Bound in Blood 1 Clandestine (7 page)

What a creepy guy; his friendly voice was a mocking
contrast, compared to the clutch, cutting off her circulation. A
hand shaped bruise would surely follow. “Oh,that’s okay. I like
the walk.” Emily shrugged off his touch and started towards the
next street light. She tried to act oblivious to Mr. Creepy’s
terrifying charm, even though her normal disposition was
wearing thin.

She sprinted to the corner in a flash, had to stop and wait for
the cars to pass. The bright sight of their headlights was
soothing, because it meant she was in plain sight of several
witnesses. Hopefully, they would come to her aid if the situation
became threatening. His words carried an ominous undertone
and made her skin crawl. She was just about to flag someone
down, dramatically flailing her arms and screaming, when she
was stopped short.

The guy caught up to her and forcefully spun her around to
face him. “You’re being very rude. I just want to get to know
you. I’m new in town that’s all.” He said, with mock pain
coloring his expression.

Emily stood silently like a helpless idiot. Her courage had
left her without even the strength to bat an eyelash. Disappointed
in herself, she knew she would drop into the fetal position if he
hadn't been holding her up. She imagined herself crying and
rocking back and forth, like those stupid girls in the movies. She
had been told what to do if attacked. Apparently, she should
have paid more attention to how to carry out a counterassault and
remain brave.

He stared down, causing her to suck in her breath, as she
recognized his green eyes. Well, maybe not his exactly, the color
was disturbingly familiar to the couple on the bus. However, it
was clear that he wasn't the man from the bus. The eyes and
chalky pallor of skin was similar between them, but otherwise
they were different. The main difference was the red border
around this man’s emerald irises. Emily opened her mouth to
scream, but her throat was dry from running. She tried once
more with the same result.

In her short life, she had never seen eyes like those. People
with hints of two colors or flecks of gold, yes. Green outlined in
bright ass red, never. There was something seriously wrong with
this guy; itjust wasn’t normal.

Another memory tried to break into the forefront of her
mind. It wasn’t clear as though there was something she had
forgotten. It was right there, at the edge of her consciousness,
teasing her. It had something to do with the color red. As fast as
the memory presented itself, the picture floated away,
completely lost to her.

Sensing her alarm, he attempted to soften his demeanor.
“Don’t be afraid, child. I just want to be friends. My name is
Luke.” His words were friendly, but they came out husky and
low. He ended with an attempt at a smile, resulting in a grimace
that displayed sharp teeth. The incisors made him look like a
predator. He was unbelievably beautiful, coupled with a heavy
dose of sickeningly intimidating. There wasn’t anything
reassuring about him. Nothing about the display did much for the
friend inquiry, he had presented.

Luke smelled kind of
weird too. It wasn’t bad,but it wasn’t
good either. It whirled around Emily, intoxicating her like the
night in the alley. On one hand, she wanted to run and on the
other, she wanted to be closer to him. The latter option was crazy
and still shecouldn’t help the pull towards him.

The longer she stared, the stronger the pain in her stomach
pulsed. It was the only thread to her true feelings. Emily started
to struggle free, hoping to find help from a passing car. As if by
magic, there wasn’t a single car driving by. Seriously, a minute
before there was a steady stream of cars and now, nothing. There
weren’t even ones coming in the distance. Suddenly, it was like
town of the dreaded sundown or something. Talk about rotten,
freaking luck! She struggled harder, needing to get out of there.

Emily brought her arm back, swinging her bag of books
towards him with everything she had. Surprised, Luke released
her other arm and laughed humorlessly. He didn’t even budge. In
fact, it seemed to have absolutely no effect on him what so ever.
It was a good blow too. She knew a blow like that would have
sent her sprawling. It would have even knocked Sam back a few
steps. What was this guy made out of? Stone?

“G
o ahead, try and run. No matter how fast you go.I’ll
match that stride and then some.” The smile never left his face
and his glowing eyes never left hers.

The eerie tone in his voice began to sooth her. She knew his
words were meant to be threatening, but watching him began to
make her feel fuzzy. Try as she might, Emily’s resolve was
evaporating and thoughts of bolting had faded.

His stare seemed to pulse with each word he spoke and she
couldn't look away from crimson eyes. Though she knew she
wanted to run, it wasn't going to happen, his gaze paralyzed her.
Her feet remained locked to the cement with an extreme force,
allowing the part of her that wanted to stay to take over.

Her voice was panicked, telling her to
move
in her own
slightly incapacitated tone. Despite the advice, she gazed at
Luke, like a star struck teenager. The desire to run her fingers
through his black hair and feel his strong arms around her,
burned through her like a wild fire. She was lost; she knew that
she was supposed to be afraid, the emotion just wouldn’t take
shape. The world seemed to swirl in a blur, as if the houses
around them had disappeared, leaving behind nothing other than
the two of them.

Emily was about to tell him to come closer to her, when she
was interrupted by a growl in the distance. Before she realized
what was happening, anger at losingLuke’s attention boiled
within her. The possibility of new danger didn't occur to her and
neither did the realization that her emotions weren't her own. She
was furious that the moment the two of them had been sharing
had been broken. Her insides screamed at her, but the
intoxication seemed to wrap around her entire brain, making it
difficult to think straight.

Then she became jealous, thinking like the predator, instead
of the defenseless prey that she so obviously was. Violent
thoughts flooded her mind like a tsunami. For a moment, she
pictured what she wanted to do to whoever was stealing Luke's
concentration away from her. She wanted, no
needed
that
attention and would do anything to get it back.

