Fateful 2-Fractured

by Cheri Schmidt

  He kissed her on the top of the head and reached to turn on the sound system, which filled the inside of the Jag with the complex rise and fall of an instrumental melody. Ethan liked the rock music Danielle normally listened to as well, but he truly loved the classics. She enjoyed anything he played as he broadened her taste in music with his hundred and seventy-three-year-old experience.

  “How does sushi sound?” Ethan asked, now parking in front of a building. The neon sign glowed red with the words Hakuba, sushi and sashimi bar

  “Raw fish? Are you sure about that?”

  “Certainly. Why not?”

  “Do you really think that’ll sit well in your newly mortal system?” She gave his flat belly a gentle pat.

  “Most likely not, but I want to try it anyway,” he replied.

  And because his tone was so thick with enthusiasm, she said, “All right then, sushi it is.”

  Ethan had remained very excited to explore the foods he’d never bothered to try while being a vampire, and he really seemed to be enjoying it. Even when he chose things that didn’t cooperate with his digestive system. He seemed to think the flavors were worth the price in indigestion. But as Danielle thought about it, she kind of figured most men were like that when it came to food.

  As they walked toward the front door, she noticed their bodyguards for the evening following. She’d actually forgotten about them during the car ride. Danielle guessed that Cedric had taken her “bring a date” suggestion to heart when she saw four couples approaching instead of four men.

  Most of them she recognized right away. She knew the husky and knightly Max, and his new bride Nadia. She knew Beon and his wife Sophia. And she knew Cedric and Seth, but she didn’t recall seeing their significant others. Of course she could have seen them briefly at Beon’s ball, but she certainly hadn’t been directly introduced to either of them. Wanting an official introduction, she paused.

  Ethan eyed her curiously when she tugged on his hand.

  “I want to meet Anna and Seth’s wife.”

  “Ah.” He turned to wait with her.

  The immortals walked up to them without meeting their gazes since the sun had set and their vampire powers were now full force. It would only take one direct look from any of them to render both she and Ethan helpless and dazed, though it was sort of strange conversing with them with their eyes downcast.

  “I see you took my advice,” Danielle said to Cedric who was looking at his hand intertwined with his date’s.

  “Yes, we brought dates. I hope you’re pleased.”

  “I am.”

  “Danielle, this is Anna. Anna, Danielle Darcey,” Cedric said.

  Anna smiled. Her gaze was also focused on hers and Cedric’s hands.

  “Hello, nice to meet you,” she said to Anna’s forehead.

  “It’s my pleasure, really,” Anna replied sweetly. Her soprano British voice was lovely, and her features were pretty with her heart-shaped face and full lips. The petite vampire smoothed a lock of her medium-length blond hair through her fingers as she now studied the pointed toes of her black stilettos. She reminded Danielle of the fairies she’d met with Ethan, and could picture her glowing pink with sparkly translucent wings.

  “And this is Eva, Seth’s wife,” Cedric said.

  Of course, she never looked at Danielle either. Eva had smooth black hair styled gracefully on top of her head, an exotic olive complexion and a thick fringe of lashes. Her gaze was fixed on Danielle’s boots, so Danielle was uncertain of her eye color. For anyone who didn’t know better, they would think Eva was behaving rather snobbishly.

  Eva reached a hand out. “Hello, Danielle darling. It is an honor to meet the one who discovered the cure. I may need to take you up on it someday.” She sounded French to Danielle.

  “Oh, thanks. Uh, just let me know if or when you’re ready.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  “You’re welcome.” Danielle restrained a shiver. The discussion of biting Eva right before she went to eat sushi made her feel a tad queasy.

  Ethan gathered her fingers and settled her hand in the crook of his elbow as he looped his other arm around her waist. She was forced to take a step backward as he said, “Come on, Danielle, we need to get started or we’ll be late for the picture.”

  As she and Ethan were seated, she noticed that the others split up, rather than request a table for eight. Four of them remained outside, while the other four got tables.

