Two Halves Box Set

by Marta Szemik

  My gaze flew to Vulcan as my brows narrowed.

  “It’s what they do here.” Vulcan pointed to the crowd.

  A girl tipped a straw into her companion’s mouth. He swallowed the powder, and his eyes turned white, almost translucent. Then she took a hit herself. He wrapped his arms around her, and they both swayed, lost to the blaring music, off beat.

  “It’s a hallucinogen mixed with sugar to hide the bitterness of the drug.”

  Sugar.

  An overwhelming sensation flew through me. Like I’d forgotten something important. My insides warmed. The word strung deep within my heart. It sounded familiar and foreign at the same time, and I wondered where I’d heard it before. My pulse sped and head hurt as I tried to recall a memory that’d made me happy when I spoke the word. I felt Vulcan’s gaze on me, magically slowing my pulse, washing the happiness away until I couldn’t remember what I was thinking about. For a moment, my gaze flew toward the moving crowd in search for someone important, but I didn’t know who.

  Then I forgot why I focused on the crowd. The tension in my muscles remained. My gaze returned to the glass container holding the white sticks.

  “Why drugs?” I asked.

  “It relaxes them. Looks like you need some too.” Vulcan picked two straws and nodded to the waitress to leave. She placed a flask of liquid and two glasses on our table before heading into the swarm on the dance floor.

  I followed Vulcan’s lead and tipped the straw up. The powder dissolved on my tongue. The blended taste of sweet and bitter raspberries stirred in my mind.

  My brother stood. “Enjoy what this club has to offer. I’ll see you in a few hours.” He winked, disappearing toward the bar. Before he’d left, his eyes paled, turning white.

  The bitterness remained in my mouth, and I washed the taste with water. My sight became clearer and vibrant. I bit my lip, wishing to explore what the crowd had to offer. I stood up, and my pulse raced. The pack of dancers in front of me mushed together, but at the same time, I saw certain people, females in particular, stand out.

  Brunettes. I smiled. I could only see the dark-haired women with bronze skin; everyone else faded.

  Not a bad drug after all.

  I moved forward, trying to control the urge to sway to the music. With my focus sharpened, I glided between the dancing divas. They pressed against me with hunger, and I let them take me away.

  Eric? Where are you?

  My eyes burst open. I scanned the room for the mysterious voice, but my focus remained on the brunettes.

  Eric. I’m worried. What’s happened to you?

  I realized I heard the voice in my head.

  Who are you? And why am I hearing you in my mind?

  It’s Sarah, Eric. Are you with Vulcan? She took a longer pause. Oh, no!

  What? What happened?

  Her voice didn’t come back. Who was she? Was it the drug? The name resonated with someone I once trusted. But Vulcan had told me not to trust anyone. Was she from my previous life?

  A firm grasp on my shoulder startled me. “Are you enjoying, my brother?” Vulcan grinned, and I forgot my thoughts.

  “I am.” I nodded at the brunette grinding against my leg.

  “I have some business to take care of with that blond.” He motioned his head toward a secluded booth. “Come back to the apartment when you’re done here.” His grip tightened once more before he released me, then left.

  I resumed the dance I’d been lost in. Another dark-haired woman butted in my partner’s place, but I didn’t really care. They were one and the same to me.

  After an hour, new faces began to come in focus, the music didn’t seem to match my tempo, and my bladder felt at its capacity. I weaved through the masses toward the corner of the club, focused on the sign of a glowing muscle man. Inside the restroom, the release felt more liberating than I thought it would, and I was certain most of the hallucinogen had just emptied out of my body. When I stepped out, the music switched to a calmer beat.

  It was just after midnight, and most booths were now filled with smooching couples. A face in the crowd made my next inhale sharp.

  Who was that?

  I pushed past the bodies lost in their own escapes. The face zoomed through the crowd again, then disappeared behind one of the cages in the middle of the dance floor. I’d never seen such skin color before, or have I?

  Where are you? I rushed toward the platform.

  Was it the drug making me react to her this way? No, it couldn’t. The exhilarating pull I felt toward her was true. The silky caramel skin was one of a kind. One I’d been searching for unknowingly all along. No one else in the room had that particular tone. A color so sweet, only a goddess could wear it.

