I twisted the stick, causing my windshield wipers to speed up, for the raid came pouring down. It was three in the morning and there were yet to be other drivers on the road. I knew this part of town well and knew I had a few hours before the early risers would be on the road. I pulled over as I made it to the center of the overpass. I heaved a heavy sigh and climbed up onto the ledge. The lightning flashed above her and I was soaked to the bone. Thunder boomed and made me shiver. Fear shot through me but behind that fear was a sense of relief, a sense of peace. I was ready for this. I sucked in a mouth full of air and let go. I jumped into the open air. I held my breath, unsure of what was to come, what would hit first? Would my death be instant? Would I suffer? Had I not suffered enough? I felt tears fly from my eyes, ripped from my car by the wind.
"What have you done?" I opened my eyes and a man stood, well floated, in front of me. I seemed to be suspended in mid air.
"How? Am I dead?"
"No. Why do you make an attempt on your life?"
"I do not deserve to live. My soul is blackened with sin."
"You know nothing of such things." he said, his voice sharp.
"Please, let me die."
"I can not. In fact, now that I know you, you can not be left alone. You will have to come with me."
"You are kidnapping me? My parents do not have money to spend on ransoms."
"Hmm, your thinking is wrong. I could not, would not, hurt you. I am going to keep you safe, if that means keeping you safe from yourself then so be it. We lowered together and I ran from the man, where had he come from? What did he want? I climbed up the hill to make it back to my car. I slammed the door and locked the doors before starting the engine.
"Where do you think you can go?"
"Ahh!" I spun in my chair and screamed. He was sitting beside me. He had silver eyes, they were piercing and bright. His hair hung down his back, it was loose but it was also dry. How did that happen? The rain was really coming down.
"Are you done?" He raised one eyebrow as if he had little time for such things.
"Done? Done freaking out when some guy appears in my car? when you floated? when you...How did you get up here before me?
"Yes, are you done?"
"Maybe." I said, my voice lowering. What now?
"Now, you come with me."
"Were to?"
"My home."
"Where is that?"
"right now it is that way." He pointed north and I simply nodded. He opened the door and left the car and walked over to my side. I locked the door but he opened it none the less. He reached out and grabbed my hand and helped me out of the car. "I will carry you, perhaps it is best if you close your eyes so you do not fear." I closed my eyes as he scooped me up into his arms and I did not open them again until we were on solid ground.
"Hello Sivamet." He greeted as a woman made her way outside.
"You brought a female here?" Her voice held a slight bit of anger.
"I found her alone."
"So you brought her here? A human, Gregori?"
"She reached out."
"What?"
"Her mind, she reached out and brushed against mine. I am sure she was unaware." The woman smiled after a look of understanding took her.
"My name is Savannah, That is Gregori, my husband, I am sure he did not introduce himself." She smiled. I looked up at Gregori and nodded. What did he mean I reached out? My mind? What does that mean? "You are most welcome here-" She paused and I looked over at her, she was waiting. For what? Oh, my name…
"Daniel."
"Daniel, I like that name."
"It is nothing pretty like Savannah."
"My name is not all that pretty, but thank you. Do come in, are you hungry?"
"No thank you." I said, not wanting to impose.
"Yes you are, you need not lie to us." Gregori commented before pushing me forward toward the house. I shook my head.
"I am not lying. I do not need food."
"You are lying, just get inside, it is raining and it's taking more power to keep us all dry." Dry? I looked at the two and they were dry, I was dry. How can that be? "If you go inside I can explain it, now for someone who was about to take her own life you seem very hesitant now."
"You tried to do what?" Savannah asked, concern in her voice.
"She jumped from an overpass. She meant to kill herself. Now can we please go inside?"
"Oh, yes, of course." Savannah led them inside and through the house to a living room.
"Please sit. I wish to discuss a couple things with you."
"Yes sir." I sat obediently, knowing nothing else to do.
"Why have you decided to kill yourself?"
"I am worthless. I have no purpose. I treated people so terribly. I am not deserving of life."
"You can change." Savannah said before handing me a glass of juice.
"I tried to change. I became a slave to them. Doing whatever they needed doing. I know though, that I can not atone for my sins."
"Gregori, we have to help her."
"Do you have family?"
"That's who I was running from sir."
"Well, we will have to contact them."
"No. It is better that they think me dead."
"Are you sure that that is what you want?"
"Yes, please, just let me go in silence, fade away into shadows for them." Gregori exchanged a glance with Savannah and nodded his ascent.
"We leave in a few days."
"Yes sir."
"Savannah and I must go out this night. Will you be safe here by yourself?"
"Umm, yeah I guess."
"You must not harm yourself."
"I won't." I held up my hands in defeat and Gregori grasped my wrist. Several scars showed up in contrast with my skin. One wrist had scabs from fresh cuts. He flashed a look at Savannah who came over to investigate as well and I heard her soft intake of breath.
"Baby, why?" her voice barely above a whisper.
"Self punishment." I shrugged my shoulders at them but Gregori was not amused.
"We will discuss this when we return."
"Yeah well, not much to tell." I sat back down and watched as they departed, Savannah looking back at me one last time before leaving the house to be closely followed by Gregori. who stopped to give me one final warning.
"If you leave, I will find you. Wherever you may think to run, I will find you." His voice did not raise, change tone, or drop octaves, it was flat. A promise. "That is is." He said and left. I shivered on the couch and looked around the room, it was modestly decorated as if they did not spend much time here but they owned the place and wanted it to look lived in. I noticed there were no pictures on the walls, no paintings hung, no family photo in a nice frame. The color scheme was mainly beiges and some earthy browns. There were an abundant amount of candles though, they smelled nice but looked homemade. They were big and bulky. I explored the kitchen and found the dishes were dust covered, not touched for several days. What did they eat? I opened the fridge and saw there was juice in the fridge and some fruit in the drawer as if they only snacked. How did they survive? They were pretty skinny, so maybe they did just snack. I mean, she was skinny, he was built like an ox. I looked down at my own figure and sighed. I was overweight, nothing anyone would look at for a second. I was the ugly friend. I found myself wondering around the house and when I came to the bathroom I found the same thin coating of dust, did they not go to the bathroom? Maybe they were visiting and they just got there today? Was I interrupting a honeymoon? Vacation? Oh my god, what kind of person was I?
