Destined For a Vampire (8 page)

This was sin in the eyes of God, an act of rebellion, for it was never His
intention when He created the angels for them to love anything more than they loved
God and man.

The second of their sins was committed when their duty began to interfere
with their need to be together and, in direct defiance of God’s will, they left their
posts as angels and hid amongst man, unwilling to continue to serve humanity if it
meant being separated. During that time, Iofiel conceived and bore Constantine a
child, a strapping young boy.

Infuriated by their third and final act of rebellion, God dispatched dominions
to return the two angels to Him. When Constantine heard of this, he hid Iofiel and
their child with the humans before he left to find and kill the dominions who sought
to tear their family apart. His parting words to Iofiel were promises that he’d soon
return for her and their son.

Weeks and months passed, and every day, Iofiel searched the horizon for the
return of her love. When one year had passed without sign of Constantine, Iofiel left
the child in the care of an old woman and set out to find Constantine.

She was quickly captured by more dominions and returned to God, never to
see Constantine or their child again.

When word reached Constantine that Iofiel had been taken, his rage toward
God was so complete and so overwhelming that he sought to destroy Him. In his
final and unforgivable act of sin, Constantine joined the dark angels of the earth,
vowing to serve the one being he believed to be strong enough to defeat God—the
angel, Lucifer.

As punishment, God cursed Constantine by trapping his son in a human form
and imbuing him with a power that no other of God’s creations possessed: the
singular ability to take Constantine’s life.

In answer to God’s punishment, Lucifer instilled in Constantine a venom, one
that was filled with dark and unnatural elements. Lucifer believed the deadly bite of
Constantine would destroy the child and spare Constantine his life.

Unbeknownst to Constantine, his venom would create an aberration in the
human race, a violent and blood thirsty mutation that neither time nor many
weapons could destroy.

For years, Constantine searched the earth for his son, sinking his deadly
teeth into anyone that thought to get in his way. As his fury drove him, the venom
corrupted him, blackening his soul to a state beyond redemption. As his darkness
grew, he began to target the worst specimens of the human race, turning them into a
soulless band of creatures known as Uccideres.

Finally, Constantine located his son. The boy, named Boaz, had reached his
nineteenth summer and was of full maturity. Constantine, still fearful of God’s
prophecy, waited until night had fallen to approach his son. He crept in and visited
him while he slept, while the boy was at his weakest.

Constantine bit him in the neck, emptying into him a venom so toxic no mere
mortal could have survived its effects. Only this boy was no mere mortal, and the
venom, though it made him frightfully ill, did not destroy the child as Lucifer had
hoped.

Constantine, desperate to escape death, yet unable to kill his son, fed the boy
his own powerfully angelic blood and then planted false memories in his mind. He
made sure that Boaz would live a life free from the remembrance of his mission until
such a time as Constantine could find a way to kill him.

For centuries, Constantine and Lucifer have worked to destroy the boy, each
time failing and each time being forced to provide the boy with new memories. And
so the cycle will continue, as Boaz remains immortal under God’s pledge that he will
not taste of death until he sees his father take his last breath.

The words melted into a breathless tangle inside my mind. The story. The legend. Boaz. Constantine. Angels. The boy who can’t be killed. Could it be related to what Lucius had told me? Could it be related to what had happened with Bo? Could Boaz be
my Bo?

I blinked my eyes and saw dark wooden beams across a soft white ceiling.

Confusion hammered at my brain. I closed my eyes, counted to ten and opened them again. Still, I was looking at the ceiling. Somewhere. And why was I on my back?

I’d just been standing in Sebastian’s office in front of that book. And now…

“I was wondering if I was going to have to wake you up.”

I looked to my left and saw Sebastian. I sat up so fast my head spun. We were in the den and I was on one of the three sofas, Sebastian on the one across from me.

“Was it that boring? I’ve always loved that movie,” he said, grinning pleasantly.

“Movie?”

