Simone put the used paper plates in the recycling bin. “Sounds good. Count me in.”
They piled into the car a few minutes later and headed toward the movie rental store.
*
That night Simone sat with Indea and her parents feeling like part of the family. She’d never really had that-aside from Mr. Brant. The Skys’ made her feel welcome. Like one of their own. If they could have adopted her, she knew they would have in a heartbeat.
Indea felt like a sister to her regardless of blood relations. Both she and Indea were only children. So it was plain to see why they were so close. Best friends as well as almost ‘sisters’.
Along with Mr. Brant, Simone couldn’t ask for a better family. Her real mom might have been a good mother if the cancer hadn’t claimed her in her early years.
She couldn’t let that depress her now. She wasn’t able to change the past. If she had a time machine, she didn’t think she would change one thing about her past. It made her into the strong and capable person she is today. It had molded her into a better person. Besides, she might not have met Indea or her family.
Simone smiled and settled into the couch and watched the movie.
CHAPTER X
The thirteenth of July proved to be a gorgeous day. Perfect weather. A nice, soft breeze. And not a threatening cloud in the sky. The night promised to be just as wonderful as the morning had been. Even though Bastille Day was already in full swing, it still had hours yet to go.
It was now six o’clock and Indea and Simone were just starting to get ready. Simone was a bundle of nervous energy trying to shower, shave and get dressed. First, she’d dropped the shampoo bottle three times. Next, she almost slipped getting out of the bath tub. Now, wiggling into her favorite pair of jeans, she popped the button. Frustrated, she yanked them off.
Good thing I had a mind to bring a few extra pairs of jeans, she thought as she heaved a sigh of relief when the other pair of jeans slid on without further mishap.
“Whoa! Simone,” Indea soothed, rubbing her back. “What’s got you in such a tizzy? You’ve been out with Van before. You’ve even shared a kiss,” she reminded her gently.
Simone let her head fall back. “I know, I know. I–—I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I shouldn’t feel this way.” She faced Indea with a look of desperation. “Am I acting just a little neurotic to you?”
Indea chuckled. “Oh, Simone. You’re not neurotic. A little out of sorts maybe, but never crazy. Well, not unintentionally.”
Simone let out a small laugh and some of the pent up tension slowly melted away.
Good ol’ Indea. She always knew what to do to help her when she was feeling a bit weird at times when it wasn’t warranted.
“Better?”
“Yeah.” Simone pulled on a Shangri-La top colored with a mix of purple, teal and tie-dyed colors which boasted this lovely filmy georgette. She loved the rippled-edged sleeves and hem. It was flattering to her figure. She was able to get it on rather nimbly given her nerves. She went to the mirror to pull her hair into a loose ponytail, leaving a few tendrils on either side of her face. When she was satisfied with how it looked, she went about applying a light smattering of make up.
Indea decided on jeans as well but with an even darker blue shade of denim. Her jeans were flared at the feet with a scattering of rhinestones at the pockets and around the cuffs at the hem of the legs. She put on her black mesh tunic with a daring neckline, just a hint of her breasts playing peek-a-boo. The tunic had faceted sapphire crystal and beaded embellishments and contoured her waist perfectly. She went to the vanity and commenced with pulling her hair up at the sides and fastened it with a silver clip. With her make up, she went light. She knew men hated when a woman plastered five pounds of foundation, blush, lipstick and mascara on their faces. She didn’t like wearing that much either. Men liked as close to natural as possible. Too much make up suggested you were hiding something.
Though, Indea was too outspoken to hide anything. Simone was a little less outspoken, but still bold with words at the times she needed to be. That’s why they got along so well.
Simone finished getting ready when, from out of no where, the dream she couldn’t remember hit her like a rogue wave.
Why now? She wondered.
She closed her eyes as the dream invaded every cell of her body and mind.
She was running. Running so fast she couldn’t see her feet. They were a blur. She was running for such a long time her lungs threatened to burst. She needed bug gulps of air but couldn’t seem to get any. She wanted to stop but she knew she shouldn’t. Couldn’t. She was too scared to turn around to see what was chasing her but she couldn’t prevent her head from turning and looking to see what was behind her. She felt something but saw nothing. But ran still she did. She fell, got up and found herself chained to the floor in a room with no windows. She was dressed in little more than rags. They barely covered her quivering flesh. They were so tattered and torn, they could hardly be considered clothing. She was extremely hungry and dirty.
She needed her freedom more than anything in this world. She craved it. She did not want to be chained here forever like some animal. What was happening to her? What would happen to her? The fear made her body shake beyond her control. It left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She opened her mouth to yell for help but her voice cracked and creaked like the rusty hinges of a door that had been abandoned too many years ago.
She panicked. Her heart wanted to beat right out of her chest. She was utterly alone. No one would hear her urgent cries for help. She didn’t want to be locked in these chains. Alone. She would starve to death. No. Dehydration would kill her days before starvation had a chance.
Help me! Her mind cried. Someone please help me!
She sank to her knees, her face in her hands. The chains on her arms rattled with movement.
