Nevermore, the Complete Series (61 page)

Desmond was far too distracted by taking Salem and me on sightseeing trips. We had already spent two weeks in Romania without even a mention of the mysterious man that wanted so desperately to meet me. The most memorable place so far had been the botanical gardens in Cluj-Napoca. It was a peaceful journey with sights portraying forestry, grassy plains, and exotic plants I had never seen before. He also took us by the Orthodox Cathedral in Sibiu. The interior walls were painted in large murals and statues stood all over. Antique wooden pews lined the path to a beautiful altar decorated with fresh flowers. Overall, I appreciated the trips to places I would otherwise never even have considered visiting, but I was yearning to meet this man he brought me here to see. I refrained as much as possible from asking about it as I did not want to seem ungrateful or rude, but I was beyond anxious.

Our honeymoon had ended abruptly due to this spontaneous trip. Thankfully we had gotten to enjoy a brief weekend together before leaving. After that however, we had had very little time alone. Even the hotel rooms had not been enough to earn us any privacy. Desmond always got single rooms with two beds, perhaps hoping to prevent us from doing anything he disapproved of—despite the fact that we were a married couple now.              

After putting up with this for far too long, I finally decided it was time to get some alone time with Salem. As much as I had enjoyed catching up with my childhood dad, I needed a break from the constant discussions of previous expensive journeys he and Melissa had been on. I was also sick of hearing about their grand plans for the future. If they told me one more time about Hawaii being their next Christmas destination I would scream. It felt like Desmond was shoving it all down my throat. Whether he intended it or not, after a while all I heard was bragging about how he led a life of luxury. I had been left to my single, zoo-keeping foster mother to scrounge out a living while he circled the globe. Regardless, I was happy with my life—if I had been off on worldly adventures with Desmond and Melissa, there was no telling if or when I may have met Salem.

When we left from dinner at Corso Café, I told Desmond that Salem and I were going to go for a brisk walk and would meet him back at the hotel later. He seemed uneasy at first, then with a forced smile he agreed to leave us be. I observed him quietly as he climbed into a cab with Melissa and headed toward the hotel. I sighed deeply with relief and pulled Salem against me in a tight hug.

“Finally!”
I cheered enthusiastically and kissed him gently. It was still odd feeling warmth in his lips, but it was a good thing.

Salem smiled tenderly and took my hand in his. “He is just trying to make up for lost time, Alex.”

I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean he has to always be around.”

“You are right, of course…but you must understand how he feels. I am sure he is full of guilt about what he did.”

Stopping in our steps as we passed the restaurant, I stared deeply into his violet-tinted blue eyes and arched a brow. “He’s been talking to you, hasn’t he?”

“Occasionally, when you have fallen asleep, or make use of the restroom,” he admitted. “Desmond feels horrible for what became of his relationship with you and Janet, and he is struggling to get closer to you.”

“He doesn’t need to do that,” I said, somewhat aggravated. “Besides, he should have thought about all of
that years ago.”

“There is no sense in thinking like that,” Salem said and we resumed walking. “Appreciate the time you are given now, because you never know when you might run out.”

The streets were lined with dim-lit lamps; occasionally one of them would flicker and die out and give the place an eerie vibe to it. Very few cars came by as we continued on our stroll through town, and nearly all of the buildings appeared vacant. I stared up toward the sky and briefly admired the twinkling stars above and the moon curtained in light gray clouds. Perhaps this wasn’t the most peaceful place to be for our first night alone in two weeks, but it was better than being cramped in a bedroom with two other people.

“Do you think the tales of Dracula were true?” I asked suddenly as we turned around a corner and headed down another empty, forlorn street.

Salem glanced at me with an amused grin, and then brushed a strand of ebony hair away from his forehead. “That is an interesting subject to bring up. While I might disagree with the legends of ancient vampires such as ‘Dracula’, I do believe there were indeed monsters like him back then. The undead have been roaming this planet for far longer than either of us can even imagine. Whether he existed or not is a question we may never have an answer to—but I can guarantee that there did exist a vampire that inspired Bram’s tale.”

