She stood up, Rhulle immediately following while holding her arms in concern.
“Avie? What is it? What is wrong?”
“The blood types… Why didn’t I think of it before…? It makes so much sense!”
“What do you mean, types of blood?”
She looked up at him, “When you need to feed, I think, that’s when my body starts to vibrate, I’ve always thought it had to do with the blood because that’s what it felt like. Other people affected must have the same type. That night, Owen looked at my blood and it flew—right out of the house! He used that to find this place, to find you. My blood wanted to find you; I know that sounds so crazy, but I don’t know how else to describe it.”
His grip tightened slightly around where it held, “You were supposed to come to me.”
“Yes! I think all this time, you’ve been inadvertently calling people to you. First to the town, then to you… All this time… I’ve only been lucky someone was here first.”
“But this is just speculation, Avie. You do not know that for sure.”
“I took a blood test, that should come back soon; I can test the theory out. It just makes so much sense, Rhulle.”
“I would like to see it happen, your blood in motion, I mean.” Her eyes widened, worried at the implication. “We are friends now; I would not do anything to harm you. I may be able to help your hypothesis.”
That was true, he possibly saw everyone with the same blood type, he would know how it looks, and if hers did the same while he… fed. There was just one worry in her mind. The look he gave when he had torn open the throat of that woman… In the brief fleeting moment before he realized she interrupted… it almost looked like desperation.
Avie shook off the thought, “Okay, okay, Rhulle, I trust you,” she really did, he hasn’t given a reason not to, “uhhm, do you ever… know? I mean when you need to?”
“Yes, sometimes I get the feeling a day or so prior. Worry not, I do not lose control to hunger, I will be as calm as ever and will simply observe.”
“Do you think we could fix it? If it really was about the blood?”
“If it comes to that, then we can worry.”
The woman hugged him, resting into the soft texture of the dark feathers with a fractured inhale, “I’m scared.”
“… Of me?”
She shook her head, still buried in his chest. “That it won’t stop, no matter what we do.”
The tone in her voice was filled with helplessness, after so many leads and speculations—trials and experiments, nothing led them to decrease the losses or the pain she felt.
Hearing her, Rhulle expressed his own shaky sigh, holding her tighter, “This is coming from the one who was not afraid of the thing in the woods confronting her?” Avie laughed once, returning the squeeze. “We will find something, Avie. There is always something.”
“Right, there’s always something.”
She wanted to tell Owen; the redhead couldn’t wait, in fact. The blood test would be back any day now and she finally had a hypothesis, and a strong one too.
After spending hours with Rhulle, her next stop was Owen’s front porch. Knocking on his door, energy raced through her body. He answered, and immediately, she entered while going off on a rant about the similarities with her theory and different blood types.
“It really could be the link that brings it all together and—!”
“You went to see him alone, didn’t you?”
“... Owen,” she smiled awkwardly, “he’s my friend. I visit you alone.”
“That’s not the point!” he exclaimed, wiping his face and pacing a full circle in frustration, he tried again with a calmer tone, “That’s not the point. Avie, I’m worried about you. If you’re there alone with him, then I can’t protect you if he decides to eat you one day. I don’t trust that thing. Would you come and look at something? I’ve been doing some research…”
Striding over to his desk, he pulled open bookmarks that lead to texts about demonology, and the occult in various books. He even had his computer on beside them, a few websites hyperlinked for further information.
“I think he’s lying, especially to you; I think he’s a demon or something of the sort. They’re known for lying to their victims or exchanging favours for souls… seducing them to drink their blood and devour their essence. It’s all here and it lines up with what evidence we have.”
She looked at the pictures, read brief paragraphs before turning away, eyes clenched. “I know you mean well; you just haven’t spent enough time with him. You’ll see that he is not like this—he’s really amazing and considerate. He just, inopportunely, needs human blood to survive.”
He only stared at her; she’s lined up pieces of the town’s mystery with him from far greater leaps of logic. Owen would always see eye to eye with her, however, this seemed to cause a disconnect.
“Hang on, what’s this?” Avie grabbed the mouse and clicked on one of the pages that caught her eye, Owen trying to stop her as soon as she clicked. She read Rhulle’s name pulled up on the screen, a search in literature trying to connect demons presenting themselves to humans under his name. Her body ran cold.
“How did you get this name?” She turned to face him, only to be met with a deer in headlights look, him facing dead-on to the betraying screen. “How did you get this name, Owen?!”
“I didn’t, I mean it was…”
The woman scoffed, disappointed, “You were listening in to our conversation, weren’t you? After I asked for a moment alone?”
“C’mon Aves, I was just looking out for you. Don’t you trust me?”
She paused, thinking over her words, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, I don’t think you trust me. I know you’re trying to look out for me, but I’m not a child. If I’m making a mistake, then I need to come to that conclusion on my own.” She was worried, Owen just broke a strand of faith with her.
