Wake of darkness, p.6
Wake of Darkness, page 6
Sophie had a lot to consider…but in reality, not a lot to decide. So, she slowly started to pack her things.
“What other choice do I have?” She murmured.
Vampires are real.
As much as she wanted to pinch herself and disbelieve what she’d experienced, she knew it was the truth. She sank down onto her small bed and curled up against the wall, her knees under her chin.
What should I do? She thought to herself, over and over.
She was now on the vampires’ hit list. That mere fact threatened to make her blood boil. The collective vampire community knew that she was associated with Catherina and the rest of them. Sophie would probably be eliminated the second one of them left her alone, thus the need for the unarmed guard down below…she glanced toward the window again, but she knew he was still there; she could feel him.
She shivered.
The reality was hard to digest. In one afternoon, her world had been turned upside-down. Across the hall, she could hear some girls gossiping and talking about cute college guys.
They have no clue, she thought. They were just as clueless about the world as she had been that morning.
She was part of the supernatural world now.
Vampires were hunting her now, along with everyone else she’d just met this afternoon. Even without the threat, the possibility of everything Catherina and Dante had to offer was undeniably appealing. They offered her a family, a home. She’d never really had either of those.
She pushed herself off the bed. Biting on her thumbnail, she slowly walked back to the window. She looked down at Alexander, who stood with his back to her building now, his arms crossed, and leaning against the back of the bench. She absentmindedly stared at his back, watching his head move slightly from side to side as he watched the seemingly still night around him.
She watched as his hair caught the nighttime breeze, and the stronger gusts disturbed the hem of his coat. He wore a black trench coat and she would not have been surprised if he were wearing a fedora as well. His posture and appearance were slightly antiquated, but not in a bad way; he looked like an old-fashioned movie star.
He must have heard that she was thinking about him, because he suddenly turned around and met her eyes without hesitation. She froze at the window and returned his steady gaze with one of her own. Even from a distance, he was intimidating but she wasn’t going to let on to that.
She forced her eyes away from his and turned back to her small room. She contemplated the concept of “home” as the rooms around her gradually, one by one, fell silent in the night until she knew from just listening that she was the only person on the floor still awake.
Time seemed to mean something different to her that night. She wasn’t sure when she’d made the decision, but at some point, she turned back to her bed, pulled a duffle bag out from under it, and began resolutely and systematically emptying the contents of her dresser into it.
*
“I’m ready to go,” Sophie told Jim early the next morning.
She left her dorm room for the last time, and followed Jim silently back to his truck, looking around nervously.
You’ve got nothing to worry about, little sis. We’ll take care of you, he told her silently.
She smiled at him, relieved to be trusted with his thoughts. She let him put his arm around her shoulders, and was glad for the protective gesture. She was nearly as tall as he was, but he was easily twice her size, and she felt instantly safe in his presence.
When they walked through the door of the house just a few minutes later, a further sense of security enveloped her. All of the tension seemed to melt away from her. Jim chuckled again under his breath as he walked up the stairs, her bags over his arms, leaving her in the vast entryway below.
Why does he keep doing that? She thought, watching him ascend the stairs.
Something caught her attention from out of the corner of her eye and she looked to her right to see Laney, awake earlier than any teenager had a right to, perched precariously on the arm of one of the sofas holding her hands up in front of her face. Sophie edged quietly around the end of the sofa to get a better look at what she was doing. Between Laney’s hands was a silver spoon, floating in the air.
What the hell?!
“Hi Sophie!” Laney said immediately, making the spoon spin in mid-air and then letting it fall into her hand.
Sophie laughed in amazement, which edged toward hysteria. “That's crazy,” Sophie whispered.
“Oh pah-lease!” Laney exclaimed. “After everything you’ve heard? And seen? This freaks you out?” She skipped out of the room, her pretty laugh floating after her as she went.
Sophie exhaled and gaped after her. She shook her head. Laney had a point, but she couldn’t help it if she felt like she’d stepped through the rabbit’s hole yesterday.
Something caught her attention from the opposite corner. Her eyes darted to where Alexander sat staring at her. He was seated in one of the many chairs spread about the front room, an anciently bound book lying lazily across his lap. Her eyes met his and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. She felt a strange, magnetic-like attraction that seemed to be emanating from him.
But unlike what she'd felt the day before when she'd been close to attacking Dante, this force didn’t compel her to stop. It didn’t push her back, and it didn’t serve as a warning. It beckoned. And she wanted to follow it.
You're kidding me, she thought.
His eyes narrowed at her a bit, scrutinizing her. He made no move to stand. He simply stared at her with the penetrating gaze that seemed to see everything.
