Bitter Sweet (19 page)

June Tsuki

Chapter 27.0

              The sharing of vampire blood was banned after incubi, male vampire who craved both blood and sex from their female victims, got carried away. They wouldn’t kill the women they slept with as the passion and lust tainting the blood made them crave more and more women. Not all the women who died stayed dead, many would wake up as banshee. The Elders had to hunt down and destroy these women; the sensory overload they experienced drove them mad and they couldn’t control themselves. They would randomly go off on screaming rampages until they were killed or died of hunger. Some rampages lasted years. Being stuck between vampire and human made them feed on blood, but it did very little for them. These women were responsible for the myths surrounding banshee. Creating them was punishable by death; we were not allowed to play with life in such a way, and to gray the lines of life and death was said to be the act of the Gods.

              Alik approached the Elders the night you were hurt and told them what he had done. In an instant, Ario attacked him. I was in the room when it happened; I had never felt such a strong intent to kill, or seen any vampire move so fast.

             
"You could feel whose intent to kill?" asked Vanessa.

              "Ario, the one male of the three Elders."

              "How did Alik survive? He told me that the older a vampire is, the stronger they become."

              "I told you, vampire of Alik's caliber are rare; age means nothing to him. If Alik was destroyed that night, it meant that you would have never woken up the next day, something Alik wouldn't allow. When I saw Ario moving towards Alik, I could feel the hate Ario had for him. Alik stayed calm and was able to subdue Ario easily while Lilith and Ayara watched. Every action Alik took that night would have gotten any other vampire burned. Is lucky the tension between the Elders is always high; if Lilith’s son was killed, how would she treat his murderer, and the tension between Alik and Lilith, who would win if they were to fight earnestly?

              “What is the difference between Alik and Ario?”

              “Ario would be a bold mouse fighting an uninterested lion.”

              “How about Alik and Lilith.”

              “Could you say what was more breathtaking, the raising sun or the sun setting?” she asked me.

              “I see...”

Vanessa Stanton

Chapter 28.0

              A silence filled the car. Tears began to drip onto my clothes and it was a while before I could control myself.

              “That night at the club when you first saw Alik, all you would ever need to know was communicated. You felt that you had to be with him more than anything, so why fight fate? Alik has never been a coward and he has never been dishonest. He couldn’t hide it from anyone; it would eat at him until it destroyed him. Whatever Alik has ever told anyone has been the truth, or at least the truth up to the point they needed to know. What he has told you is more than that."

              "He never told me he did that for me."

              "He probably wasn’t going to either. It would have been too 'vampire' for you, with all your worries about mystic vampire powers influencing you I cant't blame him for not telling you. However I thought you should know on his behalf. Plus he would like to keep you out of our mother’s reach, but not turn you against her. He loves her in his own way."

              "Thank you. I’m glad you told me. Can I ask you something?"

              "Of course."

              “Just how can he be so sure he loves me like that?”             

              “Put it this way: when a human wants to be with another human, it’s called love. Why should it be any different for vampire?”

              We made it back home in record time and when Alik got out of the car, I gave him a hug. It was probably the first time I had ever caught him off guard and he hugged me back. I tried to place a lot of unsaid things into that hug, then I looked up into his eyes.

              "I don’t deserve you, you know that."

              "Why would you say that?" he asked, confused.

              "Because I don’t, that’s why."

              We carried all my stuff inside; my mother nearly broke my spine in a hug that would put a bear to shame. Then we all got into the Range Rover and took Sam home.

              "Your birthday is in a few days, isn’t it?" Alik asked Sam as we walk to the car after putting her things in her room.

              "Yeah, why?"

              "Just checking," he said, opening my door and closing it

              "I will see you tomorrow, Sam,” I said, rolling down the window, waving. Alik drove off as Sam waved back until we were out of sight. “What was that all about?” I turned and asked.

              “I got her a little something, that’s all.”

              He dropped me back off at home and my mom tried to get him and June to stay for dinner, but they politely refused. Just as she had grown attached to Alik, she had taken to June instantly. They only got away after promising to be back tomorrow. It felt good to be back in my own bed that night and I fell asleep easily.

              Sam’s birthday came and a bunch of our high school friends all got together at her house. There was cake, presents, music, dancing, and even a racy version of pin the tail on the donkey, which

involved rope, condoms, blindfolds, and a picture of a chicken; don’t ask. It was the end of the night when everyone had left and the place was a mess. If Alik hadn’t been there, we would have been cleaning for a week. But thanks to Alik, it was done in about an hour somehow.

              “Sam, looks like you forgot a present over here,” Alik pointed out, tossing her a small box.

              “I wonder who brought this; no one said I missed their gift,” Sam said as she looked at the tiny box, confused.

              “Well, open it and we will find out,” he urged.

              She ripped the paper off and opened the box. Next, her mouth opened and eyes widened. She screamed and bolted for the door. She yanked it open and looked outside, then back inside, then back outside, and ran out the door. I looked at Alik who was laughing as he walked toward the door.

              “You’re not serious!” I could hear Sam shout.

