Crave (5 page)

“Not quite a demon,” Mom said. “At least not full-blooded. He's from a line of vampires that mixed with demons a long time ago.”

Oh,
that
made it all better.

Nanna added, “This gives them the ability to get energy two ways…through the traditional methods—”

“Blood. You're saying you…you drink blood?” I gulped, looking at Dad.

He nodded. “We can also take energy through a kiss.”

“Energy from a kiss.” My voice came out flat.

They were all nuts.

I slid my hand free of Nanna's and flipped the comforter off my legs. “Okay. Um, I…I would really like a shower now.”

Mom frowned. “Sweetie, don't you have any questions?”

“What's to ask? Dad's some funky kind of vampire that's part demon and drinks blood, and you two do magic. And now you think I will, too, right? Because I'm…what did you say? Changing?”

The carpet was cold beneath my feet as I stood up on wobbly legs. My weak body demanded I get back in bed. But no way was I staying here in the loony room. I had no idea what kind of joke they were trying to play, or if I was just hallucinating from lack of food. If this was a dream, the shower ought to wake me up pretty quick. On a whim, I pinched my forearm. “Ow!” Huh. That really hurt.

Dad grabbed my shoulders, his hands ice cold as usual.

Distracted, I frowned down at his hands. Ice-cold hands…

“Savannah, stop this right now,” he said. “We are trying to have a serious conversation with you. You are not asleep. You are perfectly awake and lucid. And you need to learn what you are, and what you may become, before anyone gets hurt. There are certain…symptoms you will need to watch out for now.”

The first glimmer of anger flared up in my stomach. Ordinarily I was careful about what I said to him, always trying so hard to be what he wanted, to say the right thing so he would
be proud of me, love me. But I was too tired and freaked out right now to try and be perfect. And I'd had more than enough of this family prank.

“Dad, you can stop worrying. There's no way I'm gonna be jumping on anyone or sending things flying Carrie-style at school….” A sudden memory flashed through my mind of that Christmas when Mom sent plates and other objects flying at him. Weird. I couldn't remember the plates actually leaving her hands now. Goose bumps raced over my skin.

“Well, of course you won't turn into Carrie.” Mom laughed. “Because we won't be teaching you magic.”

“It is the bloodlust we are more concerned about,” Dad said. “And if you do not learn to control it, you very well might end up jumping on people at school.”

Giving in to the insanity for a second, I huffed out a short sigh. “Okay, fine. I've got a question for you. Why now? I mean, let's pretend y'all are serious, you're not messing with me here, and I'm not hallucinating. If you're truly vamps and witches, then why tell me now and not before?”

“Because we couldn't wait any longer,” Mom said, rising to her feet and taking my hand. “We wanted you to have a normal life for as long as possible. But when the teas stopped working and we couldn't prevent your first monthly cycle any longer—”

“Oh, ew!” Dad was right there! Then I realized what she'd said and frowned. “Wait. Did you just say you gave me tea to…prevent…that?”

Nanna nodded. “We gave you a special tea every day that delayed your puberty.”

“Until I was
fifteen?
” Horror made me shriek. All my friends had had their periods since they were twelve and thirteen. All this time I'd been feeling like a freak of nature
because I was such a late bloomer. “Why would you
do
that to me?”

“Because puberty's done exactly what we feared,” Nanna snapped. “It's triggered your dormant genes. Now they're all waking up, and heaven only knows what's going to happen next. And watch your tone, missy—we're still your parents.”

Reaching behind me, I felt for the bed then sank onto the edge of it before my knees could give out.

“Hon, I know it's a lot to absorb all at once,” Mom said. “I swear, if we could have avoided telling you, we would have. We were so hoping you wouldn't take after either side and would be…well, normal. But it's just too dangerous now for you not to know. Your being sick for a whole week is a strong sign that one or both sides might begin to kick in. Which means you could start developing any number of abilities or impulses. If and when you do, we all need to be ready so we can help you learn to control them.”

