by Eve Newton
“Mandarin,” I say automatically.
“Mandarin,” he repeats. “How many more?”
Well, this is the moment. I take a deep breath. “Nineteen,” I say quickly, and rattle off my impressive list of linguistic abilities. “And two dead ones,” I add.
He’s staring at me as if I just grew nineteen heads. I shrug and take a glug of the wine that has thankfully appeared in front of me.
“What the fuck?” he says and starts laughing.
Laughing? Hm, not really what I was expecting.
“Seriously, Liv. That’s pretty funny. You just mentioned most of the world’s major languages and two dead ones! How many, really?”
I stare impassively at him not quite knowing what to say. He sobers quickly.
“You are being serious, aren’t you?”
Again, I don’t say anything, trying to gauge his true reaction. I purse my lips as he runs a hand through his hair, then lets it drop heavily to the table.
“How? How is that possible? In fact, now that I mention it, how is any of it possible? You are twenty-six years old, a multimillionaire head of a global empire, with fingers in a whole bakery of pies. You have this authority about you that tolerates no insubordination and a manner that tolerates no fools. Your sophistication astounds me for one supposedly so young. You’re a seventh level master in four different martial arts. You have an MBA from Harvard. You speak twenty-one different languages. You’re intelligent and wise beyond your years. Your mind is like a steel trap, nothing gets past you. You have this incredible attitude towards sex that even most men don’t have. I look into your eyes and I see…everything. Have you seen everything, Liv? The depth of your emotions scares me. It’s all there for me to see. Pain, suffering, love, desire, knowledge, passion. I look at you and I see a century’s worth of accomplishments and achievements, perception, and wisdom.” He halts, looking perplexed, frustrated and angry. “And seriously, what is it with that batshit crazy, possessive relationship with your ‘friend’ and the terrifying mentor in Italy? Your whole body is coiled so tight and your senses are on hyper drive. I have tried to figure you out over the last two weeks, but I keep coming up a blank. Something doesn’t add up here, Liv, and you need to tell me.”
He searches my eyes, but I can’t speak. He looks away first with a big sigh. “You either tell me or I’ll walk away,” he says, quietly.
I’m frozen and I can’t move. My brain has gone numb. What happened to this conversation? It has spiraled so far out of control; I don’t know how to get it back onto a level footing.
“Fine, if that’s the way this is going to go, have it your way.” He scoots to the end of the booth to leave. I snap into action and clap my hand down on his.
“Look, Liv, there isn’t anything you can’t tell me that I won’t understand or try to understand. It just doesn’t add up, but I can’t think why you would lie about any of this stuff.”
Lie? Lie? If he could have said anything to make me spill the Vampire beans, that was it.
I shake my head. “No lies. All truth. Quite an impressive and fairly accurate, albeit incomplete, résumé you have on me.”
Intrigued, he moves over to sit facing me again. “Incomplete? You mean there’s more?” he asks in disbelief.
“I need another drink,” I say and signal the waiter to bring another. Cole, still assuming he’s driving, declines another.
“Start talking, Liv,” he says as I hesitate, fiddling with my bracelet, twirling my charms around rapidly just for something to do.
“I will, I just have to think where to start,” I say, thinking so much for my analytical mind when I need it. He completely sideswiped me with this inquest. I had wanted to do this my way, in my own time.
“Bring the bottle,” I say as the waiter appears with my glass.
Cole snorts. “And that’s another thing,” he says. “Your capacity for alcohol is staggering and you never seem to sleep.”
Wow, he was seriously sitting on all of this and now it’s all just tumbling out.
Returning with the bottle and some breadsticks (subtle), the waiter beats a hasty retreat sensing the growing atmosphere. I pick up a breadstick and snap it in half, just for something to do with my hands. I take a deep breath and let it out. “First off, I have been around a long time, Cole. Been around many people and even those closest to me, with a couple of exceptions, have never figured out as much about me as you have, in the private sense, and in only two weeks. I find that astounding and somewhat disconcerting that you can see so much of me. Or maybe it’s that I allow you to see so much of me.” He looks completely baffled, but I press on, “All of these accomplishments and achievements you speak of have been the efforts of hard work and training over my lifetime. My very long lifetime.”
