The Eternal Gift Vol. 1: NA Urban Fantasy (The Eternal Series)

by Candy Crum

  “Kailah, please calm yourself. Sayen cloaked them so you wouldn’t feel their auras. She needed you to trust them.”

  Something in me snapped, and I lost half of what she said. Aeric and Brett were Vampires? That bastard flat out lied to me. In the bar, I sensed something about him that made me sick, something that I didn’t trust. The barrier that Sayen had placed around them had made me truly convinced they were human and it was only my nerves getting to me, but I was right the whole time!

  When I touched him in the alley, I burned him, and I asked him directly if he was a Vampire. He said no. He even indulged me and showed me that his teeth were as flat as a human’s would be. Now, he was sitting in the living room with my bloody and broken best friend.

  Having these powers was like having Super-PMS. I was so cranky and irritable around Vampires, full of irrational hate, but unlike PMS, I had no way to calm myself. It was more like compulsion. I tried hard to slow down and think rationally, but it was impossible. Everything was urgent. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being near Rachel anymore. I wanted to kill him right then, good or bad. I couldn’t seem to help myself.

  Chapter Eleven

  I bolted out of the room and headed for the staircase that I saw down the hall. I was angrier at Aeric right then than I had been at Jeff, and I wasn’t exactly sure why. My confused mind was toying with me again as I fought an inner war. Part of me understood and realized he’d saved Rachel, but the other part was obsessed and screaming that he was a liar and couldn’t be trusted. As I tried to think about it, while taking the stairs two at a time, I found it increasingly difficult as I neared him. In fact, the closer I got to him, the more rage I was filled with.

  “Kailah, I never lied to you to be deceitful,” Aeric said as I skipped the last two steps to jump to the hardwood floor.

  “Listening in to my thoughts, were you? Why am I not surprised? That’s a nasty little Vampire trait. I suppose you’ve probably been invading my privacy all night then, haven’t you?”

  “Once again, I haven’t been doing it facetiously. This has been a very stressful night, and I only listened in as a precaution, though that mental breakdown coming down the stairs was something to hear.”

  “You bastard!” I yelled as I rounded the couch.

  He stood, towering over me as he looked down into my eyes. Now, with his close proximity my blood was nearly boiling.

  “Uh-oh,” Brett said. “The fight’s on now. Brother, you pissed off the wrong Immortal this time, didn’t ya?”

  “Had I not done what I did, Rachel would be dead. She was dying, Kailah. A hospital wouldn’t have been able to save her. My blood wasn’t even strong enough to heal her. Not unless I turned her.”

  “You were going to turn her!?” All rational thought flew out the window, not that there was much there anyway. All that remained was his blood. I wanted to spill as much of it as possible.

  I balled up my fist and threw my entire body into the swing. Considering that I was so well-trained and had fantastic aim, he easily dodged the attempt and caught my fist. A low growl escaped him as my skin burned against his, but he was far more powerful than Jeff, and was easily able to ignore the pain.

  He easily spun me around, pulling my back tight to his chest before pinning my arms around my waist and holding my wrists. Desperation be damned, trying to break free was like trying to break out of a vice. He was so strong that he didn’t even have to try, which only served to piss me off more.

  “That wasn’t very nice of you, Kailah. You shouldn’t try to hit people.”

  I tried moving again, and I heard a light laugh. He was enjoying it, the bastard.

  “Now, you didn’t let me finish,” he said, his voice very close to my ear. “I said that turning her was the only way that I could save her, not that I wanted to. That’s why I lied. SO I could get her here as quickly as possible so Khanae could save her.”

  “I told you she was feisty,” Brett said with an amused laugh.

  “I’m gonna kick your ass, too!” I said, fighting Aeric with all the strength that I could to get free.

  “Ah, but you’re doing so well with Aeric!” Brett let out another laugh, and I felt my rage getting worse.

  “Kailah, stop! They have been nothing but helpful,” Rachel said. Her voice was weak. While I could tell that she was feeling better, she still wasn’t herself.

