by Terry Spear
“I don’t want to get their hopes up. They’re still pretty shaken up about this. Afraid the human population would want my head on a stake, or under the knife to figure out how I became this way, my parents intend to keep my secret. They told my high school that I was injured in a bad accident, and I would be homeschooled the rest of the year. I can’t see any of my friends now. Everything has to be kept a big secret.”
Not knowing what else to say, I nodded. I could just imagine my parents’ upset if I had been turned. But I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for him to have to give up his friends and live a life of secrecy like this. “Can Lynetta get into your house?”
“No. I met her at the Hamburger Spot.”
“And you still go there?”
“Best grilled burgers in town.” He winked, his eyes full of mirth.
I wondered how he could take his situation with such good humor. I didn’t think I would be able to fare as well. Stepping back in the direction of the doorway, I wished I could help him regain his former state of being, instantly. But for now, I had to get out of the guest bedroom where a nearly naked male vampire sat on the purple ruffled bed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Uhm, yes. Well, you too.”
I hurried out of the guestroom, wondering if he had seen the blush rise to my cheeks as hot as they’d become when I saw him so undressed. But when I reached my bedroom, a horrible thought filled my brain. If he could see me in the dark, that was normal for him, being that he was a vampire and all. But I hadn’t turned on the light to see him. In fact, when I changed into my nightshirt in my own bedroom, and even now when I walked through the hallway, I hadn’t turned on any of the lights.
Walking into my bedroom, I reached up and flipped up the light switch. The lights glowed, but didn’t further illuminate the bedroom.
“Dominic!” I screamed, anger filling every cell of my body.
Instantly, he appeared at my doorway. A look of puzzlement stretched across his face. He seemed totally unaware of what had happened to me.
“What’s wrong, Marissa? I feared the worst—that Lynetta had somehow gained entrance—”
I folded my arms. “How come I can see everything in the dark?”
His face fell. “I tried to tell you.”
My mouth dropped open before I could stop it. “Tell me what? That you lied?” My mind tried to go over every detail of what had just occurred. I didn’t remember drinking his blood. Had he wiped the experience from my thoughts?
“I bit my tongue, by accident.”
“What?”
He stuck his tongue out at me. I raised my brows. He pulled his tongue back in. “My cell phone vibrated just as I was kissing you, and I bit my tongue in surprise. When I kissed you deeply, I had no idea I had cut my tongue and drawn blood.”
“You shared your blood with me? You said—”
“I meant what I said. I made a mistake. But—”
Betrayed by a deceiving vampire! I grabbed one of my heart-shaped velvet pillows and threw it at him, unable to curb my fury. “Get out!”
“If I go outside, Lynetta will be waiting for me.”
My heart instantly stopped, and I swallowed convulsively. “I meant, out of my bedroom.” Jeez, no way had I wanted him to be at the mercy of the sick vamp. The thought of throwing him outside and her bloody fangs ripping at his throat…I shuddered.
He looked so miserable that I reconsidered my actions and harsh words. But he had shared his blood with me, and now I could see in the dark like a vampire could. What else had he done to me with that one kiss?
“I don’t think I could have changed you much more than that, Marissa, if it eases your mind any. You couldn’t have had much of my blood.”
My temperature was still elevated with irritation. He was supposed to give me a choice.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I swear it. I would never have done that to you without asking you to go along with it. If you want me to leave, I will.” Though he was sincere, I sensed he hoped with all his heart I would not send him out to face the vamp.
The idea he’d leave the house and be at Lynetta’s mercy terrified me and bile rose in my throat. I shook my head. “Not the house. I don’t want you to leave the safety of the house.”
“I’m so sorry, Marissa. Truly, I am.”
“All right.” I tried to rein my anger in, realizing on some other level that he hadn’t planned what had happened. “Somehow, we’ll beat her,” I tried to reassure him and myself.
He nodded, though he still looked terribly disconcerted.
“Goodnight.”
