by T.M. Mendes
When a knock at the door sounded, both of them froze. "I was hoping to avoid this," she heard him mutter, making her fear spike tenfold. She couldn't let him kill anyone! Before she could protest, he flitted over to the shatter-proof window and punched it open, making the alarm for the hospital go off. "Close your eyes, Love. This is going to be a big drop."
Wendy was too afraid to do as he said. Her eyes wide with fright, he leapt out of the window, making her emit a scream so loud it hurt her throat. It was so quick she didn't know how they were now across the street behind a building built for family members staying for loved ones. His hand came up and clamped around her mouth, cutting off her loud scream within a second after she started.
"As much as I love your beautiful mouth, Love, I really want to be able to hear." His face was so close to hers, she could feel his breath fanning her face. "I've told you before and I'll say it again… I could never hurt you." His voice was so alluring and soft she couldn't help but have her heart soften toward him just that little bit more.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked once he removed his hands. Her lips were still buzzing from the contact of his skin on her mouth.
His hands cupped her face, making her breathing stop. "Away. I have some friends up North that will provide us shelter, at least until I can build or find my own place again. Plus, we're going to need somewhere where I can keep an eye on you since you'll be newly turned-"
She interrupted him by stepping away. They were both hidden in the shadows so no one would see them and over the noise of the sirens from the recently called cops, no one would hear them either.
"T-Turned? Whoa, whoa, whoa! When did I agree to this?!" Her voice went up a couple of octaves from the fear that was quickly returning. He quirked an eyebrow and stalked closer to her, caging her in against the wall. "I will not tolerate you remaining human. You are too weak at this state, and I will not watch you wither and die like everyone else! You. Belong. To. Me!" His voice rose when he thought of all the horrible ways a human was vulnerable to die.
She pushed at his chest in anger. "I don't belong to you! And I am not going to be turned into a monster like you!" she yelled back at him. Her glasses were fogging from his breath and she furiously wiped at them.
His body pressed against hers and he captured her lips with his, in frustration and anger. She was frozen and didn't know how to react. This was her first kiss that was real, and was not as gentle as her dream not long ago. But it still held the same fire that curled through her veins. Her body betrayed her once more when she surrendered against him and hesitantly began to move her lips with his, but had to speed it up with the ferocity of his movements. He was angry with her words and he was showing it.
"That was poisonous words that just spilled from your lips, and I will give you this one reprieve. You don't know me!" He let his voice accidentally rose toward the end, but softened his gaze when he saw tears build up in her eyes. He sighed and tucked some hair behind her ear. "I will give you… three months at most to come to terms with the change that WILL happen."
Wendy realized then this was her new reality. "C-Can I please have a week before I have to go off with you? I need to say goodbye…. Please?" She tried to sound soft and she succeeded when his eyes looked lovingly down at her.
"Is that what you wish?" he asked her as his thumb stroked her cheek.
"Yes."
He lifted his face from her, looking over to the hospital where police cars were parked and with his skilled and advanced eyesight, he could see police in her brother’s room looking out the hole he had produced.
"This is going to take a while to make it go away. I may need to call in for help. But let me warn you now, my beautiful Beloved: if you try to flee, I will find you. Understood?"
She nodded quickly, knowing and now seeing what he was capable of. She wouldn't be stupid and try to outrun this. "Are you a vampire? I'm sorry, but I need to hear it," she stuttered and froze once more when his fangs flashed so close near her face when he bent down to her eye level again.
"Do you really need to ask, firefly?" He bent down to kiss the pulse point on her neck, making her suck in a quick breath. He chuckled at her reaction, sending his warm breath down her backside. "But yes, I am a vampire." Even though she shouldn't have been surprised it was still a shock to her system to hear them out loud. "Do you have, oh, what was she called it? A cell phone? Yes! Do you have one?"
Wendy was surprised to feel jealousy swirl through her at the mention of another woman, but stomped it out before she could analyze it. She reached into her back pocket and handed him the device. She tried not to laugh, given her current situation, when he had trouble using it.
"This is infuriating! Where is that 'key pad' he told me to use?"
Her curiosity spiked as she took the phone back and touched the keypad to show the numbers. "He?" she questioned. Yes, she was curious about the man he brought up, but she knew this was just a gateway to ask about the girl.
"An old friend. I have an ability to be able to get into people's heads so to speak, and asked him about this life. What to expect etcetera. He grew tired of me invading his dreams and said it caused him headaches. Of course, that was a lie, since our kind doesn't get headaches, but I got what he was hinting at. He told me a number to reach him at. I have to say, the leaps and bounds the world has made is astounding. Everything is so much faster." He looked down at her before dialing as he traced her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb.
"The woman you're silently asking about was nothing but a meal to me. Rest assured she is fine, I did not harm her."
She looked into his eyes and saw he liked the fact she was jealous of someone else. Before she could say anything more, he was talking to whoever was on the other line.
