“I don't think I can do that,” I admitted. “You guys move really fast.”
“Your mind can move faster,” Lucas reassured me softly. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I wouldn't ask this of you, if I didn't think it was necessary.”
“So what do I have to do?”
“We'll start with William trying to attack you. He's going to run towards you and I want you to try and get your spirits to capture him, or attack him. Whatever you think will work best for the situation,” Lucas explained.
William offered me a tiny smile. “You need to remember that I won't just run at you, we can jump and leap at rapid speeds also.”
I nodded, already troubled about this new idea. I'd seen how fast they could move and didn't think I could possibly do anything to stop them. They'd be on me before I had a chance to ask for the spirits aid.
As I'd suspected, it was disastrous - I was struggling to call a spirit before William was on me. He didn't physically attack, veering off at the last minute but more than once, I shrieked as he rushed past in a blur, making my hair blow in the breeze he created.
Lucas stood at the edge of the lawn, offering encouragement and guidance and as time wore on, I made modest progress but my attacks were too little and too late.
I heard the telephone ringing and from the corner of my eye, I saw Rowena slip inside to answer it, then my attention was captured by a vampire standing near the side of the house. He was tall and blond, his clothing dirty and disheveled. He dropped a backpack onto the ground and surveyed the garden, settling on me, the only little human. I was terrified but William had rushed towards me in the same split second and I had no opportunity to shout a warning.
Chapter 21: Holden
Several things happened at once. The mysterious vampire leaped from the patio and I heard Gwynn shriek. Lucas launched into motion from across the garden in a burst of superhuman movement. From the corner of my eye, I saw the stranger racing towards me and I tumbled backwards, hitting the ground. Striker snatched for the stranger but he was much too fast, escaping Striker's clutching hands as he ran like a cheetah towards me. I scrambled in reverse, saw Lucas launch himself towards the strange vampire even as Ripley leapt forward. It seemed as though all the men were going to reach a pivotal point – me – in the same instant. Despite this all happening in milliseconds, to my eyes, it was happening in slow motion. In tiny split second increments of time, I watched them coming towards me, knew they couldn't be stopped. The stranger was going to attack me before the others could reach him.
I cringed, certain I was going to be attacked. My mind went utterly, peacefully blank, cleared in that infinitesimal split second and I instinctively reached my hand forwards and up.
A flash of luminous white light erupted from my fingertips and billowed out towards the men. Lucas and the stranger were caught within the main body of the light, which wrenched them backwards through the air like rag dolls. Their bodies folded over on themselves as if they'd been hit by a giant, invisible fist. The stranger smashed into the house, crashing through the patio doors. Lucas was slammed into the wall of the house, the stones smashing and a flow of dust and small rock erupting as his body hit, then slumped to the patio floor. William and Striker were caught in the peripheral edges of the white glow, with William thrown into the trees beyond the grass, where he crashed into the trunk of a large tree that bordered the riverbank. Striker had been leaping towards the stranger and he was blown back across the grass, his body digging a trench through the grass to reveal the damp brown earth below. Only Ripley escaped unharmed, far enough from the center of the blast to escape being caught up in it.
Gwynn shrieked and bounded nimbly from the patio, running to William and lifting him in her arms. Ripley hurried to Lucas, where he lay surrounded by broken wood and stone and covered in a dusty white layer of cement dust.
Gasping for breath, I tore my eyes away from Lucas and shifted my focus back to the others, wary of another attack. Striker had gotten up and, limping heavily, was making his way towards the house. Rowena ran outside and knelt next to Lucas, helping Ripley to straighten out his legs. When I turned back to Gwynn and William, Gwynn was gaping at me, apprehension etched into her pretty features. She looked as if she didn't recognize me and was obviously frightened by what I'd done.
There was an incessant buzzing in my ears and my skin felt chilly, icy cold. I heard the screeching of tires and car doors banging, then Acenith appeared in my peripheral vision, approaching slowly, her movements calm and deliberate. “Charlotte?”