He hesitated, seemingly wanting to comfort me, but I wasn’t in the mood to tolerate his touch. He seemed to sense how I felt and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
I sat on my bed, wrapped my arms tightly around me, trying to comfort myself. Knowing I had been changed now, too, I wondered if he knew what he was talking about. Had he transferred other strange abilities to me that I was still unaware of?
One thing I couldn’t do was read his mind. Maybe he was right, then. Perhaps the only thing that had changed about me was my ability to see in the dark. That certainly wasn’t a bad thing. Could save on electricity. Would help when I drove at night.
I crawled under my covers and hugged them underneath my chin. Still the notion nagged at me…what had we truly done?
“Know this, sweet Marissa. I truly love you with all my heart.”
I stared at the wall that hid him from my view. He hadn’t spoken a word…not out loud. I could read his mind?
“Dominic!”
Chapter 6
THE DREAMS
Furious with Dominic, but unable to stay awake any longer to hold the grudge, my eyes closed and my world collided, shifted and collapsed. In its place, I saw a new world, time past, alien, fleeting glimpses—totally weird.
Through Dominic’s eyes, I saw visions of the past and like an outsider looking in, I watched history reveal itself—at least a fraction of Dominic’s history.
A slightly older version of Dominic, his hair as dark but spiked, his eyes more hazel, his lips thinned in a scowl. “How many times do I have to tell you, Dominic? Don’t mess with witches!”
“Hey, James, she smiled at me. She’s interested.”
He was wrong. I knew he was wrong.
James shook his head. “She was smiling at a warlock eating a burger across the restaurant. Not at you.”
Yes, listen to James. He’s right.
Dominic slapped his brother on the shoulder. “Says you. Just watch this.”
Every nerve taut, I could see where this was leading, but I was unable to stop the forward motion.
The three witches sat at a yellow table. The redhead, Carissa Merriweather, swirled a French fry in a blob of ketchup, the brunette, Linnie Armstrong, licked the mustard off a hamburger, coating her tongue yellow, and the blonde, Little Miss Perfect Debbie Damint—the one that had stolen Dominic’s interest—flipped her hair back, then took a bite of a chicken sandwich.
I have to back away. None of these girls will put up with an annoying human boy. But I was moving like a train without brakes into the path of an unyielding girl—with unknown powers—and I was sure I would dearly suffer the consequences.
“Hey,” Dominic said to Debbie. Her blue eyes sparkled in the fluorescent lights and he thought she was the most beautiful girl he’d seen in a long time. Especially when she smiled at him.
But as soon as he opened his mouth to speak further, the witch stood, her face turning hard. “What do you want?” Her words and eyes were icy.
I’d never seen her react so vehemently, but then again, she put the charms on warlocks and not humans. Immediately, I wanted to move out of her way before she did anything nasty. I wanted to, but I was frozen to the tile floor.
Dominic should have taken the cue. He should have listened to his brother, but he was certain she had smiled at him, not at some warlock.
“Would you like to go to a movie with me later tonight?”
“Get lost,” she snarled.
Yes, get lost. Good advice. And if I could, I’d heed it.
Dominic wasn’t buying it. As far as he was concerned the witch didn’t mean it. The other girls laughed and he knew it was because of them that she’d changed her attitude.
He was wrong. If I didn’t back off, something bad was going to happen.
“Turn him into a toad,” Carissa said, her green eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, a warty, slimy thing,” Linnie, the parrot of the three, agreed, nodding her head, then taking another sip of her soda.
I hoped and prayed the witches weren’t any good at spells. Debbie wasn’t in any of my classes except P.E., though I’d heard she was a whiz at potions. I had no idea about the other girls and their spell-casting abilities.
Dominic smiled. The blue-eyed blonde would not do such a dastardly thing.
I knew better. The look in Debbie’s chilly eyes, the way her lips began to move silently. I tried to counteract the spell, but I didn’t succeed. The spell worked its way through every molecule of my body, the shrinking and changing of cells. My heart rate changed from beating like a scared rabbit’s to something much smaller.
