by Janet Jones
There can be no walls between us, Talisen. Let me in.
"N-no!"
His caress became a slow-motion flexing of one finger. She gasped as he dangled her just within reach of sheer madness.
Trust me. Accept me.
Vampire. She shook her head furiously, clinging to the last of her self-preservation.
She felt a pull at her throat, followed by the firm caress of his tongue, and gasped. The pain was gone.
He nudged her head back and took her mouth in a long kiss, moving his hand with a deft rhythm. No more teasing. Come for me. Just let go. You're all right ... my sweet, sweet girl....
Tears of need streamed down her face as he eased her over the edge into free-fall. The pleasure rippled, spreading weakness, pure joy. Her body convulsed, devoured by it.
Yessss, Talisen ... let it take you....
His name erupted in her soul, from her mouth, barely silenced by his kiss. She sobbed in the throes of rewarding release while he whispered to her.
The world rocked. Slowed to an undulation. To a vibration. Then fell still. The roar in her head became the hush in the room.
Resting against him, she rose and fell with each breath he took, languid and warm and quivering at his touch while he palmed her gently. She opened her eyes to see his hand emerge from her panties, gleaming wet in the firelight. She stared, awed by the experience, until she couldn't hold her head up anymore and had to lie back against him again. So dizzy and weak....
Just like she felt sometimes after giving blood.
He laughed softly, evidently having read her thoughts again, and rotated his hips underneath her so she felt how hard he was. “I'll help you muddle through somehow."
She groaned at the feel of him, tantalized by thoughts of what they could have together. What he could give her.
Each time you reach for me, he whispered to her heart. It is nothing compared to what you give to me.
She shook her head. “I won't do this again."
There was a hint of benevolent mockery in his voice. “It will definitely be different for you next time, that's for sure."
There wouldn't be a next time. She couldn't let there be, or she might really lose herself. There'd be time enough to think about what she was going to do when the sun rose. When it was day again. She just couldn't think about escaping right now. The very thought of it hurt. She was too tired. Just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep.
He gathered her in his arms and stood. The world fell and glided away. She floated into the delicious coolness of her sheets. Her body hummed, hungry for more. The warmth of Ellory's parting kiss followed her into the drifting drowse that beckoned.
* * * *
Ellory stood in the icy rain, head back, eyes closed, savoring the sting of it on his enflamed body. Slinging the water from his hair, he listened with his soul.
His neighbors had disbanded and left him in peace. He had felt their presence, their watching eyes turned on him, every moment he'd held Talisen in his arms.
It was done. She was his. He could control her thoughts and actions at will. They had no quarrel with him, now.
Yet one remained.
Ellory quieted his pounding heart and felt for the presence. A smoldering promise of retribution snapped back at him. Familiar. Ever-present. No words. None were needed.
He sent a roar of challenge along the thought-path that separated them. Dylan's presence burned hotter for a moment and then faded, leaving only the sound of laughter.
* * * *
Talisen felt the difference the instant she woke. The compulsion to be with Ellory rode her like the need to breathe, and for six terrifying seconds, she thought her world was coming to an end because he wasn't beside her.
She swallowed, trying to work her parched tongue lose from the roof of her mouth. The long, empty day loomed ahead of her. Separation. Darkness. Death.
No. She'd escape. She'd find a place where he couldn't get to her. The day belonged to her kind. If she left Camden, maybe the other vampires wouldn't feel threatened by her. She'd be long gone by the time Ellory woke.
But no sooner had the thought taken shape in her head than it became a hollow thing inside of her. A desolate thing. What was wrong with her? What had he done to her?
She groaned and drew the covers over her head, groping for her pillow. Her fingers found soft petals instead. Peeking out from under the blanket, she tried to focus her bleary eyes.
Eight inches away from her nose lay two fragrant roses—one red, the other white.
Resisting the urge to touch them, she picked up the note he'd left and snorted. No wonder the handwriting in the Swan's logbook had seemed so familiar to her.
