Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer
This chapter is dedicated to Noble, Fadewind, bibika94, BellaNessieCullen, Lsb123, Alphabloodwolf, Alexsandra and Skysthelimit7507
"God Liza where have you been all day?" Dove demanded as soon as I entered our room.
"Doing laundry." I said, holding up my basket of clothes all freshly pressed and folded.
"You weren't doing laundry all day, and how did you iron them?" She asked.
"I borrowed Mal's iron." I replied, watching carefully for her reaction.
"And which Mal would this be?" She demanded.
"Ah. So you have heard." I said with a smile as I placed the basket on my bed and began to put my clothes away in their correct places.
"What I heard was that you're real angry with Mal and was with some other guy named Mal in the laundrette this morning."
"Then you have been gossiping with Annis." I said happily.
"Not gossiping as such. I was worried about where you'd got to and I knew Annis does her laundry on Sundays sometimes so I asked her if she'd seen you. She said she had with some other Mal and well…" Dove trailed off, unsure what to make of the situation.
I paused in my task and turned to her before I said, "I owe you an apology Dove. I should have given your suggestion more credence yesterday."
"Suggestion?" She asked with a frown.
"That there is another Mal in this college. On this very floor in fact. Mal Rogers as opposed to the Malcolm Donaldson I have been entertaining this past month. It should have been Mal whom I lavished my gratitude upon, not Malcolm. You were right Dove. I had got it wrong. But I am a stubborn, prideful creature and without due proof I would not admit that I was wrong."
"We all make mistakes." Dove said with a shrug. "So how did you find out anyway?"
"I was beginning to tire of Malcolm yesterday. He took us into San Jose and I thought about shopping, or visiting the numerous landmarks. I would have enjoyed an open bus tour of the city, or perhaps a stroll around one of the museum, but we did nothing of the sort. He took me to the Earthquakes' soccer stadium and I must say it bored me so much I could feel my brains leak out of my ears. It made me realise that I was not enamoured by him that I could not endure something so special to him that I found tedious. I believe you can make concessions when you love someone and endure something you do not particularly like for their sake. Realising that I was unable to do this for him I stated we should be nothing more than friends. He seemed to accept this and was even gentleman enough to offer me a place to lay my head. I thought I was in safe hands because of the first night."
"Oh my god, did he?" Dove gasped.
"He touched me where I did not wish to be touched, but I managed to fend him off." I stated. "I may have been drunk but I remembered enough of the self defence my aunt taught me that he got no further and I escaped the room. Upon escaping the room I came face to face with Mal and I realised the mistake I made."
"Ok. I'm getting a little confused here about which one you're talking about." Dove said with a frown.
"Very well, when I talk of the one who protected me and rescued me yet again last night I will use Mal. When I talk of the one who wanted nothing more than to get into my pants I will call him Malcolm."
"Right. Got you. So who is Mal anyway? Do I know him?"
"I think you know him by sight. He is the tall boy with the light brown hair who is always sitting in a corner reading." I stated.
"Oh him? Yeah, I know him." Dove said with a grin, then she snorted. "Guess I should have got it was him when Dahlia and Erin said about his green eyes."
"I know, they are like emeralds." I observed, wondering how I had missed such a description myself.
"Oh yeah, and he is so super sexy. You look at him and you can just imagine him being oh so sensual, but so thrilling at the same time." She mused.
"I thought you were happy with Dermot." I observed.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate from afar." Dove stated. "Besides, he is way out of my league."
"I thought no boy was."
"When have I ever said that?" Dove asked.
I realised that remark came from the part of me that still held some jealousy for the fact that Dove had bedded Simon. To me he was the epitome that all men should aspire to and having had him no other man should seem a challenge to Dove.
"Never." I stated. "But you should not think of someone being out of your league for are we not all equal?"
"Ok. But that's not really true. Would you say that Mal-colm is equal to you now you know him for the little maggot he is?" She asked.
"But that's different. I know his personality and I know we do not match." I replied.
"Ok. Well your new friend just seems to ooze danger at some basic level. I'm not talking about dangerous like Malcolm is. But there's something about Mal that makes me all shy and giggly and not want to approach him. He's just too handsome." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "A little like you actually."
"Me?" I asked carefully, suddenly worried that Dove was more observant than she appeared.
"Yeah. You got this…this…"
"Aura?" I suggested tentatively.
"Yeah. You got this aura about you. Like some dark animalistic power that is contained within a perfect little package. When you say you managed to fight Malcolm off I can believe you because I seen what small animals can do when backed into a corner. Do you know, on film sets when they got dogs, I was never afraid of the big ones like the St Bernard, I wasn't afraid of the medium dogs like Labradors or even Alsatians. The ones that scared the bajeebbers out of me was the little yippy things like Chihuahuas and Pekinese and all those other little purse dogs. Those pampered pooches that you wouldn't know was there until they were chewing on your ankle.
"I'm not saying you're a yippy dog who attacks without reason, but one time a Doberman got loose and started bothering this little Yorkshire terrier and the terrier beat him. Went right under his legs and bit him where it hurt. So no, not a yippy dog. Your one of those real intelligent ones who you look in their eyes and it's almost as if they understand you." Dove looked appalled. "I'm not offending you am I?"
"Dogs are descendent of wolves." I stated.
"Yeah." She said carefully and I was almost certain she was worried that I was building up to my anger, but she had not offended me.
"So are my people." I stated, and frowned at me.
"Have you heard of the Quileute?" I asked.
Dove shook her head.
"We are a Native American tribe who inhabited the north west of what is now Washington State. Our lands are diminished, but we still own some of our ancient homeland. We live between the forest and the ocean and one of our legends state that a long time ago a spirit man turned wolves into men and these men became the Quileute. Therefore the wolf is my ancestor."
"Wait, you're an Indian?" She demanded.
"Yes."
"But you don't look it." She accused.
"Because I look like Father." I stated.
"Oh. So you're mother is…"
"Quileute." I cut her off.
"Right. Wow. Really?" She asked, still not completely convinced.
"Yes."
