I was sleeping peacefully beside Jimmy when I felt her bolt out of bed. I sat up in alarm as I looked franticly at my friend. She was staring at the door when I heard the commotion down stairs. I stood up before following Jimhaya out of her room and through the corridor. We had barely made it down the stairs when some strong arms grabbed me from behind and dragged me into the living room. I struggled from its hold but the arms only tighten around me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jimhaya fighting against three men who were holding her captive. One of them had a syringe and stuck the needle into her neck and she fell limp into their arms. I screamed her name before they dragged me to where the others were and put me in a chair. They tied me up in chains and put a collar around my neck. I couldn’t feel my magic anymore. It had been subdued by the object. They put Jimhaya in another chair beside me and tied her up. She did not look good: her head was hanging from her shoulders and her eyes were glazed.

I looked around and saw everyone else tied up in their own chairs, including Ren. He and Raymond had bruises on their faces from trying to protect themselves. If Jessica and Jasmine fought it didn’t show. They must have healed too fast to be any markings.

There were about a dozen men dressed in black army suits standing around the room with weapons in their hands. It was like déjà vu from back when my family was still alive.

I tried to escape the chains when I heard man’s voice from the doorway. “It’s no use to struggle child, you can’t escape the chains”

“What have you done with Jimhaya?” I asked angrily.

“I sedated her with wolfs bane, vervain, quercus and hemlock. A fascinating mix of poison don’t you think?” He said “While, her body is trying to fight the first three deadly toxins, the hemlock causes paralysis so she won’t be a bother to anyone this way” the man spoke again.

M and Mrs. Hundale gasped as they saw an Asian man walking into the light. He had a lean body, with black hair nicely gelled to the side. He was wearing a suit and tie and his black shiny shoes did not make a single noise as he made his way to us.

“John” Raymond spat in anger.

“Raymond, how nice to see you again.” He said “And Kelly, as much as I would have loved if my brother had killed you, it is always a pleasure to see you. But if he had, then I would never have met your beautiful children” He grinned with fangs popping out of his gums. He was a vampire.

“Jessica” he turned to her “You are more beautiful than I remember but it might be just me. After all, I only saw you when you were addicted to my product”

“You’re John Chen, the drug dealer.” Ren said in wonder.

“The one and only boy”

Shocked, I looked at Jessica “You took drugs?” I couldn’t believe my ears. This was what Jimmy said when she told her sister she could destroy her with the past. ‘I can ruin your perfect image to your petty boy with one sentence’ she had said the day of the tryouts.

“I was young and stupid. I had anger issues that I couldn’t control, so I went into drugs” Jess tried to reason with sadness in her voice.

“Ah, but not just any drug right Jessica?” the vampire smiled “Normal drugs didn’t work on you so you had black magic and supernatural blood mixed together. My most expensive and best product I have ever created”

John came closer to us until he was hovering over Jessica. “I would have let you go if you had not tried to scam me at my own game little girl. Don’t worry though; I’m not here for you”

“Leave my children alone. We paid you back for the drugs” Raymond said.

“With petty money?” John laughed. “I didn’t need money, Raymond. I had all the money I could ever dream of” He bent down so he and Jessica were face to face. “No. Your price for trying to steal from me is sitting right over there” he said pointing to Jimhaya. Jess’s sister was staring ahead in a dreamlike state.

“No, no, not my baby” Kelly chocked out.

“Yes your baby.” John slowly walked around us “Let me tell you a story: Once upon a time, there was an angry girl who had a dark love for my drugs. She was in debt, having wasted all of her money on the goods. But instead of trying to figure a way to pay me back, that girl tried to steal my money and hid behind her parents’ power for protection. The next day, her father came with a bag full of cash and threatened me to never bother his family again. I told him that money was not the price for his daughter’s scheme. Angry that someone dared to go against me, I decided to kill those who were bothering me.

I was just about to come over and pay you a visit, Jessica, when someone knocked on my door. And low and behold: Jimhaya was standing there in all her glory telling me she was willing to pay the price of your mistakes.”

Beside me, Jimhaya took a deep breath and exhaled happily “I love that perfume. It smells nice” she said randomly while looking past John at one of his men. But she was not looking at his face but down where he was rubbing his erection. Arousal was the perfume she was referring too. I gaged at the smell.

Jimhaya moaned, opening and closing her legs. “Stick it in, the doors are not always open” she said giggling like a child. We all looked at each other in wonder.

“What is happening to her?” I asked.

“This is Jimhaya’s true nature.” John said walking in front of her “Isn’t that right my lovely?”

“I’m a Russian doll. So many faces. Open me up and you’ll see” she giggled.

John touched Jimmy’s cheeks before kissing her possessively. She kissed him back, moaning in the process.

“Leave her alone” Kelly screamed. John broke the kiss and took a step back as Jimmy giggled again licking her lips.

“Again, again, again” she was jumping up and down her seat happily. Sighing, she closed her eyes and tilted her head until she was facing the ceiling. Her head was slowly moving to an imaginary beat.

“You taste like lies” she said.

John made his way back behind Jessica and placed his hand on her head.

“Ask me what the price was?” he asked Jess while stroking her hair.

“What was the price?” Jess spoke through gritted teeth.

“Of what?”

“Of my mistakes”

“Glad you asked” John said walking back to the front. “Two years ago, your sister willingly gave me her body and soul for four beautiful days.” We all gasped at the revelation. This is what happened to Jimhaya that made her this way.

