by Pepper Pace
They were staring at me again and I straightened up. No! Not the buzzing again! But there it was. I tried to make my mind blank. I took a great gulp of air and held it, concentrating on my full lungs. I remembered the suggestion that Paul had given me; the great white wall.
I pictured the wall going up in front of me completely cutting off sight of whoever was in front of me. The wall went up rapidly now and it was forming a circle around me. Alexis took one step forward and was in the circle with me.
I glanced at him. He could see my wall? This time I did something different. I put a roof on the circle so that Alexis and I were sealed within that white wall.
The buzzing instantly decreased in volume to something much more manageable.
I quickly blew out the held breath and blinked.
"Please tell me what's happening?" I pleaded in exhaustion.
Alexis took several moments to inspect the shield. He reached out and used his pale fingertips to trace the groves of the brick. He then looked at me. "You requested to exchange places with Tige Lafayette; to take his punishment, to relinquish your life for his."
I nodded slowly.
"Why?"
I looked past Alexis and I thought hard before answering. "Because I finally figured out that I'm...not me. The me that I knew has died. Tige tried to do a nice thing for me by bringing me back...but he didn't do that. He brought back something else. He is a good Vampire and maybe I would be too…if a Vampire is what I want to be. I’m willing to relinquish my existence for his."
Alexis studied me. "What is being deliberated is whether or not you are attempting to mislead the Council."
"Mislead them? I'm just trying to...die."
"That's the point. By being placed in the sun you will not die. You are a day-walker."
I felt suddenly faint. "I can...walk in the day?"
He watched me without answering.
I remembered how Paul had said that my head had gotten in the sun briefly and nothing had happened. Then I remembered Alexis saying that if I could walk in the day to never tell any other Vampire...I understood then, that they thought I was trying to cheat them the way I had-
His hand covered my mouth instantly and his brow was creased in a frown.
"DON'T EVEN THINK IT."
For about thirty seconds I thought about anything but being a vampire—mostly flowers; the gerbera daisies and their vibrant color…
"I know that you were not trying to mislead the Council because I'm inside of you now. But because we are linked..." And here Alexis looked angry, actually very angry, "some wonder whether or not I'm attempting to alter the law to benefit you."
"I swear I didn't know about the day walking thing. I really didn't put it together. Can't we just say that I'd give my life in exchange for Tige's instead of I'd take his punishment?"
"You can't change the law because you'd die for him. The law says that you can take his punishment. Tony decreed that his punishment is to be taken out into the sun. The law states that a Second who turns a human is punishable by death. Not only is there a question of deceit, but there is a problem with interpretation of the law. Being placed in the sun would be death for Tige and that is a fair punishment. You, as the one responsible for his punishment, are the only one that can replace him in this punishment. It is not your fault that his punishment will not cause you death." Huh?! I had to replay that in my head, then I thought I understood.
"But I'm willing to take death."
"You can't dictate the law-"
"But tell them that I'd take the punishment of death-"
"You ARE telling them and it still doesn't matter-" Alexis turned and looked over his shoulder. "Come," He held out his hand for mine. "They have made a decision." I put my hand into his.
The wall suddenly disappeared and the Council of the Elder was staring at me. I looked at my empty hand. Alexis was not holding it. He had not physically moved. I could have sworn that we were actually enclosed in that wall...
It was quiet for a time and it was Alexis' voice that broke that silence.
"Kim. It has been determined that you did not knowingly offer to exchange places with Tige Lafayette in order to save yours and his life. It has been further determined that your request to replace him has been accepted. Furthermore, a punishment of death is required."
I squared my shoulder and tried to be strong. I'd killed enough Vampires to know that death was quick. A few moments of discomfort and then this nightmare could be over.
"Thank you." I said with a strong voice.
Alexis' eyes wavered from red to black but then they settled to black.
The black woman spoke next. "Kim Russell, you know that you would have earned a seat on the Elder's Council if you had lived."
I looked at her. "Ma'ame. I don't think I would have lived that long."
She disappeared. And then like a domino effect they all disappeared in turn until Alexis and I were alone in the room.
He took hold of my wrist, then we disappeared.
I don't know where I thought we'd end up, but definitely not in a tiny hut with a dirt floor. Alexis released me and I looked around. There was a person huddled on the floor. She was rocking back and forth. I could tell when I looked at her hard enough that she was female by her thin, hanging, breasts.
She wore a grass skirt that covered her lower half and her hair was wild and unkempt. I didn't know what her race was because although she had ebony skin she had a sharp nose and the thin lips of someone other than black. She ignored Alexis and I and rocked back and forth holding a colored piece of wood that she kept stabbing into the dirt floor.
