Blood Born Read online

  “So you assume that I did? That I wanted to be a vampire?” I could tell by his words that Aldric was showing a part of himself that the rest of the world never got to see. It was brief, though. He was back to his usual domineering and annoying self in a flash. “Next you will say I like the taste of blood.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Very much.” His face grew serious, his eyes even more intense than usual. “But I didn’t always. I had to learn to like it. To survive.” I felt a tiny nerve twitch in my face, and I was afraid Aldric would see the uneasiness I was working so hard to hide. I figured sarcasm was the best way to diffuse the situation.

  “A true blood sucker. Shocking.” I did my best to keep a straight face, to show him I wasn’t backing down. He smiled wickedly and moved toward the door.

  “As fun as this is,” he said, “I have to be going. I need to make sure someone’s mess has been cleaned up.” He had already opened the door and was standing on the porch before my mouth opened and words fell out.

  “Wait,” I said, a bit too loudly for such an empty space. The word bounced off the dingy walls. Aldric stopped abruptly and turned back around, his face smiling.

  “Yes, Ava?” It was like he knew I was going to stop him from leaving. I hated that he had such power over me. The last thing I wanted was to turn to him for advice or answers. But I had no other choice. It wasn’t like I had a “vamp friends” section in my phone book.

  “I have more questions,” I said calmly.

  “And I will do my best to answer them.” He opened his stance a bit, like he was ready for me to pitch a baseball at him or run and jump in to his arms. It was the most human thing I had seen him do since we met… And it really creeped me out.

  “Why do I get angry so easily?”

  He smiled at me. “All of your senses are heightened now, Ava, as you are obviously aware since you were able to track that vampire through the woods.”

  “I wasn’t tracking it. I just, I don’t know, I wanted—“

  “You wanted blood.” Our eyes locked, a mutual understanding between us. We were monsters, one in the same. I was like him in every way, and I hated it.

  “I could smell it. Over everything else, I could smell it. Like nothing else existed.”

  “Yes,” Aldric said softly. “I completely understand.” And I knew he did. I knew that he more than anyone else understood what I had felt when the scent of that girl’s blood invaded my mind. He had been living those feelings for centuries. “ But a keen sense of smell is only part of it,” he went on. “Your emotions have also intensified. Anger, jealousy, rage; all of them will seem much more severe and overpowering.”

  “How do I stop it?”

  “You can’t. You simply must learn to control it. That will come with time.”

  “Easier said than done, right?” The sudden feeling of dread swallowed me, filling my mind with doubt. No way was I going to be able to survive this new life.

  “As is everything worth doing, yes?” Aldric half-smiled again, though this time it felt more sincere. Not genuine, of course, but honest. Which was saying a lot coming from him.

  “So what else isn’t true about you? Or, us?” Even lumping myself together with vampires in word only made me cringe.

  “Well, let’s see,” he said, his eyes wandering as he collected his thoughts. “We are not allergic to silver, crucifixes or garlic. We don’t turn into bats. We don’t have to sleep in coffins, though I suppose you could if you wish. And we definitely do not sparkle. Get the idea?” He took a couple of steps toward me before adding, “Nearly everything you have heard about us is fiction, Ava.” The way he tried to sound like my friend or something was really unnerving; I quickly moved on to more important stuff.

  “How can I sense other vampires?”

  “That is one of your many new gifts. You will learn and perfect them all in time.” Aldric’s human-like aura faded fast, and he quickly turned back to creepy dead guy. “Your sense of smell has been enhanced leaps and bounds. The vampire you killed today was very close in proximity. Perhaps too close. You should be thankful for the girl wandering the woods. Without her, he no doubt would have made it to your school, and the death toll would have been far greater.” The sincerity behind his words earlier had now moved to his eyes, deep behind the venom that swirled there. I knew he felt indifferent about humans, so why was he saying I should be grateful more of them didn’t die?

