Chapter 17
Alex suddenly felt a sharp jolt and she nearly stumbled, but Kieran's arms were wrapped about her. She slowly opened her eyes and stepped back from Kieran, realizing that she had been holding onto him with all her might, ready to protect him from her parents if she could. She looked around, amazed. They were back in Kala's room. She stared at Kieran, who looked equally in awe.
"How'd you do that? I nearly drained your power when I broke the spells on the door," she babbled.
Kieran shook his head. "I didn't do that; you did. Did you know you could do that?"
Alex looked down at her hands in wonder then back at Kieran. "Me? How?"
She noticed that Kieran looked exceptionally pale, despite the fact that he was a vampire.
He smiled. "I guess now we know that part of my power is now yours."
Alex noticed the black overcast in her mind and examined it in shocked curiosity. She now withheld vampiric power. Vampiric power was at her command. There was a void end to the power, where there seemed to be a connection leading off into the darkness of eternity. She mentally started to draw the bond in.
Kieran flinched and massaged his temples. Alex looked at him in amazement. In her mind, she tied the link quickly into a knot. She watched in delight as Kieran dropped to the floor, pain etched in his features. He looked up at her questioningly.
"An unbroken bondage," Alex whispered, her eyes gleaming with malevolent ecstasy. "You're connected to me."
Kieran looked down momentarily, then looked up, his eyes lustrously glow-in-the-dark silver. "And you are connected to me."
Pain barged through Alex's mind, her power seeming to be dragged from her with a spiny vengeance. After a few seconds it disappeared and she realized that she was lying on the ground, curled into a ball, clutching her head. She shuddered at the thought of the fleeting phantom of pain.
Kieran stood over her, looking unusually tall and menacing. He bent down and offered her a hand. She eased to a sitting position, glaring at the outstretched hand. She got shakily to her feet, feeling once again lightheaded.
"I change my mind," Kieran stated, looking condescendingly at her. "You wouldn't make a good hunter; you have no pain tolerance."
Anger flared in her and she looked indignantly at him, opening her mouth to say something.
Kieran grimaced, "Alright already."
"What?" Alex spat.
"You were insulting me. The old saying is correct; anger burns."
Alex opened her mouth to retort with a rather unpleasant comeback, but Kieran held up a hand to stop her.
"Just help Kala, will you?"
Alex glowered at him once more before going to her sister's side and kneeling. She took the bottle from Kieran and opened it, shaking out 6 of the capsules. She dumped the rest of the pills onto her lap, then opened the capsules and shook the contents into the empty bottle. She held the bottle in both hands, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration. She opened her eyes a moment later, and rooted around in the small purse that she had grabbed from her room.
"What are you doing?" Kieran asked.
Alex withdrew a syringe and assembled it. "Turning the powdered Valerian Root mixture into liquid so that I can inject it into her. Just like Valium, really; both are sedatives."
"Valium?" Kieran inquired, frowning.
"Yeah, Valium." Alex chanced a glance at him and laughed at the clear perplexity written all over his handsome face. "Oh, that's right. Valium probably wasn't around when you were human, huh? So, when and where did you grow up?"
"None of your business," he stated silkily. "I don't give that information out lightly."
Alex stopped the bottle with her thumb and shook it before inserting the syringe and drawing the now-liquid mixture into the needle. Kieran watched in apprehension as Alex plunged the needle into her sister's upper arm and injected the liquid before stepping back hastily.
Kieran started forward when he saw Kala's spine arch in what seemed like an unnatural angle before she drooped limply back to the floor, her arms splayed at her sides. Suddenly she surged into a sitting position, her eyes shooting open widely as she noisily gasped air into her burning lungs.
Alex had her arms wrapped around Kieran's middle and was straining to keep him where he was. She saw tear streaks running down his cheeks as Kala sagged back to the ground, her eyes closed, and lay there. Once assured that Kala was in a deep sleep, Alex dropped her arms and watched as Kieran shot to Kala's side and drew her limp body into his arms, showering her with kisses and tears. She heard him muttering over and over, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," as he stroked her hair lovingly.
