Despair And Hope

(TRIGGER WARNING: Attempted Suicide)

Luka found himself transported to another one of Keisha's memories; this time he appeared on the rooftop of a building. It was pouring heavily, torrents of rain beating down hard on him, instantly soaking through his clothes.

Drenched, the pureblood looked around for shelter and found none, instead his eyes landing on a soaking wet Keisha standing on the ledge of the rooftop, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. She stood silently on the ledge, unmoving; dangerously close to the edge as the rain drops trailed down her body, dripping off her uniform in a continuous stream. Her eyes were swollen and red, and Luka couldn't tell if it was from being battered by the rain or if she'd been crying.

What the hell was she doing?

The human girl held a piece of paper in her hand, and from where he stood, Luka could clearly make out the words written in all caps on it:

KILL YOURSELF.

Immediately, Luka knew the paper was her classmates' doing, and he cringed at the cliché bullying tactic. A death note was about as immature as one could possibly get, and he rolled his eyes at the middle school antics of her schoolmates.

How childish.

Keisha held the paper up, choking back a sob as she gazed at the spiteful words, her lip quivering. She clenched the note in her fist, squeezing it into a ball and throwing it off the building, watching it disappear into the watery darkness below.

Staring into the great height that separated where she stood from the ground, Luka watched with new found interest as the human inched toward the edge of the ledge, one foot dangling precariously off the building. Hesitation flashed in her eyes for a brief moment, but it was gone as quickly as it came, in its stead an aloof stare.

The cold, distant look in her eyes pricked the conscience of the pensive vampire, her defeated expression all too familiar to him. He'd seen that look before, and he knew exactly what it meant – the human was going to jump.

Keisha swallowed hard, her tears mixing with the rain that dripped down her face, her breaths ragged. Her body trembled as she looked out over the building, taking another uncertain step toward the edge. Letting out a shaky breath, the human girl shut her eyes, as if trying to gather the courage to throw herself off.

A part of Luka doubted she would go through with it, hoping that her will to live would outweigh whatever dark emotions clouded her reasoning. She was only a human, and the natural instinct of self-preservation would be near impossible to overcome.

The little girl didn't have the balls to jump; he was certain. She wouldn't do it.

Then much to the pureblood's shock, she jumped.

A whirlwind of emotion suddenly overcame Luka, the scene before him giving him déjà vu and he found himself rushing toward her falling figure, calling out after her.

"Keisha!"

As if suddenly realizing what she was doing, the human reached her arms out, grabbing onto the railing of the rooftop, screaming as her body hung from the side of the building. Luka heaved a deep sigh, relieved that the human was still alive.

He'd almost broken the shaman's instructions by attempting to interfere, and he internally chided himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. The young vampire had not expected the human girl's experience to trigger him the way it did, tearing open old wounds he thought would've healed by now.

But that's the thing about wounds, they never truly heal. They just turn into ugly scars that never fade away, glaring symbols of the demons that haunt their bearer.

The infamous Prince of Hell had many scars – far too many – and the human's little stunt had cut some of the deepest ones wide open. These scars came from the darkest period of his life, a time that he so desperately wanted to forget, though he never could.

How could he possibly forget the beginning of his end – the beginning of his hell?

Luka shook away his morbid thoughts, the strained grunts of the girl as she climbed back onto the rooftop bringing him back to reality. She was panting loudly as she collapsed to the floor, weak from her near-death experience. She burst into tears, her small body quivering as the torrents of rain pummeled her, drowning out her bitter sobs. The human stayed like this for a while, weeping in the cold rain as Luka watched silently, unsure of what to make of the tight feeling growing in his chest.

Why was his heart racing?

Ignoring the foreign feeling, Luka studied the human huddled on the floor not to far from where he stood. Once again, his assessment of her was wrong, and it irked him. The girl was not the weakling he made her out to be. It took guts to do what she just did; to defy oneself and give life a second chance, no matter how cruel it may be.

His guardian was right about this human. She was a fighter.

And for the first time, Luka felt something other than disgust for the human; he felt respect.

The pureblood made his way to the fire exit, looking to leave. He'd spent enough time wandering around Keisha's memories, he needed to find where the poison was holding her consciousness captive and destroy it. But the shaman hadn't given him any instructions on how to find it.

How on Earth was he supposed to-

A sharp pain cut through Luka's thoughts, and he reached up to touch his chest. He let out a grunt as the pain in his heart intensified, falling to his knees as his head began to spin.

What the hell was happening?

Luka felt his vision begin to blur, his mind going black. The vampire fell to the wet floor, as his consciousness slipped away from him, passing him out cold.

-

(A few moments earlier)

Samuel waited patiently for his students to awaken, anxiously pacing around the room while the shaman chanted in the background.