Impulses. Abilities. What was I, some sort of wild animal about to go out of control?

Mom sat down beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You could try to think of it as if you were learning you have just an ordinary hereditary illness. Your parents' genes have predisposed you toward developing certain…issues in life. But they might or might not affect your daily life. We just have to all be prepared in case they do.”

“You mean, in case I start to develop a taste for blood?” I couldn't believe I was even saying this.

Dad's nod made it even more surreal. “You could begin to crave human blood. Your gaze might begin to have adverse effects on others when you look at them. Heightened reflexes, physical speed and mental processes are all possible. And then, of course, there is the possibility of fangs.”

Fangs. O. M. Freakin' G. He sounded like one of those drug-commercial announcers rattling off possible side effects.

“Or strange things may start to happen when you get upset,” Mom added. “Like…”

“Like flying plates,” Nanna said, a hint of a snicker in her voice. As if any of this were funny.

Mom glared at her. “That wasn't an accident. Now if I'd set the kitchen on fire…”

And that's when I realized they were serious about this. This wasn't a prank, and unless I woke up soon, I wasn't dreaming, either.

Which meant…I was half vampire, half witch. And all freak. Just like the Brat Twins had been saying for years. Oh, crap. “The Clann. Do they all know…?” I remembered the way the Brat Twins called me “freak” all the time and seemed scared of me sometimes…. They definitely knew. Did Tristan know, too?

“The adults know. The kids don't,” Mom said. “At least, the elders swore they wouldn't tell the younger descendants after they cast us out. Only the adult descendants were supposed to be warned.”

Nanna grunted. “Now, whether the elders actually
kept
that promise…”

“Why do the adults know about me? And what do you mean,
cast out?
”

It was Nanna and Mom's turn to look confused. Mom was the one to answer. “We thought you'd figured that part out already. Our family used to be in the Clann, too. Magic is what ties all of Jacksonville's founding families together in the first place. I'm sure you must have heard at least a rumor or two about it.”

Jacksonville's gossip grapevine had it right, then. “So the Clann are all witches. Like a coven.”

Mom and Nanna both nodded.

“But…we go to church,” I argued, trying to wrap my mind around the idea that the Brat Twins were witches in more than just a figurative way. Not to mention Tristan.

Holy heck. Tristan was a witch.

“Magic isn't a religion for us like it is for Wiccans,” Nanna said. “Most of the Clann's descendants are Christians who just happen to be gifted with the ability to do magic. It's genetics, not a lifestyle choice.”

Yeah, and I was sure everyone here in the Bible Belt of East Texas would really understand
that
distinction.

When I could make my brain work again, another thought hit me. “Wait. Dad, if you're a vampire, how can you go out in the daylight? And what about garlic, and holy water, and—”

“Vampires are like any other species, Savannah. We have evolved over the years. Sunlight no longer hurts us. Garlic and holy items never did—that was just religious propaganda. We all started out as humans with souls. Only our bodies have been changed by the hybrid vampire blood.”

I pressed a shaking hand to my forehead, which was pounding out a rhythm I couldn't keep up with. “Okay. So you're saying I might, or might not, start turning into an even bigger freak.”

“Stop saying that word,” Mom grumbled. “The proper term is
dhampir.
”

“So there are others like me?”

“No,” Dad answered. “Until your birth, dhampirs were a myth among our kind. We did not believe our race of vampires could procreate because of the demon mix in our origin's lineage. And no vampire in our society has ever consorted with a human long enough for a baby to be created.”

“Because…?”

Mom cleared her throat. “Well, hon, because vampires don't usually have that kind of self-control. They tend to either turn their human lovers or…” The look on her face finished her sentence.

Or kill them. I snuck a peek at Dad. He appeared as emotionless as ever.

“But you didn't,” I said to him. “Why?”

