by Tina Smith
He’d kissed me. When I’d gone to touch his scars, he’d reached out to cradle my face in his hands and had pulled me toward him. I couldn’t even protest, his dark hazel eyes had pulled me into a trance and all I’d wanted to do was kiss him back. His lips were soft, delicate and burned with desire. He smelled oh, so yummy, too. I couldn’t resist. I didn’t want to resist. He was perfect, in every way and every place my hands touched him on his chest felt like they was being jolted with electricity. We’d made love. Not just sex. It was more than that, I was sure of it.
It’d felt so good and I would’ve let him do it to me again, but he’d pulled away, looking frightened, like he’d just woken up from a daze to find me hideous and didn’t know what to do. Instead of staying to figure things out, he’d fled and almost tripped over himself to get out my door.
Was I so repulsive?
He had a girlfriend. Had to be it.
No, he would’ve mentioned it at dinner, right? He didn’t seem the sort to date multiple girls at once. But he was the dark broody, mysterious type. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he could be cheating on someone.
“Err!” I screamed into my pillow, wanting to toss it across the room. “I always fall for the weird, fucked up ones!” I shook my head and pulled my long blonde hair into a tight ponytail to get it off my face.
Maybe I was lucky he panicked and fled. I would’ve given him too much if he’d stayed. Like my heart. I felt my own panic somersault in my belly. So why did it feel like I’d already given him that? What about tomorrow? Or the next day when we had class together? What would I do if I saw him and it happened again? I smirked and knew that if it did happen again, I’d be all over him once more. There was no doubt about it.
I sighed and shook my head. Hopeless. That’s what I was.
No. I had to speak to him. Had to…
I grabbed his hoodie, still draped over one of my chairs and headed out my door, slamming it with a finite jerk. I turned toward his end of the hall and spied a figure standing in his doorway. It was hooded with a long cape that covered their entire body. I furrowed my brow and squinted, but I couldn’t make out any of their features so I started heading down the hall. Maybe it was someone Matthias knew. Maybe it was the girlfriend…
I was almost there when the figure held up their hand and blew a handful of what looked like dust into the air. With a vibrant flash, she was gone. I quickened my pace the last few steps and found his apartment empty but for a small cloud of dust floating in front of me. It felt tingly, like it had an electrostatic charge to it. Reaching out, my fingers grazed the edges of the cloud and I felt the world spin violently before I found myself in a forest. Blue sky above me and crunchy dry leaves surrounded me on the forest floor. Dozens of trees filled my vision as I sat up, shocked and disoriented.
“What the hell?” I scrambled to my feet and heard a twang of metal in the distance. Not knowing if it was good or bad, I stumbled toward the noise in hopes of finding someone. How did I get here? Where was this place?
The noises came closer and I slid behind a large tree trunk to peer around it undiscovered. What I saw made my stomach lurch and my panic emerged.
Matthias was in a full on sword fight with the hooded woman. It wasn’t a practice run either, the woman was out for blood. So was Matthias.
Chapter 7. Matthias
“Matthias!” I jerked at the sound of my name echoing across the trees. It was Ruby and she appeared frantic when she reached me. I opened my arms and pulled her close.
“What are you doing here?”
She was trembling, so I didn’t let go.
“I saw that warrior lady at your door. I was coming down the hall with your hoodie but I saw her disappear in a flash. When I got there, there was glittery dust hanging in the air. When I touched it, it brought me here. I saw you guys fighting, so I hid behind the trees.” She sucked in a breath and peered at the Other, her eyes widened. “What’s going on? Where are we?”
“It’s alright. We’re safe for now.” I stroked her hair and she finally calmed somewhat.
The Other turned away, but before he left, he peered over his shoulder. “I suggest you do whatever it takes to complete the task at hand. If, in any way you fail, meaning the subject dies, we resume the hunt.” He pulled on the hood of his cloak and walked away, disappearing at the edge of the forest.
Great, how do we get back home?
I was left there stunned, holding the ancient parchment with a wax seal of the Others on it. I stared down toward where he’d just been, but there was nothing. The Others were gone and the energy he radiated dissipated. The stormy feeling inside faded and the world seemed to settle into normal again. I still felt a familiar buzz of energy coming from Ruby, so now I knew what the feeling had come from before.
Feeling safe momentarily, I took a moment to unroll the parchment to read it while letting Ruby hold me tight.
Frankenstein’s Creature,
Your existence has been a bane to our species and an anomaly such as yourself must not be left unchecked. However, with the existence of the daughter of the grand High King of Meridian and his Queen, we’ve reconsidered your validity in this world. The girl was orphaned and though we’ve protected her for the time being, we’re no longer able to. She has not come into her powers yet and remains vulnerable. Your mission is to protect her at all costs. She’s an immortal, but doesn’t know it. Therefore, an immortal guardian is best appointed to her.
We are not immortal, as you already know. Even the ones who live the longest amongst us could never protect her for as long as she lives.
