Chapter Five
Memories
There was something very intimate about feeding from Jove each time the hunger struck me. I was learning in time how to move through his mind, and with each discovery about him, I felt myself growing closer and closer to him in a way I'd never been close to anyone else before. Still, I couldn't call our situation love, being that I had loved Mikel… I had loved Evanen, if even for that short time, and what I felt for Jove was something different than just love; something hard to explain.
This depth of awareness Jove and I shared was bonding us closely, like we were two people beginning to turn into one without hesitation. I liked every part of Jove I saw in his mind, and he liked every part of me. I never doubted his intentions; never did he try to seduce me or use my power for his own gain. There was never an ill thought that suggested he was in any way an enemy to me. The only thing he felt was a need to teach me to survive intact, and to serve me to his ability, and I began feeling my own sense of protection for him, wanting to learn how to keep Jove from being taken away as well.
One morning, I had wrapped my legs around Jove and was kissing his neck sweetly and seductively, feeling him move pleasantly under me as I bit into his flesh and felt his blood greet my mouth. As I shifted through his mind, I focused on the distant memories, the ones Jove himself didn't actually remember but that were still there of his human life.
When Jove was a younger boy, he was a scoundrel, a pickpocket, and came from a family of alcoholics, whores, and abusers. But Jove himself was a kind boy, always trying to help feed his siblings, all of which were greedy and mean. Time would skip a lot in his mind, sometimes it would be moments of Jove stealing small food to Jove being beaten by his father for saying the wrong things during a drunken rage. Sometimes there were visits of other family members, but the only decent one was a small girl named Katha, who was Jove's cousin.
It was very different seeing Katha in Jove's mind than the Katha I had met in my time at the Draele house. Katha had been a cruel woman, with a face of an angel. She had a jealous rage that spoiled any mood she could have, and made her do things in anger to take out her past issues on innocent people. The Katha I knew hated me for being even remotely beautiful, feeling that beauty was fit only for the immortal, just as was proven to her when she spent her mortal life sick with leprosy and being teased until she was turned on a stranger's whim. She had killed my high school friend and potential mortal love, Darwin Jets, or D.J. as most people had called him by turning him into a vampire and having him starved. Her plan would have worked, but I had found him and killed him myself to rid him of his agony. And then she had been the cause of my slavery to "Sir" Trenton, a vampire member of the Council, who proceeded to try to kill me which ultimately resulted in the death of Mikel's unborn child. In all my hatred of Katha, I had, with the help of Evanen, slit her throat and stabbed her heart through with a silver dagger, ending her time in this world.
Now I could see her in Jove's memories, always smiling and being the light in Jove's dark early mortal days. She was kind to him, and they were something of best friends. I saw flashes of laughter and promises whispered in the dark, promises to be friends forever. It hurt my heart, seeing this, knowing I had taken her from this world and had never apologized about it to the one man who was helping me in my time of need. I moved my thoughts away from his memories to scan his more immediate thoughts, which were watching my memory of being undressed by Mikel in the quiet of the day. Automatically, out of embarrassment, I moved away from Jove, already having been finished with feeding from him and smiled.
"That's naughty, Jove, looking at memories you shouldn't be," I told him scolding, but he chuckled.
"I can't help it, I feel a bit jealous of Mikel sometimes, you loved him very much," Jove responded. "Besides, I noticed you were busy looking at days that have long gone in my mind, days with Katha and my childhood. I didn't think you'd notice." He teased a lot, but we had grown accustom to invading each other's privacy, so I couldn't really scold him for what he saw in my mind when I'd seen him undress women in his memories as well.
I hesitated. "I wanted to apologize for Katha… I know you know I killed her, but I didn't know what she meant to you before, all I knew was the person she showed me…"
Jove tisked, moving closer to me, "Hailence, I told you before, Katha and I weren't that close. Sure, when we were children we were, but she grew up to be very different after her illness. She was, as you know, a very jealous woman, and when she turned, she… perhaps it'd be better to show you." He held out his hand, and I knew the memories this time would be easier to see, and that to him it was important for me to see this part of him. I moved close to him, placing my hand in his, and swam around the thoughts in his mind. Immediate thoughts were ones of nervousness, personal, like he was telling me something he didn't share with others. I wanted to trace these immediate thoughts, though, because they were very fond of me and held memories of thoughts he'd had of me, but they pushed me towards his mortal life memories. I was curious, so I followed, looking through the images of a Jove that looked more the age of what I knew of him now.
Jove had been in love. It struck me because it was familiar, the way he connected to this woman who had the reddest blazing hair and the bluest eyes that looked at Jove with complete adoration. Jove was, though raised a scoundrel, a complete gentleman with this woman… Layla. He'd never laid a hand on her except in the most honest ways, and he fully intended to marry her. It was clear she felt the same for him. Images later and the engagement had already been declared, Jove was to marry his Layla, and they were going to be happy forever.
But then Layla was dead on the ground, torn to pieces. In fact, I would never have known she was Layla if it wasn't for the knowledge in Jove's own head. His screams of pain pierced me, they hurt so badly, and the only blame was on what used to be his best friend and cousin, Katha. She was bloodthirsty and jealous, angry and bitter. But her bond to Jove drove her to bite him, and share her own blood with him as was done to her while she rotted on the street. After this, there were a slew of memories, of touching thoughts, feeling people's deaths in his hands and head, and the pain of being lost and having lost everything.
