Tainted Crimson (20 page)

"You're not sleeping? It has to be the middle of the night," I say finally.

"I was watching you sleep," he murmurs.

"It's pitch black."

"I can see in the dark, Ariella." He laughs.

Oh, yeah.

"You're beautiful, even in sleep," he whispers softly. So softly that I'm not even sure he's meant for me to hear it.

His lips are only inches from mine and it's driving me nuts. I want to close the space between us and let our lips meet. I imagine it. My body yearns for it. I feel his breath on my face, it smells warm like lavender. It's compelling.

I feel his body tense and I can't help but wonder what he's thinking. Does he feel the same way? I'm no match for him. He deserves some lingerie model or someone outrageously gorgeous to come even close to him. I’m not match for him, yet he’s professed his care for me so many times over. I just don’t understand
why
he feels this way about me. I’m so
plain
.

One of his hands moves down from my shoulder to my waist and I suck in a breath. I hope he hasn't heard.

"Ariella?" he whispers.

"Y-yes," I stutter breathlessly.

"May I kiss you?" he asks also sounding breathless.

My heart hammers in my chest. I feel like I'm drowning. My head spins.

My body makes up my mind before I even have the chance to think it through. "Yes," I whisper back.

Then his hot lips are on mine in an instant. First slow, but then hungry, like he's been in a desert for days and I'm water. I can't help it when a moan escapes my lips. This only seems to make his kisses more urgent. His hand grabs my waist tighter and he uses his other to push himself off of the ground and on top of me. When his body relaxes on top of mine I let out another slight moan and find myself wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. One of my hands gets lost in his hair while my other one reaches for his shirt.

Then it's gone. His shirt just disappears. I let my fingers trace the finely sculptured art piece that is his body. This time it's him who moans and the sound sends me whirling into a frenzy. Then suddenly he's off of me and I'm left breathing ridiculously heavy.

I feel next to me for him, wanting more, but he's no longer there. I sit up and squint into the darkness. I see the outline of his figure standing with his back to me a few meters away.

I stand up and close the distance between us. "What?" I ask sadly. Why has he stopped? Has he realized that he’s made a mistake? My heart burns with hurt in my chest.

"Your father and brother would kill me if they ever found out about this," he murmurs with concern.

"They don't have to know," I say as if it's obvious.

He sighs deeply. "Something about you has gotten me from the first time that I saw you. I've
wanted
you so badly but have known that I can't really have you. Not if I value my life or my friendship with your father. Only now do I realize that I would throw away my friendship with Theenis, as well as my own life, to be with you and that is absolutely nuts and it’s cheesy as hell but it's one hundred percent true. I've tried to change the way I feel. I've tried to ignore it and I can't. I can't get you out of my head. I can't stop
worrying
about you
all
the time. God, I pretended to not understand that ridiculous high school mathematics just so I could spend even more time with you than I was already which is crazy because I spend nearly all my time with you already. But I can't shake the feeling that you look at me like I'm some old guy or something. I know that makes no sense because I am old but you just have to understand that I don't feel old. I know you can't possibly understand but it kills me to think that you consider me to be old," he rambles and I watch as he nervously runs a hand through his hair.

I'm frozen. I don’t know what to say. "You're not actually bad at math?" I finally get out even though it's the last thing I want to say.

"No, I'm actually excellent at math," he chuckles and although I can't see his face I imagine that famous smirk of his splashed upon his face

I want to tell him that I've felt the same way since I met him but I find myself speechless and tongue tied. I want to tell him that I don't see him as old. I want to tell him all kinds of things but nothing will come out. I take another step closer to him and intertwine my fingers in his. He doesn't resist. I look up at him knowing that he can see me although I can hardly make out the silhouette of his face.

"I can't believe you're not bad at math," I murmur.

"I'm not bad at anything," he says cockily.

"Sure you're not." I laugh.

"Okay, in all seriousness, I'm terrible at... No, I've got nothing. I'm good at everything," he teases.

