Kian wasn't home.
After pounding on the door for what seemed like ages -- although it was probably closer to ten minutes -- she was reasonably certain he wasn't there and not simply ignoring her. His neighbors were home, however, and from the way the lady standing in her doorway was fingering her rolling pin, they weren't happy, either. Cameron met her glare with a weak smile, hurrying to the stairwell as fast as she could without actually running. She didn't look back, but she did flinch when she heard the door crash shut behind her.
She slipped through the nicked and battered entrance, torn between the desire to steal into his apartment, waiting until he came home, and the desire to run far away into icy lands, where she knew he would not follow. She paused at the top step, hesitating, and then whirled to trace her way back. As she was about to take that first damning step, a strong hand gripped her arm from behind and she faltered. It was enough. The owner of that crushing hold dragged her back against his chest.
She found herself being spun around.
Fathomless violet eyes met hers, dark secrets twinkling in their depths like promises she knew he intended to keep. She sank into those promises with the speed of quicksand, sailing into their intimidating darkness. His mind beckoned to her coldly -- so coldly -- but she could not draw herself away.
Just as she realized she was trapped, he blinked. She found herself standing back in the dingy hallway, crushed against his hard and unyielding chest. He smelled like something exotic, something she didn't and couldn't know how to identify.
Her heart pounded wildly, whether from fear or anticipation she didn't know. He watched her quietly and she suddenly understood that she was naked under that unrelenting gaze. He smiled, then he bent, his lips grazing her forehead lightly. Barely more than a whisper. His hand lifted to stroke gently over her hair.
"Did you miss me, Cameron?" he asked softly, taunting, just before his mouth descended on hers.
Whatever she expected kissing him to be like, it wasn't this.
His lips brushed across the corner of her mouth, as light as a breath and as gentle as a summer rain. She gasped at his touch, full of longing, begging him to stop the onslaught of emotions pouring over her. He took advantage of that gasp and deepened the kiss.
His mind exploded around her.
She saw him. Not really vision, but something more. Something primal and at the same time touching. She was open, exposed, but no more than was he. She reached out to touch him, the cool whisper of thought against thought.
Darkness and jagged edges. And blue. His mind was a deep, dark, rich blue. Blue like the color of forget-me-knots dipped in shadows. Or the color of water sinking to unknown depths. She could see no end to the forbidding azure.
She caught an overwhelming sense of disillusion filtering through the sweltering dark. Desperation tore at her and she searched for something, some memory or some hint of Kieran in this endless abyss. Something was cloaking him from her so she could not find him. Hiding to shut her out.
And then his mind burst from the shadows like a god descending earth to consort with mortals. His presence was nearly overwhelming, powerful and stifling. ~Beautiful, isn't it?~ he questioned casually.
~Sad~ she corrected solemnly. Her grief flowed like a river around them, deep and encompassing.
He simply smiled. ~Some things cannot be changed. Sorrow is useless and only allows us to deepen our self-pity. Sad, maybe... but beautiful nonetheless.~
His gaze traveled over the glittering peaks, pausing briefly on one or two. She narrowed her eyes and looked more closely. Was that a reflection? she wondered. But the images on the crystal like edges of his mind were moving; they were not. She focused, bringing it closer...
And saw the pictures dwindle away in complete and total darkness.
~Sometimes things are better left unseen~ he advised coldly. ~Be careful where you go or you might find yourself falling so far you can never climb out.~
A threat. She shivered involuntarily, watching as the pinnacles took on a sinister cast. ~It's too dark to be beautiful~ she murmured.
She felt his amusement like an oppressive wave of heat and resentment built up inside her. She wanted to see, to taste, to explore the vast cavern that was Kieran's mind. She wanted to know him.
~The dark is beautiful. It hides what we don't want shared.~ Grim finality accompanied those words.
She got angry. If he didn't want to let her in, fine. Fury built up inside her and she shoved, lashing out in frenzied hurt. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that he was trying to keep her away, maybe to make it easier on him when he killed her. The darkness receded so fast she thought she might get motion sickness. When it stopped, she realized their lips still touched, so gently, sealed in a bond more powerful than life itself.
