A few hands and a few more drinks, Elijah stumbled away with a couple of extra dollars.
He staggered back onto the streets filled with bachelors and woman of ill repute. Swiping a mask from a vendors table, he placed it on his face, blending with the crowd.
Tonight was a night of debauchery. He flipped a coin on the next table and grabbed a beer as he stumbled his way down the main roads, ending on Rue Bourbon. Locals danced and performed magic tricks for the crowds. Elijah worked his way into a circle of people and watched as a man played music in the middle of the street.
“Amazing isn’t he?” A young woman in a masquerade mask donned with feathers whispered in a heavy French accent into Elijah’s ear. Elijah nodded and drank his beer until the cup was empty, throwing it onto the street in front of them.
“You look like you could use a break,” the brunette woman said as she looped her arms through his and pulled him back to a doorway, out of the way of party goers. Elijah leaned his weight against the bricks, trying to gain control.
“That is kind, but I can handle myself,” Elijah replied, as his knees buckled under his weight. The woman leaned in and kissed him quickly. He pulled back suddenly with a look of disgust. “A true gentleman does not need to pay for companionship.”
“You think of me as a harlot?” The woman asked in disgust.
“No, Ma’am. I did not mean to insinuate…” He backtracked, letting his voice trail off. The young lady removed her mask and smiled, waiting for Elijah’s reaction.
“Viviana?” he asked in astonishment.
“How do you do, Sir?” She asked continuing her fake French accent. She dipped down to curtsy, giggling as she rose. She slowly reached for his mask and pulled it from his face. He had been dreaming of this moment for weeks. She leaned in, giving him a quick peck on the lips and slipped her mask back on before running off into the crowd playfully.
“Viviana,” Elijah called off into the distance frantically.
***
Chapter eighteen
Jump
We pulled into an old gas station just off of the main highway in Georgia.
“Need anything?” Elijah asked as he exited the car. I stepped out of the passenger seat and stretched, sliding on my flip flops.
“I think I’ll go in and grab some snacks. You want anything?” I asked, realizing how absurd my question was as soon as it left my mouth. Elijah smiled, and I felt a blush wash over my cheeks. “I’ll be right back.”
I walked into the Quick Grab and paced the snack food aisles trying to decide what I was in the mood for. The door chimed as I assumed Elijah had entered to pay. I grabbed a pack of fruit snacks and a bag of chips and turned around to show Elijah what I had gotten. “I think I just want…” I began, but the words choked in my throat as I was face to face with a rugged man in his early thirties.
“I know what I want,” the man said in a wickedly sinister voice. He stepped closer until we were breathing each other’s air and my stomach revolted at the pungent smell of his breath. He licked his lips and eyed me up and down.
“You need help with something?” Elijah called to the man from behind him. The man’s trance broke.
“No, sir. Found what I needed right here,” he said defiantly. Elijah grabbed the man’s arm and spun him around to face him. He began to speak but took one look at Elijah’s fangs and decided it was best for him to remain silent.
“Let’s go, Eva,” Elijah ordered without ever looking away from the man. I stepped around the guy and we made our way to the register to pay.
I finally left out a sigh of relief as I unloaded my items onto the counter along with Elijah’s, who paid for them. “Come on,” he said in a sweet tone as he wrapped his arm around me and we made our way back to the car. We sat for a moment in silence.
“Your fangs,” I mentioned quietly, his fangs showing in the dim lighting from the store parking lot. He bowed his head for a moment and started the car.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve fed.” He murmured and we turned back to the desolate highway. I mindlessly ate my snacks as Elijah turned up the radio. He reached behind the driver’s seat and pulled out a large bottle of alcohol, opening it, and drinking from it as if it was water.
“Is that safe?” I asked in a panicked voice. “I can drive,” I began protesting, but Elijah quickly cut me off.
