Nevermore, the Complete Series (43 page)

“Right,” he nodded. “Although it would not give you back the gift of the raven, nor my summoning. Regardless, I have my doubts we will miss being undead.”

For a brief second I saw a glimmer of purple to his eyes and I looked at him suspiciously. What in the world could he possibly be summoning out here in the middle of a lake?

It took me a few moments before I realized we were halfway across the lake. Salem took off toward the shore and I followed after him curiously. When we met the land he took my hand and turned me toward the sky and then wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. The stars above continued to twinkle brilliantly against the dark canvas.

“I have seen countless night’s worth of stars. But none of them will be quite as significant as this one,” he whispered quietly into my ear.

“What do you mean?” I attempted to turn my head back to glance at him but he reached up and turned my head back toward the sky.

“You will find out shortly,” he said and I felt him smile against the back of my head. “There is no promise that even if I became a mortal your father would forgive me – regardless if it was my fault or not. But I want you to know something, Alex…”

“What is it?”

“Whether we are immortal or not – there is nothing in this world I want more than to be with you. You are my life. My heart may not beat but it is overflowing with love for you,” he whispered sweetly and slowly released his grip from my waist. “Don’t move.”

I obeyed, standing still as I listened to him shuffling around behind me. My mind was racing with ideas about what he might be doing. My mouth fell agape when he told me to face him. Salem knelt against the soft dirt of the shore, one hand extended out toward me with a small black box against his palm. I gulped, half expecting my heart to race with excitement.

“Salem…” I whispered, gazing down at him but he stopped me from speaking.

“When all of this is through and we are human again, Alexis, will you marry me?” he said with a nervous smile and carefully pulled open the small black box.

I stared at him for a moment, wondering if I were delirious. Salem was kneeling before me, proposing to me out of the blue! Of course I loved him and wanted to marry him some day, but this was so unexpected. I had thought about it before, but would have never imagined to be proposed to here and now. Deep down I knew Salem was my soul mate, but was I ready for this? What else could I possibly say to him other than yes, though?

“Of course, I will!” I shouted with glee, shaking off my short moment of doubt.  I marveled as he placed the silver-banded ring on my finger. The small heart-shaped diamond twinkled brighter than any of the stars in the sky.

Salem embraced me tightly in his arms and kissed me tenderly. Our moment was cut short by a figure appearing from the woods. Hannah approached us and gagged as she often did at the sight of us kissing. Although I was now one of her kind, I couldn’t help but cringe slightly at her blazing red eyes and the crimson stains on her lips.

“So this is what all the fuss was about? You two just wanted to run off and make out somewhere? Shouldn’t you like, oh you know, be hunting! That’s why we stopped if you can remember.”

“We were somewhat preoccupied, Hannah,” Salem answered.

“Yeah I see that,” she said in disgust.

“Hannah!” I said enthusiastically, “Salem proposed!”

I couldn’t decipher her expression at first. It was a mix of awe, disgust, confusion and joy. “Vampires don’t usually get married,” she commented dully.

“We won’t be vampires forever.”

“Oh, you’re still going on about that?” she sighed. “Even if it was true I don’t know who in their right mind would give up this life to be human. It’s just stupid.”

“It isn’t something you could ever understand,” Salem said glumly. “We’re going to finish hunting and then we will be ready to get back on the road, okay?”

Hannah frowned. “Sorry Salem, I’m not trying to be a snob or anything. I just wish-”

“Good,” he interrupted then turned and headed in the opposite direction of his sister. I followed behind him toward a scent I recognized: elk. Initially it was difficult to focus on the idea of feeding when I was overwhelmed with the excitement of the question Salem just asked me. The weight of the ring on my finger was difficult to ignore, I constantly wanted to look at it to ensure I hadn’t imagined the whole thing, and each time I looked I smiled.

We stopped walking when we approached a small herd of elk, most of which were unconscious, their hearts steadily beating as if they had nothing to fear. This was absolutely not something I would miss when I was mortal again. Salem tiptoed stealthily toward one of the elk and skillfully snapped its neck before it had even a second to wonder what was happening. The rest of the herd continued sleeping as if nothing happened. He repeated the action on a second, only this time the rest of the elk awoke. My fear that Salem would be gorged to death quickly subsided as they all immediately disappeared into the thick woods. No longer afraid of disturbing anything, Salem dragged the freshly slain animals towards where I stood. Despite the fact that I did thirst for their blood, I was still quite reluctant – even though they were already dead. Salem didn’t hesitate for even a moment. I looked away as he dug his teeth into the jugular of the deceased animal. My mouth touched the base of my ‘dinner’s’ throat and I bared my fangs, letting them sink slowly into the soft skin of the creature. The thickness of blood met my lips and it flowed into my mouth and down my throat. While a huge part of me found this completely disgusting, the vampire in me enjoyed every mouthful.