He'd written simply, “Thank you."
A hiccup of bitter laughter made her head pound. She wadded up the note and hurled it away from her. Did he actually expect her to be placated by gratitude?
No. I just want you to know what it meant to me.
Talisen held her breath. His voice was as clear as if he were in the room with her, but he spoke to her from inside her head. Had he heard her thoughts of escape too? She clutched both hands to her temples and rubbed them hard. She was losing her mind. And who wouldn't, after a near-death experience at the hands of vampires and a night of cosmic heavy petting?
Talk to me, Talisen. In your mind.
Refusing didn't seem to be an option. She responded before she could stop herself. Go away and leave me alone.
His gentle laughter went right through her, and she ground her teeth together, shocked to find how good it felt to hear it, to know he was amused. To know he was pleased. Insane. That's what she was. Aren't vampires supposed to sleep in the daytime?
Yes, but it's just my body that's dead to the world.
She shuddered. Not funny.
His amusement was as tangible as the sunlight. Physically speaking, I'm somewhat subdued at the moment, but I have a little time before “lights out.” How do you feel this morning?
She didn't answer him. Didn't want to. She couldn't be sure which terrified her the most—that he'd drunk her blood, or that she'd enjoyed it. No, no, no.
Talisen. He whispered it, a tender plea for acceptance.
She shook her head, seeing flaming bodies light up the sky and Ellory's snapping fangs. You're too much. Too dangerous.
Never to you. Warmth licked along the inside of her thighs, reawakening her need.
She gasped and fidgeted. Stop it.
She felt the brush of his warm palm on her cheek.
I said ... s-stop.
Warm knuckles stroked her chin, and the brush of his voice in her mind was like a feather duster going after cobwebs. Sean has breakfast ready. Eat every bite. Lots of fluids. She sensed a smug grin lurking in his voice. Captain's orders.
Don't be cute, or I might bite you back.
Promises, promises.
The silence closed in. Insidious. Empty. Where had he gone? Talisen's heart pounded, and the worst anxiety attack she'd ever had erupted inside her. She tried to reason with herself. She tried to fight it, but she just couldn't. She wanted to know he was there. Needed to know. With an exasperated whimper, she covered her face with her hands. What was happening to her? She felt scared that he wasn't there.
Her thought voice broke from the swell of her confusion before she could stop herself. You were kidding about the dead-to-the-world thing, right?
Did he sigh? That's not something you need to think about.
Can you really see us, like Shelby says you can? She needed to know. Even as she rebuked herself for it, a sense of loss squeezed the air out of her lungs.
We remain aware of what's happening around us before we succumb completely. I can still sense things, while my body—well—cools. As the sun gets higher, it becomes increasingly difficult. I usually stay awake until ten, and I come out of it around four in the afternoon, though my body won't respond for me until the sun goes down. But I'm here, Talisen. Right here.
She gla
nced at the clock on the dresser. Nine forty-eight. Are you saying you ... you die every night?
We shut our bodies down before we get to that point. Waking up, on the other hand.... There's no painless way to get through that.
She swallowed against a slimy gurgle in her stomach. Do you ever wonder if you won't wake up?
Have you ever heard of a vampire dying in his sleep? Not counting a wooden stake through the heart, of course.
She clamped a hand over her mouth. The thought of Ellory with a stake in his heart drove her into a near mindless panic. “I don't feel right. I feel like something's wrong."
That's because you're up there, and I'm down here.
She sucked in her breath. “When you said I'd need to be near you, you weren't speaking literally, were you?"
Relax. I can feel your heart going like a piston. Speak to me in your mind. The focus it requires will calm you.
She scrunched the pillows around her and pulled the words together inside her head. I can't handle this. Fix it.
It'll get easier. Compartmentalize me.
She shook her head. He was everywhere inside of her, pressed into the grains of her soul. His thoughts, his presence, his warmth vibrated alongside the beat of her heart. Was this his “mark"?
