by S. L. Baum
“I know what you mean,” I sighed in delight. “Only a few more days.”
“Your smell is intoxicating, Charity. I can’t believe how delicious you smell,” Link whispered.
“Delicious,” I softly giggled. “Well, that one is new.”
I paused in thought, and Lincoln’s body stilled. My Link detector took a huge spike in action as his blood swiftly began to pump through his body, quickening with each passing second. Link took a few steps back, putting a small amount of distance between the two of us. His expression grew more and more worried. His brow crinkled in thought.
“It is new,” he gasped. “I’ve never had that sensation before. Maybe I have been pushing myself too far. Call James. Call him now. I’m going to my room. I think I should rest, by myself.”
Link spun on his heels and used whatever remained of his super speed to sprint back to his room.
We had found the extent of his time without blood. If we were looking for a clear indication that bloodlust had kicked in... that reaction would be it. His resistance would lengthen with time. That much we hoped for. Lulach could go for months. But then he was something old – something very, very old!
****
chapter two
BLOOD & LUST
I snatched my phone from my desk and punched in James’s cell phone number. Voicemail - as usual. “What else did I expect from the doctor?” I mumbled aloud as his message played, and I waited for the beep. “Link needs more you know what, and he needs it now!” I spoke into the phone. I ended the call and texted the exact same message.
James would check his phone soon, I hoped. He was usually pretty good about it. It just depended on how much time he needed to spend with his current patient. I stood by my desk for a moment, contemplating my next move, trying to think of anything that would help Link cope with whatever he was dealing with.
The phone buzzed in my hand. James had texted back. He was leaving the medical center in five minutes and was coming home “with supplies.” That was good. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was very good.
I walked down the hall and knocked lightly on Link’s door.
“Don’t come in, Charity. I feel better with some space between us,” Link called out.
“I’m just letting you know that James will be here soon,” I spoke through the door. “Thirty minutes at the very most. Hold on, babe. Close your eyes and rest.”
“Thanks, Charity. I’ll be fine ‘til then. Love you.”
With my forehead resting on the door to his room, I whispered back, “I love you too.” Then I pushed away from the door and forced myself to walk down the hall, back to my bedroom, and wait until James arrived.
The second I heard James open the door to the house, I ran toward the stairs. “He’s in his room,” I called out.
My fumbling nature, that seemed to come out at the worst possible moments, took over. I snagged my foot on the side of the banister, and I stumbled forward. My hands flew out in front of me, bracing for the fall. The palm of my left hand hit the corner of the metal post at the top of the stairs, and my skin split open.
I sucked in loudly as the pain registered in my brain. After I steadied myself, I stared at the bloody diagonal gash, which started at my pinky finger and ended at the bottom of my thumb.
“Charity, what did you do?” James asked as he bound up the stairs, taking them three at a time.
“It’s minor. Just deal with Link,” I told him as I shook my head, embarrassed by my clumsiness.
James held a portable cooler in his right hand. “I had a feeling this morning,” he remarked, as he reached the top step. “He looked off. I don’t know how else to explain that. Just off. I think I was waiting for the call from the moment I left the house.”
“You guys really should have told me you were doing this little experiment,” I scowled, and opened the door to Link’s bedroom.
He was standing on the other side of the bed. His hands were knotted into fists and pressed firmly at his sides. My favorite smile was nowhere to be found. The features of his face were tense, and that was putting it lightly. Tightly wound was closer to the truth.
“I already told him that,” James replied as he looked at Link’s over stressed state. “You’ll be in the loop next time.”
“You’re bleeding, Charity,” Link spoke through gritted teeth.
“I’m fine, I swear.”
“Just put it on the bed, James,” Link said, his voice strained. “I don’t know if I should trust myself right now.”
“Breathe in through your mouth, Link. Take a deep one, and try not to use your sense of smell,” I offered. “I trust you. I’ll always trust you. Plus, it’s not as if you could do any lasting damage to me,” I said. I glanced down at my palm as the last bit of flesh knitted itself back together and the wound disappeared.
I hurried into Link’s bathroom, quickly rinsed the blood from my hand, and turned back around.
James placed the cooler on the bed, and I noticed that Link was already holding the pointed metal straw that he now kept for these situations. Relief flashed in his eyes as he quickly moved over to the bed and sat on the comforter, placing himself right next to the cooler. Link extracted a unit of blood from the square white box (O-positive, his favorite), and plunged in the straw.
I could only describe this scene as... Juice Pouch City. I could just picture some random three-year-old kid with his favorite juice pouch. It seriously gave me the creeps to think about it.
The metal straw allowed him to quickly access the blood, and suck it down to the last drop, without the bag being upside down in its normal hospital position. He could probably use that tube thingy, but he liked his metal straw.
After he downed the first four hundred fifty milliliters, Link reached in and grabbed another bag-o-blood. As he slowly sipped at the second one, I sensed his pulse returning to normal. I closed my eyes and concentrated on our connection, checking to make sure that he was really okay. He was beginning to feel like himself again, to me at least.