"Yes, Darcy, it's Vincent. Yes, I am now using a cell phone. I need your expertise in making things disappear. Yes, it does involve witnesses. Don't take that tone with me, boy! I still have two hundred years on you! Did you forget the fact I was betrayed and left to rot in the ground for the last three hundred years?! Besides, you owe me for that one time in Prague... I thought so. I'm in a city named Vancouver, it's about a two-hour ride from where I last resided… Okay, an hour drive by those metal carriages. This is no time for corrections! The local police are here and I need to make my mistake go away. Alright… I'll see you in a few minutes." He handed the phone back to Wendy and she had to hang it up since he didn't know how to yet.
"Does he live near here? You said a few minutes?" It scared her that another vampire was coming, but she tried not to show it.
He chuckled darkly before piercing her with his stare. "He told me he was roughly a three-day 'drive' away, which should mean he'll be here in about fifteen minutes. We're very fast as you've witnessed."
She sucked in a breath and tried to smile. "C-Cool."
His gaze became concerned and he wrapped his arms around her. "Cool? Are you cold, Firefly?"
She choked out a laugh, but inside she was going crazy. It was such a war zone in her head it was giving her a headache.
"It's a term now. It's like a dulled down 'amazing'," she briefly explained, trying to get over the fact he was so close to her… again.
"I think I may need to be rid of this attire. It may draw attention." He spoke more to himself than to Wendy. He pulled away from her and this time Wendy did start to feel the bitterness of the cold when his heat was gone momentarily.
"H-How are you warm?" she blurted out, making her eyes widen fractionally from her own brazenness. Where had this courage come from? she wondered to herself, but chalked it up to having an adrenaline rush. After all, she was just carried out a window four stories up.
He laughed to himself before talking to her as he was taking off his scrub shirt. She gulped loudly when the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath rode up, giving her an impressive glance of his physique.
"I only grow cold when I go without blood for too long. It is what keeps me… closer to being human,
you could say. I'll explain all of this to you in due time, Love. Although, I may need to feed again soon."
He looked distraught by the fact and Wendy couldn't help but ask, "Soon? Do you normally f-feed a lot?" Bile rose slightly in her throat at the thought of feeding. She was never a fan of blood, only being able to tolerate small amounts of her own. He looked torn at her, which unconsciously made her step forward to comfort him. It felt foreign to her, but she decided to go with it for now.
"It is your blood, Firefly, that calls to me. Only yours until you are turned will fully sate my thirst, but be that as it may. I know you are… struggling to accept this situation."
Her eyes widened with every word he spoke. Even he knew she was not ready and may never be ready for that! However, a small part of her - the one that's now being a constant thorn in her side - was almost turned on by the thought. Like that part of her was begging for his large incisors to sink into the soft flesh on the column of her neck. It disturbed her to even think about wanting that.
"W-Well, thank you for considering me," she stuttered and looked anywhere but him. Vincent looked to want to say something, but froze for a moment.
"Looks like you can now meet my coven brother, Darcy."
Chapter 5
Vincent
He saw hesitation in her eyes at the mention of his long time friend. It hurt him to know she was so distrustful of his judgment. He realized, though it's a lot to ask for, especially in the beginning.
Before he could soothe her worries, his long time brother was at his side. They were opposites in the looks department in almost every way. Darcy had pale blonde, almost white, hair and had dark, nearly black eyes. His skin was always ashen pale no matter how much blood he consumed. The only way to tell he's fed recently was by the slight color to his cheeks.
"Oh, it's so good to see you in the flesh, brother. It's been too long." Darcy came up and hugged Vincent to him, feeling their old friendship rekindle.
"Indeed it has. Darcy, I'd like you to meet My Beloved, Wendy Garret, the one who gave me life once more." Vincent gestured to Wendy proudly with a beaming smile that nearly blinded her into a daze.
Darcy stalked slowly to her and lifted up her hand to kiss her knuckles, all the while maintaining eye contact. "I thank you for freeing my brother," he murmured lowly. Vincent could smell the apprehension and fear roll off of her from being so close to his friend and made a motion to clear his throat. Darcy chuckled to himself and stood straight again.
"A skittish one, isn't she?" he inquired and turned back to Vincent.
Vincent felt the need to protect his love from such a statement and brought her to his side. He was relieved to only detect a small amount of fear. A huge margin less than before. She felt safer with him and that comforted his soul. "Wouldn't you be if you were in her shoes?" he said with a lazy grin and a quirked eyebrow.
Darcy was going to retort when a police cruiser flew past them and parked at the hospital. Darcy let out a low whistle. "Incredible! You're out not even a week and you create this mess! And here I thought you to be the wiser and older one."
Vincent growled lowly at him, but it had a playful tinge to it. He turned his gaze downward to see his Wendy fiddling with her fingers in apprehension and anxiety. He would give her more breathing room so to speak if his possessive and selfish streak would let him. "You stay right here, love. We'll be back within a few moments."
She nodded hesitantly and then without warning, they were off. Vincent looked to his friend of centuries for guidance in this new world. They stopped once they were in the underground parking and away from any security cameras.
"This will take a little longer than normal, Vince. With all the technology, I will need to call in reinforcements to delete any files pertaining to this incident. I will let you sift through my mind later to know what I am talking about, but for now just trust my judgment," Darcy said with a grave look.
