He moved onto Breandan, “One would think you want to kill me, boy.” Smiling impishly, dimples appeared on his cheeks.
Breandan growled; a low rumble that darkened his expression and heated my blood. A hiss seeped from my parted lips, and I placed a hand on his stomach, scrunched my fingers together so my talons pierced his skin. The pain was intentional to ground him. His hand slipped into mine as he regained control.
“You will both pay for this,” Devlin said and smiled. “In ways you could never imagine.”
Breandan made a small noise, but remained still. The smile slid of Devlin’s face and his eyes narrowed.
“Breandan,” I began wearily. “What–”
He placed a finger on my lips. “Rae, go back to the Temple now.”
I blinked up at him. “But, why can’t I stay? I want to go with you.” I spoke with his fingers on my lips.
“I’m taking Devlin to the Grove.”
I breathed out slowly. “Okay, why can’t I come to? After all I’m a fairy too. I should know where this place is.” I lifted my chin defiantly. “I want to see it.”
Breandan risked turning his back on Devlin to grab me by the shoulders, lift me up and set me on my feet. I could feel my face morphing to a sulky expression. He looked me in the eye. “I want to you be introduced to the people with no distractions. Not tainted by his association. Do you understand?”
After a pause I nodded. I could see his point. I would be a great point of interest if I turned up looking like hell with Breandan dragging Devlin behind him. It was frustrating, because it felt like he was keeping me in the shadows. But there was no logical reason for him to do that, so it was just me, silly Rae overacting.
“I’ll go back,” I mumbled into my shoulder and half turned. “Watch yourself with him, okay?”
Breandan gave me a little shove. “Walk back and I will run. I’ll be with you before you can miss me.”
Devlin grinned at me. What was so funny? Did he know something I did not?
I shivered, and started off at a slow walk. I was not afraid in the blue and purple forest surrounding me. It was peaceful. As I wandered back, I slid my glamour back on, and tugged at the gaping hole at my back where my tee shirt had given way for my wings. The world became darker and it felt like I was draped under a heavy curtain. My limbs dragged, and my hearing, sense of smell became muted. How had I functioned like this for eighteen years? Finally alone, I took a moment to think on everything that had happened to me. The day seemed endless, and I hoped there were no more surprises in store. I didn’t know how much more I could take. I was dying to pee, so I squatted behind a tree and relived my self, humming low in my throat.
Back on the compound, I was reaching for Bayou’s door when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. The hand was warm, human warm, and it spun me around and pressed me back into the door.
“Lord Cleric,” I protested and pushed forward, but he held firm.
I was stronger than him of course, but I let him pin me to the door as the Lady Cleric from that morning came out of the shadows. I dipped my head in a show of respect but my mind was racing. This was not good. It was the middle of the night, I was not asleep in bed like the other Disciples, and I looked like I had been to hell and back.
“Hai, Disciple,” the Lady Cleric said in a nasal drawl.
She had a slight accent and upward tilt to her eyes. She was a small thing, tiny hands and feet obscured by mittens and clunky black boots. Her mousey brown hair hung straight, severely parted in the centre and cut blunt at the ends, and over her eyebrows in a fringe. She was not attractive, or ugly either she just looked mean.
“Hai, Lady Cleric,” I replied.
I didn’t know her name, so I simply said the honorific keeping my eyes downcast and my voice small and quiet at an attempt at meekness, whilst I scrambled around my head to get my story straight. This treatment of me was against the rules. This told me two things. One, that they suspected me to be the girl in the forest that morning. Two, they had already tried the official route and had probably been told to take a hike by the Priests. Oh gods. Or they were acting with Sect approval and their orders where to take care of me quietly.
And I’d handed myself to them on a platter.
“Looks like you’re doing some hard thinking there,” Tu said. “Why so nervous, Rae?”
I looked my teacher in the eye, and could not hide the flash of hate in my glare. He faltered and the pressure on my shoulder eased. I used it to slide away and stand up straight. I felt the wind blow past and sent a chill up my exposed spine. How would I explain my ripped top? I lifted my chin and looked between them.
“Is there something I can help you with? I’m tired after my run, and I would like to sleep.”
