Chapter-23 (Part 1)

-Previously in DiR-

I watched in surprise as an oval door made of green light formed. The light swirled and it became faster with every moment.

"Get in before it closes and we lose our chance." Nate said.

He gripped my hand. A shiver ran through my body and I trembled. His hand was cold as ice. Even when there was no warmth in his hand I felt secure by his touch.

Victor got in first. He disappeared in the door and I closed my eyes.

With Nate I entered the swirling green door and got sucked into it.

It was nothing like when I had entered the portal first when Jon and I had come to Escoffier mansion. This was circular motion and it made my stomach churn. I didn't know if I was still holding Nate's hand or not.

The circular motion was making me sick.

***

Chapter-23 (Part 1)

-Karen-

Sometimes life is a ride.

It was a ride for me, as we were travelling in the portal. It was totally different from the fall. I didn't know that there were variations of portals. And God knows I didn't want to know the other kinds of portals.

There are secrets you know and then there are secrets you come to know when you aren't expecting them to unfold.

Being a witch was not my dream or anything and if this was something Lady Adeline had been keeping from me, I wanted to kill that lady. She was a powerful vampire but I wasn't exactly scared of her. Okay, maybe a little bit.

Now, coming back to the portal riding experience...

I was happy that this ride didn't end me as a dead body, and neither did I vomit as our feet touched the solid ground.

"Are you okay?" Nate asked as we ended up in a room filled with...books and posters from '60s music bands from human world.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered looking around. "Where are we?"

"In my room," Victor replied and made a gesture for us to leave. "Leave now."

"That's rude." I commented.

"You've to leave my room, kids. I can't change these filthy clothes with you two in here." He smirked. "Karen, you can stay if you want. I wouldn't mind you to watch me."

"Eww No, thanks," I made a face and Nate pressed his lips in a thin line. "I'd better be dead."

"You two would have been lying dead in that underground basement if I didn't come there on time." Victor said proudly. "Well, what kind of person I would be if you were dead. I'm not so bad."

"If I hadn't gone into the witch mode, you'd be dead." I rolled my eyes.

"Touché," He shrugged. "If I hadn't found the hotel you could never call your 'love of life'."

"If I..." I started but Nate interrupted.

"Let's go." He held my arm, dragging me out of the room. "He can go on with the list forever."

"If I hadn't met you my life would have been great." I heard Victor shout and laugh.

We exited his room, leaving for him to change.

"He is lying, isn't he?" I asked.

"Yes." Nate nodded. "He is probably out of the window or to another portal to drink blood from what he calls 'beautiful source'. The ladies he chooses are all under a spell when it happens."

"His good looks are way too good to be avoided." I chuckled.

"You think he is good looking?" He asked.

"Umm," I wasn't sure how to answer him.

Of course, Victor was good looking. He was tall, young (even if he was thousand years old he was going to look young) and had high cheekbones. He was lean and his eyes were mesmerising. Sure, good looking.

But Nate wasn't anywhere behind in this race. He had almost perfect features and a cute smile that could make you happy when you were not. His anger made him look like a monster but the monster was still somehow gorgeous.

Oh my God! Was I, Karen Michaels, really describing two opposite boys right now?

"Karen, you look lost." Nate said.

"Sorry," I felt like a stupid person. "Where are you going now?"

"Nowhere. I'll be in my room for the rest of the week. The journey was so tiring that I don't think I'll be able to get up from my bed for days." He smiled. "And I'm hungry too."

His fangs were out and his voice had changed. He was becoming the monster he was always trying to hide from me.

"I think I should leave before I hurt you." He turned around.

He was some steps ahead when something snapped in me.

"Nate," I called out.

"What?" He stopped.

I walked to him and stood in front of him. His eyes were dark and he looked as if he was in pain. He was frequently trying to hide those sharp fangs from me. All in vain, I could see him fighting himself and his hunger.

"Why don't you go with your brother to hunt?" I asked and quivered when I realised that I sounded so cruel.

"I don't want to drink human blood. The thirst is unstoppable sometimes." He explained. "I can kill anyone easily."

"Have you killed anyone?" I looked at him.

"Once," He said. "It was a young woman, who was a servant's daughter here." His voice was full of guilt. "I didn't want to do that. It all happened so fast that I could not stop myself from drinking and mother told me it was okay. She told me it happened with new vampires now and then."

"You don't have to be guilty."

"I have to be." He said, groaning. His hunger was still growing. "Get away, Karen."

"Nate," I said. "I want you to drink my blood."

His eyes went wide with his mouth. The fangs were terrifying but I wasn't scared now.

"Do you even know what are you saying?" He asked leaning close.

I knew what I was asking for but I didn't know why I was asking him to do something like this.

"I'm not a human, right." I said. "You can revive your strength. Feed on my blood. Just try not to suck me dry."

I chuckled humourlessly.

Why the hell wasn't I scared of the vampire standing in front of me?

He was a killer and yet he was my favourite person.

He leaned closer, smelling me in. I felt a shiver through my body as he touched my neck with his cold fingers. There was anticipation and difficulty both in his actions. I felt his chilling breathing on my neck.

"Why are you doing this, Karen?" His voice was deep and hoarse.

Before I could answer, his mouth was on my neck.

I closed my eyes in surrender.

-Nate-

Her smell drove me crazy. I couldn't stop myself from piercing her neck with my teeth. When the teeth sunk in, I found myself in a different world.