I roll my eyes.

"I do think you're old," I finally get out. "Because you
are
old. But it's hard to consider you old when you don't look old. Trust me, I've tried to convince myself that you're not old and to stop thinking about you like...
you are
, but I can't because you
are
old."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear since I met you, Ariella. That’s all you had to say and I’d give up trying to make you feel the way I feel about you."

My eyes widen slightly with surprise, he’s misunderstood me. “No, it’s not like that. Listen, I just can’t bring myself to understand why someone like you would want to be with someone like me. It doesn’t make sense. I feel like this is wrong on so many levels because I
shouldn’t
be interested in you and you
shouldn’t
be interested in me. Yet, here I am, very much interested in you and vice versa. I’ve been interested in you for a long time. I just haven’t been able to show it because I feel like I’m committing a crime or something.”

“Why?” he asks.

“Because you're supposed to be dead, D. You shouldn’t even be alive. You’re three hundred years old. It makes no sense in my mind that I feel this way or that you're alive. All of this is new to me. I can’t comprehend it all at once. I can’t get the fact that you’re three hundred years old out of my mind. It’s not something that I can just make myself stop thinking about. You
are
old, D, I can’t just stop knowing that. I’m just taking a while to get used to the fact. I don’t need to not feel like you’re old, I need to get used to knowing that you are.”

“What?” he asks, confused.

“I know I’m not making sense. I just don’t know how else to explain it. This whole time I’ve been trying to convince myself that you’re not old. I’ve been trying to convince myself of a lie. You
are
old. Instead of trying to convince myself that you’re someone that you’re not, I need to learn to accept who and what you are. Does that make any sense?” I try.

“No.”

“It’s not the fact that you’re old that is making this so hard and making me pull back. It’s the fact that I’m trying to convince myself that you’re not old when I know that you are. It’s like trying to convince myself that you’re human when you’re clearly not. In order for me to actually be able to be with you, I have to stop lying to myself and start accepting you for you.”

“So you’re saying that you don’t care that I’m old? That you’re just as okay with that as my not being human?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to say for the last five minutes,” I admit, annoyed at myself for rambling so much.

“And you’re not disgusted by me?”

“Absolutely not,” I reassure him, shocked at the thought. How could I ever be disgusted by this angelic man?

“You’re not weirded out that I’m not human?” he questions.

“Don’t you think that would be silly seeing as I’m not exactly human either?” I giggle.

“You’re not human, but you were raised to think you were. I know that at heart you consider yourself to be human,” he says and he’s right. I do consider myself to be human.

"I mean, every time I'm with you, I tell myself that you're old but then force the thought out of my head because I feel like I can't be with you because you're old. But that shouldn't matter. It shouldn't matter that you're old. Age shouldn't matter just like you not being human shouldn't matter. I think I'm confusing myself by thinking that it does matter when it really doesn't. I'm sorry, it's hard for me to put into words but basically what I'm trying to say is that I
really
like you. I don't care if you're old or if you're not human."

Although I still can't see his face, I know that he's smiling. He turns, wraps his arms around my waist, and lifts me into the air.

I scream out in shock. "What are you doing? Put me down!" I demand.

He doesn't. He carries me back to the blanket and lays me down gently. His lips meet mine for another few quick moments, then he pulls away from me and I want to scream. I want more from him, so much more.

I feel the heat of his body next to mine and I have to will myself not to get any closer to him.

“You don’t know how glad I am to hear that, Ariella. Now go to sleep,” he says in a whisper. Then my eyes close as if his words are magic. The thing is, I know that they are exactly that because no way would I be able to fall asleep right now without someone forcing me to.

I wake up surprisingly warm. I quickly realize that I’m wrapped in D’s arms.
I wish I could stay like this forever but unfortunately I have to pee. The air is muggy with dew and the sun is just coming up over the tops of the trees around us.

I glance at D. He’s staring up at the sky. Big surprise, he’s not sleeping.

“Good morning, lovely,” he says and makes eye contact with me. I blush.

