“Flynn!” I ignored Robin and began a hasty trek up the stairs. Glancing back at him once, I saw him taking the stairs two at a time and grumbled as I increased my pace. Robin was not to be deterred though. “Flynn! Wait!”
Finally, I hesitated with the second evocation of my name. Pausing on the top stair, I turned to face him. “What is it, Robin?” I asked through gritted teeth, not bothering to mask my annoyance while my mind continued spinning. I waited for him to catch up before continuing, my voice lowering to a growl. “I wish to go to my room and do not desire your company right now, thank you very much.”
“I can hardly believe your attitude.” Robin ascended the last stair by my side and turned down the corridor with me. “What has you troubled these past few days? You’ve hardly been around and whenever we talk you act as though I’m doing nothing but irritating you.”
“I have been acting no differently than normal.” My stride quickened again. “Now, if you would kindly leave me alone . . . ”
“Hardly. Not until you tell me what is wrong with you.”
“What concern is it of yours?”
Robin shook his head, his feet more than keeping pace with mine. “I thought we were confidants, but I must have been mistaken.”
“I have no confidants,” I spat, “Merely a host of manipulators around me, trying to fuck with my mind. You all stand in line, both living and dead, to make a basket case out of me.”
“What the devil are you talking about?”
“The devil.” I laughed. “Yes, I imagine he is in on this as well. Just fucking call me Job instead of Flynn. It would only be fitting, seeming as though I am the prize to be won in an annoying cosmic dice game.”
Robin scoffed. “I should almost call you Peter right now. You haven’t acted like this since your first days as an immortal.”
My steps ceased, though we were nearly to the sanctuary of my room. Turning to hiss at Robin, I bared fangs at him and spoke in the vilest tone of voice that had ever passed through my lips. “Call me that name one more time, you uptight Irish bastard, and I shall ensure you never speak another word again.”
“You would bare your fangs at me? There truly is something wrong with you.” Robin strode ahead of me, acting like a barricade between my door and me by pressing his back against the sturdy wood. “I demand you speak to me, or I swear to you I will run upstairs to Sabrina and tell her you’ve lost your mind.”
“Get out of my way, damn it.” My hand landed on Robin’s shoulder, attempting to push him aside.
Robin growled and swung a fist around, landing a punch across my face. My sunglasses flew with the impact and light stabbed my eyes with blinding shards of pain. “Bastard!” I said as I covered my eyes. “Do you have any idea how much that fucking hurts?”
I stole a quick glance at Robin through the cracks of my fingers, seeing his mouth hang agape. He struggled to speak. “Flynn,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Your eyes . . . ”
“Yes, my eyes. They hurt, you moron.” Bending over, I groped in a desperate fashion for my sunglasses, slipping them on the moment I located them. I stood once more and dusted off my suit jacket. “Or had you forgotten that in your abject stupidity?”
Robin failed to respond. I rubbed my eyes once more, and then regarded him, entertaining notions of unsheathing a knife and stabbing him enough times to make a vampire pin cushion out of him. The homicidal urge waned the moment I caught sight of how white his already-pale complexion had become. “What the fuck are you gaping at?” I asked. “You look as though you just saw the sun peeking through the windows.”
He blinked several times. His mouth opened and closed in an effort to produce noise until finally producing a panicked hush. “Your sunglasses. They were concealing it, but I remember . . . I remember what color they were when you were turned. I . . . ” Robin swallowed hard. He furrowed his brow. “When did you acquire the sight, Flynn?”
My facial expression sank. I asked the question, though fearing the answer. “What is it, Robin? What has happened to my eyes?”
One sharp, nervous laugh preceded my older brother’s response. He placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned close to me. “What was once sapphire has turned to emerald.”
I perked an eyebrow. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Your eyes.” Robin shook his head. “They used to be blue, but are no longer. Now, they’ve turned to green.”
