"I'm going to need you to shoot something quite a bit larger tonight," he said, listening for slower heart beats around them.
"Oh," she said, feeling a bit dejected. "But you ate dinner with me and Momma. I thought you said that helps."
"It does, Savannah. Vampires need food just like everyone else. We need the blood for vitality and stamina. Without it, we fade away. Every once in awhile, I need to drink more of it, because my body has burned through its reserves," he said, calmly explaining.
"How do you all learn these things?" she asked. Samuel seemed to know a lot about the biology of Morphlings, and Harry had even told her some cool facts about Werewolves. And they all seemed to know more about Kites than she did.
Confused, he looked down into her face. "How do I know about being a Vampire?"
"No. How do you know the biology of Vampires, Morphlings, Werewolves, and others?" she said, exasperated. "I know how to use some of my powers, but I don't know much about how my body works. Everyone seems to know about all of the Supernaturals and what makes them special."
Understanding dawned on Eamon. It constantly surprised him, how much Savannah didn't know about the Arc or the Supernatural community in general. He tried to be patient, but every time he found out that she didn't know something, he would get a little frustrated with Lanie. As her mother, it was her job to make sure that Savannah was well educated. The only reason he had agreed with Lanie on the local public school instead of a boarding school was so that he could better protect them. Lanie was wrapped up in Savannah's being able to have a social life, while he was more concerned with her lack of practical knowledge. He knew that Lanie only saw Savannah as her daughter, but Eamon knew that she was somehow the key to everything he had ever hoped for the Supernaturals.
Patiently, he responded, "Well, for those raised in the Arc, they went to school in their own communities. The schools would teach them mostly about their own race, sprinkled with a few facts about the others. It's my understanding that as races started to mix more, they began to teach the kids a lot about all of the races. There are some crazy tests on it. One student last year told me that his test took all week to complete. For those who are not being raised there, it is up to the parents. There are books that they are supposed to teach from, and then they visit Arc Sanctum when they are thirteen. While there, the test is administered. After you pass your test, your parents throw you a party. Some parties I have seen are very extravagant, while others are a small family affair."
Savannah thought about this. "Did Samuel and Harry take the test? Am I supposed to do that?" she asked.
"Yes they did, and I don't know," he said honestly. "You are well over the age limit. And while I would like to take you to the Arc, I don't think it would be wise, quite yet. It was hard enough getting Samuel over there when it was his turn. Besides, you have a lot to learn before taking that test," he said. "Your mother would also have a lot of explaining to do to the Arc Sanctum."
"Oh," she said. "So what was on your mind before, really?"
Eamon thought about it, "You know? I don't even remember. Thank you for the small diversion. We should probably get back to hunting now." He smiled at the small girl who had the ability to make everything seem better.
Chuckling and shaking her head at him, she said, "Okay, what do you have in mind? Doe? Bear?"
"I think we are going with a bear tonight," said Eamon. He heard the slow heartbeat of a full grown bear to the west of them. He picked up the scent easily and led Savannah into position. They both silently made their way through the trees.
Changing her eyes from cat to owl, Savannah nocked her bow. She beefed up her arms a little using wolf muscles and pulled back the string on her recurve. The bear was drinking from the stream that she used to bathe in. It always smelled of raw earth and fish. And she knew the water was frigid, especially at this time of night. She steadied her breathing, as Eamon had taught her, and let go. She heard a roar, and before the bear fell to the ground, Eamon was there, getting what he needed. When he was done, she watched as he deftly skinned the bear and removed the meat. She helped him dig a shallow grave for the head, bones, and guts. They wrapped the meat in the muslin that they had brought with them. Savannah hid behind a tree as she removed her clothes and morphed into a horse with a bright lime green mane. Eamon climbed on and held on to the meat as she made her way back to his truck with her clothing in her mouth. She felt weird with him on her back and thought about how Samuel must have felt. He had given her and her mother rides before. Savannah dropped Eamon off at his old Chevy parked in the suburbs, then hid behind a nearby oak tree to change back and get dressed.
