by Vivi Anna
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and jogged across the street, away from him and toward the comforting glow of another streetlamp. Once there, feeling a little more secure, I dug out my cell phone which thankfully had been in my jacket pocket. Again, I couldn't call my mom. She'd freak out big time.
I could call Chloe but feared that one of her parents would answer. She didn't have her own line, so there was that risk, and she'd busted her cell phone. The only person I had left to call was Jamie. I knew he slept with his cell phone. Why, I really didn't want to know. Sometimes he could be a sick and twisted individual.
Holding my breath, I quickly punched in his number. It rang. Then again. Then a third time.
Finally, he answered with a mumbled greeting. "What?"
"It's Salem. I need your help."
"What's the matter?"
"I need a ride back home."
He paused, and I imagined he was probably looking at the digital clock sitting on his bed side table. "It's three fifteen."
"I know what time it is Jamie, I need you to come get me. I don't have my car, and I don't have any money for a cab."
"Jesus, Salem."
"Jamie, please, I'm in a bad area and I'm alone."
He sighed. "Fine. Where are you?"
"At the Super 8 Motel on State." I swore I could hear the gears grinding in his skull as he tried to reason why I would be at a motel at three fifteen in the morning on a school night. "Don't ask. Just come, okay?"
"I'll be there."
I flipped my phone closed and shoved it into my pocket. I found a fairly clean piece of curb to sit on near the motel and waited. For the second time in my life, I felt like I was losing my mind and had no clue how to find it again.
Chapter 10
"So, you're telling me you sleepwalked all the way from the North End?" Jamie asked over the din of speed metal blasting through the speakers.
I nodded while chewing my thumb nail. I was crammed into the passenger seat of Jamie's old beat-up Toyota Camry, my legs pulled up to my chest. There was no room on the floor for my feet. A mountain of trash, including MacDonald's hamburger bags, and empty Big Gulp cups, took up all the room.
I was still shaking. The heater in the car wasn't doing a very good job. It fact, cold air was blowing out instead. I glanced at the dash to make sure he hadn't put on the air conditioning by mistake.
"You're a pig, Jamie." I glanced behind me at the back seat and took in the piles of crap on the seat and floor—dirty gym clothes, stinky sneakers, empty CD jewel cases, PS2 game cases, and various other boy related items.
"I'm allergic to cleaning," he said, as he turned down the music. "So, are you going to tell me what the fuck you were doing at a motel?"
Still chewing my nail, I stared out the side window too wired to look at Jamie. I shrugged. "I'm not sure really. Some strange things have been happening to me."
"Does it have to do with those assholes from Malice?"
I whipped around to stare at him. "Chloe told you?"
He nodded, and even in the green glow from the dashboard I could see the concern in his face.
"That bitch," I mumbled.
"Hey, she's your friend, Sale. She told me because she thought maybe I could help."
I arched a brow in mocking. "And can you? Can you help me Jamie? Maybe you can wave your magic Harry Potter wand and un-rape me."
"Don't be an asshole." He glared at me and I could see the hurt in his eyes.
I looked away from him, ashamed for being a jerk to him when he'd jumped in his car and came to pick up me without an explanation. "I'm sorry. I'm just going through some weird shit, and I'm not sure what to do about it."
"Maybe you could talk to one of the counselors at school. They have experience in dealing with stuff like this."
I shook my head, thinking about my black eyes and sticking to the ceiling, and now my strange sleepwalking. "No, I don't think they can help me much."
Jamie pulled up to the front of my house, put it in park and then turned toward me. "Are you going to be cool?"
I nodded glancing down at my thumb which I had chewed to shit. Blood dotted the sides of my nail bed.
"I'll see you tomorrow. No wait," he laughed. "I'll see you in a few hours since it's already like four thirty."
Smiling, I leaned across the front seat to give him a hug. Despite his cleanliness issues, Jamie was a good friend. He patted my back as he hugged me in return, and a warm tingling sensation ran down my spine.
