Clarity: A Young Adult Paranormal Vampire Romance (Blood Haze Book 4)

by Tara Shuler

“Alright, fair point,” Liam agreed reluctantly. “I’m just tired of being cooped up indoors, and the sun is going to set soon. I bet it smells so good out there right now.”

  It had been so long since I was able to enjoy fresh air and just revel in the beauty of nature. I felt a pang of longing settling in my heart, and I wished I were home in my mother’s garden. I could almost smell her roses.

  “Alice?” Liam’s voiced called me from my daydream.

  “Sorry, I was just wishing we could go outside,” I said somberly.

  “Then let’s just go,” Liam said. “We’ll stick close to the building. I’m dying for some fresh air!”

  “Me, too,” I admitted.

  “Alexi will be busy with trying to reach that priest in Rome…” Liam said temptingly.

  “Oh, what the hell,” I shrugged. With a twinkle in my eye and a sly grin, I said, “Race you!”

  Liam and I took off in a flash, laughing merrily and trying to beat each other to the back door. We both slammed against it at the same time and shouted, “Tie!” Then we burst into the back yard breathless and full of glee.

  I breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the outdoors. The sun was sinking, and the afternoon air was starting to cool. It was nearing fall, my favorite time of the year. It had been so long since I’d just stopped to enjoy the simple things of life. I’d been so wrapped up in drama and fear, training and marriage, and all of the things that took up all my time.

  Suddenly I shrieked as a blast of water interrupted my silent reverie. Holding my hands out to fruitlessly shield myself, I heard Liam’s laughter bellowing, and I peeked through the gushing water to see him at the end of a garden hose, which he had trained carefully on my face.

  “You!” I shouted, my face red with giddy excitement. I felt like a kid again.

  He threw down the water hose and began to run toward me. I tried to dodge him, but I managed to trip over my own feet and he tackled me, pinning me to the ground. We were both laughing like idiots.

  “Ahem!”

  We both froze and turned our heads meekly toward the sound of Alexi clearing his throat as he stood in the doorway with his arms folded. I pursed my lips together, but a snicker still managed to blurt out of my nose, which caused Liam to snort, and soon we were both dissolving into fits of laughter while Alexi looked on like a chastising mother.

  “Is this really necessary?” Alexi asked.

  “Come on, Brother,” Liam groaned, taking a deep breath to quell his laughter for a moment, “we needed some fresh air! Some might do you some good, too!”

  “Yeah, come on!” I agreed, waving Alexi over.

  Alexi stood rigidly. I must have momentarily lost my mind, because I lunged toward the water hose and clutched it, rolling onto my back and shooting a jet of water right at Alexi’s face. The move was like some kind of clumsy, amateur action hero thing, and I must have looked like a deranged lunatic.

  Aside from closing his eyes, Alexi was unmoved. He left his eyes closed for a few moments as he absorbed what had just happened. His white hair dripped sadly, and he looked like a waterlogged cat… miserable.

  Liam was lying on the ground with his mouth agape, unable to believe what I’d just done. Whatever possessed me to think I could get Alexi to join in our little party, I don’t know. Never once had I seen him behave in any type of silly or joking manner. Now, I felt completely stupid.

  “Sorry,” I muttered timidly.

  Alexi sighed and wiped water from his eyes. Then he just blinked helplessly as though I’d slapped him.

  “What, exactly, was that for?” Alexi asked.

  “I was just trying to get you to loosen up… have some fun!” I said.

  “And that was the way you hoped to accomplish it?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what I was thinking,” I mumbled dejectedly.

  “Nor do I,” Alexi agreed.

  “She’s right though, you know,” Liam said. “You do need to loosen up.”

  “I hardly think this is the time or the place,” Alexi said. “You have both put yourselves in grave danger.”