When she jumped into the cab, he reminded her to change her hair color back to brown. She wasn't fond of the brown color but obeyed. She knew that it was important to blend in. She felt the familiar vibrating sensation in her hair follicles as she changed the color.
Eamon pulled around to the back of his building and into the four-story garage where he housed all of his vehicles. Savannah liked looking at all of the different cars, bikes, and trucks that he had stored in there. There was even a working area, where George could try to fix anything that went wrong with them. She much preferred entering the building this way, but Hannah always insisted on picking her up and dropping her off out front. Maybe Hannah thought that Savannah would get lost in the garage or that it was too scary. The loud hollow sound that was made by merely walking was a bit eerie, but Savannah found it better than the smell of the stairwell.
Hannah and George lived on the ninth floor of the building, three floors below Eamon's. Savannah knew that there were other large apartments on the floors above her, but she wasn't allowed to check them out. She almost gave herself an impromptu tour after school earlier that week, but Hannah had stopped her. Savannah was curious about it but was too tired to bring it up to Eamon now.
On their way up the stairs, they stopped by Hannah and George's to give them the meat to prepare for the freezer, but no one was home. Savannah told Eamon that she could handle it, and they made their way up to the twelfth floor. About halfway, they heard screaming and shouting coming from their apartment. Terrified, both of them stopped in their tracks, before taking action. Savannah tried to fly up the stairs before Eamon put a hand on her shoulders and forced her back down.
"No magic!" He yelled as he zoomed past her.
Savannah growled as she picked up her pace in human form, taking the stairs three at a time. Running into a magical haze that almost filled the stairwell, Savannah's heart raced. By the time she got to the door, it was wide open, and there were George and Hannah in hysterics, talking over each other. Her mother was seated in one of the overstuffed chairs with Eamon kneeling next to her.
"What is wrong with her? She was wandering the halls, shooting some sort of laser beam at the walls! I swear I'm not making it up, Mr. Thomson. George had to douse them with the extinguisher before we all went up in flames," Hannah squealed. She looked as though she was about to hyperventilate and pass out.
"Mr. Thomson, sir, I think she's been possessed!" said George, waving an arm around. His other arm was weighed down with a foam-leaking fire extinguisher. "She took a shot at me! And I didn't see any laser, and something was weird about her eyes."
Alarmed, Savannah tried to calm the couple down before they jumped to any more conclusions. "We will take care of it," she told them. "Maybe a priest?" she said, hoping they would accept her response.
Taking deep breaths, George said, "Yeah, a priest. That's a good idea. An exorcism, that's what she needs." Savannah tried not to take what they were saying to heart.
Eager to leave, Hannah said, "You be sure to let us know if you need anything else," before ushering her husband out the door.
Savannah watched them leave, then locked the door. She bent down next to Eamon and looked into her mother's face. Crap! She was still in the middle of her 'episode'. Her eyes were glazed over, and she had a weird expression on her face. "Momma?" Savan
nah called to her, trying to break whatever trance she was in. She knew that it probably wouldn't work. She never knew what brought her mother back from her visions.
"Do you have her?" Eamon asked the girl next to him. Savannah rolled her eyes and looked at him as if he had asked the most inane question.
"Right. I'm going to see if she left much of an energy trail," he said.
"Wait!" Savannah called to him as he was walking away.
"Yes?" he said, impatiently. He needed to find out how much danger they were in.
"Do you think everything will be okay with George and Hannah?" she asked.
"They won't be back," he said, calmly.
Fearful of what he might do to them, she asked cautiously, "What do you mean by that?" They didn't deserve to die, just because her mother had an 'episode'.
"I hear them starting their car right now, Savannah," he said.
"Oh. What about their stuff?" she asked, curious. Even with her few possessions, she was devastated when the cabin fire claimed them all.
