“As you wish,” he said, taking my hand and leading the way.
During our walk to the giant stairway, I couldn’t help but remember the last time I went down these steps and met Rohan. I wondered where he went after Emrys chased him up the stairway in our suite. As usual, I didn’t have to literally ask the question.
“I banned him from the rest of the gathering and told him that if I ever saw him again, he would suffer the same fate as his father. And then - I threw him off the balcony.” He sounded unbelievably calm as he spoke, keeping his head straight and high. It didn’t seem to concern him that the fall alone could have killed Rohan. It didn’t bother me either, but the thought still made me shiver.
“He may have suffered some bruises and scrapes when his body encountered the wall or perhaps when I used his face as a punching bag,” Emrys said, glancing at me briefly, trying not to grin, “but he is a flyer. Without a doubt, the only thing that suffered was his pride.”
“A flyer?” I asked bewildered.
“That is his talent. All vampires eventually acquire at least one talent or strength unknown to humans.”
My surprised look, no doubt, caused him to answer my next silent question.
“I have two talents. One you already know about, and it proved quite useful this evening; my ability to read your thoughts. Although it would have been even more convenient if I had the gift of precognition. I would have seen what Rohan had planned ahead of time.”
“What is your other talent?” I asked, as my mind reeled with ideas of what my talent would turn out to be.
“I am also a flyer,” he said, looking at me as though he wondered if I believed him. “I do not use it often. It takes a lot of energy and leaves me weak. If I consume an extra dose of blood, it takes less effort.” He smiled at me as we turned into the echoing sounds of the ballroom.
The more I learned about this lifestyle, the more I realized I hardly knew anything. But right now, we were close to the table where my sister sat, obviously still enjoying her time with Gavin. His white hair was stunning, and his little white goatee made him look quite distinguished. Wondering now about the story behind his white hair, I thought he appeared to be only in his mid-thirties - at most. And then as I watched him sitting near my sister, I had to agree with his fantasy of pairing up with someone who had black hair. The two of them, side by side, did make for one great looking couple. Ebony and ivory! Or was this just wishful thinking on my part?
As we approached their table my eyes were fixed on Gavin’s profile, when suddenly a picture flashed in my mind as clear as if someone had switched on a television screen two inches from my head. I witnessed Gavin leaning in toward someone, his fangs already visible, and a woman’s slender, ivory throat accessible - laid out like a buffet. He moved his head slightly to the side revealing her face - my face?
The almond-shaped eyes were closed, and the normally rosy cheeks appeared pale; lips - dull and dry; black hair splayed out all across the pillow like a fan, completely straight, except for the curly ends.
“Melinda!”
I hadn’t realized I shouted her name out loud until the vision faded and the room came back into view. Melinda turned and looked at me, surprised by my outburst.
“Lizzy?” She stood and came to me immediately, her surprise now turning to concern. “What’s the matter?”
I blinked a few times and focused on her face as she spoke.
“Hey Lizzy, you look different. Your hair - it’s so - it’s...so shiny! And your skin – what’d you do, go get a facial? Where have you been?” I saw her eyes dart to my neck, and was sure she saw the two puncture marks, still so fresh and new. “You didn’t! Oh my God, you did! I thought you were going to think about it for a while.” She reached out to touch my neck. “Did it hurt? How do you feel? Eww, did you really have to drink blood?” Her forehead scrunched up into a frown of disgust.
I couldn’t get a word in while she rambled on, until finally she stood silent, her eyes set in a fixed, questioning stare.
“Well, first of all,” I said, brushing her hair back, taking a peek at both sides of her neck, “Thank you for the compliments, and no, it didn’t hurt; it was kind of nice, actually, and I feel great!” I didn’t see any marks on her neck at all and was a little disappointed. I had hoped that perhaps my vision was some kind of ESP connection, and Lindy had been turned tonight too. When my fingertip grazed her neck, I caught her momentary flinch, but she acted like nothing had happened. I knew her better than she gave me credit for; by now she must have figured out that all the vampires gave off an electrical disturbance to humans.
