by Unknown
My hand caught under her chin, forcing her to look at me. Wild, bright silver irises met mine. “Never presume what I’m thinking.” At least it was safe on the roof. She was right about that. She could have run off. Not that I wouldn’t have been able to find her, but there was no guarantee I would have found her before someone else had.
“Come on now. Let’s get you fed. Nothing will happen to you as long as you’re with me. All right? You have my word.” Standing, my hand extended for Lianna. She stared at my waiting fingers emptily. Hesitantly she reached for me, and let me take her frozen hand in my own. The lack of blood and stone like state had made moving more difficult. I pulled her up slowly- keeping my hand grasped around her elbow, the other close around her waist. Every small movement seemed to cause her pain.
“Damien taught you to go after deer because there is such a plethora. Decades ago, Jezabell had a coven enchant the property to attract the docile creatures, and promote their breeding to aid in sustaining us. But there are other things, wilder animals that can be more appetizing you could say. Bear and bore blood are the best. Being omnivores they taste nearly human. The carnivores are quite satisfying as well. Their blood’s a bit more wild. Deer and other herbivores taste like dirt in my opinion.” He grimaced at the thought.
“Why just deer then? Why not attract more?” my voice was raw, it hurt to speak. I’d never been told this before.
“Our scent drives them away. But they do tend to stay near our boarders, as the enchantment worked a little too well, and there are plenty for the lesser predators as well.”
Phoenix kept an arm around my waist for physical support. I wasn’t at my best. We left the boarders. At last we’d found out hunt. Perched high in the trees, he whispered close to me so as not to alarm the foraging black bear below. “He’s going to put up a fight. All of these creatures do.”
Swallowing involuntarily on my burning throat I looked hesitantly down at the beast. Could he hurt me as out of whack as I was? “Don’t worry, cupcake, I won’t let the big bad bear hurt you.” He chuckled lightly, and winced back as I jammed my thumb into his ribs as he’d once done to me. Minimal pressure needed, maximum effect achieved. He didn’t let go despite it. “It’s natural for you, Anna. This will teach you a lot about how to defend yourself also. It’s instinctive. You’ll do great. Remember? I’ve seen your temper.”
As Phoenix grinned smugly I dropped silently from our high perch. Weaving as quiet as a butterfly down to the last branch, I stopped and watched the foraging bear bellow.
He fought back just as Phoenix promised, but it wasn’t more than a few seconds. Even as his claws dug into my shoulders, trying to peal me off him, I had ripped his throat out with my bare teeth. Massive paws dug deep into my stone like flesh dragging down my body without heed.
My fangs ripped through his thick flesh tearing huge gashes as I usually did to avoid the filthy fur, and end the animals suffering faster. Humans were better. But this was an easy second best. In fact, deer was now off the menu.
Long after the animal lay dead, I kneeled close, sucking every drop I could to the point of gorging myself. Phoenix stood behind me chuckling to himself.
With revitalized senses I jumped up and lunged, knocking him back into a tree. Blood covered my face over my cheeks, nose, eyes and even my hair. It was the first time I had seen Phoenix surprised. “Do not make fun of me. I don’t like the taste of the fur. It’s disgusting.”
He smirked at my serious lecture. His eyes radiating the most brilliant Caribbean blue. “Never.” Hesitantly his icy white fingers ran down over the bloody flesh of my cheek before licking them clean. “You do know how to bring out the hunger in a man.”
In a moment he pushed past me. My brows rose as I turned to follow after him. My hands wiped at my face licking the blood clean as I followed after him. Waste not want not.
After that Phoenix took me out every day. We avoided most everyone, sticking to the roof or the edge of the property. When I was in the house it was just to shower and change clothes. At one point Jezabell went through the closet and burned all my royally screwed up clothes. They were all replaced with things I’d never touch. I found my duffel bag we’d brought from Vermont, and started wearing those instead. I also told her if she touched my own things I’d start wearing her clothes when I went hunting instead. They’d be ruined. She never went near my things again.
