by Jen Pretty
I sighed. "I suppose that's a good thing. Do you think this vampire is trustworthy?"
Armond looked up into my eyes. "I'm still not sure how to trust a vampire. It will take some time, I think, for both of us."
I just nodded, and we finished our breakfast in comfortable silence. Then Armond put our dishes back on the rolling cupboard that our food and the coffee had arrived on and we went back to the bedroom to pack.
The butler knocked at the door and our time was up, so we followed him back through the vast house and down to the foyer where the vampire was waiting.
His red eyes fell on me, and his lips tipped up into a smile, displaying his pointed teeth. This was going to be a long drive.
Chapter TWO
We piled into a dark blue jeep the elders had supplied for us. It had thick tread on the tires. Wherever we were going, it was apparently a bit off-road. Armond was driving; I claimed shotgun which left the vampire in the back seat. I half turned in my seat to keep an eye on this Roman character. I was still wary of him, but it was time to get to know our new buddy.
"So, Roman, how old are you?" This was valuable information for a timekeeper. I hadn't stopped him when I accidentally stopped time, but I could pull more magic to me from the earth if I needed to stop him and remove his vamp head from his vamp body.
"About 500 years. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track in the beginning, so I'm not sure now. I was born a vampire, like Henry."
Well, that explains why he didn't stop when I used my magic.
"Do you believe, like Henry does, that humans shouldn't be turned into vampires?" I asked
"Yes. No one should be turned against their will, and those humans who want to be turned or bitten should be made aware of the dangers and consequences of those choices."
He looked serious. It was hard not to believe him when he spoke so honestly.
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked.
"Sure."
"Are you and this hunter in a relationship or…"
He was cut off when the car swerved nearly into the ditch.
I couldn't help but laugh. Armond's face had turned bright red. We were very close, but our bond made us comfortable around each other, so I wouldn't say we were in a relationship but I wasn’t about to tell this strange vampire anything about what Armond and I shared. It was ours, even if it couldn’t really be labeled
We drove in silence for a while but a four hour drive was going to be too long without conversation, and we did need to get to know this vampire if we were going to trust him.
"So what do you do for Henry? I understand you are his second in command. What does that involve?" That seemed like a safe topic.
"I add strength to Henry. My strength, as an older born vampire, will help him keep the younger vampires in line. I also take out the troublemakers. Henry isn't much for violence." He added. I knew that about Henry, but I wasn't comfortable with the fact this vampire knew how to fight.
I looked back at him again. He looked nearly like a hunter when you got past the red eyes and pointed teeth. I frowned, and then he smiled.
"Are you sizing me up?" he asked with a laugh.
"Just trying to decide if it wouldn't be better to just kill you now and get it over with," I said jokingly. I was only about half serious anyway.
"One more thing I like about you," he said. I gave him the most evil eye I could muster, hoping it might burn him, but he didn't combust, unfortunately.
"I'm sorry." He said, but he didn't look sorry. Weird vampire. Why couldn’t he just act like every other vampire I had met? His normal person vibe was getting to me.
"Do you know anything more about this new land?" I asked, changing the subject abruptly.
He smiled once more like he knew his apology had unsettled me and it pleased him. "I don't know any more than you, I'm afraid. There hasn't been any action near the doorway. No coming or going. It's like the door was just an invitation waiting for an RSVP."
I turned back around to face front again. This was so weird. It felt like a trap, but if the elder Eliza had seen us there, surely she wouldn't have sent us straight into a trap.
Oh, forget it. As long as I didn't die painfully, I'd be fine. Probably.
I got lost in my thoughts for quite some time because when I looked up, we were pulling into a rest stop. Old habits die hard, and Armond wasn’t able to sit more than two hours in a vehicle. I smiled at him, and he looked a bit guilty.
"I could use some coffee anyway," I said assuring him. If he still needed to stop every two hours to ensure he was fit to fight at the drop of a hat, I could support him in that. Hell, I can't turn my back to a door since the day Joshua came through a door behind me and stole me away, so who was I to judge him.
