by Alisha Basso
I looked around the room in shock.
Did I send us here? I turned, to form the question when all of a sudden his lips devoured mine.
Oh God! His scent was overpowering as we fell onto the bed. Spice and heat enveloped me. I felt that familiar thrill fill my belly as my limbs turned into lead weights.
“You have been hiding yourself from me, Sweet.” Seth kissed along my jaw. “What other secrets are awaiting my touch?” he kissed my closed eyelids. “Are you even close to human? Does your whole body wear a mask or is it just your eyes you hide?” He rolled me over until I was straddling his hips, then reaching for my shirt; he ripped it off with one swift move.
The air fled my lungs. I looked down at him. He was utterly beautiful. His hair never quite stayed bound these days. His raven black locks fanned around his head and spilled over the side of the bed. His lips were full and perfect, his jaw square and sharp. I loved the little bit of stubble that could never be kept away for long.
“You are staring, Sweet. Could it be that you find me pleasing?” He smiled, seductively. His pale hands were warm as he ran them up my stomach and along my rib cage, he stopped just under my breasts and I sucked in my breath. “You please me,” he whispered. “You will always please me.” He growled low in his throat and yanked me down onto his chest.
I moaned and took his mouth. I savored his beautiful lips. I sucked them one at a time into my mouth and then swirled my tongue along the sharp points of his deadly teeth. Oh, God that made me crazy; that dance with danger.
Seth was dangerous and sexy. When his hunger took over, I was glad to hold him close as he drank. My anger toward Lucian was only a fog at the back of my mind as we explored each other’s bodies. I was ready to wipe it all away, I wanted more than his teeth inside me.
“I want you, Seth.” I reached for his pants.
He held my hands, halting my progress. “I can not believe I am saying this now, but it must be noted before we are too far gone and I forget to say it at all.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Do you find it odd that it never once occurred to Lucian that you and I were friendly? It was my understanding that he believes us to be mortal enemies.”
“What?” I stopped cold. “What did you say?” I tried to catch my breath. Adrenaline and desire pumped through my body making coherent thought difficult. “Lucian?” I sat back on my heels, picking up my shredded shirt and wrapping it around my body as best as I could. It took a moment for my mind to start working again and I felt my face drain of blood at his words. “Oh my God!” I put my head in my hands. “What is going on?” My voice came out muffled as I spoke through my fingers. I looked up and sniffed, not even bothering to stanch the flow of tears.
“What beautiful eyes, Sweet,” Seth gently grasped my chin. “Never hide them from me again. Your tears make mirrors that reflect such a wounded heart. Did you truly love him then?” Seth brushed a tear form my cheek.
He was being kind, but I had no intention of answering his question. He was a vampire and therefore unstable. I couldn’t chance it. Besides, I no longer knew the real answer to that question. I loved Lucian as a friend of course, but was it more than that?
“We need to find that blood, Seth.” I shook my head and stood. “We have to or who knows what could happen.”
“You are finally seeing.” Relief lit his eyes, “It will be light soon, Sweet. I must go and you need rest. Push this business behind you for now; there is nothing that can be done at this moment. When night falls again, we can take the next steps.” He stood and stretched his beautiful body, his muscles were long and sleek; his hard abs peeked out from under the hem of his shirt with his movements. I needed a cold shower or a nice long run. I almost broke another rule tonight. No sex with Seth. It was a good rule. One made at a time when my friendship with Lucian meant more to me than sexual gratification or anything else for that matter. I didn’t want to upset him as much as I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to get closer to him if possible. Now, it didn’t really matter. He was taken and seeing his true colors, I was pretty sure I didn’t want him anymore anyway.
I walked Seth to the door. He placed a chaste kiss on my cheek and disappeared.
NINE
I floated naked above the ground glowing like a living candle. A star plucked from the heavens. The night was cool. Wolves lounged lazily on the ground below my feet, their beautiful coats shinning in the moonlight. Once in a while my toes would skim through a silky pelt as an animal moved beneath me.