"You are fine little one. You have interrupted nothing important. I am glad we were here to save you. Calm yourself." Gregori's voice found its way into my head. Maybe I was going crazy. Where were my meds? Back at my car in my purse… Could I go get them? They were only a few miles away. It would mean hours of walking though and the storm raged on outside. "Do not leave the house. I will retrieve your bag." I frowned at his words. Was I not allowed to ever leave? Was I a prisoner now? What was I going to do now? I ran to the door and wrenched it open. Rain hit me in the face and I ran out into the night. I had to taste freedom. They would return soon so I had to think. Did I really want to go with them? Did I have a choice? He could have me thrown in jail for attempting suicide. I owed him my services. I stood in the yard, my feet sinking into the mud. I felt it soak into my shoes and cringed at the feeling. I watched the cars go by, the drivers never once looking at the house, did they not see it? It was like they avoided looking at the house. I waved at one who stopped at the stop sign at the corner but he did not seem to see me either. I waited for what seemed like an hour before Savannah and Gregori returned. They materialised out of nowhere and walked up the sidewalk to greet me.
"I was sure I told you not to leave the house. I specifically told you to stay inside." Gregori said through clenched teeth. He was angry. Why? Was it because I would track in water? So would he, right?
"I told you to stay inside for your safety." He said. He loomed over me, his voice menacing. I backed away, one foot stuck too deep in mud causing me to fall backwards. My but hit grass but my arms went back to catch me and slipped on the wet grass, making me slide back and hit my head on the ground. Gregori swooped down and picked me up and walked to the front door that seemed to open on its own accord. Savannah followed close behind, muttering about whether I was alright or if I twisted something. I tried to move my hand and pain shot up through my arm from my wrist.
"Oh, you did hurt yourself." She said as she watched my face contort with pain.
"You could have avoided this if you had stayed inside like you were told." Gregori said, matter of factly. Savannah punched his shoulder as he put me down on the couch and he turned to her. Love shone through his eyes but he seemed to snarl at her. She laughed and walked away to go change. Change...I was muddy. I tried to stand up, not wanting to stain the couch but one hand held me down.
"You need not worry about the couch. It will clean. Stay still. He examined my wrist and bent it several different directions. I winced in pain but he seemed to be checking if it was busted. I seemed to blink and the pain was gone. I moved my own wrist and it moved as if I never twisted it. "You may go shower now and I will set out some clothes for you. You may have your bag after you have cleaned yourself." He pulled my bag from behind him and I grabbed at it. "After your shower." He repeated and pointed down the hall.
I found an empty bedroom and found that it had its own bathroom, I expected dust but the dust that was there earlier was gone. Had I imagined it? I blasted hot water in the shower and stood under it to feel it cascading down on me. It seems to loosen tight muscles and I felt my worries slip away. I washed quickly and when I got out of the shower I found candles were lit in the bathroom, giving off a peaceful smell. There were two towels waiting for me and I toweled off while wrapping my hair up in the other towel. I left the bathroom to find a pair of jeans and a t shirt. There was a pair of panties and bra. I blushed as I thought of Gregori picking up these items. I threw on the clothes and sought them out again, only to find them back in the livingroom. Savannah's wet hair hung down her back. Gregori was standing in front of the couch which now showed no signs of mud or water damage. How did they do that?
"Here. I do ask that you go through your purse to make sure everything is there. Also, I will have to see that there are no weapons." Gregori said as he handed me my purse. I looked at it, it was dry so I turned the bag upside down and dumped the contents. Several medicine bottles fell out and pens and bits of paper. My phone fell to the floor and the back and battery popped out. I shoved the phone back in the bag, along with the papers but I sorted through my medicine until I found my meds.
"What are those honey?" Savannah asked as I opened the bottles and took out what I needed for my evening dosage.
"My antipsychotics, antidepressants, and a sleeping aid to combat insomnia." I explained and help up each pill.
"Why do you need these pills?"
"I went off the handle a couple years ago and I never recovered. My father used to beat the hell out of me so I have authority issues, like I hate them but I will do what I am told or I will be punished sort of feeling. I was mercilessly made fun of all my childhood and bullied everyday so the carefree me disappeared and now I am me, a depressed twenty five year old with mental issues. I also hear voices."
"Voices?" Gregori asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Do not worry, they never tell me to hurt others, not that I would, but they tell me how worthless I am, how I do not deserve to live, that I am useless, a failure."
"I am a dr. where I come from, perhaps I could help?"
"Where are you from?"
"Europe. Romania."
"Oh, did you go to school forever to become a dr over there?"
"I studied for many years, yes."
"alright, if you think you can help."
"I can try. I promise nothing."
"Of course, of course. I do not expect a miracle to happen." Gregori smiled at me and I could not help but stare at his canines, they were longer than is usual for humans.
"I will ask that you do not take those." He said as he pointed at my pills in my hand.
"I need them, these keep the voices away, I heard a voice earlier so I know I need this one."
"If you hear voices, come tell me right away. I will help you sleep if you wish."
"Are you going to knock me out?"
"Nothing that drastic. Do you want my aid in sleeping this night?"
"I would hate to bother you."
"Heh, you are no bother little one. I can do no other than help you."
