by Night, Ash
His green eyes seared my memory. My body went into panic mode and my heart had woken up, hammering inside my chest. I kicked at the water desperately to get away. I had to get away. This man was Death itself in human form.
The man laughed cruelly. “Get ready for your nightmare to become reality, little girl.”
“Erin! Sweetie, it’s okay. Mommy’s here.” I woke up in my mom’s arms. She was crying and looked scared out of her mind as she hugged me tightly.
I blinked twice. “Sorry, just a bad dream.”
“I tried to wake you up and then I tried calling Aubrey, but he’s probably sleeping. You had me worried. Should I call Dr. Robin?”
“No, it’s okay, Mom. I’m fine.”
She gave me her stern lawyer look. “Erin Marie Sapphire, that did not look fine to me. You were screaming bloody murder and you scared me to death.”
I smiled, trying to reassure her. I did not need to talk to Dr. Robin. “I’ll talk to Aubrey tomorrow. I’m fine, Mom, really. It’s probably just the full moon messing with my mood. Don’t worry, go back to bed. I love you.”
She hesitated, as if she was going to argue, but then gave up. “Okay, but if I have to wake you up again tonight, we are seeing him first thing in the morning.”
I sighed. “Okay,”
Smiling, she kissed my forehead and shut off the light. “Good night, sweetie. I love you.”
“Good night, Mom. I love you, too.” I rolled over to glance at my alarm clock. I groaned. It was three-thirty in the morning.
“I swear to God I will roast him.” Lauren proclaimed at the lunch table later that day.
“He’s probably just taking a mental health day,” I said, yawning. “He sent me a text saying he wasn’t going to be here today and that he had something he needed to take care of.”
“Which is why I will be putting his head on a stick by tomorrow. After what he did, he doesn’t deserve to miss school without taking you with him.”
I sighed. I didn’t ever want to think he’d leave me again like he did a few months ago when he thought leaving would help me. It didn’t and he’d promised never to leave me again. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Right, Paz?”
Topaz smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, what’d you say?”
“Daydreaming, Mr. Tylers? Why doesn’t that surprise me? Fantasizing about a girl?” Ben asked, elbowing him in the ribs.
He blushed. “Um, sort of. I had someone back home.”
“Details!” Gretchen said, moving closer.
“Not much to tell,” Topaz insisted. I smiled. That was the understatement of the century. I knew Topaz was referring to Juliet, the only girl he’d ever love. Whenever he talked about her, his eyes lit up a certain way, as if he was declaring his love for the first time. It made me so happy to hear him talk about her.
“Please, Paz, there must be something,” I nudged his shoulder. “An abridged version?”
He smiled. “I suppose I could condense the story a little,”
“Yes, please! I want to know all about the little lady who stole our orange-haired cutie’s heart.” Amber chuckled.
Topaz grinned. “I have to warn you, once I get started on her, it’s hard to stop.” He paused for a moment. “Her name is Juliet. We met when we were seven. I fell head over heels the instant I saw her. I literally tripped over my own feet. Being the kind-hearted soul she is, she stopped to help me up. She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.”
“You were seven. Aren’t there any other girls you like now?” Peter asked.
“Not a single one could ever compare,” Topaz replied. He looked at us. “Present company excluded, ladies.”
I stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry, we know what you mean, Paz.”
“Continue with the story, Romeo,” Lauren said. She was just as enthralled as the rest of us. When Topaz got that light in his eye, it was hard to remember we were still sitting in a high school cafeteria.
“I hardly knew what to say. She told me she was lost and asked me to help her get home. She kept up most of the talking on the way. She said she liked my eyes and that I was the first person who had actually decided to help her. She told me her name was Juliet and laughed when I stumbled over my own name. She said ‘Well, since you seem to have trouble with your name, why don’t I call you Paz for short?’ Needless to say, that’s how I got my nickname. I eventually helped her find her house and I met her father that same day. He even offered me money after Juliet told him I had saved her. I politely declined and said that I was just happy to have met Juliet. She told me I was her hero and that we would be best friends forever.”