Damien wasn’t getting any better. I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks now. Phoenix gave me updates, but they became more minimal by the day. We really didn’t talk about the House or its occupants at all anymore. He told me stories of his past, and we discussed history more than anything.
We also talked about the one thing that concerned me the most. Demetrious. He hadn’t died, though we did not know if he still hunted me. Phoenix agreed to teach me how to fight, agreeing I needed the training for defense. He also believed it might help me get a handle on myself in general. “There is more to knowing how to fight than just knowing how to hurt someone,” he explained. “It’s knowing how to use your surroundings, and how to adapt to any situation. More than anything it is about self-control, pushing yourself beyond your limits, and mastering them.”
It was amazing to work with Phoenix. His agility was astonishing. To say he was fast was putting it mildly, Vampire or not.
Phoenix taught me to fight and so much more. When we hit, it was like being tackled by a semi-truck. Phoenix caused more than a few injuries. They ached, but it was more of an annoyance than anything.
Thankfully I healed considerably quickly now, which was good seeing how frequently he landed hits. He didn’t draw too much blood, but you could tell he enjoyed it a great deal when he did. I still had to feed every day, but it was mostly to keep my healing up.
We fought for hours. It was nothing like the way Damien had fought in play. This was by all means serious and then some. I even felt a tingle run down my spine, wondering if at some point he would truly turn on me. If Phoenix was going to, it would not have been him mistakenly going overboard. He was far too controlled for that. That’s what worried me actually.
He executed every maneuver with five counters already in place. It wasn’t the force we used but the strategy. It was comparative to the most complicated and physical chess game imaginable. I’ve always been pretty good at chess though.
Like a sponge, I soaked up everything he was teaching me. Even the subtle things. How to react to an opponent’s action. To mimic their movements and in doing so to learn how to predict their every step. Hours were spent going over maneuvers and steps. “Use your surroundings,” he said as he picked me up off the ground, and put me back into a defensive low crouch after knocking me flat.
“You can learn to do anything that you put your mind to with enough focus and training. Besides, you landed a good hit on me earlier. You drew blood this time. You’re getting better than you think.” It reminded me of a gymnastics class I’d taken as a child. I only went for one year. My parents had thought it would develop my balance and focus. It didn’t.
One evening just past dusk when the fighting was done, Phoenix showed me his true nature. His greatest gift.
As the dusk was settling and the fog was slowly creeping over the blades of grass, I found Phoenix standing about fifteen foot in front of a massive ancient white oak. He stood facing the tree in perfect stillness in a silence that disturbed even the air. Silently, I came to stand just behind him and to his side.
As I stared my mouth parted. The limbs were moving. It wasn’t from the wind though. They stretched up, curled in like they were stretching their fingers. Then I caught sight of movement at his side. The limbs moved as his fingers were. One by one, his fingers curled in and out just a the limbs were.
Phoenix finally turned to look at me then and with no more than a nod he walked past me in the direction of the house. The tree had returned to its normal state.
“Phoenix, wait!”
Phoenix was strolling at a most hum
an pace. When I darted in front of him, he stopped. His features were expressionless other than the slight arch of his left eyebrow. He didn’t say anything of course. Narrowing my eyes, my head shook no in disbelief. “You have to tell me. No.” Breath. “You have to teach me.”
My voice was low as I looked up to the man towering over me in his gaunt demeanor. His arms purposefully folded over his chest as he stared at me in silence for what felt like my own impatient eternity. “Tell me, Lianna. What makes you think that I do?”
Pausing for a moment before just the slightest twist came to my lips as they curled into a smirk. “Because you said I can learn anything I put my mind to. If you didn’t think I could do it, you wouldn’t have shown me.”
Phoenix was silent for a long time before his head just gave the slightest nod, and a smirk twisted into the corner of his lips.
No words of course. Nothing that truly acknowledged what I wanted. It was only his nod that confirmed his agreement with my request. He looked in the direction of the house, and then back to me.
