Fateful

by Cheri Schmidt

  On that one word, the tart fell from her fingers.

  No. He can’t possibly be saying.... All of the things she’d read in that vampire book came to mind and she stared at Ethan because none of it fit him. Well, most of it didn’t ... he does seem to have hypnotic eyes, a magical scent, and superhuman strength. This did explain the events of last night. Knowing he could probably guess what was going through her head at that moment, Danielle tried to remain calm.

  Ethan picked the cherry tart up and began feeding it to her. “I’m not done with the story,” he said.

  He touched the morsel against her lips, but before she allowed it inside, she said, “Er ... p-please continue.” Somehow the food had lost its flavor, she thought, as the bits of pastry and fruit sat like particles of sand against her tongue. She forced it down her parched throat.

  Ethan appeared to be more anxious now, but as a spark of determination flickered in his eyes, he continued, “He was horrified, but the curse was so strong he couldn’t fight it. He became the horrible monster who stalks humanity at night. He craved human blood and human affection at the same time; conflicting cravings. That was what Lilith wanted, she wanted him to feel love, but then be forced to destroy his love. It was the darkest kind of revenge.”

  As chills washed over Danielle, she shuddered but kept silent. This story was likely to give her way worse nightmares than her uncle’s tale had.

  “He walked the earth for many years, killing at night. People believed the monster could only come out after sunset, but that wasn’t true. The curse wasn’t as strong during the day, so he was able to mingle unsuspected with mortals until the sun descended again.

  “He was terribly bitter and lonely. But one day, when he was in the process of killing a man, he was interrupted. He fled to avoid capture and left the half-dead man lying in the street. The people who found him thought he was lucky, and would later recover. He did recover, but no one knew the venom coursing through his veins would also turn him into a vampire. The first vampire was surprised to hear of a death that he knew he didn’t commit. He then remembered the man he hadn’t killed, and searched the city to find him. When he did, they forged a friendship, regardless of the circumstances behind it. He also realized he didn’t need to be lonely anymore."

  Ethan gently brushed a tear from her cheek. She hadn't been aware of it until now, and looked away as her face heated with a blush. Ethan hooked a finger under her chin, pulling her attention back to him as he went on, "Soon after that, he chose a woman to be his mate and turned her. The curse has spread throughout the centuries by the venom which may’ve been an unintended side-effect to the curse. Lilith had envisioned fangs like a snake. Venom naturally went along with that.

  “We are predators to any mortal human. That’s what Lilith intended. That is why we are beautiful, why we can hypnotize with our eyes, and why we smell good to you. So you can easily be lured into our trap. But…”

  He said we, he just admitted that he is a vampire! Danielle felt the blood drain from her head. As she grew pale, she also felt faint. Her heart filled with fear—had she just walked into a trap?

  But only kindness and sadness emanated from Ethan. She couldn’t understand it. She didn’t expect a vampire to be like that. She expected a vampire to be like ... like.... “Lucas!” she said aloud.

  Danielle noted the look of surprise on his face, clearly not expecting that response. “Yes, Lucas is a vampire ... I am like him.” He studied her face again, as if trying to read what she would do. Danielle knew she looked like she was getting ready to run, which she was actually. His tone growing desperate, Ethan added, “But I am not like him.”

  “I—I need a minute.” Danielle stood and ran, but not without stumbling as she went.

  A pang of regret pinched her heart when she glanced back and saw his head in his hands as though upset. Grateful, however, to see that he wasn’t pursuing her, she ran into the forest, ducking and pushing branches out of her way. She didn’t stop until she had to catch her breath, and bent over with her hands on her knees, leaning back into a tree for support. Frowning, she noted that she’d managed to twist her ankle. Stupid shoes! Why hadn't she worn more appropriate forest-running gear, like a chunky pair of boots made to navigate bad weather and rough terrain? Danielle swiped at her wet cheeks, tears which had little to do with the throbbing pain in her ankle.

