When I opened my eyes, Matthew was staring at me. “I did not remember. Why are you telling me these things?” I whispered, agonized. I almost wished he would have belittled me with nasty words instead.
An emotion I did not recognize flickered in his eyes for a second. “You cannot hope to repair something if you do not know the extent of the damage.” He looked back into the fire as his telepathic shield closed me out again. I could barely hear his next words. “You hurt me, Julia, but the blow you dealt Samuel was much, much worse.”
I contemplated his words as we stared at the fire. I thought I had known all the factors that influenced how the others reacted to me. Apparently, I had missed a crucial detail when it came to Samuel. This would explain his growing animosity toward me over the last few years. The nauseated feeling returned along with a strong urge to cut. However, I dared not take out the dagger, fearing that Matthew would perceive it as a threat.
The revulsion I felt for myself was replaced by confusion and a faint hope as I thought of his other words. Did he really think this could be rectified? I glanced at him in curiosity, but decided not to press it. Instead I asked, “Do you think he’ll kill himself? Do you honestly think he might?”
Matthew moved his hand up and down. In seeming response to his movement, the flames grew and shrank in rhythm with his gestures. “I honestly do not know. I cannot predict his behavior anymore . . . he’s not acting like himself. All I know is that he’s in Rome. What he does there is anyone’s guess. It’s possible that he may try,” he said as the fire flared up, then died down.
Blinking back tears, I studied the odd spectacle in front of me. “Why is the fire doing that?” I asked without thinking.
I was startled when he laughed, the sound gentle instead of filled with mockery. “Well . . .”
“You are doing it?”
Matthew nodded. “I still need practice though.”
The confirmation did not really shock me. I had suspected for years that this was the case. It was no coincidence that fire was easier to obtain when he was around. I was amazed that he admitted it to me. “I’m surprised you do not use that ability more –” I trailed off, realizing this might not be a good topic.
Matthew’s expression was guarded when he answered. “It’s difficult to wield fire. Sometimes it seems as though it has a life of its own. If it becomes too large, I lose control of it.” He shrugged. “I have spent the last few years refining my ability.”
I wondered how honed his skill had become. Perhaps his plan was to burn me alive if he felt I was a threat. Wasn’t that a cheerful thought?
“Anyway, I think it’s time to get some rest, Julia.”
I nodded and yawned. “Excellent idea,” I murmured and walked over to my bedroll. As I lay down, my mind drifted over various conversations we had had on the trip. I would say tonight’s was the most productive. We may not have talked about everything I wanted, but we had exchanged ideas and feelings without resorting to violence or name-calling.
Sleepily, I realized a curious fact. Matthew may have called me insane, pathetic, or stupid, but every time he addressed me he had called me ‘Julia’, unlike Samuel who had started calling me ‘Juliana’. All things considered, he had been quite polite and I was grateful.
“Matthew, thank you,” I whispered.
“For what? Telling you about Samuel? About my power?”
“Thank you for calling me Julia.”
A faint snort reached my ears from the other blanket. “Um, what else would I call you?”
“I am sure you thought up many names to call me over the last few years. I appreciate you not using them.”
“Heh,” Matthew grunted. “It is almost dawn. Go to sleep.”
I closed my eyes. Before sleep fully engulfed me, I heard a small noise. It sounded like someone stepping on a stick. My eyes snapped open as I felt a rush of air. A wooden arrow was embedded in the ground inches from my head. Hunters.
I swore and rolled over, grabbing my crossbow. There was movement in the trees as the enemy closed in. I estimated their number to be ten and set off an arrow of my own. “Matthew,” I hissed in alarm.
“What?” he murmured groggily.
“We have visitors.”
He sighed. “Now what did you do, set the Hunters on me?”
“That would have been funny if there hadn’t been an arrow two inches from my head,” I replied.
“You mean they missed? Damn.” However, even as he was saying his insulting comment, he had also grabbed his crossbow and was also firing into the woods.
