“What does the bite mean? It did actually happen somehow, right? I didn’t dream it?” Part of me wanted them to say it was just make-believe while another part of me knew it was real and that everything was about to change.
“Yes, it happened. No, it wasn’t a dream. The vampire queen has very powerful magic. While the boys believed you were asleep, you’d actually gone into another realm. The hunter, a drone vampire, bit you. He is special, also marked by her. He’s been given the specific task of changing you into a vampire. Do you remember anything about what he looks like?”
I shook my head. “Only his red eyes.” Answering my questions only filled me with more. Who was this queen? Why had I been marked? And what did all of that mean?
Professor Pops gave me a meaningful look. “I can almost see the inquiries in your head. They will be answered. Of the utmost importance is for you to realize you’re changing, and you’ll be craving blood.”
“I see,” I said, not really seeing at all. I’d never liked meat. Never. At the thought of killing an innocent animal, I winced in disgust, so the idea of craving blood seemed unimaginable and completely far-fetched. Vampires weren’t real. Was this some elaborate joke? I also felt a wiggle of wanting. The beating of Professor Pops’ heart called to me like an indulgent song. Strange—I couldn’t hear Kenmei’s. Out of everything, that’s what I blurted. “Why can’t I hear his heart beating?” I pointed accusingly and immediately felt ashamed. Pointing was disrespectful. “Sorry, Kenmei-sensei.” I bowed my head.
They both flinched in surprise. “You can already hear the beating of a heart?” Professor Pops asked.
“Yes, I hear yours, but I don’t hear his.” I bobbed my head in Kenmei’s direction.
“Kenmei’s heart no longer beats,” Professor Pops said seriously.
“What? Why not?” I was stunned and discreetly pinched myself. My life had gone from normal, boring even, to supernatural. In a matter of seconds.
“Your world, as you’ve known it, is about to be altered in the most extraordinary way. Now that it has begun there is no going back, I’m afraid.” Professor Pops touched my cheek with his thumb, stroking it. “I’d hoped it would never come to this, but I’ve prepared nonetheless.” He glanced at Kenmei.
“Are you ready to learn, Shiryo-san?” the old man asked softly.
“Okay.” That was all I could utter. I didn’t seem to have a choice.
Chapter 11
“You are a revenant,” I said to my reflection. Even she wasn’t buying it. I didn’t appear any different. I figured I’d have a bruise on my neck where he bit me, but I didn’t. It’d been two hours, seventeen minutes, and—I checked my watch—eight seconds since the guy with glowing red eyes sank his extra pointy canines into my throat. One hour, forty-five minutes, and twelve seconds since Professor Pops and Kenmei told me what being bitten meant. Was I worried I’d grow fangs and start shunning the light? You’re damn right I was.
According to Kenmei, that wasn’t going to happen—at least, not in this phase. Over the next several weeks I’d gain strength, agility, and a penchant for blood. Yay, I thought sarcastically, gagging.
Professor Pops and I were still at Kenmei’s. Little obnoxious Hiro had gone to bed. I didn’t feel tired, not really. From my expression, clearly, I was in shock. No one could blame me. It wasn’t every night one was bitten and changed into a make-believe being, only apparently, they—we—weren’t make-believe. Evidently revenants existed, as did vampires, fairies, unicorns, and… other creatures I’d rather not think about.
I turned on the faucet in the bathroom, patted some water on my face. The cool temperature soothed.
“Snow, are you alright?” Professor Pops asked after lightly knocking on the bathroom door.
I jumped.
My first thought was, No! I’m freaked beyond my wildest imagination and I want to go home and hide under the covers. “Sure. I’ll be out in a minute,” I said out loud.
“Just know I’m here,” he said.
I washed my hands and turned out the light. He waited for me on the other side of the door. I knew because I heard the slightly accelerated beating of his heart. A twisting need rose in my throat, but I pushed the wanting down, the craving tolerable. Resting my hand on the knob, I turned it slowly.