And, although she didn't want to admit it, a bond more powerful than death.
Wrenching away, she pulled herself out of his arms and glared. "The dark is a cop-out," she snapped. "It keeps you safe and sheltered. Even from those things you need more than blood."
He laughed, his humor lighting up his eyes in a way she never could. "The only thing I need more than blood, my dear little human, is your death. It accomplishes so many things with so little effort."
Her mouth fell open, hurt, somewhat shocked, and so vulnerable. "What exactly does my death accomplish?" she asked softly, in voice of sugarcoated steel. Anyone who knew her well enough would have been able to tell him that this voice meant Cameron was at her most dangerous. But no one was there to tell him that.
"One less human roaming the streets," he started obnoxiously. He ticked the reasons off on his fingers as he went. "I've yet again kept my vow. My brother again loses his soulmate..."
She interrupted. "The fact that you lose yours as well never occurred to you?"
His eyes went flat and cold. "That does not matter," he bit out. "I do not need you."
She stared at him, an idea taking root and growing. "I don't think that's it at all," she declared, wondering. "I think it terrifies you."
That mobile mouth tightened. "I think you're wrong. And I think you're going to find out just how wrong you are. Very soon."
She laughed. "Bite me, Kieran," she muttered, not believing him at all.
It was the wrong thing to say. "If you insist," he answered, a cruel smile playing across his features. He swooped, his mouth hovering over her neck for a split second. Then he bit.
It felt almost like a bee sting, sharp and piercing. In less than a second, the pain was gone. In its place were the empty midnight blue of his mind and those stabbing, sparkling peaks. But this time she felt like he was keeping her outside of that barren sphere, drawing a line she could not cross. She could only stand at the edges, hoping to come closer and bask in its sultry heat.
~You are not welcome there~ he informed her. And then, so quickly she almost didn't see it happen, a wall of ice constructed itself in front of her. Sparkling like diamonds, the frosty crystals shot toward the ceiling until she could see nothing. Even the exhaustive blue was hidden from her.
Her anger flared again. ~You cannot keep me out~ she told him furiously. She set to chipping at the ice, breaking down the barrier in the only way she knew how. Miraculously, it worked.
The wall shattered, shards of ice plunging to unknown depths. She found herself staring at one of the glittering peaks that held what she now knew to be memories and not reflections. The image unfolded before her, matching one she had not known was hers. But it was.
In his arms, she lay dying. The resemblance was striking, but not complete. In whatever life this was, her hair was copper instead of raven and her nose was tilted slightly up. Her eyes were the same.
Blood trickled down her face. Rivulets ran from twin punctures in her ashen neck and dripped into her hair, deepening the red. Her breathing was shallow, slow, and obviously an effort in futility. She did not have much more time to breathe before it would all be over.
But her imminent death was not what shocked her the most. It was peripheral, unimportant. The man who held her in his arms was not. He was seated on a low stone wall, the kind she imagined lovers meeting on. She and Kieran had never been lovers, but somehow it seemed appropriate. His head hung low over her body and his mouth was covered in blood. Her blood.
In any other circumstance, it might have made her angry. He'd killed her, probably for the thousandth time. Something held the anger in check. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but the scene left her feeling hollow and somewhat pitying. Why pity? She searched her mind for any reason she might come up with, but none came. And then she realized.
Kieran was crying.
Not loud, heart-wrenching tears like you saw in the movies, but silent silver tears dripping down his face in spider web trails. His shoulders shook only slightly. The tears pooled at his chin before beading down and splashing on her face. His tears mixed with her blood, christening her in death.
He looked up then, staring at the endless sky, full of bright and shining stars. The pain etched so clearly on his face darkened his violet eyes to infinite black pools. And in his eyes, she saw more regret than centuries of bloodshed could have wrought.
She could hear the long ago Kieran's thoughts as clearly as an echo reverberating though a canyon.
Dead so many times... Always my fault. Always but that once. Nothing to be done. I made a promise and those cannot be broken, especially to Kian. And so we both must suffer, traveling through life always to find her and always to lose her. Without her, we are not complete...
