Scorned

by Tyffani Clark Kemp

  “Calli!” Roman roared. I heard every facet of his voice and every language that had sprung from his.

  Calliope came running, eyes wild, and she gasped when she saw me. Roman flipped me so I wouldn’t choke on my tongue and then he was gone. I whimpered as I tried to make the convulsions stop. The fire continued to burn me up from the inside out and I wanted to die.

  Please. Please. Not like this.

  I begged God to do something, to intervene in a way I’d never experienced before. I believed in God, but He’d never been all that real to me. I tried to breathe, but my lungs wouldn’t work. I looked at Calliope wide-eyed, but I couldn’t form the words to tell her.

  “What?” she asked. “What is it?” She spouted off something in Greek and shouted. “Master!”

  Roman was there instantly. Where had he gone?

  “Can’t breathe,” I thought at him.

  “She can’t breathe,” Roman told Calliope. “LeKrista, I’m going to finish the healing if I can.”

  I nodded. Something, anything. I didn’t really care. Death would be welcome if it made this stop.

  “Please,” I begged again. When he started the healing I thought my skin had been set on fire. I screamed around the obstruction in my throat before I passed out for, like, the one hundredth time.

  I woke up in my room, and it took a moment for it all to come back to me. My head spun, my throat hurt, and I had a sudden flash of myself screaming, yelling, howling at the top of my lungs. The vampires were looking at me, staring at me with bewilderment. I was looking at myself through Lucretious eyes, but...was that possible? I thought he was dead.

  A cold draft wafted past me and I shivered. I needed a hot bath.

  Sitting up was painful. I dropped my legs over the edge first to give myself some balance. By the time I pushed up to my elbows my entire body throbbed with pain from the effort and I had to take a break. Black spots popped across my vision and the world swam before me. I took deep breaths, waiting for it to recede. It wasn’t like I was in pain, but my muscles ached and my insides didn’t want to be jostled.

  Five minutes later, I made it to the bathroom. Bending over to start the bath was killer, but I got it eventually and used the carton of Epsom salts that my aunt had left on the counter for me. I undressed and realized I was back in my own clothes

  I stepped carefully into the hot bath and using the wall and the washcloth rack I lowered my aching body into the steaming water.

  “Staci?” Pierce’s voice reached me from the bedroom door and I woke with a start. The bath water had grown cold and my teeth were chattering.

  “In here,” I called back.

  “What are you doing in there, babe?” Pierce asked. “Why are you shivering?”

  “I fell asleep,” I told him. “It’s so cold.”

  Pierce jumped into action, never thinking twice about what my aunt might think of him seeing me naked. All he knew was that I needed help and he was the only one there to offer it. He slid an arm under each of mine and lifted and took all of my weight on himself. It was sexy as hell. He tossed me the closest towel while he grabbed my robe from the hook on the back of the bathroom door and wrapped me in it.

  “Your face looks better, today, Staci.”

  “Does it?” I smiled. “I hadn’t looked. I just woke up sore.”

  “Those bruises around your ribs do too. Are those new?” He looked at me wide-eyed.

  I shrugged. “I was in a car accident,” I said with as encouraging a smile as I could muster. “I’m sure there are lots of things that could have caused it.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. They just don’t look right to me. Do you want to get back in bed, or what?”

  “No, I think I want to sit out in the living room and watch TV.”

  Pierce nodded. “Good plan. I’ll get the sofa set up while you get dressed, okay?”

  I nodded and waited for him to gather the necessary accouterments from my bed to use on the sofa. When he left, he shut the door and I tried to get my clothes from the floor. I couldn’t bend over no matter how I tried to work it, so I had to squat, using the door jamb to steady myself. Once I’d gotten the clothes I wanted, getting them on was the next problem. I slid the tank top on over my head and settled it into place. The built-in bra cut me across one of the new bruises and I had to wiggle it until it was in the right spot.

  The pants were a little harder. I couldn’t bend over to slip them on, so I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to pull them on one leg at a time.

