by Lynne Stevie
How had he known I was coming? Maybe Alan had called B. Knowing B’s strict policies, if Ben hadn’t known me, I might not have gotten in.
I watched as the guards parted and the gate opened. Then I fumbled for a minute before I pressed the right button to unlock the passenger door for.
“Drive to the back of the house and into the garage. William will meet us there and take you to your grandmother.”
“What’s going on, Ben? Is a hurricane coming?” It’s late in the season for a hurricane, but it’s possible, and I could have missed a warning.
“No, Ms. Alexandria,” he chuckled. “A hurricane is not coming. Now let’s get going.”
Shaking my head, I followed his orders. So much for the surprise visit I’d planned. The sea of uniformed guards parted to allow us passage, and we crept along to the detached garages behind the house. William was waiting for us.
“Just stop here,” Ben said. “I’ll park the Jeep for you.” He was out the door before I could question him, and then William had my door open almost before I put the Jeep in park.
“Miss Alexandria.”
“William, what’s going on? Is B okay? It looks like you’re getting ready for World War III.” I laughed a little and shook my head. Everything was so surreal.
Neither William nor Ben cracked a smile, which chilled me. Their tension made my frayed nerves jump to attention.
“William? Why is everyone running around? I didn’t know B had this many armed guards! You shouldn’t humor her like this; someone will get hurt. I came out here today to ask a few questions, but if she’s in full crazy mode, I’m calling the hospital.”
“Miss Alexandria, please come with me. Your grandmother wishes to see you and you can ask her to explain.”
William led the way, but instead of entering the house, he led me to the guest cottage by the pool.
“Why is B out here?” This charade got sillier and sillier. I felt like I was in a bad action movie.
“Please hold your questions for your grandmother. She’s the only one who has the answers that you seek.” And then his expression closed down and he turned back into the British butler.
The guest cottage was a smaller version of the main house, but it had better proportions and seemed friendlier than the huge main house. It’s brick, like the main house, but B had had it whitewashed, giving it a more southern look. I was struck by the furnishings and how different they were from B’s main house. Everything was oversized and fluffy in shades of ivory and cream, reminding me of clouds, and the floors were a soft honey pine. I could live here and not even be afraid of breaking too many things.
We walked through the house to the kitchen, but still no B. “What gives, William? Where’s B?” I asked, frustration leaking into my voice.
“Your grandmother built an apartment below this level, which she uses when she needs to.”
What was he talking about? As I looked around in confusion, William pulled a book from a built-in book case, and the whole shelving unit opened like a door.
“Cool!” Okay, so maybe I’m in a good action movie. A stairway went down too far for me to see to the bottom, but at least it was well lit. A stairway down? We don’t have basements in Florida.
William held the door/bookcase open and motioned for me to go ahead, so I did, wondering what I’d find. B probably had built a bomb shelter or panic room down there. Crazy and rich, it could get you anything. Well, it could be worse. B could be crazy and poor. At least we’d be able to afford a nice hospital.
When I got to the bottom—wow, this place was nice! It looked like a studio apartment decked out with all the finest electronics money could buy. B sat on the sofa. Her arm was in a sling, and her face looked like a red balloon. I hurried over to her side. “B—Beatrix, what happened?”
“Hello, dear. I hear that you had an interesting night, too. However, you don’t look any the worse for wear. Oh, to be young again, William.”
“Beatrix, will you be okay? You need to see a doctor.” I stared at her swollen face. I didn’t think her nose was broken, but I couldn’t be sure with all the swelling.
“Not to worry, dear, I heal fairly quickly.” She motioned me to the chair next to hers. Even that small movement seemed to give her pain.
“B, I’ve seen guys come out of a cage fight looking better than you. What the hell happened?”
“I’m rather tired of reminding you that my name is Beatrix, not B.” I rolled my eyes at her and waited.
