The Emerald Talisman (34 page)

I knew choosing a life with Nicholas wasn’t
going to be ordinary. And actually, I’d never been more alive or
happy in my entire life dating the most eligible and only
half-vampire in the world. But, a relationship with Nicholas meant
an uneven path ahead filled with twists and turns. Possibly life
threatening. Was I ready for it? Would I scream through it? Or
white knuckle it quietly? Or would I smile, raise my hands up,
enjoying the wind in my hair?

I guess the choice was up to me.

Inside, I really wanted to throw caution to
the wind, tempt fate and just see what would happen, secretly
feeling invincible because I wore the talisman now. But I had this
awful feeling what we’d encountered a few months back wasn’t
anything compared to what the future would bring. Things would get
worse when Alora returned determined to capture Nicholas, and take
him as her prize. I worried about his vulnerability and the
prediction, but trusted that the cat would warn us upon Alora’s
return. I still battled telling him, thinking maybe we should do
something to prepare. He’d already insisted though, after my
continuous nagging, that he was prepared and to stop worrying.

Why wasn’t that easing my fears?

With the necklace, I felt totally safe. It
had become a permanent part of me. I was worried people would take
notice, questioning why I wore such an expensive piece daily, but
no one ever did. Nicholas said it had a way of making itself look
unattractive to others, its beauty only shown to the beholder. I
found that strange since every time I saw Nicholas wear it before,
it sparkled brilliantly as if to call attention to itself. Maybe I
was always supposed to be its owner.

Nothing really happened after we got rid of
the gang and ran Alora out of the city. Because of that, Nicholas
actually let his guard down, relaxing a bit, even allowing this
evening date to take place. For a fleeting moment it felt as if
vampires didn’t even exist and we had a normal relationship for
once. But I didn’t want to hold my breath because, like the ride,
the ground was going to plummet beneath us at any minute. But I was
going to be where Nicholas went and help with my unknown
ability.

Other things had changed too.

I could finally tell Sam Nicholas had
returned and that I wasn’t cursed after all. But Nicholas warned me
to be careful how much I shared. The necklace kept me safe, but
they could be placed in harms way knowing too much. I decided to
keep things between us a secret.

I also got a newer car and my job back.

My home-life improved too. Both my dad and
brother appreciated the change in my demeanor, no longer brooding
about.

Most importantly, after the authorities
investigated the fire, Phil and Justin were laid to rest. But I had
a very hard time being around their mothers still feeling somewhat
responsible for what happened. Nicholas was there in the distance
the whole time. His support, even from far away, helped me keep it
together in a way that no one else’s could. I had many haunting
dreams afterward, my mind trying to sift through the past. I just
hoped there wouldn’t be anymore vampire changing sprees in my town
because I didn’t think I could handle going through the grief and
drama again.

I also worried about the cat delivering bad
news. All her secrets wore on me and I wanted to come clean before
Alora came back. Daily I contemplated telling Nicholas the truth,
but worried the cat might not warn us if I betrayed her.

So, to sum it all up, we were basically just
waiting, unable to plan when the car would come plunging down
either freaking us out or giving us the time of our lives – our
reaction unknown. Whichever way it went, I knew I didn’t want to do
it without Nicholas. I couldn’t.

“So what do you think?” I asked, my hair
blown askew, a huge smile plastered across my face as the ride
ended.

He looked a little stunned, but exclaimed,
“Excellent!”

I wanted it to be just that.

We left the ride and made our way down to the
beach. All I wanted to do was find a vacant spot and snuggle by a
bonfire, but fires weren’t allowed on this beach. Nicholas led me
down to the end where the cliff met the shoreline instead.
Typically, beach-combers had to turn around at that point, but
Nicholas had a different idea. I giggled when he swooped me up into
his arms and carried me from rock to rock around this little
blockade (in his eyes) towards our beach that was only a few miles
down the coast. Of course, since it was dark, no one would see his
extraordinary feat of strength.