“And what have you been up to, sis?” I asked, taking a quick glance toward Gavin and raising an eyebrow.
“Not much,” she said, turning to him and laying a soft hand on his shoulder. “I’ve been dancing, drinking, and enjoying Gavin’s company.” He stood then, smiled at me, and gave Emrys a respectful nod.
“The pleasure has been all mine,” Gavin said, taking Melinda’s hand and kissing it. He bent into a perfect bow, exactly like a gentleman right out of a Jane Austen novel. Melinda giggled and blushed as she thanked him.
Then she turned back to me and asked, “So, dear sister, please explain how this happened so fast. And where the hell is Fiona? I haven’t seen her around either.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Don’t you remember our last conversation? I told you earlier I had made up my mind.” I glanced at Emrys and a fleeting thought went through my mind: She must have been more intoxicated than I thought!
Emrys squeezed my hand and gave me a quick smile.
“The reason you haven’t seen Fiona is because she was recently turned too. And she and Rufus are probably right this moment…umm… consummating their marriage - if I may speak so bluntly,” I said, with a silly grin, surprised that my face hadn’t turned three shades of red.
“I see.” Melinda said with a quick frown. I wondered if it bothered her that Fiona hadn’t invited her to the ceremony, but she didn’t say anything.
This came as quite a shock to me since Lindy was never at a loss for words but now, my news seemed to have struck her to near muteness. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence until Emrys finally spoke.
“Elizabeth, my love, you have something you wanted to ask your sister.”
“Yes!” I took a deep breath and smiled at her. “Emrys and I would like you to join us later for our ceremony.”
“Ceremony? You mean there’s an actual wedding ceremony? Oh, Lizzy, of course I want to be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Leaning in she whispered in my ear, “Can I bring Gavin?”
It surprised me that she wasn’t complaining about the fact that Emrys and I had just met. She didn’t seem as upset as I would’ve expected. Could she be falling for Gavin, or perhaps thinking about joining us? I nodded, but before I could speak, Emrys took a step toward Gavin.
Extending his hand to the white-haired gentleman, Emrys said, “Gavin, my friend, you must also join us. You know where Latimer’s quarters are. Please, meet us there in one hour, if you can.”
“I would be honored to witness your union,” he answered, shaking Emrys’ hand. “We shall be there in one hour.” He turned to face Lindy. “That is, if you would be so kind as to allow me to escort you, Melinda.”
Lindy nodded and said, “Of course! I’d like that.” A tiny blush accompanied her smile.
“You will have to excuse us now,” Emrys announced. “We must prepare ourselves.”
Lindy gave me a quick hug, and whispered, “Lizzy! I can’t believe you’re getting married! I’m speechless. I’ll see you in a bit.” She grinned, watching as Emrys whisked me away.
“Don’t be late!” I called over my shoulder.
Once out of hearing range, Emrys turned a playful smile at me, and said, “I saw it in your thoughts. Do you know what this means, my sweet?” he asked.
I had no clue what he meant. “You have a talent already! And so soon - it
boggles the mind. You, my dear, have the gift of precognition. You have been given a glimpse into the future - your sister’s future to be exact.”
Now he was boggling my mind.
“You’re telling me that my sister and Gavin are... I mean Gavin will turn Lindy? She’s going to change her mind about the babies and all that other human stuff? When will this take place? How do you know it’s real?”
“Slow down and relax. Take a breath.” He looked amused while trying to get a word in edgewise, and so patient with me, and all my questions.
“Are you quite finished?” His tone was teasing, but kind. Anyone else would’ve felt the need to gag me with an old sock.
“Yes,” I said, closed my mouth, and nodded.
“Very well then. What you experienced was definitely a vision. I do not know when; I only know that it will happen. When or where or why are questions only the future can tell us. But, yes, I do believe it is real.”
