by Candy Crum
The light wind carried away my worries, completely relaxing me. The cool water enveloped my lower body and cradled me in a way that made me feel safe, washing away my fears. The rocks and earth beneath stabilized me and held me strong. The heat of the sun gave me energy and made me feel awake and aware of my surroundings. Without him truly having to tell me, I understood what the four elements meant to me—to an Immortal.
The atmosphere around me changed, and the wind slightly changed its direction. The sun felt a little less warm, though it was still shining on my face. The water seemed to slow its course downstream, and I could feel the trembling of the earth beneath me. He was coming. Looking over my left shoulder, as I opened my eyes, I saw Aeric crouched down on a rock hanging over the water about fifteen feet away.
I sensed him coming without sensing his Vampiric aura.
The elements gave me warning of his approach. It felt as though I had complete and total control of the world around me. It felt as though I could move any of it that I chose to.
“I’m proud of you. I was only gone for fifteen minutes, and you were able to use senses that you didn’t know you had to find me. That’s a wonderful start,” he said.
I could sense the purity of his words. He truly meant them.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. “I have, what may be, a stupid question.”
“I highly doubt it’s a stupid question, but please ask.”
“How much control do I have to have to move the elements?”
He thought for a moment before answering. “You have far more control over yourself and your surroundings than even I am aware of. You are advancing at a rapid pace. From what Sayen has told me about your heritage, Immortals take decades, sometimes centuries, to conquer what you have in the last fifteen minutes. Because they have an eternity to learn their gifts, sometimes it takes a while to learn the patience and gain the intelligence for an Immortal to touch even the most basic of powers. The only thing that I can suggest is to test it. Don’t set goals too high; simply try,” he said. He jumped down and made his way toward me. “Are you ready for your first challenge?” he asked.
I knew it was coming soon. It had been a while since we made that bet. Plus, I had learned a lot since we first discussed it.
“Yes,” was all I could say.
“You already know a little of where your powers come from. The power to control spirits was passed down to you. Other than Sayen, and a couple of others like Wendy, these spiritual powers have never been used for good. Spirits have the ability to control the elements, but they don’t just control them. Spirits draw energy away from them. Every element has certain energy. You can draw on this energy to create a barrier to protect yourself. This skill is one of the most important. This power will save your life without your control, but can be even stronger with it. You’ve learned to sense the elements, and you did it on your own. I want you to put a barrier around yourself. I will test its strength myself,” he instructed.
The only way I knew how to trigger any ability of my own was to concentrate on his negative energy. It was the only thing thus far that made sense. We were opposites, so it came natural. Well, it was supposed to.
I completely took a step in the wrong direction when we started speaking. My calm, peaceful state left me and everything returned to normal. I was anxious and could only concentrate on one thing at a time—him. He made me nervous. At the moment, I had the attention span of a goldfish. I could concentrate on nothing more than what he said. Then it shifted to my worried thoughts of being, or not being, capable of doing what should be a simple task. Then it shifted to my worry of having to tell him the details about my dream if I failed.
What was happening to me? I felt like I was going crazy. Something hit the back of my foot, and I looked down. It was a small twig that had washed downstream. My mind was so cluttered that I’d forgotten I was even standing in water. All the things that I was completely ignoring instantly snapped back into my thoughts.
I’d forgotten about the breeze, so much so that I couldn’t even feel it blowing against my skin. It was the same with the water rushing past my feet, the sun warming my face, and the earth beneath me. Everything—forgotten. How was I supposed to accomplish this?
“Just… breathe,” I whispered to myself.
I decided that I couldn’t look at Aeric any longer and turned my back to him before walking several feet away. I tried to picture everything around me with closed eyes. In my mind, I imagined the exact place that he was standing and the distance between us. The wind blew against my face and the trees parted to let the sun shine through on my skin. A cold chill started with my feet, standing in the cool water, and moved up my body.
There was a large, flat rock completely submerged in the water that I stood on. Once again, I was aware of everything around me. Searching for Aeric with my senses, I easily found him by grouping his negative energy with the positive energies of the elements around us. He was the only thing out of place, so I knew his exact location.
I continued concentrating on all five of those things and slid into my thoughts. I located myself in respect to everything around me, and began balancing the opposites of the elements in hopes of creating a shield against him.
The water cooled me from below and the sun heated me from above, meeting in the middle, in the core of my body. The earth stabilized me from below as the wind blew freely from above, once again, meeting in the core of my body. Once I felt the energy of those elements balancing, I felt total control again as I began to try to push the energy outward.
My entire body had a tingle to it everywhere the energy touched. The earth shifted once, and then I felt nothing. The wind changed its direction, and I knew Aeric was airborne. I felt for his negative energy compared to all of the positive energy around me, and I spotted him. Without opening my eyes, I knew he was on top of the bridge. I kept my eyes closed, but facing the ground beneath me.
The earth moved again, and the water allowed me to feel its slight change in direction. I felt for him again and found him on the ground about ten feet in front of me. Aeric was toying with me. He was testing me to see if I was aware of his movements, and I smiled at the thought of him challenging me in such a way. My smile grew with the thought of him being proud of me. Suddenly his opinion seemed to matter, but why? Why was I randomly caring at all what he thought?
