Aaron TTWDFL

Aaron TTWDFL by ali-murray-1 showing what to wear with a bow hair clip

Falling Petals Epilogue

3 months later

            I was back in England by June and spent two months figuring out what exactly I planned to do. It was August, the summer wind blowing through full green trees and sweeping in the smell of saltwater from the ocean. The sky was clear and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The stars shone as bright as ever in the clean air of the countryside. The castle was bustling with activity.

            My coronation was to take place that day. It was to be simple and quick. The Court was no longer adverse to my place on the throne. The people loved me. Lunnette had been boosted up through the system and took a place in my Royal Guard. She was vicious in politics and deadly in a fight. William was technically still my husband but we generally avoided each other now. I was more moody than ever, though I had no idea why, and I guessed he didn’t want to be beaten to a bloody pulp again.

            So it was Lunnette who comforted me the day of my coronation. She grasped my left hand, now devoid of William’s ring. Her calming influence spread over me. My wrist throbbed gently, drawing my attention to the slightly luminescent crest on my skin. I shook out my other hand and breathed in deeply.

            “And now we present to you your princess, Shadow Coeur Viguié.” Alexander’s voice rang out. Lunnette let go og my hand and fell a few steps behind me. Caleb walked beside me. Caleb, William’s ground-breaking betrayal. I had come to like him in the previous two months. I had forced the Court to allow him to be the head of my Royal Guard when he showed an unusual connection to me, an ability to tell when I was in danger. We were a striking pair. I was resting at twenty-six, Caleb’s age. I was in a long black ball gown- ladies never wore anything else- and my hair was loose and barely tamed. He was in the customary gold uniform of the Royal Guard. On his shoulder was my colored crest, shimmering in the moonlight because of the special thread used to embroider it.

            Caleb had a body toned from years of baseball and deeply tanned brown skin. He had our black eyes but his had streaks of the brightest blue. He looked so much like Samuel with his wiry build and red gold hair I had cried the first time I met him. He had the same sensual lips and noble features. Caleb read about a quarter as much as Samuel had, though, and I missed Samuel’s sense of humor.

            “Princess Viguié.” Alexander said quietly. Caleb, who previously had his arm wrapped around me protectively, moved away to stand next to William. William was watching the crowd with raised eyebrows as they screamed and chanted my name.       

            “I am present.” I responded, following the ages old ritual. The crowd quieted down and listened intently. I felt queasy, which was absurd because I wasn’t nervous.

            “We have come to this place in order to release you of your position as princess and place upon you the title of queen. Are you prepared for your final trial?”

            “I am pre…” I halted in the middle of the word, putting a hand over my mouth. I wobbled a few steps to throw up in the bushes. There was an immediate, urgent rustling in the crowd. Vampires only threw up when they sickened. We only sickened when we were moments away from dying, our body’s way of telling us to move the hell out of the way. I didn’t know why it was happening, but it didn’t matter. It was still a huge cause for concern. I heaved until there was nothing left in my stomach, until it sent pain bursting through my body. A moment after I finally stopped I felt hands in my hair and other, cooler hands on my forehead. Then someone lifted me into warm arms. I looked up to see Caleb’s face swimming in my blurry vision, puzzled.

            I surrendered myself to the darkness. For the first time in my life, I fainted for no apparent reason. The world fell around me.

            I was standing in the middle of a forest that had been burned to the ground. There was still fires burning around me, red-orange flames reaching up for the starry sky. Slain vampires covered the ground around me. Other, still living vampires fought over and between their bodies, fierce grins on their faces as they concentrated. Half were dressed in gold- the color of my Guard- and the rest were in black. I noticed I was fighting for my life as well. My silver outfit was spattered with blood. My adversary was dressed in red.

            His face constantly shifted, never clear even in the bright light that came from nowhere. I was guarding a group of children. One of them looked like a mix between me and William with my black hair and his blue eyes. Two of them had red hair and green eyes, but one was pale and the other vibrant. The last, the smallest, had silver white hair and silver eyes. There was other people tooA man who looked like Caleb but fought completely differently stood directly behind me and the children. Lunnette was to my right and William was to my left. They were each fighting their own enemies. Lunnette drew hers in and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back but stabbed her through the heart.

            I tried to scream but I couldn’t make a sound. My body kept fighting even as I tried to run. The children watched stoically, except for the silver haired one. He was staring at me with the calmest expression. He had the utmost confidence that I would prevail, like he loved me. Like I was his mother. But that wasn’t possible. Vampires couldn’t have children, unless they were cursed. And I hadn’t met any witches with the power to curse me.

            In the blink of an eye William was down too. I felt only a miniscule fraction of the pain I had felt when Lunnette was killed. Yet it still hurt. Caleb’s assailant wrestled him to the ground and held a knife to his throat. I dropped my swords. They dissolved before hitting the ground, drawn back into my crest. I forced myself to my knees. My pride reared up and I struggled to make myself stand back up and failed. My attacked knelt down in a front of me, a few inches taller than me. He kissed me then bit me. The pain started as a tiny prick, like that of a needle, then slowly intensified until it burned through my body like fire until…

            I screamed, thrashing and fighting against the bonds that restrained me. Silver chains held me to a soft bed that I couldn’t see because my eyes were shut as I fought. Even when I could feel Lunnette’s power trying to break through the pain, I couldn’t stop.

            “Shadow. Shadow, calm down baby.” I heard Samuel’s voice and immediately stopped, my eyes flying open. His was one of many faces floating over me. I whimpered his name. Samuel gave me a sad little wave, trying to mask the desperate need in his eyes, then disappeared. I started to cry, deep sobs that tore my throat. Through all my tears and without Samuel’s all-consuming presence I could see the other faces. William, Caleb, and Lunnette all looked pale and scared. Alexander looked faintly concerned. Ansa and a few nurses showed desperate fear as they hooked me up to a machine.

            “Shadow, we need to run some tests on you.” one of the nurses, a Sunlighter name LeAnne, said as she stuck a needle in my arm. It took all the control I had to not yank it out and rip open the girl’s throat. She drew three tubes of blood from me.

            “Bottles.” I rasped to Lunnette. She nodded and ran off. Caleb shook his head an followed her, knowing I had named her my successor in the case of my untimely death. Which all the vampires thought would be soon. I glanced at the clock and was shocked. My fevered dreams had kept me for four and a half hours. By all right and reason, I should have been dead.

            “Oh my god.” one of the nurses had been bio-scanning my body with our specially tuned tools for any abnormalities. She looked as if somebody had slapped he upside the head with a giant squid.

            “What?” William asked. He, the two nurses, and I were the only people left in the room. The nurse who had spoken looked ready to pass out. The other one took a look at the screen. She ran off, dress flapping behind her, apparently to find someone important to tell the urgent news. Dread started to flood through me. William was frozen, his hand hovering in the air.

