Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns Twilight. I do not. I do however, own my 'gang'.
A/N: Flying solo folks.
Thank you to my reviewers.
Chapter 57
My body hovered, floating between the world of the wakeful and the land of unconsciousness. The voices coupled with the ache in my head, told me that I was still alive. In vain, I struggled to wake up, but just couldn't manage to do it. I was too weak to move a finger.
A breath blew across my cheek. "It doesn't look so bad," Liz murmured, her voice came from nearby.
"Taylor, calm down!" Ryan shouted forcefully and there was a crash as something broke.
"Get out of my way. We have to take her to the hospital." It was Taylor's voice, but he sounded different… wrong.
"We can't risk her waking up and freaking out with people around. We have to talk to her first," Liz tried to be the voice of reason.
"What's wrong with you! She could be dying and you want to talk first!" The rest of what he said was lost when his voice degenerated into a series of growls.
"Damn it, Taylor. Calm down, it's just a small bump on the head. She'll be fine." Ryan's winded words were barely heard over the sounds of a scuffle taking place.
"Ryan, if you don't move, I swear–" Taylor began to warn but was cut off by Ryan.
"Dude, if she wakes up and sees you with those teeth, she's really gonna freak out on you. Get it together."
"I didn't mean to lose control. She surprised me." Taylor's growly voice was filled with remorse.
"If you had been honest with her in the first place, she wouldn't have been trying to sneak up on you," Zach commented and the room fell silent.
"He didn't do it on purpose, Zach. It was an accident," Liz defended with a tinge of hurt in her voice.
Zach sighed tiredly. "Look, I know you didn't mean to hurt her, but you need to realize that Izzy can handle more than you think. She won't flip out if you tell her the truth."
"I don't know if I can. Maybe she…" Taylor's voice began to fade and I slipped away into the darkness again.
The next time I woke, there was something cool pressing against my forehead. I heard a soft murmur as I groaned and reached up to drag a damp cloth from my throbbing head. Blinking my eyes open, I discovered four concerned faces hovering over me. I was confused and disoriented as hell.
"Give her some room guys. Are you okay, Izzy? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Liz helped when I tried to sit up and a glance at familiar surroundings revealed that I'd been moved to the living room.
"I'm fine." There was a dull ache in my head, soreness in my back and shoulders, but other than that I didn't feel too bad. I almost said this out loud, but changed my mind when I locked gazes with a guilt-stricken Taylor.
He was sitting on the far end of the couch, almost as if he was afraid to come near me. Except for his unhealthy pallor, Taylor appeared normal. As normal as any guy that could throw someone across the room can look. Memories began to fill my mind. I'd tried to sneak up on Taylor and… something hit me then I became real friendly with the wall. Feeling a wave of dizziness, I groaned, dropping my head into my palms.
I just wanted to play a harmless little prank on my boyfriend. How the hell did I get from there to here?
Ryan returned from the kitchen with a glass of water and placed it within my grasp. "Here, drink this."
I took one sip then another when Ryan prodded, before handing the glass back to him. Zach sank into a chair, wearing a pensive expression on his face. Liz settled beside me, gently rubbing my back with one hand. "Are you sure you're all right, Izzy?"
Her question barely registered in my mind as I was too busy studying Taylor. What happened? He held my gaze for a few seconds before looking away guiltily. The sadness in his posture echoed self-condemnation.
"Taylor," I called softly and watched as he swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. We couldn't go on this way, with me not knowing what I was dealing with. Or not having a clue about what could set him off.
"What's going on, Taylor?" I asked gently, scooting a little closer to him. The slight movement reawakened the pain in my back and I winced. I would be in a world of hurt tomorrow.
Taylor's fingers dug into the thick fabric of his jeans. "It was an accident." That, I'd already guessed.
"What are–" I broke off abruptly when I felt Liz shift uncomfortably. Silently, I made note to be careful of my words. Asking a question like what are you? would imply that they were things, creatures. No matter what I would learn tonight, I'd remember that they were still my friends.
"What happened tonight?"
When his lips firmed stubbornly, my temper flared and I snapped at him. "Damn it, Taylor. We're having sex every night. I think I deserve to know what the hell is going on."
"Dude, every night?" Zach murmured softly with raised eyebrows.
"So not the time, Zach." I was in no mood to deal with his leering.
The heavy look of indecision was rife within Taylor's features, but there was another emotion existing just beneath the surface. Fear. He was genuinely afraid that if he told me the truth, I would break up with him. It wasn't hard to understand why he would be afraid that I would do just that. I didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to dealing with… things.
There was a long and uncomfortable silence before Taylor closed his eyes in defeat. "We're draken."
Well, that's new. I stared, shock leaving me momentarily speechless. I didn't know what I'd been expecting to hear but it wasn't that.
"What's a draken?"
"Before I tell you the story I was told as a boy, I have to give you a little background into our… kind. Well… what I remember anyway." Taylor shrugged helplessly, his expression solemn.
