by Alice Sweet
She was trying very hard to focus on him, and the feelings that she had felt in the coffee shop, in hopes of recalling the vision. When the words, kiss me but only if you want to, flashed in her mind again and her face scrunched up at the words and she tightened up as her heartbeat increased for a moment before evening out again. To her increasing frustration with the situation, she could not get it to speed up enough to trigger a vision. He was just too strong; all her mind could think about was the last look in his eyes and how good his chest felt under her fingers. Her mind was pulling in two different directions causing a mind numbing equilibrium that stretched on… forever. His smile and his beautiful face, it was too late, probably wouldn’t have a vision for days now, she thought bitterly.
She looked up at him and smacked his chest suddenly, though he barely seemed to register. She withdrew her body, irritated, “I can’t do it with you here, you are too unsettling, you block it or something.”
He seemed completely confused now, “What?”
She huffed, furious with herself for her bodies reaction in spite of her vision, “Nothing, walk me home.” He was about to continue the prodding, but he stopped short. His eyes suddenly darted around the walkways, narrowing in upon a man standing across the street.
He seemed harmless enough just watching the two of them or so Autumn thought, but Ivan instructed suddenly tense, “Go on ahead I will catch up.” Autumn, confused and frustrated, watched nonplussed as Ivan headed across the street, leaving her alone, without another word.
Autumn continued up the sidewalk and glanced back over her shoulder at Ivan’s backside. He walked slowly and confidently striding towards the man with an air that suggested annoyance. A completely insane turn of events and for her a bit of luck given the circumstances and making no mistakes she turned around, glancing up again to say, Thank you as her pace quickened. As her thoughts flittered, frantically scrambling to come up with a plan, A few more blocks and then hail a taxi, she thought. Maybe even change taxis’s a few times, before finally heading for home, then leave town.
The world shifted again, and the sidewalk ahead of her filled suddenly with smoke and a familiar sight appeared before her again. A vision, of the burning man, rushed out to meet her and she gripped her chest, startled by the intensity of the unexpected sight. His head completely engulfed in flames, his face distorted, making him unrecognizable. He came running towards her screaming, blood curdling agony, intermingled with a eerily creature like quality which set her mind on edge.
Shockingly, the man began tearing at his skin, trying to throw the flames off of him, along with bits of burnt flesh. The feeling of searing heat and smell the burnt hair faded away, along with the apparition, leaving her alone on the deserted sidewalk once more. Again the world shifted sending her head spinning, cursing as she tried to steady herself on the nearest street sign.
When the fog finally cleared, her eyes found Ivan in the distance. He was already standing in front of the man who had been eyeing them, talking to him intently.
Silent Bond
Autumn turned and began walking a little faster, but surprisingly, her mind was not focused on trying to escape now. The burning man flashed before her every time the thought pushed its way to the surface again. After a few more strides, her mind jumped at the next available line, who was that? Her inner voice answered her first question, instead of her second suddenly more pressing question, Ivan is not a danger. Relief flooded her senses quickly followed by tightness in her chest, Could that be true? Hadn’t her vision just warned her that he would jump across the table and rip her throat out if she told him that she knew what he truly was? Had his intentions changed that quickly? No, had that man changed it somehow?
Something was wrong. She knew she could feel it. Autumn frowned to herself as her pace began to slow. Ivan had zoned in on him so quickly. It made her anxious and she replayed the look in his eyes just seconds ago. He had been angry, and what else? Her mind began to wonder, why had the man been surprised by Ivan approaching him? Then another part of her mind answered, Ivan did not know him. Autumn stopped, why had Ivan been angry with a stranger then? Something was definitely wrong with that picture.
Was that man following them? She had not noticed, but then she had not noticed much of anything since she met him. If he had been following them that would be understandable. That also meant that either the first choice, he knew that Ivan was a vampire and was following him. Or the other choice, that the man was just being an idiot and he caught a vampire attempting to get a bite to eat. So what then? No witnesses? If that were true, wouldn’t all of the witnesses from the coffee shop also worry him in her vision?
She shook her head; no even, she knew that was a bit far fetched. Besides her gut told her Ivan was no longer a danger to her, and she passed touching her chest. Was that the truth? Was the blood lusting creature no longer a threat to her? Nothing… no danger meters going off at the moment…and she knew better than to doubt that feeling.
So that just left option one, that man was following them on purpose. Perhaps Ivan would simply make fast work of him and return to her side, to finish whatever he had planned for her…. There was also another possibility. That the man was part of a larger organization, one who caught and killed his kind. Ivan had seemed so convinced in her vision that she worked for someone. Did he suspect that someone was out to get him? Was that why she had had the vision, to let her know what he was? If he was not a danger to her now then was he in danger? If today had taught her anything, it taught her that anything could happen now.
Her mind shook, no he is strong, and fast and strong. He should be able to take care of himself, even against multiple attackers. The only thing that continued to nag her was the dream, and now that vision. That burning man, had asked her to kiss him and she had not. Now he was alone with a stranger and all her mind could focus on was the fear that she had just made a mistake.
