Enchanter (18 page)

“Brandon, I’m going to ruin your clean sheets.” His room was
positively immaculate and the red and black bedspread was way too beautiful for
me to damage.

“Don’t worry about that. I can always wash them later.”

“I don’t feel so good.” Although I was not as lightheaded as
before, my entire body still felt off. The strangest of tingling sensations
kept running up and down my arms and legs, and that could not be good.

“I’ll fix that.”

I wondered how exactly he was going to accomplish this.

Brandon pulled away long enough to run to his bathroom and
fetch a clean towel, which he used to wrap around my still-bleeding forearm
before applying more pressure.

“Shouldn’t we be in the ER right now?” I snapped, irritated
by the fact that he was avoiding eye contact and was taking too long beating
around the bush. “Brandon?”

“We don’t have to take a trip to the emergency room.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“I can help you.”

“How are you going to fix this? Are you some kind of medic?
Or are you going to cast some spell over me that’ll make my wounds magically
disappear?”

The look of hurt in his eyes marred his handsome features
and instantly made me regret my harsh tone. He did save my life. I could not be
entirely upset.

“No, I’m not going to cast a spell.”

“Then—”

“Just trust that I mean you no harm and that I can make your
wound go away.”

“Trust?” Although I was aware that he had saved my life, I
was still terrified. How could he ask me to trust so easily after what I had witnessed?
I just saw him burn another man to a crisp by means of some strange blue flame
that emerged from the palm of his hand, for Christ’s sake! It does not get any
crazier than that, does it?

“You can trust me.”

“This is too much… I can’t handle this right now.”

“I can explain.” His words sounded like a plea.

“So, you mean there’s an actual explanation for what I saw?”
Although my intention was to be sarcastic, my voice came out full of panic.

“Yes, there is.” He sat on the bed next to me. “Let me help
you first, and then I’ll explain.”

“I don’t think you have a choice either way, Brandon.”

“I’m aware of that,” he said. “But my only concern right now
is for your wound to stop bleeding. You’ve already lost a lot of blood and if
you bleed out anymore then we’ll definitely have to go to the ER.”

“Okay, fine. How are you going to help me?”

“I can heal you.” He moved in closer. “But you need to trust
me.” Brandon reached out to caress my cheek. “This won’t hurt a bit, I
promise.”

After that I just could not say no. There was so much
emotion behind those words that it struck a chord inside of me, and I had to
give in. I had trusted him with my life and he had saved it, why not do the
same for my painfully throbbing limb?

“Okay, go ahead,” I said. “But I want the explanation
afterwards.”

“Of course.” He actually smiled.

He grabbed my arm and removed the towel, tossing it to the
floor before turning to inspect my wound. He stretched my arm in front of me
and fleetingly skimmed his long fingers over the surface of my now red and slightly
swollen skin. Ours gazes met. I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat.

I watched every one of his movements and waited as he used
his left hand to keep my arm straight and steady just above his thick thighs.
His right hand came over my wound and hovered there for a few seconds. Within
moments a light blue mist appeared – through the palm of his hand – and expanded
outward as it buttered over my wound, causing my skin to tingle wherever it
touched.

As unbelievable as it was to me, the long, horizontal gash
began to close up before my eyes. I watched, completely entranced, as muscle,
tissue, and finally skin glued back together as if it had never been sliced
open in the first place. All pain and discomfort disappeared along with the
scar that should have been left behind as proof of my ordeal.

Stunned, I could only stare at my now fully-restored limb. Apparently
there was a lot more about Brandon than met the eye.

“You’re a healer, too?”

“Yes, I can heal injuries, even those which would otherwise
prove fatal.”

“How long have you been able to do this?” I asked, truly
intrigued.

“All my life.”

“Oh.” Shock came short when describing what I felt.

I kept quiet for a few minutes, collecting my emotions as I
watched for his reaction. This aspect of his life was not something he had wanted
to share with me, but after what I’d seen, he had no choice but to tell me the
truth.

“What happened back there? Did we crash?”

