Clairvoyance



Nick roamed the streets, not sure of where he was going, and not certain what he was going to do now that she was gone. She was the one who introduced him to the world he now lived in. The world where anything was possible. Where the monsters of his childhood where very much real. A world where nothing was just as it seemed to him in the past.

He went back to their home, and it was vacant. Still, he followed the familiar path to the cellar and then to the dark chamber they shared. Her blood stained the floors. He could still hear her screamed permanently echoing off of the walls. Even in the silence, he heard her voice as clear as crystal. Crying for help, help he couldn’t give.

Nick returned to the streets and wandered the alleyways, feeding insatiably from those he found to be evildoers. Drug dealers, pimps, murderers, and thieves. All those destined to die in the streets inevitably.

He didn’t bother to wipe the smeared blood from his mouth. Little technicalities as such weren’t important to him anymore. And he knew mortals were staring. Wondering. Assuming. Fearing. Still, he paid them no attention. Nothing and no one mattered. All was lost. And he didn’t see any clear way of gaining it back.

As he walked, he found himself stopping at the gates of the old plantation mansion Gray had once taken him to. Though it was only the second time he stood at those gates, he felt comfort there. He found solace in the mere sight of the place. Grasping the cold bars in his hand, he pushed them apart making an even wider entrance so that he wouldn’t have to squeeze through.

There was someone else there.

The place was completely silent, save for the leaves crumbling under his feet and the wind whipping around the trees, stirring those same leaves and whistling the sweet tunes of the night. Still, something wasn’t right. He knew someone else was there. Someone very much like himself. A vampire. Maybe more than one.

There was a tingling deep within his body, originating from the very centers of his bones. And it was alarming him to turn back. Danger lurked ahead. And it was telling him that nothing good would come out of continuing into the house. But he couldn’t turn back. After all, what was there to lose? His family would never be able to live with him this way. Human society would never accept him this way. Brian, Howie, and Kevin would never forgive him and forget all that had happened. So why not press on? Why not find out who or what was inside that dark, silent house waiting for him. Why not find out what they were waiting to do?

He put one foot in the front door and listened. There was still nothing. Yet he knew, he was absolutely sure that someone else was there. He felt them all around him. Vampires. Many of them. So silent. So still. Not even the slightest sound of breath could be detected. And that was expected, because he knew that his kinds didn’t need to breathe. Breath was only a mortal trait that carried on into their new lives. Their dark, preternatural lives.

From a corner, he could have sworn he saw a pair of eyes flash in the darkness. But when he looked, he saw nothing. He knew that if he continued to seek out these vampires in hiding, they would sense his fear of them. So he ignored them. And he climbed the stairs to the bedroom where Gray seduced him, the bedroom where he breathed his last mortal breath, the room where his heart pumped the last drop of mortal blood he had.

He didn’t know what that room was calling for him. He didn’t understand why he felt so drawn to it. All he knew was that he had to get there. It was the only thing that would make him feel better. It was the only place where he could clear his head and better decide what to do now that Gray was gone.

Once in the room, he stood by the window, staring out over the plantation, wondering how it looked back in the last 1800s, when Gray was human, when she was young. Just seventeen. He wondered what her life must have been like. He couldn’t imagine being a slave. Even worse, a slave in love with someone you have every reason to hate. He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to be kept ignorant. To be considered property. He couldn’t imagine why Jean would even continue to keep her as a slave if he loved her so much. There was so much that didn’t make sense.

But that was an entirely different time.

He closed his eyes and tried to picture it, and when he opened them he saw a candle just to his left in the windowsill. The soft light was enough to brighten the room. And he wondered who lit it. Where did it come from? He turned to see if those mysterious vampires were behind him, but instead he found that the room had changed.

The bed was recently made. Incense was burning. Fresh flowers were in beautiful vases in every corner of the room. The floor wasn’t dusty and cracked any more, it was new and shiny as if it had been mopped and waxed just a few hours before Nick arrived. The door opened and Nick backed into a corner, loosely hiding behind the lace and velvet curtains. More light spilled into the room as an older woman entered.

She was a dark woman, her hair tied back into a bun and covered by a faded red cloth. She wore a long skirt that swept the floor when she walked, and an apron tied around her waist. She went back into the hall and when she returned, she was pushing an antique wheelchair. One so old it was probably crafted from whicker and cherry wood. But upon closer examination, Nick discovered that the wheelchair looked new, as did the floor and the bed.

Where was he? He distinctly remembered coming up to a vacant bedroom, old and tattered, dust ridden and full of cobwebs at every corner. The only thing that didn’t look old in the room he entered was the sheets. No doubt Gray had put them there for the victims lured to bed. But now, the entire room had changed. Everything from the furniture to the smell.

The old woman looked at the window, and Nick was sure that she saw him, but she didn’t. She had no clue he was even there. This had to be a dream of some sort. Some kind of hallucination. He had wondered what this place looked like when Gray was mortal, and now he knew. The spirit of the house had granted his wish and he was seeing first-hand what life was like back in the late 1800s.

The door opened again, just when the dark-skinned maid was about to leave. She was startled when the door opened, not having heard someone approaching.

It was Jean.