“Do you still talk to her?” Gretchen asked.
Topaz flinched slightly. “No, we lost contact a few years back after I was sent into foster care.”
“Aw, don’t worry, Paz. We’ll hook you up.” Ben grinned.
“No!” Topaz shouted, standing up, causing the whole room to stare at him. He cleared his throat apologetically, sitting back down. “I mean, no thank you. I’m sure I’ll see her again. She’s my soul mate. I could never love anyone as much as I love her.”
Amber sighed. “How romantic, Paz. She sure is lucky.”
He smiled. “I’m the lucky one. If things had been different…I would’ve married her and died an old man.” Everyone at the table stared at him. His face turned beet red. “I mean…um…”
Peter laughed. “I’m sure you’ll still die an old man, Paz.”
He looked down and muttered something only I was close enough to hear.
“I wish,”
Topaz was quiet for the rest of the day. I felt bad for him and tried to get his mind off it when I found him outside during study hall, but he only smiled politely at my attempts.
“I’m sorry, Paz. I shouldn’t have asked you to tell the guys about her,”
He put an arm around my shoulder and hugged me. “It’s not your fault, Erin. I enjoy talking about her. It’s just that here at school, I find it effortless to forget I’m not human and just pretend. My slip-up earlier just brought me crashing to reality. Most people say they would kill to be immortal, but they fail to realize everything it takes away. Everyone I know from my human life aside from Juliet is dead, and the only reason she isn’t is because vampire hunters live exceptionally long lives. One day she’ll be gone too and then I’ll…” He drew his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and bowed his head as he let out a shaky sob.
I silently rubbed his back as he cried softly. I had the feeling he hadn’t cried over Juliet in a long time. It got me thinking about my decision. Was I making the right choice? Sure, I’d get to live a normal human life, but Aubrey would suffer. Of course, maybe he wouldn’t.
Bile rose in my throat at the thought. It wasn’t fair. Either choice would lead to pain for one of us.
“He wouldn’t want you to change for him, Erin. He’s never been human, but he understands everything you’d be giving up. He knows I regret what led to my change, that I wake up every day wishing I were still human. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I’m glad you decided to stay human.” Topaz said, standing up and offering his hand. “Thanks for being here for me. You should get to class. The bell just rang.”
I took his hand and stood up. “You’re skipping out?”
He grinned. “Maybe a mental health afternoon is just what I need. Care to join me?”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Of course,” he replied. “Where would you like to go?”
“Disney?” I teased. I’d always wanted to go, but could never afford it.
Topaz grinned. “I’ll pay,”
My mouth dropped. “Seriously?”
He shrugged, opening the car door for me. “What better way to spend a mental health afternoon than at the happiest place on Earth?”
I hugged him, nearly knocking him over. “Thank you so much!”
“No problem, Erin. Consider it a thank-you gift for lending me a shoulder to cry on.”
I smiled. “Anytime,”
While Topaz drove, he showed me the memory of Juliet when they met and some of himself over the years. The ride flew by. Topaz jumped out of the car and whooped. I got out and had to jog to catch up.
The castle loomed over us like a beacon. It was one of the most magical things I’d even seen.
“Topaz, that was amazing! Thank you!” I said, walking out to the car with him.
He grinned. “Those mouse ears look great on you. Aubrey will love them.”
I laughed. “They look awesome on you too.”
“Thank you,” he said, getting in the car. I leaned against his shoulder, exhausted. He smiled. “Are you tired? You can sleep if you want. I’ll wake you up when we get home.”
“Thanks, Paz,” I yawned, cuddling into him. “Hope Aubrey doesn’t mind,” I teased.
“It’ll be worth the stabbing,” Topaz chuckled. I smiled, hoping the nightmares would stay away. I didn’t want to upset him after the wonderful afternoon we had.