He could be in real trouble right now. What if they were kidnapping him and planned to burn him alive once the sun rose or something. Could someone do that? She was not familiar with all of the things that could hurt him. What if it were something simple like holy water or crosses or a virgins blood or something. Damn she was going to have a lot of questions before the night was out.
A taxi flew towards her then and Autumn held her hand up and it slowed to a halt next to her. She looked back down the road behind her as she reached for the door handle. Then somewhere in the night she heard a strangled cry that stopped in her tracks. She cursed under her breath and smacked the window sending it speeding off back down the road, cursing again.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a can of mace, for just these occasions. Ha, just these occasions, what when her vampire killer was going to be slaughtered and his dinner saved him? Damn I should have just kissed him, then I could have cleared my conscious and I would not be in this mess.
She cursed to herself a second time and turned back around heading to where the sound had come from. Back to Ivan, and her heart rate tripled, as a thought flashed in her mind. What if he were hurt? The image of Ivan burning squeezed itself inside of her head so swiftly that her chest tightened. Hand to her chest, she increased her pace until she was running, pushing herself a bit harder, so fast that her chest burned with the effort. Then only problem with that was that her heart was so loud now that it became all that she could hear, by the time she arrived back at her starting point.
Then it skipped a beat, as she crossed the road to the spot that two men had been standing moments earlier, and they were now gone. Where had they gone? A noise came from the alley up ahead of her and to her surprise, she headed straight for it. She held the mace in her right hand, and made her way to the darkened alley. Once there, she found herself gripping her bag tighter as she peered into the alley, looking for any sign of her theory at work.
Up ahead, she could hear something, but nothing definite, and she pushed herself forward in spite of her fear, the stupid sound o
f her own heartbeat still reminding her just how stupid she was being at the moment. Then she nearly tripped on something lying in the alley, and cursed. The shuffling noise ahead in the alley did not cease, and she noted, it was originating from a single spot. She strained her neck, stepping over whatever was on the ground but she could not see anything. Slowly, she crept further into the dark, listening for any sounds aside from the ones coming from behind the dumpster ahead.
As she moved closer though, the lighting actually became worse and she nearly tripped over something else, something solid. She cursed again, realizing that now she could barely see two feet in front of her. Suddenly, the noises stopped abruptly and a single shape stepped out of the darkness.
It moved slowly towards her, and for the first time she felt calmness come over her unlike any she had ever felt before. She called out, “Ivan?” The silence that followed turned her skin cold and she no longer felt connected to her body, just as she had in her dreams. Suddenly the darkness of the space was no longer a problem, and her heartbeat slowed to an easy trot in her chest.
Seconds later, Ivan appeared before her, his face half covered in shadow. Autumn smiled and spoke strained as relief finally filled it, “God you had me so worried!” He did not respond to her question, so she added a little more gently, “Are you alright?”
His voice came out strange and raspy, “I told you to keep walking.” As he spoke, he walked towards her with a different gait in his step, almost a hunched walk. Her mind did not register the change, but her body seemed to understand the danger and stayed in its new reserved state. Then her knees bent slightly anticipating an attack from her newest mistake.
She noted that his jacket and gloves were now gone and wondered if that had been what she had tripped over as she had entered the dark alley. Ivan’s hair was tussled and he had some dark droplets on his neck. Luckily, for him though not a drop had managed to get onto his white collared shirt. She smiled thinking to herself, it had been perfectly tailored to accentuate his statuesque figure. Then she swore in her head, her hormones were now making it difficult for her to concentrate on the problem at hand; as she noticed that his eyes were still jet black. Something that should have shaken her, had she not already seen him, inches from her face in the coffee shop. Autumn tried as hard as she could, not to alarm him, she did not want to start that chain reaction again.
As he approached, her legs began moving, slowly receding back to the safety of the well lit street. Her step was considerably smaller than his was though and he quickly closed the distance between them. She stared up at him studying his face while he stared back studying hers. His mind was tugging at him, remember, he blinked and his mind began working again. He tightened thinking of Autumn touching his chest again, and like a charm his heart began beating again.
The beating sent white-hot blood searing back through his veins. He felt the vessels expanding with the warmth, spreading the life back into his body. It was not until he was able to calm himself that he finally noticed a change in Autumn and immediately asked, “Are you alright?”
Autumn seemed put-off by the question and replied quickly, “Yes I am fine. You’re the one who’s gone native.” A low growl escaped his lip, in spite of his best efforts to remain calm, causing Autumn to tense up again. Although instead of running, her legs spread again as if expecting an attack and he watched in amazement as her eyes began to dilate again. They dilated as any humans would have, but there was something else there, something dying to get out. He shifted in his skin and small smile formed on his lips and watched as her posture changed matching his. Suddenly a thought crept into his head; she was going to be a great hunter.
He refocused his efforts, a concerned look sneaking on to his face, “You look pale.”
She replied confidently, “I am fine. Are you alright?”