It had been over thirty minutes since the mind-link had been forged and Luka had gone into Keisha's mind, yet neither one of them was yet to show any sign of consciousness as their bodies lay on the mat. Wasn't Luka supposed to be done by now? Just how much time was this procedure meant to take? What if something had gone wrong and they were in trouble?

Samuel ran his hand through his hair, trying to calm his stormy thoughts.

"Would my lord like to sit?" The shaman gestured to a small stool in the corner of the shrine, but the dean shook his head politely. "No, thanks."

"Are you sure, my lord? You seem awfully troubled."

"I am," he confessed, still pacing about. "They've been like that for half an hour yet there's no sign from them. How do we know that they're okay?"

"I do not feel any negative energy around them. They are safe, my lord."

The dean nodded, her affirmation alleviating his worry to some degree. Taking to his knees, Samuel stayed by his students' side, watching their motionless bodies with uncertainty.

A million thoughts raced through his mind, and he couldn't help but feel that he was at fault. He didn't know the truth about how Keisha ended up in the forest that night, but he was certain it had something to do with Luka. If he hadn't tried to play God by setting both of them up, maybe the human girl wouldn't be in this mess.

Now it was too late, and depending on the outcome of the mind-link he'd either have to wipe her memory or kill her; neither option was particularly appealing to him. He hoped for the former however, as he couldn't even bring himself to imagine hurting the human.

A part of him questioned his strange attachment to the girl, but he pushed it aside, not wanting to bother himself with such thoughts. Instead, he focused his soft gaze on the unconscious girl before him, guilt eating away at him.

"Please be okay, Keisha," he whispered, gently taking her small hands in his own. "Please."

"Have some tea, my lord."

The voice of the shaman startled Samuel, and he instantly let go of Keisha's hand. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when the shaman had made tea for him. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he coughed awkwardly.

"There's no need for that. I don't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble, my lord," the woman responded with a kind smile, holding a teacup out to him, "I am honoured to serve you. Please drink some. It should help calm you down."

Deciding not to be rude, Samuel accepted the cup from her, taking a sip of its content. "Thank you, Great Oracle."

The shaman only smiled in response, and the dean drank some more of the hot liquid. The warmth of the tea spread all over Samuel's body, instantly relaxing him.

"Wow, this tea is really good."

"Is it?" she questioned, watching the vampire drink from the small cup.

"Yes," Samuel reassured, his body suddenly starting to feel weightless, his vision blurring. "It's working really well. A bit too well."

The dean tried to get up, but his limbs didn't budge, feeling too heavy to move. His head was starting to spin, and black dots filled his vision. Alarmed, he tried to call out to the shaman, but his voice came out as a slurred whimper, barely audible.

What the hell was going on?

Feeling extremely lightheaded, the dean struggled to keep his eyes open, fighting the rising urge to black out. His brain fogged over, slowly giving way to darkness as his eyes finally closed, his body collapsing to the floor.

All the while, the shaman watched with a sinister grin as the vampire blacked out, his body sprawled out on her shrine floor. Slowly prowling toward the unconscious supernatural, she cackled wickedly as she gingerly poked him, making sure he was completely out of it.

"You poor, unfortunate souls," the devious shaman drawled, grinning maniacally at the three comatose beings around her. "You dared to disrespect the Great Oracle, and now, you shall pay for it with your lives."

The woman pulled out a knife from her cloak, its edge tainted with poison. Looking between the three bodies, she sniggered evilly as she approached Keisha, holding up the blade.

"Now what do we have here? Our gifted little human!" she shrieked, putting the blade to the girl's neck. "Your blood would be the perfect base for my potions."

Just as the shaman was about to cut her throat, the doors of the shrine swung open and an arrow tore through the air, piercing into the shaman's back. The woman skreiched loudly, falling to the ground as crimson liquid oozed from where she'd been struck, life instantly leaving her eyes.

Still holding up his bow, the mysterious archer's eyes darted around the room, searching for any more threats. Seeing that he'd killed the only person who posed a problem, he lowered his weapon, stealthily walking across the room to where the bodies lay.

Aside from the woman whose body lodged one of his arrows, there were three other persons on the shrine floor, drops of the shaman's blood sprinkled on them. Not bothering with the other two, the archer reached out to touch his target's neck, checking for a pulse. Feeling a faint thump beneath his fingers, he let out a relieved breath.

The girl was alive.

Noticing the enchanted instruments around her, the archer looked to the boy who lay by her side. Putting two and two together, he quickly realized the forbidden act the pair were performing – a mind-link.

Grunting in disapproval, the mysterious man pulled out a small dart from one of the pockets of the tactical vest he wore, rolling his eyes as he stabbed it into the boy's chest.

That would be enough to temporarily paralyze the boy and break the link.

Averting his attention back to his target, the archer put his arms around the girl, easily lifting her up bridal-style. Casting one last glance at the rest of the bodies, the unknown bowman disappeared out the shrine's doors, taking the unconscious human girl with him.