Indulgence (236 page)

“Yes, but why at eleven fifty-eight?”

“The cameras will not be scanning that side of the castle at
that time. I’m assuming Felix hasn’t changed the configuration as he figures
I’m long gone by now and there is no need for such precautions. But you’ll have
to hurry. You will need to move along the east side of the castle pretty
quickly. When you approach the southeastern most part of the castle, break
towards the woods, okay?”

“Yeah, got it.”

“Run through the woods until you reach the river and follow
it north.”

“North?”

“Yes, you need to head north but can’t head that way from
your room; too much exposure running across the front of that place.”

“Okay, got it; to the river then head north.”

“Right, follow the river until you see a huge boulder; it’s
unmistakable – you can’t miss it. At the boulder, head west and keep running.
You’ll come upon the lake in your backyard. I’ll be there waiting for you and
we’ll leave from there. Got it?”

“Yeah. What do I need to pack?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about that, just bring you.”

“No clothes? What about money?”

“I have it all under control Allison. Please trust me. You
have to get back; Max’s hunt is probably coming to an end and we can’t risk his
suspicions.”

“Okay,” I said, my mind whirling with all of these details.

“Now compose yourself so Max doesn’t suspect anything.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Vincent stated, “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He
kissed my cheek and then disappeared before my eyes.

I stood still in the darkness absorbing everything that had
just happened. I repeated Vincent’s directions to help remember them. A huge
smile spread across my face. Vincent had just left, but I already couldn’t wait
to be with him tomorrow night. I took a deep breath to compose myself and
looked around. I couldn’t remember which way I had come from. I closed my eyes
and took another deep breath and allowed my hearing to reach out, to search for
my direction. I heard rustling to the west and a helicopter in the distance. I
shot open my eyes and took off on foot.

My feet glided over the forest floor. A slight breeze wafted
past me and a familiar scent filled my nose. It was Max.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Max exclaimed as I ran past him.

I dug my heels into the ground and slid to a stop, pulling
up plenty of dirt in my path.

“Oh sorry,” I said. I composed myself and was surprised I
wasn’t winded. “I guess I just latched onto your scent and kept running,” I
laughed.

“How was your hunt?” Max asked.

“Oh, um, fine,” I hastily responded.

“Just fine?” Max looked at me with an inquisitive eye.

“Yeah, fine. I got one doe. It wasn’t as bad as I expected.
I dreaded this whole experience but it was actually quite amazing. I hadn’t
really realized what I had done until it was over. And the taste was something
I really feared but it was quite refreshing. And the relief I felt was most
welcome to my throat and stomach.”

“Are you still hungry?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Hmm,” Max hummed.

“What?”

“It’s your first hunt after your transformation; you should
have been hungrier than that.”

“Well you all did give me something to drink while I was
transforming and after I woke up.”

“I suppose, but that typically isn’t enough to satisfy a new
vampire.”

Much to my relief, the helicopter approached, cutting off
our conversation.

“How do we get up?” I asked Max, quickly changing the
subject.

“The same way you got down,” he replied, still studying me.
Max was buying my acting skills.

“I’m supposed to jump?” I exclaimed.

“Allison, if there’s anything you learned today, it should
be to trust your instincts.”

“Humph,” I replied.

“After you,” Max said, waving his hand up at the helicopter.

The chopper descended a bit but was still a good 60 feet up
in the air. I looked at Max and he gave me a reassuring nod. I backed up as far
as the tree line would allow in order to get a running start.

“Don’t take your eye off the target,” Max yelled to me.

I took off, taking seven steps. I stared up at the
helicopter as I crouched and pushed off the shore. I shot through the air like
an arrow at a target, and the cool air rushed past me as it had done on my
earlier plunge. I reached the chopper, grabbed the edge of it and flipped
myself inside.

“Nice one,” Felix mused, giving me a thumbs up.

Max hopped into the helicopter right behind me.

