions. “We are here to help you. You are going to be okay.”

When he didn’t show any immediate signs of attacking, Grandpapi nodded to me to keep talking as we all approached him.

“I know you’re confused. And scared. But I promise you, you will be fine.”

He threw his dirt-covered hands up to his shaved head and dug his newly sharp nails into his skull.

“Blood. I need blood,” he husked, his voice sounding scratchy and raw as if he hadn’t spoken in centuries.

“I understand. We will get you blood.” I glanced at my grandpapi, who pulled out the blood bag we’d brought with us and threw it down on the floor. Ronnie scrambled forwards for it, ripping into it and guzzling the entire contents in one go.

“More!” he demanded, the red liquid running down his chin. When I was closer to him, I crouched down to his level.

Grandpapi passed me another one, and I handed it to him. He gave it the same treatment and I quickly realised blood bags would never suffice. Luka had poisoned him with his blood, causing him to turn after death and he needed something a lot more substantial before his vampire side would retreat and give way to his humanity.

“He needs to drink from a human,” I said, moving my gaze to Grandpapi and Raiden. Raiden already had his phone in hand and was scrolling.

“On it. Searching the green list now to see what I can find for our friend.”

Being only a few feet away, I visibly saw Ronnie’s whole body shaking. His veins were protruding and pulsing beneath his skin and every muscle in his body was twitching and spasming as if he was having an inner battle with his own control.

“I’m so sorry, Ronnie,” I whispered, feeling sick to my stomach at the sight of him. I could only imagine how much physical pain he must have been in at the moment and how his hunger was all-consuming. But that begged the question as to why he hadn’t gone on a killing spree and instead came here… I moved my gaze to the hole he had dug in the soil and my mouth dropped open. There was a pile of bones and the photos of Hana were tied together with my pink feather boa next to them.

“How?” I gasped, my gaze moving to Ronnie.

“Master commanded…” Ronnie wheezed, taking a second to grit his teeth against the pain before he continued. “The first thing I do… is come here. I must protect them with my life.”

Master? My eyes widened as I made the link.

“Ronnie is loyal to Luka now. They have a sire bond. He will always want to please him and be near him. It was the same when my father turned a human called Baylor and made him his second-in-command, because he’d do absolutely anything my father asked of him,” Grandpapi explained for the rest of the group’s benefit.