by Helen Bell
“Okay, wow. I … I … wow. Dragons are real, and they’re the Grim Reaper,” I mumbled.
“Exactly,” she said, then stood and put her hands to her hips. “Right then. Ready to learn how to protect your soul?”
For the next week, I stayed at her small apartment across from her bookstore. My meditation skills had been improving, which helped with the other tasks I was given. Gideon came over almost every night, checking my progress. He also brought me clean clothes, more BFB pills, and anything else I needed or asked for. Since my eyes were sensitive to sunlight, my sleep pattern changed. At night, I spent hours practicing Audrey’s exercises, and during the daytime, I slept. It became my new routine.
Until one evening Audrey announced to Gideon that her part was done and I was ready for his next training.
Bewildered, I asked, “What? That’s it? How can you tell I’m ready?”
Gideon said, “Sydney, what do you see around you?”
My brow furrowed in puzzlement, but I looked around the living room. “A couch, a coffee table, four walls, nothing out of the ordinary.”
“And that is how she can tell you are ready,” he told me.
“I had a feeling you’d pass this test. And I was right.” Audrey sounded content.
I turned to look at her. “Whoa, your eyes. They’re white.”
“It’s my magic,” she explained. “I’m using it right now. Your mind learned how to resist it by blocking your soul, so what you see is the magic itself and not the illusion I’m creating at the moment, which is a tree standing in the middle of the living room.
“But you’re not immune to compulsion. Gideon still has to teach you how to build a wall around your mind.” Her expression grew serious when her gaze dropped to the number 744 on my palm. “Three nights ago, I accidentally touched the tattoo, and my Voice whispered something. I debated whether or not to bring it up, then opted to wait until we were done here, so you wouldn’t be distracted.”
“What did it say?” I asked her.
“Eternal gods.”
“Eternal gods?” I echoed. “What does it mean?”
She shrugged. “No idea.”
Before Gideon and I left Audrey’s apartment, I thanked her for everything and hugged her goodbye. She wished me luck with the rest of my training. And boy, did I need it.
Chapter 10
I’d forgotten Gideon was an exacting teacher, way more than Audrey, demanding excellence and hard work. Complaining about lack of sleep or breaks was pointless; everything went his way anyway. Two weeks of tackling challenging mental exercises had passed, and I was exhausted.
Mentally preparing myself for another night of Gideon torturing me, I fumbled for the button on the alarm when it went off at six p.m. and dragged myself out of bed.
So what is waiting for me tonight? I wondered. Probably more of him saying, “Pay attention to your breathing, Sydney. Sit straighter, Sydney. Stop chewing on your bottom lip, Sydney,” I imitated Gideon’s voice while trundling toward the bathroom. After I brushed my teeth, showered, and wrapped a small towel around my body, I stepped out of the bathroom. Then I closed the door and turned around to cross the hallway, almost knocking into Gideon.
I sucked in air, my hand flying to my chest. “Sweet baby Jesus. You scared the crap out of me! What the hell are you doing outside the bathroom?” And so close to me. I swallowed. In dark jeans, a taut T-shirt, and black leather boots, he was gorgeous.
He stared down at me. The color of his irises flared an unnatural bright green. Antifreeze green. Confused, I stared up at them, then cried out as something pressed inside my mind. Feeling like my head was about to explode, I clenched my eyes shut.
“What are you doing to me? Stop. It hurts!” I shouted.
“You saw it, the compulsion in my eyes, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Now, please stop!” I growled with pain.
“Open your eyes. Look up at me.”
I did as he’d asked. Beads of sweat gathered on my forehead as I tried to push him out of my mind. It was agonizing. “You’re hurting me!” I yelled. Tears spilled from my eyes.
“Repel the compulsion. Build a wall. Do it,” he ordered.
I averted my gaze from his. “I c-can’t. Too much pain. Why does the compulsion suddenly hurt so much?”