"But…"
"Dove, hold that thought." I said and I slid off the bed where I had sat once my clothes were back in place. I went to the closet and pulled out the trunk and pulled out something I had been ignoring tucked in amongst the books.
I took the photo album over to Dove and sat beside her on the bed.
"This is my family." I stated as I turned to the first page that showed Tony and I standing next to each other. I was standing on a crate to counter the difference in our height, but I was still so much shorter than him.
"Who's that cute guy?" Dove asked, pointing to Tony.
"That is my twin brother Tony." I stated.
"Your twin?" Dove exclaimed.
"Yes."
"But…"
"I know, there is nothing similar apart from our eye colour." I said with a laugh. "However it was not Tony I wished to show you as such." I added as I flicked through the pages until I came to the one I wanted. "I wished to show you Aunt Tina. She is Quileute too."
"But she…"
"Has an Afro-Slavic mother and a Quileute father."
"She's beautiful." Dove said and started flicking through the album. "All the people in here are. It's like flicking through the top 100 most beautiful people in the world. And they're all related to you?"
"Through blood, marriage or firm friendships forged before I was even a concept in my parents' minds, these are my family." I confirmed.
"Some gene pool." Dove murmured as she continued to leaf through the album. "And how lucky are you to have such a rich heritage. I'm a poor relation of a Hollywood dynasty, that's hardly anything to crow about."
"You get to watch your forbearers captured for posterity." I suggested.
Dove snorted as she handed the album back to me.
"Why would I want to watch a bunch of dead people who'd look down their noses at Mom and me?"
"You have a point." I conceded.
"Yeah, and I kinda wandered away from my original point. My point is that there's something about you and Mal that kinda sets you apart from most people. Like you're something else. It's like the difference between the A-listers and the wannabes. You and Mal are so on the A-list. The rest of us are wannabes. Some might scrape onto the c-list or even the b-list, but we'll never make it to where you are because you just have that indescribable spark that separates the wheat from the shaft." Dove stated, showing a depth of insight that most humans lacked.
"Do I appear unapproachable?" I asked.
"Put it this way, if it wasn't for the fact that we were sharing a room for a year I would have been afraid to talk to you."
"Am I that scary?" I asked and I recalled Mal's question of a similar nature posed to Annis this morning when she stated her reservation to approach him.
"Not really. But there's something about you that puts you higher. I don't know." Dove said with a shrug.
"I'm no better or worse than you Dove." I stated. "Are we not friends?"
"Yeah."
"Then we would have been regardless of room status." I said firmly.
"If you wanted it to be, but I wouldn't have approached you."
"This from the girl who grew up amongst the Hollywood greats and didn't think much of conversing with them?" I teased.
"It's different. I'm one of them in a roundabout way, but you're something other. Maybe royalty would be a better term. You're not a mere mortal."
"You are a strange one Dove." I chuckled, although there was a nervous edge to it. "Royalty indeed? Although my great-great-grandfather was the last chief of the Quileute, perhaps it is this you sense?"
Dove shrugged.
"Maybe. Anyway, let's totally ditch that convo cause it's getting way too serious. Now what I want is a play by play of what you got up to with Mal. The nice Mal who saved you, not Malcolm."
"Very well…" I said with a chuckle as I launched into an account of what Mal and I got up to that involved nothing to do with the fact that we were both dhampir. I was oddly thrilled to find that there was much about him that I wished to discuss that extended beyond our natures.
Perhaps it was this that made me consider Mal's invitation to the fullest extent. If I were more honest I would admit that the hunger was indeed becoming harder to contain. This was one of many reasons that by Thursday I had decided that I would go hunting with Mal. Therefore early Friday morning we set off for the mountains to 'hike'. We were up before the dawn, three in the morning to be exact. I met Mal in the silent common room feeling rather strange to have slept and was up for the next day whilst some of my peers were yet to turn in for the night.
Mal gave me a small wave of greeting and I smiled in return, yet we made no sound in the hallowed silence of the hour. It seemed as one that we moved toward the stairs and descended them. We crossed the dark campus, past one wary reveller who'd fallen asleep on the bench.
Mal tsked as we passed the youth and I felt somewhat ashamed that I had been such a party animal for the past four weeks.
Once off campus we walked the mile to the all night garage where Mal had left his car after retrieving it from the student lot since that was closed between seven at night and nine in the morning.
As we walked along darkened streets, passing the odd reveller heading home, I felt the shiver of the unknown take me. As much of a town dweller that I was I often found urban darkness more cause for concern than what you would find in the woods. On nights such as these vampires hunted the humans, picking off those careless enough to stray from the herd.
Mal took my hand and I felt comfort in his presence. A vampire may be stronger than a dhampir, but there were two of us and there was hope that we could win. Especially if Mal employed his gift.
Finally we reached the multi-storey car park and we made our way to the third level. Mal's car transpired to be a jeep designed for rugged terrain as opposed to cruising Rodeo Drive. I liked it immediately for it was functional and not superficial.
Mal took my bag from me to place in the back of the jeep whilst I went to the passenger door. I will admit that I had some trouble reaching it. Mal chuckled as he opened the door with ease.
"I got it for you shorty." He said as he ruffled my hair.
"That is not funny." I said, batting at him. "Not all of us can be lanky strings of… you know what."
"I'm only joking with you bach." He said and kissed my forehead playfully.
"I can speak Welsh I will have you know." I said darkly.
"Yeah. And?" He said as he rounded the jeep to get in on the other side.
"I know that bach means little." I pointed out as I scrambled up into the cab.
"Yeah. But it's also a term of endearment. Just like saying dear." Mal pointed out.
"Yes." I said and smiled as I reached for the door and pulled it closed. "I suppose it is."
"Anyway, there's nothing wrong with being little." Mal said as he began to pull out of the space.
"Yes. However it is easy for one to make such an observation when they are over six foot, but I am the size of a child."
"No." Mal said with a shake of his head. "You go back two hundred years ago all the women would have been the same size as you."
"Then I am misplaced in time." I said sadly.