“They have such great timing,” I said, briefly looking up at the lightening sky.
“They always do,” Matthew answered. He put an arrow through one Hunter’s neck. Six of them made it through our arrow assault and attacked. I put down the bow and instead pulled out the dagger Matthew had given me. I immediately deflected one stake and someone else’s blade.
Scrambling to my feet, I turned to face our attackers. Three of the six had bypassed me for Matthew instead. Two of the Hunters stood only a few feet from me. Both of them were male and had dark hair. The Hunter closest to me was a tad taller and also held a dagger similar to mine. There were wooden stakes in his belt.
I slashed at him several times. He parried my attempts with ease, then spun and jabbed at me with the blade. I cried out in surprise as he ripped the right side of my dress open. It was the only time I could remember being grateful for the layers of fabric that usually hampered my movements.
Backing up, I frowned. I had not fully appreciated the skills of the Hunters until now. That wasn’t good; I had underestimated the enemy. I had thought of them as normal humans but they weren’t. They hunted vampires for a living – they knew how to fight us. How to kill us.
The bottom of my dress tore as I whirled around and blocked the second Hunter’s stake. A flurry of attacks and counterattacks followed. He ducked another of my thrusts, before dancing away as the taller man came at me. Both of them scowled slightly, seemingly taken aback by my skill.
I couldn’t help smirking in response as I once again countered the original Hunter’s strikes. The man looked angry and confused. Apparently, he hadn’t heard the stories about how I had battled vampires three times my age and power – and walked away to fight another day.
As I sidestepped a blow, there were hideous screams from behind me. Without warning, my attackers backed away, looks of horror on their faces. I moved to keep them in my line of sight even as I risked a glance at Matthew.
One of the Hunters that had gone after him was on the ground engulfed in flames. A second assailant was flailing about, also on fire. A satisfied smile touched Matthew’s lips as he watched that person fall. The grin disappeared quickly as the third Hunter attacked with a sword. The Hunter’s swings were relentless, leaving him no choice but to remain on the defensive. He seemed intent on pushing Matthew as far away from the campfire as possible. I realized my attackers were doing the same with me. Evidently they figured out how their comrades became human torches and didn’t want to risk the possibility that I had the same power.
It looked as if Matthew had things under control. I turned my attention back to the two Hunters closest to me. The tall Hunter came at me with a stake in one hand and his dagger in the other. I narrowly missed his jabs by rolling away on the ground. Before I could recover, the shorter Hunter swung at me with a sword. Frantically, I scrambled backward, striving to keep from being slashed open. The blade glanced off my dagger but only ripped apart my right sleeve.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sixth Hunter lurking around the tree line. I couldn’t tell what he or she was doing. Was this person the commander of the Hunters?
Without warning, a small kernel of apprehension settled in my gut. This was the first time in years that I have done battle, and if that weren’t worrisome enough, I was fighting alongside a ka-tet member whose trust in me was probably only marginally higher than the foes we were battling. I w
ondered if fighting these Hunters was so hard because of their skill or if it was because of my lack of practice.
With effort, I parried the blade. I ducked the swing and lunged forward instead of backward, knocking the sword away. I shoved him, and we fell to the ground. He reached up and knocked away my dagger.
We struggled for a minute or two as we both fumbled for another weapon. I grabbed one of my stakes first and slammed it down into his chest. He gurgled before dying seconds later. “See, Matthew, stakes work just as well against humans,” I called as I retrieved my dagger and got to my feet.
Matthew grunted something in reply but I didn’t understand. The sound of weapons clashing told me he and the Hunter was still locked in a vicious swordfight. My eyes darted to the trees again. Although I thought there was one attacker unaccounted for, I no longer saw the person. Maybe whoever it was had run away. I focused again on the man with the dagger and stake.
