“Um… excuse me,” I said, as I approached him.
“Yes ma’am?” the gray-haired gentleman said.
I spied his name badge.
“George, I was wondering, would you be so kind as to escort me to my car?”
“Is there something wrong, ma’am?” he said, instantly on guard.
“Oh no…” I stammered. “It’s my tire. I think it’s flat. Can you look at it to see if it might need some air?”
The old man straightened his shoulders and pulled down his jacket. “Why of course young lady.”
He motioned for me to lead the way.
The guard made small talk about the importance of car care and how he always had to remind his granddaughter to check her oil as we walked towards my car. I claimed complete ignorance and promised to have my dad give me some lessons on basics while I scanned the parking lot.
He examined the tire and made mention that it was a good thing I asked for his help. The tire was low on air and he directed me to go straight over to the Gas-n-Go the next block over.
I gave him the sweetest smile I could, promised to get air immediately, got into my car and hit the lock switch. My heart was pounding so fast it made my hands shake. Luckily, the guard didn’t notice.
I drove out of the parking lot as instructed, firmly grasping the steering wheel so my hands would stop trembling. Unsure of where to drive, I headed towards the highway.
I could feel Phil was somewhere close by because the hunger feelings were back, but I wasn’t sure which car was his. In my side-view mirror, I saw the familiar shape of Nicholas’ black Chrysler and watched him pull directly behind me. I felt relieved to know he was nearby.
The crooked road required all of my attention to traverse, my concern staying in well-populated areas. I felt Phil’s feelings come and go and my nerves responded accordingly. Then I received another text.
- He’s following you. Go ahead and go home now so you’ll be safe. I’ll deal with him.
I slammed my phone closed in frustration. Go home? Was he insane?
Incensed, I reopened my phone and dialed his number.
“Are you crazy?” I yelled as soon as Nicholas answered.
“It’s the only way I can get him away from you where you’ll be safe,” he said with a tense voice.
“I’m not leading him straight to my house!”
“It won’t matter. I plan to deal with him tonight anyway,” he said, determined.
“No. Find another way.”
Nicholas let out a huge sigh. Through the phone, I couldn’t sense anything, so I had to pay attention to his voice inflection to know what he was feeling. I didn’t want to anger him, but I wasn’t going to let him put my family in jeopardy.
“Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m worried about my family!” I barked, irritated he didn’t consider their safety.
“Fine, let me think.” He exhaled sharply and paused. “Do you know where the tunnel is over off of Ravine?”
“Yes.”
“Park in the middle of that tunnel, so he’ll come to you. Just crack your window when he approaches. But stay in your car and leave it running. I’ll only be a minute.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked, my heart beating faster.
“I’m going to park above the tunnel and take care of him when he leaves.”
Take care of him meant killing him and I hadn’t even confirmed he was a vampire yet. I couldn’t let Nicholas murder him arbitrarily.
“You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?”
“Julia, he’s a vampire,” he said, his voice laced with annoyance.
“But he’s my friend.”
“And wants to suck your blood. I need to take care of him.”
There was emotional finality in his voice I couldn’t argue with. If I was to stop a needless murder, I needed to come at it from a logical angle.
“Well, then answer me this, can a vampire choose to be good and not kill humans?”
Nicholas took longer than I wanted to answer. The silence lingered for ever.
“Yes, but it’s rare.”
“Okay, so before you eliminate him, can we see first? Please?”
Nicholas took a deep breath and I crossed my fingers.
“I’ll talk to him,” he said reluctantly. “But if he tries to leave, I can’t promise anything.”
I didn’t have to read his emotions to know I frustrated him to no end but knew we needed to at least try. I was sure, with my encouragement, Phil could be good. Becoming a vampire couldn’t have changed him that much.
“Okay. How will I know when it’s time to drive away?” I asked, feeling high from the adrenaline surging through my veins.
“I’ll send you a text message.”
“Okay,” I said, my breath quickening. “Wait, what type of car is he driving?”
“He’s not. He’s flying.”
“Flying?”
“Yes… I’ll explain later, just get to the tunnel and be ready to act.”
“What if something goes wrong?”
“Honk your horn, but whatever you do, don’t open the door,” he said, his words giving me courage
I hung up.
Nicholas’ Chrysler abruptly turned left, as I continued straight towards the underpass, his car disappearing into the black forest. I figured he’d turned off his headlights to drive stealth again. With white knuckles, I concentrated on the winding mountain road with growing consternation, convinced I’d crash if I attempted to peer into the night sky. The dark tunnel seemed to swallow me whole as I parked inside to wait.
Even though Nicholas told me not to, I shut off my engine. The only excuse I could think up was car trouble. I cautiously looked around and waited for Phil to walk up to my car. Something rapped on the glass of my window and I jumped, letting out a squeal in surprise.
“Sorry to startle you,” he whispered. “Having car problems?”
Close up and without a hood over his hair, I got my first good look at Phil’s transformation. Every inch of his skin was flawless and translucent and his deep, dark, majestic eyes danced with excitement and power. White perfect teeth glinted in the night, as his smile beckoned me to trust him.
