Nevermore, the Complete Series (21 page)

When I awoke the next morning, Paul was gone and Salem was nowhere to be seen. I sighed heavily with disappointment; I wouldn't be able to get up on my own and would have to wait for Salem to return from wherever he happened to be. As I thought this over, the front doors flew open and he was walking gracefully through them. He came to my side at once and pulled me into his arms.

“Do you need anything?” he asked, staring at my injured leg remorsefully.

“I could use help getting to the bathroom,” I groaned, knowing this would include him carrying me upstairs. “What were you doing outside?”

“I was saying farewell to your father. He stayed throughout the night to ensure you were okay,” he smiled, lifted me into his arms and rushed me up the spiraling stairs. He helped me through the restroom door and I insisted I could take care of the rest myself, although I wasn't completely sure of that. I could hear him shuffling around behind the door while he waited for me. I took care of the persistent nagging of my bladder, washed my hands, and then quickly brushed my teeth, leaning against the counter for support.

He was waiting with his arms outstretched and a wide smile when I opened the door. I allowed him to carry me down the stairs but was surprised when he didn't take me toward the sofa. Instead, he swung my legs over the bench in front of the piano and sat beside me. I looked at him inquisitively as he placed his hands over mine and guided them to the keys.

“Play that tune for me, one more time,” he requested after kissing me softly.

“Okay,” I breathed and flexed my fingers. He kept his cold hands upon mine, following them as they sped along the ivory. The song felt somehow sadder to me now than I had ever realized. I don't think I had ever actually listened to the music as it pulsed through my fingers into the instrument. I was always too focused on playing the piece that I forgot to take the time to truly hear, and feel, the emotion behind it. I shut my eyes, allowing a warm drop of moisture to slip across my cheek as thoughts started welling inside my mind. It went unnoticed as Salem's eyes were focused on the movement of my hands.

Once the music faded, I collapsed into his arms. He didn't understand why I had begun bawling, and I didn't take the chance to explain it to him. He simply held me, which was all I wanted, all I needed at that moment. The realization of all that had happened within the last few months came back to me through the song all at once – losing my mother – twice – gaining a father, dropping out of school, nearly dying, falling in love... I wiped my eyes and looked into his piercing blue stare, which darted back and forth from my face to the piano.

“I had never noticed how beautiful it is,” I said between what was a mixture of a sob and a laugh.

Salem merely smiled and held my face in both hands, “Nor had I,” but he wasn't talking about the music as he stared longingly at my face. He kissed me tenderly once more, and then pulled away. “What do you call that tune, anyway?”

I thought for a moment, and then my lips curved into a simple smile.
“Nevermore.”

As if being a vampire hunter hadn’t been bad enough, there was also the dilemma of being in love with the enemy. Fortunately, he was nothing like the rest of them. He was gentle, more in touch with his human side, and feasted on the blood of animals instead of humans. While that was comforting, I couldn't help but worry that something could corrupt him...like it had my foster mother's boyfriend, who turned out to be a vampire. He was like Salem, unwilling to feed on humans, until Janet cut herself one day and he lost control.

Salem had been around me plenty of times when I was bleeding and never showed any interest, but that worry was always there. Then there was the other concern that I tried to ignore every time it slipped into my mind—what if I ever did something to hurt him? I was capable, beyond capable. It wasn't something that I would ever want to do, but I had powers that I couldn't completely control.

The ability to become a raven was something that ran in my genes, however it was rare. I was only the fourth Waldron known to possess the 'gift', as my father, Paul, called it. However, I wasn't quite to the stage of being able to do it at will. It most often occurred when I was around a vampire, or was in danger, and I phased easily in and out of shape. Paul thought the more I let it happen naturally the better I would be able to control it. Salem and I were both hesitant to attempt that, considering it would involve me being in danger. But, I finally felt ready to give it a shot, especially if hunting was going to become a regular routine in my life. The better I was at it, the less blood-sucking monsters there would be lurking around the world, and the less innocent people like Janet—my foster mom—would die. I could only imagine how many there were out there. Salem and his Sire, Raziel, had come from England before traveling to America. The thought made my mind whirl at the possibilities. If a few vampires could find their way into the quiet little town of Willowshire, then they could be anywhere...everywhere.

That night I was to meet Paul and my aunt Kim in the cemetery—one of the last places I wanted to go. Less than six months ago, I had nearly died there at the hands of Raziel. I was extremely lucky to have survived with just a fractured leg and a few scratches, as well as a very conspicuous mark on my throat that left an unsightly scar. Every morning I struggled to cover it with a layer of makeup, or ensure I was wearing a shirt or hoodie that hid the evidence. My leg had healed up nicely and I was thankfully capable of walking without crutches after only a couple of months. If it hadn't been for Salem...my mind whirled again at the possibilities.

I sighed and rested my head against the cool pillow behind me. I was alone in the massive canopy bed in Salem's bedroom. It was without a doubt the most comfortable piece of furniture imaginable. The mattress was plush, draped in ebony silk, and wide enough that I could spread out in any position I wanted—which, at that moment, was curled up in a ball worrying about the meeting.

Salem was out hunting, probably sucking the life out of a poor little rabbit in the forest beyond the large Victorian that I had begun to call home. It still bothered me to some extent that he had to kill innocent animals to survive, but I favored that idea over the unthinkable alternative.