"I could use a snack," Roman said before he clicked his sharp teeth twice. Gross.
"I thought you only ate from willing human donors," I said scowling at him.
"I'm just messing with you. I'm going to the store to get some chips," he said as he got out and moved smoothly across the parking lot and into the store.
I snorted and turned back to look at Armond who had a concerned look on his face. He didn't say anything though, just gave me half a smile and then stepped out of the vehicle and headed for the shop, so I followed along.
I got an extra-large coffee and some chocolate. There might not be those things in this new land, and I didn't know how long we would be there.
Once we were all back in the vehicle, Roman popped open his chips and proceeded to eat noisily. Finally frustrated I said, "I thought vampires didn't eat human food, just ate humans AS food." I smiled at my wit.
Roman just looked at me smiling for a moment like he appreciates my wit too. Shit.
"Vampires can eat whatever they want, but we have to drink blood, or we get all bitey," he said.
"Bitey?"
He replied by snapping his teeth. God, he did that a lot. "What is wrong with you?"
"Common question." He said before popping another chip in his mouth and crunching loudly.
Armond hadn't said anything yet. He just kept driving. I looked at him, and he gave me a tense smile then looked back to the road. I wasn't sure what was going on. Hopefully, he was just unnecessarily worried about this new journey we were on. I still didn't want to think about where the new magical doorway led or who we might find on the other side.
I played with the radio and sang along to some good songs when I found one I knew. Eventually, I turned it off and set my head back. I wasn't tired, but I was tired of driving. I closed my eyes and then I was asleep.
The tall old trees of homeland surrounded me. I breathed in through my nose, savoring the rich loamy scent and as I breathed out all my muscles relaxed. God, I love it here. Home.
"We miss you too." I spun around at the familiar voice and ran straight into my cousin's arms. It seemed like months since I'd seen him.
"How are you?" I asked releasing him. I looked up at his happy face.
"We're good." He said pointing to the other side of the clearing. There stood Fritz.
"Holy crap, how is Fritz here?" I asked.
"Evan suggested I could probably have two people in my dream at once and you know how it is, If Evan suggests it, you can probably do it." He was smiling proudly, as he should, this seemed like a crazy impossible thing.
"This is cool. So, how are you two doing?"
They both blushed and had the same shy smile. Ha.
"Great. I mean, really good." Apparently, they were still in that awkward early relationship phase. So cute. "How are things where you are? And where are you anyway?" he asked turning the conversation away from himself.
"We are still in Italy, I think. We left the Elders mansion about 3 hours ago headed for this new magical door." I sighed "Henry sent a vampire liaison." Luke looked concerned. "I'm sure it will be fine. He seems harmless."
Luke just bit his lip.
"What is it?" I asked
"It's probably nothing. It
's just. Margot saw you in a vision and said you might have some hard times and would have to face old fears," Luke replied.
"There is no way that has anything to do with the vampire. It's probably something to do with this new land we are headed to."
Luke smiled, and I couldn't help but smile too. "You are probably right. Maybe they have no coffee there. That would probably be just as traumatic for you."
I laughed. Then my face fell. What if they didn’t have coffee? Shit. I had not thought of that.
I reached out and pulled Luke into another hug. "Alright. Say hi to everyone for me." I smiled at Fritz and then said to him "You take care of my cousin."
He just nodded and smiled.
Then they were gone, and I was gently shaken awake by Armond. "Time to rise and shine." He said with a twinkle in his eye. "Were you talking to Luke?" he asked.
"Ya, and Fritz was there.” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Apparently Luke can bring more than one person into his dreams now."
Armond looked surprised. "Wow. That's cool. Your whole family line is potent."
I nodded as Armond stepped back and I got out of the vehicle. I looked around, but we were in the middle of nowhere on an old dirt road with just fields in every direction and mountains in the distance. "Where is this door, anyway?"