  “Seriously? ‘Grave danger?’ We just came outside for some air! We thought it would be nice to train outside for a change!” Liam argued. “The compound is heavily guarded. We have high walls. We…”

  “And you think any of this is enough against a madman with an army of wraiths fighting for him?” Alexi interrupted sharply.

  “I guess we weren’t thinking,” Liam said.

  “Clearly,” Alexi agreed glumly.

  Liam got to his feet and extended a hand to me, and I took it. He pulled me up and we brushed ourselves free of grass and leaves and allowed ourselves to be herded like schoolchildren caught in the act of horseplay, our heads hung in shame.

  Alexi allowed the door to slam behind us, and Liam and I both jumped involuntarily.

  “While the two of you were busy with your childish antics,” Alexi said as we followed him down the corridor, “I spoke with Father Franco, our new friend in Rome, and I told him what we believe Dmitri is planning.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “He concurs with our assessment,” Alexi answered. “He said it sounds like the only thing that makes sense to him. Thus, we have a new problem.”

  “What?” Liam asked.

  “How do we stop him?” Alexi said. “He is a madman who has nothing to lose. He has already lost the only thing he ever held dear. There is little more dangerous in this world than that.”

  “Didn’t Father Franco have any ideas?” I asked.

  “Not at this time, but he is researching as we speak, and he promised to call as soon as he discovers anything that might help,” Alexi said.

  “So we’re fighting blind,” Liam said bluntly.

  “Basically,” Alexi admitted.

  “How can we protect Alice when we don’t even know what we’re up against?” Liam asked, an edge of anxiety in his voice.

  “Do not panic, Brother,” Alexi said. “We will think of something. I have faith in Father Franco, and in both of you.”

  Liam raised an eyebrow at me. We were both thinking the same thing… that it was rare that Alexi openly admitted he had any faith in either of us. It wasn’t unheard of, but it was rare enough to be jarring.

  “I think the two of you need to get some rest,” Alexi said. “You must not push yourselves to the point of exhaustion, for if Dmitri mounted a surprise attack, you would be too weak to defend yourselves.”

  “Point taken,” Liam said.

  “I must admit I’m aching all over,” I added.

  “Rest, my love,” Alexi told me. “I will follow to watch over you.”

  Alexi wrapped an arm around me and escorted me upstairs to bed, where he pulled back the covers for me. Too weak even to undress, I plopped my shoes off into the floor and crawled into the downy comfort.

  He pulled the blankets over me and tucked me in neatly, kissing my forehead in that tender way he always did. Then he sat in a chair in the corner to keep vigil.

  “You’re not coming to bed?” I asked.

  “Not yet, darling,” he said. “I will shortly.”

  Too tired to argue, my eyelids sagged and soon I was deep asleep.

  Chapter Three

  Cold. So cold. The world was a wall of white, swirling snow. I could see nothing in front of me, nothing around me. My heart pounded erratically, jumping into my throat. I gulped to clear the lump, but it refused to budge.

  “Alexi!” I called, but my voice was lost in the deafening howl of wind. I tasted the familiar flavor of snow as it was driven into my mouth, nearly choking me.

  I tried to trudge forward against the frigid wall of snow and ice, but I was rooted. The wind was too powerful to fight against. It threatened to sweep me from my feet and push me into oblivion.

  “Alexi!” I called again, but the roar of wind filled my own ears so that even I barely heard myself.

  What was that? My heart thudded at the sight of black. Black.
Formless. Gaseous. No. Please, no!

  There it was again, the deepest black against the wall of white. A wraith!

  There was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. I was certain the wraith could see my every move, but I could not see it. Despite the bitter cold, sweat erupted on my forehead. Another brief flash of black crossed my field of vision.

  I gasped and sat up with a start, screaming. Alexi swept to my side and wrapped me in his arms.

  “Cold!” I cried, sobbing into his shoulder. “Wraith! I couldn’t find you! I was lost. It was so cold!”

  “There, there,” he said soothingly, rocking me gently. “You are safe, darling. I will let no harm come to you.”