I was pulled back into my own mind, and I knew that if I could, I would have been crying. "That's just horrible," I said to Jove sadly, "Katha hurt Layla out of jealousy, then turned you so she wouldn't be alone?" Jove was watching me curiously, obviously not believing this to be as touchy as a subject anymore. It felt so raw to me, being that I had just felt it all as my own memories, but I remembered it had been decades over decades ago for him.
"It's something of the same situation Mikel ended up in, wouldn't you think," Jove responded, "Katha has never liked being alone, but her jealousy pushes everyone away, and her selfishness doesn't help her at all. The minute I understood what I was, I got away from Katha, and I barely acknowledged her after that except being the only mortal relative I had still alive, and being my maker. And now she's gone for good, but she's always been dead to me." I suddenly felt a lot less guilty about killing Katha, though I remembered how it bothered me every night before I had changed. Something about being a vampire made death seem more acceptable, almost like killing someone wouldn't be a bad thing. I assumed it was some tactic to convince my body to feed off humans and kill them.
"You know, you're learning to speak slower and slower every day, soon you should be able to start learning to feed from people," Jove said, as though he knew what I had been thinking about. I was surprised about the slow speaking though, I hadn't noticed any difference. "I started speaking slower and slower so that you could get used to it gradually, and now we're just about to the point of normal speaking speed for humans. You're catching on well."
"Hmmm…," I said slowly, as though testing my voice, "When do I start learning to fight a bit?"
Jove laughed, amused, "Eagar to beat me up, huh?"
I nodded, "Not even a problem." Suddenly, Jove had pinned me down on the bed, and I was startled. We had begun to do things slower, so now I was beginning to become unaware of faster speeds. But the hesitation was only a split second if that, and before waiting longer, I had pinned him to the ground. I still was stronger than him, and faster, but it was obvious I needed work.
Jove struggled only a little bit before giving up. "You definitely have the strength, just need to show you some moves and work on your awareness. We can start gradually while we're resting, and when we find a good solid place to hide I can begin extensive training. Once you learn the basics, you can learn how your mind skills can help—"
I interrupted, "Oh, could you teach me how to blind people? That would be awesome!"
He laughed, "Yeah, why not? As long as you don't use it on me…"
~...~
I found I was beginning to become lost in a different way than before. Rather than spending the days in semi-awkward silences, having myself sleep to avoid too much conversations, or focusing on my life on the run, I was finding myself becoming addicted to Jove. It was something similar to closing yourself from the world in order to play a video game non-stop. Only Jove was becoming addicted to me as well.
At some point, the feeding wasn't so much the reason why I found myself trailing my lips over Jove's skin and wrapping my legs around his waist. It was more the psychic bond that was warm and electric, pleasurable like a drug. It was escalating rapidly so that we could practically communicate without a word and we both couldn't wait until the sun was rising and we were alone in a room together spending the day in each other's arms. Jove was beginning to consume me completely, and I was fine with it.
Then the pace sped up even more one morning when we had just completed our night of running. The minute I moved into the room, I felt Jove's desire, and I drew him to me feeling my own hunger and desire. I did the usual, pushing him down onto the bed so that I could spread the wave of pleasure over him and bite into his flesh for the blood I craved. I felt his thoughts swimming in mine, his memories that were familiar and well known by now. I could see the image of Jove approached by the Vampire Council, who had heard of his unique mind ability, though unable to control minds. He was accepted rather quickly as the new Council Interrogator after plenty of dull tests and attempts of what I assumed were brainwashing techniques.
The Council is above all. The Council is above all.
I was pulled back to the present when Jove was suddenly on top of me, pushing me against the bed with his hips and kissing my neck lovingly. Every teasing touch was more enjoyable than it had been when I was human, though those memories were unclear and uncertain. Then Jove did something I can't be sure if he came up with or I had; he pierced my own flesh with his fangs easily, drawing my own blood into him. We were both shocked by the static that shot through us at the blood trade. It was like his thoughts were clearer in my head than ever before and vice versa. The intense pleasure from our touch was increased and I suddenly pushed him upright so that I could better wrap myself around him and press my lips against his.
Jove was pressing at my skin under my shirt eagerly; I could feel him wanting to know my body with his as he knew my mind. I pulled off his shirt, wanting the same, but being distracted by his lips and his thoughts. I tugged at his pants a bit too roughly and they ripped easily. He laughed with me, never pulling his lips away from mine.
After a bunch of fighting with the clothes, Jove paused, pulling away only to look into my eyes. "Hailence," He said, and I could hear and feel him wanting me to know of the love he felt for me. It was sharp, intense, and demanding but at the same time gentle and timid.
"I know," I breathed, afraid of the feeling myself that I didn't want to name as love. I had loved before and it only brought death after death. "Jove…" My fears were solid, but Jove only pressed his lips against mine again, fading them away to the background.
"I know," He teased, smiling against my lips.
We made love the entire day. It was unlike any love I'd ever had in my short life and it was a memory I hoped I'd never forget in what looked like would be a very very long life.
