“You know they drop down on their prey from the trees, right?” D chuckles loudly and glances up.
I scream and throw my hands over my head while taking quick glances up at the tree canopy.
He begins laughing hysterically. I don’t think it’s funny at all. Is he laughing because he was joking or because he’s not scared of spiders and he thinks me running around like this is funny?
“I’ll be fine for the two minutes it’ll take me to pop us somewhere with less spiders,” he teases and grabs my hand. “You know, I can’t believe that you’re so scared of spiders when you’re immortal. You know you’ve dealt with a lot scarier things than spiders.”
Then we pop out of the forest.
I’m happy to now be in what looks to be a city. Which one though, I’m unsure. D is gone. I find a wooden bench and take a seat on it. I touch the pendant around my neck and wonder why my mother would leave this fraction of her power behind. The sapphire is beautiful and I wish only that I didn’t feel so wrong wearing it.
“Hello,” a high female voice chimes from beside me and I look up to meet the eyes of a young lady about my age. At first I see nothing different about her, then I recognize her pixie-like stature and sharp eyes. She’s Tario. She must see my look of surprise and recognition because she raises her hands as if in surrender. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just sensed that power you’re wearing. It is Ali’s. You must be one of her daughters.”
“Ariella,” I answer her cautiously. All the Tario seem to know my mother.
“Yes, the halfling female daughter. Strange that the Tario are not watching Ali’s daughter,” she assesses and touches my necklace. For a moment I wonder if she’s going to take it from me. “You must know of the Tario if you’ve come from Tarot itself,” she says almost to herself.
“Tarot?” I wonder.
“Yes, the city of the Tario, young one. I sense its power all over you. How did you leave without having your mind wiped?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I answer her truthfully.
“The Tario have only one weakness, Ariella. That is a knife wielded by their halfling children. It is why they’re banned from existence. It is why no halfling alive is to know about the Tario. They can be their undoing. I see you don’t know this,” she banters. “The Tario are cocky and sloppy and it’s a wonder to me that they haven’t already been discovered by the supernaturals. Apparently they didn’t even bother to wipe your mind or send someone to watch you. They are being very careless lately, letting halfling walk about and not covering their footsteps,” she explains.
Is Layli aware that the knife has to be wielded by a halfling? I’m starting to wonder how much, if anything, she told us was true. Maybe even her reasons for wanting the knife were a lie.
“Do you happen to know if this knife deconstructs after it’s used?” I ask excitedly.
She looks confused by my excitement.
“It does not.”
We weren’t just played by Layli we were totally outsmarted, tricked. I need to tell D this. Then something occurs to me-what if this Tario is the only lying? There is no way of telling. Oh my god this is so confusing.
“The Tario will do anything to have power and to live forever. They are very selfish creatures. It is why I have not interacted with them in many years. My name is Corra, Ariella. I am Marco and Arianna’s mother.”
Chapter 4
“Wait, wait, wait, you’re my great grandmother?” D asks Corra as we sit in a small diner in Detroit.
“Correct, yes,” she nods while taking a sip from her tea and then placing the cup back down on the table gently.
“Layli told us you’d been missing for a really long time. What are the chances that we run into you?” D demands as if she’s lying. He has a sandwich in front of him but I somehow doubt he’s going to eat it. He seems too invested in questioning this woman as if she’s in a court of law.
“After you left Tarot, I sensed that my friend Ali’s power because I’ve had a tracking spell on her for the last few days so that if I got close enough to her, I’d be drawn to her. When you left the protection of Tarot, I sensed it. There’s a veil around Tarot which keeps all the power inside the walls. So, I felt the draw of Ali’s power and followed it Ariella,” she explains. It sounds simple enough an explanation but obviously D and I are a little skeptic after our last go around with a Tario.
“If you’ve been missing and the Tario have been looking for you, how have they not found you?” he asks Corra, it’s a valid question and I too want to hear the answer.