  A goddess.

  I imagined grazing my palms against her arms up to the neck to cup her face and taste her lips. My tongue would play under her earlobe, savoring its saltiness and sweetness at the same time. Then I would devour her in all ways a man could. The anxiousness rose through my body, and I couldn’t get past the swarm fast enough. Finally I reached the cage and made my way around it.

  My mouth watered, and I saw her again. Three feet in front of me. Her eyes narrowed, and the rims of her pupils outlined concern. Perfect lips ajar just a little, inviting me in. My pulse raced as I stared at the creature I wanted to belong to.

  “Hi,” she said. I heard apprehension in her tone. She rushed at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and snuggling into my neck. I held her in a natural embrace, savoring her curves against my body. The rush of hormones exploded in my head, and there was no other place I’d rather be. Ever. This felt more right than I’d known all my life—although I didn’t remember my old life.

  “Hi,” I replied. Have we met before? Her peppermint and raspberry scent overwhelmed my senses and stirred hidden memories of a past. The aroma flowed through my lungs, penetrating all tissue down to the bone. A flash of a forest appeared behind my eyelids, her naked body lying on a field of grass, covered with leaves and moss while my hand traced the outline of her curves. My lips followed a tiny path from her navel, to her chest, and up to the collarbone. When our eyes met, a divine smile stretched on her face.

  Then the memory faded, and a new one began. I remembered admiring a young doe the same way—its fur shined an identical caramel coat, beckoning me in. And a cougar whose eyes beamed the same shade of gold this creature’s did.

  My neck tingled, and the scene disappeared.

  “What are you doing here? We were worried.” She held out an olive envelope I hadn’t seen before. Today’s date was scribbled on the cover. “If not for this, I wouldn’t find you. Is Vulcan here?” she whispered in my ear. Her breath warmed the side of my face.

  “No. He left. What is this? You know Vulcan?” I asked.

  She pulled away and covered her full lips. Her breathing deepened, and eyes widened.

  No, come back. Don’t cover your face. Did she fear me? Why did she take away the only moment of peace I knew? What did I do? What did I say?

  “What’s my name?” Her eyes glistened, reflecting the flood lights from above. I saw the pulse in her jugular quicken.

  “I… I don’t know. Should I know?” I asked, worried to say something else that would scare her.

  “Dip it in extra sugar,” I overheard a server instruct his co-worker behind the bar.

  Sugar.

  “Sugar,” I said. “You’re Sugar.”

  She shook her head. “You call me that, but what’s my name, Eric?”

  I liked the way my name rolled off her tongue, but her voice was urgent and demanding. I heard a slight tremble in a tone she tried to disguise.

  “You know me?” I took a step toward the beautiful creature who graced me with her presence. Why did her company make me feel so warm inside? What power did she hold over me?

  My caramel goddess’s mouth opened in surprise, and she shook her head. “No.”

  “She’s here to stop our mission. It’s time to leave,
Eric,” Vulcan warned. He took a hold of my arm, and the quest to kill the keepers became number one priority in my mind again. No one could stop us. Including Sugar.

  Vulcan hauled me back. My neck tingled, and I knew he was ready to return to the apartment. One more step back and I would leave.

  “Wait.” I didn’t move from the spot.

  “What did you do to him?” Sugar accused Vulcan, her voice strong and furious at the same time.

  “Nothing he didn’t want done.” Vulcan’s eyes glistened an orange spark. “If you want to live, you will not interfere.”

  “You don’t know who you’re threatening,” she growled.

  The contours of her face sharpened, and darker shades outlined her jaw. Sugar took an offensive stance. Her eyes narrowed, and cheeks firmed. I thought I recognized anger build up inside her, and her skin took on a greenish shade. Her incisors sprang onto her lower lip like a vampire.

  I inhaled. No, she’s not a vampire.

  She seemed like a different creature. I liked it. None of the other women here intrigued me as much as she did, and I wanted to know more about her. It wouldn’t take much for Sugar to launch at Vulcan. A second perhaps. No, quicker. But I didn’t want her to get hurt; that’s what Vulcan wanted. His spite brewed inside me. Why would my brother want to hurt this woman? I wouldn’t stand in his way if he fancied someone, so why would he not allow me to get to know her?