They shot looks at each other. “Do you often run in the middle of the night?” The Lady Cleric looked me up and down. “Looking so…disheveled?”
I scrunched my fingers into fists behind my back. “Yes, Lady Cleric. I like to run at night. I find it soothing.”
“Do you run in the morning?” Tu asked quietly.
I nodded my head. “Sure. The security guy often lets me out in the pre dawn. I circle the Temple grounds and come back.
The Lady Cleric tilted her head. “Sounds innocent enough.”
I smiled somewhat tightly. “Do you run, Cleric? If you do you will know how peaceful it can be.”
“Yes. I too find it soothing. Killing demons can be stressful.”
I flinched, just a little, but enough to confirm their suspicions. Normal people did not flinch at the mention of killing demons. It was seen as a good thing.
“We know all about your morning runs, Rae. But that’s not why we are here. It’s what led us to you, but not why we’re here.”
I swallowed a couple of times before I could say. “I don’t think I follow you. Led you to me?”
“You know there is an in and out list for the gate?”
I closed my eyes briefly, realizing the blunder before I answered. “Yes, Lord Cleric.
“This morning, you went out as usual, but you didn’t come through the gate again.” He pointed behind him, where the black iron gates lurked. “You showed up in my class sure enough, and asked a few…concerning questions. When we came back to the class you looked most preoccupied. Then you skipped all of your afternoon classes. Most concerning.”
My hand reached behind me and curled around Bayou’s door handle.
“I understand Lord Cleric,” I said humbly. “I will come to your classroom tomorrow morning to discuss my punishment.”
The Lady Cleric’s face twisted. “No, Disciple Wilder. You are coming with us. Now.”
I jerked the door open and bolted through it. Taking the stairs two at a time a hand snagged my ankle and I went down. I smacked my head on the stair in front of me, and was half dragged back down by my calf. Flailing to grab the railing rushing by, I caught one and held on. I half turned, and kicked with my other leg catching the Lady Cleric by the side of her head. She let me go and I scrambled up the stairs on all fours. Up the second flight, I heard her close behind me and plucked my key out of my back jean pocket. I heard her take the second flight of stairs, cursing the gods as my hand tried to slot my key in the lock. My hand trembled. As it slid in and clicked, I opened the door and turned to get the Lady Cleric’s fist straight square in the face. Pain exploded out from my nose and radiated across my cheekbones. I flew back, and landed hard on my back with a flat thump. The Lady Cleric stepped in and kicked the door closed behind her. Glamoured as human, I could see nothing in the dark, but I could hear her raspy breaths.
I wiped at my bleeding nose. Why was it not healing?
“Demon bitch,” she spat. “That’s what you are, isn’t it? A demon. That was the only way you evaded the dogs, my tracking.”
“It’s not what you think,” I sobbed and crawled backward.
“I knew it was you, but Tu wasn’t sure. He tried to convince me it was just a coincidence. That
one of his precious students could never be one of them.” The venom in her voice made me tremble even harder. “You disgust me, I read your file. You’ve been hiding among us since a baby. Fooling that old Priest into thinking that you were an abandoned ward.”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” My heart hurt when I thought of the Priest who had found me outside his door. I would never do anything to hurt him. It was him who had suggested I be enrolled at Temple when he saw how I had survived at the orphanage. I shook my head again. “It wasn’t like that.”
I was afraid. Had I been this afraid when I’d met Breandan? Or when I’d met– I swear, my heart stopped then kicked twice before a cold sweat broke out on my palms. I couldn’t even think his name, because then it would be real. The horror of what was about to happen would become a reality, and there would be no taking it back. I hobbled up and pressed myself against the wall.
“Tomas,” I whispered.
I felt him shift beside me before I saw his silhouette slink forward. I heard his snarl a second before I held my palms up and out, the words to call him off dying on my lips when I thought hard about what she would do to me. Would she have taken me to the Priests for judgment, or would she have killed me?
