Rock n Roll Promises (YAE) (Rock n Roll Paraphantasy Series) (10 page)

“How…I was in so much pain…Sebastian, as
much as I hate to say it, thank God you changed me
or I would be dead.” She turned her head to Jack.
“Was I dreaming or did you save me?”

“You did not dream it, I was there. I arrived none
too soon, either. I am afraid that if I had come two
minutes later, I am not sure you would have been
savable, vampire or not.”

“How did you—”Paige’s voice stole her
attention and she turned to her.

“Anna, you don’t have to worry about them
anymore. While you were out, we did what we
knew you would want but wouldn’t do yourself.”

“What did you do?”

 

“Oh let me tell her. I love this.”

She turned to Jack and listened to his tale. “I
know you couldn’t have been, but I wish you could
have been there to see their faces. It was great! The
three of us, just as we are now, walked down that
alleyway past the low lives that got to you first. We
found the two who tried to kill you. They
recognized me, of course. We had a minor skirmish
before I was able to carry you out. Anyway, they
taunted us, especially since we brought Paige along.
They asked if we brought them a replacement for
you. We all just laughed.”

“It was awesome, Anna!” Paige bellowed. “Oh,
sorry Jack, continue.”

“Anyway, we let them get close, and we toyed
with them a bit. Sebastian knew who they were, but
they did not recognize him. They knew he was a
vampire and Paige and I weren’t human, but they
didn’t know
what
we were. It spooked them a bit.
We played a small game of tit for tat for a while.
Sebastian and I were enjoying it, but girl Friday
here grew very impatient. “

“Well, I’m sorry, but we didn’t go there to play
games!” Paige interjected once more. “They tried to
kill her and we weren’t for sure she would even
make it, so…I changed.”

“Yes, but she was playing a game of her own.
She faked a miss swing so they would grab her.
That was a bad idea. Then she changed. They
dropped her like molten metal on unprotected skin.
They tried to run, but claws and fur over there,
pounced on them, pinning them to the ground.”

She looked back to Paige.

 

“I dug my very long and very sharp claws in
their backs, too.”

 

Then back to Jack.

 

“Sebastian and I calmly walked over and spoke a
few words to them—”

 

“Let me tell this part of the story.”

 

She sat up in the bed and pushed herself against
the bed frame.

“Now hold on, you guys are giving me whiplash
from turning my head so much. Please, would the
three of you, if you are all going to chime in, sit at
the end of the bed to finish this story? I am sorry I
sound aggravated, but my neck muscles are still a
bit sore and stiff.”

“No problem.” She kept her eyes on the end of
the bed until all three of them were in her sight. She
couldn’t help but smile at her entourage.

“OK, Sebastian, now finish the story, and thank
you.”

“I knelt down on my knees so I could see their
faces. I asked if they knew who I was and they
replied they didn’t. I flashed my fangs and told
them who I am. To clarify, I used to serve with the
elders council, so once I said my name they knew
their fate. You see, it is against our laws to mess
with, touch, aggravate, harm, or kill someone a
council elder has claimed and marked. It is a deed
punishable by death. Almost all vampires, council
or not, respect each other’s claims. At that point,
they tried to get free with no avail, as they had a
five hundred pound cat on their backs, or did until
she let up…”

Happiness seemed to chase away her earlier
confusion and fear. She knew it wasn’t traditional,
but they had become her family; a family she feared
she would never have.

“Paige, what did you do that for? Why did you
let them up?”
She laughed at her friends’ comments.
“Cats like to play with their prey. They just get
boring after they are dead.”

“And dead they were after Jack and I were
finished with them.”

Leaning forward awkwardly, she reached out for
all of them. When they were close enough, she
hugged them. She pulled away and looked at
Sebastian.

“Why didn’t I recognize their scent? I have been
around a lot of vampires, and I have been able to
point them out when we are out.”

“You didn’t recognize their scents at all?”

“It took me until the crowd in the alley grabbed
me before I knew. By the time I ran into Jared and
Thomas, I smelled them, but I was trapped.”

