by Candy Crum
“What?” he asked. He looked slightly confused, but that passed as it occurred to him what I was asking. “Oh. It’s um… been a while. A little over a week. I’ve had more important things on my mind.”
Deep down, I knew that he was talking about me, and I felt a little nervous. It bothered me that he’d been ignoring his own needs to make sure that I was taken care of. I backed away from him and looked around. I found a piece of broken glass from what looked to be a glass Coke bottle at one time. I retrieved it, knowing that whatever infection would come from it, my body would purify, or so I hoped.
After making my way back to Aeric, I lifted the glass to my wrist but he stopped me. “No,” he said.
“My body will fight off any infection, and it’ll heal. I’m really not worried about it,” I said. “I can’t stand that I’m interrupting all of your lives. You’ve even abandoned proper nutrition to make sure that I’m cared for. You’ve helped me so much, and I’ve only been rude and heartless to you. Today you taught me a lot about who I am and what I can do. I just want to return the favor.”
“It’s not that—” he started, pupils slightly dilated “—just not the wrist.”
“Why?” I asked.
“There is no place on your body that this won’t be intimate, but if you’re certain this is what you want, then there are places I would rather drink from,” he said.
Aeric reached for my left hand and flipped my palm up as he gently rubbed the padding of my hand just below my thumb and slightly above my wrist. I saw the blue veins showing through my tan skin.
“It’s not much of a variation, but it’s enough for me. There are a few spots we are weak for, and the wrist is one of them; along with the neck, inner thighs, and breasts,” he explained.
My eyes involuntarily widened. I didn’t realize the inner thighs and breasts were ‘hot spots’ for Vampires. I guess movies really aren’t that far from the truth sometimes. I raised my right hand and gently placed the broken glass against the place of his choosing on my left hand. He ran his index finger against a vein that was slightly thicker than the others and ran from the base of my thumb to my wrist.
“This one,” he said.
I nodded and dug the glass into my hand. I winced at the pain, but quickly forgot about it when I thought of what was about to happen. My heart began beating harder and heat radiated from the overactive organ as my body tried to heal itself. I concentrated on that heat and contained it in my chest. Wendy told me that we were remarkably fast healers, just like Vampires.
Blood began to run down my hand and across my wrist. Aeric’s eyes were a deep forest shade of green rather than their beautiful emerald color, and his pupils were glazed over, almost a metallic black. They were shining and absolutely beautiful. I smiled at him to let him know that everything was okay.
He gently guided my hand to his mouth before looking me directly in the eyes and fully smiling. For the first time, I saw him. My dream was dead on. Aeric had four tiny, perfect fangs. They were so subtle that it was no wonder why they were so easily hidden. There was nothing terrifying about the way he looked. He looked nothing like Jeff did. Aeric turned his face toward my outstretched, bleeding hand and opened his mouth wider.
As his jaw opened, I saw his fangs extend slightly further into what I had always imagined as Vampire teeth. They were longer and looked far more intimidating, but still nothing like the others, and I still wasn’t afraid. They were absolutely beautiful. I actually felt honored that he allowed me to see him in his natural form. His tongue pushed forward as he was about to make contact with my broken skin and excitement washed over me, chilling me from head to toe.
However, as I said before, things don’t always work out the way they are planned.
Someone else had other ideas.
Before I could see what was happening, Aeric and I were completely separated by more than ten feet. I felt an arm around my neck and a hand around my left wrist. I was flipped around to face a beautiful woman with jet-black, spiky hair with neon-pink highlights. She looked at me with an expression that was nothing but compassionate, but I had never seen her before. She opened her mouth and ran her tongue against my wound, tracing its full length. I still had control of my healing abilities, but that didn’t stop the open area from closing.
“Don’t be afraid, my saliva has healing abilities,” her lyrical voice said. She looked as though she could be a vicious killer, but her light green eyes were full of compassion. I didn’t even sense her coming. That must mean something.
“Who the hell are you?” Aeric asked sharply.
“I protect humans against monsters like you. You can call me Grace.”
Chapter Seven
“What you think was going on here, was not, I assure you. This is a training exercise, not a hunting exercise,” Aeric said harshly.
“I could sense your foul aura from a mile away. I followed it here in time to smell the girl’s blood, and you’re trying to tell me that you weren’t about to feed?” she said angrily.
“He isn’t lying,” I defended, finally breaking out of my daze.
“Oh?” she asked inquisitively.
“No, I was fully aware of what was going on. I’m not nearly as helpless as you think. I’m an Immortal. Or, at least that’s what they keep telling me,” I said.
Her big eyes widened even further. “An Immortal? Then why are you sticking up for him? Why haven’t you killed him?”
“It’s not what you think. He was helping me learn to use my abilities. I haven’t been able to use them on my own, so he used his opposing energy to influence my senses. He wasn’t attacking me.”