Nick was taken aback by the astounding resemblance. He knew they looked exactly alike, and he had known this ever since he first saw Jean’s picture in the dining hall downstairs. But it never really occurred to him that they almost had the exact same body. Same form. Same voice. Same height. Everything. He wondered if genetics worked that way in all families. If somewhere down the line, one of your decedents will end up having the same exact body you once had.

The maid continued to leave and Jean walked over to the older woman in the wheelchair. And he looked puzzled. As if he wasn’t sure why she was there. He was just going to ask when she brought her hand up into the air and motioned for him to silence himself and sit to listen to what she had to say. And she looked as if she was going to say a lot.

Jean sat down on the bed, and Nick felt comfortable leaving his corner by the window and coming closer to the two, knowing they’d never detect him. After all, this was just a vivid vision. He stood by the high bedpost and listened in, assuming that the woman would speak low. She looked so very sick and weak. Yet she kept her chin high and refused to let her sickness overwhelm her.

“Jean, I’ve something of great importance to discuss with you. And I think you know what it is.” Jean rolled his eyes and stood up as if he wasn’t going to sit through her lecture. But she managed to stop him again.

“Jean...” she said with a stern voice, despite the clear weakness of her vocal cords and lungs, “you will listen to me, boy, or you will never regret it. I am your mother, Jean. And I’m dying. And you will sit down and hear what I have to say.” Jean sat back down reluctantly and sighed.

“You have got to stop romping around with that little slave girl. It was amusing when you were just five-years-old and you didn’t know any better. And it was an issue best left alone when you were thirteen and going through changes. I think all young boys go through a period in their lives when they feel differently toward young ladies. And it seems only natural that someone like you would turn to a meaningless slave girl to... explore those feelings as opposed to introducing such sin to a white girl. But Jean, you are seventeen now. Soon you will be taking over this land and everything our family owns. You will become the head of this household. And excuse me for losing my religion, but I will be damned if you spend more time with a little black girl than with a beautiful, refined woman worthy to be your wife.

“I want the best things in life for you, Jean,” she touched his face and tilted her head, making her appear more affectionate instead of intimidating, “but she is not it. You just cannot go falling for a slave. They’re all talking about it, Jean. They’re laughing behind our backs. Both the slaves and our equals. The slaves, they say that when you take over this plantation, they’ll never have to work. They say that she will change you and lead you to believe that free labor is wrong when we both know it’s the natural way of things. She’s from the Caribbean, Jean. And Caribbean women are nothing but voodoo witches. She’ll put a curse on you yet if she already hasn’t. And this is why I’m begging you... no, I’m demanding. as your mother, that you forget these feelings you have for this girl and marry Catherine. And you will do this before I die, Jean, and I mean every single word.” Jean stood up again this time, and he began pacing, his face distorted.

“Catherine Armand? Mother, no! I will do no such thing! I don’t love her! I don’t even know her. I’ve met her once at the harvest celebration and she was an awful flirt! Were it not for her find clothes and well-groomed hair, I would not be able to tell he apart from a common Cajun whore working the city streets of New Orleans!”

“You will not speak that way of a lady!” his mother retorted.

“And you will not speak this way of Gray! Mother, I don’t want to marry Gray. I know just as well as anyone that when a white man marries a slave he’s probably poor trash. Not a dime attached to his name. I don’t wish to bring shame to our family. I don’t wish to be the subject of rumors and gossip throughout this town. But I would rather love one woman and be unmarried for the rest of my life than to marry a woman I don’t even like and love another. It would kill my conscience, Mother, and I will not consent to it!”

“Oh... I see... my only child, my son would rather spare the feelings of a scrawny little house wench than please his mother with one honor. This one thing I ask of you and you refuse it to me without even the slightest minute of consideration. I don’t see why I don’t close my eyes right this moment and die! Death would be more comforting to me now than you!”

“Mother, you must understand, I don’t see things as you do! When I look at her, I don’t see that she’s colored. I don’t see that she works for us, cooks our food, cleans our kitchens, and makes our beds. I don’t see that every night she goes into that little shack with Anna and sleeps on a bed of hay. I don’t see that her hands are rough and dry from cleaning day and night. I don’t see that her hair isn’t long and yellow like ours. I don’t see that her lips aren’t pink like ours. I don’t see that she’s a slave. But Mother, what I do see is that she’s caring enough to rub my back after I’ve been riding all day without my asking. I see that she’s caring enough to respect me as a master when others are around, and then respect me as the man she loves when we’re alone. She listens to what I have to say, and I don’t mean orders, I mean that she really listens when I just feel like talking. I love her, Mother. I’ve loved as long as I could remember. And if you resent that, then blame yourself. You were the one that allowed Anna to let Gray play with me when we were both babies. You allowed us to grow up together. You allowed her to work in the house, close to me, for so many years. And now you expect me to just let her go when you know better than anyone that she’s all I have. She’s all I’ve ever known....”

“Very well then, Jean, have the girl if you want her so badly. Disobey me if she means that much to you. And if you choose to do so, rest assure that I will not keep this from your father. If you embarrass me after I’ve promised Marie Armand that you would marry her daughter, I will be sure to tell your father of everything. He will know how you spend so many nights in Anna’s cabin. He will know how you plan to have a new cabin built just for Gray closer to this house. Yes, Jean, I know all about it. I heard you discussing it with some of those field hands. And your father will know how deeply you care for his PROPERTY if you choose not to marry Catherine. And do you know what your father will do, he will separate you both. He will take her away from you. SO far away that you’ll forget what she even looks like. And then where will you be?”

