Untitled Chapter eight

When I woke I was back in my cave and both Matthew and Christian were there. I didn’t feel like I had changed, but I was still tired and just a little bit dizzy. I sat up slowly trying to get things to stay put around me. Christian came over and sat down next to me and offered me a drink of water. I drank it gratefully.
“Did I turn?” I finally asked.
“No, guess your spell worked after all,” he said as he gently kissed my cheek.
“What is this spell anyway?” Matthew asked.
“When my mother stayed with the gypsies’ one of them helped her look for a way to remove the mark. They found it but it was too late for her to use. He gave it to me when he found out that I was marked.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” he said.
“Well as far as they know it had never been used, because one of the ingredients was blood from the vampire that marked the person and the blood had to be given freely. I may be the first one on record to have ever used it. Max will be amazed.”
“I’m just not sure,” he said again.
“Look, why don’t you try to bite me, if it didn’t work then you won’t be able to drink my blood, if I am free of the mark then you would be able to without problem.”
“I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“We need to know. I need to know. Because if the mark is still there then I could still change, maybe it won’t kick in until I go back to the other world.”
I knew at that instant that I had him stuck between a rock and a hard place. It might be hard for him to be able to bite me, but the fear that I could change the next time I visit the other world could be worse. He came over and sat on the other side of me and put his hand over mine.
“I hate this.”
“Just consider it a way to keep your promise you made to me 18 years ago.”
“We’ve got a lot of things to discuss,” he said as he gently moved my hair out of the way and bit into my neck. I flinched from the pain as he pulled away. The shock was visible on his face. He quickly got up and walked out of the cave.
I looked at Christian, not sure what to do. He shook his head at me and then got up and followed Matthew. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I had to respect the irony of the situation. Last time he left this cave after I had bit him, this time he left after biting me. Before long Christian came back inside and sat down next to me, he put his arm around me and pulled me up against him.
“He went to go feed. He’ll be back soon, and then I will need to go,” he explained. I had a feeling that he might be holding something back but I didn’t ask.
“I am ok right?”
“Well he didn’t get the pain usually associated with someone who is marked by another, but this is a first in over 500 years. He is just having trouble dealing with the concept.”
“And what about you Christian, how are you dealing with it?” I asked as I shifted my head to his chest.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s good that I don’t have to worry about that part any more. And with Cassie gone, no one should be after you anymore.”
“And what happens between us,” I asked, feeling like I would have to drop a brick on his head to get him to understand what I was talking about.
“I can’t answer that. I don’t know,” he said. I stiffened as I sat up pulling out from his arm.
“I should let Max know that the spell worked, he’ll be thrilled.”
“Jesse, we need to talk about this.”
“No, I don’t think we do. I’ll be back in just a little while.”
I got up, made an entry way and left. Obviously he did not have feelings for me, at least not that way. I couldn’t understand it though; he had kissed me many times; very passionately in fact. I tried to get this all out of my mind but it didn’t seem to want to go. I stepped out of the alley way into the dim sunlight day that was England in its glory. I walked slowly to the shop enjoying everything about the moment. Sunlight another bit of proof that I had not turned.
I walked in and the young girl was behind the counter again, she recognized me immediately. I looked around at the displays while she went to get Max. He came in smiling as he took me in his arms and gave me a quick hug before leading me to the back room.
“Jesse, I hadn’t expected to see you so soon. You look well.”
“Thank you. You look good too.”
“So what has brought you here?” he asked.
“I wanted to tell you that I used the spell, and it worked.”
“What, that’s impossible,” he said in a gruff tone.
“Excuse me,” I asked, shocked by his both his words and his tone.
“I’m sorry, I’m just shocked. I mean that it is amazing. I didn’t think it would work.”
“Well it did.”
“How do you know for sure that it worked?” he asked as he sat down on the desk.
I explained what had happened and how we tested it. I swear his jaw dropped down so far that I thought he’d fall over. I didn’t seem to get a single happy response from anyone that had been told. You want to talk about getting a complex, I was getting one.
