But before he reached the door, he turned toward Rose. “I’m sorry if I offended you. It wasn’t my intention,” he said, offering her an apologetic smile.
“It’s all right,” she managed to say, her voice hoarse and cracked.
Geoffrey smiled and left, closing the door behind him.
“I should go out there with him,” Emma said, crossing the room as gracefully as ever. She smiled at Rose. “I don’t think you’re a monster, Rose.”
Rose managed a weak smile. “Thank you, Emma.”
Emma curtsied to them. “I shall fix Geoffrey with sex. Wish me luck.”
Rose blinked in shock, her cheeks flushing a dark red.
Erik chuckled, “Good luck. I’ll try not to listen. Maybe.”
Rose grimaced at Erik. “Eww,” she muttered.
“I think you may have been a little harsh,” Kallias muttered to Erik.
Erik spun around on his heels and scowled incredulously at Kallias. “I was harsh? You were the one who looked ready to rip out his windpipe.”
Kallias winced. “It was an accident.”
“So…” Rose mumbled softly, biting her lip, “I’m a…monster?”
They both looked at her with startled expressions.
“No,” Kallias insisted again. “You’re not.”
“He’s right,” Erik agreed. “You’re not a monster, Rose.”
“Then, why does he think I am?” she asked, her voice cracking a little.
Kallias looked away. “Geoff is a very cautious person.”
“Allow me to translate,” Erik said suddenly. “He is a cowardly asshole.”
Kallias frowned at him. “Uh, Erik, are you all right?”
Erik groaned in frustration, dragging his hand through his hair. He glared at Kallias. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s your emotions that are doing this.”
“Oh,” Kallias mumbled. “Sorry.”
“Is it because of my blood?” Rose asked curiously.
“Your blood?” Erik repeated. “I figured it was about last night.”
“Erik,” Kallias said, narrowing his eyes in warning.
Rose frowned. “When I used telekinesis?”
“That’s an understatement,” Erik scoffed. “You didn’t just shatter a glass this time. You immobilized a bunch of powerful vampires with your mind, nearly collapsed a building, and almost killed an ancient vampire. And your eyes…”
“Erik,” Kallias interrupted. “Stop.”
“Sorry,” Erik muttered. “I’m just saying…it was kind of scary.”
“Erik,” Kallias said again.
Erik shrugged. He frowned at Rose. “You didn’t think that there was anything unusual about last night? You didn’t feel different?” he prompted.
Her brows furrowed. “Well, I was a little scared and a little angry, but…”
“A little?” Erik repeated with a raised eyebrow.
“Okay, fine. I was terrified and furious and…” Rose trailed off as she suddenly remembered how she’d actually felt. “You know what? You’re right. I did feel different. It was the darkest thing I had ever felt. It was like I wasn’t…myself.”
“Yeah,” Erik muttered. “It was the darkest thing I had ever felt, too.”
Rose suddenly felt worried. “What happened to me last night?”
Sensing her fear, Kallias walked over to her. His eyes softened. “Honestly, I don’t know, but what I do know is that you saved our lives.”
She swallowed uneasily. “I almost killed someone last night.”
“Yeah,” Kallias agreed. “But that doesn’t make you evil…or a monster.”
Her forehead creased with worry. “Were…were you afraid of me?”
“Absolutely not,” Kallias assured her.
“A little bit,” Erik said, holding his thumb and forefinger an inch apart.
Kallias scowled at him. “Erik, you’re not helping.”
Erik shrugged. “What? She’s a little scary, even without the telekinesis.”
Kallias rolled his eyes. “I could never be afraid of you, Rose, because I trust you. I always said that I would never trust anyone…that it was stupid to trust people…and yet, I trust you. Whatever happened last night doesn’t change that.”
Rose smiled in surprise at the admission. “Okay.”
He sighed, “Besides, we have more immediate matters to worry about.”
“Like the fact that I’m almost out of alcohol,” Erik agreed.
Kallias frowned. “I meant the hundred vampires that are trying to kill us.”