Wide eyed and horrified, I tried to explain. “Acenith, I didn't mean it…”
“Of course you didn't,” Acenith said soothingly, holding her hand out to me. “Why don't I take you upstairs? We'll get your hand cleaned up and bandaged.”
I didn't understand what she was saying. I touched my hand and as if it had required a touch to create sensation, it began to throb. Looking down, I saw that I'd grazed my palm when I fell, spots of blood welling to the surface of the skin. My attention flickered back to where William lay, Gwynn cradling his head in her lap. Marianne rushed across the patio, following the path Striker had taken. I looked into Acenith's eyes, tears beginning to fall from mine. “The stranger, he was going to attack me.”
“He's not a stranger, Charlotte. He's Striker's brother, Holden. He normally lives with us, but he's been travelling for months. We didn't know he was coming back today.”
“He was going to attack me,” I repeated blankly.
“Come inside with me, Charlotte,” Acenith insisted quietly.
“Have I— are they—”
“I'm sure they'll be just fine,” Acenith reassured. “Right now, I need to get you out of here – the blood…”
I was abruptly aware of my hand again, noticing the small beads of blood.
“I'll go. The blood – I can clean it up myself.”
“I think I should come with you,” Acenith insisted. “I fed this morning; I'm okay with the blood. You should have someone with you; you've had a terrible shock.”
“No!” I shrieked, shaking my head vehemently. She might insist she was okay with blood, but the tips of her incisors pressed against her lower lip. They were vampires. It was dangerous to bleed around vampires. I jerked onto my feet. Edging nervously away from Acenith, I tried not to look at Lucas and William, tried not to see the horrified expression in Gwynn's eyes. I stumbled around the side of the house, sobs bursting from my throat as I ran upstairs, taking two at a time. I ran down the hall and into my bedroom, dropping to my knees and gasping with horror at what I'd observed. What had I done? How had it happened?
I knelt on the floor for a while, trying to piece together exactly what had occurred. How had they all been picked up like that? I hadn't done anything – there'd been no time to call for the spirits, so what caused the events I'd witnessed? I knew, without a doubt I had done it - but what exactly had I done? Striker's brother was going to attack me. Wasn't he? Why else would he have suddenly sprinted towards me? Why had they all ran towards me? Had I made a mistake? A devastating thought bubbled to the surface. Had I killed them?
Pulling tissues from the box on the bedside table, I blew my nose and wiped away the tears. My breathing calmed as I analyzed what had happened, trying to make sense of it.
I'd been startled by the sudden appearance of Holden, but why had he started running towards me? Was his intent to attack me? I'd thought he was like Lucas and the others, which meant he didn't feed on humans, but now I wasn't certain of anything. It had been a mistake to use my ability, I'd worried that I would hurt someone and now I had. Maybe I'd even killed them.
I didn't understand how, but when I'd thought Holden was attacking me – by some unknown means and with devastating results – I'd attacked back. I couldn't comprehend how it was feasible. If I'd had time to reach for the spirits, maybe – but in those few seconds, the thought hadn't entered my mind. Whatever happened outside had bee
n a mechanical and calamitous reaction, completely out of my control. But there was no doubt – it had come from me. That… white light had been produced from my body; had sprung from my fingertips. I'd seen it for myself. There was no disputing – it was something I'd created.
“Charlotte? May I come in?” Rowena peeked around the doorframe, her pretty face pinched with concern.
I twisted around so I was sitting on the carpet with my back against the bed. I was still clutching the tissues. “Are they— will they be alright?”
“Yes.”
Relief surged through me and I began to cry again. Rowena slipped into the room and dropped gracefully onto the carpet beside me. She drew me into her arms and let me cry against her shoulder, whispering soothing words of comfort.
“Charlotte.” Ben walked into the room, his expression somber as he knelt in front of me. “Lucas, William and Holden are going to be fine.”