“We must celebrate, dinner. Let me take you to dinner.”
“I can’t stay today, how about a rain check. I’ll come back in a few days and we can go then.”
“Fine that will be great, we’ll see you then.”
“Ok, great.”
I was feeling a bit better when I returned to the cave. Matthew was startled by the appearance of the entry way. But he relaxed once I came in. He stood up and approached me; I went into his arms and hugged him tightly. There was something unexplainable about the sensations that ran through me at that moment. Could be that I was just glad to start getting my life sorted.
“I’m sorry I had to leave like that. The taste of blood reminded me I needed to feed; I didn’t want to put you in danger.”
“It’s ok. I understand. It’s just ironic that the last time you rushed out of here was because I bit you.”
“How did you know that?”
“It’s in her journal,” I said as I went to the wall storage and reached in to pull out the both journals and handed them to him.
He sat down next to the bed and opened up the sketch book first, I couldn’t help but watch his expressions as he looked at the drawings. Then he reached the final three pictures, he looked up at me and smiled. I could definitely see why my mother had been attracted to him. He hadn’t changed a bit since the drawing was done 18 years ago.
“I didn’t realize she drew this. It’s very hard to imagine that the baby I held in my arms so many years ago was you.”
“There are moments when this is all too real and then it still seems so dream like. I don’t know how to explain it,” I said as I sat down on the bed.
“Actually I understand. It had been a long time of not really experiencing any sort of emotions until I met your mother and I can’t even begin to explain any of this.”
I leaned up against the wall and watched him as he opened the journal and began reading. I wasn’t sure at what point I fell asleep or exactly where my dream ended. I just remember looking into his soft brown eyes as he gently caressed the outline of my face. I smiled at him and reached up to touch his cheek. I couldn’t understand the reactions that I had as I touched him. Gently I moved my hand down to his neck as he leaned closer, I pulled on his neck but instead of pulling him down I was pulled up a little ways. His arm slid behind me as he suddenly kissed me.
The kiss was unlike any kiss, so familiar and yet so completely new. As I drew into the kiss something inside of me panicked and I pulled away. I knew I wasn’t asleep anymore, as I stared into Matthew’s eyes. He seemed just as confused as he gently placed me back down and quickly stood up. He ran his hand through his hair as I watched every movement that his body made.
I quickly sat up and looked around the cave; I needed something to do to keep my mind occupied. I couldn’t help but touch my lips; the slight tingling sensation was still there from when he released his claim on them. This shouldn’t be happening; I knew it and I was sure he was thinking the same thing.
“Thank you for letting me read the journal; it answered a lot for me.”
“You’re welcome. I thought you had the right to see it.”
“I have to admit that I am surprised that she didn’t leave you any sketches of your father.”
“Oh but she did. It was with the loose sketches that she gave me.”
I put the journal up and was about to pull out the pictures when Christian came into the cave. I hesitated as the situation became very awkward. I decided to save the other pictures for later, so I just closed the entry way and turned to look at the two men before me. One that didn’t want me, and one that shouldn’t; and I was oddly attracted to them both. Again I looked around for something to do, and then I realized that the fruit bowl was empty so I rushed over and grabbed it.
“I’m going to go and get some more fruit.”
“I’ll go with you,” Christian said as he took the bowl from me, “Are you coming Matthew?”
“Yeah, I’ll come too.”
“Ok,” I said as we all headed out of the cave.
Everything was still tense until we reached the groves, then Christian and Matthew began talking about people I didn’t know. Which was fine, I didn’t think I could keep up much of a conversation right now. I concentrated on picking fruit and vegetables for the rest of today and for tomorrow. I decided that I would go back to England tomorrow to have dinner with Max that would give me something to do to break up the tension I felt.
I looked up to where the guys were sitting and talking, and both were watching me. I blushed as I smiled at them and they both smiled back. I sat down on the grass and put my hand to the ground, I could hear voices no crying this time but several voices. I couldn’t hear Matthew or Christian so that seemed very odd. Where were the voices and the crying coming from, the fact that only I heard them through the ground puzzled me.
