by Tarisa Marie
“Try to move it around,” D suggests.
I focus on the feather and imagine it gliding around in circles in the air. It does whatever I tell it to. I’m amazed. Completely shocked.
“Jeeze. Okay, try and move this storage container tub but let me put the lid back on first,” D instructs excitedly, while clamping on the blue lid.
I repeat the routine and will the damn thing to move. It shutters and shakes and then finally lifts inches...feet off of the ground.
“Jeeze. Where is this coming from?” D demands as if he’s fascinated.
“No idea,” I promise.
“Super weird, but super good. I was starting to wonder if you were going to be like Jacob,” he says happily. “Okay so when I say go, start pushing the box towards me and I’ll start pushing it towards you. I want to see how much force you can use. It’ll make it easier for me to guess what kind of spells you are capable of at this point.”
I nod nervously. My hand is raised in the air unlike D’s. He explained once that it takes practice to be able to control the magic without some sort of support or focus point like your hand.
“Go,” he says while staring at me and not the box. I put as much effort as I possibly can into pushing the box towards him and an unexplainable weight seems to push back at me. I know it’s him. I push harder yet and wonder if my face is turning red. “Harder,” he demands.
I try to muster up more strength but it feels like I’m grasping at air and not catching anything.
“Do you feel tired?” he asks. “Does your head hurt?”
“No,” I answer truthfully.
He gives me an approving look and pushes the box towards me so our forces are no longer even. It looks like this takes hardly any effort on his part. As it rushes towards my face I realize that he isn’t going to stop it. I thrust back unintentionally and the box stops right before it hits my face. I scramble back out of the way so it doesn’t drop on my feet and lose my control over it. D is killing himself laughing.
“Did you really think I’d let it mess up your pretty face?” he asks.
I don’t know what to think.
“That was excellent. Really good. You show lots of potential. I just want to know what’s changed?" he asks.
“I don’t know,” I promise honestly.
“Maybe the motivation of a psycho witch on your ass,” he contemplates with a smile. "Maybe your trigger is an emotion. That's not good per say but it's something we can use at least."
Quite possible. I agree to myself.
My thoughts are interrupted by a tremendously loud crack. At first I wonder if a tree has fallen down but then realize that the sound was far too loud. I look quickly to D for answers but he looks as lost as I am.
“What was-” I begin but am cut off by another loud crack. D wails in pain and I look to him dumbfounded. He is on his back, blood rushing from his chest. I look for something that could possibly explain this but it appears that he is bleeding for no reason at all. Suddenly terrified, I take in my surroundings in a heartbeat, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I see nothing. What do I do? Run? In which direction? I think about taking D’s phone and calling my dad but what the hell is he going to do from across seas? Wait, Ariella, he is part witch he can probably pop into Taverd and be here in minutes. Thing is, I doubt I have minutes.
I reach into D’s pocket and pull out a flip phone. I search the contacts and realize that there is none. Great.
“Run, Ariella,” D whimpers.
“Where?” I demand. “What’s going on?”
“They found us,” he grunts and reaches for the invisible item penetrating his chest. He pulls it out. I wonder if I’m next to be hit with an invisible dagger of death.
“We have to go. Quickly,” he moans and gets up to his feet. “Before they can penetrate my spell with more than a weapon.” He grabs my hand and suddenly heat fills me and we’re no longer in the clearing. It looks like we’re in an alley in a city. Before I can ask where we are he says. “Sweden. The only part of it I’ve been to. Give me the phone so I can reach your dad. Run and don’t stop until your father or I find you. It won’t be long before they figure out where we’ve gone and come for us. I just need a minute to heal. You have to get out of here. I’ll find you when I can,” he promises, while gripping his chest. It’s still bleeding. I remember something that he told me once about how witches are easily killed, much like humans. Will he really be okay? Will he really be able to heal from this? I begin hyperventilating with worry. What if this is it for him?
I debate leaving him but realize that he is better off without me. I’ll only hold him back if he needs to fight. Even injured and in the palm of the enemy, his chances of survival are a lot larger than if I stay and get in the way. It won’t do either of us any good if I stay here. So I hand him the cellphone and I run. I only hope that he will be alright.
I race out from the alley and into the streets where people rush up and down the sidewalks. I dodge around people and then turn into another alley. It feels like I’ve been running for days but I know it’s only been seconds. I jump over a chain linked fence and up a hill into what looks to be a cemetery. I race around its outskirts and then jump another fence and hurdle into a residential area. I wonder how long it will take for them to find me. I hope not long. I’m glad that I’ve been getting in some cardio lately because who knows how long I’ll be running.
Once I can hardly breathe, I stop. I slump against a tree and try to catch my breath. I can’t run forever. That’s when I notice a tall building that I seen hours ago. Hours ago, I was only meters away from it and now I’m only a few blocks from it. Have I ran in a circle? I cuss. Leave it to me to not pay attention to where I’m going.