"Then I would love help. Usually I am up until four or five in the morning and sleep until almost noon. "
"You will find that Savannah and I are nocturnal beings, so we sleep all day and rise as the sun sets. If you need us, we will be in that room," He pointed to a door at the end of the hall. "You will have to knock very loudly, we are deep sleepers. You are welcome to sleep the day away as we do. We leave in three days. We will return to Europe and you are to come with us. We will keep you safe."
"I do not have a passport-"
"You do not need one."
"You are going to smuggle me into a country?
"You are not going to return here."
"Oh." I said, the finality hit me. Was I ready to start over? new life? Yes. I smiled at the couple before me and handed over my medication. Gregori disposed of it and returned to find Savannah braiding my hair. She made elegant braids and had the hair up before too long.
"You look lovely, now please, go into the kitchen and make yourself something."
"Did you want anything?"
"We ate when we went out, thank you." Savannah said cheerfully. I went to the kitchen and found pasta made in the fridge, vegetables, but no meats. That was fine with me. I grabbed the pasta and some juice and sat down in the kitchen to eat, not wanting to eat in front of them. I washed my dishes and placed them in the dish rack and sat back down to take stock of everything. I was leaving the united states with people I just met, I was getting the help I needed, I should be happy, but instead I was scared. I was terrified of Gregori. Savannah seemed nice but Gregori looked like he could kill you and not think twice about it. I leaned my head against my hands and slowly closed my eyes.
"Daniel?" Savannah called from the door. I opened my eyes slowly and tried to stand up but stumbled over the chair and fell over. "Daniel!" Gregori strode across the room and picked me up.
"Why did you not say you were tired?" He snapped. He carried me to my room and placed me on the bed and pulled the blankets up to my chin.
"I did not think I was that tired." I whispered as I curled up beneath the blankets. I fell asleep and had no dreams that night.
I woke shortly before noon to find the house empty. No, not empty, they were asleep in that room. I glanced down the hall at the door. What did one do in someone else's house? Do I clean? I wandered through the house and besides putting my dishes away, the dust was gone and the floors swept, there was no cleaning needed. I found myself in the library and I chose a few books to read, some were historical fiction and some were fantasy. I sat there and read all day, unsure of what else to do and I drifted off while doing so. That was where Gregori found me that evening.
"Daniel. It is time to rise." I woke slowly, not wanting to be awake but you did not disobey Gregori. I followed him to the living room where he sat me down.
"I spoke to someone very important about you and he insisted we leave right away to introduce you to him."
"I am so sorry for interrupting your vacation."
"You are not interrupting a vacation,, we were actually sent to find people like you."
"Broken?"
"No. Now, we leave tonight, are you certain you do not wish to let your family know anything?"
"Yes, I am sure." This was it, I was out of here, I could have a new start, a new life. One without heartache. I could leave my past behind, would they allow that? they seemed nice, they seemed like good people. Would they treat me well? They have so far, but that was a fault of mine. I was often too trusting. Was I making a grave mistake? Was I wrong to hope for a new life?
"Then we shall move quickly." Savannah said with a firm voice, something about the tone suggested there was never any going back, that I may never set foot on United States soil again. "That is the most possible outcome."
"I am set." I said and grabbed my bag. Gregori led us outside and a car drove up to the sidewalk. It was sleek and elegant. A black sports model. I sat in the back with Savannah while Gregori took the front with the driver. Tears slid down my face as I watched the miles fly by. Savannah tried to strike up conversation but failed miserably every time. I was not in the mood. I was in the mood to self mutilate but I kind of figured these people would not put up with it. I choked back a sob and saw Gregori's head snap around to look at me.
"Stop the car." He said and the car came to a somewhat unsafe stop. He jumped out of the car and opened my door. This was it, he was going to kick me out. "Never." He said and walked me away from the car. He sat me on a tree trunk and Savannah followed, concern on her face.
"What is the matter?"
"Something dark is in her mind. I am going to try to drive it out."
"In my mind?"
"You are unnaturally depressed. I am going to drive out the darkness." He squatted in front of me and made it so his eyes were level with mine. My eyes closed and I felt something warm inside me, besides it being chilly out, I felt warm. My depression slowly ebbed until it was gone. I nearly waved as it was driven back. I felt tears well up in my eyes and i tried to open my eyes to let them out but my kids would not open. I tried to pull away but my body would not move.
"Help." I said, hoping someone would hear.
"How is it you are aware?" Gregori's voice seemed to float in my head.
"What? Aware?"
"You have a strong, guarded mind."
"Is that good? Am I faulty?"
"You have strong psychic powers. Maybe those voices you heard were thoughts of others." I opened my eyes and stared into the eyes of Gregori, they held me, enthralled me. I could not look away, I felt a sense of peace overcome me, I was free from the hatred. I was free from the feelings of doubt or misery, but I was not relieved from the guilt of my past. I still commited many crimes.
"Was she?"
"There was a stain of darkness, which I removed, but she has strong psychic ability to the point where I did not use enough force and she was aware."
"Wow, that has to be bag on your ego." Savannah joked.
"Very funny pequena, you are going to still feel...down at times, if it ever gets bad you are to tell me." Gregori instructed. He saw my past, or at least how I saw my past and knew I was still at risk.
"Yes sir." I said with the realization that he too would judge me on my past We got back in the car and took off, at a somewhat higher speed than we previously traveled, I am sure to make up time spent helping me. "I apologize. We wasted time on me."
"Nonsense." We sat in silence for the rest of the ride yet I felt like there was communication between the two lovers. It was in the air. I sat and watched them, each movement was calculated. I saw them reach for one another, like my boyfriend and I used to do….That thought brought more than sadness but anger as well. It had been a week since he last messaged me, probably out with his other girlfriends. He had like three of us. I sighed and resigned to looking out the window at the passing landscape. We arrived at an old airport that I was not sure was still in use, yet there sat a plane and several men standing next to it.