“You still need training, I guess. I assume, now
think about this while I explain it. You were using
your vampire senses but not all at the same time.
You were just listening, weren’t you?”

“Yes and no. I smelled alcohol at first, but that is
it. I knew something was off. They weren’t human,
but I didn’t know what they were.”

“That, I am afraid, is because you retained
almost all of your human traits so they were able to
be spell you a bit. With some proper training, I can
teach you to pull forth more of your vampire
instincts. They seem to be secondary to your human
abilities. I don’t have an answer as to why, but I
ascertain it is such.”

“When can we start?”

 

“How about we give it a few days?”

 

“That is alright by me.”
Chapter 8

The door slammed shut as she stormed into the
apartment. Her nerves frayed and her temper shot
through the roof as heat flashed across her body.
She stomped across the room and dropped onto the
couch in a huff. Lost in her mind, she sat and
stewed about another ruined and wasted date.

I cannot believe this…again! What is going on?
A female voice from behind her caught her
attention.

 

“You look ticked off. What happened?”

She turned her frustrated glare to her friend.
“Paige, I am so glad you are here.” She dropped to
on all fours and lifted her shirt up to her shoulders.

“Will you come and look at my back?”

 

“What am I looking for?”

 

“Just come over here and look at my tattoo.”

 

She felt her friend’s warm hands on her back as
she inspected the markings on her lower back. It
only took a moment and she spoke.

“It looks like it always has. It’s not messed up, if
that is your worry. Colors are still bright, looks
brand new.”

She heard his foot falls across the carpet before
his dirty mind expelled an off color comment from
his mouth.

He is going to have fun with this one. I can
imagine what it looks like, with me on all fours and
Paige on her knees behind me.

“As fun as that looks, and I will join or watch,
whichever you prefer, this is the mid-eighties. I
don’t think people do that anymore.”

She rolled her body, sat on the floor, and glared
at him. “It is not what it looks like, Sebastian. Man,
you are such a perve! Paige was checking out my
tattoo.”

She watched his face contort into funny
expressions as he tried to hide his smirking laugh.
Dropping her head and sighing deeply, she knew
this banter of his could last for hours, especially if it
got her aggravated, and it did!

“Really? Funny, I thought she had seen that
tattoo before. Hey, it’s your business.”

She couldn’t help but laugh when she turned her
head up and saw the smartass smile flash across his
face. “Listen, smart mouth, I thought something
was wrong with my tattoo, which is why she was
looking at it for me.”

She knew the more she defended herself, the
worse it would get, but she couldn’t help it. Her
face was hot with blush and embarrassment was
creeping in. She tried to keep herself rooted to the
floor.

I have to find out what is going on. If that means
letting him embarrass me, so be it.
Shock took hold when she glanced back to
Sebastian and his face, no longer smiling, looked
confused and worried.

“Sebastian, what’s wrong?”

His flat tone told her he was in serious mode and
it scared her a bit. He always tried to keep every
situation light and airy, which is why he always
seemed full of jokes and comments. Only when
things were dangerous did his tone flatten.

“Why did you think something was wrong with
your tattoo?”

“I can’t have sex…” Before she could clarify
what she meant, the room erupted in laughter—
Sebastian’s sexy laughter.

“Sweetheart, that has nothing to do with your
tattoo. I would say that is all you.”

 

“Shut up, Sebastian. That came out wrong, let
me rephrase it.”

“You are just all screwed up today; no sex, things
coming out wrong. I am sorry. No wonder you are
in a bad mood.”

“Sebastian, shut up and listen to her.” Paige
jumped to her defense. “Obviously it is serious.
Stop being anal-retentive and let her explain. Wipe
that smug smile off your face. Look at her, she is
hiding her face now because she is embarrassed and
you are making jokes. It’s no wonder she doesn’t
like you.”

“She hates me, Paige, because I turned her. That
will never change and I have accepted it.”

 

“I don’t hate you, I just dislike you…a lot. If you
weren’t so anal retentive, it would help.”

Glaring, she eyed him as he moved to the chair
and sat down. He replaced his laughter and prepared
to listen.

