by Kylie Price
I couldn’t believe how on board Nikkee was with everything when I still doubted it was all true and yet what did my girl do? She went and bought us some weapons. Yes, weapons. She got us both a calf holster that housed a very sharp knife. They looked expensive but Nikkee had brushed it off saying, “Our safety is priceless.” We weren’t planning to stab anyone but we wanted to at least have some protection if we got attacked, which I felt was a high possibility.
“You can still pull out you know,” I said to her.
She looked at me and grinned, “What! And miss all the fun? Not likely.”
I grinned back. I was glad I was not alone. I was still terrified but my inner strength was slowly growing.
Chapter Sixteen
We were ready. We both wore jeans to hide the calf holster. They were tight fitting but loosened up around the knees. As it was spring, we opted for a nice singlet to help keep us from overheating. Nikkee curled her hair and had it loose, where as I had put mine up again. We wore no makeup and no heels, just nice classy flats. My stomach was a mix of anxiety and nerves but Nikkee looked fierce and ready to take on the world, even though she admitted she was nervous too. She hid it really well.
“So, where to first?” she asked as she handed me a list of clubs she had found.
“We should just start from the closest to us and work our way up,” I suggested.
“That’s this one,” Nikkee said as she pointed to a name half way down her list.
“Ok, let’s go,” I said with confidence, even though I was crapping myself.
We walked for a few minutes down the main street, which lead us to the nightclub district. There were people everywhere. Schoolies was a big event and there were so many people walking the streets that we had to push our way to get to our first club.
Nikkee paid our fee to enter after the bouncers checked our ID. It was just as crowded in there as it was outside. There were not many lights apart from the different coloured down lights that were placed here and there around the clubs full room. We ordered our soft drinks at the bar. We had decided not to drink, to help keep our heads in the game.
I scanned the room, and all the different people. I guess it would normally be hard to see everyone so clearly if I wasn’t going all ‘monster girl’. Nikkee was looking with squinted eyes where as I could see just about every detail of every person.
“Do you notice anything unusual?” Nikkee half yelled over the noise.
“Yeah, you don’t need to yell. I can hear you just fine with my weirdo hearing,” I yelled back laughing.
“Oh yeah. Sorry,” she replied laughing too.
I tried to concentrate but the music was so loud in my ears along with all the talking. It was all mashing together but for some reason Nikkee’s voice stood out more. Maybe it was because I was so in tune with her that I could tell her apart from everyone else. As I had that thought, another sound came to my ears. A thumping. It made my mouth water and then horror struck me. It was Nikkee’s beating heart that I could hear.
“I need some fresh air,” I said and started heading towards the exit.
As I was walking, I bumped into someone and then everything went slow.
My head moved around to look at the person I had bumped into as they did the same. It was a hot guy. He had messy brown hair with extremely dark eyes. He smiled and then it was replaced with a frown as if he just realised something. Me? Everything moved back to normal as I quickly turned away and half jogged out the exit door. Air hit my face like an oxygen tank and I sucked in a huge lungful to clear my head. That person was familiar to me. He was exactly like Lachlan and he knew I was different. I had seen the recognition on his face as he realised who…and what…I was.
Butterflies started fluttering in my stomach as fear raced through my veins. Lachlan had said that others like him wanted me dead too. What if this guy was going to harm us both?
I started to really panic as Nikkee touch my arm and pulled me around a corner. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
I shook my head. A lump had formed in my throat.
Her arms went around me, engulfing me in a warm hug. I returned it but I wished I could have one from Jason too.
I rested my face in the crook of her shoulder and sobbed. I really sobbed. I was so scared and terrified, it all caught up with me at once. Everything was so different and scary. I was not supposed to be special; I was just supposed to be Trinity. The orphan girl raised by a heartless woman, I only had my friends to rely on and I had expected to just drift through life. Now I had lives and decisions in my hands and I did not want that much responsibility. I just wanted to have fun, strive for success, die at a ripe old age and spend eternity walking through walls and mentally scaring people with Nikkee and Sky as ghosts. Why did all of this have to change? Why couldn’t my plan stay as it was and why did it have to go from one extreme to the next?
Another hand touched my shoulder and I knew it wasn’t Nikkee’s. My heart leapt again and then eased as I heard Lachlan’s voice say, “It’s okay Trinity, it’s only me.”
I started crying harder.
“What happened?” Lachlan asked, directing his question at Nikkee as I was in no state to answer.
“I’m not sure. We were in the club and then she just said she needed air. She bumped into someone walking out, who was pretty hot by the way. When I came outside she looked terrified, then she just broke apart,” Nikkee explained. I could hear her voice weakening, as she was also getting emotional.
“Come on Trinity let’s get you back to the hotel,” Lachlan said as he pulled me off Nikkee, still sobbing, picked me up, and cradled me close to him. I just went with it. I rested my head on his shoulder and cried silently as he started walking with Nikkee close by. I closed my eyes and let the tears roll down my face like rain drops. I didn’t understand what had come over me but I just lost it. I was broken and I didn’t know how to fix myself. I wanted to give everything back. I wanted none of it. Not even the old me.
