by Sara K
What was wrong with her tonight? She was going to meet Michael's family. Not random people. It wasn’t as if she was his girlfriend. She was nothing to him really. She had no identity whatsoever. A woman rescued by a man claiming to be her soul mate. He could have let her die. That is what she had wanted to sleep forever without feeling. Yet he had saved her. Provided for her. Sheltered her from the dangers the world spewed out. Under these circumstances what could she possibly think? He was not human he drank blood. He was able to do unimaginable things. And here she was about to meet another man like Michael and a human woman who was married to him. And probably had some psychic abilities. Just like her.
Cassandra Wilson stood up instantly when she saw them approach. "Clara it's so good to meet you, finally." She hugged Clara affectionately.
Several minutes later, Clara and Cassie were seated on a stool at a small table for two near the back of the diner. Justin had chosen this spot since it was empty and both men could easily keep an eye on them whilst they remained in the shadows watching for signs of trouble. Clara watched the dim lights flicker on Cassie's blonde hair. She was so beautiful even from close.
"I really wanted to talk to you." Cassie began, taking a sip of water. "I know you don’t know much about me, but that's ok. We'll learn together. When Michael told us about you, I felt it would help you if you spoke to me to make it easier to fit into our - I mean their world."
"What did he tell you about me?" Clara asked curiously suddenly feeling like her secrets were made public. How could he do this to her, she thought feeling betrayed. How could he share her private horrible life to others?
"Not much" Cassie shrugged. "He's like a big brother to me. And I knew instantly that something was bothering him. He said he had found a woman and she was finding it difficult to believe her destiny." Cassie took another sip, brushed blonde strands away from her face and turned her gaze to Clara and smiled. "You're very pretty, you know."
Clara blushed. "You're beautiful too, Justin's a lucky guy."
"Hey, don’t put yourself down. You may have had a terrible life but things are different now. Michael found you and he's not gonna let you go. Never."
"He told you about my terrible life."
Cassie winced in sympathy and made a little face "A little, I guess he needed to get it off his chest. He believes that what happened to you probably stopped you from feeling. He thinks you're afraid of him because of how you were treated."
Clara looked away in shame and anger at Michael for mouthing off her business. Cassie saw her expression and touched her hand. "I'm sorry, I don't pity you. Not after what happened to me. All I'm saying is that you don’t have to talk about what happened. I'm a pretty good listener. It's up to you."
Clara saw the pain in Cassie's eyes. "What happened to you?"
Cassie shook her head and stared at the water in the glass. "It doesn’t matter now, all that matters is that I'm very happy with Justin. I love him. The past doesn’t matter to me anymore because I have Justin."
"But something did happen." Clara persisted. "Please, Cassie let me understand this bizarre world I've been sucked into."
Cassie lifted her head and grinned. "Not what you expected, huh. Vampires, immortals, supernatural creatures all in books and movies huh."
Clara couldn’t help but smile. "Definitely. Except I knew the world was cruel. There were cruel people. Those who wanted to hurt you. I never thought of another world, the one that existed in books and fairy tales."
Cassie chuckled. "If only we can trade vampires to Cinderella, Puss in boots and Snow White."
Clara laughed at that.
Cassie took a deep breath and let it out slowly." Ok, I'm not that older than you, Clara so I understand how frightening it must be for you." Cassie gathered her thoughts and commenced her story. A story she never thought she would repeat. If it gave comfort to Clara that’s all that mattered. "When I was just a teenager, my parents were both killed. Murdered, actually."
"I'm so sorry." Clara said horrified.
Cassie smiled sadly. "So was I. But hey shit happens. Right. They kept things from me. Like the fact that my mother was a psychic. She could do things, powerful things. When the truth was leaked, both were murdered by the Civic Society, a group organised by humans to investigate strange people."
"What did you do?"
