The front door opens. She drops the phone and runs to it. A man and woman in their forties survey her. Matto, her father, is tall and short-haired. Her mother, Odina, is short with back-length hair. “Has your brother come back?” Odina interrogates, her long face, grief-stricken.
Matto’s chest heaves. “Please say yes.”
“He did... but something is wrong.” Their daughter twiddles her thumbs, her neck tightens, showing her veins.
“What do you mean?” Her father’s chiseled face is tense.
A gate swings beyond the back door. Dyani steps away as her mother nears it. “Dyani? Tell us.” Matto presses his daughter for information.
She clutches her fingers through her long hair. “Kota isn’t okay! He’s ice-cold and can’t come into the house!” Dy eyes the back door. Her mother follows her gaze. Odina goes to open it. There’s a yard beyond. The moonlight illuminates the grass.
Matto furiously gazes at her. “Whatever game this is, end it now!”
Odina spots Kota at the back gate. “He needs to be inside; it’s freezing.” She paces to the gate. Kota sits outside it, his head hung low. “Son…?” Him mom swings the gate open. The wind blows heavily, flowing her thick hair forward. This motion exposes the veins of her neck. Kota’s head straightens like a whip at the smell of copper. “Honey, come inside and tell us where you’ve been.” She grips her coat to her chest. “You’ll catch a cold. Come on inside.”
Her son stands. Kota turns, zeroing in on the veins of her neck. I NEED BLOOD! The dark voice in his head demands. Odina notices his demon eyes. Terrified. Kota looks to her neck, where blood swishes and chitters. “BLOOD!!” he shrieks. His mouth extends, revealing sharp teeth that reflect the moonlight. His mother screams. Matto races outside.
“No, don’t go out!!” Dyani squeals from inside.
Matto examines his son’s demon eyes and sharp teeth. His mouth hangs wide. “No... it can’t be,” a chilled whisper escapes him.
Kota growls. Their son’s mouth stretches abnormally, exposing rows of canine teeth. He charges at his parents, ready to kill… ready to feed. Matto pushes his wife behind him. He mimics the arrow symbol using his hands. The floating shape outlines the air in a white tint. Much like an archer, Matto aims the symbol at his son.
The magic sign bursts white. Kota drops to the ground like a ton of bricks, releasing an animalistic screech. He squirms in agony. His skin smokes as it did in the forest. Matto grabs his wife and rushes her to the door.
“NOO!!” she protests.
Dyani grabs her mother, who tries to wiggle free, but fails. Dy pulls her inside. Matto backs away, startled. Kota hollers on the ground like an injured beast. The monstrous howls echo the block. His father hurries inside and closes the door.
Kota fights to stand. The rune his father used binds him to the ground. His arms are restrained; he flings them high to break free. But his limbs bang back down to the ground. The white outline of the rune cages his body in place. Dad used a protection symbol. I need to use the one for freedom. I won’t kill my family!
Gloominess clouds his mind. BUT YOU MUST FEED, OR YOU WILL DIE!
NO, NOT MY FAMILY!! Kota tries to raise his hands to trace the freedom symbol into the air, but he can’t lift far. Instead, he carves it into the stone ground with his sharp nails. The concrete splits from the pressure he uses to slice in the sign—a drawing similar to bird wings. Once completely etched, the shape blazes white. The energy that entrapped him disappears. Kota flees.
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