I was a goddess, worshiped for my power, and desired for my body and my blood.
No glamour hid my beauty. No force kept me in place. I was free and where I knew I needed to be.
A dainty throne of gold and bone sat close to where I hovered, its masculine twin gleamed next to it. I felt his presence. Hot and powerful, he was beyond my ability to identify. He was there, I felt him, but he hid in shadow.
A chalice made of silver sat on a table in the middle of the clearing. The table was slender and towered high above everything else. In the chalice was my blood.
Mixed among the wolves were men. Their naked bodies were covered in dirt as they lay among their furrier companions. As I gazed at the ground before me, my eyes found a shape that did not belong. She was familiar, yet I didn’t know her. She was sitting close to the table. Her long blonde hair was a dirty tangled mess. Her clothing was torn, exposing her pale skin through the shredded gaps. Her eyes were on me, pleading silently and then they moved off to watch the struggling infant in her arms.
Shock and realization hit me and I searched the crowd. There, as if brought forth by my thoughts alone was the body of Seth. He was lying prone on the ground; his silvery blood flowed from several deep gashes all over his naked form. A man appeared and knelt by his side. He began slicing into Seth’s ruined back with a wicked blade. I felt my stomach lurch. The man’s body was as black and burnt as charcoal. His flesh slowly flaked and floated away like ash in the wind as he worked on Seth. The man turned, his dried eyes rolled in their sockets to focus on me. My body dropped to the ground like a rock as Lucian’s eyes stared out at me form the horror of the man’s tortured face.
I woke drenched in sweat. My fluffy quilt was twisted around my legs in impossibly tight knots. I twisted and kicked the blankets to release myself. I was a mess. The vision had come to me again, but this time I wasn’t prepared. I’ve never had a vision assault me like that. And who the hell was that woman? She had to be important. And what was with the infant?
What the hell?
Why couldn’t I just get a vision that said, “Hey, Grace, that man over there is the bad guy and over here is the good one, and this is what you need to do.” Was that too much to ask? But, I knew why. It was what I always found myself preaching. Balance. It all came down to balance and that scared the shit out of me because that meant that good didn’t always triumph over evil. Sometimes it was evil’s turn. I just hoped that this time, evil wasn’t next in line.
I wrapped myself in my fuzzy robe and pulled on a pair of long fluffy socks. My feet slipped and slid on the hardwood floor as I made my way to the kitchen. I loved the floors for this very reason. It made me feel like a kid again. Running and sliding in my socks on my way to get a big fat bowl of chocolate cereal. Back then I lived for Saturday morning cartoons. Cripes, I thought to myself as my coffee sputtered noisily out of my favorite instant coffee maker, if I knew then what I know now, maybe I would have paid better attention to those cartoons. What would Scooby Doo do?
I stirred in way too much creamer and took a sip of the strong brew. I cringed at the sweetness and smiled. No doubt, I could turn the TV on now and take a few notes. That show was as immortal as Seth.
I had overslept, no doubt thanks to the crazy vision that smacked me so lovingly upside the head. The sun had already worked its way halfway across the sky and I wasn’t even dressed yet. I made short work of getting ready. Night would soon rear its ugly head and I had no desire to face t
he shit-storm raging my way.
I wish I had the ability to just erase Voltaire’s existence. But he was a demon, and that meant that he was beyond my ability to control. For some reason, he has the ability to repel my magic. I don’t know how or why exactly, there are no other Madea to ask, so again I get the joy of muddling through and making mistakes.
I sat on one of my tall swivel stools in my kitchen with my cup of coffee and tried to organize my thoughts. I looked up and with a thought, I produced a clear piece of paper, it floated in midair. Only the ghostly outlines of the paper were visible. On it, I wrote in bright, white letters and in a sort of cluster.
In the center I wrote ‘my blood’ and circled it and then branching off of that word, I wrote ‘theft’ and ‘power’. Then off of the word ‘power’, I wrote down the words ‘wolves’ and ‘Voltaire’.