            “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me?” I asked, bordering on hysterical. The nurse stared at me like I was an animal in the zoo.

            “Tell us!” William demanded.

            “Shadow, my lady…” she paused and swallowed hard.

“You’re pregnant.”

Falling Petals Chapter Eleven

My throbbing head woke me up and I could immediately tell I wasn’t in Anfanasia’s room back at the White House. I stiffened in the chair, freezing when I felt my bindings. I could feel the chilly smoothness of silver against my skin where the chain held me upright in the chair and prevented any movement. The chair’s coldness told me it was made of metal and when my feet skimmed across the ground I could feel where it was bolted into the floor. I looked around the room, taking in the darkness but seeing through it and viewing plain walls and a single, heavy metal door. Then I shook my hair back and looked down at the chains. They were perfect, flawless, and sparkly clean. U squirmed in them experimentally but they only gave enough to allow me breathing room. A light bulb flickered over my head.

            I called up Anfanasia’s memories. She had once gotten us out of a locked room. I knew it was a spell. Breathing in deeply, I started to sing. My voice, though soft, wove a powerful and unbearably sweet melody. I sang about treasures hidden behind locks and the glory of a new discovery behind a locked door. The locks holding together the silver chains clicked open and the bolts on the door and chair came out while the door unlocked. The door fell to the ground with a violent clang. I wiggled my way out of the loose chains and walked through the door with a victorious smile.

            Immediately fangs sprang up around me. With a disdainful snort I threw my hands out. The flames lowered to little flickers that lapped at my ankles. I stepped over them easily and continued on. I ran into a wall of ice next. Pausing, I bit my lip and thought for a second. Then I manipulated the heat in the air so the ice melted into a huge puddle of water. My next obstacle was a huge chasm I navigated by changing the airflow to support me as I walked across. I was glad I had Anfanasia’s powers I would never have been able to make any of it. By then I knew what was coming next- or I thought I did. The very last room- solid walls except for the door I had come through- was almost exactly like the first.

            There were two chairs tied back to back. This time the bonds were simple thick rope and there were hoods over their heads. Judging by the size and shape of the first person, the figure was a guy. He was bulky and had tan skin. The other person was tied the same way as him. They were delicate and petite, a she. And though there was a hood over her head too I could see golden ringlets spilling over her shoulders.

            “Lunnette!” I gasped. Both of them stiffened, straining against their ropes. I noticed what they had felt only seconds later, the rush of air sweeping past me. The wall behind me had lost its dark sheen and opened up to us. It was a one-way mirror, now just a window. Behind it sat a group of people, but three people on ornate thrones sat at the front and were obviously their leaders.

            They were Les Guerriers De Mort, the elite three that would have controlled the court while a new leader was found.

            “Show us the Royal Crest.” the one in the middle slid back her hood and flashed me a smile. She had long brown hair and red eyes that were just starting to lighten. She had been my hand maiden once upon a time. Her name was Ansa. I had weaseled her into the lead space of Les Guerriers De Mort the last time I had disappeared.

            I looked down to see myself in the same silky nightgown I had slid into before collapsing last night. Though most of my skin was bared to them, I couldn’t find the energy to be embarrassed. I lifted my left wrist so they could see it and notice the faint, pulsing glow that came from the crest. Ansa’s expression was priceless, pure rapture.

            “Right. So now what?” I asked, lowering my hand.

            “Take one and kill one.” the figure to Ansa’s left removed his hood. He had copper hair and bright red eyes. He was shorter than even Lunnette and anorexic thin.

            “Zacariah. What?” I gave him a respectful nod before spreading my hands out, confused.

            “There are two humans behind you. Kill one of them and turn the other.” he reiterated coldly. There was a frenzied thrashing behind me and I turned back to the humans in question. I strode forward and snatched the hoods from their heads. Steve was the boy but at this point nothing could shock me.

            “I’m going to take this out of your mouth but you have to promise not to scream.” I pointed to his gag while I removed Lunnette’s. Steve nodded frantically and I pulled the gag out, clapping a hand over his mouth when he opened it to scream.

            “Nobody will hear the human’s screams.” Ansa informed me, pulling on a flawless French braid.

            “I know. But my ears are still tender from the battle last night. And I’m a little hung over from the glut of blood.” I lied. Truthfully I felt better than ever. Glaring at Steve I slowly removed my hand from his mouth. This time he was silent and just watched me with wide, fearful eyes.

            “Shadow, just do it.” Lunnette’s voice rang out. I tuned to her. She stared back with a stiff spine and fire in her eyes. I remembered that I had told her- could it really only have been three days ago?- had promised her I would change her. It looked like right then was good enough.

            “You’re first.” I told Steve. Then I drove my fangs into his throat and drained him dry as quickly and painlessly as I could. Then I turned to Lunnette. She had her eyes closed tight and her fists were tight. I put a hand on her cheek then gently swept her hair out of the way. She tipped her head back for me. I bit her more gently and in a different place, not meaning to kill her completely. I saw that dreamy smile form on her face and knew I looked equally high. Her blood was full of the power that had faded from me. It filled me again. Finally I felt her breathing stutter, almost halting. Lunnette’s heart struggled to manage even the faint, flutter beat it was maintaining.

            Then I moved my lips from her throat. I liked the little wound so it would heal faster before wiping the blood off my mouth. I could feel the eyes of all the others but I ignored them, taking a manicured fingernail and running it along my wrist. The flesh parted easily and dripped blood. A single drop fell to Lunnette’s skirt before she latched onto the wound.

            As it had the only other time I had done it, it hurt. Not a lot, but enough to make me clench my teeth. Lunnette drank in swift, strong pulls. I let her go longer than I had let William, hoping she would be able to drink human blood. While I was doing that, I sliced open her bondings with my other hand and laid her gently on the floor. After five minutes had passed I still wasn’t feeling any weaker. No matter how much she drank, it wasn’t harming me at all. I pulled away anyways, frowning down at my wrist. As I did I saw that the last link of the chain on my crest had finally filled in and was a dazzling yellow, the color of sunlight.

            Lunnette coughed and started to seize. I held her down grimly to make sure she wouldn’t slam her head against the chair or hurt herself in any other way. This happened with relatively few changelings, and now I knew why. They had blood other than a human’s. The vampire blood was duking it out with the angel blood as they both tried to become the dominant source of her power. She was surrounded by a silver glow, and so was I. Her angel blood burned through my system. My body absorbed it quickly, drinking in its powers and adding them to mine, changing them. Lunnette stopped moving on the floor. The silver glow around us sank into our bodies. Lunnette’s eyes opened.

            Her eyes were like William’s but hers had silver streaks rather than gold. Her skin was darker than mine- hard not to be- but lighter than Ansa’s mocha brown color. She opened her mouth and poked at her teeth with her fingers. They slid out slower than mine did. They were more solid, less delicate than mine. When the bloodlust hit her the silver drained from her eyes.

