Blood Gifts (9 page)

She watched as the deer stumbled onto its
feet like it was weak, and wandered off as if in a daze.

"It's good if we don't leave a trail of dead
animals with teeth marks in their necks. For a lot of reasons." He
set her down. She was trying to comprehend what he was saying to
her, but it seemed absurd. Restraint? How ridiculous. She felt like
she could fly right now. She looked up at the sky through the
trees.

"Can I fly?" she said to Luke, looking at him
with hopeful eyes.

"No," he said. "Sorry." He took her hand and
led her through the woods, deeper into them, toward the mountains
in the distance. He babbled to her about the proper way to do
things. He probably didn't think of it as babbling. Restraint,
discretion, respect, responsibility. These were his themes. They
grated on her, like someone trying to wake her from a beautiful
dream.

Night came and she could see through the
darkness clearly. It was still dark, but it had layers of darkness,
different shades, shapes were defined distinctly. She could see
everything. It was like the sun going down changed all the colors
of things to dimmer shades, but they were still there. She felt
like she'd been upgraded.

At some point they slept again, Luke had his
arm over her waist. In case she decided to run free, Karina
guessed. They rested on the soft grass by the side of the river
that used to be just a stream. The closer they got to the mountains
the wider and swifter the river became. It made a loud rushing
noise as she fell asleep.

She dreamed that she was flying over
everything, forests, mountains, towns. She opened her eyes when the
light came. It was morning. Luke was sitting cross-legged and
barefoot near her. He was clearer today. His colors kept more to
his shapes. She remembered vaguely his lectures from yesterday and
she rose slowly and deliberately, first to a sitting position and
then to a standing one.

"Better," he said, getting to his feet. He
sounded like he was about to begin another lecture, and she
bolted.

"Karina!" he called after her. She knew he
had to put his shoes on first. She ran, following their path
alongside the river to the mountain. Not anywhere in particular,
just deeper into wildness. She got to a place where the river
curved in front of her, but she wanted to keep going straight. With
barely a thought she leapt over the river, which was about ten feet
wide. She laughed as she landed on the other side.

She stopped to stare and marvel at what she'd
just done. She saw Luke catching up with her and she giggled and
started running again. She ran until she was running up the side of
a mountain. She ran to a place where the river became a waterfall
and she dove right in. Under the cold water, under the waterfall.
She could feel that it was cold, but it didn't bother her. She
didn't need to breathe. She could see underwater perfectly. There
were fish and smooth polished stones. The water was a blur of many
cool clean colors.

She saw a splash as Luke joined her under the
water. He was smiling. She smiled back. He took her hand and led
her, underwater, to behind the waterfall. They finally brought
their heads out of the water. They stood on a rock ledge, waist
deep in water. The rush of water was so loud all around them, the
waterfall so beautiful. She pulled him toward her for a kiss.

He kissed her back and it was amazing. She
thought her nerve endings had been amplified. Kissing him felt like
pure heaven. She pressed her body to his as they kissed deeper.
Then he pulled away.

"Let's get you used to being a vampire
first," he said gruffly, his arms still around her. "I don't know
what your psychic powers would do now if we made love."

She looked at him in awe, from the memory of
the kiss and the way his eyes reflected the waterfall. She felt
dumbfounded. She nodded at his words. She felt water dripping from
her hair and face. She felt every drop. She let his hand go and
dove through the waterfall, back into the deep pool below it. The
water pounded into her, but she didn't mind.

She grabbed a fish in her hand as she leapt
out of the river. She sat down, dripping wet, on the grassy
riverbank and bit into the fish and sucked the blood out.

She tossed the dead fish aside. She lay back
in the grass to stare at the sky. Luke climbed out of the river and
sat next to her to observe her. She spent hours staring in
amazement at the sky. Until the sun set with a gorgeous range of
colors. Some she didn't even think she knew the name of.

At some point Luke had lain down beside her
and thrown his arm over her. Her clothes and hair were dry now. She
closed her eyes and slept again. She dreamed that she danced
circles around Geric, laughing.