Jean walked over to the window. He could see Gray down below, pumping water into a bucket that she would have to boil for his mother’s bath. She looked so innocent. So beautiful. And she didn’t deserve to be betrayed if he chose to marry Catherine as his mother wished. Then again, he didn’t think he could bare it if he looked out over the plantation and didn’t see her. He didn’t think he could live another day if he knew that she was on some other plantation, under some other man’s power, unable to run to him when she needed him. Inaccessible when he needed her.

Betrayal or separation?

He didn’t have to answer his mother for her to know that he had given in. He walked back to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. Even though he hated her then for making him choose, she was still his mother and she was still dying, and he loved her for caring so much. He just loathed her as well for not giving any effort to understand his and Gray’s plight.

He called for the maid to come and get Anna and take her to her room. And just before he went back into his own bedroom, he saw Gray going down the stairs with an empty bucket in her hands.

“Master Jean, will you be wanting hot water tonight, sir?” she asked, speaking quite formally to him because other two other slaves were in that hall and she didn’t want to give them anything to gossip about.

He didn’t answer her, instead he beckoned for her to come to his room with his hands. She looked to both her sides making sure no one was spying on them, and then she crept back up the stairs and into his room. He was waiting on the bed, stretched out with his hands covering his eyes as if he were a little tense. She closed the door, locked it, and went to sit next to him on the bed.

She took his boots off and began to massage his feet. Jean then sat up and stopped her. Gray didn’t understand why at first, but she caught on when he lifted her skirts and took off her shoes. He tickled her feet and made her laugh. Then he put his finger to her mouth to quiet her down, reminding her that there were too many people in the house for her to laugh that way.

Nick still stood by and watched, remembering how Gray laughed when he tickled her feet. He couldn’t believe how similar their relationship was to the one he once shared with her.

Jean stopped for a moment, and his expression turned into a serious one. Nick wondered whether Jean would tell Gray that he would marry Catherine. He wondered why Jean didn’t just get enough money together to take Gray far away. Somewhere like Europe where interracial relationships weren’t looked at as harshly. But then it hit him, if they had run off together, Gray would have never become a vampire. And Jean would have never married Catherine. Nick would never have existed.

It was all so confusing, and he didn’t understand why he was seeing these things anyway. He tried to escape the vision. He tried to force his mind to return to the present. But it wasn’t working. He could still see them. A mirror image of himself, and the past body of the one being he loved more than anything or anyone. It was all too much, and he started to feel sick.

Jean kissed Gray on her lips, and he pulled her headdress off to let down her long braids. She was so beautiful in her youth. Just as beautiful as she was the last time Nick saw her. And he couldn’t help but remember how much pain she was in. And the look in her eyes... it was enough to tear his heart into a million pieces. It hurt him even more to see her so happy with Jean, knowing that her happiness wouldn’t last.

He suddenly felt a powerful blow to his stomach. It was so forceful that he flew into the wall, nearly tearing a hole through it. When he finally came to and gained the strength to stand up, he realized he wasn’t in 19th century New Orleans any longer. He was in the 21st century again. And those hiding vampires from downstairs were all circled around him.

He could smell them. Some of them smelling so foul that he wanted to vomit, but that was impossible because his stomach contained absolutely nothing. Yet another mortal feeling that lingered in his being.

Others smelled sweet. Perfumed. And those same sweet-smelling vampires were the most beautiful. He looked around them room and studied them all. There must have been twenty-five or thirty of them. They were all scowling at him, their eyes glaring, their fangs bared. One stepped forward. He wore a long, black coat and under it a gray dress shirt and black slacks. His shoes were so shiny, and one could hear every step he made quite clearly.

His hair was slicked back into a ponytail. And his nails looked like crystal claws on the tips of his slender, white fingers. He smiled and shoved Nick back into the wall.

“All alone now... Arius and the others left you here to suffer. It’s a real shame, you know. All that pure blood... wasted on a pathetic sack of shit like you. You don’t know what you’ve been given. You possess more power in your blood than any of us here, regardless of age. And you don’t even know how to use it or what to do with it. It’s no wonder why they left you behind. You’re useless to them! But... good fortune has smiled upon us. Like it or not, we can use you. And make no mistake, we will do just that.” Once silence fell over the room again, Nick found himself staring into the vampire’s face. And the vampire was staring right back with a maniacal grin.

Nick tried to attack him. He lunged forward and did his best to inflict any injury on the vampire that he possibly could. But he was only one vampire. One against so many. And despite how strong he was, they overpowered him. And down he went.

He could feel them feeding on him. Every second there was another bite. Vampires latched on to his legs, thighs, hands, arms, stomach, and chest. And finally, the leader who had spoken to him sunk his fangs deep into Nick’s neck.

Nick felt his life slipping away. And he felt a hundred times worse than when his mortal body first died. His eyes were open. But all he could see was darkness. And in the midst of that darkness was an image of Gray. And just the sight of her and the thought that he could never hold her again reminded him of how much he wanted to die. He began to let go.

When they finished with him, Nick couldn’t muster enough energy to move. The only senses he still had were his abilities to see, hear, and feel. He saw them all stand up and laugh at him. They reveled in their new strengths. Some jumped up into the air and simply refused to land. One cut his arm with a pocketknife just to watch it heal within a matter of seconds.

