Warmth grew in Thomas's chest as he watched the woman breathe, and his fingertips felt as though each one housed a moth, eager to float his fingernails to the fluorescent light above.
Vampire or not, she's obviously suffered.
"This is Necole,” Richard's voice came from behind him. “She was one of the strongest of us. Something went to great care to make her bleed for a long time.” He shook his head. “There are other, much faster ways to turn an Orphan into a vampire. We can only conclude that whatever did this to her wanted to watch her suffer."
Thomas's breath came slowly, and his legs were coiled springs. The warmth spread up into his neck.
Poor soul. I wish I could ease your pain.
His eyes rolled upward, and he reached out to Necole's forehead. He felt a tiny spark when he touched her, and then she was gone.
Chapter 14
There was no bed anymore. In its place was a heavy stone slab.
Thomas turned around. Richard was gone, and the room looked drastically different. The walls were no longer covered with the mark of Zera. Instead, they were draped with a gray cottony substance that partially reflected some bluish light. The light seemed to originate from behind Thomas, but when he turned he saw no light source, just another puffy wall. The air smelled musty and old.
He took a step toward the downy material, and the bluish light intensified. He could now see that the stuff covering the walls was actually layer after layer of spider web. Hundreds of black spiders, some as big as his fist, scurried from his sight.
One sprang toward him, and Thomas put his hand up to shield his face. But his hand didn't rise. Instead, a giant bluish-white flame swung from his shoulder and intercepted the spider mid-flight, obliterating every speck of the creature.
So I'm the light source. Now this is interesting!
Thomas moved his flickering limb forward, and the flame pressed into the cobwebs, instantly burning out the silky material. He turned his shoulder and the flame arced, burning a wide slash into the gossamer curtain.
He took a few paces, dragging his flaming hand along the wall. A wavy pattern of scorched rock followed him. He moved his other hand, which was also flame. Thomas burned parallel lines into the wall, and he rejoiced in every evaporated arachnid.
He tried to spell his name, but the webbing burned too fast. When he stopped to admire his attempt, he heard the humming.
The noise was soft and high-pitched, and was loudest around the stone slab. Upon inspecting the block, Thomas found that it was actually shaped like a huge stone coffin.
On a whim, he pressed his flames against the side of the lid. The slab easily slid off and landed on the floor with a thump.
With the lid off, the hum became louder, so Thomas peeked inside the coffin.
A dozen hairy spiders the size of cats squirmed in a knot of legs and beady eyes. Thomas could hear the clattering of dozens of tiny teeth gnashing together.
And then the spiders leapt at him.
In a panic, he waved his flames. One of the eight-legged monsters passed under his left arm and readied to sink its huge pincers into his leg.
But just as the spider touched his skin, the hairy beast evaporated with a poof!
Thomas smiled, amazed. Right on. He hunted down the rest of the freakish bugs and bathed each of them in his flame. But still the whine reached his ears.
He looked back into the coffin to investigate. Webbing was fluffed to the brim, so he swept one of his glowing flames along the top, burning the web away in an even pattern. The hum became louder.
Another pass revealed a layer of tightly spun web. Thomas held the flame on the same spot for a few moments to dig a little hole. He drew a line in this way, like a blowtorch through sheet metal.
A face appeared in the line, and Necole's dark eyes looked up at him in abject terror. The whine wasn't a whine at all. It was her piercing scream.
Hands pulled on his chest and shoulders, and Thomas stumbled backward. His vision went fuzzy for a moment, and in a blink, the coffin was the bed again. People swarmed around Necole's screaming form.
Richard's angry face was clenched before him, and the vampire's strong hands gripped Thomas's shoulders.
"Get the hell away from her!"
He shoved Thomas into a door that opened behind him as he fell.
Thomas landed on hard tile. Richard followed him through the door, and Thomas scrambled to get to his feet while scooting away.
"What did you do to her?” Richard demanded.