Armond pointed out across the field. "I don't see it," I said squinting to try and see a door.
"It's in the mountains. We should reach it by nightfall." Roman interjected from the back of the vehicle where he was pulling camping gear out of the trunk.
"By nightfall? That's eight hours away."
"Yup, we better hustle. We can camp near the door and cross tomorrow." He replied. "That's what your elders suggested anyway."
"Super." I was more of a city girl, but this would be fun. Probably.
Once we were all loaded up with camping supplies, extra bottled water and an extra bag that Roman said contained dinner, we headed west. The sun was warm, but it wasn't too hot. I had dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater so after about an hour of hiking I had to stop to take off my sweater, but otherwise, it was a comfortable walk. The fields were beautiful with some small flowers here and there and the hills up ahead were surrounded by blue sky. I walked beside Armond through some of the more accessible flat parts of the hike but as we got into rougher terrain on the narrow path, he followed behind, and we let the vampire lead the way.
"Are we going up that one?" I pointed ahead to the rather steep looking rocky outcropping.
"Afraid so. Do you know how to rock climb?" Roman asked.
"I suppose. I did some indoor rock wall climbing, so I have the basics. I'm not sure my hand will be strong enough, though," I replied.
"I'm sure you will make it." He grinned back at me as he was walking and tripped over a rock almost falling. If it weren't for his fast vampire reflexes, he would have collapsed.
I snickered a bit and then bit my lip, so I didn't laugh at him. Karma is a tricky bitch about such things.
We walked on for another hour. I was humming songs in my head and thinking about how much energy it would take to speed us up a bit and get there sooner when Roman stopped, took his backpack off and sat down on a log beside the path. Armond and I followed suit, and I pulled out a bottle of water and chugged it. I tried to look ahead to see how far we were from the wall of rock, but we were below a bit of a rise so I couldn't see ahead.
"How much farther to that rock?" I asked, watching Roman drink his water.
He smiled at me flashing his pointed teeth. "About a mile ahead. If you are worried about the climb, I could carry you on my back up the rock. Vampires are powerful."
"Yes. I'm sure you could, but that won't be necessary. I'm sure it's not as tall as it looks anyway," I replied.
Roman looked up at me for a minute before he finally said "maybe." Then he started rooting through his backpack and pulled out a water bottle that was not filled with water.
"What the hell?" It was apparently blood, but I had no idea they could drink blood this way.
"I'm feeling a bit peckish," he said before taking a big swig of the thick red liquid.
"Is that even still good? Shouldn't it be refrigerated or something? Surely that is unsanitary." I complained as my stomach turned. Why did we have to bring a vampire along anyway? They are so gross.
"They can drink bagged blood too. The kind that humans keep for blood transfusions. They just prefer to terrorize the humans to get their meals fresh." Armond said with a disgusted tone.
"That's not true," Roman corrected. "Most vampires are drinking bagged blood now that Henry has taken control. Though there are plenty of humans still willing to donate in a dark corner if you know what I mean." He smiled again, and this time his pointed teeth were stained red.
I spun away, not wanting to relive any terrors from my past. I could still remember the screams of those people locked in the basement of Joshua's home. They didn't sound willing. "How could anyone volunteer for that?" I questioned before walking off the path a short distance and sitting far enough that I didn't have to see the vampire for a few moments. I was shaking a bit as I sat down on a fallen log. I still had some demons chasing me, apparently, but who wouldn't after the last few months. Apart from Henry who had saved my life, I had only met the kind of vampire that fills your nightmares.
I took a deep breath and turned back to find Armond and Roman sitting together on the log in the middle of a conversation. How Armond could sit beside someone that was his sworn enemy less than two weeks ago was beyond me. I'd been trying to pretend Roman wasn't a vampire for this whole trip, I realized. He kept making it so I couldn't ignore the fact he was a vampire though. Henry, at least, tried to seem less like a blood-drinking monster.
