Flicker

  She stared at him for a moment, absorbing everything he'd said. Then, quite suddenly, she blushed as she realized an implication in his words. “So in bed...”

  He laughed. “Yes, in bed things can get quite... intense. I'm sure you've had some hint about that already.” She blushed even more fiercely, and he chuckled. Suddenly playful, he reached out to tweak her nose. “Have I told you lately that you're adorable?”

  She raised an eyebrow, smiling wryly. “I don't get that one very often.”

  “Well, it's true,” he said decisively.

  Impulsively, she reached out to him. She hadn't had the courage before to just touch him casually, but after the intensity of their interactions, she felt more stupid not touching him. As her fingers neared him, she noticed Alex go very still, as if he didn't want to do anything that might discourage her. Taking heart from his care, she gently stroked down his arm, her fingers playing over the back of his hand. It was electric, the feeling of freedom that came from casually reaching out to another person without fear. Alex stayed frozen for a few moments, but she got the impression-- she realized belatedly that he was probably open to her, allowing her to feel his emotions-- that keeping still under her touch was too difficult. He wanted to touch her, too, to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair and run his hands over--

  In a flash, he grabbed her hand, his fingers twining with hers, holding her hand still. He grinned at her a little sheepishly. “See what I mean about the magnification?”

  Elise was breathing just a little quickly, her eyes a bit too wide. She nodded, then giggled. “So...” she trailed off, imagining the possibilities of exploring the magnification effect in greater detail. Then she realized that he could probably see at least glimpses of what she was thinking, and her eyes grew huge. Her face went beet red as she looked slowly up at him; he was very clearly struggling not to laugh.

  “I guess there's a little bit of a learning curve...” she said in a tiny voice.

  That was apparently the last straw for Alex-- he burst out laughing. Even without his emotional influence, she would have smiled in response-- his laugh was full, joyous, and it transformed his face from handsome to heartbreaking. His eyes sparkled as he looked down at her, and he cupped her face gently in his hand. “Don't worry, little one; you'll get the hang of it.”

  She suddenly got the impression that as amused as he was with their exchanges, he was also more than a little puzzled by the raw power of the energy they were trading. His mind played rapidly over old books and conversations, hinting at something deeper that he had heard about from others but never quite believed. She felt like she was trailing behind the speed of his thoughts, his true meaning just slightly out of her grasp. He felt her curiosity and his expression became less exuberant and more serene. “I guess there's a learning curve for me, too,” he said ruefully.

  “What were you thinking about, just now?” She asked, troubled after such a close connection that she couldn't read him now.

  His smile was small, and a little sad, and for the life of her she couldn't tell why. “After so much sharing at one time, allow me a few mysteries for next time, will you?”

  He was shutting her out again, she realized, feeling suddenly very cold and alone. “Will there be a next time?” She asked quietly. He must have heard the emotion in her voice, because he reached out and pulled her back into his arms.

  “Oh, little girl, don't be afraid. That was your first real exchange with a person in a very long time, and with another of your own kind, no less; I understand you don't want to let go. But...” He sighed. “I'm unsure. What I had been thinking of... it's rumors, only-- old wives' tales. I don't feel comfortable speaking on such things without more certainty. Please don't think less of me?” Elise caught the quiet pleading under his unease, and realized he was opening back up to her. She settled into his arms and shushed to him.

  “Shh, I know-- it's okay. I guess I forgot that this is probably more than you've opened up to anyone in a long time, too. So... look, just promise me you won't just leave me after this? With... energy, I mean. We were so close, it was like being two parts of the same person... I understand, we definitely can't do that all the time. But... we can do it again?” She stumbled through the question hesitantly, hating how weak she sounded but too afraid not to ask.

  He smiled down at her. “Of course. And I'll teach you, too-- I can teach you so much. So next time, I won't be emoting all over you.” Abruptly, Elise got the impression that he had been defusing all of their intimate situations before they went too far for exactly that reason-- he didn't want her too influenced by his mind, if they were going to take their relationship to such lengths. She couldn't possibly put into words the realization, or her gratitude for it, so she looked up into his eyes, trying for the first time to project her emotions into him.

  Alex's eyes widened and he sucked in a tight breath through his teeth, his arms tensing around her. She allowed herself a small, proud smirk, her eyebrows raised. Apparently, it had worked. Wanting to continue their playful banter, she widened her smirk in to a grin. “I'd like that a lot,” she said.

  Alex answered her grin with his predator’s smile, and she shivered at the sight of it. He tightened his arms around her, abruptly heating the mood once more. “But meanwhile, I've got you helpless, and I think I might take advantage of that,” he growled in her ear.

  Elise squeaked, but tried her best to hold her mind separate from his, however that worked. “Oh, no, you don't!” She cried, pushing away from him playfully. He obligingly opened his arms, and she sprang to her feet. “If you're not going to be emotional with me, then none of that! Jeez, you're such a guy!” She grinned as she snatched a pillow off the chair and chucked it at him.

  Alex sat like a statue as the pillow thumped into the amused smirk on his face. “Well, then, what do you want to do?”