  “Stace?” Pierce knocked on the door. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m just having a little trouble,” I called. “I’ll get it in a minute.”

  “Do you want me to send your aunt in?”

  I thought about that for a moment and nodded. “Yeah. Please.”

  At least I was able to get my shirt on. The new bruises would only send her into a panic and I didn’t feel like lying anymore.

  “You decent?” she asked and poked her head in the door.

  “Yeah.” I was glad she didn’t know Pierce had just seen me naked. She helped me on with my pants and I was thankful.

  Lucretious confession from last night brushed against my conscience and I felt panic begin to set in.

  “Pierce!” It tore at my throat to call him, but I needed him close so bad it hurt.

  “What’s wrong?” my aunt asked, coming to the rescue.

  I shook my head. “I want Pierce.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Excuse me.”

  “What, babe?” Pierce asked as he walked into the room. I reached out to him and he came to me. I pressed my ear against his chest and listened to the thump of his heart. The panic settled and I sighed.

  Pierce had my pillows positioned the way they’d been on my bed. I got comfortable on the sofa with Pierce holding my feet and he fixed a movie for us to watch. I snuggled into my pillows and ran my fingers up and down the arm Pierce had resting across my legs, his hand tucked under my hip like he was holding me on the sofa. Goose bumps popped up on his arm and I smiled.

  “What movie did you put in?” I asked.

  “Your favorite.”

  I frowned. “Phantom?”

  Pierce shook his head and smiled. “Your other favorite.”

  There was only one “other favorite”. “The Princess Bride?”

  Pierce only shrugged. “You’ll see.”

  I was right. We sat and watched my “other favorite movie” and I laughed at the funny parts. Pierce shook his head at the utter stupidity of it, but he couldn’t help but laugh as well.

  The movie had about fifteen minutes left when the doorbell rang. I groaned at the ill timing. Right in the middle of the good part!

  “I’ll get it,” Pierce offered and gently moved my legs. I heard muffled talking before he came back. “It’s a woman. Says she has a package for you.”

  I nodded and swung my legs to the floor, wincing against the pain. It was beautiful out and I wished we’d chosen to spend the day outside. The cool air felt good against my sore, fevered skin. The “woman” was Adelina. She stood off to the side with a large white box in her arms. I smiled, and she smiled back.

  “Hey,” I said. “Glad to see you out and about.”

  “I could say the same about you.”

  I think I blushed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “We were afraid you wouldn’t make it. It would have made the master...Roman. It would have upset him.”

  “I bet.”

  “He wanted me to bring this by. He said it belongs to you.”

  I raised a questioning eyebrow, but took the long white box anyway.

  “It is your dress and the,” she smiled, “‘staking shoes’ I believe is what Roman calls them.”

  I smiled because it was a little funny.

  Her accent swirled around her words prettily and I found I really did like her under normal circumstances. She was dressed normally today - dark blue jeans and a beige sweater and brown leather b
oots. She offered me the box.

  “The tear has been mended. He said to tell you that Perdita was impressed by your display. I am sorry I missed it.”

  “Yeah. From what I remember, it wasn’t pretty and it almost got me killed.”

  “This man who answered the door, he is your boyfriend?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Pierce.”

  “I can see that he loves you very much. You love him?”

  I nodded. “Very much.”

  Adelina nodded. “Good. Continue to love him very much. It will save you from much that comes with a life connected to Roman.”

  I frowned.

  “You are connected to him now, whether you want it or not. He has fed from you?”

  I shook my head and the strangest look came over her. It filled her eyes and turned her face into a mask of fear. “Be careful,” she warned.

  I nodded.

  “I must go.” She took something gold and shimmery from her pocket and I recognized my cross necklace. “I almost forgot this. You will need it.”

  I took it from her and stuck it in my pocket. It would go on after Pierce left.

  “Let Roman know I’d like him to come by tonight. We need to talk.”

