Hey everyone. I just wanted to apologize for the long wait. We had an terrible thunderstorm the weekend of my b-day and lightning struck behind and between my house and neighbors drive ways. Everything on the surge protector was fried. including computer, VCR/DVD player, TV and Wii so yeah it was depressing. Finally we got a working computer so I got to work. I hope you enjoy!
TWENTY-ONE
As Alex pulled up to the plantation I was feeling anxious and apprehensive. I knew Raven was inside spreading her wave of pain throughout the house. I spotted a car, a powder blue '66 Mustang, that I didn't know who it belonged to. At first I thought that Erik got a new car but then I began to think that it might be Raven's car. It was extremely hard to picture Raven in the classic but calculating into the equation that she can't let go of anything I concluded that it was hers. My theory was proven when Alex maneuvered the car to make a quick escape and he rolled his eyes at the Mustang. He killed the engine and sighed.
"Would you like to come in and say 'Hello' to everyone?" I asked gesturing towards the house. Alex scrunched up his face.
"I'm not quite ready to face Raven just yet but tell everyone that I said 'Hi'." Alex gave a small wave for emphasis.
"I will." I unbuckled my seat belt then asked. "I'm going to get a hug right?" He smiled and nodded and unbuckled his as well. I exited the car and met him around the front of it with my arms wide open. He picked me up off the ground and spun me once. This was the hug we should have greeted each other with but our hearts weren't into it at that time. It was present, however, at this moment. His arms squeezed me and he buried his nose within my hair inhaling the scent that is mine own. I let him take that part of me because the part he wanted more than anything he couldn't have. We both knew that. He kissed my cheek and released me. I stood close to him and held onto his arms not wanting him to leave.
"Thank you for the movie, I really enjoyed it, and for the ride home. It was nice to see you again and I hope that you come home soon."
"You're welcome and I enjoyed it as well. We should do this again sometime." He took one last deep look in my eyes before leaving my side. He went to the driver side of the car and added, "I'll come home, I promise." I nodded.
"Don't forget to invite me over for a visit!" I waved. He promised that he wouldn't and started the car. The growl of the engine awoke the she-devil from inside the house. The door behind me opened and before I could turn around to see her, Raven's body flew past in a blur. She was at the side of the Mazda screaming off questions at Alex as he tried to escape. I was going to shout out to Raven so he could speed off without her bothering him but I was grabbed around the waist and swung backward into the house. The door was closed by Evol and she began to lock up the door hurriedly and the arms around my waist released me with a sigh of relief. I spun around and was met by Katja's face gleaming at me.
"We thought she'd never leave!" Katja exclaimed. "I put your things in your room."
"Hopefully she will go home." Evol clapped her hands together like she was removing dust as she walked away from the door. She was still clad in her new clothes I was glad to see she hadn't relapsed yet.
"Is she gone?" A voice came from above. Everyone of us gazed up at the top of the stairs to see Vance. I nodded. "At last!" He descended to join us in the entrance way. "How was your trip to the mall?" He asked.
"It was great, I'm sorry that you had to put up with Raven." I apologized, it wasn't anyone's fault, but you feel obligated to when it deals with Raven.
"No need, as long as you had a good time. In fact it wasn't myself she was ruffling feathers with it was Colken. I was trying to restrain him." He pointed to the second floor.
"What did she do this time?"
"I wasn't a witness to the event the only knowledge that have is that Colken wanted to run her through." Vance made a hand gesture and Evol covered her mouth. Colken is all talk and no action, but I didn't voice my thought.
"Well I hate to go but someone has to make sure she goes home," Katja hugged me before she continued, "Movie marathon, call me." She used both hands to point at me, I agreed and she continued to say her goodbyes. Thunderous knocking came from the other side of the door.
"Lina! Details!" Raven wailed a bit muffled by the door.
"Why does she assume that we are friends?" I asked pointing towards the voice.
"She is the Queen within her own mind, let her think what she wants, it does nothing in the end." Katja put her hand on my shoulder. "See you later Lina!" Evol unbolted the door and in a flash Katja was on the other side. Evol then locked the door again and went upstairs to talk with her brother, I assumed.
"I think you know where you can find Erik." Vance followed Evol up the stairs. Of course I knew where he would be, in his barn surrounded by his cars.
I found Erik polishing his Jaguar, seeing that it was the only car not shinning like the rest of them, I figured he had exiled himself to be rid of Raven. He was in a trance and didn't flinch away from his work when I came into the barn. I watched as he used slow circular motions to work the polish on, applying enough pressure but not harsh enough to scratch the finish. I walked in between the cars, careful not to touch, just to pass the time while Erik finished up.
He loved his cars, as any kind of collector, loves their collection of objects of value. I collect dragons and I love them. I take great care when handling and cleaning them all. I see that reflected in Erik right now. However the love he has for me is something completely different and I mentally punched myself for ever accusing Erik of cherishing me like an object under glass.
It was scary to think that he loved his cars so much that he could block out the world when he was with them. Of course when Ryan passed away he must have had other inanimate objects in which he poured his emotions into. Much like Vance. He needed something that would distract him from the pain, an attempt to mend a broken heart. Only it's a quick and sloppy fix and it never heals right.
