by Unknown
“Lianna, darling, I am sure Damien told you this is Hendrick.” Her hand waved to the monstrous man. “And Phoenix.” Her hand followed to him adoringly. “Gentlemen, meet our newest arrival, Lianna Loraine Von.”
Lara reached a hand over to me, taking mine into hers. Her skin was cool, even to me. Her hands small and delicate even compared to my own. “Hello, Hendrick, Phoenix.”
“It’s a pleasure at last to meet you, Lianna,” Hendrick’s voice was just as burly as he was but very warm. The words didn’t match him, like he was trying too hard. His voice had a texture that I could feel ripple through the air. It was as if I could physically feel sounds now. Everything was suddenly so much more definite. It was almost too distracting.
“Yes, so nice to finally meet the infamous femme fatale,” Phoenix’s voice dripped in sarcasm, though I couldn’t fathom why. Phoenix’s eyes searched mine as if he was looking for something, but what I couldn’t be sure of. My gaze narrowed cautiously. The warning tingle deep in my mind was pinging like mad.
“That’s funny, I’ve never heard of you.” It was not to allude to whatever mysterious perception he wanted to portray. I was being an asshole. The slightest twitch of his mouth torqued at the side. “Anna is fine please.” My smile vanished. Suddenly I didn’t feel like faking that this was all hunky dory, let’s meet up for tea meet and greet.
Damien groaned. His hand suddenly smacked hard into the back of Phoenix’s head. Phoenix grunted. I couldn’t help but flinch. Sucking on my bottom lip, my eyes passed over everyone in the room carefully. Soon I settled on Damien expectantly.
Lara glared at Phoenix, though Jezabell spoke before anyone else could. “This is hard enough on her right now,” her voice held a sharp edge that made Phoenix grumble and look to the floor, grunting what I think was an apology. Suddenly the air felt strange. Thicker and colder.
Phoenix’s eyes were on me still though his head was tilted to the floor. I had enough respect, and blatant self-preservation, to keep from giving him away. Once more, my eyes shot up looking over everyone. The tension grew even thicker.
“Damien, what’s going on?” I pulled away from Lara and Jezabell slowly. I felt as tense as a runner poised at the starting line of the Olympics.
Busted. Damien’s head hung for a moment of silence before he looked up to me. “Which part do you want to know?” He was still standing next to Phoenix who had long since settled back to his previous position on the couch.
“Well, let’s start with everything, and we’ll go from there.”
Sighing deeply, he looked away from me for a long moment before turning to face me head on. “There’s some concern that you’re not dead. You shouldn’t have survived. You didn’t survive it. It’s not simple being turned from a human into what you are now. Dragon venom is extremely toxic as it is. It sustains a human body momentarily, as I explained before. They prefer to feed live. We believe that’s the reason you managed to change despite everything, but we don’t know for certain. Also, Dragon venom can have side effects, even on supes.”
That meant Demetrius was going to eat me alive, lovely. “I sucked Demetrius’ venom out, but you had lost so much blood already. You were dead for a while before I could bring you over. It happens, obviously. Though rarely. The outcome is not always-” his voice drifted.
Lara picked up where he left off, “It can be a dangerous effect. The Vampire isn’t always normal if they’re entirely dead beforehand.”
Phoenix coughed, clearing his throat and looked at me questioningly. “How long?” My back was erect as a steel bar.
“The main reason we were worried is we don’t believe you were entirely human to begin with, Lianna,” Jezabell continued, “The length of time it took to bring you back- Well to be honest it’s never been heard of before. When you first started your process of turning, and you were unconscious, Damien called us. He explained everything that had happened. Including what you did to Demetrius.”
“How long was I dead?” My gaze remained hard on Damien in wait. The tension continued to build in me like a volcano ready to blow.
Damien’s gaze left mine. “Two days. The most we’ve ever heard of was a few hours.”