A little later we went back to the cave and I ate and listened while they told me stories about things that have happened throughout the centuries that they had seen. It was a living history that was almost unbelievable. But then again why shouldn’t I believe my life now fell into that category.
I eventually fell asleep listening to them talk about their past experiences. My dreams took from a pleasant meadow into a small confined space. The walls were smooth rock just like the cave only so much smaller. I couldn’t find a way out, I could hear voices but there was no one around. I screamed but my voice didn’t go anywhere.
I sat up quickly, taking in my surroundings. I was alone in my cave; the fire had died down; which explained the cold sweat I was in. There was no spare wood so I would have to go in search of wood. I stepped out of the cave and found it to be a warm and balmy evening.
“What are you doing?” Matthew asked as he stepped out from the side of the cave.
“S**t, you scared me,” I said as I looked at him.
“Where are you sneaking off too?”
“I’m not sneaking; if I wanted to sneak off I could simply make an entry way to anywhere and go through it.”
“Ok, true enough. Where are you going?”
“I’m out of fire wood, I woke up cold. Hard to believe with how warm it is out here.”
“I’ll go with you.”
So together we headed down the path.
“Why were you stalking around the cave?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were safe. It has been a rough several days.”
“You could have just stayed inside the cave.”
“Well after,” he paused, “I just didn’t know if I would be welcome.”
“Unless I tell you differently, you are always welcome,” I said as I stared into his eyes. His beautiful, warm and inviting eyes.
We went down to the trees and started searching for any that were fallen. We finally found one and I watched in amazement as he started to break it into pieces. This of course made a bit of a splintered mess, I couldn’t help but laugh. He shook his head slightly causing the dust and debris to fly from him. I opened an entry way and we tossed the wood into the cave that way; definitely easier than carrying it.
By the time we were done we were both covered in the dust and I had worked up a sweat. So we walked over to the stream to clean up. I always found it amazing how the stream was only about three feet across everywhere but here. Here it was about five feet across and five to six feet deep for an eight foot length then it went shallow again. The
water was always so perfectly warm here.
I rinsed off my arms and face but I knew it would take forever this way so I took off my shoes and dived into the water. Once in the water I took off everything but my underwear and bra. I rinsed everything off and then tossed them to the shore. Matthew just stared at me; I wasn’t sure if shock or disbelief fit his expression.
“Well I’m all clean, what’s your excuse?” I asked as I splashed water in his direction.
“Only because you cheated,” he said as he sat down and took off his shoes.
I swam under the water and when I surfaced he was gone. I looked around but couldn’t find him anywhere. I climbed out of the water and looked; suddenly he grabbed me from behind and we both went into the water. As soon as I could get my bearings I splashed water at him. He stood at the shallow start of the area and took of his pants off. Then I watched as he took off his shirt; I noticed that there was a huge scar on his back. I moved over towards him and reached out to touch it.
He didn’t move. I couldn’t understand the perfect symmetric scar that he had; as I moved closer I traced the outside edges of the scar. He was still holding his shirt when he turned to face me; I never removed my hand, as he turned I felt the entire expanse of his chest. The feelings that were stirring inside me didn’t seem possible, but I couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t remove my hand.
“Jessina,” he said my name breathlessly.
“Please call me Jesse, Jessina belongs to a baby that hasn’t existed in eighteen years.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Which part, the part about calling me Jesse? The part about our past? Or the part that for some reason I can’t control when I find myself attracted to you?” I asked in such a soft tone I didn’t recognize my own voice.
“Your mother,” he started to say, but I quickly put my hand over his mouth. I shook my head at him.
“My mother is a woman from both of our pasts. If all you feel is a fatherly affection towards me then tell me now,” I stated to him, still not removing my hand from his chest. He tossed his shirt onto the pile of clothes already on the edge near the stream.
“Unfortunately what I feel is not parental.”
