by V L Friends
“Why did you trade the horse? I liked him,” I asked.
“It’s actually a motorcycle. We will be moving much faster now. I also got you some new clothes.” He finished applying the salve and pulled some clothes out of a duffle bag he had been carrying.
“Those sweatpants and T-shirt won’t do.” He handed me some jeans and a leather jacket that looked like his but much smaller. “I think those are your size.”
“Ah, we are matching… how cute,” I said sarcastically with a smirk.
“Yep, we will be adorable,” he teased with that grin that I was sure had melted many hearts. “Now it’s time for you to get some sleep because, my dear, you look terrible.” He pulled down the covers and signaled for me to get in. “When you get up just wash that stuff off in the shower with a little soap and you should be good.”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“I don’t need sleep. I am sure I can find some mischief to get into around town,” he said with a smirk.
“I am exhausted but I don’t know if I will be able to sleep,” I said.
“What’s the problem you have with you and sleep? You tossed and turned all night last night. Does it have something to do with Sebastian?”
“What? What makes you say that?” I was so shocked by his implication. How did he even know anything about Sebastian?
“You were mumbling his name in your sleep,” Leland said, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Oh!” My face must have turned red because he suddenly looked embarrassed too.
“Oh, um, he’s your lover then? Is that who you were running from when I caught you in the woods? Wait a second; that isn’t the Sebastian Cane that lives in that strange mountain mansion on the hill there? Wow, does he know you love him?”
“Would you shut up! He is not my lover and I was not running from him… exactly…”
“Not exactly?” His eyes sparkled as he gave a chuckle. He was enjoying himself a little now.
“I was running from my father.” I wanted him to go away now so I just answered quickly.
“Jeez, you are a complicated girl… and who, pray tell, is he?”
“You don’t know?” I said.
“No,” he shrugged.
“Julian Alexander…”
I was really wondering now who this giant was and what he knew, if anything at all.
Leland’s entire face seemed to change again back to having no expression and then there was that twitch again, the same one I saw yesterday when I mentioned Julian’s name. Before I could say anything else, he was out the door.
When I awoke the next morning, Leland was lying next to me on the bed, above the covers and fully clothed. His eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful. I sat up to look at him more carefully. He looked younger than I thought, as he had shaved his beard. His skin was flawless and tan. His left eyebrow had a small scar going through it, slightly dividing it in two, but that did not take away from the fact that he was stunning. His dark hair rested off his shoulders. Never moving his body, his eyes snapped open. He didn’t say a word for a long time but just gazed into my eyes, and I took this moment to peer deeply into his eyes. It was a gift I had, to sometimes read things about people by looking in their eyes. Julian called me a reader. He could do it too and said I must have inherited it from him. Sometimes all I needed was to be near someone and I could read them. It must have been strange seeing me sitting on my knees on the bed right in front of him just staring at him intently for several minutes, but the only things that gave away his wonder were the slight cock of his head and the increased beating of his heart. Was he reading me too?
He finally reached out and stroked my cheek and pushed his fingers through my auburn waves.
“You are… special,” he said but hesitated as if searching for the right word.
Our eyes continued to be locked on one another as if in another world together.
“It is like your face is that of an innocent child but your eyes show something much deeper, as if you have lived a century.” He narrowed his eyes, still stroking my hair. “Are you trying to read me, little one?” he said so soft it was barely audible.
I could feel him blocking me. He was not what he seemed. Then it happened. I saw them both. There were two inside this man. I saw the man’s soul and spirit but then I saw another completely different being inhabiting the same body. I gasped at the realization as I jumped back instinctively to get away. My head hit the bed post as I then tumbled to the floor. My nose was wet so I wiped it. Blood was dripping from it.
Leland sat up and reached for a tissue from a box on the nightstand. He did not seem at all shaken or concerned. In fact, he seemed to have no reaction at all. He stood up and slowly walked to me, now sprawled out on the floor. He crouched, sighing, with a slight smile on his face as he handed me a tissue.
“You should be more careful who you try to scan.” It was a warning but ever so gentle. Then he pulled my chin back so my face was looking at him again and gave me a pointed look. “Do not do that again,” he said as he leaned over and kissed the back of my head where I hit it on the bed post, before he straightened and walked to the door.
From the doorway, before he left, he called back over his shoulder, “I will see you outside in 30 minutes. We need to get on the road so don’t dilly-dally.”
Did he really just give me a nosebleed?
Biker chick did not really fit me but hopefully I wouldn’t have to keep this up for long. I was feeling anxious to see Caleb again.
“So, did you sleep okay?” Leland’s mood changes could give me whiplash.
“The usual,” I said as I climbed on the back of the bike.
“Hold tight.” He grabbed my hands and wrapped them around his torso. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t bite,” he said, grinning. “And if you feel yourself falling asleep give me a tap so I can pull over and strap you to me better.” He glanced back and saw my frown and added…
“Or we can always pull over and take a little nap somewhere along the way.” He handed me a helmet. “Here, safety first.”
