Evanescence (Black Rose #1)

by R. J. Rogue

  I shrug and stand to my feet.

  "We're vampires, remember?"

  Mike nods with a smirk, loses his grip and falls to the water below.

  Mission Accomplished.

  My family begins to clap.

  "Impressive! Very entertaining," father exclaims. "It was—theatrical!"

  "You deserved it brother," says Bianca.

  "You're not upset I let him fall?" I ask.

  Bianca looks over the edge of the cliff, then shakes her head.

  "Nope. He'll be fine with his little alone time before he gets back up here."

  "You're doing better than Mike," says my mother. "You're a natural."

  I shake my head smiling.

  "I just--."

  Essence kisses my cheek.

  "Great job, Evan. I knew you could do it."

  I blush.

  "Think he'll be okay?" Sarah asks.

  "Mike is fine," says Bianca

  "What'd you like me to do next?" I ask earnestly. "Hopefully, it will be on land this time. The water is getting a bit old."

  "That was my final test," he responds. "I would teach you how to hunt, but that would be unnecessary.

  I feel slightly disappointed.

  "...Oh."

  Mike makes it back up the cliff.

  "Ah, yes, there he is!" my father says. "In one piece."

  Mike manages a smile. He is soaked to the bone, but apparently not cold.

  "You won, Ev," he says shaking my hand. "You finally beat me."

  I return a smile.

  "Well, you didn't exactly make it easy."

  "I figured if you are as strong as they say you are, then I should expect to lose."

  "You didn't just lose, Michael" Abel says.

  "You got owned," Essence jokes.

  We join in laughter.

  "What about killing? Defending himself. Fighting." a voice calls.

  Cedric.

  "You gonna' teach him that?" he asks as his eyes sting mine.

  "No, Evan wouldn't have to kill anyone," father responds. "He has no enemies. Besides, we don't want to force his transformation. We want it to come naturally. The correct way. That incident in school should have been a reminder to you, if Evan gets overwhelmed, emotionally, it can trigger his transformation."

  "You never know who's an enemy nowadays. It's unpredictable. He wouldn't be ready, so why not force his change now, by teaching him, while we are all here together, which would promise safety? Why leave him vulnerable?"

  "Because he's is not ready and apparently his body isn't either. When it is ready, he will change. Until then we will continue to watch over him."

  "Watch over him? I'm sick and tired of babysitting!"

  "I didn't ask you to," I say.

  "It is for the best son," father says to me.

  "Besides," Cedric continues. "When the time comes, we'll see how strong he can fight the thirst. Won't be able to be around her for a bit. Not without wanting to kill her."

  "Cedric!" Valencia calls. "You'll frighten her."

  Essence clasps her hand into mind, intertwining our fingers. It hurts.

  "I'm just being honest," Cedric says. "She has a right to know what to expect right, just as Evan must as well."

  "Yes, but you don't have to be so rude about it," Bianca says as Mike places hands on her shoulders to keep her back.

  "She's right, Cedric," Abel agrees. "There's a way to explaining things just as there's a time and a place for it."

  "So, why not now? While we're all here?!" he yells back.

  "Because now is not the time. As the Dracula, I will--"

  "You are not the Dracula," Cedric says pronouncing each word harshly. "And I think it's a perfect time. Essence." He turns to face her. "The smell of you, will be irresistible. He'll want to kill you, feed on you, rip you apart."

  "Cedric,” father calls. Essence tightens her grip.

  "All he'll be able to eat or drink," Cedric ignores, "Are the humans. Like you. Your friends. Your family. Maybe the family dog if he isn't full by then."

  "CEDRIC," father calls again. He continues to ignore.

  "Tell him, Mike," he says. We all turn to him. "Why don't you and Bianca tell Evan how we had to keep chasing you down because you couldn't resist the scent of your grandmother."

  I think about the time I felt the same towards Sarah when she was asleep on the couch. I cringe and shake my head. Mike’s face hugs the ground.

