Chapter Eight
When
Karine and
Quietly,
she flung a blanket on top and met
“Seeing
them about to relate to each other- Have you ever done anything that
you’ve regretted?” He
asked while he paced the empty space in the room.
“If
you wear a hole in the floor I may have to! Just sit down and spit it out,”
Karine answered as she pulled him into a seat.
“Seeing
Merrick and Luna getting along so well has made it really clear that I’m
never going to get what they have!
No one wants to trust an idiot…” He stated quickly as he examined the
backs of his hands.
“And
you regret this how?” Karine
prompted after a moment of silence.
“It’s
not really my fault,”
* * * * *
“Why
do you have to be so stupid
“I-
I guess that I’ll just never be as smart as you K,” the other
replied as he tossed his math homework across the room. It fluttered to the floor sadly.
“Don’t
despair, my less fortunate friend- I have a solution!” K replied as he pulled a sheet of blank
paper from his teal notebook.
“What
are you doing?”
Kalan
pulled both of their fingers together over the jagged page and let a drop fall
from each prick, “I have to have a blood agreement to start the
ceremony.”
“Ceremony? Blood Agreement? I haven’t agreed to
anything!”
“You
should have told me before,” K stated as he held his subtlety glowing
hands above the pen, “I can’t stop it now! I evoke the seemingly dark ritual magic
of my many ancestors; hear my plea and make me one with the power!”
“Kalan?”
“Silence!” He shouted as his voice took on an evil
ringing tone, “Bind this mortal to my mind and life-force saving him from
a fate worse than death. Bring his
life in balance with the darkness to end life with lives given in
vain!” His voice built until
the final word when a bolt of lightning shot through the room and cut a jagged
streak across the page of glistening letters.
When
A
few inches away from his hand, Kalan- not really Kalan, not anymore- grabbed
his fingers and spoke, “You have seven years to stumble through alone to
become something useful. An unusual
bond between unusual people will find a long lost friend. Break the ties that hold you back with
flames of truth, fight the battle that needs to be won, and save many lives
with one!” He finished
speaking and his hand fell back to the floor; everything became silent.
The
smaller boy broke free of his shocked trance, turned on his heels, and rushed
out of the room. This event was
scarred into his memory forever…
* * * * *
“And
I never saw him again. He was in
the paper once when he left school during eighth grade, but other than that we
avoided each other,”
“So
we have to find Kalan? How hard
could that be?” She asked
rhetorically. Optimism was her
forte, and it didn’t hurt her to boost his enthusiasm.
“Pretty
hard; as I know, he left the city in shame. I think he may have been kicked out of
the country after he failed a simple task exam…”
“Wait!” Karine exclaimed as she pulled him back
to the seat, “We have to find it and burn it; I’m in.”
“What-
you mean…”
“I’m
in, and I’ll use all I have to help you; now how about
dinner?” She asked as she
rose from her chair. She kissed the
top of his head as she left the room, leaving him to shake his head in
disbelief. After this moment of
hesitation, the small boy began to work on dinner.
* * * * *
Later,
waking up on the couch with Luna,
After
a second, the door slid open a second time and slid shut. The person remaining in the back
didn’t speak, and
Breaking
the silence first and making an educated guess,
“I
cannot see the future,
“People
close to me don’t survive for very long, and it’s better me than
them,” he responded, quieter than before.
“You
don’t hold yourself in a bright enough light. Luna adores you, but you despise
everything you are; you always have,” she stated in the same calm,
peaceful voice.
This
was a shock to him, but he still remembered to regulate his facial emotions,
“She- she does? Of course she
does- humans always flock to what is most dangerous.”
“What
if that isn’t the case?”
Karine asked, keeping eye contact with him. While she held his gaze, he could feel
her inner power working to demolish his hard won mental blocks.
All
of a sudden, a myriad of thoughts rained down upon him, and images flashed in
front of his eyes like an odd slideshow- all of him. Gracefully he slipped to the ground and
to his knees. As the thoughts
ceased while he pulled the shields back around his mind, he shakily spoke with
his face covered, “No- it can’t be… What have I done?”
* * * * *
When
Luna entered the kitchen sometime later, Merrick was sitting at the table
silently watching
“I
really think we need to stop acting like rats in a corner and explore our
surroundings before the lack of knowledge kills us!” Karine exclaimed as she thumped her fist
on the edge of the table.
“The
door is that way,”
Fuming,
she retaliated, “Those are strong words for a coward!” Too bad no one else saw this as a useful
strategy…
“Better
a coward than a failure,” he quietly shot back while he reclined lightly
in the wooden chair.
“Better
a failure than a vampire.”
