Chapter 10

Voices woke me up. I realized at once that I was still lying safely in Godric's arms, but we'd apparently stopped flying and touched down somewhere.

"She is badly hurt. Are you going to give her your blood?" I recognized that voice as Isabel's.

"I doubt she will accept it. Not after last time." Godric sounded rather sad, and I had the urge to comfort him, but my body wasn't quite ready yet to obey any of my mental commands.

There was a significant silence for a few moments. "I think your human might surprise you yet," Isabel said, and then I heard heals clicking away from us.

I finally managed to open my eyes and realized we were standing in a bathroom. Godric, having probably noticed me moving, looked down at me.

"Can you stand?" he asked. I nodded, as there didn't seem to be anything wrong with my legs. He put me down with care, but I still wobbled on my feet as I took in my surroundings. It was a very luxurious bathroom, with a large tub, marble on the floors, and some sort of natural stone tiles on the walls.

Godric kept his arm around my waist. "If you take my blood, you would heal," he said softly, an expression on his face that was both expectant and hesitant.

"It would heal everything? Immediately?" I whispered, and Godric nodded in reply. "And it wouldn't turn me into a vampire?" I asked, suddenly realizing that might happen.

"No."

"Oh." I wobbled some more and leaned heavily against Godric. My whole body felt bruised, my neck stung something awful, and my right hand and arm were throbbing at the beat of my heart. "Okay," I said, because healing sounded really good.

Something like relief passed over Godric's face right before his expression became more serious. "Here, sit down. After you heal, you can get cleaned up." He lowered me down until I sat on the edge of the tub, and he crouched in front of me.

Godric's fangs snapped to attention and he bit down on his own wrist. I winced, both at the memory of those awful fangs that had hurt me earlier, and because it must hurt Godric to bite himself like that.

Godric offered me his bleeding wrist, and I stared at it. A lifetime of being extremely careful around blood and other bodily fluids halted me for a few moments, but then I remembered the night Godric had healed me, had cured me, had saved my life, and I reached out with a trembling hand and raised his bleeding wrist up to my mouth.

His blood tasted metallic, as was expected, but there was more to it, much more. Some heady taste, something strong and indefinable. Godric squeezed his eyes shut and moaned, and I let go at once.

"Am I hurting you?" I asked, because that was the last thing I wanted to do.

"No," Godric said, his voice barely a whisper, and he pressed his wrist against my mouth, obviously wanting me to continue.

I sucked more of his blood, keeping a close eye on Godric, who looked anything but hurt the more blood I drank.

Oh. Godric was enjoying this. Very much, from what I could tell.

My body miraculously started healing itself; I felt my fingers straighten when the bones mended, my throat itched as the flesh knitted together, and slowly but surely every bruise on my body seemed to disappear into thin air.

Finally, Godric pulled his wrist away as I licked my lips. Now that the pain was gone, my mind was clear again, and I stared at him while he stared right back. We didn't say anything for a long time. I wasn't sure what to say, and I wondered if he had the same problem.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," I finally muttered. Offering an apology might be a good place to start.

Godric nodded. "I have been told I went about telling you the truth in the wrong way."

I had to bite back a grin, as I realized it was probably Isabel who'd told him that. Then I considered his words and shook my head. "Honestly, I don't think there is a right way to reveal something like that."

"Perhaps not," Godric said with a smile. He got up. "I will leave you to clean yourself."

"You're leaving?" I asked, slightly alarmed. We'd only just started talking. We had plenty more to talk about. Besides, I didn't even know where I was. I didn't want him to leave me alone.

"You want me to stay?" Godric asked, clearly a little surprised.

"Yes." I said. I looked him over. He looked almost as dirty as I did. Whatever had happened to that evil vampire had exploded as much on Godric as it had on me. "I mean, you need to get clean, too, right? Might as well do it together."

"The tub is big enough for two," Godric said with a crooked smile, and I sighed in relief. I made myself no illusions about the state of our relationship; I knew full well we still had a lot of hurdles to cross, but at least it seemed that there was a real chance things might actually work out in the end.

I got up and wanted to reach out for Godric, but the moment Godric flinched away from me I realized I was still wearing silver. I slipped the bracelets and rings off and put them on a dresser far away from Godric.

"It was a good thing you wore silver," Godric said, as he watched me closely.

I shrugged. "It didn't hold him off for long."

"Long enough," Godric said with the kind of practicality that made me shiver. "How about a shower first," he said, obviously trying to change the subject. I was glad for it, as I didn't want to think about the terrible things that had happened to me. I knew I'd have to at one point, but now was not the time.