  "I'm sorry," he murmurs to himself.

  "Due to evolution," Cedric continues, "we're able to go into sunlight, but, that doesn't weaken the beast. Nope. Not anymore. Unfortunately, the thirst becomes this unavoidable frenzy because as the sun shines across the sky of this oh so beautiful world, it heats the blood of the humans. The scent of them fills the air like barbeque in the summer.”

  He nods.

  "Lucky for you we stay on this cliff and drink watered down blood packets just so we won't rip you precious humans apart…Like we couldn't if it were a rainy day or any other. You're far luckier than other places that are infested with our species."

  "Cedric!" father calls with the base of his voice.

  Cedric looks over at father then turns back to Essence.

  Everyone remains silent, Cedric smiles, then shrugs.

  "As I said. You sure you don't want to teach him everything? Kaius? Er, I'm sorry, uncle? Like what really happens when he dies?" he says. Father turns his head away.

  "What really happens? What is he talking about?" I ask.

  Everyone shies away a bit and doesn't respond.

  "I am a vampire right?"

  "Yes, of course you are," my father answers.

  "Then what is he talking about?"

  "You see what you've done, Cedric!" Bianca yells. Mike pulls her back again. Cedric smirks and leans against the red doors of the mansion.

  "He has a right to know," he responds, crossing his arms.

  "Yes, and we would have told him when it was the right time," my mother says.

  "Now, we don't have much of a choice do we?" Abel jumps in.

  "I guess not," Sarah says.

  "Wait, wait, what is everyone talking about?" I ask again.

  "Well, it would have been better to tell him a bit later," my father says.

  "But then again if he would have changed…" says my mother.

  "Then we would not have been able to tell him at all," Bianca finishes.

  "HEY!" I yell. "I'm standing right here."

  They stand quiet and listen.

  "What is it that you have to tell me?"

  My mother turns to father and nods. He steps forward.

  "Evan, when you die," he says carefully. "Everything you have known or experienced in your human life will be forgotten like…an amnesia."

  "What? Why? I don't want that," I tell them. "I'd like to keep my memories, thanks."

  "I'm afraid it's not in our control," he says. "It's like, some sort of defense mechanism we have yet to understand. It normally isn't such a big deal because usually, the awakening happens at a very young age, but for you, it would be more drastic seeing how you are indeed sixteen years old…Sixteen years to be deleted."

  My heart leaps into my throat and goosebumps populates my arms. Sixteen years of my life will be deleted from memory.

  "No," I say. "Not again. I’ve already forgotten once…That can’t be right. Mike remembers everything.”

  "Sweetie," my mother says placing her hands on my cheeks to hold my face. "Mike was bitten. It is different for him and other humans that are bitten."

  "Then if that's the case, since I'm still human, bite me now," I look to them. "Bite me before I change so I won't forget."

  "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, nephew," Abel interrupts.

  "Because you are born to be a vampire, you already have vampire blood," my father says. "It is mixed with your human blood. Biting you will do nothing."

  My head hangs to the floor.

  "But…That's not f
air," I say.

  "You want to know the worse part, Evan," Cedric says. "You'll forget everyone."

  Everyone.

  "Everyone like Sarah," he says with a smirk.

  I look over at my step-mother who refrains from looking at me.

  "You'll even forget the one person you care about and love," he continues.

  No. I place my arms around Essence and squeeze. He nods.

  "Yes, your curly red-head, Essence LaRoux."

  Not only will I become a vampire, but I will forget my human life. My memories. Memories that make me, ME. I will forget sixteen years of my life. I will forget Sarah. Worst of all, I will forget Essence.

  "All that would be remembered," my father says, "is the vampire within you. Everything human, will be forgotten. You will remember us, your family, including Mike because of what he is now. You will also remember your history and your training. Maybe not the happenings of it, but you will know what you have learned today. It will be like second nature to you. As easy as breathing."

