I thought about the stranger from earlier and decided to fight in tribute to her while performing just as bravely as she did. I straightened up and looked at him scornfully. “You can go fry in the sunlight! I won’t tell you anything, you swine!” I spit out with all the hatred he inspired in me.
“Your courage is honorable, miserable human, but I’m not stupid. There are rumors that say our angel has engaged the services of a female of your species. I know our laws. He should have killed you in Kentwood. That means you are the dog he’s been dragging around. So he must not be far, and you’re going to tell me where he is.”
I had to buy myself some time. Slowly, and as discreetly as possible, I tried to reach my gun hidden in my coat. I had to make him talk, if only just to learn more.
“You say that you know your laws, but you’re breaking them without any qualms. I suspect that when Talanus and Ysis learn that you’re not respecting the Great Change and you’re threatening the Secret, they’ll have an unenviable fate in store when they get their hands on you. And I hope I’m there to see it.”
“Phoenix told you more than he should have. He really should take care around you, seeing how many secrets you know. Ripping your limbs from your body one by one while thinking about him will amuse me.”
I managed to get out my gun. I didn’t wait for the big blond to react, I just fired. I couldn’t kill him, knowing that he held information likely to help our search, so I’d aimed at his shoulder. I didn’t miss.
The silver bullet was having an effect. He fell to his knees. His vampire powers should have been blocked because of his wound. He only represented a small risk, so I crept forward, ready to shoot at him a second time.
That was a big mistake. He got up faster than I’d anticipated and crashed into me heavily. I fell backward, dropping my gun, while he, still standing, looked down at me from above.
“Bitch! You should have hit my heart, because even with that silver bullet, I’m capable of breaking your neck!”
Just as I started to tell myself that I was done for, a silhouette stopped in front of me at a surprising speed, pushing my attacker back. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my boss had heard my cry for help.
He helped me get to my feet, then turned to the big blond who had recovered his arrogance despite his shoulder wound.
“Who are you? You are not from this sector.” Phoenix’s voice cracked like a whip in the glacial night.
“My name will get you nowhere, so I’ll give it to you. My name is Heath, and I must say, dear angel, that you have a rather disagreeable habit of mixing yourself up in things that don’t concern you. Your little trips in this area have really been a nuisance to us.”
“What kind of traffic are you running here?”
I answered for Heath. “Blood! They’re trafficking human blood.”
A heavy silence fell upon the three of us. The two vampires faced each other, their eyes luminescent.
“Your little bitch has shown too much curiosity. She will suffer and die horribly. As will you.”
“You will not touch her! I’m stronger than you,” said Phoenix, his tone glacial and menacing.
The small smile, confident and cruel, that my attacker was sporting put me ill at ease. He had something up his sleeve.
“Against me, sure . . . But against them, that’s another story . . .” And he whistled.
Suddenly, fifteen or so hooded vampires surrounded us. Phoenix had defeated six foes only a few days ago, but against fifteen, I doubted that he would have the upper hand, and I wouldn’t either.
The circle of vampires started to close in on us. I caught a glimpse of our death, which promised to be horrific.
Suddenly, Phoenix turned toward me, and before I could even imagine what would happen next, he lifted me up and took me in his arms. In the space of a single breath, we took off into the air at an unbelievable speed.
The vampires below could surely hear the echo of my scream as we charged at the clouds . . .
“Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh! Let me down! Let me down! Aaaahhh!” I screamed and gesticulated wildly, my eyes wide open in terror at the panorama that was spreading out below us.
One of the reasons I’d never strayed far from Kentwood (I’d even picked a university that, while not the best, was at least the closest to home) was a tenacious and powerful vertigo that prevented me from ever daring to hope to take a plane one day. So I’ll let you imagine my reaction as I flew in the arms of a vampire above the highest buildings in Kerington.
I’d lost all sense of safety, and my living-dead vehicle didn’t miss the opportunity to make me aware of it, particularly by tightening his grip, which cut off my breath. It was rather painful, with my broken rib.
