Arise

by Michael Dean

  We stood by her car and talked to a few people, well, mainly Shade did. While I waited on her, I noticed those guys in the letterman jackets across the parking lot, staring in our direction again. They had followed us here after all and like before, all five of them were outside of the truck leaning on it, apparently not even speaking among themselves, just glaring at us. Making it known to them that I was aware of their suspicious behavior, I walked around Shade and the people she was talking to next to her ride and straightened my stance, firmly alerting them that they had my full attention now. I heard Shade say goodbye to her friends. She came up behind me and placed her arm around mine and cupped my wrist.

  “Is that those same guys?” Shade obviously recognized our spotters.

  “Sure is.”

  “Why are they following us?” She gripped me a little tighter in a nervous fashion.

  “I don’t know, but if they’re still here when everyone clears, I’m gonna go find out.”

  The area emptied slowly, but the dudes never left. Before we knew it, it was just us and them. As the last car pulled away, I started a slow march towards uncertainty.

  “Be careful, Leo,” Shade called from behind me.

  I kept walking. As I got closer, they finally started to talk to one another with an air of arrogance while all of them continued to stare at me. When I closed in, their features came into to full view. I realized from their pale skin and blood-red eyes that I was about to confront another batch of vampires.

  “There he is, boys, the Demon Defector.” They laughed, confirming that they were who I thought they were.

  “He doesn’t look like much to me,” another one of the jocks chimed in. “Can’t believe he took out the Goyle Queen, Agrelia.” They all chuckled again.

  “What do you guys want?” I asked, stopping just feet in front of them.

  “Oh, nothing…hero. Just keeping tabs for someone, if you catch our meaning,” their blond haired leader pointed out as they all laughed again.

  “Who’s keeping tabs?” I knew they were most likely referring to Shimmer. I just wanted to hear them say it so I knew for sure.

  Completely ignoring me, they looked over my shoulder, eyeballing Shade. “Is that your girl, hero?” I felt my anger well up instantly. “We know someone that would love to make her his bride.” They laughed more sinister.

  Now I was pissed. “If you blood blisters continue to push me, I’m going to send Shimmer your hearts.”

  Their confident smirks turned to snarls as they quit leaning against the truck and gathered around the blond-haired guy, the remaining lone leaner.

  “Enough, boys.” He raised his arm, signaling them to stop their advance. “We’d love to do Shimmer’s dirty work for him, but we’re here as observers…nothing more.”

  “If I catch you following me, or even getting near her again, I’ll personally rip out your hearts and show them to you.”

  The leaders lip quivered in anger. “Let’s go, boys.” He stood straight up, never taking his glare off me. They piled into the truck and I thought it best to give them some parting words just as the blond vampire was about to get into the driver’s seat.

  “Tell Shimmer I’ll see him soon…and those fake blue letterman jackets are ugly as hell.” I smirked as I received a curled-lip growl from him.

  I stood in place and waited for them to get out of sight. When they were gone, I returned to Shade.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Just Shimmer sending his regards.”

  “What do you mean? What does he want?”

  “I’m not sure, probably just keeping tabs on when I plan to make my move on him…but it could be something else, I don’t know.”

  “Well, let’s not let it ruin the rest of our night, c’mon.” She waved me to get in the car.

  Shade was right. This was our evening, no one else’s. I wasn’t going to let Shimmer, Scruffy, or Christian screw it up. Besides, I had some business with Shade to attend to tonight. It would be a complete shock to her. Because of that surprise, I was a little nervous on the way to our hangout next to the Gold Rock River. I almost didn’t hear a single thing she said on the way there.

  When we arrived, we laid out our blanket and sat down. Shade leaned against my chest and I supported her weight by placing my arms behind me.

  “Surround me with your wings, please?”

  I looked around for a second, making sure it was safe to do so, and pulled out my wings and surrounded her in them. The moon was bright, beautifully reflecting off the fool’s gold rocks in the river tonight. Shade and I kissed and admired the view in the river and the bright stars above.

  “I think if I ever got married,” she winked at me, “this would be where I’d like to have the ceremony. It’s so beautiful here. Everything from the view of the mountains around us to the sounds of the river flowing, just gives me peace here.”

  “I thought you liked the Gardens of Zeus location?”

  “I do, but this place is ours. More private...to us and just as beautiful. At least to me.”

  “It is to me, too. I wish I could be that guy for you.” I reached for her hand. “But you know the consequences of me lingering around living things for too long.”

  “I know. You’re forever damned and I’m the one in Hell.”

  “I’m sorry, babe. As I’ve said a thousand times, I wish I could change this for the better. Being with you is the only thing that matters to me. Believe me, if I can find a way to remain with you without it killing you, I will.” I reached around her and hugged her, kissing her cheek as I did.

  “I know, Leo.” She squeezed my arms with hers, being careful not to mess up the corsage still upon her wrist.

  “Speaking of ceremonial symbols…” I flicked at the corsage.

  “I know, I love it. I’m gonna keep it forever.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.” I flicked at it again.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?” She turned to look at me, confused.

