by A L Makin
His eyes widen at my approach and he fights to keep our distance by stepping away again while shaking his head. “I can’t Willow.”
I’m confused. How can the man who I’ve watched revel in the sight of blood and death, suddenly act so out of character by being repelled by my blood ... my tiny drop of blood I might add? It makes no sense.
“You can’t honestly tell me you’re scared of a little blood Ryder?” I ask him confused.
“You don’t understand,” he shakes his head.
“Then explain it to me. You didn’t have a problem with the sight of blood the other week. Why’s this different?” I reply further confused.
“The difference is, it’s you Willow. I can’t have your blood on me. I just can’t. I won’t be able to help myself,” he replies shaking his head while speaking in riddles.
“But I don’t understand why? What’s wrong with me?” I ask offended.
His brow furrows sadly.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect. It’s me. I … I can’t be trusted, Willow. Especially not with you. You and your blood need to stay away from me. Far, far away,” he insists.
“But …” I try to argue.
“No Willow! There are no buts, you need to do as I ask. Do you understand?” he argues back.
“I understand perfectly,” I say quietly. “But I just wanted to say that it’s too late. My blood … you already have it on you. There’s a bit of it on your bottom lip,” I finish gently.
A flash of fear sweeps across his captivating blue eyes as he reaches up and touches the small bloodstain on his lip. He pulls his hand away and looks down at the red mark on his fingertip. He shakes his head again as he looks up at me with terror in his eyes.
“You need to leave Willow – NOW! Go back inside the house and lock the door! Don’t open the door no matter how much I bang and beg you to - do you understand me?” he rushes out.
“But …” I begin to protest again.
“NO! Please, please do as I ask. I don’t know … I don’t know how much longer …” He replies while turning his back on me and begins to walk away.
I shout after him. “I’m not going anywhere, Ryder! Whatever you think is the problem, I can handle it. I think I’ve proved myself so far.”
I watch him bow his head as his shoulders sag.
“I know I’m not making any sense, and I’m sorry for that, but I don’t want you to see me like this. I don’t want to scare and risk losing you, not when we’ve only just met,” he answers sadly.
I take a few steps towards him as quietly as I can.
“You not looking at me is the only thing that’s scaring me right now,” I pause. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad surely? I just don’t understand. Please look at me, Ryder … look at me,” I beg.
“You have no idea what you’re asking of me. I’m sorry, but for both our sakes I can’t. I must leave. I have no choice,” he replies and starts to move, but I dive forward and grab him by the arm stopping him in his tracks. He doesn’t attempt to break free; he stays fixed to his spot facing away.
“Please Willow. Let me go,” he begs quietly.
It breaks my heart to hear him beg. But I’m not letting him go. Whatever is wrong, we can face it together. Keeping hold of his arm, I move behind him and wrap both of my arms around his waist, resting my cheek against his back.
“Whatever it is you think I can’t handle, trust me when I say I can; and for however you feel you’re going to react towards me, trust yourself in knowing you won’t. I believe in you, Ryder. I trust you. Please turn around,” I say.
I feel his cool hands cover mine. He gives them a gentle squeeze, then pulls them apart, unlocking my grip and interlocking our fingers. Keeping hold, he lowers our arms down by his sides.
“I’ll only turn around on one condition,” he states.
“Anything,” I reply desperate.
“I’ll only turn around if you promise to take a couple of steps back away from me,” he asks calmly.
“I promise,” I reply.
He lets go of my hands and I do as he’s asked.
I watch in anticipation as he turns around slowly with his head lowered. So far so good. I don’t understand what all the fuss was about. But just as I’m about to open my mouth he raises his head, and it’s then that I see it … His eyes!
His beautiful blue eyes that catch my breath every time I look into them, they’ve turned completely black. They look hollow and evil, but instead of scaring me like I think he thought they would, I find myself strangely drawn to them.
“Your eyes ... they’re black! But how can that be? I ask confused. “I don’t understand - is this some kind of joke to try and scare me off or something?” I finish.
He narrows his eyes at me as a small smile forms at the corner of his mouth.
“My eyes aren’t the only things that have changed,” he explains slowly.
And as he does, I see that not all his teeth are the same as they were moments ago. His two canine teeth on the top row have each elongated and end in a sharp spike.
I slowly shake my head while I attempt to make some sort of sense of what I’ve just witnessed.
“You have ... fangs? But how?” I ask.
“I’ve had them all my life Willow,” he replies calmly and I can’t help but stare between his white sharp fangs and deathly black eyes. His new look has me drawn in and I find myself taking a step closer.
“How?” I ask simply.
“They’re a part of me. A part of who I am. Mostly I control when I show them, but sometimes … just sometimes, certain situations overwhelm me and then I lose control of them ... of me,” he smiles wickedly.
I nod my head in agreement.
“You mean like now when you kissed me and cut my lip. Would that kind of situation make you lose control?” I ask.
“Yes,” he nods.
His black eyes remain fixed on me, and I can see he is poised for any kind of reaction. Looking at him I don’t think he was expecting acceptance.