“The Tario are not found unless they wish to be found. We remove a large enough chunk of our power and place it in a crystal like Ali has done with this necklace. Then we become untraceable except by those we wish to be found by. Ali and I have an agreement that we are always able to find the other. It just so happened that I stumbled upon Ali’s daughter instead of her,” Corra explains and finishes her tea. “Ali and I have business to attend to and I really must be going. One last question for you, children, why were you in Tarot?”
It’s me who answers. “We were seeking sanctuary.”
“How did you know about the Tario?”
D answers but I can tell he hesitates on whether to tell the truth, “Layli owed me a favor but she only seemed to trick us into getting her the knife.”
“That is what I feared. She has been searching for the knife for a long time. She found it once and Ali stole it. She is trying to find a way to destroy it once and for all.” Corra stands up and nods to each of us as if in thanks.
“Wait, why hasn’t Ali come and found Ariella?” D asks the next question on my mind.
“The Tario are always watching. They will watch you no more. Stay away from others of your kind and the Tario won’t find you. I have cloaked your power. I will tell Ali that you are unwatched and when she is ready she will find you. Just don’t remove the necklace she will find you by being drawn to the rest of her power. When you remove it, she won’t be able to sense it. It is only activated when being worn. Do not give it to anyone else to wear. It will kill them. Only the Tario or descendant from the owner can handle the power in that necklace.”
Before we can say another word, she’s gone.
“So apparently the Tario aren’t all depressed and suicidal. Apparently they’re the complete opposite,” D scoffs. So he is believing Corra? I remember what Baylon told me about never trusting a Tario. I’m unsure whether to trust this woman. Especially after the last fiasco. “Bastards. Let’s go. I want to find your dad and ask him what the fuck he was doing with that knife.”
“We can’t. She told us to steer clear of all them so the Tario don’t find us,” I remind him.
“There’s no sense of adventure in you,” D teases with a grin.
“I just don’t have a death wish like you!” I snap back and stand up.
“Fine, we won’t do anything reckless. Why don’t we find a place to sleep? It’s getting dark,” he suggests and lays down some money on the table for the bill.
“Deal,” I reply and skip out the door into the cool air. It feel as though it’s about to rain. The clouds are dark and the air is humid.
We find a little motel down the street a ways and decide that it will do. I have a super-hot shower before climbing under the covers. D isn’t in the room when I exit the bathroom so I assume he’s went out to eat again. I flip on the TV but after finding that nothing is on, I switch it off. I then open the drawer of the bed stand out of mere boredom and find a phone book and a bible. I lift up the bible and open it. I read a few verses, although, I’m not much one for religion and then place it back in the drawer. By this time, I’m exhausted and easily doze off into sleep.
I wake up a few hours later, the bedside lamp is on and I look over to the other bed to see D reading a magazine and lying on his back looking content.
“What are you doing?” I ask him sleepily and roll onto my side to face him.
“Reading,” he
answers and flashes me the cover revealing the words ‘shocking news you’ll never believe who’s behind this Hollywood scandal’.
“You’re reading Hollywood gossip? I didn’t take you for someone who read celebrity gossip,” I joke through a yawn and a tired laugh.
He shrugs flippantly. “Well, maybe you don’t know enough about me.” He smirks sexily.
I shrug and grin.
“Don’t do that,” he whispers and looks away from me and back at his magazine.
“Do what?” I wonder confused. Rollover? Yawn? Laugh?
He glances at me quickly before concentrating back on his reading. “Look at me like you’re not disgusted by me.”
“I’m not…” I admit seriously. His strange self-consciousness as of late is driving me absolutely mad. One second he’s mad because I look at him as if he’s a disgusting, the next he’s mad for the opposite. Bipolar much?
“Yes you are, you’re looking at me like I’m not a complete monster.”
“I mean I’m not disgusted by you. Why would you even say that?” I demand, almost angry with him.
