by Sin
“Ah, do not fear my little priestess--it is only your power that calls you. I knew there was something different about you, but I had no idea that it was this.” His words did little to reassure me. “Rayme, as much as I would love to explore every inch of your body and to know the pleasure of your touch I must go. The sun is rising and my strength is going. Until tonight my love.”
Chapter Eight
I woke to find myself dripping with sweat, and to the sound of my phone ringing. I fumbled around until I found it. “Yeah?”
“Lovely way to answer the phone, Rayme, really…. I know that I raised you better than this,” my mother’s high pitched, made for complaining voice, rang out in my ear.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and did my best to be nice to her. “Sorry, mom, I worked late last night, and I had … umm … a hard time sleeping.”
“Are you taking those pills I sent you? I don’t know why I’m even bothering to ask, it’s not like you’d do anything I’d recommend.”
“I’m going to stay at the cabin for a few days.”
My mother fell silent for a moment. “Really, Rayme, that’s good to hear. I’ve been telling you for months now that you need to get out of that dirty city for a while and relax. You are going to think about the job offer here, aren’t you?”
I had to fight back a moan. The job offer she referred to was teaching dance to elementary school children full-time. I wanted to move home and do that about as much as I wanted to spend an evening at the movies with Dag. I sucked it up and lied. “Yeah, that’s why I’m going up to the cabin. It will give me some time to think about things. Bill won’t mind, will he?”
My mother made a strange noise. It was a half-choke, half-laugh. “Of course he won’t mind. Darling, he’s been after you to take the damn thing since you decided to move a state away. We never use it and it just sits and goes to waste. I told him to sell it, but he refused, he knows that you like it, so he won’t let go of it.”
I didn’t know what to say. Bill had always been good to me, better to me than even my own mother. A few months after my attack, I found out the real reason he didn’t come to see me, he couldn’t handle seeing me broken. He’d always wanted me to think of him as my father, I couldn’t. We worked around the obvious, the best we could. It was all anyone could really expect.
“Stop by if you get a chance. I’m assuming that you won’t though, so don’t worry about me, I’m used to never getting to see you.”
“I’ve got to go, Mother, my phone’s beeping.”
“Very well, call me when you get settled in.”
I hung up and lay back in my bed. I should have felt bad for lying to my mother about getting another call, but I didn’t. I was angry for not thinking of that sooner. I rolled out of bed and began packing my bags for a week at cabin. The nice thing about going up there this time of year was that I didn’t have to worry about how I looked in a swimsuit. It was too cold to do any swimming. I packed two bags full of clothes and called for a cab.
Henry ran out and I snatched him up and put him in his carrier. He didn’t like being in it, but he couldn’t stay home alone, so he’d have to deal. My phone rang and I debated on whether or not to pick it up. I grabbed it and waited, afraid that at any moment I’d hear something growling on the other end. I didn’t hear growling, but what I did hear was worse. It was Fawn crying, again.
“What’s wrong now?” I asked.
“Rayme, I just got a call from Sam. He and his wife are back together.”
Now, there was a shocker!
I listened with half an ear as she went on and on about having lost the latest love of her life. I heard her mention something about coming over to see me and I focused my attention back on her.
“No, Fawn you can’t. I’m leaving. I’m going up to the cabin for a week.”
“Rayme, what am I supposed to do with myself?” She asked. I heard her start to cry again and then she suddenly stopped. “I could get your mail for you and water your plants.”
I glanced over at my solitary houseplant, an aloe plant and shrugged. If it made her happy and shut her up then I was in. “Sure, sounds good. You know where I keep the extra set of keys at the bar, right?”
“Yes, and I’ll take good care of everything, I promise.”
“I know you will, Fawn.”
I heard the taxi honk. “I’ve got to go, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Chapter Nine
I could have made a new car payment by the time I was done paying cab fare, but I didn’t own a car and couldn’t see the sense in buying one. I saved a ton of money walking, and rarely had to take a cab anywhere. I lived so close to my place of employment that a car wasn’t practical.
I set my bags down on the porch and fished my keys out of my pocket. It was both liberating and strange to be at the cabin. I needed to get away from the bizarre occurrences at home, that much I was sure of, but I wasn’t sure if running off to a secluded cabin was the right answer.
I unlocked the door and chocked on the dust floating in the air. My mother was right. They never did use the place. I looked down at Henry. “First things first, buddy. You need to do your job, while I get some firewood.”
I let him loose to kill mice and put my bags in on the master bedroom’s bed. I grabbed my dark gray sweater and put it on. It always seemed cooler near the lake. I saw Henry darting down the hallway in hot pursuit of his dinner, and laughed. At least one of us was happy with my decision to come out here.
I loaded the wheelbarrow up with wood from behind the shed and tried to push it back up to the cabin. I made it about halfway before it tipped over and I fell on my bad knee trying to stop the load of wood from tipping out. I cried out and rolled onto my back. I tried to sit up, but it hurt too much. I gave up and sat there for a minute, hoping that the pain would go away. It didn’t.