"Well your father is an ancient vampire." Mal pointed out.
"Yes. Do you think we can keep the conversation away from my family for the duration of this trip?" I requested.
"If you really want me to." Mal said cheerfully, although I caught the guarded look he gave me as he no doubt wondered over my reluctance to acknowledge my family. "So tell me Liza, what type of animal do you like hunting best?"
I felt a moment of gratitude toward Mal that he would be so considerate to my wish before I answered him and our conversation fell into discussing things of no particular importance. It was a joyous ride up into the mountains and the time seemed to fly by despite the fact that the sun was well and truly up by the time Mal pulled up to the side of a little cabin that was at the end of a long narrow one lane drive that would have been hard to reach with a normal vehicle.
The cabin itself was beautiful, basic, but beautiful. It was one story and had a little porch along the front where a bench was set up along with tools one would need for staying out in the middle of nowhere.
"Before we do anything else we have to set up the cabin first." Mal informed me as we climbed out of the jeep.
I climbed out too and shut the door.
"Such as?" I asked.
"We need to hook up the gas tank. Turn on the generator. Check the water tank is full. Check we don't need to dig another privy." He explained.
"Privy?" I exclaimed. "That is to say the toilet is but a hole in the floor?"
"It's in a shed with a proper seat." Mal said, pointing out the wooden structure set up beside the cabin. "But we're out in the middle of the woods now Liza, there's no plumbing out here."
"You could have a septic tank."
"Do you know how much work it would take to sink one of them? Besides, the tanker wouldn't be able to get up here to empty it and since I'm only here once a month a hole in the ground suites me fine."
"But it is still a hole in the ground." I murmured.
"You've been camping haven't you?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Then you usually have to dig a hole then with only a bush for cover."
I nodded.
"So what's the difference?" He asked.
"It is covered immediately and therefore does not smell and is not likely to cause disease."
"Right. Well, come and see." He said, and took my hand to lead me to the shed.
He opened the door and I prepared for a stench, but there wasn't one.
"First of all I hang up air freshener in here, or natural alternatives." He said, pulling down an orange covered in cloves from a little shelf above the door. "I don't know about you, but I sometimes find the synthetic ones a little bit chemical."
I nodded as I sniffed at the orange and was reminded a little of the scent of Christmas.
"Do you use pine resin?" I asked, sniffing at the orange some more.
"In the spring I will, when the trees are producing it. Any way, if you pull this latch you can lift the whole top like this." He said and proceeded to swing the lid of the privy up so there was now an open box sat over the hole. "Have a look." He said.
I felt a little adverse to do so, but I peeked down into the darkness never the less.
"It is empty!" I gasped. "Have you newly dug it?"
"No. I just covered it with newspaper then a layer of earth before I left last month."
"You are a genius." I said turning to smile at him and he shook his head bashfully.
"The seat clips down like this and I'll have to bring a proper one up with us next time. I wouldn't want you to get splinters or anything. I should have thought of that." He said despondently.
I giggled and hugged him briefly.
"I promise to take care." I said jovially as I felt my mood improve considerably knowing that an earth closet would not be as horrific as I had always imagined them to be. "What other chores must we do now the privy is checked?"
"The water tank, although we should have probably checked that before the toilet."
"It would have been more hygienic." I conceded. "However, I have a solution to that problem."
I pulled my little pot of hand sanitizer from my pocket and administered some to Mal and myself. We rubbed it into our hands before Mal led me around to the back of the cottage where there was a small gas tank, a hulking gray generator and another much bigger tank with a pipe that led into a well that must have been the water tank.
"See this gauge." Mal said, pointing to the numbers on the side of the water tank. "If you want to use water in the cabin, especially if you want a shower, you need to make sure it's at least on three."
I nodded.
"Because you can't run the water in the cabin and pump it from the well at the same time." He said. "Besides, it needs to heat up."
"Who wants a cold shower?" I observed.
"Exactly! So to fill the tank you need to turn on the generator, although you do need to check the oil levels for this since it won't work if it's not got any oil. I keep the oil in here." He said, opening a solid steel box set away from the cabin. "Along with the spare gas tank. You can never be sure when you'll run out. It's better to have a spare and replace that than to be up here and stuck."
"Yes." I said. "Can I pour in the oil?"
"Yeah." He said and he handed me the jack.
I removed the cap on the side of the generator and I poured in the fuel, keeping an eye on the little gauge to ensure I did not over fill it. Once the tank was full I placed the oil back into the little steel cupboard.
"To start it you need to press this button to let the oil flow into the reservoir, then you pull this cord."
Mal demonstrated as he spoke and soon the sound of the generator was buzzing in the silence of the forest.
"Once that's on we can turn on the pump for the water." Mal said and that entailed nothing more then pressing a button on the box next to the well.
The pipe shook somewhat and then the gurgling was apparent as the tank began to fill. I climbed the rungs set into the side of the tank and after wiping it with a tissue I could peer through the little round window and watch the water slowly fill the space within. I leapt down and smiled at Mal.
"You have a good set up here." I observed.
"Yeah." He said. "I wanted a nice place to stay when I was hunting. I'd better connect the gas tank now or we won't have any hot water or any way to cook."
"I could cook over a log fire." I stated. "Uncle Harry ensured Tony and I could cook properly out of doors. In fact it is one of the few areas of cooking Tony excels at."
"And you?" Mal asked with a raise eyebrow.
"I excel in all forms of cooking." I stated.
"Then you'll have to teach me how to cook over an open fire." Mal observed.
"Of course I will Mal bach." I said, standing on the tips of my tones in order to tap his cheek.
Mal laughed and ruffled my hair before he stepped away and said, "But for now I'll attach the tank."
He instructed me in how to attach the tank and then it was time to enter the cabin. It was a nice space inside. It had been split into three, two big rooms and then a small room no bigger than a double closet that contained a shower located at the back of the cabin near where I determined the water tank to be. The shower room was accessed through the bedroom that contained a comfortable looking bed that looked thoroughly inviting.
