One painting was of two hands, each one reaching for the other amidst dark water. Another was of a beautiful girl wearing a white dress. She sat in a field of bloodstained flowers under a full moon.
The girl with black hair and green eyes.
“Lucy,” I whispered.
And then it happened again. I felt him. I turned around and there he was, his eyes on my hand, my hand on the painting. Fear coursed through me, and I took a step back.
“I was just looking,” I said, my voice cracking.
Gabriel went to the box fan and turned it on. “That is my sister,” he said casually, but his voice wavered the tiniest bit.
“I know.”
“You know nothing.”
“I know she is why Elias hates you and why you hate him. You sparing my life makes him think you care for me, so now I am in danger from more than just you.”
Gabriel said nothing and didn’t even look at me.
I cracked my knuckles and forced the words out of my mouth, backing into a corner to get farther away from him. “I have the right to know. I have the right to know why killing me would bring him satisfaction.”
He turned to me slowly, those bright eyes so piercing I felt for sure he could see into my soul. His fangs snapped out of his gums.
I cowered against the wall, the adrenaline coursing through me preparing my muscles to run. And then he did something I never would have expected. He brought his wrist to his mouth and bit deeply. Bright vampire blood dripped onto the floor. He took a step forward, holding his wrist out to me.
The adrenaline left my body, and I sagged against the wall. I stared at his bleeding wrist, speechless.
His voice was soft. “Hurry, before it heals.”
I shook my head. He hadn’t even given his blood to Emma, someone he’d had sex with countless times for all I knew, yet he was offering this to me so soon, so easily? When he had done it before, it had been to save my life, and the entire time I had never felt so close to another person.
I couldn’t do that again, especially with him.
He came closer to me. “You do have the right to know. It is easier for me to show you than to tell you.”
He was mere inches from me at this point. He smelled like crushed pine needles, and I wondered how I’d never noticed the heady scent before. I began to tremble, overwhelmed and terrified by his offer.
“The only other option is for me to drink your blood, and we both do not want that.”
“You do,” I said through white lips.
Three inches from me. “It is healed. Hold on, I will fix it. . . .”
“No!” I very nearly screamed, grabbing his arm. He sucked in a sharp breath at my touch, his eyes going toward my hand in surprise, and I pulled away immediately, my every nerve on fire. “I can’t. I can’t drink your blood. It’s too . . . Why can’t you just tell me?” I shouted.
His mouth lifted at one corner slightly when he saw the realization on my face. He could tell me about his background with Elias—he just didn’t want to.
He wanted me to drink his blood.
“When you want to know bad enough, let me know. My offer has no expiration date.”
“Yeah, well, I have an expiration date. A much shorter one now that I am with you!”
Anger surged inside the emeralds. “I have apologized to you. What more do you want of me?”
I tried shoving him away from me, but he didn’t budge. It only made me angrier.
“What do I want from you? I want you to let me go home! And you almost killed me! Do you honestly expect forgiveness for that?”
He looked away from me, his hair hiding his eyes, and I could not see his reaction to my words. He walked away, going to stand in front of the empty fireplace. He put his hands on top of the mantle, his body rigid.
I slid to the floor, trying to calm my constantly racing heart. Minutes ticked by, the only sound in the room the roar of the fan. And then I had to ask. I had to ask what I feared now more than dying. What I feared more than even becoming like him.
“Am I your Eternal?” I hardly heard myself speak the words, but his body jolted, as if struck by lightning.
More silence.
“I know you heard Jasmina talking to me. I want to know.”
His head ducked. “I . . . I am not sure. But I am not as thirsty as I should be. When I drank from you, the pain of the thirst was muted more than it ever has been before, and the second time, it completely evaporated. I know I have never really cared about hunting humans, but . . . I do not want you harmed. I do not want anyone else to drink your blood. And I do not want you to hate me.”
He turned to me, his eyes sharp and desperate. “I do not know. I just know that this, that you . . . it is too much. I cannot be around you right now.”
And then he was gone, the door slamming the only inclination he had been there at all.
Sick to my core at his answer, I curled up into a ball and allowed the pain to lap at me in waves until I emotionally could take no more. Mentally exhausted, my mind allowed me to escape from the horror of my reality, and I fell into darkness.
***
I couldn’t find my parents.
Their room was empty. Water dripped from their bedroom ceiling. Closing the door, I went across the hallway into Grandma’s room, stepping over my cat, Millie.
Grandma stood at the window, her eyes as blank as the glass she looked out of. She turned to me. “Myra? Myra, is that you?”
“It’s Kara, Grandma,” I answered patiently.
“Myra, where have you been? Why did you leave me?”
“I’m sure Mom just went to the grocery store and forgot to tell us.”
Clarity returned to her hazel eyes. “Myra is dead, Kara. So is Ralph.”
Nausea turned my insides. “Grandma, don’t say things like that. Mom and Dad are fine.”
“It’s true, Kara.” I turned around to the voice behind me. Lila stared back at me, her caramel skin pale. Miles stood beside her, his glasses fogged from crying.
“Miles, what’s wrong?”