I hated him… didn’t I?
The earth and water shifted again and something tightened in my stomach. It felt as though the energy was completely coiled and being pulled back in, ready to strike. The heat completely cooled and the only thing that I could think to do was to release the coiled-up energy before it consumed me.
My head shot up and my eyes opened just in time to see Aeric grab me, he was smiling from ear to ear. I looked around us, and I could see a light blue cloud surrounding us. I was able to put up the barrier, but it wasn’t strong enough to keep him out. The energy coiled up inside of me must have been waiting to be released into this barrier. Did I wait too long? Was I simply not powerful enough yet to make it stronger? Maybe I was putting too much thought and control into it and should have let it release itself.
“Close, but not close enough. Had I actually attacked you, you’d be dead,” Aeric stated.
“You’re counting this as a fail?” I asked with a disappointed look. It didn’t even have anything to do with divulging information at this point, I was dumbfounded. I knew at one point, my life, or possibly the life of another, would depend on me knowing how to use that ability. He was right. I failed.
“Yes, it truly was an honest try, and you did amazing, but you weren’t able to keep me out. It stung me when I touched it, but I was able to move through it with no problem,” he explained.
I had to ask. Maybe he would take it easy on me. “So, what does this mean?”
He smiled again; maybe not. “What was this dream about?” he asked as he inspected the area on my arms where he grabbed me. His concern never ceas
ed to amaze me.
“I can’t believe you’re going to make me tell you this,” I protested.
“That was the deal.” He smiled that insufferable smile again.
“Fine. You mentioned it earlier, so I’m assuming that you remember that ridiculous vision that I had from last night.”
“Oh, yes. I remember last night well,” he said. His smug expressions were already trying to destroy me. It was embarrassing as it was. I didn’t need those to help along. I rolled my eyes.
“Well, after the hall incident, I ended up having dreams about you. Which, by the way, is not abnormal since you were the last person I saw before going to bed. Plus, I was so pissed at you, you managed to leave an impression. So, it’s really no big deal at all.”
“Incident? That is not what I would call it, but feel free to continue,” he said. “Wait, did you say dreams? As in more than one?”
Shit. I couldn’t believe that I said that. It was not my intention for him to find out about the one that I was about to tell him. Admittedly, it was the tamest out of the bunch, but I certainly didn’t plan on him hearing any of the rest of them! I could tell he was enjoying all that more and more by the second. He made me squirm, and I hated it, but he was thoroughly enjoying it.
“That was a mistake. It was only one,” I said. I hoped that he would leave it alone, but I didn’t think I’d get that lucky.
“Oh, no. I heard the flutter of that timid little heart of yours.” He took a step closer, towering over me as he looked down into my eyes. “Now, you have to spill. That was the deal.”
“No, the deal was for one,” I said.
“We’ll see about that,” he replied. “Now, tell me the one you found the least naughty because, we both know that’s what you were planning to do this whole time.”
My eyes narrowed, and I decided to blurt it out and get it over with. I wouldn’t let the moment linger and embarrass myself further.
“Fine. The dream that I had wasn’t that interesting anyway, but here it goes. I had a dream that you snuck into my room while I was sleeping. When I awoke, still in dream, you were lying on top of me, kissing my face and neck. I asked what you were doing, and you told me that you were giving me what I wanted. You weren’t hiding anything at that point. When you smiled, I saw your fangs, but I wasn’t scared. Then you bit me, and I woke up. The end.”
Silently, I hoped that he was happy with himself because I was mortified. The look on his face was a cross between amusement and inquisitive.
“Hmm, and you didn’t find that the least bit interesting?” he asked.
“Not really,” I lied.
I tried to hide what it actually did to me, though I despised it. The dream was actually a little heavier than that, but I wasn’t going to give him more reason to pick on me. His eyes narrowed and an evil grin formed on his beautiful face.
“Your heart just skipped a beat. You’re lying,” he said. Damn him. I turned around and took a couple steps away, trying to ignore him. “So, if you are in fact lying—and you are—just how interesting to you was it?”
“That’s none of your business,” I said flatly.
He once again lowered his mouth to my ear. Though I stiffened, I tried not to squirm. I refused to give him the satisfaction of my running away from him. When you tear away the humanity, he was still a predator, and he enjoyed this.
“Oh, but I beg to differ, my dear. In that dream, it was my body that you were using to pleasure yourself. That definitely makes it my business.” His voice was dark, seductive; I could sense something off about him.
My breath caught as his words had a very powerful, very confusing effect on me. I’d never wanted to run so fast from a person while simultaneously wanting to turn and grab them. Taking as subtle of a breath as I could manage, I took a step forward, out of his hold.
“You asked your question, and I answered. If you want another answer—” I looked back over my shoulder and into his eye “—that requires another challenge.”
“Not going to make this easy for me, are you?” he asked. His eyes were slightly darker, and so was his energy.
“Not a chance,” I said, smiling.