I kick the ground. I left D only two or three blocks from here. I wonder if he’s alright. Did he get away? Call me dumb but I can’t just not know. I get up and muster enough strength to bolt the few blocks to where I left him. When I enter the alley it’s dark. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust but when they do I’m put into a state of complete and utter shock. Bodies are strung from one end of the alley to the other. I know they’re probably all vampires and dark witches but still. The stench is so disturbing that I gag. None of this is what disturbs me most though, the thing that absolutely shakes and destroys my world is the sight of D on his knees bent over a limp blonde-haired woman with his mouth latched onto her neck. I swallow hard and feel like I’m about to vomit. I must be seeing things. I have to be seeing things.
I can’t help but let out a surprised gasp. He hears it, of course he does, he has super hearing because he’s a god damned vampire. I know I should run but my feet are welded to the cement ground. He looks up and his fiery red eyes meet mine. Shock seems to spread through them and they return to their natural color. I’m shaking I can feel fear wracking my body. There seems to be too much saliva in my mouth, am I going to puke?
“Ariella, I told you to run,” he says in a thick, husky voice like he hasn’t spoken in days.
I can’t bring myself to speak.
He sighs. He sounds...nervous? “I will explain this all to you just promise that you won’t tell anyone about this,” he begs and throws the body to the side. He gets up and a sadness passes across his eyes.
What do I do? Oh god, what is going on? How could I not have known he was a vampire? How could my father and Jacob not have known? How is it even possible that he is a vampire? My father was a witch before an immortal, could it work the same way? The queasiness he’s shown around blood and his sympathy for the vampires suddenly makes sense. I’ve never seen him sleep, vampire don’t sleep. He’s been unusually fast at times while helping me train, as fast as my father and Jacob both.
“Ariella.’ He raises his hands up as if he’s walking towards a wild animal. “I won’t hurt you. It’s okay. Let me explain. Come on, it’s me," he tries, while taking baby steps closer to me.
I cringe and manage a couple steps backwards. I kissed him o
nly hours ago. I trusted him. My father trusted him. Jacob trusted him. Has he tricked and betrayed us all? It’s been drilled into my head over the last few months that vampires are terrible, vile, disgusting, ruthless creatures. I’ve been told terrifying stories about them over and over again that have again and again made me cringe and hate the creatures. I’ve seen what they’ve done personally. I recall finding Talia at the party. Now I’m left wondering if that could have been D.
I still cannot speak. I’m still absolutely in shock and so he begins to explain. “When I was kidnapped by Marco that day in the park, he knew about you. I don’t know if he planned your existence but he knew about you. He also knew about my relation to your father. He took me and made me what I am, then kept me locked up while he tried to have me make others like me. They all just died. It didn’t work. He wanted to make an army of us, magic vampires to end the white witches but he was only powerful enough to make one himself, me. He gave up on his plans of having me turn witches and your father found and saved me as you know. I took off to deal with...myself. To deal with the thirst I guess. I was never much for killing before I was part vampire and even after, I had the slightest bit of will power left in me to know that I still couldn’t be a killer even if Marco wanted me to be one. He found me nearly right after your father saved me and took me back with him. He was furious when he realized that I was managing my bloodlust and he cursed me with an even more agonizing thirst than I had originally. It was so terrible that I wished myself to die every day for years. He promised that if I listened to what he demanded of me he would remove this curse. So I listened. All I wanted was for the thirst to go away. All he wanted me to do was help him capture a young girl with mixed blood for him. He wanted me to do it because he knew if he sent the vampires they would be killed by the two men who guarded the girl. He wanted no ruckus and said that I would be able to slip in and out with the girl without being noticed. He wouldn’t tell me how but promised that I could do it without being killed. So he trained me for years. I spent little time away from him. Then he removed my thirst once I'd gained his trust, I'd fallen into the darkness and it was no longer about having the curse removed but supporting Marco's cause. When your father called for my help, I was already in Denver, already in the school. I was the one who started the fire at the school. I started the fire because I assumed that the girl with mixed blood would reveal herself by trying to put it out. The only information about the girl that Marco gave me was that she was strong and he gave me her whereabouts on that night. I didn’t realize that the girl would be unable to access her power. After not coming up with the girl, I thought Marco would find me and recapture me, maybe even punish me with death but he didn’t come for me. I decided to pay a visit to Theenis, I hadn’t seen him in a very long time and hardly spoken to him. Seeing him in the burning school is what brought me back from my darkness. I was curious to know why he was in the building that night and when he didn’t answer my calls I became worried. I searched his name online and your address popped up. You can imagine my surprise when you answered the door. As soon as I saw you I noticed how you looked so much like your father and I realized then why I was only given so much information about you. I was sent to kidnap my best friend’s daughter. I nearly took you in that moment but I couldn’t. Not after all Theenis had done for me over the years. I decided to hang around, get the story, figure out what exactly was going on then take you although I think deep down I knew I could never really take you and that’s why I was procrastinating. Then when we took off, I saw an opportunity to rid myself of Marco even though it would mean that He would probably put the curse back on me and I’d probably only be free from him for a little while. There were so many opportunities for me to take off with you and return to him but I just couldn’t. Not only because of your father but because every day that I spent with you I grew to like you more. You made me remember what it was like to be young. To have your whole life ahead of you. I knew I’d have to tell you all eventually but I wasn’t ready,” he explains in the darkness of the alley. "I was going to tell you today after you woke up but then all of this happened."