"This is where we get out." Gregori said as he opened his door. I followed suit and walked behind Savannah, too afraid to be leading. "There is nothing to fear, these men work for me and their sole purpose is to keep us safe."
"How do you know what I am thinking?"
"As you are a psychic, so am I." His voice was light but I felt it was more than just an offhand remark, like he was warning me. What could I possibly do to betray them? What did they assume I would do? I followed them onto the plane but it was set up with a separate room for them and I was left with the other men who kept an eye on me. Was it so I could not get away? What had I agreed to? I drifted in and out of sleep as we flew and though they woke me to tell me it was time to eat, they did not waste any words on me. I rose to go to the bathroom and walked to the back of the plane, I opened the wrong door and saw the couple lying on a bed, not moving. They were so beautiful that I had to simply watch them. I noticed as I watched them that their chests did not rise and fear sliced through me. I ran to them and tried to listen to heartbeats but there were none. They were not breathing. I had to get help. What if the men did it? They were the last to be in here with them… What was I to do? I closed and locked the door, no use calling for help anyway, if they were dead there was no way to save them . I mourned their deaths but had to focus on surviving. This must be a human trafficking gone wrong scenario. Oh God! I barricaded the door and moved to the far side of the room.
We touched down hours later and the men seems to have realized I was gone. There were heavy footfalls and banging on the bathroom door but I stayed quiet, though tears streaked down my face. They started banging on my door and I saw the doorknob jiggle. They could bash it down but I put up a barricade for that, and yet, and yet it did not look strong enough.
"Hey! Girl, it's alright. They are fine. Open the door poppet."
"They are dead! You k-k-killed them! Who do you work for?"
"Gregori! We work for him. He is fine, she is fine. Open up!"
"Not on your life sport." I called out, sounding braver than I felt. What now? This was only going to end one way, I was going to die. At least I could try to take a few with me. After a few more knocks I heard them throw themselves at the door and after a few minutes, the door burst inwards, throwing the carts across the room. A man stood in the doorway, massaging his shoulder and I did not stand there thinking. I rushed the guy and barreled him over and we landed on the floor. He was quick to rise and his friends swept in and grabbed me.
"Stop! We did not kill them. They are fine." He half shouted at me while he and his friends pinned me down.
"ENOUGH." The word was like a whip cracking, it snapped through the air. All the men stopped and backed away with bowed heads. I scrambled up to my feet and faced them head on. The men threw up their hands in defeat and I knew their boss was behind me, who was it? I turned to see Gregori standing two feet from me. Savannah was climbing over the door fragments and came to stand beside Gregori, a bright smile on her face.
"You! you were dead…" I was at a loss for words. My friends were dead. Now they stand before me.
"No, we were sleeping."
" checked for heart rate. I checked…"
"Yes, we were sleeping in the way of our people."
"You all die when you sleep? What are you zombies?"
"No, not zombies." Savannah said.
"Not zombies… are you closely related?"
"Close." She agreed.
"Close in what way? As in undead?"
"Some call us that." She hinted.
"Do you eat or drink of others?"
"Yes."
"Are you a FREAKING VAMPIRE?" I backed away from them, what were they? Was she serious?
"Close, we do drink the blood of others but vampires kill, we do not."
"You! I-you-we- I have to go." I ran the length of the plane and reached the open door. The stairs were in place and several cars were approaching. I ran down the stairs but tripped halfway down. I felt myself fall and cried out, my voice came out thin and wispy. I seemed to blink and I was on the pavement.
"Daniel!" I heard Gregori shout my name from the top of the staircase but it was too late. I was mortified. The cars pulled up and many men and women got out, the men ran to my side.
"Are you alright?"
"Gregori, what happened? She looks a little roughed up."
"Hey are you okay?" I sat up and tried to move everything and winced when I moved my right wrist. I must have fallen on it wrong.
"I am fine. Please, do not sell me to some pervy fat old man who would use me poorly." I blurted out. The men froze and looked at one another. Anger surged through them. Did I uncover their plot?
"We do not mistreat women." One man snapped.
"Why do you accuse us of such things?"
"Those men. Those people. They were dead. They were dead. I checked. I checked for a pulse. They were not breathing." I rambled. I kept repeating myself as Gregori approached.
"She saw us while we were sleeping and thought that the men killed us. Her imagination made her think they were into human trafficking." He explained as he bent down to help me up. I pulled away from him and stood. I was surrounded by men. "Let me look at you. Are you hurt?"
"No." i said and hid my hand behind my back. I needed to get out of there. Too many people, I had social anxiety and this was not helping.
"Why do you bother lying? I told you I can read your mind. Let me see your wrist." Gregori held out his hand and i almost obeyed but at the last second i pulled my hand away and took a step back.
"Did she just?"
"Strong ability."
"Give me your wrist." Gregori repeated. I was about to show him my wrist but I thought, why? That seems like a bad idea.
"No thank you. I think it will heal nicely with a good rest." I said and kept my hand behind me. Several of the men gaped. Gregori raised one eyebrow and leaned in.
"Give me your wrist."
"No." My voice wavered, my control was failing.
"Wow, she is amazing." One man said under his breath. Why? because I did not do as others demanded? Because I stood up for myself? Gregori narrowed his eyes and I felt my arm move, almost on its own accord. I saw it reach out to him and I saw his hand come up to touch mine.
"No!" I screamed. Gregori flinched and I pulled away. I backed up into another man. His hands came down on my shoulders and i jerked away. "Stop" I pushed him away and cried out for pain sliced up my arm. "God damn it." I ground out. I cradled my arm and turned to Gregori.
"Give you your wrist. please." He said slowly, putting as much force as he could muster. I showed him my arm and when I looked down I saw it was starting to turn a sick purple. was it broken?
