Heed the Angel

“Look, don’t buy the body spray,” the blond-haired man said, taking the bottle from the youth’s hand and putting it back on the display shelf.  The scent in question was supposed to make one extremely attractive, and considering the boy’s problem with finding a date to senior prom, he was enticed.

“My mom said I could spend as much as I wanted on prom,” he argued, unsure why this man was telling him not to buy it, especially if he was supposed to be a sales associate.  Then again, he wasn’t dressed like an employee, so he was all the more suspicious.  “If I want to buy the frickin’ cologne, I’ll buy it.  Especially if it’ll get me a date to the prom.”

“Julian, it’s not a good idea, really.”

“How in the hell do you know my name?”  Then thinking about it, he decided he didn’t care to know. He just wanted the body spray, so he grabbed another bottle and started toward the registers.  “Just leave me alone.”

The man sighed and ran in front of Julian, taking the product from his hand and walking back to the display.  “Will you just listen for once?  Seriously. If I’d known you were going to be such a pain in my ass, I would have asked for the next babe that day.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” Julian, at this point, was slightly freaked out but more pissed off at having his intended purchase thwarted.

The man turned his clear blue eyes on him; he then smirked and tousled Julian’s auburn hair.  “I’ve been with you since before you were born, kid.”

Julian smacked the man’s hand from his hair, torn between intrigue and revulsion.  “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

“Well someone’s not very observant.”

“Um…I think I’m just going to make my purchase and—”

“Die.”

“Excuse me?”

“Make your purchase and die,” the man repeated.  He crossed his arms and fixed his eyes on Julian’s.  “Look, kid, I’ve been with you since before you were born because I’m your guardian angel.  I’m probably breaking a million different rules and edicts and whatnot, but obviously you’re going to be difficult about this and since my job is to keep you living until your timely death, you haven’t left me with much choice.”

“What?  No, dude—I don’t—you know what, you need help.  That’s all there is to it.  You need some serious help.”  Reaching around the man, he grabbed another container of body spray and waved his other hand dismissively at him, scoffing.  “Angels.  Dude thinks I was born yesterday.”

The man blocked his path in an instant and said, “If you buy the cologne, the clerk is going to hit on you—”

“Perfect. Mostly chicks run the register so that could be my date to prom,” Julian said, lighting up and ideas for pick up lines running visibly behind his eyes.

“Will you listen?  You buy it, you get hit on, then you literally get hit on—by a car!”

“Crazy and dramatic.  You seriously need to go on some kind of medication, buddy. Thanks for the heads up about the chick.”  Julian walked past him, headed towards the registers, reading over the label of his soon to be purchase.

The man shook his head and carefully eyed the display.  Well, tomorrow he’d be up for reassignment.  He could pretty much guarantee that.

Wrapping his wings around him, his ordinary garb changed into his usual robes.  Staring a moment more at the display, he sighed.  He had done all he could do, hadn’t he?  He couldn’t help that his charge was thick-headed and single-minded.  Turning, he made his way invisibly to the front.

Sure enough, a panicked manager was on the phone calling for an ambulance as clerks and customers flocked to the window to see what had happened.  One in particular—a young, possibly college-aged male with long tresses—seemed especially distraught, informing a nearby coworker he had honestly thought the boy was cute and might be interested as mostly homosexual men bought that fragrance.  He hadn’t meant for him to be creeped out and run right in front of a speeding vehicle.

I warned him, the man thought, leaving the store and making his way to the site of the accident.  A man in black robes was prying Julian’s soul from the lifeless body.  Julian seemed to be giving him quite a time of things, not yet ready to let go.  But he didn’t have much of a choice with his brains leaking on the pavement.

“I tried to tell him,” the man said to the one in black.

“Yeah, I saw that,” he said, yanking on Julian’s hair and one of his arms now.  Julian’s soul was screaming and clinging desperately to his body, insisting there was a mistake and he still had to go to prom.  “Honestly, my bet was on him listening.”

“Loser had to collect?”

“Mhm.”

“That sucks.  You’ll be at this for a while it looks like.”

“Yeah, damn kid won’t give up.  Stubborn as hell.”

“Only child, lives with his mother.”

“That explains it;” the man in black dropped Julian for a moment, letting him cling to a dead corpse for a while.  “So what did you bet on?”

“That it would be a car…I was hoping for a Mercedes. Should’ve guessed it would be a truck.”  The man shook his head.  “Guess I get the brat due up for assignment tomorrow.”

