by Stina
“How do you know so much?”
“Maybe you’re not the only one who does research,” Narum replied.
Narum tried to open the chest. It was locked.
“The key. Try the key you found,” Lina said.
Narum removed the key from his pocket. This time the key smoothly opened the lock. Narum opened the chest, gasping at the sight of its content. “The elixir,” he whispered under his breath. His eyes were transfixed by the vial of liquid in front of him.
“What is that?” Lina asked with a wrinkled brow as she peered inside the chest.
“Um . . . ,” Narum said, turning his head away from her. “Um, nothing. It’s just some cologne. My favorite actually.”
“That’s it? He has cologne locked in a chest hidden in his locked closet?”
“I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Did you hear that?” he suddenly said, trying to draw Lina’s attention away from the elixir.
Lina turned her head to listen. While she did so, Narum grabbed the elixir and pocketed it, then quickly closed the chest.
“We better get out of here. I think someone is here.” Narum pushed the chest back into place and replaced the boxes of shoes. “Let’s go,” he whispered for effect.
They both exited the closet. Then they quietly snuck out of the room, holding hands.
“I guess I am just crazy, after all,” Lina whispered once they were halfway down the hallway. “I could have sworn we were going to find something that screamed ‘vampire’ in the chest. Not some dumb cologne in a bottle so small it could fit in your pocket.”
“We can still watch him . . . them. Maybe something else will be revealed,” Narum said, squeezing Lina’s hand.
“I guess you’re right. Not exactly worth bringing this stupid wooden stake out of the dorm, now, was it?” she said, gesturing to the pouch hanging by her hip.
Lina headed for the stairs, but Narum grabbed her arm to stop her. “Wait. I think they are downstairs. We can’t go down there.” He was playing it up to the fullest.
“How do we get out, then?”
“There.” He pointed to a window at the end of the hall. Narum ran to the window, with Lina following.
“I’m not jumping out of that window,” Lina protested in a whisper.
“I’ll jump first, and then I’ll catch you.”
She looked at him like he was crazy.
“Come on. We have to go.” Narum had urgency in his words. He needed to get back to his clan with the elixir. He opened the window. “You can either jump or not. Come on. You can do it.”
Fear was on her face. She didn’t trust that Narum would catch her. He was wimpy. Yeah, maybe he had made that chest look easy to move, but she’d never seen him show any strength besides that.
“Let’s jump. I’ll catch you. I promise,” he told her when he saw that she was debating what to do.
“I’m not going out that window,” she asserted.
“Well, then, we need to get back to the basement.” Narum yanked her toward the stairs.
Chapter 11
Kesh could have held Adirah for a few more hours or days, but he’d already been gone from his clan for too long. Kesh could already picture Vila and Tiev discussing his absence and what they needed to do to reel him back in. Admittedly, Kesh hadn’t planned to be missing for that much time, but he had needed Dira to understand that there was nothing wrong with her. He had wanted her to embrace herself, even if that had meant letting her figure out who he really was.
On the way back to the house, Kesh finished telling her everything she needed to know about the Sefu and their sworn enemies, the Malum. Although Kesh didn’t want the others to know that Dira knew about them, he was elated that he was no longer keeping any secrets from her.
“This is still unbelievable,” Dira told Kesh when they approached his house. “I can’t believe you are real. I’ve heard stories and watched movies, like everyone else, but I never, ever believed it.”
“Was that lovemaking real enough for you?” Kesh joked. He shimmied his shoulders just thinking about it. “It was very real for me. I think so real, I could use more and more and more.”
“Oh, my goodness. Stop it. You’re making me blush.” She giggled.
Kesh stopped at the front door and turned to her, his smile faded. He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her seriously. “Dira, listen to me. The others cannot know that you know about me yet.” Although he had already told her, Kesh told her again. “They won’t understand or believe that you came into the knowledge on your own. They have a hard time listening and understanding things. Especially Vila. I took you to that place because I knew Tiev wouldn’t be able to pick up my scent there. He wouldn’t be able to follow me, like he usually does. I’m telling you this for your own safety. They have to see it being revealed to you in another way, or else they’ll want me to turn you . . . t-to kill you.” The words seemed to catch in Kesh’s throat.