They then picked Nick up and took him to the window. Nick felt the cool air against his skin. He felt their hands groping him and squeezing him and pushing him about. His wounds wouldn’t heal. He had lost too much blood. He was experiencing the worst pain he’d ever felt. And he couldn’t bring himself to fight against it.

All along he was wondering what they’d do to him. Suddenly, his enquiry was answered. He no longer felt their hands, nor did he feel their presence. He didn’t hear them breathing and laughing and murmuring any more. There was just the soft sound of the wind.

”Is this what death feels like? Am I dead?” he asked himself. But he wasn’t dead, he was free-falling from the bedroom window, and he didn’t realize it until his body hit the ground, crushing every bone in his body and driving him straight into unconsciousness.

~*~*~*~*~*~


Nick opened his eyes only to find that he was lying on a soft bed in an extremely strange room. He could hear someone humming a song in the distance. A woman. A mortal woman. He knew it wasn’t a vampire because he could hear the human beating of her heart.

He tried to get up but his bones were still mending. But he did feel better. His blood was restoring itself. His body was returning to its normal state. It was only a matter of time, he concluded, before he’d be up and about again. And then he could search for those vampires that stole from him and injured him.

The woman drew closer and finally he saw her face as she hovered above him. She knew that he was awake. She had looked him straight in the eye when she first approached him. Even so, she went about her business. And her business consisted of washing his body with a warm, wet sponge and then wrapping gauze around his limbs to keep them from breaking any further.

Nick was thankful to this stranger for helping him in his time of need. Still, he was curious as to who she was and why she was helping him. Why was she not bitter toward him like the others. Why had she not tried to drain him of his blood as they had done?

He had to many questions for her, but he lacked the strength to ask. And again, she knew this. Just as he was struggling to open his mouth and speak, she closed it again and told him to be silent and still.

Her voice was almost angelic to him. But then again, it could have been the fact that she was helping him to feel better that made him love her voice so much. She was older than him, mortally that is. She must have been born to darkness in her mid-40s. She looked like she was about Arius’ age. Her hair was long and pulled into a bun which was loosely concealed under a dingy lavender scarf. Her eyes were the color of sparkling jade stones. And Nick couldn’t tell if this was because of her dark trick or if it was natural like Gray’s eyes.

When she finished wrapping both Nick’s legs, she smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead, something his mother would do. In fact, she reminded him of his mother, Jane. Her dark hair, kind face, and bright eyes. But he knew he shouldn’t dwell on the thought of his mother. She still didn’t know what he had become. And he didn’t know how she’d react to it when and if he decided to tell her. The idea of it upset him, so he pushed it away from his thoughts.

The vampiress bit into her wrist and brought it to Nick’s lips. And as her warm blood trickled down his throat, quenching his thirst and making him feel whole, his suspicions were verified. She was a very old vampire. Her blood was even richer than Gray’s.

It wasn’t long before she pulled away from him, wiping his mouth with a cloth that smelled of vanilla. In fact, the entire room smelled of vanilla. It must have been the candles and the incense. He looked out of the window to his right and saw that the moon was bright and full, and it augmented the firelight with its blue moonlight. It was then that Nick realized he could move his neck from side to side without pain.

He tried to raise his arms, and though there was great pain in doing this, he was able to. He looked at his hands and they were still scarred from all of the bites the rogue vampires inflicted upon him. But, before his very eyes, the scars began to fade away.

She brought his arms back down to his side and reminded him that he should take things slow. He had lost a great deal of blood and it would take a while to return to his previous strength. She then ripped his shirt open and slid it from under his body. Nick wasn’t sure why she did this at first, then he realized that she was going to wrap his chest in gauze as well to keep his ribs in place while they healed.

“My name is Mary, dear. That’s what you’ve been wondering about, am I right?” she asked, still binding him.

“Yes... but where are we?”

“This is where I live, for now at least. It’s just a little old abandoned shack in the depths of one of these Louisiana swamps. No place special... just somewhere safe that they won’t be able to harm you. Well, they won’t be able to harm you for the time being. We can’t stay forever, I can guarantee you that.” She spoke with an old Irish accent. However, being that Nick couldn’t differ between an English or Scottish or Irish accent, he just settled for considering her from the United Kingdom.

“Why did they attack me that way? What did I do to them to deserve this?” he asked. Mary sat down in a chair next to the bed and took his hand.

“Consider our kind to be categorized in a grand hierarchy. The first vampire being at the very top. She was the most powerful. She was the most mysterious and the most magical being known to this universe. Imagine someone that has the ability to disappear into thin air and then reappear at her own will. Imagine a being who can move things with her mind, ignite both the living and inanimate objects with mere thoughts, soar through the air right up to the stars, swim to the very bottom of the ocean at its deepest point, and all of these things she could do without perishing. And the only price she had pay for this was being limited to the night and thriving on the blood of humans. She had to absorb the lives of other living things to stay alive herself.

“Well, in the mind of this one woman, this was but a small price. I do not know who gave her the gift initially. I can’t imagine what type of deity could bestow such a cursed blessing. But I do know that she accepted it, and she chose only to share it with a select few. Arius, your Arius was one of these chosen ones. In fact, he was the first. She fell in love with him and could not bare to live throughout eternity without him.