I pulled myself closer to him and he put his arms around me. I looked up at him and he smiled, I couldn’t help but smile back at him. His hand gently pushed my wet hair away from my face as he leaned down to kiss me. The kiss started so soft and gentle before it gradually became more demanding.
“We need to be careful. It would be too easy for me to hurt you,” he said as he held me tight against him.
“That could be bad,” I said as I ran my hand down his back, my fingers just gently tracing his spine.
“Eighteen years ago, I held you in my arms and I knew that you would change my life. You would be the death of me,” he said smiling as he kissed my neck.
“I also recall that you promised to give me anything that I wanted or needed that was in your power to give,” I said as his kisses moved further down my neck.
“You really are going to be the death of me.”
“Oh, but what a way to go.”
I pulled out of his arms and swam under the water; he grabbed my foot and pulled me back. We lay out by the side of the stream; he continued to hold me against him. I couldn’t explain the truth about how I was feeling; I don’t think there were words to explain it.
“Cassie had said you were one of the originals. What did she mean by that?”
“There were three of us that did not get bitten or bite to turn.”
“Then how did you turn?”
“Well, as you know I’m over five hundred years old. There was a rumor about a plant; they called it the blood lust vine. And the rumor was that if you consumed it you would crave meat or blood till it killed you. The three of us thought that was a fake story and decided to challenge the rumor. We picked the plant and ground it up, and then we each cut our wrists and added it to the ground up plant. And then we consumed the contents, we became drunk with the sensation that it gave us. The change was slow, but it wasn’t the change that we were expecting when we did it again. The sensation it gave us after drinking it, it basically was a drug that we began to crave. We knew we couldn’t keep cutting ourselves so we used blood of animals. Slowly we started to get weak in the sunlight, and our energy grew at night. The blood lust eventually kicked in, we desired more and more of it. For two years our appetites grew, we started to notice that we weren’t changing; we weren’t growing older. We also discovered that human blood was more filling than that of animal blood; we could go longer between feedings that way. We couldn’t go out in the sunlight at all; so we prowled the country side at night and rested during the day.”
“But does that mean you are the three that created all the vampires that exist today?”
“Possibly, once we found out how to make a vampire without the plant many more came about. There was no way to control it. I don’t know for sure that there weren’t others before us, but as far as we do know most all of that I have met or ran into have in one way or another been sired by someone that comes from us.”
“Wow that is both scary and amazing.”
“We should get back to the cave and get our clothes dried. Would you do the honor?” he asked as he grabbed up all of our clothes, I stood and opened the entry way to the cave. I paused for just a moment before stepping all the way through because I could hear the voices again, much louder than before.
Once I stepped through completely the voices went away. I placed my hand on the ground and listened, the voices were there. I could hear them much clearer when I was in the entry way. Matthew came and kneeled next to me, he placed his hand on my shoulder as he looked at me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know, I just keep hearing voices that I don’t know where they are coming from.”
“Do you often hear voices?” he asked with a tone of humor mixed in.
“Funny. No just when I connect with the earth, but then I heard them when I was coming through the entry way.”
“Odd, any idea where they could be coming from?”
“No, that’s what bugs me the most. They could be just somewhere nearby, they could be in another world or just a different dimension. I don’t understand or know how these so called gifts work; and there is no one here to explain it to me. It could be just a fluke, or there could be a purpose and I am screwing up the universe because I am not using them right. I just don’t know.”
“Hey, it’s ok. I’ll help you figure it out, but we don’t have to do it right this minute. For now let’s just get you dressed in dry clothes,” he said as he helped me stand up. I had forgotten that I was still in my bra and panties. I looked at him.
“What about you?”
“For some reason I doubt that you have anything that will fit me.”
“Do you have a place in this world that you keep clothes at?”
“No, since the events eighteen years ago, I have spent very little time around here.”
“You can start keeping some here but in the mean time let me do something for you.”
I dressed quickly and then grabbed some money from the wall storage. Then I slipped through an entry way. I felt like an idiot since I forgot to ask him his sizes. So I settled for buying him a pair of sleep pants, some t-shirts, and boxer shorts; all items that were easy for me to guess sizes.