  She had to think alone. She had to understand the conflicting information spinning in her head.

  He’s a vampire? Is that the only reason I’m drawn to him, because of his magical powers designed to lure me in to his murderous trap? But, he seemed like a good person: noble, kind, heroic even. It appeared so genuine. And why would he save her only to kill her later? It made no sense.

  He said it’s a curse, and it’s stronger at night…. That’s why he avoids her then, and why he hid his eyes from her.

  Danielle ran fingers through her hair, feeling baffled and completely stunned.

  Was the recognition between them simply another trick? A trick designed to soften the blow from the truth? His broken posture as she’d fled returned to her thoughts. He couldn’t have been faking that too, could he?

  Looking around at the thick woods surrounding her, Danielle realized she was probably lost. But even if she did manage to find her way, could she really walk away? There were still too many unanswered questions. The main one being, why was he so familiar to her? She knew him, how well she didn’t yet comprehend but.... And somehow her soul knew the intent of his heart without a shadow of doubt. Danielle couldn’t fathom how she understood such a thing, but she did trust him.

  After a few deep cleansing breaths, Danielle resigned herself to her fate. She pushed away from the tree and turned to go back, but was startled by the figure looming behind her. “Oh!” Ethan was standing only inches away. “Don’t do that!” she admonished hotly.

  “I’m sorry, were you coming back then?” He seemed eager to know, and hopeful.

  “I guess,” Danielle responded weakly.

  Ethan didn’t hesitate to snatch her up into his arms and begin the walk back to the ruins.

  “How’s your ankle?”

  Figures he’d notice that. Danielle rolled her eyes. “It aches.”

  “I have ice in the basket.”

  Hm, he sure seemed like the same sweet Ethan.... Why was she doing this? Why did she trust this guy? His gaze collided with hers again and she knew why. It was that darn familiarity.

  They settled back onto the quilt. Ethan pulled ice from the basket, wrapped it in a cloth napkin and placed it on her now swelling ankle.

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t exactly the Prince Charming of subtlety, Danielle, I’m sorry.”

  Danielle sighed. “I—I know...” She swept the hair from her forehead. “That really was a scary story though.”

  “I tried to warn you ... you seemed too interested in the tart,” he said with a teasing tone.

  “You’re the one who brought tasty tarts.”

  A bit of gentle laughter escaped him at her words. Danielle loved that sound and the infectious smile on his face, but it was gone again too quickly. The small smile holding her lips slipped as well. “There’s a lot I still don’t understand,” she said.

  “I’ll answer any question you ask.”

  “I—I don’t—could you explain this curse to me?” she asked, wondering if it was similar to how the Frog Prince had been cursed, if such a tale was even true.

  “Well, we are human and we still remember our humanity, and for some of us, those memories make it so we can’t bring ourselves to kill mortals. I guess it’s a loophole in the curse. Lilith should have taken away memory too, but she wanted him to remember her.”

  Ethan took her hand into his then, and began stroking her palm with his thumb as though he meant to comfort her as he continued with his disturbing tale of murder. “Her intention was for us to kill mortals, so she made the thirst for mortal blood very strong. But herein lies another mistake in
her spell. Any blood will satisfy the thirst of a vampire, even though human blood is the most temping. A vampire who is basically good will hunt animals instead, to preserve humanity. I’m sure Lilith didn’t mean for that to happen, she must have forgotten that humans aren’t the only beings with blood to drink; maybe because she placed the spell hastily in her fury.” Ethan mused silently for a moment, flicking at a bread crumb on the blanket with his free hand. “I’m glad she made that mistake, I’d hate myself otherwise.”

  After another moment of silence, he went on, “The fact that we are human works to make us the ultimate curse to humanity, the ultimate predator to mortal humans.”