“Um… yes,” I said, completely mesmerized by his angelic beauty and terrified at the same time. He was taking the bait without hardly any effort on my part.
“Well then why don’t you come out and I’ll take a look at it for you?”
He tried the door handle.
“Um… that’s okay. I’ve called someone. They’re coming to help me. They should be here any minute,” I stammered, grateful I’d locked it earlier.
He studied me suspiciously, his dark eyes pulling at me, trying to hypnotize me.
“Parker, please… I just want to talk to you.”
“No,” I said, shaking off the spell. “I can hear you from here. Just tell me what you want to say.”
“Fine…”
He shifted closer to the front of my car and leaned against the side of my hood. With his head cocked to the side, he watched me, analyzing every angle.
“I’m curious,” he finally asked with a soft and golden voice. “How do you know about us?”
“I just know,” I said, not thinking of a better excuse.
I kicked myself for accidentally revealing I knew his secret earlier.
He shot me another seductive grin but unknown to him, his aching thirst washed over me, instead making me nervous.
“Oh I don’t think so…” he said with a scandalous smirk, eyes alive “…because if you did…”
His penetrating gaze of desire caused my heart to erupt in a fury. He wanted me and it wasn’t just for my blood.
“What do you mean?” I asked. My voice cracked. I struggled to shake off his invisible advances.
“I wish you’d come out of the car, so I could show you…” He flashed another mischievous flirty grin, “… stuff that would blow your mind. I’m not all b
ad, honest.”
From nowhere, I felt an overwhelming desire to get out of the car, like an unseen hand pulled mine to turn the handle. I had to break eye contact in order to regain my senses.
“I’m staying in here,” I choked out, unsure how much longer I could spurn his requests. “I don’t believe you.”
It hurt to resist him, like when all you want to do is sleep, but can’t and have to force your eyelids to stay open. I had my hand on the lever ready to pull when he moved away from my car. He turned to scan the front opening of the tunnel and then the back.
“You little sneak…” he seethed. He glared at me through squinted eyes, his face instantly stony and cold. “This isn’t over.”
He disappeared.
Panicked, I picked up my phone, flipped it open to find I had no service. I turned the ignition key and put my car into reverse. Once outside the tunnel, the service returned. The phone vibrated with a message.
- Leave now
Was this message intended for earlier? I didn’t care. I threw the car into drive, and headed home. It was the only place truly safe from any vampire and suddenly where wanted to be. I forced myself to concentrate in order to keep my car on the road as I drove. Did he find Phil? Were they fighting? I flinched and refused to think the worst.
Phil’s amorous feelings lingered and grabbed my inner being as I concentrated on the road. I tried to shake it off, but a part of me couldn’t help but enjoy the attention. Any time anyone had feelings like that for me in the past, it left me feeling dirty, but with Phil, it was different, sexy even. I scolded myself for indulging a second thought.
Nicholas is the one for you, not Phil. Are you crazy?
I wondered what Phil actually wanted to show me, if he even intended to show me anything other than how tasty of a snack I’d be. But I might never know if he didn’t survive tonight for some reason.
I looked at my phone again to ensure I had reception wishing for an update.
Call me!
As I approached my home, I felt the knot in my stomach tighten. What if Phil had eluded Nicholas and flew above me, just out of the reach of my powers? The thought made me scared and elated all at the same time.
I parked closer to the front of the house than normal. Before shutting off my car, I looked up into the sky. All I saw was stars and a few wispy clouds. My laughter bubbled to the surface and I sat amazed for thinking somehow I was safe in this little tin can. The front door was my beacon of safety.
I quickly grabbed my things and sprinted across the lawn. But just as I was about to reach the porch, my phone rang. The distraction caused my foot to snag on the wooden step and I sprawled forward with both hands, dropping everything on the ground. Ignoring the searing pain in my palms, I scrambled to collect my stuff, threw open the door and went inside. When I spun around to shut it, I glanced back at my car and thought I saw Phil crouched next to it. When I took a double take, no one was there. My phone rang again.
“Is that you, Julia?” Dad called from his office.
“Yes,” I said, trying to keep my tone from coming out in a high-pitched breathless frenzy.
I glanced at the phone and flipped it open.
“Hold on,” I whispered and held the phone at my side.
“What’s all that racket?” he asked, his voice closer than a second ago.
“Sorry,” I said and turned towards him, forcing a smile. I tried to act natural as he joined me in the hallway. “I tripped outside and fell. That’s all.”
My dad furrowed his brow.
“Are you feeling okay? Your head’s all sweaty.”
“It is?” I reached up and smoothed my damp bangs away from my forehead. “I feel fine. But my ice cream is melting.” I moved towards the kitchen and tried not to limp.
“Try to be more careful. You don’t want to re-injure your ankle,” he said behind me.
I felt his hesitation, so I stuffed the soft ice cream in the freezer and headed for the stairs. Halfway up, I heard the wheels on his office chair squeak as they rolled against the floor.
Whew.
“Sorry about that,” I said into the phone and softly closed my door.
“Everything okay?” Nicholas asked.
