My eyes opened to see Cameron and Asher sitting patiently next to the bed. How come I always end up in a bed? What is up with this? Does everything end up with pain? Or does that just involve me?
"Ma douce mémoire, you have finally awakened."
I sat up slowly allowing the sheets to fall down past my breasts. Thank God I was dressed. "Who keeps putting me here?"
Cameron smiled at me while pointing a finger at himself. "Me." He moved off the chair and sat next to me on the bed.
"Who is this bed for?"
Asher looked at both Cameron and I then his eyes fell to the ground. I wanted to hold him to make sure he wasn't hurt but hell, what would Cameron think?
"Jean-Claude's."
"Doesn't he sleep in a coffin?"
"Why of course, ma douce mémoire."
"Why does he...," No need to ask it. I knew the answer. Freaky vampires.
We sat there in silence for about three minutes. None of us knew what to say. I've never been really stuck for words. Now, I'm truly lying.
I stared at Asher trying to figure him out. Why am I so attracted to him? I don't even like blondes.
"Sara," I shook my head then looked back at him, "I'm sorry but I have to leave. Please forgive me for not staying."
"Asher, why did you even stay? You don't know me."
He mysteriously smiled down at me then walked out the door.
I looked over at Cameron to find him staring at me. His brown eyes held amusement and excitement entangled together in one bittersweet emotion. I wanted to ask him what his problem was, but I knew. Deep down I knew.
I grabbed hold of Cameron's shoulder as I tried to force myself to stand up. My legs were unsteady as I tried to stand. He caught hold of my waist as I fell against him. I rested my head against his chest. I pulled my legs against me. Cameron placed his arms around me as I huddled myself in a tight ball. I closed my eyes and lost myself in his warmth. I felt him kiss my forehead then I fell back asleep in his arms.
* * *
The shadows that surrounded the bed stood adjacent to each other. Who the hell were these people? Have they been watching me sleep? What was going on? I'm stuck here with people that aren't just people. They feel like wereanimals. I'm helpless. Maybe not. Would Cameron take my gun? I don't think so. Well, let's hope not.
One of the two shadows was a man about my height with shoulder length baby fine blonde hair. The other was a female with short blonde hair cut to style against her face. She was taller than the two of us, but looked more aggressive than I could ever think of being. Her mascara was piled on so thick it seemed like someone ran a black crayon across her eyelids. The rest of the makeup was dark, too dark even for her skin. She looked like a rebel Barbie.
The man had his hand behind her when she finally noticed I was awake. Her smile was rich and wholesome. She wasn't evil at all. She swatted the man's hand away from her butt. She stepped closer to me and leaned her face towards me. Her eyes were directly in front of mine. So she likes eye-to-eye contact, eh?
"Hello."
I rolled my eyes up at her. "Who are you?"
She smiled. "I'm Cherry," she grabbed the guy and pulled him closer, "This here is Jason."
He grabbed hold of her again, touching her behind. She giggled, but pushed him off her. She returned to me smiling. I wanted to growl at the two of them. Cherry noticed my discomfort and continued.
"We're here because you wanted to know about the mysterious thing causing the deaths."
I finally smiled up at her. "Yeah."
I sat up in the bed. "Tell me everything you know."
She giggled down at Jason as he touched her ass. She pushed him away and sat on the bed.
"Jason and I were um... let's say, playing in a pond in the forest."
"Where's the forest?"
"Jason and I could show you later if you like."
I smiled. "Okay, continue."
"Well I ran up out of the water onto the shore. I started feeling this extreme shaking. Like a washing machine. Then, the shaking started to hurt me. My heart felt like it was overloading. It began to beat three times faster. I was about to breakdown when Jason pulled me back into the water. When we looked back at the shore, we saw this huge creature coming out of the ground. Kind of like a big spider. It scared the crap out of me."
"What time was it?"
"A few minutes after dark."
"Did it try to attack the two of you?"
"Yeah, but the water stopped it."
I laid back against the headboard thinking long and hard. So, maybe this is just some big creature attacking wereanimals. Maybe Pierrè has nothing to do with it. Why was Pierrè wanted dead or alive by me? He marked me.
The two of them were still around me watching me think. I felt so violated.
I threw the covers back pushing them on Cherry. I moved out of bed easily. My body wasn't as wobbly as it was before. Well, it wasn't as wobbly as it should have been. I was bit by a vampire. I should be falling on my face. Ah, I've been through this before. I should know how it feels.
"Where's Cameron?"
Cherry stood up immediately grabbing my arm. "He's this way."
She guided me by my arm out the door. My eyes were being forced to withstand the bright lights of the Circus. I covered my eyes with my hands. God! Was the spotlight directly on me? Everyone's attention was turned in on me. Screams, yells, whistles. It was like I was some mystical power that had just awakened from a four hundred year nap.
Jean-Claude's velvet voice filled the airwaves across the circus. I tried to see where he was, but my eyes wouldn't adjust to the brightness.
"You are about to witness something truly remarkable. For the first time ever, an audience member will become prey at the request of a local vampire. You will be amazed, you will be shocked. You will witness your nightmares come true. This will not be for the weak at heart."
Adrenaline began to pound through my veins. God! Was I going to be someone's prey?
Cherry let got of me suddenly, but someone else grabbed me. The feel was familiar. I looked up to see Cameron smiling down at me. I tried to jerk away from his hand, but he held me still. I cursed at him through gritted teeth, but he only smiled. Damn fool!
Cameron led me to the front of the aisles. The world's eye was on me. Watching every move I made. I wanted to scream, but what would screaming solve? Nothing. I jerked my arm some more, but he wouldn't let me go. I turned away from him to see children and their parents screaming their heads off. Ugh! Great morals to instill in your kids. Vampires are cool Ma! Give me a break.
