by Dima Zales
"I'm glad to have you back too. They kept telling me that you were going to be killed and that you were no match for them."
"They wish," I said. "I got away as soon as I could and I came for you."
"Tell me what happened."
"You really want to know, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. Tell me everything," he sat down on our makeshift bed and pulled me down on his lap.
I let out a shriek and started laughing, "You're definitely feeling better."
He pulled me close and whispered in my ear, "That's right. Now don't change the subject."
I sighed. "They drove me to a horrible building in the middle of the woods and locked me in a dungeon. They brought in a witch who cast a spell on me, taking away my ability to be in the sun. They didn't give me anything to eat or drink, but I still managed to find the energy to escape from the chains and through the wall."
"You can't go out in the sun? I thought that was an old wives tale."
"No, it's true unless you have a blessing that allows you to be in the sun. I was given that blessing at birth, but that witch took it away."
"Does that mean that I can't go into the sun, either?"
"That's right. We're both creatures of the night. For now at least, until I am able to have the blessing given to both of us."
"How did you find me if you can't go out in the sun?"
"I traveled at night. I hid during the day. I spent one day in the woods and yesterday I spent in an abandoned house. It still had electricity and food, so I was able to eat and get a shower."
"This whole thing seems so unreal. I can't believe that I'm a vampire now."
"Me neither. I'm so sorry that you got dragged into this."
He looked into my eyes. "Alexis, this is not your fault. I don't want you to blame yourself for this. I would rather go through all of this again than never to have met you."
I blushed. "Hey, give me that ring and have a drink of my blood. I'm still part human you know, and you're going through the transition."
"I don't need a ring to be in love with you."
"You won't believe how amazing it makes the blood taste and feel," I told him. "It's so much better than drinking of any other blood, even other human blood. Believe me. You've got to try it."
He gave me an unsure look.
"Hand over that ring," I told him and he gave it to me. I put it on my thumb and said with a twinkle in my eye, "Remember to stop when the flow slows down."
He leaned in, still looking unsure.
I pointed to the spot, smiling. "Right there." My heart started racing with anticipation.
He pulled back. "You're nervous."
"You can already sense that?" I asked. "You just turned."
"Your heart is very loud."
I laughed. "I believe you. Hurry up."
He laughed and then bit down into my neck. I felt an explosion of euphoria starting from my neck and quickly running through my body in every direction. The only thing that I could see was amazing show of colorful lights, and I felt like I might faint. It was a good thing that I was sitting on his lap in case I happened to pass out.
He pulled away from my neck just before I was about to faint.
"That was…wow."
"I definitely see why you were always begging me to drink your blood," I whispered. "Wow."
We looked into each other's eyes and started laughing. When we stopped laughing, he said, "That is some ring."
"It sure is. Too bad once you're done with your transformation, it will be useless."
"We'll have to make the most of it while we can," he said, and smiled. "It's like a drug."
"I feel drunk on your love," I said, twirling a strand of his hair.
"This is much better than being drunk."
"Of course it is, not that I would know from experience. But, we're drunk on our love, not some stupid drink," I told him.
"I'm so glad to have you back. I hated being apart from you and not knowing what they were doing to you. I felt so powerless as a human, but now I feel so empowered, like I could take them down."
I stopped smiling. "We might have to do just that, you know."
"They're not going away, are they?"
"Not until we do something about them. Adam and that whole group only want one thing. They want to take over the vampire kingdom. They want to rule all vampires and live in the castle, and they think that it's necessary to kill me for that to happen."
"Why you?"
"I'm next in line for the throne. I was born the princess of all vampires, and the Morettis tried to have me killed as a toddler, but I was hidden among the humans and raised as one of their own. It took the Morettis all this time to find me, and now they want me dead."
"You're a vampire princess? You were born a vampire? Why didn't I know any of this?"
I didn't respond right away. "I don't know, I guess it never came up."
He looked hurt. "How could you not tell me something so big?"
"It's all so big to me. Being a vampire is so incredibly crazy, and the princess part is no more crazy than that. It doesn't even feel real yet. I haven't even met my parents since finding out about all of this. Everyone says it's for the best, but it doesn't feel that way."
"Is there anything else that I need to know about you?"
That time I was hurt. "I don't know. Like what?"
"How would I know?" he asked, pulling me off his lap and moving away from me.
I sighed. What had gone wrong? How could things be so amazing one minute and go downhill so fast the next? Then I remembered that we were two transitioning vampires. Crazy emotions, times two.
"I'm not trying to hide anything from you," I said. "Anything that you want to know about me I will tell you. I didn't ask for any of this. A couple of months ago, I was just living my invisible life, going to school and work completely unnoticed by anyone. Then strange things started happening to me, and I found out that I was actually something that I didn't think even existed. Not only that, but I suddenly became beautiful and popular, and nobody would leave me alone. Then in almost no time at all, I went from adored to hated, which is where you came in with your kindness and friendship. We both got kidnapped because of me. It's been a huge whirlwind and a roller coaster."
