The Link (11 page)

I glanced down at my hand, which was still white, but was beginning to tingle slightly as the blood began to return. I was still a little light-headed. I rubbed my finger over the tiny pin-prick on the end of my thumb and thought about what
had
happened.
We had been taking advantage of our free afternoon (his friend Omoruyi wouldn’t be picking him up until ten o’clock tonight to take him to see his
great-grandfather,
Olatunde,
a village elder). I tried to make sense of it: While in a moment of incredible passion (although they all seemed to be incredible with him) I had innocently slid my thumb across his lips, parted them and then slid it in his mouth and left it there. At the moment he climaxed, I felt a sharp pain in my thumb.
I cried out and fell back onto the bed.
My heart was flying in my chest and I was dizzy. Somehow, his climax had caused his fangs to release and one of them pricked my thumb, and in the split-second it took me to pull my hand away he had drained enough for me to notice it (I had never felt this weak after donating blood).

“
Okay,” I said, and kissed his ear, “let’s look at this logically, see if we can figure it out.” I climbed out of bed, certain that he noticed that I had to steady myself on the night stand as I grabbed a pen and paper. I sat back down on the bed next to him and began to write. “Okay, so when you, mmmmm, peaked, your fangs dropped down and one of them pierced me. Do you think it has something to do with the link, how it
’
s changed to allow you to be near me, be with me? Or maybe it has something to
do with the change process? Or maybe the changed link has changed how you can feed? Maybe it’s because you’ve never been intimate with a human, or maybe it’s because you’re intimate with the human you’re linked with? Maybe it happens with other vampires? Has Carlos ever said anything about it?”

He gave me an exasperated look, “We’re close Sarah, but not that close.”

“
Well, you could ask him you know,” I said.

He shook his head
.
“Uh-uh, no way,” he said, “I do not want ask him that. If you want to, you go right ahead, but I can’t.”

“
Okay. I will the next time I see him,” I said.
“But, regardless of why or how it happened, I still feel completely safe with you.
I think this just happened because my thumb happened to be near your fang when it descended, it didn
’
t feel like you actively or instinctively went searching for my blood. Anything I missed so far?” I asked.

“
No,” he whispered.

“
So here’s my thinking,” I went on as I rolled onto my stomach and he gently began tracing his finger down my spine. “You
’
ll just have to really
pay attention, see if you begin to have strong cravings when you
’
re near me
…
and I
’
ll make sure to keep my fingers out of your mouth,” I smiled.

“
I guess,” he replied, “but I
’
m really scared that I
’
m going to hurt you. I’m wondering if, as much as it hurts me to even think about it, if I shouldn’t take you home and continue on alone until I think I’ve found all the answers.”

My face fell, my lower lip quivered, “Wwwhhhat?” I stammered
.
“Wait a second, don’t you think that’s a little extreme? I mean, these clues that we’re getting, they’re complicated. I could see something that you don’t. If I’m not here, you could miss something. You said this feels like something that’s important we do together, I feel that too. And for the first time in years, I’m actually feeling something, feeling alive, please don’t take that away from me,” I whispered.

“
I don’t want to, but I have to keep you safe,” he said.

“
How do you feel right now?” I asked
.
“Right now, you’re inches away from me, you can smell my blood, you can feel it pulsing, you can hear my
heartbeat. Do you feel the same hunger you do when you’re near the blood that you do feed on?”

“
No,” he replied, thinking hard
.
“Not at all, all I want to do is love and protect you.”

“
Then it must have been an accident, there must be some sort of sexual trigger, and we’ll just have to be more careful when we’re together…
at least until I’m like you.”

I must have convinced him because he smiled then, leaned down and began kissing me. I stopped suddenly and pulled his face away, staring into his eyes.

“
What!
What is it?
Are you afraid? Do you want me to stop?” he said.

“
No, silly,” I smiled. “I just remembered something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while, but you seem to distract me so often that I keep forgetting.”

He sat up on one elbow.
“Anything, ask me anything at all.”

“
Do you remember your life at all before you were changed?” I asked.

His sad eyes answered before he did, “Yes.”

“
I’d really like you to tell me about it, if you’re okay with that,” I said.

“
Of course I’m okay with it,” he said, “I want you to know everything about me, it’s just that the end was a very sad and hard time for me. It’s difficult to talk about.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I was a police officer in Boston. I was still grieving the loss of my wife Ginny, she had passed away during childbirth a year before.
We had been married for ten years and she so desperately wanted to give me a child. I wanted one too, but I could see the toll that every loss was taking on her. She had already suffered several miscarriages and was told it could be dangerous to try again, but she stubbornly convinced me to try one more time and things really seemed like they were going to work out this time. She went in to labor late one Friday night and I sent for the doctor. She seemed to be in such pain, more than what my friends had told me about. Our son, Samuel, was stillborn.
When the doctor told her, she cried out in anguish and that was when the horrendous bleeding started. The doctor tried so hard but he couldn’t get it stopped. She died later that
night.”

