“Yes, indeed,” Sage nodded as she turned towards Vayna. She ducked her head shyly for a moment before taking a step towards the other woman and saying, “Thank you, by the way, for catching me. I would’ve definitely been hurt from a fall like that.”
Vayna nodded stiffly, unused to the praise. She didn’t really save Sage from the fall for any particular reason, other than the fact that she was human. While some vampires argued with her over it, she still retained a soft spot for the humans. It was the main reason why she never fully killed her meals. Not only was it cruel, but when your food volunteered to feed you, it was very bad manners to kill them.
And Vayna didn’t like to kill people anyway. Despite being a vampire, she was very humane in that aspect. The wind stirred her hair again as she placed one hand on her hip and replied, “You’re welcome. So, you really don’t remember anything besides your name and this tree?”
“Afraid so,” Sage said with a nod. She tried all afternoon since she woke up on the bench to remember who she was and why she was in the park, but she just couldn’t remember anything. Hell, she couldn’t even remember why she couldn’t remember. That was frustrating.
Vayna stood there for a moment gazing at the tree before she turned back towards Sage. The young human’s brown hair moved back and forth on the wind lazily and she resisted the urge to reach out and run her fingers through it. Instead, she said, “Would you like to come back to my place? You can use my phone and see if anyone’s reported someone missing by your name. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find someone who knows you and they can come pick you up.”
The thought made Vayna’s heart twinge for some reason, but she ignored it. She just met the young human, and she was just concerned about her, that was it. Sage turned towards Vayna with a wary look on her face and asked, “You’re not a serial killer, are you? If I go back with you, you’re not going to chop me up in little pieces and keep my eye balls for trophies, are you?”
Vayna looked at her for a moment before laughing. She met a lot of interesting humans over the course of her undead life, but that was the first time she had been asked something like that! Given her nature, she couldn’t help but laugh hard at that. Serial killer? She couldn’t deny that when she was a young vampire, she killed lots of humans, but that was centuries ago. She hadn’t killed anyone in at least 1,000 years, and she wasn’t about to start again now. Shaking her head as she subtly wiped tears the color of blood from her eyes before Sage could notice and said, “Thank you for that. I needed to laugh tonight. You want the honest truth?”
“Yes, please,” Sage said as she smiled. For all she knew, the other woman could simply be a nice person offering to help out, but she felt the need to ask anyway. She may feel comfortable around Vayna, but that didn’t mean she was just going to walk off to who knew where with her without asking questions.
Vayna took a deep breath to calm her laughter down. How long had it been since she laughed that hard? She really couldn’t remember. She was serious when she asked the young woman that question and it deserved a serious answer. She knew the human wouldn’t believe her, but she decided to tell the truth anyway. Knowing her luck, Sage would believe her. Looking the young human in the eye, she replied, “I’m a 3,000 year old vampire who’s killed lots of people, but you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to kill you. I only want to drink your blood.”
Sage gazed at her and blinked. Twice. Then a snort of laughter escaped her and she doubled over as she laughed hard. A smile twitched on Vayna’s face as she watched the human laugh. Looks like Sage didn’t believe her… oh well. She tried. She waited patiently for her to calm down and stand back up. Sage sighed with a soft giggle as she said, “That was very amusing. It’s nice to know you have a sense of humor. Sure, I’ll go with you. If you think it’ll help.”
Vayna smiled and turned to go back the way she originally was coming from. It looked like she wasn’t going to make it to that club after all, but she didn’t mind. The young human she literally just caught made up for that greatly. Besides, there was very little chance that she’d find anyone quite as interesting as this human, loss of memory and all. Jerking her head slightly, she said, “It’s not far from here.”
“Thank you, Miss Chronos, for all the help you’re giving me,” Sage said as she fell into step next to the vampire. She kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke, “I’m grateful. I mean, I know I must be troubling you and I’m glad you’re willing to help me try to find out who I am.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Vayna said as she stuck her hands in her coat pockets. It was better than trying to grab Sage’s hand in hers. She really couldn’t explain why, but she really wanted to touch the young human. That was definitely going to be troublesome, “And please, call me Vayna instead, Miss Loveren. It’s my nickname, you could say.”
“Only if you call me Sage,” she replied immediately. Being called Miss Loveren made her feel strange, like the name wasn’t really hers. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt much happier being called Sage than Miss Loveren. With a shy smile, she looked up at the vampire as she said softly, “Vayna…”
Said vampire felt her undead heart jump in her chest as she gazed down at the young human. Her blue eyes were wide with emotions she hadn’t felt in quite a few years. Over the centuries, she heard her name spoken many ways, but never quite like that. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing either…
The walk back to Vayna’s apartment was very short. The ancient vampire was surprised that the human could keep up with her gate so easily. The young woman looked so fragile that Vayna was sure she was going to break at any moment. The vampire mentally asked herself what she was doing. She could’ve left Sage there to fend for herself, figure out who she was on her own. There was no need to do what she was doing. She left her apartment to get away from the thoughts that were floating around in her head.