We left the empty carcasses were they laid and returned to the edge of the lake. Hannah was surprisingly still there, skipping flat stones across the still waters.

“Sure took you two long enough,” she teased.

“It’s a wonder every beast within ten miles hadn’t already ran away with you over here splashing,” Salem said, smirking slightly.

“I would expect Alexis to be a sloppy eater, being new and all but just look at you,” she laughed. “I’m not driving anywhere with you took looking like that.”

I had somehow not noticed the dark blood stains covering my hands and sleeves. There was no doubt my face was also soaked. Salem had fared little better. We both kneeled by the lake, scrubbing ourselves as clean as we could. Just as I thought nothing would completely remove the stains, I saw a purple flash momentarily reflected in the water. I turned to see Salem holding a bar of soap and smiling.

After we had both washed up the best we could, Salem summoned a new set of clothes for the two of us.

“Might as well use it as much as I can before I lose it, right?”

“Right!” I laughed.

Hannah rolled her eyes and started walking off in the direction of the Alero. After a quick change we followed her.

The freedom of being out in the wilderness had been relieving but was quickly stripped away as I sat in the backseat again. I buckled in my seatbelt and situated myself into a comfortable position and listened to the roar of the engine as Hannah started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

I admired the scenery once more as we backed out of San Juan National Park, knowing that this place would forever hold a special place in my heart. Glancing away from the window, I stared at the ring on my finger and twisted it around absent-mindedly as I day-dreamed about the future with Salem in what would be a new, better life for the both of us…

Salem asked me repeatedly what I thought of my ring, and I told him every time that I loved it. He insisted that if I wanted anything changed about it that he would fix it, but I thought it was perfect. Hannah was obviously trying to tune us out by the way she started blaring distasteful music on the radio. With a sigh, I relaxed against Salem’s shoulder and wished that I could call Jason and Karen to tell them the exciting news – but it was after three in the morning and they would probably be sleeping. Then I wondered how Paul would react if he found out from one of them, assuming he wasn’t stalking us. He would probably be furious, but in truth I didn’t care…all that mattered to me right now was the fountain and our happiness.

With a heavy sigh, I lifted Ezra’s journal onto my lap and began at the start of the book, noting the small blood stain from when I sliced my finger on the front page. To my surprise, I found an inscription on the back of the book cover with names that I recognized and a few that
I didn’t: Theodore, Allen, Samuel, Clarence, Stephen, Harry, Joseph, Richard, Paul. The penmanship of each name was different from the last. Above the names, in small print that did not match the writing of Ezra it read:

This book has become very useful to us hunters, far more useful than I ever could have imagined. The world may have been over taken by vampires had it not been for the discovery of Mr. Chases’ journal. The details on how to correctly kill a vampire – aim for the heart, not the head – was most helpful. It is my one wish that this book be passed on throughout the generations of our family to aid in further hunting, for however long these monsters roam this world.

~ Walter M. Ravensly

I gasped as I read the name at the bottom of the note. This book had been in my ancestor’s possession, passed on through generations of Waldron’s…

“I think I figured out how Janet came across this book,” I said as I traced my finger along the etching of Paul’s name.

“How?”
Hannah inquired as she turned down the radio.

“The first page of the journal is some sort of list of people who have owned the book, all of the way down to Paul…it must have been passed down from father to son, but my father never had a son, so I guess he passed it on to me…through Janet,” I answered somewhat oddly as I tried to piece it all together in my head. “The only part I don’t get is why the pages were blank when I got it, or how my blood brought it all back.”

“Someone must have placed an incantation on it,” Salem explained. “Whoever did it must have wanted to make sure that only a Waldron would be able to unlock its purpose.”

“I wonder who it could have been...”

“That is another thing we may never know.”

I stared at the list of names again. “Salem…can I have a pen, please?” I requested.

His eyes sparkled for a moment and a simple black pen appeared in the palm of his hand. I quickly scrawled my name beneath Paul’s.

