Craved (4 page)

“Life and death serious.”

“Of course it is,” he said with a
heavy sigh and slumped his shoulders.

Aiden suddenly disappeared along with
the glow of candlelight. I squinted my eyes against the sudden
glare of the overhead light, to see that he had used his vampire
speed to extinguish all of the candles. He was in the middle of
pulling a white t-shirt over his head and caught my admiring gaze.
I quickly gained my wits and stared at a large painting that hung
on the far wall, rather than give him the satisfaction of knowing
that I found him attractive.

“You didn’t even get to see my use of
the flowers you rudely returned,” he said with a pointed look. I
smiled, happy that my “return to sender” spell had
worked.

“That’s too bad, but I
simply couldn’t accept so many beautiful flowers from a man
I
turned
down,” I
said, sending him my own pointed look. A smirk bent the side of his
mouth up.

“But you kept the dress.” I feigned
interest in the eclectic doodads that adorned his bookshelf, all
the while trying to figure out a good excuse for keeping the
dress.

“I was afraid it’d get ruined in the
transport spell,” I said, deciding that sounded
truthful.

Aiden laughed and walked into the
kitchen, with me on his heels. Like the rest of his house, the
kitchen was top-notch, black and stainless steel appliances, dark
brown marble countertops accented by cherry cabinets. Wrought iron
light fixtures and burnt orange tile, reiterated the Spanish theme
of the house.

“So, what have you gotten
yourself into now, my Gwen?” he asked, as he set a teakettle on the
stove and retrieved two coffee cups. Aiden had been saying
“
my
” Gwen ever
since I had met him, and telling him not to call me that only made
him enjoy it more. It had especially pissed off Micah when Aiden
had claimed I was “his” Gwen. A smiled played on my lips at the
thought.

“I’m not really supposed to
discuss this with anyone, Wyatt swore me to secrecy, so do I have
your word that this stays between us? Or am I gonna have to use
a
memory wipe
spell?”

Aiden scoffed at my warning, “I’m
surprised you think so little of me.” Deep down I knew he wouldn’t
tell anyone what we discussed tonight but I had to throw the
warning out there. If he had any desire to mention even the tiniest
bit of information, he knew I‘d take action. The kettle’s scream
echoed through our uncomfortable silence, shaking me back on
track.

“This is serious and the FPD will rip
me a new one if word gets out about what I’m about to tell you.
It’s not personal but I need to make sure I can trust you,” I told
him. Aiden filled both of our cups with the boiling water and
plopped a teabag into each one.

“Got it, serious,” Aiden said, as he
pretended to zip his lips shut and hand me the imaginary key. I
shook my head at his juvenile gestures, but my lips turned up into
a smile.

“Shoot, what’s so top secret that
you’ll threaten me with a memory wipe spell?” Aiden asked as he
took a sip of his tea. I wondered what it would be like to be a
vampire. They could drink any liquid but had to give up solid
foods. That would be some kind of hell in my mind, but Aiden seemed
at home as a vampire. They weren’t dead like a lot of the myths
claim, just infected with a demonic virus.

I had found a magic encyclopedia a few
years ago. In the book, I discovered that a demonic virus was
responsible for vampires. God had cast the devil out of heaven and
into hell; the devil didn't take it too well. Human books told why
the devil was sent to the netherworld but none of the books told
what the devil did because of it--too scary to advertise. He
loathed God’s children He believed they weren’t worthy of receiving
God’s love, so he made children of his own, vampires. Perfect
really, his children would feed off of God’s children and infect
them with a demonic virus.

The first vampires to ever exist were
nasty creatures, bat-like wings, with sharp clawed feet and hands,
who haunted the skies waiting for lone humans to feast upon. The
allergy to the sun came from the virus being of the
netherworld--dark; whereas God’s children came from the light. Over
time, the horrendous genes that made up the first vampires became
diluted. Seemed the humans, although infected with the devil’s
virus were able to conquer the evil in it with the free will God
had given them, eventually evolving into the vampires we had today.
Incredible story really, I had read it at least five times, never
tiring of the complexity of what made Aiden who he was
today.

“Gwen?” Aiden said, drawling me out of
my thoughts, “You have a vision?”

“You know I can’t have visions without
Aura,” I told him.

“So you were what, daydreaming about
what would’ve happened if you would have given into me earlier? I
can put those thoughts to rest and show you; care to follow me
upstairs?”

Would I be a horrible
person if I said I was thinking about taking him up on his offer?
We were both single and adults, why not?
The thought ran through my head as I watched Aiden over the
rim of my teacup. Remembering that I had come here to discuss
entirely different matters smacked the lusty thought from my head,
much to my dismay.

“Have you heard anything about the
effect witches’ blood has over new vampires? Anything called brew?”
I asked, steering the conversation back onto the track I intended
traveling tonight. Aiden arched his brow as he thought about my
question.

“I have not heard that. What have you
gotten yourself into, my Gwen?”

“Don’t call me that, I’m not
yours.”

“All in good time,” Aiden promised,
shrugging his shoulders as if it were only a matter of time before
I came to my senses and lived happily ever after with him. I shook
my head as annoyance snaked its way through my already stressed
nerves.

“Will you please stay on track? A
young girl is dead because of this rumor, which is turning out to
look more like a fact,” I said, aggravated.