  "Evan," Essence says to me silently. "What does that mean about us?"

  I shake my head.

  "Don't listen to them," I tell her.

  "Kaius," Sarah says. "You mind if I…"

  "Sure, go on ahead, Sarah."

  She nods.

  "Evan," she approaches me. "I knew this day would come. I've waited for it. I knew one day you would also forget about me. About everything we've been through."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

  "I didn't want to distract you. It was not the time. So, I made you keep a diary and write."

  It makes sense.

  "So, that's why you were so firm with me writing every day? So, when I do forget, it would help me remember?"

  "Yes," she answers, "and no."

  "And no?"

  "When you forget, it will be as though it never happened. There's no guarantee you will even believe what you've written. You can read it all you want, but you won't remember. You won't even have those feelings you had when you wrote those recollections. It will just be words on paper, but for me, I will still have you in my heart as though you passed on, yet I know when I visit, you'll be right here."

  Essence coils herself around my arm and places her forehead against it.

  "Everything. Everything will be gone. My school. You. Essence and the feelings that come with it."

  "I'm sorry, Evan," Sarah says, "we tried our best."

  I nod

  "Is there anything else I need to know? Please, tell me now."

  "Ah yes," Cedric interferes. "Not to spoil the moment."

  "Haven't you done enough?" Mike says.

  "Not quite," he responds. "I'm doing more for him than all of you. I'm actually helping him prepare aren't I? Aren't I Evan?!”

  "What more could you possibly want him to know?" Bianca asks.

  "Just one last thing that I believe to be important," he says. "How to fight."

  My father shakes his head.

  "I have made my decision and it is final. No more of this, Cedric," he commands. "I will not teach him to fight."

  Cedric shook his head.

  He laughs.

  "Then allow me," he says as he walks up to me.

  My eyes lock into his which glow red.

  "Cedric no!" my father yells.

  He strikes my face and Essence falls to the side. The blow is the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life. I feel bones in my face shift and a flash of white light blinds me. I tumble to the edge of the cliff and lay still, fighting the blow.

  I clench my fists, full of grass, and get on my hands and knees.

  "Cedric," I say as he stands above me.

  A cold sensation spreads across my body; freezing. I look into my palms, then flip them over. Pale, and my mark appears, but it glows of red and orange. My mouth aches and pains and my tongue cuts across them.

  Am I changing?

  Each breath is as loud as a gavel slam. I stand to my feet, and Cedric begins to back away, but his face held fear. Everyone does the same.

  "His eyes, his mark," mother says.

  They all turn to father as he grips onto his necklace. One by one, they take a knee and bow their heads, placing a fist against their cold, still heart, their clans marks exposed. Sarah, Essence, and Cedric remain standing. My father hisses at them and they stand to their feet. Not one of them look me in the face. He then turns to me and stares with a worry across his face. Cedric heads back into the mansion, keeping his eyes upon me until the doors close. I fall, but catch myself on the ground.

  "I'm alright," I say, though no one had asked. "I thought I was changing." Essence joins my side and helps me to my feet.

  "That will be all for today. Everyone inside," he commands as he studies me. By everyone, I had assumed he doesn't mean myself, Essence, and Sarah. Without a word they listen. Bianca looks back at me, but I can't read her expression. Mike is also unreadable.

  "Come back soon, Evan" my father says. He then heads back into the mansion and closes the big red doors. No goodbye. No good job. Just leaves.

  "Are you okay, Evan? Let me see," Essence says as she examines my face moving it here and there.

  "We must go now," Sarah says.

  "What's the problem?" I ask.

  "Nothing. It's just time to leave."

  Why is everyone acting so strange? Essence puts her hand into mine and we head back to the car.

  ~

  The car ride back is quiet. I can't help but think about the tests and more importantly, what Cedric had said about me forgetting everything. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse. I was starting to look forward to becoming a vampire because I learned about who I am and where I came from. I would never reject that, but now, things have changed and I have no choice, but to keep moving forward. The two things I have to look forward to: dying, and forgetting who Sarah and Essence are.