Do I believe him? I don’t know. Do I trust him? No, but like he said, he had many opportunities to take me back to Marco and he didn’t. I wonder how far away my father and Jacob are. I expected them to find me by now. I swallow hard. I know if I run he’ll only catch me.
“You’re one of them?” is all I manage to get out, venom in my voice.
He cringes and looks truly hurt by my words.
“You’ve been lying to us for months. Months! You’ve been lying to me. How do you hide something like this for that long?” I demand angrily. All this time I’ve been worrying about Marco catching me when he’s had an inside man all this time. I recall the dream I had that Marco invaded shortly after I left Denver, he’d said he’d been betrayed. I assumed that the person was Nathan, but maybe he meant D, but was it D who tipped my father off? If not, was that Nathan? What role does Nathan play in all of this, if any?
“”I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, I swear,” he promises.
I feel absolutely betrayed. Tears begin streaming down my face.
“Don’t cry, Ariella, it kills me when you cry, don’t,” he begs and takes a step towards me. I take a step backwards to keep the same amount of distance between us. Another flash of hurt flashes across his face.
Am I scared of him? The one person that I’ve consistently been able to trust through all of this while my father and Jacob haven’t been around? The guy that I’ve come to think of as my best friend and even more? I realize that I am. I am scared of him. After all, I did just see him sucking the life out of that poor girl. I can’t help but glance at her body. He sees this.
“She was already dead. One of Marco’s vampires killed her on the street,” he says reassuringly but that doesn’t help much at all. He was drinking her blood. I gag and nearly vomit at the thought. How disgusting.
“You killed all of these people?” I demand while taking in all of the bodies again.
“They were going to take you to Marco. So yes, I killed all these vampires and witches, Ariella, of course I did,” he says sternly as if it’s obvious. “We can’t stay here. Marco will be wondering where his men are and come looking for them at any moment.”
And he expects me to go with him? Where is my father? I pray that he shows up soon.
“Ariella, your choices are getting captured by Marco or coming with me. Are you really debating this?” he asks.
He’s right. If I have to pick one or the other, sticking with D is still better than the other option. Still shaking with fright, I let him close the distance between us and touch my hand. The familiar rush of heat surrounds me and then I’m somewhere else. I’m still in a city whether or not it’s the same one, I’m not sure.
I take steps away from D and take a seat on the curb a few meters away from him. He takes out his cellphone and I can hear him on the phone with my dad explaining that he’s going to leave me here because he has other business to take care of. I’m not sure if my father replies but D hangs up the phone and throws it to me. I catch it before it hits me in the face. “Your dad’s number is now programmed in it. It’s your phone. I won’t be sticking around for you to tell your father that I’m a traitor and a vampire. I value my life, at least I think I do, I’m not really sure right now. You won’t be seeing me again, at least I hope you won’t. Stay safe, Ariella," he says and then he’s gone. He disappears in thin air and I’m left staring at a building wall. Only seconds later do my father and Jacob show up right in front of me.
“”You look like shit,” Jacob notes.
“Thanks, asshole,” I spit back.
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” My father says exasperatedly and helps me up from the curb.
“I can’t believe that idiot left you here alone even if it was only for a few seconds. I hope whatever ‘business’ he’s taking care of is important,” Jacob murmurs. “Like really
important.”
“It’s not like him to do stupid things but it’s unlike him to do something like this,” my father speculates. “Did he tell you where he was going?”
“No,” I answer. I debate whether or not to tell them everything but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m still in shock or because I know that my father will kill him, or try to kill him if I tell him. My father loathes vampires and even D being his best friend wouldn’t be enough. Not only that but the fact that D was sent to take me to Marco, would be enough to make my father hella furious and I don’t think that I really want D dead. I couldn’t even stand seeing those vampires and witches dead and they definitely deserved it. I hate death. No one deserves death in my opinion.
Chapter 19
A few days pass and I find myself being dragged all over the place with Jacob as my father continues to work on his plan or whatever. Apparently Jacob’s been nominated to be my new babysitter now but he’s not nearly as exciting or fun as D was. I do have to say that it’s nice to spend some time with him as I haven’t gotten much of a chance to since the whole fleeing from Denver thing. It’s weird how different and yet the same he acts now compared to before everything. He’s still Jacob but now he’s my brother Jacob.
He tells me about his life before being immortal and about his mother. He tells me stories about D and our father and life how it was back then. He tells me things that D never did. He’s surprised when I tell him that I haven’t heard any of the stories. I wonder why D never told me much about the past aside from his family. My only guess is that it has something to do with the 'him not wanting me to think of him as old' thing.
I find myself missing D but try to make myself understand that I’m not missing D exactly but the person that I thought he was. I can’t get the picture of him sucking the blood from that girl out of my mind or the fact that he started that fire in the school and potentially killed many people, my friends and classmates.