“I’m
leaving,”
“Wait-
I’ll come too!” Luna
exclaimed rushing after him. She,
unlike him, stopped at the doorway and looked back at the other two members at
the table, “We’re- uh- going on a walk. Take care of… Well- her,
When
Luna rushed out the door,
“Are
you alright?” Luna asked
after a few minutes of silence. He
was moderating his emotions again with his usual accuracy. It really was a silly habit…
He
didn’t answer for another long silence. When he finally spoke, it was a tight,
restricted answer, “It didn’t affect me at all. Do not worry about it.”
“You
don’t sound fine…”
Luna muttered as she lagged behind.
The air outside was warm with a faint hint of the summer heat to come-
too bad Luna only felt cold inside from the previous argument.
He
drew back from the lead and closed the distance between them, “Until you
truly know what I am thinking it would be best not to make assumptions.”
“I
was only-”
“No. End of discussion,” he stated in a
final tone. His previous speech had
proven that the comment in question had done considerable damage, but since he
wanted to nix the conversation, she would.
“Well-
then stop being so gloomy; this is a walk… Have fun!” Luna exclaimed taking his hand. She forcefully pulled him away from his
serious position.
As
if he realized that all resistance was futile,
“Why
did you want to come with me?”
“Why
not? Aren’t we friends?” She asked in return, “I
don’t like being alone all the time, so I figured you might want some
company…”
“I
don’t mind being alone- not anymore.”
“Unlike
you, I didn’t lead a jaded childhood,” Luna joked lightly before
sobering up again, “You said that your friend left a few years ago. Tell me more about him; His name was
Cavos, right?”
“Cavos,”
he answered slowly, “He left after our eighth grade year. We lived together since we were kicked
out of our houses. After a few
years, Vernico moved in with us- back when he was relatively normal.”
“So
why did everyone leave?” Luna
asked trying to keep him talking.
He
thought for a second to phrase it in a softer way, “When you have a group
of unloved, misguided teens in one house there is a delicate balance over
stability. Elenina, as she was
called then, stopped by one afternoon when she found out about our home.”
“Elenina? Why did she change it?” Luna asked, curious.
“One:
would you want to be called Elenina?
Two: she was in the middle of cutting roots, so a name change was
mandatory.”
“Cutting
roots?”
He
laughed, “It’s something that my kind does after being in one place
too long. Humans don’t live
forever- unfortunately we do.”
“So
she caused them to leave?”
Luna asked again, taking in his explanation.
“I’d
rather not talk about it…”
They
continued to walk as a thick fog turned the grounds into a mirror of pea soup
while neither of them spoke. Luna
felt terrible that she’d touched such a hard topic with him.
As
the fog blanketed the scene, a figure appeared at a relative distance. The figure was obviously female and very
thin. They stood about the same
height as Luna in a take-on-the-world stance.
“
“Lucia,”
“It’s
been a long time, so I’m sure they wanted to see how we’d match up
again. We made such a good
pair…” Lucia breathed
out in a sarcastic tone. She spoke
in a tried and true sexy manner to match the curves that the dress hugged
tightly.
Before
Luna got a chance to ask,
“He
dumped me so that he could become a recluse; how pathetic!” She exclaimed with her hands at her
hips. Bitter was just about
it…
“I
was not a recluse.”
“Dressing
in black and hanging around by yourself makes you a recluse. Not to mention you visiting that
chick’s house every night- that makes you a reclusive stalker,” she
reasoned out as she broke from her last tone of voice and into a new anger.
“Shut
up,”
“So you’re content that you
broke my heart, and now you’ve found yourself another woman to do the
same? You’re such a
shmuck!” She spat out
angrily. If she hadn’t
noticed the beauty before, Luna would never have seen it past the ugliness of
her intense anger.
“I
heard that!” Lucia snarled
out in response to Luna’s thoughts on this, “I can read your
mind! I hate everything about
beauty only being skin deep; what do you want- a pretty pancreas? Move aside while I get
Lucia
reached for an unknown dagger at the base of her neck; and, while the speed of
her throw bordered on inhuman, Merrick had already pulled Luna behind him again
and dropped to the ground. The
dagger skittered uselessly through the air until it lodged itself in a tree
behind them.
In
the next moments, when Luna finally was able to look up at the scene, she
noticed many things at once. One of
those things was that Lucia had pulled another dagger from nowhere. Lucia also had
“Do
you fear death,
“I
don’t fear anything but the life that I was given.” He took a slow, deep breath and tried to
look at Luna to encourage her to run.
Luna sat paralyzed at the outside trying to think of how to help
him. Both failed at their goal- go
figure.
