The Vampire...In My Dreams (12 page)

“Take her,” Mrs. Sticklemire said, her red brows pinched, motioning for Kate to hurry.

I was certain my teacher was perturbed anyone would get injured in her class after the mess with the boys yesterday. But at least it was just because of my not paying attention and not because anyone had broken the rules.

Kate helped me to the locker room, then I bolted for the boys’ gym room. “Marissa, what’s going on?”

“Dominic’s had his fill of Joshua!” I couldn’t tell her I worried he’d threaten Joshua with his fangs, and already I was close to panicking.

“Oh, great!” Kate exclaimed, the exasperation evident in her voice.

The shortest way to the boys’ gym was through their locker room. And since all the boys would still be in the gym, I dashed through there, diving between the labyrinth of red and blue metal lockers with Kate breathing down my neck. The odor of smelly socks and sneakers and chlorinated shower water permeated the air.

Suddenly male voices spoke, some laughing, some in heated argument, as their sneaker-clad feet clomped in our direction.

“Back,” I whispered to Kate. Her face turned snow white and she whirled around and ran back to the entrance.

I wished I could stop whatever Joshua would pull with Dominic, and wished I had an invisibility potion so I could help defend him with my witch’s powers without Joshua or Dominic knowing. I wished so hard my arms, my legs and my whole body vanished in a flash before my very eyes. I was thrilled and terrified!

Turning invisible just by wishing it was just too cool, but what if I wished for it at the wrong time? Not really wanting it, but just thinking how nice it would be and poof, I vanished?

This could be so bad.

I felt as solid as before, just like when using the invisibility potion, except no sweet acidic taste accompanied the change. Then another notion nagged at me. How long would it last?

All I’d need was for someone to catch me in the locker room and report me to the staff.

Then Dominic appeared, Joshua following him, crowding him, violating his space. I couldn’t hear his words, but Dominic’s face grew dark with anger.

Then he seemed to sense I was nearby. He shook his head at me.
“Go, Marissa. I’ll deal with this in my own way.”

His thoughts were harsh, and he definitely didn’t want me to interfere. What was going on with Joshua?

“Marissa, go.”
Dominic frowned in my direction.
“If you see a naked guy in here, you’ll lose your concentration and turn visible. Then what will you do?”

I didn’t want to leave him alone. Not if I could help him against Joshua.

Ignoring me when I wouldn’t obey, Dominic turned to face him. “Why are you interested in dating Marissa all of a sudden? Why wait ten years before you take any notice of her?”

Joshua yanked off his sweaty T-shirt and opened his mouth to speak, but then a boy walked into the room wearing only a towel around his waist, the rest of him dripping wet, and I inadvertently gasped.

Dominic swung around, his face hard, his eyes as dark as a brewing thunderstorm.

I ran for the locker room’s entrance, my tennis shoes clomping on the floor.

Laughter filled the air. “Hey, who’s the witch sneaking a peek at us naked boys?” one of the guys hollered.

If I hadn’t been so scared about getting caught, I would have laughed.

“My very own Marissa,”
Dominic thought to himself.
“I’ve created a wild woman.”

“In your dreams, Prince of Darkness.”

“Yeah, you are, Marissa, my love. You are.”

As soon as I bolted out of the room, Kate grabbed my arm. “Tell me you didn’t get caught.”

“I didn’t.” My mouth was cotton dry, and I headed to the water fountain.

“Tell me the truth now.” Kate trailed behind me. “Your face is as red as a chili pepper, and I imagine just as hot.”

“I swear, I didn’t get caught.” I drank my fill from the fountain, but that didn’t satisfy the dryness of my throat.

Kate grabbed my arm, hauling me toward the girls’ locker room. “Jeez, Marissa, let’s get changed and go home for the day. I can’t take any more excitement than this.”

“Wait until tonight,” I warned her.

“Yeah, I forgot.”

I turned when I heard someone’s footsteps behind us.

Joshua cast a knowing smile at me from the boys’ locker room entrance. What had gotten into him?

“Having regrets?” Kate asked me, pulling me into the girls’ room.

I shook my head. “No.” I didn’t either. Not yet.