“I wonder if there will ever be a name under mind…” I accidentally whispered out loud.

Salem glanced at me and arched a brow, smiling shyly at the leaked hint.

“I meant to ask you, by the way,
was any of this in the visions you saw of my future?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t see anything of this sort. But, the future can always be changed with one simple decision.”

“Will you ever fill me in on what was seen?”

“Someday.”
He smiled.

Hours had flown by while reading the old journal and before I knew it, we had entered New Mexico. The land had slowly turned unappealing in contrast to the green of Colorado that I was used to. Although there were trees here and there, it was nothing in comparison to home. There were dull mountains that appeared to almost be overgrown hills of dirt; a far cry from the lush and often snowy mountains surrounding Willowshire. The sun had only been out for a little while, and although I could no longer feel its heat on my skin, I wished it was still night. It may be true that light does not cause vampires to burst into flame, but for some reason the brightness always made me feel uneasy…exposed.

I pried open my laptop temporarily to check if I could reach any Wi-Fi connections that were unprotected, but I couldn’t. No surprise really, as the only signs that humankind was nearby was the road that we were on and the ever-present rows of power lines following us. The phone in my pocket longed for affection again, but I was still wary about contacting anyone in Willowshire. The temptation to call Karen or Jason to announce my engagement to Salem was almost unbearable, but I fought it as long as I could.

Hannah decided that we should make a stop at a hotel because regardless of the fact that she could technically continue driving non-stop, she was growing bored and tired of sitting in the same position for hours and hours. I offered to take the wheel, but she repeated that it had more to do with the sitting than the driving. Salem and I quickly agreed to stop at the first hotel we spotted along the way. I kept my eyes peeled for street signs notifying drivers of nearby restaurants and hotels. After roughly ten miles, one caught my attention and I hollered to Hannah to turn onto the next exit.

We soon came across a cozy-looking hotel that reminded me somewhat of my old house – only much larger. The outside was painted in a gentle blue shade and there were two floors. Most importantly, there was a lit-up sign reading ‘Vacancy’. Hannah pulled the Alero into the small parking lot and we each exited the car. To make things less suspicious – although I seriously doubted anyone would care – Salem summoned three small pieces of luggage for us to carry in.

The lobby was quaint yet welcoming. There was a small table in the room with a collection of danishes and pastries, as well as a steaming pot of fresh coffee. Behind the counter was a friendly-looking gentleman with a tag pinned to his forest green shirt that read ‘Gary’. From the looks of him, I assumed he had to have been at least in his mid-thirties.

“Welcome to the Dusty Trail Inn,” Gary said with a bright smile. “You folks must not be from around here, huh?”

“What gives you that idea?” Hannah asked bluntly, as if the question offended her.

“I meant nothing by it, miss. You three just seem awfully pale to be from here is all,” he said bashfully. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, it’d be pretty dumb for locals to come stay in a motel, wouldn’t you say? Look, Gary, just get us two rooms. Please,” she replied.

“I’m afraid we only have a single room left, but it does have two beds!” Gary explained. “I hope that is all right.”

“You’re telling me this little hole is booked up? Whatever, that room will be fine,” Hannah said with a grunt and turned to me for money. I had almost spaced out the fact that neither of them carried cash on them. After pulling a dull black wallet from my hoodie pocket, I withdrew a small wad of cash and offered it to her – the last remaining bit from the money Janet had left to me.

“It’ll be fifty dollars per night. How long do you plan to stay?”

“One is more than enough,” she answered and passed over a one hundred dollar bill and waited on the clerk to return the change, which was then handed to me.

“Here’s your key, and you have full access to the pool in the back. Check-out time is eleven tomorrow morning. Enjoy your stay!”

“Thanks,” we all said in unison and left to find room 24.

The room was on the top floor, which required us to walk up a flight of old stairs that had definitely seen better days. Ordinarily, this probably would have resulted in me attempting to catch my breath upon reaching the top – that would be one thing I would miss about being a vampire. Being able to do almost anything and feeling no fatigue was a blessing that would soon be lost like so many others…but it would be worth it, I hoped.

I slid the key under the electric lock until it beeped and showed a green light indicating that it was unlocked, and then quickly pushed the door open before it relocked itself. There were two queen-sized beds with white duvets covered in colorful floral print that reminded me somewhat of Janet. Beside each bed was a short cedar nightstand, one of which was home to an old black Bible. I hesitated at first before reaching to grab the book, rethinking over some of the old vampire myths I had heard – but I knew by now that most of that was nonsense. It felt somehow comforting to have the book present in the room and after quickly flipping through its silky pages I gently placed it back in its spot.