It felt good to be in his arms, safe, secure. He had a lanky frame but he was strong. I could feel the ripple of his muscles in his arms and down his back. I hadn't noticed it before. But now, I seemed to be noticing a hell of a lot about Jamie.
He smelled good too. Which surprised me. Like a warm gooey cinnamon roll. Saliva actually pooled in my mouth as I drank more of his scent into me. I had a sudden urge to run my tongue along the side of his neck.
He shifted in his seat, his hands clenching on my back. "Ah, Salem, what are you doing?"
"Mmm, hugging you."
"It feels like you're kissing my neck."
I pulled back, startled. "What?"
Frowning, he rubbed at his throat just below his ear. "You kissed my neck."
"No, I didn't." My heart was pounding hard in my chest, acting as if it was going to explode. But above my own beating heart I could hear the thump thump thump of Jamie's. It was loud. He was as revved up as I was. Did he want me to kiss him? Was he attracted to me?
I eyed him carefully. He was a good looking guy, I always thought so, but I'd just never considered him boyfriend material. We were friends, had been for the past two years, since grade ten when he fell off his skateboard in front of Chloe and I, and the board hit me in the shin. He chipped his front tooth that day.
I could see it now between his parted lips. I liked the look of his mouth right now. It was inviting. I wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. As I continued to study Jamie's face, something shifted. I could see past him to the aura that surrounded him. He had an alluring red tinge floating around his head, like a crimson halo. I liked the color red.
"Salem, what's wrong with your eyes?"
I didn't answer him. Instead, I cupped his face in my hands and slowly leaned toward his mouth. The need to kiss him nearly made my head swim. I could feel the rolling sensation start in my legs like someone was kneading my muscles. I had to kiss him. The urgency of it socked me right in my gut.
I brushed my lips against his. I kept my eyes open watching him. Seeing his reaction was all part of the sensation.
His eyes widened and he dug his fingers into my shoulders. "What the fuck?" he grunted around my mouth.
He tried to push me away, but I held on to his face, my lips still molding his. I needed him. Without his kiss I would die. I just knew it. The thought kept spinning and twisting my head. It didn't make any sense, but I couldn't stop it from controlling my actions. The craving gripped me so tight I couldn't escape.
I was suddenly ravenous and only Jamie's kiss could satisfy me. His vigor, his energy, was the only thing that could fill me and stop the violent hunger from ripping apart my stomach.
Clamping my lips over his mouth, like a suction cup, and sucking the air from his lungs, I began to...
Feed.
He struggled against me, pushing at my arms, trying to pull his head away. But I was strong. I could feel a force filling me, giving me everything I needed to survive—food, water, warmth, love, power. Everything. It was both exhilarating and frightening to experience.
"Salem! Stop!" Jamie yelled, his voice muffled by my mouth, but still quivering with fear.
An image popped into my mind—Thane over top of me, sucking out my soul. It filled my head until pain exploded at my temples.
I pulled back from Jamie, releasing my hold on him, breathing hard, my heart pounding like a piston radiating pain throughout my chest. I couldn't believe what I'd just done.
Jamie bli
nked at me, a stunned look on his face. His lips were puffy and sore looking as if I'd bitten down on them again and again. He wiped a hand over his mouth then looked at it, probably expecting to see blood.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Cowering against the passenger door, I just shook my head. I was scared. My whole body quaked. I didn't know what the hell I'd done, or how it happened. I lost control of my thoughts and my body and it frightened me to the core. It was Jamie's pleas which had mirrored my own that finally stopped me. What would have happened if I hadn't heard them, recognized them as my own? I shivered at the morbid thought.
"I...I'm sorry, Jamie," I stammered. "I d...don't know why I did that."
"You need some serious help, Salem."