Down in the center of the arena, Asher, Jean-Claude and Pierrè stood beside a large woven basket. The basket was almost big enough to fit all three of them, throw in a few werewolves, about two wereleopards, and Cassie, my werebat friend. What the hell was in there?
When Cameron reached the bottom rails, he grabbed my waist, picked me up and threw me over the rail. I yelped as I fell eight feet to the ground. I landed roughly on my feet. I crouched down to make sure nothing was broken. When I knew I could stand without falling, I looked up briefly at Cameron. He smiled down at me. I gave him a one-finger salute in return.
The crowd screamed, yelled, laughed, and whistled more. I guess they've never seen a pissed off female necromancer before. Their problem.
Asher was the first to come near me. "Ma douce mémoire, are you alright?"
He reached his hand out to me. I watched him step closer to me as I took his hand. He helped me to my feet while putting his arm across my shoulder.
I looked out into the crowd. There were hundreds of them just watching he and I. I shied away from the audience into Asher's arms. "What's going on?"
He leaned his face next to my ear. "Pierrè has a gift for you."
"What kind of gift?"
"Ma douce mémoire, it's a gift Jean-Claude and I could not prevent from happening. I am quite sorry."
"What is it?"
He looked down at the ground as if sad. "I am not allowed to tell you."
I searched his face to see if he was lying, but he wasn't. God! What was going to happen to me? Who was going to take control of the bats if I died? If I died? My God! I can't die. I've got so much to look forward to. Cameron and Asher. Sex. Kisses. Hugs. And so much more...
I leaned in closer to Asher laying my head against his chest. His hands held me gently. "I am so sorry, ma douce mémoire."
"Why is Pierrè doing this?"
"He feels you are threat to him. You must either join him or he will defeat you."
"Why?"
He grinned down at me. "Ma douce mémoire, I am only a man. I cannot predict such things."
I sighed and held onto him tighter. If I was going to die, I might as well feel great going down.
Asher stopped suddenly, causing me to bump against him. His eyes were searching the arena. His hands became rough and stiff around my back.
"Asher? What's wrong?"
"Ma douce mémoire, please do not do this."
I glanced up at him with a confused look. "What?"
His eyes flicked back from Jean-Claude to Pierrè. "Don't do this."
"Do what?" He stepped a few feet away from me. He was heading towards the exit.
He glanced back at me with a worried look. "Come with me, ma douce mémoire, do not trust Pierrè."
Pierrè stepped forward toward Asher and I. He extended his hand out to me. I ignored him and turned back to Asher.
"Do what?"
"Ma douce mémoire, please. Come with me."
Pierrè grabbed my arm and slung me towards him. I stumbled to my knees with Asher trying to help me up. His hands held onto my stomach. I was about to lose my lunch. I was about to lose my head. The magic was back. It was stronger than ever. Asher was kneeling next to me holding back my hair. My throat began to burn again. My stomach was turning. My head began to ache. The world was spinning. My lips quivered as I threw up what I ate for lunch. My body was trembling. The food kept coming up as if I had ate out an entire buffet. I couldn't breathe from the immense power. I reached up for Asher. I caught hold of his shirt and pulled him down to me. My words came out strained and lengthy.
"Tell.. him... to... stop."
Asher gently touched my face. "I am sorry, but I can not. Please forgive me."
I moved my head away from his hand. My sight was dizzy. I was about to fall onto my side when a hand caught hold of my arm and jerked me to my feet. I swayed back and forth trying to catch my balance and my stomach. Arms went behind my back making sure I didn't fall. I rested my head onto her shoulders. I looked up to see Nicole smiling down at me.
"You'll be alright, sweety. Just give it a few minutes. The asshole will probably back off. He's just trying to scare you again."
"Yeah." I reached my hand out to Asher. He took it and pulled me against him. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to feel safe in his arms. I needed him right now.
Pierrè's voice brought me stumbling back to reality. "Sara!" My attention turned back to him. "I have called you here for a reason. Do not disappoint me."
I reached down deep into my pants and took out my gun. I pointed it point blank at his forehead. I quickly pulled the trigger to make sure he wouldn't come after me. The bullet hit him straight on rocking his head back. I shot at him again, catching him in his left jaw. It tore apart with a large piece of his jaw sticking out through his bleeding flesh. Pierrè dropped to the ground with a loud thump. My body became tense. I couldn't move. I could barely breathe. Something was deadly wrong. What the hell? When I tried to speak, the words couldn't come. My mouth was dry. Something was sucking away my life. My eyes were burning. My heart was pounding in my chest. It felt like it was going to rip my intestines out of my body.
I tried to scream, but my throat wouldn't allow it. Asher came up to me, cradled me in his arms, and brought me to the back room. The audience finally came into view. They were screaming at me. Booing me for leaving. I wanted to point my finger at them, but my body wouldn't let me.
* * *
Asher placed me carefully on the only chair in the room. He knelt down in front of me. His hand was on my leg. He was rocking the lower half of my body from nervousness. I didn't know vampires got nervous.
"What's the matter, ma douce mémoire?"
I caught my breath. "It was magic. It froze me. I couldn't move or speak. I've never been like that before."
Asher stood up when Cameron opened the door. Cameron ran over to me with a worried smile. He sat down in front of me.
My bitterness began to take control of me. I leaned towards him pretending that I was going to kiss him. I lifted my right fist, leaned it back, and hit him in his right cheek. He fell back with his hand on his cheek. His eyes were wide with shock.
I stood up and stomped past him. I walked over to Asher. His face held the biggest smile. He was winning over Cameron and apparently he couldn't be happier.