I swung at him with my weapon. He dodged my swipe and countered. I sidestepped and pivoted around behind him. I grabbed the arm that held the blade as he tried to turn, and twisted his wrist. He howled and finally let go of his weapon. I drove my knife into his shoulder and yanked up, ripping the muscles. He screamed and jerked away, clasping his other hand to the wound. He spun and staggered away.
His departure didn’t disturb me. I was sure I had nicked an artery which meant he would bleed out within minutes. Normally I would pursue such a meal, but it didn’t seem worth the hassle with sunrise barely minutes away and my ka-tet member still battling an opponent.
I turned to see Matthew stab a Hunter twice in the chest. The man groaned and swung at him again. He stepped backward out of the way. The Hunter staggered toward him and fell to the ground.
He turned toward me as I saw the last Hunter appear behind him. “Matthew, watch out!” I screamed.
He spun, but the Hunter was already practically on top of him. She swept Matthew’s legs out and they both fell. I drew in a sharp breath and ran toward them. I recognized this Hunter, although I had seen her only from a distance before. It was Donna Saladino, Stefan’s twin.
As soon as I got to the struggle, I tackled her and knocked away the stake she was about to impale Matthew with. Donna grabbed for my throat, hissing in Italian under her breath. I pulled back and grabbed her arm as her fingers came within centimeters of my eyes. She struggled in newfound fury against me. I swore and brought back my fist to punch her.
She glared at me. “You would not dare hit me,” she gasped in heavily accented English.
“Oh really?” Yet as I stared down at her – I couldn’t believe my eyes! She looked like a female version of my dead husband, right down to the black hair, gray eyes, and the cruel curve of her mouth.
How could this be? Is she a descendent of one of the fiend’s siblings? Gregory killed his only child. My child. Her chubby cheeks framed by short raven hair, bright blue eyes, and her endearing smile. Marie’s image flashed through my head so vividly that the accompanying wave of anguish nearly drove me to the ground. I stumbled away in disbelief. “How can this be?”
Donna rolled and got to her feet. “You’re all going to die!” she screamed and ran into the woods.
I let out my breath and staggered to my feet. Trembling, I placed my dagger back in its sheath and made my way over to where Matthew still lay. I fell to my knees beside him. “Oh Jesu. Matthew, are you hurt?!”
He stirred a bit, then grimaced. “I think I hit my head on a rock.” He blinked and stared up at me in confusion.
“What?”
He sat up with a groan. He tentatively rubbed the back of his head, and looked at his hand. It had come away from his head stained with blood. “Damn,” he whispered.
“You are hurt,” I said in alarm. “Let me look at it.”
Matthew winced. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Faint pink and gold tones from the sky illuminated his expression of deepening bewilderment. “You just saved my life from that Hunter. Why? You even tried to warn me . . .”
“I helped you because I wanted to. I am not the monster you think I am.” I paused. “As I said before, I want to explain. Matthew, I made a terrible mistake five years ago. And believe me; I have paid dearly for it.” My voice shook with a sudden wave of sorrow as I said the statement. I rose to my feet and ran a hand through my hair.
Turmoil filled his eyes. “Tell me later.” He shook his head faintly as I started to protest. “We need to get away from here. It’s too dangerous. Dawn is breaking and they will be back.”
“They?” I questioned. “There was only one Hunter left.”
“There are more close by. Experienced Hunters always have at least twelve.” He started to his feet, but sat back down. I thought of the Hunter’s twin and nodded. I doubted he was far away. I held my hand out to Matthew.
He hesitated for a moment, then took it. “Thanks,” he murmured as I hauled him to his feet. We both glanced around our ruined campsite.
“The blankets are soiled.”
“Yes. Take the clothes and weapons. We might as well go into Sienna – we’ll be safer in an inn than outside,” Matthew replied.
I nodded, reaching down to pick up the supplies we had left. “Can you walk?”
“I’m going to have to,” he replied, glancing up at the sky. “And we better get a move on.”