The first thing Kenmei had given me after the revenant revelation had been an herbal tea which consisted of chaparral, red clover, bloodroot, mistletoe, eye of newt, unicorn horn, and fairy dust. It didn’t taste the best, but it was bearable.
Professor Pops had explained I needed to drink the tea twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening to control my bloodlust. I still had a hundred questions.
“Why me?” I asked when I opened the door.
Pops stepped back, then cleared his throat. “Come and sit. Let’s talk.” A sea of guilt washed over his distinguished features but, before I said anything, he turned away.
I followed him into the tiny office. A bowl of steaming rice and vegetables sat in front of my chair on the edge of the desk. “Is this for me?” I hoped so. My stomach growled with hunger.
“Yes, Shiryo-san. I had these cooked up for you. I hope you’re hungry.” Kenmei’s fathomless eyes shone bright.
“Thank you.” I scooped up the bowl and ate with the fork provided. The aroma had my mouth watering, but the flavors fell flat. After I finished, I placed the empty bowl on the table, satiated but not satisfied. I also realized I’d eaten in silence and that Professor Pops and Kenmei watched me expectantly. “Sorry, were the two of you going to eat?” They didn’t have food in front of them.
“No. We are curious as to how you’re feeling.” Professor Pops asked.
My face grew hot. Did they want to know if I intended to jump them? Attack them for their blood? At the thought of blood, my mouth watered. I ignored it. “I’m fine,” I said to Professor Pops, grinding my teeth. “The food tasted wonderful. Please tell your wife thank you,” I added, studying Kenmei. It was a lie. The rice and vegetables had tasted like ash, but I had the distinct impression it wasn’t because of his wife’s cooking skills; more that my body had already begun its transformation.
He nodded. “I will.”
“Now, let me answer your question,” Professor Pops said, crossing one of his long legs over the other.
I peered at him, slightly confused.
“You asked why she chose you.”
“Oh, right. Yes.” I leaned back in the chair and clamped my twitchy hands in my lap.
“First a little history.” He crossed his legs, his reading glasses perched on the edge of his nose.
“Okay,” I said, noting it’d become my word of the day.
“The vampire queen has been alive for thousands of years. By our best guess,” he eyed Kenmei, “we’d say probably since the world began. Every hundred years she must change bodies. Regardless of, or because of, her immortal properties, like a snake that sheds its skin, she too must escape the old body in favor of a new, healthier one.”
I shuddered at the image of skin peeling away.
“When the queen is within twenty years or so of her need to shed, she sends out drone vampires.”
I must have had a confused expression on my face.
“Think about bees in a hive. There is one queen who commands roughly fifty thousand bees, and ninety-nine out of every hundred are workers. They are also female. Then there are the drones, which are the males. Their job,” he shifted uncomfortably. “They are required to do the queen’s bidding—whatever that might be.” He flinched as though he were in pain. My curiosity piqued. “Doing otherwise is nearly impossible and detrimental.
“Within the hierarchy of the vampire queen’s hive, within her army, are many, many more females. The male drone vampire’s job is…” he trailed off and cleared his throat before continuing, “slightly different.”
“Correct,” Kenmei said, taking over. “The drones are sent into the world searching for the most exquisite female hum
ans. Once they find one, they mark her.” Professor Pops leaned close; his hands hovered near my right arm.
I knew what he hoped to find. I had a dark birthmark near my shoulder in the shape of a star. It’d appeared around my fifth birthday. I’d been getting dressed one morning and believed the mark to be a bug at first. Worried, I’d shown my mother. She’d said it was nothing to worry about. “A kiss from magical fairies,” had been her answer. At the thought of my mother, tears gathered on my lashes.
“May I?” Pops asked.
I pulled up the sleeve. “So, a drone vampire marked me?” I heard the raw pain in my voice but pretended it didn’t matter and moved my shoulder so he and Kenmei saw the mark.
“Yes,” Kenmei said, his face growing soft.
“Why don’t I remember?” I let go of my sleeve and tucked my hands under my legs. Keeping my eyes down, I stared at my white tube socks—boy socks.
