“I must go.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the “end call” button without looking. “What did you hear?” he asked.
“That’s all this is? You’re just ‘playing nice’?” I made quote marks with my fingers.
“LeKrista.”
“Shut up. You get on my last nerve. I wish you’d just leave me alone.”
“LeKrista, please listen to me.”
“No, Roman. I’m tired of listening to you. When you’re not telling me that I’m not ready to hear what you have to say, you’re lying so just shut up.”
Roman grabbed me by my arms and lifted me off the ground enough that my toes were barely touching the concrete. “LeKrista, be quiet or I’ll have to use force.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I said.
“You should be." He was a vampire and I was human. I should have been terrified, but I wasn’t.
“LeKrista?” I heard my name as the bell above the door tinkled. Marx and Will had come to my rescue. “Everything alright?” They were as afraid of the vampire as I should have been.
“Tell them everything is alright,” Roman said. His blue eyes flashed, hot and angry. He’d fed and drank his fill so his power was at optimum performance. My throat constricted and I gasped, trying to get air. It was only a flash, only a tightening and then release, but it was enough to make my heart flutter.
“I’m fine,” I said. I remembered that first night three weeks ago when Roman first used his vampire mind tricks on me. It hadn’t worked the way he’d wanted then and it wasn’t working very well right now.
“I don’t believe you,” Marx said. “You’re looking straight into his eyes. Tell him to put you down.”
I flashed a look at Roman. “I wish you would,” I growled so only Roman could hear me. Roman only smiled, infuriating me further.
“LeKrista is fine,” he said aloud, but he never looked away from me. “I would not hurt her.” Roman set me back on my feet. “Tell them that I did not hurt you, my sweet.”
I glared at him, then looked at Marx. “He didn’t hurt me. I won’t even bruise.” I saw both men relax considerably.
“You had text messages,” Roman said. “They were from Pierce.”
I blinked at him. “You read my text messages?” I asked unbelieving. “That is so rude and incredibly tacky. I don’t go around reading your text messages. Did you reply to them too, you jerk?”
“No, though I thought about it.”
“I’m sure you did. How many were there and what did they say?”
“Staci, what are you doing? Are you with the vampire? Are you sure this is a good idea? Why aren’t you answering? What’s going on? What’s wrong? Staci? Stace? Answer me, dammit!”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, slid my cell phone open, and sent, “Hey, what’s up?” That was it. Nothing but cool, calm me. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking that I cared. Not after he’d left me.
“LeKrista, look at me.”
“I don’t really want to right now.”
“LeKrista.” I looked up because there was a hint of anger in his voice that I’d heard before and it scared me. “What did you hear when I was on the phone?”
I glared, but quoted, “‘It’s the human girl. She demands her phone. I must play nice, for now.’”
“How did you understand me?” he asked.
“What do you mean? You spoke in English, plain as day.”
“No,” Roman said. “I was speaking French.”
I frowned at him and replayed the image. I shouldn’t have bothered. Roman played the image again for me and I heard it. He spoke fluid, flawless French, but I understood every word.
“Ohmigod,” I said and backed away from him. “What have you done to me?” My breath begin came in gasps and pants.
“Help me,” I heard Roman say, though his voice was distant. “She’s going to have a panic attack. Get her inside.”
Marx and Will had their arms around me, guiding me back into the building before I could say anything. They sat me on that tacky red sofa and put my head between my knees and I gasped for air until the attack passed. My head spun and my heart pounded in beat with my head.
I said something to Roman. I shouldn’t have known the words. I shouldn’t have been able to say what I said, but when I spoke, the words came out in French and I’d never taken a lesson in my life.
“What the fuck have you done to me?” I shouted.
“LeKrista.” Roman’s voice came out breathy, as if he was not only impressed, but he found it beautiful too.
I grabbed my hair, pulled at it with my hands and began to shout. I didn’t shout in English, but I didn’t shout in French either.
“What the fuck have you done to me?” I shouted in German. “I shouldn’t be able to do this!” I said in Russian. “These aren’t languages I should know!” I told him in Spanish. “How did this happen and how can you fix it?” I finished in English. I ended standing, shouting up into his face, my hands balled into fists by my sides. Roman looked down at me, a look of complete loss on his face. He wasn’t sorry for whatever had happened, but he wasn’t sure how it had happened either.
“LeKrista,” he didn’t seem able to find the words. “LeKrista, I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t even know how it happened. Please believe me.”
“No,” I shouted. “I don’t believe you. This is your fault! All of it!”
“How so?” he asked, and I couldn’t believe it.
“You sought me out! You came to me! Not the other way around! You forced yourself on me, and now look what you’ve done!”
“I don’t understand why you’re so angry,” Roman said calmly, and I wanted to rip his head off and burn it. “How is this a bad thing?”
“You keep ruining me!” But a face popped into my head. Eddy’s face. They couldn’t talk about me behind my back anymore, and with that thought I calmed a little.
“What did you just think of, my sweet? I felt your mood change.”
“That’s none of your business,” I snapped, and just like that I was angry again. Good old Roman, bringing out the worst in me.
