by SARA FREITES
I rolled back into the grass, avoiding the glaring rays. I lay there while taking in more of my surroundings. Trees, skyscraper stature, towered around me, the trunks of each tree a pale blue in color. The leaves that hung and fell from their branches glimmered a stark white—so startling to see that I mistook the ones that fell for giant snowflakes. A light breeze blew, and I watched the oddly-colored trees while they rustled in the distance.
Closer to me, maybe about a yard or two away, a sapphire blue pond sparkled, bordered by patches of tiny periwinkle cattails. An uncountable number of butterflies basked in the mud around the pond. As they gradually opened and closed their wings, I noticed their unique coloration—white iridescent wings with black speckles, edges as if they’d been signed by fire. I couldn’t help but to take in the masterpiece that was their wings. They fluttered away when I sat up, but I spotted more of them on the other side of the pound.
It was as if I’d awoke inside the painting of a mythical landscape. I half expected a dragon to fly overhead or a unicorn to prance across the horizon. As the music box continued chiming, strangely enough, I felt like I was home.
Am I dreaming or dead? I wondered.
“Salamis Parhassus,” a deep, soothing voice floated through the woods.
A tall, blue-skinned man materialized from the trees. He stepped into the open grassy area with me. He walked toward me with a slow and confident stride, and his long black hair fell over his shoulders while he moved.
“Salamis Parhassus,” he repeated. “Sometimes called ‘the forest mother-of-pearl'—a magnificent species of butterfly only found in parts of Africa."
The man removed his sunglasses and knelt. His eyes cast a scarlet hue. He smiled down at me out of one corner of his mouth. He parted his thin lips, and through them, I could easily see four fangs among the rest of his teeth, two long ones on the top row and two on the bottom.
“Arlos?” I asked to dissolve what little doubt I had left of who he was.
“Come closer,” he said as if speaking to a small child.
I could feel the hairs on my arms and neck stand on end. Wary of him, I got up and walked across the wet grass to join him.
“Please, sit,” he offered and tried to lend me his hand, but I didn’t take it. “It seems she marked you twice.”
“What?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Latresma. She chose very bold ways of claiming you—both your hair and your eyes,” he explained. “How alluring. Have a seat.”
Slowly, I seated myself in the grass before him. From his kneeling position, he moved to touch me. I swayed back as he placed his hand, which felt like he’d left it in a meat locker overnight, on the side of my face and neck. His thumb sensually caressed my cheek. I rocked back just out of his reach.
“You’re trembling,” he observed in a hushed voice. “No need to be frightened, Autumn. As I said before, I have no intention of hurting you. Why would I have healed your wounds if I meant you any harm?”
“Healed me?" I asked.
“I have to apologize for my reckless clan members,” he continued. “They were so excited to bring you in. You were cut badly and losing quite a bit of blood. I healed you when I brought you here. You’d have died otherwise.”
The way he said it, I wasn’t really sure if he was making it up or not.
“I thought you wanted me dead,” I doubted.
He sat back with a raised brow line. “What makes you say something like this? Ah, I know. Thade. I assure you, the vampires have assumptions of my motives and of my character, but they are wrong. They believe I’m some sort of power-hungry demon hell-bent on taking control.”
“Aren’t you?” I accused him.
“Not in the least.”
“Then, what do you want?”
“First, I’d like to know a little more about you, if you don’t mind.”
“What about me?”
“Anything you could tell me. Tell me how long you’ve lived here on this earth.”
I had to wait a minute for the question to sink in. No one had ever asked my age in such a way.
“Seventeen years,” I answered.
“And you are attending school?”
“Yes.”
“What year?” he asked, making it apparent that he was captivated by my responses.
“I’m a junior. Eleventh grade.”
“Ah. What human activities do you enjoy doing?”
“Um, cheerleading, hanging out with my friends,” I replied reluctantly, irritated that he wanted to know so many insignificant details. “Drawing.”
He chuckled. “You really are so young. I wonder why she chose you. What a simple little human you are.”
“Simple?” I repeated. “Look, I don’t think I’m anything special, but if I were so simple, I don’t think I’d be here right now.”
“I meant no disrespect. And you’d be right,” he said.
“Why do you want to know all of this stuff? What does it have to do with anything?”
“Forgive me. For a little over three hundred years, I’ve wondered if you would ever appear. Please. Humor me a moment?” he insisted.
Our eyes locked together for a brief second. I never replied.
“Now, what of your family?” he asked.
I stared at the ground. I didn’t feel comfortable giving him a lot of details about my family. But I found myself wanting to tell him more about Jacoby.
“I have my parents, my brother and sister. I had an older brother, too. But when your men tried to abduct me in February”—my tone grew harsh—“they caused a car accident that killed him.”
“He was killed in that accident?” he asked, surprise splashed across his face.
I wasn’t sure that Arlos truly didn’t know. His acting was rather convincing, if that’s what it was.
“Oh, Autumn,” he went one. “I assure you that was not at all intentional. I extend my deepest condolences to you. What was his name, if you don’t mind my asking?”
I balled up my fists. He’d asked too many personal questions already. I knew he was digging for something with his shallow inquires.
