Love Bite (Just One Bite #1) (10 page)

“Apparently
one of those rules is not to change someone against their will,” Diandra said.
“That much I understand.”

Eamon nodded.
“Yes, this is true. But it’s more than just that. It’s not biting anyone
against their will.” Diandra paled, and she and Lizbeth exchanged a glance. “I
see you’ve already done so, but as long as Lizzie over here isn’t pitching a
fit I believe we can excuse it and put it off as losing yourself in the
moment.” He smiled understandingly. “We all lose ourselves a little in the
beginning. It’s hard finding a balance between your old life and your new one.”

“Exactly!”
Diandra burst out. “That’s exactly how it feels-
like an eternal struggle between what I was and what I am now. Most of the time
I am able to forget there’s anything different since it seems all that horror
movie nonsense isn’t true. Then it’ll come time for me to have blood, and it
comes crashing back like some B movie nightmare.”

Eamon gave her
a gentle smile. She thought distractedly that the man must have dozens of smiles,
one for each occasion. “It’ll be okay- I was there once, too.” He answered the
question he saw forming in her head. “I was born over 300 years ago in Ireland,
but I was nearly 30 when I was changed. So I have roughly 270 years of
experience here. Honestly, I normally turn down jobs like this, but your case
intrigued me. RaeLynn here is quite unique herself, and I’d like a chance to
see just how unique she will be.”

Lizbeth cut
in, and Diandra startled. Even though Lizbeth had been sitting beside her she
had nearly forgotten her presence. She was very caught up in everything Eamon
was saying. “So you mean RaeLynn is the only one of her kind?”

Eamon looked
away for a moment before turning back. “She’s the only one to survive her
mother’s change.” At the women’s horrified look he clarified. “Most women were
attacked early in their pregnancies. That triggered miscarriages in most cases.
In other cases the women were turned, and then they were murdered once it
became known what they had become. Other women committed suicide, thinking they
were going crazy. So, yes, your beautiful daughter is very unique.”

Both women sat
silently, staring at the sleeping infant while they processed this new
information. Finally Diandra said, “Okay then. So what’s next?”

Eamon smiled
brightly. “Next we’ll have a little test. It’s time to see what new skills you
may possess.” The women exchanged a look of disbelief and his grin widened. “Oh
come on now, ladies! This is the fun part!”

“Okay,”
Diandra said, pushing the sleeves of her sweatshirt up to her elbows. “Let the
testing begin, I guess.”

“Okay,” Eamon
said as he sat forward with his hands clasped between his knees. “Have you
noticed anything unusual, something new that wasn’t something you could do in
your old life?”

Diandra
nodded. “I’m a bit stronger than I used to be. Most of the time it’s no big
deal, but if I’m upset it seems like I lash out and can do damage if I’m not
careful.”

“That’s one of
the most common powers vamps have. Have you noticed any others?” Eamon asked.
Diandra just shook her head. “No big deal. Most people don’t notice powers
until they’re tested for them. Now is when it gets fun. But here are the rules.
I’ll ask you to do certain things. You absolutely have to believe you can do
it, otherwise you will fail. It may be a power you do have and you’re
convincing yourself it’s impossible. The danger in that is the power may
express itself uncontrollably later on, so it’s better if we can test any
powers in a controlled environment now. Understood?”

Diandra nodded. “Basically you’re going to ask me to do things
I won’t believe anyone can do, because as a human it would have been
impossible.”

Eamon gave her
that cocky grin she was already starting to recognize. “Yes, that about sums it
up. So since it’s nice outside why don’t we step into the back yard? This will
give us more space to work as well as a safer environment in case of… mishaps.”
He walked to the sliding glass door that led to the rear steps facing the
private beach. There was no one in sight when they stepped outside which made
Diandra feel better.

“Now then,”
Eamon said as he clapped his hands briskly together.
“Time to
get crackin’!
First up, let’s test speed. Lizbeth, do you mind
participating?” She shook her head. “Good then. Both of you stand in front of
me, please, and when I say ‘go’, run as fast as you can to that large rock
there.”

“Is this
really necessary?” Diandra asked. “I feel positively ridiculous doing this.”