  “I can’t be happy an innocent girl died because of me,” I interjected, self-deprecation drenching my words.

  “The vampire killed her,” Chance spoke from the back of the room. “Not you.” I looked up and into his eyes and saw that familiar warmth, that compassion that always seemed to be telling me to pull myself together.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Aldric continued. “As time progresses, you will hone your sense of smell and be able to find them before they get anywhere near you.”

  “So should I be drinking blood so I can fight them?” The thought repulsed me, made me feel like an alien in my own body. I hated the idea, but at the same time, it was all my mind could focus on.

  “As I’ve said, you don’t have to,” Aldric started. “And of course there are alternatives. But nothing will give you the strength that comes from human blood. Fresh human blood.” I’m sure he meant right from the neck. I tried to imagine sinking my teeth into a piece of human flesh and nearly fainted. Even though I had wanted to taste the girl in the woods, now the thought grossed me out. I so was not cut out to be a vampire.

  “What alternatives?” I asked, praying he would say there was a pill or something I could take. I highly doubted it, but I was hopeful.

  “Blood banks are always an option,” Aldric said, walking back into the room and clasping his hands together. He reminded me of a preacher giving a sermon, though I doubted he could even step foot in a church. Doing so would probably set him on fire or something. And probably me too, now. Another thing I hated about myself. “It’s not as vitamin-enriched as drinking it fresh, but it serves its purpose. And of course, there are animals.” He stopped walking and turned to look at me. “But really, Ava, do you think you could pick up a poor, defenseless animal and drink its blood? I can’t picture it.” He crinkled his forehead just above his nose, like he smelled something rotten.

  No way could I kill a defenseless animal. Of course, I couldn’t bite a human, either. I was down to only one option. “So do I just walk into the hospital and ask for a few pints of O Negative?” In any other scenario that would have been funny. Standing in the middle of a rundown house talking to a vampire about drinking human blood somehow took the humor out of it.

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  “What if I get caught?”

  “You are much more cunning than you realize, Ava. Another benefit of the new, enhanced life I have given you.” He made it sound like he had turned me into a superhero. I supposed in his eyes he had. “You have the ability to make people do whatever you want them to do. Humans are very susceptible. You just need to learn how to make it happen.”

  “I don’t want to do that,” I said, getting angry. “I refuse to be a villain. That’s not me.” I planned on revolting against the vampire side of me. Well, other than having to use my super strength to kill other vampires; I didn’t have a choice there.

  “Your choice,” Aldric said, sounding defeated. I released a tiny smile. “But do remember that the day will come when you will need one of those gifts to save your life.” He briefly glanced over at Chance before turning back to me. “Or the life of someone you care deeply about.” I cringed at his implication. “Not knowing what to do is difficult to overcome.” I could tell he was speaking from experience, his words drenched in pain. I allowed a full second of sorrow for him to enter my heart before I squashed it. I forced myself to remember that he was a killer. He would just as soon take a person’s life as he would save it. He was heartless, and no matter how sweet he spoke or how sad and broken he
looked, I couldn’t forget that.

  On the other hand, he had a point. My life was different now. I was different. Whether I wanted to face the reality or not, the fact remained that I was a vampire. And I was going to be stepping blindly into a world that could easily get me killed. The smart thing to do would be to learn all I could to help protect myself—and others. I didn’t want to do it, and I was positive I would hate myself worse the more I accepted my vampire side, but it was the right thing to do. I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and turned to Aldric.

  “You’re right.” Now I was the one sounding defeated. “I need to protect myself. Protect the people around me.” I looked over at Chance as I spoke. He stood tall and still, like a soldier at attention. But his face was speaking to me, and it was telling me he wasn’t happy with my decision.

