by H G Lynch
“The fact you’re a bloodsucking monster?” She grinned gleefully. Distantly, she wondered if lack of sleep hadn’t made her at least a little crazy. But, she did believe she wasn’t dreaming now at least.
“Yeah, that,” he said darkly, dumping her back on her branch. Ember grunted unhappily and stared longingly at the ground. The ashes of the burned pentagram had scattered in the wind, and aside from a few scorch marks on nearby trees, there were no signs of what had gone on tonight. It was disorienting in a way.
“Like I’ve said before, I’ve got a thing for vampires. Whether or not you drink blood and have fangs…well, it probably won’t have much effect on how I feel about you. You don’t scare me, Reid.” Ember could feel a blush creep up her face as her anger fizzled away. What did scare her was the fact that, at any moment, he might ask her how she did feel about him, and this really wasn’t the time, or the place, for that discussion.
“Seriously? You’re not scared of me? Maybe you really are nuts,” he muttered, and she snapped off a twig on her branch and threw it at him. It got caught in his blonde hair and he brushed it out, mussing his hair at the same time. Damn, he looked so cute with his hair in his eyes like that. Not, she told herself, that I care.
“Hey, would you rather I jumped out of the tree and ran screaming? I’d say I’m handling this situation fairly well. Especially considering it’s the middle of the night and I’m exhausted. And it’s technically your fault I’m even out here,” Ember shot back, swinging out her leg to kick him in the chest. He caught her leg and tugged her, causing her to fall off her branch and land in his lap. “Whoa! Was that really necessary? If you want to play Santa, you could at least get the costume right,” Ember gasped, a little breathless in surprise. A blush crept up her face, and she hoped he couldn’t see it in the darkness. Suspected he could anyway.
“Ha, ha.” He rolled his eyes, now their normal bright blue instead of that odd, glinting colour, “Why would I pretend to be something that doesn’t exist?” He grinned, flashing his fangs. In response, Ember felt something hot stir inside her, and felt the desperate need to get off his lap before she ended up doing something she shouldn’t.
Reid tilted his head, gazing at her thoughtfully. He lifted his hand and ran one fingertip over her cheekbone. Surprised, Ember could help the little shudder she gave at his delicate touch. A smile tugged at the corner of Reid’s mouth.
“Funny. It appears you’re not so tired of me anymore. Could that have something to do with me being an immortal, superhuman bloodsucker?” He gently brushed her hair off her face. The touch tingled against her skin and sent little shocks through her hair to her scalp. His other arm was wrapped around her waist to prevent her falling off his lap and plummeting to the ground.
“How do you do that? Is that some sort of vamp trick?” she asked tightly, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach.
“Do what?” he asked, seeming honestly confused.
“Oh, come on. You must know ‘what’?” She had the feeling that maybe it was just the weird, sharp sexual tension between them that made her respond to him that way. But she had to be sure.
“Actually, for once, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.” His blue eyes were truthful.
Feeling her cheeks burn, Ember sighed. “Never mind.” But she’d peaked Reid’s curiosity, and he narrowed his eyes to scan her face, looking for answers. Then a thoughtful gleam came to his eyes and Ember could practically see the light that went on in his head.
“You mean…this?” he asked quietly. He drew his fingertips down her spine, making her shiver. He brought that hand back up to brush the curve of her jaw. She refused to meet his probing gaze. But obviously, he could hear her heartbeat skip, and she imagined her expression wasn’t hard to read. “Ah… I see. That explains why you were always so reluctant to kiss me. It wasn’t because you hate me after all; it’s because you don’t like the way I can make you feel. That’s right isn’t it?” His voice held all his old, arrogant manner and she wanted so badly to hit him and tell him he was wrong. But she didn’t see the point. Not anymore. And anyway, he was at least partly right.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she forced out the words, staring very hard at a groove in the bark of the branch they were sitting on. Reid chuckled seductively in her ear and her heart jumped, her breathing hitching. She was fully, painfully aware that she was sitting on his lap, and they were alone - alone half way up a tree, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night. Really alone.