  Nadia, Max, Beon and Sophia had come inside and were being seated at separate tables on either side of the dining room. Probably so that she and Ethan were in the center.

  Her gaze met with Max’s as she watched them, and he winked at her, probably trying to get a rise out of Ethan, but he got slapped playfully in the arm by Nadia instead. The black-haired beauty likely knew what he was doing. Because of the brotherly type of relationship Ethan and Max had, they were always roughhousing and trying to annoy each other. Plus, Ethan had been jealous of the knight in the past.

  “Danielle, how many times have I asked you to not flirt with him?” And apparently he might still be jealous.

  “I’m not.” She giggled. “Nadia just smacked him for winking at me. It’s funny.”

  “It’s not funny. She should punch him. The cad knows he has the good looks of a knight and how that affects the girls.”

  “He’s just trying to rub you the wrong way, and you let it work. He might still look like a knight,” and he certainly did, if she was honest, “but you have that British hottie thing going for you.”

  “So does that mean that rogue over there has a British knight hottie thing going for him?” Ethan growled, though she could hear the teasing in his tone, and was relieved.

  “Oh, stop being jealous, it’s completely unfounded and you know it.”

  Ethan rolled his eyes at that, but smirked.

  “Just order sushi, Ethan, and during the movie I’ll remind you why you shouldn’t be so jealous.”

  He tried to stop the foolish grin that overtook his mouth, but failed as the smile reached his eyes.

  Danielle laughed again.

  “So what would you like?” Ethan asked, his gaze traveling over the open menu he held.

  She scanned the dishes, looking for things she used to choose in Colorado. Sushi was something she liked, a little, but she was picky about it. In truth, she probably preferred Chinese and noticed that this restaurant served a mix of both. “I want the egg-flower soup and a Vegas roll.”

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s more than enough.”

  “All right.” Ethan’s words were tainted with a ring of disappointment. Apparently he still thought she needed large portions to survive. Danielle rolled her eyes this time.

  When the waiter arrived, Ethan ordered for both of them, ordering way too much for himself, however. After the waiter left, she said, “You’ll never be able to eat all of that, and if you do, you’ll be so sick. You’d be smart to save room for popcorn.”

  Ethan’s mouth tightened, like he planned to say something but changed his mind for some reason. Danielle suspected he knew his eyes were bigger than his stomach, but she also knew he wouldn’t ever admit it.

  When the sushi arrived it took up more than half the table. Danielle sipped quietly at her soup while she watched Ethan experience raw fish rolled into rice and seaweed for the first time ever. And somehow he already knew how to use the chopsticks.

  Annoying. Danielle was never able to figure out those dumb wooden sticks, so instead she reached for a slice of Vegas roll with her fingers. But Ethan set his hand on hers, stopping her. “Use the chopsticks, Danielle.”

  “I’d rather not,” she muttered.

  “You don’t know how to use them, do you?”

  “I’ve never been able to get them to work for me. Sorry.”

  “Well now, we can’t have that….” He slid her chopsticks from the paper wrapper and snapped them apart. “Here, let me teach you. Hold your hand like
this.”

  She did as he instructed—reluctantly. He placed the sticks on her hand in, what he said were the proper locations.

  “Good, now do this.” He lifted a piece of sushi and plopped it into his mouth. After swallowing, he said, “Mmmm, I rather think I like that one.”

  Danielle tried to follow his example, her brows pressing together as she made the effort, but still, she couldn’t get it. The slice kept slipping loose instead of being pinched between the sticks like it was supposed to. She looked up to see Ethan’s brows had mirrored hers while watching her struggle with something that should have been so simple.

  Angrily, she set the chopsticks down and reached for the sushi again. “How do you know how to use those stupid things anyway?” she asked.

  “I was bored and I knew I wanted to try sushi, so I figured it out a couple of nights ago while I was detained in my room.” He watched Danielle eat without the use of proper sushi lifting implements, a look of disapproval on his face. “Come on, Danielle, it isn’t that hard. Give it another go.”

