Seven of Wands: Creative Journal Entry 8

Creative Journal Entry #8
Tarot Deck- Gothic Tarot of Vampires
Tarot Card- Seven of Wands

When he had been alive he had been in love with a young woman named Amber, whom he had met at the library when they were both children and where friendship had blossomed from their mutual love of all things dark and scary…
Over the long years she had changed, had outgrown her darkness but he had not… had indeed devoted his life to the occult, witchcraft, demonology and those things that went bump in the night.
Now he stood in the shadows, his skin an impossible shade of white, dark eyes glittering with an unholy fire and a sense of darkness hovering around him that no costume could give.
Braeden had stepped away from the human world, from the living world and had crossed into the realm of vampires.
He had risen quickly in their ranks, had become a high priest of blood thanks to his knowledge of ancient legends and dark craft. Braeden was living in the mansion that the Stone Court inhabited; he was one of the kings advisors and had the power to manipulate blood when it had left the body.
And yet he stood here, near Ambers apartment waiting for her to return from wherever she had gone for the night.
Despite their great differences Braeden and Amber had remained close friends over the years. It wasn’t until Braeden had vanished completely for three years that he had been out of contact with her…
The first year of being a vampire had been painful and humiliating for Braeden and he had thanked all of his lucky stars that he had been taken in by the king of the stone court instead of left to wander the streets in confusion and in doubt until he had acquired the taste for blood and had understood his powers and his weaknesses.
Many vampires, he had been told, were left to figure out what they could and could not do and that if not for the stone court he would have been a the mercy of the Huntress.
Braeden shuddered at the memory. He had met the Huntress once, when she had killed one of the rival priests right in front of him. And with the priests blood washing the street in darkness she had turned to him with eyes that glittered like smoldering coals in a dying fire.
That was when he had realized that she was the same as him… but not.
Braeden was pulled out of his memories when a white car drove up. The vampire studied the vehicle but felt no twinge of recognition… only the quite churn of foreboding.
A young man with dark hair cropped close to his head got out of the drivers side and over to the passengers side opening the door so a young woman could get out into the darkness of the street.
Her face was glowing with the grin she had on and her golden eyes were glittering from happiness. Braeden could only stand, speechless as the young human boy helped her from her seat and led her to her front door.
Sudden, black bitterness welled up inside Braeden. He had been a fool to believe that she would have waited for him. She had never loved him as he had loved her and now she stood, wrapped in the arms of a fragile human who probably didn’t remember who built the pyramids.
Braeden bared his teeth at the two lovers, impressive canines glittering hungrily in the pale blue moonlight.
Dark thoughts rushed over his consciousness, each of them flying so fast he could not seize one and act upon it. Instead he stood there, clothed in darkness and night watching as the only woman he had ever loved locked lips with a mere boy.
Braeden locked his throat against the howl of pain that was building in his throat and forced a calm, stillness to envelope him, taking the pain, anger and betrayal with it. He gazed upon Amber and her new lover and acknowledged the passing of time, the change in her as well as in himself.
She was a human… she would never agree to becoming a vampire… and Braeden never wanted to go back to a life where he could be killed and forgotten in the blink of an eye.
If it had ever meant to be Braeden had missed his queue and would now suffer for it.
The vampire priest bowed his head, pale blond hair falling over his shoulder standing in sharp contrast to the black jacket he wore. He bowed to Amber, who had forgotten him and to the boy who was going to try to take his place. He bowed to the love the two of them shared. But most of all he bowed in acceptance.
Then Breaden straightened and turned, walking away from Amber, the last person who tied him to light and life.
He walked away, further into night and wished Amber the happiest life and the best of luck. Then he vanished into darkness and severed the last tie that had held him down from being the high priest of the stone court.

Amber jerked sharply, pulling away from the kiss to look around the darkened alley, searching for whoever had spoken.
“Amber? What is it?” he boyfriend asked a little impatiently.
She didn’t reply, but narrowed her eyes against the darkness and searched the shadows for the only person who could hide within the night like he was apart of it.
“Breaden?” she called out softly. “Are you there?”
“Braeden? Who’s Braeden?” he boyfriend asked. She ignored him again, focusing all her attention on listening to the sounds of the night.
Nothing called back to her… nothing spoke her name… but she was sure that a moment ago she had heard Braeden’s voice.
“Farewell, my love,” his voice had seemed to say from the darkness… and then there had been a sharp pain in her chest, a if something had been cut away, leaving her feeling hollow and cold.
“Amber? What’s wrong?” he boyfriend demanded, now looking truly worried. She turned her golden eyes up to him and tried to smile.
“I don’t know,” she said, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “But I think someone’s just died.”