The other room was a sitting area with a kitchenette partially partitioned off in one corner. To my surprise the sitting room housed a flat screen TV and an array of DVDs begging to be viewed. I would have gladly settled upon that sturdy sofa, but there were more important things that would need doing first.
Mal had stopped off at a supermarket on the way up and had purchased supplies to feed our human half, which he put away in the food cupboard and the small refrigerator. Then it was time to service our vampire half, something I had been dreading somewhat despite the fact the hunger had been growing this last week. It seemed that I was preparing myself to return to my family if I hunt.
No, that was not true. I had to hunt; it was not something my family expected of me. This was something I had to do in order to survive.
"Do you need to change before we hunt?" Mal asked. "Cause I always put on some old clothes just in case."
"Yes. I will change also." I said.
"Do you want to use the bedroom and I'll change in here." He suggested.
"Mal, I was a cheerleader and there were boys on my team. I long ago learned that sometimes it is necessary to change close to a member of the opposite sex and we need make nothing of it. I feel comfortable in you presence, and therefore I feel no apprehension in changing in front of you. Have you any apprehensions?"
"No. I just thought I'd check."
"Because it is a natural assumption to make that I would feel adverse to changing in front of a boy." I conceded.
"Yes."
"Thank you for considering my feelings." I said as I pulled the shorts and t-shirt I had packed for hunting from my bag. "But this is one thing I am not so neurotic about."
Without another word I unbuttoned my shirt and turned my back to him as I pulled it off and pulled on my t-shirt. Then I changed my pants for the shorts. I was dressed quickly and he was still in his original clothes when I turned back to him.
"You learn to adapt." I stated as I folded my discarded clothing and placed them on a chair for the time being. "Would you prefer me to wait outside?" I asked.
Mal could not seem to find his voice. I smiled and leapt lightly up onto the sofa and this brought me closer to Mal's height.
"You should not fear me." I said lightly and I kissed his cheek softly. "I will wait outside."
Mal nodded and I tapped his hand in a comforting manner before I leapt the back of the sofa easily and went outside to sit down on the bench to wait for Mal. It was cooler up here in the mountains; it was much easier to believe it was early October. Other than when we had travelled, October had always been when the cold started to creep in around the edges, but in Riverside it was still hot. Up here in the mountains you could sense the cold around the edges waiting to claim the land for winter.
Mal emerged not long after I had and I leapt to my feet with a smile as I looked over his ensemble, shorts and t-shirt as I wore, but he was also wearing running shoes and I frowned.
"Leave the shoes behind." I stated.
"What? Why?" He asked.
"You will hunt better without them." I stated.
"How?"
"Think on it. Our bodies are designed to be the perfect shape for hunting. Our feet can adjust in a second to go from running to leaping. I find that sometimes shoes can hinder this process since they do not wish to move with your feet."
"I never thought of it like that." Mal observed as he removed his socks and shoes and left them on the bench. "When Essie always went shoeless I thought it was to prove how tough she was."
"Shoes are for wimps." I quoted bitterly.
"Yeah."
"Well, I suppose there are some things Mother taught me that are useful, and as angry as I am with her at present, I'm not so irrational that I would cut off my nose to spite my face." I stated.
"If it makes hunting more efficient." Mal murmured and I agreed with him, and although I knew he was making some observation on my behaviour, I decided not to perceive it as such for despite my earlier reservations I was now anticipating the hunt with a relish that I had never known before.
Then we were away into the forest, Mal leading since he knew the area better and therefore knew where humans were more likely to be. I had to admit in that moment that it made hunting somewhat more difficult to ensure that there were no humans around without having a telepath to do it for you.
Finally we had travelled enough that both Mal and I were sure we would not come across humans. The hunt could begin.
We tracked some deer at first, but after my fast, herbivore blood was not satisfying in the least and I was praying that we'd come across some form of hunter whose carnivore blood would be most satisfying indeed. I was expecting a mountain lion, but we came across something even better.
"It's a bear." Mal gasped as we regarded it from our hiding place in a bush.
"But we can take him if we work together." I whispered excitedly.
"But…"
"Come." I said, and without waiting for another response I broke from my cover and I was bounding across the forest floor until I was two feet from the bear.
I leapt into the air, Mal was sailing beside me, and we landed on the bear in the same instant. The bear reared, but I had locked my fingers into its fur before I located an artery and bit. Oh what wondrous blood, it was truly the best blood I had ever tasted and I was lost in a haze of pleasure until the blood ran dry.
I pulled away to find that I was lying on my side as I suckled from the wound I had made in the beast's shoulder. I sat up, stretching out my muscles as I pushed back my hair. My mouth and chin were wet with blood and I ran my thumb across my chin to collect the last drops before placing it in my mouth and savouring the flavour once more.
I glanced up to find that Mal had frozen as he watched me in a slightly dazed fashion.
"Is there a problem?" I asked as I allowed my hair to settle around my face.
Mal roused himself then shook his head.
"You're just confounding." He said. "You seem to be afraid of a speck of dirt back at college, yet here you are, deadfall in your hair, blood smearing your face and you're delighting in every minuet of it."
"That's because the forest frees me." I observed. "The forest is not dirty, it is natural. Cities are dirty."
"They are?"
"Yes. Now tell me Mal bach," I said as I leapt the body of the bear and landed beside him. "Do you find the forest freeing?"
Mal seemed shocked by my sudden nearness but all I took note of was the blood smeared on the tip of his nose.
"Give into the call of the wild." I whispered and licked his nose before I took off running, feeling in high spirits indeed.
I felt young, so very young. Not in a child sense young, but young of spirit. I had never truly felt this way, the bear's blood had worked wonders and I made a note that I should tackle a bear whenever I was feeling world weary.
I leapt into a tree and scaled it to the tips before throwing myself toward the next. I settled into the branches, watching the path below until I saw Mal appear. He slowed having lost trace of my scent. I giggled as I dropped from the tree and he looked up in time to have his arms out in protection as I landed on top of him.
He fell to the floor clutching around me. Before I could stop him he had me pinned to the floor.