I scrambled to get out of the car. I pulled at the door handle, once, then twice, until finally it opened and I spilled out onto the curb. Without looking back, I slammed the door shut and ran up the lawn, nearly tripping over the stupid decorative rock inexplicably in the middle, to the front door. I dug into my jacket, found my keys, and quickly opened the door. When I was safely inside, I kicked off my sneakers careful not to make a huge ruckus. I padded down the hallway to my bedroom. Thankfully, no one woke up, and I was able to escape inside and shut the door behind me. After locking it, I shed my jacket and crawled under the covers on my bed.
My body was racked with intense shivers. No amount of heat could warm me. The cold crept through me from the inside out.
What had I done? I closed my eyes trying to shut out Jamie's shocked image. He'd looked at me in fear, as if I was some crazed maniac trying to hurt him. I'd scared him with my actions. I'd attacked him; it was as simple as that.
His face had been pale, gaunt looking. Sucked dry, was the phrase that immediately came to my mind. I could still taste him on my lips, on my tongue. Like icing sugar, powdery and sweet. I remembered the pain in my stomach—hunger pains—as I feasted on his mouth. God, I had fed on him. On his energy. There had been a tingle on my lips as his life force had been drawn out of him and into me.
Tears filled my eyes. I was dangerous. I couldn't control what was happening to me. Trevor had been right. I was going to do things, bad things. And obviously to the people that were closest to me. I had hurt Jamie, my friend. What if I hadn't been able to stop? Would I have killed him? Would I have dumped him in the trash like I'd been?
I clamped my eyes tight as the tears streamed down my cheeks to drip on my pillow. Trevor said I was turning into something not human, and he was right. I'd tried to deny it, but I could feel the changes in my body, and in my thoughts. The black eyes, the floating, the sleepwalking, and now trying to suck Jamie's face off were all symptoms of the change I was going through. It was like experiencing puberty all over again, but in extreme style.
I squeezed my thick blanket up closer to my neck, burrowing into the warmth it provided. There had to be something I could do to either stop the changes occurring or control them. I had to track down Trevor. I needed his help. But how the hell was I going to do that?
Maybe I could just stick my head out of the window and yell for him. But I had a feeling that I was going to have to wait for him to contact me. I'd pissed him off last time, so who knew how long it would take. It could be days or even weeks.
What other changes could take place by then? There was a lot of power swirling around in me; I could feel it nudging at me, taunting me, egging me on to do things I didn't want to. I cringed to think about the damage I could do to myself and to others in that short period of time.
Chapter 11
For the rest of the week, I went about my business, going to school, hanging at the pool hall, going home, without any incident. I did manage to avoid Jamie though. Well, the truth was, he managed to avoid me. He did everything possible, arriving at school early, running down the halls without making eye contact, even getting a job after school, to not have to be around me.
Chloe had asked what was up with us, but I couldn't tell her the truth. It would sound way too strange, plus she had a secret crush on Jamie and it would kill her if she knew I had my lips to his, it wouldn't matter to her that it wasn't sexual. Instead, I just told her we had an argument and Jamie was being an ass about it. Thankfully, she believed that.
For three days, I didn't sleepwalk, stick to the ceiling, leak tar from my eyes, or suck the life out of anyone. And I had no late night or bathroom visits from Trevor. Life seemed surprisingly normal. I could almost believe that the past week and a half had been a dream. Almost.
During the down time, I did a bunch of research on incubi and cambions. There wasn't a ton of information to be had but what I did find out was that incubi and succubi were pretty much demons—demons that literally sucked the living energy from people using sex. They were also related closely to nightmares. That didn't surprise me in the least with the dreams I'd been having.
I was unable to discover too much about what kind of powers incubi possessed, the information was pretty vague on anything in that area. A couple of things were listed like shape shifting, entering people's homes with invitation (sounded a lot like vampires, maybe they were related on the supernatural family tree) and they fed on sexual energy, possibly causing sickness in their victims.
I didn't read anything about the things I was going through. No mention of floating, or seeing things differently, like people's auras and finding them surprisingly delicious. But maybe that shape shifting ability had something to do with how Trevor had been able to show up at my home and in the bathroom without me seeing him, and how I'd been able to go from my bedroom to downtown without thinking. The bum had said I had appeared out of the shadows. Maybe I did.