“You
had the same choice as everyone else in the house, and you wasted it to watch
another girl. Who is
she?” Lucia calmly demanded
in a frenzied tone.
Meanwhile,
Luna had backed up to the trees to decide on how to help the situation and had found
Karine and
“Luna,
are you okay? Who is
she?” Karine asked quietly so
she would only be heard by the small group.
“She’s
“This
is really bad,” Karine stated to herself while she thought of a solution,
“You’re the only one who can stop this; you know that Merrick
can’t get away from her when she’s on that mission to kill him. Hell hath no fury like a woman
scorned…”
“What
can I do to stop her?” Luna
asked wildly as she looked over at the other two. Lucia had lost more control over her
anger and the dagger was now at a position over his chest; it was dangerously
close to his heart.
Karine
thought for a moment longer and then motioned Luna closer. For the next few minutes they whispered
a brief plan and nodded in the shadows of the trees. After they finished, Karine moved
“TELL
ME!” Lucia shrieked as she
pulled the dagger an inch away from him, “OR DIE!” This was Luna’s moment of action-
as Lucia brought the weapon down she rushed at her and knocked her aside.
In
the one moment after it, time seemed to stop and a lot of things happened at
the same time. Suddenly, Karine was
pulling Lucia away from Luna, and
“Luna-
you have to help him!”
Lucia’s
dagger may have been diverted, but it still had hit the target.
“Luna-
only you can help him,”
“
“I
really- don’t know…” he trailed off uncertainly, “Uh,
close your eyes, and think about what you want to do- I think… There’s a reason why I never
do… stuff like that… I
just don’t… remember why…” Each phrase was more pained than the
last, and his thought process was obviously shutting down. A few seconds later, he passed out cold.
“Luna-”
“I
know,
“I
can do this,” Luna stated to herself as she moved
Healing
is a delicate art, heal too much and you might reroute something; on the other
hand, if you heal too little things could reroute and turn ugly. This fact, among many others, went
unknown to Luna as she fell into her mind and worked on throwing everything she
had into healing her best friend.
Karine and
Suddenly,
the glow around Luna’s hands faded and she fell forward on top of
Lucia
screamed as she was pelted with Smarties and ran from the clearing. Karine had never heard of a fear of
candies, but evidently Lucia was terrified. Who would have thought…?
“Smarties,
Yay!”
Somehow,
the two remaining people got Merrick and Luna into the house with him in one
room and Luna on a couch in the living room. When she woke later, she was alone with
a major headache and no energy. It
took effort to get from the couch to the table where
“What’s
going on?” Luna asked
alarmed. Things had to be bad if
“Do
you feel alright, Luna?
You’ve been asleep for five hours; are you sure you should be
up?” Karine asked.
“I’m
fine- what’s wrong?”
Luna asked with more conviction.
Then it dawned on her, “Merrick?”
“Now,
Luna, calm down. We’re just a
little worried that he hasn’t woken up yet; it’s really
nothing,”
“I’m
afraid that it’s a little more serious than he said,” Karine
corrected and moved closer to Luna, “Because he is a vampire, his body
doesn’t replace blood loss.
What this means is that, unless we do something to save him, he’ll
actually die from acute-blood loss.”
“So
what can we do?” Luna asked
curiously.
“Open
a vein,” Karine answered, “and I’m just not willing to do
that for someone of the group of people I’ve fought my whole life.”
“But
that’s totally racist!
He’s just like you, and you know it!” Luna exclaimed as Karine merely
shrugged. Luna sighed, “If
you won’t help him- I will!”
Even
though she was exhausted beyond all belief, Luna pulled herself from her chair
and stumbled out of the kitchen.
“Please
don’t let me be too late…” Luna weakly said to herself as she
opened the door. Lying in the
middle of the bed,
She
made her way to the edge and leaned over him. Gently, she brushed a runaway hair from
his pale face and looked sadly on contemplating what she had to do. Now she had a technical problem.
Luna
had never been entrusted with a knife.
Hastily she dug through her drawer, but she just didn’t have what
she needed. Thinking fast, she
apologized in advance to
Flinching,
Luna ran the blade down the outside of her wrist until it started to ooze
blood. She tried not to drip while
she moved the wound to his mouth, and the second they touched,
A
few minutes later, he opened his eyes and pulled away from her. Luna, who had been leaning on
“I
was helping you stay alive- no thanks to you!” She exclaimed while rubbing her aching
wrist.
“You
didn’t have to do that,” he stated quietly as he moved towards
her. He reached for her arm,
stopped, and then asked for permission, “Let me see it.”
She
offered her arm to Merrick, who gently probed the skin around it, “It
really doesn’t- doesn’t hurt anymore; it was worth it
anyway.”