I watched. I watched him move silently around her, and watched as his fangs ran out. She was still advancing toward me, hyped on hate, and unaware her own death was less than a moment away. He grabbed her head, and clamped a hand over her mouth to smoother her scream. Yanking her shoulder down, he curled his fingers around her cloak to rip it away and expose her flesh. His head hung suspended against the smooth ivory of her neck, and I watched her eyes widen in horror. Instant tears make them glisten as Tomas twitched then bit down. A spray of blood splashed against the wall and my face. I was unable to look away. It was loud, grizzly and violent. The heels of the Lady Cleric’s boots thumped on the hardwood floor, and the salty smell of her blood filled the air. Her dying wail was heard only by me as a senseless keen, a single sustained note. It lasted a few seconds. It lasted an age. Then, when he was done, Tomas let her lifeless body fall to the floor with a hollow thud.
It took me less than a moment to see the immense danger of my situation. I started to creep along the wall, keeping myself as small as possible. Tomas stood in the middle of the room, savoring his kill. Good for him, bad for me. I made it all the way to the door then the darkness swarmed around me.
Before I could squeal, Tomas had hold of my wrist and yanked me forward. I pulled against him, again pressing myself into the door. I held still as his tongue swept over my skin, smoother than a normal tongue. He lapped up the blood I’d wiped from my nose and groaned. He loomed over me, brown eyes liquefying.
“You smell like sunlight,” he said darkly.
His fingers brushed over my pulse point then his eyes flashed black. He bent my wrist back and I cried out in pain.
“You have to let me go,” I said and kept a tight rein on the urges of my nature.
Fear pressed on my mind made it hard to think. Made it hard to remember he was here to talk not hurt me. This demon, this vampire who right now thirsted for my blood wanted to talk, and I’d left him here for half the night, hungry. He’d just sucked the life out of a Cleric, but it didn’t seem to have been enough. She had been a small thing. If I attacked it would be fatal, for he would succumb to his baser instinct.
Fangs still dripping with blood, my blood; his chest started to rise and fall rapidly.
“Are you going to bite me, Tomas?” I did not snatch my hand away; it would excite rather than subdue him. “You promised no biting and I trusted you. I trust you.”
“I am what I am,” he said, slowly.
Bringing my wrist back to his mouth, his fangs grazed over a vein and the lush tearing of my skin punctured the edgy silence. He made a noise half way between a growl and a pained keen.
“Don’t do this.” I tugged my hand, unable to help myself. His eyes heated. “If you don’t let go–”
“What will you do?” His voice was dark, filled with anticipation. He pushed my sleeve further up my arm to expose more of my skin. “I want to taste you. I have since the first moment I breathed your scent.”
With a sigh of triumph, he opened his jaw wide, and bit down.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I felt my skin divide as his fangs sank into me. Gods, it hurt, it hurt. His cold lips brushed my skin and it burned as he sucked. Then it changed. Subtly, the burning started to sweep over me in tingly pulses of pleasure. My eyes flickered open and I moaned. A tide of lust flowed through me and invaded secret places they had no business being. Thick blood gushed down my hand and overflowed from his mouth, only for him to lap it up. A wave of fatigue had my knees buckling.
“Tomas,” I shouted and reached out to the well of energy now mine to control, all I had left to defend myself with. I pushed power into my voice as I called his name and it boomed. It was loud, and echoed through me, made the walls quake.
Head flying back, dark hair streaming across his face, he gasped and clutched a hand to his head. He spun, dragging me with him like a rag doll and threw me across the room. Before my body hit the floor, for a split second it was like I could fly. Had I been a clever girl, I would have dropped my glamour and used my wings to land softly on the floor. I was too messed up to do anything but cry. When I landed, I rolled and rolled before crashing into the base of the wall. Thank the gods my room was small. Tomas staggered back and hit the wall on the opposite side. He bent over, trembling and mumbling incoherently to himself.
“Tomas,” I repeated, quieter this time.
I needed to know he was okay. If not I would need to run. I didn’t want to fight him, so I would run. He was by the door, but I had magic now and I knew how to use it. Not very well, I was likely to create a fireball big enough to obliterate us both, but it would be better than being sucked dry.
“Wait,” he said hoarsely. His eyes cleared up and he fell to his knees. His hand reached out to me; palm up and it shook. “I’m in control now. Wait.”