“Okay, if I thought I’d experienced bloodlust before – I was wrong! That was bloodlust. That was, if I don’t get blood soon I will have to go out there and get some! I am not a fan of that feeling.” Link breathed in deeply through his nose. “You don’t smell quite so delicious now, Charity,” he sighed with relief.
“I’m gonna take that as a good thing.” I weakly smiled back. “Now can we all agree that our once a week schedule, that we were observing before, needs to be put back into place?” I stressed my concerns.
“No, Charity, I’m sorry, but we can’t. We need to push Lincoln to his upper most thresholds. Maybe you don’t like that idea, but it is the only way he will be able to build up a resistance to these urges. I spoke to Christopher on the phone about this. Lulach was in favor of our plan. It took him several years to get to a ten-day gap. Link has done it in a few weeks. Since Link isn’t a full Dark One, he should be able to go for longer periods of time.”
“Oh sure! You discussed this with Lulach and his chauffer, slash personal assistant - but not with me. This story gets better by the minute,” I spewed heavy sarcasm to cover my distress. “You saw him James. You saw the panic in his face when you got here!”
“I’m doing pretty good, Charity. I’ve been pushing it one day further each time. I made it two extra days this time.” Link put his mouth back on the straw and gave a thumbs-up.
“Well, I give you a thumbs-down. You barely made it two extra days. I can’t believe you made it ten days. I want you to drink some more right before we leave on our trip. It is less than a week away. We will be in Vegas for a week, and I want you to recharge the moment we get back. Got it? I’ll go bridezilla on you for this one. Do not mess with me!” I pointed my index finger at both of them – to show them I was serious.
“Charity is making a valid point,” James agreed. “As we’ve already noted, I won’t have access to a blood bank in Nevada, and we shouldn’t take any chances with the wedd
ing coming up so soon.”
“I agree,” Link nodded as he drained the second bag. “I wouldn’t do anything that would put a strain on this trip. But I promise nothing once we return. Come on, Charity, you gotta see the logic in this.”
I did see the logic. It made perfect sense for him to discover his limitations. It was completely rational to build up a higher tolerance for less blood in his system. That way he could wean himself down, and discover the lowest possible dose of human blood required to keep his body functioning at optimum capacity. I saw it clearly. I just didn’t want to think about the toll that it might take on my Lincoln.
“When we get back, you are free to experiment, with my full support. I promise.” I narrowed my eyes as I answered - to let them know that I still wasn’t completely happy about it.
“Right,” James stood up. “Well, on that note, I am headed back to the medical center. It’s been an interesting lunch break.”
He walked toward the door of Link’s bedroom.
“Thank you for saving the day.” Link gave James a gracious smile.
“I need to do something about keeping a small supply of blood here at the house for you, Lincoln. I’ll figure something out,” James concluded.
He exited the room and jogged to the front door. Moments later, I heard the engine of his vehicle start up, and the crunch of his tires on the snow, as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.
“You worry me too much,” I frowned.
“I don’t want to worry you. I really am sorry. I should have approached this differently. We are in this together.”
“Together,” I agreed. “Now go rinse your mouth out with some water, please,” I smiled
Link immediately walked into the bathroom to do just that. He knew the whole other people’s blood thing was not my favorite. Actually it was just the thought of kissing him after he’d consumed blood.
“Can we get back to where we were before that pesky bloodlust came over you?” I asked, as he walked back over to where I stood. “I was thoroughly enjoying the feel of your lips right here.” I pointed to my neck. “And right here.” I pointed to my lips.
“Oh, I think there was a considerable amount of good old fashioned lust involved in that kiss as well.” He smiled and pulled me closer.
His lips were instantly on mine. It was a completely different kind of craving, one that came from both of our bodies. The bond that we shared synced our pulses. I could feel the blood rushing through his veins with every beat of my heart. I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and deepened the kiss.
His hands, which were resting on my hips, moved slightly lower and back. His thumbs slipped through the belt-loops of my jeans, and his fingers tucked themselves into my back pockets. I let go of his neck, let my hands wander down his sides, and then sneak up the back of his shirt. I stroked his back and grabbed onto his flesh, pulling him even closer to me.
Link trailed his lips down to my neck again and lowered the strap to my tank top. I dropped my head back as I felt his tongue and his lips caress the top of my shoulder. A warmth spread over me. I could feel my skin heat up as the blood rushed even faster through my veins.
“It’s just a week away, right?” I whispered, my eyes closed, enraptured by the feeling of his mouth on my skin.
“Less than a week,” he whispered back.
“We can wait that long, right?”
“Yes, we can,” he said as his hands snaked up the back of my shirt as well.
“You’re not making it very easy.”
“It’s never been easy for me. Why should I make it any easier for you?” he said with a smile. “Do you know how many times I have had to walk away from you wanting more?”
“Yes, I know. I really, really know,” I sighed.