“Welcome home, Sophie,” Catherina called from the large stairway.
The greeting wasn’t a warm one; it was more a statement of fact. It took all of Sophie’s effort to force her eyes from Alexander’s, but another part of her brain told her that Catherina probably wanted her to follow her.
Sophie turned slowly, suddenly conscious of her every move as she walked to Catherina. She could still feel Alexander's stoic eyes on her back. Catherina’s mouth curved into a small smile. Sophie shot a quick look back over her shoulder to where Alexander had been sitting. He was gone.
“I hope you like the room we have prepared for you,” Catherina said, pulling her attention away from the now empty room. Sophie wondered if Catherina really cared if she liked the room at all, or if she was just trying to be cordial.
Catherina frowned at her but didn't say anything.
It took them a while to climb the massive staircase together; Catherina moved slower than Sophie was used to walking. The first floor was comfortable and modern in a generic sort of way, but the second floor’s rooms were decorated in a varied array of themes.
They passed a room that must have been Laney's and another that was probably Zoey's. Up a second flight of stairs were Jim's room, and then Alexander's.
“And here is your room,” Catherina finally said, indicating the next door. “Jim has already brought your things up for you.”
Sophie stepped inside the doorway and let out a little gasp. It was beautiful. It was as if Catherina had stepped into her mind and discovered exactly what she’d love. Everything was soft, white on white textiles—a place she could really let her mind wander. Sophie even had a towering bookshelf already quickly on its way to being filled with books she suspected she would enjoy. Everything else in the room suited her perfectly. They had really done their homework on her.
“Those are from Alexander’s personal collection,” Catherina said, watching Sophie examine the books. “He believed that you would like them.”
Sophie looked at Catherina incredulously. Her mind immediately raced back to the man who she knew was probably on the other side of the wall. “I really don’t understand.”
“He is quite interested in history as well, and can be a bit of a bookworm himself,” Catherina explained with a weak shrug of her fragile shoulders and then looked away. “I am gratified to see that you like it here.”
Catherina turned to leave, but then hesitated. She faced Sophie once more, as if she’d forgotten something. “I shall leave you here to rest, since you seem to have neglected sleep last night,” she added coldly. Without waiting for an answer from Sophie, she walked off slowly, mumbling strangely to herself like a lunatic in an asylum.
Now that she was alone, she didn’t fight the yawns that had been threatening to make an appearance all morning. She walked around her room, taking it all in, allowing her fingers to touch everything lightly despite her lethargy: the cotton on her new bed, the satin of the lampshade, the antique wood of the door and trim until she made her way back to the bed and slumped down on it.
She curled up and reviewed the events of the past twenty-four hours slowly. Despite everything that had happened, she felt strangely relieved. She didn’t know what to make of it all, but for the first time in her life, she felt like she was somewhere she belonged. She sighed and relaxed onto the bed and before she knew what had happened, she had drifted off to sleep.
*
The sun traversed the sky into late afternoon. Sophie awoke with a start, sitting straight up. Her fitful sleep had taken up most of the day. It took her a few moments to get her bearings, but once she had, Sophie hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes.
For the first time since she had been here, Sophie truly listened. She rocked back and forth absentmindedly as she focused on everything around her. She listened so intently that she could almost feel the others around her.
And that’s when she heard it all.
When she really listened and no one was guarding their thoughts, she found that she could hear everything.
She found Dante first. He was down in the kitchen, cooking spaghetti for dinner. She was thrilled by the small revelation and grinned at herself.
She concentrated again and the entire picture downstairs opened up to her as the information flooded her brain.
Catherina sits on a stool in the kitchen, watching her companion; watching him cook for his big family. He calls her Rina; this is the name that only he is allowed to use. She smiles at him. They are discussing when they think the other one might show up.
Sophie smiled to herself. All along, she just had to figure out how to become attuned to their minds. She excitedly decided to try someone else and almost frantically searched for another target; Jim seemed like an entertaining choice. Closing her eyes, Sophie concentrated again until she found him. It didn’t take long. He and Alexander were silently arguing somewhere in the house.
So when are you gonna tell her? Jim asked. He sounded happy, even in his thoughts.
Now James, whatever do you mean? Alexander’s silent voice asked back. Sophie thought that—just maybe—Alexander was taunting him.
Jim, was the firm, correcting reply.
As you say.
You know exactly what I mean. Our new little addition. She likes you too, but she’s not gonna admit it.
“What?” Sophie gasped to herself. She suddenly wanted out of the eavesdropping hole she’d fallen into. She frantically tried to stop listening, but she couldn’t pull her mind from his now that it was there, no matter how imperative the action seemed to be.