He readjusted his glasses in a nervous manner, “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I’ll back off, I promise. I guess he can’t be all bad if he didn’t kill me on the spot.”
Avie reached over and hugged him in his seat, thanking him, “That means the world.”
Owen wanted so desperately to go back into the woods and fetch his gun.
But knowing that the thing would be on him instantly if he was not there with Avie, he dare not go alone. He decided to ask and see if the redhead would be the one to get it for him, watching her all but roll her eyes at the inquiry.
“I think it’s better if you don’t have that thing, there’s nothing that you’d need it for as protection anyway.”
“It’s not just that, what if someone else got to it? Someone that wasn’t the best person, or even a kid! It should at least be back in my possession so I can keep it locked up.”
Owen lied through his teeth, coming up with an excuse on the spot to try and get the revolver back on his person. Like hell he wouldn’t be caught without it if he had to keep protecting Avie from whatever the monster’s plan was.
She mulled it over, agreeing in maybe that was better, it was just laying there under layers of snow waiting for whoever to grab it. Unless bird brain Rhulle already picked it up for storage...
“Why don’t you go and get it? If you’re still worried about Rhulle, I can come with you and explain.”
“Yeah… I guess… I don’t want him getting the wrong idea if it was me asking for it or looking around.”
She hummed, “It would be good for both of you to talk some more, why don’t we meet up soon? Say, tomorrow since we have some time off?”
He nodded, the sooner he got that fucking gun back, the better.
“Yeah we can do tomorrow,” Owen stated, exasperatedly rubbing his face before sinking into his armchair.
She could see it in his eyes before Rhulle said anything.
“It is beginning, you may want to come over for the time being.” His usual amber eyes had a red tinge around the narrow pupils, similar to
the design seen in the past when he fed on the people of Blacken. It was unnerving, but fascinating that a physical change was present.
“So soon?”
“I was interrupted the last time…”
Avie nodded; goosebumps littered her skin. Only a matter of days ago he went through the same process, stopped short of getting his fill. She was nervous, not sure what would happen, but the uncertainty of the unknown also caused anticipation to burn alongside the uneasiness.
There went the plan to meet tomorrow...
With the truxen needing to feed, there was no way Owen would be so much as looking at the forest. God… What would he even say if he knew what she was doing?
She packed a few items in an overnight bag, as well as some bottles of water and entertainment in the form of movies, books, a puzzle, and a notepad, just in case. While she was there, she could also ask about the gun. But she didn’t want to retrieve it for Owen, he could collect his property and talk with Rhulle like a big boy.
If they could only communicate properly... Avie knew eventually Owen would jump at the chance to get to know an outer space creature.
Rhulle waited for her just beyond the sight lines of the trees. There, he offered his arm and they walked together until they arrived at the manor. The wind had picked up during their walk, Avie needing to pull up her yellow scarf to warm her nose, snow desperately trying to pummel her.
“I don’t know how you can stay so warm; do they have weather like this on Celisc?”
“Almost, although it does not come with wind like this, the snow simply falls to the ground.”
She practically moaned, “I’m jealous, that’s when it’s the most beautiful.”
They walked in, met with a fire already burning inside, warming her skin as she sighed. Shedding layers, Avie relaxed in front of the burning logs, watching Rhulle shake and brush off any lingering snow in the doorway before joining her.
“So, the feeding, is that going to happen tomorrow?”
He shrugged, “It may, I only get a feeling before it starts to become full blown hunger, it may be longer, it may be shorter in time. I did not want you to miss it if it helps stop your sickness.”
“It will help, I’m sure it will. I also wanted to ask about the gun Owen kind of just, left here. Is it still out in the snow?”
Rhulle grimaced, rolling his head away in a show of revulsion before returning, “Of course it is! I would not touch that if it were a last resort!”
“I don’t like to either, he just doesn’t want it getting into the wrong hands, he may pick it up sometime soon.”
“To be expected, but not alone I presume?”
She laughed, “He is still a little wary of you, Rhulle. I might have to tag along.”
They both shared a laugh, the noise dying down to silence while Avie stared at Rhulle. She rested a cheek on her knuckles, imagining what he must have gone through on his own planet under the feeding circumstances.
He shifted under her gaze, “What is it?”
“I was thinking, would you tell me more about your home?”
“That is all? What would you like to know?”
Avie smiled in an unsure manner, “It’s a silly question, but when you fed there, did they look like us too?”
Rhulle threw his head back, a hearty laugh following before shaking it in dismissal, “Not in the slightest. We had creatures, nearly entirely full of liquids that contained everything we needed for sustenance—they were abundant, always coming to us when we had the need. The things not even sentient in existence, they were small and nude in colour, perhaps the size and likeness of one of your vermin with the fur and the long tail?”
Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline, “Rats?” she asked, incredulous.
“Ahh, yes, a rat; about their stature, but exoskeleton akin to your insects here. They were the only thing we needed, but we had other foods. Although those were only to sample the taste, the more affluent one was, the more access to these other foods we had—”
She had been giggling, turning into full blown laughter as he was cut off.