Death’s friend. Phoenix is what you fear more than anything to be waiting for you at the end of a dark alley. His Caribbean blue eyes appear cold as the statuesque man stares down at you. Thin, lean, and tone with skin so placid he looks like death itself. Raven black shaggy hair. Thin pale lips. Clothed in black. His mind, a lock box to everyone unless he chose to let them in. Secretly he carries an ability to force the world to move at his command. Enigmatic and quiet. Hard and vicious. Keen and yet trust worthy. I stand in wondered awe by his secrets.
We flew back to the house, racing each other there. It didn’t take much for him to beat me of course. Staggering in shock as he reached the house, and stood await, holding open the door for me, I couldn’t help but smile. Small victories after all.
There was no denying I was an abysmal mess of blood and dirt by the end of the day. Not wanting to make a mess of anything else I lingered at the entry. We were both surprised to see the living room full.
Damien was at my side just after I entered though he stopped short of reaching me. His eyes lit to see me, but dulled just as quick. Turning to Phoenix, he crossed his arms getting all down to business. “Well how’d she do?” Damien asked.
“Amazingly well. Landed three hits today. She’s a feisty one.” Winking at me, he gave me a little nudge. “We’ll do some more work tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your night now, Lianna. You’ve earned it.” Phoenix punched Damien in the shoulder and took a seat in the living room before Damien could counter. Adrenaline takes a while to wear off with us.
“Careful now. I can always get her to defend me if need be,” Damien boasted as I groaned, rolling my eyes. I turned and hit him in the same spot. Harder.
His eyes gleamed like jewels as he caught my wrist just after. Damien pulled me a step closer. The look in his eyes caught my breath and made my stomach do flips on itself. His fingers spread over my hand and slowly brushed down my arm as he released me. “Come, Jezabell has some company.”
“I’m sort of a wreck right now,” I protested quietly.
“You’re beautiful. Come on.” He would have said it even if I had rolled in road kill in a torn up brown sack. Placing his arm around my side, he pulled me close to whisper as low as possible into my ear, “Sit with me though. Just this once.”
Before I could shake my head to argue, his hand went back around my wrist with a slight warning squeeze. “It’s not what you think. Just trust me. You need to be here for this. Sit with me.”
With a slight nod of consent, Damien walked me to the living room. Sitting in his usual seat, I sat on the floor leaned against the chair close to him, all the while praying I didn’t ruin the furniture with my state of grossness. Casually his leg rested against my arm. Running a hand through m hair, twisting a long lock round and round his fingers.
There was a new couple that had arrived in our absence. They wore older clothes, yet still very well-tailored and clean cut. Their skin was brilliant dark ebony. The woman’s head was shaved to the scalp. The male sported thick wild braids down to his tail bone. Entangled amongst his dreaded braids were woven leather strips adorning beads of bronze and brass, each intricately carved.
True to herself, Jezabell was wearing a wedding gown and it was stunning. I didn’t need to roll in road kill to look like I’d become it. They were each immaculate perfection, while I was just plain filthy. My pale blue jeans and pretty lacy white tank top were brown with mud and dried up blood. Torn in strange patterns from my knees on up. My hair had been in a knotty bun was now hung sloppily on my neck, many strands stuck to my flesh with dirt and my own dried blood.
When I looked over the room my spine twitched as I laid eyes onto them both. Damien wasn’t reacting much better. His body was ridged. There was a strange whisper of warning alerting me in the back of my mind. Maybe that was the new Vampire paranoia. It seemed to go with the territory to be paranoid.
Jezabell introduced the couple to me as Gabriel and Dominique Rameire. I gave a slight forced smile with a curt nod. Their voices had thick strange accents that I couldn’t identify. Mediterranean possibly, but not from the main lands.
Damien leaned down and whispered to me, even less audible than usual. It made my thoughts scatter immediately to hear his voice sound so anxious and concerned. My eyes instantly went to the two strangers. I could feel a stir inside of me, warning again. “Don’t listen to them. You’re safe here. No matter what anyone else thinks, you’re safe with me.”