“Those
aren’t from pain,
“What
are you- Um, I’m sorry, Luna,” he stated. Her comments all matched what Karine had
told him earlier, but he was still shocked that she was right. No one had ever been worried about him
before.
Suddenly,
Luna burrowed into his shirt and started sobbing.
What am I doing?
“Luna,
you should rest for a while before dinner- don’t strain yourself,”
he instructed quickly before backing out of the room. Thinking that his comment was vague
enough for his purposes, Merrick retreated to where he could hear Karine and
He
walked in and was half-heartedly welcomed before waving them off,
“I’m going to do this quick, because it is very hard for me to
ask. I need you to help make Luna
hate me- I cannot stand leading her on!”
“How
are you leading her on? Don’t
you love her?” Karine asked
in return as
“Of
course- of course I do… I
would die for her, and if I’m not mistaken- I think I almost
did…” He answered.
She
crossed her legs at her knees and leaned forward, “Then what is the
problem?”
“She
is human, and well- I’m not…” He started as he was scrutinized,
“I’ve been away from people for long enough that I can’t just
come back. I’m not strong
enough to readapt- I can’t be with her…”
“Dude,
are you whining? Is strong, dark,
brooding
“Not
helping,
“Get
pissed at you and leave, probably, but I know, and you know, that neither of us
wants that.”
“You
may be correct,” she admitted slowly, “but why try to fix something
that’s not broken? I
challenge you to talk to her- have her teach you to lighten up
again…”
“But
what if I can’t ‘lighten-up’? What if that part of me is gone for
good?”
“Are
you afraid that it isn’t really gone?”
A
tense silence fell over them until
* * * * *
Sometime
around midnight,
Quietly,
as to not wake anyone or alert
Figuring
that an omelet was his best bet, he grabbed the eggs, cheese, and vegetables
and resigned himself to making the simple egg dish. He cracked the eggs into a frying pan
and scrambled them enough to fry into an omelet before going to prepare the
filling.
The
vegetables left in the container were some seriously sad looking pieces of
broccoli, some wilted brown lettuce, and a carrot that had started to turn
yellow with age. Sighing, he told
himself that this was all that he was given; and, he really needed to eat to
get his one night of sleep for the week to come.
The
egg part of the omelet being prepared, he added the rest of the cheese and the
funky vegetables before flipping it shut and knocking it to a plate. He turned off the burner and slid the
plate to the table before going to the sink to wash the pan.
Every
time he finished cooking,
The
omelet, being left on the table alone, was up to its own devices. With strange, inhuman strength it pulled
itself off of the plate and jumped down to floor with a soft thud. None of this was heard by
The
omelet, consciously thinking through his actions, figured that
Quickly,
In
the next few moments, the omelet’s mouth widened in preparation, and
Darien hummed absentmindedly.
Silently, it pounced and swallowed the boy in one bite. Its task finished, the malicious egg
product pushed into the house on the prowl in the dead of night.
Inside,
* * * * *
“You
have to do it; Merrick, it’s the only way,” Karine stated from her
spot in the hallway next to him, “We all have our demons- mine is having
to wake Darien up so we can start our battle preparations.” She left after speaking, leaving
She
opened the door right as he reached up to knock. “You don’t have to
knock,” she started slowly; “It’s your room too.”
“It’s
not that- I, um, can we talk?” he asked coolly. Luna didn’t say anything, but she
stepped aside and let him in. She
left the door open as if she didn’t trust him; he didn’t blame her.
“You
never came back,” she stated dully as she leaned against the wall, facing
him.
He
flinched at her tone and met her eyes hesitantly, “Will you hear me
out?” Luna looked away but
nodded; she held her hand out in a ‘go-ahead’ gesture.
“This
is hard to say, but it needs to be said,” he responded to her
motions. Slowly, he dropped to the
floor and continued, “Since I met you again, you’ve been an enigma-
a puzzle to me. First, you barely
flinched when you finally remembered we were friends; but then, you were able
to throw it all away and isolate yourself- no normal person switches like
that. I lied to you, by omission,
about being normal, but when you found out- you accepted me. All of me. No normal person does that
either.”
“I
never said I was normal,
“The
point- fine. My point is that
you’re so puzzling to me that I stopped trying to guess how you’ll
react,” he stated hesitantly.
“What
do you mean?”
“I
lived a hard existence as a child by myself, so I was used to being alone. Cavos and V had each other- they were
best friends and possibly more- but I was always the one left at home,
alone,” he replied carefully.
"What
about Lucia? How did she fit
in?” Luna asked while she sat
carefully on the floor below her.
“Lucia
came, pretended to be my girlfriend, but she left when I drew back
again.”