His image sighed, swallowing his tears only to find them welling up again. His hand trailed lightly down her arm and his fingers twined with hers as she drew her last, whispering breath. It was over. He bent, touching his lips to hers. Not a kiss, but maybe a good-bye for this lifetime.
Until we meet again, he thought. A faint smile curved his lips at that cliché. He stood, lifting her gently in his arms. The sadness in his eyes had not fled, but it had lessened. He...
The memory splintered.
~I thought I told you to stay out!~ Rage turned his mind red like fire and burning hot. She was thrown from the memory. His teeth clamped down on her neck and for one terrifying second, she thought he was going to drain her dry.
Less than a heartbeat later, he tore his mouth from her throat. "You would do well to listen," he growled, shoving her away from him. She had to catch herself against the banister. "I don't react well to intrusions."
"Obviously," she muttered. She brushed a lock of ebony hair out of her eyes, contemplating him. She felt slightly off balance and a little dizzy from the blood loss. She gripped the banister tighter in an effort to hide this weakness from him.
He bared his teeth, which were still faintly stained with her blood. Coldly, he said, "Next time I won't be so benevolent."
Her crystalline blue eyes narrowed. "You call that benevolent?" she asked, taking a step toward him. "I don't think you know the meaning of the word."
He took a step back, afraid to get too close again. No one, not even Kian, had ever broken through his defenses so easily or so efficiently. "You don't know the first thing about me," he snapped.
"I think I do," she answered softly. "I only have one question. Why haven't you kept your promise yet? Why am I still alive?"
Sharp and stinging shocked coursed through him. It was the last question he expected. He composed himself quickly. "I thought your heart would take care of you," he shrugged. Emotionlessly, he added, "I was tired of watching you die."
She stepped back, watching as a feral gleam lit up his violet eyes and his mouth curved up in a wicked smile. "Run," he suggested. "I'll give you until your next birthday to meet some unfortunate end. Then you're mine."
Cameron believed him. Deep down in the core of her soul, she knew he would be true to his word. Kieran clearly wasn't the type to break his promises...
She ran.
After pounding on the door for what seemed like ages -- although it was probably closer to ten minutes -- she was reasonably certain he wasn't there and not simply ignoring her. His neighbors were home, however, and from the way the lady standing in her doorway was fingering her rolling pin, they weren't happy, either. Cameron met her glare with a weak smile, hurrying to the stairwell as fast as she could without actually running. She didn't look back, but she did flinch when she heard the door crash shut behind her.
She slipped through the nicked and battered entrance, torn between the desire to steal into his apartment, waiting until he came home, and the desire to run far away into icy lands, where she knew he would not follow. She paused at the top step, hesitating, and then whirled to trace her way back. As she was about to take that first damning step, a strong hand gripped her arm from behind and she faltered. It was enough. The owner of that crushing hold dragged her back against his chest.
She found herself being spun around.
Fathomless violet eyes met hers, dark secrets twinkling in their depths like promises she knew he intended to keep. She sank into those promises with the speed of quicksand, sailing into their intimidating darkness. His mind beckoned to her coldly -- so coldly -- but she could not draw herself away.
Just as she realized she was trapped, he blinked. She found herself standing back in the dingy hallway, crushed against his hard and unyielding chest. He smelled like something exotic, something she didn't and couldn't know how to identify.
Her heart pounded wildly, whether from fear or anticipation she didn't know. He watched her quietly and she suddenly understood that she was naked under that unrelenting gaze. He smiled, then he bent, his lips grazing her forehead lightly. Barely more than a whisper. His hand lifted to stroke gently over her hair.
"Did you miss me, Cameron?" he asked softly, taunting, just before his mouth descended on hers.
Whatever she expected kissing him to be like, it wasn't this.
His lips brushed across the corner of her mouth, as light as a breath and as gentle as a summer rain. She gasped at his touch, full of longing, begging him to stop the onslaught of emotions pouring over her. He took advantage of that gasp and deepened the kiss.
His mind exploded around her.
She saw him. Not really vision, but something more. Something primal and at the same time touching. She was open, exposed, but no more than was he. She reached out to touch him, the cool whisper of thought against thought.