“Are you going to stop moving? Do you want us to crash? Continue flailing like that and I will drop you!” he thundered.
His voice reached me distinctly despite the wind that whipped at my face.
His threat had the intended effect. I stopped fighting. To avoid the terrifying view, I burrowed my face into the crook of his neck, wrapped my arms around his neck, and gripped him tight.
We’d never been so close before.
I’d never noticed that he used cologne; he smelled nice and his skin, so cold, was nevertheless incredibly soft. Strangely, I felt comforted, and I started to regain control over my breathing, and then think about my new situation . . .
It took us less time to get back to Scarborough going as the crow flies than by car. Phoenix landed smoothly on the lawn of the property, and after that, I lost it.
I began by pushing him as hard as I could. Might as well push a mountain with my bare hands. However, he took a step back. My legs turned to jelly, making me lose my balance. My boss reached out an arm to help me, but I pushed it away violently, gathering all my strength to face him.
I was so furious that it took me a few seconds before I could speak.
“You . . . you said that vampires didn’t have other powers than those I could see . . .”
I tried to get control over my quivering voice, as anger burned in my veins.
Phoenix’s face had resumed that impenetrable mask that refused everyone entry to his thoughts.
“I told you we do not have powers of suggestion. I also told you our powers increase with time.”
His tone didn’t predict anything good.
“But you never told me that you could fly! You lied to me!” I screamed, tears in my eyes.
“I did not lie to you. It had not yet been the right time to tell you.”
“And when would the right time be, hm? You never intended to tell me, because for you I’m nothing, just a replaceable slave only good for serving as an emergency blood bag! I was loyal to you, and what did I get in return? You lie to me and give me no choice in the matter!”
Since our first encounter, I’d never seen Phoenix display his anger toward me in any other way than his cold and threatening voice. But now he raised his voice.
“And what did you want me to do? Reveal all my secrets to a mortal I have only known for a few months? Pour my heart out on your sympathetic shoulder? Good grief, come back to earth, Samantha! I am a vampire and I do not have to answer to a pathetic human whiner like you! Why should I keep you alive if not to help me? If you are expecting a different attitude from me, you are stupider than I thought!”
I remained speechless for a second, time enough to absorb the horrors he’d just thrown in my face. Then I reacted.
Without realizing what I was about to do, I struck Phoenix with the most monumental slap imaginable.
I immediately felt an immense pain in my hand and its waves spreading throughout my arm. I was incapable of speech.
Before another word was uttered by the man whose betrayal had broken my heart, I turned away, swallowing my tears, and ran to my room.
I slammed the bedroom door and leaned against it, trying to catch the breath I’d lost, as much from my run as from the pain.
Phoenix’s wor
ds tumbled around in my head, playing on a loop, making me understand how much I’d been deluding myself, how naive and stupid I’d been.
I had vainly hoped for something that couldn’t happen. I’d thought that my boss’s attitude toward Kiro was a sign of the possibility that he would open up to me, that he would become my friend. But like me, Kiro was just a human who Phoenix had allowed to live. Nothing more.
Why did I want to gain Phoenix’s friendship so much? After all, I had Matthew and Angela, and Danny, and even Ginger.
Why did I feel so betrayed? I’d been warned. I knew that Phoenix didn’t trust anyone, especially humans. However . . .
Despite the violent circumstances of our meeting, despite the fear that he’d inspired and could still inspire, despite his coldness and acerbic remarks, I’d slowly become attached to him. His attentiveness, his thoughtfulness, his advice, and the real Samantha that he had helped to reveal—all that led me to believe I was important to him. And it was because of all he had given me that I was so keen to be his friend—so I could return his kindness with friendship.
How ridiculous I could be . . .
Tears ran down my face, and I did nothing to stop them. Then there was a knock on the door. The red veil reappeared over my eyes. I felt my blood boil in my veins, and anger was overtaken by a state of uncontrollable fury.