"It is a bad sprain. I can heal it." He said and nodded to the other men who seemed to scan the area and when I looked back at Gregori I gasped, he was hunched over. I felt the pain ebb in my arm until it was gone and I moved my hand to test my wrist.
"Take freel what I offer." One man said and offered Gregori their arm. I watched in shock as Gregori bent down and bit into the man's arm. Fear was a living being inside of me.
"You did not tell her anything, did you?" The man asked, he kept his eyes trained on me.
"We were just getting to that when we got here." Savannah announced as she joined us. "Here, it's okay." She held her arms open to me. my head and wrapped my arms around me. What was happening? I was surrounded by men who wanted to do who knows what in a country that did not know I was there and the country I came from did not know I left. The severity caught me off guard. If I was going, I was going down fighting. I walked up to the nearest man.
"Let me pass." I demanded.
"No."
"Let me go." I tried to push past him but he did not let me by. He reached out to restrain me and I struck without thinking. I slapped him across the face and the other men froze, as if judging his reaction. Did I just hit a man whose colleagues of human trafficking were afraid of? I watched as he never blinked, not even once. I heard laughter from the cars.
"Let me…" I went to sidestep him and he stepped with me and stayed in my path. I stepped to the other side and he followed. I grunted and pushed against him but he did not move, in fact it was like pushing a brick wall.
"Move!" I threw myself against him and still, nothing.
"Stop this, you will not win."
"Yes I will." I noticed that he was not trying to touch me again, did my strike stop him? Maybe he just did not want to get hit. It would damage his pretty boy face. The men around me burst out laughing. Were they laughing at me? Anger surged through me and I stomped my foot.
"God damn it! Let me pass or I'll-"
"Language. And you will what?" He raised one eyebrow as if daring me.
"So help me I fucking fight you." I shouted the curse word, wanting to annoy him.
"You would not win little one. You will lose this fight."
"I trained for years in martial arts."
"I trained as well, far longer than you ever did." He warned. I dropped into a fighting stance and pulled my fists up to protect my face. The men around me sobered and studied the situation. The man before me gave no warning that he was going to move, and suddenly he was right against me. His face inches from mine and I shouted as I took a step back and he swiped with his arm and I fell. I was short so I was close to the ground and yet he was behind me before I even landed and scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder. I started pounding my fists against his back but it did more harm to me than him. He walked over to the cars and set me down beside it.
"Get in, I tire of this." I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows at him. I was not going to listen or do anything he wanted. "Get in." He opened the door and motioned inside. I shook my head.
"I am not going with you. I have no idea who you are. I am done with this game. Kill me if you will but I won't be drawn into this."
"I could force you." he warned.
"Enough of this, you men always go to force." A woman called out from the car. Several females left their cars and joined me against the male.
"She needs to get in the car." He started. The other males started to come over and each went to a female.
"Did you ask her to? Did you explain why?" She said and poked his chest with every word.
"We do not have time"
"Like this action is saving time?"
"Enough. All of you. You must all learn to get along. Listen, I am Mikhail, This is Lucian and his wife Jaxon. I am sorry he was more rough with you than was necessary but we really are trying to help you."
"I do not even know what is going on."
"What is your name?"
"Daniel."
"Well Daniel, I am going to try to help you, but you need to come with us. You have my word that no harm will come to you."
"How good is your word?"
"honor is my creed. I live by my honor." He bowed low to me. I stared at him for a few seconds before getting into the car. I sat in the middle and did not close the door to allow others entrance.
"Seriously?" Lucian asked? He threw his hands up.
"Yeah, manners go a long way." Jaxon said with a smirk. She got in next to me and Lucian got in on the other side. Jackson smiled and started to chatter away while Lucian sat in silence. I tried to follow along with what Jaxon was saying but she talked so fast I could barely keep up.
"Sivamet, she is far behind." Lucian spoke. Jaxon looked over at me and smiled.
"I am sorry dear, I know I tend to talk fast. I am sure Mikhail will go over everything with you."
"What? Go over what? I thought I was just going to stay with Gregori and Savannah for a while. Now I am surrounded by people. I have problems with large social gatherings."
"Trust issues?"
"Too many people. I tend to be a loner."
"I get that. We are usually not together, we only brought so many to meet you at the airport."
"Why? Are you guys going to auction me off?" Jaxon laughed but Lucian frowned.
"Why do you think so low of us? You do not know the sacrifices we have made. The battles we fight daily."
"You have to be patient. No she does not know the lives you say, if she did, you would not be doing a good job. She is scared. She is here because she was brought by people she met two days ago."
"They are good people"
"She doesn't know that."
"She has been with them, did they endanger her?"
"You have to think on human standards."
"She is safe, that is what she needs to know. No harm will come to her here." He crossed his arms and stared ahead. Jaxon sighed and looked out the window. I sat in silence, did my presence cause them problems? We drove to a small town, population maybe a thousand. Maybe. We pulled up to an old inn, it was rustic. We all got out and Mikhail led us inside. A woman greeted us and the couples seemed to disperse.
"Please order anything you'd like, we have a nice vegetable stew." The woman looked at me but offered no food to the others. What was going on? I sat down to a bowl of stew and drank a few glasses of diet soda. They left me alone for the most part but as soon as I finished they ushered me outside.
"We have to go up into the mountain." Mikhail said. Was he serious? I was not athletically inclined. Unfortunately that is where everyone was headed. We started the long trek into the mountain and more than once they had to pause for me. Either because I needed to rest or because I had fallen.
"Would you like me to carry you?" Lucian offered, not for the first time.
"If you touch me I swear to fucking god I will kill you."
"Ladies do not say such things. You need to watch your language."
"I am not a lady."
"That is abundantly clear." the snide remark hurt.
"Fuck you." I snapped and walked away from them. I found a tree stump and sat down, refusing to move another inch. I felt sadness well up inside me. I crossed my arms and sat, facing away from them. I heard skin connect with skin.
