Crave

by Teresa Mummert

  “Well?” I asked, practically running to keep pace.

  “They’re at the club,” he answered over his shoulder as we reached the road. Elijah kept walking, but I stopped out of habit and glanced in both directions to make sure no headlights were in sight.

  “What club?” I asked, not trying to hide the irritation in my voice as I got into my seat. The car lurched onto the road before my door closed. “Elijah! Please talk to me,” I begged over the sound of the radio. His jaw clenched and the muscles in his face tensed.

  “Remember the club I had told you I worked at when we first met?” he asked but not giving me a chance to respond. “That is where Reid is at tonight, but it’s not just a typical strip joint. It caters to vampires,” he explained. His eyes smoldered, even in the darkness of night.

  “I don’t see what the problem is. We just walked into a vampire nest ready to kick some ass. Why are you worried?” I asked, still not understanding the serious tone he had undertaken.

  “On any given night there can be hundreds of vamps, not to mention the humans,” he explained and his worry began to scare me. “We can’t risk human casualties. The Elders Council will never stop hunting us if we bring more bad press to their doorstep.”

  I was terrified, but I would not let Elijah do this on his own.

  “Then we will have to make sure no one dies who doesn’t deserve to,” I replied and kept my expression hard. He nodded once and I knew that was the end of the discussion.

  We rode in silence for a few minutes as we sped along the winding country roads. My mind overflowed with all of the things I wanted to say, but I had no idea where to start. I knew these roads like the back of my hand, but this place felt like another planet. Death stalked us at every turn. Our lives hung by a thread. Elijah broke the silence first.

  “I think we should discuss turning you.”

  I had no idea how to respond. He had done everything he could to prevent that from happening.

  “Elijah, I-” I began to respond, but he cut me off mid- sentence.

  “I don’t want you to die, Eva. Chances are, Grayson is already aware that your blood is close by. If we change you, he may stop looking. We could run away together and never have to deal with any of this again.” It made perfect sense, but I knew in my heart that was the last thing Elijah wanted for my life. It was the last thing I wanted for my life. I didn’t know what our future held for us, but I didn’t want that life. I have watched it destroy those around me that I loved and I would rather die than suffer the same fate.

  “We don’t have time,” I replied sadly. “You know they will find us. I can’t have you fighting them alone,” I swallowed back tears, trying not to let them fall. Elijah was scared. “And Grayson didn’t hesitate to kill Marcus even though they were both vamps,” I pointed out.

  He swallowed hard and did not say anything further on the subject. I knew if I didn’t let Elijah change me, that we would have to kill Grayson. A lump formed in my throat and I turned to stare out the window as my tears fell silently from my eyes. Even, after all, we had been through, I still loved Grayson very much and I knew he felt the same way about me, at least while he was alive. But now that I was being forced to choose, I only knew that what I felt for Elijah was… more.

  “Turn,” I called out as I realized where we were in Hanover. Elijah whipped the car right.

  “What is it?” he asked, looking at me with worry.

  “My brother,” I replied as I pointed to the Rest Haven Cemetery. He didn’t say anything as he pulled off the main road into the grass. I could feel his eyes on me, but I did not wait for him to say anything. I got out of the car and made my way across the dark lawn toward the headstones. It was impossible to read them and I soon found myself sobbing uncontrollably as I struggled to find the right way. Elijah put his hand on my back soothingly and began reading the names on the stones. His vision was incredible, another side effect of being a vampire. Because they could not go out in the daylight, their senses adjusted, adapted. He took my hand and pulled me through the rows, reading each stone off one by one. Finally, his feet stopped moving and I rocked on my heels waiting.

  “Marcus Morgan,” he whispered quietly. I threw myself onto the grass in front of the marble sculpture. I knew Marcus was never actually here, but it made me feel closer to him. Elijah knelt down beside me and stroked my hair as I cried aloud. I was crying for my brother, but I was also crying for Grayson. I knew if everything went right, he would be dead before the sun rose. Maybe becoming a vampire was my only option. I remembered Reid offering me a place in his Sector and I knew that none of this would ever actually stop unless I took him up on it or died.