            “Shadow? Am I… like you?” her voice had that same sweet, tentative element but it was crystalline in tone. Lunnette looked surprised by it.

            “No.” blood tears were streaming from my eyes.

            “Am I like them?” she sat up abruptly, eyes wide.

            “Of course not! Your heart beats and you breathe. But you’ll be frozen in time, and I don’t know whether you’ll be able to drink human blood. And your eyes are like William’s but with silver instead of gold.” I told her. She stood up and we faced the others. They looked a little scared now.

            “So why exactly are we here?” Lunnette asked Les Guerriers De Mort.

            “We needed to test our dear Blood Queen.” the last vampire lowered his hood. I hissed angrily and would’ve run for the glass if Lunnette hadn’t tackled me. She was barely able to hold me.

            “Alexander!” I howled, trying to get out from under Lunnette without hurting her. She only let go when I calmed down.

            “Hello love.” he smiled at me charmingly and my stomach twisted. His eyes were almost completely transparent now. His blonde hair was long and teased like Jon Bon Jovi’s was back in the eighties. Alexander watched me carefully, tapping his long fingers against the armrest of his throne. Ansa glared at him. Alexander had been chasing after me since I first aged past fourteen. He wanted to be king and that meant he would have to marry me. It didn’t hurt that he had a thing for girls with black hair. To top the cake, even though my heart and mind told me I hated him I still felt strangely attracted to him. Probably just because he looked like Bon Jovi. At least that was what I hoped.

            “Screw you Alexander.”  I said calmly.

            “You wish, sweetheart.” he responded, winking at me. I could feel Lunnette’s anger growing where she stood next to me. It added on to mine. I couldn’t help but realize that pissed had been my main state of mind for almost a whole week. Every time somebody made me mad it added to that never-ending stream of hatred and rage that had been building inside me and festering over the years. It was a little weird to think about.

            “In your dreams.” Lunnette spat back at him. Alexander laughed. I put a hand on her shoulder and used her own powers to comfort her. She gave me a little smile and turned back to Les Guerriers De Mort.

            “So did I pass?” I asked sarcastically, holding my hands to my chest.

            “With flying colors.” Zacariah said.

            “Oh my gosh! I passed? Lunnette, I passed!” I fake cheered. Ansa laughed and so did most of the other vampires. Zacariah remained impassive and Alexander tried, but a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

            “Yes, yes. Almost.” Alexander fluttered his hand in the air. My grin slid away.

            “Almost? What do you mean almost?” I asked, planting my hands on my hips and scowling.

            “We do not believe you are fully emotionally committed to your future duties as liege of the vampire Court, especially as you are the Blood Queen and the future leader of Les Guerriers De Mort. We must be assured that you are willing to do anything for the good of the people under your command.” Alexander said, using the common words and inflection of the 1600s or earlier, as most vampires did when conducting formal matters. I refused.

            “And how exactly are you going to do that? I hope you’re not expecting me to off myself.” I snorted.

            “Of course not. That would defeat the purpose of this exchange. We have not spent so much of our time just to make your final death more thrilling.” Zacariah answered mildly.

            “Then what am I supposed to do?”

            “You must kill the man you love. Or boy, rather.” Alexander amended gleefully.

            “We have been watching you carefully since you started school in Washington DC. Our surveillance ended two days ago.” Ansa said. On prom night.When? Before or after I got back together with William?

“We have decided upon whom you shall kill, although we have found no evidence of affection directed toward anyone other than Goldilocks here.” Alexander frowned. Lunnette had tuned them out, watching them with the same cold indifference Zacariah showed.

            “So tell me who it is already. If I didn’t know any better I’d say I was watching some cheesy M. Night Shamylam supposedly horror movie.” I threw back my head and laughed. Finally Zacariah showed an emotion; he laughed, a rough and kind of enticing sound to be honest. Then he was back to looking blank and indifferent when Ansa turned in her seat to stare at him with amazed eyes.

            “It was funny!” he protested. His usual monotone was gone and his voice was expressive and drawing. Judging by the look on Ansa’s face Zacariah wouldn’t be a solitary man- vampire- much longer.

            “Yes it was. So can we get on with it now?” Lunnette asked irritably. I hushed her instantly, pushing her behind me.

            “Knock it off! You’re a fresh changeling. They can kill you without any reason other than that they don’t like you!” I hissed quietly, knowing they could hear but figuring there was no reason Lunnette needed to know that. Les Guerriers De Mort looked on impassively. When I was quiet for a while, Zacariah spoke.

            “Are you done?”

            “Yes.”

            “Can we continue?”

            “Yes.”

            “Will you be silent?”

            “ Yes.”

            “Good. As we were saying, you don’t seem to be in love with anyone. But you have had personal relationships with a member of the male persuasion in recent times. He shall die.”

            “Who?” I inquired, knowing I was breaking the rules and cursing under my breath impatiently. William was the only man I had ever had ‘personal relations’ with. Then I remembered. They can’t mean…

            “You shall kill Eric Pearson.” Alexander smiled at me. I tried to hide my relieved giddiness, tried to look distraught; a smile slipped through. Then I couldn’t help myself. I broke into uproarious laughter. Les Guerriers De Mort all looked at me like I was crazy. I doubled over, tears forming in my eyes because laughing so hard made my sides hurt. After a few minutes I finally settled down, standing up and scooping the tears out of my eyes the way all girls know how to do to avoid smudging their makeup.

            “I don’t understand why you find this task amusing.” Zacariah looked genuinely perplexed. His expression almost set me off again.         

            “I was just thinking about how alike our plans are.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Eric betrayed me last night. He tried to hand me over to Jacob so he could slaughter me like a pig. I owe him back for that. I may not have died, but it’s the thought that counts.”

            “Really? Hm. We have a brutal, bloodthirsty queen on our hands, Alexander.”

            “I expected nothing less.” Alexander replied, beaming at me with the pride of a lover when his girl reaches her dreams. I scowled at him.

            “Great. So can I go now? I obviously have something I need to do.”

            “Of course.” Ansa said. The glass raised and a path to the door cleared. I strode toward it smoothly, dragging Lunnette behind me. We had to go through several more doors before we hit the sunlight. I gave a little squeak as it hit my unnaturally widened pupils, blinding me for a moment. My eyes adjusted quickly and I stared around. Somehow they had flown me all the way back to my home in England without ever waking me up. I felt a twinge of regret for Steve’s parents. They would never know their son was murdered because he was taken to another country, and taken there by vampires.

            “Wow. Everything looks so different.” Lunnette said, blinking still in the bright sunlight.

            “Well of course it does. You’ve never been to England before.” I answered. I tilted my face up to the golden glow of the sun.

            “We’re in England?”

            “Yep.

            “England?”

            “Yes.”

            “How in the world did we get here?”

            “Most likely by plane last night.”

            “Why didn’t we wake up?”

            “They drugged you. Something normal and human.”

