An Angel Among Vampires (3 page)

I stare at her, eyes wide in shock.

“Surely you have noticed you have the ability to see at night just as well as you do in the daytime, regardless of how much light is available?” She continues without waiting for a response. “Eyesight enhancement is just one of your abilities. You should also be able to see body heat or sense it. Jacob never really explained that sense to me well enough that I truly understood what he meant by that.”

“Yes, but we don’t have the time to discuss him right now. Anyway, along with enhanced eyesight, your hearing should be superb. Your father could hear an animal’s heartbeat almost a mile away if he concentrated hard enough.”

“How well did you know my father?” I ask, curiosity getting a hold of me.

She looks thoughtful for a moment before replying. “Well enough. Please stay focused, Jessica. We do not have much time left before you wake up and we still have a lot to discuss.” She continues with her explanation as if I did not interrupt her. “Your strength and speed will continue to increase, as I have said before, but you should already be stronger and faster than most humans.”

“Listen, I know this is a lot to take in and a lot of it is unbelievable. You need to focus on what I am saying and believe what I am telling you. The faster you accept your abilities, the faster you will be at mastering them, and the safer you will be.”

“Again, why do you think I am in danger? Aunt Maddy never allows me to leave the house, so who even knows that I exist?”

“There are those who feel that your kind should not exist and will do anything and everything in their power to make sure you do not survive.” She explains.

“Quit speaking in riddles. If you want me to understand, just say what you mean.” I growl out between my teeth.

She sighs. “There are groups of beings, some are vampires, some are not, that feel your existence threatens theirs. Normally, the only way to create another vampire is to sire one. As half-angel, you have the ability to create a natural born vampire, such as yourself. Any vampire that is a direct descendant from you will have no mandatory ties or loyalties to the vampire community. As half-angel, you will not age after your body reaches maturity or die, so you could have your own bloodline of vampires that are loyal to you regardless of the Vampire Council’s permission. As your children mature, they will also receive all of the same angelic abilities as you. They will also have the ability to produce natural born vampires with no ties to the Council, shape-shifting abilities along with vampire abilities.”

I think about all she has told me for a moment before responding. “What is the Vampire Council and why would they care if I exist? Why does it matter that any children of mine exist? What does any of that have to do with me? Regardless, I will just not sleep with any vampires. Wait a second. I thought vampires could not reproduce?”

Ignoring my first few questions, she answers my last. “A vampire cannot normally reproduce naturally, but when a vampire joins with an angel, the healing properties of an angel revitalize the vampire’s sperm once inside her body, therefore allowing reproduction.”

“That is one of the reasons why you must learn to defend yourself. You must take your training seriously because they are coming for you.” She says warningly.

“Who is coming for me?”

“The ones that killed us on the day you were born. We were lucky they did not find you then, but they are getting closer to finding you. You must be prepared.” The urgency in her voice is alarming.

After thinking about what she is saying, tears fill my eyes at the implications of what this means. I ask her softly. “Are you my mother?”

She smiles sympathetically. “Yes sweetheart, but we don’t have time for that discussion right now either. There is one last thing I need to tell you before you wake up.”

“But wait! I mean, you tell me that you are my mother then expect me to let it go. All of these times that we have spoken, you never thought to mention that little tidbit to me?” Tears are now streaming down my face.

“Shh, sweetheart. I know how hard this is for you, but there is no more time.” She tells me softly.

“But…” I try to interrupt.

She holds up her hand to stop my interruption. “Remember to focus on the task at hand as your trainers are always reminding you. You have always suspected that I am your mother. You need to understand why there are not many angels left in the world.”

The change of subject stuns me into silence.

Taking advantage of my silence, she continues. “Another property of an angel’s blood is that it is highly sought after by vampires for the power it wields. Our blood gives a vampire the ability to gain power, unlike human blood, which is only sustenance. Our blood does not change properties once it is outside of our bodies either. Vampires used to use angels as blood donors until they could no longer keep control over their blood thirst. Vampires find our blood very addicting.”

“I’m confused. Are you saying that they want our blood, but they become too addicted to it to keep us alive and milk us like cows?”

“Interesting comparison, but the analogy does seem to fit.”

“Alright, is there anything else I need to know?”

“A vampire cannot use mind control on you because of our angelic blood, but it also means you cannot use that vampire ability on them for the same reason.”

“Mind control?” I ask in confusion.

“As you become stronger, you will be able to enter someone’s mind and control their movements with only a thought. The person would behave like a puppet with you holding their strings.” She explains in further detail.

“Vampires can’t turn me into a puppet and I can’t control them either. Got it! Is there anything else? What about humans? Will I be able to use mind control on humans or will I be unable to control anyone at all?”

She ponders the question as if she is listening to someone speaking in her ear. “I am not sure. As an angel, I did have the ability to enter a human’s mind and implant suggestions.”

I shake my head at the wealth of information my mother is giving me. “I think I have been able to read the thoughts of my aunt and her guests if they are close enough to me. I am not sure though. Unless I ask them what they were thinking, which isn’t likely, I won’t ever know for sure. Is that something vampires can do too?”

Her mother nods. “Telepathy is an ability you will need to investigate more on your own. I have similar powers as an angel as your father did as a vampire, so I have no idea if telepathy comes from your vampire or angel abilities. It could be a combination of both. I wish I had a better answer for you. Unfortunately, you are the only child I know that is half vampire, half angel. There are no answers I could give you that I am completely certain about.”