“So how was it?” Felix asked, looking between me and Max before
returning his eyes to the cockpit.

“Not too bad,” I said, staring out the window.

“Max?” Felix asked.

“I’m not sure. Allison only killed one deer.”

“Only one?” Felix craned his neck around his captain’s chair
to look at me. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” I replied.

“That’s not right Allison. You should have needed more than
that. Your instincts should have made you want more, especially since this was
your first time out.”

I shrugged my shoulders and continued staring out the
window. I felt like I was under a microscope. “I wasn’t all that hungry after I
finished. Maybe I filled up too much back at the castle.”

There was a long pause and Max continued analyzing me. Felix
maneuvered the chopper to head back to the castle.

“He was there, wasn’t he?” Max asked in an accusatory tone.

“What? Who?” I responded.

“Vincent.”

“Vincent?” I questioned, turning to look at Max. “No,” I
curtly replied. “Why would you think that?”

“Vincent!” Felix exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure,” Max said. He pursed his lips and crossed his
arms as he studied my every move.

“Well, I don’t know why you think Vincent was there, but he
wasn’t,” I responded.

“Why do you think Vincent was there?” Felix asked Max.

I felt Max’s eyes burning a hole through the back of my head
as I watched the ground and water pass below us.

“Well Allison was
hunting
longer than I expected. So
I expanded my hearing to see if she was in trouble.”

A chill went up my spine at the realization Max might have
heard Vincent. I squeezed my eyes shut.

“And?” Felix asked impatiently.

“I heard something move way too quickly through the woods so
I opened my eyes.”

“And?” Felix asked again.

“I didn’t see anything and I couldn’t lock on a scent.”

“And so you assumed Vincent was in the woods with me?” I
asked incredulously.

“He had to have been. Nothing else could move that fast – no
animal, no human. I sensed him! I heard him running through the woods.”

“But you didn’t see anything?” Felix asked.

“No,” Max admitted.

We flew the rest of the way back to Castle Adena in silence.
I continued staring out the window and Max eventually gave up staring at me to
glare out his window. Though Max hadn’t seen or smelled Vincent, it was obvious
he was on to something and I wasn’t sure how long I could hold up this lie. And
if I couldn’t keep up the lie, I couldn’t expect to keep secret my plans for
tomorrow night. My new siblings could not find out about my planned rendezvous
with Vincent.

The chopper landed smoothly on the helipad. The three of us
exited the aircraft in silence, Max not assisting me as he had when we
departed. Both Max and Felix were skimming over the rooftop way ahead of me. I
was in no hurry for what was going to happen inside once they told Marlo and
Lorenzo what Max suspected.

The door into the castle slammed in front of me. I paused
for a second before grabbing the handle. I actually felt exhausted, something I
didn’t expect with my new existence and after having just fed. I didn’t feel
like I needed to sleep, but my head felt like it was overloaded and just needed
some down time. I definitely wasn’t going to get that inside.

I opened the door and took the stairs three at a time. I was
certainly enjoying the gracefulness that I had acquired since my
transformation. I tried sneaking down the hallway to my room, but luck was not
on my side.

“Allison,” Marlo called from somewhere downstairs, her voice
echoing throughout the hollow hallway. “Can you please come down here?” Her
voice was too kind for what I suspected was going to happen. I was not in the
mood for an inquisition.

I navigated the stone staircase and crossed through the
great room. My senses led me down another hallway to the dining room. It was
ironic that my siblings had a full dining room, complete with china and
crystal, when such items were superfluous for their lifestyle.

“Hey,” I nonchalantly said to Marlo as I entered the room.

“How was your hunt?” she asked, her eyes tense and back to
the vibrant shade of lavender I was so accustomed. Max and Felix stood at an
opposite corner of the table from Marlo. Lorenzo was seated at the head of the
long, wooden dining table, his eyes a sparkling green.

“Max didn’t fill you in?” I retorted, hoping to deflect the
question.

“He did,” Marlo responded matter-of-factly.