Alex looked on with mixed jealousy and disgust.
"Put her in the bed," Alex ordered Kieran, who apparently didn't hear her.
When Kieran still paid her no heed after she had repeated herself louder, she yanked viciously on the link between their minds and shrewdly repeated herself again. This time Kieran took note of her words and gathered Kala gently in his arms as if she were very fragile and tucked her into her bed, still holding her hand tightly, staring at her with rapture in his fathomless emerald eyes.
Alex stood on the other side of Kala's bed, looking down at her with a frown on her face, her arms crossed over her chest.
"She's going to hate you."
Kieran winced. "I know."
"There's something I could do... but, no, I can't."
"What?" Kieran pleaded eagerly, ready to do anything possible to prevent Kala from loathing him.
"Modification of her memory. Simply delete the memory of you feeding from her." Alex wouldn't meet his eyes; instead she kept her gaze locked on her sister's peacefully sleeping face.
"But...why? I thought you despised me." Kieran regarded her suspiciously. Though he had only known Alex for a short period of time, he had known others like her for years. Nothing would be given out of the pure goodness of her heart; everything came with a price.
"Yeah, well..." Alex shrugged. "You love her, and if what she feels for you is even half of what you feel for her...then she's obviously very lucky, that someone cherishes her as much as you seem to. And I'd hate to get in the way of that, even if it is considered treason, and I could be disowned for it."
Kieran noticed the tone of disappointment in her stony voice.
He reached across the bed to pat her arm. "You're still very young. You'll find someone who loves you, don't worry." He paused before playfully adding, "From what I last knew, my brother is still single."
She glared daggers at him and smacked his hand away. "I've got to get back before my parents have a complete cow."
"You don't want to leave," he said quietly, hearing the tone of resignation in her speech.
"No!" Alex retorted, once again glaring at him. "It's not that I don't want to leave here...it's just that I don't want to go back there. I'll be caught for certain, and I have no idea what I'll say. I don't know how to explain the fact that I left with a vampire in the middle of the night, and came back linked to you. They'll find you, you know that right? They can trace the bond between us, and when they get to you, they'll kill you and reclaim Kala. So that's it. I can't go back." She stared out the window defiantly.
"Stay here."
She whipped around to look at him. "What?"
"Stay here. They can't trace you to me if they can't find you in the first place. If you stay, you'll be given the same respect and privileges that Kala has had. Pretty much free run of the place. Or if you don't like that, I can buy you an apartment wherever you want, get you a fake ID, and you can just skip a few years in your life and start out on your own. Or you could join some subdivision of SingleEarth. If you look in the right places, there are no ends to your choices."
"You're kidding, right? There's no way that I could stay here. Think about it, smart one. I can't modify Kala's memory that much without making her forget you. When she wakes up, she'll still know that she was captured and brought here, enough to know that she was separated from her family a long time ago. If I just randomly turned up, don't you think she'd get a bit suspicious? I mean, call me crazy, but I doubt you've offered to let her return home for a visit, or let her know that she could invite family. I can take away memories, I can transmit memories from one person to another, but I can't create them. And as good as living on my own sounds, I'm apt to think that won't work out too well."
"Quite the pessimist, aren't we, young Alex?"
"Oh, I do try," she said with an air of smug sarcasm.
"Well, you have to go somewhere. But while you're deciding, I suggest you rest, or at the very least find something to entertain yourself in this very room."
"And why wouldn't I want to go venturing out of here?"
Kieran gave an insolent laugh. "My dear, you couldn't possibly think that I, whom you called one-third of the most feared group of vampires, would settle for anything less that a manor house. You are currently standing in one of the very few rooms that are extremely well-protected against...unwanted visitors. At any point, there can be nearly 50 or more vampires, and I strongly doubt that many of them would be hesitant to make a midnight snack of you, whether you wanted it or not."
A/N: sorry it took so long to update...went on vacation again! Funfunfun! (Lancaster, PA, aka: amish country. Heh heh heh...it was kinda funny to see all them people with funky hats..and the beards! omg...too hilarious for words! No offense meant...) anywho, yeah...u can review now!