"I don't know!” Thomas wheezed as he struggled for breath. “I was in a cave, and there were spiders everywhere, so I was burning them, with like my hand or something, and the lady was in the coffin..."
"You leave him alone!"
Warrenna stood at Thomas's side, glaring defiantly at her father. “You invited him, remember? Anything that happened in there is your fault, not his!"
Richard growled and plunged back into the great room. As the door closed Thomas heard shouting, dragging furniture, and, above everything else, Necole's panicked screams.
Warrenna took a deep breath and looked down at Thomas. “Nobody told me you were here. I probably wasn't supposed to know. Are you all right?"
Thomas nodded, and took a second to catch his breath. His back was propped against a center island of a kitchen. The cabinets and countertops gleamed antiseptic white in contrast to the black tile.
He winced as he recalled Necole's fearful eyes. “I don't know what happened in there. I just wanted to make her feel better, but I somehow ended up in a cave or something. I don't know if I was hallucinating or what."
"It's so typical,” Warrenna spat, but then she caught herself. “Sorry. Not you. My parents. They didn't tell me they wanted you here to see if you could help Necole. But it's obvious they did. I wonder if Mom made up the story about something being wrong with you. Just to get you here, you know."
Thomas ran his hand through his hair. “I don't think she made anything up about that. Look, should I get out of here while I have the chance? Your dad looked really mad."
"He's got no reason to be. I'm sure that wasn't your fault in there. He should know that a pure soul like yours could never hurt anybody on purpose."
Her cheeks colored, and she looked away. “Anyway, Aunt Tammy probably still wants to see you. But she's bound to be occupied with Necole for a while.” She sat down beside him on the floor. “So I can answer those questions you wanted to ask."
Thomas smiled at her embarrassment. I do like to see her off-guard. “Actually, your norm friend Terri answered most of them for you. But I have a new one. What's it like worshipping Zera? Does she really talk to you?"
Her eyebrows arched in surprise. “So you know about Zera. Uh, well, I don't ... worship her."
Thomas cocked his head. “But I thought that was how Orphans stayed human."
"It is.” Warrenna rubbed her wrist. “My parents performed the ritual on me a few times when I was young, and, um, once recently. Because of my, um, special birth, the curse hasn't progressed that far. So I don't really need Zera yet. To be honest, I never want to see her again if I don't have to.” She looked at the floor. “She doesn't ever say my name. She just calls me daughter."
Thomas touched her shoulder. “So you're saying that you're the daughter of a goddess?"
"No."
Warrenna turned to him, poking a finger at his chest. “Zera may be responsible for my messed-up existence, but she is not my mother."
Thomas looked into her bold gray eyes, and the warmth sparked inside his chest again. His fingers became light as feathers, and his eyes rolled up into his lids.
"And with me,” he said, “you won't ever need Zera."
He gently cupped Warrenna's cheek in his hand. Her skin was cool, yet warmth blossomed inside him.
Warrenna looked at him, stunned. But then she pressed her cheek into his hand, welcoming his touch. Her lips touched his wrist, and the air around them shimmered.
And then the door opened, and Thomas drew his hand back like he touched a red-hot stove burner.
Alexandria hobbled in, leaning on a black cane and holding the hand of the woman with the orange-lens glasses.
Warmth swirled inside Thomas, and his vision took a moment to refocus. “Uh, hello, ma'am,” he said slowly. “Is Necole okay?"
"She's stable again,” Aunt Tammy said. She guided Alexandria to a barstool at the counter. “How she really is, we won't know until Vince can take a sample."
Thomas swallowed hard. “Look, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened."
"Don't feel badly, Thomas.” She glanced at Warrenna, then back to him. “You only did what came naturally."
Warrenna blushed again, and edged away from Thomas.
"Right now, I'm more concerned about your well-being, Thomas,” Alexandria continued. She gestured to her companion. “Tamara needs to look you over for a moment."
"On your feet, please,” Aunt Tammy said. “Look straight up."