“OK. I am sorry. You and Paige are right. Tell me
what happened.”
Ugh, I have to tell him all the gory details. Well,
my face is as red as it’s going to get, so…here goes.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her
nerves and gain some courage. “Well, the last three
boyfriends I have had…when we finally get around
to having sex...” she bit her lip in contemplation.
“Screw it. Every time I am on my knees or my back
is exposed to them, they freak out. They scream and
push me away asking what kind of freak I am. This
last one swears the eyes of my tattoo blinked at him.
It's crazy, right?” Her hands quickly covered her
face.

“Sebastian! You never told her?”
She dropped her hands and her eyes rolled from
Paige to Sebastian.

 

“Told me what?”

“It is not as crazy as it sounds. The tattoo on
your back is your guardian, one I placed there
myself. I will have to speak to him. He is supposed
to keep still and, for the most part, stay unnoticed.”

“Wait, back up the big red truck. Guardian?”
Anger turned to fury and it slowly rose to the top.
She felt her venom fill her mouth as her fangs and
body threatened to cut loose and attack. She
swallowed it back. “You said I got drunk and
decided to get a freakin’tattoo!”

“That is what you told her? How could you
Sebastian? Why not just tell her the truth?”

She pushed Paige away slightly when she tried to
comfort her. “Paige, thank you. I know I can’t hurt
you, but if I decide to try and rip his throat out, I
don’t want to hit you in the process.”

“I understand, Anna. I’m sorry, I thought you
knew.”

She smiled and patted Paige’s hand. “We can talk
about that later. This is not your fault.” She turned
her head back to the liar in the room. “How does
that work and why didn’t you just tell me the truth?
Who is this guardian? Do I know him?”

“I can’t reveal his identity to you, at his request,
I apologize. I lied to you because I knew it would
lead to more questions and this fit you are throwing
now.”

“Fit?” She screamed in frustration. “I am ticked
off because you lied to me and it cost me a man I
really cared for, you idiot!” Her nails dug into her
scalp as she raked her hands through her hair. “To
the rest of us, Sebastian, people are more than just
play toys in the bedroom.” She shot to her feet. “In
case you haven’t paid attention, I have been dating
Edwin for six months. Six months! Finally, I
decided to have sex with him. If you had been
honest from the start, I could have made sure the
lights were off or something.”

“Anna! Is he human?”
“Yes he’s human. What does that have to do with
the price of bread?”

 

“You and your sayings, I swear, I never tire of
them.” His smile vanished. “You are not human!”

 

“I am aware of that, Sebastian, thank you.”

 

“Then you are also aware that you can’t have a
human mate?”

“What? Oh, so I can befriend one, have sex with
one, and play with one, but I can’t have a serious
relationship with one?” She threw her hands in the
air in a giving up kind of fashion.

“I don’t make the rules. Long time partnerships
and/or marriages are forbidden with a human.
Friends and casual playthings are permitted to
accommodate us. All vampires feed off humans in
one way or another. Well, except you.”

“That is crazy! Since I am different, I should be
allowed.”

“Um, no!” He held up his index finger as he
continued his explanation. “The ancients would turn
you down flat. As a matter of fact, since you have
no need of humans as far as food is concerned, they
may force you to stay away from all humans
altogether.”

“Whatever. I am done arguing about this.”

“My point is, you can be mad at me all you want,
but in the end, this would have been the result. You
would have to give up your lover. Casual playthings
are just that; casual. They come, they go. They don’t
become part of this life. Bringing in a human,
permanently, causes too much of a risk for our life.
Humans are prone to panic, and after panic then
comes violence. It’s not a bad thing on their part, to
a degree, but they will kill what they deem is a
threat to their life. Let’s face it, most would see us
as a threat to their life because of old folklore and
legends that paint us as blood-sucking demons.”

“In their defense, some of them are!”

“Yes, and in the beginning, it was for the most
part true, but over the centuries, vampires have tried
to preserve human life. As their thoughts about it
changed, so did the vampires. That is why only the
sadistic ones still hunt humans like prey.”