A harried glance at Zach's riveted countenance revealed that he would also be hearing this story for the first time.
"There are two worlds–that I know of–this world and the spirit world. Thousands of years ago, the leader of our tribe, the Drogoa tribe, had the ability to spirit walk."
"Spirit walk?" Zach's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"That's the ability to leave your body and visit the spirit world. In those days it was something that was passed on to the leader of the Drogoa tribe. The guardian of the tribe was a magical beast that lived in the spirit world. Whenever there was illness or any kind of trouble, the tribe leader would travel to the spirit world for the guardian's guidance."
Taylor paused hesitantly, searching my face for signs that I was about to freak out on him. The small bump on my head still ached, and my body felt as if it had been hit by a car. Yet despite all this, I somehow managed to scrape up a smile of encouragement for him. Call me strange but, I was finding his story so intriguing. It wasn't everyday that a girl found out her boyfriend had a mystifying power inside of him.
When Taylor was satisfied that I wasn't about to run for the hills, he continued. "Well, the story starts around the time when a man named Mano was tribe leader. Mano was a prideful leader who liked to display his strength and hunting prowess. It was even said that he had nine wives." Taylor's lips quirked into a small smile.
"One day Mano readied his weapons then set out on a hunt with other men from his village. Not long after leaving the village, Mano left the hunting party and went off on his own. While stalking deer, he stumbled into the path of a bear and was attacked. He would've been killed if it wasn't for the intervention of a pale-skinned man wearing strange clothes. The man put his arms around the bear's neck and snapped it like a twig. Startled, Mano pulled away from the man's touch when he tried to help him stand. The pale man's hands were as cold as the frigid water that came off the mountain. Even more disturbing was the pale man's eyes, which were the color of blood." Taylor paused with a frown.
Oh no. There was an awful sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. That man sounded very much like a vampire. A covert glance in my direction and the tensing of Zach's jaw told me that he was having the same suspicions.
"The hunters arrived after hearing Mano's cries for help and were immediately suspicious of the pale man. Their suspicion only grew after the man spoke to them in their language, telling them that he was an explorer and meant them no harm. He had come a long way and was interested in observing the ways of the Drogoa tribe. The pale man's eyes were on Mano the entire time he spoke. It was almost as if he knew that Mano was their leader. Mano cautiously thanked the man but denied entry to the village. The pale man seemed displeased but he accepted their decision and left."
When Taylor paused again, I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I'd almost expected to hear that the vampire slaughtered them all.
"Mano and the hunters immediately returned to their village and told the tribe elders about the red eyed man. But Mano was far more disturbed than the others. He'd never seen anyone kill a bear with their bare hands before. How did this man come to speak their language? How did he find their remote village? Mano decided to travel to the spirit world to speak with the guardian. The guardian listened to Mano's account of the encounter and advised him to beware of the man with red eyes. He would bring death and destruction to the tribe." Taylor closed his eyes and just then a sad look formed on his face.
"What happened after that? The red eyed man came back, didn't he?" I asked when Taylor seemed reluctant to go on.
"Yes. He showed up a few days later, but this time he wasn't alone. He brought another red eyed man with him, though where the pale man was calm, this man was different. He seemed to be on the verge of losing control. The village men grabbed their weapons and tried to stop them from entering the village but it was no use. Spears and arrows just broke and bounced off their bodies. When they finally reached the village…" Taylor combed his fingers through his dark hair, and I was filled with a deep sense of foreboding.
"What?"
"Then pale one set the other one loose on the people of the village. He just stood there observing while the other man ripped through bodies and fed on their blood. It was like he was starving. He tore the heads off of children, clawed hearts out of men's chests and pulled off the limbs off of women." Taylor swallowed hard and opened his eyes. I could see that telling me this story was so difficult for him. I had to wonder why anyone would tell such a horrific story to a child.
For a moment I thought I was going to be sick as images of mangled bodies scared my mind. Taylor's description of the new vampire led me to believe that it might have been a newborn.
Zach was starting to look a little green himself. Though he was looking at me as if to say that Taylor's story justified what he'd been taught about all vampires. That they were all soulless monsters.
"Mano became desperate. None of their weapons harmed the men and he knew that if he didn't do something, the Drogoa tribe would be completely destroyed. He traveled to the spirit world for the last time to get the guardian's help. Knowing he wasn't strong enough, Mano asked for the guardian's strength. The guardian agreed to give Mano the gift of his strength but that wouldn't be enough. To defeat the invaders, Mano would also have to accept the guardian's presence in his body. Understanding that he had no other choice, Mano consented, allowing the guardian to merge with his body and gain entry into the real world." Taylor paused deliberately and understanding finally began to dawn.
However, Zach was the first to voice his findings. "So, Mano was the first draken." Taylor nodded. "What happened after Mano went back to the village?"