The love I felt radiating off of Erik made the tiny hairs on my neck to stand on end and my spine to tingle. It made me feel giddy and like I wanted to run around and scream for the fun of it. I wondered to myself if I could ever come to love him in the way that he loves me. Maybe in time, but it's too soon to tell.
"I take it Raven has left us?" His velvet voice rang out. He turned his attention to me, his emerald eyes gleaming. He was happy to see that I had returned safely, I could tell by his smile and the way he held himself.
"Katja made sure she left with her." I rounded the crimson Mustang watching Erik watching me as I made my way over to him. "Did you manage to escape her wrath?" I asked.
"Unfortunately not, she managed to make her rounds as usual." Erik rolled his eyes. "However she didn't stay long, seems that I ignored her and that didn't sit well with her." Erik wiped his hands clean on a fresh rag. "So how was the mall?" he asked as I came to stand in front of him.
"It was great, Katja and I bought a bunch of movies and we plan on having a marathon sometime so we can watch them all. I found a few that I think you would like to watch too."
"Sounds like fun, so how much money did you spend?" Erik crossed his arms. If I could have paled I would have. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the remainder of the money that Erik had given me to spend. There was about 50 dollars and a random sum of change. I plopped it all in his outstretched hand and prepared myself for a reprimand. "Looks like it was a good trip." Erik said as he eyed the amount of money in his palm.
"You should never give a woman your credit card or in this case a great sum of money." I started to back away.
"You did spend a chunk on Evol too-hey," He looked up when he noticed I wasn't as close to him anymore, "I expected you to spend it all I'm shocked there's anything in my hand." He gave a chuckle and he came around the side of me and place his arm around my shoulders. The extreme closeness of our bodies made mine tingle. "As long as you had a great time I wouldn't have cared if you spent everything, I've got money to spend, next time we'll go together." He offered with a smile that made me melt.
"That would be great, there were a few things that I didn't buy that I would like to get my hands on." I smiled all the way up to my eyes. He gazed into my scarlet orbs mirroring my smile.
"Tears don't befit you." He kissed the top of my head, I knew he was referring to earlier this evening. He tucked the remaining cash in his back pocket. I wrapped my arm around his waist and we walked out of the barn only parting so he could close the great sliding door and lock it up.
He walked me up to my room and I invited him in. His eyes widened when he saw the giant bags on the floor by my desk. I remember buying all of it but it was still a shock to see all of it right there in font of you. I hid my shock from Erik. I don't believe in buyer's remorse. If I bought it, I wanted it and that's that, end of story, but I felt bad knowing it wasn't my money I had spent even thought Erik didn't seem to mind it.
"What did you buy? The whole mall?" He gave a laugh and grabbed a hold of one of the bags and placed it on my bed. He looked at me for permission to search through. There was nothing that I bought that I would have been embarrassed by if he found it so I let him have his fun. He grabbed a shirt I recognized from Hot Topic and read the front. It was a Harry Potter shirt of Severus Snape.
"Katja rolled her eyes when she saw that I was buying that. She's not a Harry Potter fan." I sat cross legged on my bed watching Erik go through my stuff.
"Maybe I should start reading it, since you love it so much, I want to know what I'm missing." He folded the shirt and placed it at the end of the bed. He looked through the other shirts and pants that I had bought and then he came across some of the movies I had purchased.
"I thought that maybe we could watch this one together sometime." I reached out and took the movie White Noise out of his hand. "I've never seen it but I heard it was scary."
"What's it about?" He walked to the other side of the bed so he could sit next to me after putting the bag on the floor. He pulled me into his lap. I laughed, he picked me up like I weighed nothing, as he wrapped me in his arms.
"It's about Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or EVP, and how the dead can communicate to us through electronics. Apparently his wife dies and she talks to him through a radio or something. I thought it would be interesting and scare the crap at of me at the same time."
"Margret didn't scare you but this would?" He asked placing his chin on my shoulder.
"This is suppose to scare you and Margret didn't have the creepy axe murderer vibe." I started to peel the plastic off the case. Erik stilled my movements.
"Too late to start this now." He took the DVD from my hands and placed it on the bedside table. "How was the movie?" He asked out of the blue.
I told him that I would love to see it again sometime and that I prefer the book. Somehow I got on a tangent and continued to ramble on about the mall and something Katja said. The more I rambled the more I realized I was skirting around the subject that we both wanted to talk about. The question was who was going to be brave enough to bring the subject up.
"I received a call from Alex." It was Erik.
"Oh really, when?" I asked confused.
"Before you came down to the barn, it was very short."
"What did he say?" I was curious as to what he could have called Erik for within such a small time frame.
"He said that if I hurt you he would kill me and he hung up. He sounded angry and upset."
"He said the same thing to me on the car ride home. He basically said that he was okay with the idea of us but at the same time he wasn't." I hoped that what I just said made sense.
"How does that make you feel?" He asked after digesting what I had said.