Eamon gave her
a look of consternation. “Yes, this is really necessary. And what else is
necessary is for you to run like you’ve never ran before. Now, go!”

Both women
hesitated a moment, then they ran towards the rock about a mile in the
distance. For one shining moment the women were neck and neck, and then Diandra’s
heart took flight. The freedom! She had never experienced anything like the
freedom of running this way. One moment she trembled on the edge, and then
Diandra ran full out as fast as her legs would carry her. The wind from her run
blew her hair back, streaming out behind her like a sheet of flames. She
reached the rock and was surprised to find that she wasn’t the slightest bit
winded. She turned to see how far back Lizbeth was and was stunned to find her
only a quarter of the way to the rock.

Diandra let
out a joyous yell and ran back, swooping Lizbeth up on the way and carrying her
with her to the rear steps of the house. She was laughing and crying when she
stopped just inches from Eamon. “That was incredible!”

Eamon smiled
at her. “Yes, it definitely was that. And I see evidence of your strength,”
nodding to where Lizbeth was still stunned curled up in Diandra’s arms. “Now
we’ll test that strength further. Let’s run back to that rock- now!” He took
off and Diandra followed, still cradling Lizbeth in her grasp. In a split
second she had passed Eamon. A half second after that and she was standing on
top of the rock, screaming out her victory.

Eamon made it
to the rock a half second behind her, staring at her in surprise. “No one
passes me. How the Hell did you manage to do that?”

“I don’t know
but it’s incredible! It feels almost like flying, or maybe time travel! What a
rush!” Diandra set Lizbeth down, and then twirled in circles, laughing like a
child. Lizbeth smiled indulgently- she was glad to finally see her happy. This
is what she should have looked like as a child, judging from her stories of the
childhood she never had.

Eamon cleared
his throat. “Yes, well… very nice. Now let’s see how strong you are. Pick up
this rock.”

Diandra’s
laughter stopped. “Pick up this rock? Are you kidding me? It must weigh 500
pounds at least. This is no rock, it’s a freaking boulder!”

Eamon rolled
his eyes at her, then walked over and with a roar he lifted the rock a few feet
off the ground. He held it at waist level for a moment before dropping it back
to the sand with a loud thud. “There now, it’s your turn. See how far you can
lift it.”

Diandra
shrugged but did as he said. She thought about what he’d told her, and
visualized herself holding the rock above her head like a victory belt. She
gave a deep breath and dug her fingers into the sand underneath the rock. With
a mighty tug she was able to lift the rock a foot, then two feet, and then high
above her head. She glanced at her audience to see Lizbeth looking amused with
her antics and Eamon looking slightly stunned, as though he had expected her to
fail. She gently lowered the rock back to the ground until it was in its
original starting position. She brushed the sand off on the seat of her jeans
and looked at Eamon expectantly.

“Well,” he
said. “It appears you have heightened speed and strength. So tell me what I’m
thinking right now.” Eamon laughed loudly at the look of confusion on Diandra’s
face. “I want to see if you read minds as well. I won’t try to block you, but I
won’t help you by linking up to your mind, either.”

“I don’t have
the slightest idea how to do that,” Diandra said.

Eamon sighed
deeply. “Look, it’s really not that hard. Visualize yourself reading my mind.
That’s all there is to it. Now take a deep breath, concentrate, and give it a
try.”

Diandra did as
he said. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Then she pictured herself
reading his mind. Her eyes flew open and she gave him a disgusted look.

“You didn’t
think I could read your mind,” Diandra said flatly. “You think we’re sexy and
you don’t understand why we’re involved with each other instead of men. You're
hoping you can tap at least one of us. And FYI, you’re disgusting and don’t
stand a chance.”

Eamon was pale
beneath his golden tan. “I never even felt you enter my mind. It should have
felt like someone opening a door, but you just slipped in without a sound. And
you went deeper than I could, especially since you gave no sign you were there.
Those thoughts were all buried in my subconscious. You should never have had
access to them. So we know you can read minds. We can also converse this way.”

“We can?”
Diandra asked
,
a bit startled at the idea.

“Of course- we
just did,” Eamon said matter-of-factly.

With a little
start she realized he was correct. The entire conversation had been in her
head. She looked at Lizbeth and thought at her, “I love you.”

