All of this went through my head as I stayed seated on the couch, partly due to Elias's gesture, but also because I was pretty sure I couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to. I played scenes like this dozens of times, but being in the real situation was much different. The trio and Elias appeared to be studying each other, waiting for one to make their move. Elias broke first, shifting so that he was between me and the intruders.
Apparently, something about this amused the trio because one of them started to laugh, a short, bitter-sounding bark. That same one, the smallest, reached over its head and pulled out two short swords. I stared. What the hell? Swords? Who were these guys? Ninja assassins? Maybe Summer wanted to be lead more than I'd given her credit for and she'd hired someone to take me out of the picture. Rufus could've been behind it too, though I'd gotten the feeling from him that if he was going to take revenge on me for what I'd done, he'd do it personally. I might've been a bit old for his sexual preferences, but he could still make me suffer, which is what I was afraid he wanted.
Suddenly, without any warning or signal I could see, the trio was moving, coming at Elias or me, I couldn't tell which. They moved precisely, in perfect synchronization which told me that they'd spent a long time training with each other. My mouth opened to scream, to call for help or to yell at Elias to get out of the way, which I didn't know, but all that came out was a squeak. Not that me yelling would've done any good. It probably would've just distracted Elias... except...
Elias wasn't there. I hadn't seen him move, but he had been right in front of me, shielding me, and then he was gone, but the invaders weren't coming towards me anymore. One of them was flying backwards, pulled by something I couldn't see. He hit the wall with a thud, but I barely noticed, my attention caught by the fact that the biggest of the trio was swinging something that kind of looked like a machete at Elias, who was ducking out of the way faster than humanly possible.
It was like watching someone made of liquid, each movement fluid and powerful, like the special effects that were put into science fiction or fantasy movies for vampires or elves or werewolves. When Elias's arm darted out and his fist collided with the man's face, I could hear the crack of a bone, and somehow, I doubted it was Elias's.
The man staggered back, swearing, his voice muffled in a way that told me Elias had probably broken his nose. He lunged at Elias, but Elias launched himself into the air, doing an impossible flip over the other man's back to land lightly on his feet. Elias's arm darted out and shoved the other man into the far wall. The man hit it and dropped to the ground, leaving only the medium-sized man in black. I was just about to tell Elias to let him go—if I could find my voice—when the man attacked. Elias barely even glanced his way, his elbow flashing backwards and connecting with the man's forehead.
The clock on the fireplace mantle said that less than two minutes had passed. That wasn't possible. Nothing that had just happened was possible. Had I hit my head again? Was I still dreaming? There had to be some logical explanation for what had just happened. Something. Anything.
Before I could really adjust to the fact that there were three men lying on the floor, one moaning and the other two motionless, Elias was grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards the door.
“I'm still in my pajamas.” The words just popped out of my mouth, proving just how much in shock I was. When Elias opened the door, something else clicked in my befuddled brain. “I'm not wearing shoes.”
Without a word, he scooped me up in his arms and ran to the car. Okay, I said 'ran' but it was more like 'flew.' I couldn't feel his steps hit the ground at all and we were at the car in just a couple of seconds even though we'd parked a couple of yards away. He dumped me into the passenger's seat and was then in the driver's seat before I'd even had time to take a breath.
We were on our way to the highway before I realized that he'd buckled me in too. How had he done that without me noticing? My heart was pounding and my breathing sounded harsh in my ears. This was really happening. I didn't know what it was, but whatever it was didn't seem like anything good. I stared at Elias as he turned us onto the highway. Who the hell was this guy? Special Forces? A part of my brain told me that even Special Forces wouldn't have been able to move like Elias had moved. I didn't have an explanation for anything that I'd just seen.
As much as I wanted to know, I wanted to be sure that we were safe before I started asking questions, so I didn't say anything until we'd driven for a good fifteen minutes. Although, if I was going to be completely honest, I don't think I could've said anything if I'd tried. It was all I could do to keep breathing. Finally, I'd composed myself enough to speak.
“What happened back there, Elias?”
He didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even look at me.
“What's going on? Where are we going?” I tried different questions.
Still, nothing. Now I was starting to get nervous. What could be so awful that he didn't want to tell me? I pushed myself back against the door. How far was I going to let this go? Could I really stay in the car with him until wherever it was we were going? Even though we'd slept together, I felt like I knew him less now than I had before rather than more.
“Elias, talk to me.”
“I am taking you someplace safe.”
Annoyance crept in. “Didn't you say that before?”
Elias shot me a sharp look, but I took it. At least he wasn't staring straight ahead like I wasn't even there. Annoyance was preferred over ignoring or indifference.
“Seriously, Elias, you need to tell me what the hell is going on.” I tried to make my voice as firm as I could.
“All you need to know is that I will continue to protect you.”
“Damnit, Elias!” I slammed my hand down on the dashboard and saw him jump. “I'm not a child! And I'm not as fragile as you seem to think I am! Either you trust me enough to tell me what's going on, or we're done here. I don't care if I have a whole fucking army of ninjas after me. I'd rather take them on alone than have to worry about whether or not I can trust you.”
