Free Desire of the Soul by Alana Topakian

living room blurred around me, and I felt the Council and Duke disappear from sight. My eyes fluttered shut as the world spun and shook, and I felt sick. Suddenly, the world calmed down and I was able to open my eyes again.
    I was in a bright room with no furniture, the floors and ceiling painted white, and no windows. There was a door in the room, although the door had no doorknob so I couldn’t get out. Something was telling me that the point wasn’t to leave the room, whatever the Council had planned was going to happen in this room...and soon.  
    I sat down on the cool linoleum floors, my back against the wall. My ears were listening for any noises in my surroundings and my eyes were glued to the door, waiting for it to move even an inch. Waiting for whatever was supposed to walk in with a fear that turned my blood cold as it rushed through my veins.
    Hours passed and my eyelids started to droop closed. Maybe I wasn’t so right about this soon thing. For all I knew, this was only a prison for me to stay in and rot for all eternity. The most I could do was sit here and watch as it all faded away to nothing, watch as my world crumbled.  
    A noise shook me from my thoughts, and I watched with apprehension as the door creaked open. I felt sweat gather on my hands, and I bit my cheek roughly. Thoughts flew through my head like a tornado, threatening to tear it apart. Who was coming in? What was about to happen? Should I be scared? Or should I just act like I don’t notice anything happening?  
    My thoughts slammed to a stop, when the person in question walked in. A smell, the smell, slithered slowly up my nose. A musky, rotting, death-like smell. Without a doubt I knew it was a vampire. But why would they send a vampire in here? What would that accomplish?
    “Tammy, so glad to see you again my darling,” His voice, one I had before so loved, crawled on my skin like a million tiny spiders. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be! Not him....not the one person I actually cared about now. The one person I loved. Why, of everyone in the world, would they pick him? It doesn’t make sense!  
    I fell to the ground, clawing at my heart as though it was ripping out. It can’t be! It can’t be! Bright red tears dropped to the ground, and my face twisted in agony. I couldn’t even try to kid myself. There was no mistaking the voice, even covered in layers of coldness. Layers of death. I could never mistake his voice, the one I had come to love in the last couple weeks.
    Duke, the Duke I had just seen as a perfectly healthy Amatores, was now a vampire.
    ---
    “Oh Tammy, don’t cry. Just know that I love it much more like this! It is like I had fallen asleep on all things I had used to love, and have now woken up again! I feel so different, so much more alive. You understand, don’t you?” No emotion flickered across Dukes face as he spoke, and I felt my stomach cramp.
    “No. Duke this isn’t you. The real Duke is somewhere in this world, floating as a soul. I don’t-I don’t know what convinced him to let go to the Red in the last couple hours...but something did. You are not Duke. You-you’re a monster. A true vampire. Nothing more.” I forced the words out of my mouth, each word feeling like a tear in my heart. Duke looked at me with pursed lips, and then closed his eyes slowly.  
    “I have never liked playing with my food. That did not change with my transformation to a vampire. So playing with you is just furthering my hunger, but what am I to do? I would much rather enjoy you slowly, then take you all at once.” Duke smiled, his fangs sliding out menacingly.  
    He ran towards me at full speed, eyes blazing a crimson red.
    I felt the world slow around me, Red creeping into my vision. I watched as Duke flew through the air towards me, and moved swiftly aside. A cracking noise came from behind me, the sound almost vibrating in the cold air. I turned to see the wall in which he had crashed had small