“Jacoby," I said his name in a bold tone as my stomach boiled with rage.
“Jacoby,” he repeated. “I’m sure Jacoby would be proud to see his little sister teetering on such a crossroad in her life, to see what she might become if she chose the right path.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me this. Are you able to use Lady Latresma’s incantations?” He leaned in as he spoke. He sat with eager eyes as if he’d waited his entire life to ask me that question.
I stared back, growing even more leery of him by the minute. A full smile spread across his face. I swore his eyes sparkled behind their constant garnet haze.
“Ah. You can. That is amazing, little human. What is it, exactly, that you can do with them?”
I hesitated. He didn’t need to know any of that.
“Just a few spells here and there. Nothing impressive,” I told him.
“Oh, I highly doubt that. If that is the case, then the vampires haven’t allowed you to reach your full potential. Have they even told you about the daggers yet?” he asked intuitively.
“What makes you think they know anything about them?” I held back.
He laughed, “I am no fool. The vampires who hid you from me would have knowledge of them, I’m sure of it. I’ve found they are as interested in finding them is as I am. I’m sure they told you all sorts of tales about them, as well.”
I stopped myself. He didn’t know we had the other dagger, or at least, that was what it seemed like.
I wavered and played dumb to see if he’d lie to me. “What do you want with them?”
“I have my reasons. Mind your business, and I will mind mine.”
“Okay, I’ll mind mine and leave you to yours.”
I stood. As I went to walk away, Arlos appeared directly in front of me. I stopped in my tracks.
&nbs
p; “I already have the Lumière Dagger. Now, all I need is the Soleil Dagger,” he explained.
“For what?”
“I want it because it’s going to aid me,” he said slowly, looming over me like a storm cloud.
“Aid you in what?” I waited, but this time, he had nothing to say. “A genocide, right? I know. I’ve heard,” I said sternly.
“Is that what the vampires are calling it?” he chuckled.
“You want to make room for stronger races, but I feel like you’ve done plenty of that already. You want the havidens because you can control them until you can get what you want.”
“And what exactly have the vampires told you I want?” he asked, offended.
“You want to bring your demon army through from hell so you can take over. But what is it you want with me?”
“There is something,” he beamed. “Understand that once you’ve become a vampire, you’ll be one of the most powerful beings to ever walk this earth. That’s because you hold a morsel of Lady Latresma’s soul inside of you. And let me assure you, Latresma was no ordinary vampire. She was an exquisite entity, but with your abilities post rebirth, you would be even more so. We could both dispose of that pesky Latresma. You don’t need her. She doesn’t have to take you over. You don’t have to lose yourself to her. You would be your own powerful being. By the look on your face, I can tell that Thade and the others haven’t inform you of the power you’ll have once you’re reborn. They haven’t told you that Latresma doesn’t have to be part of the equation, if you get what I mean.”
He was right. I wondered why Thade and the others had failed to mention the part about me being powerful after my rebirth, but I also couldn’t be sure that Arlos was even telling me the truth.
“I thought you wanted to get rid of the vampires?” I assumed.
“All except for you. I know the life of a vampire wouldn’t intrigue a human like you, but if you could only imagine it in this way instead—no one could ever hurt you, physically or emotionally. Along with that, you’d never age, never grow old and ugly and unable to care for yourself. You could retain all of that beauty you hold now, that soft skin and hair, all the while growing stronger. You would be by my side through it all, and my clan and I would provide for you anything you needed, give you anything you’d like. We would take care of you. I would take care of you.”
It was a tempting offer, but I knew instantly that I wouldn’t take it. Despite this, I subconsciously considered it. Images so vivid they could’ve been showing on a big screen right in front of me flashed across my eyes. In these depictions, I stood alongside Arlos atop a building, my skin pale and my hair whitened. Behind us, the sky shone shades of black and red. A legion of what I assumed were havidens hovered close by. Their glowing eyes latched on to us, seemingly awaiting our command. Another wave of beings loomed above. I wasn’t sure what they were or what they looked like as they were deeply shadowed until my subconscious told me they were demons from hell. I couldn’t help but think of the material things I could have—the cars, the clothes, a place of my own to live, my everlasting youth. The temptation to give in became overwhelming.
Stop, I told myself.
I shook my head, trying to relieve myself of the strange thoughts. I couldn’t believe how unexpectedly difficult it was to ignore them.
“I don’t want anything to do with you or your ideas, Arlos.” The words almost didn’t come out.
“Then, you don’t fully understand what I’m offering,” he pushed back with disgust filling his voice. “You don’t have to be part of that filthy human race. You can be so much more than just an average human girl. Your new life as a vampire will be far more pleasing than the miserable existence you live now.”
“Miserable?” I asked, astounded by his presumption. “The only thing making me miserable in my life right now is you. I have to lose everything because of you. What if I want to stay human? What if I wanted to stay with my family?”
“You are dismissing an opportunity offered to no one other than you. I cannot guarantee your family’s protection once my plans begin to fall into place. Need I remind you? I don’t care for the human race. There would be no reason for me to protect any of them, not even you. But if you became a vampire, we could protect your family, perhaps even turn them along with you.”