  “Wise choice,” Aldric said with an eerie creepiness in his voice; worse than his normal creepiness. “If you hope to succeed in getting your human self back, having an arsenal of unstoppable force will only help you achieve your goal. I understand your reservations, but remember that you control what you learn and how you use it. Not me.” I wanted so desperately to believe him, believe that he was telling me everything. But I couldn’t. There was a nagging feeling in the bottom of my stomach that kept me from trusting his words. Something, somewhere, was warning me about him. I couldn’t place it, but I just knew not to allow myself to get too close. But for the moment, he was the only option I had.

  “Will you help me?” I asked, trying to sound as sincere as I could.

  “No!” Chance spoke for the first time during our entire conversation. Actually, he yelled. So loud it made me jump. Aldric and I looked at him at the same time. Chance’s chest was heaving, rising and dropping so fast I was afraid he would hyperventilate.

  “It’s okay,” I said, confused as to why he was freaking out. He wouldn’t look at me at first, his eyes locked on Aldric across the room. After a few seconds, the hard edges of his face disappeared and he finally brought his eyes to mine.

  “No, it’s not,” he said after slowing his labored breathing. “You can’t trust him, Ava. He’s a monster.” He was speaking so softly I had to focus on his lips to make sure I didn’t miss anything. A quick mental image of our lips pressed together flashed across my mind and I had to blink hard to make it disappear. What was that all about? I didn’t even know this guy, why was I thinking these things about him? I didn’t really have the time to worry about it at the moment.

  “I know he is,” I answered, trying not to think about that image still fighting to enter my mind. “Don’t worry so much about me. I’ll be fine.” It was a semi-lie. I knew Aldric couldn’t be trusted, that part was true; I wasn’t too sure if I would be fine or not. “I don’t really have any choice here. If I’m going to be running around killing vampires, I need to know how to protect myself. You can’t be there ready to drive a wooden stake every single time.”

  “Yes I can,” Chance said, his face softening even more. “That’s why I’m here, to help you. All I want is for you to be safe. That’s all that matters.”

  “Why?” I had asked the question before and gotten nothing for an answer. Judging by Chance’s sudden nervousness— and the spike in the sweet scent of his blood— this time would be no different.

  “Just trust me, Ava.” Chance looked everywhere but at me. “Please try to believe that all I want is to keep you safe.” I knew he meant every word, even if he wasn’t telling me everything. He did want to keep me safe, I believed that completely. ‘Why’ was the question he refused to answer.

  “I believe you, Chance. And I appreciate that, honestly. But I can’t depend on you all the time. I have to be able to take care of myself.” I struggled to force my nose to ignore his alluring scent. “And besides,” I went on, “I’m stronger than you, so I win.” I smiled awkwardly at him, and thankfully he smiled back, though I could tell it was a bit forced.

  “Think that if you want to,” he said with laughter. “And you might be,” he crossed the room and stood close to me, the electric pull between us undeniable. “But no way in hell am I letting you be alone with him.” Though he was standing next to me, his eyes were focused on Aldric, a trembling rage swirling behind them. “I’d die first.” Chance’s breathing grew deeper and more rapid, causing his blood to boil in his veins and drive my mind crazy. Something awful was going on beneath the surface—something these two were fighting desperately to keep from me.

  “I know,” I said, searching both his and Aldric’s eyes for the truth. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  8

  . NORMALCY

  Chance and I didn’t say much to each other the rest of the day. We left Aldric to take care of my mess in the woods, picked up Chance’s truck from school and went back to his house—even though he told me to, I didn’t feel comfortable calling it home—with nothing more than a “you okay?” and “yeah” between us. I didn’t really know why, but after the things that were said in the cabin, I kind of felt awkward around him.

  We ate dinner with his mom in near total silence, except for a couple of questions she threw at me about my first day at a new school. I lied and said it was fine. Then I felt like total crap for lying to a woman who had allowed a complete stranger to live in her house. The first of thousands of lies to come, I was sure. Chance refused to let me help with the dishes, so while he and his mom cleaned up, I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I was under the covers and very near sleep when he finally came in.