“So then you know it went well. It was much easier than I
expected.”

“Was Vincent there?” Marlo asked cutting to the chase. Her
eyes burned into mine. I had to look away.

“No,” I sternly stated in my best attempt to sound
convincing. “I don’t know why Max insists he heard Vincent there.”

“He was there!” Max yelled. “It had to be him or another
vampire. No mortal or animal could move as fast as what I heard cutting through
the forest.”

“I doubt it was another vampire,” Felix added. “There aren’t
many of us in this area that would have been hunting in the same spot at the
same time.”

I burrowed my glare into the floor, unsure of what to say
next. I felt all four sets of eyes focused on me.

“Just admit he was there,” Lorenzo demanded.

“What did he want?” Felix asked.

Chatter started between the three brothers.

“Do you think he could still be close?” Lorenzo asked.

“Why would he have risked his existence knowing one of us
would have been with Allison?” Max asked.

“Where do you think he’s heading?” Felix questioned.

“We could probably go back to the forest and pick up his
scent,” Lorenzo stated.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I looked up to see
the brothers standing in a tight circle now plotting strategy. The image I had
of these loving siblings, five of them who had been together for thousands of years,
whom I thought would be there to look out for each other, were now plotting
their brother’s demise. I couldn’t fathom how they could plot something so
horrible after living with someone for so long.

Marlo still stood in the same spot, her arms crossed in a
defensive position. Her eyebrows were creased, like she was deep in thought as
she scrutinized everything about me. I looked back at the brothers who were
still talking about Vincent.

“Wait!” I yelled. “How can you do this?”

The strategic brotherly chatter halted and they all turned
their heads to look at me.

“Do what?” Max asked. Agitation was apparent in his voice.

“Vincent is your brother and the three of you are standing
there plotting his demise! How can you do that to your own brother? To someone
you’ve known for God only knows how many years?”

The room fell silent as my yelling echoed down the hallways.
Everyone continued to stare at me. Lorenzo broke from the group and walked
slowly towards me, dragging his hand along the table, his eyes never leaving
mine. His blond hair fell over his shoulders and his eyes were red with anger.
He stopped inches from me, bent to my height and pushed his face in front of
mine.

“There’s one thing more important than family,” Lorenzo
growled at me. His brilliant green eyes illuminated his pale face. His thirteen
tear-dropped gold flecks barely moved around his pupils; his breath filled my
nostrils. I had never seen this side of Lorenzo before. His anger was apparent
as he stood there trembling with clenched fists. A pang of fear stabbed me in
the stomach.

“What’s that?” I whispered back, holding his stare.

“Self preservation,” he snarled. His eyes still focused on
me as if he was trying to read my mind. “The one thing that matters most to any
vampire,” he continued, “is his or her own existence.”

“Lorenzo,” Felix called out.

Lorenzo stepped back from me and narrowed his eyes one more
time before turning around and walking back to his chair at the front of the
table.

I stood there in a bit of shock. So Vincent’s own brothers
would
turn on him to save their own existence. Sure they had told me there were
punishments in place for rule breakers, but I thought they could at least let
this slide considering the circumstance. It was apparent that I was wrong and
it was a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t want to see any harm done to Vincent,
but I could also understand their position.

“He…um…he was there,” I whispered to the room.

My brothers seemed to relax hearing the truth, but Marlo
still stood there in her defensive position, still analyzing me.

“What did he want?” Max hissed at me.

“Uh, um, not much.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want
them going after Vincent but I also felt guilty keeping the truth from them.

“Not much?” Max asked sarcastically. “You want us to believe
that Vincent risked his own existence for nothing much?”

I stared back at my siblings but their return stares were
unforgiving. I was going to have to say something, but I couldn’t let them know
about my secret plans.

“He apologized,” I said.

“Apologized? Vincent?” Lorenzo exclaimed as the brothers
burst out in laughter.

“For what?” Felix asked through his laughter.