She swallowed nervously. If he wanted, he could do anything he wanted to her. Like bite her. The thought made her heart contract, whether in fear or excitement she wasn’t really sure.
“I suppose this has been clouding your… judgement of me?” he whispered, his mouth so close to her ear.
“Um… well, it doesn’t help. Please stop it. I’m… I’m a little dizzy,” Ember heard her voice as if it didn’t belong to her, didn’t recognise it. She sounded different... breathless and somehow teasing.
In a show of what was surely great restraint for Reid, he pulled back and lifted her off his lap, dumping her onto the branch so she could sit next to him rather than on him. Then he grinned at her charmingly, and she looked away shyly. She couldn’t help it. All of a sudden, it felt like things had changed between them. Like a coin had finally dropped. As if all the arguments and pranks and stresses they’d put each other through had been leading up to this… whatever this really was. Ember wasn’t sure if she meant this, as in, finding out what Reid was… or this, as in, finally giving in to how she felt about Reid. It was all a little much to deal with, especially in the middle of the night.
“Can we get down from here now? I’ve got a lot of questions but if I don’t get on solid ground soon, I’ll faint. Not a good thing to do twenty feet up in a tree.” Ember shifted, getting ready to climb down.
“Oh, so my presence has that much impact on you, does it? I’m sexy enough to make you faint?”
Ember had to admit that she was kind of glad to hear the smug, taunting quality back in his voice as a flicker of that broken Reid from her dream passed through her mind. She scoffed at him. “Not exactly. I’m not a nocturnal creature, though, and I’m tired.” She grinned, making it clear she was giving a dig at his vampirism, despite the fact he was obviously not afraid of daylight. She’d seen him out during the day a dozen times, and he’d never seemed affected by it in the least.
“You’re so funny,” he said sarcastically, raising one brow. “I don’t sleep in a coffin just to let you know. Garlic doesn’t bug me. Holy water is great for super-soaker fights inside a church, and if you even think about suggesting I turn into a bat, I’ll toss you to the dirt from up here.” He gave her a sidelong glance and a smirk and she laughed quietly, beginning her descent down the tree.
Of course, Reid opted for the less conventional way down. In an arrogant show of his superhuman resiliency, he simply flung himself into the open air and fell the twenty feet, landing neatly in a crouch before she had even climbed down three branches. “Show off,” Ember muttered, carefully watching where she put her hands and feet for the next drop down.
“I heard that,” Reid called up. Ember growled under her breath, and heard him laugh below her. Anxiously, she wondered just how much he’d heard her say when she didn’t think he could hear her.
Pleasant Defeat
Reid
Once they were back on the ground, they continued their conversation, with Ember asking a lot of questions. She was about as curious as a two-week-old kitten and Reid couldn’t help but admire her for that.
He’d been worried about her finding out his secret all along, but it had kind of taken a back seat to the more immediate issue of her reluctance to return his feelings. Now, he saw he’d been stupid to worry about it. Ember was clearly unlike any normal - or sane - teenage girl he’d ever known. When she should’ve run screaming from him, she’d made jokes. Where anyone else would’ve thrashed and yell
ed to get away from him, she’d sat on his lap and blushed at his touch. Amazing. Bizarre, but amazing.
As they wandered slowly, winding their way through the trees, Reid asked her about what she had prattled on about earlier, the dreams she’d talked about, and she described them to him - briefly. He had a feeling she was editing out a few things but that was okay. He could fill in the blanks. Carefully, he explained to her that Brandon, Perry, Ricky and himself were all born vampires, knowing that every word he uttered to her was another word against the boys’ covenant of silence that they’d held for seventeen years. Yet, he found a sort of peace in his betrayal of his friends, in letting Ember know who he really was. Plus, his rebellious nature thrived on breaking the rules. Brandon is going to be so pissed off, he thought gleefully.