He shrugged. “You were protected the whole time.”

“That’s not what I asked.” My gaze never left his. He had
done a great job at hiding who—or what he was, but he promised me answers and
right then I wanted nothing but the truth from him. No lies. Not anymore.

“Yes, we crashed, but like I said, I was able to protect us
both from harm.”

“The car…?”

“It didn’t sustain significant damage,” he explained, which
didn’t sound much like an explanation at all. Didn’t sustain significant
damage? Didn’t we crash into a tree?

“How did we get here?”

“I dislodged the car and sped over here?”

I frowned. How did he do that? “You used your…abilities?”

Brandon gazed at me sheepishly. Apparently, admitting he
used magic to pull us free wasn’t something to be proud of. Well, that
explained how we ended up at his place so fast. However, there was still
something he needed to clarify for me.

“What are you?” I had to ask. Since we had been attacked by
five gruesome-looking creatures just a few minutes before, the sooner I got
answers, the better.

“Maybe you should get comfortable, Leah. This is going to
take a while.”

“I have time.” At least, I had no one to answer to if I was
late.

“I’m an Enchanter.”

“What? What exactly is an Enchanter?”

He took in a deep breath, let it out, and continued with his
explanation, “Long ago this world was blessed with the presence of a unique
kind of people who, like me, could summon a force from within that could
destroy our most common foe, the soul devourers. I belong to that extinct group
of people who were born to battle these creatures.”

I lifted my hand up to stop him and asked, “Soul devourers?”

“The men who attacked us.”

“What exactly are they?”

“They’re like vampires, but instead of feeding on human
blood, they feed on the human essence.”

Vampires? Soul devourers? Human essence? What the hell
did I get myself into?

“You mean to tell me that there is such a thing as vampires
and that kind of stuff?”

“Yes, Leah, but we’re not dealing with the regular-type
vampires. These are a lot more dangerous, because they don’t discriminate
against who they kill.”

Is it safe to assume that vampires have morals, then? And
these soul devourers do not?

“Okay, so what—”

“My people – those like me, who have this gift – can destroy
these monsters.”

“The blue flame I saw shooting from your hand?”

“Yes. Sometimes it comes out as a flame, sometimes as a sort
of light, but either way it burns them to a crisp, killing them instantly.”

The description fit what I saw. Although that creep who
attacked me deserved what he got, the way his body disintegrated into
nothingness still made me cringe.

“Because of what my people could do, they were named The
Enchanters by the human population. We were given this name hundreds of years
ago, because they thought we were sorcerers.”

“But that’s not what you are?”

“No. Although we can cast certain spells that can aid us in
missions, we don’t possess the amount of magical knowledge or abilities that witches,
warlocks, wizards, and others have. However, it has always been our job to
fight, and get rid of these creatures.”

“Yeah, they did seem like they had some kind of personal
vendetta against you.”

“They are our number-one enemy.”

“
Number-one
enemy?” Did that mean they had others?

“Yes, feeding on an Enchanter to them is like drugs to an
addict. They get high on our essence, which makes their abilities grow
considerably, making them more lethal than they already are.”

“So they were after
you
?”

“Yes.”

“They would attack in public?” I asked as I recalled how he had
refused to go inside the restaurant when we were being chased.

“They can conceal their true forms with invisibility, and if
I’d gone inside the restaurant, they would’ve turned against any civilian just
to get my attention. I couldn’t risk anyone’s life.”

“Wouldn’t someone have been able to see them if they chose
to attack?”

“No. Had they attacked someone, it just would’ve seemed as
if the person was having a cardiac arrest or some kind of mysterious ailment.”

“They can do that?”

“That’s how they disguise how they kill. So, as you can
understand, I couldn’t risk any innocent lives by directing them into the
building.”

“But I was in danger!” I could not help the words from
spilling out, although as soon as they did, I regretted them. It made me sound
so selfish.

“I could protect you. That’s why I made the decision to take
you with me. Had I told you to run inside, they would’ve just followed you.”