“Didn’t
she say something about watching someone?
Could that be the reason she left?” Luna continued to keep
“That
wasn’t the problem- her departure was much before that, but that’s
still not my point. I know that
most of what I just shared just now was new information, yet you’re still
sitting here as calm as before. No
normal, boring, human girl could ever manage that,” he answered, quieter
on each word.
“What
are you saying?”
“Huh?” Luna asked again as she processed faster
than before.
“I
was drawn to you,” he elaborated, “and I think I love you.”
“You’re
kidding- I’ve gone through hell in the past week trying to see where we
stood, and you just come out and say it?” Luna asked, incredulously. She came in front of him and dropped to
her knees to be at eye level while she spoke, “That wasn’t a normal
reaction either, was it?”
“No,”
“That
wasn’t just a normal statement from either; was it? I’ve responded well- what say
you?” she asked boldly, leaving him puzzled again.
“That
depends on what you’re asking…”
Before
Luna could respond, Karine appeared in the doorway alone, “I think we
have a problem.
“What
do you think happened to him?”
Luna asked as she rose to her feet.
“I
think we have reason to believe that a supernatural vegetable omelet is running
rampant in the house,” she responded with absolute certainty.
Immediately,
Luna began to giggle uncontrollably.
Eventually
she quieted down and spoke, “So, what do we do about it?” She must have realized what everyone
else had, and she reached over to take
“Hmmm…” Karine pondered before lighting up with
an idea, “We could find a ray gun and beat it over the head to knock it
out before tying it up, stabbing a hole in it, soaking it in a bowl of steaming
radish water, and then feeding it to rabid squirrels!”
The
other two in the room just stared.
“What?” she asked in response to the stares,
“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy! It works in theoretical physics…”
“How
can you be so sure that it’ll work?
It’s madness!”
Luna exclaimed.
Karine
caught her eyes and seriously answered, “I’m a math major.”
Silence
fell over the room while they contemplated their options. Karine’s ideas bordered on
insanity, but did they really have any other choices? With this company, it looked bleak.
Finally,
Luna broke the silence, “Maybe we should catch it by making another good
one to fight it? Then it can win
and make the other one let us eat it.
No one has to get hurt!”
No
one spoke for a bit, but Karine had the final plan, “Maybe it’s
already left the house. It’s
someone else’s problem now- let them deal with it!” I was rough suggestion, albeit a mean
one; however, it spoke a pure, innocent truth.
A
silent decision was reached, and Karine left the room to organize hers before
they got together to make dinner.
Luna and Merrick, once alone, looked at each other in awkward silence.
“So,”
Luna began, “do you have an answer yet?” Her question took him by surprise at
first, yet he never really had a doubt that she’d bring such a tough
subject back into the open.
“Stay
with me.” He stated quietly
under her gaze.
“What?”
“I
cannot promise you anything… human… or stable,”
Their
eyes met, and a decision was reached.
Without breaking the strange visual contact, the two drew close until
their faces almost met. Close
enough to smell fear and feelings of inadequacy, but still too far to kiss.
Suddenly,
“It’s
a necessary risk,” she stated.
Luna watched on while he pushed through the same drawer that she’d
pulled the knife from before.
He
pulled a silver object from the pile and returned to stand next to Luna. He bent to eye level and clasped a
beautiful silver object around her neck, “Never say that.”
She
fingered the small pendant on the silver chain and asked, “What is this
for? I can’t accept something
like this; it feels important.”
“It’s
my promise,”
“T-thank
you. I won’t lose it, I
promise,” Luna stated quietly before changing the subject, “We
should start our training before we run out of precious time.”
Silently,
he pulled Luna from her seat on the bed and they moved into the hallway where
they promptly ran into Karine.
Karine was dressed in the same pair of jean shorts as before and a
bright green kimono top with her hair pulled into a ponytail on the top of her
head.
“What
are you planning to do for the rest of the day?” Karine asked
“Pick
a television tactic video and train.
Meditation would be in your best interest,” He answered after
thinking about the question.
Without
hesitation Karine found the station that she was to use and started her
training. Then,
They
retreated to a corner where there was a small wooden table, a few large
pillows, and a few tall bookshelves of books about magic. This was definitely to be where Luna
would do most, if not all, of her studying.
Luna
looked over at the books and picked a very basic one titled The Basics:
Light and Sound. Cracking it
open she read the first page out loud, “Magic is the use of power, passed
down for ages through the blood, to make impossible things happen with
ease. The first step is finding a
focus. In battle, this power could
be what saves your life, though in normal uses it could be what helps others or
makes life bearable.”
She
paused after that bit to let it sink in.