He tucked a finger under my chin, gently lifting it and turning my face toward his. Eyes bright green, he said, “Because it’s the first time you’re resisting it. You’re trying to push me out without realizing it, but you need to fight harder; build a strong wall to throw me out of your head. Disregard the pain and clear your mind. Concentrate.” He withdrew his hand from under my chin.
I breathed in and out slowly. Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain.
“Good. Keep going,” he encouraged. His compulsion thrust against my mind harder. I squealed with agony. Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain. Focus. I inhaled a deep breath and channeled all my concentration into the breathing. As I imagined a brick wall forming around my mind, I searched for my soul’s energy as Audrey had taught me.
Her words floated into my head. It’s harder for Ancients to get into your mind when your soul is protected. It took me a while, but I found its energy, and I surrounded it with a wall too. The pressure inside my head started to ebb away. I thickened the bricks, my concentration absolute. A few seconds later, the pressure ended altogether.
The edge of his lips curved up, his eyes icy-blue again. “Now you’re immune to compulsion and illusion.”
I jumped with excitement, then stopped cold as I remembered what I was wearing: a tiny towel that barely covered my assets. While I adjusted the fabric, a thought occurred to me. He had lots of superhuman abilities. Could he …? No, there was no way.
But just to make sure, I asked, “You can’t see through clothes, can you?”
Amusement brightened his features. “I’m a vampire, not Superman.” His gaze skittered down my almost naked body, then back to my face. “Though with this towel on you, I don’t really need x-ray vision to enjoy the view.”
Heat hit my cheeks. “Hey, don’t loo—”
He cupped his hand around my nape, drawing me against him and lowering his head. His mouth slanted over mine. I knew I should push him away and tell him off. I did neither. Instead, I parted my lips, inviting him in. His tongue darted inside. My stomach fluttered. One hand swept down the line of my back while the other tangled in my hair, and he stroked my tongue with his, sucking gently. I moaned, wanting more. A steady throb was building between my legs. His touch was cold; my insides, though, were burning. I didn’t want the kiss to end. Disappointment surged inside me when he broke it. He looked down at me. His eyes flickered gold before he released me.
“You don’t need to take BFB anymore. In a few minutes, you’ll be healed for good,” he said.
My eyebrows flew upward. “What? How?”
“My saliva.”
“Your saliva?”
“It’s been three and a half weeks. My blood is clean now, and my saliva is able to destroy your cancerous cells.”
“So that’s why you kissed me? Because it was the only way to pass it into my body?” I asked.
“Actually, I could think of another way, a little more fun if you ask me.” His eyes went down and paused between my legs, then traveled back up to my face. “But I surmised that you wouldn’t approve.”
“Your assumption was correct,” I said quickly. Too quickly.
He laughed softly. “And to your other question, yes, it was why I kissed you.”
I hated that this bothered me. I gave myself a mental shake. What is wrong with you? For God’s sake, he’s a vampire. A predator. A killer.
To my horror, his eagle eyes caught my reaction to his last words, and he said, “However, I can kiss you again, and this time it’d be for an entirely different reason.” He reached out, caressing my cheek. “Anything to wipe the disappointment from your lovely face.” His tone was teasi
ng.
My lips pursed as I swatted his hand away. “I am not disappointed.” Liar. “I’m just confused. I thought the process of healing would involve your blood, not your saliva.”
“I’m not an Ancient. My blood can’t heal, but my saliva has the same healing abilities as their blood. And like them, it too needs a cleansed body to enhance those abilities.”
“I’m really cured for good?” I wanted to be sure.
“Yes, for good. A small amount of my saliva will stay in your body as long as you have the tattoo.”
Happiness mixed with relief washed over me like a tidal wave. I wouldn’t die of cancer! And no more BFB, which was what had prevented me from feeling fully human. Now it was like I had regained my humanity back.
Itchiness in my hand punctuated my thoughts. I gazed down at my left palm. “Wow, the number went up to 744,” I said.