However, she had already been living for thousands of years before she even met Arius. So, after a few hundred years with him, she grew tired of roaming the world. She had seen everything, and she needed to rest. This mother of vampires, as she is now known, went into the earth and slept. She never told Arius where she laid herself to rest, nor did she inform anyone else.

Arius went on to start a family of his own, as she had directed him to do, and that is where Maia and the rest enter the scene. And for a long time Arius thought that he, his lover, and his children were the only vampires in existence. Little did he know that legends of the mother had, somehow, spread throughout the world. People searched for her body everywhere. And eventually someone did find her, unbeknownst to Arius of course. She was robbed of her precious blood while deep in her slumber and left in the sun to burn. Thus, the dark gift found its way to those Arius had not chosen.

It was abused, shared with any human who wished to have it. Those who possessed it gave it away at the drop of a dime. And they knew not to chose their children carefully as the Mother had done, and as Arius continued to do. Therefore, the gift weakened and spread. This is why humans know so much about our existence. True, in many mortal minds, we are merely subjects of scary stories, tall tales, and fanciful legends. Even so, they are no longer oblivious to us.

These vampires, the ones who were not carefully chosen, most of them did not know how to handle the dark gift. Some killed themselves. Others, who did not know how to kill themselves, mutilated themselves and live this way even now, unsure of how to remedy their self-inflicted injuries. Some have gone crazy, living as zombies, haunting humans instead of cherishing them for keeping our kind alive.

These weak vampires do not have the powers that we do. They do not know the things that we do. Arius and his family look at them as disgraces to our race. He considers them mistakes. Worthless beings that do not deserve to share the same name that he and his lineage do. And this is why they are so envious of Arius and his coven. They hate him. Just as much as Arius hates them.

These thousands of weak vampires, they would do anything to kill Arius and his family, and steal their blood, to strengthen themselves. But Arius is too powerful. And, both Maia and Gray have visions. No one could ever come close to their coven with the intent on harming them without Maia or Gray seeing it ahead of time. Ah, but it’s all so complicated. We can discuss it later, you need to rest now,” she said, patting Nick’s head with a cool, damp cloth.

“But I had a vision too! Back when I was at the old plantation house! I was in the room Gray had taken me too, and all of a sudden I saw Jean and his mother. And they were arguing over Gray, his mother wanted him to marry some girl named Catherine and....”

“.... and forget all about Gray? Leave her alone and never think of her again? Yes, I know about all of this. I, too, see things. How else would I have known to come to you and save you? Gray is reaching out to you. She still loves you. But you need to learn things before you can walk by her side as her equal. You are to very new to this world,” she explained.

“But what about AJ? He’s only a few years older than me. Why did they take him with them and leave me behind?” Nick’s voice was getting stronger, and louder as he began to really question why such horrible things were happening to him.

“Ah... Alexander. The dark one. They have accepted him because he has never quite fit in with anyone else. Did you not find, in the many years you’ve been friends with him that he constantly goes out of his way to be noticed. He craves attention. He can quickly fall into depression if he doesn’t feel loved. This yearning to feel as if he belongs is insatiable because his spirit is just too bold to be contained in a mortal body. He was destined to become what he has become. You will discover that as time passes, you will encounter a mortal every now and then that simply exudes the desire to change into what we are and acquire what we have.”

Nick wasn’t enjoying what he was being told.

“So what do I do now? There’s no way that Arius will let me anywhere near Gray. I’m not safe out there on my own. What do I do now? There has to be some advice you can give me!” Nick pleaded desperately. He wanted so much for her to say that she could help him make things right with Gray. He wanted to hear her say that as soon as he healed, she would reunite them. But deep down, he knew his luck was not that good.

“I can tell you many things. I can teach you many things. But this is beyond my wisdom. This is beyond my help. There comes a time in everyone’s existence when they have to work their way out of a problem without outside assistance. This is just your time.” Mary got up from her seat and blew out the candle next to Nick’s bed before going outside of the shack. He watched her from the window. At first she stood still, staring up at the moon. Then she pulled the hood of her long coat over her head and disappeared into the mist of the night in one quick movement.

Nick lie still there, feeling his body grow stronger. Tingling sensations shot through him from head to toe. And he wondered how much her sweet blood would hasten his recuperation. An hour or two passed, and Mary had still not returned. So Nick, not even thinking twice about it, sat up and got out of bed. He still felt weak, and even sore in some places. But it didn’t stop him from leaving the shack and following the faint scent of burning wood, far off in the distance. And with that scent came the smell of people.

He fed on the very first person he encountered, not even bothering to determine whether or not they were deserving of death according to his terms. It was a man, maybe in his mid-thirties. He could have been married, he could have had children. Nick didn’t care. All that was on his mind was that he needed to heal and he needed to seek revenge. And then, once all of that was through, he needed to prove himself worthy of Gray. And he was certain that he could not do that lying down in that old shack listening to Mary tell him stories of the past.

He traversed the city, the young man’s blood still warming his body, and he wouldn’t slow down until he found who he was looking for. The night was quickly dying, and the day was advancing, he could feel its sting. To a common mortal, it was still dark out and the sun would not dare rise for another two hours. But to a vampire, it was time to rest. But Nick ignored his exhaustion. He ignored the sting of the oncoming morning.