“You can’t let go. You can’t accept their death. And now you’re gone. You’re going to die, too.”
Warm blood started running down my neck. I felt the sting of sharp teeth, and I saw those eyes. Those unnatural eyes that belonged to him. Then they transformed from green to silver.
“Help me!” I screamed.
“Kara, wake up!” Miles screamed, but it wasn’t his voice.
The fangs sank in deeper. “NO!” I choked.
“Wake up!”
My eyes flew open. I sat up quickly, gasping and holding my neck and heart. Tears streaked my cheeks, and I shuddered with every breath.
Then I realized what I sat on was too comfortable to be the floor. Firm hands were gripping my shoulders, and the smell of crushed pine needles was all around me. Worried eyes looked down at me.
“What happened? Where am I?” I asked.
Gabriel’s hands stroked my quivering arms. “It’s ok, it’s ok. You are in my room. You fell asleep on the floor. When I came back, I put you in bed. You started screaming and crying a couple hours later.”
Too disoriented to fully care that he was caressing my arms, I started sobbing harder.
He gripped me lightly. “What is wrong? Did you have a nightmare? I left all the lights on for you.”
“I need . . . to see . . . Grandma,” I breathed between gasps.
“Inola made sure your grandmother got into Baress Grove immediately, and she’s doing great so far from what she has told me. Do you want to go see her?”
I nodded.
“Ok. It’s almost eight o’clock in the morning. It’s cloudy out, so we can take you.”
“You’re really going to let me go see her?”
“Yes.”
I came more to my senses; his hands were still on me. I pulled away as if he were made of poison. “Were you sleeping next to me?” I accused.
“No. I was painting.
”
I looked down to see that copper and green stained his fingertips.
He got up and cleared his throat. “I will step out so you can get dressed. There are some clothes for you inside the dresser, and Thomas will bring up your breakfast. Let me go tell him you’re awake.”
I gave him my back, refusing to thank him for anything. Why would he give me what I wanted so easily? And so soon?
But I knew one thing for certain. Today was the day I would escape.
***
My mind was once again having a hard time processing my current situation.
I was sitting in the back of a black Mercedes, one of the fancy cars among many in Violet Memory’s garage, a garage that was three times the size of my house. Inola drove down the never-ending driveway that snaked through the woods. Thomas had shotgun, which left Gabriel with me in the back.
I sat as far away from him as possible, my body squashed against the car door. It was nearly impossible to watch the green blur by because the windows were so heavily tinted.
Thomas never stopped talking, whether to break the tension or to try to make me more comfortable, I wasn’t sure. I was having a hard time listening, and I was not as happy as I should have been that I was going to see Grandma; I was too focused on how to get away from them.
“The entire area is fenced in and private property, so we do not usually have to worry about trespassers. Gabriel, have you told Kara you sell your paintings? Many of his paintings are auctioned by millionaires, you know, and the fact that his identity remains anonymous only adds to the allure of his work,” Thomas said.
I felt Gabriel’s eyes on me. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to let me out of his sight. I shrank down into the seat, digging my bitten fingernails into my thighs.
Why was being near him so consuming?
“The last one actually sold for one and a half million. It was one of Lucy. She’s become the mystery girl of his artwork to the outside world, and there are many theories surrounding who she is to Gabriel. Most guess her a lover. Only very few have recognized the familial touch with which he captures her.”
Would Grandma know me today? What were the chances of Lila or Miles being there? What about Nancy? Maybe she would be there just to see how Grandma was settling in. If none of them were there, surely I could at least alert someone to my strange predicament or sneak away to call the police.
“Gabriel’s humble about his talent, but anyone can see he is brilliant. Maybe he could paint you sometime, Kara. That is, if you can sit still long enough. I have noticed you are an awfully fidgety person, but then again, he would not have to paint you still-life to paint you at all. Being what we are, we are so attuned to our senses that our attention to detail is flawless and—”
“Thomas?” Gabriel said casually, his eyes never leaving me.
“Yes?”
“Shut up. At least for a minute.”
Thomas grinned at him from the rearview mirror. “Whatever. It is not like she is really listening anyway.”
“I’m listening,” I mumbled. “Gabriel frequently paints you while you’re in the buff, and rich people all over the world fight over the finished products.”
Inola’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter as Thomas turned to stare at me quizzically. But it was obviously Gabriel’s laugh that brought both Inola and Thomas’s eyes alive with disbelief.
Gabriel shrugged. “What?” he said, his voice light with laughter. “It was funny.”
“You never laugh at my jokes,” Thomas pointed out.
“Because you are simply not funny, my friend.”
Now I stopped listening. Gabriel’s laughter unnerved me more than his anger.
Finally, we emerged from the forest. The car came to a stop in front of a black gate. Inola pushed a button on the steering wheel, and the ornate gate opened. She turned onto a road I didn’t recognize, and nothing was familiar for about an hour.
Then I began to recognize the outskirts of Lystelle. Desperation burst inside of me, and I began looking around hungrily.
Lila. Miles. Candice. Anybody.