He nodded his head yes, and asked again, “Are you sure?” She winced a little and her posture changed as she squared her shoulders. He noticed though that in spite of the light now available at the opening of the alley that her eyes still dilated. He found this more exciting that he thought possible given the circumstances.
She meanwhile, watched as his pupils receded and the color returned to his cheeks, much as they had been when they first met. Ivan watched as she calmed in response to him, and he found that strangely alluring as well, so he focused on slowing his breathing. When she seemed satisfied with his progress, she let her eyes leave his, reaching into her bag. She put away the can of mace and fished around, returning with a handkerchief.
Then she said softly handing it to him, “Here take this, you have some of him on your neck.”
He froze realizing then that she knew too much. He continued to stare at her debating something or at least Autumn thought that he was, before Ivan asked a completely different question, “Are you alright with this?” He gestured toward the dead man behind him. She shrugged noncommittal like, as his stomach lurched. She was afraid of him.
He could not bare the thought of hurting her, and apparently anyone else for that matter. He thought about the dead man lying next to the dumpster that he had left in the alley behind them, the beginning and end of his troubles. That one had simply whispered, “Tonight my lovely,” and the rage that had filled him to the brim had spilled over in front of her. How could he have made such a mistake? Was the fire addling his brain so quickly? And why had she come back to the alley? Most importantly, why had she not run away once she realized what he had done?
The man had confessed to him about the entire room full of woman that he had managed to kill. A collection, and had Ivan not been there Autumn would have been his next trophy. Though he thought, she might have been able to take him given her heightened reactive abilities. Suddenly he was angry with the world, and he cursed inside himself again.
She was going to become one of them, and she would have to be turned by someone. Especially since he knew that he had extinguished that possibility for himself, she would not kiss a killer. Her body’s reaction had said as much, she knew he was dangerous, and her noncommittal repose to her findings reaffirmed his theory. She was probably planning the fastest way out of the situation, maybe waiting to run once she was in a crowd or he became distracted. For once, he was glad that she could not get away, she would not out run him and he would never be distracted, not now.
His mind began racing with possible candidates as he reached out with a steady hand for the napkin and swiped it quicker than she thought possible. His mind continued moving through the list and his heart began to feel sluggishly disturbed. Henry, No, Finnegan, No, Drake No, No, he just could not imagine any of them ending their night any better than he had. Besides the fact that his judgment was clouded, he admitted, he still did not want any of them to touch her. His skin crawled at that thought. No, he would have to contact Serena and let her know that he had mussed it up, so that she could pick someone out for her instead.
She watched as he wiped the blood spots from his neck. His eyes, never leaving her face. Eventually his body returned completely back to its normal state, and he handed the napkin back to her without thinking. She placed it back into her purse, making a mental note to burn it later. He did not move though, as if he were waiting for her to speak.
Waiting patiently to be dismissed from her presence, though cast out might have been more appropriate, given the feeling of dread that swam around in his head. Autumn felt it, deep down, as if remembering the connection that they had from her vision, as her inner voice even uttered the words, he is waiting for you. He looked so pitiful, staring at her with a look of defeat on his face. His heart was thumping a low sorrowful beat, as he waited for her to speak the words that he knew were coming. I should get going…
Then she did something that he dared not wish for. She simply slid her hand out and said sweetly, “Shall we?” He slid his now bare hand into hers and followed her out of the alley, on to the brightly lit streets of the sidewalk. He was completely mesmerized by her reaction;
with his hand on fire he followed her willingly, anywhere she wanted, as long as she did not let go.
Finally asking the one question that was dying to be answered, without skipping a step, “Why him?” He stopped and stared at her though he did not release her. Autumn cocked her head and repeated her question, mistakenly believing that he had not heard her, repeating, “So why him?”
He stared back at her, choosing his words carefully, “He was a...dangerous man.” She took his words in stride, nodding her head as if the matter was now settled. About to tug him along again when she stopped herself and asked confused, and slightly alarmed, as his words finally sunk in, “Why didn’t I see that coming?” He looked confused, but she continued half explaining, “He interrupted us before, when I told you that I had something to tell you.” He nodded, and she added hesitantly, “Well my dreams have become a little more... intense since I began dreaming of being ...chased.” She shrugged trying not to keep her emotions in check, and looked at him, watching him watch her.
She stammered, seeing his gaze, struggling to explain, “They have been almost...it’s like I can see...the future.” His eyebrow rose and she finished her explanation with, “Well not like a true mystic, it’s different, and I can only see my future, mostly dangers that I need to avoid.” He remained silent, watching her, a new alarm in his eyes. She looked around and saw that they were still alone, adding in almost a whisper, “Why didn’t I see him though? I saw you coming but not him.” Then more to her than to him, “Maybe it was because you were here with me.” He recoiled at her words taking his burning hand with him for the first time. She shook her head and clarified, “No I mean either you are blocking my ability, or I was not in danger since you were there…. to protect me.” She smiled a shy smile at the last bit, not hiding her pleasure at the thought.