"He transformed into a beast and used his immense strength to rip the man to shreds." At Taylor's revelation, I didn't dare allow my face to betray the shock I felt. Combined, Mano and the guardian were strong enough to destroy a newborn vampire.
"What happened with the first man?" I sincerely hoped Mano killed the crap out of his ass. Did all vampires make a habit out of going around and picking fights with humans? Maybe werewolves and draken were nature's way fighting back against vampires. A way to even up the odds a bit.
"It was strange. The first man didn't actually do anything except stand there while the other one slaughtered the villagers. During the attack, he stood there observing, like it was some sort of experiment. He didn't even try to stop Mano from killing the other man, and then he disappeared when it was over," Taylor remarked coldly.
"Sounds to me like the creepy dude punked out when he realized that the Drogoa tribe wasn't a bunch of pushovers." Ryan spoke up for the first time and put an arm around Liz's shoulder. She gave him a weak smile then turned back to Taylor.
"Mano thought that with the threat gone, the guardian would return to the spirit world but he was wrong. The village elders said that by agreeing to merge with the guardian, he'd unknowingly given it permission to live in his body. He would never be rid of it. Later he would discover that his children would have guardians and gifts on their own."
"Damn. Somebody should have read the fine print before signing that contract." Zach attempted to joke.
Taylor's smile didn't reach his eyes. "That was the start of the blood feud between the draken and vampires." When Zach's eyes widened in alarm, Taylor reassured him. "Don't worry. Up until the time I left Spain, the peace agreement between draken and vampires was still valid."
A cold chill ran up my spine. Why did it have to be vampires? Why couldn't it have been fairies or something silly like that?
"Vampires, huh?" The murmur was so soft that I didn't even realize that it came from me until Taylor grasped my hand.
"Now I know it sounds completely insane but it's true. Vampires really do exist." My guilty conscious niggled at me after hearing the desperation in his voice. He was worried that I would think he was insane.
Taylor released a sigh of relief when I placed a hand over his and said, "I believe you." By the look on Taylor's face I could tell that he had more to tell me but didn't want to weird me out. "I'm still here, Taylor. You can tell me the rest of it." I spoke with more calm than I was feeling at the moment.
"Ever since that day, Mano's descendants have been cursed with a gift and a demon."
"Demon?" My head snapped up the same time Zach's did.
"Now hold up. Nobody said anything to me about you guys having a demon." Zach sat up in alarm, his fingers digging into the soft cushioning of his seat.
"Oh my God, Taylor. Would you stop with that demon talk? You're gonna scare her off." Liz aimed a scowl at her brother.
"Well, what else would you call something that fights you for control of your own body?" Taylor demanded angrily and Liz huffed in annoyance. Something told me that this was an argument they'd had many times before.
"So… you have the same gift as Mano? Strength?" Tentatively, I reached behind my head to finger the small bump that was forming there.
"No, the gift is different for each of us. My gift is… Well, I'll just show you."
Taylor scanned the room until his gaze settled on the television. A look of concentration creased his brow and he lifted one hand. The TV rose into the air and hovered over the credenza. He flexed his fingers and the TV floated across the room, only stopping when the cord ran out of slack.
"Hey man, not the TV," Ryan fussed and Taylor effortlessly moved the TV back to its former position.
I picked my jaw up from the floor. "You can move things with your mind. You're a… telekinetic."
It was all so damn fantastical. A telekinetic draken? What's next? Witches, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster? When would it end? Probably after I ended up in an asylum somewhere. A hysterical giggle began to build in my throat and I quickly suppressed it.
Liz moved to take my hand, her green eyes shone with concern. "I know how you feel, Izzy."
My lips curled into a sardonic smile. "Really, Liz? I don't think you do."
Liz squeezed my hand. "No, Izzy. I know how you feel."
"What do you mean–" It all suddenly made sense. Her uncanny way of always knowing what I was feeling. Her vibes. "You're a… a..." I couldn't figure out the word.
"I'm an empath, yeah." Liz laughed nervously and my memory went back to the visit with the Cullens. The way Liz and Jasper didn't like to be close to one another. From what I understood about empaths, they tended to soak up the emotions of everyone in the room. For two empaths to be around each other would be like multiplying those feelings by ten. Now I understood why Liz never really warmed up to Jasper, and had complained that being near him made her feel nauseous.
Although Liz's power was similar to Jasper's, I didn't think she could alter emotions like he could. If she had that ability, she would've have used it at least once in all my years of knowing her.
"So, you've been eavesdropping on my feelings all this time." I frowned as I remember the night of the ball when Liz had that guilty look on her face. She really had been snooping.
Liz was quick to deny. "Not all the time. I'm able to turn it off... most of the time." When my scowl showed no sign of letting up, Liz added, "Aw come on, Izzy, even Alice can't resist taking a peek every now and again."
"You all right there, Izzy? You're looking a little pale." Ryan asked sympathetically.