“Oh,” Erik said, nodding. “Yeah, I guess that’s pretty bad, too.”
Kallias suddenly sniffed the air. “Were you cooking something?”
“Oops,” Erik said. “I should get that before the house catches on fire.”
“Probably,” Kallias agreed. As Erik left the room in a blur of movement, Kallias smiled at Rose and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. He glanced down at his bloodied clothing. “Well…I need a shower, and you need to eat.”
“Shower,” Rose repeated. “A shower sounds really nice, actually.”
He chuckled, “Eat first, okay? I can feel your hunger.”
“Great,” Rose muttered. “As if reading my mind wasn’t weird enough.”
He laughed softly at her. “I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll try not to die while you’re in the shower,” Rose assured him.
He frowned worriedly at her. “Try?”
“I can’t make any promises,” she sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
Kallias glared at her. “I’ll make the shower quick.”
—
After he finished his shower, Kallias found Erik sitting in the kitchen. He sat down at the counter, across from Erik, raising an eyebrow at the empty whiskey bottle sitting between them. Erik swirled the amber-colored liquid in his glass, his eyes blank as he stared down at the glass. His mind was clearly elsewhere.
“Rose went upstairs to take a shower,” Erik said, still not looking at him.
“Yeah. I can…tell,” Kallias said, frowning as he tried to explain it.
Erik chuckled, “Yeah, blood bonds are fun, aren’t they?”
Kallias frowned as Erik continued to stare at the glass. “Are you okay?”
“I’m having those dreams again,” Erik muttered quietly.
Kallias nodded in understanding. “About Alana?”
Erik nodded. “The dreams are pleasant, but then, when I wake up…”
“You miss her?” Kallias asked. “Erik, she used you. She ruined you.”
“I know. I know,” Erik muttered, dragging his hand through his hair.
“Sorry. I’m just…concerned,” Kallias sighed. “Are they memories?”
Erik grimaced. “Not exactly.”
Before Kallias could ask what he meant, the door opened. Erik and Kallias glanced toward the doorway as the scent of blood flooded their senses. Emma came through the doorway, her mouth, neck, and dress coated in blood.
“Uh…Emma?” Kallias asked, his eyes widening at the amount of blood.
Emma giggled at their shocked expressions. “Sorry, I’m a messy eater.”
Erik choked on his drink as he burst into a fit of laughter that was equal-parts laugh and equal-parts cough. His head fell face-first on the counter.
Kallias and Emma both gave Erik quizzical looks.
“Do either of you mind if I bathe in your facilities?” Emma asked.
Kallias scowled at the blood dripping onto the floor. “Please do.”
Emma left the room, leaving a relatively clean Geoffrey standing in the doorway, scratching his neck, as a blush crept up his neck and his ears turned red.
Kallias scowled as Erik continued to laugh obnoxiously. “Are you done?”
“Nope,” Erik snorted. “Not at all.”
Geoffrey sat on the barstool next to Kallias. His fingertips drummed the countertop nervously as he stared straight ahead, obviously
still embarrassed.
“Sorry about earlier,” Kallias said awkwardly.
Geoffrey glanced at him. “It’s all right. If it had been Emma, I might have done the same thing,” he admitted. “But I assure you: I mean Rose no harm.”
As they talked, Erik stood and walked over to the sink. He grabbed a washrag and held it under a stream of hot water. Then, he tossed it to Geoffrey.
“I just…” Geoffrey stopped as he caught the washrag. He frowned at it.
Erik tapped a finger against the side of his neck. “You missed some.”
Geoffrey’s eyes widened, and he quickly began wiping the blood from his neck with the rag. “I didn’t get any on my shirt, did I?” he asked worriedly.
Erik and Kallias both scowled at him.
“What are you?” Kallias asked bewilderedly.
Geoffrey glanced at the blood on the rag. “I just got it dry-cleaned.”
“What kind of self-respecting vampire dry-cleans his clothes?” Erik said.
“The kind that dresses better than the two of you,” Geoffrey countered.
