~ Nineteen ~

Christian leapt across the table, the empty vase and dishes flying to the tile floor with a crash. Jose Luis’s body flew to the other end of the room with Christian’s heavier mass on top of him, making both look like rag dolls easily thrown in the air. In an instant, I was on top of Christian, trying to pry his fangs from the boy’s neck, pulling his head away by his hair. Jose Luis struggled under him but to no avail. With one fist still gripping hair, I grabbed Christian’s chin and turned his face toward mine. His eyes clouded over and his expression looked like that of a sleepwalker.

“Christian, look at me. Focus! Focus on my face!” He made no attempt to breathe or blink. Jose Luis finally went limp under Christian’s weight. Since neither was moving, I took that opportunity to jump into Christian’s mind. I heard his anguish. “I am so sorry, Christian. I wasn’t thinking.”

The metallic smell reached my nose as Christian’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He blinked and shook his head. The scent was mouth-watering to me so I could just imagine what it was doing to Christian. The fact that he was trying to focus on my face showed me he had more self-control than I did at his age.

“Oh, God. What did I do?” he whispered, turning away from me to look at Jose Luis’s pale, terrified face. “Did I?”

I nodded. “It was not enough to cause any serious damage. See? He’s fine.”

“I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s my fault, baby. I should’ve known better. You haven’t fed,” I caressed his cheek with my fingertips, still holding his head up with the other hand.

“Why do you always take responsibility for my actions?” he snapped. “I’m a grown man.”

“I know. But this whole thing is new to you and it is up to me to teach you and take care of you until you adjust.” Though his tone of voice hurt, I knew I shouldn’t take it to heart. It was his hunger speaking. “Come on, get up with me.”

He let me pull his shaking body up, stepping away from Jose Luis in unison. The boy sat up and backed against the wall, wrapping his arms around himself, ignoring the trickle of blood running down his neck. “No me maten, por favor,” he pleaded with a weak voice.

“No te vamos a matar. Te lo prometo,” I responded without taking my eyes off Christian. “Christian, listen to me. This is not your fault. You’re a newborn vampire. You needed to feed.”

“It’s not your responsibility to take care of me,” he said, his voice sounding a little stronger than I expected. “I should’ve gotten up and walked away instead of doing this.”

“But it is my responsibility. I made you what you are. I am responsible for you.”

“Um…excuse me,” Jose Luis interrupted. “What about this?” He motioned toward his bleeding neck.

“In a minute,” I answered. He slumped back against the wall. I wasn’t finished with Christian yet.

“No. I did this, I will fix it,” Christian said and before I could stop him, he moved to kneel at Jose Luis’s side. The boy slid away from him, keeping his body tight against the wall. “I am truly sorry, Jose Luis. Please forgive me.”

Jose Luis looked at me for guidance and I nodded. He didn’t reply but didn’t move away when Christian approached him again. “I’ve seen you do this, Lily,” he assured me. He bit the tip of his tongue and then leaned toward Jose Luis’s neck. The boy stiffened and his eyes bulged.

“It’s okay, Jose Luis. He won’t hurt you again. He’s going to make it better. Please trust him,” I encouraged. Christian rubbed the blood over Jose Luis’s puncture wounds, exactly as I would have done. The bite marks closed before our eyes. Jose Luis’s body finally relaxed and he took a deep breath.

“You need to feed, Christian.” I looked at Jose Luis. “But we’ll have to either tie him up or take him with us.”

“Leave the boy to me.” We all jumped as Aloysius appeared behind me. “Go feed. We will talk when you return.”

“How much trouble do you think we’re in?” Christian asked as we walked back to a well-lit street in search of a taxi. We had fed and were fully sated, but nervous about facing Aloysius. We walked slower than normal, trying to delay going back to the apartment for as long as we could.

“I have no idea. He didn’t sound too angry but then again, he’s always composed. The calmness of his manner actually makes me a little nervous.”

“I know what you mean. Is that your phone?” Christian asked as we settled in the back seat of a run-down car that smelled like it had been used as a toilet.

I grabbed the phone out of my pocket and opened the text message to read it. “Fiore’s in Miami. She’s on her way here!”

