“Alright then, you will stay in my bedroom from now on,” Larson said.
I raised my eyebrows and gave him a sideways glance. I began to protest his orders. “I’m fine staying in the guest bedroom.”
Larson couldn’t contain his amusement. “I didn’t mean with me; I don’t sleep.”
My cheeks flushed. It wasn’t what I intended to think about, but it had innocently crept into my thoughts. I followed him upstairs to a bedroom three times the size of mine back home. I placed the clothes on the bed that sat in the center of the room. It was a gorgeous room, professionally decorated and painted. The walls were a slate gray with white wood trim. The oversized king sleigh bed was made from a white wash rustic wood. An oversized white rug covered most of the bamboo floor. Not what I expected a vengeful vampire’s room to look like.
Why would vampires need a bed, if they don’t sleep? I wondered as I ran my hand over the elegant charcoal silk duvet. Larson raised an eyebrow as an amused smiled tugged at the corners of his lips. Embarrassment spreading over my face, I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I averted my gaze to the floor and opened my mouth to offer some lame response, but Larson spoke before I could say a word.
“I’ll be downstairs. You can join me once you’ve had adequate time to settle in.”
I waited for Larson to leave then I closed the door. My life had been thrown into a whirlwind of a fantasy and my fragile mind, on the verge of insanity, knew not how to respond. I sat on the bed, closing my eyes I took in a deep breath and listened to the skittish beating of my heart. I longed to be back in my drafty one-bedroom apartment or even back in the bedroom I shared with Erica at Havencrest Orphanage. I wished I could go back to the time before I found out that vampires existed, but they were real and at least one of them wanted me dead. It would take centuries for me to ‘settle in’ with Larson but after a few more minutes of feeling sorry for myself and wishing I’d never met Mikel I went back downstairs. Larson was waiting for me on one of the leather couches, the one closest to the fire.
Larson Cardamone was alluring. His stunning features were parallel to Mikel’s but unequivocally unique. Mikel was broad, but Larson’s physique was just as strong. His black hair was tousled perfectly with that one strand that fell forward just slightly. His unblemished skin was a shade slightly paler than Mikel’s olive tinted skin. To say he was attractive or handsome was a great understatement. Immortality must extenuate a human’s most desirable features. There was no explanation for the beauty found in both Mikel Aragon and Larson Cardamone, two of the world’s deadliest creatures.
“How do you feel?” he asked as he motioned for me to sit beside him.
“Confused, scared, tired,” I admitted, taking a seat in the arm chair next to the couch. It was large enough to fit two people comfortably and the leather was worn giving it a soft and delicate feel.
I still couldn’t bring myself to fully trust him. If everything Mikel had said about Larson was true, then I would be right to fear him. I wasn’t sure how much of what Mikel said was true, though.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” Larson said, leaning forward and taking my hand in his.
I pulled away and tucked them under my legs. It had been merely hours ago that this vampire wanted to kill me and now he was trying to hold my hand. I shook my head; I didn’t have time for games. My life was still in danger. Aloes was still out there, and he wanted me dead.
Larson let his hand fall to his lap, letting out a low, but annoyed grunt.
I held my breath and glanced at him. I had so many questions that I didn’t know where to start. I decided to ask the most important one. “Why does Aloes want to kill me?”
Larson sighed deep and heavy. His expression suggested he wasn’t ready to confront the subject, but he answered. “It was predicted you would be the one to destroy him and the Cardamone family. He left me with the task of finding you and bringing you to him. I have disappointed my father numerous times throughout the centuries, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to redeem myself in his eyes.”
“But I have no desire to kill anyone, nor do I have the capabilities,” I said.
Larson shook his head. “No, I think my father was only given a vision out of context. He will not see it that way, but I won’t allow anyone to hurt you, Analey. Not even myself. If I feel myself becoming a danger, I will remove myself from your presence and your life.”