I don't know if it was me swearing, hitting the dashboard or what I said, but I saw the mask over Elias's face ripple, then crack.
“All right.” The car slowed as he pulled onto the shoulder and turned on the blinkers. He turned in his seat so that he was facing me and I could see the tension etched in his face. “I will tell you the truth, all of it, and then you may decide what it is you wish to do.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
My heart was pounding so loudly that I was sure Elias could hear it. I twisted my fingers together as I waited for him to start.
“I—I...”
I couldn't believe it. Elias was at a loss for words. I hadn't thought that was possible.
He stared down at his hands. “I do not know how to begin this.”
My anxiety went up a notch. This was going to be something huge. “Usually you start with what came first.” I wasn't being intentionally snarky, it just came out that way.
Fortunately, Elias didn't seem to notice. Instead, there was a look of concentration on his face as he began his story. “On December fourteenth of seventeen hundred, eighty-two, the British evacuated Charleston, South Carolina. Rather than return to England, an English soldier named William Bane defected, taking his American-born wife and their two young children out West where they would travel along the far side of the Mississippi River, eventually settling in present-day St. Louis.
“The family would add two more daughters in the following years. Over the next two decades, their children married well, all three girls to well-respected members of the community who would give them a total of thirteen children between them. William's son enjoyed two years with his wife, Elizabeth, before she passed in childbirth, their infant daughter with her.
Devastated by the loss, he accepted the offer of his friends Meriwether and William to accompany them on their exploration of the western portion of this land. It was upon his return to St. Louis in eighteen hundred an
d six, at the age of twenty-four, that he would meet a woman who would change his life forever.”
I was trying very hard to be patient. I wanted to know what any of this history lesson had to do with what was happening now. I didn't need a whole family tree.
“Her name was Annalisa Royce, or at least that was the name she had bestowed upon herself. She was beautiful, though in a way much different than his wife had been. She had grown up in the English courts under the reign of Henry the Eighth.”
I frowned. I wasn't a history expert, but I was pretty sure that there were a couple of hundred years between Henry the Eighth and Lewis and Clark. Elias looked up at me and I could see that he was reading the skepticism on my face. A hint of a smile played at his lips, but it was a sad smile.
“The young man also had doubts regarding Annalisa's story, but he had seen many wondrous things in his travels so he was not quick to dismiss her claims. When she explained to him how this was possible, rather than recoiling in disgust and fear, he was intrigued. To never again worry about losing someone to sickness or old age, he thought it a blessing. It would not be until much later that he would see it for the curse it truly was, watching everyone around him grow old and die for the answer to the problem of mortality was not one to be shared on a whim.”
My chest was tightening again. I had a very bad feeling about where this story was going and I didn't want to hear the end because I knew that nothing good would come of it. Still, I didn't stop him. I had to hear it.
“Just as the new year dawned, Annalisa did as her young man asked and made him as she was,” Elias took a deep breath. “A vampire. A creature of night who feeds on the blood of the living and cannot bear the touch of the sun.”
I started to shake my head. This couldn't be happening.
“I was that young man, Teal.” The expression on his face was earnest. “I was born in seventeen hundred, eighty-two, only son to William and Elizabeth Bane.”
“That's not possible,” I whispered.
“I have seen every American president, though I do not remember all of them very well. I fought for the Union army in the now-called Civil War. I was a spy for the Allies in the first World War, and flew for the British in the second. I helped smuggle slaves to freedom in the eighteen hundreds and ran a New Orleans speakeasy in the nineteen twenties.” Elias's eyes were lit with a blazing light. “I supported the Civil Rights movement, and helped tear down the Berlin Wall. Over two hundred years spent all around the world. I have seen so much, done so much.”
I felt like I was going to pass out and realized that I'd quit breathing. I sucked in air and some of the gray cleared.
“I know what you must think of me,” he said. “You must believe that I am mad, but let me assure you that I speak the truth.” He pulled up his top lip and I could see them now, two sharp teeth descending over his other ones.
Now I was sure I was going to pass out, if, of course, I wasn't already unconscious. That would be a more logical explanation than what I was seeing. I could still be in the hospital after my attack, my comatose mind creating this elaborate fantasy to keep me from realizing that I was dying. Or maybe all of that had been real and I was just unconscious from falling asleep outside in the snow, making only this last bit a mind trick. After all, that's when the really crazy stuff had started.
Everything else was possible. That could be it. I hadn't woken up and had sex with Elias. No super-stealth ninjas had broken in, and Elias hadn't moved with some sort of other-worldly speed and strength. All of that had come from my attraction to him and too many fantasy books over the past few weeks.
Elias was still talking. “Before you become afraid, please believe that I am no monster. I do not drink from unwilling humans, only those who offer and animals when I have no human blood available. I do not even use blood banks, and the only humans I have ever killed have been as a soldier in battle.”
“Where do you...” I couldn't quite finish the question, unable to believe I was even asking it.