Alex suddenly felt a sharp jolt and she nearly stumbled, but Kieran's arms were wrapped about her. She slowly opened her eyes and stepped back from Kieran, realizing that she had been holding onto him with all her might, ready to protect him from her parents if she could. She looked around, amazed. They were back in Kala's room. She stared at Kieran, who looked equally in awe.
"How'd you do that? I nearly drained your power when I broke the spells on the door," she babbled.
Kieran shook his head. "I didn't do that; you did. Did you know you could do that?"
Alex looked down at her hands in wonder then back at Kieran. "Me? How?"
She noticed that Kieran looked exceptionally pale, despite the fact that he was a vampire.
He smiled. "I guess now we know that part of my power is now yours."
Alex noticed the black overcast in her mind and examined it in shocked curiosity. She now withheld vampiric power. Vampiric power was at her command. There was a void end to the power, where there seemed to be a connection leading off into the darkness of eternity. She mentally started to draw the bond in.
Kieran flinched and massaged his temples. Alex looked at him in amazement. In her mind, she tied the link quickly into a knot. She watched in delight as Kieran dropped to the floor, pain etched in his features. He looked up at her questioningly.
"An unbroken bondage," Alex whispered, her eyes gleaming with malevolent ecstasy. "You're connected to me."
Kieran looked down momentarily, then looked up, his eyes lustrously glow-in-the-dark silver. "And you are connected to me."
Pain barged through Alex's mind, her power seeming to be dragged from her with a spiny vengeance. After a few seconds it disappeared and she realized that she was lying on the ground, curled into a ball, clutching her head. She shuddered at the thought of the fleeting phantom of pain.
Kieran stood over her, looking unusually tall and menacing. He bent down and offered her a hand. She eased to a sitting position, glaring at the outstretched hand. She got shakily to her feet, feeling once again lightheaded.
"I change my mind," Kieran stated, looking condescendingly at her. "You wouldn't make a good hunter; you have no pain tolerance."
Anger flared in her and she looked indignantly at him, opening her mouth to say something.
Kieran grimaced, "Alright already."
"What?" Alex spat.
"You were insulting me. The old saying is correct; anger burns."
Alex opened her mouth to retort with a rather unpleasant comeback, but Kieran held up a hand to stop her.
"Just help Kala, will you?"
Alex glowered at him once more before going to her sister's side and kneeling. She took the bottle from Kieran and opened it, shaking out 6 of the capsules. She dumped the rest of the pills onto her lap, then opened the capsules and shook the contents into the empty bottle. She held the bottle in both hands, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration. She opened her eyes a moment later, and rooted around in the small purse that she had grabbed from her room.
"What are you doing?" Kieran asked.
Alex withdrew a syringe and assembled it. "Turning the powdered Valerian Root mixture into liquid so that I can inject it into her. Just like Valium, really; both are sedatives."
"Valium?" Kieran inquired, frowning.
"Yeah, Valium." Alex chanced a glance at him and laughed at the clear perplexity written all over his handsome face. "Oh, that's right. Valium probably wasn't around when you were human, huh? So, when and where did you grow up?"
"None of your business," he stated silkily. "I don't give that information out lightly."
Alex stopped the bottle with her thumb and shook it before inserting the syringe and drawing the now-liquid mixture into the needle. Kieran watched in apprehension as Alex plunged the needle into her sister's upper arm and injected the liquid before stepping back hastily.
Kieran started forward when he saw Kala's spine arch in what seemed like an unnatural angle before she drooped limply back to the floor, her arms splayed at her sides. Suddenly she surged into a sitting position, her eyes shooting open widely as she noisily gasped air into her burning lungs.
Alex had her arms wrapped around Kieran's middle and was straining to keep him where he was. She saw tear streaks running down his cheeks as Kala sagged back to the ground, her eyes closed, and lay there. Once assured that Kala was in a deep sleep, Alex dropped her arms and watched as Kieran shot to Kala's side and drew her limp body into his arms, showering her with kisses and tears. She heard him muttering over and over, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," as he stroked her hair lovingly.
