Sorry for any deju vu. This was an idea that has gotten WAAAAAAAAAAY outta control. I'd love to hear what you guys think. I can always use ideas either in this story or its sequels.
The Wind blew wildly through my hair as I ran through the thick forest. To moral eyes, the trees would've been a blurry, brown mess, but my vampric eyes could still see the details of the trees and leaves even at this incredible speed. My sharp senses could also pick up the babbling brook in the distance and the scent of a nearby heard of deer.
I had half a mind to change my course and hunt down the gentle animals, but my thirst was controllable, and I was meeting someone at the brook. Nothing could stop me from seeing him again, the first time in a year. To see his face when he sees me! Fro my close friend to no longer be a threat. Maybe I could tell him my secret.
"Buono giorno, me mistera. Have you gained your freedom?" he called at the edge of dark and light.
"Ah, me amico, si, si. My life has been changed forever," I sighed, trying to find his face in the dark.
Nicholas stood tall and at ease. His pale skin looked enchanting in the dark, vaguely showing off his chocolate brown hair and crisp facial features. The more I stared, the more he looked familiar. His hair faded to a sandy color, and his skin tanned a little, but he was still pale. His formal, gentle smile widened and relaxed. He laughed and rolled his head back. Nicholas had transformed into my high school crush!
"Dustin! How-? What did you do with Nicholas?" I yelled.
A faint, pink glow formed around my human friend. It started out from his head and slowly spread around his entire body. The light moved with him and scared me to death.
"No, Maddy. He's not right for you. Live with me and the natural world," he crooned.
How could a killer love you?
"What did you call him?"
"Nothing. So, you take after your father, too? Weird, for a human."
"I'm not-! My father? What do you know about him?"
The man started laughing harder and growing. He was a warrior, my enemy. His long, jet black hair blew viciously in the air, but I couldn't feel any wind. His skin was dark, and his piercing eyes were even darker.
"I know all about you, vampan. You are neither human nor vampire. You area monster's child. You should not exist!"
His loud, ancient voice was full of authority and shook me.
"My family would never kill another human! Neither will I! I am not human! I am a vampire!"
But I felt the tears building up. How could that be? Christopher bit me. I could remember the intense pain. The thought of it almost made me wither in pain again. The burning liquid fire crawling across my body, rushing through my veins. The icy coldness followed the fire, locking everything into place, preserving me in an icy, beautiful shell.
To prove my immortality, I walked into the sunlight, ready to refract the light in breath-taking, moving "shadows." Instead, I saw nothing. My pale skin only shined bright white; I was still a vampan. I let the tears fall.
The Indian Chief smiled proudly at my mistake.
"Don't cry, Madison. I don't' see anything wrong with you," whispered Dustin.
But when I looked up, the boy was fading into Nicholas again. Panic covered his face.
"What are you?" gasped my vampire friend. "You're skin! You said you never lied to me! The Montacherios will kill you! Freak!"
And he ran away. Every form of my life, past, present, and future, was gone.
"Wake up, my Impossible Child. At least you despise the dogs, too. Wake up before you sleep your life again and die an old lady," softly whispered a beautiful male voice.
"Wini wouldn't let me," I mumbled.
"Does she talk in her sleep?" laughed Justin Anderson, one of my lunch friends.
"No, she's awake. Since when does Wini have the right to overrule me?" said the male, Christopher.
"Since when can you make that decision on your own? Mom deserves to have her say," I rebutted.
"I could make her take my side."
I sat up straight and glared at my father. He, Dustin, my best friend Katie, Justin, and a few others were all gathered around our usual lunch table.
"That's cheating, and you wouldn't. Not in the mood to argue about it. Is it almost time for fifth hour?"
"Do you feel well?" Dad asked.
"You would know," I teased. "I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind. What time is it?" My father chuckled to himself.
I never could get over the perfection of my dad. His white skin somehow couldn't look too white like mine sometimes did, but maybe that was because, unlike me, he had dirty-blonde hair, always messy and neat at the same time. His hair brought out the crystal blue rim around his irises-his last tie to humanity. The rest of his eyes were midnight black. They were what made him appear frightening, but today they were calm and gentle.
"Time to readjust your sleeping pattern. Fifth hour starts in less than ten minutes," he replied, his eyes beginning to drift away towards our family's table in the far corner.
Mom's waiting for you?
He smiled and looked down like he was embarrassed.
Christopher was unique, even for a vampire. He was one of the few of our- his- kind with a special ability. Each gift was a different and complex as the person himself, like a fingerprint. Of the several powers I'd heard of either in myths or from experience, Christopher was always the most interesting to me. He had the ability to read and alter thoughts. If necessary, he could even erase recent memories and replace them with others. Though Dad wasn't the strongest or deadliest of our clan, he was the most dangerous.
