Vampire's Crucible

by Yvette Bostic

Tears misted my eyes and I quickly blinked them away. I really needed a woman in my life. No one could put it all in perspective like a good friend. My thoughts wandered to Sharon, my only friend in school. She stood by me when everyone else pushed me away and didn’t abandon me when we graduated. I missed her. Today’s situation only reinforced all the reasons I couldn’t go back, but it didn’t stop me from thinking about her.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled. “I needed that.”

  “Raise your arms back up before they smudge.” She smiled and leaned over to spray my legs and feet. “Kellen told everyone you were part of a secret group looking for the mages turned vampire. I assumed Logan was as well, but it’s nice to confirm it.”

  “Yeah, I still can’t wrap my head around it.” I raised my arms, which were already getting tired. It was also good to confirm that Kellen hadn’t sold me out. Logan was confident that whatever threat he left for my partner would keep him quiet, but I had doubts. Lots of them. I didn’t think Kellen needed me anymore, so why wouldn’t he make me the bad guy, or gal?

  “This is going to sound stupid, because I saw you interact with your elementals, but do they really talk to you all the time?” Marissa asked, not looking up from her kneeling position.

  “Yes.”

  She moved around the back again. “You’ll be the one to bring us out of this mess, just like I always said you would.”

  What made her so sure? I certainly didn’t have that same confidence.

  Chapter 5

  Three hours later, Logan and I stared at one another in the long mirror. If I saw him on the street, I wouldn’t recognize him. His long black hair was now short and brown, reminding me of coffee. He refused to let Marissa wax his thick eyebrows, but she won the fight with his wardrobe. She made him roll his sleeves and unbutton his shirt, leaving it hanging open to expose the white t-shirt beneath. He looked so…preppy.

  “You need colored t-shirts and more of these,” she said pulling on the hem of his dress shirt. “Here’s the name of the man you need to see about your wardrobe and AJ’s. If you don’t see him, you’ll ruin everything I’ve done.”

  Logan raised an eyebrow at me in the mirror, taking the scrap of paper from Marissa. My own reflection was startling. The soft, blond curls on top of my head were pretty. Not cute like a child, but pretty. My fake tan was so light, I would never call it tan, but it was perfect. The most noticeable change were the amber eyes staring back at me. Marissa insisted on the color contacts, and she was probably right. After all, my icy blue orbs gave away my heritage. Besides the discomfort from the contacts, I didn’t mind. My eyes and platinum white hair reminded everyone of my mother, something I wanted to avoid.

  “You need to let your hair grow,” Marissa said, swinging my chair away from the mirror. “It will give us more options in the future.” Then, she pulled me into a quick hug. “And remember you have makeup on. Don’t touch your face.”

  “I’ll never be able to do this on my own,” I complained. “Makeup is beyond my skills.”

  She handed me a shopping bag full of powders, creams, eyeliners, and lip sticks. “You only have to do it if you’re going out in public.”

  “No kidding.” I took the offered bag and frowned.

  “Quit complaining and go shopping. And look up some tutorials online if you really need that much help.”

  I slid out of my chair and turned to Logan’s, but he was already gone. The door to the garage stood open, waiting for me.

  “He’s so touchy,” Marissa whispered. “But he’s a good person. He’ll take care of you.”

  “Thanks, for everything.” I gave her one last hug before leaving her salon—and our old identities—behind.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Logan backed the SUV out of the garage and went the opposite direction we arrived from. The rings around his eyes swelled the farther we got away from Marissa. It impressed me that he could hide it when he had to and worried me that he didn’t now.

  “We can pick up our wardrobe tomorrow, Logan,” I said. “I think you have other things that take priority.”

  “No, Marissa’s right.”

  “And you think it’s a good idea to go into the mall with all those warm bodies?” I argued, watching the hazel in his eyes disappear.

  “No, I do not,” he hissed, then drew a deep breath. “This isn’t normal for me. I should be able to go a week or longer. It’s only been three days.”

