by Martha Woods
Tessa looked to Kristian. He looked relieved with his sister’s assessment of the situation.
“Look, I—” Tessa started, but Kristian interrupted. He was suddenly standing before her, her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips, but at the last moment he pulled her into him and their lips met. She returned the kiss despite her confusion.
“Come with us,” he said. “We need your ability, but more than that, I want you to.”
She produced a choked, nervous laugh. “Why?”
“Our kind used to have such powers available to them, but we lost all those with abilities in the slaughter. If you become one of us, you can create more like you,” Veronica said, navigating her phone. “I’m booking you a ticket.”
“Woah, become one of you?” Tessa said, panic edging her voice.
“Listen,” Kristian said, gripping her arms earnestly. “I will explain everything in time. And no matter what, you will have a choice. But we are in danger here, and we must leave immediately. Please come with us.”
Tessa hesitated only a moment. She didn’t want to feel cursed anymore. She wanted answers, and these two could give them to her. The feeling of his lips still lingered on hers.
What had she gotten herself into? Become a vampire? Kristian said that it was her choice, but Veronica clearly wanted Tessa’s ability to be passed on. Could it even pass on to another vampire? Or was she one freak in a million?
“I already booked your ticket,” Veronica said. “Now, let’s go.”
* * *
Kristian and Veronica were quiet for most of the trip to the airport. The sleek black sedan that had pulled up outside the apartment was some luxury European make that Tessa couldn’t name. The butter colored leather was cool and smooth beneath her touch as she slid into the passenger seat. It occurred to her she was surrounded, and that in this small space there would have been little chance of her getting away. Kristian kept his eyes on the road, his face completely void of any expression. She caught the wave of his thoughts and followed them easily. Every now and then one of Veronica’s loud thoughts would jar her from the wave. Irritated, Tessa turned and stared at her.
“Really, if you have so many questions, why don’t you ask me?” Tessa snapped.
Veronica crossed her arms. She was really a lovely woman, but the hardness of her expression made her cold. She was not, however, totally unfeeling. The worry Veronica had for her brother proved it.
“I just keep thinking that this timing is damned convenient,” Veronica replied. “I usually agree with my brother’s sense of intuition, but I can’t help but wonder. It seems more than serendipitous you should run into us now.”
“Veronica,” Kristian growled. “Don’t start.”
“No, let her ask whatever she wants,” Tessa said. “Once she’s got an answer, I don’t have to hear the same thing circling around in her head. Kristian happened upon me by accident. I was minding my own business. I don’t live in this town. I was only passing through so I could work at the street faire. It was him interfering in my life that got my car and trailer trashed. I can assure you I’m not involved with these people who are hunting you. I assume that’s who the Calder are?”
Veronica sat straighter in her seat.
“I told you, sister,” Kristian said quietly.
“The Calder are a very ancient group of witches. I’m not talking fluffy pagans. These are a different race, even if they look human. For centuries, they’ve hunted us. I suppose you could call them our apex predator. They are to us what we once were to humans.”
“Why did your kind stop killing humans?” Tessa asked, her train of thought derailing.
“I wouldn’t say our kind has stopped completely,” Veronica said with a grin. “Other than it being barbaric, it’s not as easy as it used to be to cover up multiple murders. Not with everyone carrying a portable camera in their cell phone. I won’t say we don’t enjoy a small taste now and then. Just a bite and a few drops of blood from a human can create a somewhat strong bond. And it’s pleasurable to both parties. But ripping someone’s throat out and just drinking them whole? Not very likely. It can be a dangerous pursuit these days. Certain diseases can be passed from humans to vampires, which is another reason most of us depend upon clean blood banks.”
“Vampires can catch diseases?”
“Blood diseases, yes,” she replied. “They won’t kill us, but they could make immortality unpleasant.”
Tessa glanced at Kristian. “You didn’t even have me checked before you nipped me.”
If he were human, Tessa was sure he would have blushed. Instead his brows knitted together. He pursed his lips. “Most humans would not have remembered,” he said quietly.
“Well, since we have already established I am a freak among humans…” Tessa said.
“You really are, aren’t you?” Veronica laughed. It was almost musical the way she laughed, a cold trill too perfect to be human.
“So, you thought the Calder sent me?” Tessa asked.
“They have been known to plant their people in places one wouldn’t expect them,” Kristian said. Veronica nodded in agreement. “An attractive woman with the power to read minds could be a powerful tool for tracking us across the country.”
“I guess that explains why you kidnapped me and all.”
“I again apologize for that,” Kristian said.
* * *
The flight itself took three hours, but they spent another couple of hours in the airport changing flights to throw the witches off their trail. By the time, they touched down in Los Angeles, Tessa was exhausted. She’d only slept a handful of hours after her escape attempt, and not much the night before that. Tessa suffered from insomnia on a regular basis. You could imagine how difficult it might be to sleep while bombarded by the thoughts of a city. Even though she learned to reduce the stream of transient thoughts into a sort of white noise buzz when she needed to, there were always her dreams. Dark memories were transformed into monstrous images at night, haunting her each time she lay her head down at night.