  Adelina nodded. It was more of a small bow than a nod. “I will do as you’ve asked.”

  “Don’t treat me like I’m giving you orders, Adelina, please? I don’t want it to be that way between us.”

  Her smile was sad, almost wistful. “It can be no other way. It is good to hear you say this, though. You have my respect.”

  I smiled and shifted the box so I could shake her hand. We weren’t friends, but I don’t think we were going to be enemies either and that was good enough. I opened the door and stepped backward into warmth.

  Pierce was waiting just inside leaning against the arched doorway. “You were out there a while.”

  I put on a charmed smile. “She’s from Romania. That’s so cool.”

  Pierce smiled back, buying my performance, or pretending to buy it. A twinge of guilt settled in my stomach on top of all the other guilt I already felt. It gave me heartburn and I was surprised I hadn’t had nightmares yet.

  “What’s all that?”

  “A dress and shoes I ordered.”

  “She didn’t look like a delivery man.”

  Okay. Maybe he wasn’t buying it. Or maybe she didn’t look like a delivery man. Whatever. I lied some more.

  “The shop has its own delivery service.”

  “Oh.”

  I took the dress from the box and shook it a few times so the fabric would come unfolded. Pierce looked on in wonder and I knew he was picturing me in the red fabric.

  “That's what's up.”

  I quirked up a smile. “You should see me in it,” and I knew by the way his eyes were dancing that he wanted nothing more in that moment. “Wait till you see the shoes.” I pulled the amazing diamond tipped shoes from the box and his eyes lit up. He likes heels.

  “Baby, how did you afford all this?”

  I frowned. “I didn’t. I’m going to be paying off all this stuff forever, but when I saw the dress I just had to get it and I knew I would have to find shoes to match. Something told me I was going to need this dress one day.”

  My stomach tightened as I lied and I was afraid I would be sick. “I have to pee.” Another lie, but just maybe I could make this one true. “I’ll be right back and we can finish the movie.”

  “Okay.”

  I handed the dress to Pierce and shuffled off to the bathroom. I did relieve myself, and also managed not to throw up, though it took some effort. I got a glass of water in the kitchen then joined my love on the sofa to finish our movie. When it was over, Pierce put in So, I Married an Axe Murderer, one of his favorites.

  After that we tackled Lord of the Rings. Surprisingly, my aunt and uncle didn’t make an appearance all day except to grab lunch and go back outside to work in their garden. They came back in time to get cleaned up and my aunt started dinner. It wasn’t until then that she saw the dress splayed across a chair in the hall.

  “What’s all this?” Aunt asked.

  “It’s a dress I ordered,” I told her. “It was perfect, and it fit like it was made for me,” that much was true, “so I had to get it.”

  “Mmm.” She didn’t say anything, she didn’t ask any questions. Just that “mmm”. That was it. She went back to her dinner preparations and left us to our movie. Sometimes she showed an amazing amount of restraint. Others, which was truly most of the time, she just couldn’t help but ask all of those annoying, nitpicking questions that really weren’t all that important.

  We stopped our movie an hour later to join my family dinner. My uncle prayed. “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for this day. We thank You for this food and pray that You would bless it and nourish it to our bodies. We pray that You would be with LeKrista. Take away any pain and discomfort and heal her quickly, Lord. And in Your name, Amen.”

  “Amen,” my aunt echoed.

  We sat and ate as a family for the first time in a long time. I could tell that my aunt was happy, even if Pierce was there. She liked having everyone home for dinner.

  Pierce was unusually romantic later that evening. He stayed late so we could finish our last movie and helped me into bed when it was over. My aunt and uncle retired early for the evening, so they didn’t stop him when he tucked me into bed and snuggled with me for a few minutes.

  “Do you think you’re up to a picnic?” Pierce asked with his face buried in my hair. “I’d rather we hung out here until you can walk without crying.”

  I smiled. “I was hoping you hadn’t seen that. When is Petrice’s doctor’s appointment?”