I nodded and pressed myself into the wall. Tomas’s vampire smell and the salty tang of my blood filled my nostrils. Sweat trickled down my brow, and I focused on controlling my breathing as my body repaired itself. Oh gods, thank you. My nose felt better already, as did the rest of my body. When Tomas had tossed me my shoulder and left side had taken the brunt of the impact when I’d hit the ground. I’d felt a rib or two crack. I was upset but strangely calm at the same time. Ana had said a vampire would bite me and she had been right, of course she’d been right. Tomas was a vampire, but I had held my own and taken care of myself. Yes, I had been thrown across a room and used as a tasty post dinner beverage, but still.
After a few beats he stood and crossed the space. He stopped a few paces shy of me.
“I was hungry. You were supposed to be here at sunset. I could not leave without talking to you.”
“I didn’t have a choice.” I glared up at him, my fear becoming anger. “The fairies came back for me during the day, what was I supposed to do? I tried.”
“We had an agreement. You broke it.”
“If I came back here before they had shown me what they needed to they would have found and killed you,” I said harshly. “I wouldn’t have been able to stop them.”
“Stop them?” There was a trace of surprise in his tone. His dark eyes narrowed.
I met him stare for stare. “Like you said, we had an agreement. I promised to hear you out and a safe dark place.”
“I saved your life and you repay me with disrespect.”
“I’ve kept my end of the deal. I’m here aren’t I? I’m sorry I am late, but it was unavoidable and y’know what, ditto. I saved your life too, you ungrateful ass. How long would you survive in the sunlight against a fairy or two?”
He was disquieted. I could tell this from the way his face and body became motionless. The pulsing dark that surrounded him thickened, and it was like I could almost hear it humming. It extended in curling wreath
es and drifted forward to settle over me. It was not a restraining blanket of fear this time, but gentle welcoming. We were silent for a long while, taking comfort in each other’s presence. It was strange. Now the dark had embraced me it was like I could perceive Tomas. He was no longer a scary vampire-boy, but a boy who just happened to be more than human. The balance had shifted between us, stepped into something unknown. Curling my wounded arm into my side, already flaring up and healing, I pulled my sleeve down to cover my wrist. Tomas helped me stand and straightened my clothes. I wiped at the blood smeared across his mouth, looking at it made me queasy and if I saw him lick it up I may be forced to try running away again. His skin was icy and slick.
“Breandan can never know,” I said and stepped away.
“This Breandan is who?” he asked curiously then stiffened. His voice was dark and angry, yet still, it stroked me from the inside out. He stepped closer and sniffed at my hair. Then he dipped his head and slid his mouth along the side of my neck, lips cold and smooth. “He is the fairy I smell on you.”
“He’ll kill you.”
I checked my forearm. It had healed and I fingered the two crescents now permanently scarring my skin. Good thing I wore my hooded jumper with its sloppy sleeves like a second skin.
“I have no plans to talk to this fairy. He will never know, not that it would be the first thing I would say should we meet.”
“What would be the first thing?”
“Nothing. We would fight and one of us would die, of course.” He sounded as if it were a simple, common thing. “And now we talk, the night calls to me.” I waited silently, like a good girl, but he paused. Rather, he hesitated. “Rae–”
We locked eyes and the blackness enveloped me. There was no more space between us, nothing to stop us coming together. He reached out, clasped my hip and pulled me into him. As my body molded to his, his lips nudged my head back and he tangled his other hand in my hair. The scent of him was inexplicably appealing. He still smelt like a vampire, but it was no longer repellent. He smelt like Tomas, a blend of minerals and wet grass. His face was no longer shadowed and ugly, but mysterious, and full of character. His skin was icy to touch. He teased my lips open with his as my teeth nipped his bottom lip. He growled, and I responded with ferocity to equal his. I stood on my tip-toes to reach his mouth, press myself against him. Sliding his hands beneath my thighs he hoisted me up and pushed me against the wall. It was then my glamour dropped and my wings spread and curled down as I sought his mouth again. His cold tongue slipped between my lips and stroked mine. Then his fangs ran out and sliced by bottom lip open. He jerked back, but it healed almost instantly.