“Demetrius is coming if you want to acknowledge that or not. He has New Bloods and Crossbreeds with him. And we have been told that powerful blood backs him. These are facts. Unavoidable facts. That’s why we have come here. We owe you far greater debt than just a warning,” Gabriel’s voice, that thick beautiful accent sounded grave and desperate.
Damien’s brows lift as he spoke. “If you come here to repay a debt why are you afraid?”
My eyes couldn’t pull from the statuesque Vampires perched on one of the white Victorian chairs. Like a warlord and his queen.
Dominique’s eyes set on me. Her eyes were burning before Gabriel’s gaze turned to me as well. Followed with the rest of the room.
Hendrick spoke before anyone else could. “She’s young. She means no threat.” In the next second Damien had pulled me up to sit on the arm of the chair, half in his lap with his arm around my hips. I wasn’t going to argue and make a scene.
Damien touched my forehead and ran his rough fingers over my eyes. His fingers brushed my lashes down to my blood red lips. His grip around my waist was snug as ever. It felt good even if I wanted to deny it.
The change of a Vampire’s eyes expresses their emotions, but typically these are emotions of hunger or anger. Either way it shows that they are currently quite dangerous to be around.
Licking my lips, I blew our guests a kiss. Dominique’s brows rose cautiously. Phoenix covered his mouth to hide a grin.
They ignored Damien completely. “I assure you, we are here solely as a gesture of gratitude for your given aid in the past,” Gabriel spoke after a moment of observing me. It was a lie.
Dominique finally spoke for the first time since I had been here. Apparently maybe for the first time that night as she had caught everyone else’s attention as well. Her voice so liquid and smooth, eloquent and powerful, mystic even- it would be hard pressed for anyone not to listen, “You can’t hide her forever. You know this. Not even you, Damien. If you run with her they will light a fire after you. Blazing every step as they come closer. They will send armies. They will destroy you. Would you bring that on your House?”
“Leave him alone. This isn’t about him or anyone else in this House. It’s about me. I have lived through Demetrius first hand. I am not afraid. I nearly killed him once as a human then. I survived it. Let them come,” I spoke as calmly as manageable while wondering how obvious the malice in my voice was to them.
I’m not sure where my vehement threat came from or the fury bur
ning deep within my core. But there it was. Not for the first time in my new life I saw a glimpse of ruthlessness within me.
Hendrick was the first to laugh. Phoenix the first to grin. Everyone else stared at me dumbfounded, for Vampires anyway. I heard Phoenix’s low voice rumble, “I like her more by the day.”
Everyone ignored Phoenix. “Did you? Looking at you now I would swear that you did not survive. I see it in your eyes child. Your soul won’t let go of the demon inside.” Dominique smiled viciously.
Damien’s hand gripped my arm fiercely. Phoenix came to stand just behind me. They weren’t protecting me. They were preparing to stop me.
Amazingly I ignored her. “Demetrius knew me only as human. He doesn’t know what I’m capable of now.”
“Or maybe he does, and this is why he wants you so badly. You hadn’t thought of that. Had you?” Gabriel spoke, his eyes intent on me. “My dear child, do you even know what you are?”
The look in everyone’s eyes, Damien’s included, looked disturbed. So many questions I brought up in this house. So many things no one understood. I was a freak even in this world of mystic creatures.
“Are you telling us that you do?” Jezabell spoke with dark authority. She was small, whimsical , but anyone who knew her well would listen wisely. “No, I didn’t think so. You’ll be wise to tread cautiously.”
“Tell us Gabriel, Dominique, are you asking us to fight them or turn our selves over to them? Why are you really here? Who sent you?” Damien’s voice was low, raspy and angered.
“How dare you accuse us of betraying you! We are here as your compatriots!” Gabriel stood abruptly. His eyes had turned a glistening crimson.
It was Lara’s turn. Her angelic voice never slipped once in its calm tone. So soft and childlike. Sweet but deathly serious. She stood in the center of the room. “That’s enough. I thank you in every way for your kind gesture of warning, and offering hand. However, I do believe that your presence is over staying its warm welcome. With things in the array that have been set afoot... I believe the time has come for your departure.”