"No, I just– It's– I'm a little overwhelmed." I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "So guys have these gifts that you got from your spiritual guardian to help you fight vampires. Have I got it right so far?" Liz nodded. "Do you have a demon–" Liz frowned. "I mean, do you have a guardian too?"
"I do but mine isn't like Taylor's. My guardian is dormant. Haven't had any troubles since I merged with mine oh… about six years ago." She aimed a pointed look at Taylor.
"What's merged?" I traded glances between the two siblings with a frown.
"As things are now, Taylor and his guardian don't share the same consciousness. When one is awake, the other is asleep. It's like having two people in one body. But if Taylor merges with his guardian they'll both be awake at the same time," Liz explained.
"And that would be a good thing?" I asked hesitantly and Liz nodded. The dark scowl on Taylor's face said that he didn't share Liz's feelings on the subject.
"My sister seems to think that if I merged with my demon, all of the problems with my control would just magically disappear," Taylor muttered sarcastically.
"Is she wrong?"
"Liz only thinks that way because she didn't grow up around draken. I have a cousin who lost the ability to speak when he manifested at the age of fourteen. His gift is a voice that could make your ears bleed. I have an uncle who can never be touched because his skin could poison you. In the 1800's, I had a relative who lost her temper and accidentally caused an earthquake that killed hundreds of people. I've seen people change after they accept an aggressive demon. They become colder and their personalities change. My sister thinks being draken is a gift, I think it's a curse." Taylor's face darkened in fury.
"That's why he's trying to find Marianna, Izzy. He wants to know if there's some way to get rid of the guardian. Can you imagine getting rid of our birthright like it's some kind of parasite?" Liz quarreled, her voice dripping heavy with disgust.
"That isn't the only reason I'm trying to find our clan. I was only ten when I left. There are so many things we still don't know about our kind." Taylor sighed in exhaustion and then his eyes hardened in determination. "But yeah, if I find them and there's a way to get the demon out then I'll take it."
"Why can't you see that it isn't evil? It just wants to live like anyone else." Liz was pleading with Taylor to understand.
"If it wants to live then it can do it somewhere else. This is my body. I was here first!" Taylor raged through clenched teeth. He gasped, horror flashing across his face before doubling over clutching his head. Something was wrong.
"Aw hell, not again." Zach jumped up from his seat and scrambled to take shelter behind it.
Ryan grabbed Liz and me by the shoulders and quickly pulled us off the couch.
Taylor's body began to shake uncontrollably as he uttered a pained moan. When the tremors subsided, he drew in a shaky breath and sat up slowly. It took a few nerve-wracking seconds before his breathing returned to normal.
"Hey man, is everything good?" Ryan took a cautious step forward.
"Yeah. It's not the full transformation, just the teeth this time." Taylor's hands dropped away from his face and I was left in awe of what I saw.
Taylor's jaw appeared wider, his canines had grown sharper and were now jutting over his lower lip. Firm lips parted to reveal a mouth full of dangerously pointy teeth.
Upon seeing this, Zach abruptly stood up. "I'm sorry, man. But I think I just hit my weirdness threshold for one day." He turned to Ryan. "I think I'll crash on your couch tonight." Zach quickly left the apartment after that. There was only so much that he could handle.
There was a profound sadness in Taylor's eyes as he spoke to Liz. "Do you see it now, Liz?" He reburied his face in his hands and my heart clenched in sympathy.
Without hesitation, I moved toward him and knelt down between his legs. "Taylor, look at me. It's okay." Complete and utter despair rolled off him in waves. I couldn't stand seeing him like this.
His head lifted and the close proximity allowed me to see that his sharpened teeth weren't the only changes to his body. The pupils of his eyes had narrowed to vertical, catlike slits, giving him a feral appearance. It felt like Taylor wasn't the only one staring back at me. My smile was steady, exuding calm despite the dangerous chill that raced down my spine. There was something dark and decidedly inhuman about the way his eyes roamed my face.
"I never wanted you to see this… it… this thing. It isn't me." His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I understand." I cradled his face between my palms.
"No, you don't." Taylor gave me a sad smile. "Keeping this demon under control is a full-time job that never ends. I'm too happy, and things float around the room. If I get too angry, buildings shake, glass shatters or…"
"You throw people across the room?" I finished quietly and Taylor flinched. "I know it was an accident."
"My power spiked when you surprised me. I was fourteen when I first began to manifest. Since then I've taken anger management classes, practiced yoga and used meditation to keep my ability under control. But sometimes I slip up and accidents like tonight happen."
"Okay. Note to self, do not sneak up on Taylor." I joked lamely and was rewarded with a tiny smile for my efforts.
"How are you not freaking out right now?"
I moved to stand after developing pain from being on my knees. "I'm good with–"
"Freaks?" Taylor's interjection earned him a glare from Liz.