Erik snorted, “Hey, it’s not my fault I look better in leather than you do.”
Kallias rolled his eyes. “You two sound like adolescent girls.”
Geoffrey and Erik frowned at each other, suddenly deciding to shut up.
Erik had just opened his mouth to say something else when a knock sounded at the door. All three of them straightened, their senses on high alert.
“Were you expecting anyone?” Geoffrey asked them.
Kallias scowled worriedly. “No.”
Erik sniffed the air. “It’s a vampire.”
“A powerful one,” Kallias added.
“Is it Theron or one of the vampires working for him?” Geoffrey asked.
“I was a little too distracted by the mass amounts of Kallias’s blood everywhere to memorize their scents,” Erik scoffed, glaring pointedly at Kallias.
“No,” Kallias said suddenly. “It’s not any of them.”
Erik frowned at him. “Are you sure? Because you were kind of…dying.”
“I’m sure,” Kallias growled. “I made a point to memorize their scents, just in case I did survive. This is a scent that I have never encountered before.”
“It could still be a vampire working for Theron,” Geoffrey advised.
Two knocks sounded again, just as calm and emotionless as the first one.
Kallias stood and started walking toward the foyer, almost begrudgingly.
“Is it really a good idea to answer it?” Geoffrey asked cautiously.
“I might as well,” he said. “He’s a vampire. If he wants in, he’ll come in.”
“Do you have a weapon?” Erik asked.
“Of course,” Kallias answered, as if the question were absurd.
As Kallias left the room, heading into the foyer, Erik glanced at Geoffrey. “I should go with him just in case this gets bad. You should go get Emma.”
“Yeah,” Geoffrey agreed as he disappeared into the hallway.
Erik joined Kallias in the foyer as Kallias answered the door.
Kallias froze as he saw the last person he ever expected to see at his door.
The man stood directly in front of him, his long, pale blonde hair so long that it nearly reached his waist. His pale blue eyes stared back at Kallias, lifeless, emotionless eyes that set Kallias on edge. The pale man looked exactly as he had in that ancient Greek temple two and a half millennia ago, except for the clothing, of course. Instead of a white chiton, he wore a black button-down shirt and black slacks that contrasted sharply with his pale skin. No hint of emotion showed on his face.
“Hello, Kallias,” he said, his voice as impassive as his eyes.
“Erastos,” Kallias said coldly.
“Ah, you do remember me,” Erastos said.
“How could I forget the person responsible for my death?” Kallias said.
Erastos didn’t respond to that. “Are you going to invite me inside?”
“No,” Kallias said. “What the hell are you doing on my doorstep?”
“If you had listened to me, you would remember that I warned you that you would see me again when the time has come,” Erastos reminded him.
“I can see you are still annoyingly vague,” Kallias muttered. “What time?”
“Her time,” Erastos answered simply.
Kallias rolled his eyes. “Whose time?”
“The Eklektos,” Erastos said tiredly.
Kallias frowned at the vampire. “The Eklektos.”
“Yes,” Erastos said. “You should have listened to me, Kallias.”
“Uh…Kallias?” Erik said, scowling. “How do you know the pale guy?”
Kallias turned toward Erik. “Do you remember me telling you about that priest that gave me that Stone and caused Theron to kill Phoebe and me?”
“Yeah,” Erik said, his brows furrowing.
Kallias jerked his head back toward Erastos. “This is the priest.”
“The idiotic priest was a vampire?” Erik asked, frowning.
“Apparently,” Kallias muttered.
“I am neither idiotic nor a priest,” Erastos said. “I only impersonated a priest because I knew that Phoebe would trust a priest. She was very devout.”
Kallias’s jaw tightened. “I know what she was.”
Erastos shrugged. “Anyway, it is my understanding that the Stone of the Eklektos, which you so carelessly lost, has come back into your possession.”
“Wait. What?” Erik said, gaping at Kallias. “When?”
“It is not in my possession,” Kallias corrected harshly.
Erastos nodded. “But she is.”