Alexis did something that I never thought I'd see him do. He went down on his knees before her and bowed low with his forehead to the dirt. I didn't know what to do so I mimicked him because if she was more powerful than him she was definitely more powerful than me!
The lady didn't even seem to know we were there. Alexis stood slowly and I did too. I wanted to ask him who she was and why we were there, but I knew better then to interrupt. We stood there looking at her forever it seemed before she finally stopped rocking and watched Alexis.
Her eyes were gold.
Standing here quietly for so long made me catch the tail end of a thought. Kaniji had said that Tony and Tige and I were gold. Alexis had shown me that he too was gold...This woman, who barely looked human had gold eyes. Would I have made the Elder Council because I was gold? It was Kaniji that said gold held power...
A child entered the hut carrying a bowl covered in a dark cloth. The child, a girl, did not acknowledge our presence as she placed the covered bowl in front of the wild woman. The girl was similarly dressed in a grass skirt that concealed her lower half. Her hair wasn't wild although it was long and thick. Her skin was just as dark and it was just as difficult to determine her race.
The girl uncovered the bowl and there were intestines lying in a bloody pile within it.
The crazy lady-and she did look crazy-dug her hands into the intestines and began playing with them. Her fingers traveled along the ridges as if she was fingering rosary beads. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she began rocking again.
I felt tingling at the back of my neck and I broke out in goose pimples. I glanced at Alexis. His eyes were glazed over but he still watched the woman. What were they saying to each other?! I knew they were communicating.
She finally removed her blood stained hands from the bowl. The little girl re-entered the hut. She covered the bowl and removed it from the room.
Alexis went down on his knees again and I joined him. Again we bowed and she wouldn't even look at us. Alexis gripped my wrist and we left that strange place. I knew that I had witnessed something that was very rare.
When we finally reappeared it was in the room that Alexis had first brought me after my initiation; one of his homes.
I barely waited until the room materialized before starting with my barrage of questions.
"What just happened?"
>
"Kim, if you had lived after the accident, but had lost the use of your limbs, lost your eyesight, lost your hearing...would you still be Kim?"
It was my turn to stare at Alexis. "Yes." I said slowly.
He put one fingertip to my temple. "What makes you You is in here. You didn't die. You are still in there."
"But, Alexis...the things I've done-"
"To survive? Then you are telling me that the Kim you once were would not do what was necessary to survive?"
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Why are you telling me this now? I've sealed my fate."
"Yes, you have. However, She-that-is-first acknowledges the inconsistencies in the law. Your punishment is no longer to be placed in the sun for all to see. You may take his punishment of death."
"What?"
"If you live through it then it is done. Tomorrow night you will be put to death, but it will not kill you."
I crossed my arms and rubbed the goose pimples away. "How is that possible?"
Alexis didn't answer.
But I couldn't let it go like that. I had to know.
"How?"
Alexis' expression changed to something more serious then I'd ever seen. Mostly he looked amused, bored, cold, inhuman. Now his brow creased and he seemed thoughtful.
"I suppose this seems to be so many technicalities to you. When your forefathers wrote your laws they kept in mind changing attitudes. Our laws are not open for interpretation. They were meant to provide unwavering boundaries." His eyes narrowed. "There are so many secrets surrounding our kind, one such secret is that some of us walk in the day. There are less than 100 in the entire world that have this ability, and you are one of them."
I was frowning. "Does it have anything to do with the fact that I have this gold coloring?"
"Secrets." Was Alexis' only response.
"So, how do I get put to death, but not die?"
"The link you created means that I'm in you and you're in me. And the punishment that you will receive will not be enough to kill me."
"Alexis...what did it take for you to make this arrangement?"
He clasped his hands in front of him. "The cost does not matter, only the result. I'm giving you back your life. Tomorrow you will understand why you should not throw it away so easily."
He held out his hand. "Come." I took it assuming that he was taking me to prison or wherever. He didn't take me anywhere.
"We must strengthen the link."
He lowered his teeth. I stared at him alarmed. "Alexis, if we do this then we're going to feel even stronger about each other..."
"And if we don't there'll be more pain."
"Look, I'll deal with the pain if it means I'll get to live and Tige gets to live."
Alexis suddenly gripped me by the back of the head and sank his teeth into my neck. I froze like a deer in the headlights.
"Oh-" I gasped. My fingers suddenly clenched into fists. His lips on my neck felt incredible. Trembles ran up and down my spine. Was he doing that mind thing on me again? No...I didn't think he was. I opened my mouth to...say something, instead my teeth dropped.
I did not want to link any closer to this man. He'd just ripped someone's tongue out of their mouth!