After we changed back into our street clothes and left the girls’ gym, Dominic joined us. He shook his head at me, a glint of a sparkle in his dark eyes.

“What?”

“You didn’t need to rescue me.” He took Kate’s book bag and mine, then slung them over his shoulders.

“You were angry with Joshua,” I countered, still unable to squash the worry about the bad blood between them. It seemed utterly ridiculous, too, because Joshua had never shown any interest in me before. So why now?

“I controlled my temper.”

“Well, I worried about you.”

He took my hand and squeezed lightly. “I know.” His words were warm, and though he seemed perturbed that I had tried to rescue him, I could tell my actions touched him.

We passed the wooded park where joggers ran on an asphalt path and kids too young for school played in an airy fortress, complete with slides, rope ladders, and bright yellow, blue and red tunnels.

Kate glanced behind her. “Uhm, while you guys were busy making up, I think we picked up a couple of stalkers.”

Dominic and I looked over our shoulders. Two men dressed all in black, like a couple of overgrown Goths, were closing the gap between us, though they still had about a football-sized field to go.

“Use your protection spells.” Dominic hurried us along.

“Will it work against them?” I quickly raised my fingers to create the spell, while Kate mimicked my actions.

“They might be human hosts, or just a couple of guys out for a stroll.” Despite speaking calmly, his words had a tinge of worry to them.

I looked up at Dominic, my eyes searching his for the truth. “What if they’re like you, Dominic? What if they’re partly turned and can move around in the daylight?”

“Use your protection spells,” he reiterated. His avoidance of my question troubled me.

Did he know these men? I couldn’t read his thoughts as though a brick wall suddenly rose between us. Not knowing what he felt or what he thought sent panic hurtling through me.

He squeezed my hand, then warned, “Run, ladies, run!”

My heart lodged in my throat, but I ran for my house like he commanded.

Kate sprinted like a deer while I tried to catch up, and Dominic protected us from the rear, or so I thought. Kate suddenly screamed when one of the men appeared in front of her.

“Vampires!” I cried out, realizing at once that was what they truly were.

Kate stepped backward, but to my surprise, the man didn’t advance.

I turned to look for Dominic, but he and the other man had vanished. “We’re on our own, Kate,” I whispered.

“Just like a man. The going gets rough—”

“And the tough hightail it out of here so the women can handle the trouble.”

I couldn’t figure out why the vampire wasn’t attacking, though. Maybe our protection spell? “Try the you-know-what we did in Mrs. Robertson’s class today.”

“Ah, the—”

“Yes.”

We both attempted casting the spell on him, trying to wipe his mind of what he intended to do to us. He jerked his head back as if he were trying to fight our efforts.

I remembered how Dominic had commanded the volunteer he worked with in class to send the host to New York City. I didn’t have any money to bus this guy anywhere. Instead, I commanded him to walk to Disney World and ride the roller coaster at Space Mountain two hundred times. I didn’t know if my suggestion would wear off shortly or what, but the man began walking in an easterly direction.

“Come on!” I grabbed Kate’s arm and we sprinted for my house.

After unlocking the door, we rushed inside, then bolted it shut.

“Dominic.” I couldn’t curb the crushing thought he was in terrible danger while the adrenaline still pulsed through my body at an all-time high.

Kate squeezed my hand with reassurance. “He’ll be all right, Marissa. I just know it.”

But I didn’t. I couldn’t sense anything from him. Not one feeling at all. He’d disappeared into a black void of space and my heart felt like it was ripped out and sucked into the abyss with him.

Chapter 11

DOMINIC

In a deeply wooded area next to a swollen creek, about a mile from Marissa’s housing development, I faced the newly-turned vampire—though in truth I was still only a fledgling myself. Dressed in jeans and matching jacket, the tall blond stared at me with bleak gray eyes. Thankfully, he kept his teeth sheathed. I assumed it was only because Lynetta had ordered no harm was to come to me. But in the secluded woods, I was prepared to do battle if need be.

With all my heart, I hoped Marissa and Kate were all right. I was relieved Marissa had told her friend the truth about us. Together, two witches more than likely could deal with the lone vampire. I wasn’t sure Marissa could have handled him by herself, with as little confidence as she had in her witch’s spells.

