“So Pitivo had some gypsy women cook some food and he offered it to me. Since I didn't want to offend him and his kind offer, I ate it. It took everything in me not to throw it up right there. You've seen that look,” he said laughing. “I think he could tell that was the reason I ate it too. We sat there while the mandolin players played that beautiful song again, and while the women danced. I watched as the bonfire grew bigger when the children threw wood on it. He told me stories of the slavery and the oppression. He even showed me pictures, and I listened while some of the older gypsies told their own personal account of what happened. I'd never been a part of something like that and to me it was the most amazing thing to watch. When the moon reached its peak in the sky, I stood to leave. Pitivo wouldn't hear of it. 'You have not eaten well', he said. Grabbing a bow, he had me follow him into the woods. I'll skip this part but that elk sure filled me. Anyway we walked back to the gypsy camp and I nodded at him to let him know I was going to leave. His next gesture shocked me, since he knew what I was and what I was capable of. Pointing to a rickety caravan he said, 'You stay'. Then he pointed to a large caravan next to that one and said, 'My home. You stay by my home.' When I saw the friendly smile on his face I couldn't exactly say no. It was flattering in a way to know that someone didn't find me to be a threat.”
“We walked in silence to the two caravans when I noticed little Ryker sitting on the steps leading to the one I was going to be staying in. With the same steely stare that he gave me when he first saw me. The same stare he gave me a couple of days ago. Pitivo waved him off the stairs and I watched him stomp off to a small caravan by the stables. Did you ever see the scar on his back? He got it from wrestling a wild boar when he was that little boy that looked at me with such hate. He's always been a strong kid I guess. I climbed into the caravan and just stared at the shanty roof not being able to sleep. I'm used to be up at night, you know this. So when the morning finally came, Pitivo peeked his head in and told me they would take me back to my home in the wagon so that I wouldn't be exposed to the sun. I know I've already said it, but he really was a great man. Taking in a stranger for the night, figuring out what I am, trusting me not to hurt his tribe, then making sure I got home without sun exposure.”
“My heart broke about ten years later when I learned that he had died. No one knows for sure what happened; he just went to sleep one night and didn't wake up. Without being seen I went to the funeral I guess you could call it. I mourned him as much as his tribe did. About three years later, Ryker's father died. I didn't know him, so I really didn't care. I know that sounds heartless, but there's no other way to say it. That's when Ryker became the leader of the tribe. He moved them from that spot. I know how much Pitivo liked it so I just assumed he'd stay. Imagine my surprise when I saw the camp one night on a stroll. I mean what were they doing in Devils Lake?”
“Through the grapevine I heard that Ryker blamed me for his grandfather's death. He swears I did something to him that night. So when he heard that I had relocated here, I guess he decided this would be his time to get his revenge. Not that I care really, I've been alive for so long. Watching people die that I love and cared about gets to wear on you after a while. And I did love Pitivo. He would come visit me, you know? Bring me fresh elk that he had caught. I swear he was trying to convert me to a strictly animal diet.”
Hopping down he put his hands on the wooden rail and leaned forward looking deep into the woods.
Sighing he looked back at me, “So that's the story I wanted to tell you.”
Walking over to him I rested my head on his arm, “He won't want to kill you Kaeden. I won't let him.”
“Oh he definitely will find a way to kill me,” he said in a grim voice. “I won't make it easy for him either.” Putting an arm around my shoulder he gave me a squeeze. “Don't worry about it. That's not something you'll have to see. Promise.”
“Look, no one's going to kill anyone. Not while I'm still breathing, so lose the thought,” I said giving his arm a squeeze.
“Hey, if you don't mind me asking,” I said, “How did you become...you know.”
He laughed a good-natured laugh and looked down at me, “You like stories don't you?”
“It'll kill sometime before the sun finishes coming up,” I said pointing at the horizon.
“Alright. Here's my tale of woe then. It's not as pretty as Ryker's so I hope you've got a strong stomach,” he said with a chuckle. I sat back down in the seat and waited for the story of Kaeden's origins.
“Do you know who Alexander the Great is? I'm sure you do. Well I was a general in his army. Now before your mind starts asking you how, just know that I looked quite different. Those shields, helmets, spears, and swords were quiet heavy so I was bigger in the muscle sense.”
I grinned and he laid back down in the hammock and pushed his glasses back up his nose. I guess he read my mind.
“So there we were in India when our leader died. It was a horrible time for us. Not because we were defeated because to be honest, we would've crushed them if we had the chance. More so because we had just lost a great man. The generals had a meeting and we decided it would be best for us to return to Macedonia. We left India destroyed and started our long journey home. Our men began to die off once we crossed the border out of India. We left most of them behind.”
“Most of them?” I asked interrupting for the first time.
“Mm. Yes we tried to take some of them back but a lot of them had lost the will for everything after we lost him. I had a legion of three thousand men with me. Once we neared our home, I had maybe seven hundred. I remember that we stopped for the night to get some rest because Macedonia was so close. There was no food. No water. The animals had already died because we ate them. Now as the general I was obviously the strongest man of the troops I led. And one night under a haze of delirium I attacked one of my men and fed off of him. I drank his blood and ate his flesh. But the flesh of a man is so bitter that I couldn't finish it. So I drained him of his blood. Every last drop. It seemed to sustain me, so I called to another one of my men and did the same to him. Before that night was over, I had drained all seven hundred men.”