“So when do I get a turn driving this?” I had no intention of taking a turn but decided it would make me look good and hide nervousness well.
He only laughed as he lifted the kickstand and let out the throttle to go.
Holding on to Leland was like holding on to a large stone. I wondered if he was really even made of flesh. I held my head against his back, trying to examine if he had a heartbeat at all. From what I heard, he did, I think. It seemed to have a perfect rhythm. It was so steady I began to fall asleep to the constant soothing tone. I drifted off.
“Hey!” his voice caused me to jerk awake.
“Relax your death grip, jeez!” Leland said with a chuckle. He was beginning to slow down as we were driving up some windy road.
“Where are we and how long have we been on the road?” Now that I was no longer in constant pain, I could think straight and realized I had no idea where he was taking me.
He said we would be in Salvador, Brazil in a few days’ ride, where we would be meeting a ship to take us to Puerto Rico. We had been riding for about five hours. When we started it was still early morning, but it was now beginning to get hot and the leather was causing me to overheat. “Do you feel like going for a swim?” He pointed to a waterfall we could see just ahead. The beautiful green hills and the natural pools where inviting.
Leland strode ahead of me on the trail. When I reached the clearing, the sounds of rushing falls gushed over the cliffs low and high and were like a little slice of paradise hidden away in an abandoned forest. It could have been something straight from a fairy tale. It was hard to believe that such beauty lived in the middle of nowhere. The rocks jutted out as crystal clear waters rippled over them into a pool of pure blue water, like the color of a cloudless sky. As I was just coming in sight of the pools, I saw his bare form dive off a rock, high above, into one of the pools. The man seriously did not know how to do anything ha
lfway. I immediately took an alternate path to find my own secluded pool. The water was warm on top but cool and refreshing as I went deeper. My wounds were nearly all the way healed but the cool water soothed them more.
After coming up out of the water, I dressed and reluctantly walked up to the rocks where I had seen Leland last. To my relief, he had wrapped a towel around his waist and was sunbathing on the rock. He looked up when he heard me coming.
“Hey, enjoy your swim? Are you hungry?” he called to me.
“The water was great and no, I’m not really hungry.”
“Come here then and lay your head.” He patted his chest. “You need a nap.”
“Leland, no offense but your body would not make a good pillow. I might as well use a rock,” I teased.
As I approached him I noticed his body had numerous scars. He had obviously seen a number of battles. I tried very hard not to stare. I sat down next to him. He snickered a little then paused and studied me for a minute as if he was going to say something. “Huh?” was all he said as I laid down right next to him using a rolled-up towel for a pillow.
“What?” I insisted.
“Nothing.” He rolled on to his stomach.
“Okay, fine, don’t tell me.” I pretended not to care.
After a minute of silence, I am sure he thought I was going to sleep but I had to ask. “Leland?”
“Hmm?”
“Tell me a story about yourself.”
“No, go to sleep.” He didn’t so much as move a muscle.
“Pleeease, Leland… come on.” I sat up slightly and pulled on his shoulder.
“He rolled back over, scolding me but trying not to laugh. “You need to sleep… so stop it. Besides, my stories would not put you to sleep; they would only wake you up more.”
“Come on... just a short one,” I begged.
“You are one stubborn lass!”
“Whoa! What was that?!” I was so shocked. How had he managed to hide this so well? “Leland, are you Irish?” I teased.
He sat up quickly and his towel slipped but he seemed not to notice or care.
“Whoa! Towel! Towel!” I directed as I shielded my eyes.
He got up and flung the towel away and began looking for his clothes. Having no interest in seeing this semi-strange man naked, I averted my eyes.
“You must be a walker,” I mumbled, noticing similar attributes of having no boundaries.
“Well, I am a little relieved now. I mean it seemed a little suspicious that you, a supposed sweet virgin girl, was so comfortable cozying up next to a mostly naked man. You didn’t even flinch but now that you’re freaking out like you are makes me somewhat relieved.”
As he was putting on his clothes he continued talking. “Actually, I am Scottish but I have spent a great deal of time in Ireland as well. I was born in Scotland about 500 years ago.”
“So, then you’re a walker?”
He nodded, pulling on his pants in haste.
“I can’t even imagine how it must be to live that long. Julian says that those who have lived more than 200 years are most likely original walkers and more than likely dark walkers as well.”
“He did, did he?” There was that twitch again.
“Did you know my father?”
“We have crossed paths on many occasions,” he said sternly. “Look, I don’t much care for him and that is all I am going to say.”
“I see. Look… if you are worried about telling me things about him, don’t. I have seen things that no human should ever see and I know about my father’s past. He was pretty terrible.”
“Huh… is that so?” He was dressed and sitting back down next to me.
I was facing away from him now, looking at the beautiful scenery, only for some reason I just could not enjoy it as much. In that moment, I wished I was alone. I was thinking of Julian. I left him a note. I told him that I was happy to see his restored health. I also told him that I knew he had much conflict within him when I was around so I felt it would be better if we parted ways and that I would never stop praying for him and loving him, but some love must be lived from a distance. I would seek him out from time to time. I hoped he bought it and was not looking for me. I was wondering what he was thinking at that moment. Maybe I missed him a little.