Considering this, my brows rose. It hadn’t felt like days. I remembered everything about my death so clearly, too. Or so I thought. I wondered how it could even be possible. But there is no time in the thereafter. Even if your soul does stick around in order to come back. “What is so special about what I did to Demetrius?”
“You shoved a normal piece of glass from a window through the bottom of his jaw up into the roof of his mouth. Dragon scales are nearly impenetrable. It saved your life, but no human could have managed. It wasn’t what you used. Or even the fact that you managed to distract him. I believe it was your blood. That it had weakened him,” Damien stared at the fireplace as he spoke now. He wasn’t feeling guilty, he was remembering it.
“Yes, the bloodstone made him weaker. That’s why I wanted them all to feed from me. I was trying to help you.” My brows lift as if that should explain everything. In truth, I was very surprised he hadn’t already figured that out. “Why do you think I pushed them all to feed from me? For fun? Do you think I enjoyed Liahm ripping into my chest like that?”
Damien flinched as if my words had hurt him physically. “It’s not that simple. For them to touch a bloodstone would burn them instantly. You saw that with me. But it was in your blood. It would take minutes for the effect to take them over. It’s not instant. Quickly sure, but not in seconds. And bloodstone or no, you shouldn’t have been able to cut through his flesh. Not the skin of a Dragon, not even a Crossbreed Dragon.”
Phoenix couldn’t take his eyes off of me. I couldn’t read his expression. Lara and Jezabell seemed to be watching a movie for their lack of affliction. Hendrick seemed vastly uncomfortable.
“Damien, you drank my blood before that night though.” Like in the light of dawn, everything became suddenly quite clear. “It was me, not just the bloodstone and the venom.” It was easy to pull up the memories. Us lying in his bed in Vermont. Suddenly he had to leave. He didn’t feel well. My teeth grit together, the skin of my lower lip caught in the vice.
Standing a statue he stared back at me. He didn’t speak until he looked away, shaking his head. “We don’t know that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Blood coated my lips turning them dark crimson. My tongue flicked over them wiping it away quickly enough I hoped futilely no one had noticed. But of course the ever watching Phoenix had.
“They’re concerned. People that are not human that turn into Vampires, as well as people that die just before they are turned, all tend to have complications in this life. That’s all.” My thirst. He’d said that my appetite was stronger than he’d expected. Damien looked down at me indirectly. His brows rose before his gaze moved back to the floor.
My lips curled into a mocking sneer. “I’m a freak. How little things change.” Hope they forgave the steely bitterness.
Before anyone else could speak Phoenix interrupted, “Freak is putting it mildly.” I snapped. Anger tore my soul in half at the flick of a switch.
Just as quickly as I stood up to make him take back his stupid words I was across the room in the fireplace on my back. My face pained and bloody.
Calmly he stood back a few feet, hands down at his sides. Blood stained his left. Death’s friend after all.
Despite the pain, I bolted up right again only to smack into the two hard bodies of Hendrick and Damien both. My hands were shaking. The two held me quite immobile as I quickly evaluated what had just happened. From the second Phoenix had spoken, until this very moment, everything was confusing. It was like flashes of the memory were missing. I couldn’t understand why I was so angry.
Catching my reflection from across the room in a large mirror, my eyes were glowing electric blue. My head spun with confusion, my throat burned with hunger. I could feel the fire spreading through my body as the shadow inside
me fought for control.
Eyes blurring over, I could no longer see straight. Hendrick and Damien’s grip on me got stronger as my lips curled into a snarl and my knees trembled. Not fear. Anticipation.
Phoenix stood across the room. I couldn’t pull my eyes from him. Winking, he licked his fingers clean of my blood before turning and strolling casually upstairs. Phoenix was in complete control. He had set me up for a humiliating fall.
“Take her outside. Now.” Lara stood by the back of the house next to a set of large French doors. Pulling me away from Hendrick, Damien responded so quickly I had hardly felt us move. He didn’t release my arm until we were outside.
The sun was setting. My eyes closed to the brilliant light. My senses caught the scent the same instant my body reacted. For the first time as a Vampire, I hunted. I do not remember what happened.