A sarcastic expression crossed her face. “And the blood?” she asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
“It was a spur of the moment thing on my part. They’ve nearly given up every aspect of their lives to help me, including eating properly. I just felt that, since they’ve helped me so much, I should try to return the favor,” I said matter-of-factly.
“I see. You, Vampire. You should know that this is highly dangerous. Even if she is who you both believe she is, you could still kill her. She’s still human at the moment.” She looked back at me. “What’s your name girl?”
“My name is Kailah,” I replied.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. I looked and saw that it had her name, Grace, and her phone number on it.
“If you are who you say you are, then I am yours whenever you need me. If you’re training with a Vampire, then I assume you are training to rise against your ancestors, to save us from extinction. If you aren’t who you say you are, and you’re human, then I’m still yours if you need me.”
She looked at Aeric with a slight glare at her last comment. I knew she didn’t trust him, but she had no reason to. She simply didn’t know him.
“Thank you, Grace,” I said.
Aeric was still visibly upset, but I understood why he was. Grace had completely disappeared, and shrugging it off as normal at that point, I turned to walk back to Aeric who was still in his natural state.
“Why were you so upset with Grace? It was obvious that she had no plans on hurting me. I didn’t even sense her coming,” I said.
“In my natural state, I can be a little…” he searched for a word.
“Rude?”
“Territorial,” he finished. “I haven’t fed in a while, and when I let my instincts drive me, I get a little territorial. Not rude.” He managed a smile, even through his anger.
“Ah, I see. Well, what should we do now?” I asked.
“I need to go hunt before we leave. Because I haven’t fed in a while, I’m more or less stuck like this, in my natural state, until I’ve eaten, and I’ll need to drink more at this point than I would like to take from you,” he said.
“I think you should go hunt then. I can’t take you through town looking like that,” I said with a light laugh.
Aeric laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
“Well, just
because I find your natural Vampire look kind of sexy doesn’t mean it wouldn’t scare the crap out of the town’s people.” My eyes widened slightly. Had I really just say that out loud?
I realized that I was becoming far too comfortable with him in the little bit of time we’d spent together throughout the day. I definitely wasn’t sure that I liked it much… or at all.
“Sexy? Hmm, is that so?” he asked with a grin.
“Don’t read into that too much. I was always obsessed with Vampires… them… you guys… whatever. So, you’re nothing special really. Lestat was my first book boyfriend.” Covering was really not going well for me.
“Uh huh, sure,” he said with another of his devious grins. “I’ll be right back. It shouldn’t take long.”
Aeric was a blur as he ran off. Standing around, I thought of everything that happened that day and how I could work on it by myself. I needed to be able to practice on my own. Aeric wasn’t always going to be around, and I needed to be able to control myself and my abilities if he wasn’t around to save me. It was going to take some work, but I was certain that I could do it.
I didn’t stand alone very long. He wasn’t lying, he was right back. It only took him about ten minutes.
“Back already?” I asked.
“Yep, ready to go?” Aeric asked.
“I suppose.”
I was kind of disappointed that we were leaving, but it was getting late in the day. I had a lot of fun learning how to use my abilities, and I hated to admit it, but it was nice getting to hang out with Aeric. He wasn’t so bad.
Aeric walked closer to me, and I saw there was a little blood on his perfect chest. I raised my hand to wipe it off and realized that it wasn’t his.
“Messy eater?” I asked a little sarcastically.
“Uh, yeah, I guess you could call it that,” he said, a little embarrassed.
A quick, mischievous look replaced the embarrassed one, and I immediately became worried. “What?” I inquired hesitantly.
He took a step toward me and scooped me up bridal style. He only smiled before taking a giant leap from the creek bed—twenty feet in the air—over the railing of the bridge before sitting me back down. It was impossible to hide my shocked expression.
“Holy…” I began.
“Yes?” he said with another devilish grin.
“Crap,” I finished. “Yeah okay, so that was interesting. How about not doing it again?”
He laughed. “Maybe. I can’t promise anything. If I see an opening to make you squeal again, well, I might be forced to take it. Take that how you wish.” He winked.
I swallowed hard, trying to brush off what he’d just said. To cover it, I rolled my eyes. We got in the car and started heading back. I stared out the window for a long time with a smile on my face. It was the best day that I’d had in a long time and the first time since my new life started that I actually felt like I meant something in the entire scheme of things.
For years, I felt like I was meant for something more. I felt like I was meant to do something important, and I was capable of saving the world. It was always metaphorically speaking, of course, the whole saving the world thing. That’s why I wanted to be a nurse. But now, I know why my heart could never let go of those thoughts, even though the rational part of my mind told me that it was impossible. I could have sat in silence the entire ride back, but Aeric had other plans.
“Kailah,” he said quietly.
“Yeah?” I asked as I looked over to see concern washing over his face. “Are you really going out with Sam?”
How did he know? Why did he care?
“How did you know?” I asked.
“Wendy told Sayen, and I overheard.”
“Ah,” I said. “What did Sayen say?”
