Chapter 6: The Blood Curse

  The living room was a cage, the barricade trembling, wood groaning. Sweat and beer fouled the air, floor sticky with dread. Shadows writhed, laptop dark. Outside, Sarah swayed, half her face a bloody ruin, barely alive. Is she breathing? Dan, Priya, Maya, and Caleb stood rooted, pulses racing.

  Maya’s tears fell, breath shaky, fire dimmed by terror. Caleb’s knife shook, eyes locked on the door, grief a shroud. Priya stood rigid, the stranger’s warning ringing—The night will devour her. Dan’s hand brushed hers, steadying her in the chaos.

  Knocks pounded, urgent—bang, bang, bang. The door creaked, splitting. Sarah’s voice slurred through, wet, broken. “Please... it’s me... help me,” she sobbed, barely human.

  Maya lurched forward, voice cracking. “That’s Sarah, y’all!” she yelled. “She’s alive! We gotta get her!”

  She shoved a chair aside, crashing. Caleb grabbed her, urgent. “Maya, stop! That ain’t her no more. Look at her face—how’s she even talkin’?”

  Dan stepped in, hands up. “Maya, hold up. Somethin’s wrong. She’s not... right.”

  Maya broke free, tears streaming, clawing at the barricade. “She’s my friend!” she screamed, voice shattering. “We can’t leave her out there to die!”

  Priya’s voice cut through, sharp, desperate. “Maya, stop! Whatever you do, don’t invite her in!”

  Maya froze, hand on a table, breath ragged. She turned, eyes wild. Dan frowned, Priya’s words sinking in. “Priya, why you keep sayin’ that?” he asked, tight.

  Caleb nodded, rough. “Yeah, what the hell’s goin’ on? Spill it, Priya.”

  Maya panted, hands on the barricade. “Talk fast, Priya,” she snapped, “’cause I ain’t leavin’ Sarah out there.”

  Priya breathed deep, accent crisp, eyes fierce. “Dan, remember what you said at the campfire? Your great-grandmother, the one who ‘fed on people’? The family curse?”

  Dan blinked, thrown, rubbing his neck. “Yeah, uh, Aunt Mary’s old story. What’s that got to do with this?”

  Priya pressed on, hands shaking. “Last year, in New York, I found a bookstore closing down. Picked up an old grimoire—leather-bound, smelled like dust and secrets. Cost a thousand bucks, but it called to me. It had stories of creatures, curses—things that shouldn’t exist. One chapter was about a blood curse, passed by an ancient vampire.”

  Caleb’s eyes narrowed, grip tightening. “A book? You’re talkin’ fairy tales while Sarah’s bleedin’ out?”

  Priya ignored him, voice rising. “Listen! The blood curse is real. When an old vampire bites you or you drink their blood, you die. Your soul gets trapped, no peace. You wake up changed—a vengeful thing, driven by your maker. Blood’s all that keeps you whole, heals you, makes you stronger. They’ll kill anyone for it—family, friends, anyone.”

  Maya’s hands shook, but she listened, fear widening her eyes. Dan paled, Caleb shook his head. “Okay, Priya,” he said, gruff, “but why can’t they just walk in? Why the invite thing?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Priya softened, certain. “The curse needs permission—a bond. Inviting them in opens your soul, lets the curse spread. Without it, they’re bound outside. The threshold stops them, like a wall.”

  Dan’s jaw tightened, Caleb’s eyes flicked to the door. “Hold up,” he said. “Sarah and Jake got turned, and nobody invited ‘em in. How’s that work?”

  Priya’s face darkened, voice a whisper. “If they kill you first, you’re gone—no choice. They can pour the curse into you while you’re dead, bring you back as theirs.”

  Maya’s face twisted, anger flaring. “Vampires? You’re a crazy bitch, Priya!” she yelled, shaking. “Sarah’s hurt, not some damn monster!”

  She shoved the barricade aside—table crashed, chairs scattered. Her hands trembled on the doorknob, tears falling. Dan lunged, urgent. “Maya, wait! Just listen to her for a sec!”