Chapter Three
Aubrey
A chill went up my spine the moment I saw my father’s face. I hadn’t heard that voice in more than four hundred years, but it still held the power to reduce me to a little boy. That voice had yelled a thousand hateful things in the short six years I’d known it. That voice was always yelling. It was the stuff of nightmares.
My mind blanked. I couldn’t form words. Kistel’s raw power emanated from him like an infectious black poison. The air felt heavy, saturated with his power. His body looked like it was sculpted from stone. His black hair was long and wild, reminding me of a famous man who once graced the covers of old paperback romance novels. He had a black tattoo of a snake eating its own tail on his left pectoral muscle.
“What? No greeting for your old man? That’s rude. I would’ve thought your mother would have taught you some manners.” He laughed, a sound with the same effect as metal grating against metal. Alex was staring him down like he was afraid to look away.
Alex growled. “Why the hell are you here?”
Kistel smirked at him. “I came to see my boys. Family is important, after all.”
“Don’t you dare say that!” Alex’s voice was raw, the words exploding from him. I’d never heard him so angry. The sound hurt my ears. A window in the kitchen cracked. Alex’s power was flared out around him like a cape.
Chuckling, Kistel moved closer to us. The braided metal chain hanging from the pocket of his black jeans moved with a soft clinking sound with every move he made. Alex’s knuckles cracked. He was as tense as a tiger about to pounce. “Don’t ever speak to me that way, brat.”
“Bite me,” Alex replied without hesitation.
“Don’t tempt me,” he warned. He shifted his gaze to me. “How have you been, little Aubrey?”
My name sounded wrong in his mouth. I growled. “Get out of m-“
“So, Kistel, what do you really want?” Alex interrupted. He shot me a look, warning me to shut up. I nodded.
“Let your brother speak, brat. I’d love to hear what he was about to tell me.” Kistel’s smile was like a snake ready to strike.
“I’d rather not, or he might say something he’d regret. Come on, you’re strong enough. Read his mind. Or has being older than dirt finally caught up with you?”
“Watch your mouth, brat.”
“Tell me what I want to know and I might consider it.”
Kistel chuckled. “I just came to tell Aubrey something he doesn’t know. It’s very important. No one deserves to be lied to like that.”
Alex, for a fraction of a second, looked absolutely terrified. “W-why bother?” The tremble in his voice scared me more than anything Kistel could have said.
“Lied to?” I asked.
Kistel sauntered over to a kitchen chair, pulled it into the living room, and straddled it backwards. “About your mother,”
“Shut it, old man!” In a flash, Alex was charging him. Kistel swatted him away as if he were a fly. I cringed as the sound of bones snapping reached my ears. Alex lay in a heap a few feet away from where our father sat.
“Wanna try that again, brat? You might as well be three again with the way you just attacked me. Maybe you’d like to give Aubrey a turn? After all, thanks to you, I never did get the chance to beat the crap out of him.”
Alex laughed dryly as he got up. “Never got the chance, huh? Were you too tired after beating me?”
“Not at all. My anger was just wasted on you.”
I growled. Alex glared at me to be quiet. Clutching the armrest of the couch, I tried to sit still. It felt like my entire body was telling me to run. That was odd. From the few memories I had of Kistel, I didn’t ever remember feeling like this.
He grinned. I’d have bet anything he could sense the effect he was having on me. “Feeling antsy, brat number two?”
“No,” I cleared my throat and tried to speak with more force. “I’m fine. I just want you to leave.”
Kistel threw his head back and laughed. “This may be your house, but no one tells me when to leave, little boy.”
“I’d love nothing more than to kick you out,” Alex said coldly, standing next to me. I could feel the air shift, my brother’s power weaving around me like a protective blanket.