  Danielle winced at his use of the word “predator.” Ethan eyed her curiously, probably trying to figure out why she’d winced. After a moment’s pause, in which she offered an encouraging smile, he continued, “We no longer need to eat food, although we do when we’re in front of mortals, so they won’t suspect us. It doesn’t taste the same as it did, the flavors aren’t as rich. We no longer feel hunger, just thirst.

  “Our hearts don’t beat at night, so we aren’t warm then.” Ethan chuckled darkly, noting, “I suppose Lilith did it that way so we’d be trapped between the two worlds, unable to fully belong to one or the other.” Then he returned to expound on his first bit of information, “We take on the temperature of the air surrounding us when the sun is set. That’s why you couldn’t get warm next to me last night and that’s probably why you didn’t notice a difference the other times we went out. Well … that and the fact that your hands are actually quite a bit colder than mine are.” Ethan grinned like he seemed to think that was a bit ironic.

  It was true, Danielle didn’t have the best circulation and her fingers and toes were frequently as cold as ice. “So what you’re saying is that my hands are basically colder than a vampire’s even though I have a beating heart?”

  “Cold hands—warm heart … isn’t that what they say?” Ethan asked, a smirk twisting up the corners of his mouth.

  “I guess.” Danielle lifted her fingers to her cheek. They felt as chilly as usual. She smiled an impish smile and placed her frosty fingers on his cheeks playfully.

  Ethan faked a shiver and laughed, “Ooo, glacial!”

  He gathered her fingers into his hands and tried to warm them with friction. She was unable to ignore the fact that his hands felt normal and definitely warmer than hers.

  “Wait, you said your heart doesn’t beat at night? It just stops as the sun sets?”

  He nodded. “I’m guessing since we still have blood in our system, our hearts beat during the day when we’re mostly mortal … to keep it circulated. At night it is completely still.” Ethan then took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Do you feel it?”

  Danielle focused in on what she was feeling ... he definitely had a beating heart and she nodded in reply. After a moment of silence he lifted her hand to his lips, placed a kiss on her fingers and then released her.

  “As you noticed last night, we have superhuman powers, making it easy for us to catch our prey. Not that we need them, but Lilith wanted us to be a beautiful monster that was not easily escaped. Those powers exist only at night: our urges, our senses and our magic. We never hunt during the day. In fact, we couldn’t even if we wanted to. Our fangs will not emerge then.”

  His expression transformed with worry. “Are you okay with this information? Do you need to run again, or get away from me? I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

  Thoughtful, she mused. Even now knowing his deep dark secret, the familiarity overshadowed any bad and she just didn’t want to get away from him. “No, Ethan, I don’t want to get away from you, and no, I’m not going to run again. I needed to do that earlier, but I’m fine now.”

  Ethan nodded and exhaled with relief as one hand raked through his golden mop of hair. Vampire, she thought as she watched him drag his fingers through his hair another time. And she’d thought of him as an angel? Mr. Darcy didn’t even fit. Granted, he was probably from the same time.... Oh, man, it was the Frog Prince scenario that fit best. She wasn’t dating some superhero, or an angel, or an Austen dreamboat, she was dating the toad.

  Danielle took a deep breath. She was nervous about asking the next question in her head. But she could picture that—in however long he’d lived with the temptation to kill mortals—he could have slipped at least once. “Um, have you ever killed a mortal?”

  Ethan winced at the bluntness. “No,” he said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “In how many years?” Danielle glanced at the ruins that had been his childhood home.

  “In over a hundred and fifty years."

  “How?”

  “Danielle! Do you not believe me?” he asked, sounding hurt.

  “I’m sorry. No, I do believe you. I’m just trying to understand how you managed to resist the curse for so long.”

  “I never was a murderer, and never wanted to be. Many of us don’t, which is why Beon and another man named Seth began the Order. We believe that if you never taste mortal blood, it will be easier to resist it. That is what’s worked for me. I have never tasted human blood, and I don’t plan to. If I am out amongst mortals at night, I make sure I’m well-fed first.”

  “The Order?”