Kallias paled in shock. “She?”
“The one who holds the Stone,” Erastos said.
At the mention of Rose, Kallias lost his patience. He didn’t trust this unusual vampire at all, especially not now. “I think you should leave.”
“No. The time has come,” Erastos stated, disregarding Kallias’s frustration. He placed his hand on the door before Kallias could close it.
Kallias growled, “What the hell does that even…”
“Hey! Kallias!” Rose yelled as she ran down the stairs, stumbling as she tried to take them two at a time. Her long hair, still soaked from her shower, hung around her shoulders, drenching her pale green T-shirt. Her skin looked pale, and her eyes were wide with worry. “That Stone is glowing, and not just the way it sometimes glows when I touch it. It’s glowing extremely brightly now. What does that mean? Is that bad?” She stopped abruptly as she saw the man at the door.
Before Kallias could even react to all of the new information, Erastos answered, “It means that the Stone of the Eklektos has been activated.”
Kallias frowned at him. “Activated? What does that mean?”
Rose gaped at Erastos. “You. It’s you,” she whispered.
Kallias looked at her, his eyes widening in surprise. “You know him?”
Rose nodded. “He’s the one who gave me the Stone.”
“You didn’t mention that a vampire gave it to you,” Kallias muttered.
“I didn’t know,” Rose said. “Kallias, why is he here?”
Erastos studied her intensely. His pale eyes remained blank and emotionless, but his lips lifted into a slight, almost unnoticeable smile. “I am here for you,” he answered, bowing courteously, as if she were royalty, “my Eklektos.”
26
The Eklektos
“Your what?” Rose asked again, narrowing her eyes at the creepy vampire.
Erastos now sat on the sofa across from them, after insisting that they let him come inside the house before even attempting to answer that simple two-word question that Rose had already asked him several times now. Rose sat between Kallias and Erik on the other sofa, watching Erastos with a scowl.
“Eklektos,” Erastos said simply, as if that answer was enough.
“Yeah, I heard you,” Rose muttered. “I want you to expla
in.”
Erastos frowned at her. “Eklektos. It is Greek for…”
“Chosen. Elected. Fated. Exquisite. Etcetera. Yeah, I know Greek,” Rose finished for him. “What I want to know is: Why are you calling me that?”
“How do you know Greek?” Erik muttered. “I don’t even know Greek.”
“I offered to teach it to you,” Kallias reminded him.
“Why would I want to learn a language that’s older than I am? Which again begs the question…” Erik turned toward Rose. “Why do you know Greek?”
Rose rolled her eyes at him. “I’m an Ancient History major.”
Erik scowled. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
Erastos ignored their banter. “I called you the Eklektos because that is what you are,” he answered, drawing Rose’s attention. “The awakening of the Eklektos has been anxiously awaited since the early days of Ancient Greece.”
“Oh. So you’re insane. You could’ve just led with that,” Rose muttered.
Erastos frowned at her. “No, my mental state is stable.”
She raised her eyebrow at his literal answer. “I’m sorry, but you can’t expect me to believe that thousands of years ago, someone knew I would exist.”
“Not just someone,” Erastos corrected. “Many people.”
“Oh, yeah. That made it more believable,” Rose muttered sarcastically.
Kallias drummed his fingers irritably against the arm of the sofa. “If that were true, wouldn’t I have heard of this before I met you?” he asked Erastos.
Erastos shrugged. “It was long before your time.”
Erik raised an eyebrow at that. “Just how old are you?”
“Older than you would believe,” Erastos said vaguely.
Erik scowled. “Older than Aaron?” he asked skeptically.
“Much older,” Erastos assured him.
Rose sighed, “What makes you think that I am this Eklektos?”
“I do not think you are the Eklektos. I know you are,” Erastos corrected.
“Okay…” she said, drawing out the word in confusion. “But uh…how?”
“I know things,” Erastos answered, completely serious.
Rose frowned at him. “Um… That’s…not really an answer.”
The Stone of the Eklektos Page 73