"I've paid them enough. They stopped and grabbed a few things. As I said, we won't be seeing them again," he said. His voice caught on the last sentence. He had employed many humans, but he had grown quite fond of these last two. He was going to miss them. Often, it ended in a similar manner. They saw something that they couldn't quite wrap their minds around, or the feeling of danger grew too great, so they would disappear.
Hearing the sadness in his voice, Savannah dropped it and let him walk out without further interruption. She turned back to her mother, hoping that she could figure out what was going on. Lanie just stared back with a blank expression.
"Momma? Let's get you to bed, so you can lie down," said Savannah. Standing up, she led her mother to the plush bedroom they shared and helped her lie down on the comfortable mattress. It didn't take long for Lanie to fall asleep. Savannah hoped that when she woke up again, her mother would be back to normal.
Savannah went back to pick up the bear meat that Eamon had dropped on the floor. There wasn't much blood, but wetness was still oozing through the muslin and onto the carpet. Taking the large heavy package into the kitchen, she began to prepare the meat for the freezer. She hadn't done much freezer preparation in the past, but she was sure that she could figure it out. Grabbing a large square-shaped knife from the back wall, she hacked into the meat. She tried getting the pieces as small as possible so they could use it for stew or those kabob things that George had made last week. She heard the front door open and close. A few seconds later, Eamon rounded the corner looking beat.
"I went around the block and didn't see anything. The trail is mostly in the stairwell. It's potent, but I don't think it will attract attention unless someone happens to walk by the building. It will probably dissipate in a couple of hours, so we should be fine," he said. He pulled up a bar stool to the breakfast bar opposite her. Looking around, he asked, "Where is Lanie?"
"Momma's lying down. She wasn't very responsive, and sometimes she kind of sleeps it off," said Savannah, hacking into another slab of bear meat.
"Have you gone through the footage yet?" Eamon asked.
"No. I thought I would leave that for you and her. I was never very good at deciphering her visions," she said.
Nodding, Eamon pushed back from the bar and walked around the counter. He grabbed the device that would shrink wrap the meat and make it easier to freeze. He started portioning the meat out and shrink wrapping it. He was fairly impressed with the girl's ability to wield a knife. They worked in silence until they were done. Then the girl went to bed leaving Eamon to his nightly routine. These days it consisted of catching up on work and going over business reports. Sleep wouldn't come until a little before dawn, though after the night's events, he wasn't sure that it would come at all.
Chapter 4
"Try this one on!" Chrystal called out, before another outfit flew over the dressing room door, hitting Savannah in the face.
"Umm, Chrystal? Maybe we should slow down," she suggested. Gazing around the dressing room filled with clothes, she felt overwhelmed. Half of the stuff Savannah wasn't even sure how to put on, and the other half looked a bit like what she would pull from the dumpster not that long ago. There were holes in some, and the others appeared to have been attacked by scissors. Some of them had so many straps that she didn't know what went where, and she felt ridiculous. When did getting dressed get so complicated?
"I guess, if you want. Have you put any of them on yet?" Chrystal asked. She wasn't sure if Joleen was enjoying her girls' day or not. After this, she should probably cinch it by taking her to get a smoothie. If you can't bond over a smoothie, there is no hope.
"I'm trying. It's just been a really long time since I've bought anything. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for," Savannah replied. She felt too embarrassed to admit that she didn't know how to put the dang things on. She wished she could explain her past to Chrystal, but Eamon was adamant about not revealing anything. He gave Savannah a lecture all the way to pick her new friend up.
Eamon had been purposefully staying away from Savannah in public. He knew most of the Supernatural families in the area, and he knew that eyebrows would be raised when they saw him with a new, fully grown teenager. They would know that she wasn't his daughter and that she wasn't a Vampire. He had been telling her to promote her Morphling side to the other Supernaturals since the Siphons were looking for a Kite. Lanie didn't leave the apartment much, so he was sure it would be fine. Now that Hannah and George were gone, he had to make a decision-- have Lanie drive Savannah around, exposing herself as a Kite, or connect himself with Savannah in a guardianship role. It was no contest.