As I laid there my mind began to reflect on the past eight months of my life—a life that had changed drastically. I had discovered my parents were not truly my parents. The man whom I thought was my Uncle Paul for the past eighteen years turned out to be my real father. I learned that my birth mother had been slain by a vampire less than a year after I was born—the same vampire that had turned my beloved Salem. After this, Paul gave me up for adoption to Janet and Desmond Hobbs in the hopes of protecting me from the monster. He had only one condition, once I turned ‘the appropriate age’, which turned out to be eighteen by Janet's standards, the truth was to be revealed to me. Desmond and Janet weren't aware that this included the fact I was part of a lineage of vampire hunters, however. And then, I met Salem, a dashing, brilliant young man who turned out to be a vampire and apparently part warlock, which to begin with was something I couldn't quite accept but I learned to adjust—especially after Paul revealed to me who and what I was.

Janet abandoned me to live with her new boyfriend, Mark, in Denver, who turned out to also be a member of the undead. Salem had insisted that Mark wouldn't hurt Janet, but it turned out he was wrong. I took a trip to Denver with Paul and Kimberly to make sure Janet was safe, but we were too late. I had lost the only mother figure I had ever known, and witnessed my first vampire slaying. That means both of my mothers, my real one and my foster one, had been taken from me by the damned creatures. Salem was very lucky that he wasn't like the rest of them or else he would be on my kill list. I was fortunate. During all of this, I had put off celebrating any holidays I had formerly loved. Halloween was a little out of my age-range now that I was eighteen, so I wasn't bothered with dressing up and going out for free candy regardless how tempting that was. Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went almost as if they were just ordinary days. Without Janet around, it seemed hardly like holidays could even exist anymore. Paul tried to make it feel festive during Christmas by bringing a few presents by Salem's house. He practically begged Salem to summon a fir tree and some decorations. We all hung the ornaments and Paul draped the lights around the tree. Despite his efforts however, it still didn't feel quite right and I don't believe it ever will again.

I was suddenly pulled away from my memories when Salem peeked in through the bedroom door. He walked gracefully across the mirrored floor towards the bed, making me smile more with each step. He sat gently on the bed and I tried to ignore the hint of crimson in his otherwise pale blue eyes, evidence that he had indeed found something to snack on. Knowing this made me uncomfortable; he attempted to avoid looking directly into my eyes.

“I was hoping you would still be asleep when I returned,” he said quietly, flattening the creases in the sheets.

“Why?” I asked, watching his pale hands slide across the slick black material.

“To avoid you seeing me like this, and so I could lay with you,” he looked at me once, briefly, to smile.

“I don't have to be asleep for you to lay with me, Salem.”

“No, but you looked so comfortable and at peace,” he smiled again and moved closer, cuddling up against me. I recoiled at first at the touch of his cool skin, then scooted back against him. "You seem distant Alex, is something wrong?"

“I was afraid you would notice,” I grumbled. He always did. That boy could read me like a book, no matter how hard I tried to hide my thoughts or feelings. Part of me wondered if this was another of his mysterious abilities.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking about the last few months,” I murmured, “and about tonight.”

“I'm not looking forward to it, either, Alex.”

“I know. Will you be there?”

“Of course I will. Just in case...”

After the close call I had last time, he wasn't very eager to let me go out alone. Paul and Kim didn't count as safe company, considering their past records. I was surprised either of them had lived through any of their hunting experiences with how bad their skills were—surprised, but thankful.

“Perhaps some breakfast will help clear your mind a little. It is the most important meal of the day you know,” he winked.

“Sounds good,” I smiled, knowing he wasn’t actually going to cook. “Just something small is fine, scrambled eggs and sausage, maybe?”

“Deal,” he grinned, kissed me on the forehead and hurried out of the room.

I stretched across the vast bed one last time before reluctantly climbing off and heading downstairs. Salem had summoned a plate with a small portion of scrambled eggs and two sausage links, which I ate hungrily as he stared at me from across the table.

“What?” I mumbled as I took a sip of orange juice and puckered. It was far
more sour than I had expected.

“Nothing, I am just glad that you are here.”

“Where else would I be?”

“Nowhere,” he frowned, “you aren't the only one that has been dwelling on the past.”

I put my glass down and sighed. “Salem, there's nothing to be worried about any more. Raziel is gone, he can't hurt me.”

“But he was close. Too close,” I heard a faint growl escape his throat.

“No matter how close he was, he wasn't close enough,” I slid a forkful of eggs passed my lips.

“I couldn't bear to live without you, you know,” he looked at me, his expression serious and full of despair.

“I know.” I reached across the table and touched his hand, “I’m fine, really, stop worrying about it.”

“He’s not the one I’m worried about anymore, Alex. There are more of them out there, more of them just as strong, if not stronger, than him. You cannot realize how many.”

“And we will kill each and every one of them, I’m not helpless anymore,” I said with a confident grin.

Salem simply shook his head. “This was a bad idea.”

I impatiently waited for him to continue.

“You shouldn't be out there hunting. It's not safe. It is one thing to protect yourself if one comes for you, but to seek them out is crazy. Do you not remember how close I was to losing you last time?”

“Salem, you’re the one who convinced me to listen to Paul in the first place...”

“I know, and I was wrong!” he spoke harsher than I had ever heard before, but then his face went back to the concerned look he had before. “I don't want you to die because of me.”

“I wouldn't be dying because of you. This would be my life, whether you were in it or not. With or without you, Paul would have seen to it that I became a hunter. It’s in my blood.”

Clearly, that didn't help. He looked even more upset by that fact. “I'm going to go for a walk,” he muttered through clenched teeth. Before I could even protest he was headed towards the doors.

I stared after him, watching the large white doors slam shut. Pushing my plate aside, I contemplated following him but decided I should give him some space to think. Without the distraction of Salem, my mind began to race again about all that had changed. With an attempt to drown out the nagging thoughts in my head, I wandered to the living room and pulled out my well-read book of Edgar Allen Poe’s works I had gotten for my last birthday.