He turned around and stepped out of the room, pulling the door shut when he left. I stared at the door for a while after that.
When I didn’t find any solutions to my problems in the wood’s grain, I moved over to the bed and lay down. I was beat, but my mind raced.
I didn’t know how I’d do it, but I knew I needed to keep my promise to Mirko.
Eventually, I drifted off to sleep and fangs, blood, chains, and fire met me in my nightmares.
* * *
When Mirko woke me from my nightmares the next morning, it was before the sun had risen. I didn’t complain because I now understood why Jelena wanted me, and I had to do whatever I could to avoid it.
When I met Mirko in the gym—yes, Lijepa even had a gym in her lair—he told me that I would train with him from seven thirty in the morning until twelve thirty. Then I could take an hour lunch, but I only got an hour, and then the rest of the time would be spent training my powers with Lijepa until she released me for the day.
“No, bend the tips in more like this,” Mirko said, showing me how to hold my hands properly in the clawlike position I’d seen used by the vampires I’d fought. “And move your pinky out more.”
I spread my pinky away from my other fingers.
“Good,” Mirko praised. “See how your little fingers bend in like that? It’s an adaptation Pijawikas have to protect their pinkies from breaking in a fight.”
I looked at them now. I could see how that little defect could be useful when I applied force to them while in this position. “I always thought it was a glitch.”
He chuckled. “No, a much-intended evolutionary enhancement.”
“Hmmm.” I did a practice swipe at him.
“The face is a good place to make contact with, but stay away from the mouth. If your attacker bites you, they’ll take your finger clean off.”
I pounced at him and he danced back. He swept to my side and caught me in an arm bar. “Do it again, but this time sweep out with your foot.”
I repeated my attack, he moved back, and then came at me from the side again. I dropped low and stretched my leg out. He jumped over it, but I came up with an uppercut, grazing him against his jaw.
He beamed. “You’re learning. And you’ve gotten so much faster, too.”
“Well, you ticked me off. I thought I was supposed to sweep your feet out from under you. I was looking forward to dropping you on your butt.”
He laughed deep from within his throat. “So, that’s the trick? I just need to piss you off, and you’ll give me what I want.”
I huffed air out my nostrils and flew at him with a roundhouse kick, snapping my foot out at the last second. He blocked me, slid his arm around my shin, lifting me from my foot, and flung me on my back, coming down on top of me.
“You’re cute when you’re mad.”
He still had a hold on my leg so I flung it around his body, pushing him to the floor, and used my momentum to wrap my other leg around him, while grasping one of his arms and pulling it behind him.
I laughed. I didn’t know how he thought he’d get out of this one.
He lurched his free arm up and clasped his hand around my windpipe. I relaxed my legs.
He didn’t squeeze, but he kept his hand there for emphasis. “You need to be aware of where all my limbs are at all times.”
“Yeah,” I panted. He released me, and we stood up.
“I know it’s a lot to think about, but that’s why we practice. Soon, it will all feel natural.”
I bowed my head, and waited for him to advance at me this time. He did, and when I weaved away from him, his hand swung out and grazed along my hip.
It sent my heart fluttering. I turned to Mirko, my lips parted. I stared at him, fighting with myself from stepping forward and kissing him.
His pupils dilated as he stared back at me.
“Lunch is ready,” Lijepa said, stepping into the gym and then leaving.
I dropped my eyes. “Wow, twelve thirty already? That was quick.” I inhaled deep, trying to slow my heart rate.
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Mirko said, grinning at me with a knowing glint in his eye. “Let’s stretch, then you can eat.”
I followed Mirko’s movements, but I kept my eyes away from his. I was confused. I knew I still loved Jaren, but Mirko had succeeded in drawing me in to him. And what made it worse was sometimes I was furious at Mirko, and then other times I was enticed by him.
* * *
“Wow, Lijepa. You didn’t have to do all this,” I said. She had made BLTs that smelled delicious.
She smiled, and I was stunned by her beauty. “It was no trouble, dear. I like to cook. I don’t do it very often anymore, so it’s a pleasure to have company here to share it with.”
I sat down at the table and noticed she had three plates set out. She placed a BLT on each plate and then sat down after Mirko did.
“So, you guys can eat? Food, I mean.”
Mirko chuckled. “Of course we can eat. What’d you think? We sat around all day wishing we could bite your neck?”
My cheeks burned. “I didn’t know. When you think ‘vampire,’ you just don’t think they can eat.”
Lijepa finished chewing the bite she took. “Yes, we can still eat food. It doesn’t provide the nutrition or strength like it does for humans. Our bodies process it much too quickly and our metabolism burns at a much higher rate. Thus, the need for blood. We do, however, continue to eat it for the pleasure and taste.”
Ew. Thinking about drinking blood made me wish I could push my sandwich away. But my stomach growled. I’d been fighting with Mirko for the past five hours, and my appetite wouldn’t be squelched. I bit into my sandwich. It was divine. “Wow.” I wiped mayo off my lip. “This is so good.”
“Well, when you’ve lived as long as I have, you get a knack for some things. How’s your training coming along?”
“Okay. I think.” I glanced over at Mirko sitting in the chair next to me.