  She shook out her skirts, then started combing her hair back with her fingers, twisting it up into a quick, sleek bun. “I'm stealing your kitchen and making some peanut butter and jelly. Vampires do have peanut butter and jelly in their houses, right? You want one?”

  “My goodness, I had no idea you were so culinarily inclined.” He was still smirking as he stood and straightened his slightly rumpled t-shirt and jeans.

  “What can I say? I'm talented. ” She laughed as she started down the hall, trusting that he would be behind her.

  As the sun sank toward the horizon, Alex walked her home. To his credit, Elise thought, he decided not to comment when she shyly slipped her hand into his. For a few minutes, they walked in comfortable silence, Elise enjoying the cool autumn air and Alex enjoying her serenity. Then she turned to him, and felt a brief brush of his amused exasperation as he prepared for another barrage of questions. She smiled at him.

  “Only one, really, I promise,” she said in response to his thought, and watched his mouth open for a moment in surprise, then relax into a grin.

  “It has been many, many years since I spent time in open contact with another of our kind,” he said softly, gazing down at her fondly. “I've forgotten what it feels like.”

  “Well,” she laughed. “Now you know how I've felt since we met. You drove me crazy with your mind-reading thing.”

  He chuckled, too. “So what's this question of yours?”

  Elise sobered, looking up at him levelly. “You didn't tell me about yourself-- and about me-- because I made an offhanded joke playing truth or dare,” she said slowly, musing aloud. “I'm assuming this is the answer I was asking for after lunch the other day-- and no, don't worry, we'll talk about that another time-- but this was a pretty convoluted way to go about telling me. For that matter, for someone who's usually pretty careful not to push me too far, persistently questioning me about sex and then quite suddenly getting extremely up close and personal is a little unusual. Why? What were you up to?”

  Again to his credit, Alex didn't try to play dumb. Instead, he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk,
pulling her to a halt beside him so he could return her stare. “If you want me to admit that I deliberately pushed you into breaking down, yes, I did. I'm not sorry, either, so I'll save you asking for an apology.” He wasn't rude in his declaration, just blunt, and Elise found that as annoyed as she was at the habitual manipulation, she was still grateful for his honesty. He sighed slightly and continued. “I've suspected since I first saw you that you're one of us, have known for sure since last week. But at the same time, you didn't feel like any other herbivore I'd ever met-- but you were very clearly not a carnivore. I've been reasonably sure since Wednesday’s lunch that you're an omnivore, but as I said, they're extremely rare-- so much so that I almost talked myself out of believing it. So I wanted to tell you about our kind anyway-- those of us who are older and more practiced frequently take on the 'teacher' role when we find ourselves drawn to a latent. But I needed to be sure about you before I could. I couldn't give you inaccurate information-- I just couldn't-- so I needed to be certain; beyond that, I knew you were hiding something that was blocking your energy. I needed to break through that in order to make you really aware.”

  Elise studied him long and hard, looking up into his remorseless eyes. As she did so, for the first time she also made a conscious effort to keep her mind separate from his. It meant she had to rely solely on his expression to judge what he was thinking, but it also kept him out of her thoughts, and that was fine with her. She watched his expression transform from unapologetic but sympathetic, to surprised, and then quickly to cold arrogance as he registered what she had done. Suddenly, she just felt tired and a little disappointed.

  “I think you've been manipulating people for a long time-- maybe too long,” was all she said before she turned away and started to walk again.

  For a moment, she thought he wasn't going to come after her, and her throat tightened. If that was all it took... But after a few steps, she heard him behind her, and a second later, he was beside her again.

  “You're not wrong,” he said softly. She didn't look at him, didn't relax her tight clench on her mind, her energy, whatever it was. She just kept walking slowly, looking straight ahead. But after a few more steps, she reached back out and took his hand.

  Manipulative or not, he was still the first person to offer her genuine compassion and understanding. Perhaps she could learn something from his example... on both counts.

  5 LOST AND FOUND

  “Whitfield, yes. W-H-I-T-F-I-E-L-D. She went to another high school for ninth grade, it would have been three years ago now-- I want to know where.” Alexander hesitated. “And Gregory? Anything you can find on her-- any files, any records-- from the school and from the town, I want.” He listened for a few moments to the reply from the other end of the line. “Thank you. And depending on how much you come up with, yes, I'll call us even.” He chuckled when the other man responded, bade him goodbye, and ended the call.

  Alexander set the fragile device down with exquisite care, only then allowing his fists to clench with the rage he'd concealed from Elise as she told her story. He'd already come to grips with the fact that he was very protective of her, and was quickly understanding that the emotion made everyday things like patience and composure rather difficult. Alexander hadn't questioned his protective, even possessive impulse at the time, and afterward in examining it, had somehow found the feeling to be completely natural.

  From the moment she had told him what had happened to her, a cold certainty had settled in his chest: he would make those responsible pay. The boys, of course, would be punished like the wild animals that they were. But his fury was directed most of all toward the teacher whose job it had been to protect her; there were no excuses for him. Now all that remained was to find them and execute his vengeance. On the list of terrible things Alexander had done over his long life, he knew these were some of the deeds he would enjoy most.