I hardly noticed that my hands were pressed to the dark glass, my eyes scanning our surroundings madly, but I did notice the atmosphere in the car go completely stiff. I felt all three of their eyes on me. I swallowed uneasily, waiting for the lecture that was sure to come.
Yet they said nothing. Surely they knew what I would try to do; they weren’t stupid.
But I had to try.
Inola turned into the Baress Grove parking lot. I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the car door before Inola even parked. I heard Gabriel sigh as I practically jumped out of the car.
The sky was thick with gray clouds, and a fine mist lightly clung to my hair and slightly loose clothes. I didn’t even bother to look behind me to see how close they were as I entered the building. I approached the front desk, running my shaking fingers through my damp hair nervously, making sure both sides of my neck were covered by my curls.
“Can I help you?” the older lady asked robotically.
Yes, you can. I’m being held against my will by vampires, but they are letting me come see my grandmother because the vampire who kidnapped me might be my soulmate, and I think he feels guilty.
“Um . . . I’m here to see Beth Davidson.”
The woman typed the name into the computer, and her face went from bored to nearly ecstatic. “Oh, you must be Miss Deuel! Let me just say how happy we are that Mrs. Davidson has made her home here! It was such short notice, but we’ve got her mostly settled in now.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Anything for a VIP patient, after all. If you’ll please follow me.”
My hesitant smile was plastered to my face. Exactly how much money had Inola given them?
“And these three are with me,” I added, gesturing behind me reluctantly.
The woman’s face faltered a bit. “Who is, dear?”
I raised my eyebrows. How could she miss them? They were so obviously different.
I turned around. They weren’t there.
I looked around widely but still didn’t see them. Maybe escape was going to be easier than I’d thought, yet something told me the shadows were not as safe as they seemed.
“I guess it’s just me,” I mumbled uncertainly. The woman smiled and nodded, but her eyes questioned my sanity.
I followed her through the building. The facility was very nice and definitely not a place I would ever be able to afford for Grandma. Huge, white marble pillars held up the upper stories. Flowers overflowed from pots and vases on tables, filling the air with their perfume. A family visited with an elderly man by an empty fireplace, the children playing on a rug that looked like it cost the same amount of money as a new car.
We stopped in the doorway of a large room dotted with tables that held games such as chess and checkers. Staff members were pouring hot tea and delivering cookies to the patients.
I froze when I saw Grandma. She was at one of the tables with two other elderly women. Even from here I could still see the glazed look in her eyes, but her face was calm. Serene. Her smile was soft and content, her wrinkled hands molded around a small cup of tea.
The receptionist waved to a young man. “Herald, Miss Deuel is here.” She turned and smiled at me. “Herald will take you from here, dear. Thank you again for choosing Baress Grove for your loved one.”
I nodded mechanically as she walked away. It was hard to move my body, but I made myself hold out my hand for Herald.
“Hello, Miss Deuel. I’m Herald, one of the caretakers assigned to your grandmother.”
“Just call me Kara,” I said woodenly. “Sorry about the short notice of her arrival.”
“We did the best we could getting her settled in quickly. We weren’t expecting you so soon. Wasn’t traveling your reason for getting her here as soon as possible?”
I studied Grandma, the only family I had left. “How is she?” I asked, ignoring his observation.
He
cleared his throat, looking a tad embarrassed. “I have not had long to be with her, but she seems to be adjusting very well so far.”
“She looks . . . happy.” I thought back to all the hours I’d put into trying to make her comfortable. Only now could I see how far I’d failed. I hadn’t been home enough. Hadn’t done enough. Maybe her being here was worth being Gabriel’s prisoner.
I approached her and sat down beside her. I wondered how her mind was today.
“Hello,” I said softly.
Grandma turned to me. “Hello. Who are you?”
My eyes burned. So today was one of her really bad days.
“I’m Kara,” I said gently. “We’ve met before.”
She patted my hand. “I would remember a face as pretty as yours, honey. Would you like some tea?”
“Yes, please,” I managed to say.
I stayed with Grandma for hours. She never remembered me, and I had to tell her my name three more times. I read to her, had lunch with her, and watched her favorite soap opera with her in her exquisitely nice room. Like usual, she didn’t seem to follow the story, but she smiled at the music and remained content. And just like old times, she even laughed when I made fun of the doctor who was notorious for sleeping with most of his patients.
I unpacked the rest of her things, averting my eyes as I placed the pictures of my deceased family around the room. My parents, Grandpa, my great uncle . . .
Not for a second did I forget the invisible chains that bound me. Just because I couldn’t see them didn’t mean they weren’t there. I was actually killing two birds with one stone; spending time with Grandma meant so much to me, but I was really waiting for the smallest speck of sunlight to break through the thick barrier of gray.
And then there were the flowers on her bedside table. At first I didn’t think anything of them, as there were flowers everywhere here, but my curiosity got the best of me, and my fingers snatched the card from the bouquet.
They were from Miles.
I waited for Grandma to get sleepy; she usually took a nap every afternoon. Once I saw her head nod off, I coaxed her into bed and tucked her in. Then I picked up the phone.
Rapid Pulse (Violet Memory Book 1) Page 10