by Kristen Reed
“In other words, my faith may be the cause.”
“Yes, but this begs the question: Did you find the blood repulsive because it was from a human, not fresh, or for some other reason?”
“Let me guess … You want to test this theory on Connor.”
“He is the only human who would willingly give you fresh blood,” Augustus pointed out. “After all, he did offer to be your personal slave if you weren’t able to escape the coven.”
“I know, but he’s already been through a lot. I don’t want to add to his pain.”
“What’s one more bite if it’s from a friend and done with his well-informed consent?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will you at least ask him?”
“I’ll think about it,” I sighed, “but if he says no we’ll have to figure this out another way. Okay?”
“As you wish.”
I took out my phone and texted Connor that we would be over shortly before giving Augustus his address. Then, we were on our way to what would surely be the most awkward visit of my life.
♦ ♦ ♦
When Augustus and I arrived at the Lakewood area house Connor shared with three guys from his community group, the man of the hour answered the door before we could even knock.
“Come in,” he whispered. “Everyone else is watching a movie in the living room.”
We crept into the house and followed Connor upstairs to his room. The moment I stepped inside, I made a quick survey of my surroundings. A combination of framed movie posters, album covers, and pictures of his family covered his eggshell white walls and gave the room some character. A few trophies sat atop the bookshelf by his window, which also held books by everyone from C. S. Lewis to Joseph Heller. There were also a few old textbooks from his college years. Either he’d forgotten to sell them back after his classes ended or he had a secret fascination with calculus and anthropology.
Connor had neatly made his twin-sized bed with a hunter green comforter and a matching sham adorned one of his pillows, but there were no other embellishments on the modest bed. The only other places to sit in the room were the chair by his desk and a wooden chair that I suspected he’d dragged in from another room. I claimed the swiveling desk chair, Augustus sat in the borrowed one, and Connor plopped down on his bed. A few beats of nothingness passed between us before Connor broke the silence, talking a bit faster than usual as his nerves surfaced.
“Thanks for helping me out. I know this is probably pretty weird for you, but I’m really grateful.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” I warned. “I need your help with something else first.”
“Okay. What do you need?”
I tried to think of a delicate way to explain my predicament, but there was nothing delicate about asking to bite your traumatized friend’s neck and drink his blood.
“I … Never mind. We’re going to—”
“Clara and I went out for her first hunt tonight, and we ran into a bit of a snag,” Augustus interrupted. “When she tried to drink human blood, she couldn’t stomach it. Now, we need to find out if she truly has an aversion to human blood. Will you help us?”
I glared at Augustus and opened my mouth to shut him down. Much to my surprise, Connor spoke before I could say a word.
“If you need to drink my blood, go ahead. Letting you have a few sips is the least I can do after you got me home alright.”
“You really don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”
“Why make things harder on yourself when I’m willing to help?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I know what I’m getting myself into.”
I searched Connor’s hazel eyes for any reservations or uncertainty. When I found none, I said, “Can you please close your eyes?”
Connor did as I requested and I moved from my chair to the bed. As I leaned in and bit his neck, I was acutely aware that Augustus, who I wasn’t terribly happy with, sat a few feet away and that Connor’s roommates were right below us. Suddenly, I was the nervous one. Well … nervous and nauseated because I had the same retch-inducing reaction to his caustic blood that I’d had at the park. Thankfully, I’d only swallowed a mouthful before the revulsion rolled over me.
Darting to the desk, I grabbed a few tissues and wiped my mouth. I couldn’t even bring myself to lick the last of his blood from my lips.
“He tastes just as bad as the blood from the food truck,” I said. “No offense, Connor.”
“None taken. It’s actually kind of comforting that you didn’t enjoy it.”
“Let’s see if you’re able to stomach my blood when I drop you off,” Augustus suggested. “In the meantime, you can exercise your new skills by granting your friend’s request.”
I nodded and turned back to Connor.
“Do you still want me to alter your memories?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay,” I breathed hesitantly. “Just look into my eyes. If everything goes as planned, you won’t even remember that you saw me tonight.”
When my eyes darkened and my fangs extended as they had on the plane, Connor jumped slightly. I knew my new appearance wasn’t exactly comforting, but seeing his wide-eyed dread broke my heart a little.