"You think that's funny do you?" He demanded.
"Yes." I said through fits of giggles.
"Oh, well let's see what you think of this."
His tone was so serious that I felt a moment's panic before he began to tickle my stomach and I all but curled into a ball to try and stop his onslaught. I was laughing so hard it hurt, but I felt beyond words. I had never in my life had so much fun.
Mal chuckled and collapsed to his back beside me.
"Got to hand it to you Liza. You sure know how to have fun." He mused.
"It is easy to have fun with the right company." I said, and I sat up and looked down at him. "I have never known one such as you."
"Well no. Cause there's only one of me." Mal said with a grin that lit up his face.
Sunlight glinted off the green of his eyes and I found myself drawing closer to him.
"Oh but you are beautiful." I whispered and I placed my lips to his.
The feeling was electric as I moved my lips against his and he reciprocated. I felt the delight rush through me in a surge of energy, re-igniting the excitement I had gained from the bear's blood. On top of that I concluded that Mal was an expert at kissing and I enjoyed his hands straying over my back.
Then out of the blue Mal sat up and pulled away from me. He was breathless as he regarded me with want and caution. I looked back, equally as breathless as I felt a hint of hurt because he had pushed me away. Was this a rejection?
"Wow!" He gasped. "Well that was unexpected."
"But not unwelcome?" I asked in hope.
"No. Not unwelcome." He said with a wistful smile, but then his face fell. "But we have to be careful here. That these are our own feelings and not something created because of hunting together and the bear's blood."
"What has that to do with our feelings?" I asked with a frown.
"Bear's blood gets some vamps horny." Mal murmured. "Especially if they take the bear together. I don't know why it happens, I just know it does."
"Oh." I said, looking down as I tried to evaluate my feelings, were they real?
"You see, I haven't known you that long, but what I do know is that you like to have control over yourself. I don't want you to hate me because you lost control when under the influence of anything other than your own mind. Does that make sense?"
"I… Yes. But I am sure I am under my own influence." I said with a frown.
"Then I guess I went and killed the mood for nothing." Mal said sadly.
"The mood has gone, but you did it for what you thought was an honourable reason, and that is reason enough for me my friend." I said softly as I placed my hands to his cheeks and kissed his forehead. "Thank you." I said before rising to my feet.
He looked up at me in confusion. I smiled in reassurance as I held out my hand to him.
"Let us return to your cabin, I require a shower to cool my passions." I stated with a grin.
"Yeah. I could do with one of them too." He said, putting his hand in mine and he allowed me to pull him to his feet.
"I excited your passions?" I asked, looking up at him.
He grinned and placed his finger to my nose.
"Now that would be telling." He declared.
I scowled at him.
He dropped his grin and leant down so his mouth was by my ear.
"You know you did, but I want a friendship with you and I don't want to ruin it at such an early stage." He said in a low steady voice.
"I understand." I said, and embraced him. "And I appreciate your candour."
Mal embraced me in return, and we stood for a while just appreciating each other as a friend. We broke apart on equal terms and I felt glad that things had gone no further. Mal had been a gentleman when I had been wanton. That is not to say that I found Mal hideous, he was a very attractive man. Who knows if over time I will come to truly want him, or merely wish to remain friends, it was much too early to decide such a thing at present. If we had proceeded beyond a kiss and I came to realise I had no such feelings then perhaps I would come to resent him, for taking advantage while my passion was stoked by an aphrodisiac.
It was a lot to consider as we walked back to the cabin and I was almost certain that Mal's inner debate was along the same lines as my own. It was at moments like that I wished I had Tony's gift for how much simpler would it be to know the minds of those around you? On the other hand the price of the constant babble always struck me as being too much to pay for the privilege.
I pushed the thoughts from my mind as we entered the cabin and Mal allowed me to use the shower first. The water felt fresh and much lighter than what normally fell from the tap. I gathered that this was to do with the fact that it was fresh spring water and was not treated with chemicals of any kind.
I tried not to stay long in the shower, knowing that there was limited water and I should hate for Mal to have to wait for the water tank to fill once more for it took a while to do so. I pulled on a light cotton dress; it was one I used to pull over my swimming costume to walk from my room down to the pool when I wished to swim back home. I had to pause a moment and push away the sudden wave of homesickness I felt as I realised the lengths I had gone to because of one little upset.
Then I recalled what had upset me and I felt my anger burn away all thoughts of returning home. I held onto the feeling as I wrapped my hair up into a towel and I stepped back through into the main room.
I was met with the delicious scent of food and Mal was at that moment serving up two plates onto the little breakfast bar.
"I know it's not much, but I was hungry and thought you might be too. Nothing better than Welsh rarebit when you want something quick." He explained.
"Cheese on toast." I mused.
"Yep."
"With baked beans on the side?" I asked a little doubtful.
"Try it. It's nice." He assured me.
I smiled and sat on one of the two high stools and Mal sat next to me. Since he had yet to shower he smelled of the forest and it was a most delightful scent indeed. I found myself relaxing into his presence as I picked up my fork and scooped up some beans and ate them. They were a tinned variety, but he had warmed them through in expert fashion.
"Very nice." I said with a nod of my head.
"I would have made something better, but I just wanted to eat." He observed as he scooped up his own beans.
"There will be other trips." I reminded him as I picked up a piece of cheesy toast and bit into it, I savoured the flavour of melted cheddar before I placed my hand on his in a comforting manner. "And this is really very good."
"Thanks." He said, giving my hand a squeeze, and then he paused and looked down at our coupled hands. "God, look how small they are." He observed as he raised my hand with his and arranged them so our hands were heel to heel. "It barely covers my palm." He twisted his hand quickly and supported my fingers between his thumb and forefinger as if he were about to lead me to dance. "You're so delicate." He added as he placed his other hand over mine and placed his cheek to it for a moment. "How could he even think about…" He trailed off angrily as he dropped my hand and glared at something in the distance.
"Because some people have no scruples." I said carefully.
"I shouldn't have let you go on thinking it was him." He muttered, angry with himself.