  Again I messed with the white rose, twiddling the enclosed middle portion of the rose. Shade watched me curiously as I smiled.

  “Why do you keep messing with my rose?” She couldn’t piece together what I was trying to tell her.

  “Look in the middle of the rose, ya big goof.”

  She leaned forward and started pulling apart the middle of it, pausing before letting out a gasp.

  “Oh my God.” She reached into it and pulled out a very shiny object. “This is gorgeous!”

  The sparkling object she pulled out was a white gold, one carat diamond ring.

  “When did you get this? How…?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you mean. Put it on, see if it fits.”

  She slid on the ring, extending her fingers to look at it. The moon was actually reflecting off the diamond in a rainbow of colors.

  “It fits perfectly. How did you know what size to get?” She waved her hand around, checking out her new toy.

  “I have to do something while you’re sleeping besides just lay there and be quiet all night.”

  She smiled in pure bliss. “I love it. Thank you.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you.”

  She raised her hand up above us, still looking it over, only to lower it and look at me again.

  “But what does this mean for us? What are you trying to tell me?” She looked confused.

  “Besides giving you some space rock,” I reached to her neck, pulling on the chain to display the meteor I gave to her, “I thought I should give you a more traditional, human symbol of my affection. So, I got you a promise ring.”

  “Yeah, but what are you promising?” She tilted the ring around on her finger.

  “Well, I’m promising you that no one will ever love you as much as I do. I promise that, although, I can’t be with you in a traditional sense, I can be with you in a spiritual sense…by way of this ring. A reminder to you, t
hat I’m always with you, even if they kill me…I’m with you…always.”

  She leaned back and gave me a soft kiss. “What am I going to say to my parents about this thing?”

  I chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll think of something to do with it around them until we can figure out a proper time to tell them about it.”

  “Yeah, I’ll think of something.” She giggled.

  We stayed by the riverside for a couple more hours, talking, making out, and watching Shade repeatedly fumble around with her sparkly new object. We discussed the fact that this coming week was our last week of school before summer break and that there would most likely be a school year end blowout party. Shade expressed that she really wanted us to go to this one. I was perfectly okay with that. She was about to go into her senior year of high school, well, so was I, hopefully. She wanted to go in with a bang. We also knew that this summer was going to be my opportunity to confront Shimmer. I might not be coming back, so we might as well “let our hair down” one more time.

  It started to get slightly chilly and very close to her curfew, so we folded up the blanket and called it a night. I would be staying with her tonight. Shade took over driving and we got there in time to see her father peeking through blinds impatiently as we pulled up to her house.

  “Get down,” she ordered.

  “Ah, duh,” I responded sarcastically. “Leave the window cracked so it’s easier for me to slide out. Don’t forget to stash that away somewhere” I pointed to the ring she still had on as she kissed me before I turned into shadow within her car.

  “I almost forgot. Thanks.” She pulled it off and smuggled it within her balled up fistas she rolled down the window a little. “Don’t forget to go get Shadow cat.”

  I slithered out of the cracked window and went airborne. Once it was safe to materialize, I did so and flew home. I didn’t waste much time in getting back to Shadow. He was hungry, so I waited for him to eat before flying back to Shade’s. When I returned, I could see that all the lights were off in the house and the candle was lit in her window, telling me it was safe to enter. So I did.

  Tonight was a perfect night.

  Chapter 12

  EYES

  The final week of school came and went. During that time I would occasionally see that red truck with those five fake jock vampires in it around town, but they stayed far enough away from me that I didn’t feel threatened by their presence. They knew I was aware of them being around constantly and I was positive they were just gathering information for Shimmer, so I made sure to practice my fighting skills deep in the woods at night, so as not to let them get a clue about my tactics. I also stayed clear of driving to too many places with Shade. I knew that Shimmer had an eye on my girl in order to make her one of his mistresses, at least that’s what they kept provoking me with, so I didn’t want to give away the hangout spots Shade frequented, even though finding out where she went and what she did in her spare time without me or her parents wasn’t exactly difficult information to obtain. I still didn’t care. I wasn’t going to make their surveillance easy.

  We attended graduation for the senior class on the final day of school for the year. I sat with her parents and had a ball laughing and joking with them the whole time. Her mother, although very kind to me, continued to watch me with great suspicion. No matter, I felt a part of their family. It was cool. The big graduation party wasn’t until the next night so Shade and I went to dinner and a movie. Afterwards we did something we never did, took a walk around her neighborhood. We started to discuss the fact that I’d be going off to meet Shimmer soon.

  “So how are you going to find Shimmer without any clues from Christian?”

  “Shimmer is easy to find.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s always in the same place.”

  “And where is that?”

  “Romania…in a secret dungeon below Dracula’s castle, tucked away deep within the mountain. This basement, if you can call it that, is more like another castle buried below it. ”

  Shade stopped in front of me. “You’ve got to be kidding. Dracula’s castle? He’s not Dracula, is he?”