"Should I lay down for this?" I asked jokingly. I turned to see his face, his expression read seriously. "I don't know. I still feel like I'm hurting him but I have to face up to it eventually. No matter what, I'm going to hurt someone in the end." Erik tucked some hair behind my ear, gently caressing my cheek.
"That's life, sometimes in order to be happy you have to hurt someone's feelings." He spoke in a soft voice.
"And you have always given me a choice in everything and it's unfair to make you suffer and wait for me to come along." I situated myself so I was sitting at an angle between his legs. "I know how I feel about you. It's something I can't explain other than it's part our bond as creator and fledgling and…" I trailed off, "And something stronger than friendship." I wasn't ready to say it. Erik just nodded. I needed to prove to him that I wasn't just saying all this that I actually meant it. I rested my body against his and laid my head on his shoulder, nestling it under his chin. His arms came around me as he sighed. My body tingled and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, I wanted to let out a shiver but I held it in. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. I dived into my mind, walking along the familiar sparkling roads and glowing orbs. I saw the granite tablet and searched for the door that would give Erik access. I ran straight ahead knowing it had to be around here somewhere. At last I came across the door who's knob was a sparkling silver and blue orb. As my fingers touched the glass-like orb I heard the lock's click echo within my mind and I turned the knob. A blinding light erupted from the other side and I raised my hands to shield my eyes.
I was back in my body again.
I opened my eyes and blinked a few times before turning my attention to the beautiful vampire holding me. I felt warmth flow through me like a heat wave on a summer day and for a brief second I felt human again. My faintly beating heart skipped a beat when I heard the velvet voice within my thoughts. Thank you Lina. His voice traveled through my veins and made every fiber of my being dance and sing. I responded back within the mind touch I had just created between us. Evol told you I would give permission when I was ready. I came out of my thoughts and said, "Just don't abuse this power." I was being half sarcastic. He nodded knowing I was joking and held me closer placing a kiss to my temple.
I felt my eyelids drooping even though my skin wasn't prickling. The sun wouldn't be up for another two hours but I found it hard to keep awake. I felt my body and consciousness dip into sleep as I relaxed completely against Erik. Before sleep could consume me in its jaws Erik spoke in a soft voice encouraging me to move into a laying position. Erik left my side and started to pull back the covers of my bed. Half asleep I hopped over the running covers and kicked off my shoes, not bothering to change into sleepwear. I turned on my side and pulled the covers over my shoulders. Sighing deeply I closed my drowsy eyes and welcomed sleep. As my body was taken over by total relaxation Erik pressed a whisper of a kiss to the side of my face and sent the words I love you through mind touch. I smiled as my stomach danced just before I slipped into sleep.
White marble floors glistened under a Gothic chandelier as the many dancers twirled with their partners to classical strings. Everyone is dressed in their best, floor length dresses and tuxedos, and waiters with sliver platters holding crystal flutes filled with blood. I stood at the top of the grand marble staircase overlooking the spectacle before me. Below, at the foot of the stairs, stood Erik dressed in his best smiling up at me. He extended his hand cueing me to start my descend. I took the stairs one at a time and slowly when I noticed I was in heels. I held my dress up and out of the way of my feet and took hold of Erik's outstretched hand. He lead me over to the dance floor and we joined the crowed. Evol and Vance were smiling and dancing their hearts out, both moving in perfect harmony.
Vampires on the edges of the dancers drank and whispered to each other, covering their mouths with their hands. I didn't know anyone one of the vampires here other than my own coven members. The music stopped and every head in the room turned to the top of the stairs. A male vampire stood at the top but his face was hidden by a mask.
The dream changed to flashes.
My body was flung into a statue then crushed against the wall behind me.
Hot stinging pain at the juncture of my neck and shoulder.
Erik lying on the floor…in a pool of crimson.
I shot up in bed coming out of the dream. My breathing coming in short harsh breaths and my heart pounded deep within my chest. The covers pooled in my lap as I pulled myself into a Indian style seat threading my hands in my hair. I tried to make sense of the dream. The last image disturbed me, turning my stomach in knots and producing a bile-like taste in my mouth. I looked over at the clock the sun was still high in the sky. However my body was too rigid to fall back asleep. I closed my eyes and pressed the heels of my hands into my them until the colors flowed. Then the image of Erik came back, this time I saw the hole in his chest that produced the pool of blood around him.
I screamed.
I wanted to forget that awful sight. I shook my head rapidly and threw off the covers to pace the floor of my room. My bedroom door opened a minute later revealing Erik, worry plastered on his face. In a flash I was at him, checking his chest for the gaping hole, making sure he was in one piece. Satisfied that he was alright I threw my arms around him and started babbling nonsense. I was just so relieved to see Erik alive that words failed to come out right.
Erik backed me further into my room so he could close the door. He returned to me, rocking my shaken body in order to calm me down. This dream was too real to just pass it off as nothing, however I kept the details to myself. Erik didn't ask about what had upset me so and he didn't probe my thoughts either. For the rest of the day I was cradled against Erik's chest so I could sleep but I couldn't close my eyes without seeing red. I just watched his chest gently rise and fall until I had no choice but to fall back into a dreamless sleep.