“Good morning,” I reply and sit up. I wonder vaguely how terrible my hair is this morning but realize quickly that my problems right now are much larger than my hairdo. I walk over to some bushes to pee and surprisingly D doesn’t question me about where I’m going.

When I return he’s munching on some beef jerky. He offers me some and I take a couple pieces. I’m starving.

“Now what? We just sit here and wait this out?” I ask while prying open a juice box that he offers me.

“Yeah, basically. I found you a feather to practice lifting,” he laughs and hands me a black feather. I take it, more motivated to lift something than ever. While I nibble on my breakfast I lay on my stomach and hover my hand over the feather. I close my eyes and imagine it lifting off the ground just like D taught me. Then I open my eyes and do the same thing. D isn’t looking, he’s rummaging through the storage container full of snacks he’s stockpiled. I take a deep breath and focus all of my emotion on the stupid feather and will it to lift. To my complete and utter surprise, it does. It lifts not only an inch or two but nearly a foot into the air and stays there hovering. At first I wonder if it’s the wind but once it hovers for a few seconds I realize that it’s not. It’s me.

“D! D! Look! D!” I shout and hit his shoulder maybe a little too hard.

He glances over to me confused and alarmed and his face lights up. “Nice. Next lesson, lifting a brick.” He chuckles.

I stare at the floating feather in amazement. Look at me go! I want to scream with happiness. How long have I been trying to do this one little stupid trick? I was starting to think that my magic was useless like Jacob’s.

“Try to move it around,” D suggests.

I focus on the feather and imagine it gliding around in circles in the air. It does whatever I tell it to. I’m amazed. Completely shocked.

“Jeeze. Okay, try and move this storage container tub but let me put the lid back on first,” D instructs excitedly, while clamping on the blue lid.

I repeat the routine and will the damn thing to move. It shutters and shakes and then finally lifts inches...feet off of the ground.

“Jeeze. Where is this coming from?” D demands as if he’s fascinated.

“No idea,” I promise.

“Super weird, but super good. I was starting to wonder if you were going to be like Jacob,” he says happily. “Okay so when I say go, start pushing the box towards me and I’ll start pushing it towards you. I want to see how much force you can use. It’ll make it easier for me to guess what kind of spells you are capable of at this point.”

I nod nervously. My hand is raised in the air unlike D’s. He explained once that it takes practice to be able to control the magic without some sort of support or focus point like your hand.

“Go,” he says while staring at me and not the box. I put as much effort as I possibly can into pushing the box towards him and an unexplainable weight seems to push back at me. I know it’s him. I push harder yet and wonder if my face is turning red. “Harder,” he demands.

I try to muster up more strength but it feels like I’m grasping at air and not catching anything.

“Do you feel tired?” he asks. “Does your head hurt?”

“No,” I answer truthfully.

He gives me an approving look and pushes the box towards me so our forces are no longer even. It looks like this takes hardly any effort on his part. As it rushes towards my face I realize that he isn’t going to stop it. I thrust back unintentionally and the box stops right before it hits my face. I scramble back out of the way so it doesn’t drop on my feet and lose my control over it. D is killing himself laughing.

“Did you really think I’d let it mess up your pretty face?” he asks.

I don’t know what to think.

“That was excellent. Really good. You show lots of potential. I just want to know what’s changed?" he asks.

“I don’t know,” I promise honestly.

“Maybe the motivation of a psycho witch on your ass,” he contemplates with a smile. "Maybe your trigger is an emotion. That's not good per say but it's something we can use at least."

Quite possible. I agree to myself.

My thoughts are interrupted by a tremendously loud
crack
. At first I wonder if a tree has fallen down but then realize that the sound was far too loud. I look quickly to D for answers but he looks as lost as I am.