“Another only child?”

“Oh, this one will be much worse.”

“Why’s that?”

“Her mom is a Kardashian.”

Eternal: Chapter Twelve, Part 1

Chapter Twelve: Working Towards the Future

After I handed control to Caroline, Drei and I returned to the apartment and packed what we needed, leaving the rest. We mailed a key to Caroline, in case there was something she needed from the last two years. Leaving the apartment was my choice, and Drei didn’t ask. I was done here, and continuing to be there…the memories would have killed me more than anything else.

Part of me felt bad for leaving them without saying anything. I could imagine them searching for us afterwards, unable to find us anywhere, confused and unsure why we had disappeared. The news crews that had been at the event talked about how they hadn’t found me to express congratulations or ask questions. Some people on the site mused I had been an angel, only there to show them the way, and gone the minute they could see where they were going again.

But I had done my part, as I had said. Anything that came next was up to them. They had to take control of their own futures, make their own decisions, and find their own way. None of them needed me anymore, no matter what they thought.

Besides, Nick was dead now because of me. I was beginning to understand the pain Caroline must have felt, but this time, she wouldn’t stop. Ian wouldn’t let her. And the note I had left with our apartment key assured her I was fine.

As for Nick, we returned his body to Lily, the only family he had other than Drei and I. I didn’t go with Drei. Imagining how she was handling it tore me apart; I couldn’t even stand to map it. It took her four days to calm down enough to make a decision. His body was cremated and the ashes spread in Winnsboro, where his family died. At last he could be with them again. In that, I found some comfort; little as it was, it was something.

Eternal: Chapter Eleven, Part 4

Screams engulfed the crowd; there was a flash in front of me, and I felt a bump, but I had no idea what was happening. It seemed impossible that someone had actually shot at me…again. But I was unharmed. Yet everyone was still pointing, their faces contorted in horror and fear. In the distance, I saw Nick’s team apprehend the shooter and quickly canvass through the crowd, searching for any other threats.

Everyone who hadn’t run was gaping, though, and when I looked at my feet, I saw why. Nick had jumped in front of me and took the bullet. I felt my heart break and my strength seeping away from me. How could this have happened? And now of all times? When everything was going so well.

Kneeling beside him, I smoothed the hair off his face. He was in a cold sweat and shaking. Glancing up, Ian was already on his cell phone, yelling that we needed an ambulance right away. The way Nick was squeezing my hand, though, I knew he didn’t have long.

“Abriel,” he whispered, holding on tighter to my hand. I could feel him slipping away and I didn’t want it to be true. It couldn’t be true.

“Don’t die on me,” I demanded, furiously wiping the tears blinding me from my eyes. “You aren’t allowed to die on me.”

“If you change me,” he murmured, “you’ll ruin…everything…you’ve worked for.”

I hated him for saying it because he was right, and it was what I had been thinking. Turning me had been Drei’s solution, and here it was one of my two options. But his words were true. Taking that route would undo everything I had put into motion; but I couldn’t just watch him die.

“But—”

“I’m dead…you know that.” He coughed, closing his eyes.

“Nick, don’t, please hold on,” I cried, squeezing his hand as his grip loosened.

“Finish it,” he said, struggling to inhale so he could speak. “I…love…”

“No, Nick;” I couldn’t stop myself from crying, or from holding him to me as he slipped through my fingers. Everything we had been through, everything we had done, and he was gone in seconds. “Don’t leave me like this. I love you.”

Drei knelt beside me, rubbing my back. It took me a moment to realize he was saying anything.

“—say something to them.”

Nodding, I wiped the tears from my eyes and signaled toward Caroline. She came over to join me.

Pulling myself together, I started improvising, just as we had planned. And as miserable as it made me to realize it, I had been right about how this had to end. “This is…was Nick,” I said, my voice stronger than I thought it would be. “He wasn’t an elemental, but he has been a friend to me for years, and now he’s also a victim of this injustice. It needs to end.” Looking at Caroline, I raised my hand to her. “Caroline will show you how.”

A wave of uncertainty and some grumbled complaints met me. They were scared, but this was the right thing to do. To truly take down the government wasn’t something I could do. For that, it required someone more willing to lead a coup. Complete removal of the government was the only way to keep things from reverting back to the way they had been.

“I brought you together,” I said, catching their attention again. “That was my job. I brought you together, gave you information, motivation, and a voice. What comes next requires a different kind of leadership. Caroline I trust with my life, and I hope you will as well. She will lead us faithfully into the next steps of change, and our new future.”