My eyes sprung open. They stung from the tears that had now dried up. I scanned around the room to find I was on the couch at the hotel Nikkee and I were staying at because I could see one of my unpacked bags in the corner of the room.
I closed my eyes again and concentrated. I do not know how but I forced myself to listen harder, then I found two separate voices out on the balcony. One was Nikkee and the other Lachlan. He stopped saying whatever he was telling Nikkee, then said, “She is awake.”
I groaned at being busted. I decided to get up and join them. I was feeling embarrassed but I figured I had to face them eventually.
Nikkee stood up as I walked out and threw her arms around me. “How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Better. Sorry you had to see that. It just all hit me at once,” I told her.
She let go and pulled herself back. “Are you kidding me? There is nothing to be sorry about,” she said with a soft smile.
“I am surprised you didn’t crack earlier,” Lachlan said as he came up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.
I gave them both a small smile then went and sat in the chair. I pulled my knee’s up to my chest and hugged them, looking out towards the early morning scenery. It was still dark but it had a lightness to it. I felt sunrise would be coming in a few hours and that made me look to Lachlan.
“Yes I can be in the sun,” he said.
A small smirk came to my lips as I looked at him and then I looked away.
I didn’t know how I felt about him. I wanted to hate him I really did. I wanted to blame him for all of the events that had taken place. Yet I couldn’t. I was trying to not like him but he always seemed to be there, as I needed him. Even though some of it was his fault I couldn’t let him have all of it. I had to take some responsibility for how careless and reckless I had behaved.
“Jason rang on your phone,” Nikkee announced, snapping me out of my thoughts.
My heart sped up a little.
“What for?” I respo
nded.
“I don’t really know but he wanted you to call him back,” she said with a smirk.
I smiled back then said, “I will call him back soon.”
I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to. I wanted to be in his arms last night but now that reality had sunk in, I had my doubts. I was turning into a monster and even if he did like me how could I bring him into this world as well as Nikkee. I really wished I had taken Lachlan’s advice and had not told my friends. Nikkee loved me for who I was no matter what I had become, but how could I expect Jason to when my other best friend couldn’t? This had all dawned on me at once. I think that’s why I broke down. I was putting my best friend in danger and the reality of it all had sunk in, along with me hearing her heartbeat and it making my mouth water. I wanted to keep my friend safe but I also wanted to eat her for dinner. What the hell!
Chapter Seventeen
I had gone to my room to lay down. I closed my eyes and expanded my hearing out again. Nikkee and Lachlan had gone back to talking. He was asking her questions about her life and mine. He seemed genuinely interested. I smiled to myself and then searched out further past the traffic sounds, chatter from the streets below, out to the beach. The sound of the waves was welcoming in my eardrums as it drowned out all other sounds that were trying to push their way inside my head.
I stood up in the surf and made my way back to the shoreline. Beads of water dripped down my body. I looked down and saw the black bikini I was wearing and the rest of my body exposed. My arms twitched, as I wanted to cover myself and shield my body from prying eyes. I stopped short, my eyes flickered back and forth, and discovered only one person was lying in the sand near the water’s edge. A sly smile came upon my face as I walked to him trying to make very little sound as I could in the water. As I reached the dry sand, I went down on my hands and knees, silently crawled towards the body on the towel. His face was shielded as his arm was up and laying over his eyes. I reached him and crawled over the top of his body. He twitched as the small droplets of water fell from my body to his. I brought my face down close and then touched my lips to his. As they touched, a sensation ran from my head down to my toes and he responded to my kiss by returning it, my whole body felt alive. His arm moved off his eyes to meet my own. Bluish green eyes bore straight through to my soul. I pulled my lips away from his for a moment and breathed his name. “Jason.”
I fluttered my eyes for a moment and then closed them again. I concentrated on the sound of the beach again. I wanted to go back to my dream.
I was standing on the sand in my bikini again. I looked around, but I saw no one. I looked up the hill of sand to see a stick with some fabric. Curious, I started walking towards it hoping to find Jason on the other side. I concentrated on the stick and fabric as I struggled crawling up the high mound only to find I was not getting closer to it, yet it grew in size. I tilted my head slightly, trying to figure out what it was. I started walking again making my way up the rise of sand and when I reached the top, a ship came into view. It was an old ship with a mast and sail. It must have been what I had seen in the first place. I walked towards it in wonder and amazement hoping to find Jason there. As I got closer I saw three figures standing on a dock as I approached, I took note that none of them had been Jason at all. He was taller and had more of a muscular build where as those three males just didn’t match up to his size and physical appearance.
I heard quiet voices as I approached and stood behind them. I moved around the circle and noticed the man in the travelling cloak was the same man that had been in my dream before. Again, he looked defeated, but he had a slight spark in his eye like hope was still lingering there. I moved around to see the face of the young man that had spoken to him in his study. I kept moving, then stopped short as I realised I was looking at Lachlan.
