A Trail of Echoes

  We lay on our sides facing each other. My arm was wrapped around her, keeping her close to me to ensure she didn’t roll off into the water during her sleep.

  As I took in her beautiful face, something had caught my attention before arriving in The Shade, but now that we were alone again, I noticed it even more. She appeared… luminous. Her eyes sparkled. Even her skin seemed to have a dewy glow, despite its paleness.

  “You’re glowing,” I whispered, brushing my fingers against her cheek.

  “I feel like I’m glowing,” she whispered back, her hands resting against my chest. “I’ve still hardly seen any of this island so far, but something about this place… It lights me up.”

  “I’m glad you like it here.”

  She twisted onto her back, my arms still around her, and looked up at the sky. Something seemed to be bothering her as she bit her lip.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You say you have a lot of humans here,” she said. “You even have a school?”

  “Yes.”

  “I just… I just wonder, what if my family moved here?” Her words hung in the air before she added quickly, “I mean, I have no idea if my mother would agree, but this place is paradise. Especially compared to where we live. I know that my sisters would love it here, and my brother… I’m sure all this fresh air would do him good… Of course I don’t know whether you just allow anyone to come and stay here.”

  I smiled. “You’re not just anyone, River. Of course your family would be welcome… But would you want to stay here as a human, or as a half-blood?”

  “I-I don’t know. I mean, it’s just too early to say. I’d first need to go to my family and tell them about this place, bring them to visit so they can see for themselves how gorgeous it is, and then think about exactly what I’m gonna do after that…” She paused, grinning. “Who knows, maybe my family would end up wanting to become vampires, or werewolves…”

  I chuckled. “It’s not possible to become a werewolf. They could become vampires, or even half-bloods, like yourself.”

  She breathed out, and let out a nervous laugh. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. My mom, she’s like the most skeptical person there is. She might have a heart attack if I brought her here… But I’m also sure, if she opened her mind and saw how beautiful the place was, she’d fall in love with it just as I have.”

  I reached for the side of her face and pulled her back toward me, planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

  “Then stay,” I whispered.

  “I’ve never been so excited about an idea in my life,” she breathed. “But… If I decide to remain a half-blood, just for now, how will I even return to my apartment to meet my family? Will it be safe?”

  “You would return to your apartment with one of our witches, and you’d first scope out the place to check if there were any hunters around. It’s quite possible there are hunters keeping tabs on the place in case you return… But if there aren’t, you’ll be safe spending an hour or two there to convince your mother.”

  She paused. “Would you come with me on that short visit? After you’ve turned back into a human, of course. I just think that meeting you—none other than the prince of The Shade—might help me to convince her.”

  I gave her a funny look. “Why’s that?”

  “Because you’re… awesome?”

  “Okay…” I said. “I’m not going to question that.”

  She giggled. Then we both fell quiet for a while, absorbed in our own thoughts.

  “So if I’ve decided to hold off turning back into a human for now,” she said, “that means we can leave aside finding me a cure for the time being, and tomorrow all our focus can be on fixing you.”

  A wave of relief flowed through me at the thought of finally escaping this hell. I caught River’s eye. “You do realize tonight is the last night you’ll spend with me as a vampire? I’ll soon be a human, and then a mere half-blood… will I still be sexy to you?”

  She laughed. Moving her mouth close to my ear, she whispered, “You’ll always be sexy to me, Prince… But for now, I’m going to enjoy you as a hunky vampire while I can.” And then she closed her lips around mine.

  Chapter 25: Rose

  Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, I still couldn’t believe that I was finally a vampire. I examined my pale skin beneath the warm lighting. I tilted my head back and bared my fangs, watching as they extended as far as they could. And then I looked down at my fingers as I flexed my claws.

  It felt like being… some kind of wild animal. I guessed that was what vampires were—animals of sorts. I’d never thought of them that way until now. I could see why vampires became brooding and moody. To suddenly be a beast with a human’s brain… It was enough to mess with anyone’s head.

  Nothing could describe the pain of the turning. At one point, I’d found myself begging to die. I was just grateful that my beloved Caleb had stayed by my side the whole time. I could see from his face how traumatic watching me turn had been for him.

  And after the turning had come the hunger, the burning in my stomach—I’d thought my appetite might never be satisfied. I was certain as soon as I felt it that I must have the same problem as my brother. But when I found myself able to consume animal blood, I soon realized that, no—that symptom was normal.

  Which meant something about Ben made him totally abnormal. At least now we knew. However small, it was a step in the right direction.

  I was thirsty a lot after that first day. It took a lot of getting used to the idea of never chewing and swallowing, but only drinking. It was so boring to only crave the same thing every single day—a gooey red liquid that I previously would have felt ill from putting in my mouth. Now, it was all I wanted.

  Caleb insisted that we stay on the water for several days after my turning. He said that I would be a danger to humans around the island if we returned too soon, and it was better to wait this out while we were still in the ocean.