            “What did they do to you?”

            “Must’ve been a spirit drug. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

            “Spirit drug?”

            “Affects your energies rather than your body.”

            “Oh. So what do we do now?”

            “We take a plane home.” I rolled my eyes. Lunnette laughed, flushing.

            “So where do we go?”

            “To the airport, Lunnette.” I sighed. For such a smart girl she could be so empty-headed sometimes.

            “Oh yeah.” she followed me as I led the way. The door opened behind us and a Sunlighter came out, one I recognized.

            “Lumen?” I asked. In a dark suit with her blonde hair in a bun she was a far cry from the sweet southern girl I had met in Washington DC.

            “Hello Shadow.” her voice was barely more than a whisper.

            “What are you doing here?”

            “When they called for all the Sunlighters to join the special force meant to kill you, I refused. So I got sent back here to work in admin.”

            “Desk job?”

            “It’s not that bad.”

            “Really?”

            “No.” we both flinched when she held out her wrists to show the bruised bites.

            “Oh, I’m so sorry. So what did they send you out here for?”

            “You need a ride. I have the keys to your old car and your private jet is still in its hangar. The pilot will be waiting.” Lumen answered. She dropped a ring of keys into my quickly offered hand. Then she made a quick scrawl on her clipboard. After a sad little wave, she walked away and disappeared into the building again.

            And what a building it was. It was an old castle, abandoned by its owners when the vampires showed interest. It was in almost perfect condition. It had seven stories with mostly walled in windows. I knew the third floor belonged to the Sunlighters and a few windows were unblocked. My rooms were up in one of the towers, the whole thing mine. The windows were open and had glass and window shades. Alexander was in one of my rooms, back far enough to watch me and not be burned. He blew me a kiss. I flipped him off in return. I led Lunnette around the building to my adorable little hybrid.

            “Wow. A castle, a hybrid, and a private jet. Is there anything you don’t have?” Lunnette joked.

            “A dog.” I answered instantly. Sadness overwhelmed me as I thought of William in wolf form playing with his adorable, spotted miniature dachshund. I shook off the memory of tiny paws and nails Samuel hated to trim, turning my attention back to the empty road. We made it to the empty airport in record time even for me. Lunnette ran for Hangar Seven and hauled open the doors. I followed her at a more moderate pace and kept my distance from the Sunlighters who were posted all around the cavernous building. Lunnette flitted through the tiny gap between the doors and was lost from my sight. I was only seconds behind.

            “Afternoon Lady Shadow.” a male voice came from behind me. I spun quickly to face him. He had shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a surfer’s build. I flashed back through time again to the first time I met Samuel Kane. It was then that we started our battle of the book quotes. We had never gotten to figure out who would win. I shook myself, reminding myself that my emotions had to remain in check.

            “Good afternoon. And you are?” I asked gently.

            “Christopher Jones.” he answered.

            “Well, Christopher. I assume you’ll be our pilot.”

            “Yes ma’am. Where will be headed today?”

            “Across the Atlantic to Washington DC, oh-so-amazing capital of the glorious US of freaking A.” I said sourly. I didn’t want to leave. England had been my home for thousands of years and I still hated leaving. New England had been okay until William turned it sour. Now I just longed for green leaves and open skies.

            I let Christopher do whatever it was that people did to make planes move and sat down. I was surprised to find a warmed bottle of blood and a stack of those old Charlaine Harris books waiting for me. With a happy sigh I sank back into one of the recliners. I cracked open the old book and breathed in that slightly musty smell of a well-loved book. I sipped from my bottle and buried my nose in the book, reading it again for the first time in quite a few years. I was glad there was a stack of them as I raced through them, smiling as I finished each one. With each page my eyelids sank lower. Finally I fell asleep with a book in one hand, a bottle in the other, and Lunnette curled up on the seat next to me.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                    *

            “Shadow, sweetie. Wake up, honey.” it was William’s voice in my ears, his warm hands on my bare shoulders. I tried to scramble backwards but was blocked by the previously loving back of the chair that had turned into an brick wall preventing my progress.

            “What the hell do you want?” I asked angrily, shoving him away so I could get up. He looked ready to cry as I darted out the door, determined to avoid the fight that was sure to come if we stopped to talk.

            “Shadow.” William clamped a hand around my arm as we reached the door of the hangar my plane now rested in. I was yanked to a stop. Turning to face him, I was surprised by the genuine tears and fear in his eyes. I noticed he was holding me by my right arm, the one that hadn’t cut and burned somebody.

            “What?” I snarled and tried to pull away. His grip tightened.

            “Just hear me out.” he begged. The black mist was slowly creeping out. I knew black was leaking into my eyes as well, making them a yin yang mix of silver and black as I tried to control my powers.

            “And why should I do that? Don’t say because I love you, because you’re my husband, because I should trust you. That’s not going to work. We made a blood promise that we would never make another one of us unless we were forced to.”

            “Then how do you explain Lunnette?”

            “You idiot! I was kidnapped by Les Guerriers De Mort last night. They were testing me to see if I was ready to be queen. They had taken Steve and Lunnette. It was either her or him. But if you don’t like it you’re welcome to take it up with them.”

            “Why are you acting like this, Shadow? A day ago I was the best thing that ever happened to you and now you treat me like I’m the bane of your existence!”

            “You need to reduce that giant ego of yours. The best thing that ever happened to me? You killed him last May.”

            “Don’t you dare talk to me like that.” William hissed. His face was too close to mine. I reached backwards and felt for something to use as a weapon. There! My hand closed around a metal pole. I wrenched myself away from William, set my stance, and swung the steel pipe with twice the force and twice the brutal intense of a star hitter. It hit William’s head with a sickening thunk. With rage clouding my mind, both for reasons known and unknown, I beat him bloody while he struggled feebly to fight back. Then I dropped the pipe and left, glad Lunnette was already done. Where exactly she had gone… well, that I didn’t know. My phone buzzed in my pocket.

            “Hello?” I asked cautiously.

            “Shadow?”

            “Lunnette! Where are you?”

            “At the White House. I have Eric. Hurry up.” the phone clicked off and left behind a flat buzzing dial tone. I stared down at it, scowling, then ran out to where my red and blue Ferrari was parked and waiting for me.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                    *

            I pulled up to the White House twenty minutes later. It was bustling with activity. The president’s people were searching for his son. My old people were searching for me- no doubt someone had already found Anfanasia dead. They wanted to find the rest of us. Apparently Agent Lovell hadn’t shown them the tapes yet. My last words on the tape had been a warning; anybody who came after me would die. My phone vibrated again.

            “The house is crawling with people.” I told her.

            “I know that. We got out. I have him out in a pretty little clearing out in the woods with a big pond. You know the place, right?”

            “I know it.” I answered grimly. My phone snapped shut first. I ditched my slippers and headed into the woods. Even though I was running faster than any human could I never tripped, never stumbled. I burst into the clearing breathing lightly and evenly.