With a slight nod, I pondered the idea of vampires. Only a mere month ago I had been one myself, and now here I was, walking the streets of Transylvania with a beating heart and flushed cheeks. It felt like it all had been a dream, yet I knew it had all happened. I was admittedly grateful that my world had turned upside down in the midst of what had seemed to be an ordinary September day, when the hidden secrets of the world had been revealed to me. Yet at the same time, I had lost so much thanks to it. But, deep down, I selfishly knew that I was thankful for what I gained, regardless of what had been lost. Salem was worth everything to me—and I felt sick to my stomach to think that he was worth sacrificing the lives of people I loved in order to keep him in my life.

I stopped abruptly and forced my hand across my mouth as I felt a rush of bile flow up my esophagus. Salem took me aside, alarmed at my sudden action, but I pulled away in order to protect him from the gush of regurgitated food that pooled out from my mouth. I glanced at the stinking puddle of filth before leaning on Salem with wobbly knees as he helped me sit against the side of the nearest shop. My eyes shut tightly as I fought off the urge to vomit again, and his soothing hand wiped the sweat from my brow.

“Are you all right?” he asked in a sincerely concerned voice as he carefully sat beside me.

My head nodded slowly, if it even moved at all. The world around me felt as if it was constantly spinning, as though I were on a merry-go-round at full speed with little strength left to hold onto my ride. I was positive that I was going to fall over, despite the fact that I was sitting down.

“I-I don’t know,” I managed to mumble. I held my head between my legs and groaned. “Something I had at dinner must have not agreed with me.”

“Most likely,” Salem replied thoughtfully as he rubbed my back. “Shall we return to the hotel?”

With a frown, I mumbled an agreement. I didn’t want our time away to stop so short, but neither did I want to spend the entire time sitting on the ground throwing up my dinner. We walked slowly and steadily to the hotel. I leaned on Salem the entire time, wondering if I might hurl again—but fortunately there were no more spontaneous upchucks to interrupt our evening. When we reached the hotel room door, he embraced me and kissed me on the cheek—both of us knowing it would be our final private moment of the evening.

The hotel door squeaked quietly on its hinges as Salem pushed it open and helped me inside. Desmond and Melissa were curled up on one of the queen sized beds watching something on the tiny TV across the room. I could barely hear the chatter of a newscaster when we stumbled by and Salem lifted me gently onto our bed.

“How was your walk?” Desmond asked after muting the television set.

“It was…okay,” I said with obvious disappointment. “We didn’t get very far.”

My foster father sat up and glanced at me, obviously aware that something was wrong. “Are you feeling okay?”

I shrugged and leaned back against the thick fluffy pillows. “I think something I ate a dinner didn’t like me.”

He frowned. “Is there anything I can get you?
Water? Pepto?”

“No, thanks…I’m just going to get some rest. Hopefully I’ll feel better by morning and we can enjoy wherever we go sightseeing tomorrow.”

“Actually, we have arrangements to meet with the man I told you about.”

I perked up somewhat, my heart pounding in my chest. “We’re finally going to meet him?”

“Yep, we’re meeting him tomorrow for lunch—if your stomach feels up to it, anyway.”

“We’ll see in the morning, I guess,” I muttered, curled up on my side and shut my eyes.

Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough—I was finally going to know who this strange man was that was eager to meet me. Was it just some music enthusiast that wanted to hear me play? Perhaps a long lost relative that wanted to get to know me? Or, was it who I had thought it was all along? What would I even do if I came face-to-face with Malik the next day? Especially with my foster father around, who was completely oblivious to vampires as far as I knew?

