“In a sense, you were. There are people who could explain it far better than I. But, yes. You were…” she seemed to search for the appropriate word, “unaware of many things that exist in the world.” She finished writing and lifted the card, offering it to me across the table with warmth in her eyes I knew was not present in her body. That warmth reminded me of how utterly attracted I was to her.
“Like I’m the last horse to cross the finish line?”
She laughed softly and shook her head. “Most humans are Unawakened.”
“Ah. So… then it really is like The Matrix?” I stopped restraining myself and lifted my hand to check the back of my neck. Everything was normal, but the action elicited another smile from my gorgeous companion, so I wasn’t mad at myself.
“Perhaps in some ways. Though there is no great conspiracy that has kept them all asleep. There is no machine uprising, or evil government— well, not like that at least. For the humans, there is no one to blame. They have chosen to be this way.”
I frowned. That sounded awful. “Really?”
She nodded. “They have done it to themselves.”
I nodded slowly. That made a sort of sense. People are excellent at hiding from their fears. If there really were vampires and… A burning question interrupted my thoughts. “Wait… they?”
Amorie nodded again.
I frowned deeply. “What do you mean… they? Don’t you mean me too?”
Amorie pursed her lips as if trying to decide how to say what she meant. “I do not believe you are human, precisely.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I am not certain. But I have a suspicion about what you are.”
“What I am? As in what? What do you mean?” Panic rising. Dakota status: not so good.
“I am not sure I am the best person to explain it to you.” She gave me an apologetic expression and leaned back from the table as the waitress brought my order and laid it out. I took one look at the food and decided I was not hungry. Then my stomach growled again in protest to my decision and I picked up the burger, overruled. I glanced up as I bit in and realized I hadn’t accepted the card Amorie had offered me. I’d been a bit too distracted at the time. She laid it on the table as the waitress walked away, then slid it over to me. I read the card while chewing.
“Ralof Gunnarsson? What do you think I am, a Viking?” I thought about that for approximately one half of a nano-second before blinking in surprise. “Wait… Viking Guy? From the other night?”
Amorie nodded. “He is… a friend. And I believe he can help you.” She was smirking. “I believe he is the one who should tell you more. It is more his place.”
“Why?”
“Because… it is his place to take care of ones such as you. Assuming I am right.”
“What, people who Awaken?”
“No…” She handed me the ketchup just as I reached toward it. “Let Ralof explain. It is his job to take care of your kind.”
I applied the ketchup to my fries, noticing that Amorie’s nose crinkled just slightly as I did so, as if she didn’t approve of adding that condiment to that food. I wondered idly why she cared. Vampires didn’t eat normal food, right? Isn’t that what all the movies said? “So you think that he’ll take care of me?” I emphasized the last four words with a gesture like a gunshot to my head.
Amorie smirked again and shook her head, sending the cascade of softly curling dark locks that framed her face to tumbling all about. “He will help you get your bearings. And you will be safe with him.” She considered for a second or two then smiled up at me through her dark lashes. “I would take you in myself, but to do so would require certain…” she smiled just broadly enough to show me her fangs indicatively, “concessions on your part.”
I figured that she was trying to be playful, or humorous, but I straightened and felt myself leaning away from her at that. “Uh…”
“Do not worry, Dakota, I was only teasing. I will not harm you. And I would do no such thing without your permission. Though, I do not believe it would be possible for me to turn you, regardless.” Her face still held a warmth I knew her touch belied.
I watched her expression very carefully, hoping to understand her motives. “Why?”
“Because of what you are. Or at least, what I believe you are.” I could tell she wanted to deflect from the possible misstep of teasing me about turning me into a vampire. Good move, really. “Are there any other questions that I may answer for you right now?”
I scooped a handful of fries through the chili and cheese adorned with ketchup, then paused, hovering the drippy concoction over my plate while I considered that. “What about tonight? Will I be safe if I go home and sleep in my apartment?” I leaned my head back to drop the gloopy potatoes into my mouth. My world may have just gone sideways, but at least I still had comfort food.