            Eric was tied to a tree. The rope was knotted expertly and made of synthetic materials that wouldn’t burn. He was only in jeans and burn marks showed on his chest. There was a sock jammed into his mouth and duct tape over his mouth to keep him from spitting it out. His brown hair was damp with sweat. Eric stared at me, pleading with stormy gray eyes. His nostrils flared as he strained to breathe. Lunnette held a knife to his throat, but she stepped away and tossed it to me when I came closer. I sliced away Eric’s bindings and tore the gag from his mouth. He coughed and gagged, standing up shakily. There were red marks where the rope had been.

            “Thank you. She’s gone crazy.” he wheezed. He took one of my hands in his and smiled at me. I watched him grovel scornfully.

            “What makes you think I’m freeing you?” I asked and took my hand back. I could see my reflection in his frightened eyes.

            “But you cut me free.”

            “But you cut me free.” I repeated sarcastically, matching his voice exactly.

            “Why?”

            “You betrayed me. Twice!”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “First, you cheated on me with Alicia. Then you tried to give me over to Jacob and his hell-bitten Sunlighters.”

            “I loved Alicia!”

            “And that’s understandable, two materialistic idiots. I loved Sa… William. But you turned me over to them for execution.”

            “You…” he muttered the rest, barely audible.

            “Speak up!”

            “You murdered her! You killed the girl I loved. Then you pretended to be her and you tricked me!”

            “I killed her because she asked me to. I’ve told people this recently… not you. Anyways, she had cancer you idiot. She didn’t want to die that way. She knew I could make her death pleasant. And I did. Alicia’s last request was, and I quote- ‘Tomorrow he’ll ditch school again, without you. He’ll go to my house. Meet him there as me.’”

            “She couldn’t, she wouldn’t have told!”

            “I guess you didn’t know her that well then, did you?” I spat. Men like him sucked. Womanizers, cheaters, dogs who couldn’t stay in their own yards. They were the kind of men I had once killed without a thought. Tears streamed from Eric’s face as he realized he was finally getting what had been coming for a long time. In modern slang, karma is a bitch.

            “So what happens now?” he asked, tone low and defeated. Lunnette was standing behind me. When I crouched down and buried the knife in the dirt at my feet she made a little gasping sound, surprised. I ignored her and prowled forward, loving the sound of Eric’s heart beating faster. I could smell his fear, but the scent of his blood no longer intoxicated me. So I was perfectly lucid when I flashed him one final sweet smile.

            “Happy birthday, Eric.” I said. Then I twisted my hands into his hair, forcing his head to the side, and sought sweet relief in the gush of his blood as I tore a gaping wound in the eighteen-year-old’s neck.

Falling Petals Chapter Ten

“Agent Lovell.” I held my hand out to him. We were in the lobby in the private section reserved for celebrities and rich people.

            “Shadow? What the-” he started. I shushed him with a quick glare.

            “You’ll know in due time. I’m going to give you the short story. You’ll need to type it down for a report. I’ll be going missing at the end of this mission. I’m going to disappear into the night as if I never existed. Lunnette and William are coming with me.” I told him quickly, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible.

            “Is a tape recorder okay, so I can type it up word for word later?”

            “Yes. Turn it on.” I waited until he did so, waited for him to tell me when I could start telling my story.

            “Shadow Viguié, code green. Identity Rose Sanford. ID number 10272004. This is the recorded account of the events of the past week and a half from the perspective of the leader of the Black Roses. You may begin.” Agent Lovell dictated. He set the recorder gently on the table between us.

            “Right. Here’s what you need to know.” I spun my tale in just over two hours. When I was done I stopped the little machine and looked at Agent Lovell. He was watching me the way a child watches a tiger in the zoo. They know it’s in a cage and can’t touch them but they can’t help the instinctual fear that makes their blood pump faster and adrenaline rush through their veins and makes the whole thing just that much more entertaining.

            “Interesting.” he finally said. “You say you can change appearance now? Mind if I videotape it?”

            “No. Go ahead.” I agreed, knowing the evidence of my existence would disappear only days after I did. He switched out the tape recorder for a hand-held video camera. He pressed the button and pointed the lens at me.

            “For more information about these proceedings please refer to tapes one through three of agent 10272004 with ID Rose Sanford real name Shadow Viguié. This is going to blow your minds. Take it away Shadow.” he finished talking, his severe façade breaking into a proud grin. I let the black mist pour out. The colors flashed within it like lightning, the same way they did in my hair. I could see my image in the view screen Agent Lovell had turned toward me. My eyes clouded and darkened, turning black again. My lips twitched into a smile. I thought for a few moments, trying to decide who to be. My gaze caught on the pretty girl at the counter.

            She had dirty blonde hair cut in a silky bob, with natural lighter blonde highlights and artificial blue streaks. Her eyes were wide and wistful, a light purple-blue. She had fair skin and long, slender fingers, There was a callus on her right middle finger, the kind you find on writers who prefer to capture their thoughts with a pencil and paper. She glowed with a vibrancy and simple happiness most people refused to find even when the chance for true joy popped up right in front of them. She was bursting with energy, a hazy blue aura showing that she could see the good in everything. Her smile when she caught a boy staring at her was sweet and shy. She flushed a pretty pale pink and her dark eyes swept against her cheeks as she looked down. In seconds, I was her.

            “There you have it. Could you please transform back Shadow?” Agent Lovell requested.

            “My pleasure.” though I hadn’t heard her speak my voice came out sweet with a touch of a southern twang. I smiled a little then directed the black mist to mask me as it changed me back into myself. I felt a little woozy and had to gesture William forwards when it was done- he had my bag of bottles. I only had to drink one before I felt better.

            “This concludes our session.” Agent Lovell said. He switched off the video camera.

            “Are we finished now?” I asked, standing up carefully in honor of my dress.

            “Yes. Of course. See you… well, never, I guess.” Agent Lovell smiled sadly. I gave him a small smile in return, calming the heat of my anger for a moment. I pulled him close and hugged him tightly. Surprised, he wrapped his arms around me and returned the hug fiercely.

            “I’ll miss you.” I said quietly. I let go and backed away quickly.

            “Ready to go? We’ve got ten minutes. We can just make it if you drive.” Lunnette said. I sighed. She nodded at Agent Lovell before leaving to get the car. I waved at Agent Lovell one last time, then walked away. As I left I heard his final words to me, so quiet only I could hear them.

            “I’ll miss you too. I already do.”

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *                    *

            “God. I will never get used to that.” Lunnette said as she stumbled out of the car. Her face had turned slightly green and not with envy. I tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. The fire that burned within me was so distracting. It took me a moment to realize William had said something to me.

            “Sorry. Mind bunnies.” I said, absently quoting a book like I used to, when I had someone who could name them.

            “Raised By Wolves.” William raised an eyebrow at me, like he knew exactly why I had read that book once upon a time.