He had an idea of where I was going with my inquiry. “I generally purchase the animal blood from a local butcher. Most cities have at least one who is aware of the vampire population and caters to those of us who wish to curtail our intake of human blood.” He paused, then continued. “As for the humans, there are places in most large cities where the presence of vampires is not looked upon as unwanted or strange.
“Certain clubs are run by vampires to welcome in humans who wish to be part of our world. Some are seeking thrills and danger, yet others believe they can save us. Some wish to become a vampire, though many of those have been mislead by entertainment as to our true nature.”
I needed some fresh air or I was going to throw up. I cracked open the window and took a deep breath of the cold early morning air. It helped clear my head. I was at one of several crossroads I now saw in my very near future. This one, I thought, would be the biggest. I could either believe him or not. Common sense told me that this was crazy, that there was no way vampires really existed. Logic, however, said that everything Elias had told me so far fit with what I'd seen. But, more than that, there was something deep in my bones that resonated with what he was saying, as if I'd always known it to be true but was only just now realizing it.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Does that mean it's not this uncontrollable hunger like in the books?”
Elias shook his head, a cautious hope in his eyes. I could tell that he very much wanted to accept that I believed him, but that he was afraid to get his hopes too high. “Not at all. It is very controllable, not much stronger than the human desire for food or drink. Vampires who kill and claim lack of impulse control are lying. They simply do not wish to control themselves. Many like that believe themselves to be more evolved than humans, somehow more worthy of life.”
Well, that was good to know. At least I didn't have to worry about him suddenly biting me because he couldn't keep his fangs to himself.
“The older a vampire is, the longer they are able to go without drinking. Unless...” He looked away, as if embarrassed.
“Unless what?” I pressed, curious.
He didn't turn back, but he did answer my question. “A vampire is created with all of the power that they will ever have. I do not understand where it comes from or how it manifests, only that a two decades old vampire may be more powerful than a centuries old vampire. The stronger the vampire, the less blood is needed to appear more... human.” He brushed his fingers over his cheeks. “Do not ask me how drinking the blood allows it into our circulatory systems. I do not know, only that it can pass into our veins. To do this, we will our hearts to beat.”
My eyes widened. I hadn't even thought of that. I'd felt his heartbeat before. When we'd been in bed together. Shit. I'd fucked a vampire. I pushed the thought aside. That was the least of my problems.
“Weaker vampires must concentrate, and some only manage a few beats every hour. Their skin is deathly white, their body less supple. It is these vampires who are usually responsible for the rumors of our kind as they are more easily captured and killed.” He looked out the window. “More powerful vampires, however, with some practice, are able to keep their hearts beating. Most of the blood is absorbed into the tissues and gives us greater speed, strength and gracefulness. What is left over is circulated through our bodies, giving our skin color and warmth. The more often we drink, or the greater amount at once, the longer we can maintain our human-like appearance.”
“That's why you don't feel cold.” I suddenly understood. The memory of his body against mine suddenly popped into my head, and with it, another realization. “And that's how you can have sex.” I blurted the words out, then flushed.
Elias glanced at me then, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Yes, the ability to keep my heart going at all times allows my body to have the natural reactions to stimuli.”
“Well that's one way to put it,” I muttered. My ears were burning.
Elias's finger brushed over the
back of my hand and I jumped, but didn't pull away. The intensity of his gaze had changed and my stomach clenched.
“There are... advantages, to being what I am.”
His voice was low and I knew he wasn't talking about the whole staying young and handsome forever part of being a vampire. “Yes?” I could barely get the word out.
He started to speak, but stopped as he glanced out of the window behind me. “The sun.”
I blinked. Had I misunderstood something? Then I followed his gaze and realized I could see the faintest tinge of pink on the horizon. Vampire. Sun. Not good.
“We must go now.” He straightened.
While I was really curious about what he had been going to say, I completely understood the need to get going. Unless he just didn't want me to see him glittery, I had a feeling that the sun wasn't exactly healthy for him. I waited until we were back on the road again before asking that question.
“So do you like burst into flames in the sunlight or something like that?”
He shot me a surprised look. “Not exactly,” he answered. “Some writers have picked up on bits of truth and then added their own fiction to it. We cannot be in direct sunlight or our skin quickly turns red, then blisters, then chars. It is similar to the stages a human body goes through when exposed to fire, though our bodies do not actually catch on fire from sunlight. The process is fast enough that more than a few minutes with direct exposure will kill us. Tinted glass can slow the process to nearly fifteen or twenty minutes, though it would be excruciating.”
I wondered if the car windows were tinted.
“Indirect light, such as would lighten the world around us will weaken me, but it cannot kill me by itself. Less powerful vampires are sapped of their strength much more quickly and, often, are caught out in the open without cover. If we are inside a building, then we feel no ill effects from the sun.”
“You guys heal fast, though, right?”
Elias nodded. “The more powerful the vampire, the faster they heal. Also, healing is sped up proportional to the amount of blood being consumed and pumped through the veins.”
MARKED (Hunter Awakened) Page 15