  “They’ve lied to you! Especially… this one!” I grunted out as I threw my head back.

  Pain radiated through me as I felt mutual bone crunching as his nose gave way to my head and vice versa. His nose was unnaturally sturdy. He’d lowered himself so he could hold me the way that he had been. It proved to be his downfall.

  I used his temporary confusion to my advantage. I whipped around and shoved a knee in his groin as hard as I could before throwing my hands out to push him. I remembered how badly I’d hurt him before and hoped that I could do it again. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned and he recovered faster than I had imagined.

  The knee to the crotch had little effect, and as I threw my arms out, he easily caught both of my wrists in his large hands. He winced in pain for a moment, but brushed it off. In quick, fluid movements, he pulled me against his chest before using one of his legs to sweep mine out from under me.

  He smoothly followed me down to the floor and trapped both of my hands in one of his, effectively pinning me beneath him on the floor. I tried to use my hips to throw him off, but his speed and power was far too much for me to compete with. He wrapped his legs around mine and used his powerful hips to hold mine down.

  Aeric’s body was flush against mine, his face close enough that I could feel his warm breath on my face. His long, dark hair cocooned us in privacy and his dark green eyes were ringed in an even darker, almost black color.

  “Is this what you wanted to see?” he asked as a devious smile grew.

  My eyes were drawn to his mouth, and I couldn’t stop them from widening as I saw his teen lengthen and sharpen. Once they were fully extended, I noticed that they weren’t nearly as long and terrifying as Jeff’s had been. Khanae had said as much. Somehow, through the blind hatred and rage, I felt a completely unwanted and unexpected, non-Vampire-related skip in the rhythm of my heart as other areas of my body, that I’d long forgotten, suddenly made themselves known.

  His eyes narrowed. He licked his lips before his dangerous smile returned. I knew that he was more than likely able to sense what was happening to me. I struggled again as the discomfort grew and he pressed himself tighter against me. There was a momentary wince of pain as a jolt of energy passed through me and into him, but he quickly recovered as a subtle darkness crossed his face. The pain seemed to urge him further, to excite him more.

  “By the way, love. If you were actually trying to hurt me with that little move of yours, then you’re going to have to try a lot harder than that.” His voice was smooth, deep. His Romanian accent was thicker right then. “I’m not built like weak human men. There isn’t a place on my body that isn’t exponentially stronger… Including that one. My dick can take a lot more than that. Care to try again? Or would you rather do something a bit more… Fun?” His eyes narrowed as his dark smile grew.

  Cocky bastard, I thought.

  But… I couldn’t deny that he was right. He really did have me exactly where he wanted me. Exactly where I wanted to be, despite my pure hatred at that moment.

  “Enough!”

  I gasped as the ground beneathe us began quivering with the sound of an unfamiliar female voice. I heard car alarms outside as things rattled across the coffee table and fell from the mantle over the fireplace. It reminded me of the day that I met Sydney, when a similar quake happened. A shadow fell across Aeric and I, causing both of us to look up.

  “Aeric,” was all the unfamiliar woman said. Her tone had been stern, yet loving. As she looked down on us, the world around us calmed. I suddenly realized that it was her that caused the movement.

 
“Kailah,” Aeric said. “This is Sayen.”

  “Aeric, my love, would you kindly remove yourself from my granddaughter’s person?” Sayen asked.

  The ground had stopped trembling, and when I looked into her beautiful face, she was smiling at Aeric, a smile that he happily returned.

  “Sure thing,” Aeric replied.

  As he stood, he extended his hand to help me up, and I couldn’t help the sarcastic look on my face as I slapped it away.

  “Dear God, I hate you,” I said harshly.

  I faintly remembered that having been the second time telling him that. As he reacted to my comment with no more than a soft smile, it occurred to me that I had no idea it was possible to despise a person so much in such a small timeframe, though, he was making it dreadfully simple.

  “Kailah, dear,” Sayen said. “Oh, how I’ve waited for this moment.” Her words were barely a whisper.