“It will help me with the cravings until I’m able to feed on blood. I’ve also been driving for longer than you have been alive. You have nothing to worry about,” He said with a playful grin as he choked back another swig. “I should say… my driving is the least of your worries.”
I grabbed the bottle from him and took a large gulp myself, causing me to cough and sputter. He eyed me curiously.
“We might as well make it a party then.” Smiling, I handed the bottle back to him. I assumed he had known this route by memory. “So, tell me more about Mardi Gras,” I said, trying to strike up more conversation. He shook his head no as he poured the liquor into his mouth.
“Maybe later,” He replied, his eyes showing a hint of pain and I could feel it, goosebumps rising across my flesh. “Tell me about you, Eva.”
“Not much to tell.” Taking the bottle from his hand, I sipped it more gingerly this time. “I grew up in a small town and never escaped.” I stared out of the window as Wanted Dead or Alive blared over the speakers.
“You’re escaping now.” Reaching over, he took my hand in his. I glanced at him, unable to hide my smirk.
“We’re running. It’s not really the same thing.”
“Here we are,” he said as he pulled off onto the side of the road, and down a small bank, hiding us from oncoming traffic.
“Where is here?” I asked, unable to make out my surroundings. Elijah rounded my side of the car and opened the door for me. I stepped out reluctantly.
“Ft. Pulaski.” He grinned from ear to ear. “They give tours during the day, but tonight it is all ours and I have a spot we can hideout during tomorrow,” he said with excitement. His happiness was contagious, literally. I ran my fingers along the stone wall as we walked the perimeter toward the entrance.
“This is amazing,” I said, turning back to him.
“Come on.” He headed up a pathway to the top of the wall. We stepped to the edge and you could see the full view. It was completely surrounded by stone walls, the center beautiful lush grass.
“Incredible.” I smiled, taking in the scenery. Elijah suddenly leaped from the wall and landing on the grass below with a dull thud.
“Jump,” he called up to me.
“No way, I’ll break a leg,” I yelled back at him, stepping back from the edge.
“I’ll catch you.” He held his arms in the air. I hesitated, still not fully believing the strength that Elijah possessed. He shot me a look of mock frustration and scaled the rocks on the side of the wall with ease. He took my hands in his. “Do you trust me?” he asked, looking deeply into my eyes. “Do you trust me?”
I slowly nodded my head yes. He quickly swept me into his arms and leaped from the wall, landing gently onto the ground below.
I squeezed his neck tightly as he pressed his forehead against mine. It felt as if we were on our own planet. I lifted my gaze to meet his and kissed him gently.
The electricity between us was palpable. He sunk to his knees and laid me on the soft grass, tracing my collarbone with his fingers, hovering just above my body. His eyes followed his fingertips as the slid up to my throat and toward my shoulder. I slipped my hand behind his neck and pulled him close to me, kissing him again. I sucked on his bottom lip and opened his mouth with my tongue. He moaned harshly and pushed his lips harder against mine, breaking away only to slide off his shirt and throw it onto the grass. He rested his body on top of me, and I could feel how badly he wanted me as well.
I pushed on his shoulder and rolled him onto the ground, positioning myself over his waist. Running my hands down his perfectly chiseled chest, I was desperate t
o feel the rest of him. I began to undo the button of his jeans. His fingers wrapped around mine, stopping me.
“Eva,” he began and I rolled my eyes.
“I get it. You don’t want to,” I snapped, feeling embarrassed that he was turning me down again.
“I want to, trust me. But I don’t want to hurt you again. I could kill you.”
“Then make me like you,” I pleaded without even thinking it over. “You can’t kill me if I’m-”
“Dead? Like me? Is that what you want? You want me to drain the life out of you?” His anger was like a furnace and I was suffocating inside of it.
“No, no,” I stuttered. “I just…”
His expression relaxed as he put his hand against my cheek. “Come here.” He motioned with his chin to the ground beside him.
I slid off his waist and laid down on the grass beside him, looking up at the stars above.
