Edge of Forever: The Death and Life of Analey Rose (The Immortal Souls Book 1)

by Patricia Galvan

  A look of concern flashed through Larson’s eyes. “Please, don’t ask me that, Analey. If you do, I will have to tell you; I can’t deny what you ask of me.”

  “I want to know about her. Tell me what she was like and how she died. I need to know,” I said.

  Larson gazed past the rocky trail, through the dense woods, and beyond the mountains. He was in another time and place. With a calm and unhurried tone, he moved around his words as he described the love of his life.

  “Anaiyah was different than any other woman I’d ever met. She was living in Valencia when our paths crossed. She said it was fate and I believed her. It was easy to believe anything she said when she looked at me with her deep blue eyes,” Larson said.

  “How did you meet?” I asked.

  “She found us as we sat in an old tavern having drinks with some of our human and non-human comrades,” he answered. “She walked in and turned my world upside down.”

  “Did she look like me?” I had the odd feeling that I had more in common with the woman than meeting the same two vampires she’d met.

  “In some ways, yes,” Larson said. “Her eyes were deep blue but also gray like polished steel. They were remarkably similar to your eye color, which is rare but not unheard of, but your olive complexion is a shade darker than her fair skin, and her hair was a golden auburn color. Your black strands remind me of a raven’s feathers, dark as a midnight sky.”

  I turned away from Larson as I felt the heat rising in my face as I discerned how much he’d noticed my physical features, but I kept my thoughts hidden from him and asked another question. I didn’t want him lurking around in my head. “Did she know what you were?”

  “Yes. She claimed to have seen Mikel and I in a dream and she was led to find us.”

  “What did she want from you or Mikel?” I kept the questions going and Larson answered honestly.

  “She said our souls were destined for each other and I was her one love.” Larson averted his gaze to the trees past me as he remembered the love he’d had with Anaiyah.

  I felt inadequate compared to her. But I convinced myself I didn’t care about her or what she meant to Larson. She had been the love of his life, not me, but as I walked to a rushing river curving through the forest, a wave of envy swelled within me. I found a place near the water to sit and Larson dropped down beside me as I inquired where Mikel fit in with Anaiyah. “What about Mikel? You said she’d seen him in her dream as well.”

  “Her dreams led her to where we were, not directing her specifically to either one of us. It wasn’t until she met us that she knew how to interpret her visions,” Larson said. He looked directly into my eyes and I knew he noticed how silent my thoughts had become.

  “Analey, please don’t make me keep going with this pretense and ask me the one question I know you are hiding from me.” Larson stood and helped me up. He stood close to me urging me with his eyes.

  I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. I looked to the river moving forward as my thoughts stayed in Larson’s past. I wanted to articulate the words, but I wasn’t ready. Not yet. There was more I wanted to know—needed to know about Anaiyah. “She wanted to be like you.” It wasn’t a question. I was aware she had demanded Larson change her. Mikel had told me that much.

  “Ahem.” Larson cleared his throat, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He followed my gaze to the water then back to me. “Yes. She wanted me to turn her. I denied her what she wanted but when she left me to find Mikel, I lost my resolve and begged her to come back. I promised I would give her anything she wanted, regardless of how totally insane her demands were.”

  Larson started walking away from me. His behavior shouting that he was done with the conversation. I followed him, still suppressing the urge to ask Larson if he was still in love with Anaiyah.

  “That’s what this is about?” Larson spun around facing me.

  My thoughts had broken through the seams of my subconscious. “Yes,” I said. I couldn’t deny it any longer now that it was out in the open.

  “Honestly, Analey, I loved her for so long, but I don’t know much of anything anymore,” Larson said, shrugging his shoulders as he started walking again.

  I followed him, not sure how to take his answer. I didn’t know what I expected to hear. I guess I wanted to hear him say no or yes. A more definitive answer would’ve been more helpful.

  “Loving her and then losing her changed you in a terrible way,” I said.