He finished chewing and then swallowed. “She’s coming along great. Much stronger and faster than we’d have ever predicted she could be. Which surprises me. She’s stronger than some full-blooded Pijawikas I’ve trained with.”
Lijepa regarded me for a moment before she spoke, and when she did, she sounded proud. “She’s born of one of the strongest Pijawikan lines in our history. Having the mother she does doesn’t diminish this fact. It only offers her a humanity that would have been hard to obtain otherwise.”
I sat stunned for a moment, not because of what she said about my vampire side, but because of what she said about my humanity. “So, Pijawikas are inherently evil?” I had presumed as much.
“Oh, no, dear, I wouldn’t go that far,” she said, giving me a delicate smile. “Most of it comes from their life experiences, and most of them have been raised to believe they can take what they want. It runs in the culture, and it takes something introduced to the person to change those beliefs.”
Mirko took another bite into his sandwich.
“And your father,” she said with a smile that lit up her face, “he’s the exception. Don’t be mistaken. He can be swift and steadfast in dealing justice, but he’s a fair man. Very bright, too.” He must be where her fondness for me stemmed from. “But enough of that. You need to eat up if you intend to finish before your break is over.”
I wanted to call Kaitlynn on my lunch, so I ate as fast as I could without causing my stomach to cramp.
Mirko gave me his sat phone again and had Ace put Kaitlynn on for me. I didn’t know if I should tell her about all the new details I had learned, but lying had never worked for us before now, so I told her everything.
“Wow,” Kaitlynn said on an overwhelmed breath. “So, what does this mean for you? Once you take care of this Jelena lady and we go home?”
I slumped my shoulders. “I dunno. I haven’t really thought that far ahead. But you’re right. Once my father finds out about me, will he want to get to know me, fo
rget I was born, or want to kill me?”
“Well, that lady, Lijepa, seems to think highly of him, right? Maybe she could say something to him or make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
“True, but that means she’d have to contact him and tell him about me, and I prefer to deal with one thing at a time.” I glanced up at the clock above the entry into the kitchen. I had only a few moments left. “I gotta go soon, so tell me what’s been going on with you.”
“Nothing much here. Jaren’s been minding his p’s and q’s, and Ace has been showing me around a bit.”
Lijepa came into the kitchen. She didn’t say anything, but I knew I needed to hang up. When I did, I set the sat phone on the table for Mirko to find.
Lijepa left the kitchen, so I followed her out and down a hall that led to a small room on the main floor. It was a cozy small den with soft whites and bright blues.
She sat on a sofa and patted the seat next to her. “Have a seat, dear. Let’s try to help you figure out what to do with your power. Or powers. I sense you have many of them.”
I sat with my eyes bulging. “As in more than one?” I was afraid of the one, and now she was telling me I might have many?
Lijepa patted my knee. “You have great strength, my child. As I said in the kitchen, you descended from one of the most powerful lines in the history of Pijawikas. You must embrace this strength.”
I twisted my hands together. “Can you understand where my resistance is coming from? Why I don’t want to embrace something that I feel might turn me into a monster?”
“Oh, my dear child. I do, and I won’t lie to you and tell you that embracing your Pijawikan side will not change you in ways you may not like. Many people who have changed over become someone they never would have foreseen. The power, the strength, the virtual immortality that comes with it—it does something to the mind, something to the soul, that corrupts it. So, your conflict with this is justified. However, you do not have the luxury to remain as you are.”
I took what she said as a loss. I could feel things would never be the same for me, but I still hoped they could be.
“Don’t despair, dear. You can surrender to your enemies and allow them to use you in a way that I am sure would be harmful for mankind. Or, you can embrace your Pijawikan side with your determination to remain good, and use that to uphold justice, maybe not peace because war is inevitable, but justice and freedom for all races.”
“And how exactly do I do that?”
“You have to embrace your Pijawikan side. You have to become someone the race would feel is a shame to be without.”
“Or if I embrace it, those who would have remained neutral will pick a side. And I fear it won’t be mine. I’m not supposed to be this strong, am I?”
She shook her head.
“They’ll think, ‘How is it that the melez gets such strength and power?’ They might want me dead even more, because of that,” I said.
“You’re right. Many will fall to the side that does not benefit you. But it is your job to obtain as many of them as you can. Pijawikas might be resistant to change, but we have had to adapt in order to survive and stay hidden for so long. Eventually, it will come down to surviving once again. Things are going to change, my dear, and it is up to you, if you would like to be weak during the upheaval, or be strong and help usher in the kind of change that you would like to see and live with.”
She was right. Things were going to change for me whether I wanted them to or not, like fall giving way to winter. And apparently, I was going to have a major role in this change. I could sit back and let others decide what role I would take, or I could carve it out for myself.
I decided in that moment that I wanted a choice in how things changed. And I wanted things to be the best they could be for me and those I cared for. If it meant I had to do things I was afraid of to keep Kaitlynn, Jaren, Mirko, and my mom safe, I would do those things.
I squared my shoulders. “All right. Tell me what I have to do.”