“Too bad I didn’t get my talent a few hours earlier, huh?” I had to say it, even though I knew I could be opening up a can of worms. “I could’ve had you lock the door to the balcony.”
“It remains to be seen if you will be able to see your own future. You may find that this precognition is only for others.”
“I already know my future.” I said, teasing. “I don’t need a special talent to see it!” I squeezed his hand as we continued up the stairs. “Wait a minute. Where are you taking me?” I noticed we were on the right side of the stairway, heading toward the room with the costumes.
“Just a quick stop so you can choose a dress. I did not think you would want to wear blue for your wedding, though this dress is lovely.” He gestured to my outfit. “Am I correct?”
“Oh. Right. A dress.” I had been trying not to think about all the details.
“Elizabeth, I am sorry. This will not be the ceremony you have spent your whole life dreaming about: walking down the aisle, bridesmaids, tuxedos, and flowers. Our ceremonies are simple, as you witnessed with Fiona and Rufus. But, as you know, our commitments are eternal. We do mate for life.”
I turned to face him as we stood in the doorway of the costume room.
“Emrys, my one true love. Having you standing next to me; that’s the most important thing - not the dress, the flowers, or the ring. All of that is secondary. I am so lucky to have found you, though I believe more and more, it was not luck at all. It is our destiny. Don’t feel sorry for what I didn’t get to do as a human. I have the rest of time to spend with you. That’s all I need.” I reached up on my tiptoes and touched my lips to his.
“Thank you my sweet, Elizabeth. No wonder I love you so much,” he said, touching my cheek with his palm. “Now let us go pick out something beautiful, shall we?” He took my hand and wrapped it through his bent arm, and we walked into the room together.
Constance jumped up from her chair, eager to help as usual, and showed me three different dresses that would be perfect. All I had to do was choose one of them. I didn’t think it mattered. That whole thing about bad luck; not letting the groom see the bride in her wedding dress - we were so far beyond all that. I tried all of the dresses on and talked Emrys into choosing for me. The dress he chose was an ivory, medieval-style floor-length gown with long draping sleeves that had a small puff at the shoulders and flower embroidery detail around the rounded neckline. More floral embroidery, along with beading, went down the front of the whole dress, and the back was longer than the front by about two feet, flowing out in a soft cloud of silk. Simple elegance.
I found a pair of beaded ivory slippers to match, and when I thought about jewelry, Emrys told me not to bother; he had a surprise for me in the suite.
We went back to get ready, but before he would let me go upstairs to shower, he opened a drawer and pulled out two small boxes; one red and one black. He put the red one in his pocket.
“That,” he said winking, “is for later. Your wedding ring, handed down to me from my mother. But this one,” he held up the larger black box, “is for you to wear now. I had it hand-made just for you. It will compliment your hair and match any color you ever wear. You should keep it with you at all times; it is your raven totem.”
He absentmindedly touched his medallion, still and apparently always, around his neck. No longer hanging on the red velvet ribbon that matched his costume, he had gone back to the silver chain I had first seen him wearing at the pub. The eye of the raven glowed deep dark red.
I accepted the box and opened it. Dangling on a long silver chain was a flat, oval crystal, and etched inside was a black raven that held a single red rose in his beak. Depending on how you held the crystal to the light, it seemed to reflect whatever color it was near. It was beautiful! As I moved it up toward the candle light it burned yellow. I turned and held it before my dress, and it became blue.
“I love it! I’ll never ever take it off, Emrys, never!”
I spun around holding up my hair so he could lock the clasp. When I turned back to face him his smile was from ear to ear.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing is funny.” He tried to hide his grin by raising his eyebrows up high. “I just pictured you never taking this off – never ever!”