“I was in a fight last night, what does it look like? You think I look bad, you should see the other guy. This—” she pointed to her face and arm, “will be completely gone in a few days. I’d forgotten how alive you feel when you’re fighting for your life.” She smiled up at me with a menacing grin and a twinkle in her red eyes. “Are you ready for our talk now?”
I collapsed back into the chair beside her and rubbed my face. “B, come on. What really happened? Did you get into a car accident or fall or something?”
“I told you what happened, Alexandria. I was attacked.” She sounded as if I offended her. “We have reason to believe that it was the same group that tried to take you a couple of days ago. Ellasar is very powerful, and I’m afraid I underestimated him.” She gave me a stern look as she adjusted her sling. “Unless you’ve sparked the attention of someone else that I should know about?”
I didn’t know what to say. I stared first at her, then at William, who was hovering by the doorway.
I got up and walked over to him. “William, what happened to her?”
“Alexandria,” he said in a fatherly tone. He brushed my bangs off my forehead. “I am glad to see that your forehead has healed up.” As his fingers brushed my birthmark, I felt the ants in my veins come alive. “You need to listen to your grandmother. She is sane, and you need her help. Please listen to her.”
I backed away and shook myself, trying to undo whatever he had done to start the burning itch under my skin. B was on her feet now and coming toward me. I couldn’t get the burning to stop. Sweat trickled down my spine.
“What have you done to me, William? Why is my blood boiling again?” I rubbed my arms and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. But it was no use. B reached out. I held back, scared to let her touch me, but the look on her battered face was understanding. I leaned into her touch.
Immediately the burning faded some. The sensation was still there, but it felt manageable, as if she had harnessed it. I felt energetic, invincible, like the morning after the attack. I could hear the men outside barking orders, but I was too far underground, I shouldn’t be able to hear them. The hum of the electronics in the room—even B’s heartbeat—seemed loud.
B’s words came back to me from the dream. “We’re not normal and we never will be. I’m sorry, baby.”
I crumpled to the floor. Tears came and overflowed. B sat down and William left the room. I don’t know how long I cried, but finally I had no tears left.
“What’s wrong with us?” My voice didn’t sound normal, but I was just happy to have gotten the words out. B held out a tissue. I slowly rose from the floor, straightened my back, blew my nose, and took a seat.
“Alexandria, there is nothing wrong with us. We are special.”
I almost laughed. “That sounds like something you tell your kid right before you put him on the little yellow school bus! Come on, B, you can do better than that. In my dream last night, you told Mom that we were different and you were sorry. You wouldn’t have said sorry if we were special.”
“What dream?”
“Mom gave me to you so you’d take care of me while she went off to do something with Dad. She had some plan that we could all be normal or that I wouldn’t have to live in fear, or something. It was more than a dream, B. Alan found me digging up the jasmine in the front yard with my bare hands. These dreams are more like visions. Or else I’m really somewhere else.”
I shook my head now. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was say
ing. “I wake up, and I can still smell and taste the dream. Hell, even Alan thought he smelled the roses from my dream the other night. That’s why I came here today. To find out what the hell’s happening.” I felt like pacing, but I sat and waited for B to answer.
“Alexandria, we are special. My father, your great-grandfather Seraiah was a Dark Angel.” She looked up and waited with raised eyebrows for my reaction. I’m sure my face was as numb as the rest of my body. I couldn’t force a sound through my clenched teeth, so she continued. “Dark Angels are immortals who resemble humans. They can walk among us without anyone knowing their true nature. Actually, that’s only part of the problem, but I’ll get to that in a minute.”
“I...” I had no words for my thoughts.
B just patted my leg. “They’re sent to earth as a tool of justice. A Dark Angel follows God’s will, even against humanity, if that’s what is fated. They are not good or evil. They are impartial. They can create a tidal wave to clean an entire civilization off the face of the earth, or they can execute a single human. An individual life is not important if it stands in the way of the greater good.” B glanced at me again and I’m sure that my mouth was hanging open, but she continued without asking me to close it.