"We will meet you at my house." I heard Mikhail's voice but I did not look around. I was too proud.I sat there and fought back tears. What was I doing? Why was I here? What right did I have to be here? I shook my head and listened to the noises of the forest. I sat until my butt had long since gone numb before I rose. I turned to find Mikhail and a woman standing beside him. They were watching me. They each had sympathetic looks in their eyes but neither spoke.
"I apologize. I will leave you . I am sorry to have caused you such problems."
"Why do you think you should leave?" Mikhail sounded genuinely curious.
"I insulted your men, I attacked those guys. I am no good. Please, let me leave. My soul is blackened with sin."
"If only you knew the true evils of the world. Listen I know we had a rough start but I promise to help you and I want to see you grow into a beautiful young woman."
"Am I not pretty now?" I asked, mock hurt in my voice, it might have been pretend, but Mikhail frowned and corrected himself. "You are pretty, I apologize, that was not my intent to insult you."
"It's okay."
"Would you like to venture up to our home?" The woman asked. I nodded and looked up the mountain, knowing he still had far to go. "Would you like me to carry you?"
"No, I am fine, thank you." I said and looked away. It was not a pride issue but a weight issue. I was overweight and she was so skinny, even Mikhail who was one rippling muscle would have problems.
"Come, please." He asked and held out his hand. I walked over and placed my hand in his and he scooped me up into his arms. I squeaked and he chuckled as he carried me up into the forest. I clung to him, afraid to fall.
"I will not drop you." He assured me. I buried my face into his chest, unwilling to look as he ran up the trail to his home.
"Sure, you let him carry you." Lucian complained as we approached.
"Yeah well he isn't an asshole."
"Why do you use such language?"
"Because it annoys you. and you are being an asshole." Mikhail let me down and signaled for us all to go inside. We all adjourned to the living room and after sitting down for a few moments, someone finally spoke.
"Alright, how have you come to this female?" Mikhail asked.
"I found her when she reached out to me."
"I did not." I stamped my foot.
"Then how did he come to you?"
"I do not know. I was-" I fell silent. I did not want all these people to know.
"You were?" Mikhail asked.
"Umm...can I talk to a smaller crowd?"
"Would you like to discuss this privately in my study?"
"Is that possible?"
"Of course. Though I will need one another to come with."
"Not Lucian." The men laughed.
"Hehe, no, not him. Gregori will have to come."
"Oh, okay." The three of us moved to the next room. Books filled the room, shelves covered every wall. Chairs were scattered throughout the room offering many places to sit.
"Now, what happened?"
"I was driving at night and I made a decision to kill myself. I jumped off the overpass and that was when Gregori came to me."
"She was projecting thoughts, I only knew she needed help because her mind reached out and grabbed mine. I also have to use more effort with her than normal humans."
"I see, so she has the ability."
"Yes."
"So we house her here in the mountain." Mikhail said thoughtfully.
"I am crazy." I said as they spoke. they both paused and looked at me.
"Crazy?"
"Yes. I have borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, severe depression, and I am being treated for schizophrenia." They looked at each other and did not speak for a few moments before talking to me again.
"Who told you this?"
"My Dr. Mikhail. I go to see him once a month and he gives me medication but mr. Gregori says I am not supposed to take it." Mikhail looked at Gregori who produced my bottle of pills. I reached for them, needing them, but Gregori pulled them out of my reach.
"They are not healthy." He said.
"What is these days?" I wondered aloud. He glanced at me before showing them to Mikhail.
"You take all these every day?" Mikhail asked, amazed that I took so many and at such high doses.
"Yes. Please, may I have my meds? They stop the voices." I begged.
"Voices?" Mikhail asked.
"She has not heard them since I have been in her mind, and she has not told me she'd heard them when I am not there."
"What do they say?"
"I am worthless, I do not deserve to live, that I am a failure."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You have already asked so many Mikhail, do you have to ask to ask another?"
"Do you have any birthmarks?"
"That is an odd question."
"Do you?" I did not want to answer him, i feared either yes or no did not matter, either was not good.
"I would rather not talk about my body."
"It would help us help you, why are you so stubborn?"
"Because, well, i have always been. Runs in the family."
"Mikhail, let me." We all turned to see a woman in the doorway.
"Raven, love. You needn't worry yourself about this."
"If she is dragonseeker then she is not only in danger but a treasure beyond measure."
"Wit." I said with a smile.
"What?" Mikhail asked, confused.
"Wit. Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Raven smiled, knowing of what I spoke. the men had no idea.
"Will you allow me to look at you? See if you have a birthmark?"
"Why is it so important?" I wrapped my arms around myself. Suddenly self conscious of my body. They were radiant creatures of light and I was a mere shadow.
"What have they told you of us?"
"No alot."
"I see, well here it goes. We are Carpathians. We are of the Earth. We need the rich soil to heal, we sleep as if dead, we drink the blood of the living but we do not kill. Only vampires kill the humans they feed from. Though we are not vampires now, we have the ability to become a vampire if we do not find our lifemate, soul mate. If you have a birthmark it means you are one of us. If you do don't, well you may still be distantly related but it's harder to find out."
"You? Whoa." I needed to go lay down. I was starting to get overwhelmed and I scratched at my skin. Raven either did not notice or pretended not to.
"May I look?" I nodded and followed her to another room. "I know this is all very new and scary. I apologize that you have had to meet us in such a way. I would have liked to have met under better circumstances." I nodded my head and padded behind her and she closed the door behind me. "Please, take off your shirt and pull down your skirt, Which by the way, sis Gregori put you in a skirt?"
"On my request."
"Ah, I was afraid he pulled a medieval lord and put you in womens clothing."
"No," I said as I pushed the skirt down until it fell at my ankles. She moved her hand over my skin and moved her face closer as if inspecting an animal up for auction.