We now propose this solution. We cease our hunt for your extermination as long as you agree to take on the duty of her protection for the rest of her life. If she is to die before you do, we will resume our hunt after you. If you refuse this task, we will resume the hunt. There is no other option and terms are non-negotiable. She will come into her powers in time and seek her people when that time comes. You will assist her at all costs.
If you agree to these terms, you must ingest one of these two pearls, and give the other to the princess. This will bind you to her family line for all eternity and assist you in finding her wherever she goes. It will also take you both home once one pearl is ingested. You have one day to convince the princess to comply. You already know who she is.
This is the last communication you will ever receive from our clan. Choose wisely.
Two pearls slid off the parchment onto my hand and I studied the opalescent black orbs. They were tiny, smaller than normal pearls. Small enough they would be easy to swallow.
A princess? The only one they could mean was Ruby. Who else could it be?
I rolled the two pearls in my fingers, wondering about this deal.
Without hesitating, I swallowed the pearl, slightly expecting to keel over and die from poison.
Couldn’t be that easy to die, right?
I didn’t feel any different and I wondered how I was going to get her to swallow the pearl. She wasn’t trembling anymore, but watched me curiously as I held her tighter and the world tilted for a moment before we were back in my apartment.
This was going to be interesting for certain. At least I had one less problem with the Others ceasing the hunt on me. Not only that, but I had more reasons to be near Ruby now more than ever.
And she was immortal! Like me…
I couldn’t believe it. The shock of it all made me want to jump out of my skin. She didn’t even know who she was.
But I did, and I’d be there when she did find out and needed me. I’d be there for her, no matter what.
Both our lives depended on it.
Chapter 8. Ruby
How did we get back to his apartment?
I still had no idea what just happened to us, but I was still holding onto him like my life depended on it. His hoodie remained in my arms the entire time we’d been gone, but I now dropped it as I took a wild look around.
My heart leapt out of my
chest and I felt lightheaded. The next thing I knew, I was lying on Matthias’ bed, staring at the popcorn ceiling. I gulped and closed my eyes. Nothing bad happened. I must’ve fallen asleep. Asleep on his bed. Could be worse. He was just a really cute guy with issues. No problem right?
“Ruby?” The bed sank where he came to sit by me. I flipped my eyes open again and focused on his scarred up face. The guy was gorgeous. His funny colored eyes just needed to flash at me once and I was a goner.
“What happened?”
“We have to talk.”
Taking a deep breath in, I built up my confidence with positive words. I could do this. It was just a dream. I’d fallen asleep on his bed and hoped he didn’t think I was a boring girl. No way would he not want a girl like me around. I was pretty enough, hot enough, good in bed. He’d be nuts to think otherwise. I bet he was dying to chat some more.
And if he thought I was a crazy, boring and tired date? Well, then screw him. I could do better if I wanted to. What about that guy at the pool the other day? He was steaming hot in his board shorts. David something… right? I could totally charm the pants off that one if this fell through. Piece of cake.
But Matthias wasn’t just any guy. His scars told me there was more of his amazing story he still had to tell me about. I did too, but could we get over it intact? Could we make something out of so many roadblocks which came from both our messed up worlds? We’d had sex and bonded so easily earlier. There had to be something here.
And what if I’d been dreaming? Or had I just witnessed a part of his crazy life?
“Fuck it.” I muttered to myself and turned toward him, pasting a wide smile on my face. “Hey.”
He looked so serious, barely cracking a smile before he cleared his throat.
“You passed out when we returned from the forest. I think you’re not used to the jolt the magic gives you.”
Ah. It wasn’t a dream. Oh, dear.
I got a whiff of his light cologne. It smelled amazing mixed with his subtle scent. I was such a goner. He just had to say the word and I was toast. Sitting so close to him, I felt lightheaded again.
Nice willpower.
“I want to start by saying, I’m so sorry. I feel like an idiot for running out like that. It’s just…” He let out an exasperated breath and ran his fingers through his dark, black locks. “I haven’t liked someone else as much as I like you in a very long time. I hope I didn’t offend you and I apologize for stealing a kiss and…well, making love to you...” He sighed, looking frustrated. “I don’t apologize for that, I loved it.”
I was speechless. His apology was more than enough to hook me back in and I managed to finally give him a tiny grin.
“Thank you. That’s flattering, really. I don’t even know what to say.” I found myself staring at his physique. Just a dark tank top on, no hoodie. He left it at my place, remember? But wait, I brought it back, didn’t I? Nonetheless, I was so glad that he wasn’t wearing it. He was delicious to look at. “You scared me running out on me like that, but I guess I can understand.”
“Okay,” He beamed and looked like a whole different person. The darkness in his features were lighter and he actually appeared to be…happy? I lifted an eyebrow at him.
“You sure you’re okay?” I asked. I reached up to feel his forehead. He was hot, like he’d been running. Sweaty a bit, but I found it alluring.
“I’m good.” His smile grew and I couldn’t help but feel his happiness lighten my own mood. “Never been better.”
“Good.” I scooted up to a sitting position. “I agree. We do have a lot more to talk about.”
He nodded. But first, he set a tiny pearl, the color of obsidian oil in front of me on the comforter. “Yes, there’s tons to talk about. First, I have to ask you a favor.”