The sound of her door creaking open made Talisen lift her head and look. Shelby stood in the doorway, looking miserable, clutching her bunny in her arms.
Talisen pushed herself up in bed and smiled. “Hey, pumpkin. What's wrong?"
The child ran and climbed up in bed with her, snuggling close. “I don't feel good, so Sean's letting me stay home from school."
There was no mistaking the concern in Ellory's voice. She doesn't feel good? Why? She's had her boosters. I had Sean see to that.
Talisen held Shelby close and wrapped her up in the covers. She doesn't have a fever. Maybe she's just tired.
The concern in his voice edged closer to alarm. If I were at full strength, I could tell. At full strength I can deduce a human's state of health down to the molecular level.
Talisen couldn't help but grin. Let's not overreact, shall we? To Shelby, she said, “Do you hurt somewhere, baby?"
Shelby shook her head. “It's ‘cause I had a bad dream."
"Ohhhh, I get it. You don't feel good on the inside where your feelings are."
The little girl nodded.
She had a bad dream? Why should she have a bad dream? I tucked her in myself.
Talisen rolled her eyes. I can't imagine why she'd have nightmares, being tucked in at night by a vampire.
It's a psychic attack. I'll find out who's doing it. I'll tear him apart. I'll—
Chill, okay? Children have bad dreams all the time.
There was a silence, and then, Oh.
Talisen ran her hand over Shelby's silky head. “Did you tell your big brother you had a bad dream?"
"He told me to go watch TV to get my mind off of it."
Talisen sighed. When she'd had bad dreams, Grandma had always held her and talked to her. Maybe Sean wasn't capable of knowing when Shelby needed that. Well, go figure. He probably needed to be held himself sometimes.
Who would be Shelby's big sister? A vampiress?
Whoa. She wasn't responsible for that. She couldn't let herself be.
But Shelby's cuddly warmth, her vulnerability, and her willingness to trust melted Talisen's reservations. The little girl was doing without something Talisen knew how to give. It didn't seem right.
Shelby needs you, Ellory whispered in her mind. Very much.
Talisen sighed again. “What was your bad dream about, honey?"
"Can't remember,” said Shelby. She burrowed closer and saw the two roses on Talisen's pillow. “Ooooo, pretty. Those are from Sean's garden, aren't they?"
"I don't know. Ellory gave them to me.” Talisen picked them up and handed them to Shelby. “But now they belong to you and your bunny."
Shelby took them and grinned.
Thank you, Talisen.
Look, it has nothing to do with me. She just needs to be held, all right? If Sean can't, and there's nobody else around, as long as I'm around, why wouldn't she come to me? If I'm the only one she can find, naturally she would.
Talisen bit her lip. As long as she was around....
And after she wasn't, what then? Well, the little girl had survived just fine so far.
But what about as Shelby grew up? What about all those things girls needed to know about themselves, all the questions they needed to ask? She had had Grandma. Who would Shelby confide in? Talisen frowned. Sean? Ellory? One of the vampiresses? Could they be counted on to remember what it was like to be human and female?
Ellory cleared his throat. One would hope so.
What do you plan to do, wait until Shelby starts asking questions and hope you have the right answer for her?
What else can any parent do?
He had a point. Nobody had a monopoly on child-rearing skills—unless it was Grandma. She smiled at the thought. It was the first time she'd been able to smile over a memory of her grandmother and not cry. “Hey, Shelby, you might feel more like watching some cartoons now, hmm?"
Shelby perked up a little and wiggled out of bed. “Yep."
She was out of the room in six bunny hops, taking the roses with her. Talisen rose with a soft laugh and closed the door after her.
You could be a blessing to her, Talisen.
She sank down on her bed and rested her chin in her hands. Don't start with me, okay? Just don't.
Silence. The silence gored her until she thumped the side of the bed with both fists. I can't take this. Can't you just make it go away?