I nod in understanding.

“I will return later to teach you how to shape shift once you come fully into your powers. Take care of yourself, my beautiful daughter.” She fades away before I can say anything else.

I wake from my dream and I am lying on my bed, staring at the concrete ceiling thinking about everything she has told me. Little did I know that tomorrow my life would change more than I could ever expect.

Chapter 3

I wake to the sounds of dishes rattling noisily on a tray as my aunt comes down the stairs with my dinner. I groan my disapproval of the early hour of evening and pull the sheets over my head.

“Get up! There is a lot of cleaning that you need to do today and I have dinner plans. I expect you to have the house clean by then and the laundry done. Make sure all of the curtains are closed so no one sees you and the sheets on my bed are changed too.” She rattles off in a shrill tone.

“Planning to seduce another poor sucker into your bed tonight?” I snap at her, lowering my blankets.

She glowers at me. “Just get the shit done, stay the hell out of my way, and out of my business.” She stomps out of my basement room, slamming the door at the top of the stairs on her way out.

I growl in annoyance, wishing I could find the means to leave this place, before climbing out of bed. I sniff the air to see what she brought me for dinner. I don’t know why I bother. The smell of ramen noodles penetrates my nose and I wrinkle it in disgust.

I hate Ramen noodles. The smell alone turns my stomach. After years of eating only ramen and old bologna sandwiches, anyone would hate their smell.

Pushing the tray aside, I grab two bags of blood from my mini-fridge instead, throwing them into the microwave. Normally, I would only have one bag of blood when I wake up, but I figure I might need the extra energy for cleaning. I have not been upstairs for at least a week so I know the house is going to be a mess. Aunt Maddy is truly a slob. After a quick bathroom trip and slamming down the bags of blood, I climb up the steps towards the main house. Once upstairs, I take stock of the damage and hiss in annoyance.

Trash is everywhere. There are dishes all over the living area and kitchen. Food has crusted on many of the dishes. The trash is over flowing with flies hovering over it. Clothes are lying all across the floor and stairs. I peek in the downstairs bathroom. Hair is all over the sink and a ring in the tub is what I briefly notice before slamming the door shut. I sigh heavily and make my way to the cabinet with all the cleaning supplies in the kitchen. I redo the ponytail in my hair, tightening it to make sure my long, dark brown hair stays out of my whiskey brown eyes. I put on my cleaning gloves and make quick work of the trash piled up in the kitchen. After what seems like hours, I sit on the couch in the now clean living room, waiting for the last laundry cycle to finish. Enjoying the peace and quiet in the empty house, I listen to the crickets and cicadas outside while sitting in the dark. Being downstairs in the concrete basement with no windows, I normally cannot hear them so clearly. The dryer buzzes and I go to the laundry room to remove the last of the clean clothes from the dryer. As I am folding the clothes, I pause and glance around hesitantly. Something has changed. I can sense something is wrong, but everything looks okay.

What is different?
I ask myself.

It is then that I realize I cannot hear the crickets and cicadas outside anymore. I peek out the curtains to see if my aunt has returned early and see movement in the trees across the street. I look around harder and see more movement on both sides of the house. I hear a thump above me. The sound is coming from the roof. The intruders are so silent; I doubt anyone would have heard them without excellent hearing like mine. Heeding my mother’s warning to be cautious, I creep downstairs to grab the new daggers my martial arts instructor left with me yesterday. As I return upstairs, I can hear the sound of keys rattling outside the front door. Realizing the sounds I am hearing now are from my aunt returning from her date, I shuffle to the nearest door, which happens to be a coat closet to wait her out and close the door until there is only a small crack left, which still allows me to see into the room.

My heart is racing, pumping adrenaline throughout my body, speeding up my breathing. I take a deep breath to slow my heart rate and breathing as I watch my aunt come through the front door. There is a tall, thin black man with her.

He must be the poor sap that is her date.
I think jokingly.

After my aunt is inside, I see her stop in the doorway, turn around to look outside the still open door. “Please, do come in.” She calls out.

Hmm. That’s a strange thing to say considering her date is already inside.
Then it hits me, vampires.
I’ve read somewhere that someone in residence must invite a vampire inside or the vampire cannot enter. Whether or not it is true is anyone’s guess. One of them must have controlled her mind like my mother mentioned and got her to invite them inside the house.

Seconds later, five men stream into the house. The first one grabs my aunt and holds her still against his chest. He looks like an East Indian man with shoulder-length, dark brown hair with grey streaks. He is taller than my aunt is, but only by a few inches. Most of her large frame covers the rest of his body so I can’t see what the rest of his body looks like.

The next man that enters the house grabs her date as he is backing away from the door. He has a pale, beige skin tone with stringy, yellow hair and dark brown eyes. He’s not as tall as the Indian is, but he looks taller than my aunt’s 5’8” height.

Before the black man can react, the vampire holding him snaps his neck and my aunt’s date falls to the floor like a puppet with their strings cut.

The Indian has no problem holding on to her, despite her struggles. “Where is the girl? The abomination derived from my vampire.” He clarifies.

Oh my God. They really are vampires!
I think in disbelief.

“She is probably downstairs in the basement.” Aunt Maddy replies to her captor. “You can have her, just don’t hurt me please.”