“I understand. I won’t say anything. I know they don’t really like me. I can feel the way they all look at me, especially Vila,” Dira said. “She really hates me.”
Kesh pulled her to him and squeezed. “She does not hate you. She just doesn’t trust you. Most of them . . . well . . . us . . . don’t trust mortals. We’ve always been trained not to trust mortals, and for good reason. They’ve hunted us, destroyed us, banished us, and made decades of living hell for us.”
“Then why live like them . . . I mean . . . us?”
“It just makes life easier,” Kesh replied, opening the door. “We’ve lived like animals before, in hiding. Not wanting to be seen. Hunting down prey in the thick of the night. Murdering so that our prey wouldn’t expose us. Walking in the light makes this eternal life a little more bearable. We get to live as mortals do . . . learn new things, participate in the culture and, most importantly, fall in love.” Kesh kissed Dira on her forehead.
She smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s the most important.”
Kesh stepped inside the frat house, then held the door open for Adirah and let her go ahead of him. She looked around her and was surprised at how quiet it was inside the house. It had never been this quiet at the house the times she’d been there before. Usually, many members of the clan were involved in lots of activities at the house.
“Where is everyone? I have never seen this house so empty. It’s kind of eerie,” she said.
Kesh looked around, seemingly puzzled too. He didn’t have a good feeling. Suddenly, the alert from his phone came back to his mind. He had got an alert that someone was approaching the house, and now no one was at home, so it didn’t add up. He didn’t want to alert Adirah that something might be out of the ordinary, so he played it off. “I guess they’re all busy. Vila and Tiba probably trained all day. Those two,” Kesh replied. He craned his neck, still looking around. “My guess is everyone is out doing something constructive with their time. Tiev and the others should be out getting strong. At nightfall, we rest and build up.”
“You mean out feeding?” Dira blurted. “That’s what Lina told me vampires do at night. They feed on humans . . . for their blood.”
Kesh saw the look on her face but could not discern if it was disgust or sorrow. “Yes,” he answered honestly. “Feeding. It keeps them . . . us strong.”
“You let your people murder them . . . I mean us?” Dira asked, catching herself again.
“No!” Kesh snapped, his face getting serious. He grabbed Dira by the shoulders so that he could look her in the eyes. “My clan does not drink to kill. They drink enough to survive, and they never leave their host too weak to function. It does not take much to charm a mortal to bend to your will. When we realized that, we stopped killing. Unless we absolutely have to. Understand? The Sefu Clan does not kill . . . unless we have to. Unless we absolutely have to.”
Dira shook her head up and down; her eyes glazed over. Kesh saw the relief wash over her face, and just like that, she was back to normal. She grabbed Kesh’s hand. “L
et’s go to bed,” she said seductively. She tugged him toward the stairs. Kesh got set to follow his beautiful queen but stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” Dira asked. “Are you okay?”
Kesh hushed her by putting a hand up. He took a few steps away from her and turned his nose to the air. He sniffed around and noticed a change in the atmosphere inside of the house. Kesh’s heart sped up as he moved around like a bloodhound. The scent of fresh human blood was so strong that it alarmed him. There was another familiar scent. One he’d smelled before, and one that wasn’t mortal.
“Somebody is here,” he hissed, and then his upper lip rose and he snarled, exposing his long fangs. “You need to go, Dira. Go hide.”
“No. I’m not leaving you.” She turned around to face him and looked at him strangely. “I don’t understand what you see or hear.”
“Don’t ask me any questions. Just go,” Kesh whispered harshly.
Just as the last word was out of his mouth, he heard the sound of two whispering voices. If it was anyone from his clan, they wouldn’t have to whisper. Kesh knew right away he had unwelcome company. He froze and listened.
“Well, then, we need to get back to the basement,” said a male voice.
Kesh growled low in his throat and dropped down into a fighting stance and waited.