“You should be all right for tonight.” Amorie assured me gently. She seemed more amused at my messy eating habits than disgusted, which was better than expected. “It is late, and you will be safe at least from my kind when the sun rises.”
“So that’s true then?” I tried to speak intelligibly around mouthfuls of food. “I mean about vampires and the sun? What about stakes and garlic and running water?”
Amorie smirked at me and cocked her shoulder up, leaning her head toward it coyly. “Trying to figure out how to kill me already?”
I snorted. “Right… because I was so effective against the other vampire.”
She smiled rather brightly and indulged me. “Many of the things you have read about supernatural creatures are true. Some things are merely myth or folklore. But many such tales have within them, a seed of truth.” She lifted my mostly-drained glass as the waitress approached to refill it. I managed a muffled “Thanks” around a handful of fries.
It was then that I realized at last that Amorie must have stuck out in this place like a sore thumb. She was dressed like a rich person, which presumably, she was. Her floor-length black evening gown was bejeweled along the single shoulder strap and down along one side with sparkling, colorless gems and layers of shimmering silver beads, all surrounding a small area of empty space where the dress revealed the soft, pale excellence of her side, just above the hip. Her hair was pinned in the back in an elaborate style, held by an ornate clasp that circled her head from just above and behind one ear to the same place on the other side. The clasp was silver and covered in sparkling gems to match her dress, and it was designed with gracefully curling spirals and intricate knots. Her hair tumbled down in front in a cascade of delicate little curls which framed her cheeks and dipped just lower than her chin. She was stunning.
And here I’d brought her to a crummy little diner, one step less refined than a Waffle House, and yet it seemed that no one had taken note of her. I wondered about that as I glanced around. Perhaps they had noticed when she walked in. I’d been entirely too busy panicking to really pay attention. “Why does no one seem to notice you?”
Amorie glanced around the room as if noticing the people there for the first time. I could see her considering her answer. Her mouth quirked up at the corner and I knew the response she gave would be a playful one. “Vampire powers.”
I smiled, amused. “Vampire powers? That makes you sound like a superhero. Do you get little tights and a cape?”
Her eyes cut to me with a dominating, sultry expression. “I do if I want them.” Her voice carried an air of power that settled around me like a blanket. I shuddered at the tingling shiver it sent down my spine. The sound of her power steeped in her accented voice had managed to turn me on.
“Oh…” I shuddered again and considered a few crazy things I would undoubtedly have said any other night when a vampire hadn’t saved me from another vampire trying to eat me after the night when my hands had caught fire and— “Why did my hands catch on fire?”
Amorie blinked at the sudden question and tilted her head. “Your hands…?” Crap. She didn’t know about that.
“Yeah… that’s what started all of this. Or at least, I guess it is. I didn’t tell you about it though, did I?” I felt rather sheepish. Then again, it was just last night and a lot had been going on since then.
“I fear not.” She looked both interested and concerned. “But it sounds as if you should explain, no?”
“Sure.” I stacked my empty plate under the second one which held up the waffle I’d ordered. I drizzled some syrup on it and started cutting it while I spoke. “There was some guy at the museum last night. Some crazy guy. He broke in and scribbled some kind of Voodoo Wicca stuff all over the floor around a cup we had on display. I noticed him and tackled him. Something weird happened… there was some kind of pulsing green light. And… after the police took him away, I was standing there trying to figure out what I’d seen and my hands caught on fire.”
Amorie fluttered her lashes, indicating that she was still surprised. “Your hands were on fire… Were you hurt?”
I shook my head, stuffing a bite of waffle into my face. “Nah, it was weird. Like they were on fire… but not burning. And the fire was green, by the way.”
Amorie went still.
I frowned and set my fork down. “What?”
The set of her shoulders told me that something was wrong. “Green fire? You are sure?” I nodded, furrowing my brows. “I see.” She pulled a smartphone from her purse and touched the screen in a series of deft motions I wouldn’t have expected from anyone over legal drinking age. “Can you show me the cup? Is there a picture on the museum’s website?”