I watched as the rest of the sunlight slipped away and darkness fell. I had tried several more times to get up, but failed miserably. I was about to crawl when I heard the sound of the chanting voices, and a slight breeze blew past me. I strained my neck to try to see if anything was near me. There was nothing.
I closed my eyes and tried to will the sound away. The second that my eyelids closed, I saw visions of wolves all around me. Each wolf blended with the next, until only one stood before me. The honey colored wolf took a step towards me. I began to back away, but it came right at my leg and nudged it softly. He seemed harmless. More like a large dog than a predator. I bent down and patted his head, only this brave because I knew that I was hallucinating, most likely from the pain. The wolf licked my hand and I smiled.
“You’re a good boy, huh?”
He nudged at my knee once more, before finally putting his front paws up on my shoulder and pushing me down. He licked my face and his rough tongue tickled my neck. I put my hands in his fur and pushed on him gently. “Stop,” I said, laughing hard.
He licked me again, and then moved down towards my leg. He bit down hard, and I screamed out. Instantly, though, the pain was gone. He backed away from me. There was no blood in his mouth, and none on me. It was as if he’d never touched me. He made a move to come near me again, but then backed away and moved slowly to my feet.
“Easy, now,” I said, hoping to avoid a repeat biting. I knew it wasn’t real, but that hadn’t made it hurt any less.
“Rayme?” I heard Jovan’s voice.
The wolf growled and I turned , expecting to find Jovan, I found no one. I looked back at the wolf, but he was gone now too. I moved my hand up and found that I now held Jovan’s card in my hand. I glanced down at it and smiled. “Jovan Shepard.”
My eyes flickered open. It was now pitch black out, and I was still lying outside on the ground. I heard the phone in the cabin ringing, and just lay there desperately wishing I was telepathic. Hey, I would have settled for one of those necklaces with the button that alerts medical personal that you’re in need of help. I’d always laughed at their hokey commercia
ls, but I wanted nothing more than to be wearing one at the moment.
I sat up and found that my knee didn’t hurt as bad anymore. It wasn’t great, but I could at least bend it slightly and that was a start. I rolled over and pushed up and off the ground. I used the tipped over wheelbarrow to help balance me, and stood there hobbling on one leg. Suddenly, the cabin looked very far away. I was happy that Bill had installed security lights around the property a few years back, or I would have been trying to navigate in total darkness.
I tried to take a few steps and found that I had to keep stopping and doing my best tightrope balancing act, minus the rope, and minus the skill. I heard a car pulling down the lane and wondered who was here. I crossed my fingers and wished on all that was lucky for it not to be my mother. A black car pulled in, and I watched as a tall man stepped out of it. He looked in my direction. I looked harder and couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Jovan?” I called.
He looked in my direction again and then looked surprised. “Rayme, what in the world are you doing out there, and why are you standing on one foot?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Your friend, Angie, gave me directions here. I explained that we had a date tonight and she seemed all too eager to get me here. She even offered to drive me,” he said, walking closer to me.
That sounded just like something Angie would do. She’d made it her life’s mission to see to it that I found a man. I’d have to remember to thank her double for this. Normally, I would have been mad that she’d sent a man I hardly knew out to see me. Right now, I didn’t care if he was Jack the Ripper. If he could help me back into the cabin, I’d be eternally grateful.
“Rayme, are you hurt?” he asked, looking at me and then the tipped over wheelbarrow.
“Well, kind of, I was stupid and I tried to move too much wood. It tipped over and I tried to catch it. I came down hard on my bad knee and....”
“Bad knee?”
I put my hand out to him. “I’ll tell you about it if you’ll help me out here.”
He smiled wide. “I would be happy to.”
Jovan took my hand and then moved his arms under me. He swept me up and off my feet before I even had a chance to protest. “You should eat more. You weigh nothing.”
“I think I love you.” The second I said it, I regretted it. It was meant to be a joke, but I wasn’t sure how Jovan would take it. He smiled wide at me. His pale skin looked almost purple in the moonlight. I reached up and touched his cheek. He stopped walking. “You’re so cold.”
His mouth opened, and then closed. I was shocked to find that someone as suave as he was at a loss for words. He brought my body up closer to his and I moved my hands around his neck.
“Jovan, put me down, I’m too heavy for you.”
He let out a soft laugh. “I’ve told you before that you weigh nothing. I moved you to be closer to me, that is all.”
I had to fight a sigh off. I didn’t want to be Fawn. I didn’t want to fall all over every man I met, but Jovan made it hard not to like him. He carried me up and onto the porch, but stopped at the front door.
“What’s wrong?”
He gave me one of his sexy smiles and tipped his head. “I like to think of myself as a gentleman, and you have not given me permission to enter.”
I did sigh this time. “You’re kidding right? You’re holding me in your arms for Christ’s sake. Yes, please, by all means go in.”
He nodded and carried me into the tiny cabin. It was dusty and all the furniture was still covered in sheets. Jovan looked around and I could tell that he wasn’t into rustic living. My cheek rubbed against his suit and I wondered if the man only owned designer suits. It was beginning to look that way.