Alex looked on with mixed jealousy and disgust.
"Put her in the bed," Alex ordered Kieran, who apparently didn't hear her.
When Kieran still paid her no heed after she had repeated herself louder, she yanked viciously on the link between their minds and shrewdly repeated herself again. This time Kieran took note of her words and gathered Kala gently in his arms as if she were very fragile and tucked her into her bed, still holding her hand tightly, staring at her with rapture in his fathomless emerald eyes.
Alex stood on the other side of Kala's bed, looking down at her with a frown on her face, her arms crossed over her chest.
"She's going to hate you."
Kieran winced. "I know."
"There's something I could do... but, no, I can't."
"What?" Kieran pleaded eagerly, ready to do anything possible to prevent Kala from loathing him.
"Modification of her memory. Simply delete the memory of you feeding from her." Alex wouldn't meet his eyes; instead she kept her gaze locked on her sister's peacefully sleeping face.
"But...why? I thought you despised me." Kieran regarded her suspiciously. Though he had only known Alex for a short period of time, he had known others like her for years. Nothing would be given out of the pure goodness of her heart; everything came with a price.
"Yeah, well..." Alex shrugged. "You love her, and if what she feels for you is even half of what you feel for her...then she's obviously very lucky, that someone cherishes her as much as you seem to. And I'd hate to get in the way of that, even if it is considered treason, and I could be disowned for it."
Kieran noticed the tone of disappointment in her stony voice.
He reached across the bed to pat her arm. "You're still very young. You'll find someone who loves you, don't worry." He paused before playfully adding, "From what I last knew, my brother is still single."
She glared daggers at him and smacked his hand away. "I've got to get back before my parents have a complete cow."
"You don't want to leave," he said quietly, hearing the tone of resignation in her speech.
"No!" Alex retorted, once again glaring at him. "It's not that I don't want to leave here...it's just that I don't want to go back there. I'll be caught for certain, and I have no idea what I'll say. I don't know how to explain the fact that I left with a vampire in the middle of the night, and came back linked to you. They'll find you, you know that right? They can trace the bond between us, and when they get to you, they'll kill you and reclaim Kala. So that's it. I can't go back." She stared out the window defiantly.
"Stay here."
She whipped around to look at him. "What?"
"Stay here. They can't trace you to me if they can't find you in the first place. If you stay, you'll be given the same respect and privileges that Kala has had. Pretty much free run of the place. Or if you don't like that, I can buy you an apartment wherever you want, get you a fake ID, and you can just skip a few years in your life and start out on your own. Or you could join some subdivision of SingleEarth. If you look in the right places, there are no ends to your choices."
"You're kidding, right? There's no way that I could stay here. Think about it, smart one. I can't modify Kala's memory that much without making her forget you. When she wakes up, she'll still know that she was captured and brought here, enough to know that she was separated from her family a long time ago. If I just randomly turned up, don't you think she'd get a bit suspicious? I mean, call me crazy, but I doubt you've offered to let her return home for a visit, or let her know that she could invite family. I can take away memories, I can transmit memories from one person to another, but I can't create them. And as good as living on my own sounds, I'm apt to think that won't work out too well."
"Quite the pessimist, aren't we, young Alex?"
"Oh, I do try," she said with an air of smug sarcasm.
"Well, you have to go somewhere. But while you're deciding, I suggest you rest, or at the very least find something to entertain yourself in this very room."
"And why wouldn't I want to go venturing out of here?"
Kieran gave an insolent laugh. "My dear, you couldn't possibly think that I, whom you called one-third of the most feared group of vampires, would settle for anything less that a manor house. You are currently standing in one of the very few rooms that are extremely well-protected against...unwanted visitors. At any point, there can be nearly 50 or more vampires, and I strongly doubt that many of them would be hesitant to make a midnight snack of you, whether you wanted it or not."
A/N: sorry it took so long to update...went on vacation again! Funfunfun! (Lancaster, PA, aka: amish country. Heh heh heh...it was kinda funny to see all them people with funky hats..and the beards! omg...too hilarious for words! No offense meant...) anywho, yeah...u can review now!