He seemingly scowls at me. “I suck blood out of people, Ariella. I’m a murderer. I kill. I almost bit you,” he lays out slowly as if I’m slow.
I shake my head in utter annoyance and rollover so my back is too him. I can’t do this right now while I’m tired and grouchy.
“What?” he begs and I hear him put his magazine down.
“Nothing, you’re just whiney that’s all,” I spit at him.
“Whiney? How am I whiney?” he spits back sounding almost angry.
“Poor me, I’m a vampire. You know what? At least you’re not dead. You could be dead! At least you’re not powerless like I am! You’re strong, not just physically or mentally but you have power. You’re fast. You’re smart. You have wisdom. You’ve been in love. You knew both your parents. You grew up with your siblings. You grew up knowing what you were! You can defend yourself!” I throw at him in rush, snapping like a twig. I roll over to face him again. “You are being whiney.”
He’s silent and just stares at me as I calm myself down. Deep breaths, Ariella. No need to flip out and go dark for no reason but a boy.
“Ariella, I’m sorry. It’s not that I’m mad or upset that I’m a vampire, okay? I really honestly don’t mind being a vampire. I’m mad and upset that it’s what makes me unable to sit near you without me imagining killing you. I’m upset because you are the only thing I want and you’re also they only thing that I can’t have. I can’t hug you without wanting to rip your god damned throat open!” he explains. “I almost lost it in Tarot because they smell so good. Better than anything I’ve had. I’m lucky that they weren’t around me much or I probably would’ve attacked one of them. You have Tario blood, Ariella, that’s why you smell so damned good to me. You’re part witch, part Tario, and part immortal! It’s no wonder I can’t control myself around you,” he pants in a series of molded together sentences.
He continues, “It’s no wonder that even though I’m sitting across the room from you, all I can think about is coming over there and taking just a sip. Just one, but I know that ‘just one’ will turn into me sucking you dry. It wouldn’t kill you but it sure as hell would hurt you. It would take you weeks to recover and then after that, after I tasted you, I wouldn’t be able to control myself around you at all. Once we taste blood in that amount we can’t shake it. We drink until we kill them. We lose complete control. There’s no will power left. You don’t get it, Ariella!” he scolds through a raspy voice and then closes his eyes. “Just thinking about tasting your blood makes me insane. The curse Marco put on me is so strong that even when I’ve drunk all I can drink, I still want to rip throats open, I can still barely control myself.”
“I’m sorry…” I reply stupidly. I pause for a moment before saying, “I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“Of course you didn’t, do you think I wanted you to know that I want to kill you at every waking moment?” he demands, picking up the magazine and throwing it angrily at the far wall. It hits the wall and falls to the ground with a whoosh.
I’m speechless. What can I say besides ‘I’m sorry’ which just sounds stupid. I want to say ‘it’s okay’ or ‘I trust you’ but I know neither of these will make the situation any better. I know I should be scared, at least a little bit, but I’m not. The silence between us stretches out so long that I manage to fall back asleep to my own dismay. Now I feel like a jerk for falling asleep during such an intense conversation.
When I wake up again it’s still dark. I wonder how long I’ve slept for and I immediately regret falling asleep at such a terrible time.
I look over at the other bed. D is sprawled out on it. He’s wearing nothing but dark washed out jeans and the necklace he always wears. The pendant is silver and engraved on it are what looks to be two swords lying across each other diagonally. The chain is brown leather. I’ve never really taken the time to look at it before now.
I can’t help gawking although it’s far from the first time I’ve seen him shirtless. I want to trace the ripples on his stomach, his jaw line, his everything with my finger or…my lips. I gulp. I’m surprised he hasn’t noticed me awake yet.
He’s staring up at the roof as if entranced by it.
I glide out of bed mindlessly and plunk down on the bed beside him as quickly as I can.
“What are you doing?” he asks, slightly amused and slightly curious.