I pause for a drink and he interjects, “Very long lifetime? What does that mean?”
“It means, Cole, that I am not twenty-six years old. I am, in fact, immortal. I am a Vampire.” There, it’s said. I look at him and the look of confusion is replaced with a seriousness I never knew possible.
“You wanted the truth, and there it is. Ironically, I brought you here tonight to tell you this anyway, you just happened to force my hand. It caught me off guard. I meant it when I said no one has ever been as perceptive about me as you. I knew you were special the minute I laid eyes on you,” I say then softly.
He just stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. Well, I can’t in all honesty say I wasn’t expecting much else. With a sigh, I stand up; I’m not in the business of begging and pleading. If he wants me, he will come and find me. If not, so be it. Picking up my phone and purse, I turn to walk away, but stop to add, “You told me last week you’d like to think you had an open mind.” And with that I walk away, leaving him staring after me, mouth hanging open.
When he doesn’t follow me, I start to tremble inside. Damn you, Devon, for always being right. ‘The Council will freak’ doesn’t quite cover it, I don’t think. I should have listened to both him and CK and remembered that no good comes from the telling of this secret. At least The Council doesn’t have to worry about me committing to a Holy Union. CK will be pleased with that, even though I feel like I’ve lost a limb. I walk stiffly to the car, but as I reach it, I realize I don’t have the key. Cole has it.
“Fuck!” I yell as I kick the three thousand dollar tire with my three thousand dollar shoe.
“Looking for these?” Cole says from behind me, dangling the keys around me and jiggling them in front of my face.
Straightening my back in quiet resolve, I turn around. He’s staring at me as if I just landed on Earth from a faraway planet. Frustrated, I turn away, but he grabs my arm.
“Liv, please. I’m sorry I acted like an ignorant shithead. I did say that I like to think I have an open mind. You say that you are immortal, a…Vampire,” he tests the word out, “and I want to believe you, even if you do turn out delusional,” he jokes weakly.
“Yes, you did act like an ignorant shithead. This would have gone a lot smoother had you let me talk first,” I berate him. He smiles, a genuine smile and bends down to kiss me, chastely and swiftly on the mouth before stepping back. I roll my eyes at him. “I’m not going to hurt you, you know. What you think you know about Vampires is a common misconception.”
He looks grave when he asks, “But you do drink human blood?”
“Yes, sometimes. But I don’t kill people.” Well, not anymore, I add silently. “I survive mostly on Vampire blood,” I say as some kind of weird reassurance.
He looks surprised and asks, “There are others?”
I snort. “Of course. There are many of us, all over the world. You’ve even met a few,” I say.
He looks puzzled, so I say, “You want to know about my ‘batshit crazy relationship’ with my ‘friend’?” I repeat his words back to him. “That ‘friend’ is my oldest and dearest friend in the world. He’s one of mine.”
“Of course, he is,” Cole sighs. “He didn’t
want you to tell me, did he?”
I shake my head, “No, but he changed his mind.”
“What made him do that?”
“CK convinced him, sort of. It’s complicated.” I brush it aside. “Cole, I don’t want to have this conversation in the middle of a car park, and I don’t want to go back in there,” I say, gesturing at the restaurant.
“Where do you want to go?” he asks.
“Home,” I say, suddenly weary. “I will answer any questions you have if you want to come with me. I do understand if you don’t.”
“Let’s go then,” he says and unlocks the car. I smile weakly, not quite willing myself to believe that things are fine just yet. I peer over his shoulder with a frown at the huge black SUV that suddenly tears away from the sidewalk and drives off, as I get into the car.
We’re both silent on the way home, each lost in our own thoughts.
“When you said, ‘he’s one of mine’ what did you mean exactly?” Cole’s question jolts me out of my reverie.
“Oh, I meant that I turned him. Made him a Vampire,” I say absently.
Cole’s mouth drops open in shock.
“By his own choice!” I add loudly.