Nanna smiled. “Because I made a charm for your mother that dampened his bloodlust when he was around her.”

“So you were actually okay with their being together?” I realized after the words were out how rude they sounded. Too late to take it back now.

Nanna shrugged. “Your mother's always been hardheaded. It was either make a charm to ensure he didn't kill her, or lock her up in a vault somewhere.”

“Okay. So then you can make a charm for me, too, right? Something that'll prevent all those…those symptoms Dad listed?” Something that would keep me nice and normal and human. No blood drinking, no flying plates.

“Well, I could, but—”

“But that would be unwise,” Dad cut in. “It would be similar to giving morphine to a patient who has yet to be diagnosed. Charms would mask the appearance of any symptoms. We need to see what abilities develop within you. Then we will teach you how to control them yourself. Without magic.”

“So I'm supposed to…to just
deal
with it?”

“I know this is very difficult for you,” Mom said. “But I promise we're all here for you, and we're going to help you through this. And hey, it might not be a big deal, after all. You could just as easily not develop any abilities at all, or take after the Evans side and have only the magical blood within you. We're going to take it one day at a time, and we'll work through it as a team.”

A team. As if there was any “we” in this. There wasn't. This was me we were talking about, not them; my life, not theirs, that might go insane at any moment. My life that had been one long series of lies and crazy family secrets.

“The important thing is for you to communicate openly with us,” Dad said. “If you begin to experience strange urges or abilities, you must let us know at once. I will also be calling you once a week to check in with you.”

Huh, right. I should just tell them every detail about my life. Like they did for me, keeping so many secrets from me for fifteen years.

“You must also stay away from all members of the Clann,” Dad warned. “Especially their leading family, the Colemans.”

“Uh, not that I'm exactly friends with any of them any ways, but…why?”

“The Clann's powerful blood calls to vampires stronger than any other humans',” he said. “The more powerful they are, the more attractive they appear to a vampire. Since the Colemans have been their most powerful family for the last four generations, it is reasonable to assume that they will tempt your vampire side first and more than any others in their circle. Also, there is no way of knowing if all of the Clann parents are aware of your…situation and adequately protecting their children with charms. They have assured us that they have many of their descendants watching you on campus at all times—I believe several of them are teachers. But even still, if your vampire side does develop and one of them is not protected, you could begin to experience the bloodlust around them. Especially if one of them is injured around you. Then even a charm might not help.”

Oh. Of course. So that was why I always felt so weird around Tristan. Because he was a Coleman, and I was a…

No. I refused to even
think
of myself as that word. Not yet. Not until I had to.

And then another thought hit me. Sweet Lord. No wonder the Clann kids all deserted me in the fourth grade. Their parents had probably warned them to avoid me like the plague. Because they were afraid I might try to kill their kids. Which meant Tristan must at least know I wasn't normal. But how much did he know?

I clamped my lips shut so I wouldn't say something that would give away my thoughts and get me into trouble. But inside, my stomach burned and rolled.

Mom patted my shoulder. “All right, hon, why don't you go take that shower you wanted, while your Nanna and I make you something to eat? And later when you have questions, we'll be happy to answer them.”

“Joan, I must go.” Something dark edged at Dad's tone.

Mom must have noticed it, too; she jumped to her feet. “I'll walk you to your car.”

“What now?” I demanded, more than fed up with the secrecy. “Whatever it is, don't hide it.”

“I must report to the vampire council, and your mother is probably wondering if they will send watchers to Jacksonville to mark your changes,” Dad said.

Mom nodded, her hand tightening on my shoulder, though I didn't think she realized it.

“Watchers?” Council? Good Lord, it was never ending. What else didn't I know about my family, about myself, about the world I lived in?

“I do not think it is anything to worry about just yet,” Dad reassured us both. “Especially if you follow the rules and stay away from the Clann's descendants.”

As long as I stayed away from Tristan. Who wouldn't speak to me anyway.