  Once I was fully righted, I dusted off my pants before turning my full attention to my great-great grandmother. A single tear slid down each of her cheeks as she looked me over head to toe. Her long, snow-white hair was pulling back in a tight ponytail with a few long wisps loose in the front. Her crystalline blue eyes, like the dark eyes of her husband, seemed to hold great knowledge and wisdom in their vast depths. Her slender face was accentuated by her sad smile, and I was surprised to find myself feeling something for her. She was around my height, but seemed taller due to her nobility and grace.

  She took a step forward, and out of bad instinct, I took a step back. The regret was immediate as I watched her hand move to her chest, another silent tear sliding down her cheek. Though she had never met me before, I felt only love and adoration radiating from her at the sight of me. Had we met under different circumstances, I might have accepted her with open arms. Right then, however, all I wanted was to get as far away from her as possible.

  “I would never hurt you. No one in this house would ever hurt you,” Sayen said.

  “Oh, yeah? Tell that to the attack dog over here because I don’t think that he got the memo,” I said, motioning to Aeric.

  Aeric laughed. “Let’s not forget who attacked who first, sweetheart. Totally self-defense, though I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.”

  “I’m sure that’s what you tell all the girls. Right before you bite the hell out of them.”

  “Kailah!” Rachel shrieked. “They aren’t like that. Give them a chance.”

  “A chance? A week ago, I had a perfectly good chance at finishing the last few weeks of school, graduating, and continuing my healthcare career as an RN. Now, I’m going insane. The world no longer makes sense because of arrogant, asshole, blood-sucking, ass-hats like Jeff and this guy right here exist.” Aeric smiled at my comment, but I didn’t let him deter me. I had a list of things that I wanted off my chest, and I started with those.

  “Now, I’m expected to accept all this, the shadow world, and just go on about my life knowing that I’m now either the one that will destroy the world as we know it, or the one to save it. And why? What did I do to deserve this? Well, I’ll tell you. I went to work. I got up… and I went to work.”

  “For the love of God,” Aeric said. He no longer wore his amused expression. Instead, he now looked irritated, which I couldn’t deny brought me a sick sense of pride. “You’re not insane!”

  “Aeric,” Sayen said softly. Though her voice was quiet, there was clear warning in it.

  “Sayen, I’m sorry, but this is getting ridiculous. They almost died tonight,” Aeric said, taking a step forward and looking down into my eyes. “Did you hear that? You almost died. Kailah, this is real. It’s happening, whether you want it to or not. We are here to help you, but we can’t do that unless you accept what has happened and listen to us. Jeff will be back. And when he comes, we can’t help you unless you trust us. You have to man up and accept the changes that have been made instead of acting like a frightened little girl.”

  “Man up? Apparently the fact that you’re a huge dick has clouded your judgement and somehow made you assume that I possess one of those. I am a girl. Up until this point, I’ve been a human girl, and now everything is turned upside down!”

  “Please pay no mind to my young friend here. You will be in no danger, I assure you,” Sayen said.

  “No danger my –”

  “Aeric!” Brett snapped, interrupting his brother. “Sayen said to shut the hell up. Kay is having a hard time with this. It’s not really that hard to understand that. We will figure all this out. Until then, just shut-the hell-up.”

  Though I was grateful to Brett for sticking up for me, it didn’t stop me from including him as I looked around the room in disgust.

  “Honestly, at this point, I don’t care that all of this is happening. I’m out of here. I’ve had enough, and I want no part of this or any of you. You wanted me to know what was going on so I could make a decision on my own. Well, I’ve made it.” I looked to Rachel. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine, but Kailah, I don’t want to go. All of this… You are something incredible. You need to hear them out,” she pleaded.

  I shook my head. “I’m leaving Rachel, but I’m not leaving without you. Please, drop this and come with me.”

  A horn blew from outside the house.