Thomas obeyed, and Aunt Tammy ran her fingers along his neck, peering at his skin. “Have you had any blackouts recently? Any time you couldn't account for?"
The vampire's cool touch made Thomas shiver, as did having her teeth so close to his neck. “Actually, yes, on Wednesday. I went from standing in the shower to standing in a hallway at Chiricahua. There's about thirty minutes, maybe more, that I still can't remember."
Aunt Tammy's hands abruptly stopped their probing. She chewed on the knuckle of her index finger. “I know this has been a strange couple of days for you, but I need you to think. During the last week, have you felt compelled to do anything that didn't really make sense, either at the time, or in retrospect?"
Thomas thought for a moment. The curiosity about the paintings seemed natural. The sadness at seeing Warrenna transform was strange, but he didn't remember feeling compelled to do anything....
"Oh yeah,” he groaned, remembering. “Yeah, last night. I did something that still feels kinda crazy and stupid."
Warrenna frowned. “What happened?"
Thomas rubbed his neck and looked away. “Well, there's this girl. Mariah, from English class. Anyway, I was at this party with her, and, things were going pretty well, and I had her in my arms, and I saw Renna's eyes somehow. And then I felt terrible, and I couldn't be there anymore. It's weird, I really, you know, wanted to be with this girl. But it felt wrong, and I don't know why."
Aunt Tammy winced and looked at Alexandria, but Alexandria was looking at her daughter.
"Warrenna?” Alexandria said. “Is there anything you'd like to tell us?"
Warrenna blinked. “Not really. Why? What's going on?"
"I just thought you might want to explain yourself,” Alexandria said. “Because Thomas is acting like he is in your thrall."
"He's what?” Warrenna said at the same time that Thomas sputtered, “I'm what?"
Aunt Tammy nodded, frowning. “He's got the symptoms. The missing time, the rejection of prior desire, and Vince saw unnatural thoughts in his mind."
"It must have happened when you transformed in front of him,” Alexandria said. “You don't have any experience with the beast. You probably couldn't help yourself. I didn't know you were capable of enthralling. But then,” she sighed, “you've always been full of surprises."
Warrenna shook her head. “No, you're wrong, I didn't do anything. I just transformed and transformed back."
"Thrall?"
Everyone looked at Thomas, whose face had lost all color.
"We're afraid so,” Aunt Tammy said gently. “Thrall is sort of like being hypnotized. It's how very powerful vampires get humans to do their will. The victim has no awareness of the strings being pulled."
"But I didn't do anything!” Warrenna cried. “Tommy, you were there that night. You believe me, don't you?"
Thomas closed his eyes as he tried to remember the events of the past week. “Yeah,” he said evenly. “You transformed on Thursday. I had the missing time on Wednesday."
But all the strangeness began this week. The sadness, the visions, the confusion...
He remembered the blackout, and the image of Warrenna in flames at practice. Then there were the strange hallucinations with her paintings. All of the wrenching sorrow and embarrassing tears happened this week.
And it all began right after he brushed against her arm while passing out a handout in third-hour English.
The drowsy warmth evaporated. His eyes felt like ice cubes in his skull. “Oh my God,” he whispered. “You did it to me on Monday."
"No, Thomas,” Warrenna said. “I haven't done anything. I swear to you."
"We can't enthrall in our human form,” Aunt Tammy added. “And anyway, it wears off as long as you're not around her beast form for around..."
"No,” Thomas interrupted. He pointed a finger at Aunt Tammy. “You can't do it. You also can't walk around in the sun.” He moved the finger to point at Warrenna. “But she can."
The bowling ball was back in his torso, reminding him of the moment he first touched Warrenna. The weight was cold and hard, dragging his insides down to the floor. “Oh, God, it's all been a lie. All of it. And I had Mariah in my arms. Jesus, I ran from her. Because all I could think about was you."
