[Anthology] The Paranormal 13- now With a Bonus 14th Novel!

by Dima Zales

  I squirmed and wiggled but didn't try to get away.

  "You're not so tough," he whispered into my ear. "You can't even get away from this mere mortal."

  I laughed and squirmed some more. He was paying more attention to me than where he was running, and he tripped over something as he was running up a hill. He fell over, and we hit the ground. We both burst into laughter, and I pulled on his coat, and we went rolling down the hill together.

  When we landed at the bottom of the hill, we were only a couple of inches apart and burst into a fit of laughter again at the same moment. We laughed until my stomach hurt, and I couldn't laugh anymore. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them he was staring at me from just inches away.

  I smiled, and we both leaned in and gave each other a light kiss. I pulled back a little and studied his face. He seemed to be more handsome than I had ever noticed before. He touched my cheek and ran his hand down to my chin and gave me another kiss.

  He stood up and smiled at me and said with a smile, "If you want more of that, you're going to have to catch me." He got up and started running again.

  I started to laugh, but my stomach was still sore, and I grasped it. I jumped up and chased him, letting him win for a minute before I rushed in and gently threw him against a tree. We stared at each other, and I reached behind his ears and ran my fingers through his hair. I could hear both of our hearts speed up.

  "What is it that you were saying? If I want some more of that, I'm going to have to catch you? It looks like I caught you." I grabbed his chin, leaned in and pressed my lips on his.

  He stroked my cheek and said, "You've never been more beautiful than you are today." He touched my shoulders and ran his hands down to my hands. I got the chills even though I wasn't feeling the cold anymore. He grabbed my hands and held them above my head against the tree as we continued to kiss.

  I closed my eyes and took in his scent. The smell of love was much more intoxicating and delicious than the smell of fear. I started to kiss his neck, and before I knew it, I had bitten down and was drinking his blood. It tasted even better than it had before. I had thought that fear-tinged blood was the best, but this was many times better. I didn't want to stop when I felt the flow slow down, but I knew that was for his own good, so I stopped and sealed up the wound.

  I looked at him, and he was smiling and his eyes were still closed. He opened his eyes. "I don't know what's in that vampire venom, but I love it. Thank you."

  "Don't thank me. It's every bit as satisfying for me as it is for you."

  He grabbed my face and looked like he was going to say something romantic, and then said, "Race you to the swings!" He took off.

  "Oh. You!" I hollered at him and let him win. We jumped on the swings and raced to see who swing the highest.

  "I can't remember the last time that I've had so much fun," I said, laughing.

  "Me neither."

  We swung like toddlers for a while longer before we decided that we should get back so that we could have dinner with our families without getting yelled at for being late.

  "I'm glad that those kids from school showed up at the coffee shop," he said as we were driving back to the school.

  "What kids?" I asked.

  "I'm glad that you didn't see them," he said. "I didn't want you getting upset. That's why I got us out of the shop. I had no idea how much fun we were going to have. We'll have to go to more parks."

  "Definitely. I can't believe how much fun that was."

  When I arrived home, everyone was eating dinner but nobody lectured me.

  "You look really happy," my dad said. "I'm so glad to see you looking so good. It's been too long."

  "You are absolutely glowing," my mom said. "You're more beautiful than ever."

  Natalie gave me a wink and asked, "What's his name, Alexis?"

  Clara smiled at me. "You definitely look good. I hadn't seen you happy before, and I have to say that happiness becomes you."

  "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'll have some dinner after. Sorry that I won't be able to eat with you guys."

  "We're just glad to see you happy again," my dad said.

  20

  "Hey, sleeping beauty, it's time to wake up."

  I pulled the pillow over my head and rolled over, hoping that Clara would decide to leave me alone.

  "Remember how excited you were to go training tonight? Let's go."

  I managed to pull my blankets over the pillow that was still over my head.

  She pulled the blankets and pillow off of my head and whispered in my ear, "You're still part human and still have tasty blood. I wouldn't mind a little taste."

  I sat up. "I'm awake. I'm awake."

  "Perfect. Now get dressed so that we can get going."

  She left my room and I fell back asleep. I woke up to a sharp pain in my neck.

  "Hey."

  She stopped and licked the wound. "Not quite as good as straight human blood but definitely better than straight vampire blood."

  "Vampires can drink each other's blood?" I asked, rubbing my now disappeared wound.

  "Usually only vampires in love or fighting," she said. "It doesn't sustain us and it's not nearly as good. It's worse than that bagged human stuff."

  I made a face. "Thanks for letting me know. I will keep that in mind."

  "Do I have to get you dressed or will you be able to do it on your own this time? This training is not for me, you know."

  I sighed. "I can get myself dressed, thank you. Do you want to meet out front in five minutes?"

  "No, I'll be right back here in five minutes and you'll be ready to go." She left my room again, and this time I got up and put on some dark clothes.

  I wasn't sure what to expect from this training session. She took me to a different part of the same woods where we had first met.

  "You've already gone to hunt some animals and it looks like you have that down from what I saw the other day," she told me.