I thought about what he said and suddenly I feared more than my mortal life in Larson’s presence. I was frightened of not being with him. “Why did you change your mind about turning me over to Aloes?” I asked, a small tremble in my voice.
“I can’t explain that yet, as I myself don’t understand my motives,” he said.
I tried to make sense of what he was telling me, but every answer he gave only filled me with more questions. I ruminated over what I knew so far. Aloes was a powerful vampire who wanted me dead. No, not dead, he wanted to end me. Larson was his son and he was sent to find me. I had some supernatural connection to Larson even though I was just a human. Larson and Mikel were vampires. Vampires were real. It was too much for me to process. I wanted to know more, and I sensed Larson held most of the answers I’d been searching for since my birth, but it was getting late and I wanted to be alone. I couldn’t think rationally in his presence. I didn’t trust my feelings when I knew it was probable that he had some unnatural abilities to control how I felt.
“I’m tired,” I said as I stood and walked to the staircase. I climbed the stairs, sensing Larson’s gaze on me until I disappeared around the corner and into his bedroom.
twenty~ eight
Iwoke early to get my human needs taken care of before Larson made his appearance. I was sitting on the bed staring at the ground, when I heard his knuckles tapping on the door. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do being trapped with Larson. I wasn’t his prisoner but unless I called Mikel, I wasn’t allowed to leave either.
“Come in,” I said.
Larson walked in and pointed to the spot on the bed next to me. “May I?”
I shrugged my shoulders, then nodded. I wanted to be there with him, but I was aware of what he was, and it frightened me. I had the sudden intuition I needed to get away from him.
“Analey, I can’t change what I am, but I can’t change how I feel either,” Larson said apparently reading my thoughts.
I didn’t want to listen to his ambiguous ramblings. “I know I don’t understand the world you live in, but I can’t sit here and pretend this is normal. I need time,” I replied as I rose to my feet and left the room.
I roamed the house avoiding Larson as much as possible. I wandered from one room to the next as my mind roamed over all the unbelievable truths or lies or whatever I’d been told. After minutes of drifting from one absurd thought to the next, I found myself in the home office. I didn’t know how I had gotten there but I stood in the center of the dark walnut paneled room. I moved my eyes around the four walls that were lined with tall book shelves. In the middle of the room was an antique desk and a dark leather chair. Thick white drapes hung over the windows blocking out the sunlight. The only light in the room came from a few lamps in the corners of the room and one lamp with a green shade on the desk. I pushed one of the drapes open, natural light filtered into the room and I could see painted family portraits hanging on the walls. I walked up to one of the oil paintings of Larson as a young boy. The artist had captured his green eyes perfectly. As I stared at the boy in the painting, I wondered what he would have been like if he wasn’t a vampire. I imagined him the way Mikel had described him, a carefree Casanova. I tore my eyes away from his and made a slow circle around the room and stopped at the desk.
There were several manila file folders spread across the top of the desk. I slid them around with the palm of my hand and as I did, a picture fell out onto the floor. It landed face down on the dark red rug. I bent down to pick up the photo, but
as my fingers came into contact with the glossy paper, the room began to spin. I reached for the desk to steady myself then felt the ground as I lost my balance and fell.
She was sitting on a park bench, her long auburn hair blowing in the breeze. She smiled as the children ran and played on the playground. She placed her hands on her stomach as she whispered to her unborn baby. One of the children squealed in surprise startling the woman and making her jump in response. Laughing, she turned towards the excited little girl with braids and pink bows in her hair. The young pregnant woman had so much love and plans for her own little girl.
I watched the woman from the woods at the edge of the park. I took a sudden breath and stumbled backwards when I saw the woman’s face. I stared with wide eyes at the woman from my nightmares, the ill-fated woman who would meet her sudden death at the hands of a monster.