“Thousands of years ago, some of the Dark Angels resented the freedom that God had given his children—us humans—to choose their own path, when he had given them none. They revolted against God, were cast out of heaven, and sentenced to live as humans and die as humans. Most accepted their fate and lived out their lives in peace, but a few turned away from God. They stole the life force from humans to keep their immortality and...”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You are sooo losing me now, B.” I tried to calm my whirling thoughts. “Tell me you’re not talking about vampires.”
“Alexandria, I understand that this is a lot to take in. Let’s not think about what you should call them just yet. Let’s just concentrate on why you’re so special. Okay, dear?”
Somehow, I managed to shake my head.
“Your great-grandfather Seraiah did not revolt and continued to be a tool of God, even hunting the renegade Dark Angels who were feeding on humans. Eventually he was sent on a mission to cause a great hurricane that would clean the Gulf Coast of all evil and bring natural order back to a land that was being ruined by greedy fisherman and lumber barons.
As Seraiah created the eye of the storm, he heard a woman’s cry floating on the wind. The voice belonged to Evangeline, my mother. She was an extremely beautiful woman, but beyond that she had an unusual life force. The French call it joie de vivre. The Hindus refer to the atma jnana. Whatever the name, that life force was extremely powerful and a group of outcast immortals had found her. They attacked in the middle of the night.”
“What happened?”
“They had already killed her family so she was alone, fighting valiantly. However, she knew she was doomed. She was about to take her own life when Seraiah heard her cry and abandoned his mission. He killed them with his dagger of punishment. No one is sure if the outcasts wanted to harness her power by taking her life, or wanted to lay with her, so she would bear an immortal child.”
I couldn’t help it. “Eeew.”
“Seraiah begged God to allow him to stay with Evangeline. He’d fallen in love.”
“So are you immortal?”
“No. Not quite. I am not truly immortal, yet I age at a much slower pace than normal humans. My healing ability is even faster than the outcast immortals, yet I will die eventually. But because of our heritage, even a small taste of our blood will renew a renegade’s life, making any who tried it more powerful than the others.”
“I…” I didn’t know what to say. This could not be my world. Impossible.
I shook my head. “NO, no, I don’t believe you!” Angels, daggers, immortals—oh my! I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
I jumped to my feet. B blocked the stairs before I could get to the exit.
“Our ancestry is what makes us special, dear. Your veins burn because you have denied your strength for so long. When you were attacked, your power bubbled up and forced you to use it. I can help you harness it.”
“B, stop this craziness, please. I’m begging you; I can’t understand why you’re saying this to me.”
“Alexandria, think about it. We never get sick. We heal faster than normal, and we’re stronger and more tenacious than normal humans. You’ve always had more life and energy than anyone else around you. You draw people to you. They listen to you, you can influence them. You use this power in your job. People want to work with you and for you. You light up a room when you enter. You’ve just never taken advantage of all that’s been given to you through your genetic makeup.”
B moved her salt-and-pepper hair away from her forehead. “Look, Alexandria—our birthmarks.” She had the little pink splotches on her forehead just like I did. What had Dad called it? An Angel’s Kiss. I felt the slightly warmer skin of my own birthmark and went numb again. B helped me back to the chair.
“Somehow Evangeline saw Seraiah for what he was—a vision that most humans could not have seen and stayed sane. He in turn became bound to her by love. He changed her fate that day—and his own—by disobeying his heavenly directive to remain uninvolved. So God stripped him of his immortality. He was forced to live a mortal life. But God showed mercy. Seraiah was allowed to keep his strength, his knowledge, and his dagger of punishment. With Evangeline’s help, he continued to fight the immortals who stole life from others to renew their own essence, life force, and body.”
B touched my birthmark again. “The Angel’s Kiss has been passed on to you, Alexandria.”
