by M. Leighton
The ceilings were high, as they were in the rest of the house, and the floors were covered in rich wood planks polished to a gleaming shine. Centered atop an enormous, plush Oriental rug was an oversized bed with two ornately-carved posts at each of its four corners. A deep red velvet duvet covered the thick mattress and dozens of decorative pillows were piled at its head. There were no windows in the room, a fact that I found very peculiar, yet there were matching velvet curtains hanging on the wall as if they were framing two openings. Only they weren’t.
Although the room was richly appointed, by most standards I think it would’ve been described as creepy. For some reason, though, it didn’t bother me. In fact, as I walked around the large space, trailing my fingertips along the top of the dresser and tracing the carved footboard of the bed, I felt oddly comforted. It made no sense and I would’ve felt silly trying to explain it to someone, but it was true nonetheless.
“Hel-lo? Ridley?”
Bo’s voice penetrated my otherwise-engaged mind and I jerked around. He was still standing at the door and, by the look on his face, he’d been speaking to me for some time and getting no response.
“What did you say? I’m sorry.”
“I was asking you about who all lived here. Whose room was this?”
“Oh, um, I don’t know. Sebastian’s was beside Lilly’s. I didn’t even know that this room was down here.”
“And it was just the two of them?”
“Uh, yeah,” I answered, but then caught myself. “I mean, no. There was a housekeeper, but I’m sure she didn’t have a room this nice. This looks like the master, doesn’t it?”
“Why wouldn’t Sebastian stay in this room then?”
“I don’t know,” I said distractedly, now wondering the same thing.
“Come on. Let’s get—”
“I think I’ll keep my stuff in this room,” I announced.
Bo frowned, but didn’t argue.
“Alright. I’ll take…one of the others.”
“I’ve always wondered,” I began, crossing the room to take my bag from Bo’s shoulder, “where you’ve been keeping your clothes.”
“I finally got some of my stuff from Mo—from my old place. Lucius let me keep a few things at his cabin.”
I sat my bag on the bed and went back to wrap my arms around Bo’s neck, feeling a burst of empathy for how displaced he must feel.
“Well, since Sebastian won’t be needing this place anymore, you can take it over.”
Bo’s lips stretched into a thin smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“We’ll see,” he said, placing a quick kiss on my lips and taking my hand. “Come on. Let’s go do something fun.”
“I don’t want to rain on your parade, but it’s been kind of the day from hell. Would you mind if we just stayed here and relaxed for a while?”
Bo tilted his head as he considered me, a lopsided grin bringing out the dimple in his left cheek.
“Of course not,” he said, raising my hand to his lips. “Anything for you. You know that.”
With that, Bo led me from the back bedroom. For our period of relaxation, we settled on watching a comedy on Sebastian’s huge television. We sat on the couch—Bo’s arm draped around my shoulder, my head on his chest—just like any other teenage couple in the world might. Only we were anything but normal. We were vampires and we had a job to do. Somehow, in the coming days, we had to find a way to kill an angel. And that was no simple task.
Despite our terrible circumstance, we were able to laugh at the outrageous comedy in the movie. It felt good to share something so mundane, something so normal with Bo. Most of the time it felt as though our relationship had seen nothing but struggle and strife, and it appeared that the immediate future would be no different. It was during that peaceful time that I decided we had better take our fun, take our “normal” wherever we could get it.
When the credits of the second movie rolled up over the screen, I saw that the sky was lightening to a bright royal blue in preparation for the appearance of the sun.
“What time does your mom leave for work?”
“Usually about 7:30. Why?”
“Well, I’m thinking maybe we ought to go get your car and you can call her in a while and tell her about housesitting.”
“Okay.”
“On the way, we can swing by and see Lucius, pick up my stuff.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Alright, let’s go.” With that, Bo got up, pulled me to my feet and we took off like two blurs through the pre-dawn streets of Harker.
We made our trip to the forest a game. This time, however, rather than a contest to see who was fastest, Bo showed me a little more about my new body through tests of strength and agility.
As we made our way through town, Bo took me jumping from rooftop to rooftop, leaping over cars and vans, darting past a group of drunks outside a club and, finally, barreling through trees in the forest.
When we were almost half way to Lucius’s cabin, Bo slowed down.
“There’s something else I want to show you, something about your strength,” he said, coming to a stop about a foot from me. “Hit me.”
“What? I will not.”
“Seriously. Hit me.”
“Why? What if I—”
“Don’t think, Ridley. Just hit me.”
I balled up my fist and punched at Bo’s arm. He didn’t even flinch, didn’t budge.
“See how that feels?”
I shrugged. “It feels just like it always has, not that I’ve punched many people.”
“That’s because your strength is the one thing you have to be purposeful about. Jumping high, running fast, hearing better, seeing better—those all come a little more effortlessly, but with strength, you have to focus.”
I nodded, not really understanding a word he was saying.
“Hit me again, but this time, think about moving me. Think about pushing all your energy through your arm to your fist.”