Answering each of her questions, Reid let her know about the impossible speed and reflexes, the ultra-hyped-up senses, the ability to levitate small objects with their minds - he didn't go into detail on how exactly that worked. It was a little confusing, and he doubted she’d understand it really. It was hard to describe to someone who didn’t have the telekinetic power. He also explained that, as born vampires, they weren't really dead. They were undead. They had died in the womb, but when they'd been born, they'd come to life again through the magic in their blood. Their hearts beat, but that was an evolutionary thing; they wouldn't die if their hearts didn't beat – unless the reason their hearts didn’t beat was that they’d been staked or burned - but having a pulse averted suspicion. If Reid ran around without a heartbeat, the girls he bedded would probably notice sooner or later. And that would be bad.
Lastly, he explained that they did drink human blood, but only needed to feed once a week or so.
“Is that part of why all the girls?” she asked, a taunting smile across her lips.
He nodded and replied, “But only part.” He arched a brow meaningfully at her in his normal manner. It didn’t bother her.
He didn’t feel it was prudent to mention the compulsion he could use; he knew it would likely upset her. She might suspect him for using it on her, blah, blah, blah. Of course, he hadn’t ever really used it on her, except that tiny bit of influence he’d used at the skate park to make her want to kiss him. Ember would never believe that he hadn’t used it on her, though… and then he’d never get to find out how she really felt about him. That question had been left unanswered for the moment, despite his itching curiosity. It was obviously quite unimportant in light of his vampirism.
Currently, Ember was saying something he wasn’t listening to. He was busy watching her mouth moving but not hearing the words coming out. Her lips were just so pink. Slowly, though, her voice came to him, like a radio tuning into the right frequency.
“Hello? Reid? Back to Earth.” She waved a hand in front of his face, distracting him. She scowled at him, her mouth tilting down at the corners unhappily.
“Hmm?” he muttered absently, wondering if she’d notice if he let his gaze linger elsewhere. He tried it, letting his eyes slide down to the collar of her flimsy camisole, and got a slap across the face for the attempt. It was a good slap, it stung a little, and if he’d been human, it might’ve left a lasting mark.
After she’d slapped him, though, Ember briefly stared at her hand in what looked like surprise, as if the hand didn’t belong to her. Then she relaxed visibly, realising she’d hit him before and he’d been vampire then too, and he hadn’t eaten her.
He just grinned at her, deliberately letting his fangs show. It was a great relief to be able to show someone besides his friends a part of him that barely anyone knew existed. And Ember always had an interesting reaction to his fangs. Her heart would beat faster, and her eyes would go wide - whether in fear, anxiety or surprise he wasn’t sure, but it was fun to watch her react. For days now, she’d acted like he didn’t exist, ignored his attempts to talk to her or see her, and it was good to see her react to him again.
“Stop staring at me and answer the question. What was the battle with the… the witches about?” She looked awkward saying ‘witches’, yet she had no issues with ‘vampires’ who were clearly the more dangerous and mythical of the two. It amused him, and he found her fascinating that way. She was full of surprises.
“Oh, that.” He shrugged. It wasn’t really a big deal, but he could see from her anxious expression that it was a huge deal to her.
The guys had been planning all week without him since he’d been… distracted, but last night they’d gotten information - Brandon wouldn’t reveal his sources to the rest of them, so they had no idea where from - that the witches were planning on trapping them all in a spell of sorts to lure them out and expose themselves as vampires. The boys had relayed the plan to Reid at the last minute, and he was happy to have the chance to possibly rip someone’s head off. It had been too long since he’d done something destructive, and he’d hoped it would cheer him up. Sure, it hadn’t turned out that way, but he felt a lot better anyway.
“Witches, as a general rule, don’t like vampires. The ones you saw, they’d heard there was a group of vampires around here and they were planning to cast a spell to draw us out so they could kill us. They didn’t count on us knowing about it, though. But we did.” Reid smirked victoriously. He always took pleasure in it when they outwitted the enemy.