I grabbed a decorative porcelain water pitcher that was on the dressing table and pitched it against the door.
“Go to hell!” I shouted.
Overwhelmed by a sudden desire to break everything, I scanned the room frenetically, looking for objects to destroy. Like a tornado, I made a tour of the room, picking up everything I could carry and positioning myself in front of the door.
“Samantha . . . open up. You need to be healed.”
That reviled voice increased my fury.
“Go . . . !”
Smash! A bottle of perfume . . .
“Burn . . . !”
Bam! A bottle of water, now dripping everywhere . . .
“In hell!”
Bang! Bang! Books that Phoenix had recommended.
“That’s where you’ll end up anyway! You bastard!”
More porcelain breaking. Another lamp. With all the strength I’d put into that throw, it’d literally exploded.
Suddenly, I started crying without restraint, a weakness that exasperated me even more.
“You’re a monster and I hate you! You’ve ruined my life! I never want to see you again!” I managed to scream between sobs.
To put a definitive end to the conversation, and to prove just how beside myself I was, I sent my brand-new DVD player crashing and scattering against the door.
I didn’t hear anything more from him. Being careful to not cut myself on any pieces of broken glass, I opened the door and peered into the hallway. He was gone.
I threw myself on the bed and emptied my body of all my sobs and tears. I thought about my parents. Their love had been unconditional and exclusive, and it always comforted me when that almost constant feeling of being invisible and useless threatened to strangle me. Since their death, that feeling had only intensified until I met Phoenix and my friends in Scarborough. And while that scar was fading little by little, here, in one evening, with just a few excruciatingly hurtful words, all that fell apart. I’d reverted to a nobody, and a complete idiot as well.
I’d let myself embark on a dangerous path in which I was risking my life because Phoenix had opened my eyes to my potential. He may have revealed it to me, but deep down he couldn’t care less. Just like he couldn’t care less about me . . .
It was with that sad statement that I fell into a troubled sleep, riddled with nightmares.
The next day, I woke up early. I wasn’t able to fall back asleep, and besides, I’d already made my decision, so just as well that I carry it out as quickly as possible.
After taking a shower and getting dressed, I took the biggest bag I had and stuffed it with some clothes, my papers, and some cash. I called a taxi, and when it arrived I asked the driver to take me to the Scarborough bus station, where I made myself as small as possible so no one would recognize me. It was easy.
During the trip, which was scheduled for two hours given all the stops, I closed my mind to all stray thoughts and only concentrated on the countryside passing by.
I’d nodded off by the time I heard, “Kentwood! Next stop!”
I yawned, then grabbed my bag and exited the bus.
I know the town like the back of my hand, but I felt like I didn’t recognize anything. Three months’ absence made me feel like a stranger in my own hometown. Despite that, I set off on foot to my destination.
Once in front of my house, I realized I didn’t know what I was expecting. I wasn’t in danger during the day. Even if after our encounter Heath still wanted to come after me, he would have to wait until nightfall. It was only a few minutes past two in the afternoon; sunset would be around seven thirty.
I encountered some resistance when trying to open the door. It was actually a pile of mail amassed on the other side that was blocking it, but between advertisements and bills, there was nothing there that suggested anyone had taken an interest in my fate.
I checked the answering machine, just in case. “Miss Watkins, Mr. Plummer here, your boss. We’ve received your message that you’ve quit. Consider your resignation accepted. Good-bye.” Click. “End of new messages.”
Heath was definitely talented at erasing traces of a person’s life. As for the principal, upon hearing the ease with which he’d accepted my departure after all that I’d done for the school, I only felt disgust for him.
Heath’s interventions meant that since I technically hadn’t disappeared, the police certainly hadn’t come here. That was now confirmed.
I stayed longer than anticipated. The nostalgia of that house and everything connected to it overwhelmed me and delayed my leaving. But it was getting late, and I needed to pack up and go.