“You are delicious, you know. The feel of your skin, the taste of your lips, the smell of your hair... I can’t get enough of you.”
“Lincoln,” I breathed.
“Charity, I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
“One week?”
“Less than a week,” I assured us both.
“I’m fine.” “He’s fine.” We both called out at the same time. We looked at each other. “Marcus,” we echoed with a sigh.
Eve’s permanent fiancé, Marcus (Eve said she simply likes the way the word fiancé rolls off her tongue – but make no mistake, their commitment to each other is unwavering), had popped into our heads to ask how Link was doing. His “brain phone thingy,” as I liked to call it, was his current favorite power. It had only been a little over a month since he’d acquired the power, and he was becoming more skilled at using it with each passing day. I wished it were a two-way calling system sometimes. Marcus was able to transmit messages into a person’s head. You could hear him as clear as if he were speaking right next to you. But we had to answer him out loud, and that meant using our lips for something other than their current occupation.
Can we come up? was the next question he broadcasted.
“Yes,” we shouted in unison.
“I guess we could use the distraction,” I muttered.
Link bent his head down to my shoulder again and placed a single kiss there. “One week,” he smiled.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he was pushing himself this way,” I accused, as Marcus and Eve walked into Link’s room.
“I have to turn it on, Charity. You know that. It is a purposeful memory scan, not a constant stream of information. I make it a point not to pry, unless I feel it is warranted.” Eve waved her hand at me.
“Well it is warranted,” I answered.
“If you want me to spy, you have to ask me to spy,” Eve responded.
“Seriously, just like that, you’d spy on me?” Link asked.
“If she asked, and I thought it was needed, I’d take a quick look,” Eve admitted with a quick shrug of her shoulders.
“There are no secrets from Eve,” I reminded Link.
“That kinda sucks,” Link shot back.
“Tell me about it,” Marcus laughed. “She doesn’t exactly have to turn it on. Do you love?” Marcus turned to Eve.
“Well...” Eve started.
“When she’s got skin contact she can’t totally control the stream of information. Things do just come through. I’ve never been able keep a secret from her. It was her first power. Gift giving is quite a challenge,” Marcus informed them.
“You could always keep your hands, and your lips, to yourself,” Eve offered.
“Never gonna happen,” he readily admitted.
“Then don’t complain!”
“I’m just letting the boy know the whole truth. I will never complain about skin contact with you, my love,” Marcus said with a smile.
“The boy... I hate that,” Link muttered.
“When you have a few more years under your belt, you can be relieved of your boy status,” Marcus smiled.
“In the mortal world, twenty-two is not considered a boy,” Link proclaimed.
“Yes, but, you’re living in a whole other world now,” Eve reminded him.
“I hate to admit it, but Catherine and I have called you a boy as well,” I gave a guilty sigh.
“Great. Wonderful. Got it. I’m a boy!”
“You’re a wonder boy, with awesome powers. Don’t forget.” I smiled at him.
“We can get you some super hero tights and a cape, my friend. Is it a bird? Is it a plane?” Marcus stifled a laugh.
“Oh, Oh, and a black mask that just covers your eyes,” Eve added with a giggle as she made circles with her fingers and brought them up to her eyes, to mimic a super hero mask.
“And a utility belt to hold all your cool gadgets,” Catherine shouted out from her room.
She had obviously heard our conversation and couldn’t keep herself from joining in.
I lost it! “That’s not where I was going with that statement, but that’s too funny,” I stumbled over the words, as the g
iggles had caught me as well.
“I surrender.” Link’s brilliant smile appeared, and a chuckle escaped his lips.
My eyes started to water as I gave in to the laughter that was taking over my body. I think it was sweet relief from the tension that had ruled just minutes before. A good laugh helped set things right again and made me put everything in perspective. We would get through this. We would learn how to deal with the changes in Link’s body, just as the rest of our group had learned to deal with our own unique qualities. It was just another, something new.
****
chapter three
CATHERINE’S STORY
When we had all calmed down again, our fit of laughter having run its course, Link turned to me. He wore a look of complete seriousness, “Earlier today, before I came into your room and you showed me the ring from Catherine, I overheard her saying something about Duncan and Mary. I think those were the names… I’ve never heard her say those names before.”
“Yes. Those are the names she mentioned,” I answered.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear. I just didn’t want to interrupt her, so I waited outside your door just for a minute. I know she has assured me that I’d hear the story of her past, at some point. But she sounded so far away when she said their names,” Link paused.
“I suppose she did,” Eve nodded in agreement.
“I have only heard the story once,” Marcus said. “It is one she does not like to tell.”
“Oh, okay, I get it. Really I do,” Link put his hands up in resignation.
“But you have questions, and if you are to truly be a part of this family, you should have the answers to those questions. Don’t you agree, Catherine?” I said the last sentence just a tad louder, assuring all in the house that Catherine had heard it.
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” Catherine called out from her room. Her slippered feet padded down the hallway and she joined us in Link’s bedroom.