It was hard to think that this was actually happening. Her family had darker secrets than most,
and it was a lot to swallow.
She
continued after a quick breath, “To find your focus, you must look inside
of yourself to find the flame. In
some, this flame is very visible and viable; in others, it can be invisible or
almost nonexistent though each person who possesses the blood has a flame that
will spark into great strength.”
Placing
the book open on the table in front of her, Luna took a deep breath and began
to find her flame. Personally, she
felt more like a fool looking for a flame inside because she was pretty sure
that her insides weren’t going to catch fire… She breathed deeply and looked inside,
but nothing came from her efforts; Luna settled back into the chair with a
defeated sigh.
“What’s
wrong?” She didn’t hear
his question at first and it wasn’t until he had said it again that she
snapped out of a mini-trance.
“I
have no flame. What if Rathael was
wrong? What if it was you who
healed yourself and not me? Does
that make me worthless to the group?!?” Luna questioned, more anxious at each
passing sentence.
“I
can feel it. You have to believe in
yourself and the gift you have been given,”
It
was if someone had stuck a lighter in the back of her skull between her
statement and
In
the next moment after this grand realization, the window in the back shattered
and the world around Luna blurred.
Everything moved fast, such as
When
the dust settled, Karine rushed over and pulled Luna from the ground before
asking, “Are you alright? Did
you see what happened?”
Luna
shook her head in the universal fashion for no before she panicked and looked
around for the third of the group.
“
“I
can’t believe… believe that I am always the fucking weak
one…” he mumbled quietly, “I can’t imagine what you
think of me now…”
“Sit,
“No
one except me…” After
that, her friend sank to the floor and passed out cold. Luna caught his head and looked over to
Karine.
Karine
was looking out the window for traces of the attacker. After a few seconds, she spoke,
“It was an assassin.
I’m guessing that they were our wonderful vampire fiends and
“What?” Luna asked in shock as she processed
Karine’s words, “But- but I never got to the how to section of the
book! I could barely find my
focus…”
“Well,
you’re going to have to learn fast.
Find your focus again and picture the healing in your mind. Remember what you did while Lucia was
here? Do that again!” Karine instructed while she began
cleaning up the glass on the floor.
Luna
obeyed and found her focus before trying to remember what had happened last
time. The whole event had been a
blur, though she seemed to remember thinking about their past. A past that was hard to find.
“I-
I can’t do it!” Luna
exclaimed as tears fell down her cheeks, “I’m not good
enough.”
Karine
didn’t say anything immediately, but flipped through a different book
from the shelf and tossed a stone at Luna’s head. “Lapis Lazuli,” she started
as Luna looked suspiciously at the stone in her hand, “it promotes
healing. Fold it into his hand, and
that’s the best we can do. If
it’s meant to be, then his body will mend.”
Luna
did as she was told, and the two girls finished cleaning the room. The window was boarded up systematically
and the glass swept into a bag and discarded. Luna knelt at
Luna pulled the same
book from before off of the table edge and began to read, trying to take her
mind off of her love. A few minutes
later, her strength failed and she curled up next to him, “Please be
alright.” She murmured. Eventually, she fell asleep.
Entangling
himself from the woman he held tightly to his chest,
This
made a bunch of things make sense: good and bad. He knew his body had given out due to toxins
from being stabbed, yet he felt nothing.
Lapis, a healing stone, would heal such a thing, but only at a
price. The burning was from two of
the same stone reacting with each other, and that meant that his powers had
been forcibly used in healing.
Healing would also mean that he’d have to feed again soon.
Problem
one taken care of, he turned his focus on Luna. She’d admitted that she loved him,
and he was fairly certain that he was falling in love with her in return. She was asleep now, most likely due to
the after-effects of adrenaline rush, and he didn’t want to leave her on
the cold floor to wake up alone.
Though
this was beyond his comfort level,
Later,
he walked into the kitchen where a frantic Karine was nursing a burnt hand and
trying to beat back the flames from the stove-top. “What’s going
on?”
“I’m
not the world’s best cook.
That was mom’s job, and we were forbidden to learn it. I don’t suppose you could do
better?” She asked cynically
while still holding her fingers under cold water.
“Actually,
I passed each cooking class presented at school. I believe that I can do
better.” He explained as he
shut the stove off and went in search of a new pot.
Finding
only the one that she had been using, he went to the sink, knocked her away
from the cold water, and began to wash the soot and whatever she was making out
of it before giving her some advice, “For all your brilliance, you
don’t know how to help a burn?
Go and find some aloe. There
should be some in the first aid kit underneath the sink”
“Thank
you.” She muttered helplessly
as she wandered away from the kitchen in search of common household aloe.