“You were young, and the mark was most likely placed on you in your sleep,” Professor Pops said.
At his words, something clicked. “How do you know about all of this?” My stomach clenched. Was Professor Pops’ friendship only pretend? Was he somehow involved?
Kenmei answered by moving his shirt. Where his shoulder met his arm an evil-looking blade had been tattooed.
“What does that mean?” I asked after looking and sitting back. My heart beat rapidly, which made me happy. At least I still had one.
“When a drone vampire is marked to be a hunter by the queen, she marks him with one of these.” He touched the blade hesitantly before covering it.
“D-did you mark me? Are you the one who bit me?” Fear flooded my veins. I stood, jumped over the desk, and pulled open the door before I grasped what I’d done.
“No, Shiryo-san.”
Both Professor Pops and Kenmei rose in unison, as though their movements had been synchronized. Professor Pops had his arms out, a look of pleading on his face.
“We were a part of the queen’s hive many, many years ago, but we left. For me, it’s been more than five hundred years. For Kenmei—” He paused, glancing at the man.
“More than six thousand years,” Kenmei said.
My hand dropped from the door handle. “Six thousand years? You’re so old.” I also remembered the man who’d bitten me was much taller than Kenmei, his body firmer, younger. The way he’d smelled—like Heaven, my mind whispered. I closed my eyes, trying to regain focus.
He bowed. “Yes, Shiryo-san. I was the first hunter. With my help, the queen transferred into a new body.”
Chapter 12
“You’re saying that the Snow White from the movie was real?” I needed to sit before I fell. On rubbery legs I walked back over to my chair.
“Yes, Shiryo-san. She was real and very beautiful, just as you are. Though the story was more of a Brothers Grimm tale, and even they were way off.”
It seemed strange to have someone say I was beautiful. I didn’t think I was ugly, just plain. I looked down, studying some nonexistent lint on my jeans. “Am I the only one the vampire queen is after?” I asked after a few long moments of silence.
Kenmei smiled. “You are one of many. Hundreds. Adam Henry and I have made it our life’s mission to help the marked.”
“I am your Protector,” Professor Pops stated.
I caught what Pops said but couldn’t fathom the meaning behind the words at the moment. Instead I fixated on what Kenmei had said. “There’s hundreds? She only needs one body. Why not just take mine or one of the others right away? What’s she waiting for?”
The two men looked at each other and something I didn’t understand passed between them. “A lot must happen for the body of a marked one to be ready. Many will die,” Kenmei said. Well, that sounded ominous.
“In order for the vampire queen’s magic to work, the revenant must drink the blood of her true love,” Professor Pops said.
The memory of my dream where I’d tasted the heart and its blood filled my mind. It’d been the heart of my true love. A warm hunger rushed through my body and I shuddered. Professor Pops noticed.
“What is it, Snow?”
“I dreamt of a heart. Of tasting blood.”
Both men started. I somehow perceived their panic.
“Tell us everything. Leave nothing out,” Kenmei said.
I told them about the guys and that I’d known the heart had been that of my true love, but I hadn’t cared. When I finished, they didn’t speak for what seemed like forever.
“What did the boys chant?” Professor Pops asked.
I thought a moment. “‘Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love’s blood, become the vampire, Snow White,’” I repeated. As I said the words, a thick darkness packed the air. It was as though the queen entered me.
“This is worse than we believed,” Professor Pops uttered.
“Yes,” agreed Kenmei. “It seems the vampire queen may have a distinct interest in this one. Perhaps it’s her name, or her beauty. I must admit, Snow does have something extra special.”
The tremor in my hands traveled into my arms and down my body. “Is there nothing we can do? I don’t want… that. Her, to take over my body. No!”
Professor Pops patted my hand. “Yes, of course. But we’ve shared enough with you tonight. Let’s get you home.”
I wanted to yell, to tell him I needed to know everything right then. I didn’t though. He picked me up, tucking my head against his chest. Kenmei said something about the tea and he set my shoes on my lap. I thanked him and closed my eyes.
When Professor Pops stepped into the alleyway, I recognized the odor.