"What could I do? I was an only child. I was utterly alone. I loved them, Clara. Justin had found me then; I think he knew my father before he introduced himself to me. I went into a deep grieve for months. Justin stayed with me all the time, helped me through it. I had no idea who he was, what he was. I never saw him during the day. Not once. Once I returned to earth and was more aware of things around me, I started questioning who Justin McGowan was other than a striking, sexy stranger. Months later, my suspicions grew. I was certain he was a vampire. Just as you believed Michael was a vampire." Cassie paused for a second, took another sip of water. "Just like you I thought it was ridiculous to believe such a thing. It wasn’t long before he told me the truth. I was his soul mate, connected to him via the abilities we share. He was an immortal, not a vampire and so on." Cassie signed deeply. "It took me a while to grip the truth. When I did I realised I had feelings for him, maybe even loved him. My goodness, I was so confused. Imagine loving a non-human. Every time he was in the same room as me I felt the desire, I felt him putting his magic on me. Seducing me. My feelings towards him also grew. Then one day I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. So after finding out that the Civic Society may be after me, I left for Blueberry Island."
Clara frowned, puzzled. "But they killed your parents, why would they be after you."
"They believed I had inherited my mother's gifts. I laughed at the thought. I mean I was just a normal girl. It didn’t matter who my parents were. It wasn’t until later that Justin told me about my power. I can sense bad things happening. It's not strong but over time I think my power will become stronger."
Clara took a long drink off her water. "So what happened when you got to Blueberry Island?"
Cassie gave a sardonic grin. "You know what they say, never run away from your past it follows you."
"More trouble."
Cassie nodded, before continuing. "I found a job at a café, I didn’t have friends. I seriously thought I would be safe. It was a small town after all. No one would find me."
"You were wrong."
"Big time. Justin followed me. He was angry at me for running away. I denied my feelings for him and told him that our relationship would never work out. Of course with him being so stubborn he kept reminding me that I was the only woman for him. For a while, it was real torture denying him and myself of what we both wanted."
"At that time did you wanted to be with him. In a relationship." Clara asked.
Cassie shrugged. "I didn’t really know. Part of me loved him. Wanted him. But the other part wasn’t sure."
"Was it because he wasn’t human,” Clara added.
"Probably, But I also thought his good looks deliberately seduced me."
"What happened next?"
Cassie exhaled slowly. "Well, he kept appearing and I kept being frustrated. He took me out; brought me things made me feel loved and protected." Cassie raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And to be grateful I was rebellious."
"Really."
"Oh yeah,” Cassie said, grinning. "I disobeyed him a lot, went to a club just to forget his touch, it obviously didn’t work. He followed me, saved me from being attached by some jerk. As I expected he wasn’t very happy about it, neither was I happy about myself."
"Did the Society find you?" Clara asked.
"Yeah, three men kidnapped me, took me to their leader and experimented on me." Cassie shook her head, the memory very clear in her mind. "It wasn’t pleasant; fortunately for me Justin rescued me, again. After another attempt on my life, Justin decided to get rid of them."
Clara nearly went pale. "You mean murder."
Cassie shook her h
ead, quickly. "No, no. At least I don’t think he did. Justin planted memories in them so they forget about me, about the research they were carrying out." Cassie stared at Clara, seriously. "Just remember, Michael and Justin will never harm humans. They will always put us before them; protect us with their last breath. But if some idiot posed a threat to their race or to their women, then they would be rid of. By that I don’t mean killing. Although that can be done, but the men would have to control the mind of their victims and drive them away."
"That's a bit harsh, isn’t it?" Clara asked. The idea of mind controlling sat uncomfortably in her mind. Had Michael ever mind controlled her? Forced her to do something she didn’t want to. It's not as though she would ever remember afterwards, not if he erased her memories.
"I thought the same at first, but not anymore. The Immortal’s have their code of conduct they abide by. They are big on justice. Eye for an eye and so on." Cassie said gently. "The men are powerful; they do whatever to protect their race and their women. If humans ever found evidence of another race, it would be very dangerous. They wouldn’t be able to distinguish the difference between vampire and an immortal."