20
Until I’m Dead
Lijepa began our training by telling me about one of my powers. “It tastes similar to the chameleon, but it’s a little different, and I can’t figure out why.”
“Well, what is the chameleon power?” I asked not sure how this was supposed to help me.
“It’s not really called that. That’s what I have come to call it. The technical term is nestati, or to disappear. You should be able to hide yourself from the sight of others.”
I straightened my spine and pulled my feet up under me on the couch. “So, what does that mean? Do I change colors to match my surroundings, or what?”
Her shoulders bounced with her hearty laugh. “No, dear, you change your vibration to a pitch that is unseen by the eye. Even the Pijawikan eye.”
My jaw dropped. “That’s possible?”
She nodded.
“And you’re going to teach me this?”
“It will be difficult for you to learn, but I will do what I can to teach you.”
“Wow.” That actually sounded kind of cool. Like a superpower you only see done in the movies and think it’d be cool if you could do it in real life. And I actually could.
“But, I can’t figure out what exactly is different. It tastes different on you.”
“How so?” Maybe it was all screwed up, and I’d never be able to do it.
“Well, it’s hard to explain, but chameleon tastes salty and sharp at the back of my throat. And I taste that on you, but it has a bitter undertone that sticks to the roof of my mouth.”
I didn’t know how to interpret that, but “bitter” was never good.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, except I’ve never tasted that last part before. On anyone. I think the approach we should take is to try to train the chameleon power and hope the other part reveals itself.”
“Okay. What do I need to do?”
She tilted her head and stared at me. “I think we need to get you in control of Sanjam first.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t as excited about that one.
“Getting control of this first will strengthen any other power you have. As you probably know, every Pijawika and Zao Duh have some degree of Sanjam. And humans are more vulnerable to it than we are because their minds are weaker.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “I was able to do it to a Pijawika, though.”
“Yes, dear, that’s because you are very strong.” She grinned.
“Well, how did I even know how to do it in the first place? No one ever taught me. I saw Mirko use it twice and then I could just...do it.” I rubbed my arms. It was starting to get chilly in here. I looked out the den’s window.
“It’s snowing!” It never snowed this early in Virginia. And these were large flakes, too. “They’re the size of cotton balls.”
“Oh, yes, I get a great deal of snow up here. It’s a bit early still, so it should be melted soon if it doesn’t continue on like this much longer.”
I beamed. The way the snow fell made me happy. It seemed almost ethereal. Something heavenly in my world of chaos. A sign that there could be beauty in discomforting change.
“Here you are, dear,” Lijepa said, reaching behind the couch and pulling out a blanket. She handed it to me and tucked it in around me.
“Thanks.” I snuggled into the blanket.
“You’re welcome. Now, back to Sanjam. Have you ever heard that humans only use ten percent of their brains?”
“Yeah, and how we’re supposed to be able to do marvelous things if we were to use more of it.”
“That’s right. Well, Pijawikas use more than just the ten percent,” she said, tapping the side of her head. “This is where our powers, Sanjam, all of it, comes from.”
“Mirko said I was going through a sort of awakening. That my Pijawikan side was only showing now because I was allowing it to.”
“He’s right. And the more you allow it to come through, the more you’ll be able to do and quicker, too.”
&n
bsp; Could she feel my lingering resistance to all this? I tried to be open to it, but the fear remained deep rooted within me. Who knew what I was actually capable of? Who knew what degree of pain I could cause, intentional or not? “What kinds of powers does my dad have?”
Her teeth gleamed in the light. “He’s probably one of the strongest Pijawikas with Sanjam I’ve ever known of. I’m sure that’s where you get your strength from. He can stop an ancient Pijawika, midattack.”
That reminded me. “I stopped a mountain lion midattack once.”
Her eyes glittered. “Really?” she asked. “Tell me.”
I did.
“Yes. You are definitely Zladislov’s daughter. Some people have the power to communicate with animals and suggest or ask them to do things, which I think is what that fellow did when the lion came after you. But from what you just described, you did something different. You controlled the animal. This is rare. An animal’s brain functions differently than ours or that of a humans. Animals are a lot more stubborn and less malleable, so being able to do what you did is something very special indeed, my dear.”
I liked Lijepa. She reminded me of Kaitlynn in the way she accepted me and thought highly of me. There was no judgment from Mirko, but I felt forced to accept things from him. But with Kaitlynn and Lijepa, I felt extraordinary and a small amount of my fear about who I was flaked away. I looked forward to introducing Kaitlynn to her. She’d like Lijepa.
“Oh, look at that,” Lijepa said, glancing up at the clock. “I need to teach you something before we’re finished here.”
I was under the impression she’d taught me about a lot today.
“First things first,” she said and then put her feet up on the couch, mirroring me. “I want you to focus in on my mind like you did with Zack. I don’t want you to do anything once you’re inside there. I only want you to try to find the pathways.”
I gulped. I doubted I could do that.
“Just look at me, and try to find them.”
I looked at her and shook my hands out. I exhaled a deep breath and cleared my mind. Then, I focused on her mind and tried to reach into it the way I did with Zack’s. Nothing. “It’s blocked. It’s not open like his was.”
Descended by Blood Page 14