Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (15 page)

 I was too tired
to care.  I wondered distantly if I was dying.  But if Ailis said it was okay,
then it was okay.  After all, she would know about blood loss.  I closed my
eyes and relaxed into oblivion, ignoring the remembered feeling of power
coursing through me.

*****

The next
morning, I awoke feeling amazingly refreshed and energized.  Ailis had made
pancakes for breakfast.  After a few moments of awkwardness, we slid back into
companionable routine.  Since Ailis had cooked, I did the dishes.  As I
scrubbed the frying pan, she levered herself up to sit on the edge of the
center island, drumming her feet against the cabinetry.  She was almost humming
with excess energy.

“Did you clean
the house last night after I went to sleep?”  I asked curiously. 

Everything was
gleaming and spotless this morning, thanks to our purge yesterday, but I had
noticed that the laundry was done, and I swear she had reorganized the
cabinets.  Ailis paused in her drumming and gracefully leapt off the counter.

“Yeah,” she said
hesitantly.  “About that...”  I turned to study her as I dried off the pan. 
Her dark gray-blue eyes were shining and her aura looked… fuller.  I barely had
to concentrate to see it.

“I don’t think I
should take blood from you for a while.  It made me feel really weird.”

I stared at her
for a moment.  “Weird?”  I asked uncertainly.  “How?”

She shrugged and
began to pace.  “I feel…high,” she said, puzzled.  “I’ve never had that happen
before.  And I feel all jittery.”  She came to drop a fleeting, platonic kiss
on my forehead.  “It was amazing, and I really appreciate that you were willing
to give to me.  Really, that gesture means more than you know.”

She shrugged. 
“But I really think I should talk to someone- maybe check in with my master and
make sure my aura is okay...”

 “It is fuller,”
I said casually.  Ailis paused in her pacing.  “You can see auras now?” she
asked in surprise.  I nodded guiltily, eyes on my hand as I pulled the plug to
let the water out of the sink.

 “I didn’t know
what I was seeing at first.”  I said with a shrug.  “I think I can only see
non-humans.  But I’ve noticed that it’s getting easier lately.”

Ailis seemed to
brush the topic aside as merely interesting, not earth shaking, and I let out a
breath of relief.  Maybe seeing auras wasn’t as weird as I’d thought.

“Still,” Ailis
said returning to our original topic.  “I don’t think I would mention this to
anyone.  I’ll make sure only my master knows.”  As if that was any comfort. 
Her master was one of the ones who wanted to use me.  “You would be in serious
trouble if it got out that your blood does this.”  She gestured to herself and
raised an eyebrow
.  Just freaking swell.

I closed my eyes
and took a painful breath.  Ailis stood over me where I had landed on the mat. 
“Get up,” she hissed.  “If I was for real I would have ripped your throat out
while you lay there!”  Ailis backed off a few paces while I rolled clumsily to
my hands and knees and got to my feet.

 I had returned
from work one evening to find my back patio covered with padded tumbling mats
that Ailis had purchased from the local sporting goods store.  She insisted
that I needed to learn to defend myself and, considering just what I would be
defending myself against, she would be the one to teach me.  Since then she had
literally beaten me black and blue every night.  At this point, I didn’t think
I could defend myself from a fuzzy little kitten.  I was exhausted, and if I
had one, it hurt. 

Ailis finally
dropped her arms, which she had been using to casually block my roundhouse
kicks without even breaking a sweat.  I came to a panting halt and she sighed. 
“I’m sorry to push you so hard, Mya.  I just want you to be safe.”

I shook my head,
still panting.  “Even if I was a master at this it still wouldn’t be enough,
would it?”  I would still be human.  She frowned unhappily, but answered me
truthfully.

“If you were
alone with one of us?  No.  But it just might keep you alive long enough for me
to get there and help you.”  She peered at me in concern.  I really hoped I
wasn’t going to pass out.  I wasn’t much for physical exertion.

