Bitter Sweet

by Lennell Davis

  "You mean Phil is still alive?"

  "Well, he died in the game a little too often, but yes, he’s alive. I could get to know him a bit better."

  "Please do that."

  "Is that the best thing for me to do?"

  "I want you around. I’m losing you too fast. It can’t happen all at once." I was close to crying outright now.

  "Why do you want me around?" he asked.

  "I can’t tell you why, I don’t know myself, but it hurts when you’re not around now," I almost yelled, standing and angry at myself more than anything.

  "Maybe it would have been better if I had just let this slide and let you think it was all a dream." He mumbled more to himself. I looked down when he sat next to me and calmed down.

  "Maybe." I said, sitting back down and leaning over on his shoulder. "But if you had done that, I wouldn’t have moments with you

  like this. This is much better than any dream."

  "How about I leave you the car."

  "How will you get back to the city?"

  "Vampire, remember?"

  "What does that mean?"

  "That I suck blood..." He tried to make himself sound unsure.

  "No, I was talking about whether you can really make it back all the way to New York City on foot."

  "The car is for appearances, and to relax. Although I could probably run faster than the car," he said like it was nothing.

  "I see why you love them now," I said as I was still leaning on his shoulder, just enjoying the night air.

  "Can I ask you something?" he asked, his tone changing slightly.

  "Of course, anything."

  "How are you feeling now that your senses are completely human again?"

  "A little numb, and cold." He slipped his jacket around me before I could protest.

  "Did you like them stronger?"

  "They had become a part of me, a part of me that really wishes I knew that you were the one for me and that there wasn’t something else forcing me love you, but really wanting to love you."

  "You’re still not ready to be vampire now either, are you?"

  "No, not yet."

  "Would you like them back then?"

  "How? Isn’t it..."

  "Just a little of my blood would do it."

  "I don’t know if I could drink your blood so easily, I’m human after all."

  "There’s a way you wouldn’t notice."

  "What..." I was cut off by his cool lips on mine, the chill that ran down my spine when he did that was overpowering and I was kissing him back. I could feel his hand on my back and cheek and my mind was flooded with pleasure. He must have bitten his lip because the taste from his blood was of my most vivid memory from the night he had saved my life. This time, the effect was even more intense: the sensation from his touch increased and was peaking, I moaned softly and wanted to pull him closer. Then he pulled away. I shook from the passion and wanted to pull him back, my hand moved of their own, inching toward him when I grabbed myself to get a hold of myself. "What was that?" I asked, trying to catch my breath, still holding myself.

  "A blood kiss, kind of self-explanatory."

  "Was that a Masteria thing?"

  "It is a tactic some incubi use to increase pleasure in their female victims for the foreplay before feeding on them. It also made the women stronger for what was to come next and the vampire would not have to 'hold' back."

  "I see what they mean."

  "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have used that method. I’ve never tried that before. So I didn’t know completely how it could affect you."

  "Stop apologizing for things I do willingly."

  That night by the lake made for my fourth kiss with Alik, this one while I was dating Phil. “I shouldn’t be doing these things!” I yelled into my pillow once I was back in my room. I wanted to tell Phil what I had done, yet I told myself that I was sworn to keep Alik's secret, not that I would have to tell Phil that Alik was a vampire. I told myself that it

  was still early in our relationship and it would be a bit rocky, but this wasn’t rocky; I was essentially cheating. I told myself “secrecy has its uses”, but I knew that was no justification for what I was doing. "I’m a horrible person," I yelled and just gave up thinking and went to sleep.

  Alyon Alik

  Chapter 25.0

  The saying goes, “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,” but was Phil really an enemy? How could he be an enemy when I already considered myself to have won. Even so, I knew that I wasn’t playing fair, but “all is fair in love and war,” and this was war. I would use all I had and no matter how nice Phil was, nothing, and I mean nothing, was out of the question.

  Vanessa Stanton

  Chapter 26.0

  Alik had taken to playing video games at Cornell and online with Phil; Alik never lost of course. It got to the point where Phil spent more of his free time on his Xbox or with Alik than with me. This made me rethink Alik's calm, cool edge to all of this. It was amazing how something so trivial could reduce Phil, the passionate, outspoken, and sophisticated architect major to ‘Ah come on; that shot was impossible!’ or ‘Damn it, not again!’ while Alik sat there and grinned like an evil villain in a seventies movie. I just imagined him stroking a long mustache and cackling.

  The semester was ending quickly and soon, finals were a week away. In some strange ways, Alik helped me here, too. My memory seemed to work so much better that I didn’t need to study at all. I still spent hours in the library with Phil or Sam, quizzing them on their various other class materials until it was all over.