"Alexis, I'm sorry. You're right. I wasn't being fair."
I looked into his eyes. "It's not your fault. We've both had a lot hidden from us. Samantha used you to get to me. She definitely didn't tell you the truth about who I was."
"No, she pretended to accidentally notice that you were going through the transformation. She knew exactly what was going on. She wanted me to go after you when she disappeared."
"Nobody told me that I was a vampire being raised by humans. I had vampires around watching me most of my life, but they kept me in the dark. Even after finding out that I was a vampire, they didn't tell me much because there hasn't been much time. Everything has been crazy, especially since my transformation got kicked into overdrive."
"Alexis, I'm really sorry about that. I was being selfish, and if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have forced you to be exposed to blood like that. I didn't know that it was your first exposure or what it would do to you. But I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I could have exposed you to everyone if you couldn't control yourself. I also could have put those guys who punched each other in danger if you had gone after them. Maybe my jerk persona was more than just an act."
"I'm not upset about that. Sorry that I keep bringing it up. It was actually a good thing. It caused me to learn more about my abilities, and if I had been exposed to blood 'properly,' I wouldn't have known how much better fresh blood is. That bagged stuff is beyond disgusting. More importantly, I would have never gotten to know you."
"So what's the deal with Cliff?" Tanner asked.
"Huh?"
"Well, you two were obviously together before the whole blood incident. He's been gone, and there was that rumor that Hailey started. What'
s the real story? You did go from him to me pretty quickly."
"Should I be offended?" I asked, scooting away from him.
"No. I'm not judging you. I just want to know the story. What's the deal with him? Is he a vampire too?"
I sighed in relief. "Yes, he's a vampire. We grew up together in the vampire castle before I was kidnapped, the first time. We met up again the night of the homecoming dance. He got mad when I told him that I had kissed you that first time, and he told me to leave his sight. That was the last that anyone has heard from him."
"Overreacting much?"
"No, he wasn't," I said, trying not to be as defensive as I felt. "He'd been waiting for me ever since I was kidnapped when I was three."
"Why do I feel like there's more to the story?"
I sighed again. "We're destined to be married and rule the vampire kingdom together for many centuries," I blurted out.
He stared at me. "You're the vampire princess and he's the prince?"
"I can't win. No matter what I do, it's wrong, and it makes someone mad. I did save your life, remember. Instead of being dead, now you're a vampire."
"So you're going to marry him?" he asked, glaring at me.
"I don't know. You've really complicated things."
"You don't know? Where has he been lately when you needed him most? Has he shown you any compassion?"
I ignored him. "I'm barely seventeen. I shouldn't have to think about this. Do you know that I had planned on never marrying?
He narrowed his eyes. "Don't evade my questions."
"There is the chance that Cliff won't want anything to do with me again. There's also the chance that I could choose you over Cliff and being a princess. My uncle made that choice, because he fell in love with a non-royal vampire. He gave up his place in the royal line, which is why my father is in that place now. They're twins, but my uncle was born first."
He gave me a funny look.
"What did I do now?" I asked, exasperated.
"Did you just say that you would consider choosing me over being a princess?"
"Yeah…."
"Really?"
"Yes."
He shook his head. "That's crazy. Do you realize that? What am I that you would throw all of that away?"
"Just a second ago, you were on my case about how Cliff hasn't been here for me. Now you're saying 'who am I?' What gives?"
"He shouldn't treat you like that and expect that you would have anything to do with him," he said. "But at the same time, I don't think that I deserve you. Who am I that you would give up being a princess?"
"What do you mean who are you? You are an amazing person…vampire. You're kind, you're giving, and you're compassionate. I have already risked my life to save you from Samantha. I put a stake in her heart for what she did to you, and I gave up my ability to be in the sun to save you."
"Wait…what? The sun thing has to do with me?"
"When the witch was getting ready to cast the spell to remove my sun blessing, Adam told me that if I didn't get in the circle to receive her spell, they would kill you. So I walked in freely."
"You did that for me?"
"Of course."
He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me. "You're truly amazing. I don't deserve you."
"You've been my only friend in a sea of obnoxious high schoolers. You threatened to punch faces for me. You walked me to my classes, getting tardies for yourself. You risked ridicule being seen with me. How can you say that you don't deserve me?"
"I also used you. I only approached you because I wanted your venom to help me with my game and for the high. Then I put you at risk by setting up those two guys to give each other bloody noses."
"You didn't know what you were doing then. That wasn't really you. Once you saw me in pain, then you allowed your true self out. Your true self is incredible and also so much fun."
"Also, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't know why you would even consider choosing Cliff over me. On top of everything else he's also a prince. Who is very obviously in love with you. I'm poor, Alexis. I have nothing to offer you."