I nodded,
breathing too hard to respond, and began to stretch myself out as she padded
into the house.  God I hate exercise.  Ailis returned a few moments later with
two bottles of water.  I cracked mine open and sagged into one of the plastic
patio chairs.  My cell phone started ringing and I glanced at it briefly before
placing it on the table where it vibrated away merrily.

“Maybe you
should talk to him, even if it’s just to tell him to get lost,” Ailis
commented.  “Besides, I am really curious just what in the world he’s up to.”

I had dodged
Christian for a while now.  He called daily, and I ignored it.  I had to admit,
she was right.  There was no harm in simply asking him what he was up to.  But
for some reason, I just couldn’t.  “He showed up at work yesterday,” I said,
guilty.  Ailis glanced at me with worry creasing her perfect brow.

“I know I should
have told you, but I gave him the slip and nothing happened.”  Nothing except a
wash of longing that I had promptly squashed with a good dose of anger.  I had
simply called security and hid in a patient’s room until he gave up and left. 
Apparently, even supernatural creatures liked to avoid being arrested.

Ailis plopped
into a chair and stretched her long legs under the table.  I eyed her lean
height enviously, not for the first time.  “I’m getting concerned,” she said
quietly.  “Master Argenou has spoken with the Father Alpha and his only
concession was that he’d ‘look into it’.”

She frowned in
confusion, flipping a strand of red hair behind her ear.  The Father Alpha was
apparently the head honcho of all the wolves.  If any of his people had designs
on me, he should know.

“I just don’t
know what that wolf is up to and why the Father Alpha would lie about it.  An
open confession would be more his nature.  Wolves are generally very
straightforward.  They don’t play games.  They state what they want, and then
they take it.”  Unlike vampires.  She didn’t need to say it.  I was getting a
pretty good idea how serious her kind were about their mind games.

I sighed.  “So
it’s just the sneaky Vampires I have to worry about,” I said weakly. God my
life was weird.

Ailis shook her
head “Not at all,” she said intently.  “I don’t know about the other
supernatural races, but the wolves definitely know about you and want to claim
you as much as the vampires.  However, they are content to wait and see how
your power manifests itself, and if it is even useful to them.  Make no
mistake, they are scheming too.  They’re just being quiet about it.”

She shot me a
wary glance.  “Maybe that’s why he approached you.  Intimacy tends to reveal
people’s secrets…”

I put my elbow
on the table and rested my chin in my hands.  I chose to ignore the fact that
she had said
other
supernatural creatures again.  I just couldn’t even
go there right now.  And as far as Christian using sex to spy on me, well, I
had already figured that one out.

“What the hell
is going to happen to me?”  I shook my head in defeat.  I didn’t want to belong
to
anyone.
  I didn’t even understand what my supposed
powers
were- if they even existed in the first place.  Though, I was starting to have
a really bad feeling that Ailis was right and there really was something
other
lurking inside me.

Ailis shrugged,
lost in thought.  “Vampires aren’t afraid to bring humans into their circle. 
Usually they are put under sway and well controlled.  They can be useful tools
at times.”

 I rolled my
eyes and she continued.  “The vampires would be willing to take you in just in
case you turned out to be useful.  If your powers turned out to be worthless,
you would still be a food source.  Wolves are different.  They are less
trusting and they are very selective about who is allowed into their pack. 
They wouldn’t accept you unless you proved yourself to be a very powerful
asset.  Maybe he was evaluating you?”

I folded my arms
and let my head sag onto them, my warm breath tickling my face as it rebounded
back at me from the tabletop.  Closing my eyes, I let anger take over.  It was
better than fear.  I was not a tool or an asset.  I was a person,
damn it
!

 “I’m
downplaying your powers to Argenou,” Ailis said.  “I told him that you are
unaware of your powers and that you demonstrate little, if any, competence or
skill.”  I made a face at her for that vote of confidence, but I appreciated
what she was doing.

“Thank you,” I
said tiredly, though I had yet to see any actual evidence of power.  I really
didn’t think unreliable bursts of bad feelings that may or may not be related
to danger and the ability to see colors were something for the supernatural
races of the world to get all worked up over.

She shrugged. 
“It is only a temporary solution.  If your powers continue to develop, I won’t
be able to hide it from him.  He’ll see it in my blood.”