As I walked back to the path where the men were sitting, they stopped talking. Never a good sign. "What's up?" I asked.
Armond just smiled and stood up before picking up his pack and swinging it back into his back. "Time to get a move on," he said.
I looked at him for a minute. He was keeping something from me. I had my secrets so he was allowed his, but it still made me nervous. I grabbed my pack and Roman picked up his and off we went. As we came over the rise I saw the giant rock face we would have to scale. "Holy shit," I exclaimed.
"The rock is bigger than it looks from here, my offer to carry you still stands," Roman laughed. There was no way he was carrying me anywhere.
We arrived at the base of the massive rock, and it was nearly 90 degrees but plenty of places to put your feet and hands. Roman pulled out some rope and tied one end to a harness he put on. Then he handed a harness to Armond and one to me, and we were apparently going to free climb with Roman as our only safeguard. He started up, and Armond followed him, so I took a deep breath and started climbing too.
My arms were on fire, and my legs were shaking, but I was only about halfway up the freaking cliff. I had to use my left hand to pull most of my weight since my right was still too weak. Roman and Armond were near to the top now, but Roman kept looking down at me like he was worried I might fall. I tried to put the pain and fatigue out of my mind. I was my father’s daughter. He never backed down, and I wouldn’t either. I was going to finish climbing this damn rock.
I was starting to lose feeling in my fingers, but I was near to the top now. I needed to add more weight training to my exercise routine if I wanted to do stupid shit like this. I paused to look up, and that was my mistake. My foot slipped, and my hands didn't have the strength left to hold me. I came to a sudden halt 20 feet lower than I had been and slammed indelicately, face first, into the rock. Why I always had to smash my face, I didn't know, but I hoped someone has some whiskey in their pack because my sober days were over. Fuck all this.
“Lex! Armond exclaimed.
“Are you Ok?” Roman called.
"Just pull me up," I said. As if it was their fault I just broke my face on the rock. In truth, they were the reason I wasn't a smashed pumpkin at the base
of the rock outcropping.
I started moving upwards, and when I got to the top, I realized Roman had handed off the rope to Armond and had come to the edge to pull me over. Before I could object, he grabbed me by the climbing harness and pulled me straight up into his arms and carried me back away from the edge.
"Put me the down, vampire!" I said while struggling to get free of his steel embrace. He set me on my feet, and I turned and shoved him.
"Lex, he just saved your life," Armond said softly.
"Fine. Thank you. Can we go now please?" I said shortly while taking the climbing harness off. My face was throbbing, and zero percent of me wanted to be here anymore.
"It's alright, Armond. My people have not been kind to Lex. I understand why she would hate vampires." He looked at me with dull red eyes, and I shuddered. 6 months of nightmares and then torture and pain at the hands of goddam Joshua were not going to be forgotten overnight, but I couldn't keep judging all vampires based on those experiences. Damn it. I wasn't in the mood for personal growth, so started coiling up the ropes, but I kept dropping them because my hands were exhausted. Armond took them from me and suggested I take a little rest in the shade of a tree. Smart man.
I sat down and started rummaging around in my pack to see if there was any coffee or chocolate or alcohol before I finally gave up and ate a couple of crackers. My face hurt every time I tried to chew, but this wasn't my first time breaking my face, so I just let the crackers melt in my mouth and swallowed them down with some water and cursed rocks of every description.
Once we were packed up, we headed back towards our magical freaking destination. Roman continued to lead the way even though I was pretty sure he had no better idea of where we were going than the rest of us. Armond followed behind me, and we travelled at a slower pace because I was walking at a slower pace. Too bad. The magical door could wait for me.
We finally stopped for dinner. In the bottom of Armond's bag was a small cooler with sandwiches and cookies. It was tough going with the sandwich but the cookies melted in my mouth, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought my favorite old kitchen lady from the hunter house back home had made them. I felt better after eating a couple of them, and we went back to our hiking.