“Because they saw me with you?”

“Yes.”

“What’s stopping them from barging in here right now?”

“My apartment is protected.” Before I could ask how, he
continued, “I’ve hung a magically-protected charm over the main doorway. No
evil spirit, demons, or soul devours can come in through that door. Should they
try, they’ll be zapped straight to hell.”

Yep, I’m definitely in Alice’s Wonderland!

“What about the windows?”

“The charm is strong enough to protect the entire
apartment.”

Wow, talk about having good leverage.

“They saw me with you, aren’t I a target now?”

He took his time responding and I took that as a bad sign.

“Possibly, but as long as you stay in here, you’re safe.”

“I can’t stay in here forever, Brandon. I have work and
school.”

“Tomorrow morning I’ll drop you home. You’ll be safe in the
daylight because they don’t come out while the sun is out.”

“Because it fries them?”

He ignored my sarcasm and said, “Yes.”

“Isn’t that how a vampire meets its end?”

“No. Regular vampires aren’t allergic to sunlight.”

A thousand and one questions crossed my mind, but figuring
that his answers would not be worth the massive headache I was sure to get, I
decided not to even pry about it at all.

“Something is kind of bothering me, though,” he finally said
when he realized I had no intention of searching for more information. “They
allowed you to see them.”

“Yeah, so?”

“When dealing with humans, they always hide their identities,
but they didn’t with you.” His eyebrows furrowed as if he was in deep thought for
a few seconds before he turned his gaze back to me again.

“Maybe they didn’t have time.”

Brandon shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the case.” It
seemed as if he was trying to infer something, which I did not like at all.

“Can you see them all the time?”

“I can see them even when they’re cloaking their presence,
that’s part of my gift.”

“What does this all mean exactly?”

 “I don’t know.” Brandon’s eyes seemed to drill a hole right
through me as they searched for some sort of an explanation. “I’m the last of
my kind, so you can’t be an Enchanter. I would know if you were.”

An Enchanter? Me? Now that’s some kind of joke! I don’t
shoot any blue flames from my hands. Can’t heal, either, and Lord knows I tried
several times after falling off my bike when I was eight.

“The last of your kind?”

“Yes. I’m the last male Enchanter left in the entire world.”

“What happened to the others?”

“They broke the rules and lost their abilities because of
it.”

“Rules?”

“It’s a long story.” He rose and started for his dresser. “I
need to call Dmitri and tell him we had to rush out. I think you left your
purse back there, so I should tell him to hold it for you. He’ll keep it safe.”

“Oh, my— my cell is in it.”

“We’ll pick it up tomorrow on our way to your place.” Brandon
took out a white tee and a pair of black sweatpants from the top drawer. “For
now, you can take a shower, if you want. I don’t have any women’s clothing
lying around, but I’m sure these will be okay.” He strolled over to the bed and
handed the garments to me. “They’ll be big, but at least they’re clean, and you
can use them as your PJs for the night.”

“Why can’t I just go home?”

“Because if I take you home, they’ll just follow.”

“They’re out there?” My voice did little to hide my fear.

“They’re not close, but they’ll be waiting for us to step
outside. I know them well enough to know they won’t go away until sunrise
approaches.”

I was stuck in Brandon’s place for the night, and I could not
decide whether this would turn out to be a good or a bad thing.

“Actually, I would like that bath.” I hurried out of the
bed. “You’ll be in the apartment, right?” I could not help feeling
apprehensive, especially knowing that I could be attacked by something that
sounded like it had escaped from some mythological legend.

“I’m not leaving,” he reassured me, much to my relief.

“Okay.” I dashed into the bathroom without saying another
word.

Once alone in the bathroom, I took in my appearance, but was
not surprised by the image I saw staring back at me through the mirror. I
looked like I had just been in a cat fight. The hairdo my friends and I had worked
so hard on was nothing but a big tangled mess now. My makeup was smeared, my
dress was covered in blood splatters, the beautiful bow that once hung just
above my right hip was torn, and I was missing one earring.