I knew the vision wasn’t real but still I felt the jagged edges of the tree’s bark pricking my back. My heart crashed in my chest as my breathing became labored and I continued staring at the woman. It was the same woman, whose murder I’d witnessed night after night for months upon moving to Shadowmist. I wanted to run to where she sat blissfully unaware of how her life would be tragically cut short and warn her, but my legs were glued to the ground. The trees began spinning around me and once again I felt myself falling. I had the sensation of the floor rushing up to meet me as I fell. Hitting my head on the edge of the desk, I slipped into unconsciousness.
A heavy thud on the door jarred me from my sleep.
“Yeah, hold on.” I jolted up from the bed and into the bathroom. My head throbbed as the ache started pulsating with each heartbeat. I splashed water on my face and returned to the room. A crumpled piece of paper on the floor caught my attention.
“Oooh,” I exclaimed as the pain swelled when I bent over to pick it up. I rubbed the temples of my head before opening my eyes.
Larson knocked on the door again. “Are you alright?”
“Um, yeah. I’m fine,” I answered as I smoothed out the paper and looked at it. It was a photograph of a young woman sitting on a park bench. I squinted my eyes at it, thinking it looked familiar but the pounding in my head clouded my concentration.
“Okay, come in.” I crumpled the picture and tossed it into the waste basket just as Larson pushed the door open. He entered the room and my heart raced causing the throbbing headache to worsen.
Larson walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open. The towering peaks of the Appalachian Mountains loomed in the distance behind the house. Larson gazed out the window at the breathtaking view. “The snow stays on the mountain tops for most of the year even in the summer months.”
I stared at him as he stared at the mountains, both stunning views. I thought about the day I moved to Shadowmist and had made a list of all the adventures I would have in the picturesque town. The Appalachian Mountains had been on that list, but like every other destination, I never had the chance to go.
“It’s beautiful,” I said but I wasn’t sure if I meant the view of the mountains or of the man admiring them.
“Let’s go get a closer look at them,” Larson said turning around, his gaze fixed on me.
“Yeah, I would like that,” I said. I took a pair of jeans and a shirt from the pile of clothes on the dresser and went into the bathroom. I took care of my hygiene needs, brushing my teeth, washing my face and fussing with my hair. I pulled it back, then took it down. I tied it in a ponytail but didn’t like that either, so I finally decided just to leave it loose. I ran my hands through it and shrugged my shoulders at the scared and nervous girl staring back at me in the mirror.
“Ready?” Larson asked once I had emerged from the bathroom.
“Let’s go,” I said, leading the way out of the room and down the stairs.
Larson slipped the straps of the backpack over his shoulders and easily beat me to the front door. He held it open for me and smiled.
“After you,” he said.
I walked out onto the porch and down the steps. The sun was bright as the clouds refrained from shrouding its rays. Although it was warm outside, when the breeze blew, it felt like the final days of fall, crisp and cool.
We walked around to the west side of the house with Larson leading the way. We followed the neat gravel path leading to the forest and I felt uneasy as I looked past the trees into the woods. I kept my eyes to the ground where an array of colorful wild flowers grew in random, yet pleasing patterns along the path. We continued in silence for a while, but my thoughts were racing loudly. I suspected maybe he was taking me out to make me disappear, but I couldn’t resist spending some time with him, even if it did end with my death. I thought about the various animal attacks that were reported in and around Shadowmist. Attacks that I now knew were not from animals.
“Analey, as you must already know, you are unique and special,” Larson said as he slowed his pace to match mine.
“Special how?” I asked. I knew there was something different about me, but what the darkness was or what it meant was an absolute mystery to me. I could feel when it was trying to break through, like when I first saw Mikel or when our hands first touched. It would become intense at times when Larson was near me, but I was able to subdue it rather easily. I glanced up at Larson as I thought about the darkness and my uniqueness and he nodded.
“Aloes, my father, had been searching for you because he believes you possess a powerful ability that can kill him. I was part of his plan for most of my existence, but all that has changed.” Larson studied me as he explained the absurd reason Aloes wanted me dead.