He looked different in his old-fashioned clothes and travelling coat. He looked angry.
“I should stay,” Lachlan had told the older man.
“There is no point. We will have to wait another 18 years. We can return. Brandon will stay and watch over the child. Come Lachlan, our ship awaits,” the older man said.
Lachlan looked to the younger one, Brandon. He did not look convinced that whatever the young man had to do, would be done to his satisfaction.
“Something on your mind?” Brandon asked.
“Just keep her safe,” he replied and followed the old man onto the ship.
I looked back to Brandon. He had a smirk on his face. It lingered there for a few more seconds and then he was gone and so was the ship. I looked around and watched as everything around me slowly disappeared until I was standing in darkness.
I woke myself with my own screams and then I screamed again as my eyes opened to Lachlan and Nikkee right in my face. Nikkee had me by the shoulders, shaking me. I stopped abruptly and took a few deep breaths.
“Oh my gawd Trinity,” Nikkee said and let go of my shoulders.
“I’m okay! I’m okay,” I said a little breathlessly. I remembered my dreams. I started to blush from the first one with Jason. It had felt like we were a couple. As if kissing each other was something we did all the time. My heart started racing all over again like I needed to find him. I needed him to be mine and I wanted to claim him. I then remembered my other dream and I looked to Lachlan.
He winced at my look and then simply said, “Yeah, we have lots to talk about.”
“Well, I could have told you that a few weeks ago,” Nikkee said, looking at him also.
“I did tell him a few weeks ago,” I said as more confusion made its way into my mind.
We were sitting on the balcony with fresh coffee. The sea breeze blew across my face and it made me think of Jason. I had not called him back so I decided to send him a message while Nikkee and Lachlan ordered us all breakfast.
“Hey, sorry I didn’t call you back. I was really tired,” I sent.
I didn’t think he would have replied straight away, but after what seemed like a few seconds had past my phone chimed.
“How is it going? Good to know you're still alive,” he replied back.
I smiled, then replied, “You can’t hold one bad night against me forever.”
“Yes, I can,” he sent back.
“Wish you were here,” I sent and then my eyes opened wide. I had sent it. I had only been thinking it, but I automatically sent it because images of us both on the beach had made its way to the front of my mind again and it felt like texting like this was something we had always done too.
Before I could reply back claiming I sent the message to the wrong person, I got a reply back.
“I’m not far away.”
I automatically looked at the ocean and smiled. “Where are you?”
“Close by at a friend’s,” he replied.
“Why? R u stalking us?”
“Pretty much,” he sent back then added, “U know what my mums like!”
I took a deep breath at the fact that my message had its meaning over looked but I also felt sad that he was only here because his mum made him not because he wanted to.
My phone chimed again with a new message from him.
“Sorry.”
I smiled to myself and just sent back, “All good.”
I felt disappointed yet at the same time relieved. My initial thoughts for early in the morning came back to my mind. I could not have a normal boyfriend when I was turning all monster and beast-like.
“Hey, who have you been texting?” Nikkee asked as she walked out onto the balcony with a full tray of all sorts of food and placed it on the table.
“Jason. He is here at Surfers,” I told her.
“Really? Mum just can’t help herself. I can’t blame her though with all the bad things that go on at schoolies,” she said as she sat down at the table.
“I don’t blame her either,” I said.
Nikkee had pulled her phone out and started typing fast.
“Are you texting him?” I asked.
“Yeah. Going to see if he wants to meet us tonight,” she said.
“No!” I said and stood up. She looked from her phone up to me slowly.
“Why not?” she asked.
“I just don’t want to feel responsible for another person’s safety,” I half admitted.
“He can hold his own Trinity, and besides, he will know the best clubs to go to. It’s either him or Lachlan,” she pointed out.
I automatically turned and looked through the glass door at Lachlan talking on the phone with his back to us. He had not been very helpful and he was avoiding the conversation he himself said we needed to have. I mentally groaned. Why can’t some things just be simple?
Chapter Eighteen
“I had a dream about you. But I had two with one of the people you were with, he looks a few years older than you. You were standing at a ship with him as well as the other that was called Brandon,” I said to Lachlan.
“He is my master, like I am yours,” he replied.
“You are not my master,” I said with defiance.
“Yeah, I had worked that one out,” he replied sarcastically.
“How long have you been a vampire?” I asked.
He looked out over the balcony, then finally said, “A really long time.”
“You don’t sound like you are really old,” Nikkee pointed out.
“I change with the times so I can blend in with ease. Some can’t, but most of us do,” he said.
“How many vampires and werewolves are there?” Nikkee asked.
“More than you would think. Too many to count. Let’s just say we are not going to be extinct anytime soon,” he paused, then added, “Well, we could be soon if Trinity fulfils the prophecy.”