“You called just as I was coming in the house. My dad wanted to talk to me first,” I said nonchalantly. “So what happened?”
“He got away,” he said in a low and angry tone. “Why didn’t you drive when I texted you?”
“I didn’t get it… until later. I didn’t have reception in the tunnel.”
“You didn’t get it?” he asked rhetorically, letting out a huff. “Well, we have bigger problems now,”
“What do you mean?”
“He saw me, so my cover’s blown. And, he knows you know what he is and that we are working together. ”
I sensed the danger in his voice, but I didn’t feel threatened. Vampire or not, Phil was still my friend. I knew he didn’t want to kill me.
“…what did he want anyway?”
I fumbled for an answer. I didn’t want to tell him Phil wanted me wanted me and that he almost got me out of my car against my will.
“Well...” I laughed nervously. “He’s curious how I know about vampires and he’s enamored with his new powers. But mostly, he just tried to get me out of the car.”
Nicholas inhaled and exhaled sharply. I didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing. Then he chuckled.
“Good thing you didn’t. He is an interesting one. When you said he was in an accident, what happened?”
I explained everything that went down that night, from the shifty people in the crowd, to the change in Phil’s demeanor at the hospital.
“Phil was never meant to be sired,” Nicholas said in revelation. “Maybe he is working alone.”
“Is this good?”
“I’m not sure yet. Vampires don’t let their new sires wander around unsupervised. It’s not smart. They cause problems….”
“But even still, he’s targeted you for some reason and if he goes and tells the others about us, we won’t be safe.”
I gulped.
“We need to talk privately,” he continued.
“We do?”
I gulped again.
“Are you free tomorrow?”
“Yes?” My heart fluttered in anticipation of what he was going to say.
“Be ready at eight tomorrow morning and I’ll come pick you up. Don’t tell anyone you’ll be with me.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t leave your house tonight,” he said firmly. “I need to go. Have a good night and don’t worry. We’ll figure this out tomorrow.”
He hung up.
I closed my phone and swooned, holding it with both hands gently to my chest. My heart flittered in elation. Nicholas and I were actually going to spend time together alone. I flung myself on my bed and began to plan what I was going to wear.
. . .
15 – COMPLETE
My first order of business for the day was figuring out how to manipulate my dad into ungrounding me. Missing a dance was one thing, a date with Nicholas was entirely another. After playing every possibly scenario in my head, I discovered my safest bet was to ask if I could go and hope he was in a good mood.
My next big problem was figuring out what to wear. Too embarrassed to text for fear I was making a bigger deal of this get-together than I should, I ended up putting on jeans and a tee-shirt –after eighteen outfit changes of course.
Nervous about the outcome, I waited until the last possible minute to come downstairs – the plan being, the least amount of questions from Dad, the better.
“You’re up early,” he said in surprise over the top of his morning newspaper.
“I am,” I said sheepishly, happy he was in another great mood. I helped myself to a cup of coffee, but put it in a travel mug.
“Do you have plans today?”
“That depends,” I said while adding cream and sugar.
“On whethe
r or not you’re still grounded,” he said, putting his paper down on the kitchen table.
I turned to face him and shook my head up and down, trying to keep a straight face. Dad hated it when I gave him doe-eyes or begged in any sort of way. If I could get a flicker of amusement, I knew he’d let me off the hook, but I couldn’t smile. I needed to keep looking remorseful.
“Where are you going?” he said, keeping a gruff exterior.
“I don’t know, it’s a surprise, but I can let you know when I get there,” I said quickly, not wanting to cause any alarm.
“And who are you going with?”
“Nicholas, the boy who helped me home the other day,” I said with a smile I couldn’t help.
“He finally called, huh?”
For some reason, even though they’d never met, I felt approval from my dad when Nicholas’ name was mentioned. I think he trusted him since he’d already saved me once. But I didn’t want a big interrogation because Nicholas had asked me not say anything.
“Please, Dad. Don’t say you want to talk to him. That would be really embarrassing. We are just going as friends.”
He took a long drink of his coffee and acted like he was mulling it over. I held still to keep from fidgeting.
“You can go.”
“Thank you,” I said in a gush, grabbed a banana, kissed his head and ran out the front door.
I heard a faint “You’re welcome” resonate from inside. When I turned after shutting the door, I spotted Nicholas’ black Chrysler 300 parked out front and savored the moment. When he saw me, he got out of the car and walked up the path just like I’d imagined he would weeks ago– taking long, deep strides full of confidence, the bronze highlights of his hair glinting in the sunlight. I just needed to be patient.
“Hi,” he said with an impish grin.
His green eyes danced and everything inside me wanted to run and hug him, but I stayed calm and walked casually towards him instead. “Hey.”
“You ready?”
I nodded and we walked to his car.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, looking up at his adorable face.
“You’ll see,” he said with a smile and opened the door to let me in.
We drove down the highway in silence and took the freeway up the coast flanked with beautiful oceans cliffs on one side and grassy farmland on the other. The day was clear and warm. I tried to keep from fidgeting as I waited in anticipation of our future destination.
Talisman 1 - The Emerald Talisman Page 16