  “Neither do you,” Vulcan warned, squaring his shoulders. A long rumble escaped from the back of his throat.

  People moved away, leaving us in a semicircle. On the outside, they didn’t seem to notice, like they’d all been hypnotized, or perhaps still drugged on the straws. They continued their dance, oblivious to our oncoming quarrel.

  I looked from Sugar to Vulcan and back again, perplexed. Vulcan’s eyes told me it wasn’t the first time he’d seen my caramel goddess. Did he want her for himself? No, I couldn’t let that happen.

  My brother squeezed my shoulder, and his fury transferred to me. Waves of revulsion made their way toward my insides. The rage boiled in my veins the same way it had in his. Vulcan was prepared to strike Sugar with enough force to kill her, and now, so was I.

  Why? How?

  The anger swelled with each second, and I felt the same spark of hate in my eyes as Vulcan had. The tingling in my neck intensified as electricity zoomed through my body toward my fingertips. Yes, this is what I wanted. I wanted to bend. But not her. I couldn’t imagine hurting this beautiful creature and fought Vulcan’s influence.

  “Don’t, Vulcan.” I took his arm off mine, and my anger pacified.

  Vulcan stepped back; his eyes clouded, and jaw tensed. The brisk flame disappeared from around his pupils.

  Did I do that?

  “We share our powers,” I remembered Vulcan explain.

  Could I control his behavior the way he controlled mine—the way he seemed to control everyone around him?

  “You’re strong but not yet strong enough to stop me, brother. She will die if we don’t leave,” he threatened, resuming his intimidating growl toward Sugar.

  “You’re not going anywhere, warlock.” A male voice sounded from beside the goddess.

  He stood taller than Sugar, but the resemblance was striking. From skin tone to bone structure, the similarities were undeniable. I hoped he was related to her because I couldn’t bear to find out he was a suitor coming in defense of his girlfriend.

  “Stand down, shifter.” The energy around Vulcan intensified. I felt it, like invisible radiation.

  Shifter?

  “Let him go,” the male yelled at Vulcan as his gaze flew to me. A few more seconds and I imagined his mouth would foam at the corners.

  Why did he want to protect me? I wasn’t the one in danger. He was, and so was Sugar if I didn’t leave.

  “You don’t stand a chance,” Vulcan shouted.

  The music continued, but I couldn’t hear it, noting the swaying bodies beyond. Something inside told me I should be stronger. That I am stronger, or at least I was in my past life. I should be able to control this situation, but how? Vulcan knew how. I skidded to his side so that my arm brushed his and wanted to know what he knew. I wanted him to tell me who they were, and I heard in my mind. Shifters. They always mess up my plans. Not this time. You serve the keepers; you will go down with them when the time is right.

  “Try us,” the pair said in unison.

  Before they hurled toward us, I felt Vulcan generate more energy than I thought could be linked through my body. He gathered it in his palm and stretched it out. A single blow of electricity zoomed at Sugar and the man. It split into two and hit them in the center of their chests. They flew back into the wall. A glass mirror at my side shattered, and its triangular splinter embedded into my cheek. I pulled it out of the gash and looked over at Vulcan on my left. An identical cut bled on his cheek, and he wiped it with his cuff. The music quietened for a moment, and the club fell to a hush.

  Sugar lay motionless on the ground.

  No! My internal cry tightened my throat. I didn’t want Vulcan to know how much Sugar meant to me, even if I didn’t understand why the pull toward the woman was so strong. I listened to her breathing. She’s alive!

  Everyone focused on the dented surface in the wall, and the couple who suddenly sprouted to their feet. Then the crowd resumed their uncoordinated dance as if no one had noticed our quarrel.

  “Let’s go.” Vulcan pulled at my arm.

  Sugar stood still. Her thighs flexed, and she tried to run toward me, but a blue light shimmered from under her and her partner’s feet, keeping them frozen.

  Vulcan opened a vortex on the other side of the club. No one noticed. It seemed we were still invisible to the drugged crowd. I turned back for the last time toward my caramel goddess. Sugar’s shoulders moved up and down as she breathed anger and fury and crouched on the floor. Her friend helped her up to her feet, holding her by the elbow to steady her stance. She kept her gaze focused on me, and her eyes moistened when I stepped away.