I couldn’t comprehend any of this. B’s story was just too much.
“What are you saying, B? God really exists? The guy with the white hair who made earth in seven days—he’s really up there? I’ve never seen you go to church, and now you’re telling me that we’re descendants of some superwoman and an angel? Oh, God—oops, I guess I shouldn’t use his name in vain.”
I had to get away, back to my normal life—work, friends, and Alan. I needed to be home. “I’m not sure what happen to you, and I hope you get better, but I’m going home. It was a mistake to come here today.”
“Alexandria, I thought I was protecting you by keeping you ignorant of what you are. I see now that all I’ve done is put you at greater risk.”
B grabbed my shoulders. “Your mind will eventually come around, and you’ll feel the truth in your blood. I hope when that time comes, it won’t be too late. They want you, Alexandria. I can help protect you, but you have to believe me and do as I say. You cannot go up against this alone. They have found us by chance, or someone close has betrayed me. Either way, they’re aware of us both now, and they won’t stop. Our only hope is that they’ll fight with each other until only a few are left. Then we can defeat them.”
“Let go of me, B.” Blackness crept into my peripheral vision. “I need to leave,” I whispered.
“You’re not listening, Alexandria. I believe this outcast wants you for his mate.” She shook me, and my head rattled like a bowl of marbles.
“Mate? What are you talking about?!” My mind was reeling, but that last word got my attention.
“You said ‘dreams’ before, plural. What other dreams have you had? Have you dreamed about Ellasar?” Her hands dug into my shoulder now, and it hurt.
“Let go of me!” My voice had taken on a threatening tone, and B released me. “The morning you called, I had a dream about some bald guy. It felt too real.” I remembered his body, his eyes, and the bath—the erotic touch of multiple hands massaging me. “When I woke up, Alan said I smelled like roses. It freaked me out, because in the dream they used some sort of oil that smelled like roses. But B, I didn’t see anyone called Ellasar.”
My grandmother began to pace, and that made me nervous.
“Alexandria, I’ve been complacent until now, but I’ve had enough. My name is Beatrix; you need
to address me with some respect.”
I suddenly felt very young. “Beatrix, then, if that makes you happy. So what did that dream mean? It was just a dream, right? Why are you so agitated?” Her turmoil was affecting me.
She turned to face me and I was startled to see that she looked better. Her expression was one of horror and pity mixed, but the swelling around her eye had gone down. “Alexandria, I need to know exactly what happened the other night and everything since. No matter how unimportant you think a detail might be, I need to know.” She sat down again and waited.
I told her everything that I could remember of the attack and my strange dreams. Things that I hadn’t even told Alan, I told her. She had already explained the burning in my veins and the strength but— “Beatrix, did he really bite me?”
My hand automatically went to my neck. I hated to ask. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. “I didn’t see any marks from his teeth, but I felt them on my neck, and when I got a look at him, his mouth was bright red. B, I mean, Beatrix, these immortals—” I shuddered at the word, “are they vampires? You know, like on TV?”
I couldn’t believe I’d even said the word. I thought she might laugh at me, but she just looked serious and sad.
Unbelievable! I couldn’t help myself—I laughed. I laughed so hard that I fell to the floor, laughing uncontrollably. I’ve always loved fantasy books, and I’ve even fantasized about a vampire taking me away from my normal life. How ironic now that I was living my fantasy. Only it wasn’t quite what I’d imagined.
B was patient and waited for my hysteria to pass.
“These immortals take blood to rejuvenate their bodies, like your TV vampires, but they take so much more,” she said. “They take your life force. They leave nothing but a husk, a dried-up shell, behind.” She looked down at where I sat curled up hugging my knees. “I fear that this is too much to absorb in one sitting. How are you holding up?”
“B—damn, Beatrix, was my mind trying to protect itself? Is that why I passed out for so long after the attack?”
“Perhaps.” She was thoughtful now.