The blood rushed in my mouth and I heard her moan. I knew how it felt when a human gave the blood willingly to a vampire. It wasn't anything like when vampires took the blood by forcing their prey. It was totally opposite to pain. There was an unknown pleasure when a vampire drew blood from the willing donor.

I felt her weakening. I held her waist tightly. There was no going back. I wanted to drink her blood until the last drop. No vampire could resist this.

But I did.

As soon as I felt the strength returning into my body, the fangs went back to where they had appeared from and I kissed her neck.

I lifted up my head. Her eyes were closed.

"Karen," I cradled her. "Did that hurt?"

She opened her eyes and shook her head.

"It was...nice." There was strangeness in her words. "Why is that?"

"I don't know. Maybe your body isn't weak as it was in the past. Maybe the newly gained powers are generating the magical blood, giving you strength." He scratched the back of his neck. "I feel like I can travel a portal right now. Your blood gave me so much energy, Karen."

She smiled and I looked in her eyes.

The girl who was not-entirely-human was very beautiful. I wondered if she was familiar with the fact. Suddenly, a thought surfaced the dusty mind of mine. I wanted to kiss her red lips.

"What?" She asked confused. "You are staring, you know."

I shook my head.

"Karen, I just need to tell you that I have taken a decision." I said. "And this decision is going to change everything for you and us."

She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I think it's time for you to go back." I paused and took a long breath. "To your world."

There was a flash of different emotions on her face.

"Why?" She was confused greatly. "I mean, are you kidding me, Nate?"

She was studying me, if I was lying to her. But no, I wasn't.

"I'm not lying." I said softly. "You can go back, Karen. You're not happy and I know you'll never be happy. What's the point of keeping you here if you can never feel alive?"

There was happiness in her eyes. They twinkled with tears.

"I know you've been asking me to send you back many times but it wasn't possible because mother wasn't listening to me. I've been trying to make her understand that this world it not safe for you." I continued as she kept smiling. "She is concerned about me and my strength. The slumber was broken but I was still weak but now I am not. The blood I've been drinking these days isn't rejecting my body."

"You have been drinking blood?" She asked like it was a new thing for a vampire.

"Animal blood is my preference." I smiled. "I don't drink from a human, I told you."

"I feel like dancing. Is this true or am I in a dream?" She asked. "Because my head is crazy after the portal journey."

I chuckled. She never missed humour in anything she said.

"It's not a dream, Karen." I said. "I'll make sure that you reach home safe and sound."

She clenched her jaw at the word home.

"I was beginning feel like this was my home." She began. "I've been here for many days and I always have been planning of getting out of this hell. I'm sorry. This is what I thought when I first came here. Now for me, this isn't a hell, Nate. This place is something special that I'm going to keep in my memory forever. I can't believe that I'm going back."

"Yeah, you are." Victor appeared out of nowhere. It was a signature move for him. "My so-called brother has been planning your escape since you got kidnapped by that silly vampire gang. He wants you to be safely tucked in the human world."

She looked at Victor and scoffed.

"I was beginning to feel good until you came back to ruin it." She said and I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling.

"You know what, sweetheart. No matter how much you hate me, I will always look out for you." Victor smirked but there was hidden hurt in his voice. "By the way, why does this place smell like magical blood?"

He narrowed his eyes at her neck and then looked at me.

"You were drinking from her as a farewell party?" He asked me.

"It's not like that." I replied.

"I asked him to drink my blood." Karen answered when Victor raised his eyebrow. "He was weak and he needed it."

"Hmmm, it's sad because a no one offers me their blood without being hypnotized." He said. "Did he hypnotize you?"

"No," Karen looked at me. "He didn't."

"Good for him," Victor tilted his neck sideways. "If he had, he wasn't going to leave this hall without being beheaded."

"Drop it Victor. Stop acting like you care." She said. "I wanted him to take my blood and he did."

"Yeah, sure he did."

"Oh, he doesn't hypnotize anyone into kissing him."

Hypnotize anyone into kissing him? What did she mean by this statement? Was the kiss between him and her was merely an act of Victor's compulsion?

And the last question, why did I feel so good when this disclosed?

"I did use it." Victor sneered. "But that doesn't mean you didn't want to do it."

"Can you both stop fighting for a while?" I asked. "Why is it always like this? Why are you both trying to rip each other's throats when you're in the same room?"

"I don't want to rip her throat." Victor stared at her with a look that I would obviously call dirty.

"See, why he disgusts me." Karen held her hands up. "When I leave this place, he'll be the happiest person."

"Yeah, you're doing a good deed by leaving." He said. "When is the great day you're leaving?"

Karen turned to me for the answer. I hadn't told her everything but I had to. She needed to know what was going to happen in the next days of her life.

"You're going to leave tomorrow." I said.

I saw Victor tense.

"Victor is going to bring that boy with him from the other dimension." I stated.

"You mean, Jon?" She asked.

"Yes." I whispered. "Jon."

A/N Bello! I updated because of two reasons

1) I wanted to update as I had been keeping the fans of this book hanging for several days.

2) It's my birthday today. :P

So this is the second last chapter for this pass-time book I'm writing. There are going to be too many errors as I've been only typing the chapter even without glancing back and giving it a read. Sorry guys. Please don't mind the typos and errors until they are big!

What do you feel about Karen's way back home?

Should she go back or stay here?

And are you all still team Victor? ;)

Thank you and happy birthday to me. hehe

Take care my beautiful readers and "DiRers".

-M_m