When
the pot was clean, he stuck it back on the burner and rummaged through the
fridge disdainfully. It seemed as
if the fridge chose what you ate and when, so all that was in there was a
package of raw calamari, a few cloves of garlic, a bag of tempura, and a cup of
oil, “Calamari it is…”
Preparing
the calamari,
When
he had finished frying up the squid that he had named
Before
he could get far away from the table, he heard a voice call out frantically,
“
As
he pushed the door open, he was physically tackled and pulled into a tight
embrace. Slowly, she pulled away
from him, and he got his first glance of tears on her face, “I- I was so
worried,
“I
am; thanks,” He stated as he brushed away her tears, “Please don’t
cry over me; I don’t believe I’m worth it.”
In
that moment, time seemed to stand still.
Their faces came very close as Luna corrected
In a
moment of bliss, every reservation between them was gone. Neither of them felt inadequate, or
nervous; there was merely a safe presence in its place. It was a minute of ecstasy, but every
dream has its end.
“Don’t
do that…”
“Withdraw
from me,” she answered, “Don’t pull away- we’ve made so
much progress.”
“It’s
just- I- This is different than I’m used to, and I need time.”
“You’ve already had all the
time in the world... What happened
to Karine?” Luna responded
slowly, as if she was puzzled as to what could prove a threat to her.
“She’s
not the best cook; she burned her hand and didn’t know to treat it with
aloe.”
“So
how are we going to eat if she can’t cook and
They
found Karine in the bathroom diligently rubbing aloe on her fingers, and
Karine
delicately gave Luna her burnt hand, so Luna reached deep inside of herself to
find the flame again. Nothing but a
small surge came. “Why
can’t I do it on my own?”
Luna asked with her eyes wide.
“I
may have an idea,” Karine suggested, “
He
nodded and moved closer to do what Karine suggested, only hesitating before he
made contact. He wasn’t sure of
Karine’s intent, but he knew it wasn’t going to be good.
Suddenly,
Karine’s burns healed, and the light fixture above their heads flickered
slightly. Karine’s theory
proved correct, she sat looking smugly at the pair in front of her. Luna stared at her hands with awe in her
face, and
“What
was with that?” Luna asked
when he was gone, “Why couldn’t I do anything without him?”
“I
believe you two are connected; I don’t know much about it, but the
vampires all believe in what they call a vita cruor,” Karine began.
“I’ve
heard that before; Eleni said it to us when
“I
figured as much,” Karine surmised, “Luna, I believe that there are
two people who match up so perfectly that they are meant to be together. Vita cruor, literally life blood, is a
state of binding. You two have been
drawn together, and it will be impossible to separate your fates now.”
“So,
he knows? Is that why he
left?” Luna asked panicking.
“He’s
never had anyone depending on him besides himself; he’s been betrayed too
much to truly trust another human being.
Give him time- he’ll come around,” Karine answered
reassuringly, “Let’s go find the food- I’m starved!”
Downstairs,
plates of calamari steamed on the table; however,
“This
is amazing! Who knew
“Can
you blame him?” Karine asked,
putting the fork in her hand down, “He grew up alone before any kid
should have to. Every time he got
close to someone they betrayed him.
By the time he was ten, he’d been in more supernatural fights and
received more beatings than you and I may ever see.”
“I
never even thought of that…
Karine, what if he’s so scarred that even I can’t help
him? What if even I can’t
accept him in the end?” Luna
asked into her plate.
“I
don’t know- sometimes you just have to accept that fate knows what
it’s doing.”
In
the hall,
He
was about to leave when Luna appeared in the door shocked to see him,
“There you are!”
He
didn’t wait for an answer, and strode out the front door. The second the door latched,
The
lights of Licentia and its sister city, Fas, passed by as a comforting blur;
the city after that, and even the one after that, did the same. Now he was in familiar territory.
It
was a city called Sorchester at the edge of
Sounds
from some drinking party filled the air with rich Cajun voices. Ever since Hurricane Zelda forced the
entire population out of
Half-way
down Ténèbres Rue, the string of lights ended and one house stood
looming above the whole neighborhood.
The house was built in the same style as the houses around it; if you
didn’t think of the size, it was exactly like the ones about it. The building was home to an elitist
group of people who were in the same trouble as
The
door opened before he’d reached the front step and he was ushered into a
pitch black entry way.
“What’s your business here?” a voice asked from a
speaker in the ceiling; a crappy form of security, but effective.
Merrick
sighed, having been through this many times before, and responded, “Mes
amis sont minus, et ils ont besoin de moi.”
The
door then swung open to reveal a room filled with brightly colored neon lights
and upbeat Latin music. An average
built man with fiery red hair stood with his hands on his hips, “You are most
definitely the moron in this equation.”