“What? What is it about ‘you’re my wife’ that she doesn’t get?” Christian looked out the window with his back tense.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I had seen his jealousy before, but I still didn’t know why. Was he seeing something I wasn’t when it came to Fiore?

“Nothing…forget about it. Why is she coming?”

“She doesn’t say.”

The taxi turned down a dark road that I didn’t recognize. We bounced in our seats before we were thrown back as the taxi started to climb a steep, winding hill.

“Where are we going?” I asked the driver in Spanish. The only response was his eyes in the rearview mirror, looking back and forth between us.

“Something wrong?” Christian asked, looking out the window at the cliff that dropped off to what looked like a black hole.

“We’re going the wrong way. This is nowhere near the apartment building,” I answered.

“We’re not even on a real road, are we? It’s nothing but dirt. I don’t like this either,” Christian took my hand and squeezed it. We should get out…

As he transmitted that thought to me, the car came to a stop. “Bajen!” the driver commanded. I didn’t argue and we got out. While Christian and I stood to the side, the car backed up, turned around, and sped away, raising a cloud of dust that made us cough.

“What the hell was that all about?” Christian yelled, waving his hands to clear the dust.

“I don’t know. They usually bring people up here to rob them. He didn’t,” I explained. The cross stood in front of us, aglow in white lights, and the ocean to the left. “The planetarium is up here.” The wind pushed my hair in front of my face, making it hard to see. I reached in my pocket for a hair tie.

“Is this some kind of joke? ‘Let’s see if the tourists can find their way back?’ Hey,” Christian took my hand to stop my advance. “Not only did he not rob us, but he didn’t even let us pay him.”

“That’s really not good. Someone is waiting for us up here. I’m sure of it.” We stood still for a moment, deciding on which way to go. “We need to get off this mountain.”

“Which way?” he asked.

“The fastest way possible, you on my back and off the edge of that wall,” I answered, walking toward it.

“Did you hear that?” He grabbed my hand again.

“What? The wind?”

“No. It was a laugh – a woman. I’m almost positive.”

I listened more closely but heard nothing. I started walking again when suddenly I heard someone clear a throat. “Where are you going? Don’t want to play?” It was a woman’s voice, one I didn’t recognize. I caught the light scent of a flowery perfume.

We spun around, raising more dust. “Who’s there?” I yelled.

“So you are playing? I’m so glad,” the voice yelled back. I looked at Christian. He motioned for me to remain quiet.

“Do you hear an accent?” I whispered to Christian. He shook his head.

“What are we playing and who are we playing with?” he asked with a strong commanding voice.

“I ask the questions. Let’s begin, shall we? First question, what have you done with the boy?” The voice sounded even closer, yet we saw no one.

“The boy is alive. That’s all you need to know.” Christian started to usher me behind him. I stiffened, refusing to let him shield me. “Are you Melinda?”

She hesitated before she spoke again. “I can be whoever you want me to be. I want the boy back.”

“What do you want with him?” I asked before Christian could take over again.

“That is not your problem. Your only job is to bring me the boy and I will trade him for someone you will want.” Her voice seemed to surround us.

Chills went through my body when I heard that. Fiore? Could she have Fiore?

“Perhaps.” She laughed.

So she was reading my thoughts. Communicating secretly with Christian would be futile. “Where?” I asked. Christian looked at me with shock on his face.

“I thought you’d see things my way,” she said with a laugh. “Tomorrow at midnight, right here.”

“Fine. We’ll be here,” Christian answered.

“No! Just her and the boy. If you bring any others, your little friend dies. You got that?”

“Are you crazy?” Christian blurted.

“Agreed,” I answered.

“Good girl. I knew you were smart. Him, not so much,” she laughed. “Until tomorrow then. I can’t wait.” I heard the rustling of clothing before I saw the dust her departure created.

“I will never allow it. You realize that, don’t you?” Christian whispered as we headed to the edge of the mountain.

“What other choice is there? You heard what she said. Besides, I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for almost a century,” I explained as he climbed on my back and wrapped his arms around my neck.

“I seriously wish you’d start seeing me for what I am: an immortal, just like you.”

“Sure. We’ll talk later. Right now, let’s get the hell out of here.” We plunged off the wall, screaming all the way.