She woke before dawn to watch the beautiful
sky colors come and go again, until it was bright blue. Luke was
still asleep. She crawled out from under his arm and waded into the
river. She reached down lightning fast whenever a fish swam by. She
bit into each fish lightly and tossed it back, not killing any of
them. She did this for a few minutes, twenty fish or so.

She heard Luke laughing behind her. "What are
you doing? You remind me of a bear," he said.

She turned to face him while watching the
fish. "Trying not to disturb the environment too much," she said.
She swiped one more fish out of the water, took a sip, and tossed
it back. Then she took his hand and stepped out of the river.

"Well, you've definitely mastered control,"
he said. He chuckled again. "I wonder if you're ready to go
back."

"Back?" she said, looking at him soberly.
"Oh, I had a life before…" It seemed like a vague memory.

"Your friends must be worried," he said.

Leanne and Nina, yes. Her old life came
rushing back to her. It seemed so mundane, and yet somehow richer,
like the memories had been enhanced by her vampire perception
too.

"Yes, let's go back," she said. She took his
hand again and they started walking quickly through the woods,
following the river back from where they came.

Chapter 21

Luke was driving her back to her town. To her
apartment.

"Now you know not to make quick movements.
You have to be slow like a human," he said to her. "Right?

"Right," she said as she stared out the
window. Everything familiar looked so different now. "And try not
to eat my friends. Blah blah."

"It takes concentration, Karina. That's why I
keep harping on it."

"I know. Sorry. But I've been practicing it,
haven't I? I know I've got it down."

"Okay. And don't forget you have super
strength now."

"Luke," she said firmly, looking over at
him.

"Sorry," he said.

They arrived at her apartment building, and
it looked so different through vampire eyes. It was suddenly high
definition. And brighter. She stared up at it in awe as she got out
of the car. Luke got out and came around the car to take her hand.
He gently pulled her inside the building as she stared up at
it.

People in the lobby actually stopped and
stared at her. She guessed her face had been on the news. They
gaped as Luke and Karina got on the elevator and went up to her
floor. No one was in the hall upstairs. They walked down to her
apartment and the door was open. She heard voices inside. It was
her landlord and Leanne. She got a little teary eyed hearing her
voice.

"It shouldn't take us too long to get her
stuff together," Karina heard Leanne say. "I don't think we need
movers until it's time to move the furniture."

"If there's anything I can do to help, let me
know," the landlord said.

"I will. Thank you," Leanne answered. She
sounded sad. Defeated. Karina stepped into the doorway. The image
of her apartment was brighter and sharper too. And one of her best
friends leaning over a box looked more beautiful than ever.

"Oh, my God," the landlord said. He stared at
Karina with his mouth open. Leanne turned quickly to look.

"Oh, my God, Karina!" she shouted. Then she
squealed and ran to Karina and threw her arms around her. She
started to babble a mile a minute while they hugged each other
tightly.

"Oh, my God, we were so worried. We didn't
know what happened to you or if you were even still alive after
that one phone call. We paid your rent for the first month and then
Carl let it go for one month and now we were just packing up
and—Nina! She's back! Meet us at her apartment! She's here!"

Karina laughed. Apparently, Leanne had been
dialing her cellphone while hugging and talking to her.

Karina pulled away from the hug. She saw what
Luke meant about people being tempting. She noticed Leanne's warmth
more now and she swore she could hear her blood pumping through her
veins, but she could ignore it. Karina had tears in her eyes while
she looked at her.

"Where were you?" Leanne asked as she stared
at her. "You look different."

"I, uh… a guy kidnapped me. Not this guy,"
Karina said quickly, pointing to Luke. "He rescued me." Luke and
Karina had a whole cover story thought up.

"Well, thank you!" Leanne said, turning and
throwing her arms around Luke. He laughed and hugged her back
briefly.

Karina heard the landlord talking on the
phone. "Yup. She's here," he said. "She's alive. She's back." Then
he hung up the phone. "911," he said to her. "Sorry. I didn't know
what else to do. Welcome back, Karina." He gave her a quick
one-armed hug and then stepped toward the door. "I'll leave you all
to catch up. Glad to have you back."