Clara wringed her fingers together nervously, “Michael's always in my mind. He always knows what I'm thinking. It's really strange having someone read your private thoughts." She had no concept of how their connection was strong. She remembered him speaking to her months before and hadn’t he said he could feel her every emotion, read her every thought. How was it possible when she had never come across her before except in her dreams?
Several feet from the table, hidden in the dark shadows Michael listened to their conversation, his eyes rested on Clara’s back as he easily read her fears and feelings. She was projecting strong feelings that bounced through the air towards him. She was terrified that he could mind read her. What she didn’t understand was that he had always lived in her mind. He knew her every thought; he knew her mind so well as though he had known her for centuries. There was no mistake that she was born for him, destined to save his soul from the internal darkness. He had connected with her immediately when he felt her slipping towards her own darkness that her young life created within her heart. His heart and soul immediately recognised their other half, there was no doubt she was his for eternity.
"Did he take your blood?" Cassie asked abruptly.
Michael cursed under his breath. Cassie's questions would upset Clara greatly and he cannot allow her to be in further distress. Hiding in the shadows, unknown to the women of his presence he could do no other than listen and watch. Michael immediately felt Clara gasp; he almost took a step forward to catch her if she were to fall from her stool.
"What!" Clara said in disbelieve. Would she have felt him taking her blood? "I don’t' know, Cassie. I don’t even remember.” There was uncertainty in her voice. She really considered asking him when they got home.
"Well this is how it works." Cassie explained. "To read someone's mind or keep tabs on them, you have to take their blood."
In the darkness, Michael groaned. Cassandra was in trouble for filling Clara’s head unnecessarily. He could already feel her distress in waves, reaching for him. Since Clara had his back to him, he could almost see her pale face and dozens of questions forming in her mind.
"Even if he did take my blood,” Clara began. "He could always wipe my memory, right. So I don’t remember."
Cassie paused for a second before saying. "There's that."
"It makes sense." Clara said thoughtfully. "Why he can read me so easily. I don’t even know how long I've been living with him. Days or weeks. Everything's hazy."
"I'm sorry it's so hard." There was so much affection in Cassie's grey eyes, Clara wanted to cry. "It'll get better. I promise."
Clara shrugged. "I'm not much of an optimistic." She confessed slowly. "I don’t even know what to believe at the moment."
Cassie's warm hand rested on hers. "Don't put yourself down. Believe that Michael loves you and will care for you. Believe that whatever shit life you had won't exist anymore because you have a family now." Clara stared into those grey eyes, saw the truth and her heart twisted into little rubber bands, so tight and fierce. She admired Cassie for her courage, her love of life. She was so much different than her. She was weak, with low self-confidence and untrustworthy of life and its people. She had never had a family, a home and most importantly no one had loved her or cared about her. The day she was born she was a loner. A little child lost in the big wide world. Cassie's acceptance into their family aroused strong emotions. Of feelings she had never experienced. Of the life she had never led. It stirred a longing deep within her bruised heart.
Cassie leaned closer. "Hey, don’t cry on me. Ok."
Clara looked up, startled at the words before realising she had tears in her eyes from the warmth that spread through her mind. She didn’t have to guess who could be doing that. Blinking, she smiled, a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, I was just thinking…"
"About what I said,” Cassie filled in for her. When she nodded Cassie said. "We're all family and you're a huge part of us. The rules of the Immortal ones are that it is very rare for a human woman to be connected to an immortal unless she has a gift like you and me. What is your power?”
Clara paused, unsure how much she should reveal. "Well, for years I didn’t know about it. Until that night…"
"The night he found you…"
Clara cleared her throat, focusing her eyes on the disco ball far ahead. "Yes. I was angry and upset. I broke my bedside lamp with my eyes." She missed out the rest.