I looked at her
questioningly and she explained.  “Most of the stronger vampires in the coven
pay fealty to him on occasion by sharing their blood.  Taking blood from the
strongest of his vampires gives him power.”

Seeing that I
wasn’t really getting it she continued.  “When we share blood with him, he can
see our thoughts.  He knows our secrets.”

I regarded her
in dawning horror.  “Could you read my thoughts when we shared blood?”

She actually had
the grace to look abashed.  “I probably could, but I didn’t.”  I wasn’t greatly
comforted.  She looked at me in concern and rushed to explain.  “I don’t even
know if I actually
could
read your thoughts if you didn’t want me to. 
Your powers might be strong enough to block me-some sensitives are able to keep
us out.”

Seeing that I
hadn’t jumped out of my chair yet, she continued hesitantly.  “I did
accidentally pick up on some of your emotions though.  I could feel… loneliness
and longing.  I know that you are confused.  Scared.”  She paused and took a
deep breath.  “And you want to see him again.”

I could feel
warmth creeping up into my cheeks.  We hadn’t spoken much about what had
happened between us, and Ailis hadn’t fed from me since.  My God, had I
actually been unconsciously thinking of Christian while she feeding from me?

Ailis saw my
blush and averted her gaze.  She was avoiding it too.  I took a deep breath and
rushed on- now or never.

“About sharing
blood,” I began awkwardly.  She moved to get up and I stopped her with a hand
on hers.  “Ailis, I have questions.”  She leaned back in her chair, still
avoiding my gaze, and nodded.

“I just...”  I
paused.  God this was awkward.  Clearing my throat in agitation, I started
again.  “I’m sorry that I wasn’t better,” I blurted, face flaming.

I glanced at
Ailis to see her staring at me in puzzlement “Never mind.”  I ducked my head and
started to stand.  Ailis stopped me with a hand on mine, just as I had stopped
her escape earlier.

“Mya, what in
the name of the gods are you talking about?”  She tilted her head, her brows
drawn together in confusion as she looked into my eyes questioningly.

I stuttered,
looking at the ground, “I- I mean, you made me feel so good and I didn’t do
anything for you.”  I scuffled my feet, rushing on, “I’m sorry, but this is all
so new and I don’t really even
like
women in that way and...”

I stopped my rambling
with an effort and got to my feet, still looking at the ground.  I had never
been so embarrassed in my life.  I wasn’t apologizing for not having sex with
her- was I?  No.  I was apologizing for not being what she wanted.  It seemed
to be a pattern with me.  My father hadn’t wanted me, the nuns hadn’t wanted
me.  I had never been enough for anyone.  Even Kyle had found me lacking.

Ailis stood and
stepped in front of me.  Drawing my gaze up to hers with a finger under my
chin, she looked at me in wonder.  “Is that why you’ve been avoiding the
issue?” she asked softly, “Because you thought you did something wrong?”

I nodded my head
reluctantly, feeling like an incompetent idiot.

Ailis laughed
softly.  “Mya,” she said coaxingly.  “You gave me your life’s blood, and
believe me, it was amazing.”  Her eyes flashed silver at the memory, and I
shivered.  “I have never tasted anyone like you,” she said, her eyes gone
distant.  She shook herself, coming back to the conversation at hand with some
apparent difficulty.

“I thought that
you were avoiding talking about it because I scared you away,” she admitted
softly and suddenly her silence on the matter had new meaning to me.  She had
thought that I was put-off by the whole experience.  Not to say that I wasn’t
overwhelmed- but for some reason I wasn’t scared of her.

“You said
yourself that you haven’t done this before,” she continued.  “Mya, when a
vampire shares blood with someone they feel everything that person feels.”  She
looked at me meaningfully, “You don’t have to touch me to give me pleasure.  I
share
everything
with my donor,” she said with a direct look.  “Vampires
see sexuality differently than humans.  Why shouldn’t I give you pleasure in
return for sharing your blood?  And why should my being a woman have anything
to do with it?  I just wanted you to feel good too.”