She heard the door slowly creak open. She looked up but her eyes were so blurry with tears she couldn’t make out his face. All she saw was his eyes but the color was also confusing. They were light colored, pale blue or grayish. She wasn’t exactly sure.
He began walking toward her, taking slow and deliberate steps………
That was when the plane jerked her from sleep. That was all. And she couldn’t even remember a hint of it until now. And she badly needed to know who that stranger was coming toward her.
Simone opened her eyes and saw Indea staring at her in the strangest way.
Simone blushed. “Sorry, Indea. I was just trying to remember that bizarre dream I had on the plane.”
Indea smiled, her eyebrows rising. “It must have been a pretty intense dream. Your eyes were completely closed.”
Indea thought Simone had an intimate dream and for the life of her, for reasons unknown, Simone couldn’t tell her otherwise.
“Yeah, it was.” Simone glanced at her watch. “Van and Saldivar should be here in five minutes. Let’s go downstairs and wait for them.”
*
Hand in hand, Simone and Van strolled the streets of Paris. Along side them, walked Indea and Saldivar, his hand at the small of her back.
There were vendors on the sidewalks selling all kinds of delicious smelling foods. Drinks were being sold at every corner. Handmade crafts and jewelry carts also lined the busy streets. Hundreds of people were buzzing with activity, talking with such fervor the words came together in a jumbled mass of sound. You couldn’t understand but by the looks on the people’s faces, they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
“This is wonderful,” exclaimed Simone. “I can’t believe this is still going to continue until the wee hours of the morning.”
“Yes. And they do this every year like clockwork,” Van added.
Indea walked a little closer to Saldivar. “Have you ever been to one of these?”
Saldivar warmed inside as Indea’s thigh brushed against his. It was going to be much harder to concentrate than he thought, what with Indea’s warm body to
uching his. Much to his surprise, he was able to sound perfectly normal. “Yes. But only two other times. I travel a great deal and don’t have the privilege of making it every year.”
“How unfortunate. I know this is Van’s first time being here as well. He also travels a lot. Do you travel when business requires it?”
Saldivar knew this is what most people called ‘small talk’. He still had to be very wary of what information to divulge to others. He couldn’t very well tell her the truth about himself or Van yet.
“Sometimes we do for business with the club. But most of the time I travel unaccompanied. It gives me time to reflect and study other cultures. It’s one of my passions,” he admitted, giving Indea a smoldering look that spoke volumes.
Indea could be another one of his passions. His most important passion. The sensual fire in his amber eyes sent the most delightful chills throughout her body, which was heating up a few degrees every second he gave her that look.
Saldivar had his body attuned to every part of Indea’s body. He could sense her blood racing. He could smell it pulsating through her every cell. It made him a bit dizzy. He swallowed hard. His mouth started watering at the thought that he would eventually get to taste her. In every way, shape and form. So far he was perfectly capable of taming the bloodlust. He hoped that with Indea he wouldn’t lose complete control. He found himself caring for her. He could be sure he started feeling something for her the moment he laid eyes on her. Helped her. The moment his lips touched her satin skin…….
“Anyone care for a drink?” offered Van, giving Saldivar a furtive glance.
Saldivar smiled at Van, indebted for the favor. Sometimes a vampire couldn’t help zoning out and solely focusing on one thing: drinking blood. Never harming the other person in the process, however. As strong as Saldivar was, bloodlust was still a worthy opponent. Especially when it came to the Eternal Entity.
There were some upsides to being a vampire: everlasting life. No sickness. Superhuman abilities.
But like with everything in this world, there had to be a downside. A yin with the yang. Shadows in the light.
One thing Saldivar did miss was the sunrise. A vampire could never again appreciate the sun coming up over the horizon. Or how the warmth of the rays beaded down on your skin. And you couldn’t stay in one place too long lest you be discovered. Everyone aged.
But with anything in life, you have to take the bad with the good. Perfection was only a dream you could never reach.
Saldivar was elated that Van had the decency to read his mind and snap him out of his trance before he gave himself-and quite possibly Van-away.
What in blazes had gotten into him lately? First, that terrible poem. Now being near Indea had him thinking of things he’s supposedly suppressed centuries ago.
Because she’s your life mate, Van relayed to Saldivar in silence.
Saldivar couldn’t bring himself to look at Van because he knew it was all too true.
“We could use a bottle of water, please,” Simone told Van.
Van nodded. “Please excuse us, ladies. We’ll be back in a moment.” With that, Van and Saldivar walked to a vendor on the other side of the street, which made it somewhat difficult to keep an eye on the girls. But, nonetheless, Van needed to speak with Saldivar as privately as possible, even if they were communicating telepathically. He surely didn’t need to arouse the girls’ suspicions.
They stood in line, talking silently.
Indea has really gotten under your skin, Van assessed correctly.
I know, Saldivar admitted. I did not think this would happen so quickly.
How long has it been, mon ami?
Too many years, Van.
That’s why you are acting this way. All of this pent up tension. Believe me, I know of your frustration.
In waiting for so long for Indea, I had seemed to neglect that part of myself.
And, I can safely assume, Indea has re-awakened that part of you?