I returned to the cave and handed him the bag. He opened it up and looked at them, then gave me a playful smile.
“Is this supposed to be a hint of sorts?” he asked as he pulled out the sleep pants. I blushed at the thought he was provoking.
“You can take it that way, but it was more because I failed to ask you what size you wear.”
“My way is more fun.”
“Just get dressed,” I told him. Though I wasn’t sure that was what I really wanted. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted any more, I was even less sure if it was something obtainable.
I walked over to the fire that was still slowly trying to fully catch on; I reached out and gave it a little help. I peeked over my shoulder at Matthew to see if he had seen me do it, he had. He was pulling his pants up as he watched me. I looked down at the ground as I bit my lip; not sure how he would deal with really understanding what I could do. I felt very subconscious about him seeing me. He came over and grabbed me from around my waist and pulled me back onto the bed. He hadn’t put on a shirt yet, which suited me just fine.
“Why do you bite your lip like that?”
“I don’t know, it’s just a nervous habit.”
“What do you have to be nervous about?”
“I don’t know. My abilities, every once in while I just do something without really thinking about it.”
“You don’t have to be nervous about doing anything that you want around me.”
“No guarantees about that one. But I do have to go to England tonight; I promised Max I would go back so that he could take me out to dinner to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
“You know, because the spell worked.”
“How long are you going to be gone?”
“A couple of hours maybe.”
“Mind if I follow you through so that I could get some real clothes to have around here?”
“I don’t have to worry about you attacking me, do I?”
“No you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Why is it so different for Christian?”
“Because he has a lot of remorse for his life, and that magnifies his guilt as he goes back and forth between the worlds. Maybe it makes me a horrible being, but I do what I have to do to survive and that doesn’t cause me guilt. The only real guilt I ever had was the situation with you and your mother, and for that I just stayed in the other world as much as possible. I didn’t carry it back and forth if I could avoid it.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
It did make sense, but I felt bad for Christian. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was what had held him back from keeping him from being willing to move forward with me. Not that it really should let it bother me, but it did. It didn’t make sense that I could have such strong feelings for both of them. I didn’t want to hurt either of them. My head hurt from trying to make sense of any of this.
“Are you ok? You don’t look so good.”
“I think I just need to eat something,” I said. Which wasn’t a total lie, I hadn’t eaten since last night. He pulled the fruit bowl over towards me then sat back down.
“Are you sure that is all?”
“The rest is just my confusion, trying to deal with everything.”
“I don’t want to add to that.”
“No that part is a good confusion,” I said as I looked up into his eyes. I leaned in closer to him and gently kissed him, he pulled me tight against him and the kiss became all consuming. When he eventually pulled away, my head was spinning.
“I think we should definitely have you eat,” he said as he laughed at me. I blushed as I hit him. He grabbed my hand and gently kissed my palm before placing a bright blue apple in it.
I leaned up against him wondering why I let myself be so concerned about all these crazy things. Such as I thought it was odd that I didn’t seem as self conscious about eating in front of him or Christian even though they didn’t eat. I also didn’t have a problem with the fact that I knew what they were doing when they went to feed. What kind of horrible person was I when I knew that people could die when they went to feed?
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I asked him.
“Sure,” he said hesitantly.
I hesitated as tried to decide how best to ask.
“I don’t want you to think that I am being judgmental, I am just curious. When you feed,” I stopped. How do I ask, do you kill people?
“What do you want to know? When I feed I go back to the other world and I bite and drink from humans. It is the only thing that will last me for a longer time.”
“No, I figured that. Do you drink all of their blood?” I asked as I bit my lip. He looked at me and his finger went to my lip applying a bit of pressure to make me release my grip.
“I haven’t killed anyone in over three hundred years,” he said with a smile, as he gently kissed the lip I had been biting. “Does it bother you?”
“I know it should, but it doesn’t. Do you think that make me a bad person?”
“You are asking a morals question of someone who made himself into a vampire.”
“Well don’t we make for an interesting set?”
