Eternity

by M.E. Timmons

  Chapter 27

  My good mood had evaporated by supper time. I got a new project to do in Biology, and we had to do weird experiments in Psychology. I looked forward to Calculus so I could see Adrian, but he didn't even show up, which was a bit of a let-down. I couldn't even find anyone to sit with in the cafeteria at supper. The only friend I could find was Sydney, who waved to me, but she was sitting with her friend Jackie, who really didn't like me. I sat by myself at an empty table and ate alone.

  I found out where some of my friends were later that evening. I was sitting by myself in the common room of the south wing, and I was reading another book written by Isadora, this time about ancient Greece. Heather came in the room not long before it was time for bed, and she was flushed and happy.

  "Jack kissed me!" she announced almost as soon as she saw me. "It was so sweet. We were watching a movie in the west wing, and it had a really sad ending. I totally had tears running down my face, and he wiped them away, and then he turned my face and kissed me right then and there."

  I couldn't help but grin. "That's wonderful!" I said. I had noticed lately that Jack had really started spending more time with Heather, though his feelings for me hadn't seemed to change at all, which bothered me. I was worried that he was trying to distract himself or something, but there wasn't much I could do even if that was the case. I really did think he and Heather were good together because they had similar personalities, aside from the whole werewolf temper thing.

  Melissa came in not long after Heather, and then Rhea, who was usually in earlier. Melissa had been listening to Light's Kingdom practice. They were still practicing with their keyboardist who had stage fright, but they were looking for someone to replace him. Melissa wasn't actually interested in their music, since she was more of a hip-hop fan, but she was interested enough in Michael to pretend she was. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to notice her quite so much, though I'd seen Patrick eyeing her a few times when we were all together.

  Rhea had come in late because she was tutoring someone else in our class, which didn't surprise me. She was a quiet and calm sort of person, and she possessed a natural sense of grace and dignity that would probably make anyone feel comfortable around her. She was also very smart and good at explaining things. She didn't tend to spend as much time with us because we could be a little overwhelming to her, and we had a tendency to break rules that she didn't want to be part of, which I could certainly respect, even if I was the chief rule-breaker.

  The next day, after supper, I went back to the library to get a new book, and I curled up on one of the plush red couches in the middle of the room between the shelves of books. I wasn't there long when someone sat down beside me. I didn't look up to see who it was until she spoke to me.

  "Hello," she said. Her voice was soft and melodic, like most vampires, which she was. I recognized her instantly as the vampire who had looked at me so intently at the beginning of the school year. I'd seen her a few times since then in the north wing, but I had never spoken to her before. She was looking intently at me with her bright blue eyes. She was very pretty, and she looked like she was around twenty, though you could never tell with vampires. She certainly had a sense of wisdom in her look that would make anyone second guess her age.

  "Hi," I said back, a little startled that she was talking to me. She continued to watch me with her penetrating eyes. I was pretty sure that vampires could read the thoughts of humans, but I wasn't sure if that applied to those with special powers.

  "It does," she informed me, answering the question in my thoughts. "I'm Anna. I've seen you around a lot, especially when you go to see Adrian."

  I blushed. "Yeah, I do that sometimes," I said.

  "I've never met you before school," Anna said. "I believe you've met my father though. It was probably a long time ago. He told me about you, and I kind of hoped I'd get to meet you someday."

  "Who's your father?" I asked. I was a little confused by what she was saying.

  "Kalinor," she told me. I was shocked. Kalinor was the first vampire, and he was born that way. I didn't think vampires could have children. Then I thought that maybe she was sort of adopted by him or something.

  Anna listened to my thoughts, and she smiled. "It is rare, but vampires can have children. Both of my parents are vampires. I was the first ever to be born from two vampires, but not the last. There are two others now, including my younger brother."

  "What makes you think I've ever met Kalinor?" I asked. "I hardly ever saw any vampires before I came here, and I never spoke to any of them. I certainly don't remember ever meeting the most important vampire in the world."

  "It's so hard to imagine that you don't know," Anna said, almost to herself, instead of answering my question. "I wouldn't have believed it if I couldn't see it for myself."

  I realized what she was saying, and I got annoyed. "I'm not Isadora," I said firmly. "I know it's a common misconception, but it isn't possible."

  "I apologize. I wasn't trying to offend you," Anna assured me. "You can believe whatever you want. Perhaps it is for the best."

  I decided to ignore that. "What's Kalinor like?" I asked.

  "He is kind and very wise. I get the feeling sometimes that he wasn't very happy for a long time, which was why he decided to sleep for two thousand years, but he is very happy with my mother. They're soulmates. I hope that someday I will meet mine, but he isn't alive now. Yours is though."

  "How do you know?" I asked.

  "Every vampire has at least one ability, and I possess the ability to see relationships. I can tell if someone has a soulmate, and if they do I can tell who and where that person is. I got the ability from my father."

  "Is Adrian my soulmate?" I asked.

  "No, he isn't, and he has a soulmate as well. The two of you aren't supposed to be together. You can love someone without them being your soulmate, and I'm sure you love each other, but when you meet the right person you'll realize how big of a difference it really is. Your soulmate is more than just someone you love very much, he is a part of you, and he becomes all you live for. I've seen it myself with my parents and two of their friends, though they're dead now. My mother was in love with the vampire who turned her before she met my father. It broke his heart when she left him, but she didn't have much of a choice. You can't fight fate."

  I believed what she told me, and it made me sad. I didn't want to leave Adrian, and I didn't think I ever would unless he wanted me to, or unless one of us did meet a soulmate. It just seemed unimaginable.

  Anna smiled kindly. "I'm sure everything will work out well in the end."

  "Not if I am Isadora," I joked. "All of her stories have tragic endings."

  "But for her they aren't really endings," Anna pointed out.

  I looked down at the book that was lying open in my lap. "I don't know how she lives like that though. She falls in love so many times, and she always loses the people she loves. Don't you think it would take a toll after awhile? How could anyone live with that much pain?"

  "Probably by taking away her memories so she doesn't have to live with them," Anna said, and I could hear what she was implying. It was kind of strange talking to a vampire because she didn't have an aura. She could tell so much more about me than I could about her. It was the opposite of what I was used to.

  "It can be a little unnerving for people, can't it? I can't say I personally know what it's like, but people do become uncomfortable if they realize you know more about them than they think."

  "Um, yeah," I said. "Can you get out of my head please?"

  "Sorry. I have to go now anyway, so I'll leave you alone. It was nice to meet you," Anna said. She got up and left, leaving me with my tumultuous thoughts.

  I sat there for at least ten minutes just thinking about what she'd said. I had such a hard time believing I wasn't supposed to be with Adrian. From what Anna had said, it sounded like I hadn't met m
y real soulmate yet, but I was glad that I had one out there somewhere, even if it wasn't Adrian. I wondered if Jack had a soulmate. I made a mental note to ask Anna if he did the next time I saw her. If he did then he wouldn't have to live with wanting to be with me, and it would make me happy if he could be truly happy.