A small desk was pushed into a corner by a curtained window, and against the wall in the very center of the room was a small dresser, topped with a black TV set which appeared somewhat abused. I spotted a remote on the simple desk, which I assumed was put there for people who came here on business trips. The bathroom was small with a shower and dual-sink vanity. My reflection surprised me after having not seen it in a while. It was no wonder the clerk seemed a bit awkward around us, what with my raven-black hair and our beyond-ordinary pale skin. It was probably uncommon for vampires to stay in hotels.

“I wonder how many vampires there are lurking around in this town,” I said as I absent-mindedly lay across the mattress on the left side of the room.

“Maybe none, maybe tons. I’ve learned that you can just never tell,” Hannah answered. “I don’t care either way really, I doubt we’ll have any trouble.”

Hannah got situated on her mattress and switched on the small television set. I paid no attention to what was playing on the screen. Ever since I saw the news of Janet’s brutal “bear attack” I couldn’t comfortably watch TV anymore. Plus, there were other things on my mind. Salem lay beside me as I plugged up my laptop and sat it on the bed. I patiently waited for it to turn on and then immediately went to my e-mail. As un-modern as this little inn was, I was thankful it at least had Wi-Fi.

“Anything new?” Salem asked as he peeked over at the bright screen.

“Let me see,” I said and clicked on my inbox. It was flooded with messages. The first one to catch my eye was from my aunt Kimberly. With a simple gesture I motioned for Salem to come closer so that he could read along with me.

‘Alex,

Paul filled me in on what happened. I don’t blame you for running away, and he is clueless about where you are – for now I think it is best that way. He closed down the auto shop and has for the most part kept himself inside his trailer. There is no easy way for me to say this, but it is probably smartest if you stay away from Willowshire for as long as you can – if not forever. I know my brother can have a temper, but I’ve never seen him like this. Hopefully it is something he can make it through without needing help. I did slip an envelope with a little money in it under his door yesterday. I don’t want him to lose his home over all this…which reminds me…

There is one more thing that I need to tell you, and it isn’t going to be easy for me to say, either.

Before I go on, just let me say that your grandpa is safe at his cabin and he feels nothing but sympathy for you and dread toward Paul. I know you might think your grandpa wasn’t on your side, but he understands more than you think. Anyway…something happened at Salem’s house after you left.

I am so, so sorry Alex…there is nothing left of it. There is no doubt in my mind that it was Paul. He burned it all down, Alex. I know he is beyond upset right now but there is no excuse for what he has done. I’m sorry, really.

Keep in touch with me if you can or want to, I’m not as similar to Paul as you’d think.

With love,

Aunt Kim’

“Oh Salem,” I gasped. “I can’t believe this!”

Through the corner of my eye I could see him shaking furiously; his eyes were flickering between their ordinary pale blue and a shade of red.

“What is going on?” Hannah demanded, leaping up from the bed and approaching her half-brother.

“Paul burnt down the house,” I mumbled.

Hannah swore under her breath and reached out a comforting hand to Salem but he swatted it away with an unnecessary growl as he got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him. I stared blankly at the tan door, half-expecting him to come back through and apologize.

“I’ve never seen him so upset…”

“Well, can you blame him?”

“No, but…” I sighed and glanced down at the e-mail again. “It’s no wonder he is so upset…this is the second time he has lost everything to a fire.”

“Yeah well, at least this time it was just stuff,” Hannah replied, sitting on the edge of my bed and rubbing her forehead.

“I wonder why it is bothering him so much, now that I think about it. I mean, couldn’t he just re-summon most of it?”

“Yeah, but it won’t be the exact same stuff. There was probably tons of things he had that were sentimental. ”

I hung my head and sighed. “I can’t believe this is all happening.”

“Accepting a vampire into your life – especially your love life – is never a smart decision,” Hannah commented, although she actually looked sympathetic this time.

“Well it wasn’t entirely under my control,” I muttered.

“Raziel told me, too, you know,” she said. “The two of you were destined to be together.”

My lips curved into a temporary smile as I reflected on the memory of Salem confiding in me about the vision Raziel had seen upon turning him – of us together. I had brought so much conflict into his life that could have been avoided, but deep down I knew that he would gladly take constant strife over losing me completely.