Suddenly, he felt someone following him. He turned on a dime and peered into the darkness. A pair of eyes flashed at him, he had found who he was looking for. Rather, the one he was looking for had found him.

“So, so soon you’ve recovered,” the vampire said. Stepping out into the empty street, under the streetlight. Nick stepped closer, not sure what he was going to do, but absolutely sure that by sunrise, one of them would be dead.

“Did you really think I’d die so easily?” Nick asked in rebuttal. The vampire laughed, showing his pearly white fangs.

“Yes, I did actually. And you would have been no more had Mary not saved you. We both know that you are weak. You have no place among our kind. You were nothing as a man. And you are nothing as a vampire...”

Nick had had enough. He felt his body lunge forward, too fast for him to realize what he was doing. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. The vampire was trying to drain him again. But he wouldn’t allow it. He tore a large gash into the vampire’s neck, letting the blood poor out, drinking of it as it flowed. Each tried to fight the other off, just the same each tried to drain the other to the point of death. And still, the sun advanced. Time was running out.

Nick felt the presence of another vampire. But this presence was comforting. It was Mary. She took flight the seconds she saw the two and yanked the vampire off of Nick, causing his body to fling across the street and land against the side of a building. It was then that Nick realize he was at least teen feet in the air as they were fighting. And since he won, with Mary’s help, he was descending back to the street. Mary went over to a parked car and punched the glass. She opened the door this way and motioned for Nick to bring the vampire’s limp body over to the car. Nick did as he was told and then they shut the car door.

Mary pulled out a book of matches from her pocket that she kept for lighting candles and incense. She tossed it under the car into an oil puddle that the car itself created. A blaze of flames shot out from all four sides of the car and licked the doors, hood, and trunk causing the car’s paint to buckle and burn.

“Come, we must go before the other’s come. They know he’s here, and they’ll search for him soon because daylight approaches and he has not yet returned to them.” Marry tried to pull Nick’s hand, but he wouldn’t budge.

“No, I have to stay. I have to make sure he burns. If we leave, and he escapes, it will be the end of you.”

“And what about you?” she asked, still trying to pull him away.

“I don’t matter. I hate him for attacking me, but he was right. I have no place here. I should never have been given this. It’s too much for me. I can’t handle it. I don’t think I will ever be able to. If you had to save me twice already in the three nights I’ve lived on my own, how will I ever get Gray back? I have no chance.”

“That’s not true!” she shrieked, beckoning for him to leave. The sun was coming up. They had to go.

“It is, Mary! I’m grateful that you saved me, and I’m even more grateful that you care so much. But right now I need you to leave me alone. Go! Save yourself!” Mary just stared at him for a moment, then she backed away slowly. She wanted him to give in and come with her to seek shelter before the sun destroyed them. But he wouldn’t leave. And she knew there was nothing that she could say or do to change that.

Nick closed his eyes and saw Gray in Spain, among her family, and she looked so peaceful. She was probably still weak. Still healing from a broken heart both literally and figuratively. And he couldn’t help but feel like he had made all of this happen.

He looked down at his hands, and his skin was turning red. It was almost as if he was breaking out into some rash. His milky white skin began to scar and burn and tear. And it hurt like hell, but he didn’t cry out. He just stood there, allowing it to happen. He could hear the vampire, trapped in the car, screaming for help. But his coven wouldn’t help him now. They were all safe underground. Safe from the sun. But he was burning from both the fire in the car, and the sun. And now, so was Nick.

He turned his eyes up toward the horizon and looked at the sun for the first time since he met Gray. It was so beautiful. So bright. It was funny how much he hated the sun when he was mortal. Whenever he opened his eyes early in the morning and saw the sun’s ray beaming down on him, he got disgusted. All he wanted was to sleep some more. And now, as he stood there burning, he couldn’t help but think of how majestic the sun really was. how powerful it was. The only force that could fully destroy what he had become.

~*~*~*~*~*~


Nick’s eyes opened and he sprang up from a lying position. He was out of breath, sweating, and his heart was racing at the speed of light. It took him a moment to realize that he was no longer burning. He was no longer standing in the street staring toward the rising sun. Was he dead? Is this what death was? Silence? Nothingness? Or had Mary saved him again, against his wishes? He looked down at his arms, and they were fine. No scars, no marks, nothing that would lead him to believe that he had been burned had he not remembered it so very vividly. He examined the rest of his body, feeling the contours of his skin making sure no part of him was scorched. In reality, he was looking for some evidence that he had actually experienced death by the sun.

In his searching, he came across an open wounds on his neck and chest. Bite marks. And he knew that all of his bite marks from those rogue vampires had faded away after drinking from Mary. Where had these come from?

He heard a sound, it was coming from his left. It was too dark to see. He wasn’t use to not being able to see. He was a vampire! His specialty was seeing in the dark. And this was the first time since he met Gray that he had to squint. The nose was coming closer. A shuffling, like someone walking. It was a slow stride, like someone was creeping up on him.

“Who’s there?” he asked, still struggling to see. Suddenly he saw the flash of this stranger’s eyes, and then she stepped into the light. It was Gray. She walked right up to the bed in which Nick had been lying, and he saw that she had been crying. Her blood red tears staining her pale brown skin. She looked as if she wanted to sit down on the bed, but she resisted and walked over to the window of the room instead.