He stood me up and made sure I was balanced before taking a step away from me to pull the sheet off the couch. A cloud of dust shot into the air and surrounded us. I laughed and then sneezed. Sneezing standing on one leg is never fun. I lost my balance and tipped to the side. Jovan spun around and caught me. We looked like we’d planned it, and he held me in the dip. I slid my arms up his shoulders and his face moved closer to mine. I couldn’t stop looking into his blue eyes.
His lips moved closer to mine and my brain told me to turn my head, but my body disagreed and I met his cool lips. The kiss was chaste at first, then I parted my lips slightly and Jovan’s tongue slid in. The room seemed colder than it should, and I could hear the faintest sound in the background. It was muffled, and sounded a bit like people chanting, or singing.
Jovan’s arms wrapped around me tighter and he lifted me into the air. I pulled back from him and noticed that we were both covered in a thin layer of dust. I laughed and he glanced at me and laughed too. He hugged me tight. “Oh, Rayme, it has been a long time since I was happy.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just leaned up and kissed the tip of his nose. He laughed harder and his voice wrapped around me again. I was suddenly very cold. “Jovan?”
He stopped laughing and looked at me. Something moved across his face, maybe recognition and he set me down on the couch. “Sorry,” he said, softly.
He went to pull away from me, but I grabbed his hand. “No,” I looked down at the dusty wood floor. “If you’re an insane superhuman murderer, I’m going to regret bringing this up, but did you do that? Did you make the room cold?”
“Rayme,” he said my name lightly, almost as if he was surprised by my asking him this.
“Seriously, Jovan, I felt this at the bar last night, and I felt it again tonight with you. What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said, looking at me with the best poker face ever.
“I like you, but if you’re not going to be honest then you need to leave. I appreciate your help tonight, but I won’t put myself in a position to be hurt again.”
“Again?” he asked bending down to me.
“Two years ago I was the victim of an attempted murder at the hands of a group of teens wanting to get into a gang. I was in critical condition, and it wasn’t pretty. I was left with scars all over my right leg, and now I’ll never be able to dance again.”
Jovan moved his hand over my knee and let his fingers rest gently on my jeans. “That is why you were hurt so when you fell tonight.” I nodded and he frowned a bit. “You’re not telling me the whole story. What are you leaving out?”
I exhaled and bit at my inner cheek. I’d never told anyone the whole story before, and I wasn’t sure what made me decide to tell Jovan. “Make sure you have your keys ready so you can get out of the crazy lady’s house quickly,” I said, trying to move away from him slightly. He touched my hand and smiled. I continued. “The only reason I’m alive is because something saved me. I say something because what I saw doesn’t make any sense, yet I know it was real.”
“What did you see?”
“Here’s the part where you run. I saw a wolf, and I felt it change into a man beneath my hands.”
Jovan never flinched. He didn’t so much as blink. I dropped my head back on the couch and exhaled. It felt good to finally say that aloud. Jovan rose to his feet and walked away. “Thanks for helping me tonight, and before you go, know that I’m not crazy.”
He looked back at me and grinned. “I’m not leaving. I’m going to get you a glass of water.”
“What?” I asked, more surprised by the part about him staying than the water.
“Trust me, love. You are going to need it,” he said, his accent even thicker than before.
Chapter Ten
“You’re a what?” I asked. Needing to hear him say it again, just to make sure that I heard him right.
“I’m an Omnimorpheleon.”
“An omnimorph-whatus?”
He laughed slightly. “Omnimorpheleon, a demon that can change shape at will.”
“So, you can become like a bat or something?” I asked, unsure I wanted an answer.
He shrugged. “I guess. I have never tr
ied it. It is too stereotypical.”
“Right … and we would be stereotyping what, then?”
His gaze shifted and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t like what he was about to say. “Omnimorpheleon are closely related to weres and vampires. We are a blending of the two--a super race of supernaturals if you will. That is why we are often called the guardians or masters. They say that the powers that be created us to keep the supernatural population in check. We are feared by weres and even by vampires.”
“Ooo, you can turn into a wolf or a bear or something really cool like that?” I figured that I might as well play along.
“Yes, I can. Unlike normal weres, I am not controlled by the moon. While most weres can shift at will, they are forced to shift during full moons. I am not. I am not limited to one shape either. I can be an animal, another person. It matters not what I chose, only that I have touched it at least once before.”
Sounded reasonable enough if you were insane. “Okay, then how does the vampire thing fit in?”
“Each Omnimorpheleon has a strong trait. Mine is that of a vampire. My normal form is what you see before you and in this form I am considered a vampire. I cannot go into the sunlight and I require blood to survive. In my other forms I can withstand direct light, but it takes a great deal of my energy to sustain that shape in those conditions.”
“So, you’re a not human.”
He laughed. “I am not human, no.”
Yep, I heard him right. I just had a hard time believing that he was crazier than I was. I took another sip of water and tried to sit up. Pain shot through my leg and my knee began to throb. I reached for it and closed my eyes, trying to think the pain away. It didn’t work.
“May I?” Jovan asked, moving closer to my leg.