"Okay," I said, and I let Godric pull the zipper of my ruined dress down. Honestly, there was no way that much disintegrated vampire crap was every going to come out of it. "Where are we, anyway?"

Godric pulled his own ruined shirt over his head. "My house."

"Really?" I looked around with more interest, and startled when I felt Godric's cool hands reach for my bra. He had it unclasped in a second, and I had to make an effort not to cover my breasts when Godric pulled my bra off. He'd seen it all before. Up close. But we'd never showered together before, and this new experience, combined with all the stress of the past few weeks, made me just a tad shy. While Godric pushed his own pants down, I stepped out of my panties, and then we were both naked.

I stared at the wall in determination while Godric opened the taps in the roomy shower stall.

"Come," he said, gently taking my hand and leading me under the warm water. I sighed and closed my eyes as the spray washed away all the grime I didn't want to think too closely about. Having another person stuck to you in bits and pieces just wasn't the kind of thing you wanted to pay any attention to.

"Let me wash your hair," Godric said as he reached for a bottle of fancy shampoo.

Pleasantly surprised, I turned my back to him and sighed when his fingers started massaging my scalp. "You're good at this," I whispered, because he really was. All the tension that had been building up in me for a long time disappeared under Godric's skilled hands, and by the time he rinsed my hair I felt almost boneless.

When I turned around to face him I spotted a sponge lying near a bottle of shower gel. I picked it up, squeezed some shower gel onto it and then looked at Godric expectantly. "May I?"

"Of course," Godric said, and he stepped a little closer to me so he was within easy reach. I traced the sponge across his chest in lazy circles, admiring his hard muscles and smooth skin. My eyes were drawn to his tattoos and something occurred to me.

"So, these tattoos...did you get them when you were still human?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"Yes," Godric said with an amused smile. "They signified my tribe."

"Tribe?" I asked, perplexed.

"I'm a Celt."

"Is that like a Viking or something?" I asked, remembering he'd told me he was from Denmark.

Godric looked even more amused. "No, I am from Gaul."

That did nothing to help me with my confusion, and it must have shown on my face because Godric chuckled.

"Gaul is part of modern-day France."

"I thought you were from Denmark?"

"No, that is just part of my human persona, to explain my strange accent."

"Ah." I went back to washing Godric, considering the things he'd just told me. And then I realized I should be asking another question, if all the legends about vampires had any truth to them.

"So...when were you a Celt living in Gaul?" I asked slowly.

Godric smile disappeared and he got a faraway look in his eyes. "I am over 2000 years old."

I blinked. Then I swallowed, hard. Then I blinked again. And then I started laughing, and I couldn't stop, even when I clapped a hand over my mouth.

Godric stared at me, nonplussed.

"When I first met you, I thought you were lying about your age, making yourself out to be older than you actually were," I managed to say in between giggles.

Godric started laughing, too, and just hearing that made my heart soar. God, I'd missed him. Before I knew what I was doing, I dropped the sponge, wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his.

"Celia," Godric whispered, and deepened our kiss, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me against his body. Even though the kiss started out frantic, it soon turned to slow caresses of our lips and tongues. We probably needed comfort more than arousal after everything that happened.

I pulled back to inhale a deep breath and buried my face in the crook of his neck. "I've missed you," I whispered, pressing my whole body against his as best as I could. "Even when I thought you were a lunatic, I still missed you."

Godric chuckled while he brushed his lips against my wet hair. "I have missed you, too, my Celia." He pulled back and looked at me with an intense gaze. "I wasn't sure how to fix things between us."

I glanced down and shrugged. "I guess I just needed some time and evidence. It was a lot to take in." Tears prickled my eyes and I squeezed them shut. "You cured me. I don't know how that's even possible, but you did."

"I am glad," Godric said, and pulled me in another embrace. We stood under the warm spray for a long time, just holding each other, comfortable in the knowledge there was still a lot of hope for us.

"Would you like to stay here tonight?" Godric asked when we finally pulled apart and he turned off the taps.

My first instinct was to say yes, of course. But then I remembered that I couldn't. "I want to, but I can't leave Elmo alone until morning." I bit my lip and then my eyes widened as I remembered something else. "Oh my god, my car and my purse! They're still in the parking garage!"

"They will both be waiting for you when you get home," Godric said as he wrapped a fluffy towel around me. "If you stay a few hours, I will take you home before dawn, if that is agreeable."

