Dark Secrets (45 page)

He had an explanation
for everything. Always. I
hated
that. “Well, it was the most beautiful moment of
my life, so far.” I’d dreamed about those flutters of blue and
yellow, surrounding us like we were in some private, mystical
bubble, nearly every night since that day. Pity he had to ruin it
by combining it with the memory of my first kiss—to a guy who kills
people with his teeth.

“
You know—” David
hesitated. “There’s a reason I did that, Ara, and it’s not what you
think.”

“
Did
what?”

“
Kissed
you.”

I hugged my knees, not
bothering to tuck my dress under my legs. “I’m
listening.”

“
I never imagined you
would one day find me repulsive, and I knew then that I would be
leaving you.” He leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. “But
I love you, and I just wanted to be your first kiss.”

“
That’s a little
selfish, don’t you think? You should have asked me if I wanted my
first kiss to be with a murderer.”

He shook his head,
pressing his lips into a flat smile. “I don’t care if you’re mad at
me. It was worth it.”

I smiled, because he
was right. I could try to be mad at him for that kiss but, in
truth, it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d just eaten, I’d still have
wanted my first kiss to be with him. I just wouldn’t tell him that.
I turned my nose up with a flick of my chin. “You’d be more
interesting if you were magic.”

He smiled so lovingly
at me. “Well, there is an
element
of magic, by human definition.”

“
Guess there’d have
to be with all that speed and healing fast stuff.” I stopped and
turned the pages of myth in my mind. “Hang on. You did say you heal
fast, right?”

“
Yup.” He grinned,
hugging his knee.

My mind was getting
lost in information. “How?”

“
Rapid cell
regeneration. It’s responsible for immortality as well,” he
answered with a hint of humour in his voice.

“
Okay, Mr I-Have-An-Answer-For-Everything. And what about the
whole
vampires are demons
thing?” I looked at him, my own tone light,
quizzical.

He shook his head. “No
demons.”

“
Good thing you’re
not, I suppose. I would’ve had a hard time explaining to Nathan’s
mom why you suddenly just burst into flames today.”

David laughed. “Yes, I
imagine you would.”

“
So, is that why you
smiled like that—when we walked into the church?”

“
It was. The whole
demon thing’s kind of a private joke among my kind.”

“
Why? Is there some
truth to the myth?”

“
None
whatsoever.”

“
But, then…why do
people think holy water can burn you and stuff?”

“
Rumours.”

“
Rumours?”

“
Yes. Powerful
things, those gossip circles.” He grinned mischievously. “The whole
story started out, originally, when a vampire was found sleeping in
his bed. The townspeople believed the man to be dead.” David tapped
his chest. “No heartbeat, you see. So, they buried him—alive, and
when he finally woke and dug his way out of the grave, he
retaliated with murder.”

“
Retaliated? But,
they didn’t know he was alive, did they? It wasn’t deliberate,
right?”

“
No.”

“
Then why did he want
revenge?”

“
Same reason any
claustrophobic, which woke to find themselves buried alive,
would.”

“
Claustrophobic
?” I touched my neck.
“How can a vampire be claustrophobic?”

David laughed. “We
carry over many human traits when we change. We can be moody,
thoughtful, arachnophobic, afraid of heights—many things. We’re
still mostly human in so many ways.”

“
And this guy was
afraid of enclosed spaces?”

“
Right. And even if
he wasn’t, imagine, for a second, being trapped in darkness,
compounded by a force you cannot see—not knowing which way is up or
down.” He studied me thoughtfully. “I told you a vampire’s emotions
are stronger?”

“
Yeah.”

“
This claustrophobic
vampire woke in darkness, terrified. As he clawed at the soil for
three days, his fear became anger and his anger became fury. When
he finally took a breath, he vowed revenge on all who ever laid
eyes on him. Then, he stumbled into town and obliterated every
soul.”

“
What a
bastard!”

David laughed again.
“Well, he did leave one alive—a small boy. Does that make him more
likeable?”

“
Depends,” I said.
“Why did he leave him alive?”

“
The boy, who
reminded him of his own son, attacked the vampire with the jagged
edge of a broken branch. Amused by the fearless bravery of the boy,
the vampire took the spike and jammed it through his own heart,
faking his death to satisfy the boy’s hunger for
revenge.”

“
How noble of
him.”

David smirked.
“Anyway, from then on,” he continued, “the human race decided,
since the wood the child used originated from a tree on consecrated
ground, that these
Demons of the
Night
could be taken down by all things
holy. Word spread and, like a disease, the rumours grew into the
myths you still hear today.”

“
Hm.” I considered
his tale.

“
And do you know what
the name of that small boy was?”

“
I’m sure you’re
going to tell me.”

He nodded, smiling.
“Van Helsing.”

“
And that’s a true
story?” I asked.

“
True
story.”

“
Well…if that’s true,
why wouldn’t you just correct them—the humans, I mean—tell them the
truth about the whole demon rumour thing?”

“
Because, the lies
assist with our cover.” He shrugged. “Those who can walk in the
day, go to church or wear a cross, can’t possibly be one of these
demonic creatures, and so, we can remain secret—live in
peace.”

“
Wow.”

“
Yeah. You’ll find
most of the myths about my kind were started in much the same
manner.” He smiled nostalgically and looked away. “We do love our
grapevines, we who walk in the night.”