Cassie's eyes widened with amazement. "My gosh! That's one huge power, super girl."
Clara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's not like I asked for it. Before you get excited, it's pretty horrible."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, my eyes burn up, my head starts hurting. It's like a thousand pins and needles are piercing my skull. My eyes feel as though they are on fire, when the object of my destruction is destroyed I collapse from exhaustion."
Cassie leaned back in her chair, horrified. "It's safe to say my power is easier and safer."
Clara nodded. "I never want to do it again."
"You shouldn’t, it can kill you. With that strong power, no wonder you were meant for Michael. You're human with a talent no one can possess."
"It wasn’t there before." Clara persisted.
"Doesn’t matter, it was dormant."
Clara thought of something else to say.
"I'll get us something to eat and drink." Cassie interrupted the silence. "I'm sick of drinking plain water." With a gentle shove of her glass, she headed towards the counter.
Clara signed deeply, brushed her fingers through her hair, and glanced around the nearly empty dinner. She couldn’t remember when she had ever been to a place as cosy as this. Perhaps never. Her life had changed so fast, it was impossible for her to adjust. She liked Cassie and was no longer afraid of the other woman who enjoyably welcomed her with open arms, a gesture no one had ever done for her before. Her gaze rested on the disco lights, the bright colours played on the ceiling. Realising that she was staring too hard at the lights, she closed her eyes and lowered her head. She couldn’t risk another episode in a public place.
Cassie returned with Jam doughnuts and coffee. Clara took a bite of the doughnut
“So tell me more about soul mates.”
Cassie took a sip from the foam cup “Well, it’s simple. Out there everyone has soul mate to spend the rest of their life with. The Immortals usually find from their own race, like I said before very rare for it to be a human. It is often frowned upon by the Judge of the Immortal Council unless of course the human woman has a specific ability.”
“What happens if the human has no special capabilities?” Clara asked.
“Then the case goes to trail and the Judge of the Immortal Council will consider the circumstances etc. I don’t know the ins and outs as I’m quite new to this myself.” Cas
sie said.
To Clara the idea of two people joined together was insane. How can two people stand each other's company every minute of every day? How can they stand to be around each other? Eventually they would be fed up with one another, they would bicker, argue, separate and then the divorce would come in. Finally they would head in their own directions, start a new life. Nothing lasted forever. She had learnt that the hard way.
“Michael said you are human? Can you convert?”
Cassie looked up, her grey eyes clouded with emotion. "As I told you before, I couldn’t decide what I wanted. Finally I believed everything Justin had told me about his species. Eventually I realised what I wanted him. Once the chaos settled down and he was sure I wasn’t on anybody's crazy hit list. We got married. It was beautiful." Cassie stared ahead, a satisfied smile on her face. "It was the best day of my life. I wanted to remain human and I know how much it cost him. I was young I wanted to wait several years. It wasn’t as though I was in my middle ages, or dying. I was healthy and young and he promised me he would wait as long as I needed." Cassie signed sadly. "It wasn’t easy for him, it wasn’t easy for us. He would sleep during the day, I spent my days alone. After several weeks, I was really fed up. I asked myself what was the point of enjoying the sun when I couldn’t be with the person I love.
"What did you do?"
"I slept during the day, couple of hours so I could spend the night with my husband. It wasn’t easy on him not having me with him. He grew tiresome that he couldn’t protect me during the day. So I reassured him that no one can harm me, not even vampires since they come out at night. It took me several weeks to finally have a set sleeping pattern and adjust to it." Cassie spread her hands out. "Which is why I'm here tonight? And not in bed."
Clara felt sorry for the other woman. It must have been hard to face such dilemma with the one you love. "How do you feel about converting now?"
Cassie's grey eyes never wavered." The conversion can take place with the permission of the High Council. It cannot be done in secret they must know how about any new entries into their race. I still want to be an Immortal but the pregnancy has delayed everything."