  He stopped walking and turned to face me again. “I blame myself. I know I took too much of her blood. I hadn’t fed on fresh human blood for some time and I had no self-control. My blood lust killed her.” Larson stopped talking. He leaned back against a tree and sighed. “I instantly returned to my darker vampire tendencies, killing whoever crossed my path. I felt no need to restrain the beast. Anaiyah had been my sole purpose for living and there was no humanity left in me. I felt no emotions, only the thirst.” Larson seemed to be as close to tears as a vampire could get. I didn’t think they had the ability to shed tears. I assumed it was part of the reason why they felt emotions stronger as vampires than when they had been human.

  We walked in silence as we followed the river further into the forest until we reached the foot of the mountain. There was an immense slab of rock and earth protruding from its side. The grass flourished in the shaded areas, green and lush. It was the perfect place to sit and have a picnic. Larson removed the pack from his back and unzipped it. He pulled out a yellow blanket and a small sack containing a variety of fruit, cheese, and crackers. Famished, I picked a handful of plump red grapes and savored them one by one. Next, I chose some cheese and crackers.

  Half an hour later, I was returning what was left of the fruit and cheese to the bag. Larson folded the blanket and placed it in the backpack. I walked over to the river and knelt beside it, rinsing my hands in the flowing water. It was cool and refreshing as it ran through my fingers. I dried my hands off on my jeans and returned to where Larson was waiting. He attempted a weak smile at me as he stood and pulled the straps of the backpack over his shoulders. I had to look away from his green eyes and only nodded when he asked if I was ready to return to his house. Larson didn’t say another word as we made our way through the woods towards the house and neither did I.

  We reached the house as the sky was growing dark and I was exhausted from the walk and the conversation. I felt irritated and disappointed with how the trip had ended. Larson opened the front door for me, and I walked directly to the stairs. He stopped me before I stepped up the first one. Taking my hand, he pulled me closer to him.

  “Thank you for trusting me enough to venture into the forest alone with me,” he said.

  I reached up to stroke his face and nodded. I slipped my hand out of his and climbed the stairs. I showered and dressed for bed but couldn’t fall asleep. I kept thinking of Anaiyah, Larson, and Mikel, the situation feeling like some twisted triangle. I pondered how I could possibly fit in their unbelievable world. I finally drifted off to sleep with one unnerving thought: how does a vampire turn a human?

  The night felt short as I tossed and turned going in and out of dreamless sleep. I awoke the next morning to the feeling of being watched. Larson was sitting in a chair next to the bed, his head resting on his hands with a worried look plastered on his face. A faint gleam sparked in his green eyes when he saw I was awake.

  “What is your favorite flower?” Larson asked, looking down as he twirled a small flower with a yellow center and long white petals.

  I was perplexed by the question as the mood was incongruous with the conversation, but I answered it. “Tulips are my favorite.”

  “Why tulips? I presumed most women preferred a bouquet of roses based on its popularity,” Larson said.

  “Tulips have a subtle beauty that is easily overlooked,” I answered. “Most people choose the obvious attraction of the rose, but to me tulips represent elegance and grace. Red tulips symbolize perfect love.”


  “Ah, yes, the legend of Prince Farhad and the red tulip.” Larson revealed he was familiar with the story.

  “Farhad was a Turkish Prince who was love-struck by a beautiful maiden named Shirin. She was killed and Farhad was so overcome with grief that he decided to kill himself. He rode his horse off a cliff. The legend says that a red tulip sprung up from each drop of his blood.” There were many versions of the story, but I recited to him the one I’d first heard a few years ago when I was still living at the orphanage.

  “I understand Prince Farhad’s decision.” Larson met my gaze. “If I were in his predicament, I would do the same. Although, I don’t foresee any flowers rising up from my blood.”