“
Grapevines?” My brow
arched.

“
Ha! Yeah. Borrowed
that one from your dad.”

“
That was so
not
cool that you would’ve been better off saying
we do love a bit of intrigue
.”

David paused and
studied me with soft eyes. “You would have fit well in my time,
girl.”

“
I fit in fine here,
thank you.” I folded my arms. “So, why didn’t he wake
up?”

“
Who?”

“
The vampire. When
they buried him—why didn’t he wake up?”

“
Oh. He was
drunk.”

“
You can get drunk?”
My words burst out in a gust.

“
Of course we can—”
He laughed. “We can use drugs, too.”

“
Really? Do you get
addicted, like humans do?”

He shrugged
dismissively. “Don’t know. Never met a vampire who used drugs. But
I’ll be sure to ask if ever I do.”

“
Thanks. Appreciate
it.”

“
Any time.” His
sarcastic smile spread the corners of his lips widely.

“
Okay, so, on with
the interrogation.”

“
Be my guest.” He
motioned a forward hand to me, as if ushering me through a
door.

“
So, vamp myth
one-oh-one; a crucifix won’t burn you?”

“
I hope not.” David
reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out a heavy gold
chain with a cross on the end of it. “I wear it whenever I go to
church.”

I doubled back
internally. “So, you
are
religious?”

“
A little.” He smiled
and dropped the cross to his chest.

“
But, you’re
also…dangerous?” I concluded.

“
Very.” He smiled
malevolently; a shudder crept up my spine.

I didn’t want to
think of those who’d come to learn that as their
last
lesson. Slowly, I
started my questions again. “How can you believe in God—and then go
out and murder?”

“
It’s not
murder.”

“
Yes, it
is.”

“
No, it’s not. It’s
nourishment—necessary for survival. Does a farmer murder a
cow?”

“
That’s
different.”

“
Why?”

“
Because a cow…” I
bit my lip. “Because they…well…” I threw my hands up. “I don’t
know. What do I look like, a priest?”

David laughed. “I love
it when you know I’m right.”

“
You’re not right!”
Anger forced pulsing blood into my cheeks. “You believe in the Ten
Commandments, pray at church, read the Bible—but you can kill the
man sitting next to you without so much as—”

“
Uh-uh, hold it right there, missy.” He held up a finger; I
snapped my gob closed. “I said I believe in
God
, not the Bible, not the ways of
the church. They are not the same thing.”

“
How are they not the
same thing?”

“
Live as long as I,
and you will see. Now—” he folded his arms, “—we’re not having a
religious debate. There are more important things to discuss at
this moment.”

“
Fine.” But I didn’t
want to talk. I was too mad.

“
Can you remember
anything I’ve told you so far?”

“
No.”

“
Yes, you can.” He
smiled, rolling his head a little to one side. “Recite it for me or
I’ll read your mind just to check you were listening.”

I looked up at him,
fury turning to rage in my eyes. “Fine.” I took a deep breath.
“You’re…a…a God-fearing variation of normal human makeup, caused by
a hidden polarity in the genes that’s activated when vampire venom
mixes with your blood after being bitten?”

“
You’re a very fast
learner, Ara-Rose.” His face lit with surprise.

No, I’m not—I just
hang off your every word.

David grinned. I
looked away.

“
There aren’t many of
us, you know. If that makes you feel better.”

Good!
“Why?”

“
As it stands, fewer
and fewer humans over the years have been known to have this gene.
It seems to be breeding out. We’ve not had a successful turning in
decades. Consequently, my kind has been forbidden to create
vampires without approval.”

“
Forbidden? By
who?”

“
We have a society.
Just like you,” he said. “We live in peace, mostly, but there are
laws we must follow, and consequences. We can’t just walk around
doing whatever we please—or killing whomever we please.”

“
Really? So, the
killing’s controlled?”

“
To a
degree.”

“
Oh…” I unfolded my
arms. Civility among murderers? “What other laws do you
have?”

“
Well—” He looked over at the window for a second, then took a
short breath. “We’re not allowed to occupy positions of power or
fame, in order to maintain cover. And, if we’re in a situation or
accident which would be fatal to a human, we absolutely
must
be
reborn.”

“
Reborn?”

“
Yes. Start a new
human life.”

“
Oh, is that why you
can’t be famous or anything, ‘cause it would be hard to hide after
you ‘die’?”

“
Exactly. Especially
these days with things like television and photographs. It makes
disappearing really problematic.”

“
So, what else? I
mean…can you fly, do you still grow hair, do you sleep upside down
in a cave?”

David scoffed lightly,
pressing the back of his wrist to his upper lip. “You really love
your myths, don’t you?”

I shrugged.

“
Ur, well, we do
still grow hair, so…sorry, if you become a vampire, you still have
to shave your legs. As for sleeping in a cave…upside down—” He
merely raised a brow to answer.

“
What about
fly?”

He hesitated. “Like I
said…we can manipulate the elements. Some of us have mastered the
ability to become completely weightless and move through the
atmosphere—suspended above the earth. But not all can, and it’s
only for short distances. It takes decades of practice.”

“
But, can
you
?” I prompted.

Uncertainty controlled
his smile. “Yes.”

“
That is
so
cool.” It was the only cool thing—everything else was
disgusting and infuriating, but flying was cool. “So? What else can
you do?”