Despite the shock and depression in the crowd, there was applause, there was excitement and anxiousness, and I knew they would follow her. Caroline hugged me, whispering into my ear, “This is your baby, though.”

“It’s yours now.”

Some people left, more swarmed the platform, or any of the groups of elementals, asking questions and trying to find out what Caroline would do next. She made a public announcement to the news crews that she would have to meet with her advisors to discuss how to go about the next phase, but they would keep everyone posted. All they had to do was be ready to act.

While everyone was distracted, Drei had removed Nick’s body and I followed him away from the site. Away from the place where Nick had died protecting me and our campaign. Away from everyone I had worked with over the last two years, and wasn’t sure I could even face anymore. But, mostly, away from the place where my past seemed to end, and my future undoubtedly began.

Eternal: Chapter Nine, Part 5

Smoothing the hair out of his face, I realized how much he had grown up from two years ago. His eyes and facial structure hadn’t changed at all, but the set of his jaw seemed more serious than playful. His skin was dark as if he had spent a lot of time outside, or maybe it was dark in comparison to my paling skin. He was already starting to show crow’s feet though, and laugh lines from smiling so much. It was almost like he was aging faster than most people did, or perhaps that was just in comparison to me.

“You’re the only one who hasn’t told me I’ve changed,” I said softly, sitting back. My fingers were still running through his damp hair—it was really soft and I found the repetition of movement soothing.

“I didn’t know if you’d want to hear it,” he admitted, closing his eyes. “That feels really good, by the way.”

Smirking, I asked, “So do I look different?”

One of his jade gems flashed up at me before he answered, “You’re paler, you seem more serious, and you’re cool to the touch, even when other people are hot and sweaty.”

Nodding, I thanked him. No one else had said how I was different, just that I was, and hearing how actually made me feel less worried. For a while I was wondering if I had a huge sign painted on my forehead saying “different” and I was the only one who didn’t know.

“You and Drei are closer,” he said, starting to fully relax, one of his hands dangling off the side of the couch now. At least one of us could relax. “Does that have anything to do with you changing?” When I didn’t say anything, he asked, “Aren’t you two worried about being found out?”

After a moment I knew I had to say something, even if it meant he would know both answers. “Things are different now.”

His eyes flew open and I felt his muscles tense. “What do you mean?”

“Just that,” I said, holding his eyes steadily. “Things are different now.”

He sat and spun to face me. “A—”

“Leirba,” I interrupted before he could screw everything up. To most of the public, Abriel had died more than a year ago, mysteriously disappearing from the hospital where they attempted a surgery to save her life after she had been admitted for a gunshot wound. Not to mention Abriel was supposed to have died before that, at the docks, after having successfully escaped one of the secret government “research labs” that conveniently doubled as an elemental prison. Leirba was safe from both death and the government—for a short while anyway.

Nick bit his bottom lip, holding back his frustration; he wanted to be straightforward about this and using an alternate name felt like a game. He was too easy to read when he was upset.

Before he could say anything else, I sighed and suggested, “We should go back to the room if we’re going to have this discussion.”

“Why? I thought things were different now?” he snipped childishly, his eyes watery. He even looked younger as his lips pouted—unintentionally.

“Because if this is going where I think it is,” I replied, grabbing my notebook and pulling him behind me, “then it still has to stay a secret.”

“Oh, so it’s a secret that he—”

Whipping my head around, I glared at him. He might have been taller than me, but I was more powerful and he knew that; I’d pushed him across a room once when he wasn’t listening to me. Nick shushed immediately and didn’t say a word until the door was closed behind us.

“He bit you.” It wasn’t a question.

“There were circumstances,” I said, staring out the window at the wintry sky. Halloween wasn’t too far off but it may as well have been the middle of February.

“What circumstances excuse him turning you into a…”

“I was dying,” I murmured under him. It took him a moment to realize I had said anything, thus his voice trailing off. He moved to stand before me at the window, one hand on my shoulder.

“What?” He forced himself to be calmer now so he would hear me.

“I was dying,” I repeated, my eyes following a few late birds through the sky. “The doctors had done what they could…so Drei did what he could.”

“You asked for this?” Nick asked, his voice soft with a note of betrayal.

“No;” his eyes were still watery but more from hurt than anything else. And it wasn’t hurt for himself. “I thought I was dead.”