That smile he gave me said it all: my parents were ditching class today. Mom must have been worried about spending too much time with humans.
"Oh. You two stay out of trouble, and I'll see you later!" I said quickly, grabbing my backpack and speed-walking to the door.
"Cut it out and pay attention today," Christopher ordered, but we both knew I wouldn't.
Dustin and I walked down the hall to our U.S. history class. I tried to keep calm and relaxed, but I always wondered if he saw through my act. Half of me wanted him to, but the other half was scared.
What if he felt the same way about us? Nothing would have made me happier- except immortality, of course, but that was a different problem to iron out. But I shouldn't waste his or my time with a human that- hopefully- soon I'd want to kill. Vampire-human relationships were unheard of, and in the one exception Mom was changed anyway. I could never do that Dustin.
Yet, I was still human, and summer flings had never seriously hurt anyone….
Perhaps my biggest fear was having to lie. Love and lies never went hand-in-hand without a sword or two between them. Dustin would need to know the truth about me, but that was a secret my family was willing to break ties over. Both my human and vampire instincts told me to protect myself.
"I didn't know you could sleep," Dustin teased once we were in our seats.
"Ha ha. I don't need much sleep."
"Or food?"
It was true. I only needed a few hours a night, but lazy humanity requested at least five hours a day. Lately I'd been sleeping for an hour or two a day and staying up all night with my aunt or uncle. No one complained; it was just one of my phases again, and my human body was starting to take control again.
As far as food went, I never ate much. A bowl of cereal for breakfast, a slice of cheese pizza at lunch, and some kind of small meal at night was plenty. A glass of water kept me hydrated and refreshed. Another unhealthy human phase I had was not eating anything for weeks and living solely on that glass of water a day. I never gained or lost any weight from the lost of appetite. Nothing changed about me during that except drinking blood seemed less disgusting.
"Your point?" I asked as I began to dig for my notes.
"If you don't starve yourself to death, you'll die of exhaustion."
Dustin sounded like he really cared. Was that enough to ask me out?
Slow down, Maddy. Two weeks here doesn't entitle you to the hottest sophomore at Glendale High School! At least, that's what I kept telling myself.
"Death can only touch those who haven't been bitten by Satan."
"I'm not ready for God to call home his most beautiful angel."
The bell rang before I could say anything back. Then entered dear, old Mrs. Robin. The round, little lady was as nice as a saint, but the sixty- or seventy-something year old teacher should have retired when she could remember how.
"Morning, dears!" she greeted us with her high, bubbly voice.
I shook my head, looking at the clock above Robin's head. 1:05. Well, at least she had her notes to teach from.
"Mr. Hucklebee, our grand principal, has just informed me that we'll have a new student this week! He'll be in my fifth hour, so if you come early maybe you can meet him before he leaves. Now, to more history-making matters. Who can tell me when the Vietnam War started?"
When Robin was deep into her lecture, Dustin laid a piece of paper on my notes. I shoved my notes to the side knowing that someone could teach me at home if I had trouble.
Has Bird lost it or what?
I laughed to myself as I wrote back.
We call her Bird for a reason, don't we? Wonder what she'll do when she sees the new kid this hour?
Too bad you won't see it. I'll send you a picture of it.
I looked across the aisle, confusion written all over my face. He took the paper back.
Aren't you leaving tomorrow?
Oh! The Reynes family camping trip, a.k.a., the vampire's hunting trip and my free weekend.
We leave after school.
Right after?
I started to write "no" and start some friendly flirting, but my wind went blank. I had no idea what I was going to say or what I was writing about. For some reason my mind was locked on the Vietnam War.
War at home
Hippies formed
"peace not war"
rebellion in maj-
DAD! I know this already. This may be my last chance to go out with him!
My phone buzzed once in my purse. I quickly retrieved it before anyone around me heard it.
No. When we leave ur supposed 2 b gone 2.
Don't tell Mom. I want to talk to her first.
"What's wrong?" whispered Dustin.
"Well, Derek, many young Americans didn't understand the importance of helping lesser countries," said Robin, answering the question Dustin meant for me.
Sorry. Spaced out then Christopher texted me. Not sure. Sorry.
I watched Dustin's happy face sink as he read the note. His only response was a long shrug. If only I'd inherited my parents' powers! I wished I could have read his mind or seen what he was feeling, to have Aurora sight like my mother, Maria, like I did in my dream.
My mind began to drift away from my wishes, but I caught myself. I knew Dad was listening and that he was willing to change my mind today.
Stop!
My mind began to focus again as I fought Dad's power.