  “Because of me,” I whispered, trying to squash my guilt. It had to be because of our connection. That was the only thing that had changed.

  He pulled into a convenience store parking lot and parked at the back of the building.

  “This is not your fault,” he said, turning in his seat to face me. The intensity in his red eyes made me shiver.

  “So, you drop me off with Marissa’s guy,” I offered. “While he’s picking out my new wardrobe, you can do your thing.” I tried not to cringe at the thought of him biting someone, then cringed again when I realized I didn’t want him biting anyone. Shit. It’s not like he could deny what he was.

  “I can’t leave you alone, AJ,” he said, surprising me. He always called me princess.

  “Of course you can. Marissa did a great job. No one will recognize me.” I waved my hands at my face, but they instantly fell. His pained expression tugged at my heart.

  “Fine.”

  He turned away from me and backed out of the parking spot. Ten minutes later, we pulled into the mall parking lot. I let him open my door and take my hand to help me out. Why was I being so nice about it? I didn’t know, just like I didn’t know why I felt guilty. I shouldn’t. It wasn’t my fault he was a vampire, but it wasn’t his, either. It was just another reminder that I wasn’t the only one with no control over my life, and that we could only do our best given the circumstances. And for Logan, that meant drinking someone’s blood.

  It only took a few minutes to find Manny, the guy who would solve my wardrobe issues, in one of the large specialty stores. He wore khaki pants and a pink pullover shirt, with brown loafers on his bare feet. His spikey blond hair looked similar to my previous style, bringing a smile to my lips.

  “Welcome!” he said, wrapping me in a hug. He stepped towards Logan, then backed away. “He’s a little scary.”

  “He’s just possessive,” I said, as if that explained everything. It wasn’t a total lie.

  Manny chuckled. “No need for that. I’m in a very happy relationship. Let’s see what our friend Marissa has planned.” He pulled out his smartphone and scrolled through what I assumed were Marissa’s instructions. “Oh yes! This is perfect.” He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and rubbed his hands together. “Who’s first?”

  “Me,” I replied, glancing up at Logan. He did a remarkable job maintaining an impassive expression. The dark ring around his irises was barely noticeable. “I’ll be here waiting,” I said, brushing my fingers against his.

  He didn’t reply as he walked away into the rows of clothes racks. I had the irrational desire to go after him but knew I couldn’t. I didn’t want to witness what was about to happen and I was pretty sure he didn’t want me to see it. I shook my head.

  “Wow, you got it bad, girl.” Manny’s comment surprised me.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, allowing him to lead me into another section of the store.

  “You looked like a lost puppy watching him walk away.”

  “No I didn’t,” I insisted, though I knew he was right. This supernatural world was still so new to me, and I didn’t feel safe on my own. I was a lost puppy without Logan around to guide me.

  “Come on,” Manny said, motioning for me to follow him. “Shopping will take your mind off it.”

  It worked for the first fifteen minutes of trying on one outfit after another, but thirty minutes later, I spent more time searching the faces around me than looking at the dresses Manny waved in front of me. I could feel Logan not far away, but I didn’t see him.

  “Should
we move on to the men’s section or wait for the boyfriend?” Manny asked, drawing my attention.

  He stood in front of me with a dress draped over his arm and three shirts dangling from their hangers in his hand.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I love everything you’ve picked out, and you’ve been so patient with me, and I’ve barely been paying attention.”

  “It’s my job, girl,” he said, half smiling. “Let’s go pick out some stuff for the man in your life. I’m assuming he trusts your judgement, or he’d be here himself.”

  “You just outfitted my wardrobe, Manny. You know I have no fashion sense.”

  He chuckled and hung the items on the rolling rack with my other garments. “Then shame on him for not sticking around.”

  As my personal fashion consultant rolled my new wardrobe towards the men’s department, I tried to pinpoint my vampire. He better have a really good reason for hanging this close and not showing himself, I thought. I was going to be really pissed if he was just avoiding shopping, because I wasn’t paying for all this stuff.