I could have my family? I couldn't avoid becoming a vampire, but I could live that life without having to lose them? It wasn't the ideal life for us, but if I could just have them in my life, vampire or human, I would be happy.
I had to stop myself again as I struggled to push those ideas out of my head. I couldn't force my family to live a life they didn't choose just because I was being forced to—just because I wanted them by my side no matter what.
“No,” I forced the word out, shaking my head. “I couldn’t do that to them.”
The expression on his face hardened. His brows lowered over his eyes. He pressed his lips together before speaking again. “I am so very impatient with humans,” he said, his tone of voice had changed as his eyes went to the sky. “My son isn’t, though. You know, if it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t even be here. Once he found you, he notified me of your whereabouts. He was the source I relied on to track you down. However, I’m disappointed. He claims he doesn’t know the whereabouts of the dagger I’m looking for. I told him all he needed to do was search just a little bit harder.”
“Your son?” I asked, the question breaking through my lips.
“Yes,” Arlos confirmed. “He brought you to me. His name is Soul. Ah, my apologies. You know him as ‘Blake’.”
My stomach suddenly felt so heavy. Wide-eyed, I stared at the ground. Arlos’ words pierced through me so deep it was as if I’d taken a blow to the chest. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what to say. Blake was a demon, Arlos’ son. That was all I could think about. Thade and the others were right to have locked Blake up like they had. He was dangerously more powerful than we had all imagined. It explained a lot about Blake, too—why the vampires were so afraid of him, why his eyes and skin were so different, how he could heal others with his blood, but mostly, it explained why his wound from the Soleil Dagger hadn’t kill him.
Though I knew he was partially guilty for my being there, the thought that Blake may have even been the mastermind behind it all, gaining the vampires’ trust, gaining my trust, in order to hand me over to Arlos was all so unfathomable to me. I could feel my skin catch fire. My heart raged in my chest, and I could feel myself getting hot.
“I can sense your anger, your disarray,” Arlos observed. “Don’t hate him for this. Soul was only doing what I asked of him. I’m sure he—”
“No. I don’t want to hear this,” I cut him off, my throat tensing as I struggled to hold back tears. “I don’t want anything to do with this. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
Arlos broke into laughter before moving in closer. With his face nearly against mine, I felt like I was standing in front of an open freezer door.
“It seems I’ve struck a nerve. Might you care for him?” he asked in a mocking tone.
“Go to hell,” I sneered.
“Autumn,” he said deliberately. “This will be the last time I ask you. You don’t want me to force you. Will you cooperate with me?”
His voice sent chills up and down my spine. A cool breeze blew against my ear and the distant music box played on.
“You and your men killed my brother,” I reminded him and a tear ran down my cheek. “And all you want is to kill more people. I don’t want anything to do with you. That’s the last time I’ll say it.”
He scowled at me but kept his composure. The fiery color in his eyes faded, leaving behind a pair of pale orbs. Two thick grayish-blue coils that were his irises faded into white where his pupils should have been, reminding me of a sky on a cloudy day.
The environment began deteriorating around us. The invisible music box slowed, becoming an unrecognizable chorus of disturbing noises.
The sky and trees peeled away like old paint and flaked and floated to the ground. The grass shrank into the dirt, and the pond evaporated into thin air like a backward rainstorm. The cattails withered to dust as the butterflies on the other side of the shrinking pound lost their opal wings and shriveled up like dried leaves. The once comforting, warm air dropped to an unbearable low.
Before I realized it, I was standing in a darkened room, the air around me icy and smelled of mold. The only light left originated from high above. As I looked up, I saw that it wasn't a fluorescent light, but a hole or a skylight of some sort in the ceiling far above. The waterfall of sunlight illuminated the small space around me but didn't reach the walls. This kept me from seeing how large this place actually was. The space hidden beyond the light expanded into a vast, never-ending darkness.
Arlos came out of nowhere and briskly backed me into a damp wall.
“What…what just happened? Where are we?” I asked, unraveling.
“An illusion. It was meant to calm your mind. I can make you see anything I want when you’re in a weakened state such as this, this human form of yours,” he said and laughed. “The prison of my estate is not so comfortable, I’m afraid.”
I heard shuffling just beyond the wall of emptiness. We weren’t alone. Like the sound of a broken gas line, a low hiss surfaced, sending chills through my body. I looked about, frightened. A door in the back opened. Light filled the doorframe. Two people entered it. As they neared, their eyes gleamed in the shadows.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“Are you sure you won’t reconsider?” Arlos asked me.
Crouching, human-like forms emerged around the edges of light surrounding us. Long, veiny arms reached through the gloominess but retracted as the light seared their skin. The second I realized the barrier of light was the only thing keeping these things from moving in on us, I grew overwhelmingly terrified.
“What are they?” I asked, repulsed.
“You mean, you don’t recognize them? They’re vampires. Is it so hard to tell?” Arlos taunted me.
“You’re making me see this,” I accused him.
“Oh, no. They are very much real. They are my prisoners.”