"Yeah, okay." I smiled. That was most agreeable. Elmo would be all right on my couch for another couple of hours.

We dried off, and then Godric took my hand and led me into the adjoining bedroom. It was large and decorated in warm earth-tones. It didn't look out of the ordinary, except for the fact that there were no windows. I don't know what I had been expecting (maybe a coffin?), but a beautiful yet ordinary bedroom wasn't it.

Godric observed me with a small smile as I took everything in.

"Is this really your house?" I asked, just to make sure.

"This is my main residence, yes," Godric explained patiently. "I do share it with a few others. I also have a few other houses around the city. Safe houses."

"Ah." I let Godric lead me to the bed while I wondered if Isabel was Godric's roommate. That would explain why she knew so much about him, and about us.

"So are you really a bar owner?"

"Yes, I co-own several bars and clubs. But I do not spend a lot of time there. I have responsibilities here to take care of."

"What do you mean?" I asked, as we sat down on the edge of the bed, side by side.

Godric frowned for a moment. "I am the...leader of the local vampires. It is called a sheriff."

"Oh! That is what the other vampire called you. It made no sense to me," I said, and I shivered as unpleasant memories surfaced.

Godric noticed at once, and crawled onto the bed. He pulled the sheets back and urged me to join him. Once we were settled together under the covers, facing each other, Godric stared talking again.

"I will explain what happened," he said, and I bit my lip as I waited anxiously to hear his explanation.

"Vampires are thinking of revealing themselves, all over the world, all at once," Godric said, and my eyes widened at that idea. I had no clue how well that would go over with people, but remembering my own confusion and doubt, I knew it was going to get messy.

"There are those who do not want to reveal themselves. They prefer to live in the shadows, seeing humans only as prey, not as equals. And we would have to treat humans as equals if we wanted to live with you out in the open.

"Recently, a few vampires moved into my area who opposed these plans, and they were very vocal about it. They wanted to hunt humans in the old ways in my area, something I do not condone."

I swallowed while Godric raised his hand and gently caressed my cheek.

"The vampire who attacked you tonight was one of them. He wanted to hurt me by hurting you. I do not know if he hunted you, perhaps having listened to rumours around the nest that I had taken a human for my own, or if he found you by chance. But you have had my blood. You smell like me. Any vampire would know you belong to me."

"Ah," I said, in a very small voice. Godric scooted a little closer and wrapped his arm around me, but I found little comfort in it. Too many questions plagued me, the kind of questions I knew I wasn't going to like the answers to. "So am I going to have to stay home after dark for the rest of my life now?"

"No," Godric said at once. "I will claim you, publicly. Most vampires in my area respect my command. I will make examples of those who don't. I will protect you."

That did very little to put me at ease. "But if a vampire were to attack me again, I wouldn't stand a chance."

Godric raised himself up a little, leaning on his elbow. He looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Yes, you would. I will teach you how to wield silver properly and how to defend yourself against my kind."

I still didn't believe him, not after the horrible attack earlier, when I'd been unable to do much of anything to protect myself. "But any vampire could scramble my mind, right?" The moment I said it, I looked at Godric with wide eyes as I bit my lip. "Have you ever..."

Godric lowered his head, and that was all the answer I needed.

"No!" I shrieked as I scrambled away from him. "Please, no!"

"I panicked," Godric said in a voice that was too high for him. "I have only made you forget something once, because I panicked and did not know how to calm you."

I pulled up my knees and stared at him, my heart going a mile a minute. "Explain. Now."

"It was after we were intimate for the first time," Godric said, still not meeting my eyes. "You discovered my heart doesn't beat, and you panicked, and then I panicked when I didn't know how to explain this to you. It was too soon to reveal myself. So I made you think you'd had a cramp and that everything was all right."

God, I remembered that. The cramp, not any of the other stuff, and knowing that Godric had scrambled my mind made me feel sick. "That is completely unacceptable," I muttered.

"I agree," Godric said, much to my surprise. "I could turn any human into a mindless puppet if I wanted to, but I do not want a puppet by my side. I want you, as you are, with all your own thoughts and emotions."

I swallowed and looked Godric right in the eye. "That can't happen again. I mean it. If I so much as suspect you scrambled my brain, we're through."

"I swear I won't do it again."

I believed him. If only because Isabel had reminded me that if Godric had wanted to, he could have made me forget all the horrible things that had happened between us, and he hadn't.

"Okay," I said with a sigh. Godric immediately reached for me and gently urged me closer. I settled in his embrace and pressed my cheek against his chest. "Will you tell me more about vampires?" I asked, because I felt like I needed to know everything right that moment if I ever wanted to survive being in a relationship with Godric.

