The Emerald Talisman (27 page)

“Well, first, I wanted to say thank you.”

“You want to thank me?”

“Yes,” he said with a little snicker.
“Because of you, I’m now immortal. Little did those silly humans
know the transfusion would revive me so I could be transformed.” He
dramatically tilted his head up towards the night sky, closed his
eyes and opened his arms while inhaling deeply. “I do love my new
body.”

The display made me sick, but his absorption
in his exhibition gave me the urge to sneak away. I moved a
fraction of an inch in preparation when his arm suddenly appeared
at my side, stopping my retreat.

“Where are you going?” he whispered, his lips
inches away from mine.

My voice caught in my throat and I stuttered.
“You don’t have to give in. You can be good.”

“Good?” A dark shadow crossed his face. “Why?
I’m having too much fun being bad,” he said with a wicked
cackle.

My countenance fell. I wasn’t anticipating
this reaction.

“Let me show you,” he whispered, using his
other arm to encircle me, pinning me to the car.

His body pressed against mine and my heart
raced in response. I turned my head away from his face,
anticipating a kiss, but realized I’d exposed my neck. My hands
flew up to hide my flesh, but instead of biting me he pulled me
close to his chest and shot up into the sky like a bullet.

I screamed and forced my eyes shut. The
chilly night air rushed sharply against my face as I clung to his
torso, the thrill of his feelings intermixing with my own. My ears
popped as we ascended higher but I didn’t dare look down. My body
responded and hardened in fear, petrified he’d accidentally drop me
at any second.

“Look, Julia,” he sang in my ear.

Unable to open my eyes, I shook my head and
pressed my face into his shoulder. He tilted me haphazardly over so
I lay stomach down, my back against his chest with just his arm
around my waist. The sudden movement unnerved my stomach, making me
feel sick. I screamed and fought to turn back over, but his arm
clutched me tighter.

“LOOK!” he demanded.

I opened one eye for a second to see the
miniature world move beneath us. Then flinched and closed them
again, turning my head into my shoulder.

“Please,” I whimpered. “Take me back down.”
Hot tears poured out and flew off the sides of my temples.

“Isn’t this awesome? We have the world at our
fingertips, Julia. Anywhere we want to go!”

“I want to go home!” I cried out, as I
started to shake uncontrollably, choking back bile in my throat
while my stomach pitched.

“You aren’t enjoying this?” he asked, in
complete shock, then disappointment.

“No!” I yelled as hard as I could. “Take me
down now!”

He grew discouraged, then annoyed. I feared
he’d become disenchanted and felt the need to be more delicate in
my approach, or it would be all over. I formulated a new plan.

“Please, Phil. I’m very frightened,” I said
quieter. “Can you take me down? I think I’m going to get sick.”

He let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine,” he snapped and aimed us towards the
ground swooping down in front of an abandoned warehouse in the
industrial part of the city. I stumbled forward as he let me go,
kneeling down to stop my fall. I wanted to kiss the asphalt in
thankfulness.

“You didn’t like that?” he asked, in
confusion.

“No,” I said plainly, withholding the barrage
of insults I wanted to say, knowing I was still at his mercy. I
scanned the area for a familiar landmark. “Where are we?”

“I have some business to take care of,” he
said, still irritated. I got the feeling the
business
involved me.

“Why aren’t you being entirely upfront with
me? What are you planning to do with me?”

He looked at me with an expression from his
former self, one of compassion and I felt a glimmer of hope. I knew
he was in there somewhere and seeing it for a split second inspired
me to keep trying to get through to him.

“I just wanted to show you what I can do. I’m
not going to hurt you, honest,” he said tenderly, without the
seduction. I softened.

“I understand you’ve changed and have this
new power. But you
are
frightening me. Please, I just want
to go home,” I said using the same scared tone he tried to use on
me at the grocery story.

“But you hate to fly,” he said with a cocky
grin.

The reality sunk in. That was his only mode
of transportation and, unless we walked, the quickest way to take
me home. At that moment, I wished for Nicholas. I wanted him to
come save me from Phil and his bi-polar behavior. At least with
Nicholas, I knew what to expect. I felt in my pocket again for my
phone forgetting I’d lost it somewhere.