  “Mira. My name is Mira,” she cried out through the noise and music. A glistening ribbon streamed down her cheek.

  Mira.

  I felt deprived of a breath I wanted to inhale. My neck throbbed. The nerves in my body responded in pain to what I realized. All the muscles felt like they’d been crushed by a steam roller, including my heart. Memories of my past began flooding my head, and I strained to keep my breath calm. I grabbed my head when the pressure increased and the room spun.

  The sound of music, honking cars, and an airplane overhead blended, and the vortex abducted me from the club.

  I followed Vulcan like a puppy, sorting everything I knew to be true and all the lies I’d been told. He stole my life after all. My spikes vibrated internally, and I strained to keep them intact.

  Vulcan stood at my side as we flew through the time hole. Do I tear him apart now, or wait for a better opportunity? If I kill him, will the keepers take my life away again? I didn’t want to take that chance. How could I have agreed to this?

  “One dies, so does the other,” I remembered him saying. Would his death mean the end of my life as well? Was there no way to cheat death and punishment for me? Perhaps there wasn’t. I was willing to die to ensure his death.

  What would Mira think? Could I leave her without telling her what’d happened? She’d figure it out eventually, but I couldn’t go without saying goodbye. Without one last touch. Without a final kiss.

  The swirls around me settled, and I found myself in the hallway of our apartment. A vase of fresh blue forget-me-nots decorated the marble table at the side wall.

  Vulcan dropped loose change into a bowl, and I wondered why he needed the money if he could influence anyone to get him anything he’d wanted. Perhaps it was his way of blending in.

  “You’re lost in thought, Eric,” he noted.

  I decided to play along, for now. “Yes. I’m thinking about the shifters. Who were they? The woman knew me.”


  “You liked her.” He examined me as if checking whether any memories stirred.

  “Yes. Why did you hurt them?” I made my way to the living room and poured a glass of champagne. Fearing my eyes would betray me, I kept my face away from Vulcan’s.

  “They stood in our way to complete the mission. You belong to me now and I to you. There’s not much time before it will be all over.” I heard him remove his shoes and follow me in.

  “What will be over?” I asked. “I’d appreciate it, brother, if you let me in on our plans.”

  “The keepers will be dead.” Vulcan poured himself a glass as well.

  “When do we leave?” I took a sip and briefly turned toward Vulcan as he looked down at the Rolex on his wrist.

  “Four hours. Go to sleep.” He crossed his hands at his chest. Vulcan’s eyelids seemed heavy, and his breathing difficult.

  Could the warlock be tired?

  For a moment, our eyes locked.

  Don’t panic.

  I stepped toward him and embraced the warlock. He slowly raised his arms to return a pat on my back.

  “In four hours, it will all be over, my brother.” I took him by his shoulders. “Thank you for all you have taught me.”

  That part I meant because I would use all the knowledge I had to ensure his demise. Even if it meant I’d die too.

  “Sleep.” Vulcan pulled out of the embrace. “Regenerate your energy.”

  I bowed and retreated to my room. As soon as the click of the door handle sounded, I exhaled.

  What am I going to do?

  The only solution that came to my mind was suicide. Die, and in the process kill Vulcan. But would it really destroy him? He’d tricked me before; perhaps this was a way for the warlock to protect himself and ensure I didn’t slay him. He received the same cut I did from the shard of glass at the nightclub. Having our lives bound to one another made the option of murdering Vulcan not as appetizing.

  Exhausted, I plopped on the water bed. The waves pounded my sides the same way they would a tug boat in a swell. I closed my eyes until the motion settled to a bop, and I imagined resting on the bottom of the ocean.

  Brainstorming, I contemplated binding Vulcan myself, now, in this apartment. But having seen and felt his power, I knew I wasn’t strong enough. I needed the caster twins’ help. In four hours, we’d be on our way to kill the keepers, and I didn’t know how to prevent it. The urgency to protect them grew, but I didn’t know how. Yes, I was mad at them, but now I understood they must had been under Vulcan’s influence. Joining Vulcan was meant to be a decision that would help figure out the power he held over the keepers and finally bring him down, but now it complicated our goal.