Ember thought for a moment, her blue eyes deep and swirling. “What are you going to do with them?” she asked hesitantly. Her nervous tone made it clear that she was worried how civil the vampire methods were. He couldn’t help but think that she really knew him too well.
“We’ll just blank their memories and let them go on their way.” He realised a beat too late that he’d let something slip that he maybe shouldn’t have. The problem was that he always got too comfortable around her, like she drew out a side of him nobody else could. His cool façade and abrasive comments just vanished whenever she was around.
“You can blank peoples’ memories? Have you ever done that to me?” she squeaked, but he could see the sparks in her eyes, ready to burst into a flaming rage if he said the wrong thing.
“No. I’ve had no reason to. Though if I’d known about the dreams, I maybe would’ve. It really is dangerous for you to know. For us and for you.” He made sure his voice was serious, knowing she’d take him seriously if he acted that way. Ember just nodded solemnly, apparently believing him for once.
After that, she went into silent, thoughtful mode again and he wondered if she was thinking about him, her feelings toward him.
He tried to take a peek, knowing it was wrong but he couldn’t help himself; he needed to know. But as soon as he slipped into her mind, just brushing the edges of her thoughts, she abruptly turned on him with a fierce expression. He just looked at her evenly, showing no sign of his attempted intrusion.
“You can read minds too, can’t you?” she said bluntly. Reid practically felt his jaw hit the ground in surprise. She’d shocked him again. How had she possibly figured that out, known what he was doing? Humans weren’t supposed to feel that kind of magical intrusion. It was impossible.
He cautiously didn’t reply and Ember spoke in a calculating tone, answering his unspoken question like she could read his mind. “I can feel it like a prickling at my temples. I’m not dumb and I have enough ideas about vampires to guess at what it means,” she said brusquely, looking unhappy.
“But… you shouldn’t be able to feel it. That’s… it’s not right.” He shook his head and tried it again, preparing for her inevitable outburst. Only, it didn’t work this time. Instead of easing a magical link between his mind and hers, he came up against a blank wall. Ember just arched a brow at him. He gaped. “What the… how are you doing that?” he asked incredulously, recognising the smugness on her face. She was blocking him somehow. He’d never met a human who could do that. This girl had to have a stronger will than he’d imagined, making her possibly more stubborn than he was. No wonder he hadn’t been able to break her and take her like he’d originally pl
anned.
Ember smiled wider at his reaction and replied simply, “Will you stop doing that now?”
He nodded, keeping his expression one of disappointment so that she wouldn’t suspect the next time he did it. Because he did have to try again. This wasn’t right. It was impossible, not only for her to be able to feel his telepathic link, but to be able to block it. It was unheard of in a human.
Five minutes later, when Ember was deep in thought, not paying any attention to anything around her - all he’d said was that witches and vampires may not be the only mythical creatures going about, and he’d been joking (sort of), and she’d completely spaced out like she was trying to unravel the mysteries of the world (which, for all he knew, she could be) - he tried again and again hit a wall, but not before catching a glimpse of something he knew he shouldn’t have. It stunned him.
Instantly, he felt his cheeks grow warm, which was unusual for him. He didn’t often blush, and he was more than used to the torrid fantasies the girls around the school had about him. He took amusement from sneaking a look into their minds just to see what they were thinking about him.
But Ember was different. He didn’t expect her to think of him like that. Didn’t expect to find in her head what he’d just found. He had to give her credit, though; she was very good at keeping an innocently sincere, deep-in-thought-over-complex-issues kind of expression on her face when she was thinking much less complex things. He’d never suspected she had those kinds of thoughts at all, let alone about him, but then again, she was a master at hiding behind semi-composed facades and simple anger.
Feeling the prickle at her temples, Ember slammed up her mental walls. She blushed but she tried to look smug, obviously hoping to hell that he hadn’t caught any of what she’d been picturing. “Will you stop doing that! It’s annoying. If you want to know what I’m thinking, just ask like a normal person,” she raged, but she was still blushing.