            “Have I turned you into a bookworm?”

            “Never!”

            “Are you sure about that?”

            “…Yes?”

            A single narrow-eyed glance.

            “No. Maybe.”

            “It’ll be easier for everyone if you just admit it.” I said, placing my hands on my hips and cocking my head.

            “Right! Enough arguing. If anybody didn’t know you were married they’d be able to tell by your incessant bickering!” Lunnette interrupted us impatiently.

            “You’re right. As I was saying, we know Jacob is here. I can smell at least thirty Sunlighters, maybe more.” William said.

            “Thirty-six.”

            “What?

            “There’s thirty-six of them.” I repeated the number slowly for him, sniffing at the air delicately.

            “Okay. There’s also a bunch of humans, us, and Lunnette. But there’s one scent I can’t identify.” William breathed in carefully, tasting the air. I followed his example, testing the air for anything out of place. Memories that weren’t quite right assaulted me. When they proved to be unreachable, my anger and frustration grew.

            “I can’t identify it either.” I told him a half-truth. I knew it, I just couldn’t place it. The scent teased me, flitting at the edges of my memories but always staying just out of reach. It smelled almost woodsy, like… a werewolf. I shook my head furiously. The only werewolf I had ever know was dead.

            “All seniors please report for arrangement.” one of the teachers said through the microphone.

            “Go, go!” William said, giving us a gentle push toward the front of the school, which was hidden behind the curtain they had hung from the stage. I didn’t have to look back to know that he went to find himself a seat in the crowded rows of metal folding chairs arrayed on the lawns. I knew he’d get one too. All he had to do was blink those flashy black eyes at a soccer mom and her seat was his.

            “Okay. Let’s go, Miss Hawthorne.” I teased, ruffling Lunnette’s perfect hair affectionately. She scowled at me and shook her head so it would fall back into place, a habit she had picked up from me.

            “Whatever. Come on.” she lead the way, spirited off by cheerleaders who gave me a quick, startled look before moving on. I followed her more slowly, trying not to laugh as everybody stopped for a double take and the trademark shocked glance when they saw my silver eyes and the colored streaks in my hair. Not to mention my overly formal gown when most of the rest of them were in skirts and button-downs, but they were mostly used to that by then. Agent Downham hurried over to me. He looked at me with critical eyes.

            “What happened to you?” he asked.

            “I-” I prepared to lie but he waved it off.

            “Forget it. I’m pretty sure I don’t actually want to know. Follow me.” he lead the way to where all the teachers and the principal were gathered, giving the lineup one more look-over.

            “Ah, Miss.. Sanford. It’s nice to finally meet you.” the principal said, shaking my hand vigorously. She smiled at me with too-white teeth and shook her died-blonde hair, crossing her arms to draw attention to her boob job. I watched her with cold eyes until she looked away.

            “Nice to meet you too.” I responded. The vice principal noticed our stand-off and came over to release the tension. He was much more genuine with soft brown hair and eyes; he was even slightly overweight. My anger grew, though, because it had no place to go. I was barely able to be polite, my smile strained as he shook my hand as well.

            “This way Miss Sanford. As soon as the cheerleaders are done with their performance at eight we’ll get everybody ready to go. Then we’ll make all the announcements and get the boring stuff out of the way. Principal McCrailie will announce your name, and applaud. You walk out all stunning and beautiful and make your speech. Assuming nothing goes wrong, we’ll then proceed to give diplomas to the rest of the students.” the vice principal rattled it off. I could tell how frustrated he was having to explain it because I hadn’t been going to shool the whole year and I had missed all the practices.

            “Okay. How in the world did I get to be valedictorian anyways?”  I wondered. The vice principal smiled at me. He must have been wondering the same thing. Agent Downham answered my question.

            “Everybody kept backing out. They all wanted you to be valedictorian. Eventually we just picked you.”

            “How many students passed on it?”

            “One hundred and thirty-nine.” Out of one hundred and forty was the unspoken finish. All of the senior population but me.

            “Wow. That’s a lot of students.” the vice principal said, eyeing me with a new appreciation.

            “Come on Rose. It’s almost time.” Eric was right beside me, like he had materialized from thin air. I could hear the shouting as the cheerleaders finished their routine. They came running back, heading for the school to change back into their graduation outfits. Lunnette was the first out, shooting me a smile. It was eight and fully dark by then, big floodlights lighting up the lawns. Jacob would make his move soon. I smiled with anticipation.

            “Okay.” I let him pull me toward left stage, the stage being the bigh platform that had been set up. The principal went onstage. She tapped the microphone and waited more than five minutes for the excited crowd to settle down.

            “Let’s have one more generous round of applause for our wonderful cheerleaders and their amazing routine!”

            “Ugh, way too school spirit.” I groaned. Eric smiled at me then went back to scanning through the crowd with a little frown on his face. I suffered through the principal’s long-winded ‘aspirational speech. She told us to anticipate our futures and ‘spread our wings and fly!’

            “And now please give a hearty welcome to this year’s witty valedictorian, the beautiful Rose Sanford!” huge applause. There was a sharp intake of collective breath as I went onstage. After a quick bow I took the microphone from the principal.

            “Thank you. Please shut up now.” I said pleasantly. They were quiet almost immediately. “Well hi there. Quick round of applause for our oh—so-wonderful principal and her overuse of adjectives. All right, that’s enough. So I don’t really know what to say now that Mrs. McCrailie used up all the graduation clichés, but I have a feeling that this year’s graduation is going to be very exciting.” Then, feeling very Lestat in the Queen of the Damned (the movie, not the book), I said:

            “But to those of you who are here for me… Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

            There was a rustling as all the Sunlighters stood up, scattered in strategic places throughout the audience. Jacob was in the front row, smack dab in the middle. The Sunlighters were dressed all in black. Jacob himself was dressed in rich reds. William had been right. Jacob’s eyes were a dark ruddy brown.

            “Well, well, well. The school valedictorian eh, Shadow? Congratulations.” Jacob clapped his hands slowly.

            “Oh piss off Jacob.” I responded calmly, rage boiling just below the surface. I reached for the catch in the back of my altered dress. It gave way easily and most of the bottom of my dress fell away. I was left with light, flexible, loose material that went to my knees and allowed for free and easy movement. Jacob looked startled for a moment.

            “I always knew you were the resourceful type, princess. So you know your deadline was up at four this afternoon, correct?” he picked at his perfect nails.

            “Oh, trust me, I know.”

            “Do you have an answer for me?”

            “Yes.”

            “So what is it?”

            “Yes, you nimwad!” I responded angrily.

            “Well then… wait, what did you just say?”

            “I said yes. Ever hear of the Blood Queen?”

            “Of course.” he said, rolling his eyes. I flashed him a devilish smile and peeled off my gloves. The Royal Crest was glowing brightly with an almost blinding light.