There was a haze like dream though I hadn’t slept. Perhaps it was a memory of a dream.
The mist was dark. Fog rolled along the ground around me thicker than smoke. Statues every few paces seemed to watch me with their stone cold eyes. They seemed alive. Each one watching me with a strange tension. Fear. The air smelled like jasmine. The living green around me was so thick and rich it was hued emerald. The many shades of blue flowers of the dark and magical garden were thick, and covered everything in their exotic nature. Walking to a small cascading waterfall that filled a little pond swimming with coy and lily pads, I stood at the edge. My bare feet sunk into the lush wet ivy. Looking down into the water, there in the moonlight reflecting in the still water was the face of a monster. Blood red eyes glowing like wild fire. My mouth hung open, blood pouring out in a slow stream. The white fangs were stained in blood. Every tooth was sharpened into a fine malicious point. My entire bare body was soaked in blood like I had been emerged in it. Droplets of blood dripped to break the surface of the water destroying the image before I could recognize this demon’s face.
Awaking in bed, I looked down over my body. Bright white leggings, a flowy white shirt bunched slightly for its length at my hips.
Groaning for the stiffness of my neck, I looked around. I couldn’t be certain what had happened. My gaze came to rest on Damien. A slight smile met me.
“What- How long?” I knew at some point I had blacked out. No clue when. No clue what had happened. No memory past my eyes closing to the brilliant light of the setting sun.
“A little less than a day.” Damien sighed, running his hand across my cheek. The side that had been injured by Phoenix. It didn’t hurt now.
“Do I want the details?” Damien shrugged, shook his head. “Better give them to me anyway.”
“You fed. When you were done, and we went to check on you, you were unconscious. Nothing more elaborate,” his voice was deeper than usual. Angry.
“And Phoenix?” I asked dully. My brow rose slightly.
“Phoenix… I should rip his fucking throat out.” My eyes bulged. His eyes closed as he laid his hand over my cheek for a moment longer.
“He’s your brother. Don’t say that. I attacked him. It wasn’t his fault. We both know he could have killed me if he wanted to. He didn’t though, and I’m quite certain that was for your benefit. Not mine.” Pulling his hand away from my face reluctantly, I let out a sigh. My hand squeezed his.
“I have a hard time believing he didn’t let you get that close just to prove a point, Anna. He does nothing without a reason. He provoked you. And trust me, I will find out why.”
“I lost control. Either because I’m young or because I was dead before I turned. Or maybe because I was never human to begin with. Or maybe it’s something else entirely! He wanted to make sure I knew what could happen if I were to lose control again. That’s all. I need to apologize to him I suppose.”
“You were provoked under what was already an extremely stressful situation for a young Vampire. I’m sorry, Lianna,” Damien spoke with an edge.
“So when I end up killing the wrong person because I lose control again, then what? You’ll apologize for that, too, I suppose?” I ranted in an angry hiss.
Damien just sat there watching me. Eventually his shoulders came up in a shrug. He knew that he probably would in all actuality. “It’s possible. But that’s another reason why I won’t let you have human blood for quite some time. You think the deer was something... Mmm. No, you’re really not ready for that yet.”
Idly I let a thought ponder on what was in the glasses. “Please, Damien. I know this isn’t normal. I remember what they said in the living room. What’s wrong with me?”
“It was pig blood. And that was probably just an overload. You were angry. You were stressed, and hungry. The blood just sent you over the edge,” he sounded like he was trying to reassure himself. Not me.
The blackout just added to the list of problems. He had never seen anything like it before I would bet. What kind of Vampire became comatose from feeding? Letting the silence be our comfortable blanket we laid together in peace. His arms held around me as if they were only so long as to fit me against him.
“Why did you stay?” I wondered aloud, breaking the bliss of quiet happiness.
He didn’t follow. “When I met you in Vermont? I told you that story already.” For every word his lips ticked the nape of my neck.