  Larson stood and dissolved from my sight before I could say anything else. I sat in bed flustered with his ambiguous mood. He had been in Prince Farhad’s shoes once but chose to react much differently than the Turkish Prince. I pushed the thoughts out of my head as I slipped into a pair of blue jeans and long-sleeved blue shirt. I walked down the stairs and through the family room towards the kitchen, where I heard a steady stream of voices flowing out and into the corridor. I hesitated listening to the unfamiliar sounds wondering if I should turn back around. I glanced into the kitchen and saw Larson leaning against the large island in the center of the room, but he wasn’t alone. A group of men and women had apparently arrived sometime during the night while I slept. A gorgeous woman with blond hair and pale blue eyes was sitting on a stool at the island. She was tall, but the man next to her was taller. He had light brown hair, brown eyes, and was very handsome. They were young as if they had been turned on or very soon after their 18th birthday.

  “Analey, please come in,” Larson said when he noticed me lurking in the doorway.

  “Good morning,” I said as if the situation was normal and called for a normal greeting.

  “This is Eva and Maurice. They’re friends of mine,” Larson said as he pulled out a bar stool for me.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Maurice said in a sophisticated and posh voice.

  The blonde next to him smiled and nodded. “I do believe we’ve bumped into each other once or twice.”

  Eva was the red-eyed demon I ran into in Shadowmist and Maurice had been with her in the open field when I had gone looking for Mikel. I wondered if maybe Larson had been the dark figure that had swooped in and made them disappear before I had the chance to get to them. A slight nod of his head told me my thoughts were correct. I made a mental note to ask him about it later, but other questions would prove more relevant and I would forget to inquire about that night.

  I moved my gaze around the room at all the vampires, never stopping on any of them for very long. Light trembles rumbled through me as I sat in their overpowering presence.

  “Did you sleep well?” Larson asked as he took a seat next to me.

  “Yes,” I answered. Did you sit beside the bed for the entire night? I thought.

  One side of his lips rose in a maybe-I-did smile. I looked away to keep myself from drawing too much attention to my blushed face.

  “Coffee?” I asked, hoping to change the subject and calm my anxieties.

  Larson poured me a cup and set it in front of me. I added sugar and milk then let the hot steam rise up to my face. I sipped on the hot beverage as Larson introduced Trina, the petite girl with short black hair, and Stone, the large man with tattoos for sleeves. I raked my eyes over the intricate details of the designs on his massive arms. Stone’s fair skin could barely be seen in the small spaces between the patterns of circles and lines.

  “What a delicious scent,” I heard Stone say in a low, deep voice as he stared at me. I moved my eyes up to his, swallowing the lump in my throat.

  Suddenly Larson had Stoned pinned against the wall before anyone could blink. I feared Stone would take Larson out with one blow; he was much bigger than Larson, but Stone didn’t move. Larson gave him a dissatisfied look and shook his head before reluctantly letting him go. Larson was a powerful being and his violent outburst unnerved me.

  “My apologies. I didn’t mean any harm,” Stone said, taking his place next to Trina. His large presence seemed to swallow the area where Trina stood beside him. The other two male vampires that were there seemed to have blended into the background, Larson not bothering with more introductions.

  Fearing I would ignite more ire in Larson, in a faint voice I asked, “What’s going on, Larson? Why are they all here?”

  Larson looked to the vampires in the room before settling his gaze on me. “I wanted to be prepared just in case.”

  “In case?” I raised my eyebrows. “You mean in case Aloes decides to show up?”

  “Yes,” Larson answered, standing across from me on the other side of the island.

  I pulled the ends of my long sleeves of my shirt over my hands. “And you think he will?” I swallowed, my mouth feeling dry despite just having had taken a drink of coffee. “I mean do you expect him to arrive soon?”

  Larson rubbed the back of his neck, then reached across for my hands. I moved out of reach and waited for his answer. I knew it was a possibility, but I needed to hear him say it. I pleaded with him with my eyes, gazing into his emerald ones. I wanted to hear the assurance in his voice that everything would be okay. Even if it wasn’t.

  “It will be okay, Analey,” he said. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  I wanted to believe him, but I feared Aloes would be too powerful for anyone to stop him.