“I think we need to get you something besides fruit and vegetables to eat. I could go get a rabbit.”
“And I could just as easily go and get a pizza, so unless you need to feed too, I would just as soon have you here with me until time to go to England.”
“Well I guess I have to keep my promise since that is something I can give you.”
“I think I might get use to wielding this power over you,” I said teasingly.
“Better be careful on that one.”
“I don’t know, I have a lot of years to hold over your head.”
He pulled me up against him and he didn’t let go. I looked up at him and could see the battle going on inside him.
“I was kidding. I don’t blame you or my mother or my father for my life. It really wasn’t all that bad, I was raised very rich and spoilt.”
“Tell me about it,” he insisted. I snuggled up into his embrace and then told him as much as I could remember about my life as I grew up.
As I talked about my previous life and home I was hit with a sense of loss. I didn’t really miss the life, but I did miss the people I had shared it with. More than anything I missed Charlie; he was the only person in the world that I knew I could talk to about anything and trust with everything. I could imagine how he would react to my current situation; and that made me miss him that much more.
Matthew didn’t say anything when I stopped talking and started crying he just cradled me in his arms. I was afraid I would never stop when he finally mentioned that we should get ready to go if I was expected for dinner. I was thankful that he didn’t ask me why I was crying. I was fighting so hard to move forward with my life, and forward meant leaving them behind.
The stores were still open when we arrived but the setting sun was hidden behind the overcast skies when we stepped into the alleyway. Matthew agreed to meet me back at that same alleyway in three hours before we parted ways. I tried not to think of anything too seriously as I walked to the store to meet up with Max. The store was closed, but he had been behind the counter with receipts and a log book and smiled at me as he came and unlocked the door to let me in.
“Jesse, it is so good to see you. I was sure you had forgotten,” he said as he held my hand between his.
“I told you I would come back.”
“Let me put this away and we will head out. Give me just a few minutes.”
“Take your time; I’m just going to look around while I wait.”
“The newest items are on the table display over there,” he said as he pointed to the corner table display.
I walked over and looked at the items on display. Most were knick knack type of items meant for decoration or amusement. I did notice that he had some pendants similar to the ones that my mother had left me. The label on the display said locators and I wondered what that meant; I would have to ask him about that. My life seemed more and more like a huge block of Swiss cheese; so many empty holes that I wanted answers to, so that I could fill them in.
Max returned shortly and we headed out to go eat. He took me to a very nice pub where we had a very delicious meal. He had so many questions about my life in the other world that I didn’t have a chance to do much besides answer. He asked again about the spell and the drinking of Christians blood; still amazed that it worked that well and that fast. I explained it all again and then looked at him.
“Ok, my turn to ask a question. The pendants, you have a label that says locators on them. What exactly does that mean?”
“Well they are used for spells, there is a very small compartment at the top of the pendant in which you insert a drop of blood and that crystal will zone in on that one person and you will be able find them.”
“They look just like the ones that my mother left me.”
“Yes I gave them to her so that if we were able to find a cure for her she would be able to find you. And yours was set to her.”
“Thank you. Boy it is getting nasty out,” I said as I looked out the window. I still had an hour before I was to meet up with Matthew and I wasn’t looking forward to standing out in the rain while I waited.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Sure,” I followed him to the counter where he paid for our meal before we exited into the dark and dismal night.
He kept up a steady stream of small talk as we walked slowly back towards the store. We had only gone a short way when someone grabbed me from behind. Suddenly I found myself pinned against a brick wall by a vampire; there were others holding Max against the opposite wall. I couldn’t escape and leave Max, because I was worried about his safety too. Before I had much time to try and think the vampire bit into my neck, we both screamed out in pain as his grip on me loosened.
“You are still marked.” It was a demanded statement which puzzled me. I couldn’t be marked, we tested it out. Before I had time to think about the situation he grabbed me by the neck and forced me back against the wall, there was a loud crack; and then everything went black.