  “We will be okay,” Elijah whispered. I wanted to scream. It would never be okay. My brother was dead. My ex-boyfriend was a vampire who would soon be dead unless they killed Elijah or me.

  “No,” I said under my breath.

  “Eva?” he asked as I struggled to control my breathing. I was on the verge of exploding.

  “No! It will not be okay,” I screamed. He leaned back from me, but his hand remained on my hair. “We can’t fix this! We can’t make it better! Everyone around me will keep dying until they get what they want.” I felt defeated. I didn’t know if I had any strength left in me to fight. I wanted to give up. I buried my head in my hands and began to cry harder.

  “Eva, look at me,” Elijah demanded as he took his fingers and turned my chin toward him. “You are the strongest human I know.” I wanted to roll my eyes but his expression was serious and I knew he believed what he was saying. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” His eyes darkened and I knew there was something more to what he was saying. I nodded my head and he took my hand pulling me to my feet.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I said as I made my way through the maze of headstones. Elijah trailed behind me.

  Chapter thirty-three

  Never Forget

  I was thankful Elijah didn’t complain about the detour to my brother’s grave. I needed a chance to say goodbye to him. I didn’t know if I would ever get the opportunity to do it again. He turned the knob on the radio and an old rock love ballad filled the silent void between us. I had to get my head in the game. If I showed up at the club with tears streaming down my face, I would undoubtedly become a vampire snack.

  I leaned over and fumbled with the radio knob until I found a good song to get me in the mood to fight. I settled on Let the Bodies Hit the Floor and cranked up the volume so I could no longer hear my own thoughts. Since we had lost the element of surprise with an early attack, we didn’t need to rush to get to the club. I wanted to get this over with, but I also knew this could be the last moments I got to spend with Elijah. I glanced over at him, and his eyes caught my gaze. He reached over and laced his fingers in mine. I smiled as I took in the absolute perfection that he was.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he repeated, as he had many times before. I knew he meant it. He would die trying to save me and I would do the same for him. I squeezed his hand to let him know I trusted him. I didn’t like having to choose between two people that I cared about. Who was I to say which should live and which should die?

  We drove around the club before finding a suitable place to park. People milled around the front door, but the crowd didn’t seem overly impressive. We pulled into a closed business right down the road and prepared for war.

  Elijah went through the uses of each weapon one more time to make sure I knew how to use everything correctly. We went back to the trunk of the car and loaded up with a few extra things because the vampire crowd would be larger here than just Reid’s Sector. I hoped I wouldn’t have to run or I would surely be overcome with all the extra weight I was now carrying.

  “Do you think they know we are here?” I asked, scared to hear his response.

  “It is hard to say how heightened Grayson’s senses are with the blood concoction. This is new territory for all of us. We can only hope he knows
you are in the area, but doesn’t anticipate us coming for them.” Elijah was visibly worried but his confidence radiated through the air and my panic dissipated. “We are lucky that we waited until later. Perhaps if things get too bad you can escape into the daylight,” he added, thinking aloud.

  “What about you? You will be stuck inside with the Sector.” It suddenly dawned on me that Elijah had never expected to make it out of this alive. His plan only went as far as to save me. I could feel my own fear pushing back against Elijah’s confidence that hung in the air. I was leading him to his death and the death of Grayson. He wrapped his hand around the back of my head and pulled me against him, pressing his lips to my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly as tears pricked my eyes.

  “I’d never lived before I had met you,” he whispered into my hair and I nodded my head. A lump had formed in my throat and I was afraid that if I had tried to speak, the floodgates would open. His grip tightened around me.

  He kissed me hungrily. I felt an overwhelming urge to abandon our plan of attack and run away with him. I knew we wouldn’t make it far, but it would prolong our time together.