From the alley behind them, Emily heard another low
rumbling growl. Her attention was broken from Luke, as she
sought the cause of the noise. When his stare released hers, the
hold on her was broken and the terror crashed on her like a
freight train. Confusion assaulted her, followed by a dazed
feeling and her knees wobbled uncontrollably.

Oh my God, Emily thought wildly. What just happened?
That guy had her in a… well, trance. She shook her head
fiercely, trying to dissolve any residual fog, clouding her mind.
The pain in her abdomen was more intense than ever, but there
was no time to think about that now. She had to get out of there.

Her palms were clammy, stinging against the road rash and
reminding her that caution was imperative. She gave a quick
mental groan of pain and was gratefulthat the sound didn’t
escape from her lips. Whatever he could do, there was apparently
someone nearby that could do the same or possibly worse. It was
crucial whoever was out theredidn’t transfer his awareness to
her. She would leave the two sinister
things
to hash it out with
one another.

Luke spun around, giving the anonymous owner of the
growl a snarl of his own. It sounded feral and terrifyingly
menacing. The wrenching in her gut was becoming more
insistent. Luke lost focus on Emily and retreated to find the
intruder.

She stood wide eyed and gaping, as she watched him speed
off into the mouth of the alley, around the house they were in
front of. What he did didn't exactly qualify as running. It was
faster than Emily had ever seen anything move. Really, it was
more of a blur than anything else. One second he was with her,
searching for the source of the growl and the next, he was gone.
His departure was silent in its nothingness. There wasn’t even
the sound of a single footstep to mark his passage.

Emily's knees were like rubbery JellO and her neck didn’t
seem strong enough to hold up her head. She felt weak, as if she
had just woken up and was still under Luke's spell. She took a
few wobbly steps toward the alley where he had vanished.
Threatening blackness swelled from it, blocking a clear view.
The blindness of the abyss made her dizzy with fright. Still, she
slowly trudged on after Luke.

A fierce snarl tore into the night, quickly answered by one
matching its anger and verbosity. She had a flash of two tigers
going at it on Animal Planet, fighting to the death. Emily could
hear scuffling and powerful blows, before crashes invaded the
peace of the night. The sounds were like a slap in the face. Any
after affects Luke had on her mind melted away. So much for the
nothingness. It became obvious that a fight was taking place, but
whatever it was, itdidn’t sound human. It was more like an
animal, ripping into him or maybe Luke was the one doing it.

She should go get help. Wait, what was she thinking? That
guy was going to kill her. Something within his eyes, told her
just how true that fact was. It wasn’t in her nature to allow
something like this to take place. She couldn’t help wondering
where her sense of self-preservation was?

The sound of fighting calmed slightly, which left her
worried that one of them would soon come for her. That sent her
body into action. Death was not an option. She turned to run,
completely forgetting about the curb that was behind her. Her
foot came down on empty air, resulting in her plummeting
towards the street. It all happened so fast, yet as if she were in
slow motion. Her body was about to come to a crashing halt, but
her mind traveled on. Note to self: not careful enough.

In her dream, she was walking down a long, dimly lit
corridor. It wasn’t scary but instead sort of… well, dreamy. The
only lighting came from sconces, hung far apart at intervals
throughout the long hall. The light fixtures were old fashioned
with small bulbs that gave the effect of tiny intimate flames. It
was a captivating effect, actually. The walls were a rich, creamy
color with doors spread out along either side. The floor was
made of marble, ruby with silver flecks that gleamed like
sparkles, even in the mild lighting.

The first door she came to was locked. She knocked lightly
and waited. Nothing. The next door held the same result. Sensing
a pattern, she ignored the rest and continued down the hall.
Sound seemed absent, but for the faint echo of her shoes on the
floor.

It was freezing, there were no vents for an air conditioning
system in sight. Even so, the air in the hall was chilly and too
much for Emily’s taste. She preferred heat. So, she was kind of a
baby, when it came to the cold. She rubbed her hands on her
forearms, hoping the friction would warm her up.

A second hall came into view, turning slighting to the left
and it peaked her curiosity. Timidly, she peered around the
corner to see where it led. The hallway was a shorter and
mirrored the one she was already in, except there were fewer
doors and they were closer together.

At the end, the hall opened up to a large room with an
antique-like wooden archway. It seemed that the lighting was
better passed the arch. With a deep breath, she turned the corner
and started towards the opening.

It was just a dream after all. There was nothing to be afraid
of. However, it was unsettling that she was so lucid in something
that wasn't reality. Usually she couldn't recognize a dream for
what it was until her eyes opened and she discovered the comfort
of her familiar room.

Passing through the threshold, she was amazed at the sight
before her. It was elegant with cobalt blue marbled floors. The
walls were painted in a muted gray color, which came alive with
the affects from the sconce style lighting.

In the corner, a beautiful fireplace designed with intricate
patterns, stretched up the stone to a vaulted ceiling. Giant,
overstuffed black chairs lay in front of it. The wall directly in
front of where she stood held an enormous painting in a gold
frame. It was of a cityscape at twilight. She recognized the two
largest sky scrapers and realized it was of New York before
September eleventh. In front of it stood a wide, glossy black
desk.

The wall to Emily’s right had the most comfy looking couch
she had ever seen. It was made of the same material that the
chairs were, but the cushions were large and fluffy. It housed
golden throw pillows at either end. The end tables on each side
were black, rod iron with glass tops. The coffee table matched,
but on it was a single, thick book. From where she stood, it
looked to have an old fashioned, tattered leather cover.