"I was going to say different. I'm used to mystical with Alice being a psychic and all." Guilt coiled in my gut at the flat-out lie I just told.
"You see, Taylor. I told you Izzy would be cool with this." Ryan smiled.
"Oh God," I groaned as a thought occurred to me.
"What? Is it your head? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Taylor rushed to my side, rapidly firing off questions.
"I just realized something."
"What?" Liz inquired anxiously.
"I'm a fangbanger."
Liz and I stared at each other and then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Oh my God! Ryan's a fangbanger too!" Liz cackled gleefully.
Meanwhile, Taylor shot Ryan a puzzled look as if to ask what's a fangbanger? Not being a loyal True Blood viewer, Ryan shrugged his shoulders as if to reply no idea, dude. They were even more confused when their wordless exchange excited more laughter.
After countless reassurances, I'd finally convinced Liz and Ryan that I was okay enough to be left alone with Taylor. On the heels of their exit, Taylor mumbled something about needing some time to himself before he retreated to his room.
I decided to wait for him in the kitchen. Several minutes of silence went by as Taylor attempted to calm himself down (get rid of his freaky teeth and eyes) by taking a warm shower. My mind reeled as I tried to absorb all of the new information that had been dropped in my lap tonight.
Taylor and Liz were draken creatures and they have a blood feud with vampires, or at least had. If the conversation I'd overheard between Taylor and his dad were correct, the draken and vampires had been at peace for a number of years. But it had been over ten years since Taylor had had any contact with his clan. Could the war have restarted since then? Was it dangerous for Taylor and Liz to live away from their clan?
My inner musings were interrupted by the jingle of keys. The front door swung open and Zach entered the apartment, looking around cautiously.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" Had he gotten over his fear?
"I just came to get a pillow and a few things for the couch."
I should have known. Zach was cool, but he wasn't that cool. "Well, since I'm spending the night here, you could just go ahead and sleep in my bed."
"Yeah?" His eyebrows rose in surprise. Clearly, my idea hadn't occurred to him until I mentioned it.
"Yeah, I don't mind." I shrugged my shoulders slightly, the movement made my neck hurt.
"Well, thanks." Zach turned away and I expected that to be the end of our conversation for the night. But when Zach hesitated in the doorway, I realized that he had something else he wanted to talk about.
"What is it?"
Zach paused, as if he was trying to figure out where Taylor was. He registered the sound of the shower before I was able to tell him and blurted, "Are you going to tell Taylor and Liz?"
Feigning ignorance, I averted my gaze whilst biting my lower lip. "Tell them what?"
There was annoyance in Zach's voice as he spoke. "About the Cullens." He knew I was purposely beating around the bush.
"No." My gaze moved to discover Zach giving me an incredulous look.
"You can't be serious. You have to tell them the truth, Izzy."
"I can't." I didn't even want to think about how Taylor would react to the news that I took him and Liz to spend time with a coven.
"You have to. This is a huge ass deal. They have a right to know that you exposed them to their enemy." Zach was obstinate in his opinion.
"The Cullens are not their enemy. There are good and bad vampires, Zach. It's the same way with humans," I defended stubbornly, refusing to let him lump the Cullens in with the human-feeding vampires.
"Didn't you hear Taylor's fucked up story? Humans didn't hunt the draken to the brink of extinction, Izzy, vampires did." Zach stomped further into the kitchen.
"Yes! The bad ones."
"This is insane," Zach muttered to himself. "What is this hold these… people have over you?"
"They're my friends, Zach, and they risked everything to save me from bad vampires. Telling Liz and Taylor about them would be a betrayal. Just like telling the Cullens about the draken." I gave him a wan smile. "I'm good with secrets, Zach. What's one more?"
Zach shook his head wearily. "I don't like keeping secrets, Izzy. Especially the ones that could come back and bite us both in the ass. Literally."
"Everything is fine, Zach. The Cullens are not going to come after Liz and Taylor. The Cullens don't know about the draken and even if they did, they wouldn't do anything to hurt them," I spoke with absolute conviction in my voice. It seemed like it was enough to convince him… for now.
Zach strode to the doorway, but paused to look at me over his shoulder. The expression on his face was grim. "You'd better hope that this never gets out, Izzy. Because even if you think that you're being loyal, Taylor and Liz might not see it that way."
Zach quickly exited the apartment, leaving me alone with my troubled thoughts. My pizza lay cold and forgotten on the table as my leg bounced uncontrollably. Zach's word's played over and over in my mind. Was he right? Would Taylor and Liz see my closeness with the Cullens as a betrayal? Hell, I knew that Zach saw it as a betrayal and, as far as I knew, vampires didn't slaughter his people.
Taylor and Liz didn't react in any way whatsoever when they met the Cullens, so I could assume that they only knew what vampires look like through stories. They'd never suspected the Cullens because they would've been looking for creatures with red eyes. Throughout the entire visit, the Cullens had been very careful not to touch any of them with their bare hands.