“I didn't mean to do it, Ben! I don't know what happened. I didn't do it consciously, I swear I didn't.” My words came out in a rush, panic filling me again at the idea of hurting Lucas and his friends.
“Nobody is blaming you, Charlotte,” Ben said soothingly. “You thought Holden was attacking you.”
I looked up at him, my eyes widening. “He was attacking me! He was running across the garden, everyone was trying to stop him!”
Rowena cuddled me closer. “It was a combination of awful misunderstandings, Charlotte. Holden had just arrived home and found you surrounded by vampires. He's been away for a long time and misunderstood the situation. He thought they were intent on attacking you. Then William rushed towards you, not realizing Holden had arrived and it seems to have convinced Holden you truly were in danger.”
Ben continued the explanation. “I believe Holden thought he could stop them. Unfortunately, with vampire speed there's little time to resolve questions. Holden raced towards you, William raced towards you, Striker, Ripley and Lucas realized what was happening and were trying to protect you. All you did was protect yourself. Undoubtedly they will understand that when they wake up.”
I was certain I'd misheard him. “When they wake up? What do you mean, when they wake up?” I heard the edge of hysteria in my voice. What he was saying made no sense – vampires didn't sleep. Why would they need to wake up?
Ben touched my shoulder, his contact reassuring. “They're unconscious. Jerome is with them now. Holden has a severe concussion and both his arms are broken. William has a concussion and his knee is dislocated. Lucas has a fractured skull, his right leg is broken and he has a couple of broken ribs.”
It didn't make sense. Vampires were indestructible. The only way to kill them was to behead them. How was this possible? How could they have broken bones and concussions? “I don't understand,” I finally admitted. “Vampires can't suffer broken bones, concussion.”
“They can, when something is powerful enough to do it,” Ben responded quietly. “And it seems you have that power.”
I looked from Ben's calm face to Rowena's pinched features. “I have to leave,” I announced decisively. I stood up, wrenching open the wardrobe to pull my old duffel bag from the floor.
“Charlotte, that's not necessary,” Ben responded softly. “You didn't mean to hurt them.”
“You're right. I didn't mean to hurt them and I did!” I wrenched drawers open, pulling things out and shoving them haphazardly into the bag. “Who's to say I won't hurt someone again?”
“Charlotte, you were protecting yourself – it was a misunderstanding,” Rowena protested.
“Yeah, a misunderstanding. You're right. This happened because you're vampires and I'm not and it's insane to think I can live here with you. I was an idiot to think it could work, to have a person like me living with vampires. No matter how wonderful you all are, I'm still thinking the worst. I meet a strange vampire and automatically assume he's going to harm me. It's too dangerous when I don't even understand this ability and it was foolish to think I could use it and not hurt anyone. Lucas was trying to protect me and—” I sobbed brokenly, “I've hurt him and I don't even know how I did it.” I turned to the wardrobe, wrenching jeans and shirts from hangers and shoving them into the bag.
“Let me get Jerome, he can give you a sedative to help you calm down. I think you should sleep on it and make this decision in the morning,” Ben suggested.
“No! I'm not staying – I can't stay! I could do that to any one of you! Or maybe I'm capable of doing worse? Who knows?” Anguish was clear in every syllable I spoke. “It could be you next, or Rowena! Hell, I could even hurt Katie, without even meaning to! I can't take that risk. I won't take that risk.” I wrenched my jacket from the back of the chair and shrugged it on. “The best thing for your protection is for me to leave. Now.”
“I don't believe you would ever hurt us intentionally,” Rowena protested.
“No, maybe not. But apparently, I'm just as capable of doing it unintentionally. I can't take the risk of that happening,” I responded quietly.
I hitched the bag onto my shoulder and picked up my purse from the bed. Turning back at the door, I gazed at Rowena and Ben for a long moment, tears running down my cheeks. “Thank you, for everything you've done for me. Tell the others I said goodbye.”