“Holy crap,” he whispered, clearly fighting the urge to bolt as he stayed glued to the wall.
“You’re still lucid,” I observed.
“Yeah.”
I looked at Augustus and saw that he’d undergone the same spooky transformation.
“Connor,” he said.
My friend turned and recoiled when he made eye contact with the other vampire. Upon realizing that Connor was also unaffected by his gaze, Augustus returned to his normal appearance and I did the same.
“I’m sorry Connor, but neither of us will be able to help you tonight … or ever for that matter,” Augustus said.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re immune to our powers. That’s likely the reason Marie had such a difficult time forcing you to submit on the island and why you still remember the torment you endured at her hands,” he answered.
“Why would he be immune,” I asked. “If he was a dhampir, he would’ve been in the same predicament as me.”
“Yes, but you both share an unusual trait that may account for these anomalies,” Augustus pointed out. “You attributed your freedom from the sire bond to your faith and that may also explain his immunity to vampire manipulation.”
“Has this ever happened with anyone else before Connor?”
“It has. However, most vampires don’t spend enough time around their victims to know intimate details about their beliefs. When they realize that a human can’t be controlled, they either leave them be without taking a drink or kill them to cover their tracks.”
“Is this something you have to tell The Vampire League about?”
“No, there’s no need to involve them or anyone else as long as this stays between the three of us.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“If this is really happening because we’re Christians, there’s at least one more person who remembers what happened on the island.”
“Leah,” Connor realized. “Have you heard from her?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Maybe she just needs some time to herself.”
“Considering what she went through, the last thing she needs is to be alone, but I doubt she’d want to talk to me after the way we left things.”
“Then I’ll give her a call tonight and feel her out. Whether she’s mad at you or not, we know what she’s been through, and we can try to help her.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “I should call Leah myself though. I need to make things right with her.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Connor agreed with a nod.
“Well, Augustus and I should probably head out. I need to reach out to Leah and figure out how I can get somethin
g to drink tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll walk you guys out.”
The three of us got up and stepped out of Connor’s room. As we walked downstairs and the noise and chatter of his roommates’ movie watching grew louder, part of me envied them. While they knew that Connor needed support and healing after his ordeal, they were completely oblivious to the dark corner of the world that Emmanuel had forcibly immersed us in. Thankfully, we hadn’t been alone in the shadows and we knew now more than ever that the light was infinitely more powerful than the darkness.
♦ ♦ ♦
When Augustus and I arrived back at my apartment, I took a moment to watch him as he removed the leather jacket he’d been wearing, set his keys on my coffee table, and sat down on my couch. Even though the fiery-haired vampire had been in my home the previous night, I’d been too distracted by my homecoming to focus on him. Seeing Augustus in the place where I’d hosted so many movie nights, Bible studies, and sleepovers should have seemed strange. Instead, he looked like he belonged.
Despite the annoyance I’d felt at Connor’s house, I began to wonder how he would fit into other aspects of my life. Would he like the same restaurants and hangouts that I did? Would he enjoy the same movies? Would he get along with my friends? Did I want him to?
The question isn’t if I want him in my life … It’s whether I should want him in it. Even if he perfectly blended into my life here, the fact that we don’t share the same beliefs and that I already have feelings for him means that I can only let him in so far. Just because I’ve changed my diet and gained a longer lifespan doesn’t mean I should throw the standards I’ve developed out the window … even if no one will ever meet them.
I pushed those thoughts out of my head and sat beside Augustus with a couple of feet between us. Whether I would allow him to be an integral part of my life or just have him as a supernatural acquaintance, he was my maker. He also served as my only link to the vampire world, and I needed him for the foreseeable future.
“Shall we try again,” he asked.
“Sure.”
Even though I wasn’t eager to risk consuming another round of vomit inducing blood, I scooted over, leaned in, and bit his neck. I expected his blood to hit me over the head with the disgusting flavor I’d been subjected to twice that night, but I was pleasantly surprised by the same bittersweet taste that I’d experienced on the plane. Though my throat burned slightly, it was the familiar tingle I associated with taking a shot of top shelf vodka instead of the scorching heat human blood gave me. The galvanizing euphoria that his blood brought was greater than any buzz an alcoholic beverage could give. Fortunately, it didn’t reduce me to a hot drunken mess. If anything, it removed all of the clutter from my mind, so I could think more clearly.