  Reluctantly, he pushed himself back from me and held me at arm’s length. His eyes searched mine for a few minutes and I felt his anger and rage push through my sadness. “You can do this,” he assured me. I nodded and a small, sad smile flickered across his face, then quickly turned to stone.

  Chapter thirty-four

  Against the World

  He took my hand and guided me behind him through the maze of buildings and cars. We snaked our way around the back of the club to a fire exit that was unattended. The door was propped open by a bucket. I assumed the employees used it for their smoke breaks so the customers would not see them. I often used the one at my parent’s restaurant to do the same. It suddenly occurred to me I hadn’t smoked in days. I felt proud of myself for a second as the thought crossed my mind but was quickly replaced with fear as someone slid through the opening.

  We ducked behind a car, but one of my weapons banged on the side making a loud clanging noise. I held my breath and locked eyes with Elijah. He kept perfectly, inhumanly still. I tried to mimic his actions, but my body shook from my intense heartbeat.

  After a moment had passed, Elijah looked over the hood of the car. The scrawny man stood with his back to us, oblivious to our presence. I realized that he must be human and would be little match for Elijah. He put his finger to his lips to motion for me to be silent as he released my hand. He snuck quietly along the dark wall of the club. I stared at him in awe. He was a lion stalking his unsuspecting prey. The man had no idea his life was about to end. Part of me wanted to scream out to him in warning, but I kept silent, biting my lip as I waited for his death. This casualty was necessary if we wanted to gain access to the others. I no longer saw it as us humans against vampires. It was now just Elijah and me against the world.

  Suddenly, Elijah was behind the man. In one swift motion, his hands rose in a blur and the man’s now lifeless body slumped to the ground. Elijah lifted him effortlessly and carried him behind a small divider wall. He reappeared a few minutes later, wiping the blood from his chin. I sighed with relief as he made his way back to my position.

  “Now is our chance,” he whispered. I followed him as we crept across the quiet lot and slipped into the open door. The small room was lined with old couches and a busted brown coffee table. Luckily, no one was in sight. Elijah peered through the next door and nodded for me to follow him. We slipped through the opening into a dressing room. I was shocked to see several women milling about, but they didn’t seem alarmed at our presence.

  In fact, they hardly noticed me at all. Elijah’s unmatched good looks took center stage. He smiled at them as we passed by and I felt a pang of jealousy as they blushed and smiled back. I struggled to keep my feelings to myself, but Elijah’s determination pushed through and kept my mind on track. A thick red velvet curtain is all that kept us from the crowd.

  Elijah glanced around the entertainment room and as the last song ended, we rushed through. I raised my weapon and took aim at anything that showed its fangs. I was shocked at how relatively small the crowd was. It appeared that everyone in the audience was a vampire or a midnight snack. A tall, lanky man rushed Elijah. He blocked his advances and shouted at me to shoot. I aimed my brother’s gun and pulled the trigger. My hands were shaking uncontrollably and I missed, hitting a window.

  Glass shattered and poured like rain onto the marble floor. Elijah’s body looped around mine and he slid his hand around my wrist, taking aim at whatever crossed my path. Vampires fell around us and blanketed the ground.

  “Behind you,” Elijah shouted and I grabbed a stake from my waist and thrust it backward. With a loud grunt, the woman stopped in her tracks. She cried out in shock as she felt the object now embedded in her body. She was human. I instantly felt sick as she crumpled to the floor. Elijah’s body move away from me and I spun around to scan for danger. He was walking toward Grayson, his hand gripping another stake.

  “Grayson,” I screamed, but the words were caught in my throat as a hand wrapped around my neck and squeezed.

  “All this trouble for a human. What is so special about you?” a sickeningly sweet voice purred in my ear.

  “Olivie,” I choked.

  “Stop,” she yelled across the room to Elijah. He whipped around, his eyes locking onto mine. Vampires slowly closed in on him as I read the fear in his eyes. “Elijah’s death will come at the hands of the Council,” she said calmly.