And now she was going back there with a human that didn’t know who she was or how she lost her memory. It was enough to give her a headache and she was definitely starting to feel one creep up on her. She vaguely thought that it was unfair that for all her advanced healing even vampirism couldn’t cure the common headache. The key clicked in the lock as she opened the door of her apartment and stepped inside, flicking the light on.
Her apartment door opened up right into her living room. It was fortunate for her that she owned a condo on the top floor of one of the best apartment buildings in New York. The room felt like something out of the Victorian era. Across from the door was a fairly large fireplace that was carved with little vines and flowers. There were 2 high backed chairs sitting across from each other in front of the fireplace, a small table in between them. On the walls were paintings from various artists, all reflecting the type of woman Vayna was.
Right above the mantle to the fireplace was a very old painting of her in a Victorian dress. To any human, they would’ve thought that it was merely a painting done to look old, but she knew the truth. It was done during a trip she took to Europe one year during the late 1800’s. She spent time among the artist district in London and encountered a female artist there. They were rare back in that time, and the woman went under a pseudonym so everyone thought she was a male.
Vayna enjoyed things back then. She and the female artist were lovers and it was one of the few times she was able to be herself completely. Her true vampire self, not the human version of herself she presented to the world. Her lover knew of her kind and didn’t mind feeding her every now and then. It was one of the easier eras in all the years that she lived.
Her mind drifted back to that time and she didn’t notice when Sage slid past her into the apartment. She would’ve stayed like that, lost in the past, if it hadn’t been for Sage murmuring that she had a lovely apartment. She shook her head and closed the door behind her, effectively pulling herself from the past. Shrugging her coat off and tossing it onto one of the chairs, she said, “Would you like something to drink? I don’t have mu
ch. Some green tea, cocoa, and coffee are about it.”
“Tea would be wonderful, thank you,” she said as she carefully took a seat in the chair opposite of the one Vayna tossed her coat onto. She placed her hands in her lap and looked around at everything. Her gaze fell onto the painting above the fireplace and a gasp escaped her. She was sure the painting wasn’t as old as it made one believe, but it looked like something directly out of that time era. Vayna looked absolutely beautiful. The older woman was beautiful dressed in a long, dark velvet dress that made her pale skin stand out like moonlight on a dark night. Sage’s fingers twitched, itching to reach out and touch the painting. She was convinced that if she but touched it, she could feel the velvety softness of the dress the ancient vampire wore.
Vayna came back in holding a cup of tea and her own cup of liquid she made sure not to let Sage see. The dark red blood was like syrup in the cup, and she was glad she decided not to go with a glass. The young human definitely would’ve asked about it then. After being around her for just the few minutes they had met, Vayna was definitely in need of a drink. It wasn’t fresh, but it would satisfy her hunger for the moment. She set the mug of tea down next to Sage and gazed up at the portrait as she murmured, “That was done a long time ago.”
“It looks like it was done in the Victorian era…” Sage said just as quietly as she picked up the mug and took a sip. She felt the calming effect of the tea settle over her and she sighed softly. She really loved tea. She couldn’t explain how she knew that she loved tea. It just tasted so good to her right then and there. She cradled the mug in her hands as she continued, “It can’t be that old, though.”
Vayna didn’t reply. She merely took a sip of the blood and hummed as the liquid flowed down her throat. To humans, blood tasted coppery like metal. But to her, it had so many other tastes in it. This particular one was a young girl’s donation to the blood bank. At least, that’s what the bag said when she opened it.
Not that the blood bank knew that a portion of their blood supply went into feeding vampires, but what the humans didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. She turned away from the portrait of herself and took a seat in the chair after moving her coat. She crossed her right leg over the other as she said, “Did you want to call the police now? There’s a phone book by the phone. I’m sure it has the local precinct’s number in it.”
“Oh, sure!” Sage said as she put her cup down and followed the line of Vayna’s finger over to where the phone sat. She wondered briefly why Vayna didn’t correct her on the age of the painting, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She stood up and made her way over to the phone. She looked through the phone book for the number and dialed. It rang a couple of times before a male voice came over the phone asking her what she needed help with.
Vayna sat in her chair listening to the one sided conversation, occasionally taking a drink from her cup. The blood was cold, chilled from being inside the hidden freezer she had, but she didn’t mind too much. It wasn’t as good as fresh blood, but she made do with what she could get. Her thoughts drifted over to Sage and she vaguely wondered if the young human would mind donating her blood to a vampire. Almost as soon as the thought entered her head, she shook her head and dismissed it. Sage probably wouldn’t even stay around for very long anyway. Once she found out that there were people looking for her, she’d leave and Vayna would once again be left on her own. She wondered if it’d be worth it to try the club again after the young human left… with the way her mind was, there was no way she’d be able to stay in her apartment alone.
Her mind focused in on the conversation Sage was having with the operator. The man, whom Vayna could hear clearly thanks to her sensitive ears, was going through the records of missing people under Sage’s name. The two waited patiently for the man to come back on the phone. She saw Sage visibly deflate when he announced that no one had been reported missing under that name.