Sebastian’s brows twitched, but they didn’t draw together. “Yeah. I know it predates you a bit, but I thought you might—”

“We were watching a movie?”

This time, Sebastian did frown. “Are you alright?”

“I- I’m not sure. How long have I been asleep?”

“I don’t know. Maybe half an hour. I hated to wake you.”

I rubbed the back of my hand across my eyes. His answer only served to exacerbate my puzzlement.

“What time is it?”

Sebastian glanced at his expensive-looking watch. It was then that I noticed he was in different clothes than the ones he’d left wearing.

“12:15.”

Ohmigod!
I thought. Where had the last two and a half hours gone?

“Oh,” I said, trying to sound casual. “What time was it when you got in? I forgot to check the clock.”

Sebastian gave me a concerned look, but said nothing about it.

“11:30.”

He’d been here for forty-five minutes and I remembered none of it! We’d apparently watched part of a movie together, too.

“I guess I’d better get going then,” I said, pushing myself to my feet.

“Are you sure you’re alright? I can drive you if you’re feeling ill,” Sebastian offered, coming to his feet as well.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. But thank you.”

I hated to seem as if I was rushing off, but I was so addled, I felt almost desperate to get away, to clear the fog from my mind. As I walked down the hall toward the front door, I could hear Sebastian’s footsteps trailing close behind.

“Hold on, Ridley. I owe you some money for tonight,” Sebastian said, coming to stand in front of me at the door. I had my hand on the knob, ready to bolt.

“Oh.” I couldn’t think of one good,
sane
reason to leave without taking the money, so I waited while Sebastian pulled his money clip from his pocket and flipped through the denominations until he came up with a hundred dollar bill.

When he handed it to me, I felt guilty for taking it. I mean, apparently I’d blacked out for the last half of my stint and then had the nerve to fall asleep in front of him. That hardly sounded like he was getting his money’s worth. But arguing would only prolong the time I had to hang around, so I pocketed the money, thanked him and opened the door.

“Are you free Sunday night? It would only be for two or three hours in the evening.”

I wanted to snap at him and scream,
Not now!
But instead, I managed to control myself enough to smile politely and say, “Can you call me Saturday?”

Sebastian nodded. “Will do.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you then.”

“Drive safe.”

I muttered something like
okie dokie
over my shoulder as I practically ran down the steps toward my car. Once I was inside it, I started up the engine and backed out, racing down the driveway at breakneck speed. When I reached the bottom, I came to a gravel-slinging stop and slammed the car into park.

I rolled the window down to let the cool night air in then I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the rest. I pulled in gulp after gulp of the chilly air, hoping the cleansing breaths would clear my mind of the cotton that seemed to have invaded it.

When I was feeling marginally more alert, I raised my head and opened my eyes just in time to see a red blur flash in front of my headlights. I looked around, hoping to catch sight of what was out there. I neither saw nor heard anything, but nevertheless, I locked my door and rolled up my window.

Just before the window sealed out the light breeze, something disturbing and vaguely familiar tickled my nostrils. It was a sweet floral scent that I’d smelled before, and not at a good time. It was the same aroma I’d detected on the vampire that had crawled into my room and attacked me.

A noise at the back of the car had me pulling the gear shift down into drive and flooring the gas pedal. I looked left and right then checked my rearview mirror, but I saw no sign of anyone or anything. But that didn’t slow me down. I barely even paused until I was pulling in behind Mom’s car in the driveway.

Since I’d met Bo, I’d left my bedroom window open nearly every night.

Except tonight. With no idea where Bo was or how to reach him, and some kind of crazed vampire after me, I’d never felt more vulnerable.

The next day, I was pleased to have the distraction of Summer’s impromptu Forest Fest to dive into. Though I had no intention of going, it was all the rage at school and it’s all anyone was talking about. I let myself melt into the conversations, let myself get lost in the normalcy of parties, popularity and high school in general.

That day, my ache for Bo seemed to be worse than ever. I felt detached from him in a way I hadn’t experienced before and it both terrified and distressed me.