The vampire seemed hesitant to tackle me, and I wasn’t willing to make the first move, not yet.

Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that the man who faced me didn’t realize I had the advantage. Thinking I was a human-turned-vampire like him, he had no idea I had Marissa’s gift and was now a warlock-turned-vampire.

The man must have been in his thirties, as evidenced by the stockier build of his body and the light crow’s feet at the edges of his eyes when he squinted. His beady eyes seemed to grow even smaller as he glared at me.

Had Lynetta turned to older men to do her dirty work? It appeared so. But she’d sworn I was to be her only mate forever. For a second, it bugged me. Then I had to laugh at my idiocy when I pondered the matter further. I didn’t care for her, so what difference did it make if she sought out other guys?

“What do you want?” I asked, surveying the empty woods to ensure there were no others readying to attack me. Figuring it would be advantageous to lure one of the men away from the girls, I’d urged him to follow me to this private place and hoped my plan was a good one. The breeze whooshed through the leaves of the oaks, birds chattered in the treetops, and the fragrance of pine scented the air. Nothing hinted at the evil that lurked in the bloodsucker’s heart as he stood several feet away from me.

“If you come with me without a fight, Lynetta will leave your girlfriend alone.”

“What guarantee do I have?” I considered the notion briefly, not because I believed him, but because now that I was a warlock, I wondered if I had a chance to kill Lynetta on my own. Since I couldn’t control a witch’s or warlock’s thoughts, could she, being the ancient vampire she was, still control me? The idea I might be able to save myself without involving Marissa in the deadly business held a definite allure.

“Will you come with me?” the man asked, his words hopeful, but edged with a threat.

“I’d love to, but I already have a lunch date.” With the loveliest girl I had ever met. Besides, I figured if I went with him, I’d find a house filled with vampires and wouldn’t stand a chance. They’d keep me there for Lynetta, and she’d take her revenge out on me, and on Marissa and Kate. I didn’t trust her not to. My stomach knotted, along with my fists.

He paused for a second, then bared his teeth. I assumed my reply didn’t meet with his approval. Instantly, I tried the mind-clearing spell. His canines slipped back into their sheaths, the elongated teeth now their normal human size. He seemed confused, and I nearly laughed, only the business at hand was too dangerous to consider lightly. Marissa’s passing her gift of magic skills to me was further proof she was my savior.

“Do you have a credit card?” I asked, extremely cocky now that I thought I had everything under control.

He pulled out his wallet, then looked through it. Seizing a credit card, he held it up, a silly grin plastered on his face.

“Very good.” I refrained from speaking to him like he was an obedient dog to be praised with a pat on his bony head, but the thought did cross my mind. “I command you to go to the Waco airport and buy a ticket to…Australia.” I figured that would give him a nice long flight. “You will get on the flight to Dallas, then transfer planes until you make your way to Sydney. Once there, you will find an apartment and stay.”

The wearing off of the mind-clearing spell might occur faster, but controlling a human, even if partially-turned, was easy and lasted indefinitely, unless someone else with vampiric abilities controlled him. But now that I was a warlock…

I smiled—I had even more abilities than before. Marissa couldn’t have aided me any better if she’d tried. Marissa! My heart plummeted, thinking of the difficulties she and Kate might be facing.

“Go!” I ordered, and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared. With a wave of mine, I vanished from the woods and reappeared in Marissa’s living room.

First, high-pitched, ear-shattering screams from two frightened witches in reaction to my sudden appearance filled the room. Then hugs and kisses from both were bountifully bestowed on me.

I could really get used to this.

Then Marissa slugged me in the shoulder with her fist. “Where did you disappear to? You had us worried sick.”

Unable to take her punch seriously, I gave her a small smile. But the fact she had worried about me made my heart soar. “I wanted to separate the vampires and thought it safer if the two of you only had one to tackle.”

“Hmpf.” Marissa folded her arms.

I kissed her lips, and she immediately wrapped her arms around me and gave me another wonderful squeeze. Her perky breasts brushed against my chest, stirring my hormones to high heaven.

“What happened?” Kate asked, her voice still concerned.

To my annoyance, her words temporarily broke the spell Marissa had over me. “The vampire I took care of is taking a trip to Australia. And yours?”