In a heartbeat, Dominic found himself looking up from the floor, his voice croaking, his skin covered in olive drab bumps and definitely slimy. The witches laughed.
“Oh, God,” I squeaked out. Everyone had turned into giants, towering over me, staring at me. The girls wore hideous grins, their eyes black with humor, while James looked like he was ready to be sick. I felt incredibly flat, as my round, fat body hugged the floor. Worse, a fly flitting about caught my attention and I had the worst urge to zap him with my tongue. Ewww.
James pleaded with Debbie. “You’ve taught him a lesson. Please turn him back.”
“Nah,” Carissa said, twirling a red curl around her fingers. “Leave him like that at least overnight.”
A girl screamed when she saw Dominic. The scrawny manager, who appeared to be a college student trying to earn some extra money, wiped his greasy hands on a dishtowel and hurried over. His brow furrowed and he motioned to Dominic. “Take the frog out of here.”
“Toad,” Carissa said, sneering. “Frogs can turn into handsome princes. Toads are only meant to be one thing—mud-dwelling toads.”
“Please, I promise I’ll take him home with me and that’s the last you’ll see of him,” James said.
Please, listen to James.
Debbie’s lips curved up. Dominic knew she’d change him back.
I knew she wouldn’t.
But Dominic thought she’d only turned him in the first place because of her friends.
I knew it wasn’t true.
For half an hour, the manager insisted they take him outside, James pleaded with the witch, and Dominic craved a mud bath for his itchy, dry skin.
And I couldn’t wait to get out of the nightmare as another fly buzzed nearby and I was losing control of my hunger pangs.
Then an older witch and her kids entered the restaurant and as soon as she did, Debbie and the other girls looked concerned.
Yeah, using magic on humans for a witch’s or warlock’s amusement wasn’t allowed. And if I could, I’d teach Debbie some spells of my own, if I could remember them.
Debbie quickly wiggled her fingers in the air and said some incantation under her breath.
Instantly, I felt release. I was nearly eye level with James again, my skin nice and smooth, my voice back to normal.
Before Dominic could speak, James yanked him outside. “Of all the harebrained schemes of yours. I can’t believe you pulled this.”
“Don’t tell Mom and Dad, okay?”
I had the sinking feeling he might. Please, please don’t tell them about this. I figured they’d ground me for a good month.
James shook his head.
Kids laughing at an outdoor table, the spicy aroma of grilled burgers drifting from the restaurant, the feel of the hot air pressing against me faded into nothingness.
Then as if the lights in a theater were suddenly turned on and the play was about to begin again, I found myself back inside the burger place, different cars parked out front, a different scrawny college-age manager and a girl who looked like real trouble.
Lynetta batted her long black eyelashes as soon as she spied Dominic at the Hamburger Spot. Her enticing smile was perfectly genuine. And when she pointed her finger at him and crooked it, motioning to him to join her, he knew she was a dream come true.
But I tried to warn him—she’s a vampire! Don’t get near her!
Though usually he liked blue-eyed blondes, this girl’s hair and eyes were as black as shiny onyx—fathomless.
He seemed to glide across the crowded burger hangout to join her.
No, not the burger place. We were suddenly in the darkened alley across the street, the smell of wet asphalt from a recent shower and of garbage cooking in an overstuffed garbage dumpster wafting in the air. How in the world did we get here?
For a moment, I felt disoriented, my stomach swirling with a strange sensation, like I’d been be spinning around in a Mad Hatter tea cup and it had suddenly stopped.
Lynetta tugged Dominic into her arms and began kissing him like there was no tomorrow.
No tomorrow. No…no, there will be no tomorrow if you let her do this!
All at once the noxious odors disappeared. Nothing existed but the woman pressing her body nice and close. Her full lips tasted like forbidden fruit—a sweet wine. The alcoholic content nearly made him swoon with headiness.