  We arrived in the casual-yet-professional-man section, and Manny started his pitch about what worked and what didn’t. I had no idea if Logan would agree with his color selections or not, so I nodded and smiled. Manny’s guess was better than mine.

  “All my customers should be as agreeable as you,” he said, hanging two shirts on my rolling rack, along with several ties.

  “Yes, except if my boyfriend doesn’t show up, I won’t be leaving with it,” I said. “There’s no way I can pay for all this.”

  “It’s already paid for.”

  That made me give him my full attention. “Really?”

  “Yep. Marissa didn’t tell you?”

  “No, she didn’t.” I needed to find out who paid for all these clothes. It was one thing to have a debt to Logan—we were sort of stuck together—but not anyone else.

  “Are you ready to go?” Logan asked, startling me as usual.

  Manny turned from the clothes rack and smiled. “Just in time. Would you like to try on any of these items for the lady?”

  “No. How long will it take to bag them?” Logan asked.

  That was rude. I craned my neck to look at my vampire. His eyes were back to their normal color, but his furrowed brow and severe frown worried me. All of it should have gone away.

  “Probably about twenty minutes,” Manny replied, applying his own frown.

  “I’ll take the cart to the car and load them.” Logan grabbed the metal rack and started walking to the door.

  “I’m sorry, Manny. He isn’t normally this cranky,” I said, wrapping him in a quick hug.

  “It’s okay. Women aren’t the only ones who suffer from PMS, but don’t tell him I said that.” He hugged me back and pushed me towards my vampire.

  I jogged to catch up with him, reaching him just in time to open the glass doors.

  “What the hell was that about?” I hissed.

  “Hurry up and get to the car,” he replied, not answering my question but still dragging the rack of clothes.

  I couldn’t believe no one stopped us from walking out with hundreds of dollars’ worth of clothing. Maybe Manny took care of it for us. I hoped he did or security would be breathing down our necks any minute.

  I helped Logan toss the clothes in the back of his SUV, then climbed in the passenger side. He left the cart in the empty space next to us and jumped in the driver’s seat.

  “Can you talk now?” I asked, trying not to sound spiteful or worried.

  “Someone was following you,” he replied, starting the car and turning on the air conditioning. “I have no idea who it was or why.”

  My eyebrows rose. I hadn’t seen anyone following me and I’d been studying every face for the last forty-five minutes, looking for Logan. I guess that excused my vampire’s absence and his bad mood. Being tracked by anyone wasn’t good for us.

  “I didn’t notice anyone and I spent a whole lot of time looking for you.”

  “Yes, I know. You kept him really busy trying not to get caught.” He turned to me and gave his full attention. “I need to find another way.”

  “Another way for what? To get to our meeting with your team?” What was he talking about? “And what happened to the guy following me? Shouldn’t we be leaving? Won’t he just follow us?”

  Logan rubbed his fingers through his now short hair. He huffed and scrubbed his scalp several more times, making his hair stand on end.

  “The guy following you is taken care of,” he replied, wiping his hands over his face. “We’ll take the scenic route to our meeting.”

  The slightest sense of deception drifted across the space between us. I thought about calling him out on it, but he was already a mess because of me. I couldn’t add more to the pile. I almost apologized but decided not to. I didn’t know what I was sorry for. Or more accurately which item on the list I was sorry for.

  “As soon as we leave Elaine, we need to talk,” Logan said, dragging his gaze away from me and pulling out of the parking lot.

  I didn’t respond to his comment. I didn’t know how to, except to ask a ton of questions. I’d wait until our meeting was over. Yeah right.

  “Is it something I did?” I asked, unable to stop the first question from tumbling out. “Or maybe something I didn’t do?”

  Logan didn’t answer, nor did he turn to look at me. That sucked. It must be really bad. I ran back through the last couple days trying to remember anything that would make him this anxious, but nothing came to mind. We’d been busy making space for me in his home. Showing me the numerous traps and surveillance surrounding the property took hours. Grocery shopping at the tiny convenience store was pathetic, yet nostalgic.