Nick stared at her, not able to believe that she was standing there before him. She must have saved him! She must have sent someone to bring him to her! Or maybe she gained the strength to rescue him herself. Though he felt he didn’t deserve her forgiveness, he was so relieved to see that she still cared.

“Stop, Nickolas. Don’t think so much. You’ve got everything all wrong,” she whispered. Nick got out of the bed and stood up. He felt a slight difference in gravity’s affect on him. Any other time, he could hop out of his and Gray’s coffin and feel as if he was floating as he walked. But now, he felt every bone in his body sink down just a little, succumbing to gravity’s power. Something wasn’t right. Had the sun weakened him? Is this what normal vampires felt like?

“Don’t... stay away from me. Don’t get too close,” she advised him. Nick didn’t understand why she wanted him to distance himself from her. Maybe she really had stopped loving him.

“Your skin is soaked in sweat. Your hair is damp with it. It glistens in the moonlight. Yet you still don’t seem to understand what’s happened here tonight.” Nick looked down at his bare chest and saw that it was indeed wet and reflected the light. And it didn’t hit him until he saw Gray’s eyes again, red from crying.

Vampires didn’t have any other bodily fluid except for blood. They never drank or ate because their vampiric bodies couldn’t use it. They could only absorb blood. The cried blood. The sweated blood. Anything else was human, and therefore they didn’t do it. Nick was sweating now. And it wasn’t red.

In the distance, the far off distance, he could hear music. Cajun music played by big bands marching up and down the streets of New Orleans. Mardi Gras? Could it be?

“It was all a dream. None of it was real. I saw it too, as we slept, I saw all that would happen if I gave you what I have. So stay back, come no closer than this. We are not meant to be, therefore you must keep away. I will be the death of you, and you’ll only do me harm.” She then turned and opened the window wider as if she would jump and leave him there.

“Wait! It doesn’t have to be that way! I wouldn’t do those things. I want to be with you Gray. And if that means giving up all that I have now, then fine! I’ll do it! I won’t let you get hurt again. I won’t do what Jean did so long ago. You deserve so much more. Gray, I will not let you down! I can prove it to you. I can! Just give me a chance!”

“Can you?!?! Can you really stand there and swear to me that you can leave your parents, your brother and sisters, your best friends, and all your millions of fans just to spend eternity with me? Are you prepared to never see them again? Are you prepared to watch them all die, and watch their children die, and watch their grandchildren die while you continue on, ageless. Centuries will pass like days pass for you now. You will live through wars, destruction, recreation, disease, revolution, and history repeating itself over and over and over and over until your mind just begins to go blank and it sinks in that this is your life! It never ends! And all you will have to get you through one meaningless night of feeding upon mortals after another is your companion. And that means me. I will be the only companion you’ll have. Do you want that? Could you stand just knowing me for the rest of existence, and never being able to know anyone else?” Nick rushed over to her and took her in his arms, holding her forcefully as if he had to shake some kind of sense into her.

“Yes, Gray! I love you! I would want nothing more than to be with you forever. There is nothing else for me here. I’ve seen all I’ve wanted to see through human eyes. Don’t fight me on this Gray. Make me what you are. Change me.”

Gray wrapped her arms around him, and she brought her lips to his neck. Nick took a deep breath, preparing himself for the pain that was about to come. He knew this pain from his dream. The death. Then the burn of her blood taking over his body. Yes, he knew the pain all too well, and he was prepared for it. He released the grip he had on her arms, and returned her loving embrace. He let his fingertips roam over her cold skin, and he made up his mind that this is what he wanted. She was worth giving up everything he’d ever known.

Gray kissed his flesh while taking in its sweet, sweet scent. He was so tempting. His veins, calling for her. Yearning for her just as much as she yearned for them. But her heart overruled her thirst, and she pushed him away.

“When you are ready, you’ll know where to find me,” she whispered, even that sounding like an echo. All Nick remembered was flying across the room at an incredible speed, and hitting the floor equally as hard. He only saw Gray standing there for a split second. And then she was gone. The window was opened even wider, and the only proof that he had that any of this had even taken place was the throbbing bite marks on his neck and chest that she had given him when they first made love. It was funny though, he didn’t even remember them making love. In his dream, all he remembered was her asking him if he wanted to have her forever, and then he was changed.

Nick climbed to his feet, put his shirt back on, and rushed down the stairs to try and find her. It was then he saw the homeless man, warming himself by the fire. The man was frightened by Nick at first, afraid that he would be hurt for intruding. But Nick only touched his shoulder and gave him all the money he had in his pocket.

Down by the street, the taxicab still sat. And inside, the driver was still dead. Everything was the same, everything except who he was. He pulled the driver our of the car, not the least bit disgusted by his corpse. He started the car, and pulled away from the plantation, not ever wanting to return.

As he got closer to the city, and the music and smells and lights increased, reminding him of just how mortal he was, he wondered what he was going to do. That dream wasn’t just some ordinary dream. He still remembered what blood tasted like. He remembered what sleeping in a coffin felt like. He still remembered how the daylight hurt, and how the night felt so full of life. He still remembered how good it felt to feed. He remembered how much love he shared with Gray, even if it was only for a short period of time. And he wanted it back. She was so worth the sacrifice.