If you don't want me to wish I was like you, don't let me see how Mom does or hear other people's thoughts! You even gave me the pain in the dream, didn't you? I'm not scared of pain.
Not two seconds had passed before my phone buzzed again.
I can still try, can't I? Besides, everyone should be able to see like Maria at least once in his or her life.
Dustin passed the note back.
Have fun. Do me a favor? Take plenty of pictures of Wini camping for me. I vet her world falls every time she breaks a nail!
I'd watch it if I were you. Wini's as tough as any of the guys. She's never wrong, and she never loses a fight.
Then I'll be the first to beat her. I'm sorry, but your sister's a bitch! Someone needs to beat the hell out of her.
Good luck, but expect an "I told you so" at your funeral. And don't bother quoting the Bible around her. She knows it by heart.
Damn. Fire?
Gotta catch her first.
Easy. I'll set up a walk-in closet with a full-sized mirror.
We both laughed quietly.
The bell rang to dismiss class, and Winifred was waiting for me. A few boys passing by stopped to stare at my aunt, but if she noticed, she ignored them.
No one could blame the guys for staring. Wini Hawthorne was by far the most gorgeous vampress I'd ever seen. True, she was short, an outstanding four-nine, but she used her height as an excuse to wear nothing but high wedges and boots. Today, she wore her favorite pair sandal heels that gave her an extra four inches. She added to her imaginary height by wearing a tiny, denim mini skirt that should've caused the school administrators to send her home. Lucky her never got cold form the chilly Oregon weather. She completed the outfit with an electric blue kimono. I noticed hat she painted her finger- and toenails to match.
"Hilarious, Maddy," she groaned as Dustin and I passed her.
"We were kidding," I said.
"You're such as pain sometimes, but I guess that's partly my fault. Mom and Dad should have known better than to let me and James baby-sit you for long trips. Oh!"
She stared at the trophy case down the hall for a few seconds.
My aunt was also gifted. She had the ability to see the future, but I didn't think she as a great psychic. Wini was never wrong-ever- but she couldn't see the future on demand. When she felt a vision coming on she had to see it in a reflection; otherwise, she'd miss it.
"Is about time, Maddy. Will you play 'Dance of the Reed Flutes' instead?"
"Wini, I don't even know where it is. Will I remember how? It's been years since I've played.
I tried to think back to the last time I played my flute. I was showing off to my friend in New Hampshire. She foolishly bet me twenty dollars that I couldn't play the piccolo part of "Stars and Stripes" for memory. That was nearly two years ago, just a few weeks after my fifteenth birthday, yet the memory triggered my fingers, slightly moving through the rapid trills and jumps. That gave me hope.
"Of course! But what's wrong? You only play that depressing song when you're upset."
The pale blue rim around her eyes seemed brighter today. Her concern was overwhelming.
"No reason, but now that you mention it, I think I will play tonight. Maybe this weekend I'll dig out some piano pieces and resurrect the old hobby," I said smiling.
Dustin elbowed me playfully. Surprise covered his handsome face.
"You're a musician? I swear, just when I think I've got you figured out you surprise me again."
"I get that a lot," I blushed.
"Humph," pouted Wini.
"What's with her?" Dustin whispered in my ear.
"Murder is illegal," Wini spat at him. "At least it is if you get caught. Catch me in a walk-in closet! I'll show you fire."
"No way," Dustin muttered to himself. "No way in hell she knew I said that. How-?"
"I told you so," I laughed as we turned the corner and left my aunt.
We stopped outside my biology class and stared awkwardly at each other. This could've been the moment for us; I could have asked him our. I was known for being brave, but now all my courage was a puddle of fear cupped in Dustin's wonderful hands.
"There's something about your family that makes me superstitious. I'm afraid I'll forget or I won't have a chance to ask you," he said, his eyes looking everywhere but at me.
"Ask me now."
Too bad Christopher or Maria couldn't be conveniently standing behind him so I could know what he was thinking. Although it would've been awkward having my parents around when I wanted to ask a guy out- not that Dustin was aware of my parents' true identities. To him they were my strict, older brother and sister.
"It's a request really. Call me when you get home this weekend. My mom watches the news too much, so I've heard a few things. Monstrous animals run wild around here."
"I'm worried about a pack of wolves."
"Will you?"
"Of course," I promised, the bell ringing above us.
With a quick, friendly peck on the cheek, Dustin raced across campus towards his next class.
I passed my biology quiz with flying colors again, and as a reward, Mr. Callard let his A students go ten minutes early- just enough time to beat my family to James's black mustang.
Living with a coven all your life- even if they were civilized- proved as useful as it was dangerous. During one of my parents' weekend hunts when Wini and James would watch me, James taught me how to pick locks and make master keys. I always kept one with me.