He swung his legs over the side of the hammock and looked at me. Even though I was cringing inside, I refused to let it show. I mean I have to do something similar to survive so who was I to judge?
“I didn't realize that that one simple act would change me for all eternity. I killed my own men to survive, never once thinking about it. You think you're a monster I know because I've seen it in your eyes. I'm the real monster. You had no choice in what happened to you. I made myself this way by destroying a legion of men that loved me all because I wanted to live. Anyway, when the sun rose the next day I felt my skin beginning to burn. The pain was something so intense that I curled up and tried to hide myself under my shield which I was able to do because of how big they were. I cowered underneath it with the bodies of such good and honorable men scattered around me. I deserved what happened to me and I knew it. I could curse no one. No God. No Goddess. No one but myself. So when the sun finally went down after failing to take me with it and the moon rose that evening I knew I was different. No longer human. I saw the world differently. The stars sparkled brighter, the moon seemed to be smiling at me. I swore to myself that I would never let another human fall at my hand again that very night.” He laid back down again.
“When I met Ava, what I did was to save her. She was dying. She was the first human I had ever dared to change. It was nice to have someone to speak with on long evenings, someone who didn't fear me. But when I saw what she was becoming in her first few years, I saw myself again on that night. The night that I killed my army. I wouldn't be a part of it. So instead of destroying her I just left. I thought it would teach her to be a better being. You know, that it would be good for her. Apparently I was wrong.”
“But it looks like the sun is rising little one. Let's go inside before it finishes what it tried to do to me so many years
ago.”
I was so transfixed by his story that I hadn't realized that sun really was starting to come up. I nodded and stood up going into the house first. He closed the door firmly behind us.
“There are many rooms in this house. Pick whichever you'd like to sleep in. I'm going to be over there,” he said pointing down the hall.
Yawning I walked up the master staircase. Sleep was coming to me very quickly and I picked the first door that I saw. It had to be Kaeden's room but he did say I could pick any room I wanted. I laid my head on his pillow and inhaled his scent deeply. For as long as I could remember it was one of my favorite smells. His scent reminded me of a cool breeze over the ocean just as the sun was going down. I felt my eyes fluttering, when I heard piano music drifting softly throughout the house. I closed my eyes and tried to let the sound lull me to sleep but it the music was being played so beautifully that I got up and went back downstairs.
I followed the notes as if they were beckoning to me to follow. In an enormous room I saw Kaeden sitting at a grand piano playing a song I didn't know. I watched in silence from the doorway with my eyes closed and a smile creeping across my face.
“Do you play,” he asked as he continued his song.
“A little bit,” I said opening my eyes.
Standing up, he gestured me to sit at the piano as he stood next to it. At first I was hesitant. I mean when I was a kid I played for my family but I never played outside of our home. His warm smile reassured me though and I walked over to the piano. It was absolutely beautiful. Carved from beech wood, painted black. The keys made from solid ivory.
Taking a deep breath and lowering myself onto the black wooden bench, I played the opening scales to Nocturne #16 and closed my eyes, trying to bring some memory, any memory back of when I was human.
As I played in dutiful silence, I felt Kaeden sit down beside me. His fingers brushed against mine as I was going to play the next notes. I knew what he wanted so I let him take over the piano keys and the song seemed more haunting. It was more beautiful somehow. I leaned my head against his shoulder as he played my eyes still closed and let the beauty of his playing wrap me in its melodic embrace.
Letting out a contented sigh, I listened as he played the last chords, lost in the song. When he finished, I opened my eyes and we smiled at each other.
“That's always been one of my favorite pieces,” he said more to himself than me, as he pulled the fall over the piano keys
“Mine too,” I said. And it was true, I did love Frédéric Chopin very much.
I watched as he absentmindedly rose from the bench. He just stood there, looking like he was in a trance. Then as quickly he snapped out of hit shaking his head.
“You okay?” I asked him.
Nodding he stuck a hand out to me. I grabbed it and let him lift me off the bench. I looked at the clock. It was 2:43 pm.
“Kae if we don't go to sleep soon, we're going to be dead in the evening.”
“That's true. Of course if I became anymore dead than I am now—,” he trailed off with a mischievous grin.
“You know what I mean,” I said giving him a playful punch in the stomach.
Suddenly they day's events started to come back to me. “Yeah, let's get some sleep. When the moon rises I need to go back home and get my journal.”
Kae gave me a sharp look but nodded anyway. He squeezed my hand and we walked down the corridor to the main staircase. Slowly we walked to the top.
Giving him a hug, I turned and headed down the far end of the hall to my bedroom. I put my hands on the door. Feeling like I was being watched, I looked down the hall toward his bedroom door. He was giving me an odd look at first, but then that familiar grin spread across his face and he retreated into his room.