  "Times up," said my professor as I put my pencil down and leaned back in my chair. Alik would be here to pick me up tomorrow and I’d get to go home. Normally, this would be a cause for delight, but I found out one night that Alik had been speaking with my parents behind my back apparently. A thought of some minor annoyance

  "You know, your mom wants to meet Phil," Alik told me as we walked the campus by moonlight.

  "What did you just say?!" I said, pulling him to a stop.

  "Your senses shouldn’t be dulling so soon." He acted as if a lack of hearing made me question him and not the horror of what he just said.

  "No, it’s just, how does my mom know about Phil?"

  "I told her, of course. She calls me from time to time to see how I’m doing. She’s very sweet."

  "You've been talking with my mother?!" I was outraged.

  "I’ve been helping your dad with his investments as well; he might retire a bit early now."

  "I don’t care about that. Why did you tell her about Phil?"

  "She asked...” He tried to seem innocent.

  "You knew she would want to see him, didn’t you?"

  "A bit. She thinks him coming to stay during Christmas would be a good idea."

  “Your idea?” I sighed.

  “No, I’m not that clever.” He smiled. "Sam on the other hand..."

  "I am going to..." I started and he was laughing. "I don’t really have a way out of this, do I?"

  "Not really; Phil’s already agreed to it."

  “When was I going to be told?”

  “Now, I guess.”

  "You better hope I don’t become a vampire because I will kill you and Sam for this someday.

  "Good luck with that," he said with a smirk as we continued to walk.

  In a little over a week’s time, I’d be going to pick Phil up and bringing him home to meet my mother. That wasn’t the happiest thought I had ever dwelled upon. Sam, on the other hand, was looking forward to it.

  "How else will I give you your present. So I'm coming over for Christmas," said Sam, laughing.

  "Thanks for the support," I glared as we waited for Alik and my parents to arrive. "Traitor," I mumbled.

  That’s when there was a knock at the door and I went to open it; Alik and, surprisingly, June were standing there.

  "Where are my parents?" I asked.

  "Your mother thought it would be
easier without the hour wait for your father this time, so they agreed to let me come alone.”

  “Oh.” I looked toward June. “I remember you.”

  "Last time we met wasn’t under the best circumstances, so it’s nice to meet you on better terms," she said, giving me a surprisingly warm hug.

  "June, that is Sam," Alik introduced.

  "Hi," she said with a smile just as warm as the hug.

  "Hi. Is this your sister, Alik?" Sam asked as she walked over.

  "Yes."

  "She’s adorable." Sam smiled as she hugged her.

  "Thank you," June replied as she was being squished.

  "How are we going to get all this stuff back, Alik? It wouldn’t fit in the Aston."

  "I know, June brought her Range Rover."

  "Oh well, I guess that would work. You wouldn’t happen to have a GTR or a 911 Turbo, would you?"

  "June has a GTR actually, and I think my mother just ordered that new 911, won’t come for a few months however.”

  "Oh wow, what do you think about the …" and she launched into something about cars.

  Sam didn’t give up having Alik list the cars he has owned and currently has as we loaded up the cars. Everything fit with ease in the big black SUV. I was going to be in the Aston with June while Alik took the Range Rover with Sam. This was a strange mix because it was weird how June wanted to ride with me. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have to listen to the mindless car dribble with Sam in the SUV. Even with my new fondness for the shiny black car, I didn’t need to know how they worked and an engineer’s point of view would drive me crazy. June asked if she could drive, so I gave her the keys and we set off.

  June and Alik's driving was scary; they weaved in and out of traffic like it wasn’t there in the first place. It took me a moment to trust June behind the wheel of a car as I did Alik and I didn’t notice the silence. I didn’t feel like I had to talk around June and that was comforting, I thought I would be nervous. We had been driving for about fifteen minutes before June spoke.

  "You know, you make him happy for some reason," June stated, her eyes on the road. At first, I thought she was referring to the fact that I was human.

  "Alik?" I said stupidly, as if she meant anyone else.

  "Yeah, I haven’t seen him this happy before."

  "I feel the same when he’s with me."

  "Then why are you dating that Phil guy?" Now it felt like she wasn’t pleased with my choice of Phil.

  "I’d answer that question if I had an answer," I sighed, laying the seat back.

  "Love is complicated," she also sighed, and she sounded much older than the young girl she looked like. I was happy she wasn’t blaming me for hurting Alik and she seemed to understand, even if I didn’t.