  She groaned and then did as he requested, but only succeeded in squashing the sushi and dropping it onto her lap. Luckily for her, it landed on the napkin placed across her legs. “Well, apparently I’m chopstick challenged. Please, Ethan, just let it go.” She dropped the smashed piece onto the edge of her plate and then reached for another with her fingers. He watched and continued to sample his own wide variety of rolls. Fretfully—she could tell—he did decide to drop the matter. It was a good thing too, because if he’d asked her to try it again, she planned on spearing the sushi with a violent stab of her chopstick.

  Ethan hadn’t eaten half of what he’d ordered, but Danielle could see that sushi was something he liked.

  Her eyes wandered to Beon and Sophia, who were seated on their left, only a couple of tables away. Sophia was twisting one of her auburn curls around a finger while she eyed a slice of sushi held in her other hand. Probably trying to decide from the look of it how it should taste. Danielle knew food was something Sophia missed from her mortal life, she could dream about it, but it had lost its richness for her, and that displeased her. “The all-blood diet of a vampire gets rather tiresome,” she’d once told Danielle.

  It was apparent that Beon wasn’t interested in the food. He was diligently manning his post while he scanned the doors and customers for any possible threat to Ethan and her. A twinge of guilt stabbed her in the gut as she watched him. So much effort was put in by him personally just so they could go on dating and trying to be an ordinary couple. It wasn’t fair for him to be trapped into such a burden, even if he was head of The Order. The Order of the Curse-Bound Knights—Vampires rebelling against what the curse made them in to. Because of this, Beon seemed to think she and Ethan were his responsibility now. He’d even retired early from teaching so he could protect them full-time. Not that he needed the job, but Danielle still felt guilty about it. It was all because of this civil war he kept talking about. Were she and Ethan really in that much danger?

  Her eyes slid to Nadia and Max, seated at a table to their right. The teasing flirt who’d winked at her earlier was all warrior now. Even his muscles seemed alert and coiled; ready to spring if the circumstance called for it. His keen brown eyes were busy scrutinizing everyone in the establishment. She couldn’t help but wonder what he’d actually do if anyone did ever try anything. Would he whip out a sword or something?

  Nadia pulled a face while she chewed on the food in her mouth. Her sable brows were pinched together over her emerald green eyes. Danielle knew how much she wanted to be mortal, and sadness stabbed her in the heart as she watched the ethereal beauty. But they hadn’t completely figured out how to administer the cure without her or Ethan winding up dead in the process. She knew Beon was working on a plan, but she hadn’t heard how that was going.

  “Ethan?”

  “Mmm,” he said while chewing.

  “Has Beon drawn up plans for ‘the room,’ so we can give Nadia what she wants?”

  “Hmm.” Swallowing, Ethan nodded and then said, “Actually, he’s already begun construction.”

  On a happy gasp she asked, “Really?”

  “You should see the mess in the garden. The bunny had to go, I’m afraid.”

  This next gasp wasn’t a happy one, and a little cry slipped out as she lowered her spoonful of soup back to the bowl. She loved the bunny sculpted shrub, and knew how much Beon loved his garden. He’d spent so much time trimming and fussing over every detail, even hours shaping that shrub. Danielle knew it had to be a sacrifice for him to destroy it. “How sad.”

  “Beon was more than willing to depart with it for Nadia.”

  “Yes, of course…”

  “Don’t worry, Danielle, he purchased a new shrub to replace it. It will be a little bunny at first, but it’ll grow into a big one after a while. He knows how … attached you were.”

  “I got the impression he was just as attached.”

  “He was, but it can be replaced. You know how badly Nadia wants this. He couldn’t deny her. Beon did try to save the shrub, but he couldn’t get the room to fit anywhere else.”

  She agreed that Nadia was much more important than that wonderful plant. “When will it be finished?” she asked as her eyes traced their way back to Nadia. She wanted her to have her wish, and she was willing to give it to her; even though it was rather disturbing behaving like a vampire to cure one.

