“Ask your lover.”
Roane’s words lashed back at me before I could stop them. Lying. All you do is lie.
I flinched and murmured, “No. You’re wrong.”
“I haven’t said anything,” the voice gloated.
“I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say what he said. I don’t lie. I’m not a liar.”
“Tigers spawn earthlings on their back. Sometimes they ride on the backs of elephants, but only the ones with roller skates.”
“Make sense, for once!” I shrieked into the darkness. It was an abyss.
“Silly Bearded Lady. They don’t ride on the one legged elephant. That’d be dangerous.”
“I’m not lying to anyone.”
“And stupid. Who’d want to ride on the back of a one legged elephant? You’d fall right off.” The voice ignored me and continued, amused, “And then rolling hula hoops that are on fire would burn you. Why are they always on fire? I’ve never figured that out.”
“Enough!” I’d forced it before and I was willing to bet that I could do it again.
A black wind shrieked in protest and swept around me. I blinked, startled, and tried to stand still as a tornado picked up from underneath my feet. It rushed upwards, enveloped me, and as it started to settle—I found myself staring back at… what a shocker—myself. Except that it wasn’t me. My brown curls looked sleek and framed my shoulders. My eyes weren’t innocent. They were knowing, wise, and a little crazy. And still, I looked sultry. I was dressed how I had dressed for Adam’s date, in my lace shirt and snug jeans, but there was a different aura that surrounded the Immortal me. Confidence.
She grinned and winked. “Bet this isn’t what you wanted, huh?”
“How’d you know?” I returned, sardonically. “It’s not as if you’re a part of me or something.”
“You’re sarcastic.”
“Just because you’re inside of me doesn’t mean that you understand me.”
The Immortal me smiled sweetly. “I know a lot more about you than you know about yourself. I know all about Craig. I know about Kates. I know how you’re heaping a whole pile of denial poop on a burning house because you did the deed with a vampire. And not any vampire, Bearded Lady. You did it with thee vampire. There are ramifications that you can’t handle right now.”
It wouldn’t stop. “Please, please. All this nonsense—I can’t handle it. I might go insane.”
“Every circus must pitch a tent and entertain.”
“Let me guess, I’m your audience?”
“You’re the tent, Beardy, but you’ll do. The tigers might not think so. They might want to shave off your beard or burn the tent. I haven’t decided which.”
“I’d really like to wake up. I need to tell Roane something and I can’t when I’m asleep.”
“That’s right, Horny Bearded Lady. You didn’t stop to think. The tigers think it’s funny how the Bearded Lady forgets her beard when she’s around The World’s Strongest Man.”
“Oh, please. Roane is not the world’s strongest man.” I felt foolish saying that. Who said things like that?
“You might be surprised.” The Immortal laughed it off and vanished.
Great—back to the dark abyss. There were no winds this time. It was just darkness, no mocking voice, and no uneasy feeling inside of my stomach.
I looked down and choked out a gasp. I lifted my arm and like before, I saw the same silver color underneath my skin. I watched in fascination as the silver color seemed to melt into a thick rich paste that sparkled like diamonds. I liked diamonds, just not inside of me.
“You’re every girl’s best friend. You’re the prize, Davy. You’re the one that everyone wants.”
“Tell me something that I don’t know,” I challenged.
“Craig wanted to make you a vampire. He told you how he’d do it, how much he’d enjoy it, and that you’d thank him in the end. And now—vampires, vampires all around the shiny prize. What’s a scared little girl to do? The hungry monsters keep circling, but they won’t be kept at bay for long. A shark’s going to bite soon—or maybe one did.”
“Roane didn’t bite me. I bit him.”
“You liked it. You’d do it again. I can feel the thirst inside of you. What’s that mean? Are you going to become a vampire?” The Immortal laughed hysterically and spun around me in tight circles.
I looked down at my arms and watched, detached, as the sparkling paste thinned and became like blood. “Roane said you chose me. Did you? Did you actually choose me or did you get stuck with me?”
“The divorce will have collateral damage that no fortune teller can foresee.”
That was a cheerful thought. “What do you want from me?”
I felt the Immortal slow to a stop, instantly, and sensed its calm. “Stop lying to yourself. You’re only hurting yourself.”
“Fine,” I gritted out. “You invaded me! You had no right.”
“He’s thee vampire. You should sit up and pay attention.”
“How can I? Your riddles are a bit mind twisting,” I snorted out.
Then it answered another one. “As long as you’re the Immortal, you are unable to become a vampire.”
I clasped my eyes closed in relief. Maybe there were some benefits to being the Immortal.
“You drank his blood. There are ramifications for that—ones that won’t be foreseen until much later, but they’ll still be there when you’ve forgotten your worry.” Relief, release, and now doom.
“I’m tired. I want to wake up.”
“Every circus has a snake charmer. Who’s yours? What snake slithered in your tent?”
I gasped awake and bolted upright in bed. I didn’t need to find my bearings. Everything rushed back at me at breakneck speed. I was in Roane’s bed. His sheets were a welcoming cool touch against my naked skin and I turned to see him at his window, gazing outwards. His black pants rode low on his hips. There was no shirt in his hand this time, only worry in his eyes.
I swallowed tightly because I felt what he felt inside.
Resignation and fatigue. Underneath that was determination. He was going to win. He’d always known it and now it was time to remind everyone else.
“What’d you dream about?”
I curled against the headboard and wrapped the sheets around me. I felt exposed. “A lot of ramblings and crazy talk. There was a circus theme this time.”
“Circus?” Roane frowned, but never moved away from the window.
The fairytale wasn’t worth mentioning. “The Immortal told me that there was a snake charmer in my tent.”
“You talk? You have conversations?” Roane looked taken aback.
“Yeah, anyway—the snake charmer sent a snake inside the tent.”
He crossed to sit beside me on the bed. He sat with his back towards me and I watched the corded muscles on his back. He was primed and ready to go.
“I think… I’m the tent. The Immortal told me that, but someone was inside of me.”
Roane swung his hypnotic eyes toward me.