"But you're a good person, and you have admirable qualities. Besides, feeling that way just makes you even more desirable. Nothing is more of a put off than a guy who thinks he's awesome."
"If that's the case, then I must be irresistible right now."
I turned around, gave him a squeeze and then a quick kiss. We enjoyed our embrace.
After a while, I asked, "How does your strength feel? I think that we should move on from this cave pretty soon. If we stay in one place too long, they will be able to track us."
"Maybe we want them to track us."
"What?" I wasn't sure that I heard him right.
"I feel like I could take down an army. If there's any truth to the human legend, then as a newly turned vampire, I should be at my all-time strongest."
"You really want to fight Adam and his jokers?"
"More than anything."
25
Tanner and I were making stakes in an even more remote part of the woods than the cave. He was determined to take out Adam's whole group, and so was I.
"I think we have enough stakes," I told him.
"There's no such thing as enough," he said.
"We can only hide so many in my backpack and on ourselves. We do want to be subtle. I had two on me when I got Samantha and her friend."
"We don't know how many of them there are."
"I already took care of two of them, and there were five plus Adam when they took us from that park. The two that Adam had watching me while he was gone aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. If the witch is still there, we're still only looking at five."
"Do you know how to kill a witch?" he asked. "She's obviously got some powers if she was able to remove your sun blessing."
"I don't know. But I'm sure we can figure it out if she's there. I'm pretty sure that these stakes won't help."
He smiled and gave me a kiss. "You're cute when you're irritated."
I tried not to laugh and gave him a shove. "Let's go see what you've got."
"What do you mean?"
"We're going to go find something for you to hunt, and get an idea for you what you have in you."
He gave me a funny look.
"Look, I'm not going to go marching into battle if I don't know what you're capable of. I'm not losing you again. It's not happening."
He curled his lip. "Thanks for the outstanding vote of confidence."
"Prove me wrong."
He stood up. "Let's go."
At least I had got him to stop making stakes. "Follow me," I said. I started walking and listening for an animal for him to hunt. After only a minute, I heard, very faintly, footsteps and a heartbeat. It sounded like a mountain lion.
"Do you hear that?" he asked.
"You can hear that?" I asked. "You pick this up fast. Maybe it's because you've already died. You're going to fly through the transformation. Let's go."
He ran in the direction of the animal, and I almost didn't see him. I shook my head in disbelief and went after him. He darted quickly through the trees and bushes, moving silently. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that he had been a vampire for a long time.
When he saw the mountain lion, he paused and let it sense his presence. He let it run a little and gave it a good chase before jumping on it and killing it instantly.
He turned around and asked, giving me a bow, "How was that, my lady?"
I smiled. "Very impressive. Now let's dig in."
Once the sun was starting to set, we headed for the edge of the woods.
"I need to get my bearings and figure out how to get back to that building to see if Adam is still there or if we need to track him. Keep a watch."
I closed my eyes and let my mind create a mental map of where I had come from. I looked for any other routes that would be more efficient. When I opened my eyes, it was completely dark.
"Do you kno
w where we're going now?" Tanner asked.
"Yes, and I have a quicker route for us to take. We're going to run as far and as fast as we can while avoiding populated areas as much as possible. We should be able to run past people completely unnoticed, but I don't want to take any chances. If you need to stop, let me know. We can rest whenever either of us needs to."
"I'm fine."
"You were dead this morning. I don't want to take any chances."
"Okay," he said. "Let's get going. I'm anxious to take them down. I need to make them pay for what they did to you."
"Let's go." I ran out of the woods and followed the map in my mind. It took us less than a half an hour to reach the woods that I had escaped from not too long ago. "Are you good?" I asked.
"Never better," he said with an arrogant but playful grin.
"We're not too far from the building. We need a game plan. Do we rest up and attack in the daylight or do we go now?"
"I don't want to rest," he said. "I am too anxious to get this done. I wouldn't be able to rest if I tried."
"I believe that," I said with a laugh. He looked as though he was about to explode with anxious energy. "I think we ought to drink a bit of each other's blood. That should give us the energy that we need. We're both transforming and have part human blood, and human blood is what gives us the most strength."
He smiled. "That sounds wonderful to me."
"Let's find a secluded place."
"I'd like that even better."
"Over there," I said, and we ran to a section of trees in a nice, secluded little glade. We took turns drinking each other's blood, and it was so intoxicating that we had to work to focus on our mission.
"After we take out Adam and his group, I want you in my arms all night…er, all day," he told me.
I smiled at him. "It's a deal."
We stepped out of the trees and breathed in the fresh forest air, letting our heads clear.
"You lead the way," he said.
It was easy for me to remember where that horrible building was. I could also smell the rancid vampires, so I knew that they were either still there or had left very recently, making it easy to track them.