I frowned and shook my head. “I don’t think so. It wasn’t anything important. I think it was just something some patron donated a year or so back. It was off in one of the side galleries. Not something they’d still be advertising.”
Amorie frowned and glanced up from the phone. “I suppose that you have not taken a picture of it?”
I shook my head and chewed at my inner lip. “No… but…” I started to grab my phone and frowned as I realized I’d left it at home since purses were one step girlier than I’d felt I could manage and the dress had no pockets. I reached for Amorie’s phone instead. “Here. I might be able to find it.” Amorie let me take her phone, so I started Google-ing. A moment later, I offered it back displaying an article from the local newspaper’s site. A photo of the cup was front and center at the top of the page.
“Clever.” Amorie nodded her approval as she examined the photo, concern apparent on her features. “I will look into it. It is not something I immediately recognize. But…” She set the phone down and looked up at me with a serious expression that commanded my attention. “Be careful with that, Dakota. You should try not to use it if you can avoid it.”
“Use what? I didn’t do it. It was just… there. And then it wasn’t.” I couldn’t help glancing at my hand and flexing it at the memory.
Amorie seemed to consider that and nodded. “It is possible it was just an effect of the ritual the magicien— the mage was doing. But you should be very careful. If… if it did come from you… Then you should do your best not to summon it up again until I can find out more about it. That fire—” I’d only managed to remain quiet so long due to the waffle I’d been chewing on when she’d said “mage”.
“Mage?” I half-shouted. I immediately regretted speaking so loudly as half a dozen people looked up at me and I shrunk into my seat. I was terrified for a few seconds that I had really screwed up and given it all away, but everyone just went back to what they were doing before, seeming more annoyed at my volume than really caring at all about what I’d said. It was weird. I felt like I had a secret that I’d just blurted to a crowd, but as it turned out, no one really gave a damn about that kind of thing.
Amorie seemed amused at me. “They will just think you are discussing a book or perhaps, a film.” That made sense. If people were Awakened just by hearing the word “mage”, I doubt there’d be so many people still Unawakened. What with Peter Jackson and Harry Potter and all. “But about the fire.” Amorie drew my attention back to the more pressing matter. “It is possible that it came from you. And if you are not careful… it could do much more harm than you would wish to cause.”
I frowned deeply and nodded. “Okay. I’ll be careful. Can you tell me what it is?”
Amorie shook her head. “Not just yet. I would prefer to be sure.” She put her phone away. “I will make some calls and see if I can find out for you. I will try to have an answer for you by next eve.”
I smiled at her weakly. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I mean… Why are you helping me?”
Amorie smiled and fluttered her lashes at me again, strengthening my smile. “Perhaps it is just because I like you.”
I thought about that for a second and decided. “I like you too.” We smiled at each other more broadly. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”
Amorie feigned a hurt expression and touched her fingers exaggeratedly to her chest. “Why, Dakota, what are you suggesting?”
My smile stretched out further on one side. “I dunno. Maybe it’s just harder to trust someone who could eat me.”
Amorie smirked at that. “You trust other people all of the time. It is not unheard of that people have eaten other people, no?”
I snorted. “Well, you don’t really look like the Jeffrey Dahmer type.” When had we leaned closer to each other? I straightened up suddenly and pointedly stuffed the last quarter of my waffle into my mouth. “So, I’ll be okay if I just go home then?”
Amorie leaned back as well. “I would say so. As long as you go straight home and stay inside until morning. Then you should really go and speak to Ralof as soon as possible. Call him first thing in the morning. This is not something you should wait around on. Though, I will see to it that you are safe from my kind at least for tonight.”