I hardly believe what you are saying. Besides, she seems terrified of me, Alexander answered casually distracted, though Sophie thought that maybe he sounded a little sad.
“I don’t want to hear this,” Sophie sang to herself, as if she were able to block it out that way.
Well, yeah! You sit there in the corner and stare at her like you’re gonna eat her or something. I’d be pretty damn terrified too, Al.
Alexander.
Jim laughed. Whatever. So, when?
Do you not realize that she could be listening?
You think? Why don’t you go surprise her?
Sophie’s heart raced so quickly that she thought it’d pound out of her chest. She wasn’t ready for that. What would she say to him if he decided to follow Jim’s suggestion?
No, no, no, she wanted to argue back. She didn’t want anything to do with him in that way.
“Hi Sophie!”
She froze. In her panic, Sophie’s usually quick brain couldn’t keep up with the sound well enough to decipher the speaker’s voice.
She didn’t dare open her eyes. She sat with her forehead still on her knees. Please, please don’t let that be him, she prayed silently.
Without raising her head, she peeked with one eye at the person in her doorway. She breathed a sigh of relief. Laney skipped over to her bed and planted a kiss on Sophie’s cheek as she stared at her in wonder.
Laney frowned. “You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Sophie replied absentmindedly. “Thanks.”
“Who’d you think I was?” Laney asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. “Wait. Never mind. Dante said dinner’s ready, so I want to show you something really quick.”
Sophie smiled at her and thought she had to be the most adorable girl she’d ever met.
“Thank you!” Laney replied with a big grin. “Now listen: you’re gonna love this! We all have a special gift. Well, more than one, but whatever! The vampires can run really, really fast…almost fly, fly, fly, right? So…we can move from one place to another without running!”
Sophie watched her warily. Laney laughed at the look on her face.
“The only catch…” Laney began to say, but her eyes glazed over. She was lost in a wayward thought, but was back to normal just as quickly.
“Are you okay?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah, sorry!” She grinned sheepishly at Sophie. “What was I saying? Oh, yeah. The only catch is that we have to have seen where we want to go before we can get there, and sometimes we’re too far from where we want to go, so it does limit us a little, but it’s really cool. We call it jumping ‘cause we don’t know what else to call it, and it happens just like that”—she snapped—“Like a blink of an eye, quick as a jump!” She giggled in the middle of her breathless chattering.
“What are you talking about?”
“Watch this. I’ll think about standing in the hallway.”
Sophie watched as Laney closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then a split second later was standing in the hallway. Sophie gasped in complete disbelief as Laney smiled at her, several feet away from where she’d started.
“Now you try. Come to me. Just close your eyes and envision the hallway. Then all you have to do is want to be there,” Laney instructed.
Sophie didn't completely trust her, but she figured it was worth a shot. She closed her eyes and thought about the hallway. Almost an instant later, she felt a sudden breeze hit her face.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed.
Laney reached out to grab Sophie as she took a step backwards in shock.
“You okay?” Laney asked.
“Uh…” Sophie began, “yeah, I’m okay.” She giggled to herself. She was more than okay; she was elated.
Excellent job, thought Dante, now that they were all in sync with one another.
Way to go, Sophie! Jim thought from somewhere else in the house.
“Is that how Alexander got me here so fast yesterday?” She asked Laney.
“Yeah. Pretty cool, huh? Now, try it again, but try to go downstairs this time,” Laney said.
The only room she’d seen downstairs was the front room.
Okay, here goes nothing, she thought to herself.
Laney nodded in encouragement.
Sophie drew in a breath, trying not to worry that everyone would be watching or listening for her next move. Closing her eyes, she saw the front room in her mind's eye. She felt the air move out of her way, but she was prepared for it the second time.
What she wasn't prepared for was what happened next. She opened her eyes with a gasp and stumbled backwards from Alexander. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. She tripped over the rug behind her in her haste. Without thinking, he reached out and caught her hand before she could fall back into the glass table. He pulled her into his arms in an effort to steady her.
Her sharp ears heard the steady beats of his heart in his chest, obviously unaffected by the encounter. Sophie, on the other hand, had to hold her breath to keep it from escaping her lungs too quickly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Catherina shoot a sideways glance at Dante. She’d missed the silent communication, but Alexander hadn’t. He frowned and roughly dropped his arms from Sophie and marched into the dining room, leaving her behind, stunned. She let out a shaky breath and hugged her arms around her chest, rubbing them where he’d held her. She turned around, and her eyes widened in shock. He had kept her from crashing into the glass table behind where she stood.