That bond we shared, that connection, had been the only thing that had kept me sane since his “disappearance” and it seemed to be fading little by little as the days wore on. I couldn’t help but wonder if that bite had something to do with it.

By lunchtime, I found myself sitting at Summer’s table, surrounded by people I’d known most of my life, all strangers now. At least that’s what they felt like. I fiddled with my napkin as I gazed longingly across the lawn to the picnic table I’d shared for a while with my friends. And with Bo.

My heart twisted painfully with thoughts of him. I slid my eyes over to the tree where we’d enjoyed several sunny days together, alone.

In the very pit of stomach, I felt that oh-so-familiar tug and I latched onto it, closing my eyes to savor the tiny tingle that danced along my nerves. I’d felt it several times lately, so I knew he was somewhere close enough for me to feel him, yet still not close enough.

But when that feeling grew stronger, more intense, I knew Bo had to be closer than usual. Sure he must’ve been standing right in front of me, I raised my lids to look around. I didn’t have to search for him, didn’t have to look anywhere but straight ahead, at the very spot I’d been daydreaming about.

The wind blew through the branches of the big tree, dappling the ground beneath it with bright spots of sunshine, and for just an instant, I saw something shimmer in the light. Knowledge and recognition swelled inside me. It was Bo. He was here, at school, watching me, closer than he’d been in recent days.

Just like he’d promised, Bo wasn’t far.

I don’t know why he chose that day to take such a chance. It was like he knew how desperately I needed him—to see him, even if it was only a hint of him—

and he’d risked exposure to show me that he was thinking of me, that he needed to be close to me, too. Or maybe he’d felt the growing distance between us as well. I had no way of knowing.

A relief so profound it nearly brought me to tears washed over me, and I felt the renewal of our bond pouring through my veins. That one moment in time, that one instant, was enough to keep me going for a little while longer. For now, it was enough.

Carried on the wings of Bo’s visit for the rest of the day, I felt bullet-proof, like nothing could bring me down. That’s why later, I decided that I’d pay Lucius a visit. I needed to talk to someone about what I’d learned at Bo’s house, as well as the translation I’d found at Sebastian’s.

Thinking of Sebastian made me wonder again, uneasily, about the time I’d lost there. I had no idea what to make of it and I was hesitant to mention it to anyone. A tiny seed of fear had begun to take root deep inside my mind, a kernel of dread that I might be starting to experience the effects of Bo drinking from me.

What if blacking out was the first step to losing your mind? The first step to what the authorities were mistakenly labeling Mad Cow Disease?

Pushing the disturbing ruminations aside, I brought my focus back to Bo and his visit. Though thinking of him did make me feel better, acknowledging my concerns about my health had still managed to dampen my spirits in a way that not even my prior elation could fix.

At home, I unlocked the door and went to change clothes before heading to the forest to see Lucius. Looking at the sparse selection in my closet made me realize that I needed to do some laundry, and what better time than on a Friday night?

“That’s right, girls of the world. I lead the most enviable life imaginable,” I said aloud to the empty bathroom as I separated colored clothes from white.

My words echoed flatly back to me, bouncing off the walls of the tiny room.

It was then that I noticed that the other bathroom door, the one that adjoined Izzy’s room, was closed, making the already small room seem claustrophobic.

As I straightened, unease raised the hairs at my nape. Walking quietly, cautiously, to that door, I grabbed the knob and twisted it slowly. When I pushed it open, I reached out with all my senses for anything amiss.

Everything seemed exactly the same as it always did. It still smelled vaguely of Izzy and, as I made my way around the room, I didn’t see where anything appeared to be missing.

I let my fingers trail along the edge of the jewelry box and the decorative tops of the perfume bottles that dotted the surface of the vanity. I ran my hand over the silky comforter that covered the bed and I ruffled the curtains as I passed. When I got to the bookshelf that sat in one corner, I mentally cataloged every item I knew to have a place there. Nothing was gone.