  The dream had been so real. It was so real I could still taste the snowflakes melting on my tongue. My teeth still chattered from the chill winds that swept around me. It was too real to be a dream. Far too real.

  “Alexi, it was real,” I mumbled into his shoulder.

  “No, darling, it was a dream,” he comforted me.

  “Alexi,” I said more firmly, pulling away from him and staring wide-eyed as I captured his gaze, “it was real!”

  I could see the words sinking in as Alexi contemplated them fully.

  “Where were you?” he asked, grasping my shoulders.

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “The snow was so thick and the winds were so harsh and loud I could see nothing but white and hear nothing but the dull roar. Then I saw black. It was a wraith, I’m certain.”

  “You must think,” Alexi urged me. “Was there anything… anything at all that you can remember that might tell you where you were?”

  I bit my lip and tried to remember, but there was only the bitter cold and blinding snow. I shook my head.

  “Damn!” he cursed.

  I was startled. Alexi was always so composed, and this exclamation from him was shocking.

  “Maybe it means we have until winter to prepare,” I suggested.

  “I do not believe so,” Alexi said. “We are in Georgia. It rarely snows here, and when it does it is never the type of blizzard you described.”

  “Then this could have been nearly anywhere, anytime,” I said. “It’s useless.”

  “It is not useless,” Alexi argued. “We now know a little more than we did before, and that is something.”

  I shrugged and said, “It feels useless.”

  “You mustn’t think of it that way,” Alexi said.

  I stared at him, startled. Did he just use a contraction?

  “What?” he asked, noting my silent stare.

  “Nothing,” I muttered.

  My whole world had changed so drastically in the preceding months. I know it sounds silly, but hearing Alexi use a contraction, while it may seem like such a trivial thing, was a very strong reminder that my world would never be the same. Everything was changing. Even Alexi. Sure, he’d done it before once or twice, but it was such a rarity that it blazed in my mind as a stark reminder that the one constant in life was change.

  Where would it end? How far would all of this take me? My mind was whirling in a fog… no, in a blizzard. Just like that awful dream, my mind was lost in a furious blanket of driving snow and ice and howling wind.

  The more time that passed, the more helpless I felt. All the training, all the preparation – it seemed I was spinning my wheels or even taking two steps backward for every one I took in the right direction.

  I had visions, but they were sporadic. Sometimes helpful, yes, but incredibly frustrating when I couldn’t manage to decipher their meaning.

  I had all of these abilities, but it seemed like I would never master them fully, and no amount of practice seemed to help like I hoped it would.

  It’s a truly lonely feeling to know that those around you could be in danger, and your own life was hanging in the balance, but there was next to nothing you could do to prevent any of it.

  The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of dread, but also with renewed vigor. It was a maddening combination that raged inside me, battling for control of my emotions.

  In the end, I made a promise to myself that no matter what happened I wouldn’t give up. I would fight; I would train; I would stop at nothing to make sure my friends and family didn’t have to suffer.

  Sleeping was nearly impossible. I needed rest, but I also hoped that I might have another dream that could help in some way. Maybe I could figure out where this snowy place was, or what we were doing there. At the very least I hoped to find out if this were just a standard dream or if it were a vision, because I really had no way to know for sure. It felt real, but I just couldn’t be certain.

  The following morning I had decided to skip breakfast and jump straight into training. There was just too much I needed to learn and we had no idea how much time we would have to prepare. Alexi had originally thought Dmitri would be busy with other things for a while, but now that we believed we knew his motives, it made the situation much more unpredictable and vastly more volatile.

  There was still a chance we were wrong about his motives, but I had the feeling this wasn’t the case. What else could be motivating him so powerfully? It could have been purely the insanity caused by practicing dark magic, but his actions were too purposeful… too controlled.

  Perhaps he’d learned to harness the power of dark magic without being taken over by it, as I had been. Even now I could feel the darkness surging inside me from time to time. Its pull was an ever-looming threat that I was afraid I would never fully shake. It lurked inside me like a panther crouching in the darkness, waiting to pounce at my weakest moment.