  Priya blocked her, pleading. “Maya, please. If you believe me at all, don’t invite her in. Let her try to come in herself. See if she can.”

  Maya’s eyes locked on Priya, doubt flickering. She glanced at Sarah, swaying in the fog, ruined face staring. Maya whispered, trembling, “Okay... okay.”

  She turned to the door, voice soft, firm. “Darlin’, I’m so sorry,” she said to Sarah, “but... if you’re you, you know you can’t just walk in without an invite. Right?”

  Sarah stood still, good eye piercing Maya’s, unblinking, predatory. Her hands twitched, shaking with need. “Maya,” she rasped, low, broken, “if you don’t let me in, I’ll die. I need to feed... please.”

  Silence gripped them, fear locking them in place. Dan’s breath caught, Caleb’s knife gleamed, Maya’s tears fell. Priya moved fast, pushing Maya aside, stepping to the doorway. She snatched Caleb’s knife, ignoring his shout.

  “Priya, what the hell?” Caleb said, shocked.

  Priya didn’t answer. She sliced her forearm—quick, shallow. Blood welled, dripping red. The air turned coppery, sharp. Maya gasped, “Priya, what are you doin’?”

  “This is the only way to make you believe me,” Priya said, eyes steel, voice steady.

  Blood hit the floor—splat, splat—pooling. Sarah’s breathing grew ragged, beastlike, eye locked on the blood, body trembling. She lurched, stopping at the threshold, fingers crossing the edge. They turned gray, then black, crumbling to ash with a hiss. She jerked back, snarling, frantic. “I need it... I need it... I NEED IT!”

  Priya stood firm, blood dripping, voice taunting. “If you want this blood, Sarah, you know you can take it. Come get it.”

  They stared, frozen, hearts thundering. Dan’s eyes widened, Caleb’s knuckles whitened, Maya’s breath hitched. Sarah shook, face twisting, eye blazing. She screamed, raw, inhuman. “You fucking bitch!” she roared, vicious.

  She leaped, claws out, aiming for Priya’s throat. An invisible force slammed her back, throwing her to the ground, body smoking, front charred—skin blackened, clothes scorched. Her face melted, eye socket empty, jaw loose. She writhed, gasping in pain.

  Maya sobbed, loyalty breaking her. She rushed outside, kneeling in the dirt, cradling Sarah’s head, tears falling on charred skin. “No, Sarah, please!” she cried, voice wrecked. “Don’t do this to me! You gotta come back, darlin’. Be you again!”

  Dan, Priya, and Caleb stood at the threshold, fear chaining them. “Maya, get back inside!” Dan shouted, desperate. “You’re gonna get yourself killed!”

  “Maya, please!” Caleb said, stepping forward, voice raw. “Come back, now!”

  Maya looked back, tears streaming, defiance thick. “Fuck off, all of y’all!” she yelled, breaking. “She’s my friend!”

  Sarah’s arm lashed out, tangling in Maya’s hair, yanking her head back. Her nails slashed Maya’s throat, blood spraying. Maya gasped, hands clutching her neck, eyes wide, choking. Sarah pulled her close, drinking, blood smearing her ruined mouth. Maya slumped, lifeless.

  Inside, screams erupted, horror binding them. Caleb lunged, “Maya! No!” he roared, shattering.

  Dan grabbed him, arms tight, holding him back. “I’m sorry, man,” Dan said, tears falling. “It’s too late. She’s gone.”

  Caleb fought, then sagged, tears streaming, grief consuming him. Priya’s face was stone, hands shaking. Sarah shoved Maya’s body aside, standing slow, face healing—skin knitting, jaw popping, new red eye glowing. Her smile was wrong, predatory, fangs gleaming.

  “You can’t keep us out forever,” she hissed, eyes blazing.

  Priya slammed the door in her face, lock clicking like a nail in a coffin. They stood, panting, horror sinking in. Outside, Sarah’s laugh faded into the fog, a cruel promise.