“Ok then,” I reply simply.
“Ok?” he repeats confused.
“Yes, ok … now I know why you wanted me to leave. You were scared of losing control, weren’t you?” I ask.
His face is serious as he takes a deep sigh and runs a hand through his wet hair.
“Scared doesn’t even come close to how I was feeling. I was petrified I’d frighten you so much that you’d never want to come near me again,” he pauses for a moment as his brow furrows. “Or worst still, that I’d lose control over myself and do something I’d eternally regret. I didn’t want to risk either outcome – not with you.”
Again, he stuns me with his words. Everything I’ve learned of this man so far has been so much less while also so much more than what he has been portrayed to be. Granted I understand he’s got his faults and has done a lot of terrible things, but the man stood before me I must judge for myself. It’s only fair.
“There’s only one bit about all this that I don’t understand though,” I pause trying to figure out how I’m going to say this next bit without sounding crazy. “The only people I’ve ever known to have fangs are vampires. But they’re not real ... they don’t exist ... right?” I ask slowly.
“Maybe this will answer your question,” he replies as he takes a step forward and stands tall. Suddenly two large black wings spring out of his back settling at either side of his body. I stumble falling backwards at the sudden shock, but before I hit the ground Ryder rushes forward even faster and catches me mid-air. Standing me back upright he retracts his wings as quickly as they were released.
“I’m sorry. The wings were probably a step too far, too soon. But you seemed to accept what I am, so I thought I’d lay all my secrets bare,” he justifies while taking a step back.
I straighten my soaked nightdress and brush my wet hair off my face using my fingers.
“There’s nothing to forgive Ryder. I’m grateful that you’ve tru
sted me enough to be so open. However, I won’t lie and say that the wings didn’t take me by surprise, because they did. But only because I wasn’t expecting them,” I reason while taking a step forward.
I can’t have him doubting himself for opening up to me. He has no idea how happy it has made me with being so transparent.
“Will you show me them again please?” I ask carefully.
His smile reaches his black eyes and he nods as he releases his dark wings. With wings stretched out wide he lifts them high in the air and then whips them down quickly folding them silently behind his back. Standing in the moonlight with his black eyes, white fangs and pale toned body, he looks like an angel ... a dark angel. I stand mesmerised taking in every inch of the dark perfection in front of me.
“How are you so calm about all this Willow? You’re human - a human who a few moments ago believed that vampires don’t exist.”
“That’s the bit that’s shocked me too,” I shake my head slowly. “Before I moved here, if I were to see what I’m seeing now, I’d have lost my mind for sure. So, I honestly haven’t got a clue how?” I pause. “All I know is that I feel like moving here has awakened me somehow. Stirred something deep in my soul that has laid dormant all this time. Seeing you this way doesn’t bother me at all. It feels ... natural. Like I always knew there was something special about you,” I smile at him.
“I was so scared I’d lose you showing you all sides of me. We’re not supposed to show ourselves to humans. It’s too much of a risk. Humans can’t accept what they can’t understand; and what they don’t understand they’re scared of; and what they’re scared of, they try to destroy. But you’re different. You’re special too Willow. I just don’t know how yet. But one thing I’m sure on … you’re worth the risk,” he breathes out.
Everything he’s explained and shown me tonight answers so many questions I had about him; the pale skin and the cool touch to name only a couple. But one thing I’m still stumped on is Travis - what does this mean about him? They’re cousins. Does that mean he’s a vampire too?
I try not to be so obvious by asking, “So, how many of you are there?”
But I needn’t have bothered, Ryder knows exactly what I’m asking. He tilts his head to the side. “You mean is Travis a vampire too?”
“No … I mean yes,” I think for a moment. “I mean, he’s your cousin, and has skin as pale and cool like yours. So? Is he?” I ask already knowing the answer.
“He is,” is all I get.
I knew there was something up with Travis too. Ever since that night, I met him in the village graveyard … the way he looked and felt alone was a big giveaway that something was different about him, but the way he moved between the trees, that was superhuman.
“So, is it true then?” I ask without finishing my question properly.
“Is what true?” he asks back confused.
“Is it true what the films say? Are you immortal? I ask genuinely intrigued.
“We are,” he states.
I use his lack of further information to my advantage and seize the opportunity to find out just how many of them there is.
“You said ‘we’. Who’s ‘we’? How many of you are there? I ask.
He doesn’t answer straight away, and I notice that the rain has eased off and almost stopped.
“Exact numbers? … I’m not sure,” he replies bluntly. He’s holding something back. But what, I’ve no idea.
I decide to change tack and go back to the immortality question.
“So, will you stay looking this way forever? I take it nothing can harm you then?”
This question has amused him slightly for some reason and he laughs gently.
“We might be immortal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be harmed. We’re still able to be injured like a human. The difference is that we don’t feel pain the same way, and we heal extremely fast in comparison to how you do.”
I remember back to that night in the church with Travis. The speed in which he healed was remarkable, even if he tried brushing it off as it wasn’t as bad as first thought. I know what I saw.
