The next day, I didn't bother going to college, so I had Kai's minions bring me the work I would have missed for the day. Returning to college didn't keep my interest compared to before. I wasn't sure if it was my pregnancy making me feel this way or if it was over the fact that the Blue Moon was nearing, which meant the Vampire Covenant would be having their meeting on whether I live or get executed. Maybe the stress weighed on me more than I believed I cogitated. After my fingers typed that last sentence in my diary log for today, I stared at my laptop's screen for a long while from on my bed until my phone started to ring beside my leg on the comforter that was spread out over the mattress.
"Hello, Stella," I answered once I saw it was her.
"Hey, I was wondering why you didn't show up for class. Is everything alright?" she sweetly asked.
"Yes. It's been a groggy day for me. I guess my pregnancy is making me want to stay home," I replied, not lying whatsoever.
"I'm sure carrying three babies isn't easy." Stella empathized with how I felt.
I chuckled. "You can say that again."
As I was shutting down my laptop, Stella offered. "Are you interested in grabbing something to eat at the Plaza Mall? It's my treat."
"My weakness!" I laughed. "I'll meet you there in roughly two hours. The food court makes some pretty good food."
"Perfect! We can go shopping afterward if you like." Stella suggested.
"I like that idea. I'll meet you there soon," I told her, and she consented before we disconnected the call.
"Lala..." Just as I was getting up to get ready, I heard a woman singing until her voice trailed off.
"La-la...follow me, Victoria." Whoever
she was, she sang sweetly from behind my bedroom door, so I crept over.
"Hello, is someone there?" I opened the door and peeked out into the corridor only to find no one was there.
"Victoria..." her mellifluous voice emitted from down the corridor. "Humm."
"Who are you?" I called as her melodious voice emitted from afar as she continued to croon a hum from her ghostly vocals. My time-gap was known to bring spirits to help me. Perhaps one was trying to communicate with me.
"Can I help you with something?" I questioned whoever she was because maybe she was seeking my help or warning me about something.
"Follow me. La-la..." her ghostly-like voice sang like an angel.
"Mother, is that you?" I inquired because she was starting to sound like my deceased teenage mother.
"Mother?"
Lights flickered as this electrical current was buzzing from the high-ceiling bulbs that extended along the corridor while I paced down it. It had to be a ghost, and she was drawing whatever energy she could from the lights.
"My Melody, come to me, my daughter," her whispering ghost-like song drew stronger, and I knew she was my mother. Before she died, she managed to name me Melody. Until I changed it to Victoria, making Melody my middle name.
"I'm here, Mom," I called as tears of happiness and grief swelled in my eyelids.
"Hum, Melody," her humming voice whispered once I reached the end of the corridor. A flickering glow came from the high-ceiling crystal chandelier. Towards my left, away from the marble guardrail, was a petite-womanly silhouette of this light that shone like a star as the being floated in mid-air from the floor below her ghostly-white gown. Her flowy long hair drifted from her shoulders as if she were swimming in water, which appeared utterly gorgeous.
"Come closer, my baby girl," she emitted as I was drawn to her light. Luminescent light made up her body and her hair, which had me further drawn to her beauty.
"Mom, you're here."
"I'm always here, my sweet girl," she uttered in her rhythmic voice. "You are in danger, my baby."
"I'm scared, Mom," I confessed, wiping the teardrops away.
"Come to me," she crooned as her light flickered when I went closer to her. "Step closer. Mommy will hold you."
"Mom," I uttered as it suddenly felt like my right foot was stepping out onto a cloud before my whole body fell forward into my mother's ghostly wide arms to catch me. Her effulgent warmth was the only thing I yearned for as I embraced her.
"VICTORIA!" Rose screamed, catching me in mid-air as my body floated like a cloud in my Mother's arms until she pulled me back to the top of the floor. The being of my mother was gone after her voice was cleared from my head.
"Oh, my gosh!" I uttered when I looked at what was in front of me. I realized I had stepped off of the marble-made imperial staircase.
"What were you thinking!" Rose questioned me as she picked up my arms and checked me all over before she cupped my cheekbones. "Are you having suicidal thoughts?"
"What!" I exclaimed, swatting her palms away from my face. "No, I saw my mom! She was right there—" I pointed at where she was, and little did I realize that she led me to the stairs. "That wasn't my mother. She'd never try to kill me," it suddenly dawned on me. There would be no surviving a fall like that if Rose hadn't saved me.
"What did you hear?" Rose questioned me.
I explained. "It was the same singing woman I heard after Kai left. Today, the voice sounded more like my mom a second ago. The lights in the corridor started to flicker, so I thought it was her ghost trying to use the lights to reach me."
"The lights were never flickering. I've been calling from downstairs, but you never responded to me," Rose said before her emerald eyes widened.
"What's happening to me?" I felt a sudden sickness churning in the pit of my stomach.
"Guards!" Rose hollered as she dragged me by my forearm and forced me to take a seat in the chair that was by the wall.
"Yes, Rose?" one of the guardians addressed her call after six of them showed up out of nowhere. They each glanced at me before staring back at her.
"Check the territories around the mansion for a wing vampiress. Victoria had been snared to her mind," she hastily ordered, and they were quick to bolt without another word being said.
"That was a wing vampiress? Everything I thought I saw–"
"Was only an illusion." Rose elucidated. "Better yet, hallucinations. The longer you listen to her singing voice, the deeper she goes into your mind to manipulate you into seeing whatever your thoughts were."
"So basically, once I started to think it was a ghost or my mom, she used it to trick me into believing it," I stated, and Rose shook her head, indicating that I nailed it dead on.