“That’s why you’re going—”

“By Leirba, and it’s very important we stick to it.” I held his gaze a second longer before concentrating outside again. “It makes things complicated, but time is time.”

“You have more than time,” he said as though I hadn’t thought about it. “You have eternity.”

“So now you know.” When he didn’t move, as if waiting for me to say something else, I told him, “You handled it better than Mitchell and Valetta.”

Another silence enveloped us and I hated it. I wasn’t sure why, but more and more lately, I felt the compulsion to fill any silence in conversations. When I was alone, it was perfectly fine; but when I was with someone else, the silence only aggravated me and I had no explanation for it.

“Ready for tomorrow?” I wondered if he really knew that’s what I had switched to thinking about or if he was just trying to change the subject.

“No,” I confessed, still not looking at him. Some part of me felt like looking at him would reveal something he wasn’t saying. And if that was true, I was certain it wouldn’t be something helpful to my nerves or situation.

Pulling me into his strong arms as he had done before when I was scared or crying or both, I started feeling better. It wasn’t as effective as Drei saying a few words and touching my cheek or hand, but it still worked.

“If you start to get nervous, just remember I’ll be standing out in the audience,” he whispered into my hair. “I’m here for you.”

Wrapping my arms around him, too, I let him comfort me, allowing his confidence to sink into and fill me. Tomorrow would be great. I just had to breathe, stay calm and optimistic, and remember most of the people who would be there were already partially on my side. And Nick would be there if I started to panic.

How did I end up so lucky?

Eternal: Chapter Four, Part 4

“You knew I wasn’t dead?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, slightly put out. Mitchell’s habit of harmlessly tormenting people for fun was really starting to rub off on me. I was fairly certain that wasn’t healthy.

“I knew you were still around more than I knew you were alive,” he replied, shrugging and crossing his arms over his chest. “You have a unique imprint in the air that was still hanging around. When it disappeared that day, that’s when I called Caroline and learned what had happened. But then it came back.”

“It’s all…really complicated,” I said, knowing he was thinking about how it was always complicated—it did seem that way. “But I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to talk about it.”

He nodded. “She was a mess for the longest time, though.”

“Drei told me,” I assured him, hoping that subject would go away too. I didn’t like knowing I had been the cause of pain for people. It was part of the reason I tried not to think about my parents.

“But she seems better now.”

“I helped her let go of the grief and guilt she was holding on to,” I explained, shrugging, hoping he wouldn’t see it as a bad thing.

“That was nice of you,” he said softly, seeming to look past me. Yeah, he didn’t agree with it, but I personally hated to watch people suffer when I could help them.

“You aren’t mad at me, are you?” I asked, studying the bows on the toes of my flats. Ian was the only free air elemental I knew of, and I wasn’t sure how well I could pull off anything knowing I had angered him. He was one of those people I never wanted to cross, and not because he scared me. Ian was probably one of the frankest people I knew and that, in itself, was invaluable.

“Come ‘ere, love,” he said, pulling me into his arms again. “I can’t be mad at you when I’m sure you wouldn’t have put her through so much if you could’ve helped it.” Kissing the top of my head, he added, “Besides, you’re back now.”

“It’s—”

“Because it’s your time to run things,” he finished for me, unsmiling.

“How’d you know?” I stared up at him.

Approaching his painting, he pointed to the only gray strip branching away from the strand near the top of the canvas. I hadn’t noticed it before, but the three strips chasing after it weren’t pulling it back; they were swirling around it and creating the start of what could be a new strand. “That’s you.”

“You can’t be sure—that might be you,” I insisted, not wanting to believe him.

“I’m supposed to spread truths, but not until after there’s been a great change,” he said, scanning my face. “Which means it has to be soon because I’ve already begun painting.”

“Why can’t it have already happened?” I argued, knowing he was probably right since it was his work—he should know—but being stubborn just the same.

“Because every other air elemental who has led a movement was chosen to lead it by luck, not because they stepped up to lead it.” Eyeing me, having cornered me with the very information I had spent months studying, he concluded, “Until you.”

We stared at each other for the longest time. I still didn’t want to believe that was supposed to be me, but I couldn’t form an articulate argument in response; history was on his side, as well as his own destiny. The silence was broken when Caroline returned with her coffee.

“There’s more if either of you would like some,” she said, sitting on one of the couches, oblivious to the situation upon which she had stumbled.

“No, thanks,” Ian said as I said, “I’m good.”