  In the interest of accomplishing his bloody goal, he had called in a favor from his friend in New York, a vampire named Gregory. Gregory had taken to the reach that new technology afforded him with the fervor of one possessed-- he would have an easy time locating the information Alexander had asked him for.

  Alexander's dark mood lifted for a moment as he recalled with amusement the impression he had given Elise of his weekend visiting Gregory, which had, of course, been very little like the picture he had painted for her. However, at the time it would have been complicated to illustrate for her what had actually taken place. There had been no real way to explain that he and Gregory had gone out to feed, along with Sarah, Gregory's sister, who had flown in from India for the occasion of Alexander's return to the eastern coast of America. They had intended-- after spending a few hours reminiscing over the last five hundred years of history, including several decades of shared experiences-- to spend that night feeding in a few of New York's many wonderful night clubs; the riot had been entirely unplanned. Alexander chuckled, somewhat abashed by the carelessness with which they'd conducted their reunion-- as he'd showed Elise when she interrupted his feeding in the school cafeteria last Wednesday, normally he took pains to ensure that none of his food sources recalled anything out of the ordinary occurring. The riot had been a testament to just how much they had gorged themselves, both that it had gotten so out of hand and that not Alexander, Gregory, or Sarah had remembered to clean up afterward. Ah, well, it happened sometimes.

  Alexander was still lost in thought as he puttered around his rented house's small kitchen, making dinner for himself. He was still a little amazed at how well his day with Elise had gone. He had known, ever since she'd stumbled in on him feeding and he'd promised her an explanation, that he would have to tell her soon. He had, however, had serious concerns about how the revelations would go, particularly given her peculiar ability to put him off balance-- and that had certainly hit him full force today! He had trained numerous members of their kind over the centuries, and had never been so powerfully influenced by a raw beginner: it had taken all of his long years of practice to keep himself in check at several points during their conversation.

  Especially during her breakdown! He tried to push it to the back of his mind, but just the recollection of how much pure power had rushed through her, calling to him, begging him to feed from her-- he shook his head hard, bearing down on his energy to keep himself in check. He was still on a bit of a high from their afternoon of open interaction, with the shields she'd unconsciously erected years ago to keep herself isolated now beginning to crack. Alexander clenched his fists, digging his fingernails into his palms as he carefully restructured his own shields to account for the difference in his power. This was going to take some getting used to. He grimaced wryly; he was actually rather embarrassed by his many lapses regarding Elise.

  But, he reasoned, trying to make himself feel better, when on earth could he have experienced anyone like her before? The Queen and her heirs were the only other omnivores he had ever met, and they had been well trained long before he came into their presence-- the difference between them and Elise was staggering. And yet, despite her latency, her innate power would be enough to knock him around like he was nothing but an untrained child himself if he relaxed enough to allow it.

  And now came the question of what he would do with her. He needed to train her, obviously, and so could put off the bigger questions for a little while. But sooner or later-- and he was betting on sooner-- he would have to send word to the Queen. Sooner or later, as she grew in power, Elise would start to draw others of their kind to her. Other vampires would meet her like he had...

  He stopped cold, staring out the window for a full minute as the realization struck him.

  There was no reason for him to be here. He didn't come to small towns. He had been on his way north to New York to visit Gregory when he'd decided to stop for coffee. But instead of stopping at the nearest Starbucks he'd passed after exiting the highway, he had continued through the tiny towns of South Jersey and stopped here in Willowdale for no apparent reaso
n, without ever questioning the change.

  She had done it. It was so clear to him now. She had reached out, obviously subconsciously, and drawn him to her.

  He was a blur as he crossed the kitchen and grabbed for the phone again. Damn the danger of word getting out-- he had to know for sure what he and Elise were getting into.

  “Gregory?” He demanded when the call connected. “Sit down. We need to talk.”

  Elise got up Sunday morning and went to church with her parents in something of a daze. She felt very isolated and self-contained as she shadowed them, kneeling and standing and sitting and kneeling again, singing hymns and taking communion and sitting quietly with her hands folded. But throughout the monotonous exercise, her mind worked furiously. By the time the service ended, the only conclusion she had reached was that she needed time to think.

  To that end, the moment her parents' car pulled back into the driveway, she made a beeline for her piano. She skimmed her fingers lovingly over the keys, realizing with a start that it had been almost two weeks since the last time she had played-- and immediately had to fight down an irrational urge to apologize to the instrument for neglecting it.

  She idly picked out a simple melody with her right hand, leaning her left elbow on her lap and her chin on her hand. The staccato notes reminded her of raindrops plunking onto wood, the way the rain had sounded when she and Alex had stood in the gazebo on their date last week. She played faster, the keystrokes blurring together from individual notes into a long run of cohesive sound. The frenzied pace brought to mind her panic yesterday, when Alex had purposely manipulated her into losing control. Straightening up, she added her left hand to the fray, balancing the rapidly changing melody with slow, steady chords. Having the smooth, continuous undertone made her melody less frantic and more purposeful, boldly adventuring instead of fearfully tripping. She barely noticed when she deviated from the piece she had been playing, making up something entirely new as she went along.