Further down in their own little circles, I wrote two words, ‘Friends’ and
‘Enemies’. Under friends, I wrote the name, Seth with a question mark. I was never one hundred percent sure with that man. Then under enemies, I wrote Voltaire, Patrick, and wolves.
I sat for a long time sorting items and names. Placing circles around words and then lines branching out, all over until I had what looked like an even bigger mess than I had started out with in my head. But it was organized and gave me a little more clarity.
“If you are practicing your magical abilities, I have to say I am a bit disappointed.” I jumped at the sound of Seth’s voice.
“What are you doing scaring me like that?” I screeched, clutching my chest as my heart raced frantically. I had been at it for hours and must have lost all sense of time. “I’m organizing my thoughts so that we can get a better idea of what our next move should be.” I stood and walked a slow circle around my work. It was pretty cool, actually.
Seth moved closer, his silvery eyes reflecting the thin ghostly lines of my handy work. I flipped on the kitchen light and smiled as he jerked in response to the harsh glow.
“You have done well, Sweet. I see you have lined things up in tidy little circles. Do you feel better now that your mind has been emptied?” He turned and looked a question at me.
I shrugged and sat back down. “Yes, actually, I do. I know that Voltaire is the one responsible for taking the blood and the wolves are working with him. I know that the wolves want me. For what exactly, I’m not one hundred percent sure but I know for sure that it isn’t good.”
“Oh yes, Sweet, of that you can be sure. But one thing surprises me. Lucian isn’t listed here at all? Not under friend,” he cocked his head to the side, “not under enemy. Are you so conflicted?” Seth stepped closer to my stool and I turned it so that my knees became a barrier between his body and mine.
“I’m reserving judgment, Seth. Having some wild sex does not make you a bad person. Yes, it was shocking and hard to believe. I mean let’s face it; I always pictured Lucian as a generous and sensual lover.” I leaned back, bracing my elbows on the counter behind me.
“I am going to ignore that entire sentence, Sweet.” Seth took the seat beside me and turned. “Fix your eyes, Grace. Now.”
“Huh? What?” I stammered, thrown off kilter. “What’s wrong with my eyes? And, um, you called me Grace?” I frowned at him in confusion.
“I know, now, that you must be hiding so much more from me and I am not asking for it all. I only want what you have already given. Please, they are so like my own. We are the same, Sweet. Let me see those pieces that reflect our kind.” He turned toward me. His angelic face was so sincere, almost sad.
“We're not the same, Seth.” I rested my hand on his arm as I tried to make him understand. “I changed you, yeah, but you’re really not a full Madea. There is no ‘our kind’.”
He curled his lip, “You are entirely too arrogant for one being, Grace.” He glared, “You refuse to see that you and I are more similar than you fear.”
“Wow, that was harsh.” I stepped back, annoyed. “What the hell do you want from me? I can’t run around with my Madea parts flashing all over. I’m way too alien. People will freak.” I stood and went to the refrigerator. I grabbed an apple and turned.
Seth was an inch from my face. His breath was warm when he spoke. “You have more power in your little finger than an entire city of witches and vampires put together!” he growled. “The pathetic thing, Sweet, is that you are weaker than the smallest infant because you are terrified to use it! You cripple yourself and drive me to the point of madness!”
He slammed me against the refrigerator and snarled, “You refuse to show your true self and let the opinions of mortals guide your every move. Use your magic. Numb them! Something so small, yet you cringe! Your morals are going to get you killed and possibly me as well! Not to mention the thousands of people on this miserable little planet that will be tortured if Voltaire succeeds with what ever the hell he is planning. You, Sweet, are all that stands in his way. You! Do you understand? Take a chance. Use your power. Stop hiding behind your fear, because you and I both know it is nothing but a sad excuse. I demand you open your eyes, Sweet. You are blinded by your ignorance and your arrogance.”
He grabbed the apple from my hands and walked over to where my pretty chart floated serenely. Then, with a wave of his hand, the name ‘Lucian’ appeared under the word ‘enemy’.