Telling my friends about the Cullens was out of the question. If they ever found out the truth, I could be forced to choose between them. All I needed to do was keep my past and present separate. To accomplish this, I would have to make some difficult choices. This life was the right fit for me, and I was determined to do what whatever I could to keep it.
My relationship with the Cullens would have to remain a long distance one. I'd have to turn down their invitation to spend the Christmas holidays with them in Alaska. Alice would be disappointed, but it couldn't be helped. Knowing what I knew now, I couldn't take Taylor and Liz to visit the Cullens.
Maybe I was selfish and wrong for wanting to keep my past buried but it wasn't my fault. My life had turned into a series of supernatural drama ever since the day I moved to Forks. After everything that had happened to me, I was entitled to a little peace and happiness. I let Edward go, and Jacob had his imprint. The way I saw it, this might be my last chance to be happy. I wasn't about to let anything from my past screw things up for me.
With my decision made, I pushed away from the table and went to see if Taylor was out of the shower yet.
The shower was still running when I entered Taylor's room, so I sat on the edge of the bed and waited. Minutes later, dressed in soft sweatpants; Taylor entered the bedroom toweling his hair. To my relief, the shower seemed to have worked its magic; his fangs and weird eyes had disappeared as if they were never there in the first place.
"Are you sure you're fine with… everything?" Taylor gestured to himself.
"It's a lot to absorb but I'm doing fine."
"I would never intentionally hurt you. You believe me right?" His gaze was solemn as he stood silently, waiting for an answer.
"Yes." Of course I believed him. Taylor would never hurt me on purpose.
Taylor's relief was evident as his lips curved into a smile, and I found myself remembering that the sharp-tooth smile he gave me a few minutes ago.
To distract myself from the small tendril if fear I felt, I changed the subject. "When we had the accident with the cliff, I felt like we were slowing down… How is that even possible? Can you fly?"
"Not fly exactly. More like float," Taylor seems shy all of a sudden. "Would you like to see?"
"Yeah." I was definitely intrigued as Taylor straightened and took a few steps away from the bed.
An intense look of concentration crossed Taylor's face. His breathing grew shallow as he drew on his power, attempting to move himself upward. His body's aura pulsed, exuding intense power. Before my eyes, his body seemed to harden, the muscles in his chest and arms grew more pronounced. A slight frown creased his brow before his feet left the floor and he became airborne.
My heart gave a startled jolt when he began to move smoothly through the air. It was incredible to see Taylor defying the pull of gravity.
"I tried to use my gift to slow our fall, but my concentration got messed up when I hit my head. Before I passed out, I was able to glide us down. We still hit the ground pretty hard though. Watch this." He slowly began to spin in loops.
Taylor grinned widely and I couldn't help smiling in return. He reminded me of a little boy showing off his talents. His excitement was understandable. Besides Ryan and his dad, this was actually Taylor's first time showing someone what he could do. He'd revealed his secrets and had entrusted me with the knowledge of draken-kind.
His muscles returned to normal as Taylor swooped down for a soft landing on the floor.
"That was incredible, Taylor." And I meant it.
"Really? You're not the least bit weirded out?"
"No way. Actually…" My grin relaxed into a smile. "I think your gift is pretty cool. You know, Jean Grey is my favorite X-Men." That was a boldfaced lie. Rogue was my favorite, but Taylor's face lit up so much that I didn't have the heart to take it back.
"I was so worried you couldn't handle this."
"Why? Because you think I'm skittish?" I asked in mild annoyance, using the same word I'd overheard him telling his father.
"Skittish? Wait a minute," Taylor spoke slowly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Where did you hear that?"
Oops.
Taylor didn't know about my unintentional spying.
"I ah… accidentally overheard your argument with Walter last Christmas. I didn't stick around for all of it though."
"How much did you hear?"
"Oh not much. Just something about Marianna being over a thousand years old and how she wanted to kill your dad because he blackmailed them into giving you up. You know… itty-bitty things like that," I confessed, feeling a guilty heat all over my face.
"So you eavesdropped on me. I should spank you for that." The corner of his mouth curled mischievously as he leaned in and landed a pinch on my nipple.
"You try any of that weird shit on me, and your fangs will be back in Spain before you are." I smacked his hand away gently. "And don't change the subject. What's the deal with Marianna?"
"Marianna is the leader of my clan. She's the oldest and wisest of all draken-kind because her gift is immortality." His green-eyes gaze was steady and intense.
"Why did your dad threaten to expose the draken to get them to let you go? What did he have against Marianna?"
His expression darkened. "Believe me, the dislike was mutual. Marianna thought that my father was a spoiled, egotistical man and that my mother was too good for him. She hated the fact that he'd convinced my mother to leave the safety of our clan. She knew that my mother would be outside her protection."
"Protection?"