Chapter Seventeen
In case I have failed to mention it previously, the vampires of my bloodline have nothing in the way of a reflection. You can speculate all you would like as to what causes this phenomenon, but one item of amendment must be added to this fact.
This means we cannot see when our eyes have changed color.
I rushed inside my room with Robin in tow. He shut the door, but remained standing in the entryway, watching with confusion and awe as I ripped my glasses from my face and paced the room. “I cannot believe this,” I said, knitting my fingers in my hair. “I cannot believe this. What did that miserable wench do to me?”
“Who, Flynn?” Robin asked in a cautious manner. As though I had come unhinged and was ready to snap at any moment.
He would have been correct.
“That fucking sorceress!” I spun around to regard my brother, a strange premonition washing over me, brought about by knowing I possessed a visible mark of my hidden gifts now. It inspired a knot of dread, which did not seem liable to unravel any time soon. “The little witch has been screwing with me and has finally gone too damn far.”
“What are you talking about? I thought she was dead.”
“She was supposed to be.” Strolling over to one of my chairs, I fell into it with such heaviness, I should have broken it. Would have only been fitting, I figured. One more cosmic laugh at my expense. I leaned back and covered my face with my hands. “They never seem to die when you want them to. Instead, they cast spells which screw with your perceptions and change the fucking color of your eyes.”
My words ceased in an abrupt manner. Robin made no motion to move or speak for what seemed like eons, causing an unsettling hush to fall between us. Finally, I heard his footsteps closing in on me. He sat in the sofa across from me and remained quiet for a while before speaking. “This is no hex, Flynn,” he said in an even manner. “I am not sure about the witch and what spells she might have cast, but I know no sorceress able to give a vampire the gift you possess.”
My hands fell on my lap. I sighed, lining my sights with Robin. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He ignored my tone and frowned. “This matter with your eyes. The problems you’ve experienced with them from your awakening until now. Their change in color.” Robin hesitated. I perked an eyebrow as he looked away. “Flynn, do you remember when I was training you to be an assassin and you asked what I meant when I mentioned your nature factoring into your sword skills?”
“Vaguely.”
Robin sighed. His gaze met mine again. “I have done you an injustice. I can only hope you don’t hate me when I tell you what I am about to say.”
Instinctively, I slid forward in my seat. “Just tell me, Robin,” I said, my voice lowering. “Please.”
He nodded slowly, folding his hands on his lap. His eyes strayed toward the floor again while he indulged in a deep, steadying breath. “Brother, I’ve hidden from you what you truly are all these years, partly to protect you and partly to protect the rest of the coven. Sabrina ordered me never to speak a word of this under pain of death. And the passage of time has made me less apt to come clean.”
I remained silent, eyes fixed on Robin. He shook his head, and then looked up at me again. “Sabrina and I were in San Francisco the first time I ever witnessed a seer with my own eyes. I’ll not go into that story now. Suffice to say the impression was lasting and staring into the eyes of one almost always means a vampire’s death. That we made it out alive is a wonder, but from that point forth, I paid attention to wha
t the olden ones would say as they spoke of these . . . vampire hunters.”
“Vampire hunters?” I frowned. “What the devil does that mean?”
“Your birthright.” Robin issued a wan smile. “You were born to kill your own kind, brother. Seers come into this world with the ability to read thoughts and discern the intentions of those around them . . . ”
I held up my hand. “I have heard this before.” I paused. “Well, I heard about reading thoughts and have experienced this for myself. This is the first I am hearing about a seer being a vampire hunter.”
Robin huffed. “The sorceress is apparently being selective in her information. Or cautious, which is not uncalled for when it comes to you.” He nodded, his eyes becoming distant. “So, this would explain why you’ve been acting strange lately. I never thought to consider you had realized your gifts, but now it makes sense. The witch did this, didn’t she?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I said, my voice a whisper. Clearing my throat, I spoke louder and steadier. “Yes, when I was missing that night, she had me shackled in her room and laid hands on me. I do not know what she did, but it felt as though she was twisting my mind around and reorganizing everything. The gifts began to emerge afterward.”