"You're a Morphling, right? How come you won't let me in the changing room with you?" Chrystal asked. She had grown increasingly curious of Joleen since Eamon picked her up. How did a Morphling land herself in the care of the local Vampire liaison?
"I'm probably the most modest Morphling that you'll ever meet," Savannah said, pulling a pair of jeans on. Her foot got caught in a rip in the knee. She fell over, landing in a pile of clothes and hangers and hitting her head on the back wall. "Oww!" She yelled, feeling pain radiating through her skull and finding herself in an awkward position.
"Are you okay?" Chrystal called out. Concerned, she warned, "I'm comin' in," before sticking her head under the door. Laughing at the spectacle, she shimmied her body the rest of the way into the room. After standing up and helping her new friend to the bench, she asked, "Why has it been so long since you've been shopping?"
"Circumstance," Savannah grumbled, rubbing at the new lump on the back of her head. "Aren't there any easier clothes to try on? Maybe ones that aren't so holey?"
"Yeah, we'll just get you back in your schoolgirl outfit and go to a different store. Most of the stuff at Maurice's should work," said Chrystal, trying hard to stifle her giggles. "I still wanna take you to Hot Topic, though. I think you would look great in some of their stuff!"
Rolling her eyes, Savannah shifted her weight and pulled the pants off. She threw them off to the side when her eyes caught something that looked as if it might work. Grabbing the black stretchy material, she asked, "What are these?"
"Oh! Those are jeggings. They are a must-have for almost any girl. How have you never seen jeggings before?" Chrystal asked. She bit her lower lip and eyed the strange girl.
Savannah shrugged. There wasn't a way to explain without exposing everything to Chrystal. She was supposed to be from New York, and if the pants were as popular as it sounds, then she should know what they were.
They seemed lightweight, which would be perfect if she started Morphing more often. It took her a couple of minutes to try them on. They reminded her of the pants that she took from Jen a few weeks back. The material breathed well and moved easily with her.
"Well, if you don't have any, we should probably get you like fifteen pairs," said Chrystal.
Looking at the girl in shock, Savannah asked, "What could I possibly do w
ith fifteen jeggings?"
Brushing off her reaction, Chrystal said, "Wear them, of course. Now, there are so many different styles."
"But-" started Savannah.
"No buts! At least we are getting somewhere with your wardrobe! You would think we were shopping for your prom dress," said Chrystal.
Confused, Savannah said, "But I thought we already picked out your prom dress."
"Exactly! Epic night, epic dress! And it only took me fifteen minutes," said Chrystal, half joking. She had been hoping that Joleen would lighten up a bit. She still didn't know anything about the girl. "I don't know, Joleen. I got the impression that those plaid skirts and white blouses were a little uncomfortable for you. But if that's what you prefer, we can just go to the food court."
Dropping her shoulders, Savannah knew she was losing the battle. Chrystal was right; the clothes Eamon had picked out were almost unbearable to wear. She was used to items that weren't so fancy and had a lot more function. Trying to hunt in a skirt every night was awkward. "All right, how about you pick out the jeggings, and I will get dressed. Then we can go wherever you want for tops."
Chrystal's face lit up. "Really? Oh! You're going to love Hot Topic! They have all kinds of styles for the best music! I'm sure we'll be able to find a few tops with your fave bands on them."
Savannah blew out a big sigh as she got dressed. She didn't know any bands. Music wasn't really a priority while living in the woods. Sometimes, her mother would sing, but that was about it. She knew that Harry had 'earbuds' that had what he called 'music' coming out of them. He was always trying to get her to listen to some new song that he bought. Now, she was trying desperately to remember even one name that he mentioned. Unfortunately, she was drawing a blank.
"Sounds great. I'll be out in a second to pay for whatever you pick out," she said to the girl bouncing up and down in front of her.
Illuminated Embers Page 4