  The only thing that stood out was his lack of food. Did something happen to his chosen victim? Could I even ask that question? No, I didn’t think so. Another thought occurred to me. He’d been spending his days awake with me. At Kellen’s, Logan had slept most of the day and we trained after dark. Could the change in schedule be messing with his biological clock? It certainly screwed with mine.

  We pulled into another shopping center twenty minutes later, if it could be called that. Most of the storefronts were boarded up, and only three looked like they were still in business. A pawn shop took up the left corner of the plaza. A discount tobacco store filled the space next to it. On the far-right corner was a martial arts training studio. A half-dozen minivans and family size sedans covered the parking area in front. I guessed they were having a kids’ class.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked.

  “Meeting the team,” Logan answered. “Yun is already inside, but the others aren’t here yet.”

  “We are a little early.” The clock on the dash blinked two o’clock. “Aren’t we supposed to meet at four?” I squinted at the pawn shop. Was that their secret meeting place? It had to be. I couldn’t see a bunch of vampires and shifters mixing in with a kids’ martial art class. Unless it was one of the empty stores. That made more sense.

  Logan hadn’t answered me, so I turned my gaze on him only to find him staring back at me.

  “What is it, Logan?”

  He opened his mouth and closed it. Twice more he tried to speak, but it ended with him shaking his head.

  “You’re scaring me,” I whispered. “What could be so bad that you can’t tell me?” I knew the answer but didn’t want to hear it. He killed his blood donor.

  “The human who graciously provided what I needed, did not quench my thirst,” he said, looking away from me. “I took as much as I dared without making him pass out, but it did nothing.”

  Relief flooded through me. He hadn’t killed him. “Sure it did. Your eyes are back to normal.”

  “But I’m not satisfied. I’m missing something that my body didn’t need before.” His eyes shifted to a deep red within seconds. “But I can’t ask you for it. I think it’s what I want, but…”

  Oh shit. He was talking about my blood.
My eyebrows rose and fear gripped me, but it was quickly replaced by my memory of his last bite. Desire flooded my core and my face flushed. What the hell was that about? I wasn’t a transitioning vampire anymore, and we weren’t swapping blood. He would be taking mine.

  “I’m sorry,” he croaked. “I’ll find another way. I can’t do that to you.”

  His forehead thumped against the steering wheel and his shoulders rose and fell with each deep breath. Could I give him this? Even if I could, did I want to? If I did, would his craving become worse, like a drug addict? The thought of being his blood donor did weird things to my stomach. The desire rose again, but this time my fear and anxiety pushed it away. Just as quickly, my compassion pushed back. Would it hurt to try? Maybe it wasn’t my blood he craved. Maybe he just thought it was because of our connection.

  Damn. I was such a pushover. “Maybe we should test it,” I started, “just to eliminate all the possibilities.”

  “No,” Logan stated, sitting up and taking my hand in his. “I fear I’m already addicted to you. If I give in, there will be no going back.”

  “I thought we were already past that point anyway,” I mumbled. “My life is tied to yours for eternity. What’s a little blood amongst friends?”

  “You are a precious gift.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Well don’t think too long. I might chicken out.”

  “I don’t believe you’re afraid of anything,” he countered with a chuckle.

  “Then you haven’t been paying attention. Everything scares me,” I argued. “I’m just really stupid sometimes and it makes me look brave.”

  He released my hand and leaned back in his seat. “Thank you for not freaking out. That alone relieved some of my tension.”

  “You wouldn’t leave me if I did freak out, would you?” I asked, putting voice to one of my biggest fears. If he decided to leave, I’d have nowhere to go. I certainly couldn’t go back to the palace, and my old life was not an option.

  “I could never leave you, AJ,” he replied, turning his head to look at me. “Even if you decided to hate me tomorrow, I wouldn’t abandon you.”