When Lina and Narum rounded the corner into the living area, Kesh was so angry, the veins in his neck pulsed visibly under his skin. Lina and Narum both froze, like deer caught in headlights. Narum made the mistake of looking Kesh directly in the eyes. Kesh focused hard and read Narum’s most recent memories.
“Malum boy! How dare you enter the sanctity of another vampire’s home unwelcomed?” Kesh barked. He raised his upper lip and bared his teeth like an attack wolf. He took off toward Narum so fast that he was on top of the young man before he could react. Kesh wrapped his hands around the younger vampire’s neck. “Spy! They sent you to spy on me? Huh? Was your leader too much of a coward to come himself again?” Kesh spoke in a voice that was otherworldly. He sounded like a cross between an old-world king and a werewolf. “Where’s Tulum now? Where is the cowardly king now?”
Kesh tightened his grip on Narum’s neck. Saliva seeped from the corners of Narum’s lips, and his tongue protruded from his mouth. Kesh squeezed harder and harder. Narum struggled against Kesh, but to no avail.
“What are you doing? Get off of him!” Lina screamed. She took off running and barreled into Kesh’s back with all the strength she had. She pounded her fists on Kesh’s back. “Get the hell off of him. You’re a vampire! You’re evil! Leave him alone!” Lina screeched. She reached up and dug her nails into Kesh’s hands, fighting to pry Kesh’s hands from around Narum’s neck. In a knee-jerk reaction, Kesh took his left hand and backhanded Lina with a force so strong that she flew backward into the air.
“Lina!” Dira cried out, terror etched on her face. Using her newfound speed, Dira jumped in front of Lina and caught her before she slammed into the wall. Kesh turned his head and was shocked as he watched Dira use her gift to catch Lina.
“Back to you,” Kesh growled, turning his attention back to the younger man. “You will not get away with this.”
Kesh swung a powerful fist and hit Narum in the face. The force from Kesh’s punch was not powerful enough. Narum had absorbed so many powerful blows during training that his ability to withstand punishment was great. Narum laughed, and the instant Kesh loosened his grip to punch him, Narum jerked out of his grasp and jumped backward. Kesh planted his feet, preparing for battle.
“You will not get away with being in my house,” Kesh hissed, moving in. “Your death will be a slow and painful one, as it says in the laws. You have violated a king!” Kesh boomed.
Narum moved from side to side on his legs, weighing his options. Kesh could see the fear glinting in Narum’s glowing eyes, but he also knew that the young vampire had nothing to lose. Narum slowly drew a wooden stake from his pocket and clutched it.
Kesh growled. “You think you can use that folklore weapon on me?”
Narum swallowed hard, then thrust the stake in Kesh’s direction, still buying time. “I know that if Tulum and Calum find out I have come here, I risk punishment,” Narum panted, his mouth bloodied. He spat in Kesh’s direction. “It will be a painful, dreadful punishment. Because they know if you and your weakling Sefu catch me here, you will most likely torture me for information about the Malum,” Narum said, his voice shaking now. “Even you can’t save me from that fate. I am doomed either way.”
Kesh’s chest heaved, and he set his jaw and began rounding on the young vampire. “That’s right.”
“Still, a part of me felt obligated to protect Lina from any harm, because I knew nothing would keep her away from this house, and no mortal is safe around an entire clan of vampires, especially when armed only with a wooden stake. She wouldn’t even get close enough to use the thing,” Narum said, jerking his head toward Lina.
“Get away from him!” Lina screamed.
“Stay still,” Dira barked, trying her best to hold on to Lina.
Kesh turned his head toward Dira and Lina for a millisecond, and that was enough time. Narum leaped into the air and straight over Kesh’s head. Kesh had thought of himself as the more powerful and faster one of the two, but he’d lost his focus. His concern for Dira had gotten him.
“And the contents of this vile . . . ,” Narum said, holding up the elixir bottle.
Kesh’s face immediately went pale. His body shook at the sight of his precious drink.
“This potion so powerful that it could take over the most powerful of minds, even yours. So my risk taking will be worth it when this potion is in the hands of my leaders,” Narum said before racing out the door like a cheetah.