“Your body has been cured, and it seems to affect the black magic.” He took my hand and examined the ink. “Eternal gods,” he whispered, like he was trying to figure out what it meant for the millionth time. Then he said, “I didn’t get answers. No one I’ve asked had any idea as to what ‘eternal gods’ might refer to, or what might occur when the black magic countdown is over.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have any luck either scouring the internet for ‘eternal gods’ and ‘black magic,’” I told him.
“I’ll keep looking into it.” He let go of my hand. “For now, get dressed. We’re going to Philippe’s. He returned from his business trip and called. He has something to show us regarding your sister.”
I nodded and hurried to my bedroom to slide into a pair of blue jeans and a cashmere sweater.
Thirty minutes later, we parked on Philippe’s street. After passing two homeless men and a blonde hooker, we reached Philippe’s front door. It was ajar. Gideon pulled out a silver stake from his inner jacket pocket, moving me behind him while cautiously stepping inside. The lights were on, and an eerie silence filled the living room. I noticed a trail of blood leading to the hallway. Alarmed, I padded to Gideon’s side and gazed at his profile. He spotted the blood too.
“Stay here.” His voice was low. He moved toward the hallway. I went after him, and he came to a halt, turning to me with a look that said, “Didn’t I just tell you to remain in the living room?”
“You actually thought I’d stay put and do nothing? That’s cute,” I whispered sarcastically.
“Fair enough,” he said, and we followed the blood trail together. The drops took us to Philippe’s office. The door was open. Gideon stepped inside, scanning the room for threats. When I got inside too, he placed his weapon back in his jacket. Then, I gasped. Near the desk, Philippe’s dead body lay on his back in a pool of his own blood, a silver dagger deep in his chest.
“Oh my God, he’s dead. Like, really dead. Who would murder him?” I said.
“Well, he wasn’t exactly short on enemies.” A thump followed Gideon’s words, and then a clatter of heels echoed in the basement loft. The sound came from the living room and got closer and closer. Gideon’s body tensed up, his hand whipping inside his jacket.
“Philippe? You here?” a scared, feminine voice asked. “Philippe, I’m glad you found my new number and called me. I swear to God I didn’t do anything to Zoey.” In skinny jeans, red heels, and a brown jacket zipped up to her neck, Kelly appeared in the doorway.
Surprise colored her features. “Sydney? What are you doing here?” She stepped into the room and screamed. “Oh God, oh God, oh God, h-he, he’s … dead … like dead dead.”
“Who’s this?” Gideon asked me, his head inclined to Kelly.
“She’s Zoey’s friend, the Newborn Philippe suspected had harmed her,” I answered him.
Kelly rushed to a corner, bent over, and vomited red liquid. When finished, she straightened, her lips crimson. She wiped her mouth with her jacket, then held her stomach as her eyes moved back to Philippe’s body. “Jesus, look at all that blood, so much blood. It makes me sick.”
Gideon’s gaze moved to me. “She is aware of the fact she’s a vampire, right?”
At his mocking expression, her mouth tightened with irritation. “Yeah, I know I’m a vampire. But what can I do? Dead bodies still make me sick.”
He ignored her and stepped closer to Philippe’s body.
“What is it?” I asked, stepping even with him.
He picked up a cell phone and, with a sweep of his thumb across the screen, he woke it. Not locked, the screen displayed an email:
Hi Philippe, it’s Skye, Zoey’s roommate. You wanted me to contact you if I remembered anything else. So, yeah, I forgot to mention that a while back, a man with a long scar on his face and pale skin, really pale, asked questions about a missing freshman girl who lived in my dorm. He talked to Zoey. She told him her sister was missing too, and they exchanged numbers. I know she hid all of this from you. When I asked her about it, she explained you wouldn’t approve of her searching for her sister. I’m so with you on that, by the way. It’s a job for the cops, not for civilians like us. I hope the new information helps.
FYI, I’m free this Saturday. Maybe you’d like to grab a drink?
Unbelievable. Did she seriously have the nerve to ask him out while he was looking for his missing girlfriend?