Without any trouble, I turned the fake key in the lock and opened the passenger door. With time to kill, I flipped though the radio stations trying to find something good. Finally, I settled with a classical station and got lost in my library book. I didn't come back to reality until James tapped on the glass.
"I locked the doors, and I'm the only one with the keys. How did you get in?" my uncle asked.
James Reynes was the tallest in our family and also the most fun, despite his scary background. His strong, think build leaned against my door, holding my prisoner.
"I picked the lock exactly like you taught me," I replied sweetly.
He ran one of his pale hands through his short brown hair and glared down at me. His sharp, chiseled features looked as hard as his stony skin, a first for my easy-going "brother." Only his eyes showed the amusement he couldn't deny.
"Should've known," he muttered. "I swear, you become less human everyday. One day you'll wake up and want to hunt with us."
"James, that day came when I realized what 'vampire' meant."
We glared at each other, our eyes not blinking or moving away. I stared into his midnight black eyes until mine hurt. I broke away, and he laughed victoriously. The light brown around his eyes lit up a little.
"Move, Madison! I claimed shot-gun before Maria was born!" Wini called out as she and my parents crossed the parking lot.
I reluctantly crawled to the back seat.
"Dustin's looking at you," Maria said softly as she got in.
In a flash I turned around to see him. He and his friend, Tyler, were talking between their cars. I loved watching him laugh. The world melted away when he was happy like that.
"What color is he?" I whispered even though he couldn't hear me.
"Sky blue. Wini, is he going to ask her our or not?"
"Undecided. You're too much of a mystery, Maddy," my aunt replied.
"Madison," corrected my parents.
"Whatever. I told you the name; therefore, I have the right to call her what I want!"
Mom let out a low, annoyed growl.
Everyone said I looked like Mom. We were about the same height and had long, raven black hair that fell to our waists. The biggest difference was that she was beautiful! Her white skin looked like porcelain and brought out her captivating eyes. As the youngest vampire in our coven, her eyes were the blackest and deepest. Living only on animal blood from the beginning had saved a lot of her unique, emerald green irises. I had green eyes, too, but even on the best days they never glowed like Maria's.
James pulled into the long driveway, and our enormous, two-story mansion appeared behind the trees. Laying on the city-limit line, the grey stone house was irregularly shaped, but I loved our home from the moment I saw it. Five large windows welcomed visitors to the front and accented the brightly colored gardens that lined the house and nearby trees. The curvy driveway lead to the enormous backyard.
My uncle parked in front of the four-car garage, and I jumped out. Elizabeth Reynes opened the door for us, but I didn't stop to say hi. Wini's was burning brighter and brighter in my heart, and the need to play "Syrinx" was stronger than it had been in a long time.
I ran upstairs to my bedroom and shut the door behind me.
"'Reed Flutes' first!" Wini called behind me.
I threw my backpack on my full-sized canopy bed and dug out my old flute. The thin, black case was brand new, a fifteenth birthday present from Mom, but the Armstrong inside was over sixty years old. The sterling silver flute once belonged to Maria's mother, my biological grandmother, and was her pride and joy. Even after half a century, the keys shined brilliantly, and the tone was splendid.
I held it in playing position and slowly began a much needed warm up. Every note in every major, minor, and chromatic scale come out flawlessly, just as Wini predicted. To thank her, I began to play Tchaikovsky's famous "Nutcracker" tune.
My mind began to drift away from the bouncy melody, and I thought about my strange family, especially the ironic leaders Dr. Thomas Reynes and his mate Elizabeth. Our father was a young genius who miraculously overcame his natural instincts and became an ER surgeon. The pale, blonde haired doctor was always the talk of the hospitals, but he only paid attention to his patients.
Over two hundred years ago he met our mother. Elizabeth was a young bride who lost her husband in the war of 1812, and out of grief tried to commit suicide. Her baby sister foiled her attempt by called the local doctor before the poison won. Thomas couldn't let Elizabeth die or live with possible mental disorders, so he changed her. Now the protective vampire works at a daycare; more importantly, she became me third, and only living grandmother- if a vampire is alive. She talked Christopher into marrying Mom; she's part of the reason I exist.
Wini's favorite song ended, and I immediately lost myself in Dubussy's "Syrinx." The solo's crawling beats sent goose bumps down my arms, and the falling sixteenth notes rolled through me. When I finished, Christopher knocked on the door.
"It's good to hear you play again," he said.
"I can't explain it, but this place feels right to me. Maybe it's because Maria's dad is only an hour away. I feel change ahead." "Stephen would be proud to see his granddaughter playing that flute," he said as he kissed my hair.