He knew that showing up at the coven would only make matters worse. Arius would only scold her for allowing him to live after so much was revealed to him. And who knows, he might even send Michael and Jin to kill him. So he stayed away from the house, thinking only of her best interests.

~*~*~*~*~*~


Nick finally decided to go back to the hotel. Hopefully AJ would be there. He remembered what Mary told him about AJ. How much he didn’t fit in among mortals. And how much he yearned for something more. So Nick concluded that AJ would be the one person he could talk to about these things. Of course, AJ would have no idea what he was raving about. But Nick was certain that if he had to share his experience with anyone, it should be AJ.

He opened the door to their hotel room and found that all of the lights were off. His heart sank at the thought that AJ wasn’t there, and he’d have to wait to talk to him. But then he heard some whispering. It was AJ, and he had company as always.

Nick flipped the lights on only to see AJ lying in bed with a girl. They were fully clothed, but the sudden brightness of the room caused them to stop kissing and give Nick an agitated stare.

“I’m sorry, I hate to break this up, but I have to talk to you AJ. It’s really important and it can’t wait.” AJ was about to protest and tell Nick that it didn’t matter how important it was, it would have to wait until his date was over. But the girl was already climbing out of bed and leaving.

“Lisa... wait, baby. You don’t have to go, He’s gonna go,” AJ pleaded.

“It’s Leah... and just for that, I’m leaving.” She turned and left the room, slamming the door. AJ thought for a moment, then remembered that her name was Leah. He felt stupid for forgetting. But it wasn’t as if he planned to date her or anything. He hated when girl’s agreed to have a fling, and then get all attached. Since she was gone, and there was no chance of her coming back, he sat on the side of the bed and waiting for Nick to talk.

Nick paced back and forth for a moment. At one point he was smiling a scheming smile, then a look of concern fell over his face. Finally, he sat down in a chair across from the bed and started bobbing his leg up and down in nervousness.

“What the hell is it, Nicky? Damn! I haven’t gotten any since we’ve been here, and you just drove off my date tonight. So this shit better be good!” AJ explained, growing tired of watching Nick squirm.

“There’s this place I want to take you to. It’s not like any other place you’ve ever been to. And I guarantee you that if you go there with me, you’ll never regret it. In fact, if you go, I can promise that you’ll never be the same.”

“What are you talking about? Better yet, what are you on?” AJ asked.

“I’m not on anything. I’m just trying to invite you to this place I know about. Check it, the girls there would make that chick Leah look like Kevin in a mini skirt. I’m not kidding, the ass there is untouchable. Out of this world,” Nick pressed on, trying his best to draw AJ in.

“Seriously?” AJ asked, turning serious and scooting forward.

“I’m dead serious. So, are you in?” AJ thought about it for a moment.

“Wait, what is this place exactly? You talk about it like it’s some underground lair or something. Cause I’m not about to follow you off to some creepy little fetish joint you found. I know you, Nicky, and you get weird like that sometimes.” Nick only chuckled at AJ’s question and accusations.

“No, it’s a night club. And it’s cool, I swear. You will love it. And this I know for a fact.” Nick raised one eyebrow and grinned. AJ didn’t like the evil little look his friend was giving him, but he was sold and he was ready to go. He was too horny to just sit in the hotel room and do nothing for the rest of the night.

Nick got up and went to the door. AJ followed right after he slipped his jacket over his black beater. The two were just in the hallway when they saw Brian and Lee going back into their hotel room. They must have been coming from Kevin’s room. The two couples always spent a great deal of time together.

“Where are ya’ll going this late?” Brian asked, his country accent shining through proudly, especially because he was tired and couldn’t do much to hide it.

“Club hoppin’, what else?” Lee answered for them, giving them a maternal like smile even though she wasn’t much older than them. Brian only shook his head and laughed.

“Well, goodnight fellas,” Brian said, just pushing open the door open to his and Lee’s room. Nick ran back down the hall to him and stopped him just before they went inside.

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked.

“I just want you to know that I love you. Both of you. All of you. And being with you guys for so many years has been wonderful. I’m thankful for every minute of it. And, well, I just want you to know that. Cause if something happens, I would want to be sure that you know how much I love you. You’ve always been like a big brother to me. I’ll never forget that. You too, Lee, I’ll never forget you either. Same goes for AJ, I’m sure,” Nick explained.

Lee felt Nick’s forehead making sure he wasn’t delusional.

“Are you drunk or high or something, Nicky?” Brian asked.

“No, no! Of course not, I’ve never had a clearer head in my life.” After he said that, he hugged both Brian and Lee and kissed Lee on the cheek.

“Tell the others what I said first thing in the morning, ok? You know, just in case AJ and I are still sleeping. Chances are we will be, we’re gonna be out pretty late.” Brian only nodded, his eyes wide with a look that suggested he thought his friend had gone completely crazy. AJ shared this look, still waiting at the end of the hallway for Nick to take him to this oh-so-great club.

“Would you come on?” AJ asked. Nick let Brian and Lee go, and didn’t move until they were inside their room. He then turned to AJ and caught up to him at the end of the hallway.

Just as the elevator door closed with the two young men inside, AJ looked over at Nick and shook his head.

“You are so weird it’s not even funny. I think we need to get you checked out when we get back to Florida.” AJ suggested. Nick only shrugged.

“What’s the name of this fantastic club anyway?” AJ asked.

“The Forsaken.”



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