“What is this ‘Learning Vampire, Zen Style’?”
Bo rolled his eyes. “Just do it.”
This time, I did as Bo asked and actually felt myself going through the motion of punching him and, this time, it moved him. Not much, but it did at least move him.
“Better. Now again, but really feel it.”
I repeated the process, concentrating on the feel of the muscles in my hand clenching as I curled my fingers into a fist, on the feel of power rippling from my shoulder, down my arm and out through my knuckles. And this time when I struck Bo, it staggered him.
“Good,” he said. “Of course, that was with me not resisting at all, but still, you get the point. Now I want you to try to throw me.”
“What?”
“Pick me up and throw me.”
“How? I mean—”
“Just imagine I’m really light, light as air, and feel that strength flowing through you. Then just pick me up and toss me, like it’s no big deal.”
I found that I wasn’t particularly fond of this exercise. I knew that Bo was trying to teach me things that I would undoubtedly need to know, but I still didn’t like practicing to fight and hurt people.
Bo must have sensed my hesitation.
“Let’s try this. How about you imagine that Heather is the only thing that’s standing between you and Lilly and you have to move her or Lilly dies.”
My heart stuttered at the thought.
“Bo, that’s not funny.”
His face was straight and sober.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. Ridley, this is serious. You have to learn how to protect yourself. If something happens to me—”
“Don’t even say that!” I interrupted sharply.
“Ridley, we have to be realistic about all this. Sebastian is not some Average Joe that’s holding a grudge. He’s extremely powerful and extremely deadly. He obviously thinks he knows something that we don’t, and we have to acknowledge the fact that he just might. I want to k
now that if something happens you can get away and, if you can’t, that you can defend yourself.”
“Bo, if that—”
“Just humor me. Please. Just for a little while.”
There was something in his voice that gave me pause, something that said this was very important to him, important yet painful, and that I was only exacerbating matters.
“Okay,” I agreed after a couple more seconds of consideration. “I’ll try.”
“Alright, so give it your best shot.”
Halfheartedly, I approached Bo and grabbed him by his upper arms. When I bent my knees and lifted as if to throw him, I found that it was like trying to move a boulder or a hundred-foot tree—impossible.
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“But you’re resisting.”
“Yes, but only a little. You should be able to move me easily. Now try again, but focus, Ridley. Focus.”
Taking a step back, I looked at Bo. I reminded myself that I was a vampire now. Strong by nature, strong by will. I also reminded myself that Bo was very resilient, very difficult to hurt, just like I was now. He just wanted to know that I could do it. He was worried and the least I could do was put his mind at ease. I felt like there was so little I could do to help him, I was willing to latch onto this with both hands. Plus, showing him that I could do it would probably eliminate the need for any more of these exercises.
Sucking in a quick breath through my pursed lips, I stepped into Bo and brought my hands to his muscular arms in one smooth motion. Then, with all the strength I knew I possessed, I pitched him high into the air. The loud snap of breaking branches pierced the night air, Bo’s body taking out several tree limbs as he passed.
I couldn’t help but smile. Although I would never want to hurt Bo, under controlled circumstances throwing him around like a ragdoll was somehow very satisfying. I felt like a super woman finally coming into her powers.
My sensitive ears picked up on the tiniest disturbance in the acoustics to my left, but by the time it registered, it was too late. Arms like steel bands wrapped around me from behind and then I was being carried away.
CHAPTER FIVE
Before any real alarm could set in (past the initial shock of being grabbed, that is), a honeysuckle scent teased my nose and I knew immediately who held me. I had no doubts the bold Irishman would think a prank like this was funny, but I had no intention of letting Lucius have the last laugh.
As he quickly made off with me, weaving between trees, I let my body go completely limp. As I suspected he would, Lucius came to a rapid stop and loosed his hold on me. His mistake, however, was in shifting my body to the ground to see if I was alright. The last thing I saw in his worried green eyes was surprise when I jumped up and planted both feet right in the center of his chest and kicked off. I pushed out through my legs as if I was kicking at a train.
Even without seeing Lucius soaring through the air, I knew that I had tapped into my new strength. I felt it in my legs, in my gut. I felt that power surge through me and flow from me like a concussion grenade, flattening and devastating everything in its path.
I’d caught Lucius off guard by my impromptu attack. I heard the air leave his lungs in a whoosh as I sent him flying backward to land hard against the thick trunk of a huge maple tree.
Of course he was fine. He landed on his feet and was standing in front of the tree smiling at me within a fraction of a second. I heard a chuckle at my back and I couldn’t help but grin.
“She’s a quick learner, huh, Lucius?”
Lucius snorted. “I’ll say. You surprised the shite outta me, lass.”
“And what do you think you did to me?”
“Well, I thought at first to play with young Bo, but as it turns out, you’ve seen some changes since our last meeting. Looks like I ended up on the receiving end of that.” Lucius turned his attention to Bo, who’d come to stand at my side. “This one’s got claws, doesn’t she?”