***
A couple hours after sunrise we stumbled into the first inn we saw. The man behind the counter was staring at us warily. “In che modo posso aiutarla?”
Matthew leaned against a wall as I approached the counter. “Avete camere libere?” He gulped but didn’t move. “Avete camere libere?” I repeated tiredly as I looked into a bag, found and handed him several gold coins.
He stared at the coins. At last, he nodded and handed me a key.
“Grazie,” I said, gathering our things. I turned to Matthew. “You all right?”
“I just need some rest,” he said as he pushed away from the wall and followed me into our room. As soon as I locked the door behind us, we dropped our things and tumbled, exhausted, onto the bed.
Chapter 4
I was still tired the next night, but thankfully there had been no bad dreams of my own or Samuel’s. Looking over at the bed, I saw Matthew still sleeping in the exact spot he had landed in.
I resumed my task of checking myself over for any serious injuries I might have missed earlier in my sun-induced lethargy. Luckily, all I saw was minor bruises and scrapes. My black and blue dress, though, had seen better days.
The sleeve that had been ripped open during the fight had exposed my bare arm, which was still covered with healing wounds and scars from the times I had cut myself. Since I had cut with wood, the wounds did not heal as fast, remaining visible for at least a week. It was not something I wanted Matthew to know about.
With that in mind, I walked over to where we had dropped the bags of clothes. I rummaged around and came up with the trousers and shirt that would fit me, and headed for a corner of the room to change.
As I unfastened the top button of my dress, Matthew woke up. He sat up and looked at me. I paused, quickly dropping my arm so the torn sleeve covered it. “I was just getting dressed,” I said.
Matthew frowned and walked to me. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine,” I said and turned away from him.
“You do not look well. When did you last feed?”
“A few days ago,” I replied. I didn’t mention that I had sliced open my left arm after that. “Can I please have some privacy now?”
“Too pale,” he muttered. “Let me look. There has to be a wound that bled all day.” Matthew reached out and spun me to face him, holding onto my right arm. He lifted it up and pushed aside the torn fabric. He stared at my arm for a long moment, then back at me. “Who did this?” he asked. His voice held genuine anger.
I was taken aback by the tone of his voice. “N– No one did. It happened during the fight.”
Matthew
shook his head. “Most of these cuts aren’t new. Some are even scars. I’ve seen a lot of wounds during my lifetime. I know the difference between fresh ones and older ones. These aren’t as new as they would have been if they had happened last night. So, who did it, Julia?”
I looked away, feeling cornered. I did not want to tell him, but I had promised myself that I would not lie to him anymore. “I did,” I whispered.
“What? Why?”
I tried to pull away but he held my wrist tighter. “Matthew, please let go!” I pleaded.
“Julia, why did you do this to yourself?” he asked in confusion.
“I did it to punish myself!” I blurted out. “I needed to hurt myself as much as I have hurt you! I deserve to be hurt!” I jerked away from him.
Matthew let me go. He stared at me as if I had said something so outlandish that he hadn’t even thought of the possibility. “You really are sorry about what happened.”
“Yes.”
He suddenly reached out and caught my other arm. The movement was gentle but I resisted him, realizing his intentions. “Don’t!” I cried out in panic. I knew this arm was even worse than the arm he had seen. “Matthew, leave me alone!”
He ignored my protests and tugged until he could expose skin. I heard his horrified cry before I managed to pull away. “You did that to yourself? Oh, Jesu, Julia, how could you do this! Doesn’t it hurt? There are still bits of wood in some of the cuts.”
I trembled slightly. “I did not think anyone would care.”
Matthew abruptly sat back down on the bed. “You thought no one would have –” He shook his head.
“You all hate me. It’s not as if you care if I hurt myself or not. So do not act distressed. Leave the room please. I want to get changed.”
“Sit down, Julia. I’ll be right back,” he said and got up again. “You can change later.”
Between Darkness & Light Page 6