  After breakfast, Larson invited me to sit with him on the back porch. I stepped outside through a pair of glass doors off the kitchen. The solid wood porch was painted white and there were large wood posts and banisters. A long staircase led down to the lush yard. Water flowed down a three-tier stone fountain in the center of the lawn. On the porch sat a pair of rocking chairs and a porch swing twice the size of the one Stella had at her house.

  Larson walked down the steps and was back on the porch as I had settled in one of the rocking chairs, slowly moving back and forth. Larson returned with a red tulip, identical to the one I’d described earlier that morning.

  “I invited my friends here to provide you with more protection. Aloes has threatened to intervene in my search,” Larson said, handing me the flower. “I’ve convinced him to stay in Italy, but I cannot be too careful or underestimate him.”

  “Okay, but maybe I should prepare myself too,” I said.

  Larson inhaled deeply and turned up one corner of his mouth. “I will protect you.”

  “Tell me what special power you seem to think I have. It’s possible I can help if Aloes does decide to come and intervene,” I said.

  “I won’t let it come to that, Analey. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.” Larson knelt in front of me.

  “But don’t you think it would be wise if I was prepared? I need to know what I can do,” I said.

  Larson sighed getting to his feet. He knew I was right. “It’s an absorption of power or energy. You have the ability to siphon and most times absorb our powers and magic. Essentially, you can drain us of our life.”

  I pushed down on the ground with the tips of my shoes and got the rocker going again. “How is it that Anaiyah had powers if she was human and how is it possible that I have this power?” I assumed my heredity to Anaiyah had something to do with me and my abilities.

  Larson leaned against one of the posts, staring out to the immense backyard. “Humans all have gifts or powers that lie dormant. Some can be passed down through their bloodline and others are unique to that one person. Immortality awakens and intensifies them. Anaiyah had many extraordinary gifts as a human. She would’ve been an incredible immortal.” Larson turned to face me.

  I could tell the subject was making him uncomfortable. He would talk about it only because he promised to always be honest and tell me what I wanted to know.

  “What is the best part of being a vampire?” I asked changing the subject. I had no desire to become one, but I wondered about it.r />
  Larson stared at me for a moment as he mused over the sudden change in our conversation. “Power is a favorite among most vampires. The adrenaline rush that comes with the speed and strength can be addicting,” Larson said.

  “What is the least favorite part?” I asked.

  “For me, it’s the unrelenting control of the thirst. There was a time when my self-control and will power would be easily diminished with the slightest scent of human blood,” he confessed. “It still controls me.

  I had dismissed the obvious fact that Larson drank human blood. I rocked gently in the chair, contemplating more unspoken questions. I set my feet on the ground, bringing the chair to an abrupt stop. I stood and walked to where Larson was leaning like a perfect statue against the white wooden post, one hand resting on the nearby banister and the other one tucked in the front pocket of his jeans. I forced myself to look away. His strong jawline that met flawlessly with his mouth that turned up in a gorgeous smile, one side slightly higher than the other, was too much for me.

  There was one question that burned in my mind and I was reluctant to allow it to cross the threshold of my thoughts where Larson could easily pick up on it. I wondered if the desire to be with me or the need to protect me was worth the strength it took to endure the scent of my blood. My inquisitive nature forced the question out, along with one more dangerous thought. Just how strongly did he desire the taste of my blood?

  Larson locked his eyes on mine. He took one fluid step and before I realized it, he had me pinned against the post. I waited for him to answer, but for a few long seconds he just stared at me. Fear rose within me as he pressed closer to me. I tried to back up but there was nowhere to go.

  “You really want to know if I crave your blood?” Larson whispered, moving his mouth to my neck. I felt his cool breath on my skin and my pulse quickened.

  I couldn’t speak so I thought the word yes. I was trapped between the dangerous vampire and the post, unable to free myself from his intense gaze.

  “Yes, I have fantasized about the taste. I have even considered giving in to the blood lust.” Larson was precariously close to me, his sculpted body pressed up against mine.