He fell to his knees. All the dreamy thoughts of being an angel, the elation of the basketball game, the cool, thrilling touch of Warrenna's cheek—all lies. His stomach juices swirled around the bowling ball. Her pulsing red eyes hadn't burned with suffering. They burned with evil.
"You monster,” he spat. “You've had me under your spell this whole time."
Tears slipped down Warrenna's face. “No, Tommy. I didn't want any of that, I promise you. I never wanted your life to get all screwed up, that was the last thing I wanted."
"Don't come near me!” he yelled, staggering to his feet. “None of you freaks come near me. You're not getting me under your spell ever again!"
Thomas barged through the door into the great room. A couple of people stood by the bed, and they turned at the sound of the door.
Thomas's heart pounded. They were vampires, too.
He sprinted as fast as he could to the double doors. The vampires didn't react, and he was quickly back in the first dim hallway.
There was the outside door. If I can get to sunlight, they won't chase me.
He flung himself at the exit. The door opened easily, but he crashed right into Terri. They both crumpled to the ground.
That was when Thomas remembered that he was trapped in a gated neighborhood, miles away from civilization. He didn't even know which direction to go to find the Beatermobile.
"Terri,” he gasped, “I'm sorry, uh, could you take me to my car? I'm ready to go."
Terri climbed to her feet. “Sure, honey. But what happened? You're whiter than the cursed folk. What's got you so spooked?"
What if she's under some vampire's thrall like I just was? “Nothing. It's just creepy being around so many of them. Can we go?"
She shrugged. “Well, all right, let's go.” Her eyes looked past Thomas toward the door. “That okay with you?"
Thomas slowly turned to find Richard standing in the doorway. The vampire's arms were folded, and he glared at Thomas with an expression that chilled the young man's heart.
Run, get to sunlight!
But Thomas's legs were frozen in place.
"He is no prisoner here,” Richard said coldly. “If he wants to go, that's fine with me."
Thomas sighed heavily. “Okay then,” he said, and backed away.
* * * *
Thomas glanced over his shoulder on every third step as he and Terri walked to her car. He thought he could feel Warrenna's eyes on his back, like two invisible lasers boring into his shoulder blades. But as the distance between him and the Orphanage grew, the feeling became weaker and weaker.
He told Terri about the strange vision with Necole, and that it really frightened him and he just wanted to go home and get some rest. Terri assured hi
m that he would get used to bizarre things happening, and he made a big deal of just needing a little more time to deal with all the world-changing stuff he heard today.
All lies, of course. He just wanted to get to his car, and never see another vampire in his entire life.
They finally reached the Foothills Mall parking lot, and Thomas had never been happier to see the Beatermobile's dusty white paint. He waved goodbye to Terri with a fake smile. As soon as she drove away, he began to shake.
He gripped the steering wheel and took several deep breaths, feeling lucky to still be alive. He considered going to the police, but he doubted they would believe anything he said. He pictured a bored officer rolling his eyes. “Of course they're vampires,” he would say. “Hell, I'm a zombie, and over there's my buddy the Wolf-Man. He's a little hairy, but otherwise a good guy."
He rubbed his forehead and wondered how many stupid things he did while under Warrenna's spell. He was angry with himself for being fooled for so long, but a week ago he thought vampires were just legend. How could he have known what he was in for?
In his rearview mirror he caught a glimpse of the long shadows being cast by the enormous buildings of the Foothills Mall. He realized he had to get farther away from the Orphanage before the sun went down. Terri might tell them where he was.
When he reached the interstate, he floored the accelerator. Then he peeled the nametag off his shirt, ripped it in half, and threw the pieces out the window.
Stupid of me to think I was an angel. I'm just an ordinary guy who has weird dreams.
He retrieved the paper heart from the glove compartment and flung it outside. It caught an updraft, and disappeared into the desert sky.
* * * *
Tiny cars and trucks moved south in the distance as Warrenna watched the interstate. She knew Thomas was inside one of those little dots. And he was thanking his lucky stars that he got away from her.
The Cure for the Curse Page 13