In those few hours after Kristian had found her in the parking lot, she had slept well. She couldn’t figure out what it was that set her at ease. She should have ignored the feeling, knowing that he was a dangerous creature that had kidnapped her, but she didn’t want to. Was it the way he touched her? Or was it his mere presence? She was looking forward to testing her theory further.
After the flight, the drive out to Kristian’s home was another long slog—two hours in heavy traffic. They arrived at the beach house just before sunrise.
“Can you travel in the daylight?” Tessa asked nervously as they entered the house.
“We can, with the help of some very expensive drugs,” he replied coolly. “Otherwise, no.”
“We made sure to take our dosages before we left,” Veronica replied sarcastically. “Couldn’t risk blowing up in balls of flame in case the plane was delayed.”
Tessa stared at Veronica. It wasn’t often she found someone nearly as sarcastic as she was. Of course when she did it would have to be the baby sister of her undead kidnapper. This was going to be fucking interesting.
Kristian took Tessa’s hand, pulling her across the threshold and into the house. He wanted to separate the two of them. He didn’t know if his sister trusted Tess, yet. Veronica disappeared somewhere—literally—she was gone before Tessa could even see which direction he went.
“There are six bedrooms in this house,” Kristian said quietly. “I keep my private suite in the basement, while Veronica keeps her rooms on the main floor. The second floor holds the guest rooms.”
“Do you have many guests?” Tessa asked.
“Occasionally. We have friends who are scattered about, and sometimes we’re lucky enough to have a few of them visit. No one else is here right now.”
“And where will I sleep?” Tessa asked.
“Where would you like to sleep,” he asked. Images of her laying in his bed crept into her mind. She frow
ned and pushed them away, sure that they were his thoughts.
“I’d like to see the guest rooms.”
Tessa had seen houses like this in magazines, but never been inside of one. The ceilings were twenty feet high, with fans whirring softly above. The living room held a brick fireplace which took up an entire wall. The furniture was simple; a plush L-shaped corner group in dark red and chunky, matching leather chairs in black. The mahogany wood floors shined. She noticed an Oriental rug but only caught a glimpse of the colors in it.
“Let me guess,” Tessa said. “Veronica decorated this room.”
Kristian made a small, dismissive sound. Tessa realized with some amusement he’d sucked his teeth. “She has no idea about such things. I designed this house myself.”
Tessa thought about saying something snarky. The first thought that came to her mind was a vision of him watching HGTV and Food Network after the sun set. She pressed her lips together in a smile at her own joke. “It’s lovely,” she said.
Tessa smiled. She registered his pleasure from her small compliment. It made her happy to know this. With some horror, she wondered why his pleasure should mean so much. She usually didn’t care what anybody thought.
What’s happening to me?
Kristian led her up the staircase, opening into a landing framed by a floor to ceiling window that looked out over the crashing waves of the ocean. He walked up to pull the heavy drapes across the glass, his face apologetic as he turned. Down the hall, he opened the door to a room that was...so much more.
It was nearly a suite. The room itself was done up in shades of cream and gold, from the floor to the drapes, but the bed stood amidst it all, dark and heavy. The wrought iron frame was shaped into delicate swirls and whorls. Atop the mattress were soft, black and gold blankets.
Tessa wondered, for a split second, what Kristian would look like sprawled out atop those blankets. She shook her head, trying to get the image out. That was surely her own thought and she felt ashamed. She didn’t understand what was happening between them and was suddenly grateful that there would be an entire story between them as they slept.
* * *
“I have a question,” Tessa said.
She was wearing Kristian’s white dress shirt, with nothing beneath it. Her clothes were getting beyond wearable. Odd how she could feel so lady-like wearing a man’s clothes. She sat on a stool in his basement kitchen space, legs crossed. Neither of them had woken until late afternoon. According to her cell phone, it was just past two. The rooms in this space did not have windows. It gave her the feeling of time passing differently, or stranger yet, not existing at all.
She had wandered the house alone for a short while after she woke. For the first time in a long while, she suddenly found that she was lonely. Her heart lifted when Kristian came looking for her.
Once they were awake, the first thing he’d wanted to know was if she was hungry. He made her a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup. She watched as he poured liquid from a black decanter into a black travel mug. He kept his back turned but she caught the smell of copper. Blood.
He sat down across from her and watched as she took a bite of the sandwich. He apparently understood the idea of comfort food. Sharp swiss was greeted by crisp, sweet apple slices. Experimentally, she dipped a triangle of sandwich into the soup and took a bite. The fresh basil bloomed through her mouth and she moaned in pleasure.
“What would you like to know?”
Tessa paused. What she really wanted to know was more about this woman, Serena. His maker. She asked something else instead.
“Is there some reason the Calder are after you and Veronica in particular? I mean, there have to be other vampires for them to occupy their time with, right?”
Kristian took a long sip from his mug and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. She didn’t see any blood but the idea of him drinking it like coffee made her slightly queasy.