“But you can’t be killed?” I ask.
“We’re only immortal from growing old and dying of natural causes or disease like what happens with a human. But we can still be killed,” he answers.
“How?” I ask.
Ryder raises an eyebrow, “why do you want to know? Is there something your planning?” he asks with a straight face.
“Erm, no. Of course not! I was simply curious, that’s all … I mean …” I stammer out quickly.
Ryder laughs out loud.
“Calm down Willow, I was only joking. I never thought you were planning anything sinister. Not like you’d be any kind of match for me,” he laughs again.
I don’t know if I should feel a little offended by that last comment or not. But he’s right, I’d be no match against a vampire. Especially not one like Ryder. I can’t imagine any vampire could match up to him, and that includes Travis.
“But going back to your question, the only way you can kill a vampire is either by removing their head or their heart,” he answers.
“So, what about a stake to the heart, sunlight, garlic, churches, crosses and holy water? I reel off. “Have the movies been lying to me all these years?” I laugh.
“In a word, yes,” he laughs back. “Holy water, churches, crosses and garlic do diddly squat. Sunlight: we have no problem being in daylight, we’re just a slightly weaker version of ourselves in the sun. And a stake to the heart: that one will stop us in our tracks, but it won’t kill us. We go into a sort of deep slumber until the stake is removed … no matter how long that takes, if ever.”
I nod my head understanding and learning more and more about the type of man Ryder is.
“So where does blood play into all this? Do you need it to survive? I ask.
“Unfortunately, yes. We need blood to stay as we are, strong and powerful. Without it, we will become weaker and weaker, until eventually, we will fall into a similar slumber like when we have a stake to the heart. However, this time only blood will break the sleep.”
“Wow! There’s a whole new world out there that I thought was just a myth … make-believe for the movies. I would never have thought there would be any truth to any of it,” I shake my head slowly.
But there’s one nagging question at the back of my mind that I can’t let go of. One that all the movies agree on; a question that I have to ask.
I clear my throat.
“So, what happens when you’re bitten by a vampire? Does it turn you into one?” I ask nervously remembering that when we kissed, Ryder managed to nip my lip. Is that all it would take?
“To understand what happens when someone is bitten by a vampire, you have to understand that we’re not all the same.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“It’s hard to explain,” he pauses while thinking. “There are two different types of vampires. You have those who are highborn vampires … and then you have those who are lowborn vampires.”
“What’s the difference?”
Ryder smiles.
“A highborn is a vampire who was born a vampire. Born into nobility. A lowborn is a vampire who was turned into a vampire by being bitten. But the bite alone doesn’t turn them, they have to drink the blood of the same vampire after they’ve been bitten. Having that vampire’s blood in their system means that they’re sired to them, loyal to a fault to their creator.” He explains as he walks over to a bench close by and sits down. I join him at the bench, sitting next to him.
“To look on the surface we look the same. We each have the pale skin, cool touch and fangs. We also have the same need for blood and are immortal. But that’s where our similarities end. Highborn vampires are the only ones to have black eyes and wings. We can fly, move faster and are so much stronger than a lowborn. We’re also the only ones who can create vampires through biting, and we’re able to have our own children. A lowborn
used to be a human, which means that their abilities are diluted. They don’t possess all of the same abilities and powers that we highborn do, and they can no longer have children of their own either.”
My mind is blown. So much information. So much I never knew existed. How naïve I’ve been all my life. All this time I’ve been sharing the world with another species and I had no idea.
“So, with everything I’ve seen, you must be highborn. What about Travis? Which type of vampire is he?” I ask carefully. I know they hate each other, and the last thing I want to do is annoy him. But he can’t tell me all this information and not expect me to ask questions. Especially when I’ve spent so much time with Travis. I need to know who and what I’ve been inviting into my home all this time.
With a face set like stone, he takes a deep breath. “Travis is also highborn. We both come from the same House,” he explains.
“Same house? But I thought you hated each other – how can you live in the same house?” I squint.
Ryder laughs a little.
“We don’t live together. That’s not what I meant by house. I meant we both come from the same family, the same House. House Draegon.”
“Right …” I answer unsure if I’m able to keep up with all this new information.
Ryder senses my hesitation and sighs again.
“Look, I know this a lot to take in. But I want to be honest. I want to lay bare to it all. If you know everything, then you can decide properly where we go from here,” he explains.
“Okay,” is all I manage to answer with. My mind overruns with what he’s just said, ‘where we go from here.’ Does that mean he’s expecting something more between us?
“My father and Travis’s father were brothers,” he explains.
I already know this bit of history on him from what Travis has told me. But I don’t want to interrupt him or share any information that Travis might have shared out of spite. I need to hear Ryder’s side too to make a fair judgment.
“My father was the older of them both, which meant he was the head of our House. That’s how it goes with highborn’s, the oldest male is in charge, then his son, and his son thereafter. Unless they only have daughters, then it falls to the closest oldest male relation in the family. Each Head of House is chosen and passed on in the same manner,” he pauses a moment looking into the dark distance.