"What do you want to know?" Godric pressed soft kisses against my hair while his hand touched my back in smooth circles.

"So...sunlight?"

"Lethal."

"Ah. How about holy water and crucifixes?"

Godric chuckled. "No effect whatsoever. We made up those rumours so we could always prove we weren't vampires."

Before I could help myself, I giggled. That was rather funny when you thought about it. "Okay...what else is there...oh, wooden stake through the heart?"

"Very lethal."

"And...er...decapitation?" I asked, remembering what Godric had done to the evil vampire.

"You've already seen the results from that," Godric said. He didn't sound sorry one bit. Then again, I couldn't feel sorry for that vampire, either, not after what he did to me.

"Okay...how about fire?"

"If it burns us long enough, it can be lethal. But we can heal from many wounds, burns included."

I pressed a little closer to Godric, trying to think of more things I thought I knew about vampires. "And silver, is that lethal, too, in the right amounts?"

"Only if it enters our bloodstream in large quantities. But it does hurt us, and silver chains will immobilize us. I will teach you later how to immobilize a vampire."

"Sure," I said, even though dread settled in my stomach. "It's funny that silver would hurt you. I mean, in stories it's only werewolves who are - "

I sat up at once and stared down at Godric. He looked faintly amused by my response. "Don't tell me..." I trailed of, because this was too much to take in.

"That werewolves are real?" Godric finished for me. "Yes, they are."

"No!"

"Yes," Godric said again. He was grinning now. "Those two men I sent to your house to fix your door?"

I nodded.

"They were werewolves."

"No," I said, softer now. I stared at Godric in complete disbelief.

"There are many more types of shifters...foxes, bobcats, dogs, bears, eagles, and many more."

"Huh." I let Godric once again pull me closer until we were facing each other.

"This isn't something you should worry about, my Celia. We have always been here. It is just that now you know about us."

He had a point, I supposed. "It's still a lot to take in," I whispered.

"Hm. I suppose it is." Godric didn't sound particularly concerned, but my mind was still reeling. I'd met werewolves, and I hadn't even known it at the time! Then again, I was currently in bed with a vampire, so I didn't have much room to talk.

"So you don't eat or drink anything?" I asked, in an attempt to steer the conversation in another direction.

"No, only blood," Godric said. He'd resumed stroking my back.

"Is that because you don't want to eat or because you can't?"

"We can't. If I were to eat human food, I would throw it up later."

I considered that. "So you've never had chocolate? Or ice-cream?" I wondered out loud, thinking about how old Godric was.

"No, but you must understand that for a vampire, human food holds very little appeal. I don't miss it."

I yawned before I could stop myself, but I shook myself. I did not want to sleep just yet. I had too many questions that still needed answering. "So how did you find me tonight? Were you following me?"

"You had my blood. I can feel you now, and I can track you to the ends of the earth if need be."

I stared at him. "What do you mean, feel me?"

"Your emotions. I feel them. I knew the moment you were scared and in pain this evening. I flew to you as fast as I could." Godric pressed a kiss to my mouth, but I didn't return it. I was too dumbfounded.

"You've had my blood twice now," Godric continued, in a softer tone. He was obviously trying his best not to upset me too much, but it still was a lot to take in. "If you have my blood enough times, this will become permanent. But if you do not have my blood again, it will wear off."

"When?"

"I do not know. I am a very old vampire, and my blood is very powerful. It might be a long time."

"So you'd always know if I were in trouble?" I asked carefully, thinking that might actually be a good thing.

"Always," Godric said and stared at me while he placed his hand against my cheek. "And I will always come for you. You are mine now."

I snorted. The way he said it sounded so ridiculous, but I quickly realized he wasn't joking. This statement of possession was deadly serious to him, and it did make me feel a little bit uncomfortable. "So," I said, in an attempt to make light of the situation. "If I'm yours now, does that mean you're mine now, too?"

Godric smiled in a way that lit up his eyes. "Yes," he said, and before I could respond he crushed his lips to mine in a searing kiss. I returned it, eagerly at first, but the night's events caught up with me before I could become well and truly aroused.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I pulled back.

"Sshh," Godric said as he pulled me against his chest. "Rest now. I will wake you in a few hours, and then introduce you to my nest mates before I take you home."

Oh goody, I thought. I was going to meet even more vampires. But that was the last thing I knew before I drifted off into sleep, lying safely in Godric's arms.