“I had a bad dream,” I lie. I’m a terrible liar, he knows this and I can tell he doesn’t believe me by the smirk on his face.
“It wasn’t a dream. It was reality,” he teases and I’m glad he’s no longer angry with me. I can’t keep up with his mood, I really can’t.
“Don’t get any closer, Ariella. I haven’t had anything to eat in hours,” he warns seriously.
I don’t know what possesses me to do it, maybe it’s the hypnotism of his lips moving so close to me or maybe it’s being so close to his perfect body, or maybe I’m just stupid and tired, but I don’t listen to him. I bring my lips down on his and tremble when his warmth meets mine.
He kisses me back as if he can’t help it and this only makes me want to kiss him more. His kisses turn urgent quickly and I become breathless. He moans under my lips and pulls me on top of him.
I open my eyes at the same time he does and I see that his eyes are glowing a familiar shade of red signifying that he’s hungry. I wonder if I should be afraid. Probably.
Before my mind can process a single thing, he is out from under me and standing on the opposite side of the room, eyes a fiery red, his hands clenched into fists. He looks conflicted and I have to admit that a spark of fear does hit me in the chest. Have I gone too far? He warned me not to get any closer.
Then his body collides with mine and for only a moment I wonder if I’m about to die. Then he begins kissing me again. I react slowly and begin kissing him back.
“Ariella,” he grunts longingly which doesn’t help the situation.
I ignore him, too entranced by his body.
His mouth finds my neck and I recall what happened last time. My heart quickens with just enough fright to make me snap out of my daze a little but not enough. His breathing is heavy and a low growl escapes his lips. It’s animalistic and I know I should be terrified but I’m really not. Am I stupid? Ariella, what are you doing?
Right when I’m about to pull away and let him calm down, a sharp prick on my neck tells me that it may be too late. I try to move but his brick body is impossible to move. He’s on top of me, all his weight pressing down on me. Normally, I’d be ecstatic by this but not this time.
Then I feel his teeth or his fangs pierce my neck and I wince with pain. Warm liquid glides down my neck onto the bed below.
“D!” I cry frightened and in pain. I begin to panic and reach for the alarm clock on the bed stand. I don’t know what I plan to do with it, hit him in the head with it maybe?
I feel him p
ulling the blood from my neck and into his mouth and I begin to feel dizzy.
“Daymon!” I shout as loudly as I can. “Stop! You’re hurting me!”
His mouth comes off of my neck and the red in his eyes flickers slightly before starting to fade. “Shit,” he mumbles while wiping his mouth on his arm. He heaves a big sigh and then bites into the inside of his wrist. My hand flies up to my bloody neck which is burning and tender. What the hell did he do, hit the main artery in my neck? He shoves his bloody wrist into my mouth and blanch.
“Drink, Ariella. You’ll heal faster. I ripped open your neck pretty good and you’ll need my power to heal since you don’t know how to heal yourself quickly. I could force it into you with a spell like I have before but you drinking my blood is the fastest way to do this,” he insists and holds the back of my head so I can’t squirm away. “You will only be in more pain if you refuse to drink and have me do this the other way.”
I reluctantly drink it and feel tears dampen my eyes as my stomach churns. It’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted. After what seems like hours, he pulls his wrist away. Then he sits me up. I feel my neck. It’s no longer soaked in blood. The wound is gone. What the..? That was much faster than the normal way of healing he’s done but it was also far grosser.
He must see my confusion because he says, “I’m a warlock remember?”
Right, because I totally forgot. What a dork.
“What were you thinking?!” he asks exasperatedly as if he’s out of breath. He takes a few steps back from me.
I don’t answer because I don’t have an answer. It was stupid. Not my brightest moment.
“You are literally the stupidest person I know,” he says when I don’t answer.
My heart finally slows down and I can think clearer.
“You shouldn’t lay shirtless on beds,” I finally stammer.
Tainted Heart (The Tainted Series Book 2) Page 4