“But what she didn’t know, was that I possess a certain ability called Oneiroi, which is a Greek word for dreams. With this power I can go into the dreams of others and change it to my own will. Every sense: sight, smell, touch, hear and taste work normally. The only difference is that time moves slower in the dreams” John met our eyes one by one before stopping at Kelly’s. “Your daughter was in my possession for four glorious years”

Jimhaya cut him off when she started to sing

“Ring around the rosy

Pocket full of posies

Ashes, ashes, they all fall down”

She turned her head and opened her empty eyes. She was staring right at me which gave me a shiver that ran through my whole body. It was like looking at a creepy porcelain doll.

“Sing with me, it’s always nicer with two voices. Follow the beat of the music” she smiled sweetly at me before going back to her original position and moving to the non-existing music.

“Snap out of it Jamie, this is not you” Jessica pleaded to her sister.

“Oh, but this is her dear child. She is what you made of her”

John grinned like he had won the best prize in the world. “Anyways, for four years, I conjured every single one of you” he pointed to the Hundale family “I tortured, raped and killed each of you over and over again and made her watched. She cried and cried every time until she couldn’t anymore”

He was whispering now as he savoured the moment. “Then I tortured, raped and killed her over and over again. She was in the palm of my hands, all to myself.” He shivered in arousal remembering those moments of power. “And while Jimhaya was severely sedated in poison, I had my real boys play with her frail, tight body”

John was laughing really hard now “Trust me; it was like Christmas all over again. It must have been the best present I ever offered them. Sometimes, Jimhaya would wake up from the dream only to feel something inside her.”

Tears were running down my cheeks as I was hearing this disgusting story from that monster. We all were, but Jimhaya’s mother was going crazy. She was screaming at the top of her lungs as she was trying to get free in a madly manner. She was spatting profanities at John with a voice laced in poisonous venom. Raymond was trying to calm her down but with no success as we all watched helplessly. After some time, Kelly finally calmed down. Her hair was all messed up and her eyes were red from crying. Her wrist had started to bleed by her efforts of breaking the chains around them. John had waited patiently for her to stop her struggles before continuing his story.

“Then, the four days ended and I sent her back to you. But I sent her on a mission to kill, and she was so out of her mind, she did it without question. The only reason you’re alive now is because of your third child” He said looking at Jasmine “managed to stop Jimhaya before she made it to the house and convinced her not to do it.”

We jumped as Jimhaya burst laughing at something we couldn’t hear or see, which ever made her less insane.

“Mistress has always been good to me” Jimhaya said with her eyes still closed and facing the ceiling and then she said in a sing-along voice “You’re not supposed to come here. Promises are promises”

“Oh, my dear one, I lied.” he said to her. Jimmy pouted.

“Mommy always said not to lie” her voice sounded like a child. “You have to ask permission to come in.”

She opened her red eyes and stared at John. “Open the chest and see what’s inside. You’d be surprise with what you find.”

Jimmy was making no sense anymore. “I’ve never opened your chest. Can I see your treasure?” and she giggled again at herself. John rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Why are you here then? To finish the job and kill us all” Raymond said.

“In due time yes, I’m going to torture then kill you all in front of Jimhaya. Then I’m going to do the same with her”

“Stop it. Haven’t you done enough?” Jasmine screamed as tears kept falling from her eyes.

“No I haven’t” John yelled back. “Let me finish the story. About a week later she came back and killed all of my men. She put me in a coma for two years and if it weren’t for your dear friend Duke of Farnon, I would still be in that damned hospital. These men here were the lucky ones to not have been present during her visit”

“My first massacre” Jimmy said proudly from her chair.

“The Duke brought you back” Kelly whispered in shock.

“Yes, he told me we had an enemy in common and I was happy to help his cause if it meant I got my hands on Jimhaya again.” He stroked Kelly’s face “He wanted me to spare you, lovely one, but maybe an accidental murder is the best way to go”

“I don’t like white” Jimmy said. Her eyes were opened but she was still looking above us. “Can we paint this room mommy? Blood red is my favorite colour.” She sighed contently “it’s so easy to find and it’s cheap. So many buckets standing around, waiting to be opened up”

I shivered in disgust. I had a feeling that everything Jimmy has said so far was a double meaning. Her red eyes were deprived of emotions like two simple black holes, sucking everything out of them.

“Is that right honey?” John mocked. “You think you can do something with all that poison running into your system?”

“Mommy always said: never make the same mistake twice” Jimmy said implying that the poison he pumped into her was not working.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“Permission” was all she said.

Red was crying hard by now, biting her lip as if she was trying to keep words from escaping her mouth. She looked at all of us, fear consuming her eyes. Her teeth were chattering as her whole body shook like a leaf.

“I am so sorry” she cried to us. She was looking at her mother “Please close your eyes. You’re not supposed to see this”

“Sweetie, what are you talking about?” Kelly said desperately trying to understand what was going on. We all were so lost by what was happening we did not know how to react. Jasmine ignored her mom and spoke shakily.

“I, Jasmine Lillian Hundale, give you, Jimhaya Sophia Hundale, the permission to kill those who have done you wrong in this room”

Jimmy took a sharp breath and moaned “thank you”. All of her chains were suddenly disintegrated into dust. She slowly got up from her seat as John took a step back in surprised. The men loaded their weapons and got ready to strike. In one long breath, Jimhaya screamed bloody murder with so loudly and with so many emotions in made me shrink in my seat. It was the sound of pain, loss, anger and madness all in one breath. It was like a banshee calling a future’s death and it scared me. Yes, at this moment I was afraid of Jimhaya like I have never been afraid of anyone before.

-

Never before had I seen so many cadavers.

Never before have had I smelt so much blood.

Never before had I heard so many piercing screams.

Never before had I tasted so much death.

Never before had I felt so much darkness.

Never before had I witnessed such a massacre.