I went up to my room, grabbed the big suitcase that took up most of the space in my closet; I’d never even used it before. I put everything I could in there, clothes, some of my mother’s jewelry.
Once my packing was done, I got down and crawled under the bed. There was a floorboard under there that I could pry up; I used it to hide my savings. I always kept some money there because I didn’t really trust banks, even if both my parents had worked for one. The financial crisis had proved that I’d been right. With what I had under the bed, I had enough to live off of for a while, which was good since I didn’t think I’d be able to access any of the money Phoenix had paid me.
When I was ready, I toured the house, taking it all in. When I passed through the door of my childhood home for the last time, a tear ran down my cheek . . . a new chapter of my life had just begun . . .
I arrived at the Kentwood train station and looked over the schedule. I wanted to go far away, beyond Kerington County. The only train that went any distance that night was the one to Eden in North Carolina. It would arrive around six, in half an hour. I bought a one-way ticket.
I sat down on a bench and skimmed the newspaper that an old man was handing out at the entrance. My blood turned to ice when I turned the page to a photo of a young, smiling woman, about twenty years old. The photo was just below a missing persons appeal. Her name was Melanie Aubry, and she’d just moved to Kentwood to study nursing.
She was the woman Heath had killed before my very eyes. No one would ever see her again; no one other than me would ever know the truth about what happened to her.
Silently, I prayed for Melanie, that courageous young woman who had become an example for me to follow.
Reading that newspaper became unbearable, so I threw it into the garbage. I heard an announcement that my train had just been canceled and I would have to wait for the next one, expected at nine. I tried to forget about night falling soon, thinking only about my one-way trip. Phoenix wouldn’t know where to find me, I supposed, so there wasn�
�t anything I could do but sit and wait. I sighed.
It was a long wait, so I went to have something to eat. Around eight, I came out of the diner and sat back down on the same bench as before and waited. I watched the comings and goings of the travelers. Some seemed stressed and tired; others beamed; still others ran into the arms of people welcoming them. Those were the lucky ones . . .
“Train to Eden now entering the station. Platform four.”
Just when I’d had more than my fill of waiting . . . That was good timing.
“Samantha . . .”
That voice . . . behind me . . . I froze. I’d of course recognized it. I would’ve recognized it anywhere. Phoenix walked around the bench and came to sit beside me. I kept looking straight ahead, at the platform, because I didn’t want to see him.
“I have been looking for you everywhere. I finally ended up at your house. I saw that someone had emptied your closet. I also smelled your perfume so I knew I was on the right track. Nothing was keeping you in Kentwood, so I figured you would want to get far away from here. So here I am.”
What did he want? A medal for finding me with his super sense of smell? That was a valuable quality for drug detection dogs on police task forces. I kept quiet.
Suddenly, he took my hand in his. This gesture, so unusual for him, made me turn my head in his direction and stare at him in amazement. It was the first time I could read the emotions on his face, and he didn’t seem at all patronizing. Was that . . . remorse?
“Samantha . . . when I took you with me, I only planned on avoiding a task I hate and being able to confide in a fragile person, especially a mortal. You were nothing more than . . . you said it yourself . . . a replaceable slave.”
Why was he talking about the past? Why did he seem so miserable?
“But I got caught up in it. I have been living alone for a long time, and I did not know what it was like to . . . to have someone to talk to. Please understand, I never expected to find your company . . . agreeable. Comforting. I lost the habit of worrying about anyone, but when I saw you confronting Heath, alone, I was afraid in a way I never have been since becoming a vampire. I was afraid of losing someone dear. You are important to me, Samantha. I started to realize that when I bit you. I should not have felt so guilty . . . but it’s worse now, because I have hurt you more profoundly by telling you things that I do not even think. I am asking you to forgive me . . . my friend.”
Samantha Watkins: Chronicles of an Extraordinary Ordinary Life (Samantha Watkins Series Book 1) Page 15
