“Let’s go outside and light the fire.”
We retreated into the garden, took our seats, and Maya focused on the fire. I watched her lightness, her luminous colors, until I was filled with a positive energy. Closing my eyes and letting it extend to all parts of my body, I then willed the energy to move toward Charlotte.
The strangest sensation occurred. I actually felt a physical presence leave my body and head into hers.
What the heck is going on?
I don’t know how much time had passed, but when the energy transfer had passed, I looked at Charlotte.
She appeared exalted. “Mr. Stone, I don’t know what you’ve done, but I felt it. I actually feel lighter. Much better than I’ve felt in months. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The dark blue and light blue that had surrounded her met and created a blend between them. And the darkness that surrounded her was gone.
Darkness. There was someone else I knew who had a darkness hiding deep within.
“Tristan!” Mother exclaimed, clasping her hands. “I knew it. I always believed in you!”
“What does this mean?” I turned to her.
“It means you have begun to tap into your gifts. It isn’t something that happens overnight, but is something you can develop. Just think of all the people you could help. Is this something you want to do?”
“My life has lacked meaning for so long that I would gladly do something of value. But I don’t want to try this alone. Excuse us, please, Mother. Charlotte.”
They left the garden. I walked over to Maya and took her hands. “If you’re with me, I’ll try anything. Will you stay with me, Maya?”
She looked down before looking at me with earnest blue eyes and said, “I’ve been with you since our first night together. I’ll always be here.”
I kissed her in appreciation, lifting her off the ground.
When our lips parted, I said, “Let me look at you a moment.”
“Yes. Why?
“Remember how I told you about the darkness I saw buried deep inside you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I don’t see it anymore. It’s gone.”
“Naturally. You’re in my life.” She smiled. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re also the light to my dark.”
“Of course not. I’m just an idiot,” I teased.
She smiled. “No, I’m the idiot. You’re the dumbass. Remember?”
“Oh yeah.” I grinned. “Now that we’ve started working together again, there’s one thing I want to do.”
“Let me guess, something that involves leather. Maybe a red wig?”
“You’re on the right track,” I said.
She nodded in acquiescence. “What do you want to do?”
“Go back to the cemetery.”
Chapter Eleven
“This is going to be difficult,” she said, trying to keep a candle lit. “We’re too close to the ocean.”
“Put it behind one of the tombstones to block the breeze.”
“Genius.”
Once she’d established a steady flame that she rose to four times the normal flame on a candle, we focused once again—her on the flame, me on her light.
We didn’t know exactly how it worked—maybe she gained energy from the flame and then I gained positive healing energy from her—but somehow we connected and it worked.
“Okay, I got it,” I said, once I saw the colors shimmer like mother of pearl.
When I looked back around the graveyard, it was a different world than the one I’d just seen.
“Holy shit, Maya. I wish you could see this. It’s unreal.”
The shadows that had crept around the stones when we first arrived, the same shadows that Maya drove away or masked with her light, were now fully visible.
“What is it?”
“They’re not dark, slithering shadows anymore. I now see more colorful areas—like light and energy.”
“What do you think they are?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Spirits?”
“Can you talk to them?”
I quit staring out into the graveyard to look at Maya. “What am I supposed to say? ‘Hi, are you a spirit?’”
“Don’t be sarcastic, Tristan.” Raising her chin, she said. “Not when we’re having a breakthrough.”
“Okay. Sorry. Seriously, what do you think I should do?”
“Um, I’m thinking,” she said. She started pacing in a figure eight. “This is really weird, Tristan. But it kind of makes sense. Think about it. Your great-grandfather could see auras; your mother is a medium. Somehow you’ve inherited some of each of their gifts and developed your own.”
I shook my head out of incredulity. It was crazy, but in a way it made sense.
Maya kept pacing. “Maybe they are spirits. And they’re stuck here. Or lost. Why else would they creep around the graveyard? Maybe you need to send them positive energy. To help guide them.”
I wanted to give her a doubtful look and ask where the hell I was supposed to guide them to. But she did make some sense out of this wacky situation so I held my comments. Besides, I was too entranced again with the new colors around me. “Okay, I’ll try.”
I inhaled deeply, trying to take in as much of Maya’s positive energy as I could. Then I willed it out toward the shapes and colors around me.
For a while, nothing happened. Well, that was interesting, I thought, almost ready to let go of the connection. But then a light-blue shape, like a moving oval in the back of the graveyard, ascended. As it went higher, its color faded. It became translucent.
And then it disappeared.
“Unreal,” I said.
“What is it?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“I don’t know how much longer I can do this, Tristan. It’s draining me.”
“Hold on a little longer, please.”
Encouraged, I directed the energy toward another shadow, this one orange. By focusing on this one shadow rather than the entire graveyard, the process repeated much more quickly this time.
“It’s working!”
“What’s working?”
“I don’t know exactly. But they’re moving—moving on, I think.”
I focused on the last one as quickly as I could. Finally no signs of life were left in the graveyard except for Maya and me. Peace at last.