  Had Dmitri somehow learned to overcome this? Or perhaps he was using it to his advantage? No, I had to shake that thought from my head entirely. These thoughts must be the darkness inside me tempting me into thinking I could somehow control it.

  “Alice?”

  The voice startled me and I whirled around to see Max standing behind me in the foyer. I gasped and dashed into his arms, squeezing him so tightly he grunted as he chuckled at the greeting.

  “Max! It’s so good to see you! How have you been? What are you doing here?” I babbled excitedly.

  “Whoa, whoa, slow down!” he laughed. “I’ve been doing fine. I’m here to help. Alexi called for the hunters help, and here I am! There are more on the way.”

  It was then that I noticed the mousy little brunette standing behind him. She smiled shyly as she noticed me eyeing her.

  “Who’s this?” I asked.

  “This is Denise, my girlfriend,” he answered, stepping aside.

  Denise blushed and peeked up at me through a haze of bangs and extended her hand. I took it with only a bit of apprehension as I sized her up.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  “Same to you, Alice,” she said, though I could barely hear her soft little voice. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “All good, I hope,” I said. It was cliché, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “Oh, yes! Max tells me you’re a great person.”

  Now it was my burn to blush. I guess she wasn’t so bad. If Max liked her, she had to have some redeeming qualities.

  “Well, make yourself at home,” I told her. “You’re among friends.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Max, your old room is still like you left it,” I said. “Are you going to… um… share… or will Denise be…”

  “We’ll share,” Max said quickly.

  Denise flushed all the way to her ears and dropped her head even lower. I could see the tip of her nose behind her bangs, but little else. I thought I heard her giggle softly.

  “Well, you guys go ahead and make yourselves at home,” I said. “I’m sure Alexi will want to talk to you soon. Max, do you want to show Denise around?”

  “Sure, I’ll do that now,” he said, taking her hand.

  They passed by me and I said, “Oh, Max?”

  He pause
d and turned his head toward me.

  “I’m really glad you’re here,” I told him with a smile.

  “Me, too,” he returned my smile.

  Then I watched him pulling Denise along as he took her to show her the compound. I shook my head, questioning his decision to bring such a meek little thing into the midst of this war, but I shrugged. It was his responsibility, after all.

  “There you are!” Liam called as he jogged down the stairs. “Alexi will kill me!”

  “Oh, good grief,” I said. “I’m so tired of you guys hovering over me all the time.”

  “Was that Max?” Liam asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I didn’t know Alexi had called the hunters in.”

  “He figured he better warn them that Dmitri was planning to wipe them out,” Liam said. “When they heard what was happening, they offered to join us. Strength in numbers.”

  “Good idea,” I said. “I’m actually relieved to have them.”

  “Me, too,” Liam agreed.

  “Do you want to jump right into training?” I asked.

  “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  “No, I’m not really hungry,” I replied. “I just wanted to get straight to training. I don’t want to waste any time.”

  “You know Alexi will throw a fit if you don’t eat,” Liam chastised me.

  “He doesn’t have to know,” I moaned.

  “I know everything, darling,” Alexi’s voiced called down from upstairs.

  I craned my neck to look up at him as he peered admonishingly from on high and I sighed.

  “Yes, it seems you do,” I groaned.

  “Eat,” he ordered me.

  “Fine,” I relented, and I noticed him smile faintly as I was turning my head away.

  I might be Chancellor, I thought, but apparently it’s in name, only. Must be one of those honorary titles.

  As I entered the dining hall, I heard Alexi telling Liam, “See that she eats enough to keep her strength up.”

  “You got it,” Liam said.

  I headed to the window and ordered some toast and an apple with orange juice. I wanted something quick.

  “Give her some scrambled eggs and bacon, too,” Liam ordered.

  “I don’t want any…”