"Now, I see some raised skin here."
"That is fat." I said miserably.
"None of that. I think when you become one of us that it is considered a toxin and your body will get rid of it."
"Become one of you?"
"Of course, if you are found to be psychic then you most likely have a lifemate and will become us."
"What if I want to remain as I am?"
"Well iI mean you always have a choice but if you choose to remain human you are killing your lifemate. When you die, so will he." I do not know if she knew I could never allow that to happen or if she was just stating a fact, either way, I would have to become one of them, no matter how much I wanted to remain human. I would never allow another to die. In fact, I would have to do whatever he wanted, just to make him happy. What would become of me if I ever met my lifemate? I shivered when I felt her finger graze my skin again, trying to make something out of the raised skin.
"Well?"
"Well I see something here but I can not make it out. You definitely have a mark here. I can only assume you are of the dragonseeker line. Therefore, you will have a lifemate. We can turn you now or you can wait." She said as she stood up and waited for me to pull my skirt back up. I pulled my long sleeves over my hands and we went back to meet with the males. I went and stood by Gregori, needing familiarity. Gregori placed his hands on my shoulder, understanding that I needed contact.
"Did you find anything?" Mikhail asked the woman who placed a kiss on his cheek.
"She does have something there, it is well hidden though so I can only assume she is Dragonseeker."
"Very well. We will need to find her a place to live."
"She could stay with you. You have have the room and the kids hang at your house more often than not, she could make friends." Gregori suggested. My heart dropped. He said he would help me, he would be there for me, and now he was passing me off.
"This is true."
"Plus you are the Prince so there will be no place safer."
"Prince? You are a prince?" I dropped to my knees and threw my hands out infront of me with my face on the floor. I looked like an old japanese woman begging for her life.
"Thank you Gregori, I was certain she would be fine without knowing that."
"I know." He smiled. Mikhail squatted in front of me and touched my hand. I jumped but remained in my position.
"Come on, you can get up."
"You are royalty. I am nothing. I have no right to even be in your presence."
"You do not really think that do you?"
"There is another way to think." I remained on the floor until Gregori squatted beside me.
"You know, you are causing him to squat to your level." I thought about that for a second before scrambling to my feet.
"I am so sorry. I am sorry. I should not have forced you to squat." I kept my eyes down, staring at the floor.
"You are fine. Please, You are Dragonseeker, a line that is rare and proud. You are more powerful than many young males right now."
"That does not give me the right to force royalty to lower themselves."
"Well, I do not see her being happy here." Mikhail said to Gregori.
"Not so, this is where she needs to be. Raven, help us out here."
"Daniel?"
"Yes?"
"You hate us?"
"Never."
"Then you will live with us? It will be a bigger burden to cause us worry, right?"
"I guess you are right." I said slowly. Gregori smiled and left the room and I went to follow but he turned and stopped me.
"I will see you twice a month, we will work you through this."
"Through what?"
"You do have depression. I can not cure you until we find out what caused you to think this way. I do not want to lock away your whole past." I nodded, though I knew I would not go. I never made it to any of my other therapy appointments, what would make this one any different?Gregori left and was shaking his head as if he knew what I was going to do.
"Now, I will go introduce you to the other men who met you at the airport." Mikhail said and reached for my hand. I was so distracted, looking at the door Gregori disappeared through, that I held onto his hand and allowed him to lead me away a few steps before realizing a Prince was touching me.
"My lord. You need not lower yourself thusly." A chuckle welled up inside him until he released it and it became a full throated laugh.
"No need for such language, I speak modern English as does everyone else here. Our thinking might be old fashioned but our language is not."
"Yes sir." We walked to the next room where everyone was still sitting, some had side conversations going but for the most part they remained in silence. I did that. I caused them to wait. I bowed to the group before Mikhail could even speak.
"I apologize for making you all wait on me. It was selfish, I know, but I am very frightened and I do not want everyone to judge me on my past." Some males looked surprised that I would apologize, some looked down with understanding about leaving the past behind them.
"It is fine little one. We are here to celebrate your arrival, not belittle you for coming." One man said. The others nodded.
"I have news. She was found to be of the Dragonseeker line. She will live here until a lifemate is found."
"Will she be converted? She would be better able to protect herself." a woman said from the back. She moved to the front to look at me better.
"That choice will be up to her and her lifemate."
"Why should he get a choice? It is her body. If she wants to be protected like a porcelain doll, then that is her choice. If she agrees to be changed and fight her own battles and protect herself then that is her choice. No man should be able to make it for her." She said firmly. She never once looked away from me, as if asking my opinion without asking. She wanted me to speak, what did she want me to say?"
"I would have you say nothing more than is the truth." She said and waited.
"I-I do not know. I do not know what being converted means. I do not wish to burden anyone with my care, but I do not know if I am ready to be one of you. I would like to fight for myself and battle with you but I am terrified."
"To be converted is a long painful process. You must exchange blood with us three times and then the conversion begins. You will have to bear the pain by yourself but we will be here. You will hurt so bad you will wish you were dead. You will doubt your choice. You will suffer." Raven explained. Mikhail looked at her with worry. Did he not go through the conversion? Did they breed? Did they just go around converting random humans to make their numbers rise?
"Nothing of the sort. In fact our numbers are exceedingly low. You could be born into this race and not have to convert. Mikhail, our prince, was born a Carpathian. Raven was human. she had to go through the conversion and she would know best on the whole process. We can not turn random humans for they would die during or soon after the conversion."
"People died converting?" I was suddenly more afraid. There was a chance I would die Wait...was it not I that jumped from a bridge?
"It is common. Unless you have psychic abilities, you will die."
"Are we sure I am psychic?"
"Yes." Mikhail said, finally speaking again. "The choice will be yours to make, Natalya, you make a fair point." The woman looked triumphant.