Before either of them could protest again, I ran down the hallway, stopping in the bathroom briefly to throw my toothbrush, hairbrush and deodorant into my purse. The glint of gold on my finger captured my attention. I stared at Lucas's ring for a long moment, before I wrenched it roughly from my finger. I laid it carefully on the bench top, rubbing my finger across it one last time. Then I ran downstairs to the living room, yanked open the drawer where the keys were kept. The living room was empty and I wondered where everybody was. Probably hiding from me, I thought irrationally.
I snatched up my keys and ran downstairs, throwing my stuff into the trunk. Yanking open the garage door, I started the car and careered down the drive as rapidly as I could, wanting only to get away from this house and what had happened.
Chapter 22: Running
I stepped out of the tiny bathroom, my hair wrapped in a towel, and wearing fresh clothes. The motel room was tiny and old-fashioned, but spotless, with worn cotton sheets on the bed and faded curtains at the window.
My cell phone was vibrating again, as it had done every ten minutes since I'd left Puckhaber last night. Despite my complete lack of technical ability, I'd pulled to the side of the road about two hours out of Puckhaber Falls and furiously pressed buttons until I discovered a way to stop it ringing. Now it vibrated silently, but at least it wasn't so noticeable and it wasn't driving me to distraction.
I slumped onto the side of the bed and glanced at the illuminated display on the phone. It was Rowena and I ignored it as I towel dried my hair, running my fingers through the curls to push them into order.
I'd driven throughout the night, putting as much distance between Lucas and myself as possible. The tears stopped falling about three hours into the trip, when it seemed impossible to have any tears left. The rest of the long night had passed in a numbing blur as I left Montana and headed southward. I had no plan, no thought of where to go, what I was going to do next. All I could recognize was the need to escape, I needed somewhere on my own, some place where I could think – work through what had happened.
Dawn lightened the heavens as I drove steadily onwards, watching the sky turning the magnificent shades of pink and purple that herald a new day. I felt a pang of sadness, knowing that in the rush to leave I'd left behind my art supplies, the only means I had of providing myself with an income. I straightened my shoulders resolutely, knowing I wouldn't go back. What I'd done to Lucas, William, and their friend, Holden – it was impossible to consider returning now.
I had no idea where I was going, no plan on what the final destination would be. I chose roads at random, following wherever they took me. The day passed in an endless blur of highways and byways, with stops intermittently to refuel and pick up take-
away coffee. The heavy forests of Montana were replaced by the flat plains of Wyoming, which under any other circumstances I would have found breathtaking. In my current state of mind, I barely noticed the beauty of my surroundings.
Weariness overcame me as darkness fell again, and I pulled off the road when I spied another small motel situated off the highway. The neon sign flashing outside offered rooms for forty dollars and I accepted it, prepared to deal with anything if it meant I could shower. I dumped my duffel bag on the floor, collapsed onto the bed and surprised myself by falling into a deep sleep. It was a sleep filled with strange and disturbing nightmares, with Lucas lying broken and injured on the floor, his friends staring at me accusingly.
When I woke, my hair was sweaty, my skin covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. Taking in the cheap room and realizing where I was, my heart plummeted. After a shower, I was ready to hit the road. I threw the last of my things into the duffel bag, slung it in the car and turned onto the highway again.
I knew I couldn't continue like this, my financial situation was tenuous at best and staying in motels, even cheap ratty ones, was going to eat a rapid hole in the cash I did have. But I had absolutely no idea where I intended on going, no plan for what I would do. My initial tears were replaced by a profound numbness, mind blank, heart empty. I was alone again. Worse still, I felt more alone than ever, after spending the past few months learning to love again, enjoying other people's company. Now I had absolutely nothing.
The day followed the same pattern – driving, buying gas, drinking coffee. I took little notice of my surroundings, barely considering which direction I was heading. The cell phone continued to buzz persistently.
It was after midnight when I pulled into another small motel, the neon sign out front missing half the letters of the motel's name. I paid for a room and fell onto the bed, not even bothering to remove my shoes.
Knowledge Quickening (The Nememiah Chronicles Book 2) Page 17