“When I died,” I corrected in a low whisper. “The longest you’d heard of was a few hours. You stayed for days. Waiting. Why? Didn’t you think it was hopeless?”
The arm over top of me squeezed without thought. “Not for a second. I’d never felt such pain at the thought of you dying in my arms. And you did die. But only your mortality. Your body didn’t take to death very well, I suppose. Not like a mortal would.” I didn’t say anything when he finished. After a moment, he confessed, “I’m not sure I’d have been able to leave no matter the outcome.” The arm under me, folded across his adjusted. Fingers found mine, interlacing.
Maybe some things were better than the quiet happiness of peace.
I didn’t have to say it but I was hungry again. The burning spread through my veins as if I had been starved for too long, and was weak with hunger. Hadn’t I just fed though? “How long will this last?” Certainly I couldn’t feel this way for the rest of my eternity.
“Like the hypersensitivity, it never completely goes away. It just settles into the back of your mind. You learn to function around it. There is quite a bit for you to learn actually.” In an instant he was standing by the glass wall, sliding open the panel to the balcony as he turned to face me. “You wanna learn or what?” His lips twisted at the corner of his mouth. A mocking smirk beckoned me to follow.
“You know that you’re faster now of course. But do you know how much faster? Or more, did you know you have better balance than a cat? Agility of a snake?” His usual grin was weak but still mischievous.
Cautiously I walked to him. Joining him outside as the sun was setting overhead. The end of another day.
Not allowing me the time to focus on the masterpiece of the setting sun his hand held out to me. Naturally, without pause, I took it, and in one blindingly fast move he had me standing up on the rail.
Desperately my fingers clutched to his shoulders as his hands placed casually to my hips. “Trust me, Anna.”
I’m not afraid of heights. Not really. But wouldn’t anyone be alarmed when forced onto the ledge of an impossibly high balcony.
His hands stayed on my hips but not to hold me there. He let me handle that part on my own. “Let go of me, Anna.” His smile crept onto his lips as he coaxed me much as one would a child.
Stubbornly, I shook my head. My eyes stupidly glanced down at the drop that seemed much further than your normal three-story landing.
“You’re right. Since the ceilings are so much higher this is much closer to a five or even six story balcony than a three. Now let go, love.” His hands released my hips and placed to my own, gently prying my fingers away from his shoulders, but hanging on to them.
“Your knees are not eve
n shaking. Do you really feel as if you are going to fall by accident? Think about it. Feel your surroundings.” I looked down at my feet. I hadn’t even realized I was balanced on the balls of my bare feet.
It did seem stable. The wind threatened no more than my shirt.
Damien released one hand and walked the length of the railing with me. Forcing me to walk with him if I wanted to hang on to him at all.
Really, it wasn’t at all difficult. It was just fear that had thrown me off me before.
As my body seemed to relax, his fingers slid from my own. “You need to learn just what all you’re capable of. You will find it quite surprising.” And with that, he grabbed my ankle and pulled it out from under me, successfully flipping me off the rail, then backwards off the balcony.
The ground below me seemed mocking as I fell. A vast garden spread from the back of the house into an exotic minefield of plants and decorative statues.
Surprisingly, I felt no fear as I flipped gracefully down the many feet towards the earth. A stone pillar stood tall below me with an ornate granite ball on top. Without even thinking about it, my body knew what to do. Easily I landed a top the pillar, balanced on my toes on top of the black glittering ball.
As I looked up, Damien was staring down at me. My brow arched inquisitively as he grinned recklessly down at me.
With one easy step, I fell again to the ground and landed without any effort at all. The very instant my feet touched the earth I was running for the woods. I could feel Damien behind me, gaining with every second.
A vast field spread after the garden towards a dense forest. This was the first time I had truly run. I knew Damien could move faster than my eyes could focus. He always had. But for some reason it never occurred to me that I could really move like that, too.
In seconds, I hit the tree line, jumping up to the first branch I came near. Grabbing it easily, I swiftly pulled my body up to steady my feet beneath me like a stalking cat.