“Suit yourselves,” she replied, shrugging, clutching her mug in her lap as if it were extremely cold in the room. “So, Abs, what’s the plan? Where do we start?”

Ian and I sat down on either side of her. “I still need a lawyer, and then I have to find the other four people I want on my core team,” I said, trying to remember what else I had already figured out. “Then we work on setup, because that’ll take some time. I’ll go more into detail when I have a full team, but that’s the basics.”

“Sounds like what we started with,” Caroline said to Ian, who nodded. “I can set up the appointment with my lawyer tomorrow. Noon work okay?”

I knew I couldn’t admit I was a vampire and that noon might not work out so well, so I said, “Sure,” hoping everything would work out in my favor. I either needed it to be overcast or to find a really big hat, though an umbrella might work as well; I’d make it work.

“Perfect. Ian can pick you up. Just like old times.”

“Of course,” Ian agreed, smiling as big as Caroline was.

Smiling back, I nodded, wishing it really was like old times. I had thought things were complicated then, but this was an entirely different web of all new proportions, and I would have given almost anything to have the old worries back.

Eternal: Chapter Four, Part 1

Chapter Four: Light My Fire

Valetta and Mitchell searched for a few people I had met at the camp whom I knew would be assets to the project if we could find them. I had absolute confidence in their ability. The only restraint I gave them, however, was not to approach them regarding the movement. That was something I needed to do personally.

Drei helped me find the one person locally I knew would be the most difficult to approach. Then, after insisting I adjust to introducing myself as Leirba, he disappeared, claiming he had something he needed to do. I didn’t know what he was doing but I trusted him, so I tried not to let the worry overrun my thoughts.

The day had been overcast but I had arranged a rendezvous after dusk, not wanting to risk frightening my guest with an unanticipated injury. We were meeting at a café. It had been forever since I had had a cinnamon chai latte and I couldn’t help breathing in the scent every few minutes to luxuriate in it; it smelled like heaven.

I had to wait quite a while for her to arrive—granted, I had been extremely early. When she walked through the door, I couldn’t help smiling at her. Her long red hair cascaded over her shoulders. She was wearing her classic skinny jeans paired with rainbow flats to match her tie-dye tee. Fashion aside, she wasn’t how I remembered her; her lips smiled, but sorrow and guilt made her cautious, tentative. Sleepless nights left dark circles under her eyes that showed through her concealer; she looked thinner.

“Caroline,” I called, catching her bronze eyes.

She smiled a little more warmly as she strolled up to the table. Cocking her head to one side and furrowing her brow slightly, she asked, “Have we met before? You look…familiar.”

“I’m Leirba,” I said, shaking her hand.

She gasped and grimaced; “Your hands are freezing.”

Folding my hands in my lap, I nodded my head in the direction of the empty seat. “Please…sit.”

“I’ll just get something—”

“Mocha chai?” I interrupted, motioning to the girl at the counter. I had already ordered and paid for it, but I didn’t want it cold by the time she arrived. The guy working brought her drink over a moment later, smiling flirtatiously at the two of us before returning to work.

After taking a drink, she set her cup down and stared at me a moment. “How’d you know?”

“I have my ways,” I replied cryptically, still holding her gaze as I sipped my own drink. Her brow furrowed in confusion and I could see the allure Mitchell found in puzzling me. True, I hated when I was the one being puzzled, but there was something about a good secret that made riddling another person entertaining.

“I really think I’ve met you somewhere before. I’m almost certain,” she insisted, sitting forward on her elbows. “But it doesn’t make sense because she—she…never mind.” Silence fell between us as she watched her finger run along the rim of her mug.

“She what?” I asked gently. “Died?”

Her bronze eyes shot up at me, surprised but also horrified and hurt. “Yeah;” she studied me carefully as if I were the devil. What I was doing was somewhat evil, I’ll concede, but it probably would have gone a lot worse if I’d come straight out with it from the start—the most likely outcome would be her yelling and storming out, and I couldn’t waste time chasing after her. She needed to arrive at her own conclusion about my identity if I was going to be able to bring her and the others into the fold within the month.

“Are you sure?” I tilted my head to one side, staring at her.

“I was there,” she replied softly, daring me to prove her wrong.

I sauntered to the counter, picking up a napkin on the way there. Using one of their pens, I wrote out Leirba in capital letters and drew an arrow from the A to the L. After thanking the guy at the register, I returned to our table and slid the napkin across its surface so she could read it.