"Why did you?" I asked, unable to stop myself.
"Because I was a little miffed that you thought it was him. I was also hoping you'd work it out on your own. God, I was giving you enough hints, 'Duchess'."
"Yes. On hindsight I realise that now, however at the time I was adamant that I was lavishing my gratitude upon the right person. Perhaps if you had introduced yourself as Mal I would have known."
"That Saturday morning, I was about to ask you how you were feeling and if the Alka-Seltzer had worked, but you were in a rush and I thought the breakfast was part of you thanking me, especially when I read the note. Then I realised you hadn't recognised me, but I was sure I could jog your memory, it would be a lot easier than confusing you, but I think you just thought I was being nice."
"I did." I said with a smile. "If only you had come to sit by me in the coffee shop."
"I was waiting for you to buy me the coffee since you'd promised." He said with a laugh.
I chuckled and shook my head.
"Then I saw you was with that Mal guy, should have thought you'd assume it was him. I should have put Malachite on the note, but I couldn't risk it since I'm using plain old Mal in college. But you thought it was him and I realised I had to keep an eye on you. Do you know how many times I had to see you safely to your door? He was a scoundrel and I was hoping you'd come to realise this, but every time I did something nice for you, you assumed it was him."
"You were the one who carried me up to Erin and Dahlia." I said in realisation.
"Yeah. They're real nice girls and I could tell they were at the end of their tether with you. Can't blame them really. I would have looked after you that night, but then I thought you might not appreciate waking up with a total stranger."
"It would have set me straight, I would have known Malcolm for the cad that he is and I never would have gone to the party with him." I stated.
"Or you would have demanded why I was in his room and what had I done to you." Mal countered.
I went to protest, then realised that this may have been a possibility. I had not believed Dove when she had given a perfectly reasonable scenario that would have explained the inconsistencies in Mal's behaviour. It was better to believe that he acted out in front of his friends than to think I had been wrong the whole time.
"I suppose I would have done." I said sadly. "But I should not dwell, I made a mistake, but I have been corrected now and I got away from Malcolm before he could truly hurt me."
"Yeah. So, have you seen him since?" Mal asked carefully.
"No. And good riddance, I never wish to look upon him again." I growled. "How about you?"
"I haven't seen him either, which is probably a good thing. I don't think I'd be able to stop myself doing something to him." Mal said darkly.
"Please promise me you will not." I pleaded as I worried suddenly for my new friend. "I am not adverse to something happening to him, but I should hate for you to get into trouble because of it."
"Don't worry Liza, I've fed now, I'll be more rational. I'll just ignore him if I see him."
"Thank you." I said as I placed my hand on his.
We finished our food in silence.
"I'll just wash the dishes, then shower, then we can watch some telly." Mal suggested.
"How about I wash the dishes whilst you shower and then we will watch telly." I amended.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"You cooked, therefore I should wash up. It is the rules of the kitchen." I stated firmly.
"Well if you're sure." Mal said with a smile.
"Yes I am. Now go shower." I ordered.
"Ok. But you'll have to run the sink first." He informed me.
I nodded and went to do this. Mal waited until the sink was full before he disappeared into the bedroom in order to shower.
I felt so comfortable as I washed the dishes. It was as close to feeling as if I belonged in a place since I had left home. It was amazing what the company of one person could do to change your view of a particular place. I was glad that Malachite was here at university with me. I realised that it was all well and good to hide away from the vampire world, but it was good to have an ally who knew your secret. Not only did he know my secret, but he also shared the same secret. We could help each other maintain our secret.
Soon Mal emerged from his bedroom wearing a different pair of shorts and t-shirt. These had more of a look of pyjamas about them and I realised that we were to settle for the night.
I had known prior to commencing that we were to spend the night at the cabin, and at first I was somewhat hesitant, but the area was peaceful and I was enjoying the solitude with Mal. We settled down to share a bottle of wine and to watch a bit of telly, as Mal called it. Although to be honest it was more background noise to our conversation.
As darkness began to descend I felt a flash of anxiety that was not my own. I felt a pang of worry for Tony, but from time to time we had these exchanges of emotion without there being anything sinister, it was merely as if the universe were reminding us that we had a twin out in the world. Since it didn't feel as if he was frightened for his life I put it down to him having forgot to lock up the shop for Bob or something similar.
Since conversation will peter out eventually, and it was always good to save some topics for another day, Mal and I took to watching 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and contented ourselves with answering the questions. Between us we had all the questions correct up to the second ad break and I wondered if perhaps we should enter the 'pub quiz' at the Student Union one weekend.
I felt a rush of excitement and I put this feeling down to the wine as it worked its magic within me. There was a different rush of feeling this time that brought with it a feeling of surging heat that made my body stir somewhat and I put it down to the fact that the bear's blood was still in my system. The heat kept growing and I needed air.
I rushed outside and the cool air did nothing to cool the sudden passion I felt. I felt the sudden need to cry out and I howled at the moon. In the distance a wolf answered my call and I grinned before I howled again. I got another response, this time a little closer.
"What are you doing?" Mal hissed, "You'll have the wolves at the door."
"Merely observing my roots. I do have a little wolf in me." I pointed out.
"Yeah. I know that, but you carry on howling like that and the wolves will have a bit of Liza in them."
I laughed.
"Wolves won't attack us for they will smell the vampire in us." I stated.
"Ok. But just come in is it?" He said, putting his arm around me and I drew myself close to him, hugging him as I felt a languid sense of euphoria.
"Liza?" He said uncertainly.
"Shhh…" I crooned and I breathed his scent in deeply. "Lilly of the valley…" I sighed.
I frowned and stepped away from Mal and wandered back into the cabin as I realised what had happened. I felt perturbed by the idea. It was one thing for our link to let one know the other was in danger, but this was…
"Liza?" Mal asked, stopping inside the door.
"I need copious amounts of alcohol, anything to take my mind off what I just realised." I stated, trying to keep my mind firmly away from that gaping pit. "Please, for my sanity, do not question what just occurred."