  "How long were you watching me?" I asked in surprise.

  "I saw enough to know that you can find what you are looking for. We need to make sure that your senses are more finely trained though. In doing this, we'll make sure that you will be able not only to get what you are hunting for, but also be able to sense and take care of something or someone who is hunting for you."

  "Hunting for me?" I hadn't thought of that.

  "Yes, and if you're caught off guard, that could be the end of you and possibly the reign of our family. The last thing that any of us needs is for the Morettis to rule over vampires worldwide."

  "How long were you watching me the other day?" I asked.

  "I was watching you long before you sensed me," she said. "It's good that you did finally sense me, but you need to be able to do that from a longer distance. I'm sure it will come more naturally once you are fully transformed, but we need to work on it now."

  "You also weren't a predator," I pointed out.

  "No, but I was in effect hunting you. That's why you felt threatened when you first discovered my presence."

  "So what are we going to do to practice that? Play a game of hide and seek?"

  "Nope. You're going to stand in an open area, and we're going to wait for something to come along and discover you. Your instincts will tell you when that time has come, and you'll need to fight or flee."

  My heart sunk. "Are you serious?"

  "Of course I am. I'm here if you get into some real trouble, but I'm not going to jump in too early. I'm not going to let you get mauled, but I'm not going to protect you from a little physical harm either."

  "Wonderful," I muttered.

  "I see a little clearing not too far from here. I'm going to hide here, and I want you to go over there." She pointed to left behind me, and I turned around and saw the clearing. "I'll be watching you."

  I looked at her, feeling doubtful and then walked to the clearing. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there feeling like an idiot.

&nb
sp; I took a deep breath and let my senses take in the sights, sounds and smells. I noticed a slight breeze and was aware of many sounds and smells that nearly overwhelmed again as I focused on them. I was glad that as I was learning to use these stronger senses, they weren't bothering me anymore when I didn't need them.

  Wanting to hide, I thought about how I hated standing out in the open like this. I felt like Clara was torturing me or possibly seeing how dumb I was. I felt so exposed, and I really hated it. It felt like it went against everything in my vampire nature. Even my human nature was to hide and blend in, and I wondered if that was because of my being a vampire.

  Suddenly, the hair on my arms and neck stood up, and I knew that I was being watched. Here it was—the moment of truth. It was of little comfort to know that at least I wasn't going to get mauled to death.

  I listened for a heartbeat to reveal the location of my predator. I was surprised that I didn't hear anything big enough to be any kind of a threat. There was no heartbeat louder than a rodent or a small bird.

  I listened for anything unusual or any sound that would give me a clue as to where the animal or person might be. I didn't pick up anything that seemed out of place.

  I wanted to run up a tree and use my senses from there, but I had to stand exposed in the middle of the stupid clearing and wait for my predator to show itself or until I could track it down.

  The hairs on my arms and neck continued to stand on end, alerting me to danger. Then I realized that the only times I have felt this particular feeling had been when a vampire had been near me. I felt it when both Brooke and Cliff had showed up in my room and when I first met Clara. That explained why I couldn't hear a heartbeat.

  My heart started racing. Was Clara messing with me, or was there possibly another vampire in these woods? If that were the case, would he or she know that I was transforming into a vampire? Would that even matter?

  I swallowed slowly and used my vision to look for a vampire hiding in the woods. I noticed that my night vision had improved significantly, ever since the last time that I was out there. I slowly began to turn around to see if my senses would alert me to the direction where the vampire was hiding.

  When I had made three-quarters of a turn, I felt for some reason that I had reached the direction that I needed to focus on. My skin was crawling with the sensation of being watched, and I wanted to scream from both frustration and fear.

  I looked around intently. I felt like I was staring at one of those pictures where you are supposed to see a hidden scene if you let yourself go cross-eyed. I never could find those hidden scenes, but hoped this would be different.

  My nerves were shot, and I did not feel like putting up a fight. I wanted to crawl back into bed, but my life might be on the line, so that was not an option.

  Finally, I thought I saw something. It looked somewhat like a head, hiding and blending in very well between some bushes. I took a deep breath and braced myself. I thought that my mind might be playing tricks on me, but I was pretty certain I was looking at the head of a vampire who was causing all the distress on my senses.

  I heard a small rustle, and nearly jumped and ran off. I looked to my left and saw a small mouse scurrying along a branch. My heart was racing, and I was sure that the vampire knew it too.

  I turned my attention back to the vampire that was watching me. I could not tell if I was truly in danger, or if it was just having fun scaring me. I was glad that at the very least, it couldn't read my mind.

  I could feel myself start to crouch a little, and I was gaining some confidence. My senses all intensified at once, and I was sure that I could smell him or her.

  I couldn't believe it when I started walking toward the vampire. In my mind, I screamed at my legs to stop, but they refused to obey. I continued to walk directly toward it, as if it was the prey and I was the predator.

  When I had gone about twenty yards, I could see it smile. That infuriated me, and I wanted to attack the prideful thing.

  "Show yourself," I commanded with much more confidence than I actually felt. I was acting purely on instinct, and probably adrenaline.