"Spain is draken territory. Any vampire that trespassed into our territory would be killed on sight. That kind of protection would end once my mother left Spain. My father knew all of this, but all he cared about was getting what he wanted. When my mother died, he couldn't wait to take me away from Marianna."
"I don't understand. Why would he go as far as blackmail?" Walter would have to be pretty desperate to try and intimidate a group strong enough to go up against vampires.
"My dad thinks that Marianna is cold and heartless. That she would turn me into an unfeeling killer." Taylor suddenly grasped my hands upon observing my worried expression. "Marianna isn't a bad person, Isabella. You have to understand what it must be like for her. To be the only one left behind while everyone else around you dies. Living like that would harden anyone. Her main ambition is the survival of our species. She's devoted centuries toward training draken on how to use our abilities to protect our people and if it came down to it… kill."
"You mean like kill… people?"
"Not people, vampires."
Taylor released my hands as abruptly as he'd grabbed them and I felt just a little bit colder without his touch. I wasn't sure that I liked this Marianna person, and was becoming increasingly grateful to Walter for making sure that Taylor didn't grow up with her. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask, but only one that I thought was the most important.
"Did Marianna train you?" I held my breath and almost collapsed with relief when Taylor answered.
"No. My conditioning would've started after I manifested, and that didn't happen until four years after I left Spain." He revealed and then his features turned harsh and unforgiving. "At the risk of ruining things between us, I need you to know what you're dealing with."
"What more do I need to know." The sudden change in his demeanor startled me as I'd never seen that look on his face before.
He placed a hand over his chest. "This thing inside of me is dangerous. Over the years, I've learnt ways to suppress it and for the most part, I've been successful. But for the last couple of years, I've been having more trouble controlling the demon than usual."
The last couple of years? "Why?" I asked even though a part of me already suspected the answer.
"You." Steely green eyes locked my gaze and refused to let me look away. "Liz was partially right when she said that the demon and I couldn't stay awake at the same time. I haven't gotten around to telling her about how that's changed." I could practically feel the frost emanating from his tone.
Fear coated the growing chill inside me and I swallowed around my unease.
"For the past two years, there have been times when I've felt the demon surface. It wouldn't try to fight me for control of my body; it would just watch you through my eyes. For some reason, it has a growing fascination with you." A look flickered across his face. Was it anger, jealousy? I was unable to decipher the look because it disappeared as quickly as it formed.
So I was right after all. When I first saw Taylor's strange eyes, I'd sensed something unsettling in his stare.
"When the demon surfaces, does it… talk to you?" My mind refused to acknowledge how insane my question sounded.
"No. It communicates through its feelings not words."
"What could its fascination mean?" In order words, was the demon noticing me a good or bad thing?
"It could be the type of fascination a cat has for the mouse it intends to kill." Taylor's bluntness made me blanch.
My anger flared when I began to realize what he was doing. He'd tried to scare me on purpose. I finally began to see his cruelty for what it was. He was shutting me out.
"Stop trying to scare me," I snapped.
"You have to know what you're up against," Taylor insisted stubbornly.
"Why?" I yelled in frustration.
"Because I tried to kill my father!" Taylor's outburst stunned me to silence.
"I was fourteen when my telekinesis first developed. At first, things would just move by themselves, and then it got so bad that glass would shatter every time I got just a little bit upset. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't go to school and everything seemed to piss me off. My demon never showed itself but, having seen it happen to my cousins, I knew it was only a matter of time. When I finally couldn't take it anymore, I broke down and begged my father to send me back to Spain to look for them. It was just too hard on my own, I needed help. My father wouldn't hear it. The mere mention of Marianna's name would start terrible arguments. One morning, we had a huge blowout and I followed him out to the garage."
Taylor paused, and an eerie silence descended on the room.
"I watched him get into his car and all I could think about was how he was keeping me from my family… how much I hated him. I blacked out for a second and when I came to, Liz was screaming and my dad's car… It looked like a giant fist had smashed in the roof of his car. I'd tried to kill him. That was the first time my demon manifested. When my dad was finally able to climb out of the wreckage, he looked at me like…" He closed his eyes, his face tightening with emotion. "After that, he sent me to anger management and hired a private tutor until I learned to control myself enough to go back to school." He face went blank trying to disguise his pain.
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I moved to comfort him. Though, before I was able to Taylor stiffened and held up a hand to stop me.
"Don't." His eyes were deep reservoirs of emotion.
I lowered my eyes to hide the small sting of hurt I felt. Taylor didn't want me to touch him. He was just inches away but those inches felt like miles. I didn't like the distance between us.
"Later, Liz told me that I transformed and used my telekinesis to smash the car in. If I ever get mad enough to lose control like I did that day, I could kill someone. And most likely, it would be the person I was angry with."
Did he honestly think I wouldn't understand? That I would think he was some kind of monster? From what he'd told me, I gathered that young draken were unstable, kind of like newborn vampires and young werewolves. Through no fault of his own, Taylor was suffering.