It took me a few seconds to get what he was implying, and if it were possible, I would have turned red, or at least pink, but this seemed to be one of the things about my skin that had changed. I didn’t blush any more, which was fine with me. I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed him, grabbed my wedding dress off the back of the chair, and ran upstairs. I knew it was corny, but I started to whistle that old song from the sixties about going to the chapel and getting married. Half way up the steps I heard Emrys chuckle. He obviously remembered the tune. He was alive in the sixties, which was kind of weird to think about since we seemed so close in age. I only knew the song from the oldies station.
I had taken more time in the bathroom than planned, even though doing my hair took far less time than it ever had. It was much shinier and smoother, as if I had just come from the salon and spent a small fortune on hair products. In reality, all I did was wash it in the shower and air dry it while I did my makeup, which took me the longest; I wanted to look perfect for Emrys. I did love this new easy hair-care, but something else had changed too. My skin was silky soft before I put on any lotion. There was no flaky dryness that usually came after my shower. I certainly wasn’t going to complain; I loved all these new changes.
I had one final look in the mirror; the dress was perfect, hair: excellent, makeup: everything in place except for the lipstick. I stood at the top of the stairs and called Emrys’ name, stepping down slowly.
He appeared from around the corner, all dressed in black. Black pants, boots and shirt. His shirt was a long-sleeved V-neck, which had eyelets and a cord that laced up the front - crisscrossed, the untied cords dangling loose. All along the outer edges on both sleeves were small black leather belts with buckles - eight on each arm. His hair came straight down around his shoulders - smooth and shiny, and he wore his medallion, the raven’s red eye gleaming. He also wore his polished-silver thumb ring that had a translucent blood-red design all around it.
He smiled as he watched me descending the stairs, his eyes speaking loud and clear: happiness, joy, excitement, and love. He reached up to take my hand as I took the last few steps.
“You are so beautiful, my darling. Come here into the light and let me look at you.
Emrys led me into a large walk-in closet which was lined with mirrors on three walls and a bright light on the ceiling. Standing behind me, with his hands lightly resting on my shoulders, he said, “Look at you! You are exquisite! Your dress is perfect – as though it was made just for you. And the color is a true complement to your hair.”
As I stood before the mirror, a sudden flash from one of the Lord of the Rings movies made me smile. I could have been mistaken for Arwen of Rivendell, the Elfin princess. The only thing missing was the golden headpiece she wore in her long dark hair.
Emrys twirled me around and pressed his mouth to mine. My lips had no chance when he was around, and this was why I still held the tube of lipstick in my hand. I had a feeling lipstick would become a thing of the past within no time at all.
“Emrys, you look quite ravishing yourself,” I said pulling back a bit.
I was eye to eye with his collar, and this was the first time we were in such bright light together. Visible through the untied cords in his shirt, I saw actual real skin. Up to that point, all I had seen was his face and hands. I also had a much better view of the tattoo on the side of his neck. In bold block letters it said: UBRAN.
“What does this mean?” I asked, running my finger over the letters with a soft touch.
“It means Raven in Welsh. Have you any tattoos?”
“No. I was always too much of a wimp to get one. That is the one difference between my sister and me. She has a red rose tattooed on her left shoulder.” I wrinkled up my nose thinking of the pain one must go through getting needles poked repeatedly through your skin. “I like the sign you put on my neck though, I barely felt a thing. Maybe you could put another on me the same way and I could just pretend it’s a real tattoo.”
I laughed out loud, watching his reaction. He was entertained by me, and my silly ideas; his grin was wide.
“That is not possible, since you already have my Sign. No one has ever received two signs at the same time. Perhaps someday we could look into that. I mean getting you a real tattoo,” he explained.
He began to loosen the laces on his shirt, wide enough to pull it open and to the side. He showed me another tattoo, saying, “This one is for you, Elizabeth. I got it the day after I put my Sign on you.” On the left side of his chest right over his heart, was a tattoo of a black rose inside of a red heart, and written above, in old English style letters, was my first name.
“Wow,” I said with a smile.
The Ravenswynd Series - Boxed Set Page 23