I wanted to ask her a million other questions. But I was feeling overwhelmed already, and she seemed to want me to preserve the bulk of my queries for Ralof anyway. So I decided to file my curiosities away for tomorrow. I scooted to the edge of the booth and paused. “I guess I’ll go home then. I should get some rest if I’m expected to be alive during daylight hours.” I slapped a hand over my mouth at the unintended vampire joke, my eyes going wide. Amorie, however, laughed, a merry sound trickling from her lips which contorted into a quivery smile at the end. “I’m so sorry.” I stage-whispered. “That wasn’t meant to be racist.”
Amorie snickered again and shook her head a little. “You really are cute.” I could feel the warmth of my features’ betrayal. “Go home and rest. See Ralof tomorrow. I will call you some time after sun down.”
I smiled, glad to have amused her again. “All right. I will.” I stood and glanced at the table. I started to reach for the wallet that wasn’t there but before I could remember that I’d just stuffed some cash in my bra, Amorie stilled my hand with a wave of hers.
“Just go. I have it.”
I smiled. “Right. Thanks.” I wanted to say more. In a way, I wanted to stay with her. At least for right now. At least, it was less frightening than going out there and being alone. “I’m going to call a cab.”
Amorie nodded. “That is wise. I would offer to have you driven home, but you seemed, perhaps wisely, hesitant to allow me to offer transportation before.”
I grinned wolfishly. “Perhaps wisely?”
Amorie smiled. “It is wise to retain a measure of caution with strangers. Especially now.”
I nodded and tugged at my dress, bringing it down to a more reasonable level on my thighs. “Okay. Well. Good night, Amorie. And… thank you. You know. For rescuing me.”
Amorie nodded in a manner that felt more like a bow. “You are welcome, Dakota. Take care of yourself.”
8
Meeting
It was hot out. So much so that I was glad to see that the place where Ralof had said to meet him was solidly within the shade at this hour. I’d slept poorly the night before, failing despite exhaustion to actually stay asleep for long period
s at a time. It was unusual for me to be in bed during night hours and that can’t have helped, but mostly, I just couldn’t sleep through the nightmares I had of ravenous green fire, the vampire pressing his body against me so tightly I couldn’t escape, and other splendid monsters all flowing along the theme of “things that would like to eat me and worse”. I’d started awake at six in the morning and decided that five hours of sleep would just have to do for tonight.
I’d waited until seven to call Ralof. Even then I’d worried that I was being rude by calling too early but Amorie had said to call as soon as I was awake, so I assumed he wouldn’t mind. Ralof had sounded awake and not at all annoyed, so hopefully I’d been right. Amorie had apparently given him a call after I’d left her the night before, so he was already expecting to hear from me. He told me to meet him at one of the picnic pavilions at Great Smoky Mountain National Park for lunch and that sounded fine by me. I spent the forty-five minutes it took the cab to take me to the park from Knoxville thinking about the conversation I’d had with Amorie the night before. What did she think I was? And what would it mean for my life? What could the green fire be that it was scary enough to elicit the reaction it had from a vampire? Well… fire might be enough. I thought idly. Vampires didn’t like fire, right? But something told me it was more than that.
The conversation with Amorie had certainly left me anxious for some answers, and so I was grateful to spot Ralof approaching the pavilion just as I’d arrived. Whether thanks to the presence of better lighting or the absence of Amorie’s beauty to distract me, Ralof looked a bit different to me than he had the first time I’d met him. Or maybe it was just that I was less afraid of him now that I knew he wasn’t some big, scary bodyguard about to punt me over the moon for getting to close to the pretty lady.
He was still ridiculously tall and muscular, a fact that his skin-tight black muscle shirt did nothing to hide. Beyond that, he wore blue jeans and a pair of thick, heavy hiking boots. His hair was a touch more strawberry than I’d first thought, though the sunlight brought out the golden quality as well. His beard was braided today in addition to bearing a pair of nifty Viking beads. As he neared, I noticed the shifting lights that radiated from his form. They were mostly earthy colors, greens and browns, but there were some smaller pockets of white, red, and purple. I noticed that the light turned a more brilliant, golden color toward the inner edges. I wondered for a moment what the colors might mean, or if they meant anything at all.
Awakened (Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd Book 1) Page 4