I stared, unable to form words.
He turned and faced me. “Things aren’t going to remain the same simply because you want them to.” He took a huge bite out of the apple and tossed it back to me as he turned and left the room.
I felt my mouth drop open as I stared at the apple. Seth ate food? How was that possible? I dropped the apple. It rolled about three inches to lay forgotten as I ran after him.
TEN
The most annoying thing about running after a man is that it makes you look desperate. Seth was at the door and it appeared he was leaving. “Stop!” I shouted. When he turned the knob and threw the door open, I sent a jolt of power out, it slammed into the wall beside his head, freezing him in his tracks.
“Please?” I whispered.
“Why, Grace?” He turned. “Why should I stay? You act as though you are infinitely more superior. No one can be the same as you. As if I do not know my own body? Can you blame me for hiding my changes? You treat me like a fool who must be pitied. I have been alive longer than you could fathom. Yet, you think that in all of that time I would not notice a change when it came? I am not what I once was, yet you treat me as if I am some sort of idiot child.”
Overwhelmed, I threw my hands up and shouted, “What the hell did you expect me to do?” I closed the distance between us. “Did you ever come out and say, ‘Hey, Grace, I’m just as powerful as you?’ No, you are all mysterious and secretive. You hid from me just as I hide from you. If you wanted me to welcome you as a Madea, you should have told me. God. You are an idiot child!”
He glared at me and turned on his heel. I ran after him again. “Why are you so pissed?” I stopped in the middle of my driveway. “Something else is wrong, Seth. Spill it. Enough games.”
He turned. I could feel his anger pushing at me like a wall of heat. His eyes had bled to solid silver and his teeth were long. All the signs of a vampire losing his temper. Lovely!
He glared at me. Growling in frustration, he threw his hands out. “Of course I hid it from you. Of course I lied! I am not as powerful as a full Madea and now, I am no longer a full vampire. You figure it out. This is my curse, Grace! I have not felt the sun on my face in centuries, but my strength and abilities as a vampire were enough of a fair trade in my mind. But now,” he spun in a half circle and threw his fist in the air. I flinched as he screamed between clenched teeth, “I know not what I am!” I took an instinctive step back. “I have consumed gallons of your magical blood and yet I am still a fucking vampire!” He fell to his knees, his hands rose to cover his face.
He looked lost and anguished and I felt my heart break as he let out a deafening roar. Something in me f
elt his pain it was a link. I had no idea what a maker could feel for the creature they create but I knew one thing for sure it was strong. I ran to his side, falling to my knees beside him, I cradled his head in my arms.
“Show me your secrets, Sweet?” he whispered, turning his alien eyes to me. “Show me what might have been?”
“I don’t think...” I began.
Seth pulled away violently. “Why? You enjoy my suffering?”
I felt my eyes well.
“I want so much to change over. I can feel it, you know. It taunts me. Please, I have to know how close I am.” He stood and held his hand out to me. I shook my head and moved to stand across the length of the driveway.
“If I show you my true form, Seth,” I shouted across the distance, “things between us may never be the same. My true form does crazy things to men. I don’t know if it’ll be safe for me to show you. I seem to send men, particularly very powerful men, to their knees writhing in sweaty, horny knots.”
“Grace, my sweet, I have to test it.” His arms fell limply to his sides, “I have to know. Please? Just trust me?”
“God, this is stupid.” I growled and dropped my glamour.
The air tingled deliciously along my glowing skin, raising goose bumps. My hair lifted, tickling along my neck and shoulders to begin its unnatural dance. I kept my eyes closed as the exhausting feeling of holding onto my glamour fell away. When I was myself, I felt free. I felt as if my worries were nothing. Nothing mattered because it would all be all right in the end. My Madea soul was so much larger than my human soul had been. As if it was stuffed with so much more life. It filled me with love and strength. I always closed it off when I hid in my glamour. I closed so much of myself off. God, maybe Seth was right? I was no longer human. I was a walking lie.