“Larson, I have no powers that could kill anyone, much less an immortal,” I said. “The darkness is just a feeling, like an instinct when danger is near.”
“Analey, not to be rude, but you are so naïve when it comes to the supernatural. You have to let yourself believe that there is more in this world than what you know or see,” Larson said.
I looked at him, my brow furrowed trying to wrap my mind around all he was telling me. “Supernatural? Are you telling me there are more beings, other than vampires, that are not human?”
“Yes, and I don’t have time now to explain it all to you, but although you are human, you have ethereal qualities about you.” Larson paused before changing the direction of the conversation. “I was a willing pawn in my father’s scheme, but I changed when I looked into your eyes for the first time.”
What did he see? I thought but didn’t ask. I couldn’t tell if it was the darkness or just me that was afraid to question him.
Larson inhaled deeply. “I saw my destiny. I had believed for so long that my soul’s journey had ended the day Anaiyah died. I hadn’t felt any emotion or other than hate or rage, for anyone since I caused the death of my soulmate.”
“Larson, please stop,” I said. I knew where he was going with all this talk about souls and destiny. As much as I was drawn and attracted to him, I was not his soulmate.
“Let me finish. Please.” Larson closed his eyes. When he looked at me again, I nodded for him to continue. “I can’t explain it but maybe I was wrong about her or maybe my fate changed its course the day she died, and you were born.”
I didn’t believe in destiny or soulmates but then again up until a few months ago, I didn’t believe in vampires either. I watched as Larson dusted off a large boulder and invited me to sit on it. I gave him a small smile as I hopped up on top of the rock. His lips formed a slanted smile, which I had to admit I found most appealing.
“I did some research and I learned that your family ancestry leads directly to Anaiyah,” Larson said averting his gaze to the large evergreens growing abundantly in the forest.
“Anaiyah is the woman in Spain you fell in love with,” I said.
“Yes,” Larson answered. “I see he left out the part where he had fallen in love with her as I had.”
I shifted my weight on the rock as I thought back to Mikel’s story. “Mikel said you fell in love with her,
so he backed off to let you two be together.”
“Yes, eventually he did, but not before trying everything he could think of to destroy my relationship with her. When that didn’t work, he had no choice but to leave us alone,” Larson said. “But that was a long time ago and I have moved past it.”
“And so has he,” I said. “But none of that really matters to me anymore.” I felt no jealousy or envy for the dead woman that had lived long ago. If she had been wrapped up in their wicked world, she was better off dead and maybe so was I.
“Please don’t think that way,” Larson said reading my thoughts. “Anaiyah’s death was a tragedy and it would be more so if anything happened to you.” Larson offered to help me off the rock and as I took his hand he looked into my eyes. “There is something between us and I know you can feel it too.”
I kept my thoughts away from my feelings towards Larson or Mikel and started down the path. Maybe I did feel something, but I didn’t trust my emotions when it came to either of them.
We continued along the path, the wind rustling the dry leaves of the trees, and birds chirped from their place on the branches. The trail narrowed and then eventually disappeared. Rugged rocky patches led the way to the mountains. The large round mounds had jagged peaks that jabbed at the sky that was painted with swirls of white clouds and from a distance they looked dark and ominous against the somber gray sky.
I focused my attention on what Larson had said about the other worldly qualities I could possibly have, and what my connection with Larson had to do with it. Once again, I was being told things that made no sense to me. Then there was one thought constantly entering my mind.
twenty~ nine
“Tell me about Anaiyah.” The words were out before I had the chance to stop them. I told myself I didn’t care about his past, but I wanted to know who I was up against if I did decide to acknowledge that there was a connection or feelings when it came to Larson or Mikel. They both had loved her and now I was somehow stuck in the middle of their lives.
Edge of Forever: The Death and Life of Analey Rose (The Immortal Souls Book 1) Page 21