“You are fortunate Sabrina hasn’t noticed this yet.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. My voice lowered again. “Yes, I am. Those days are numbered, though.” My lids remained shut. Monica’s words coupled with Robin’s to form a circle in my mind. Raising my hand to rub my face again, I allowed it to settle onto my lap while the charge levied by Monica finally gained enough urgency to make it past my lips. “Is this why I was to be turned, Robin?”
He swallowed hard and nodded. “One such as you was not meant to be one such as us. I know of no other vampire who has successfully turned a seer. To find one who hasn’t realized his abilities is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The lot of you walk around like a ticking time bomb, eyes a different color with complete ignorance of what lies in wait. Then, suddenly, the bomb explodes and here you are.” He raised his hands, pointing them toward me. “Emerald-eyed psychics snatched up by the mortals who employ you. Sabrina had a premonition about you from your first meeting, though. As a mortal, your eyes might have been blue, but they were the same shade. Her subsequent meetings confirmed her suspicions and when you woke with the infirmity, we took it as a sign.”
“So, she was right.” My gaze strayed toward the wall across from me. “The pearl of great price and here I sit, no longer ignorant.”
“The witch has kept in contact with you?”
I nodded. “Yes. She locates me every few days, attempting to be my conscience.” I scoffed, looking back at him. “Nothing she has said has stuck until now. I have reveled in reading thoughts and using my gifts to lure my prey, but . . . ” Shaking my head, I sighed. “I do not think she shall rest until she has me utterly and completely confused.”
Robin glanced away, gaze turning pensive, until it found mine again. “Why did she bring out your gifts?”
“The naive creature still thinks me capable of redemption.” I laughed, incredulous. “And thinks my buried humanity will latch onto the sight. I confess, this has brought about some moments where I thought I might split apart and form two people from the madness of it all. The more I come to understand it, the more it confounds me.” My words ceased for a moment. I frowned once more. “The only pleasure I have derived is from killing. After all, what good is a vampire who cannot kill? Precious little more than a deathless mortal.”
Robin’s expression turned pained and his shoulders sank. “You prick my conscience, brother. These are words I have hurtled at you.”
I perked an eyebrow. “What do you mean, I prick your conscience?”
“Everything you have become is due to me, in part.” He sighed, his shoulders lifting again, but seemingly in defiance toward the melancholy which infected him. “You are not the only one who has served the mistress to their downfall. I did it when I agreed to train you. While doing so taught me to be the mentor I should have been from the start, I gave you the tools to become what you are.”
“I do not understand. How are you responsible for what I became?”
“I have taught a seer to love to kill.” He shook his head. “This world is part of a natural order; there are certain things which shouldn’t ever come to pass. While I taught you what it means to be a vampire, I never revealed to you what you were before all this. And in doing so, I set you on a path which has made you more and more like Sabrina every day. For this, I will be judged mercilessly by The Fates.”
I shook my head. “I do not know much about The Fates or about this natural order you claim exists, but Sabrina.” Drawing in a deep breath, I exhaled it slowly. “As you pointed out, she knows nothing about this and thinks the witch is dead. Many times, I have tried to bring myself to killing Monica and each time, I have let her slip through my fingers without argument.” I brought my hand to my head at the mention of Monica, as though I could develop a migraine at the mere invocation of her name. “She shows up and I become of warring minds. Curse that damn mortal and the day she entered my life.”
Robin hesitated. I looked at him without realizing my gaze had strayed and focused on his thoughts, hearing them first as a whisper, then as a shout. As I concentrated on the one person inside my coven I trusted, I heard his private ruminations scream of distrust. Distrust of Sabrina; the thought that I was teetering on an edge and about to plunge headfirst into her arms so she could rip me apart. I saw an image of me being used before being tossed aside and frowned deeper at the notion. “You think me wise not to tell her,” I said.