At first, confusion flitted across her face as she tried making sense of it. She even glanced up at me a few times in disbelief. Disbelief and confusion quickly transformed into a bittersweet joy which was tossed aside by grief and guilt, her face disappearing into her hands as silent sobs wracked her body.

“Caroline?” She worried me. I hadn’t any idea she was this shaken by it. No, that’s a lie. I did know. Her entire revolution fell apart because she thought I was dead. Because she blamed herself.

“I’m so sorry, Abs,” she murmured into her hands. “I never meant for any of that to happen; I was trying to prevent anything like that. You weren’t supposed to get hurt. I’m sorry. So, so sorry.”

Laying a hand on her forearm, I said, “You have nothing to be sorry for; you aren’t responsible for what happened.” As I spoke, I worked at untying the knot of sorrow and guilt inside her, pulling the emotions surrounding the event away from her and setting them adrift into the sky; only then was I able to loosen and release the pain of the event. All of it floated through the ceiling in blue and decaying black ribbons; it was almost as beautiful as when I had done the same for Nick upon our first meeting. Of course, then, I hadn’t really known what I was doing. I was just hoping my crazy idea would work.

Eternal: Chapter Two, Part 6

For the next week we went out as a group every night—whether it was dancing or walking—and we stayed up late into the day. A few times Drei and I would excuse ourselves and fly off somewhere to be alone. Once, he told me it was possibly the best of my experiments, though that was after he was better at it.

Despite the happier times, I still felt poorly thinking Drei had failed at something. So I decided I would help him succeed at something else he hadn’t finished yet: finding his sisters. Before he had explained that he had turned me, he told me the story of his own turning, abridging the events leading up to where he met me. That story included the death of his younger twin sisters, and the disappearance of their bodies—the location of which he had yet to discover.

In the time before it was suggested I should sleep, I would pull up a map on the laptop that displayed all known cemeteries and burial grounds in his home country, and slowly began making my way through mapping them. What I was looking for was very specific, and since they were all dead, I could tuck the air closer to increase accuracy. I just needed to find two children, girls, buried next to each other or at least close together. They were young girls, too, so that helped cut down the possibilities.

I didn’t tell Drei what I was doing; I didn’t want him to discourage me, or feel badly because of it. When he asked, I’d only tell him I was practicing. Any pair of graves that matched what I was looking for I made note of, not able to visit them yet, but knowing I’d manage to forget a few if I didn’t. There weren’t many that fit into my specific search, but there were still more than I had expected.

At the end of the week, the summons came. All four of us were to face the Council, and we would be picked up the next night for the proceedings.

“It will be okay,” Drei whispered into my hair, holding me tightly. “They cannot keep me from you, no matter how they try.”

“What’s the worst that can happen?” I needed to know; I had a right to know.

Valetta and Mitchell both looked away; Drei seemed to just hold me tighter. That wasn’t comforting; nor was it an answer, for that matter.

Pulling slightly away from him, I hit his chest and demanded, “Tell me.”

Meeting my gaze, he swallowed hard before saying, “The worst ruling is death. But being an elemental, that might not be what they choose. We may be separated.”

May. In that context, it wasn’t my friend; in that context, it sounded more like an enemy that couldn’t be overcome by any means. That wasn’t very reassuring.

Nodding, I changed my mind. I didn’t really want to think about it anymore; I wasn’t sure if I preferred knowing the worst consequence. Being separated was one thing; death was another altogether. Neither were even a semi-pleasant, “I can deal with this” kind of thing.

Naïvely, I thought not thinking about it would make it seem further away. Would make that night and day longer so the hearing wasn’t so close. That hopefully, by some sheer luck, it could all fall away into oblivion never to be seen or heard of again.

Instead, it felt like hardly any time passed between our brief conversation concerning the hearing and when we were climbing into the black town car that would take us to whatever fate was waiting.

Vampiric: Chapter Twelve, Part 1

Chapter Twelve: The Missing Pieces of the Puzzle

Wherever I had ended up was dark. In all my imaginings of death, I had never thought it would be dark. It had always been bright—on the brink of blinding—with a gentle melody leading me along to a place full of people who knew me, who had been waiting for me. To be in darkness made my failure seem far more stark.

“Before I explain,” Drei’s voice said from the darkness, “I need to tell you the story you’ve been requesting to hear.”