He wiped the tears that were streaming down my face and continued. “I went back to work but I was a robot. I requested the night shift, seeking out the most dangerous parts of the city. One night I heard a muffled scream coming from a dark alley. I went to investigate and surprised a man who was assaulting a woman. I shoved him away and turned to tell the woman to run, but he pulled out a pistol and shot me, in the chest. I fell to the ground and the woman screamed and ran out of the alley.
The man shot at her and narrowly missed her head. I knew I was dying.
I could feel the blood running out, much too fast. He had to have nicked an artery or the bullet penetrated my heart.
Just before death came, though, I suddenly had the sensation that I was surrounded by someone or something. I felt myself being lifted and floating through the air. I thought I was dying, and I was glad. I awoke several days later in an ancient looking fortress and was told what had happened to me and what had been done. I was very angry at first because I wanted to join my Ginny in death. But I spent the next six months studying
with them and learning. I saw all the good in what we do. I left with a small sense of purpose after those six months…
and my second kill was the man who had been trying to rape that woman.” He stopped then, emotionally exhausted, and I didn’t ask him to tell me more, not then, it would have been too much.

I put my arms around him and gently caressed his hair, saying the only words I needed to say, “I’m glad you didn’t die.” That was enough, for now.

We stayed that way for hours, too emotionally drained from everything to move.
A while later there was a light knock at the door.
I grabbed the robe off the chair, tied it around me and turned around to see Matthew, fully dressed (of course) and walking to the door.
“Must be nice,” I said, smiling at him and shaking my head, looking down at me in my robe. He introduced Omoruyi to me, who politely shook my hand. He had a wonderfully kind face with eyes that sparkled. Matthew knew it was time to leave but seemed reluctant to go. “I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’ll order room service and watch a movie”
He took my palm and lightly traced my scar
.

“
I’ll let you know when I’m on my way back,” he
smiled. He wrapped me in his warm embrace, kissed me, then turned and was gone. I locked the door and then picked up the phone. I ordered a sandwich and soda. There wasn’t any cell service here, so I couldn’t spend any time listening to voicemails or sending emails, but I decided to compose a few emails anyways, saving them to send later. There wasn’t much in the way of TV, but I managed to find
Casablanca
and I settled in to watch it.
I love that movie, but I was so exhausted that it wasn’t long before I was sound asleep.

My eyes flew open, thinking someone was in the room. It was dark – what had awakened me? I smiled and relaxed when I felt my scar tingling and knew what it was. He was letting me know he was on his way home. I rolled over and looked at the clock, two a.m, and then began tracing my own scar for him – this was better than a cell phone any day. I tried to keep my eyes open, enjoying the sensation but soon drifted off to sleep again with a smile on my face. The next time I woke there was someone in the room – no fear this time though for I instantly knew it was my Matthew – and I was definitely enjoying the
way he was letting me know he was back.

He woke me with a gentle kiss at nine a.m., with breakfast ordered and on the table. I was famished and I ate like a pig. “What happened last night?” I asked.

“
Omoruyi
’
s grandfather gave me some incense made from a thousand year old secret recipe that we’re supposed to use during the change process. The smoke and scent of it is supposed to put us in some sort of a trance,” he said.

“
Okay, sounds interesting. And where are we going today?” I asked between mouthfuls.

“
Egypt,” he replied. I stopped eating and stared at him
.
“I’ve always wanted to go there.
See the sites and experience the history. Do you think we might be able to stay a little longer there?”

He reached over, and placed his hand on mine, “Sarah, I promise you, if we, no,
when
we get through this, I will take you wherever you want to go and we’ll stay for as long as you want to be there.”
I nodded my reply, sighed and went back to my breakfast. I showered then, asking him to please stay out because I knew we didn’t have time for
anything else, to which he grudgingly agreed. When I emerged from the bathroom I noticed a new outfit laying across the bed for me. I raised an eyebrow at him and walked over to it
.

“
It’s very nice,” I said as I put it on. Of course it fit perfectly. I grabbed the rest of my things and went to put them in my bag, instantly noticing that there were a lot more clothes in there now than when we started. “When, exactly, did you have time to shop?” I asked.

He smiled, ignoring my question, and said, “There will be a car downstairs for us in a few minutes.”

Suddenly Carlos burst through the door, the ever-present smile on his face, “The car’s here already, kids.”
I started to say something but then noticed Matt out of the corner of my eye, with tension written clearly across his face.

“
What’s happened?” he asked. I sank down in the nearest chair, not sure I wanted to hear this. “They’re on their way to Mexico. They’re still not sure what you’re up to, but they know you went there and they are trying to find out why.”

“
Well then,“ Matt looked at me, “it won’t be long before they know that you’re with me
,
it should only be a matter time before they figure everything out
,
” he said
.
“
W
e’ll need to step things up and move faster.”

“
Easy for you to say,” I replied.

Matt smiled, “True, true.”
He turned back to Carlos, “Thanks for the update.”

Carlos smiled, bowed to us, said, “I’m having too much fun here. Happy travels, friends
,
” and he turned to leave, but I stopped him.