“Do you have a phone?”

He thought for a second, a flicker of
recognition in his eye and then smiled. Before I knew it, he’d
grabbed my hand.

“Come on,” he said as he pulled me into the
warehouse, his grip tightening down like a vice.

The interior was pitch black inside and the
rusty hinges of the door seemed to creak extra loud when we
entered, echoing around the interior. When the door clanged shut,
taking away all the light, I clung closer to Phil’s side. The
possibility of a working phone in the place seemed unrealistic.

“Where are we going?” I asked, feeling
uneasy, trying to stop him from pulling me so roughly.

He didn’t answer as he continued to drag me
behind him like a rag doll through the wide open space, acting as
if it was lit up, dodging unseen objects. I squinted and tried to
get my eyes to adjust to the darkness as I stumbled, unable to
avoid the items littering the floor. But no matter how hard I
tugged back, he wouldn’t let go and continued until we reached the
other side. Suddenly, I saw a faint glow around a closed door. I
felt the feelings on the other side and halted. There were more
vampires beyond, thirsty vampires.

“It’s okay. Come on,” he whispered, as he
bolstered his own courage.

“No,” I whispered forcefully. “I change my
mind; I don’t need to make a call.”

“Call?” he asked, like my original request
completely slipped his mind. His apathy told me he didn’t care what
I needed.

We barged in on three people hovering over a
large map on the table in the middle of the room, vampires. They
all stiffened and turned in our direction – the same dark eyes from
the beach bore holes into me. I felt the beginnings of a feeding
frenzy when they recognized I was human.

“What are you doing bringing
her
in
here Phil,” the woman seethed, acting like Phil broke some
code.

“Didn’t you hear me order for take out?” The
taller man with platinum white hair cackled jabbing the other as
they both eyed me lustfully, licking their lips. “Good timing,
Phil. I’m starved.”

Phil shielded me with his body and glared
back, full of determination.

“She’s mine,” he commanded. “I’m looking for
Alora, where is she?”

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to
fight off the three of us to protect your little girlfriend, Phil,”
she said, suddenly advancing closer.

I cowered behind Phil. He stood even taller
as she got closer, tucking his arm around my waist to pull me into
his back.

“Bettina, I’m serious. She’s important. I
need Alora,” he said with a growl, thick with impatience.

She glowered at him with her pale blue eyes
for a minute and then let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine! Toth, go get her,” she ordered, waving
her hand in the air at him.

Toth, the one with platinum-white hair,
glared at me with his beady black eyes before winking at Bettina
and leaving the room. Bettina felt humored and softened. I breathed
a sigh of relief knowing at least for now they weren’t going to
feast on me. But I still felt like a tasty steak in the middle of
three ravenous tigers knowing the tables could turn at any
moment.

Bettina went back to studying her map, still
eyeing me occasionally. She was tall, lean with long black
shimmering hair that spilled down over her shoulder and onto the
table. Her clothing matched her complexion perfectly and her
crimson colored lips puckered while she made notes with her pen. I
guessed she was in her early twenties but couldn’t help but feel
jealous of her beauty.

The other male vampire was shorter than her,
about the same age as me, with brown, bed-head hair and disheveled
clothing. He was strikingly attractive like the others, but cagey,
his blood lust the strongest as he paced around, barely able to
control himself. I recognized his face and almost began to place
where I knew him from when the door on the other side of the room
opened.

I stood in awe and felt the world around me
stop as if to admire the woman who stood before us. Everything
quieted in her glorious presence, even the florescent lights. I
would have said she was angelic, but even that didn’t describe the
effect she possessed over her environment. Her auburn hair seemed
to dance as it swooped gently across her forehead and shoulders,
just barely concealing her big, sapphire doe-eyes adorned with
thick black lashes. Her skin glimmered softly like the snow in the
sunlight. The thin fabric of her black dress clung to her shapely
body, caressing every curve.