I let go of the energy transfer and turned to Maya.
She fainted.
Maya
I woke up in Tristan’s loft and I watched the waves from his bed.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You passed out.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Maybe you released too much energy? I don’t know.”
“Tell me what happened with you. What did you see?”
Tristan explained how he could see the dark shadows as colors now, reflecting light. He explained how he directed our energy toward them and how they rose and disappeared.
“I’ve seen a lot of things, baby,” I said. “But that’s some freaky-ass shit.”
“No. It was a positive experience,” he said.
He went to pour me some coffee.
“Tristan, I wonder if you even need me anymore?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I mean to tap into the energy or whatever it is that you can do.”
“You’re the key, Maya. Of course I need you.”
“But maybe I was just the key to break through. You might be able to tap into the energy yourself now.”
“You’re talking crazy this morning. Here, drink some coffee.”
“I’m serious, Tristan. You should try it on your own one day.”
“Okay, maybe.” He sat down next to me in the bed and drank some coffee. “I hope that’s not your excuse to try to slip away. You know I like having you with me. Just being near you brings me comfort.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet. And you make a killer cup of coffee. Guess I’l
l stick around for a little bit,” I teased.
“You better not go anywhere anytime soon. In fact, you should take it easy today. Tonight I have a surprise for you.”
“Ah, I know about you and your surprises,” I teased. “What is it—something kinky?”
“You are such as sexy little vixen,” he teased. “My little slut.” He kissed my mussed-up hair. “But that’s not what I was planning. Not at first, anyhow. Come to Vamps tonight. And dress hot.”
“Don’t I always?” I tilted my head.
“Yes. You could make a pair of overalls look hot. But tonight is special.”
I found the black dress with the red Asian accents that I’d worn the first night I met Tristan. So many things had happened since that night.
When I saw Byron, he said, “You’re practically a fixture here. What do you and Mr. Stone do anyway?”
The experiments and the sex came to mind. He’d get the sex part; the experiments, not so much. I gave him the look. “Do I really have to explain that to you?”
“Ugh, please don’t. He’s my boss, you know. I don’t want to hear about his sex life. Gross.”
“I assure you there’s nothing gross about it. In fact, it’s kind of—”
“La la la la la.” Byron covered his ears. “I can’t hear you. I’m singing.”
“For a bouncer at an underground club, you’re kind of a prude.”
“No gay guy wants to hear about straight people having sex.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you details, Byron. Jeez. I was just going to say he makes me very happy.”
“Ewww.”
“Interpret it how you will. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find the guy who gives me great—happiness.”
Tristan met me at the bar rather than down in the lab where I usually found him.
“Have a drink, Maya. We need to celebrate.”
“Our discovery? How we can work together?” I asked.
“That and other things.”
When the bartender came over, I said, “I’ll have a Tempting Fate.” After all, look at all the good things that happened since the first night I tried one of those.
“The surprise is coming up. Look on stage.”
Band members came on with their instruments. “Oh my God! Velvet Cocks. I love this band!”
He shook his head and laughed. “What a band name. You know they just wanted hot girls like you to go around saying ‘I love Velvet Cocks!’”
“I love Velvet Cocks!” I echoed with a laugh.
“I know,” he said. “I’ve seen your records. Who buys records anymore these days?”
“This girl,” I said, pointing both thumbs at my chest.
Tristan shook his head. “You can have your entire music collection on a computer, or even an iPod and you still have big, bulky vinyl?”
“One day I’ll let you experience the magic—if you’re good.”
“I’m always good—except when I’m bad.”
“I like it when you’re bad—in bed.”
Tristan opened his mouth in mock horror. “Are you saying I’m bad in bed?”
“No. Of course not. You’re frickin’ awesome. You know what I mean, Tristan!”
“I know. Just teasing you.” He nodded toward the stage. “I booked them for you. You haven’t seen a live band here yet. I wanted your first experience to be unforgettable.”
“Hey there, stranger,” a female behind me said.
“Nike! What are you doing here?” I gave her a giant hug. She was standing next to Michel; I recognized him as the guy she turned tongue-tied with the night of the fire. Damn, I forgot how good-looking he was. Not my type, but I could see why Nike would go ga-ga over him.
And he was a fucking vampire. Holy shit. I tried not to stare at him.
“Maya,” he said with a slight bow of his head.
When he spoke, I looked to see fangs, but quickly recovered so as not to appear rude. “Welcome back, Michel.”
“It’s good to be back,” he said.
“Why don’t you ladies have fun out there?” Tristan said. “Michel and I will be at the bar.”
Confused, I asked, “You know each other?”
“Of course,” Tristan said. “We have done business together, remember?” He motioned around the club that Tristan bought from Michel after the fire.
“But, that’s while they were overseas, I thought.”
“He got in touch when they came back to the US.” He kissed me and said, “Have fun with your girlfriend.”