"Right." He said, and shut the door. "Well I'm not sure about copious amounts of alcohol, but I got another bottle of wine."
"Perfect." I sighed as I slumped onto the sturdy sofa.
Mal went into the little kitchen area that was nothing more than a hotplate, a sink, a microwave and the little refrigerator. He came back into the sitting area with another bottle of wine and put it next to the one that was already half empty. He gave me a curious look as he topped up my glass but I was determined not to elaborate on what had occurred for nobody could possibly understand.
To my relief Mal decided not to pursue my strange behaviour, instead he picked up the remote.
"Shall we see if there's any good movies on?" He asked. "I hear there's a new vampire one just come on the Box Office. We could go halfies on it."
"You have a penchant for vampire movies?" I teased as I sipped at my wine.
"Of course. Haven't you?" He said with a grin.
"It depends on the movie." I replied dryly. "I once made the mistake of watching one that starred Kat Perez and was thoroughly offended by their interpretation of dhampir."
"Well that's a shame then, cause the film that's on now is the sequel, 'Dark Revenge'. I guess we could always find something else to watch." He said with a despondent shrug.
"Did you have your heart set on it?" I asked with concern.
"Maybe a little." He admitted.
"Then we should watch. Perhaps the barrier of alcohol will make it somewhat more bearable." I joked.
"Then I'll order it." He declared and set about doing that before he said, "Would you like some popcorn or chips? Some snacks in general?"
I smiled.
"A proper movie night." I stated.
"Yeah. A proper one." Mal replied and I smiled as I felt the rosy glow of the alcohol and the prospect of a bad movie push away that strange notion of earlier.
I settled down to watch the movie with Mal, eating the snacks and drinking the wine. It was a most joyous evening and the movie was not as bad as the first. The acting talent were of a higher calibre and they had since done away with the bat notion for the dhampir, that it was an early larval stage and they soon transformed into rather handsome people in their late twenties or early thirties.
Their leader was a dark haired god who had a captivating screen presence and stole every scene he appeared in. Apart from those with the vampire queen herself. This god of an actor worked well with the normally erratic Perez and they posed quite an effective mother/son team that was torn apart when he fell in love with a mortal woman.
It was halfway through the movie when the dhampir prince disguised himself as mortal, his hair becoming light brown; his eyes green, that I felt a strange pull of recognition in my stomach and my heart skipped a beat.
"Oh Simon." I breathed. "What a marvellous actor you have become."
"Lots of women like him." Mal said dismissively.
"But you misunderstand!" I exclaimed. "I know Simon Leighton. We were in school together."
"But he's what, twenty nine? How were you in school the same time as him?"
"Because I entered high school when I was five and he was seventeen. I became captain of the cheerleading squad and he was my partner. For a very long time he was my confidant and my best friend. We communicated often until…" I trailed off sadly.
"Until what?" Mal prompted.
"My complicated supernatural life got in the way and I had no time for friends. I lost touch and had no idea how to make that connection once more."
"That's sad." Mal said, taking my hand and stroking it with his thumb. "What in your supernatural life got in the way?"
"The war." I stated. "But we all have our own stories of the war and I'd rather not discuss it at present. I just wish to watch this movie and pretend that is not my Dear Boy up there but some other Simon Leighton who merely resembles him."
"If that's what you want." Mal said. "But you know, it's not healthy to bottle things up."
"I'm not bottling things up, I merely wish not to think of such things this evening and spoil this fun time I am having with you." I stated with a smile, although it trembled about the edges.
"Then I'll drop it." Mal said with a smile.
I smiled in return before I settled back to watch the rest of the movie.
Once the movie had finished Mal showed me to the bedroom and insisted that I use it and he would be perfectly comfortable on the sofa. I wished to point out that I could lie flat on the sofa while he had to bend double and therefore I would be more comfortable than he, but I didn't wish to offend his hospitality the first time and I could suggest the alternative on my next visit.
I settled into the fairly big bed and as I drifted to sleep I realised that this was Mal's little private space, his home out in the middle of the woods safe from the vampires for the most part and far enough from humans to be able to let his dhampir nature loose. I liked this arrangement and I wondered how I would go about setting up my own little cabin in a similar fashion. I realised how personal that space would be to me and I felt honoured indeed that Mal should invite me into his sanctum.
I drifted to sleep feeling happy.
"Grace!" I yelled, leaping from the bed as I felt the adrenaline of shock and grief rush through me.
I had leapt to the floor by the door and Mal bumped into me as he came charging into the room. I clutched at the lump on my head and my throbbing toe, hopping on the spot as I felt dread and panic wash through me that had nothing to do with my own predicament.
"Liza, what's wrong?" Mal asked, helping me to sit on the linen chest.
"It's Tony." I said, finding it hard to breathe in my frustrated panic. "Something serious is wrong with him. But it's not Mother or Father." I screamed and clutched at my left hand as a trail of blazing pain tore across it. I looked down expecting to see blood but there was none.
My stomach rolled with nausea and I had to make a quick dash to the privy outside before I vomited. I knelt on the dirty floor shaking, with my hands either side of the dark hole and Mal held back my hair. I was thankful somewhere in my mind, but for the most part I was still reeling from whatever was happening to Tony.
I tried to push him away, it may have seemed callous, but my sharing his pain would relieve him naught and I was finding it hard to think through the crushing wave of his desperation and panic. I needed my mind if I wished to investigate what was happening.
I managed to stand and walk out of the privy, but my legs felt weak and my knees buckled. Without a word Mal lifted me and carried me into the cabin. He placed me on the sofa and wrapped a blanket around me; it was still warm from where he'd been sleeping beneath it. I wrapped it closer around me as he went into the little kitchen area. I drew in the scent on the blanket, slightly musky from storage, a hint of Mal, it helped to centre me somewhat. I was starting to feel myself when Mal pushed a cup of sweet milky tea into my hand, although I had to hold it in my unaccustomed right hand for my left hand was still throbbing.