  Standing in the bathroom that morning, on the sixth day after my turning, I was horrified to catch myself having a graphic daydream involving a soft human neck and lots of warm blood.

  I’ve turned into a psycho.

  This was a recurring fantasy I had during the day. It popped into my head completely uninvited and uncalled for. Caleb told me that it was absolutely normal, and he’d had such thoughts on a regular basis every day while I was still a human. God, no wonder he was so tense around me.

  Caleb stepped inside the bathroom. He wore a loose shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the buttons undone over his chest—his usual attire when we were lounging around on the boat, when he wasn’t shirtless, of course.

  “I just had another fantasy,” I said, eyeing him in the mirror.

  A smile curved his lips. He approached behind me, my back against his chest, and placed a hand either side of me on the counter, pressing me up against it.

  His mouth hovered next to my ear.

  “So did I,” he whispered, his lips grazing my earlobe. “But I suspect that it was quite different from yours…”

  I giggled. I could tell that there was a part of Caleb that definitely preferred me as a vampire. Despite his love of my warmth, he could finally relax around me for the first time. I could appreciate only now that I was a bloodsucker myself how much effort he had put into controlling himself around me all the time. I doubted I would’ve had as much self-control if he were a human.

  He caught my hand, and the two of us left the bathroom and went up onto the deck. It was early morning, and the sun was just about to peek out above the horizon.

  “I think we can return today,” he said.

  I shot him a look. “Are you serious? I’m still daydreaming about ripping through jugulars.”

  “As a vampire, those thoughts never go away,” he replied. “They will always be there, especially around humans. I suspect even your mother has thoughts like that from time to time. The only thing you can do is
learn to control the urge. Your most dangerous stage has passed. Now’s the time to start practicing. Staying on this boat any longer won’t make a difference.”

  I took in a deep breath. “Okay… If you say so. But I’m counting on you to snap my neck if it looks like I’m going to pounce on someone.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I don’t need to snap your neck to get you under control.”

  I cocked my head to one side. “Oh, really?”

  He raised a brow. “Yes. Really.”

  “Why don’t you try me?”

  He chuckled, then cast his eyes around the deck. “Okay, vampire,” he said, setting his eyes on a mast near the bow of the boat. “Pretend that mast is a human. Rush to attack it. I’ll give you a head start.”

  “I don’t need a head start.”

  “Okay…”

  I narrowed my eyes on Caleb, then fixed my gaze on the mast and lurched forward. I had come within two feet of it when Caleb wrapped his arms around my waist, dragging me backward. I tried to tear myself away from his grasp, but no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t. He twisted me to face him, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he wrestled me to the ground. Pinning me against the deck with my arms above my head, he dipped his head down to kiss my lips.

  “Do you surrender?” he whispered.

  “Never!” I breathed, still struggling even as I returned his kiss.

  Before I realized what he was doing, his right hand had crept beneath my arm and he began to tickle me mercilessly, his other hand still holding my wrists over my head.

  “No!” I gasped, laughing hysterically. “Cheater!”

  He stopped tickling beneath my arms, and instead moved down to my next most ticklish spot, my inner thighs.

  After five more minutes of torture, I gave in. He released me, and I stood, my knees feeling wobbly from the trauma he’d just put me through.

  “You played dirty,” I said, glaring at Caleb as I backed toward the edge of the boat.

  “Nobody likes a sore loser, Rose,” he said, following me.

  As I reached the edge of the ship, I grabbed his hands and pulled him flush against me. I claimed his lips and kissed him passionately, letting my fangs graze gently against his lower lip. He groaned softly. He always seemed to like it when I did that.

  I had him too wrapped up in me for him to notice what I was preparing to do. Kissing him harder, I switched position so that he was the one with his back against the edge of the boat. With one swift motion, I pushed him backward into the ocean.

  There was a splash. I looked over the edge to see him surfacing a few moments later, his dark hair sopping wet and slicked back away from his face.

  He didn’t know how sexy he looked when he was wet.

  His eyes glinted dangerously.

  “Oh, baby. You have no idea what trouble you’ve just gotten yourself into.”

  Leaping from the water, he grabbed me and pulled me back down into the ocean with him. The cool waves engulfed me as Caleb pulled me down deeper and then emerged with me above the surface.

  His arms enveloped me as I ran my hands through his hair. His mouth pressed against mine, his tongue pushing between my lips.

  I began unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m ready for your trouble, Achilles.”

  * * *

  As the first rays of the sun hit the ocean, Caleb and I climbed back aboard the boat, our clothes flung over our shoulders. We hurried inside before the sun could reach us. I had not yet experienced the pain that the sun caused vampires, and I was in no hurry to.

  We took a long shower together and enjoyed washing each other’s hair before getting dressed. I looked at him across the bathroom floor as I combed my hair.

  “Well. I guess our honeymoon is over now.”

  I expected him to say something cheesy to make me giggle, like every day was a honeymoon when he was with me. Instead he just smiled, confident in the fact that I knew that he was thinking something along those lines.