It didn’t take long for that to happen. Nike and I jumped around like crazy, singing our favorite songs along with the Velvet Cocks, or VCs as they were known in more PC crowds. Their logo had a rooster wearing a smoking jacket with the letters VC in a fancy scroll font. Fun, cheeky bastards.
While we danced again for the first time in over a year, I thought it was as if Nike had never left. And became some sort of creature of the night, if that’s what she was. She was still Nike and I was still me.
After a set, the singer said, “This next song goes out to Maya, a very special lady, from her eternal admirer.”
Nike and I looked at each other. Her eyes were wide, reflecting the self-conscious horror she’d feel if Michel did this to her. But not me, I enjoyed the spotlight. When I grinned widely, she must have remembered that and smiled back.
I turned back to see Tristan at the bar, grinning.
The singer Leggy Bones began with a soft croon of #1 Crush by Garbage, an ode to an obsessive, all-consuming type of love. I stood there gaping like an idiot. Did Tristan really feel so much for me? It was only after the seductive intro, when the guitarist Chee Keydood led the band with a punk rift, that I regained my composure and danced around for the rest of the song. They played it hard and heavy—one of my favorite bands jamming out to a song chosen from my favorite guy—dedicated to me!
Leggy motioned to Nike and me. “Come on up here for the next song.”
I climbed up without reservation, but figured Nike would decline. To my surprise, she stood right next to me on the stage.
Hmm, maybe Michel is good for her after all.
Leggy brought us over to him with the mic.
“I think we all know this one. We put our spin on it. Come on, everyone now, sing along.”
Velvet Cocks launched into their version of Witchcraft,punk-rock style—quick, hard and heavy. Nike and I were on either side of Leggy, singing along. I caught Tristan’s eye and smiled as he watched me from the bar. He had a twinkle in his dark eyes now; the haunted look was gone. He raised his glass and nodded.
After gallivanting on stage for another song in our rock ‘n’ roll set, Nike and I joined the guys at the bar.
“Let’s all have a drink,” Tristan said.
I looked around our little group as we drank a round of a Fateful Night. A vampire, a hybrid sort of vampire/human, a guy who could see auras or energy, and a girl who could manipulate fire. “If this isn’t the motley-est of crews, I don’t know what is.”
“Thanks for inviting us down here tonight,” Nike said to Tristan.
“My pleasure. It’s great to see old friends catching up as if no time has passed between them.”
A pang of sadness went through me. Had he ever had friends? Probably not.
“So how long are you two sticking around?” I asked.
“Indefinitely,” Michel answered. “I still own the rock-climbing gym, although it’s suffered from mismanagement since I’ve been gone. I’m hoping Nike will help me whip it back into shape.”
When Nike smiled at him, he looked back at her with affection in his eyes. I had no doubt that what they felt for each other was real. I vowed to stop feeling anger toward Michel for monopolizing my best friend—and making her some sort of creature of the night. If she was happy, then I was happy for her.
Michel turned back to Tristan and me. “Perhaps you should come check it out one day. It’s a great workout.”
“Uhhh
—” I began. “I don’t know about that.”
“Oh come on, Maya.” Tristan nudged me. “It’ll be fun. Something new.”
Looks as if someone has a new lease on life, I thought.
“Okay. Maybe,” I said. “I warn you, though. I’m not very athletic. Just because I can shake my booty here doesn’t mean I’ll have any sort of coordination climbing a wall.”
“You’ll do just fine,” Michel said.
“And I’ll catch you if you fall,” Tristan added.
“Falling may be involved? I might have to change my mind already.”
Tristan ignored me. “We’ll be there soon.”
“What about the firehouse, Nike?” I asked, hoping she’d give it some thought.
“Let’s see how it goes,” she said. “I practically lived at the rock-climbing club so it might be fun to help run it. And I’d need to come up with a damn good reason why I left the firehouse and an even better one for why I’d want the night shift. I wouldn’t want to rush into things here and have it all go up in flames.”
We all laughed.
“Good point,” I said.
Michel and Nike began canoodling at the bar while Tristan and I watched the band finish their set and then leave the stage.
“Thank you, Tristan. What a fantastic night. Everything you did tonight was especially sweet. Very thoughtful.”
“Thank you. For everything. Do you know how different I feel knowing I can make a difference in the world, rather than hiding from it in a basement? I feel like a new man. And it’s all because of you.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“And one of the first things I want to try is rock climbing.” When I groaned, he said, “You’re coming with me.”
“If you insist,” I teased.
“I know we took things too quickly in the beginning and I don’t want to do that again. The last several weeks taking thing slow while we ‘date’ have been phenomenal. But I do want you with me as much as possible. What do you think about moving in with me? Living in the loft?”
Holy crap! This was a big commitment. Moving in with him? I don’t know. Am I ready? Can I do it? I’ve been living on my own for so long. How would it work with me sharing my space with someone? Would I be giving up my independence? Focus, Maya, breathe.
“I don’t know, Tristan. That’s a big proposal to consider.”
Fiery Nights Page 16