I woke up to find myself in a clinic or doctor’s office of sorts. It looked medical but not any that I had ever seen before. I only vaguely remembered what had happen as my head was fuzzy; my vision was blurred around the edges but I could still see enough. I needed to get out of here, I needed to get back to my world. I needed to find Matthew, and then I remembered they had been holding Max too; I’d forgotten about him for a moment. I stood up but as soon as my feet pretended to hit the ground everything started spinning; I grabbed out for anything to break my fall.
There was a loud crash as whatever I had tried to grab onto fell to the ground with me. I heard voices and footsteps just before the door flew open. Suddenly there was a crowd of people, so many unfamiliar faces hovering over me. Along with the faces came hands, and all of these hands were grabbing at me. I fought them off, struggling to get away from them. My head was spinning the room was so bright it hurt to look. I tried to open an entry way so that I could escape but I couldn’t focus; too much going on, my head hurt too bad. Above the faces and hands I heard a familiar voice.
“Everyone just get back. Jesse it’s ok.”
“Matthew?” I asked. Not sure if I really heard him or not. Between the dizzy view and the brightness; which my vision cleared just enough for me to be able to recognize that the brightness was the glow of so many vampires. I was scared then and I knew that I had to be hallucinating.
Crazy thoughts started to circle through my mind, such as, what if the vampires that attacked me brought me here. Maybe they had been helping Cassie and don’t know that she’s dead. I didn’t want to die like this, not here, not when anyone would know.
Wanting to protect myself I fought my way backwards until I bumped into the wall. I scrambled for the corner and tried to shield myself from any possible attack. The fear that gripped me was so strong that I couldn’t think straight, I just knew that this was it, I was going to die. The voices started cussing the buzz became so loud that it made my head throb even more. With my eyes shut tight I braced myself for their attack.
“Get the hell out of here, leave me alone with her,” his voice yelled above all the rest. Then slowly the voices died away. “Jesse, look at me. Damn it, I can’t help you if you don’t look at me. Damn it Jessina, look at me now.”
He was the only one that knew me by my name. I felt a small glimmer of hope as I finally looked up. He was standing about three feet away with his hands held out. I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t move. I put my hand up to my head to try and stop the throbbing.
“Matthew is it really you?” I asked not sure what was going on anymore.
“Yes Jessina, will you let me in?”
“What do you…Oh God,” I gasped as I realized his hands were up against the invisible wall that was keeping him away from me. I couldn’t understand how it could have worked here. I didn’t even know that I had created it. How many now knew what I could do? I tried to put aside these fears but they wouldn’t go away.
“I can’t make it go away,” I cried out.
I watched as he kneeled down on the floor and looked directly at me. His brown eyes seemed to reach out to me.
“It’s ok, you just need to calm down and relax.”
“Where are we? What happened?”
“I’m not sure what exactly happened but when you didn’t show up I went in search of you. Somehow I was able to find you instantly, it was as if I was drawn to you. I found you in the alley the back of your head was bleeding and you had been bitten on the neck. I have never been that unsure of what to do. I couldn’t take you to the hospital, because it could cause too much attention since you couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t take you home because you needed medical attention. Either way I was at risk of losing you. I had no choice but to bring you here; I’ve known the doctor for years now.”
“He’s a vampire too, isn’t he? They all are, and now they know what I can do. It’s going to be like Cassie all over again.”
“No Jesse it’s not. Because this time you have me. I’m not going to let you get hurt. I made you a promise a long time ago and I intend to keep it.”
“Was Max dead? Did they kill him?”
“Jesse you were alone in the alley. Could you try again to let me in? I hate feeling this helpless, I want you in my arms where I can know that you are safe.”
I focused hard until finally I could actually connect with it. Once I was able to connect with the wall I was able to break it down. Matthew immediately moved to my side and pulled me into his arms; cradling me close to him. Once I was calmed down enough the doctor came in to check and see how much damage I did to the stitches when I was struggling. Once that was done I was bundled into a car with Matthew as another vampire drove. Every so often he would look back at me, which made me more uncomfortable.