Lounging forward on the chair, my father stared at me. “Are you ready to hear me out?” Alex was about to open his mouth, but he raised a hand. “I’ll leave,”
“You will not like what you hear.” Alex warned, his eyes pleading with me to reconsider.
I sighed heavily. “Tell me so you can leave.”
“I should have told you years ago…” Alex muttered, sitting next to me and running a hand through his hair. He seemed to have aged ten years since our father walked in.
Kistel grinned. “Where to begin?”
“By walking out the door the same way you came in?” Alex suggested unhelpfully.
He glared at him, his intense green eyes so much like my older brother’s. “Shut it, Alexander. I am speaking to your brother. Be quiet before I silence you for good.”
“Oh? Like I haven’t heard that before. Go ahead. Throw the first punch.”
Kistel snarled. “Your mother is better off dead so she won’t have to witness what an idiotic smartass you are!”
That shut Alex up. He looked down at the floor, his power seething like a bubbling volcano. My heart went out to him.
Despite his hard exterior, Alex cared deeply about what Mother had thought of him. He was never a better person than when she had been alive. On the rare occasion she would scold him, he would go to our shared room and think deeply about what he had done. He hadn’t been a saint, but Alex had truly tried to be a better person for her. Her death had destroyed him.
“Now, shall I begin?” Kistel asked calmly. I nodded. “How do you think your mother died?”
“She was over at a friend’s house, walking her friend home from church, and the house had caught fire. Alex and I were waiting for her to come home for breakfast. Alex was outside tilling the garden when he heard the news.” I said uneasily.
“Whoever told you that’s a damn liar.”
I stared at Alex who was still looking at the floor. His face was blank. Why would he lie about that?
“I killed her. Drank her blood til she heard her own heart stop and then snapped her neck for good measure.” Kistel replied smugly.
“Out! Get out! Now!” Alex shouted just as an image was about to appear in my mind. All I saw before my brother's power cut off the image was the living room floor of our childhood home and the small pale hand of our mother, loosely clutching a rosary. The glass cross was shattered. That rosary had belonged to her mother and her mother’s mother before that. It had been the only material thing my mother had ever cherished.
“W-why?” I barely recognized my own voice as my power flared up, shattering all the windows in my home. “How the hell could you do that to her?”
Kistel merely smiled. H
e hadn’t moved an inch. He seemed unfazed by everything he had just told me. “I wanted to. You and your dumbass of a brother were a nuisance. I told her I was going to kill Alexander. I didn’t care about you. She could keep you. Alexander was the one I hated. I wanted him dead. But she wouldn’t have it. She got in the way.”
Alex was shaking, his breath coming fast. His features were deadly, his fangs extended, ready to kill. Something about his posture told me the words Kistel had just said weren’t new to him.
Kistel laughed. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” Without another word, he disappeared.
I collapsed into silence on the couch. How could he kill her? My mother was so warm, so giving. How could anyone hurt her?
“Brother, I’m-“ Alex began.
“Just go,” I said coldly, not even looking at him. I was rarely ever angry with Alex. I wasn’t even sure I was angry with him now. I just couldn’t get that image out of my head.
It was as if I had just learned my mother had died all over again.
Chapter Four
Alex
So there it was. No more secrets left to tell.
I’d known since the day it happened, but hearing Kistel say it brought me right back there. I was eight again, seeing him stand over her body. The instant I smelled her blood, I knew. I knew what he had done. I knew he had taken away the only real parent I had.
He grinned at me and left. I gazed down at my mother, feeling as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room. The only person who had ever loved me was dead. In that instant, I was alone.
“Alex, can I come inside? I want to ask Mother if I can go hunt.” My brother’s voice cut through my blank thoughts like a knife.
“Just go,” I said, focusing every fiber of my being on keeping my voice steady.
“Would you like to come with? I know you haven’t eaten yet.”
“No, I’ll eat later.” I replied, knowing I should have fed hours ago. As soon as I heard my brother take off running, I went outside and began to dig.