“LeKrista.” Roman reached out and touched a finger to my cheek. I wanted to pull away from him, because I really didn’t want him touching me, but I didn’t. I couldn’t, for some reason. “What happened in there?” he asked.
All of my anger leaked away and I was suddenly incredibly depressed.
“They won’t help me,” I told him.
Roman frowned. “Really? Did you explain to them-”
“Yes,” I snapped. “I explained and I asked nicely.” I paused. “Then I got smart and stomped out.” I left out the part about Tate, because I didn’t think I was supposed to tell him that. Not the way Xiomara had been talking, and for all my big talk I didn’t want her to zap me with her “bug zapper”.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it for the moment.
“We must go,” Roman said. “That call was...important. I’ll explain more later.” His eyes flicked to Marx, Will, Tate and Herman and I knew he didn’t trust them.
“Okay,” I said. “Just let me say good bye and I’ll meet you outside.”
Roman nodded, his face unreadable, and walked back out the door to stand with his back to the window. He folded his arms across his chest and I waited for the door to close before I spoke, even though I knew he’d be able to hear me anyway. I didn’t plan on saying something I didn’t want him to hear.
Tate wrapped her arms around me and gave me a fierce hug. “I know someone who can help you, off the record so to speak. She’s out of town right now, but when she gets back we’ll come visit. Okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“And I’ll bring your cape,” she smiled.
“Don’t get too freaked out about your new super power,” Marx said. “There are worse things that could be stuck in your head.” His brow furrowed and I wondered what he was thinking about.
“Yeah,” said Will. “I’d give anything to speak a little French. Can you imagine how the women would just eat that up?”
I laughed. “I’ll teach you sometime.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said.
They waved and said good bye and I walked out to meet Roman.
CHAPTER NINE
Pierce was sitting on my bed when Roman brought me home. I blinked, unsure of how he’d gotten inside and into my room without my aunt freaking out, but that was truly the least of my worries. As he’d grown so accustomed lately, Pierce’s face was an unreadable, empty mask.
“Thank you,” I dismissed Roman and hoped he’d get the hint.
“LeKrista.”
“Just go,” I said sternly and he made sure to let me know just how much that pissed him off. “And that,” I added, “is exactly why we went where we did tonight. Good bye.” I waited for him to leave and close the door before I turned to Pierce.
“I got your note,” he said and waved a piece of paper in the air. “The one you left for your aunt.” He slid off the edge of the bed and stalked toward me like some great cat and his eyes flashed with anger. He’d always possessed the ability to make himself seem bigger than his five feet and two inches and tonight was no different. His presence filled the room with hot anger and I felt Romans’ alarm in the back of my mind. “When you didn’t answer your phone, I got worried. Imagine my surprise.”
“Pierce, I’m not going to make excuses.” My voice came out soft and I fought tears of anger and pain. “You have every reason to be angry, but at least let me explain before you jump to conclusions.”
Pierce sat on the edge of the bed. He crossed his arms and the note was crushed beneath one of his massive biceps. My eyes were drawn to the sound. His arms were bulging more than usual and I knew he’d done pushups while he waited to try and reign in his anger.
I let out a slow breath before I spoke. “The girl from the restaurant who gouged my arm,” I looked to Pierce for recognition, but he was too angry. All I saw was that wall of emotionless fury that he used to hide his true feelings. “I think she’s one of Perdita’s. I saw her give a vial of blood to her and when she drank it, Perdita was suddenly in my head. She used her power to induce a grand mal seizure. I would have died if Roman hadn’t come to help.”
“When?” The anger started to fade from his voice, but his face was still empty.
“Last night. Roman brought a friend over yesterday. She knows people who can help. That’s why we went to Charleston tonight, to see if they could help me find a way to keep the vampires out of my head.”
“And did they?”
I started crying and couldn’t answer. The wall behind Pierce’s eyes came crashing down and he wrapped his arms around me. “They said no,” I sobbed into his shoulder. “They flat out refused and actually suggested I’d be better off if the vampires picked me off.” Pierce pulled me tight against him and he felt so good, so solid and warm, that I clutched at his shirt, afraid he would pull away and leave me again.
“Don’t go,” I begged. “Please don’t go!”
“Sh.” Pierce tried to sooth me but I was quickly beginning to slip into hysterics. “I’m not going anywhere, baby. Calm down.”
“You will. You’ll leave again.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
We stayed like this for a long time, me wrapped in Pierce’s tight embrace. Roman still lurked at the back of my mind, but his presence was fading fast. I knew he was unhappy and I knew his distaste for Pierce only grew the more time I spent with him. I pulled away as the last bits of Roman faded and I told Pierce, “He hates you. He does this on purpose. You’re not safe and neither am I.”
“You’re afraid he will kill you like he did Vivian?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m afraid he will kill you, but I don’t think he’ll harm me. I’m talking about Perdita. She’s not going to rest until I’m dead.”
Pierce pulled me against him once more and I listened to his heartbeat, strong and sure and full of life. “I won’t let that happen,” he promised and I knew he meant it.
“Will you stay?” I asked and looked up into his eyes, begged him with my own, and I almost started crying again. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
“Yeah,” he said after a moment and kissed my forehead. “I’ll stay tonight. Just don’t get me shot.”