  “No.” I chuckled. “Vlad The Impaler was his right hand man, though. Now Dracula is a high ranking hybrid of demon and vampire in Hell.”

  “This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” Shade shook her head and started walking again.

  “Well, Dracula isn’t my concern, anyway. Shimmer, his two powerful mistresses, Sierra and Molina, and hundreds of the most powerful vampires in the world all dwell there, within the mountain under Dracula’s castle. That’s what I’m worried about.”

  “How do you plan to get past them in order to get to Shimmer?”

  “I haven’t given it much thought, because—well, I probably won’t be able to get past them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll have to go through them…I’m guessing.”

  “Oh no. Even his two…wives?”

  “More than likely; they never leave his side and those twins are almost as powerful as he is.”

  “They’re twins?”

  “Yup. They’re the most desired duo in vampire history. Every blood sucker is mesmerized by their beauty and obeys their every command as if they were Shimmer himself.”

  “That good looking, huh?” Shade prodded.

  “Not too bad,” I teased back. “They have long, curly, strawberry blonde hair, wear skin-tight black pants, white long-sleeved shirts that are buttoned down just enough to tease…if you know what I mean. Believe me, they’re built to tease. They’re always dressed identically, no matter what they wear. I’ve only seen them once. They’re as pale as any blood blister and still sport those fiery red eyes like any vamp.”

  “You better hush, lackey.” She jabbed her elbow into my side.

  “Well, it’s not their beauty that impresses me, they’re calculated killers. Shimmer isn’t the only one I have to worry about on this next quest, I’m afraid.”

  Shade hugged me closer and we continued to walk the night away. When the next day came, we parted in the morning, for obvious reasons, and then got together later to spend some time trolling around a mall a couple towns over. We didn’t buy anything, mainly window shopped. But that wasn’t the point of going. We were doing our best to spend as much time together before I left to fight. Who knew how long I’d be gone this time if I won, and if I lost, well, I guess we both knew what that outcome meant.

  Shade was dressed to party all day and she made sure that I was, too. As night closed in, we left the mall and headed back to Mountainside. We ate dinner with her folks, where I was told by Mr. Lewis that this would be the last time I was allowed over there until they met my guardians. Now here was another problem that rose up which could potentially drive a wedge between Shade and I. We didn’t have a clue about how we were going to pull off being together without ever bringing in parental figures on my behalf.

  Nonetheless, their trust in me must have been growing because they were allowing Shade more time around me and extra hours to get home when she was out with me, even with her mother’s polite, yet prying questioning about my car and details of my life. I guess as long as she got home when she was supposed to, everything was cool. For the party tonight, Shade was allowed out later than ever.

  We hung out on her porch until it was time to go. Tonight’s graduation party was out in the middle of nowhere, a few miles outside of Mountainside. It was somewhere we had all partied before. It wasn’t someone’s house or anything; it was just a large clearing. We could make as much noise as we wanted in that location because there wasn’t a single sole that lived anywhere near that area.

  When we arrived, cars were lined up, parked side by side on either side of the worn out dirt road that led to the clearing. Tons of people had obviously shown up to party. Because of where we had to park, it took a long time to walk up to the actual festivities. When we got close, we could hear music and tons of elated chatt
er. A gigantic bonfire was lit in the center of the lot, lighting up an insane amount of heads and bodies scattered in close proximity to one another. We couldn’t believe how many people were here.

  We struggled to maneuver through the influx of people and couldn’t help but notice there were tons of faces that we didn’t recognize, as well tons of ones that were familiar. Shade must have been stopped a thousand times by people that knew her. I got in on the conversations with her by default of being her boyfriend. I must admit, being with Shade certainly elevated my social status. I really wasn’t much of a talker with anyone other than Shade, and at one time Scruffy, so it was hard for me to just open up and chat. Most of the time, I kept my words to a bare minimum and stood quiet, just being an observer.

  Shade would notice me being unsocial and do her best to drag me into the small talk with everyone, but that would only last a word or two before I would bow out. As her mingling continued, we rotated around one side of the party to the other. I continued to analyze the humans. I took pleasure in watching them stumble around in intoxication, or watching the guys do their best to capture a girl’s attention, something I had witnessed Scruff do on multiple occasions. I didn’t miss being involved in any of the hot gossip topics that Shade was knee high into though.

  Then, through the plethora of faces, I began to get glimpses of a set of eyes; red eyes, that were fixated squarely in my direction. Before I could lock in on exactly who the peering pupils belonged to, they would disappear behind the faces of the party goers, only to reappear out of the darkness in mere seconds between another set of gathered humans somewhere else. Every time I would squint to see exactly who was stalking me, I would lose them, only to find a new set of glaring eyes showing up somewhere else. Something different was going on. I could feel it.

  I excused myself and slowly moved around the gathering, trying to find out what these vamps wanted, but when I got close, they’d be gone. The light of the bonfire flickering off the faces around me seemed to intensify the situation. Only half of people’s faces were visible and it seemed the eyes would slide in from that darkness around them only to disappear within it again.