Darkness and jagged edges. And blue. His mind was a deep, dark, rich blue. Blue like the color of forget-me-knots dipped in shadows. Or the color of water sinking to unknown depths. She could see no end to the forbidding azure.
She caught an overwhelming sense of disillusion filtering through the sweltering dark. Desperation tore at her and she searched for something, some memory or some hint of Kieran in this endless abyss. Something was cloaking him from her so she could not find him. Hiding to shut her out.
And then his mind burst from the shadows like a god descending earth to consort with mortals. His presence was nearly overwhelming, powerful and stifling. ~Beautiful, isn't it?~ he questioned casually.
~Sad~ she corrected solemnly. Her grief flowed like a river around them, deep and encompassing.
He simply smiled. ~Some things cannot be changed. Sorrow is useless and only allows us to deepen our self-pity. Sad, maybe... but beautiful nonetheless.~
His gaze traveled over the glittering peaks, pausing briefly on one or two. She narrowed her eyes and looked more closely. Was that a reflection? she wondered. But the images on the crystal like edges of his mind were moving; they were not. She focused, bringing it closer...
And saw the pictures dwindle away in complete and total darkness.
~Sometimes things are better left unseen~ he advised coldly. ~Be careful where you go or you might find yourself falling so far you can never climb out.~
A threat. She shivered involuntarily, watching as the pinnacles took on a sinister cast. ~It's too dark to be beautiful~ she murmured.
She felt his amusement like an oppressive wave of heat and resentment built up inside her. She wanted to see, to taste, to explore the vast cavern that was Kieran's mind. She wanted to know him.
~The dark is beautiful. It hides what we don't want shared.~ Grim finality accompanied those words.
She got angry. If he didn't want to let her in, fine. Fury built up inside her and she shoved, lashing out in frenzied hurt. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that he was trying to keep her away, maybe to make it easier on him when he killed her. The darkness receded so fast she thought she might get motion sickness. When it stopped, she realized their lips still touched, so gently, sealed in a bond more powerful than life itself.
And, although she didn't want to admit it, a bond more powerful than death.
Wrenching away, she pulled herself out of his arms and glared. "The dark is a cop-out," she snapped. "It keeps you safe and sheltered. Even from those things you need more than blood."
He laughed, his humor lighting up his eyes in a way she never could. "The only thing I need more than blood, my dear little human, is your death. It accomplishes so many things with so little effort."
Her mouth fell open, hurt, somewhat shocked, and so vulnerable. "What exactly does my death accomplish?" she asked softly, in voice of sugarcoated steel. Anyone who knew her well enough would have been able to tell him that this voice meant Cameron was at her most dangerous. But no one was there to tell him that.
"One less human roaming the streets," he started obnoxiously. He ticked the reasons off on his fingers as he went. "I've yet again kept my vow. My brother again loses his soulmate..."
She interrupted. "The fact that you lose yours as well never occurred to you?"
His eyes went flat and cold. "That does not matter," he bit out. "I do not need you."
She stared at him, an idea taking root and growing. "I don't think that's it at all," she declared, wondering. "I think it terrifies you."
That mobile mouth tightened. "I think you're wrong. And I think you're going to find out just how wrong you are. Very soon."
She laughed. "Bite me, Kieran," she muttered, not believing him at all.
It was the wrong thing to say. "If you insist," he answered, a cruel smile playing across his features. He swooped, his mouth hovering over her neck for a split second. Then he bit.
It felt almost like a bee sting, sharp and piercing. In less than a second, the pain was gone. In its place were the empty midnight blue of his mind and those stabbing, sparkling peaks. But this time she felt like he was keeping her outside of that barren sphere, drawing a line she could not cross. She could only stand at the edges, hoping to come closer and bask in its sultry heat.
~You are not welcome there~ he informed her. And then, so quickly she almost didn't see it happen, a wall of ice constructed itself in front of her. Sparkling like diamonds, the frosty crystals shot toward the ceiling until she could see nothing. Even the exhaustive blue was hidden from her.