That beautiful smile of his finally lit his eyes and I couldn’t help smiling back. “My aunt couldn’t work a gun if her life depended on it. I think you’re safe.”
I undressed and made Pierce take his shirt off. There was nothing I wanted more in that moment than to be next to his skin, to breathe him in and listen to the beat of his heart.
I wasn’t quite asleep when my brain cramped. There was no other word for it. Something in my head seized up, not like a seizure or a tic, just a cramp. Then laughter echoed in my head and I knew it to be Perdita’s.
“What is it?” Pierce asked. “What’s wrong?”
Perdita laughed hysterically in my head, as if she were enjoying the greatest joke in all the world.
“Run, LeKrista,” Roman thought at me. “Run. She’s coming for you. Run.”
“She’s coming,” I whispered and gasped. My entire right side seized up in a tick. I haven’t been gripped by a tick that bad in years. Perdita’s magic pulled at me calling to my blood. Instead of compelling me to do her will she sent my body into a shudder that threatened to end in seizure. I knew the moment she realized, because she let me go and I sighed.
“She is coming after you, not to kill you, my sweet, but to frighten you. She wants you to be afraid, she wants to play with you, but she has no desire to play with your family. She will kill them if she has the chance. You must run. Get away from them. Quickly.”
“Where are you?” I shouted.
“I am very far away, my sweet, but I am coming. I promise you. Just run. Don’t stop, and I will be there as soon as I can.”
I wasn’t reassured.
“She’s coming,” I told Pierce. “She’s coming and if I don’t leave she will kill everyone.”
“Where will you go?” he asked. “I’ll come with you.”
“And do what?” I asked. “She’ll kill you to get to me.” I started throwing on clothes. I didn’t care if they were dirty or not. “Stay here and watch my family. Please. Just...don’t let them get hurt.” I found my running shoes and slid into them without untying the laces. “Take care of my family.”
The next thing I remember is running down the road not sure of where to go or how I was supposed to outrun a vampire.
I hit the main road sooner than I expected. The pavement made solid sounds under my shoes, and my breath came in ragged gasps. I was overweight and not wearing the right kind of pants for marathon running. The jeans were starting to chafe between my thighs and I wanted to cry. This wasn’t how my life was supposed to be and it certainly wasn’t how it was supposed to end.
Rustling in the trees to my right caught my attention and I looked over to see eyes glowing in the dim light of the nearly full moon.
What the-
Fear spiked through me and I tried to run faster. It kept pace with me, but stayed to the trees and I knew as long as there were houses around it wouldn’t pounce.
There was a curb up ahead that closed up with trees on either side of the road. No houses. I was about to be shit out of luck.
Perdita laughed in my head again and I shuddered. She thought this was funny, hilarious, jolly good fun. I kept an eye on the animal in the trees as I rounded the curb. Waited for it to lunge. It did. I saw it crouch low, just before it left the ground and flew through the air toward me. A giant wolf’s dark fur shone silver in the moonlight. I stopped and ducked, and its momentum carried it over my head, just as I’d hoped, and I was running again before it landed.
I didn’t know the woods in this area, or I would have run into the trees.
“Help me!” I shouted to Roman, and hop
ed he could hear me.
“Run.”
I did. My legs carried me down the road at a pace that had never been my own. I leapt off the road and crossed a field to dodge a hill, a corner, and some extra running time. Then I was back on the road, past the school on the left and several churches. I came to the quarry where Lucretious had tossed me and my car into the lake. The water was dark and held threats of death in its icy murk. I passed the quarry and was up the road, headed to Roman’s house.
“I’m not there, LeKrista,” Roman reminded me, but I hadn’t forgotten.
“Where else am I supposed to go?” He didn’t answer, because he knew there was nowhere else.
Two more sets of glowing eyes joined the first. I had a moment of panic, before I realized they could taste my fear. I would have taken deep breaths to calm myself if I had the breath to spare.
“She cannot follow you inside the church, LeKrista.”
I’d forgotten about that part. “What about the wolves?”
“If they are in her command, she cannot command them inside.”
That was good to know. I passed Roman’s house at the last minute and ran up the road toward my family’s church.
“Faster,” I begged. “Can’t we go any faster?”
“I can. You cannot.”
I whimpered, but accepted it. I could no longer feel my exploding lungs, but I knew they were struggling, or would be once Roman closed himself to me and I was operating on my own faculties again.
I ran as hard and as fast as Roman would let me. I ran until I could see the steeple of my church rising above the trees and I knew I still had a mile to go. A mile at partial vampire speed was faster than human speed, but it still wasn’t as fast as I would have liked. I ran past the few cars that were still on the road and past the buildings and work places. I lost sight of those glowing eyes, and assumed they had stayed in the trees where it was safe and they wouldn’t be seen.
I turned onto the street where my church stood dark, silent, and empty. There wasn’t a single car in the parking lot, not a single light save the red exit signs, and the first thing I saw was the youth building. It was closer than the main sanctuary, and if it would give me the refuge I needed I wouldn’t be picky.
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