“Why are we here?” I asked. I could feel his eyes on me, but I continued to watch the sky.
“Because I have to keep you safe.”
“Why? Why do any of this? You could have killed me at the creek and no one would have cared.”
“I would have cared, Eva.”
Chapter nineteen
Take A Little
“I will have to leave for a little while,” Elijah said out of the blue as he pulled his shirt over his head.
“What? Where?” I asked, propping myself on my side to face him.
“I’ll need more blood to sustain me. I am no match for the others if they find us. I won’t be able to protect you,” He explained, rubbing my arm.
“Is there a blood bank that you can go to around here?” I asked, scanning our hidden fortress. Elijah shook his head.
“Not if I want our location to stay secret. I will have to find a donor,” He explained and a pang of jealousy hit me.
“Drink from me,” I offered without thinking. He stroked my face with his fingertips, letting them drop to the ground.
“I can’t risk hurting you, Eva,” he said sadly. “I could never risk that now.”
“You won’t. I trust you. I jumped off a stupid wall with you. I trust you,” I pleaded. I didn’t want to spend a second away from him. The only time he’d taken my blood had been very intimate, and I couldn’t fathom the thought of him sharing that moment with anyone else.
“I don’t trust myself, Eva.”
“Please… try.”
Elijah’s eyes were sad and lost in another time.
“I never finished my story, about Viviana,” He said with no emotion in his voice.
***
February 19, 1833
“Viviana,” Elijah called through the crowd. He caught a glimpse of her ahead, turning down a forgotten alleyway. He pushed his way through the partygoers and made his way to the narrow road. He crept down slowly by several woman of the night earning their keep. A door at the end slammed shut, and Elijah pushed his way to the end and quietly slipped inside the entrance. The room was dark and smelled of incense. “Viviana?” he asked again quietly.
“I have what you seek,” A sinister voice called from a shadowy corner of the room. Viviana let out a small whimper.
“Please! Please do not harm her,” Elijah begged. “Whatever it is you want I will give to you.”
“You can’t give me anything. My life, everything I had was taken from me. Do you know what it is like to have an insatiable hunger?” The man asked Elijah.
“If it is money you need for a meal, I can help you,” Elijah replied, pleading with the deranged man.
“You’re not listening. Money is what human’s hunger for. My need is much simpler than that. Let me show you.” In a flash, he was at Viviana’s side, pulling her head backward by her mound of messy curls. His fangs shot out and he lingered at her jugular.
“Stop, I beg of you! Let her go. Take me,” Elijah pleaded, pushing to his knees. The man pondered over his proposition for a moment. He released Viviana’s hair and lurched for Elijah.
Viviana hit the wall and crumpled into a heap in the corner, sobbing. With inhuman speed, the man was face to face with Elijah. He threw him to the ground and ripped at his throat like a wild animal. Viviana huddled in the corner in shock, unable to speak or scream for help as he devoured his prey.
The bloodied criminal released Elijah and watched him for a moment. Elijah’s fingers fluttered.
“Perfect.” The sadistic man whispered as he ripped into his own flesh of his arm and let the blood ooze into Elijah’s mouth, bringing him back from the precipice of death. He sputtered and gasp for air. His body gave in and slowly began to swallow the thick, crimson liquid that threatened to choke him until instead of satisfying him, he grew hungrier.
“Enough.”
Elijah’s eyes fluttered open and he looked as if he was lost in another place or time.
“Go to her,” he whispered as he pointed to Viviana. Elijah pushed himself from the ground weakly. He focused his eyes on Viviana, who held out her arms for him as tears streamed down her beautiful face. He slid to her side and cupped her face with his hands and searched her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Elijah asked, worry filling his voice.
“I’m scared,” she sobbed as a stream of tears raced down her flawless face.
“Hush… hush...” he replied, trying to soothe her as he stroked her hair. Elijah doubled over in excruciating pain feeling as those the contents of his stomach might revolt against him.