Alex put his other arm around me and pulled me taut against his body. His other hand gently forced my face to his neck. My pulse quickened but I refused to bite.
He loosened his grip on the back of my neck. With his arm still around me he ran his free hand beneath my t-shirt.
My eyes blinked and my breath caught in my chest.
Alexis' hand closed over my breast. I could feel my nipple swell beneath his fingertips. The bloodlust hit me like a bullet.
I plunged my teeth into his neck and we were drinking deeply of each other. I felt his fingers pluck my nipple and I cried out without releasing my hold on his neck. I unclenched my fists and reached beneath his shirt to stroke his back and run my fingers along the smooth lines of his stomach and chest.
Alex inhaled and exhaled and my head felt like it was going to explode! His breathing became heavier and faster. I felt like I was dying all over again. Stars were shooting before my eyes and yet neither of us broke the hold. We continued to drink long of each other.
Alex finally pulled away. He pulled his teeth from my neck and sealed the puncture marks with the tip of his tongue. I still drank. Alex cradled my head allowing me to drink my fill.
A long while later I finally pulled away from him. I would have sealed the puncture marks but he placed his fingers over them briefly and when he removed them there wasn't the slightest trace of a bite.
I stared at him wide-eyed. Veins now lined his pale skin! I'd drank too much, but he didn't budge as we still held each other. I didn't want to let him go. I wanted to pull him to me and stay in his arms forever.
"Close your eyes." He whispered.
I did and then felt his lips on mine. I licked him until I no longer tasted any trace of blood on them. But Alexis surprised me when he ignored my lapping tongue and kissed me deeply.
"Open your eyes." He said against my lips.
I did. We were somewhere different. I pulled out of his grasp suddenly. I knew where we were. We were standing outside of Tige's cell.
I looked at him questioning.
He gestured for the guard to open the heavy silver door.
Alexis took my hand gently and led me inside. He unlocked Tige's cell.
Tige looked at us; from one to the other. "Kim..." He moaned. "No."
I crossed the room slowly and Tige slowly stood. I sat down on the floor and brought my knees up to my chest. Alexis walked out the door. With his head down Tige followed him. The door shut behind him and I heard the lock turn.
I leaned my head against the cool cement wall and tried to pretend that I wasn't afraid.
CHAPTER 14
I didn't immediately open my eyes when I awoke the next night. I remembered everything and I knew that I was in a cell. One thing I didn't remember is lying down but I was curled up on the cold cement floor with my head pillowed on something warm and comfortable. Warm?
For hours, it seemed, I had thought my own personal thoughts. How could it be that I waited hours for dawn to rise when Alexis and I had spent hours with the Council of the Elder and almost as long with She-who-is-First? Wherever we were, time had stood still. The only explanation that I had is that we weren't in a real place. How in the hell was that possible?
I thought about Alexis. I forced myself to remember my horror at seeing him yank out Kaniji's tongue just so that I wouldn't feel the sudden rushing of my blood at the memory of his lips on me. I didn't want to try to untangle the mess of emotions I had when I thought of Alexis. I did not want to put another person in the 'I think I love him' category. It made me shiver to even consider it. But one thing I was willing to admit is that there was more to Alexis then just the cold, heartless Elder that everyone else saw. Maybe it was true that he had initially noticed me only because I was something new and unusual, but now I knew that it was different--for the both of us.
Then there was Tony. My eyes grew wet at the memory of our one night together. He never played any games when it came to his feelings for me. He told me straight out that he wanted me. Then, when I eventually had the guts to finally admit that I wanted him, too, he had the nerves to... make all my dreams come true. He's a great lover, he bought me anything I could possibly need, and had my back in all matters. Even when I messed up he wasn't so into me that he wouldn't give me a stern yelling at. And let's admit it, he's the best looking man I've ever known as well as the only one that I began developing feeling for even before I ever took blood from him.
Paul...I made him leave because I was so stupid. He was in love with me and I was callous. I loved him too, but I was scared. He was normal. He was...what I wanted to be. But I know that I love him enough to want him to be able to stay in his world. I missed him, though. I missed him so much.
I finally opened my eyes and ran my hand
over what my head was pillowed on. It was a jean clad lap. I sat up with a jolt. Jeans!
I looked up to see that I had been sleeping on Paul's lap!
I threw myself into his arms and hugged him like he was the last raft of a sinking ship! I buried my face into his shoulder and he held on to me equally as tight.
"Oh, baby girl. What have you gotten yourself into?" He whispered into my neck.
"I'm so sorry that we fought-"
"No. I'm sorry-" We were talking all over each other.