I would get him next time. I took a few more steps away from him and felt another change in the atmosphere. The coiling in my stomach came back with more intensity that time, and I didn’t wait. Immediately, I released the tightening energy inside my chest and felt a collision around me. I turned to check on Aeric, but there was a light blue cloud separating us.
I’d done it.
Even though I’d stopped concentrating so heavily on everything, I was able to keep focus and create the barrier. I was able to keep him out that time.
“Congratulations, Kailah. Success is yours. So, I will ask you the same thing that you asked me. What does this mean?” he asked.
I dropped the barrier between us, which took far less concentration on my part, thank God. That would have been embarrassing, having been able to put it up, but then have to ask stupid questions on how to get rid of it.
“Well, you lost. So, I want to see the real you,” I said. “That was the deal.”
I knew what a vicious Rogue Vampire looked like. I had more than my fair share of interaction with those, but I still didn’t know what my Vampires looked like. I especially wanted to know what he looked like. I remembered the day that he saved all of us from Khia. His demeanor changed, and his eyes changed color a bit, but I couldn’t focus on it for everything else going on.
“Hmm, I have a question for you first.” He smiled playfully. “Do you want to know if I look the same as I did in the dream?” he asked as he took a step closer. His left hand rested on the side of my neck as he slowly wrapped the long fingers of his right in my hair and gently guided my head to the side, lowering his mouth to the hollow of my throat. “Or do you want to know if I feel the same as I did in your dream?”
My heart skipped again. I didn’t need him to tell me that it did. What was I supposed to say to that? It was becoming painfully obvious that I did want to know, but I couldn’t say that… Could I? Surely it wasn’t him causing that reaction in me. I’d always wanted to know what a Vampire bite would feel like, even before I knew they actually existed. Surely it wasn’t him specifically, but more of what he was.
“I—” I started. I didn’t know what to say. “I’m not sure that I know how to answer that,” I said softly. My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Well, let’s just say that if you told me no, that you didn’t want to feel the pleasure of my bite, I would know you were lying,” he said in a low, seductive tone.
“Don’t act like I’m the only one,” I chastised. “You can’t tell me that you don’t want to know what I taste like.” I couldn’t believe that came out of my mouth, but it did.
Instant regret flooded through me. When I got nervous, there sometimes wasn’t a lot of time between the thought process and the mouth process. Damn my nervous nature. He backed away from my throat and touched his nose to mine.
“I can think of many places on your body that I would love to taste, but I should keep those to myself,” he said. My stomach took a giant leap into my throat and nearly choked me. Did he just say what I think he said? “But if you must know, yes. I deeply wish to know what you taste like.”
Though I now recognized the look in his eyes as hunger, something in them made me stop. “You wouldn’t though, would you?” I asked.
I was right. He hadn’t had blood in a while. That’s why he was acting like that. So… predatory. He was absentmindedly “hunting” me. The thought of it was terrifying, but I wasn’t scared in the least. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
“I wouldn’t what? Taste you?” he asked quietly. I nodded against him and swallowed hard. Every time he said that it gave me chills. There were so many ways to take those words. “Your blood is one thing, but I don’t think that I could bite you. I’m not sure, but I really don’t know that I could,” he said.
“Why no
t?” I couldn’t hide the fact that I was a little offended by what he said.
“I’m very different from most. I was taught the sensuality of being a Vampire. Biting is like sex to me, and I always treat it as such. When I had my mouth to your throat just then, I was teasing you. Trying to get some kind of reaction out of you, though I didn’t expect the one that I got. I think it affected me just as much, if not more. I don’t think you realize just how badly I wanted it. Wanted to feel you on my tongue. Taste you. Drinking blood is incredibly pleasurable for both my donor and me, but the bite is incredibly intense and intimate. With you, it’s different. You aren’t some random person or a victim. I feel some kind of closeness between us, whether you choose to feel the same toward me or not. Whatever it is, friendly or otherwise; it exists and prevents me from doing that. It would change our relationship for the good or bad, and I’m not willing to risk it,” he explained.
Without understanding why, I felt heartbroken. It may not be what he meant, but I suddenly felt like I wasn’t good enough for him. After all, we were born to hate one another. Well, my kind was anyway. Good Lord. Was some of the reason that I hated him because I actually had feelings for him? Sometimes it seemed like he was hitting on me, but then again maybe he was just a flirt. Being a Vampire, I would assume that he was a natural flirt and—quite possibly—didn’t even know that he’s doing it. I’d met plenty of people like that. Rachel was like that.
“Does that bother you?” he asked.
When I looked up, I expected to see some kind of humored expression, but there wasn’t one. He actually looked concerned.
“I’m not sure that I want to have this conversation,” I said, attempting to back away.
He gently caught me by the wrist and brought me back to face him. “Why?”
“I’m just a little uncomfortable. That’s all.” I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. He just kept staring at me. I wasn’t sure what made me more uncomfortable, the topic or his focused gaze. I wasn’t used to being looked at like that. “How long has it been since you’ve…” I didn’t finish the sentence. I wasn’t sure why I even bothered to ask, but I didn’t want to offend him if it would.