Lizbeth jumped
and laughed. “I love you, too! I cannot believe you said that inside my head.
It was nice, but a bit creepy.”

Eamon sighed.
“You’re going to be so much trouble. You should not be able to push thoughts at
a human. No one does that.”

Diandra
exploded. “Now you look here! I never asked for any of this. I certainly didn’t
ask to not just become a vampire but one with all sorts of extra powers. I
never wanted this at all. So don’t you go all high and mighty on me and get
your fucking panties in a knot because I can do more crazy shit than you can!”
She turned, let out a shriek, and kicked the big rock with all her might. The
anger drained out of her as she watched the rock break apart into thousands of
pebbles no larger than a gumball. “What the Hell am I? This is so wrong!” she
whispered.

“Not
necessarily wrong, but definitely strange,” Eamon said. Lizbeth walked over and
wrapped her arms protectively around Diandra’s shoulders. “Dia, you’ll be fine.
I told you I’m here to train you, but apparently there isn’t much use for me at
the moment. Take a deep breath, calm yourself down. We have one final test for
today.”

Diandra gently
pulled away from Lizbeth and stood glaring at Eamon. “Oh, and I suppose since
I’m still playing guinea pig for you, you want me to fly next?” she asked
sarcastically.

“As a matter
of fact, smartass, that’s exactly what I want you to do. Now close your fucking
eyes and visualize yourself flying. Have fun.” He turned his back on them and
started walking back to the house.

Determined to
make him regret his attitude, Diandra scooped Lizbeth up in her arms once more.
Pressing a quick kiss to her lips for luck, she closed her eyes and visualized
herself flying to the sliding glass door. When she opened her eyes again she
found herself ten feet in the air. She let out a delighted laugh and glided
over to the house. Setting Lizbeth down she pulled her in close to give her a
passionate kiss.

“I did it! I
actually flew, Lizzie! Can you believe it? We flew tonight.” Diandra laughed
until tears rolled down her face.

Lizbeth
laughed with her. “You were amazing, Dia. What a rush!”

Eamon walked
up clapping his hands slowly and giving a sarcastic smile. “You're quite the
little superstar, aren't you? Well, that’s good then. It shouldn’t take me long
to go over the rest of the details. I still need to fill you in on the rest of
what your new life means. But Lizbeth, don’t you have a meeting to get to?”

“Shit! That’s
right! If I hurry I can make it on time.” Lizbeth gave Diandra a quick kiss
goodbye. She dashed through the sliding glass door into the house to get her
car keys. A moment later they heard the front door slam, and then Lizbeth was
gone. Diandra pushed the worries for Lizbeth’s safety from her mind- she
couldn’t bear to think about the danger she was putting herself in. She knew in
her heart that Lizzie was doing it for her and RaeLynn so Jonah’s name didn’t smear
theirs. It made her feel sad and just a bit guilty.

She shook it
off and turned back to Eamon. “Well, now what do we do?”

He smiled
broadly. “Hopefully we’ll have dinner and I can explain the ins and outs of
vampire life to you. The way you’re doing today it shouldn’t take too long.” He
gallantly held out his arm to lead Diandra back inside. She laughed and put her
arm on his, and together they walked up the stairs and back through the sliding
glass door.

Diandra led
Eamon back to the parlor and gestured for him to have a seat. He slouched
lazily in the pale pink armchair once more, his large frame taking up most of
the room in the overstuffed chair, dwarfing the piece and making it appear
smaller than it actually was.

“You mentioned
dinner,” Diandra said with a smile. “Do we want people food or liquid
nourishment?”

Eamon laughed.
“Personally I want a little bit of both! I was thinking a tuna fish sandwich
and a big tall glass of blood, room temp please. I can’t stand it cold, and it
loses its flavor if you microwave it.”

“You’re in
luck- I figured out the flavor issue for myself. I keep it in a chest in a room
just off the kitchen. It’s in a safe spot and locked up tight where my
housekeeper, Margaret, won’t come across it and panic. I’ll go make up some
tuna fish sandwiches and I’ll be back out momentarily.” Diandra headed off
towards the kitchen, shaking her head at the idea of tuna fish and blood.
Sounded like a Hell of a meal.