Hearing him so close wasn’t a comfort. I was terrified by the thoughts of what could have happened to him, especially after I had wanted him to stay safe. Being here—if it was where I thought I was—was not by any means safe.

“Where are you?” I asked, my voice harsh, my throat dry and constricted. Another oddity; I didn’t think death meant you still suffered bodily needs like thirst.

A lamp came on, temporarily blinding me. Once my eyes adjusted from the shock, I saw Drei sat on the edge of a nearby chair, hunched forward and seeming unable to look at me.

“Right here,” he whispered, his eyes dark and sorrowful.

The light partially illuminated the room around us. The entire space was dark, heavy curtains drawn over what appeared to be the only window. I had been tucked under sheets and thick woolen blankets on a bed. Thus far, the only thing consistent with my imaginings of death was that I didn’t feel like myself; something was very odd and not quite right with me.

 “Everything will make sense when I finish,” Drei said; I could have sworn I could feel his insecurity. That couldn’t be, though, because I remembered losing touch with the air in the hospital. I decided to trust Drei would make sense of this all.

“Okay,” I said, watching him carefully.

“Nearly 400 years ago, before I was turned, I met someone,” he said softly, the shame rising from the memory engulfing him. “At the time, I was finishing my studies at university. A few of my peers went to celebrate the end of exams, though most of us had another the following day. It was at the pub where she noticed and seduced me. There was no hiding what she was doing; she openly admitted what she wanted. When I resisted, insisting I could not partake that night, nor anytime soon as I was returning home after the commencement exercises, she told me I would be unable to resist her. Unfortunately, that was also the truth.

“She released me from her spell long enough to pass my final exam and receive my diploma. I had planned to make my escape after the ceremony and return home, but she awaited my exit and seduced me anew. I spent the next several weeks with her, not realizing how much time had elapsed until a letter arrived from home, requesting my immediate return. She was livid, insisting I would be unable to leave.” He rubbed his temples as though he could still hear her protests. “I knew I had to go. I missed my sisters, and she had underestimated the strength of my love for them. So one day, as she rested, I left, hoping that was the last I would see of that place.”

“What happened?” I asked, my voice still scratchy but slowly returning to normal.

Running an unsteady hand through his hair, he said, “A month later, she showed up in my bed chambers. There was no way she could have been there, let alone have known that is where I was. She scolded me for leaving her, insisting it had been a poor choice. That I wanted to please her, keep her contented, or she would drain me. It was my first indication as to her true nature. She presented me an option, then: I could devote myself to her and leave my family straight away, or I could deny her. Though she guaranteed I would not like the consequences of denying her, I…I could not imagine disappearing from my sisters’ lives. They needed me…they were still young and impressionable…you understand.” His voice was pleading, as if trying to convince me they didn’t deserve their fate, whatever it had been. “And I believed myself intelligent and resourceful enough to elude whatever consequences she promised.”

“Drei,” I whispered, not wanting him to continue. His hands and voice shook from the pain of the memory; I reached a hand out to him, though he was just out of reach. For as long as I had wanted to know, I didn’t want him plagued by remembering after he had worked so hard to forget. I hated seeing him pained, especially when there was little I could do about it.

“No, you must know to understand,” he asserted, moving his seat closer and taking my hand. I could still feel the pain and shame clouding the air around him, but the contact seemed to renew his resolve and stop his trembling.

“For weeks she showed up, issuing the same offer, and each time I remained insistent on staying. One evening, I had been taking a stroll, considering my future and whatnot when she appeared. I thought she was there for the same reason she had been the nights previously, so I ignored her. Until she stopped me. She teased me a while, asking for another chance to fix things between us. When I explained I would have to refuse her, she stalled with small talk. After an appropriate interval of time, she let me go with no proposal, no threats or consequences. I was sure I had finally convinced her she did not need me. How naïve I was,” Drei lamented, cradling his head in his free hand, gripping tighter to mine.

Vampiric: Chapter Eleven, Part 2

“I will tell her,” Drei said when I started coming to again. I felt different; I was just as close to death as I had been, but I felt emptier now…less like a person.

Opening my eyes, even Drei was blurry, and his voice was beginning to drift away from me. He bowed his head to kiss my hand, his cheeks shining. “They removed the bullets…but you have suffered a great deal of internal damage and blood loss, and…” His voice trailed off. What feeling I had left told me his hands were trembling. “Your condition has been stabilized, but they cannot be sure for how long.” Even without the air to tell me, I knew he was in an immense amount of pain, and I wanted to stop him from hurting. As much as he had put me through, I didn’t want that for him.