I walked into what I would now forever claim as my room and closed the door. I leaned against it and sighed. How could so much crap happen in one day? I could see the daylight pouring through the bay window doors in my room. Putting a hand up to shield my eyes, I walked over and pulled the heavy velvet blue curtains shut.
They were pretty.
Tossing myself onto the queen sized bed that sat against the wall near the windows I closed my eyes. And this time I refused to wake up until the moon was out. As I drifted away I thought about everything that had happened, but the one thing that stuck with me the most was the look Kaeden gave me when I told him I wanted to go home and get my journal.
Something was definitely up. But what was it? That was my last thought before I died for the rest of the day.
6. Hunted
(Day Four)
I reached my hand out for my journal but it wasn’t there. I felt around on the floor for it and instead my hand grazed a dresser. I realized that I wasn’t on my mattress I was on a bed. Cracking one eye open I looked over at the dresser that had a miniature Victorian grandfather clock ticking away meticulously.
Huh? Where am I?
In a flash I sat up and looked around. Where was I? This wasn’t even my home! I hopped off of the bed and looked around frantically. My jacket was lying in the corner and my shirt and pants were folded neatly on a chair. I didn’t even remember undressing, but when I glanced in the mirror I saw myself standing there in my bra and boy shorts.
Putting a hand over my mouth I glanced around the room again. If I don’t know where I am how the hell will I know how to get out?
My mind was racing like it never had before and I was really afraid that I was about to descend into madness. Nothing here looked familiar and the world seemed to start slowly tilting to one side. I braced myself as the earth shifted. It felt like it was trying to throw me away and even though what I wanted was to be erased I knew that I didn’t want to die crazy.
“Stop it!” shouted the voice from the door.
Slam went the sound of the window.
I fell to my hands and knees and took long steadying deep breaths. I felt sweat starting to trickle down my forehead as the world started to tilt back onto its axis.
“Are you okay?” asked the same voice suddenly next to me.
Nodding I pushed myself up to my knees and looked at the face. It was hazy and I felt the earth was still trying slowly to get back to its right side again.
“Here,” the voice said lifting me off of the floor and taking me back to the strange bed I had woken up in. I felt the hands gently adjust the pillow behind my head and pull the sheets up to my chest. A soft hand swept the hair off my forehead and I felt the body lower itself into a seating position on the bed next to me.
“I’m going to have another talk with that girl,” the voice said.
I closed my eyes.
The last few moments of vertigo were particularly brutal. I felt like I was going to throw up if it didn’t stop soon.
“Blink a couple of times. As fast as you can, that should help.”
I did as I was told. I blinked rapidly. Once, twice, three times. Slowly I opened my eyes and the world snapped into focus. I shook my head and blinked again.
The voice laughed, “Better?”
I looked over at the source of the voice and smiled when I saw that it was Kaeden. When I saw that his hair was disheveled and standing on end, I smacked a hand over my mouth and giggled.
His eyes rolled up to take a look. Then he blew a puff of air up and his bangs shifted slightly. I laughed again, giving him a shove. He laughed and stood up.
“How’d you know?” I asked my voice still froggy from waking up.
“How did I know what?”
“That something was wrong,” I said sitting up.
“Oh,” he said standing up, “because I could feel her using her power. She never did learn how to mask it from me and I’m definitely not going to show her how to do it now. Looks like you’ve got yourself a problem in Ava now,” he said looking at me.
I shrugged.
So what else was new? Problem seemed to follow me since the day I was born, I was pretty used to it.
“Ava can be pret
ty dangerous,” he cautioned.
“So can I,” I said.
“Unless you have abilities or learn how to block hers... Actually can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“How is that when she tries to drive you to madness it doesn’t work completely? You only just got a case of vertigo when you should’ve been barking like a dog and running for a hydrant?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I’m not a human. Parlor tricks only work on humans. To be honest the only reason that worked as well as it did just now was because I just woke up. Last time she tried it the only thing that happened was I got really annoyed.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t work on me either.”
“Cause you made her?”
“Mhm.”
“Oh. Yeah that makes sense.”
Pulling the sheets off I stood up and walked over to the window and pulled the shades open. The moonlight poured in and I felt the chill of the night air as it wrapped itself around me. I opened the bay door and stepped out onto the balcony, my bare feet feeling cool against the floor of it.
I held myself against the railing and peered over the side. I scanned the area underneath me and saw nothing.
So Ava wants to play, I thought as I looked up at the moon. And to think that I actually wanted to protect her at one point. Well. I guess it’s time to be the monster I was truly made to be.
“Don’t worry about her though,” Kae said stepping out onto the balcony with me. “She just didn’t expect that the next time she saw me I’d tell her to leave. She’ll get over it.”
“Actually I don’t want to just let it go. I don’t like that she’s using her abilities against me because she’s upset with you. That’s childish. Before you say it I know that not walking away is even more childish, but I don’t care. I’m done being something I’m not. This all started because of Skiles. So if I have to end everything starting in the opposite direction, then I will.”
“Oh you would’ve made an amazing vampire,” he said with a laugh.
“I’m sure,” I said sticking my tongue out at him. He ruffled my hair still laughing and I couldn’t help but grin. Then I remembered something.
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