  “If you want your bed back I can take the couch,” I offered, sort of hoping he would say no. As tired as I was, I couldn’t fathom having to move an inch. My body felt like it was tied to the mattress. Maybe it was sort of like jet-lag that you get when flying—another random, useless thing my memory bank decided to give me. Dead-lag. Chance quietly took off his shirt and tossed it into the hamper on the floor. The clean, fresh smell of soap mixed with the sweet scent of his blood and wafted into my nostrils. The fact that I wasn’t trying to kill him confused me. All I had wanted back in the woods was that girl’s blood. But I didn’t feel the same about Chance. It was really weird.

  “No way,” he said, pulling a blanket from the top shelf of his closet. “You need your beauty sleep.” I couldn’t clearly see his face because of the darkness in the room, but I knew he was smiling.

  “If anyone needs a good night of beauty sleep, it’s you,” I said— lie number two. If he were any more beautifully perfect, I would have to move away.

  “Oh trust me, you are definitely the one who’s going to need a full night of uninterrupted sleep.” Even though his words were light and jovial, I could hear a hint of seriousness behind his kind-hearted tone.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because tomorrow is gonna be hell.” He shoved his bedroom door against the wall, the crashing sound it made when making contact wreaking havoc on my super-sensitive hearing. I had to get Aldric to teach me how to get that gift under control, too. I assumed Chance was referring to another day of hunting down vampires, and my happy mood quickly began to dissipate. Just knowing I had to go through what happened today ninety-nine more times made my skin crawl. I had no clue how I was going to pull it off.

  “I promise next time I’ll make the kill.” The statement came out cold and heartless, like I was indifferent to what the words meant, even though my stomach was doing somersaults. I guessed subconsciously I was already trying to separate myself from the monster I was ultimately going to become.

  Chance laughed and took a couple steps toward me, his face appearing in the light of the bedside lamp like a ship in the mist. “That’s good to know,” he said smiling. “But I was actually talking about your second day at school.”

  “What’s so important about the second day?” I tried not to sound scared, but was failing miserably.

  “It’s kind of a tradition at McCarver. Your first day is cake. But the second? All bets are off.” Chance half-winked at me and left the roo
m, closing the door behind him. My nerves went into hyper-drive, my mind racing through scenarios that would no doubt play out tomorrow. After nearly an hour of painful anticipation, my body finally gave into the persistent demands of sleep.

  I had an unusually high amount of fear walking across the parking lot at school the next morning. Chance was mere inches from me, but I felt totally alone. I clutched my books tightly against my chest, focusing on the cadence being made by my trembling footsteps. Luckily Chance’s mom let me invade her closet for some more updated outfits until I could go shopping on Saturday, so I felt a bit better about my appearance compared to yesterday. Not enough to hold my head high, but a slight improvement.

  “Just remember,” Chance said as he opened the large double doors, “you have no reason to answer any questions. You tell them what you want to tell them. Keep the rest to yourself.”

  “Tell who what?” He had thoroughly confused me, which was becoming an easy thing to do. He didn’t have to answer, though. Coming down the hall like a sea of waxed legs and blond hair were Lacey and her two clones, parting the crowd of people like she was Moses and they were The Red Sea. I stopped dead in my tracks as I watched the kids move and shift and practically throw themselves out of the way of the oncoming pack. It was like Lacey was the Queen of England, and we were all her loyal—but inferior—subjects. I felt rage climb my spine as the trio stopped in sync in front of us.

  “What happened to you yesterday?” Lacey asked. I almost answered until I realized she was speaking to Chance. “We missed you in gym class.” She was laying on some seriously thick flirting, every once in a while cutting her eyes at me to see if I was getting jealous. Oddly enough I was, but no way was she going to see it.

  “I was busy,” Chance responded, neither cheerful nor rude. He, too, looked over at me. I kept my eyes busily studying the top of my notebook, nearly biting my tongue to keep from saying something I might later regret. Not an easy task, mind you.