  "I don’t even know if it’s love I have for Alik. It could be something more or maybe something less. I can’t really define what it is between us. There are too many things I just don’t know."

  “Why not just ask Alik if he loves you; you would know if it’s true or not.”

  “It would be the truth to him, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. Everything would be coming from the eye of the beholder who thinks truth, but knows lies.”

  "Well, whatever you’re doing, don’t let it get too far out of your grasp. Vampire of Alik's caliber are rare; no human could ever care for you the way Alik does."

  "How do you know that Phil couldn’t do the same for me?"

  "I don’t know if Phil can or not, but has he ever given you his life?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked puzzled.

  “When Alik gave you his blood, which already went against his wishes, your refusal to believe that Alik was vampire was both a blessing and a curse."

  "He told me it was against the law, but Lilith said it was no big deal."

  June Tsuki

  Chapter 27.0

  The sharing of vampire blood was banned after incubi, male vampire who craved both blood and sex from their female victims, got carried away. They wouldn’t kill the women they slept with as the passion and lust tainting the blood made them crave more and more women. Not all the women who died stayed dead, many would wake up as banshee. The Elders had to hunt down and destroy these women; the sensory overload they experienced drove them mad and they couldn’t control themselves. They would randomly go off on screaming rampages until they were killed or died of hunger. Some rampages lasted years. Being stuck between vampire and human made them feed on blood, but it did very little for them. These women were responsible for the myths surrounding banshee. Creating them was punishable by death; we were not allowed to play with life in such a way, and to gray the lines of life and death was said to be the act of the Gods.

  Alik approached the Elders the night you were hurt and told them what he had done. In an instant, Ario attacked him. I was in the room when it happened; I had never felt such a strong intent to kill, or seen any vampire move so fast.

  "You could feel whose intent to kill?" asked Vanessa.

  "Ario, the one male of the three Elders."

  "How did Alik survive? He told me that the older a vampire is, the stronger they become."

  "I told you, vampire of Alik's caliber are rare; age means nothing to him. If Alik was destroyed that night, it meant that you would have never woken up the next day, something Alik wouldn't allow. When I saw Ario moving towards Alik, I could feel the hate Ario had for him. Alik stayed calm and was able to subdue Ario easily while Lilith and Ayara watched. Every action Alik took that night would have gotten any other vampire burned. Is lucky the tension between the Elders is always high; if Lilith’s son was killed, how would she treat his murderer, and the tension between Alik and Lilith, who would win if they were to fight earnestly?

  “What is the difference between Alik and Ario?”

  “Ario would be a bold mouse fighting an uninterested lion.”

  “How about Alik and Lilith.”

  “Could you say what was more breathtaking, the raising sun or the sun setting?” she asked me.

  “I see...”

  Vanessa Stanton

  Chapter 28.0

  A silence filled the car. Tears began to drip onto my clothes and it was a while before I could control myself.

  “That night at the club when you first saw Alik, all you would ever need to know was communicated. You felt that you had to be with him more than anything, so why fight fate? Alik has never been a coward and he has never been dishonest. He couldn’t hide it from anyone; it would eat at him until it destroyed him. Whatever Alik has ever told anyone has been the truth, or at least the truth up to the point they needed to know. What he has told you is more than that."

  "He never told me he did that for me."

  "He probably wasn’t going to either. It would have been too 'vampire' for you, with all your worries about mystic vampire powers influencing you I cant't blame him for not telling you. However I thought you should know on his behalf. Plus he would like to keep you out of our mother’s reach, but not turn you against her. He loves her in his own way."

  "Thank you. I’m glad you told me. Can I ask you something?"

  "Of course."

  “Just how can he be so sure he loves me like that?”

  “Put it this way: when a human wants to be with another human, it’s called love. Why should it be any different for vampire?”

  We made it back home in record time and when Alik got out of the car, I gave him a hug. It was probably the first time I had ever caught him off guard and he hugged me back. I tried to place a lot of unsaid things into that hug, then I looked up into his eyes.

  "I don’t deserve you, you know that."

  "Why would you say that?" he asked, confused.

  "Because I don’t, that’s why."

  We carried all my stuff inside; my mother nearly broke my spine in a hug that would put a bear to shame. Then we all got into the Range Rover and took Sam home.

  "Your birthday is in a few days, isn’t it?" Alik asked Sam as w
e walk to the car after putting her things in her room.

  "Yeah, why?"

  "Just checking," he said, opening my door and closing it

  "I will see you tomorrow, Sam,” I said, rolling down the window, waving. Alik drove off as Sam waved back until we were out of sight. “What was that all about?” I turned and asked.