  “What is it they want from me?” Elijah asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide his rage.

  “I think we both know the answer to that,” she replied coolly in her thick accent. Her grip tightened and the room began to fade. Grayson, unable to contain his hunger for me, leaped forward. Elijah spun around and caught his shirt as he flew overhead, causing them to both crash into us with enough force to knock me free from Olivie’s grip. Elijah slammed his body on top of Grayson. Olivie clawed at them desperately trying to break up the fight.

  Grayson managed to escape the brawl as Olivie focused her attention on Elijah.

  “Run,” Elijah growled. I stumbled getting to my feet, but as soon as I stood, I was sprinting. I made my way through the dressing room, crashing into a dancer so hard she went flying into a makeup table. Grayson gripped my hair, shoving my head forward and into the cinderblock wall.

  ***

  Scrambling to my feet, I didn’t look back as I made my way out of the back exit and into the refreshing air of the outside world. My lungs burned as I pushed myself harder.

  I could see off in the distance that daylight would be coming soon. If I could keep up this pace for just a little while longer, I would be safe… but only me.

  Our plan had failed miserably. None of it made any sense. Why did Olivie want Elijah dead? I thought of Elijah in the club, alone, fighting for his life. My heart sank and my legs became heavier as I realized I might never see him again. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind as I spotted a small wooded area off in the distance. I summoned all of my strength to continue.

  As I entered the woods, my relief quickly turned to fear. I heard growling off in the distance and it was growing louder. I realized I had sought sanctuary in the one place the vampires could be outside in the daylight, shrouded by the trees. Ahead I could see a clearing, but I didn’t know how much more strength I had. The growling grew louder and I knew Grayson was coming for me. I could feel Elijah not far off and it gave me the courage I needed to continue.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-five

  Glimmer of Hope

  The sun’s rays began to shimmer and dance through the leaves. It was my glimmer of hope. I ran full speed as my legs felt like they would give out any minute. My lungs burned and I struggled to steady my breathing. I could see the meadow in the distance. I raced daylight, hoping to catch it. I broke through the tree line with Grayson at my heels.

  “No,�
�� I screamed, tears streaming down my face. I could feel Elijah’s emotional turmoil pushing down on us stronger than ever. It was an eerie calm in the middle of my own undoing. Elijah growled and hissed from the tree line as he struggled to stay hidden from the sun. Grayson pushed forward, his skin grew gray and gaunt in the rays of dawn. “Stop,” I pleaded, no longer running.

  “Eva, Fight,” Elijah wailed from the woods, begging me to defend myself or flee to safety. My legs couldn’t carry me any further.

  Grayson stepped heavily toward me, using all of his energy to push through the agony of his final death. I sobbed louder, losing control entirely. Grayson drudged just feet from me. His knees shook as he reached his arm out in front of him, struggling to touch me. I covered my mouth with my hands and watched in terror as he fell to his knees in agonizing torture.

  “Grayson,” I choked as he growled and writhed in agony. His body twisted and contorted in an inhuman manner. His hands curled and froze in a stiff claw-like pose. I choked on my breath as he fell to the ground motionless. “No,” I screamed and lurched toward his lifeless body. Elijah’s anger washing through the air, but I didn’t stop. I placed my hand on his hard chest and the floodgates opened.

  I wailed aloud in the middle of the now brightly lit meadow as birds chirped happily, oblivious to my pain. “I’m so sorry for all of this,” I whispered to Grayson as I wiped the tears from my face. I glanced at the tree line and spotted Elijah, hunched behind a giant spruce. His face was hard and unreadable. He stood slowly and hung his head.

  I wondered for a moment if this is what my life would always be. Would I lose everyone one I love this way? A dull thud emanates from beneath my fingers and I jumped, startled at the sudden disturbance. Grayson’s face looked rosy and his cheeks full, his hair shiny and healthy. I pulled my hand back in shock as his eyes flash open and he sucked in a hard labored breath.