“What are you worried about?” Nicholas asked,
after making me a fire in our usual spot, getting comfortable by me
in the sand, gently caressing my hand.

I took a deep breath. It was useless to try
to hide my feelings from him. The collapse of our perfect world
terrified me and I didn’t want to tell him. But I found it
insightful that he had started to pick up on my emotions as if he’d
acquired a tiny bit of my gift.

“I just feel like something is going to
happen to ruin this,” I whispered, looking away and focusing on the
surf in the distance while leaning over into his shoulder.

He pulled me closer, wrapping his arms
tightly around me, beckoning me to lean against his muscular
chest.

“I won’t leave you like I did in the past. I
wish you’d trust me.”

“Oh, Nicholas.” I turned to face him. He’d
misunderstood. “No, it isn’t that. I know you aren’t going to leave
me. It’s just, I’m enjoying seeing you relaxed and acting human for
once. I just don’t want it to end. Has this ever happened before?
Where the vampires left and you had a period of reprieve?”

“Never this long,” he said, a twinge of worry
now appearing. “I’ve never thought to look at the pattern in the
past, but now that none have returned, I’m beginning to think what
happened before wasn’t a coincidence.”

Nicholas had explained in the past that he
believed that I’d been some sort of magnet to them and when they
came to town, he’d been able to exterminate them before any havoc
broke out because they were always attracted to me. It made finding
them super easy. But with Alora’s clan, there had been so many that
he hadn’t been unable to stop them as fast. It was as if they’d
been alerted to his special abilities which led him to think they
came for another reason.

“When fighting some of them, they’d tell me
that they’d heard of me but it didn’t click until Phil had told us
of my legend,” he said with a grimace. I could tell he didn’t want
that type of fame in the vampire world. “Really, I just hunted them
to protect you since you attract them. It never occurred to me they
came for any other reason than that. But I never let anyone survive
to speak of my abilities. I’m still wondering how they figured it
out.”

I knew Alora knew. And because of that, they
all knew. How she knew exactly, I wasn’t sure and for one brief
second I felt the urge to tell him, but clamped my mouth shut.
Again, reminded of what the cat had said. I wanted to protect him
more than anything. Maybe I worried for nothing.

“Well, Phil had said he knew you were
different and not part of their coven. Maybe they guessed? I mean,
didn’t you say, after killing Phil that they’d know and come
looking?”

“True,” he said and was quiet for a moment.
“They’d feel the power shift back up the lineage.”

That fact confirmed why Alora didn’t like to
make other vampires. I felt her greed and knew she preferred to
hoard her power. She must have really thought Phil special to keep
him around after discovering her mistake.

“How do you track vampires anyway?” I asked,
probing to see if he was indeed still on the look-out.

“I have what would best be described as
vampire radar. We can sense when another is close. We also have a
particular scent. I do run the perimeter of the city every night
and check to see if anyone has entered by foot or not.”

“In the past, only lower lineage vampires
would come into town and were easily tracked. Most of them were
generally weak with no special abilities making easy targets.

“If they made a home here, I would have to
wait until they came out at night to feed to attack them. I always
wondered if the parent of the vampire kept tabs on where their
children went and if they got upset when they were exterminated.
Maybe that’s how my legend started.”

“And Alo…” I caught myself. I’d been thinking
about her so much, I almost said her name out loud. “Um… Bettina’s
clan? How come they were so hard to catch?”

“They flew into the city so the scent has
nothing to cling to, like following foot prints in the sand washed
away by the sea. Plus, they were very careful about where they went
and hid in multiple locations. All of them must have been close to
the royal family to have so much power. That’s why I’ve been
concerned about a potential backlash. It’s odd no one has come to
avenge their deaths. We wiped out a whole coven.”

He looked down at me waiting for my reaction
and I looked away, trying to appear somber. I knew too much and
didn’t want him to notice how uncomfortable this deception was for
me.

“Yeah, I guess we did,” I mumbled, biting my
lip.