“It
takes one to know one, Luc.”
“Pourquoi? What have you been into, Mon ami?”
he asked as he led the way into the sitting room, “Jean-Paul,
Jerémie, Ràmone- you all remember
These
people were all past friends of
“Not
nearly long enough,”
“Aw,
this?” the one identified as Ràmone asked as he prodded his cheek,
“it’s just a love tap.
Ma Suzette est très fougeux...”
“Spirited;
that’s one word for it,” the last guy on the couch teased. Jerémie sobered, “What is
going on at your end?”
“The
usual,”
“She’s
probably just making her last stand for Rorecassia before we turn,” Luc
stated boisterously, “Wait- you have a vita cruor? Que ont fait cette advenir? Did it hurt?”
Jean-Paul
sniggered at Luc’s choice of words, and
“You’re
the first of us,” Ràmone answered darkly, “Mine is two weeks
after yours, Jerémie and Luc are both three days after mine, and
John-Paul is four months after him.
You know what happens, quand tu tournures?”
“Not
really.”
Luc
laughed deep in his throat, “That’s what happens when you grow up
away from the flock. When you turn,
you hit ageless immortality.”
“He
makes it sound so mysterious!”
Jerémie whispered sarcastically.
Luc
shot him an evil look, “If you’re so smart, then you take
over!”
“If
you stop shooting me death glares, maybe I could!” he exclaimed,
“Anyway, the day after your turning and beyond you can’t be out in
the sun unless you get a hold of an amulet. They’re really rare.”
“Like
four-in-existence rare!”
“Mon
dieu! Don’t interrupt me
Ràmone!” Jerémie cried, “As I was saying, the sun
will kill you; it’s a horrible
and disgusting voie mourir... Besides
that, you can’t eat solid food at all; that will be hard for you, master
chef.”
“I
can handle it.”
“You’re
shaking.”
“I
am not. I’m just thinking; I
bounce when I’m thinking!” he responded.
“No
you don’t!” Luc
exclaimed loudly, “Don’t lie; Jerémie is absolutely
right. Look at yourself! You look like a druggie- all pale and
shaking- for the only reason that you’re squeamish about drinking from
humans.”
“I
never said-”
“No,”
Luc stated, “I don’t want to hear it. That’s why you’re here,
isn’t it?”
Silence. Then Jerémie spoke, “Man,
just admit it; you need your vita cruor and you know it! If you can’t convince her to love
you and give up her life, then you won’t have a chance.”
“Don’t
look at me to defend you!”
Ràmone exclaimed as
“I
think not,” Luc spat before giving the accused a chance to speak,
“You may have been able to brood your way through life until now, Mon ami,
but you’re just going to have to step up and mature if you want to last
in the real world.”
“J'admets
vaincre,”
“And
you’re just going to admit it?”
“Yes;
just give me a vial so I can get the hell out of here.” He answered in a harsh whisper.
“Fine,
take a pack of ‘em; four will get you through until you turn,” Luc
stated dryly as he tossed a small, black package.
“I
have to do it myself? I’ve
never gotten a high off of stabbing myself…”
“No,
no. We knew this would
happen,” Ràmone stated in an odd tone.
Jerémie
spoke after, adding to Ràmone’s statement, “So we took
precautions. You mean a lot to us,
but you really do need to mature.
This is the best way to do it.”
“What
we have done is give you a helping hand towards dependency from someone else. Ràmone found a local shaman, and
she put a hex on the vials. If you
put them into your veins they will do no good; we gave her your DNA, so
don’t even try to find a loophole,” Luc answered smugly.
“You
did what?” Merrick asked
wildly, “Wait, you’re joking; Ha, very funny guys.”
“No
joke.”
“Nope.”
“Not
a bit,” Jerémie finished quietly, “Look man- your soul mate,
your vita cruor- she, erm, she’s the one specifically for you. You can depend on her. We’ve been your friends for some
time, but you’ve never been open with us.”
“That
charming persona you put off- well, it’s just that; a charming persona- a
clever façade,” Ràmone added, “The real you,
I’m sure, is way more interesting than this one.”
“I’m
sorry- I’ve been trying so hard to be open, and…”
“It’s
okay to be weak- you just have to know how to handle it when you are. Take care, my friend, et bon
chance.” Luc stated as he
clasped his hand on the taller boy’s shoulder. He opened the door into the cold night,
and
“Don’t forget me, mes amies. Ràmone,
Jerémie, and Luc- I promise that I will return someday. I will take hold of my life and my
situation.” With those words,
Merrick was off. He clutched the
black box to his chest and hurried off into the night and back toward the
house.
* * * * *