“What was-” I begin but am cut off by another loud
crack
. D wails in pain and I look to him dumbfounded. He is on his back, blood rushing from his chest. I look for something that could possibly explain this but it appears that he is bleeding for no reason at all. Suddenly terrified, I take in my surroundings in a heartbeat, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I see nothing. What do I do? Run? In which direction?  I think about taking D’s phone and calling my dad but what the hell is he going to do from across seas? Wait, Ariella, he is part witch he can probably pop into Taverd and be here in minutes. Thing is, I doubt I have minutes.

I reach into D’s pocket and pull out a flip phone. I search the contacts and realize that there is none. Great.

“Run, Ariella,” D whimpers.

“Where?” I demand. “What’s going on?”

“They found us,” he grunts and reaches for the invisible item penetrating his chest. He pulls it out. I wonder if I’m next to be hit with an invisible dagger of death.

“We have to go. Quickly,” he moans and gets up to his feet. “Before they can penetrate my spell with more than a weapon.” He grabs my hand and suddenly heat fills me and we’re no longer in the clearing. It looks like we’re in an alley in a city. Before I can ask where we are he says. “Sweden. The only part of it I’ve been to. Give me the phone so I can reach your dad. Run and don’t stop until your father or I find you. It won’t be long before they figure out where we’ve gone and come for us. I just need a minute to heal. You have to get out of here. I’ll find you when I can,” he promises, while gripping his chest. It’s still bleeding. I remember something that he told me once about how witches are easily killed, much like humans. Will he really be okay? Will he really be able to heal from this? I begin hyperventilating with worry. What if this is it for him?

I debate leaving him but realize that he is better off without me. I’ll only hold him back if he needs to fight. Even injured and in the palm of the enemy, his chances of survival are a lot larger than if I stay and get in the way. It won’t do either of us any good if I stay here. So I hand him the cellphone and I run. I only hope that he will be alright.

I race out from the alley and into the streets where people rush up and down the sidewalks. I dodge around people and then turn into another alley. It feels like I’ve been running for days but I know it’s only been seconds. I jump over a chain linked fence and up a hill into what looks to be a cemetery. I race around its outskirts and then jump another fence and hurdle into a residential area. I wonder how long it will take for them to find me. I hope not long. I’m glad that I’ve been getting in some cardio lately because who knows how long I’ll be running.

Once I can hardly breathe, I stop. I slump against a tree and try to catch my breath. I can’t run forever. That’s when I notice a tall building that I seen hours ago. Hours ago, I was only meters away from it and now I’m only a few blocks from it. Have I ran in a circle? I cuss. Leave it to me to not pay attention to where I’m going.

I kick the ground. I left D only two or three blocks from here. I wonder if he’s alright. Did he get away? Call me dumb but I can’t just not know. I get up and muster enough strength to bolt the few blocks to where I left him. When I enter the alley it’s dark. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust but when they do I’m put into a state of complete and utter shock. Bodies are strung from one end of the alley to the other. I know they’re probably all vampires and dark witches but
still
. The stench is so disturbing that I gag. None of this is what disturbs me most though, the thing that absolutely shakes and destroys my world is the sight of D on his knees bent over a limp blonde-haired woman with his mouth latched onto her neck. I swallow hard and feel like I’m about to vomit. I
must
be seeing things. I have to be seeing things.

I can’t help but let out a surprised gasp. He hears it, of course he does, he has super hearing because he’s a god damned vampire. I know I should run but my feet are welded to the cement ground. He looks up and his fiery red eyes meet mine. Shock seems to spread through them and they return to their natural color. I’m shaking I can feel fear wracking my body. There seems to be too much saliva in my mouth, am I going to puke?

“Ariella, I told you to run,” he says in a thick, husky voice like he hasn’t spoken in days.

I can’t bring myself to speak.

He sighs. He sounds...
nervous?
“I will explain this all to you just promise that you won’t tell anyone about this,” he begs and throws the body to the side. He gets up and a sadness passes across his eyes.