“You don’t have to be afraid, Julia.
Honestly, I’ve been in worse situations and I’ve had a lot of
practice. I can handle this.” He pulled me tighter into his body
and kissed the top of my head. He’d misinterpreted my reaction for
fear, but that didn’t ease my conscience any.

What a tangled web we weave…

I sighed.

“Are you okay?” he asked while petting my
hair.

“Yes. It’s just…” I fumbled for the right
word. “…scary I guess. Not knowing, waiting for the other shoe to
drop so to say.”

“Well, you have me and the talisman, so
you’ll be okay.”

I reached up and felt the necklace resting in
the hollow of my throat. It comforted me knowing that if anything
ever did happen apart from Nicholas, I’d be safe. But I did live in
fear of how the truth would play out.

“Have you ever thought to ask your Dad for
help?”

Nicholas instantly stiffened and grew cold
inside.

“Only as a last resort –” he mumbled.

I worried about this. Something must have
happened to strain their relationship. I knew they talked
occasionally, but doubted any true sentiments were ever exchanged.
I was starting to believe that maybe Nicholas blamed his dad for
his half-breed issues, but I didn’t feel comfortable asking him
about it.

“—it’s fine, Julia. Really. I can handle
it.”

I decided to trust his judgment and not to
push any further. He seemed confident enough.

We sat in silence, but with each passing
minute, his confidence slowly flickered to worry; I’m sure because
I wasn’t talking. But I didn’t know what else to say. I hated the
impending doom.

I let my mind wander through all the events
of our earlier interactions instead, like I did everyday. In order
to never forget, I’d run through the details — unable to journal
about it. Nicholas strictly forbade me to write down anything that
would reveal the true nature of his identity. And then I
remembered.

“Um… I was wondering. Do you still have that
note I wrote?” I uttered a little embarrassed.

“I do,” he said, taking a worn piece of paper
out of his pocket.

“You carry this with you?” I said surprised,
looking into his enchanting eyes with astonishment.

“Yes,” he said, feeling nostalgic. “For a
while, it was my only connection to you even though you were mad at
me in it. But that was because you felt the same way about me as I
did of you.”

I blushed and looked away, feeling a little
ridiculous and then gently took the note from him and unfolded
it.

Dear Nicholas,

I’m writing to say good-bye…

I don’t know what happened to me after I met
you, but something inside me changed and I can’t stop thinking
about you or what happened. Why did you promise to come see me when
you never intended to? I thought you were different. And when you
didn’t show, I thought maybe there was a good reason for you not to
come. But after the way you treated me in front of the theater, I
knew I was wrong. You had no right to be rude to me. You’re just
like all the other boys who like to flirt and make promises they
NEVER INTEND TO KEEP! But the worst of it is that I can’t seem to
get you out of my mind and something inside keeps pushing me to
care for you. But I refuse to give into your fake charm and I will
learn to shut it off.

So, for what it’s worth, I’m done with you. I
will be forever thankful you saved me. But that’s it. I won’t let
you hurt me anymore and from this point forward, I will stop
missing you and wishing you’ll come back into my life!

GOOD-BYE and good riddance.

~ Julia

I folded it back up, studying the wrinkled
corners. The note looked like it had been reopened many times. A
large part of me wanted to rip it into tiny pieces erasing how
silly I’d been. Instead, I played with the paper.

“I was tempted the next morning to leave a
note on your car to say sorry, but I chickened out,” he said while
putting his hand over my fidgety fingers, holding them still,
taking the note back.

The day after came to mind. I’d forgotten
about the anonymous note I found on the ground, left by mistake.
Deep down inside, I’d hoped he’d left that note for me. Maybe the
gesture kept me holding on until I could discover the truth.

Within my own pocket, I took out the piece of
wood I’d carried around ever since that day and held it in my palm,
reminiscing. Suddenly, he cupped his hand under mine and placed the
other half in my palm, fitting them together.

“I wondered what this was,” he said sweetly,
taking the newly formed wooden token closer to read the
inscription.