Standing next to me, eyes on the email, Kelly seemed puzzled. “A man with a scarred face? She never brought up anything about a man with a scar on his face.”
“So he’s in town and didn’t drop by to say hello,” Gideon murmured, looking annoyed and worried.
“You know him?” My voice rose in surprise, but I was ignored.
“Why did Philippe call you?” he asked Kelly.
“Somehow he got my new number, and about an hour ago, I received a call from him. He told me he believed that I didn’t hurt Zoey and asked me to come over ’cause he had some questions for me. Of course, at first, I thought no way in hell was I coming to his place, but then I remembered it was Philippe; I couldn’t hide from him. He would eventually find me if I said no. He’s good at this stuff. To not make him angry, I agreed to come by. I guess he wanted to ask me about the scarred dude.”
“Gideon, who is he?” I repeated my question, my tone demanding.
“Later,” he said. I opened my mouth to argue, but he told me, “Philippe dialed our police before he was murdered. Vampire cops will be here any minute. We gotta go.”
We hurried outside and as we turned the corner at the end of the alley, five vampires in long black coats and black pants marched into it. Looking over at us suspiciously, the tallest one stopped.
Gideon turned his back to him and mouthed to us, “Play along.” Then a flirtatious smile spread across his face as his stare slid to the blonde prostitute in a short fake-fur jacket, a tight miniskirt, and a low-cut top. She stood near the wall, at the corner of the alley.
He approached her. “Hello, there. My ladies and I are looking for some fun tonight. How much will it cost?” His voice was loud enough for the vampire cop to hear him.
She checked him out, then me and Kelly. She removed the cigarette from her mouth, flicking it to the dirty concrete and squashing the butt with her heel. A grin curled her lips as she named her price.
With two fingers, he beckoned us to come. “Ladies, we’ve got ourselves a new friend and her name is …”
“Call me Lust.” She threw him a seductive smile.
“Lust,” he rolled the name around on his tongue. “One of the seven deadly sins. I love it. Shall we go? Our car is just a block away.”
Gideon’s plan was working. The vampire cop who had stopped walked on, disappearing into the alley as we strode away.
At his parked bike, Lust’s brow pinched together. “Where’s your car? And I ain’t getting in without seeing the dough first.”
Gideon pulled out his wallet and gave her a wad of cash.
She counted it, and her eyes popped wide open. “It’s five times more than what I asked.” As if she realized somet
hing, her excitement dissolved. “Oh, fuck no. Y’all look nice and all, but I ain’t doing no shady stuff. Uh uh, no strangulation and things like that.”
Gideon’s irises turned bright green as he looked down at her. “Chloe, how old are you?”
“Twenty-one.” Under compulsion, she answered him without hesitation.
“Why are you here, selling your body?” he asked.
“I need the money, and my boyfriend said it’d pay the rent.” A tear escaped her eye. She wiped it, and I noticed a beaded name bracelet around her wrist. Chloe.
“Leave your boyfriend. Pack your things, use this money to get a new apartment, then find another job, a job that doesn’t require people touching your body sexually and making you feel bad,” he instructed, eyes still glowing green. “Understood?” Her head bobbed up and down once. “Good. Now go.” She put the money in her purse and spun around, walking away.
“Did you just compel her?” Kelly asked Gideon.
“His eyes turned green, so yeah,” I said.
Kelly seemed surprised. “You an Ancient?” she asked, then swung her stare to me. “And you saw the green in his eyes? You immune to compulsion?”
“You bet I am. I busted my ass off to be able to resist it.”
“The cops will be out of Philippe’s home soon. It’s best we aren’t here when that happens,” Gideon told us.
Kelly nodded. “You’re right. I’m gonna go. You should, too. Sydney, if I hear anything from Zoey, I’ll call you right away.”
I thanked her, and after she took off, my attention went to Gideon. “Before we leave, I need to know; the man with the scarred face, who is he? Is he dangerous?”