"Michaela, what the hell are you doing?" He seethes, and the rage and fear in his eyes are evident even through the small gaps.

    I tap the gun against the small window, looking up to pretend I'm deep in thought, "This is a confessional booth is it not? I'm simply motivating you to confess your sins,"

    "I don't know what's gotten into you but this is unacceptable," He yells, spit flying from his mouth and hitting the wood separating us.

    "Fine, not feeling truthful? Well, let me tell you a few things," I ignore his weak attempt at a threat, crossing one leg over the other as I lazily keep my gun aimed at him between the gaps. "To begin, whoever you get that vervain from clearly has had a few too many hits to the head because it doesn't work. But, I think you know that,"

    "That is untrue-"

    "I'm not done, Father," I cut him off, looking back through the gaps as I wait. He grits his teeth, sealing his lips as I look back to the door in front of me, "Besides the vervain, I've noticed a few odd things here and there. For starters, you're always here, inside the church. I never see you leave here no matter how late I stay or how early I arrive. I've also noticed that since we've started doing our confessional sessions more often, I'm having small gaps in my memory and have been getting a lot of headaches. Tell me, what does that sound like to you?"

    He keeps his jaw locked, refusing to answer me. I sigh, tapping the gun against the window once more and waving it towards the door.

    "Get out,"

   He stands, walking outside of the booth as I follow him, my gun aimed at him the entire time. He stands with his back to the stained glass windows, my back to the booth we were just in.

    "What I do know is, vampires can't get into the church," I comment. Raising my other hand up, I latch onto the weapon with both hands and aim right for his chest, "So how did you get in?"

    He stares at me for a while, blinking hard before a smile spreads across his face and he laughs loudly, "I'm not a Vampire, Michaela! Maybe it was one of your devil friends who've done this to you-"

    The sound of a bullet firing cuts him off. He looks down, noting the red patch forming around his stomach and staining his white shirt beneath his black robes. He doesn't flinch or fall to the ground. Instead, he looks up at me the way I'm sure death would look at a person. 

    "Now that that's out of the way, answer quickly and clearly. My patience is wearing thin," I demand, lifting the barrel of the gun to aim it at his head. "How did you get in here?"

    He smirks, the evilness drenching his features as the mask visibly slips, "I'm not telling you anything, stupid girl,"

    "Well, then your usefulness has just run out, as has your luck," I inform, my finger twitching on the trigger, ready to smear his blood-sucking brains all over these walls.

    "Wait!" He shouts, his eyes and jaw clenched shut. He peeks his eyes open, looking at me just as as I relax my shoulders to show him I'm waiting. "I was turned inside the church. I can't leave. It's a stupid eternal loophole,"

     "Why do you need a vampire in the church?" I question, taking a step closer with my gun still raised. 

     He stares at me for a few seconds before a grin overcomes his face, a laugh living his lips. I furrow my eyebrows, wondering what's so funny to him. "Isn't it obvious? To get close to the hunters,"

    "Why? Y'know, for a species who thinks they're so superior, you sure are worried about a few little humans with pointy knives," I mock, watching the anger flare in his eyes as his lip twitches upwards. 

    "You're not as smart as you think you are, Michaela," He snarls, his nostrils flaring, "A smart girl would have figured it out by now,"

    "Well, forgive me, father. No one has been particularly forthcoming with information," I roll my eyes. "But, I find when you stick a gun in someone's face, their gums tend to flap. So, that's all about to change. Starting with you,"

    "If I tell you anything, I'm as good as dead anyway," He snarls, looking at me through lowered, red eyes.

    "Then you have no use to me," I snap, holding both hands on the gun as I raise it higher, aiming it right at his pale forehead. 

     "Michaela!" My name jolts my body, my attention snapping to the open church doors just as Leila hits the barrier. Her fists bang on invisibility, my eyebrows furrowing at the view. 

    "Lei?" I whisper, my arms momentarily lowering. My mistake.

    Odin takes this chance to launch at me, grabbing my wrists in his hands and snapping the gun away. It goes flying across the room, hitting somewhere discarded.

    I whip my head back around, making eye contact with him just as he unleashes his fangs and grabs me by the shoulders. Quickly, I jolt my arms up and hit his elbows hard enough for him to let me go. 

    Ducking down, I avoid his attempt at swiping at me and snatch the knife from my boot. As I stand, I slash the blade across his thigh, deep enough for his leg to buckle and his knee to hit the ground.

    Glancing back at where Leila stands, I see other figures beside her, watching me in hopelessness. But mostly, I see Thomas.

    The sight of him sucks the air from my lungs, my knees almost buckling as flashes of his blood-covered face overtake my senses. It feels like I can't breathe when I stare at him like I'm frozen in time, his fangs beaded into my neck for all eternity. 

    Getting distracted isn't like me. Snap out of it, Mic.

    Odin pushes up, grabbing my wrists and darting across the room at lightning speed. My back harshly hits the wall, the yells of the other penetrating my ears. 

    My dagger hits the ground, my eyes clenched in pain as I squirm beneath his hold. 