Staring at me and not at the road, he stutters, “People ask you to turn them into Vampires?”
“Eyes on the road, please,” I say sweetly. He snaps his attention back.
“Sometimes. Not all who ask are turned. It’s up to the sire,” I say, cautiously.
“Sire?” he asks with a furrowed brow.
“The one doing the turning,” I clarify.
“So, you are Devon’s sire?”
“Yes.”
“Huh. And yours is?”
“CK.”
“Of course, he is,” he mutters. “How did he react when you told him you were going to tell me?”
“Not happy, but he accepted it,” I say shortly.
“Oh.”
At this point we are back home. As he pulls the car up to the front, I leap out before he cuts the engine. Restless now, I need to move. Following me inside to the bar, Cole asks for a beer while I pour myself another glass of wine.
“I definitely should have asked for another one at dinner,” he jokes.
I narrow my eyes at him, realizing he hasn’t eaten. “Are you hungry?”
He shakes his head as I hand him a bottle. “Are you?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Not for food,” I mutter, and he blanches.
Fortunately, Devon chooses this moment to turn up. “Hey,” he says to me, ignoring Cole.
“Hey,” I sigh. He comes around to my side of the bar and kisses my forehead. “Everything, okay?” I nod briefly. “Good.” He acknowledges Cole then. “You’re still here,” he states.
Cole nods and watches him warily.
Devon looks at me. “Aw, you told him about me. And there I was looking forward to spilling the beans.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Shut up,” I mutter. “We came back here to talk.”
“Oh, I see,” he says, but makes no move to disappear. “Have you shown him your fangs yet?” He snickers, thoroughly enjoying my discomfort.
Cole goes pale. Paler than before even and stands up, backing away abruptly.
“Devon!” I admonish. “Behave yourself.”
He just grins devilishly at me.
“Cole, ignore him, he’s an arse,” I implore him.
“Oh, my sire, how you wound me with your words.” He holds his hand over his heart as he says this, and I punch him in the shoulder. Hard, to make my point.
“Ow, okay, okay, I’ll behave. No more punching. It’s not a fair fight,” he complains.
I snort while he snickers, casting my glance at Cole, who is watching this exchange as if he can’t quite believe it.
Steeling himself, he asks, “So where does the story start?”
Devon raises an eyebrow. “You haven’t told him yet?” he asks.
“Told me what yet?” Cole asks sharply.
“I wanted to wait until we were in a more stable environment,” I say.
“What don’t I know yet?” Cole asks again.
Looking on in anticipation, Devon settles on a bar stool and pats the one next to him, saying to Cole, “You’d probably better sit down.”
Cole ignores him and glares at me to start talking.
Breathing in, I look him square in the eye. “You said before that you see a century's worth of accomplishments and wisdom?” He swallows and nods, so I continue. “Well, multiply that by ten and you’d be right,” I finish quickly.
As the math registers, his mouth drops open in shock.
“Told you to sit,” Devon says. I scowl at him to shut it.
Cole sinks onto the stool staring at me in wonder. Finding his voice, he stammers in amazement, “You’re a…a…thousand years old?”
“This year.” Devon just can’t help himself sometimes.
I sigh and say, “Yes.”
“A thousand? You were born in the year 1012?” he asks incredulously.
I shake my head and say, “No, we go by when I was turned. I was turned in 1012. I was born in the year 996.”
And with that revelation out in the open, Cole’s eyes roll up into the back of his head and he passes out.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A s quick as a cat, Devon catches him. I am at his side in the next second. He carries Cole to the sofa, and he places him down.
“Get him some water, he’ll come to in a minute,” I say, absently stroking his forehead.
Devon returns as Cole’s eyes flutter open. Foggy blue-gray eyes land on my worried ones. I smile in reassurance asking, “You okay?”
He nods and sits up as Devon hands him the bottle of water. “Thanks,” he says, slightly embarrassed.
“No worries, you okay?” Devon asks.
Again, Cole nods and says, “I’m fine. A bit overwhelmed, I guess.” He clears his throat.