I also read about a legend that likened incubi to fallen angels. By the perfect pale appearance of Thane and the rest of the band, that story didn't surprise me in the least. Every single one of them had an alluring quality that transcended simple beauty. They were completely ethereal in their darkness.
One thing I did discover that I thought was pretty cool—Merlin, the sorcerer from the Arthurian legends, was a cambion. His father was said to be an incubus. I remembered a really old movie called Excalibur that my tenth grade English teacher made us watch. It was a cool movie, what I could remember of it anyway. Merlin rocked. So, I guess if this is what I was turning into, I couldn't complain too much. It could've been worse. I could be turning into a zombie. The stench of decaying flesh would be a killer, and I imagine it would've put a big dent into my dating opportunities.
Not that I had many opportunities. They just sort of cropped up now and then, like now for instance.
I was working the till at the Starbucks close to my house—I worked here Friday nights and on the weekends—and Josh Kirby was ordering a banana chocolate blend Vivanno and asking me out all at the same time.
"You want to do what?" I fumbled his change and it rolled over the counter and dropped onto the floor.
He smiled as he bent to pick it up. After he shoved it into his jeans pocket, he repeated his question. "I want to take you out tomorrow night? Do you have plans or something?"
"No, no plans." I shook my head. "But why do you want to take me out? Me? This person?" I emphasized, pointing at my scrawny chest, now covered in a green Starbucks apron.
He laughed, and I found I rather liked the sound. It was deep. It reminded me of the strong warm roasted coffee I was surrounded by. Dark and rich.
"Why are you so surprised?"
I frowned at him. "Ah, hello, because we've gone to school together for the past two years and you haven't ever talked to me. Ever. You actually do a damn good job of ignoring me."
"Well, I was stupid."
"And you're not now?" I couldn't stop my lips from curling into a grin.
Smiling, he shook his head. "Nope."
"Hmm, I think the verdict is still out on that one."
The lady behind Josh sniffed. "Can I order please?"
Josh glanced behind him. "Just one more minute, okay?
"
The woman shook her head, clearly miffed beyond reason, but she didn't say anything else. Maybe Josh had charmed her. I know he was starting to charm me.
He cocked his brow. "So, will you go out with me? Please."
Biting my lip, I looked at him. Really, really looked at him. I noticed he had freckles dotting the bridge of his nose, and his smile was crooked, but sexy as hell. And there was a certain spark in his gaze that I'd never seen before. He was looking at me like I was the cat's meow. Maybe this cambion thing was doing something else to me. Making me irresistible to guys. Perfect, untouchable guys like Josh.
"Yeah, why not?" I finally said.
"Awesome." He literally bounced on his feet. "I'll pick you up at say, seven thirty. What's your address?"
I wrote down my address on one of the Starbuck's business cards and slid it across the counter to Josh. Still grinning, he picked it up, glanced at it, and then slid it into his pant's pocket. "I'll see you tomorrow." He winked at me, then taking his Vivanno, he left the store.
I watched him leave, shock gluing my feet to the floor and my gaze to the door. I had a date with Josh Kirby, high school golden boy. What the heck was I going to wear?
"Can I order now?" The angry lady glared at me.
I smiled at her. Nothing could get me down now. "Sure, what would you like?"
***
"You have a date?" My mom's mouth gaped open, the phone cradled on her shoulder. She'd been just about to order Chinese when I informed her that I was going out.
I nodded, feeling sheepish. The way she said it, it was like she never thought I'd ever have a date. That it was an anomaly. "Don't sound so surprised."
"With who?"
"Josh Kirby."
She arched one brow and set the phone down. "Do I know him?"
"No."
"He goes to your school though, right? He's not an older guy, I hope."
"Yes, Mom, he's a senior at Boise."
I could see the relief on her face and in the way her shoulders sagged. I think she harbored this fear that I would one day run off with a much older man. Sort of like what she did when she met my father, who was seven years older than she was.