For what purpose could Lord Malik want to meet with me, of all people? He spent years convincing my mother that I was
fake, so why would he suddenly decide to believe I was real? My mind calmed slightly when Salem crawled into bed beside me, sneaking a gentle kiss against my forehead before he whispered ‘goodnight’ in my ear.

I was awoken by the sound of creaking floorboards and a door shutting. Ordinarily I easily slept through everything—even an earthquake once—but my slumber was immediately disturbed when someone entered the hotel room. Rubbing my groggy eyes, I struggled to get a clear view of whoever it was. Salem was still sound asleep beside me, curled up on his side with one arm draped across my abdomen. I gently lifted his arm and placed it against the mattress as I sat up.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I heard Melissa whisper. “Des and I were downstairs in the lobby getting some fresh coffee and pastries—did you want me to get you some?”

My hair tickled the back of my neck as I shook my head. “No, thanks…let me wake Salem up and we’ll go down and get some.”

“Sure. Don’t wait too long, though. Breakfast ends in forty minutes.”

“Are you going back to join…Dad?” My stomach churned as I thought of my real father…my eyes fought with me, begging to burst into tears as I envisioned his stiff body on the bottom of the cavern floor.

“Yeah, I just came to get my purse,” she said with a sympathetic frown. “You look like you’re about to cry, hon. Are you okay?”

I shrugged and attempted to glance away. “I’ll be fine…there’s just a lot on my mind. Breakfast should be enough to distract me, I hope.”

With a nod, Melissa quietly approached my side of the bed, draped an arm around me and smiled. “We’ll see you down there soon. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Absolutely,” I said awkwardly and watched her pick her purse up from the nightstand, glance back at me, and then walk out the door.

Briefly, I lay back down against the warm mattress and stared at Salem’s sleeping face. Strands of shimmery ebony hair fell across his closed eyelids, and I gently pushed them away to get a better view. His skin was warm and I thought back to a time when he was as cold as ice. He stirred in his sleep somewhat at my touch and I quickly pulled away so as not to wake him. The peaceful expression painted across his face made me want to leave him be, how could I disturb something so precious, so comfortable?

“Salem?” I whispered lightly, part of me hoping that he wouldn’t wake up. I could go downstairs alone and let him rest—but I knew deep down that neither of us wanted that.

My eyes followed his movements as his fought to stay closed and he moved his arm around searchingly on the bed before wrapping it around me.

Fighting back a chuckle, I tapped him on the shoulder. “Salem, wake up.”

“Do I have to?” he replied groggily and peeked at me through tired eyes.

“You do if you want breakfast with Desmond and Melissa.”

He grumbled and sat up. “There was once a time when food and eating was much easier to ignore.”

“And sleep was impossible, yet you seem pretty fond of that again already.”

With a smile, he nodded. “It is pleasant, especially with you beside me.”

By the time we made it downstairs, the small room was flooded with people picking doughnuts,
danishes and muffins off of a small banquet table. I could barely make out the location of my foster father and Melissa until I heard them call my name. They were pressed up in the corner of the room, mingling with some of the other guests. After a quick wave in response, I led Salem through the crowd towards the food. There was a small stack of paper plates, I grabbed one and covered it in as many food items as possible while Salem grabbed two Styrofoam cups of orange juice. We carefully made our way to the back of the room and Desmond smiled warmly as we approached.

“I hope you slept well,” he said after sipping his coffee.

“Well…it was definitely better than that last motel,” I commented and gathered a blueberry muffin from the plate. It was moist and sweet and I consumed it within seconds. I felt as though I hadn’t eaten in ages despite the large dinner the night before.

“I see your stomach must be feeling better too, huh?” Desmond laughed as he nodded towards my overflowing plate.

“Yeah, thankfully.”

Salem casually nibbled on a cherry cheese
danish and scanned the room. There were so many random people scattered around the cramped lobby, it was nearly impossible to move about without accidentally elbowing someone or stepping on their feet. A lot of the surrounding people were clearly native to Romania, and I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.