What do I do? Oh god, what is going on? How could I not have known he was a vampire? How could my father and Jacob not have known? How is it even possible that he is a vampire? My father was a witch before an immortal, could it work the same way? The queasiness he’s shown around blood and his sympathy for the vampires suddenly makes sense. I’ve never seen him sleep, vampire don’t sleep. He’s been unusually fast at times while helping me train, as fast as my father and Jacob both.

“Ariella.’ He raises his hands up as if he’s walking towards a wild animal. “I won’t hurt you. It’s okay. Let me explain. Come on, it’s me," he tries, while taking baby steps closer to me.

I cringe and manage a couple steps backwards. I
kissed
him only hours ago. I trusted him. My father trusted him. Jacob trusted him. Has he tricked and betrayed us all? It’s been drilled into my head over the last few months that vampires are terrible, vile, disgusting, ruthless creatures. I’ve been told terrifying stories about them over and over again that have again and again made me cringe and hate the creatures. I’ve seen what they’ve done personally. I recall finding Talia at the party. Now I’m left wondering if that could have been D.

I still cannot speak. I’m still absolutely in shock and so he begins to explain. “When I was kidnapped by Marco that day in the park, he knew about you. I don’t know if he planned your existence but he knew about you. He also knew about my relation to your father. He took me and made me what I am, then kept me locked up while he tried to have me make others like me. They all just died. It didn’t work. He wanted to make an army of us, magic vampires to end the white witches but he was only powerful enough to make one himself, me. He gave up on his plans of having me turn witches and your father found and saved me as you know. I took off to deal with...myself. To deal with the thirst I guess. I was never much for killing before I was part vampire and even after, I had the slightest bit of will power left in me to know that I still couldn’t be a killer even if Marco wanted me to be one. He found me nearly right after your father saved me and took me back with him. He was furious when he realized that I was managing my bloodlust and he cursed me with an even more agonizing thirst than I had originally. It was so terrible that I wished myself to die every day for years. He promised that if I listened to what he demanded of me he would remove this curse. So I listened. All I wanted was for the thirst to go away. All he wanted me to do was help him capture a young girl with mixed blood for him. He wanted me to do it because he knew if he sent the vampires they would be killed by the two men who guarded the girl. He wanted no ruckus and said that I would be able to slip in and out with the girl without being noticed. He wouldn’t tell me how but promised that I could do it without being killed. So he trained me for years. I spent little time away from him. Then he removed my thirst once I'd gained his trust, I'd fallen into the darkness and it was no longer about having the curse removed but supporting Marco's cause. When your father called for my help, I was already in Denver, already in the school. I was the one who started the fire at the school. I started the fire because I assumed that the girl with mixed blood would reveal herself by trying to put it out. The only information about the girl that Marco gave me was that she was strong and he gave me her whereabouts on that night. I didn’t realize that the girl would be unable to access her power. After not coming up with the girl, I thought Marco would find me and recapture me, maybe even punish me with death but he didn’t come for me. I decided to pay a visit to Theenis, I hadn’t seen him in a very long time and hardly spoken to him. Seeing him in the burning school is what brought me back from my darkness. I was curious to know why he was in the building that night and when he didn’t answer my calls I became worried. I searched his name online and your address popped up. You can imagine my surprise when you answered the door. As soon as I saw you I noticed how you looked so much like your father and I realized then why I was only given so much information about you. I was sent to kidnap my best friend’s daughter. I nearly took you in that moment but I couldn’t. Not after all Theenis had done for me over the years. I decided to hang around, get the story, figure out what exactly was going on then take you although I think deep down I knew I could never really take you and that’s why I was procrastinating. Then when we took off, I saw an opportunity to rid myself of Marco even though it would mean that He would probably put the curse back on me and I’d probably only be free from him for a little while. There were so many opportunities for me to take off with you and return to him but I just
couldn’t
. Not only because of your father but because every day that I spent with you I grew to like you more. You made me remember what it was like to be young. To have your whole life ahead of you. I knew I’d have to tell you all eventually but I wasn’t ready,” he explains in the darkness of the alley. "I was going to tell you today after you woke up but then all of this happened."