“They were both ecstatic for you. They thought it was a great idea. They both looked forward to see any negative outcomes and couldn’t find any, so they thought it was wonderful. So, I suppose that’s a yes then?”
“Yeah, I mean, he’s a really great guy. I’ve known him for quite a while. He’s always treated me nicely,” I said.
His eyes furrowed a bit. “When I asked about it, Wendy and Sayen both assured me that everything was going to be fine, but I can’t shake the bad feeling I have about it.”
“Bad feeling? What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’ve never met the guy, but something doesn’t seem right. I just feel like he isn’t being honest,” he said.
Was he trying to say that Sam, a great friend, was deliberately trying to hurt me? That he was lying to me about wanting to see me for some reason? That he was going to do to me what the other guys I’ve gone with have? That was unfair of him if that was the implication. He didn’t even know him, as he said.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Think about it, Kailah. How long have you liked this guy?” he asked.
“That’s none of your business!”
“I’m serious, Kailah. How long?” he asked again.
“For a while, I guess. Almost as long as I’ve known him.”
“And he’s never once asked you out?”
I shook my head.
“Has he ever flirted with you?”
I shook my head again. I couldn’t bring myself to verbally answer his ridiculous line of questioning.
“Don’t you find it just a little strange that he mysteriously has a thing for you and wants to go on a date with you after you’ve gained your powers and after there is an army of Vampires and Immortals after you?”
“Are you kidding me right now? Are you listening to yourself? You sound insane! Wendy and Sayen both agreed that this was a good idea! You just said that yourself, and they are incredibly powerful. They saw him do nothing wrong! How could you blame him for something that he hasn’t even come close to figuring out, let alone conspire to do? You’re paranoid!”
“Oh, believe me, I am not paranoid,” he said flatly.
“Jealous then?” I had no idea why I asked, and part of me was shocked that I did, but the irritated Immortal part of me that hated everything he was didn’t care one bit.
“Jealous?” he repeated.
“Yes! You are either suggesting that I’m not at all worth caring for—that I’m so horrible that Sam couldn’t possibly want me—and therefore must be up to something bad. Or you’re jealous that I’m going out with him, and you’re trying to get in the way. Is that why you were so playful and sweet today? So, that you could crush me later by telling me that the guy that I’m planning on going out with couldn’t possibly be interested in me, and I would listen to your every word no matter how ridiculous? I should have known better. No guy is that nice to me without good reason,” I said coldly.
“No, Kailah. I was nice to you today because I was genuinely having a good time and was looking forward to finally burying whatever issues there are that lie between us.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling a little guilt.
“I wasn’t at all jealous. I have no reason to be jealous. You do not, in any way, belong to me. You are, however, the great-great granddaughter of my best friend in the entire world, and someone that I was put in charge of protecting and instructing. If I let anything happen to you, I would never forgive myself. I have a bad feeling about this date. I can’t tell you if it’s him or the date itself, but something isn’t right. It feels off.”
“Whatever. You’re seriously upsetting me. I think it would be best if we stopped talking about this because I’m not entirely sure that I can keep from accidentally maiming you in this car,” I said.
I felt the energy swirling and coiling up in my stomach, and it was taking everything that I had to keep it there. That must have been what everyone meant about Aeric being better for training me, because of the stronger reactions that he’s able to get from me.
“Fine,” was all he said as he sped up the car.
Chapter Eight
The rest of the way back, I kept thinking of rando
m things, and I managed to horribly confuse myself. I thought of the way that I felt when I decided to let Aeric drink from me. The trust that I had in him when we were about to. The way that he looked at me. In that moment, I think a small part of me cared for him as more than just my instructor. When he said that he was only in charge of keeping me safe, it made me feel like I was a task that he was given, like an annoying kid that he was supposed to babysit. It felt like I meant nothing more to him than Sayen’s happiness.
When I realized I felt those things, anger washed through me. I hadn’t trusted him from the moment that I met him, and it bothered me immensely that he’d tricked me into feeling something for him. I was angry because I felt betrayed by myself. As soon as we got back to the house, I bolted out of the car and up to the house. My senses were still high and I could actually feel everyone in the house and where they were.
Amanda was watching TV upstairs, and I headed straight for her. I just wanted some familiarity, and I could tell from my abnormally heightened senses that Rachel was hanging out with Brett, so I didn’t want to bother them.
“Hey,” she said when I walked in.
“Hi sis,” I said back. When I reached her, she smiled a big goofy grin at me.
“What?”
“Could you get the remote for me?” she asked, never losing the same exaggerated grin. The remote was on the far arm away from her.
“Really?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, will you?”
“How long have you been sitting there without the remote?”
“Well, I got up to use the bathroom and this end had the table, so I wanted to sit down here instead, and I forgot to grab the remote,” she explained. I gave her a knowing look. “Ugh, an hour okay? Jeez.”
I laughed. She always did this stuff to me, but right then, it was welcomed. I sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her and tossed her the remote.
“Thanks. So, what did you learn today?” she asked.