“Really, there’s no one?” Sage asked him. She nodded her head sadly when he told her there was no one and that he was sorry he couldn’t be more help. She sighed as she hung up the phone and walked back over to the chair. She had no idea what she was going to do now. Without anyone looking for her… there was no place for her to stay, and now she had no clue where to start looking for her past. She flopped down into the chair and dropped her head against the back of it as she sighed heavily again.
“They couldn’t find anything?” Vayna asked, even though she already knew the answer. Even if she didn’t have the heightened hearing, the young human’s body language was enough to tell her that the precinct couldn’t find any record of a missing report under her name.
“He said that there were no reports under that name in this state. I considered asking him if there were any reports that he could find in other states, but he seemed distracted,” She replied as she closed her eyes. She could feel the despair start to creep over her. How was she ever going to find where she could go if she didn’t even know her name? She possessed no money, and no clue where to go to stay… tears crept out of the corner of her eyes and she fought back the urge to cry. She felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness possess her and she gulped back her tears harshly.
Vayna smelled the change in Sage’s emotions. She knew humans weren’t aware of it, since their sense of smell wasn’t as highly developed, but the amount of hormones they gave off and the type of hormone changed depending on the type of emotion they were experiencing. She didn’t need heightened senses to tell how the girl was feeling, though. She stood up and set her empty cup on the table and walked around toward Sage. Kneeling in front of the young woman, she murmured softly, “Hey now. Don’t cry. I know it’s a difficult situation, but we’ll find who you are. Don’t worry.”
Sage put her arm over her eyes to hide her tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of this exotic beauty, but she couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness that crept over her. Sniffling softly, she whispered, “I have nowhere to go. I don’t know where I’m going to stay. The park may be the only place I’ll have to sleep at night.”
“It’s too dangerous for that,” Vayna said immediately, her tone firm. This poor young thing was already having a tough time. If she stayed at the park… any human looking for an unsuspecting victim would find one in her. Sage didn’t need to be raped on top of being homeless and confused. Standing up, she offered a hand out to her as she said, “You’ll stay here. I have a guest room. Until we find out who you are, you’ll stay here with me.”
Sage lifted her arm off of her face and looked up into the compassionate blue eyes of the woman in front of her. Stay with her? She just met her. She still could be trouble, and she didn’t know if Vayna would hurt her… but there was nowhere for her to go… Staying here or staying in the park, either way she’d be hurt… and she wasn’t sure if she was willing to get hurt by a stranger in the darkness. At least if Vayna hurt her, she’d be able to point her out in a line up. Reaching out, she laid her hand in Vayna’s and smiled gratefully as she said, “Thank you. I’m sorry to be such a burden on you.”
“Trust me, you’re not a burden,” Vayna said as she pulled Sage up off of the chair. She took a step back and tensed as the young human stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the vampire’s waist. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure how to respond to the unexpected hug. Hesitantly, her arms came up and wrapped around Sage. The young human’s head was resting on her shoulder and she nervously rested her cheek on Sage’s crown. It felt strange to be holding someone this way after so long, but it felt strangely right. A wave of nostalgia crashed over her and she could’ve sworn she held Sage this way before in the past, even though they only knew each other for a matter of minutes. She couldn’t explain it.
They stayed like that for several moments before Sage pulled her head back and looked up into Vayna’s eyes. She felt so grateful to the other woman that she wanted to do something for her as a way of saying thank you, but she couldn’t think of anything.
She was penniless and homeless, without a clue of who she was. That left very little room for doing anything. Maybe she’d cook breakfast in the morning for her…
Vayna couldn’t stop thinking about Sage’s eyes. They were such a beautiful color. Every time she looked into them, she felt like she was drowning in a storm. She couldn’t remember feeling this way before, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to. Her eyes flittered down to the young human’s lips and she unconsciously licked her own. She wondered if they would taste sweet… Before she could tilt her head down to capture them in a kiss, Sage backed out of her arms with a sheepish smile. She looked at the young human in confusion before Sage spoke, “I, uh… have to use the bathroom…”
The vampire fought the urge to laugh, but didn’t stop the amused look that crossed over her face. Motioning with her hand, she led her out of the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. Passing by her bedroom, she stopped at a door in the middle of the hallway.
Opening it, she revealed a very clean bathroom. Hardly anything was on the counter aside from a bottle of hand soap, hair spray, and a bag of make-up. The walls were light blue with a single painting of a loan woman standing on a rocky cliff. Aside from the shower curtain covering the shower, there really wasn’t anything else to decorate the room. It was bare, and Vayna liked it that way. She didn’t like being in a bathroom that was cluttered with different, useless things. Turning to her new roommate for the time being, she said, “This is the main bathroom. There’s another, smaller one downstairs. Go ahead and take a shower while you’re in here. I’ll lay out some of my night clothes on the bed in your room. It’s that room right there.”
Sage followed the line of her pointing finger to a closed doorway and nodded her head as she eagerly moved into the bathroom and began to take her shirt off. She called a muffled thank you over her shoulder as she started to strip without thinking. Vayna’s eyes widened and she quickly closed the door. She would definitely need a long drink after this. Maybe she could sneak one while Sage was in the shower…
Dangerous Love Page 2