Once I had my fill, I pulled away, sank into the couch, and I relished in how physically relaxed yet mentally alert I felt.
“Unless tonight has been some strange stroke of bad luck, it seems as if you can only drink vampire blood,” Augustus said. “I suppose I should be surprised by this latest development, but I think I’ve come to expect the unexpected with you as a vampire.”
“How am I going to find vampires here and convince them to let me drink from them? Is there a food truck for that too,” I joked weakly.
“Your life would be forfeit if the league found out that you’re drinking from vampires, so we need to keep this between us,” he decided. “I’m going to relocate to Dallas. That way you can have someone you can trust to feed from.”
“Permanently?”
“Yes, I will stay here until you move on and remain by your side when you do. There are very few vampires I trust to be your donor and to keep silent about your unusual diet. Even then, I’m not fond of you experiencing that kind of closeness with another vampire.”
I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair as I mulled over the prospect of Augustus moving to Dallas and being my sole source of nourishment. It wasn’t ideal, but the alternatives weren’t great. I could either starve because I didn’t know any trustworthy vampires in the area or risk exposing myself to The Vampire League by mistakenly trusting the one or two I might find lurking about with my secret. While I was already aware of Augustus’ territorial attitude toward me, I could actually see the wisdom in keeping my unusual nature between the two of us. However, that constant intimacy and isolation would end up being more trouble than good …
“Well, I don’t want to make getting cozy with you a habit either. I know I haven’t gotten hot and bothered during my feedings so far, but I can’t keep putting myself in compromising positions with you,” I decided. “We’ll have to figure out a way for me to feed that doesn’t involve us getting up close and personal alone in my apartment every night.”
“If you insist.”
“I do,” I confirmed. “What about your position with The Vampire League?”
“I can work from anywhere. There may be times when I have to travel for work, but we can cross those bridges as they come.”
Several moments of contemplative silence passed before Augustus spoke again.
“As I’ve said before, I will respect the restrictions you’ve placed on our relationship, but I’d like you to keep an open mind about the two of us,” he began. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever believe as fully or deeply as you and Connor do, but I’d be a fool not to learn more about the god you follow after everything I’ve witnessed. If he can overturn the sire bond, make humans immune to supernatural manipulation, and change your appetite for blood, he definitely sounds like a god worth investigating.”
I gaped at Augustus for a moment as hope and joy burgeoned in my heart. Despite the fact that he hadn’t placed his trust in God and Christ yet, Augustus becoming willing to explore the truths that had literally saved my life was monumental. Augustus having even a fraction of a change of heart after centuries of unbelief meant that the same might be possible for other vampires. It didn’t change how I felt about my situation with him, but it changed my outlook about the future … and the not so distant past.
Maybe the humans weren’t the only ones who needed saving.
“Clara?”
I squared my shoulders and met Augustus’ troubled green gaze as I buried the remorse that had begun to burgeon in my heart.
“Are you alright?”
“Do you really mean what you just said,” I evaded.
“About exploring your religion or about moving?”
“All of it.”
“I’m absolutely positive.”
“Okay,” I sighed. “This could be really good.”
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “It could.”
Before we could continue our conversation, there was a knock at the door and I hopped up.
“Let me get that.”
“Are you expecting someone?”
“No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of my other friends was checking in on me.”
I shot to the foyer much as I had earlier that evening and took a deep breath before opening the door to greet my visitor. The instant I saw who was at the door, I crushed the poor, innocent doorknob with my untested strength and my pulse pounded. Augustus must have heard the crunch of metal and my racing heart because he was in the entryway, pulling me behind him and glowering at my unannounced guest with blackened eyes and extended fangs before I could even call his name.
“You don’t look very happy to see me,” Leah complained.
“It’s not you they’re unhappy with,” Emmanuel consoled as he dropped a seemingly comforting kiss on her hand, which he’d been holding since I opened the door. “Trust me.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen Reed, a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, is an artist, filmmaker, and author from Dallas, Texas. As a Christian, her faith influences her writing and is the driving force in her life.
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