“Were you one of her hunters too?” I whispered.
“Yes, Snow, I was.”
A part of me wanted to be afraid, but I couldn’t. He’d been nothing but good to me. “Why did you leave?”
“The same reason Kenmei did. I fell in love with one of the marked.” His voice sounded sad.
“Does that happen a lot?” An idea or an impression wiggled its way into my mind. I tried to grab hold of it, understand it, but too much had happened. Too much information weighed on me.
“Yes, it does.”
I got the feeling he wanted to say more. “What happened to the one you loved?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“She died.”
“I’m so sorry, Professor Pops.”
“As am I, Snow White. As am I.”
I fell asleep, the pounding of his heart, the warmth of his arms, and the movement as he walked making it too difficult to stay awake.
When we stepped off the train, my strength returned. Professor Pops led me to a waiting car. Though I didn’t see his face, I heard Gabe. Had he been waiting by the car? “Will she be alright?”
“I hope so. That’s what we’re here for.”
Chapter 13
When I woke my immediate reaction was anxiety. This isn’t my room, I thought. The bed was king-sized and made out of brushed pewter. The sheets were white as were the comforter and pillowcases. Everywhere else hung posters of the Patriots—Dorian’s favorite football team. For the briefest moment I wondered why Gabe hadn’t let me sleep in his room. Then he walked in, a mug of something steaming in his hand, and all thought left me. I focused on the emerald green of his eyes and his smile.
“Hi,” he said, sitting on the bed next to me.
Seeing his teeth made me think of morning breath and the fact that I hadn’t brushed last night. Covering my mouth, I sat up. “Hi back.”
He laughed and moved my hand. “So, you’re a revenant? How are you handling the news?” He held out the mug, its steaming contents dark and uninviting.
Taking it, I pressed the cup to my lips and took a small sip. “Yep, that’s me. Snow White, the revenant. And I’m handling the change,” I paused, gauging my real feelings. “Fine.” I shrugged. A part of me wanted to tell him everything, that I heard his heart thumping, the sound of it pumping blood through his veins and that it smelled better than
any chocolate, and how I longed to reach over and taste him. I didn’t. Instead I swallowed a large portion of bloodlust tea.
“Good.” He studied me a moment before brushing a piece of hair from my face. “You up to going to school?” he asked, standing.
I searched for a clock, trying to hide the warmth caused by his touch. “Is it Monday already?” Where had Sunday gone? I must’ve slept through it. “Can I go to school? Isn’t Professor Pops afraid I’ll eat someone or something?”
Gabe laughed. “Drink your tea and you should be fine. That’s what Pops says.” He walked to the door. “There are towels and girly… stuff in Dorian’s bathroom, including some clean clothes.” He inclined his chin toward the open bathroom door. “Don’t freak out, but yes, the shirt I chose for you is pink and it’s in your size and not four sizes too big.”
I pulled back the covers and got out of bed. My socks had been removed, but I’d slept in my other clothes. “Gee, thanks,” I said, throwing a pillow at him. It landed straight in his face and he fell, smacking his head against the wall with a thud.
I gasped and ran over to him. “Gabe. Gabe. Can you hear me?” I grabbed his arms and shook.
He moaned and his eyes blinked open. “That was… intense.” He sat up.
“I’m so sorry. Remind me never to throw a pillow again.” I noticed a dent in the wall behind him where his head made contact and swallowed down the tea coming back up.
“You’ve got some arm.” He massaged the tender area of his head. His amplified heartbeat pounded like a drum in my ears. A delicious scent saturated his pores, like honey. Without meaning to, I leaned into his neck and drew a deep breath. His hands pressed against my shoulders, determinedly pushing me away. His expression was guarded.
I shook my head. “You good?” I asked, working to cover up what I’d almost done.
“Yep, great.” He jumped up as if to show how good he was. “You mostly caught me off guard. But you’d better finish your tea.” He eyed the mug warily.
Blood and Snow: Snow White Reimagined with Vampires and Magic (Seven Magics Academy Book 1) Page 5