  We headed up to the control room, where Caleb needed to concentrate. When we got closer to The Shade, we spied five gray hunter ships. They seemed to be at the same distance as before, no closer, no further.

  What do they want?

  Caleb sped up the boat, not paying too much attention to the ships, except the odd glance to check they had not started moving. And then we passed through the boundary. We were back in The Shade. Back home.

  I looked toward the Port, a warm feeling rushing through me, as it did whenever I returned to this island. Although I couldn’t have enjoyed our honeymoon more, I loved our island more than anywhere else in the world.

  A strong gust of wind blew against me, bringing with it a scent that made my stomach clench. Human blood. Ugh. What I wouldn’t give to take a gulp out of Becky…

  Caleb eyed me, already knowing what I was going through. He squeezed my knee. “You’ll be fine. I promise.” Then, clearing his throat, he changed the subject. “So when do you want to go see your parents and show them what I’ve done to you?”

  “Oh, yeah…” I’d forgotten about that. I was not entirely sure how my parents might react. Of course, they would be shocked at first, but I wasn’t sure if they would be angry, or perhaps understanding of why I had made this choice. I hoped that it would be the latter.

  “We might as well go see them first thing. I don’t see the point in delaying it.”

  “Wait a minute,” Caleb said, his head craning to our right.

  He pointed to what looked like the roof of a submarine poking above the waves. It was floating in the distance within the boundary, and resting on top were two figures. I moved out onto the deck, my vampire vision coming in handy.

  Yes. It was a man and a woman, lying together on the roof of the submarine. Though I couldn’t see their faces, because their heads weren’t turned in my direction.

  “Let’s go see who they are,” I said, suddenly anxious.

  I wondered if perhaps they were injured. Why would they just be lying out on a submarine like that?

  We moved closer, until finally, I was at the right angle to see their faces.

  I had no idea who the girl was—I didn’t recognize her as a resident of The Shade, though she looked pale enough to be a vampire—but when my eyes settled on the young man, I was so shocked that I screamed.

  “Ben!”

  Chapter 26: Ben

  I was woken by someone screaming my name. I sat bolt upright, my eyes fixed on my sister, standing in a boat and staring at me.

  I shot to my feet, gaping at her. I wondered for a moment whether I was dreaming.

  “Rose,” I choked. “You’re… a vampire?”

  Leaping from her boat, she landed on the submarine’s roof. She launched into my arms, the force of her jump almost sending me staggering back into the water.

  I hugged her tight as she squeezed me back even tighter. She kissed my cheek furiously, practically shaking against me.

  “Ben! Where have you been? What happened to you? How come you’re back?” Question after question flowed from her mouth before I could come up with a single answer.

  I was still in too much shock to see her as a vampire. My brain was too flooded with my own questions and doubts, I was struggling to make room for hers.

  “You’re a vampire,” I repeated, staring at her, dumbstruck. “Mom or Dad turned you?”

  She shook her head. “Caleb did. But what—?”

  “Are you able to drink animal blood?” I asked, gripping her shoulders.

  “Yes,” she said impatiently. “The reason I turned was because I wanted to find out if I would have the same problem as you. And I don’t, Ben. I can stomach nonhuman blood.”

  My lips parted, her words sinking in.

  Then what is wrong with me?

  Caleb stepped out onto the deck of the boat Rose had just leapt from.

  He smiled at me. “Hello, Benjamin.”

  “Hello, brother-in-law,” I said.

  Rose’s eyes sparkled. “How
come you know?”

  “I’ve already spoken to Mom and Dad. They filled me in on everything that’s happened since I left. Congratulations.” I pulled my sister in for another hug and kissed her cool forehead. “I hate that I missed your wedding.”

  “I hate it too,” Rose said, looking hurt. “You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

  Rose’s gaze traveled to River, who was sitting up on the blankets and watching us.

  “Who are you?” Rose asked.

  “This is River,” I said, reaching a hand down to River and pulling her up to stand next to me. “She’s my friend.” I was about to add that she was also a half-blood, but that would just invite another onslaught of questions, and I still had a huge backlog to start answering.

  And so the four of us gathered on Rose and Caleb’s boat and sat around on the deck. I started my story from the very beginning and told it through to the end for my sister and Caleb. They displayed similar reactions to my parents, asking the same questions and looking concerned when River and I showed them our tattoos.

  It was strange to have been away from my sister for so long. It had been the longest separation in our life. We’d both had such different experiences, and grown in different ways apart from each other.

  I understood why she had wanted to turn into a vampire. And I also understood why my parents hadn’t wanted to turn her. After what had happened to me, I wouldn’t have wanted her undergoing the risk either. But my sister wasn’t one to shy away from danger or risk. Although it unnerved me that something was so different about me, it didn’t bother me as much as it should have, because we had a plan now. I was going to become a half-blood.

  A part of me was actually grateful that Rose had turned. I’d been dreading our meeting because I’d feared how much her blood would call to me. Now that she was a vampire, I could relax around her.