  "You found me," he said, and stepped out of the bushes.

  I looked around for something that I could use as a weapon. At least I was in the woods and nearly anything could be used as a stake to drive through his heart if need be.

  "Who are you?" I demanded.

  "My name is Jordan, and you must be Alexis, the Sonnast."

  "How did you know that?" I demanded.

  "I know a lot of things," he said mysteriously. "I have to say though that I am quite impressed with your ability to track me as a transforming vampire. Most vampires going through the transformation don't have their senses so finely tuned."

  "I'm not most vampires. What are you doing out here and why are you watching me?"

  "Your cousin Clara called on me because I was in the area, and I owed her a favor."

  I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that I wasn't going to have to fight. "Some favor," I muttered. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

  He laughed. "Maybe a little. I was very curious to see how our princess is coming along. I don't know if you realize it or not, but a lot of vampires are very curious to see you. Most of us have not seen you since you were a toddler. There are a lot of rumors flying around."

  "What kind of rumors?" I asked. The last thing I needed were more rumors about me.

  "That you're alive, for one thing," he said. "For over ten years, we've all been under the impression that you were dead. Someone found you and word got to the Morettis first since they had put out the order for your death. Then after that, rumors started flying amongst all the other vampires."

  Clara came out from hiding. "I see that you found Jordan. Good job. I thought that he would have to get a lot closer to you before you could find him."

  "You didn't tell me that I would be hunting a vampire," I complained.

  "Exactly the point," she said. Then she turned to Jordan. "Thanks again for helping me out. Maybe we can go grab a bite to eat before you leave town."

  "What about tonight?" he asked her.

  "I've got to get this one back to bed. She has school in the morning."

  I felt about eight years old. "You will have school next week too, don't forget."

  "Ugh. Don't remind me, please. I hate dealing with teenage humans."

  "This bunch is especially bad. Remember what they're doing to me."

  Jordan looked confused. "What could those little weaklings do to you? You have more power than even most vampires."

  "I can't exactly go around biting into each of them," I said. "That would raise just a little suspicion."

  "Obviously," he said. "Can't you use mind control yet?"

  "Vampires can control people's minds?" I asked. "See what I mean. Nobody tells me anything."

  "Not all vampires can," Clara told me. "Many can."

  "You will definitely be able to," Jordan told me. "I don't think that there is a single vampire gift or talent that you will fail to possess."

  "I'll have to try the mind control tomorrow," I said.

  "Just be careful and start small," he said. "Get a feel for it before you try anything too big."

  "Thanks for the tip."

  The next morning, I was waiting in my car for Tanner in the school parking lot. Time was going by fast, and it was getting really close to the beginning of the first class. I really did not want to be late.

  I sighed as I considered going in alone to face the rudeness of my classmates. I figured that it would probably be even worse today after Emma had gone and trash talked me at the football practice. I really didn't want to practice mind control under those circumstances. I wanted to feel relaxed and in control when I did that. If it didn't work, I wanted to be able to come up with a quick comeback.

  I looked at the clock on the dashboard one more time before turning off my car and getting out. Just as I closed my door, Tanner pulled into the lot and parked near me. He j
umped out of his car, apologizing.

  "Alexis, I'm so sorry that I'm late. I hope that you didn't think that I had deserted you. I wouldn't do that. My brother missed his bus, and I had to drive him to school. I got here as fast as I could."

  "That was nice of you to do," I said. "Well, we'd better hurry."

  "I hope you're not mad at me," he said. "I should have texted you so that you knew what was going on. I was so frustrated with him that I didn't think about it."

  "No, I'm not mad. You don't have to walk me to my classes. I appreciate what you're doing. I just don't want to walk through those halls today. It's probably going to be worse because of what Emma did last night."

  "I hate how cruel those people can be. You're such a nice person, and you don't deserve it at all."

  We walked through the doors and up the stairs towards my locker. People stared at us, but nobody actually said anything, which was nice. I tried not to focus on anyone in particular so that I wouldn't hear someone's thoughts which would just upset me.

  When I was getting my books from my locker, someone made some comments that I didn't hear, and Tanner asked, "Do you want to repeat that to me?"

  "No, dude," was the reply.

  "Then don't talk about Alexis this way. If you do, you'll have to deal with me. Emma and Hailey are nothing but jealous liars. Hailey is still mad about not being homecoming princess. Why don't you go spread that rumor? At least you would be telling the truth."

  As I slammed my locker door, the warning bell sounded and I said, "Let's get going. I don't want you to be late for your class."

  When we were almost to my class, someone threw something at my head. I sighed and rubbed my head.

  "I saw that," Tanner yelled to a guy and ran over to him and grabbed his shirt. "You want me to throw something at you? How about a fist?"

  "Hey man. Let go of me!"

  "If you have a problem with that sweet girl over there, why don't you go over there and talk to her? Why act like an ape?"

  "Let go of me."

  "Tell her you're sorry before I break that ugly nose of yours."

  He looked me and then back at Tanner, who starting to make a fist. He looked back to me again and said, "Sorry. That won't happen again."