"Thank you," she said. He left. He'd
certainly never been so friendly to her before. What a weird
homecoming. Then she heard Nina from the doorway.

"Oh, my God, it's really you."

Karina turned to see her standing there with
tears in her eyes. It was as if she was afraid to cross the
threshold into her apartment.

Karina went over to her quickly, trying not
to use her vampire speed, and threw her arms around her.

"Oh, my God, you're real," Nina said,
gingerly putting her arms around her. "I'm so glad you're
real."

Karina laughed.

"Nina, this is Luke. He saved her," Leanne
said excitedly. Karina glanced at Luke. She thought he was actually
blushing. She let Nina go. Nina stepped into the apartment.

"Thank you, Luke," Nina said, still crying.
She was holding Karina's hand.

"I guess we can bring your stuff back now,"
Nina said. They all laughed. A little nervously. Then Leanne threw
her arms around Karina again and Nina did the same. Karina hugged
them back. They were the closest thing she had to family. They were
her family.

Chapter 22

Karina was sitting in an interview room at
the police station. Two police detectives in suits were sitting
across a table from her. There was a tape recorder on the table,
recording what Karina said.

"He kept me in a farmhouse, locked in a room
with no windows. A cellar, I guess," she said. "He fed me and let
me use the outhouse, gave me a bucket to take a bath with. He said
I was the 'chosen one' and he was keeping me safe."

"Did he sexually assault you?" Detective
Andrews asked. Detective Harold just sat at the table quietly,
taking notes.

"No. He just held me captive."

"Can you describe him?" Andrews asked.

"Short blond hair, mid-twenties, he wore
black clothing," she said.

"And he escaped when your boyfriend rescued
you," Andrews said, jotting things into a notebook.

"Yes," she said. "They fought and my
boyfriend broke down the door and let me out. When we left the
cellar, the blond man was nowhere to be found."

"And he never told you his name, not even a
first name?" Andrews asked.

"No," she said. They seemed to be believing
her. Why would a victim lie, right? So strange. They'd already
talked to Luke and gotten his statement. He told them he just kept
checking motels and abandoned buildings in nearby towns till he
found her. They bought that, she guessed.

"Is this what the man looked like?" Detective
Harold said and held up a copy of a drawing. It looked like Geric.
She panicked a little. She guessed they took that to be fear from
being traumatized.

"Yes," she said. "Where did you get
that?"

"Abby Walker," Harold said. "The little girl
in your apartment building that the suspect tried to throw off the
roof."

"Oh," she said, relieved. Maybe she'd seen
too many cop shows, but some part of her thought they were setting
her up and trying to trap her in a lie. She guessed she didn't lie
well. Or easily.

"Well, that's all the information we need
from you, Karina. Thank you. Glad to have you back," Andrews
said.

She managed a smile. "Thank you," she said
quietly.

They all stood up and he added, "We'll send
someone up to Hillton to check out the farmhouse, Luke gave us
directions to it. We'll try to catch this guy's trail. I assume
you're willing to testify against him in court?"

What a strange idea. Vampires in a human
court. "Yes," she said. They'd never catch him, obviously.

He smiled and opened the door and held it
open for her. She walked down the hall to the main office, where
Luke was waiting for her in a chair. He got up and smiled and put
his arm around her. He nodded at a cop nearby as he led her out of
the station.

Chapter 23

When Luke and Karina made love now, it was so
different. She was in control of her psychic power. Things didn't
randomly float around. Unless she wanted them to. Sometimes she
levitated them off the bed. Every sensation was heightened. Sex was
more intense. She had more endurance. The love felt more intense,
but how could that be? They were bonding now more than they ever
did before, every time they were together. And there was a daze
afterwards, a glow, a happiness that lasted for hours. It was in
this daze that Luke and Karina were walking through the park at
twilight, holding hands. It was like Heaven on Earth. Soon, after
nightfall, they would rush into the woods and hunt for blood. But
for now they were content. Until he appeared.