Like a jolt of lightning, mon ami. Saldivar sighed. However, I can be patient. I certainly do not want to ruin my chances of being with Indea in every way.
It’ll happen, Saldivar. Eventually. I just thought you needed a little space to collect yourself. I know how it feels to be around an Eternal Entity that is also destined to be your life mate.
Sometimes I forget how well you know me, Van.
It is understandable. Let’s grab some water and rejoin the girls.
Saldivar nodded as he grabbed a bottle of water for Indea.
*
Zane lurked in the shadows, Blending or going Invisible when the need called for it.
So, he thought to himself. Indea and Simone are the Eternal Entities? Well, if Van and Saldivar are thinking of transforming them, they have another think coming.
Zane perused Saldivar and Van’s mind openly and leisurely. He had absolutely no reason to be burdened with the thought of either one of those two neophyte weaklings knowing of him in their heads, reading every detail. He was over two thousand years old, reborn to father Arathoseous when the years were still in the single digits.
Arathoseous, the most powerful nightwalker ever to grace the planet, saw fit to change Zane into a vampire like himself. He was the only living vampire Zane has ever heard of. To this day, Zane was still unsure of Arathoseous’ origin.
Was he born a vampire? Or was he made? It was still a mystery to Zane. One, he figures he will never have the privilege of knowing.
Zane also knew Arathoseous was a raging force to be reckoned with. Too powerful to be crossed. Even by Zane himself.
Zane was born in the B.C. era to overprotective and easily frightened parents. In turn, he developed into a helpless and meek little boy. He was constantly strong-armed by boys his age who were bigger and stronger than he.
He remembered many times he had come home with a bloody nose or black eyes or a bruised body and telling his parents in detail what had transpired.
Zane wasn’t the least bit surprised when his parents did nothing. They only told him to run the other way or just do what he was told and he wouldn’t be beaten.
Run. Zane snorted in pure contempt. That’s all his parents ever did at the first sign of trouble. Run. Run and hide. Escape from anything or any one that posed a threat. Afraid of their own shadows, they were.
What disheartened him in the beginning, like his parents never taking up for him, made him stronger later in life.
What his parents were, he would not become. Where they were powerless and scared, he would work to become more self assured, more aware of himself and his surroundings.
When he was old enough, Zane had worked. For hours on end, he labored like a dog. Hauling massive stones to wherever they were needed, helping to build up the city of Eldra, a place no longer known today and no longer on the maps of the modern world.
If Zane could place Eldra, he would have to guess that it would grace the southern part of France.
Zane could still picture clearly in his mind how he had grown. All of the hard work. All the blood, sweat and tears to become a responsible young adult to a respected man and some years later………..a feared entity.
All the back breaking work had paid off greatly. His body took shaped with well toned muscle. The muscles of a passionate and skilled worker. He wasn’t deeply sculpted from stone but his body was as strong as an ox. A body that had women casting more than a few glances and winks his way. Not used to this kind of attention whatsoever, Zane began to relish in it. Bathed in their laughter and flirtatious words and gestures. He was not ashamed to admit that he took quite a few women up on their many offers.
They just couldn’t seem to be able to resist his easy charm and deep resonating voice. Or his bright gray-blue eyes or his killer smile.
After so many years of the same monotonous life, Zane felt the itch to move on. Seek new opportunities. New jobs. New women.
So, moved on he did. He loved to travel. And he did so, on a regular basis. He saw new
cities. Tasted new foods. Tasted new women. He knew then that this was the life for him. To travel and try new things. And to never stay in one place too long. He bored easily, so changing what he did and where he lived appealed to him greatly.
It wasn’t until he was about thirty-five years old that Zane fortuitously stumbled upon Arathoseous, who was known at that time as the Seer of All.
For some reason, Arathoseous took a liking to Zane and invited him to live and work in his palace.
Zane looked around, noticing the harem of beautiful women that always seemed to be draped over Arathoseous. Zane drank in their beauty. The flow in which their bodies moved. It looked almost like how belly dancers would move today, given their lithe shapes.
Zane appreciated them openly in which Arathoseous was highly amused. He didn’t seem to mind this perusal of the common man. Arathoseous knew of the devotion his women had for him. They would never betray him unless they wanted to be stoned to death in the middle of the city, witnessed by all or tied to horses and then dragged across the city until they perished.
Arathoseous studied his own home through Zane’s curious eyes. He rather liked what he found inside the human’s mind.
Shock. Envy. Bewilderment. He felt what Zane felt. Saw what he saw. And he could hear his every thought. He knew Zane though of his large home as a vast, open beauty. So many windows gave the palace an airy feel. No matter which window you opened, you would step into another world. Some opened into these beautiful, enchanted gardens. Others opened to either fountains or man made pools of shimmering water.
The servants were out and about doing their daily chores. Quite happily, Zane was shocked to see. They looked well taken care of.
Zane had never seen such a place. Back in Eldra, people who had servants usually beat them for the slightest mistake. Sometimes the owners would cast them out as if they were the devil himself. And they would have to leave empty handed. No money, food or family. Just whatever rags they had on their scarred and bony backs.
NightFall: Book One: Bloodlust Is the Cure for the Immortal Soul Page 13