I didn’t recognize the area that we were dropped off at, but I was glad that we were alone. Matthew picked me up and carried me into the nearby wooded area until I finally saw the shimmering entry way up ahead of us. He had them drive us to an entry way instead of me trying to open one. I don’t think I had ever felt as safe as I did that very moment.
He moved so quickly getting us through the entry way, we landed in a wooded
section that I had never been to before. He still didn’t set me down even when I tried to insist that I could walk now. I still had trouble grasping the concept of how strong they really were and how they didn’t tire. I still wasn’t sure if they were considered dead or alive; they were immortal and normal things could not kill or destroy them. Blood still circulated through their bodies; I gave up trying to think about that for now.
When we reached the base of the cliff, Christian was there. He had such a worried look on his face; I was worried about what could be wrong. I tried to ask him but my head began to get that fuzzy sensation again and before I could say anything I passed out.
I woke up to find myself on the bed, as I looked around and everything was familiar, it was nice to be home. I sat up slowly and was thankful that my head wasn’t hurting anymore. I was alone, though it couldn’t have been for too long since the fire was blazing. Unless I was walking in my sleep and did it. I just couldn’t believe that they would leave me alone. I tried to speak but my throat was so dry that it came out more like a crackle than anything else.
I got up and walked slowly over to the water jug and took a drink; my throat was so raw that it actually hurt at first. I wasn’t dizzy but I felt weak, I took the jug back over to the bed with me and sat back down. It was a few minutes later that Christian came in with the bowl full of fruit.
“You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Ok, still a bit weak but my head isn’t throbbing anymore.”
“Good you had us worried.”
“Seems to be the main topic of discussion between us, but I have to ask, how long was I out?”
“Three days.”
“That long?”
“Do you remember what happened?”
“Sort of. I remember having dinner with Max and a coven of vampires attacked us. One of them tried to bite me, but he said that I was still marked. How can that be?”
“What else do you remember?”
“I remember several of them had Max pinned against the other wall, then the one holding me slammed me up against the wall,” I said as I tried to remember anything from that moment and everything going completely black. I remember footsteps, angry voices but they were so low that I couldn’t really hear them.
“Anything else?”
“Just waking up in the doctor’s office, freaking out and creating a wall again.”
“Well you had to have a few stitches, and they gave you something for the pain. It had a very weird reaction in you once you reached this world.”
“How long was I in the other world?”
“About two nights.”
“That might be why. My mother said that if I went back for too long it could cause problems with my system. Ok back to the other problem.”
“What problem is that?” he asked.

“The problem that the vampire who claims that I am still marked. How can that be? If I am still marked why didn’t it affect Matthew when he bit me? How come I didn’t turn then? Did the spell just block it short term?”
“Good grief. I don’t know? Ask Matthew when he returns,” he said as he turned away.
“Christian,” I called to him. He looked back at me and I felt so guilty. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s just how things are.”
“Please don’t shut me out.”
“I have already come to terms with the monster that I am, you need to accept it too.”
“Christian, you aren’t a monster. You may be a vampire but,” I started before he moved towards me and grabbed my arms pulling me up to my feet.
“Don’t try to make excuses,” he demanded. I looked at him, the pain that I could see tormenting him ripped at my heart. I knew what Matthew had meant. I reached up and placed my hand against his cheek; such a simple touch and it still had an effect on me, something I couldn’t deny. He looked at me, his expression was fierce but his eyes had softened.
“I wish you weren’t so hard on yourself.”
“I’m only accepting the truth,” he said as he pulled my hand away from his face. I looked at our hands together and couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same thing when we touched. As I looked back up at him I could tell that it all had some effect on him. He leaned over and his lips brushed mine lightly, everything inside me turned into knots.
I pulled closer to him not letting the kiss end so quickly. He pulled me tight and the kiss deepened for just a moment before he pulled away. It seemed as if everything stopped for that same moment; then he released me and moved away. He stopped at the cave entrance and looked back at me.
“Matthew will be back soon. If you ever need me I’ll be here for you but, other than that I just can’t do this. I can’t.”