  “Ah, yes. The full name is the Order of the Curse-Bound Knights. We call it the Order for short.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  He shook his head. “I’m quite serious.” His left hand moved to the ring on his right. A thick band adorned with a crest. The image depicted a lion facing a dragon, with two swords crossing above a crown-topped shield in the middle. “Even though we haven’t been able to reverse our ... condition, we’ve decided to fight it instead. I suppose the best comparison would be the Knights of Templar.”

  “Vigilantes?”

  Draping his arm over one bent knee, he said, “I suppose it’s like that, but there are no laws for vampires. We simply rebel against what the magic tries to make us.”

  When he took in the fact she was still looking at his ring, he removed it and passed it to her. The heavy weight of the gold settled against her palm. It was warm from his skin. She ran a finger over the ornately designed band. With the lack of conversation, Danielle noted the sounds of birds chirping and the trees rustling. As she returned the signet ring to him, her gaze caught on to his lack of a smile and she thought of the teeth she couldn’t see, then wondered aloud, “Why have I never seen your fangs? I’ve seen you at night ... and I thought vampires were pale, you don’t look pale to me … and I thought your eyes were supposed to be a strange color.”

  “The fangs are retractable and only come out when we need them. And unless we’re thirsty, our eyes and skin will maintain their natural color.” His gaze touched onto hers. “I’m sure you noticed that Lucas was pallid and his eyes were silver and slightly reflective?”

  How could she forget? She nodded, realizing it hadn’t been just a trick of the light. His eyes really had been glowing, but not so much that she recognized the difference then.

  “He was only a little thirsty, but even so, he was extremely dangerous. Your defense skills never would have worked on him, no matter how good you were.”

  This conversation was a bit too serious and she decided to lighten it up with one silly question prompted by something she’d read in that vampire book. “Um, do you like to count?”

  Laughing loudly, “You can’t be serious!”

  She laughed too. His features rearranged into an incredible smile that melted her heart. That was so much better than the intense frown wrinkling his brow earlier.

  Chapter 8

  Maybe it’s Not a Fairytale

  He looked at her, gathering in the details of her dress, and then changed the subject. “This dress is kind of Edwardian and I loved that era. Partly because they wore a lot of white then. Plus,” his smile brightened, “it’s rather smashing on you.”

  Trying not to blush
at the compliment, she tucked the hem under her bent leg. They basked in silence for a few moments before more questions began swirling around her head. She didn’t want to bring back his frown by talking more about vampires, so instead she asked, “Do elves exist?”

  “Elves?” he chuckled at the random question. “Where did that come from?”

  “Do they exist?” she persisted.

  Leaning back he eyed her curiously and then responded with, “They’re real.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I’ve been around a while. Long enough at least to have met a few creatures perceived as fiction.”

  Blown away by his answer, she searched her thoughts for more mythical beings. “Hobbits then?”

  “Extinct,” he said. She gasped.

  “I realize this one is more of a fairytale than myth.... Snow White?”

  “True.”

  Her eyes grew wider. “So then dwarves—?”

  “Are also real.”

  “Cinderella?”

  “I don’t think so. Who could possibly dance in glass slippers? You’d probably cut your foot wide open.”

  “Oh, right. Goldie Locks and the Three Bears?”

  Ethan burst out laughing. “No, certainly not!”

  “The Princess and the Pea?”

  “Nonsense!” Still laughing.

  “Hansel and Gretel?”

  “Yes to that one.”

  “So then...”

  “Yes, witches are real too.”

  “Are they like sorcerers?”

  “No. Witches are mortal. They use plants and other things to make poisons or potions. A sorcerer is immortal, and has the power of magic in them, therefore more powerful than a witch.”

  This was fascinating. “Giants?” she asked.

  “Yes, they live in remote places, but they’re also almost extinct.”

  Danielle thought for a moment. Ethan seemed to like watching the wheels in her head turn as the smile never left his face, and she wanted to keep it there.

  “Dragons?”