Finally feeling the exhaustion creep up on me, I laid my head down and went to sleep on the rocks without another word.
When I awoke I was looking up at the stars in the sky and I could hear the sound of a small campfire. Leland was next to me gazing up at the stars.
“How long have I been asleep?” I asked.
“Hours,” he said and he seemed to be deep in thought. For no reason whatsoever, he just began to tell me a story.
“I first met Julian in 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. I walked into a pub called The Palace and he was sitting there at the bar in a daze. He had this look of innocence. It was his pre-walker days. You remind me of him.” Leland had this strange grin as he recalled. “When you walk this earth as long as I have, you tend to be drawn to those individuals that are innocent and untainted by the world. It’s like you want to know what it’s like to be that once in a while. So we seek them out and sort of live life through their eyes, briefly. It’s like a drug, I guess. I befriended him. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. He had fallen in love with a woman, an older woman who had not just broken his heart but crushed his spirit. We talked awhile and then I invited him to my castle, as I owned a few in Ireland and in Scotland at the time and had restored them. He was thrilled to have an adventure to distract him. So it began. We traveled around Europe together to parties, etc. He enjoyed the rich social scene. The women, the wine, enthralled him but it lasted only a few years. He started to notice that I didn’t seem to age. He looked at me like I was the devil. He ran from me but I found him one night. He and his brother were at their parents’ estate alone. I caught him off guard. I just could not handle the way he looked at me. We were like brothers. That night I made him a walker and oh, his brother too. But his brother was an accident.
“Julian never forgave me for that and spent the next 10 years trying to take his revenge on me. I tried to help him and he let me at first because he needed me, but he must have been plotting his revenge. I had a woman that I had been with for 300 years. Cecilia was her name. He took her from me and I was never the same.” His voice trailed off as he looked off in the distance as if recalling his pain.
I noticed that he had a bottle of whisky in his hand. He sat up and took a drink. I was speechless.
“So that’s my story.” He glanced over at me before taking another chug. “So how about some food? I have sandwiches.” He began setting out some food on a cloth on the ground.
“You’re a liar!” I got up and backed away.
“Really now?” he said, staring at me intently.
Suddenly I was terrified. What was I thinking choosing now to confront this giant in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere?
“You told me that Caleb hired you to get me, yet you say you did not know Julian Alexander was my father?”
“Listen, yeah, I know Caleb and he hired me to find you but he did not say who you were.”
“I don’t believe you! What a perfect set-up this is for revenge on the very man who killed your woman. I mean, you have his daughter now!” I grabbed the knife that was lying next to the food to cut the sandwiches and held it out, threatening him.
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” I asked.
He seemed to be unmoved by my threat and in fact he seemed amused. He just continued kneeling and setting out the food.
“So what are you going to do, Anaya, run off into the dark woods again? This time you might actually kill yourself.”
He sighed and then walked over casually and put another stick on the campfire.
“Give me the keys to the motorcycle,” I said.
“You’re really going to leave me here?” He smirked. “Anaya, put down
the knife. You won’t get anywhere. Think about it.” He stood in front of me and shifted from one foot to the other. “I am not going to kill you or harm you,” he said, holding his hands up in a non-threatening way as if to emphasize his point.
He looked at me, as I did not seem to alter my decision. “Okay, fine, here you go. If you want to play this game…” He threw the keys my direction and I caught them, surprisingly.
Before I could even turn around and worry about how I was going to make it through the dark trail back, he had me in a hold from the back. He grabbed my hand with the knife.
He whispered in my ear. “Did you really think that would work? That was really stupid.”
“You gave me no choice, really... you’re going to kill me… I was merely trying to fight to live. Okay… I admit it was a feeble attempt,” I said, panting because my heart was pounding.
“Why would I kill you?” he said, still holding tight.
“Revenge,” I said.
He chuckled. “I never said Julian killed Cecelia, did I? So, I really don’t have a reason to kill you. Do you want to give me one then, lass?” He was talking with his Scottish accent again.
I was still fighting to get free from his grip. I kicked his groin and slammed the back of my head into his face and he cried out in pain. My hand with the knife stabbed him in the leg. He let me go for a second with a groan.
“Oh my God! I’m sorry! Oh my God!” I couldn’t believe I did it. I had never stabbed anyone before. Sure, there was that time I threw one at Lucian but he caught it, plus I was under the influence of a poison, so that was different.
“Nice, I almost had a reason to kill you just there.” He walked over and grabbed the keys from my hand. “Go eat something. We are taking off soon. It’s better to drive at night when it’s not as hot.”
We had everything packed up and were headed back to the motorcycle. He was holding my hand, leading me through the jungle, and then he stopped and turned around to face me.
“Okay, I need something from you,” he said as he dropped his duffle bag.