“What is so funny?”
Avie still laughed, trying to take in oxygen as she waved at him in an attempt of an apology.
“I’m sorry, I… It’s no wonder you viewed us so lowly, we were just rodents to you! Larger versions for you to feed on!”
The laughter bubbled out again, leaving Rhulle looking a little flabbergasted… He started to laugh too, joining her in a thought process put so bluntly.
CHAPTER 14
“You know I do not view you as one of those vermin, right?”
The pair were watching a movie, cozied up in the chesterfield residing in Rhulle’s bedroom, conversations since then had come and gone. Avie turned to him, half thinking he was referring to the kids in the movie, before she realized what he meant.
“Of course. Rhulle, you’ve done everything to show me that.”
His eyes were serious, “I used to… Before, I mean.”
Still, she smiled, “I know, but that was before I had the privilege to get to know you, get to talk with you, spend time with you. Who else has done that?”
Rhulle took in her words, thinking over what could have been their conversations, or even conversations with others before her, “Only you. My view on humans has shifted. I would never want to hurt you, what if there are others that I do not want to either?”
“Then that is up to you. Yes, there may be others; you do still need us to stay alive though. I don’t know what else could be used yet…” she trailed off, looking down. Avie felt selfish, in that moment a spark of envy filled through her at the mention of others meeting and knowing Rhulle as she did. She wanted, in a way, the chestnut truxen to be her secret. What if others had the opportunity to create the same bond with him?
He tilted her chin so she could face him, a gentle smile meeting her, “One thing at a time, dear Avie. We have to figure your mystery first. I only said my view has shifted; I am not ready to be the talk of the town.”
She smiled, letting out a small laugh in relief, all she could do in reply was watch his eyes glow in the dimly lit sitting area. The hand migrated to her cheek, a gesture of affection. Could he tell she was wanting to be the only one who knew him on this level?
And what then of Owen? Did Rhulle dislike him in any way because Avie was also friends with him? Was it fair to keep pushing both of them to meet if that were the case? The thought of Rhulle and Owen perplexed her in a way that wasn’t quite making sense.
Rhulle dropped his hand, and as if he read her mind, he continued, “In further regards, I do not think I will be able to view Owen as a friend, Avie.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I thought if he could see you as I do, then he wouldn’t want to…” She grew irritated at the notion.
“What is it?”
“He wants to tell people about you. Sure, I don’t want people to keep… I mean they will… You know what I mean, but I don’t want you to either.”
Rhulle shuffled, a curious tilt of the head accompanied, “Might I ask something of you?”
“Sure, yes, ask away.”
“Death seems to be a difficult subject to you. As it is with many others naturally, yet I have not heard you even mention the term. Why would that be?”
Her jaw dropped, the question hitting from left field. She was aware of the limitations of her speech, the word caught in her throat of its own volition. Rhulle caught a glimpse of the story—the ballad of her parents she previously never mentioned. However, there was more to her history.
She laughed nervously, a tight smile stretching over her face. In a flash of a moment, the laughter stopped, tears filled her eyes while a hand came up to cover her own mouth.
No, she needed to. No more stopping.
“I had a sister too. She was seven years younger than me, she had the same hair, although a lot shorter. And her eyes, they were gorgeous, like ice water; piercing blue.”
“I haven’t been able to before. It’s been five years since… I’ve never told anyone about it, but I feel comfortable talking with you.”
“Then by all means, continue at your own pace, I will listen to every word,” he said, tone soft and smile reassuring.
Avie took a deep breath, letting the air travel out with a shake.
“Her name was Aubree; she was born with a lot of problems. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t walk, she had very limited mobility overall. Mentally, the doctor said she was like that of a two-year-old, Aubree probably unable to progress further than that. Our parents thought that there wasn’t anything inside her at all, but I knew there was. I could see it in her eyes. When she looked at them, they were dull, when she looked at me, they were bright. You should have seen her smile… I loved her with all my heart.
“We didn’t have a lot of money in the first place, and it took a lot of it to pay for my sister and her needs. I dropped out of school to become her primary caregiver and I was working a few jobs to try and help every way I could, but my parents still fought a lot about the financial issues and their increasing debt. Aubree just turned fourteen, they never celebrated her birthdays, but that night… I woke up to a loud noise. I remember seeing my father in Aubree’s room, a gun in his hand. He smelled so strongly of beer and whisky… And the way he was standing, I couldn’t see her fully, but I knew he had shot her, I could see the blood. I think I was screaming, my mom was called, and she dragged me out of there, I heard three more gunshots while I was being pulled out of the house.”
“What happened afterward?”
“I ran. I left with the clothes on my back, and as soon as the next day I found a city far away from them, far away from memories of Aubree. I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t deal with the fact that they… That she was… dead.”
It had been the first time she acknowledged the reality, even the first time since Aubree that she dared to say the word.
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