Get your mind on your day, sweet. Go and look out the window and tell me what the weather's like. Sunny, right? A gorgeous day to be alive. I want to think of you enjoying it, in the sunlight where you belong.
No sunlight for Ellory—not in over two hundred years.
His voice became distant and impatient. Tell me what the sea looks like this morning.
She went to the window and opened it. Kneeling there, she breathed the cool, briny air. Contentment wedged its way between her fears. You're right. It's very pretty today. Must be a million birds in the garden. The sea's sort of choppy, but it's a gorgeous shade of blue.
No answer. She glanced at the clock. Ten o'clock exactly.
* * * *
She tried again. It was hopeless. For a solid hour, Talisen tried to get her escape plan together. It was as if her brain closed down when her thoughts turned in that direction. What kind of trick had he played on her?
By the time she hobbled into the cheery kitchen, she'd just about given up. Maybe after she ate something, she'd feel more energized and could think straight. After her head had cleared, her appetite had kicked in stronger than she could ever remember.
Sean greeted her with a yawn and a grin. He looked as weary as she did. His lips were practically colorless. He sat at the table with a pen in his hand and a legal pad parked on his lap.
He'd already begun eating. Nodding at a covered plate across from him, he said without looking up, “Eat every bite."
Talisen sank into her chair. “So I've been told."
She lifted the cover from her plate and gaped at piles of eggs, sausage, and wheat toast.
Sean pushed a big, brown bottle closer. “We get to share these."
Talisen read the label. Vitamins. With extra C and iron. “Oh, goody.” She cut a glance at his legal pad. She had to at least act interested if she were going to keep them all from getting suspicious. “What's that?"
"Our menu. Ellory doesn't want us getting iron-deficiency anemia. How do you feel about liver?"
Talisen curled her lip at him.
He shrugged. “It's not bad with onions."
"I'll eat dirt first."
"Okay.” He scribbled on the legal pad. “No liver. Maybe if you're really good about taking your vitamins, he won't push it."
She gave him a sugary smile. “A
nd if I eat all my din-din, can we go to the zoo?"
Sean cocked his head to one side and frowned at her. “Look, don't kid yourself. He's serious about this. He's not going to cut me any slack."
Talisen stared at him. “What do you mean, he's not going to cut you any slack?"
He shrugged. “I'm in charge while he's sleeping. I have to be sure all his directions are followed to the letter, so do me a favor and don't gripe, okay?"
"You mean, if I don't comply, he'll take it out on you?"
He looked up, face pinkening. “No, it's ... it's not like that. Ellory's fair. He really is. It's just that when he tells us to do something, he expects it to be done, and that seems to go double for anything concerning you. I don't want to disappoint him, Talisen. I owe him too much."
Talisen sighed. None of this was Sean's fault. She gave the boy an apologetic smile. “Vitamins—but no liver."
She stared out the window, feeling despondent. What would Sean say to Ellory after she had managed to escape?
She couldn't let that matter to her, just like she couldn't let it matter to her that Shelby was going to grow up in a household of vampires with an older brother who didn't have an inkling what a little girl needed.
Beyond the window, the sunlight filtered through the trees. The grass trembled in a fresh wind. Birds and insects flew and flitted about their business. How could a day as pretty as this harbor anything as deadly as the creatures she had faced last night?
The thought of it made the serenity of the sunlight seem like an illusion. Would she ever feel safe again?
Yes. Far away from Ellory.
As for the truth about the Captain, she ... she'd have to let that go. Her throat ached for a moment with grief that had nothing to do with Grandma.
"Uhm, I have to talk to you about this."
She disengaged her thoughts long enough to look at Sean. “More instructions?"
He nodded, consulting the legal pad and talking around the sausage in his mouth. “Two things. First, Ellory said to tell you he's sorry about your car. Blazek kind of incinerated it as a cheap shot before high-tailing it out of Ellory's sight. We couldn't leave it burning on the road, so Meical went back last night and cleaned up the mess. No camper. No questions."