"I would like to be converted." I said. If I wanted to fight for myself then I would have to become one of them, besides, I was tired of being a pitiful human being. I looked to Mikhail, would they do that now? Would they wait? what would become of my family?
"You have family?"
"Yes, though I wanted them to think me dead, I think now that I was mistaken."
"We may call them or after you are converted, we may take you back to visit. Or perhaps even send for them and bring them here."
"Is that permitted?"
"Of course. Now, when would you like to go through the conversion?"
"As soon as possible I would say, the sooner the better...but, may I ask one thing?"
"Ask anything." Mikhail said.
"If I should die, will you let my family know of my passing?"
"If you die then they will be taken care of."
"Like, kept alive taken care of?"
"Of course. we do not callously wipe out humans."
"Also, could, could I choose who converts me?"
"You may, though all here will gladly do it."
"Could you do it?" I looked at Natalya. She looked taken aback and looked to another male as if asking permission, that must be her lifemate.
"I will, may my lifemate oversee the event? He can protect us, and try to help." Oversee the event? Was I a side show?
"I, I guess."
"I won't force you, I can do it by myself, he just would feel better if he were present."
"Will he laugh?" The question shocked many of the males for they raised their eyebrows. The man strode forward. Oh great, I pissed him off. He came to stand before me and knelt.
"I would never so much as take any joy in your suffering. I understand your pain. I will not force your hand, I would just like to be there if something were to go wrong.I would not forgive myself if you or Natalya were hurt."
"Do you think I am capable of hurting her?"
"Not in this state, no. When you are converting, you are not in your right mind. You are a stranger to me and in the pain ridden state you may strike out at her, surely you understand my need to protect my family." His eyes never blinked. He stared at me. I looked into his eyes and saw only darkness.
"Yes, I understand. Will you please help during my conversion?" I put out the formal invitation. He nodded and stood.
"Yes, I will be honored to help with this great event. Please, will you return to my home with me and we may perform this ceremony in the safety of my house?"
"Your house?" Horror movies from my past told me I was about to die.
"I promise you that no harm will come to lifemate is of the Dragonseeker line. Welcome, little sister."
"You?" I looked at Natalya, she smiled at me and nodded."
"Yes, did I forget to mention that?"
"Indeed. Well, I guess your house is more comfortable to you and I would hate to make you uncomfortable."
"What matters most is your comfort."
"I will be in pain, it matters not where I happen to be."
"I suppose that is true. Please, lead the way." Natalya led me outside while the man stayed inside to talk to Mikhail.
"Vikirnoff."
"What?" I was confused at her one word.
"His name is Vikirnoff."
"Oh, yes, thank you." He joined us outside and he held onto Natalya's hand as he led us down the path into the woods. We walked for what seemed like forever, and me in my fat state had to start huffing and puffing before we arrived to a large house.
"You must enter on your own free will." Vikirnoff said.
"My own free will?"
"Yes, you must say it."
"My own free will." We entered and I followed downstairs until we came to a room made of earth. What? Was I about to be buried?
"No, you must learn to trust us." Vikirnoff said with a little bit of exasperation in his voice.
"I am sorry."
"Do not apologize. Now, will you please sit on the bed?"
"Bed?" Vikirnoff pointed toward the bed that sat in the corner. I walked over slowly and sat on the edge of the bed. Natalya approached me and grabbed my hand. She lifted my arm to her mouth and opened her mouth and showed fangs.
"Stop!" I screamed and pulled away. I scrambled across the bed and flattened myself against the wall.
"You are not in danger. We will not kill you." Natalya said softly.
"You can not say that. I might die during the conversion."
"You are dragonseeker, you will not die." She explained.
"Please. Oh, I am so sorry, I am so terrified." I said as I felt tears well up in my eyes.
"It is understandable. Now, shall we continue?" She reached for my wrist again and I let her have it. I watched as she bit down into my flesh and I flinched but felt no pain. She drank my blood and after a while she licked at my skin and lifted her head. She bit into her own wrist and offered the open wound to me. I looked down at it and frowned. Was I brave enough to do this? I looked over at Vikirnoff who stood, waiting.
"I can help you if you wish, but you must ask."
"How?"
"I can take over your mind and compel you to do it and you will have no memory of having ever doing so."
"Please, do that." I begged. He nodded and strode forward and soon I was sitting back on the edge of the bed.
"Now what?" I asked, They were both standing before me now.
"You are done. We wait for you to start the conversion." Vikirnoff said.
"I drank her blood?"
" Yes, three times. Now we wait until you start to feel the pain, now, remember, I can not help you through this. I can not take the pain or block it from you. You will have to face this alone." I nodded. I sat, unsure of what else to do.
"Now, what happens after I go through this conversio-" I cut off mid sentence, pain sliced low and mean inside me. I doubled over in pain, I wrapped my arms around my midsection. They backed away, watching, poised. I screamed as the second wave of pain hit me. I tried to curl up in a ball but my body convulsed and threw itself on the floor. I rolled over and hurled my stomach contents onto the floor. The sick stench hit me and I heaved again. I started to dry heave as I waited for another wave of pain. Suddenly the vomit was gone and so was its horrendous stench. A breeze found its way into the chamber. It felt so good on my hot cheeks. I crawled, trying to go to the corner but never made it. A wave of pain washed over me. I screamed, my voice hitting a higher pitch than I have ever hit before. I kept screaming, not having another way of working through the pain beside screaming. The chamber trembled and Vikirnoff positioned himself ahead of Natalya.
"It's okay, it's almost over." His voice was firm, deep, calm, it reached me even in my pained state and I stopped screaming. I laid there as my body convulsed, pain raged through me. Soon I saw Vikirnoff loom over me.
"It is over." Was all he said before I closed my eyes. I was done. It was over. What was the outcome? Was I human, dead? Would I know? My last thought was of that, was I dead?