No, no, not the wine. The woman. The vamp!
She licked his lips, teasing them apart, then tangled her tongue with his. He groaned.
I could have kicked him. Break free from the vamp’s spell! She’s old! Way…way too old for you. And really bad news.
Her hands held his face still, his eyes closed, he was in love.
Idiot!
And then her teeth grazed his neck. The prelude to the bite.
Break free! I so don’t want to feel this. I tried to break away.
Her lips caressed his throat and he was barely able to stand when she bit him. Hard.
The pain, the syringe-like stabs, the burning sensation, I wanted to collapse. My knees weakened. My senses reeled. I felt like I was falling from a space capsule, kick-dropped into the black void.
Her blood was on his lips, his tongue and down his throat. And then all he recalled was being alone in a dark alley, no sign of the girl, his mind drifting, his skin pale, and strange images were flashing before his eyes.
I didn’t want to see what happened next, my stomach tightening, my fists forming under my pillow, but I was powerless to stop it.
Dominic closed his eyes, trying to block out the strange images floating across his tired brain, but couldn’t. He leaned against the brick wall in the dark alley, his stomach swimming.
I wanted to leave, return home, safe, away from the world I’d found myself in. But I was far, far from home in a different time and place.
The plague had hit England hard and thousands in the city had died. Even the crown prince had taken ill, but just when Lynetta thought she wouldn’t take another breath, something happened. Weak from starvation, she could barely move, but her throat burned as if it were on fire and she craved blood worse than she’d ever wanted anything before. Everyone in her family—her mother, father, aunts and two sisters—had already died, their bodies burned with the rest of the plague victims, their house condemned.
The smells here were even worse than in the alley where I’d just been.
A candle no longer lit the room late that night, yet Lynetta could see as if the room was illuminated by burning tallow. The sound of a rat scurrying across the floor in the dark caught her attention, and she could even hear its heart beating. Every muscle stiff and unresponsive, she rolled off the straw mattress and headed for the rat.
Panic filled
me. No, no. Rats carry the plague. Don’t touch the rat!
With a monumental effort, Lynetta dove for the rodent. But instead of crashing into the table where the rat ducked for safety, she half glided, half flew.
The sensation made me feel like I had grown wings, my body weightless and unencumbered. For an instant, I forgot about the rat. But then the gnawing in my belly grew.
Lynetta didn’t think she’d make it in time to reach the scurrying rodent. And she really wasn’t sure what she’d do with the filthy creature if she caught it. But in the next instant, she held it in her hands, bit off its head and was drinking its warm blood. And loving every drop of it.
I shuddered, unable to get the image of fur and blood out of my brain or the taste of the vermin out of my mouth. Raw, filthy blood, yet the taste of it warm against my tongue settled the craving.
“Famished?” a man asked, peering into Lynetta’s room. “My name is Count William Dubois, at your service.” He made a sweeping bow as if she was the queen of England.
I stared at him. My God. He looked like…like Dominic.
Dark-haired and eyed, the man stood six feet tall, his skin pale, his lips stained with blood and lifted upward in a sensuous smile.
“Lynetta Tolliver,” she said, stretching out her hand. He vanished and reappeared before her, reached for her hand, and kissed it with great finesse.
I nearly swooned.
Lynetta nearly did, too, but she didn’t think it was because of the gentleman’s gallantness, but because she was so ill and still starving.
Images of his being with her throughout the centuries passed before my eyes in a series of flickering video clips. Then I watched as another vampire ripped out William’s throat and Lynetta killed her lover’s murderer. It all happened so quickly, it was mostly a blur.
Dangerous and feral, she wanted someone else, someone to replace William, and she began stalking the streets for her new lover.
Spying Dominic Vorchowsky at the teen hangout, she waved her finger at him, drawing him forth, her gaze locked onto his, seducing him, willing him, commanding him. He’d replace her lost love for all eternity.