            “I am the Blood Queen.” there was a burst of light from the crest then nothing but the faintest of glows. I raised my wrist for them all to see, taking note of the fact that the black mist had formed a complete second skin from my fingertips to my elbow.

            “No!” William shouted. In a flash he was on the platform next to me with scared and pleading eyes. “You said yourself it wasn’t true.”

            “I was wrong.”

            “How long have you known?”

            “I’ve known since the moment Anfanasia’s blood touched my lips. Cam knew and she told Anfanasia. Now I have to deal with it.” I told him. All the humans- parents, family, friends, and the students themselves- stared at us with wide eyes. That was when I noticed Jacob. He was speaking into a little walkie-talkie urgently, voice too soft for me to hear over the rest of the noise.

            “I’m not at all sorry about this Shadow.” Eric said. He wrenched my arms behind my back. The Sunlighters were suddenly bristling with weapons that could hurt me; bows and arrows, wood-tipped spears, and long, sturdy stakes. A choked groan sounded from William’s direction. My anger grew to its breaking point. Did they really think they could kill me? Something inside me broke and power came gushing out of me. My body was immediately surrounded by black mist and encased in flames that scorched Eric but left me unharmed. Eric yelped and hurtled back. William took him down with a clean uppercut that knocked him out. Our excited, feral grins were complementary as the bloodlust took him and my anger swept me up.

            “Well, fire!” Jacob shouted at the Sunlighters, exasperated. A barrage of arrows made its way towards us. I stepped in front of William, laughing as the arrows burnt into ash before they could reach me. There was a moment of complete inactivity. The humans had already fled, running to cars that made horrible screeching noises as they pulled away at top speed. We stared across a few feet of empty space. Then one of the Sunlighters went down. I watched peaceful, delicate Lunnette plunge my knife into the other girl’s back. Once the girl stopped moving Lunnette stood up and shook back that long mane of golden blonde hair.

            “What are you waiting for?” she looked like a member of the Fae, feet planted apart and hands on her hips with bright gold and defiant eyes.

            “Absolutely nothing.” I answered gleefully. I closed my eyes and concentrated. There was soon a heavy weight in each of my hands. I opened my eyes to see the two long, gleaming swords in my hands. They looked exactly like the swords in my crest. In fact they were. I looked down and the swords were missing, as well as the fire. The swords themselves were alight with dark red, almost black flames. A wicked smile replaced my scornful smirk. I held my hand out palm up and curled in my fingers, the universal sign for ‘bring it on’. Lunnette pounced on another Sunlighter and we all burst into action.

            I sliced my way through the Sunlighters, pausing to drain every one I killed. My beautiful white dress was soon covered with blood spatter, grass stains, and smears of mud. One of the Sunlighters rushed me. I snapped up a somehow bare foot and gave him a solid roundhouse kick to the head. It snapped his neck cleanly. Roaring with rage and spinning toward me with spear raised was his partner. I plucked the spear out of his hand and was on him right after. My fangs drove into his neck mercilessly and his blood flowed into my body in a thick, steady stream. I dropped him and let the last few drops of precious blood spill to the ground. I stood slowly and surveyed the makeshift battleground with expert eyes.

            All the Sunlighters were dead. I could tell immediately who had killed them just by first glance. The ones that I had killed had deep slashes, missing body parts, and torn and bloody throats. Lunnette’s kills, only three, had neat little wounds in their chests just over their hearts. The Sunlighters William had killed- another four- had little puncture wounds in their necks but they had bled out because drinking their blood would have made him sick. I had killed the other twenty-nine and it left me with a lethal, ecstatic satisfaction. The only member of the tiny army that was still alive was Jacob. Lunnette and William started to move toward him. With a gesture of my hands, a strong but persistent wind pushed them away.

            “He’s mine.” I growled, voice cool but heavy with anger. When they made a move toward us again I flung my hands out away from my body. A ring of fire formed around me and Jacob, high and hot enough to keep out William and Lunnette but low enough to allow them to see the fight.

            “Shadow!” Lunnette cried desperately. William had to hold her back as she rushed at the flames.

            “Shadow! Oh, Shadow!” Jacob mocked in a high voice. He laughed, a dark sound that spoke of his madness and his willingness to do anything for power.

            “Would you like to surrender now Jacob? You’re welcome to it. Though I will admit I am eager to see that tainted blood of yours spilling into the soil.” I said happily, spinning one of the heavy swords in a circle with my agile fingers.

            “You wish it was that easy.”

            “No, Jacob, I wish you would get a clue! Do you really think you have any chance of beating me? Look at those chubby arms and flabby thighs. Not to mention those horrible brown eyes.” I taunted him. A wordless scream came from Jacob as he rushed me. I let one of my swords dissolve so I had a free hand. Using Jacob’s momentum against him I spun him around and kicked him in the butt, sending him sprawling face first into the muddy, bloody ground. He was on his feet again quickly, bouncing on his toes. I laughed at him, an eerie and supernaturally perfect sound. The other sword was absorbed back into my crest and I put my hands up like a boxer.

            I wasn’t a boxer though- I was a street fighter. While I distracted him with my hands my left foot flashed out, sweeping his feet out from underneath him. Catching himself at the last second, he moved awkwardly with his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out how to best me. He tried for a left hook but I blocked him easily, slowly. Then I landed a solid hit to his collar bone. Snap! I had broken the bone. Jacob’s eyes widened.

            “Ready to give up yet?” I questioned.

            “Never.” he snarled back, his collarbone healing quickly as all injuries did. The next few minutes were a flurry of Jacob’s failed attempts at attacks and my clean, languid retaliation. William and Lunnette cheered wildly whenever I blocked Jacob or hit him- they were pretty much cheering nonstop. I felt Jacob starting to wear down but I was just getting started. Scooping up a stake from where a Sunlighter had dropped it and tossing it from hand to hand, I watched Jacob panting. I lashed out with the stake, leaving a huge wound in his usually rock hard skin. Blood dripped from it steadily.

            “Hm. Your blood is actually red. Very interesting. Are you old enough yet for wood to be poison? Oh, you are!” Jacob’s panicked expression told me everything I needed to know. “How long will it take you to die this way? Weeks? Months? Years? And all the while it’ll be me you can thank for putting you through the hell you’re about to go through.” Jacob laughed harshly, hacking up blood in the process.

            “Hell. You know nothing of hell, Shadow. At least not yet, Blood Queen. When everyone you love starts dying around you, then come talk to me. When everybody you love is dead then you’ll understand hell.”

            “Don’t presume to tell me what I know, Jacob. Do you have any idea how hard it was to be… whatever I am… in a mansion full of bitten vampires? So purist and old-fashioned. It’s no wonder you’re all dying out- or, as Charlaine Harris so aptly described, going to the sun. You’re set in the ways of civilizations in the 1600s and earlier. We need to be able to adjust. Look at me. I’m thousands of years old but I act like a modern teen. Get a little perspective!” I threw my hands in the air and the fire flared up. Lunnette and William made quiet sounds of protest and I lowered my hands quickly.