Everyone instinctively bowed in her presence,
the strength of her intimidation overwhelming. All I could do was
stand and gawk as Phil moved aside so she could see me better. I
felt helplessly abandoned, nothing between us to prevent instant
carnage, if she wanted. She nodded slightly before walking towards
me; Phil didn’t move from my side while the others left the
room.

“Hello, Julia,” she said sweetly with a hint
of a southern accent, her eyes studying me intently. “I’m,
Alora.”

She held out her delicate slender hand.

Frozen, I didn’t know if I could make my hand
reach out to greet hers in return, but like a puppet on a string,
my hand obeyed. When we touched, I felt the awesomeness of her
power and almost gasped. Whatever she was capable of doing with her
small frame, she knew it and oozed confidence. And she had amazing
control over her blood lust. More so than all the vampires I’d ever
met, with the exception of Nicholas, of course. But then again, he
was only half vampire.

“This is the one I was telling you about,
Alora,” Phil finally said, head bowed, eyes low.

“Phil, you’re right. She’s so charming and
full of potential,” she said with a captivating smile, letting go
of my hand. “Don’t be afraid, we mean you no harm.”

Even though her beauty conveyed innocence,
she was the epitome of evil. I could feel her empty shallow heart
and godlike quest for ultimate power. I was appalled Phil trusted
her, but I understood why. On the outside, she looked very
deceiving. Her name fit her to a tee.

But why did he bring me to her? Was I an
offering? My heart leapt in fear as I tried to figure out both of
their intentions.

She eyed me for another second and then
glanced towards Phil, reaching out her hand to him. He took it and
kissed it.

“Well done,” she said, her startling blue
eyes looking deeply into his eyes.

Phil’s pleasure abounded with her words of
praise.

I waited uneasily as neither spoke and Phil
continued to hold her hand. They stood stiff like statues, eyes
interlocked, unmoving for several minutes. I expected at any moment
a discussion of their imminent plans of my future, but only eerie
silence lingered. The unsettling part was I could sense growing
satisfaction and excitement coming from them both. I just didn’t
understand how they could feel it in unison.

But when the feelings peaked into a euphoria
laced with evil intentions, my skin broke out in goose bumps. I had
to get out of there now. My mind willed my feet to run and I subtly
shifted my body weight in response, but Phil’s other arm shot out
and grabbed my hand.

The trance between them was severed when Phil
dropped her hand.

“It was nice to meet you, Julia,” she finally
said, melodic and soft. “Do take care.”

Still unable to speak, she moved closer, eyes
probing mine. And then unexpectedly she pushed back a lock of my
hair behind my ear, took her finger and ran it up the ridge of my
jaw, stopping just under my chin. I tried my best to remain calm,
my heart pounding so hard I thought I’d start convulsing.

“You’d make a nice little addition to my
collection,” she said in a whisper, her scent swirling across my
face, smelling sweet like honey.

I gulped, wondering when she planned to sink
her teeth into me.

Suddenly the pressure of her finger was gone.
My legs swayed anticipating my life to end, but we were alone
again. Confused, I shot Phil a look wondering what happened.

“Let’s go,” he said, with an abrupt tug. I
stumbled forward, my legs still locked in response to Alora’s
touch.

“Where?” I asked, my voice shaking but
resurfacing. Somehow I’d survived.

“I’m taking you home.”

“You are?” Home sounded like a beautiful,
glorious place but very far away, impossible, a trick. I didn’t
believe he intended to let me go free.

“Yes. You don’t want the others to think I’ve
changed my mind. Do you?”

I was out of the warehouse office door first,
but ended up flailing miserably behind him as he impatiently pulled
me out of the building. Outside I breathed the night air deeply
into my lungs, thankful to be alive. All I needed was one minute to
recover, but without asking, he drew me into his body and lurched
up into the sky.

The quick, forceful actions took my breath
away. I gasped painfully, struggling to pull air into my lungs.
Only after I relaxed did my breathing stabilize. I found it easier
to trust Phil this time, having experienced the flight before but
he seemed unaware of my distress.