    "Losing your flare, hunter? You used to be good at this," He snarls in my face, a cocky smirk displaying his sharpened teeth. 

    "You haven't won yet," I grunt, lifting my legs to kick his knee and groin. He buckles, but his grip on me only closes in tighter.

    "Trying the same trick twice is sloppy. You're sloppy," He chuckles, getting closer and closer to my face. "If I could kill you, little hunter, I would. So, instead, I'm just going to make you hurt really... really bad," 

    He flashes his fangs, the venom practically dripping off of the points. My eyes widen, my body thrashing as he pivots for my neck. A drop of his venom hits my neck, the skin stinging at the sensation. 

   But, I can't help but take notice of his words. An error on his part. For whatever reason, he can't kill me. 

    His teeth sink into my skin, the venom deploying in my system instantly. I scream in agony, my eyes welling up with tears at the stinging sensation of it. 

    I can't let this happen.

   Turning my head to the side, his wrist is close enough to my face for me to latch my own teeth into his skin. A metallic taste fills my mouth, the substance dripping from my lips the harder I clench my jaw around his wrist. 

   He yells, his hands dropping me as he rips his arm away from me. I hit the floor, my hand finding my dagger instantly as I glare up at him.

   He holds his wrist, blood seeping between his fingers as he hollers in pain. He makes eye contact with me, a glare as deep as the earth and as hot as the sun bearing into me. I pay it no mind as I push myself to my feet, craning my neck without breaking eye contact to spit his chunk of skin out of my mouth and to the floor.

   Silently, I hold my dagger up, my other hand raising in a defensive fist as I twirl the blade in my hand. 

    "C'mon, then. Hurt me," I demand. 

    He runs at me, coming closer and closer as I hold my ground. Just as he's close enough for his fingertips to grace me, I step out of the way. He runs head-first into the wall, his body falling onto the ground. 

   From the corner of my eye, I see Constance standing in the doorway, watching this happen with a slack jaw. But, I only have a few minutes before he heals from the head wound, and even fewer minutes until the adrenaline pumps the venom to my heart and the pain kicks in. 

    So, I use my feet to kick Odin onto his back, his head rolling as his eyes squint repeatedly, trying to catch his baring. I drop down to my knees, straddling his stomach as I raise the knife above my hand and jam it down into his chest. 

    His eyes bulge, his breath hitching in his throat as I tiredly rip the knife from him only to deliver another blow to his chest. I build up momentum, jabbing his chest cavity with my blade over and over as he cracks beneath me, turning to dust and floating away. I keep going until my dagger no longer hits flesh and instead hits dust-covered wood. 

    I scream, repeatedly ramming the blade into his left-behind clothes and the floors. I trusted him, I've known him since I was a child. He knew my parents. This whole time, his duplicity has fooled everyone. 

     A white flash from the pocket of his robe catches my eye. I rip my blade from the wood, tucking it back into my pocket as I reach for the bit of paper. I unfold it, one word staring back at me like a punch to the gut.

    Mikael. 

   My father's name. A name that is undeniably reoccurring. 

    I feel a hand grasp my shoulder, my whole body jolting as I spin around with wild eyes. Constance stares back at me with sympathy, her brown eyes trailing to the pile of dust in front of us with tears welling in her sockets. 

    "You did the right thing. I'll make sure everyone knows that," She reassures, her knee pressed in some of the dust that hasn't been blown away.

   My chest rises and falls rapidly, my skin burning from the venom drenching my veins. It's like I can feel it as it seeps through my body, burning its way to my heart. I wince in pain, moving my arms to shove the piece of paper into the front pocket of my jeans.

    Just as I do, a flash of a burning freeze overcomes me. 

    I yell once more, my body falling to the floor as the acidic sensation overcomes me. Curling up in a ball, I scream and scream as Constance panickly tries to comfort me.

    "Hey, you!" I hear Alex's voice. I can only see blurry snippets as Constance averts her eyes to the open entryway, visible shock on her face at their presence. "Bring her to us, we can help her!"

    "Why would I trust you blood suckers?" She yells back.

    "If you don't bring her over here, so help me god-"

    "I'm her sister!" Leila's voice cuts off Alex's threats, her tone wobbly and broken, "I'm Leila, please. I would never let her get hurt. Let us help her,"

    Constance looks down at me, pushing my sweat-soaked hair from my face as I shakily nod my head, trying to communicate with her that it's okay.

    "Fuck, please don't regret this," She whispers to herself, her grey hair fanning her face as she adjusts her position, getting steady enough to grab me and carry me over to the doorway. "If I don't hear from her-"

    Constance doesn't get to finish before I feel someone else grab me, stronger and bigger hands holding me close to them as the wind engulfs my contorting body. 

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authors note

it's been a while ahh I'm so sorry but I got such severe writer's block for this story. 

i know most of you thought Constance was evil hehe surprise. she was not the bad one in the church. 

anyways, I hope this chapter feeds you and I promise I'll try to get another chapter out very soon!