Vincent nodded and watched as his friend made a quick call to whoever he needed to help fix this mess. It was all new to Vincent. Back in his days it only took mere seconds to erase any problems of a breach in their secret. Now he realized, although the leaps and bounds of this new world are amazing, they can prove to be troublesome.
"Alright, I have Ericson hacking into their security files and erasing any reports they have already made and or are going to make. We're safe there. Now we need your brain capabilities to secure the others here," Darcy told him.
Vincent decided to be patient in asking what 'hacking' meant and in asking what were files. He'll get his answer in due time. He nodded, signaling he was ready. They both flitted inside while Vincent swept through the minds of the staff to see how far this little laps in poor judgment went. It wasn't until they hit the second floor where there were questions to what was going on. He could feel the staff’s questions linger in their minds, preventing them from doing a good job if they weren't distracted.
"It's been a while since I've done this, brother..." Vincent quietly whispered to Darcy on his right. They were hidden from eyes behind a service cart that stood tall with various items like towels and sheets.
Darcy placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder for support. "Let's shake that rust off your old bones, then, huh?" Darcy spoke with a smirk at the little jab. Vincent grinned mischievously and focused on the staff on their floor. Closing his eyes, he opened his mind and mentally connected with all of them. He could feel the strings of the subconscious tying to his. He then yanked at them and sifted through their memory of seeing the police storming through. He erased everything that happened within the last twenty minutes and let their minds go.
"I never get tired of seeing their confused faces!" Darcy snickered and laughed when the hallway was now filled with confused and stunned workers who were looking at the clock in bewilderment.
Vincent grabbed Darcy's coat. "We can have a laugh later. We need to go to the next floor."
They made quick haste to go to the third floor and repeated what happened on the floor below. Finally, they reached the fourth floor and quickly repeated once more. "Did you get the cops outside? I can hear them become frantic over the radio since no one is calling back," Darcy reminded him.
Vincent could already feel the fatigue washing over from overuse and not using his gift for so long. Nonetheless, he reached all the way outside and soon the radio calls stopped. He had to tweak the cops’ minds in thinking it was a false alarm, making all of them walk sluggishly out of the building and ignore the two looming shadows to the right of the hallway.
"Ah hell, Vince! How is the hospital going to explain the window?" Darcy groaned when they slipped into Wendy's brother's room. He was still out cold from the medicine Vincent gave him earlier, even with the commotion around him. The room was now colder than usual, thanks to the gaping hole in the large window. Darcy sighed and called another person. "You're lucky I have so many connections, brother," he muttered and asked someone to stop by and repair a window. "Alright, I'll go get your Wendy and flit on up here. Then I'll be sure to distract the nurses so they don't come in here."
With that, he waggled his eyebrows and left Vincent there without another word. He growled in irritation with his close friend. Darcy knew Vincent would want to go get her and have her in his arms. It was the price he paid with calling on him though. Even though he was his sire, Darcy knew he only used the bond they share until it was absolutely necessary.
The bond between a sire and a fledgling can be a beautiful or a destructive thing. Depending on who the newly turned vampire's master was. Vincent knew a lot of his kind who used and abused the ones they created. The sired person has no choice but to follow orders. They would do anything to make their master happy. Vincent loosened that tie long ago. He didn't like the idea of someone following him around like a puppet. The bond will always be there, but he didn't call upon it until the task called for it. So Darcy knew he meant business when he used it.
He never thought he would ever turn another pe
rson. Not because he hated who or what he was, on the contrary. He loved being a vampire, and always has since the day he was turned. He just never saw himself making that commitment, but when he saw Darcy lying on the dirt path miles from any village, beaten up and broken, something compelled him to save the poor soul.
"One beautiful librarian as you ordered," Darcy said, flashing into the room with a shaking Wendy in his arms.
"L-Let me go!" she said with a stutter. Her glasses were nearly off her nose, making her push them up with her dainty pointer finger. Darcy laughed and set her down with a wink. "And I-I'm not a librarian!" she said defiantly while crossing her arms. Her body unconsciously moved toward Vincent for safety, making him smile over at her. Her eyes rested on her sleeping brother and she sighed. She seemed completely drained so Vincent took the liberty of picking her up again, making her squeak in surprise. "What is the deal with you vampires, picking up people?" she muttered lowly under her breath, forgetting their superior hearing.
The men let out a laugh, making her face burn with embarrassment. "I love to hold you against me, that is why, Love," Vincent said, bending his head against her ear. He saw her shiver from it and internally smiled.
"So when are you two love birds leaving?" Darcy asked, fiddling with a pair of doctor’s gloves. He took out a pair of scrubs he snagged on the way back up here and put them on over his clothes.
Wendy quirked an eyebrow in question. "We are not love birds!" she said at the same time Vincent spoke.
"Not quite yet."
Darcy chuckled at the pair, but looked at Vincent for answers. "Oh? And why not! Might as well get the trip over with. Don't want to cut it too close with the sun now, do we?"
Wendy looked more interested with this piece of information.
"So it's true? You people can't handle the sun?" she asked, now feeling a little better knowing she'll be safer in a few short hours.