The light of pride shone in Bo’s smile. “Yes, she does.”
I felt as if I was beaming like the noonday sun over his appreciation.
“So, to what do I owe this pleasure? Might you have been in search of me?”
“As a matter of fact we were,” Bo admitted.
“Well then, let’s go back to the cabin for a drink, shall we?”
Lucius led us back to his deceptively small home in the woods. He moved quickly and gracefully, his dark red ponytail barely even bobbing as he ran.
Once there, he led us through the small interior to a door I’d been through on several occasions. Descending the long, narrow staircase on the other side of the door was like going down the rabbit hole and emerging in another world, in another time.
Beneath the unassuming surface floor of the cabin was an opulent hideaway that looked more like an English drawing room than a basement, which is technically what it was. I suppose people in need of a luxurious fall-out shelter would be jealous.
Bo and I took a seat on one of the couches that faced the fireplace as Lucius puttered around behind us, appearing a few seconds later with two glasses filled with thick red liquid. He went back for his own then returned to join us, sliding into an armchair across from us. When he was settled, Lucius held up his glass in a silent Cheers! gesture and he and Bo both took a sip of their blood.
Although the thoughts of blood made me thirsty to the point of discomfort, the smell of the animal fluid turned my stomach for some reason. I recognized the scent, knew that it came from a deer, and that was all it took to ruin my “appetite.”
I held my glass, turning the tumbler nervously against my palm.
“Is something wrong, lass?”
Whether or not my cheeks actually got red, I still didn’t know, but they burned as if I was blushing.
“Uh, I, uh…”
I looked helplessly to Bo, who jumped in to save me.
“She hasn’t yet become accustomed to drinking animal blood. She’s not even been turned a full day yet, so we’re just taking it slow.”
Lucius’s brow wrinkled in a frown and he looked meaningfully at Bo. They seemed to share a moment of understanding, understanding that eluded me, but it passed quickly. Bo’s eyes returned to me and he smiled a mischievous grin that made my stomach feel twitchy.
“She drinks it from me just fine, though.”
Lucius threw back his head and roared, evidently finding Bo’s admission extremely amusing.
“And I’m sure you hate every minute of that.”
Bo’s smile widened, revealing his row of perfect white teeth. Even as I watched, his canines dropped a few millimeters before receding once more. A little zing of electricity arced between us, making me feel uncomfortably warm in places I’d rather not feel warm in the presence of company.
Quickly, I turned my attention back to Lucius.
“We’re going to stay at Sebastian’s house for a few days until I can get…this,” I said, indicating my body, “under control.”
“Ah,” Lucius said, winking at Bo. “That sounds cozy.”
“I dropped by to pick up a few things.”
“Right, right. Everything you left is still upstairs in that closet.”
“Thanks,” Bo said.
“So, tell me how it all worked out that our fair Ridley here is now one of us,” Lucius asked casually, conversationally.
“Well, there’s not much to tell. You were right. I’m the boy who can’t be killed. Turns out Constantine is my father and he’s very much alive. Heather is the mother of a friend of ours, Savannah. The two of them pretty much stole Ridley’s niece from the womb when her sister died and there’s some kind of plot to kill me.”
Lucius quietly digested what Bo had said for a long minute before he responded in typical Lucius style.
“Well, now you know. What do you plan to do about it?”
“Actually, I could probably use your help with that. Sebast- uh, I mean Constantine mentioned that Iofiel had found out
some very valuable information. I think it might have something to do with her finding a loophole, with her discovering a way to kill me.”
“Ah,” Lucius exclaimed. “So the letter does exist.”
“The letter?”
“Supposedly, Iofiel wrote a letter to her love, a letter that detailed a method she’d learned of or overheard in heaven. No one seems to know for sure, but legend says that she wrote her findings in a love letter and went to great lengths to have it delivered to her mate.”
“And what, exactly, did the letter say?”
Lucius shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure anyone does. To be honest, I’d never really put much stock in all this, thinking it was nothing more than legend and myth. But now…”
“So if we could find this letter, or find out what’s in it, we might be able to put a kink in his plans.”
“I would imagine that’s entirely possible. The question is: how do you get your hands on that letter?”
Bo’s brow puckered as he considered his dilemma. He said nothing for several long seconds.
“That, my friend, is the million dollar question.”
After another thoughtful silence, Bo and Lucius chatted a bit more, Bo drank my deer blood down and then made our excuses to leave.
“We’re on our way to Ridley’s house. I’m just going to pick up a few things if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, lad. They’re your things, after all.”
We all ascended the steps that brought us back up to ground level. Bo took a left and walked into the tiny bedroom area that sat off the back of the modest living room. When he returned, he carried a small duffel bag.
“Thanks for everything, Lucius,” Bo said, extending his hand to his friend.
“Think nothing of it. A little excitement keeps a vampire young,” Lucius said, sending a wink of his jewel green eye in my direction. “Let me know if I can help.”
“Will do, man.”