  “Tomorrow, but she found another ride so you could get some rest.”

  “A picnic sounds great.”

  “You make lunch and I’ll bring the blanket.”

  “We have plenty of blankets here,” I told him.

  “I know, but I have a special blanket.”

  I looked up and his amber eyes sparked with mischief. “Okay. Bring your special blanket.”

  “Alright. I’d better get going, StaciDoll.”

  I poked out my lip and pouted. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “I know, but can you imagine what would happen if the sun found us?”

  I grinned. “I don’t think it’s the sun you have to worry about finding us.”

  “Get some rest, babe. I’ll call in the morning to wake you.”

  “Okay.”

  Pierce kissed my forehead, then my nose, lips, and chin; a sign of affection he hadn’t shown in a long time. I closed my eyes as he left and snuggled down into my covers. I could still smell him and if I didn’t open my eyes I could pretend he hadn’t left. I could imagine he was still right there cuddled against me, his nose poking my side.

  The air changed in the room. The temperature dropped slightly, just barely enough to notice, and for a moment I thought I smelled flowers.

  “Good evening, LeKrista.”

  Roman’s voice, beautiful though it was, ruined the illusion that Pierce was with me.

  “Good evening.” I didn’t open my eyes.

  “You’re angry with me?”

  “You could say that.”

  “What have I done?”

  I sighed heavily and opened my eyes, but they protested. “Who is Vivian?”

  Roman’s body went still as the dead. I waited for emotion to fill his eyes, but it never did. Instead, they went dark and dead like Perdita’s had and I felt in my head that he was afraid.

  “Oh?” was all he said after a moment and only his lips moved.

  “Lucretious told me some things.”

  “He had no right to do that.”

  “Didn’t he? I think I have a right to know, don’t you? That your infatuation with me has...” I stopped, embarrassed and pretended to swallow. My pride was hurt. I hated to admit to myself that I wanted Roman’s attraction to me to be exactly that, but now I knew
the truth and it stung.

  “Has what, LeKrista,” and there was an sneer in his voice. He knew what I was thinking. It didn’t take a mind reader to figure it out.

  “I know what happened to Vivian,” I said. “I know you killed her because she no longer loved you. She loved your creation, Lucretious. I also know about the vampires wanting to take over the world.”

  Still no emotion. Roman tipped his head to one side and he looked for all the world like something you would see in a movie. Lifeless and dead, he looked like he should be crawling up walls and across ceilings.

  “Do you now?” His accent thickened.

  “Yes. And I know that you want to use me to get to the top. You want to rule, not just the world, but the vampires who rule the world. What do you want, Roman? To be God?”

  Roman flinched. Finally, some emotion. I rolled my eyes. If it was that easy... He took a couple steps closer to me.

  “LeKrista.” My name rolled off his tongue like he was offering me the best chocolates from Italy. “Would you allow me to explain?” His voice was softer now, crooning, soothing.

  “I’m not done. You said they wouldn’t kill Adelina.”

  “And they didn’t.”

  “Yeah. Lucky for you I had a complete meltdown. You were going to let her die,” I told him. “Those two vampires fed from her like a Thanksgiving turkey and you just let them. Why? To save me? Is your conquest of the earth that important to you? You’re her master. You’re supposed to protect her, and you just let it happen.”

  “What would you have had me do?” He was still trying to soothe me with his voice, but it wasn’t having the effect he desired. “It was either her or you.”

  “Yeah, and thanks to you she will probably be the next one trying to kill me.”

  Roman sighed and spread his hands in surrender. “What do you want, LeKrista? How can I make it up to you?”

  “You said you would tell me everything.”

  “Yes, and if last night had not happened, I would have.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. Don’t forget that I’m in your head now. I know when you’re lying. You were going to tell me that Lucretious killed Vivian and that you needed me to help you defeat the bad vampires who want to take over the world.” Life finally flooded Roman’s features and I felt shock on his end.