  “Ah, perfect timing,” Sayen said with a sad smile.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Earlier, on my way home, I took a look to see how all of this would go, and I saw it ending badly. Though, I still tried to stop that from happening. Unfortunately, I looked too late and didn’t have time to prevent the start of the downward spiral. By the time I got here, the damage had already been done. In the instance that I was unable to make things okay, I called to have a cab arrive at this time to take you back to your car.”

  She was that accurate in her predictions? I couldn’t take any more. “Yeah… I’m definitely out of here. Rach, let’s go. I’ll drive once we get back to the car.”

  “No! What if Jeff is still there?” Rachel said, full of fear.

  I couldn’t blame her for being petrified, but it still didn’t change the fact that I felt we were no safer there. People do lie, and after experiencing what the dark side of a Vampire had to offer that evening, I wasn’t about to take my chances.

  “Believe me, child, I have looked and there is nothing to fear from Jeff tonight. He will not be returning for a while,” Sayen said.

  “See? All good. Let’s go,” I said.

  She nodded and faced Brett. I nearly choked when I saw her lean in for a hug. “Thank you so much for everything that you did.”

  I envied her ability to see sense. To see they were good, helpful, family. But I couldn’t. My personality was being controlled by the part of me that had been suppressed my entire life. The part of me that had come to life because of its hatred of Vampires and it sensing one around me. This part of me was controlling my thoughts and my anxiety. It wanted me to hate them, needed me to hate them. I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

  Rachel pulled back and I was surprised and happy to see how strong she was. I cringed when she hugged Aeric.

  “Thank you, too! I’ll never forget anything you did. I owe all of you my life. I’ll work on her. Don’t worry.”

  I rolled my eyes at her statement and decided to keep my mouth shut, since I wanted to get out of there so badly. The driver honked the horn again and Rachel turned and smiling before heading my way.

  “You’re lucky he didn’t rip your throat out,” I said coldly. I made sure to reinforce my statement with a sarcastic half-smile at Aeric before turning to leave.

  “You’re wrong about me, you know.” I paused, something in his voice demanding it. “Don’t you think that if I wanted to bite into someone, if I wanted to drain them, that I could easily have had you when you were so conveniently and deliciously pinned beneath me?”

  When I turned to look at him, another devious smile spread across his full lips and my traitorous body disgusted me by reac
ting to the memory of him pinning me down.

  “What? No witty retort?” he asked, with a look of satisfied humor on his face.

  My eyes narrowed, and I lightly shook my head. “Ugh, I –”

  “Hate me. I know,” he smiled again. “You’re cab driver is cussing up a storm out there. I would get going if I were you.”

  “If I never see you again, it would be far too soon,” I said.

  “Aw! You, too, dear! Hugs and kisses now! Don’t be a stranger!”

  The look of rage on my face at his comment must have been hilarious, since he and Brett both laughed. I wasn’t going to play into his game any longer. I turned and got out of that house as quickly as possible with Rachel by my side.

  Chapter Eleven

  For the next few days, Rachel and I were in constant contact. She refused to stay with me, and I refused to leave her alone. Jeff would be coming back for her, and I knew it. I didn’t need that pompous ass Aeric to tell me that. It was obvious. To keep looking out for her, I called several times a day and texted her in between. Partly to check on her and partly to piss her off because she’s hilarious when upset, and I needed a few good laughs.

  Monday was Rachel’s birthday, but due to her having to work, Mary, her mom, postponed her birthday dinner until Thursday. Today. Strict instructions were given for me to be there at four and no later. I had school, but it was over at noon, and I had the rest of the time between free, so I decided to go to Seymour and get a few things that Mary said she still needed. I was pleasantly surprised when I ran into my sister, Amanda.

  “Hey, sissa! What are you doing here?” I asked. I hadn’t seen her in a few weeks, but she looked the same as always, gorgeous.

  She naturally had long, blonde hair, but it was dyed a medium-dark brown and suited her medium skin tone and dark eyebrows beautifully. She was one of the lucky ones that could pull of any hair color in the hair-dye rainbow. She’s a bit shorter than me, but built about the same. She was small framed, but rounded with healthy curves.