“That’s to be expected. This is a lot to take in, and you haven’t eaten tonight. Devon, go get him something to eat,” I order, thankful that he does as he’s told for once.
I put my hand on Cole’s leg and he flinches. Hurt, I quickly remove it and put it in my lap. He looks at me apologetically. “Sorry,” he mumbles and takes my hand in his. I relax a tiny bit.
Alone for the time being, I look at him intently, trying to gauge his reaction to recent revelations.
He feels my eyes on him and turns to me, meeting my gaze.
“Hey.” He smiles softly
“Hey.” I smile back. “Quite a day, huh?”
“You could say that. You ever have anyone pass out on you before?” he asks wryly.
I frown and say, “No, but then you are the first person I have told that I’m a millennium old.” I shrug; not even Scott knows my true age, having been vague in that explanation.
Cole’s eyes widen in surprise.
I elaborate. “The last person to know my true age was in 1745. I was only seven hundred and thirty-three then. Doesn’t sound so bad, I guess.” I shrug.
“How did they take it?” he asks, genuinely interested.
“He did not take it well at first,” I say, thinking of Fraser’s thunderous expression as he caught me snacking on the innkeeper. I push his image from my mind and smile sadly. “He came around though, after I killed a Sassenach soldier who tried to slit his throat.”
Cole’s eyes are wide and he’s listening intently. “Wow. That’s…you killed someone?” he finishes, sounding concerned.
Devon returns before I can answer, with a tray of sandwiches and snacks. “Esther insisted on feeding the five thousand, as usual,” he says, dumping the tray down and flopping onto the opposite couch.
“Well? How far did you get?” he asks.
“I haven’t, yet,” I say through gritted teeth.
My phone buzzes at that point, and I check the ID; it’s CK. I gulp. I know if I ignore it, he will most definitely turn up in person. “I have to take thi
s. I’ll be one minute and then I’ll tell you my story,” I say reluctantly. Letting go of Cole, I answer it. “Hello, my love,” I say casually, as I wander out to the terrace.
“Hello, my beautiful,” he says smoothly and my heart sings. “Do I need to be worried?” he asks.
“Not at all,” I say firmly. “I have told him, and he is accepting, but he is cautious. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Oh, Aefre,” he sighs. “What have you done? Did you not take in anything I said earlier?”
I don’t say anything, as what is there to say? I don’t believe in the dumb prophecy and I sure as shit don’t think it has anything to do with me and Cole.
After a huge pause, he says stiffly, “I suppose that’s good that he understands. I’ll let the cleaning crew know they can stand down.”
My mouth drops open in horror. “What?” I snap, the black SUV now makes sense.
“You know the deal, Liv,” he says. “We have to protect ourselves.”
Fuck me! He had a cleaning crew on standby to kill the man I think I love in case he didn’t accept me? I am shocked and outraged. Unfortunately, also speechless, so no words come out when I open my mouth to blast him.
“I’m sorry,” he adds quietly at my silence. “Your safety is the most important thing to me. I love you.”
I want to cry in frustration and yell at him for being such an obnoxious dick. “I’m disappointed that you didn’t trust me to handle this on my own,” I say just as quietly. Fury is lost on him; he sees it as a weakness and dismisses it. Calm and controlled gets better results.
“I do trust you. I don’t trust him,” he says darkly.
“You don’t know him,” I say weakly.
“Precisely. And now none of us know what the future will hold. But what’s done is done. Go and tell him your story and be sure to make me the hero.” He hangs up on me before I can say anything else. Maddening brute.
I return to the den.
“Everything okay with the old man?” Devon asks with typical Devon sarcasm.
“Perfect, thank you,” I say a little too brightly. No way am I revealing the contents of that particular conversation to either one of them. Devon will jump on the prophecy business and grill me to within an inch of my life about it, and Cole will… Well, who the fuck knows what Cole will do if he finds out he might be a part of some ancient Vampire prophecy that will sky-rocket me into an exalted position within our race? Oh, yeah, and let’s not forget the fact that if he had spurned me, my sire would have had him wiped clean off the face of the Earth. Man, what a day.