I stared at the strange pearl before flicking my eyes back to his mesmerizing hazel ones. In the artificial light of his apartment, they shined even though they were darker than they appeared in the daylight. One was a deeper emerald than the other and the scars across one eyebrow and down his cheek made me feel a stir of a flurry in my belly. I wanted to reach up and run my finger along the ridges of the scars, down his jawline to slip it over his chest once more. Hell, I wanted to kiss him again. How did he do this to me so easily?
“Like what?”
He pointed at the dark pearl. “You need to swallow this pearl.”
“Excuse me?” I sat back and gave him a face. “Why?”
“It’s a tracker pearl. It always comes in pairs. If a person swallows it and gives the other to another person who also ingest it, you can find each other anywhere in the world.”
“Uh-huh.” I scratched my head as I picked up the pearl and gave it a more thorough examination. “Why would I want to do that? Sounds weird.”
“I know. You just have to believe me. I swallowed the partner to that one and I want you to take this one. That way, I can protect you if you need my help.”
I gave him a stunned look. He was insane. More messed up than I ever thought. Wait…he was like Frankenstein’s monster, right? Or something like that. How more insane could things get?
“You’ve lost your mind, right?” I shook my head and placed the pearl back on the bed.
“Please… I need you to take it. It’s the only way I can protect you.”
“From what?”
He swallowed as he studied my face. He looked almost scared.
“The other supernatural beings out there, and the ones who hunted after me no matter where I went.”
“The ones you were fighting in the woods?” He nodded. “Why? Are they hunting me too now?” I tensed up. This wasn’t good. No, it was insane, but what do I do?
“No. They won’t hurt you. There’s things out there, more than just the Others. Supernatural things who can also harm you.”
“Like what? Vampires?” I chuckled nervously. It died away as I noticed Matthias wasn’t laughing. In fact, his eyes widened, looking serious.
“Yes. Vampires, Werewolves, creatures of the darkness…Demons.”
I paled. I thought I was going to be sick.
“W--What?”
He sighed and leaned forward, clasping his hands over mine. “I discovered you’re the heir to a great kingdom named Meridian and part of a dying race named the Lilewe. I’ve heard a little about them. They’re immortals who live in the farthest reaches of the land, deep in the caverns of the earth. Your mother and father were killed in the human world somehow and you were lost in the human’s foster care system. There are those who want you dead. Those who would do anything to find you.”
My eyes were stinging at the mention of my parents. I suddenly couldn’t breathe. My parents? Immortals? Not even.
“Who told you that?” I hissed and pulled away from him. “My parents were normal humans. Held normal jobs and you dare tell me these… these lies? They…they died in a car crash when I was three.”
He slumped in his chair and looked defeated.
“I’m so sorry, Ruby. I didn’t know at first that you were part of the Lilewe people. I’ve heard of them, they are a great immortal race, but I’ve never met one. The Other gave me this. He said he’d protected you your entire life.” He reached into his jeans and pulled out a folded parchment paper. It looked old, rustic and frail, like it could crumble in my hands. I took it and unfolded it. Written in India ink with lovely calligraphic long hand, it was an extensive note. It told about a special woman who needed protection. A task given to Matthias in exchange for his life.
“They mean me, don’t they?” I said softly after I finished reading. My tears were already drying up, but the couple which had already escaped down my cheeks had dried in salty trails.
“Yes,” Matthias was looking at the ground and I wondered if he was also as sad to hear the news of my heritage as I was.
“How come I didn’t know this? Why would they lie to me, my parents or those who found me?”
“I don’t know.”
&
nbsp; I slid down and slumped against the headboard, feeling exhausted.
“Could it be fake?”
He shook his head. “The others don’t joke about things. They are deadly serious in anything they do. Including hunting me down.”
“So if I take this pearl, you’ll know where I am, anywhere?” I sniffled, reaching for a tissue from the box sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. It was standard motel issued and looked untouched from the way it took a good pull to yank out the first tissue.
“Yes.” Matthias let out a slow, drawn out breath.
“Forever?”
He bobbed his head slowly. “Yes.”
I wiped my nose and breathed out a long, tired sigh. “Why would you want to be bound to me forever?”
He looked up and smiled. A moment later, he was even closer and his touch electrified my senses when he stroked his fingers over my hands and arms. I no longer felt sad, just happy, and thrilled actually. It was a curious feeling and I wanted more of it so I gripped his hands right back and waited for his answer.
“You feel that don’t you? We’re already connected somehow. It would be my pleasure to keep you safe forever. We are both immortal. Do you know what that means?”
I shook my head, confused but feeling the euphoric hum of him buzzing in my veins already. He was a drug, an addiction I had to feed.
“It means that we can live together, forever. We don’t have to watch each other grow old and die. That’s no way to live. We can be happy, together. Do you not want that?”
I peered at him and I couldn’t help but feel elated. Even though we hardly knew each other, he had an interesting effect on me I couldn’t deny. With him near, I felt like the world ceased to exist and there was only him, smiling, looking amazingly hot and loving me.