“Which girl is dead?”

“Amy Harper, don’t you read the
newspaper?

“Not unless I’m searching the want
ads,” he smiled. Flora’s newspaper had a small section that
advertised willing blood donors from neighboring cities. Vampires
could drink otherworldly blood but needed human blood to feed the
virus and most vampires liked drinking live blood rather than
bagged, which could have been sitting for who knows how
long.

“You are so…infuriating,” I remarked.
I told myself I was pissed that he wouldn’t take this serious, but
there was a hint of jealousy at the thought of his lips on another
woman’s body, as irrelevant as it was. Hadn’t I just got through
telling him I wasn’t “his” Gwen?

“My apologies…you obviously feel
strongly about this and I wish I could help, but I haven’t heard
that a witch’s blood could affect a baby vamp. If you like, I could
ask around?”

“No, don’t ask around, I wasn’t even
supposed to mention it to you. I just thought since you’re a
vampire you might’ve heard something.”

“And you’re sure it’s vampires doing
this?” Aiden asked, as if it were as crazy as him stepping into the
morning sun.

“Yes, I went to the morgue and read
Amy Harper’s last thoughts. It was a vampire and he drained her
using a needle. She wasn’t killed in Flora though, so I don’t
understand why the vampire would drop her body here,” I said,
slowly drifting back into my thoughts as I tried to put together
the pieces.

“Why are you getting involved in this?
You’re not a cop, Gwen. Please let the FPD handle it. If what you
say is true, then I don’t want you anywhere near these types of
vampires. And, if you’ve forgotten, you’re a witch and a powerful
one at that,” he said, his tone deathly serious.

I ran a hand through my hair, “Thanks
for the advice,” I said as I hopped off the barstool and headed
towards the door. Aiden was blocking my exit before I had taken
three steps.

“Does this have to do with Micah?” he
asked.

“Of course not. I didn’t
even see Micah. As I mentioned earlier, I talked with Wyatt, and
even if I
had
talked to Micah, it wouldn’t be any of your business,” I spat
out as I tried to move past him, only to run into his rock hard
arm.

“Then why are you willing to stick
your nose into something that may potentially get you
killed?”

“Because, when I saw her last moments
as she saw them…” I stopped to take a breath, not sure how to
portray what I had felt through Amy Harper’s eyes. “She was so
young, Aiden, and scared to death. I watched the bastard drain her
like she was nothing more than a product. If I can help track this
asshole down, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do. And you
jumping on your high horse and ordering me not to won’t change my
mind,” I finished, my voice slightly shaky with anger or nerves, I
wasn’t sure. Aiden lowered his arm from the doorway and I pushed
passed him to leave.

“Gwen?” he said over his shoulder. I
stopped but wouldn’t turn around, my hand hesitating on the door
handle.

“Is it so much of a stretch to think
that I wasn’t trying to order you around? But was simply so pissed
at the thought that someone could hurt you? I know I joke around a
lot, but I really do care about you, Gwen, and I swear that if
anything happens to you because of this case, then Micah and Wyatt
are going to wish they never met me,” he said, his tone
unnerving.

“Like you said, I’m one powerful
witch. I’ll be fine,” I told him, not feeling as confident as my
words.

My feet pounded against
the worn concrete as I tried to outrun him. It was a pointless
action though; he ran faster than the wind. I knew that he was
playing with me; he knew I wouldn’t be able to escape. This town
was desolate, no witnesses to the terror I was facing. I just had
to keep running. I wasn’t sure where he lurked, but he was close, I
could feel the buzz of his energy dance on the night air. The empty
buildings loomed over me like demons called from the netherworld,
menacing and hollow.

I ran through an alleyway
to cut across to the next block, hoping that would throw my stalker
off my trail. But the swoosh of air overhead as he jumped across
the building’s rooftop, was like death itself, laughing at my lame
attempts to escape.

I came around the corner
and produced a stake. I had been practicing exactly for this
reason. It felt bulky and ominous in my palm, but it was my last
and only option, since the vampire wasn’t going to let me live.
Anthony had been right about them. Why hadn’t I
listened?

I heard footsteps behind
me but before I could turn my head, his arm wrapped around my
throat, his familiar scent no longer welcoming.

I awoke with a start, only realizing
I’d been dreaming after Aura meowed at me. She was sleeping on the
other side of my bed, where she gave me a pointed look through half
slit eyes.

Amy Harper’s memories haunted my
dreams as if I had become her, feeling everything as she felt it. I
shivered at the images and lay back down, running all of it through
my mind. Everything was the same as it had been at the morgue but
there was something else, some other information that I hadn’t seen
before. I tried to remember everything that happened in the dream,
but it was muddled. I lay in bed for fifteen minutes before the
answers popped into my head. In the dream, she had mentioned
something about an Anthony and that the vampire’s scent was
familiar, someone she knew perhaps? But why would someone she knows
want to kill her for such a horrific purpose?

**********

After I showered and dressed, I headed
to the kitchen for breakfast. Fiona was tapping away on her laptop,
while she magically made coffee. I ran into the floating coffee
filter and was doused in coffee grounds. In our apartment I never
knew what would be floating around when Fiona was home.

She pried her gaze from the computer
screen, only after having noticed there was a rift in her magical
production line. I brushed the grounds off of my shirt and shot a
displeased look towards her.