"Do you know some people believe twins have a psychic link?" I began without his prompting me. "Even in the normal human world they believe this to be true. Can you imagine how this link would be enhanced if one of the twins were a powerful telepath in their own right but not only that, said twins could remember when there were no other minds other then me, mother and the other?"
"There's something wrong with your brother." Mal stated.
I nodded.
"Do you know what?"
"No." I said, rubbing at my forehead. "We are too far apart for true thoughts to pass between us, but we could be on opposite sides of the world and still feel if the other was in distress."
"Well you shouted 'Grace' if that's any help." Mal said softly.
"Yes. Unfortunately it is a great help." I replied, feeling the dread take me.
"Why is it unfortunate?"
"Well, if Tony is feeling such anxiety and is in proximity to Grace…" I trailed off and shook my head. "The feeling was of desperate, desperate panic that was in great contrast to the euphoria he felt earlier this evening. Well last night." I corrected as I realised it was dawn.
"So last night when you howled at the moon…" Mal began.
"I was having a back wash of the feelings rushing through my brother as he experienced for the first time." I said candidly. "The confirmation came with the scent of lily of the valley, that is the scent of his imprint Grace. I had thought her lost to him after all these years for she had grown quiet in her correspondence, and I feared my brother would not have his chance with her. Oh cruel fate if you have reunited Tony with Grace only to snatch her away so soon."
"Why don't you phone and find out?" Mal suggested.
"I cannot. What if she answers? I cannot speak to her, even in these circumstances." I said, aghast.
"Well how about I phone then if the coast is clear you can speak to whoever?"
"That would be good, but I left my cell phone behind since I doubted the signal here." I stated.
"Well, ok. You can use my phone since it's an emergency." He said rising and picking up a phone from the little sideboard. "You'll have to dial."
I nodded and dialled the landline of the house. He put the phone on speakerphone and I heard the ring tone. It rang for a long time, almost for a minuet, which was something unheard of in our house full of vampires for it was often answered on the third ring. It rang so long I was sure it would cut itself off and I felt my panic heighten at what could possibly stop my family from answering, when suddenly there was a voice on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" It was a male voice, so not Mother, but it may still be Father.
"Good morning sir. This is Pacific Broadband and I'm calling to see if you are entirely satisfied with your broadband provider." Mal said in a friendly but efficient voice with a convincing Pacific North West accent.
"It's a little early to be calling isn't it? Anyway, we're happy with what we've got." I recognized the voice of Will. "Now I ain't got time for this."
"Uncle Will, please do not hang up!" I called.
"Liza?" He exclaimed.
"Shhh…" I cautioned.
"What the hell? Where are you?" He demanded.
"In college, where I said I was going. But that's not important. I need to know that Tony is safe." I explained quickly.
"Well he's safe." Will said in a guarded voice.
"And…and Grace?" I stammered.
"I don't know. Tony came in about a minuet ago with her wrapped in a bloodstained sheet. It's too crowded at the moment, I thought I'd give them space since they know more about this than I do." He replied.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I really don't know yet." Will said warily. "Look I can go find out but I'll have to tell them you're on the phone."
"No! You can not!"
"Look Liza, isn't it about time you stopped this nonsense and just got in contact. Essie is really worried about you."
"There's nothing to worry about. I merely phoned to check on Tony, I have done that and now I will go." I said and hung up. "Please turn your phone off." I murmured.
Mal did so but I knew he would rather not.
"Are you gonna tell me why you won't even talk to your mam in an emergency?" He asked as he placed his phone down on the low table.
"She hurt me a great deal and I am not ready to forgive. I would appreciate it most greatly if you do not pry." I said moodily.
"I guess you'll tell me when you're ready." Mal conceded.
"I will." I promised, and then something occurred to me. "Mal, will you promise me that you will not try and contact her? I know you feel some loyalty to her for she is your beloved tutor, but you have not been in contact for years. I beg of you as a friend that you refrain from drawing her attention here."
"What would I say to her anyway?" Mal asked in serious contemplation. "Maybe if I'd done as Tobias asked and looked up Essie's family then I'd know she was out of Volterra, but now I feel a little stupid and I wouldn't know how to talk to either of them again."
"They would forgive you." I said softly.
"I know. But it's that getting back in contact thing. The same thing that's keeping you away from Simon."
I nodded in agreement.
"Are you sure you want to leave the phone off? What if they need to tell you something about Grace?" He asked.
"I doubt they would be fussing over Grace if she were already dead." I said firmly. "Whatever has befallen her a silver lining has presented itself for Tony has a feeling of hope now."
"Is that true? Or are you just telling yourself that so you don't have to talk to them?" Mal inquired as he gave me a measured look.
"I will ring again, in a few hours once I am sure they possess more information." I promised.
"And you're sure of that?" He demanded.
"Mal, if I do not, then remind me." I said firmly. "I wish to know of Grace's fate for she is my friend and I would hate for her to be dead. Not only for Tony's sake, but for the simple fact that I should hate anything bad to happen to Grace."
Mal regarded me for a long moment.
"Good." He said. "I'm glad you care and I'm here to support you. Whatever you choose to do I can hardly comment."
"Thank you." I declared and hugged him. "You are the best friend I could only hope for Malachite." I whispered.
"I like being your friend Liza." Mal stated as he hugged me back. "I'll be here for you whatever you decide."
I tightened my embrace as I placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. It was amazing how trustful of Malachite I felt, but then he was one of a kind. He was a good person for all his sins and I was glad I'd found him. If one were to become a dhampir in disguise then you should seek out a friend. I could ask for no better friend than Mal.
I realised the full extent of my gratitude toward him as he held me in his arms in a comforting embrace that held no undertones. He was someone I would like to be friends with forever because he was bringing some relief to me even in the midst of the potential grief I felt at the thought of my brother losing his imprint after only just knowing her fully for the first time.
As I buried my head into Mal's shoulder I wished with all my might that some miracle would come and help my brother in his greatest hour of need when I could not be there for him. Tony needed Grace, and I wished on every star in heaven that she would be fine and this wave of worry and grief had been nothing more than a moment of folly on my brother's part. That's all I would hope for…
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