“No!” Kesh roared and then took off after Narum.
“Kesh!” Dira yelled after him, but her cries fell on deaf ears. This time he could not be distracted. He had to get his elixir back. That was a matter of life and death.
The world around Kesh was a blur as he chased Narum, barely able to keep up. Kesh thought he was faster, but Narum had put a lot of space between them. Kesh felt like he was stuck in slow motion. He knew that meant he needed to feed. The time he’d spent making love to Dira in their secret place had left him drained. Now his gift of speed wasn’t working. His legs ached, and his chest felt like he’d swallowed a fire-lit sword. Still, he couldn’t let Narum give the elixir to Tulum; that would certainly spell disaster for Kesh’s clan. Tulum had no regard for rules and laws; he’d certainly use the elixir on Kesh and destroy him.
Narum ran off campus and into the street. Kesh dodged in and out of traffic, nearly causing car accidents. The drivers of the vehicles would never know what the blurs were that flashed past their vehicles. Horns honked in Kesh’s wake.
“You don’t know what you’re doing . . . what you’re causing for yourself!” Kesh yelled when he finally got close enough to reach for Narum’s collar.
“Anything to destroy the Sefu!” Narum made a sharp right turn into the woods, causing Kesh to grab nothing but warm air.
Kesh felt like his entire body would explode. He needed to feed, and quickly, or he would be in trouble. He hadn’t let his reserves get this low in decades. He didn’t remember how disastrous it could be, either.
When Narum left the street and turned into the woods, Kesh was forced to jump up to avoid a head-on collision with a Toyota Corolla. Kesh landed hard on the hood of the car but did not care about the dent that he’d made. The car screeched to a halt, and Kesh hopped off the hood before the driver had time to get out and inspect the damage. Kesh struggled to move, to breathe. Everything hurt.
As weak as he felt, Kesh focused on the fact that he could not let Tulum and Calum get their hands on the elixir. They both already yearned for power too much. Kesh had made a promise long ago to keep his people safe. Maybe Vila was right. If Kesh had been home, instead of out with Dira, this wouldn’t have happened. Once again,
he and his clan had gotten comfortable, and they’d left their home vulnerable. Kesh willed his feet to go faster through the woods, because if he didn’t do something to stop Narum, they could all be in grave danger. Again.
* * *
“Y-y-you’re one of them!” Lina said, pushing Adirah away from her. “Don’t touch me, vampire!” Lina backed away, her body trembling like a leaf in a wild storm.
“Lina, listen to me. It’s not what you think.” Adirah put her hands up, trying to calm her friend down. “If you just listen for a few minutes, I can explain everything to you. It’ll all make perfect sense. I know now that you weren’t wrong, but I’m telling you for sure that it’s not what you think.”
“How can it not be what I think, Adirah?” Lina exclaimed. “I just saw your boyfriend move at the freaking speed of light, and I saw you do the same thing. I saw his teeth. I saw his eyes turn yellow and glow like a cat’s eyes. How do you explain that? Huh, Adirah? I knew it. I knew they were the undead, and now they have you too.”
“Calm down, Lina,” Adirah said and tried again to soothe her by placing her hands on Lina’s shaky shoulders, but Lina jerked away from her, then stumbled back a few steps.
“No, I won’t calm down,” Lina snapped, pointing an accusing finger in Adirah’s face. “I knew what they were from day one. I tried to tell you, but you didn’t listen, and now they have got you too. Just look at you. Your skin is glowing. Your . . . your body looks like you had cosmetic surgery.” Lina pointed at her chest.
Adirah looked down at herself, her eyebrows dipping low.
“Oh, you didn’t think I noticed those breasts sitting up and how those hips rounded out? All the girl ones are perfect like that . . . just too beautiful to be real,” Lina accused.
Adirah sighed and shook her head. “It’s not like that,” she said, exasperated. “Kesh is a man. He is a real man. He’s not evil at all. I am not dead, Lina. I’m alive—and no thanks to you. You’ve got everything so wrong.”