  Essence stares out of the window. She hasn't said a word since we got in the car. Sarah is focused on the road and has not said a word neither. What's going through her head? Why is everyone making me feel as though I had done something wrong? I just did what I was asked and it was Cedric who started all of this. Not the other way around. We pull into Essence's driveway.

  "Goodnight, Essence," Sarah says to her.

  "Goodnight, Ms. Foster."

  We step out of the car and head up her front steps.

  "I'm sorry about today," I tell her. Her face hugs the floor. She shakes her head then looks into my eyes.

  "It's not your fault. We went for answers and we got them."

  "Yeah," I nod. "Not the answers I expected.

  She cups her hand to my cheek. I place my hand above hers and press it more firmly against my cheek.

  "You look so sad."

  "I have a reason to be," I respond almost choking.

  "I'm here for you, Evan," she says.

  "Until I forget who you are."

  She stands silent for a moment.

  "No. Even then, I'll still be there."

  I kiss her forehead, then we wrap our arms around each other listening to the rain.

  "I'll see you tomorrow?"

  "Yes," I smile. "We'll make it special."

  "Special?"

  "Yes," I respond. "Special."

  She hugs me one last time before letting go. She places her hands on the doorknob and stops.

  "Goodnight, Evan.”

  "Goodnight, Essence."

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Bonding

  This morning was the first time in a while that I received a text from Mike. He went home to his grandmother, who missed him, but apparently the happiness was short lived when he broke the news that he wasn't moving and staying in Utica. I can only imagine what his parents are going to say, especially his mother, when he lays it on them.

  The best talks I've had with my family were with Mike and Bianca, and I can honestly say they look great together. At least now I understand why Bianca always acted a c
ertain way around me. Now my family awaits my transformation, but I wish it could be postponed. I can't say I wouldn't want any of this to happen to me, because I have to accept who I am and not who I had originally believed I was. It's only right.

  "Go again, Evan you're really getting the hang of this!" Essence exclaims.

  "Alright, here I go!"

  I shift into position, crouching down to the ground in a track stance. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and start to run as fast as a bullet out of a gun. A tree approaches. I leap up half of its body and climb, then leap to the next and climb, then repeat once more onto another tree. When I get to the very top, I press my foot onto a branch and become suspended in the air with my arms outstretched as I back flip. I toss my head back and Essence gazes into my eyes. I smirk and tuck into a ball for a finish. When my feet plant on the ground, I bow. She claps.

  "You make it look so – easy. I feel like I can do it, but I know I can't."

  "Yeah? Guess I'm loving it a bit too much myself," I smile. "It is getting easier."

  But then that can also mean I'm getting closer to dying. Forgetting. I walk over and stand before her as she sits on a rock. She has on denim shorts and a fitted t-shirt covering her model shaped body. Never seen this much of her flawless skin before. My shirt, shoes, and socks are somewhere around, but my shorts are comfortable.

  "So that's what's under your shirt," she says grinning and hugging herself.

  I look down at my body and blush.

  "You like?"

  "I love."

  "My love," I say pressing my lips against hers. She holds my face and our lips dance beneath the trees.

  Her surprise.

  "Let me show you something," I say taking her hand to follow me. She grabs her violin.

  "Where are we going?" She asks.

  "You'll see."

  I walk her down a path and to the sands of the beach. I watch as a smile spreads across her lips.

  Out of sand and wood, I made a circular pit. Five steps down and into the sand, is a table for two with two chairs. Hand-picked blue and lavender flowers are around the perimeter and in between each vase of flowers are small white candles pressed into the sand. Each candle sits inside a glass bulb. The sun’s departure is near. Timing was never more perfect and on my side.

  "Evan, this is beautiful!" She exclaims, turning to me. "I don't know what to say, honestly." She then jumps into my arms.