A spot of blue showed up and pulled Drei’s attention away. He whispered at it to leave him alone. To go away. Slowly, he turned back to me. “I cannot live without you, Abriel,” he murmured, the words barely reaching me. “The past months have been so incredibly difficult—I am immeasurably sorry. I left you alone and—”

“I love you,” I somehow managed, feeling wetness on my hand, though that might have been my imagination. My lips formed the words, but I couldn’t be sure they had been said.

“Abriel, no. Please stay with me, please—”

“Take care,” I mouthed, closing my eyes. There was no more time to stall. It was done.

“You cannot leave me—Abriel, stay with…”

Everything was done.

I had failed.

Vampiric: Chapter Seven, Part 5

Two months crept by. When Drei was out, time seemed to stop altogether. It was even worse than my imprisonment, but perhaps that was because I was alone at those times. Even when it had felt like Mom wasn't there mentally, at least someone else had been around. Now, I mostly spread out on the sofa under the window, staring past the ceiling to nothingness. That's when I did most of my thinking as well. Not about Drei, Nick, Lily, Mom, or anyone else. Just thinking about whatever came next. Whether that included working for Caroline again, or telling Drei that was it. I couldn't do it anymore. As easy as that would have been for me to say, I knew the easy way wasn’t always the right way. I had to pick whichever path felt more promising, that threatened fewer regrets afterward.

When Drei was around, he was typically reading the newspaper or some magazine and I was curled up next to him. Though this kind of closeness we had avoided previously, he didn't complain, or argue about it. From the way his entire body seemed to relax and melt into the couch at my touch, I could tell he had missed me and he was relieved to have me back. I hoped he could tell the feeling was mutual.

About a week after my return, Ian stopped by, fully equipped to take a blood donation. In ten minutes’ time he was out the door ready to set everything up, gone before Drei returned from wherever he had gone. A few weeks later, my supposed death was on page two of the newspaper. It seemed the plan had worked after all.

“Drei?” I asked one night about two months since my return.

“Yes?” He continued reading as I twirled bit of his shaggy hair around my finger.

“Should I continue working for Caroline?”

His shoulder tensed beneath my hand; he had avoided any mention of her since that day. I took it to mean something had happened in my absence he hadn’t agreed with, but I didn’t want to pry. However, to decide what to do, I needed to figure out what was best and I valued Drei’s opinion on the topic.

“I have to tell her something.” I wished he’d relax again but we had to discuss it sometime. “I just don't know. If I go back, there's the chance of a repeat. And if I don't, I could miss something that might help me.”

Sighing, he faced me. I could see the inner war behind his eyes, even though I couldn't understand why it was there. Whatever he had against Caroline warred with what he knew was the right answer. “Go back,” he said at long last. “The circumstances have not changed; you still need her. The only difference now is she needs you as well.”

“Well, I can't help her needing me;” I shrugged.

“You could have been really bad at your job,” he said, a teasing smile on his lips.

I kissed his cheek; “Then I would never be able to do that.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, grinning like a fool. “Touché.”

When he returned to reading his paper, I thought the moment had passed. My eyes closed and I rested my head on his shoulder, content with being near him. I had hoped that wouldn’t be all, but I had learned to accept the limitations of our relationship.

His paper rustled as it fell onto the coffee table. I felt his hand lift my chin, and his soft lips engaging mine. The hand on my chin quickly tangled itself in my hair while his other wound around my waist, pulling me closer. The fingers of one hand were buried in his hair, my other hand on his shoulder.

Our kisses were so different from our first kiss, more confident in their familiarity but also tinged with something akin to desperation in their desire. The strange warmth he emitted from time to time seeped into my skin as he held me tighter.

Both of us were breathless when we pulled apart. He still held me close, the hand in my hair twisting a curl.

“I love you,” I whispered, my heart racing. It had felt like forever since I had said those words to him; they felt exhilarated to be leaving my lips again to find his ears.

A smile cracked his features as he replied, “And I love you, Abriel.”

The moment seemed too perfect to end but, as they say, all good things must end.

While Drei was out the next day, Caroline called to arrange a meeting with me. Drei had informed her of my decision, and all she would say was that I was being promoted. After clicking the phone off, I went back to staring past the ceiling. This time, though, it wasn't to think about the future. It was to replay that kiss, relishing that feeling of being loved.