              “It’s yours if you want it,” shouted Alik out the door.

              “I couldn’t accept this,” Sam said, already in the driver seat.

              “Looks like you already have,” laughed Alik. Sam got back out of the car and hugged him. I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like he whispered, “Consider it thanks for being on my side” into her ear before letting go.

              “What is that thing?” I asked.

              “A BMW M3!” Sam shouted in excitement.

              “Don’t worry about insurance, I have that covered.”

              “Can I drive it now?”

              “It’s your car,” he grinned.

              “I will be right back.” She ran inside to get her purse.

              I walked over to Alik who was leaning on the shiny white car and put my arms around his neck, looking into his eyes.             

              "This might be a rude question, but just how much money do you have?" I asked him.

              "Let’s put it this way, when you have existed for a little over a millennium, you tend to collect a lot of things of value." I looked at him like I was confused. "Okay, put it this way, if I wanted to buy a place to build a house, the state of New York would be in my price range." My eyes widened and he laughed.

              "Are you serious?"

              "Completely."

              “Wow... well what was this 'small' gift for?” I assumed this was a small gift to him.

              “It’s just a birthday gift.”

              “How much was this birthday gift, if you don’t mind me asking?”

              “You and numbers." I stared him down and he sighed. "This one was a little over $63000.”

              “That’s just a birthday gift to you?!”

              “It’s a little more than that, but it shows the extent of my gratitude towards Sam.”

              “Gratitude for what?”

              “Just being your friend.”

              “Can I ask you for a gift then?”

              “Of course, anything.”

              “Can I go pick up Phil alone?”

              “Can I ask why?” His tone changed from light and happy to low and cautious.

              “I just want to speak to him alone, that’s all.”             

             
“I see...” he said and I couldn’t tell if it was sadness or some other emotion he let slip out, but I didn’t have a chance to find out.

              “Alright, I’m ready!” shouted Sam, breaking the mood as she ran back toward us.

              “Have fun then,” Alik said, returning to his happier self.

              “You’re not coming with me?”

              “No, I have to go talk to June, but tell me about it later. We will play with the I-drive later also.”

              “Thank you again.” She hugged him and got into the car; I could hear her giggle as she started the engine and pulled away in a cloud of smoke and screeching tires. The definition of excitement should have a small video of that moment under it in the dictionary.

              “I will see you later.” He kissed me on the cheek. “Call me when you get back tomorrow?”

              “I will.” Then he was gone.

              That night, I didn’t sleep too well and in the morning, I was a mess. I spent almost an hour in the shower just wanting to relax in the warm water. I got out, got dressed, and went down to eat breakfast. My mother threw out hints at how great Alik was and how she would love to have a son-in-law like him. I got in the car and left all music off and just let the engine relax me until I got to Phil’s place. He lived alone in a studio apartment, which would make this easier. He came out carrying a bag, but he saw my expression and dropped it at the door. He then slowly walked over to where I was leaning against the car.

              “Hey Vanessa, where’s Alik,” he asked with apprehension in his voice.

              “I told him to stay behind.” I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to say.

              “Why?”

              “I wanted to talk to you alone.”

              He then sighed very Alik-like. “I should have known this was coming. Alik isn’t really your brother, is he?”

              “He’s closer than a brother, but he’s not a lover. Not yet anyway.”

              “You’re starting to see those lines blur?”       

              “I am.” It took all my strength to look him in the eye then.

              “Me being around would just make things complicated?” he was trying to hold on to me; that was hard to bear.

              “The strange thing is, it hasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I like you, a lot. It’s just that with Alik… everything just transcends everything else. My time with you has be great, and don’t take this the wrong way, but it has shown me that I just can’t be with anyone other than him.”

              "He is something special then?"

              "You couldn’t imagine."

              "I always got the hint that he was dangerous, he hasn’t threatened you or anything, has he?"

              "No, no... This is my choice."

              "I’m pretty sure all his invites for gaming and car talk were to get me away from you."

              "You thought that, too?" We laughed.

              “I did sort of rush you into this whole relationship; I’m lucky it lasted this long.”

              “I’m lucky you were ever interested in me in the first place.”

              “Guess I’m going to Japan with Sean and the others for New Years then,” he said with a false sigh.

              “Is that it?”

              “I’ve been wanting to go for a while. It will be cheaper with a group.”             

              “You don’t want to yell at me?” I asked, feeling guilty.

             
He smiled. “No, but…” He leaned in to kiss me one last time. “Do you mind if we stay friends?”

              “Do you think that’s possible?”

              “I do, Alik is my friend now, too. At least I think he his.”

              “He is, I can tell when he is lying. He likes you a lot, dating me was the only thing he had against you.”

              He walked back to his door and went inside and I got back in the car and drove home. I just sat outside for a moment when I got there. Alik opened the passenger door and got in. I drove over to the beach where he first brought me after Alisa’s 'toys' attacked me. I got out and he followed me to the water’s edge; I picked up a rock and attempted to skip it across the water, but failed as it sank with a plop.

              “I will never be good at that,” I said.