"You shouldn't blame yourself for your lack of control, Taylor. You were just a kid. It was an accident." Although, Taylor felt the need to blame himself for what happened, I didn't think Walter shared his son's mindset. Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have kept Taylor, if he thought his son truly wanted him dead. I didn't share that thought with Taylor, convinced that he wasn't ready to hear it.
"Was it an accident? Sometimes I feel like I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen." Taylor's eyes were filled with sadness and worry. "I know I should've explained all of this before we got together, but I was greedy and selfish. Your friendship should've been enough for me, but I couldn't resist the chance to have more of you. A part of me was actually hoping that you would never have to know the truth. Now I see that I was living in a fool's paradise. I need to face reality, we both do." Taylor smiled bitterly.
"So what is this? Are you trying to break up with me?" Please say no.
Taylor shook his head. "No. I'm doing what I should've done in the first place. I'm being completely honest. To do that, I have to show you both the good and the bad side to what I am. There are risks to being involved with me and you should know all of them. I'm giving you an out in case you decide that this is all just too much for you."
"Okay, so you have issues. Just in case you haven't noticed, I've got my own little messed up drama to deal with. I get that there are risks, but let me be the one to decide how much I can handle. I'm not running away and I'm not afraid of you, Taylor Reed."
"You say that now, but this thing inside me is curious about you and I don't know what it means." He tried, unsuccessfully, to diminish the flicker of hope that came to his eyes.
"We'll figure out what it means together." And hopefully I won't get murdered in the process. Taking advantage of the shift in his mood, I slowly began to crawl toward him. His eyes followed my approach intently. "Besides I would be racist, if I broke up with you now." Testing the waters, I leaned in and gently brushed my lips against his.
"I'm still human, just a different kind," he murmured in distraction as I softly kissed him on the chin.
"Superhuman." I trailed my fingers over the muscles of his bare chest.
Taylor quit playing hard to get and kissed me lazily on the mouth. One arm encircled my waist and pulled until I was sitting on his lap. Strong arms wrapped me in a tight hug, trapping my body in his warm embrace. Not that I was complaining. Tucking my head beneath his chin, I took the opportunity to snuggle closer.
"I can't believe how well you're taking all of this. You really are one of a kind." His fingers tenderly stroked the side of my face.
"Told you." Taylor might not have really understood why I wasn't flipping out to his big reveal. But I'd never been one to break up with a guy because he confessed to being more than just a guy. Both Edward and Jacob were testaments to that fact.
"I'm so tired." Taylor released a fatigued sigh and I leaned away to look up at his face. His eyes were weary, features drawn.
"Come on. Let's go to sleep." I carefully crawled off his lap and onto the bed. "Oh, I'll get the lights."
Before I could make it off the bed, Taylor stopped me. "Don't bother." With the flick of his hand, the light went out and I froze.
"That's going to take some getting used to." I shook my head and went to lie down again.
Taylor didn't lie down beside me as I'd been expecting him to. Instead, he placed his head on my chest, settling the remainder of his weight on the soft mattress. Moved by his wordless plea for reassurance, I stroked his hair while listening to the comforting sound of him breathing.
Under the gentle strokes of my fingers, it didn't take long for Taylor to succumb to his fatigue and fall asleep. It felt like it had been years since I'd last slept, and yet sleep still refused to come. My mind was fraught with doubts and endless what if scenarios. Deep inside I felt an aching sense of loneliness when I came to the realization that this was what my life would always be like. Always juggling secrets and keeping the truth from the people I loved.
It was well after three when I finally drifted off to sleep. By then I'd succeeded in reining in my misgivings, finding some small measure of peace. I was making the right choice by keeping the truth about the Cullens from my friends. No one needed to know about my past.
Unfortunately for me, nothing in my life ever turned out the way I planned. And this would be no different.
A/N: So glad I finished this chapter. I had 3 terrible weeks of writer's block and then to top things off with the day from hell. RL is totally kicking my ass today. At least it's another big chapter to compensate for the wait.
This chapter is missing a few things that I had to leave out because I didn't want to overwhelm you guys with too much info. Don't worry though, I reorganized my future chapters and still managed to restrict it to just the three chapters.
Just three more chapters left and then Bella returns home. Yay!
Back to the story: Bet you didn't think I would create an original creature did you?
So, Taylor's story... A blood feud between draken and vampires. How many of you are more than a little bit creeped out?
Is Bella insane for staying in a relationship with Taylor, even after finding out how dangerous he is?
Should Bella be afraid that Taylor's guardian is curious about her?
Marianna sounds pretty hardcore. Will Taylor ever find his clan again?
Should Bella tell her friends the truth about the Cullens?
Is Zach right? Would Taylor and Liz see her relationship with the Cullens as a betrayal?
A/N: Review and receive your teasers people! There's another big reveal on its way. (cackles maniacally)