            “You are so blind, Shadow! Do you really think the Court will allow you to change our way of life? For every vampire that dies a new one is made. We’re not losing numbers.”

            “No. You’re losing wisdom and power. You think all those pathetic little changelings have any real power? The only changeling who’s ever shown great power when freshly changed was William.”

            “That’s exactly my point. Shadow, if you take the throne they’ll use you to make new vampires. They’ll use you up, drain you dry. They don’t want you for your leadership skills. They want you for your blood.”

            “No. I don’t believe you. They aren’t the ones who tried to kill me!”

            “Who did you think I was talking to? If you had denied the throne, I was supposed to kill you and take William. They didn’t expect you to the Blood Queen. They’re afraid you’re too powerful to control. And there’s no way we can take William while you’re still alive. So our directives, again, are to kill you. Well, my directives. They were right, too. You’re definitely too powerful and strong-willed to control.”

            “You think you’re going to take William?” I laughed.

            “No. Not anymore. A confidential source told us he gets sick when he drinks human blood. The way William killed the Sunlighters proved that. He’s no use to us. Caleb, on the other hand, he’s almost exactly like a vampire. Except for the whole going out in the sunlight and he was a very powerful new changeling.”

            “Caleb… Caleb Beckett? William’s adorable friend? The star pitcher of the Red Sox fifty years ago, who was human?”

            “That’s the one.”

            “What does he have to do with this. He was human. He’s in his seventies by now.”

            “You don’t know? He didn’t tell you? Oh, this is going to be fun.” Jacob rubbed his hands together gleefully.

            “Don’t do it Jacob. I swear to God I’ll rip you into pieces with my bare hands!” William shouted. I stood frozen between them.

            “He didn’t tell me what?”

            “Don’t listen to him Shadow. All he does is lie!”

            “What didn’t he tell me Jacob?”

            “Shadow!”

            “Would you like to tell me then, William?” Nothing. “No, I thought not. So tell me, Jacob. What didn’t he tell me.”

            “Couple hundred years ago. William was retiring from the Red Sox for the second time under the name Tristan Kane. Caleb Streicher Beckett, Josh Beckett’s famous great and then some grandson was on his death bed. He had lung cancer, but he never smoked a day in his life. But Caleb had asthma and a chain-smoking step-father with a house chalk full of secondhand smoke. So he got the deadly end of the deal.

“ Anyways, Caleb and William had gotten as close as two guys could get. Naturally William was, shall we say, distraught. They had played together for six years and gone to college together before that- though don’t ask me why William was daft enough to go through college every fifty years. The whole shebang. When William found out about Caleb’s horrible diagnosis he decided to take faith into his own hands. Risking his own life in the process, William changed Caleb.”

            “No. That’s not possible.” I shook my head like I could make it go away. If that was the truth, I didn’t want to hear it.

            “Oh, but it is. Caleb wants as normal a life as possible. He never shows his powers. He wears contacts. He dates but never marries. He moves between Phoenix, Boston, and D.C. every fifteen years with a new name each time. He’s become a pro at phasing into others’ lives like he was always there.”

            “He was born after World War Three. That’s why he didn’t know what a cell phone was.” I shook my head again, sadly this time because I believed. After the nuclear war in WW3 sent technology sent technology back to the 1600s, we’d had to work our way back up to the top. Up until about sixty years ago cell phones had only been available to the rich.

            “Shadow.” William said hoarsely.

            “No! We promised we would never damn anybody else to this half-cursed crap we have to put up with!” I snapped, turning on him as anger turned my eyes red again.

            “I was so lonely Shadow. What did you expect me to do?”

            “Not that. You broke a promise far more sacred than our marriage vows William!”

            “But I-”

            “Shadow, behind you!” Lunnette shrieked.  I spun around just as Jacob slammed into me, knocking me into the ground. He was taller than me and almost twice my weight but I was stronger. I flipped him off me and plunged the stake up under his ribs and into his heart. An unearthly cry of pain came from the man beneath me. He dissolved under me slowly until I was kneeling on a pile of ash with a bloody stake in my hands. I felt a hand on my shoulder and sprang up, stake poised in the air. William cringed back.

            “Shadow…” he held out his hand again and I backed away, snarling at him with my fangs still out. That eternal sadness was in his eyes again.

            “Shadow.” Lunnette had flitted up to me. She rested a hand on my back. I let her powers soak into me, calming and soothing me. My fangs snicked back in and I relaxed by increments.

            “Thank you.” I said quietly, stretching. For all that my brain was running on fumes, my body had never been more awake.

            “You’re covered in blood.” Lunnette said carefully, rubbing her fingers over the dried blood on my arms to show me.

            “Ick. Let’s get back to the house so I can take a shower.” I set off with Lunnette, ignoring William as he followed us. I stopped when Lunnette did, but I didn’t follow her as she turned around to talk to William. Knowing I would be able to hear anyways, Lunnette didn’t bother to lower her voice at all.

            “William, what were you thinking?” I could hear the incredulous anger in her voice.

            “I don’t think I was.” he answered.

            “Well you’ve really dug yourself a big hole this time. Don’t. Say. Anything! Did you really think she would never find out? You should’ve at least told her yourself. You’ve screwed yourself big time. I don’t know whether she’ll ever be able to forgive you, but I sincerely doubt it.” I heard her light footsteps, then Lunnette was beside me again. She smiled at me, a small and nervous smile, and helped me up from where I had sat down. I let her lead me to the car. I looked out the window as she drove and watched the houses flash by. Lunnette had to run inside and grab a bathrobe for me. Covering myself so I wouldn’t freak out the people inside, I made my way to the room slowly.

            “The rest is all yours to do all alone. I need a shower too. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Lunnette asked quietly, opening the door to Anfanasia’s room.

            “Yeah.” I shut the door behind me. I stripped quickly and shoved everything into a trash bag to be disposed of later. Then I wandered into the bathroom, feeling lost. I glanced in the mirror but looked away quickly. My skin was smeared with blood, my hair thick and sticky with the stuff. I turned the water on in the shower as hot as it would go. The water rushed over me, scalding my skin. I stayed there until the water ran clear and let the heat soothe my sore muscles. Then I scrubbed my hair over and over, emptying a whole bottle of shampoo before using another bottle of conditioner. Finally I scrubbed my skin until it was raw and red.

            When I got out of the shower the cold air hit my smooth skin like a bucket of ice. Shivering, I pulled on a pair of Anfanasia’s silk pajamas and winced as even that smooth surface pulled at my skin painfully. Before I laid down to sleep I locked the doors and windows and shut the blinds. Then, finally, I slumped into Anfanasia’s bed. I fell asleep almost immediately, my mind desperate for the blank and empty relief of sleep.