My brother glanced away, issuing a sardonic chuckle. “Ah yes. Hard to mask one’s thoughts from a seer, isn’t it?”
“This is the first time I have tried to read them.” I leaned forward in my seat. “Why should I keep it from her?”
Robin sighed. “A century is a long time, Flynn. As I said to you before, I have a history with the mistress. It could take days to retell every story of our time spent together. One thing I can tell you, though, is that this coven has never been one large, happy family.” His eyes met mine again. “When not infected with jealousy, it is compromised by its laziness and overindulgence. It hasn’t made her any friends with the remainder of the covens and you were the last straw.”
I watched him stand and begin to pace the floor in front of me. Holding my gaze steady, I waited patiently for him to continue. “Sabrina’s always been an ambitious person,” he said, “But it became much worse forty years ago. That was when she became ruthless; willing to do whatever it took to gain whatever she wished. I left her side for ten years and returned out of duty to her as my maker, to be her second. I have never seen her use the level of deception she has employed with you before, though.” He turned to face me. “She keeps you placated so you continue to use your blades in her service. I have caught her dabbling in things which she has no business trifling with and she has prided herself in turning a seer into a sadist.”
For some inexplicable reason, the comment wounded me. “You think me a monster, Robin.”
Robin frowned, regarding me in a solemn manner. “I think you’re well on your way to becoming one and I fear it for everyone’s sake including yours, dear brother.” He sighed. “When I was your mentor, I thought I was helping to give you a purpose to your existence. I had no idea how much Sabrina would exploit it. I served her blindly and I confess this to you. In the years that have passed, I realize what a grave mistake I made. You became more than a hunter, you are a killer. Instead of loathing evil, you love it. Continuing down this road, with the gifts you now possess, I see the potential for a monster far worse than Sabrina herself.”
My brother and I stared at one another. While I felt the invisible knife that had just been thrust into my chest, I knew I deserved it. Swallowing hard, I nodded. “I do not deny the truth of your words.” My eyes drifted away. “Sabrina’s presence chills me
now, though. I once desired her as nothing before, but these days, I cannot look at her without my gut twisting in revulsion. It has made being her assassin taxing, to say the least.”
When I glanced back at Robin, I saw him grin. “The witch was saving your life, it would seem.”
“More like condemning it. Knowing now what I do, Sabrina will not allow an insubordinate vampire under her roof, especially not one with an echo of his humanity in hibernation.” Standing, I sighed. “Robin, for over four years my conscience has been free of remorse. I have experienced things, though, which have confounded me ever since the witch came into my life. I do not know why. Perhaps this seer still lives and has been woken by these abilities. I might be under some spell, for all I know. Or, this blasted necklace I procured from Anthony might be to blame for most of this. Who the devil knows?”
Robin raised an eyebrow. “Necklace?”
“Yes.” I reached underneath my shirt and brought the pendant out where Robin could see it. He studied it as I continued to speak. “I had given it to my mortal girlfriend and retained ownership of it after I killed her. I sold it some years ago, but for some bloody reason, I asked Anthony to find it for me again and everything has been flipped upside down ever since. Sabrina shall seek my destruction if I continue on this path, dear brother. Her wiles have been useless against me.”
Robin’s eyes lifted from the pendant to meet my gaze. “The necklace is enchanted, which makes sense to me. Your mortal girlfriend was no ordinary human.”
I tucked the necklace back into hiding. “That is what the witch tried to tell me. I don’t know if this is to blame for my behavior, but Sabrina will notice it before she sees the color of my eyes. I have been walking a fine line as it is.”
“Whether or not your abilities or this necklace are to blame for it, you’d be mindful to keep wearing it, regardless of how much it might trouble you.” Robin’s gaze turned severe. “I can only offer you my advice, dear brother. I’m certain my words will shock you, though.”
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