Her anger flared again. ~You cannot keep me out~ she told him furiously. She set to chipping at the ice, breaking down the barrier in the only way she knew how. Miraculously, it worked.
The wall shattered, shards of ice plunging to unknown depths. She found herself staring at one of the glittering peaks that held what she now knew to be memories and not reflections. The image unfolded before her, matching one she had not known was hers. But it was.
In his arms, she lay dying. The resemblance was striking, but not complete. In whatever life this was, her hair was copper instead of raven and her nose was tilted slightly up. Her eyes were the same.
Blood trickled down her face. Rivulets ran from twin punctures in her ashen neck and dripped into her hair, deepening the red. Her breathing was shallow, slow, and obviously an effort in futility. She did not have much more time to breathe before it would all be over.
But her imminent death was not what shocked her the most. It was peripheral, unimportant. The man who held her in his arms was not. He was seated on a low stone wall, the kind she imagined lovers meeting on. She and Kieran had never been lovers, but somehow it seemed appropriate. His head hung low over her body and his mouth was covered in blood. Her blood.
In any other circumstance, it might have made her angry. He'd killed her, probably for the thousandth time. Something held the anger in check. She couldn't quite figure out what it was, but the scene left her feeling hollow and somewhat pitying. Why pity? She searched her mind for any reason she might come up with, but none came. And then she realized.
Kieran was crying.
Not loud, heart-wrenching tears like you saw in the movies, but silent silver tears dripping down his face in spider web trails. His shoulders shook only slightly. The tears pooled at his chin before beading down and splashing on her face. His tears mixed with her blood, christening her in death.
He looked up then, staring at the endless sky, full of bright and shining stars. The pain etched so clearly on his face darkened his violet eyes to infinite black pools. And in his eyes, she saw more regret than centuries of bloodshed could have wrought.
She could hear the long ago Kieran's thoughts as clearly as an echo reverberating though a canyon.
Dead so many times... Always my fault. Always but that once. Nothing to be done. I made a promise and those cannot be broken, especially to Kian. And so we both must suffer, traveling through life always to find her and always to lose her. Without her, we are not complete...
His image sighed, swallowing his tears only to find them welling up again. His hand trailed lightly down her arm and his fingers twined with hers as she drew her last, whispering breath. It was over. He bent, touching his lips to hers. Not a kiss, but maybe a good-bye for this lifetime.
Until we meet again, he thought. A faint smile curved his lips at that cliché. He stood, lifting her gently in his arms. The sadness in his eyes had not fled, but it had lessened. He...
The memory splintered.
~I thought I told you to stay out!~ Rage turned his mind red like fire and burning hot. She was thrown from the memory. His teeth clamped down on her neck and for one terrifying second, she thought he was going to drain her dry.
Less than a heartbeat later, he tore his mouth from her throat. "You would do well to listen," he growled, shoving her away from him. She had to catch herself against the banister. "I don't react well to intrusions."
"Obviously," she muttered. She brushed a lock of ebony hair out of her eyes, contemplating him. She felt slightly off balance and a little dizzy from the blood loss. She gripped the banister tighter in an effort to hide this weakness from him.
He bared his teeth, which were still faintly stained with her blood. Coldly, he said, "Next time I won't be so benevolent."
Her crystalline blue eyes narrowed. "You call that benevolent?" she asked, taking a step toward him. "I don't think you know the meaning of the word."
He took a step back, afraid to get too close again. No one, not even Kian, had ever broken through his defenses so easily or so efficiently. "You don't know the first thing about me," he snapped.
"I think I do," she answered softly. "I only have one question. Why haven't you kept your promise yet? Why am I still alive?"
Sharp and stinging shocked coursed through him. It was the last question he expected. He composed himself quickly. "I thought your heart would take care of you," he shrugged. Emotionlessly, he added, "I was tired of watching you die."
She stepped back, watching as a feral gleam lit up his violet eyes and his mouth curved up in a wicked smile. "Run," he suggested. "I'll give you until your next birthday to meet some unfortunate end. Then you're mine."
Cameron believed him. Deep down in the core of her soul, she knew he would be true to his word. Kieran clearly wasn't the type to break his promises...
She ran.