“You must feed. If you do not feed now, you will die here.”
“What are you? What right have you to perform voodoo on me,” Elijah groaned through clenched teeth as he twisted in agony.
“I am much more than a priest now. I am a vampire, and so are you, dear Elijah, unless you choose to rot like a corpse. Save her or she will be my next meal.”
“How do I save her?” Elijah begged.
“The same way I have saved you, given you eternal life. That is if you maintain self-control.” He explained. “Take a little, give a little, and find her another to take from. It’s really very simple,” he continued with apparent boredom.
***
“What did you choose?”
“There was no real choice. He knew I was too young, too hungry to let her live. The urge to feed was… overwhelming. It takes many years of practice not to kill the ones you feed on,” Elijah replied with anger, his jaw muscles flexing in the moonlight. “I failed her.”
We stood in silence for a moment. I could feel myself suffocating from his grief.
“I won’t fail you too.”
“You are not a new vampire anymore. You’ve resisted my blood when I was injured. I trust you. You have to trust yourself,” I reassured him, not sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.
Elijah slowly leaned closer, inhaling the scent of my hair deeply and nuzzling my neck. I closed my eyes and let my head fall to the side. I heard his fangs protrude and my breath quickened with anticipation. He gently kissed my throat and traced my jugular with the tip of his tongue as his hand slid across my stomach. “I’ll return soon,” he whispered in my ear as the air from his sudden departure blew around me.
Chapter twenty
Innocent Bystander
I sighed heavily and stared at the passing wafts of clouds in the sky. The inside of the fort felt incredibly safe. The same way I felt with Elijah. I wish he trusted himself with me as much as I trusted him not to harm me.
The idea of him out feeding on some innocent bystander should have made me scared, but oddly enough all I felt was a pang of jealousy.
I processed that thought as I pushed myself up from the grass and brushed myself off. I spun around, eying the large stone walls that surrounded me and headed off toward one of the doorways.
I pushed on one of the old wooden doors that stood ajar and scanned the room. It was dimly lit by the moonlight, but I could make out some wooden benches and cabinets. I hesitantly stepped inside and ran my hands along the dusty shelve
s, taking in the history. I could only imagine the thousands of souls who had passed through these walls. I picked up a pamphlet from one of the tables and walked back into the grassy courtyard to read it by the light of the moon.
Laying on my belly in the open space, I scanned through the pamphlet, not registering the words I was reading. All I could think about was Elijah. Where was he? Who was he with? A sudden wave of panic washed over me, but it was not my emotions I was feeling. It was Elijah’s and he was unable to control his influence. I knew something bad must have happened.
I quickly rolled over and jumped to my feet as he came to a halt in front of me.
“What is it? Did someone catch you?” I blurted out in a panic. Realizing he had let his emotions run ramped, he took a deep breath, more for my comfort than out of necessity. I relaxed as his mood shifted even if I knew it was for my own benefit.
“Everything is fine. I believe I may have been spotted by one of Reid’s allies, but I was able to lose him. We need to leave the area, just to be safe,” Elijah explained, placing his hands on either side of my face. I nodded and he took my hand as we walked rapidly across the courtyard. I was barely able to keep up with his relentless pace.
“Have you fed?” I asked breathlessly as I began running to keep up. He stopped suddenly and I rocked forward. He turned and caught my shoulders with his hands, keeping me from tipping off balance.
“Your safety is what matters right now. The fact that you are worrying about me,” he snapped angrily. I could tell he was completely frustrated and confused by my concern for him over myself. He ran his hands through his hair and turned away from me again, grabbing my wrist harshly as he began dragging me along toward the wall.
My arm ached from the pressure of his grip. I didn’t say a word. He slid his hands around my waist and guiding me up an old stone staircase and out of the fort before we raced to my car. He opened the passenger door and slid me onto the seat and was inside the car next to me before I could exhale.