“The Calder do have more interest in some than in others. My coven was once known to cause them trouble in the past, so they have a... vendetta against us.”
“Coven?”
“It’s what we call our families—the line of the vampires who sired us. My maker was part of a long line.”
Tessa nodded. He was still avoiding her name.
“Not just anyone goes up against them?”
“No, they don’t,” he agreed. “Most of my family is scattered. Some have fled to South America, or parts of Africa. When we heard, the Calder were on the move, we decided it was best not to take chances.”
I stirred my soup. “So. My safety with you is doubtful, but these predators who are after you…I am pretty sure they wouldn’t leave me alive either.”
“It’s in your best interest to help us,” Kristian replied. “And as far as your safety with me is concerned, it’s obvious I don’t want to hurt you.”
“And why is that? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I am enjoying…whatever it is going on between us. It’s good to not be the strangest person in the room for once. But I don’t know about laying down my life for something which has nothing to do with me.”
“You’re not exactly an ordinary human. Whatever you are, the Calder would see you as a threat as well. I can provide you protection. And you can provide us your ability to read them. Think about it this way, if you please. I found you by accident, and the odds of one of them finding you, out on the road alone, is just as great. How many people do you think you meet in a year while you roam the country telling fortunes? The energy you give off…I could see it long before I ever saw you. It was a miracle that they didn’t find you sooner, a miracle that I found you before they found your trailer. Had you been in it when they did, you would have perished in that fire, no one the wiser.”
“You can see my aura?” Tessa asked.
“Yes. And I am sure one of the Calder could too.”
“What’s it like?”
“The same as the auras of other humans,” he said carefully. “Only larger, enough to fill a room, where others have only enough to extend and inch or so from their bodies. Pale, and shimmery gray. I can protect you. And provide for you. Don’t you think you should be afforded a better life than living out of the back of a trailer?”
Tessa blushed. “I like living off the grid. Nothing is wrong with my life! I don’t have to answer to anyone and I like it that way.”
“I would understand what it is to be a nomad better than you know,” Kristian replied. “And I am not judging by any means. I just think you deserve more in life than that.”
“Would you mind coming out with me today? I’d like to show you something,” Tessa said.
* * *
Tessa remembered it well: 1224 Willmont Avenue. The house hadn’t changed in all these years, and she wasn’t sure if that pleased or unnerved her. The lawn was still neatly cut, with rosebushes out front in full bloom. Not only had Melissa Forrester loved those damned roses, but she loved being better than her neighbors, too. Both the cars were in the driveway, newer models, but still the midsize Japanese make that Tessa remembered.
Tessa and Kristian were parked across the street in his sleek European sedan. He listened as she spoke. It was a difficult story to tell. She was aware of his feelings. Sadness. Grief. The overwhelming desire to console.
“My parents died when I was eleven, shortly before my twelfth birthday. I had been in the institution for about a year, and I had these hopes that my parents would come get me out. Life would magically go back to normal when they signed me out of that hell hole. Up until then they visited me once a month. Whenever they came there was this hope in their eyes. As soon as I said anything about mind reading, or knowing how they really felt about me, it was like something inside them shut off. Their eyes went dark. I wasn’t really their daughter anymore. They’d tell me I was sick and needed to work on getting better, and when that happened, then they’d take me home and we’d have a big party. It was their nice little way of saying they didn’t i
ntend to take me in until I stopped saying crazy shit to them about what was going on inside their heads. Even though they knew the things I told them were true. Just got the things they didn’t want to talk about, the things they both wanted to sweep under the rug. I knew all about Dad’s affair and Mom’s Jack Daniel’s habit. If I had lied, I would have never ended up there. But I was a kid, and it wrecked me to think that I was insane. That place was destroying the kid that I was.” She sighed.
“Well, you might be a touch crazy, but in the good way,” Kristian replied with a wink and a small grin.
“Touché,” Tessa said. “Anyway. I kept hoping they would see what the place was doing to me and change their minds. That never happened. When they told me my parents were gone, I realized I had to do better. Toe the line. Kiss up to the doctor and tell him anything he wanted to hear because no one was left to care whether I died in that place or not.”
“You said they died in a car accident?”
“Yes,” Tessa said. “Went off a bridge and into a lake. They were up in Seattle for some reason. I never found out why. Anyway. I convinced the doctor I was a good little girl and was never going to believe in such rubbish as mind reading again. It took a couple of months of lying through my teeth for him to believe it. They put me into the system. I was at a girl’s home for a couple of months, and that was lovely. Pretty much had to fight some chick every day. I wasn’t a fighter before, but I learned. And then I got placed with the Forresters,” she said, making a gesture towards the house. “And I won’t even go into the wonderful experience it was for me.”
Kristian tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. It seemed an oddly human motion. Most of the time, he was so controlled that if she hadn’t been able to read minds, she’d have no clue he felt anything. “When we were alone. I noticed some scars on your back. Is that how…”
“Yes,” Tessa said, closing the door in her mind just as she saw the flash of the belt.