Beating Hearts
Page 24
“I don't feel bad, really. I feel better than I can ever remember feeling. I'm hungry and that worries me. But you kept your promise, you didn't hurt me.”
He wasn't sure he had anything to do with that. His bite should have hurt her and his blood should have been wickedly painful. She should be feeling ill, ill for days at the very least.
She walked over to him and kissed him, feeling the passion that had always been there, but there was something else. There was a deeper connection, a stronger desire to be near him.
They walked together to the kitchen and she watched as he poured himself a glass of blood. She felt no urge toward it and when he offered her the glass, she crinkled her nose. She reached past him for the bread and lunch meat.
“Sweetheart, that might make you ill.” He looked concerned.
“And the sun might have made me sleep, but it didn't.” She quickly made a sandwich, looked at it and to his glass and then took a bite before she lost her nerve. She chewed slowly and swallowed, waiting for it to come back up. When it didn't she filled a glass with water, washed it down, and took another bite.
Nick watched, thoroughly confused. Something about her changed, but she wasn't like him, not entirely. He finished his drink and they walked outside. She stayed under his arm as they walked the fence line looking for issues, smelling for intruders.
“Does the night feel different to you now?” he asked.
“It's clearer. I can see things with detail as if the sun were out, and I can hear things I never noticed before. I smell that Lance was here last night,” she said, and looked at Nick. “How did I know it was last night?”
“Because I imagine if your senses are like mine, subtle scents will tell you a lot.”
“Why do you think I am not like you? Shouldn't what we did, have made me like you?”
“I can't answer that. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules when it comes to supernatural things. I do have a guess.”
“What's your guess?”
“It is a virus. I would think marked humans are never turned, why bother marking them? Aside from that, you were dosed with three shots of the virus, one dose looked quite a bit larger.”
“So you think his blood worked like a vaccination?”
“It's as good a theory as any. I would suggest that due to fighting off the infection from his blood, you had something in you that knew how to fight the virus.”
“But something changed?”
“Yes, that part of it we talked about, the part I don't understand, that you seem to have.”
“So ironically, in trying to make me suffer, that evil thing actually made it so we could love forever, without having to change me?”
“It would seem so, but it is premature to celebrate. We both noticed something changed and it could be a while before we fully understand exactly what you are.”
“What I am is yours, in every sense of the word.”
“I am yours as well my beautiful half demon,” he said playfully.
“I'm glad I missed the half where I don't get pizza.” She laughed.
“Sure, rub it in. I thought you loved me.” Nick said as they rounded another corner and started to make their way back to the house.
When he went down for the day she decided to stay upstairs and see how she did in the sunlight. Nick showed her what she needed to do to cover the one crack of light that would come in the office door, just in case the sun was too harsh for her. He wanted to help her with this, but he knew he couldn't, he wouldn't be able to resist the call to sleep.
They closed the storm shutters just in case too. Once he was downstairs, she watched the clock. Seconds before the sun came up, she opened the door and walked outside. Slowly she made her way to the swing, not wanting to venture too far. As the sun rose it felt bright, annoying, too hot.
It didn't hurt in any great way, but her eyes begged to be shut, or at the very least, she would need a dark pair of glasses. The sun made her skin warm, slightly pink, almost like she had been at the beach all day. But it was just that, the sunlight was not going to burn her alive, the parts of her that were covered didn't burn at all.
She walked back inside and came out again with sunglasses, and long sleeves. She would shop later for a sunhat, if her theory proved true. After a few minutes, now that she was more covered, the only thing happening was her hands and face were irritated. She wondered if sun-block would help or if she would need gloves. She would put both on her list.
She walked back inside and went to the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. There were evident changes. He eyes were bluer, and ringed in black, her skin looked smoother, and hair seemed brighter as well as thicker. She smiled, looking at her teeth, her canines only seemed slightly longer, they were not menacing fangs, but looked like they could puncture if need be. She didn't feel dark, evil, or drawn to hurt anything. If anything she felt blessed.
Warren set out to use her to destroy Nick, and in doing so had given them a way to be together in a deeper way, without her having to lose herself, or him having to hurt her. She wasn't exactly sure what she was, or if she would live forever like Nick would, but she felt certain she no longer had to be afraid of the monsters in the night. Between Nick and Warren there had been two types of powerful blood in her, which following the theory of powers, would make her third generation, and stronger than most modern vampires.
She smiled at that, and then laughed and said, “And I can still walk around in the sunlight if I need to, and eat pizza.”
Epilogue
K ate and Nick sat in the sand, the water lapped gently at their toes. The sound of water, and the salt in the air had a calming effect on them both. His right arm rested over her shoulder as she nested into his side and enjoyed the peace between them.
Shortly after Kate adjusted to her new self, they decided to buy a vacation home on the gulf coast. It was a perfect retreat between their visit to clubs as they continued to expose the problem.
They never encountered Lance again, but Kate looked forward to the day they would walk into a place that was his, so she could handle him herself.
Their home was on a private beach, and as Nick had promised, they made love so many times in the surf that both of them had given up bothering trying to get rid of the sand.
She thought back to the first awkward days when Nick tried to talk her into leaving, and she was glad she had been too foolish to listen. There was no way she could have foreseen what would have happened and all she would have faced. She knew that since the end result would be a life with Nick it would be worth doing it all again.
Nick looked over and saw the happiness on her face. It was a happiness he knew as well, one he never imagined possible.
He leaned down and kissed her.
She looked into his eyes and he felt her suggestion wash over him.
He laid her back in the sand and made love to her again. He knew he would never have his fill of her, and he never wanted to.
The end
LUCRETIA STANHOPE is the author of a lot of things, about a lot of things, hopefully fascinating to read things. She lives in a small town in Kansas. It’s the kind of town you are afraid to be stranded in after dark, in case the creepy locals are actually vampires or satanic corn deity worshipers. Yes, there are cornfields all around the town. Seriously, that part is true. There is also a not so used rail station, really! And tons of creepy empty brick buildings, which would be moody fodder, if she would leave the house.
Her hobbies include making creative excuses not to leave the house, ever, not even to shop. That is what the internet and mail service is for. She also likes to crochet, and by likes, I mean she has a room devoted solely to yarn, and a bum shoulder that is referred to as her ‘crochet injury of 2014.’
Occasionally, pulling her from writing, or talking to her imaginary friends, it’s all the same, are four rescue mutts, and a very fat gray cat that thinks he is a dog. He’s big enough to be a dog, but more demanding, a
nd he meow’s more than the other dogs. Her husband has figured out it is best to just let her write, which is why they are still married, and he hasn’t been offered to corn deities or the creepy neighbors.