  “Very soon, I believe.” He dropped his napkin onto the table “Are you ready to go to the cinema?”

  “Yes.” Her gaze returned to Nadia once more, with new hope healing the stab wound of sympathy for her.

  * * * * *

  With his mouth against her ear Ethan asked, “What would you like to watch tonight?” She snickered when she saw the vampire movie Bri had mentioned listed on the marquee.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “Well, Bri suggested that one.” She motioned to the horror flick.

  Ethan chuckled and tugged her forward to the window. “Surely you jest.”

  “She heard it was good,” Danielle said, also giggling.

  Ethan shook his head, while he purchased tickets for a romantic movie. “I don’t want to think about what they’d do to us if we even tried to go to that with them.” He tucked his wallet back in his pocket and gathered her hand once again.

  “Still it’s funny, you must admit.”

  “I will concede, it would be rather humorous, though I think we might go missing afterwards. And if we don’t go missing, you’ll have nightmares. I know you can’t handle frightening movies like that.”

  “But I can handle the real thing.”

  “You can handle the good ones, Danielle, but the bad ones still trouble your dreams.”

  A blush warmed her face. “I know.” However, she was relieved that Ethan seemed to have a good understanding of the girly side of her, and apparently, didn’t mind her weaknesses. She wished she wasn’t afraid. But, unfortunately for her, she’d learned more than once that black belt skills were no help when it came to vampires. So not fair….

  Next Ethan led her to the concessions counter to purchase his usual large tub of popcorn—with extra butter—of course.

  Unable to resist, Danielle glanced over her shoulder to see where the mob of vampire guards were going to sit as they made their way down the aisle. In the back as they’d done before. Relieved, Danielle urged Ethan closer to the front, attempting to place as much space as possible between them.

  They enjoyed the movie as they’d enjoyed many others in the past, by spending more time kissing than actually watching the film. Smiling with her forehead pressed to his for a breath, Danielle couldn’t help but savor the butter-flavored kisses. For two whole hours it was only her and him. No one interrupted, no one complained, or criticized, though they probably would later. That was later, this was now. Danielle shuddered with chills as Ethan’s fingers brushed the back of her neck.

  “Cold?” he
asked.

  “No.” But he did it again, that soft touch along her spine. His fingers moved down this time and stopped between her shoulder blades, the pressure shifting to a kneading massage. “That tickles,” she said.

  “This?” His fingers glided up again and moved along her nape to behind her ear.

  Shuddering, “Yes, that. Cut it out.” Her words were breathless.

  “If you wish.” His mouth took over, right there, on her neck.

  That always brought the giggles and she pulled away. She didn’t really want to, but couldn’t help herself.

  Danielle was only faintly aware of the fact that the movie had ended and so had their time. She smashed her mouth against his one more time, muttering, “Nice movie.”

  “Yeah. I enjoyed that one too,” he whispered, a naughty smirk playing with his poetic mouth.

  They lingered as the credits rolled by, holding hands, but knew it was time to exit when Max cleared his throat loudly behind them. Hanging out afterward wasn’t allowed either. The guards maintained this strict schedule even though nothing threatening had happened in a while. It also appeared that Celeste and Lucas still considered Danielle amongst the deceased. Neither one of them had been heard from after Ethan faked her death so they could escape the pair’s cement-lined dungeon. But the vampires maintained that it just wasn’t safe, especially after sunset, and therefore, never allowed them to be together too late.

  Chapter 2

  Swords and Bodyguards

  Danielle watched as their guards rotated between Max, Cedric, Seth, Beon and four others who generally kept to Ethan rather than her. Max, the medieval knight, was of course her favorite. To her, he was much like a big brother, and could be a bit of a goofball. Ethan told her when Max was watching her bedroom at night, and when it was him she couldn’t resist opening her window to call out and say hello. He would emerge from his hiding place to chat quietly with her. But startled her one night when he suddenly leapt the two stories to her window, and handed her a pink rose.