Nevermore, the Complete Series (31 page)

The arrow whistled through the air. Hannah ducked down under the table and I watched as the arrow sped through the kitchen before impaling one of the mahogany cabinets. Salem shot an angry glare at my father and within seconds was beside him, ripping the weapon from his grasp.

“Have you lost your mind?!” Paul roared, trying to push Salem away. “That monster almost killed Alex, and you just let her in here?!”

“Relax, dad,” I said from the dining room, “we’re trying to come to some sort of agreement. She can’t help what she is, just like I can’t help what I am.”

Paul shook his head in disgust, “I won't allow this, Alex. You are a hunter, you don't protect them!”

“You’ve been letting Salem and I protect each other for months. This isn’t any different,” I glowered.

“I should just kill all of you now and end this!” he replied, to my surprise. “You're one of them now...”

“No, not exactly,” Salem uttered from beside Paul.

“What do you mean by that?”

“She isn't a vampire, Paul...at least, not entirely. She still has a heartbeat.”

Paul looked suddenly alarmed, “That's not possible.”

“Apparently, it is,” Salem replied, “but, we are not sure what it means. We were actually hoping you had some input.”

My father shook his head, “A Waldron has never been changed before, like I said earlier...I don't know what it could mean,” he paused, rubbing his forehead as he thought, “there might be one person who has an answer for us, but I haven't talked to him in years.”

My eyes perked up when I heard there might be someone who could help solve this mystery.
“Who?” I asked with growing curiosity.

“It won't be easy to get to him, especially in private,” he sighed.
“Your grandfather.”

My grandfather?
I hadn't even considered the idea that I had a grandparent that was alive. How had I not asked about them before, or even considered their existence? Probably because I was so caught up in other things, plus it wasn't like Paul ever made the effort to mention them.

“Where is he now?” I asked, my mind still wandering with ideas and speculations on just who my grandfather was, what he was like, and why I had never heard of him.

Paul grimaced and sat back on the sectional. “Your grandfather is locked up in a mental institute.”

“What!?”
My eyes widened in shock. “Why?”

“It's a long story, kid,” he grumbled. “He was a great hunter during his youth, but once your grandmother passed away about five years ago, things got out of hand. I'm not
sure if it was the loss of her, or something else – but he just wasn’t himself. He would publicly speak of vampires, of hunting, warning random people to be on the lookout for monsters...” he stretched across the couch once more, “Eventually he was reported for supposedly attacking some innocent woman, claiming that she was a vampire. That didn’t go over too well as you can imagine.”

“Wow...” I said quietly, my mouth wide in shock. “When was the last time you talked to him?”

Now my father looked ashamed. “I’ve not seen him since he was admitted.”

“What?!
Why not?” I gasped. “That's horrible.”

“You wouldn't understand, Alex,” he said glumly, “He's just not the same man anymore. I doubt he’d even recognize me anymore.”

“That's not the point. I would visit you even if you supposedly went crazy, especially when I understand that some of those things are real.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he replied guiltily. “Not to change the subject but I’m starvin’. You think there’s any way that I could, well you know,” he nodded towards Salem, “get something to eat?”

“Now that you mention it, I'm kind of hungry, too...” I said.

Salem eyed me curiously, and then turned to glance at Paul. “What do you want?”

“Roast,” he mumbled in response, “Destiny always made a real good pot roast.”

I was taken aback somewhat at the mention of my birth mother's name. There was very little I knew about her, but I was afraid to ask – especially now. I observed the brief glow in Salem's eyes and watched a steaming bowl of broth, carrots, meat, potatoes, and onions appear on the coffee table before my father. Before I had the opportunity to request a meal of my own, Salem was at my side, dragging me away from my seat and leading me to the front porch.

“What is it?” I asked as he released my wrist.

“You said you were hungry,” he replied quietly, “Do you think...” he hesitated, “are you hungry for food or blood?”

My eyes grew as I registered what he was asking. “I-I don't know. How would I know the difference?”

“Do you have any cravings for real food?”

“No, not specifically, anyway.” I replied. “But, does that really mean I need blood?”

“I don't know what you need anymore, Alex,” he replied sadly, “but, there's only one way to find out.”

“Are you trying to tell me I need to go kill a squirrel or something?” I asked in disgust.

“Maybe.
We need to figure out just what your body needs.”

“Well, I can tell you right now, my mind says my body doesn't want that!” I shuddered at the mere thought.

Salem smiled gently. “Regardless, we need to find out. It won't hurt to try, and it might satisfy that hunger.”

“Fine,” I drawled.

It wouldn't have mattered nearly as much if my transformation had been complete – then I am sure I would have been all for it. In fact, I probably would have tackled Paul the second I saw him. While I was fortunate that I hadn't, I did wish I actually felt eager to do this...it would make it a lot easier. I felt sick to my stomach merely thinking about what Salem was about to have me do.

I followed him toward the clearing, running faster than I was ever capable of before. The trees, boulders, and berry-speckled bushes all flew passed me as we stormed through the forest. It wasn't quite as amazing as flying because everything went by in a flash, but it was still exhilarating. Within mere moments we were at the edge of the creek. I stared into the crystal clear water, spotting the exact location I had discovered Hannah's locket. Suddenly, I felt very alert. My eyes darted toward something rustling in the bushes ten feet ahead. I could smell the coppery sweet scent of blood. I stood still, sniffing the air for a moment longer. Another scent had caught my attention—wet fur.  I could hear the distinct sound of a tiny heart beating. While it made me sick, it also excited me. Salem appeared to notice my reaction; undoubtedly he had sensed the creature too by now.

“At least some part of you wants it,” he said. I wasn't sure, but he almost sounded disappointed.

I was disappointed. Without thinking, I sped toward the distant bush. My eyes were wildly scanning the area, my ears listening for even the tiniest sound. The animal barely had the opportunity to run before I had my hands around its wriggling, wet body. I gasped and nearly dropped it when I stared at the panicking little butterscotch rabbit. How could I possibly hurt this adorable little creature? I looked pleadingly at Salem.

“You’ve already scared it, Alex,” he said calmly, a few feet behind me. “Rabbits are known to die of heart attacks when incredibly frightened. You might as well put it out of its misery while you still can.”

I gulped, staring at the beady little eyes that stared back at me. Then, as I felt its heart beating against the palms of my hands I felt a sudden desire to rip the creature to pieces. Slowly, I felt a pinch of unfamiliar pain in the front of my mouth. Fangs, I thought in horror.

My lips were against the rabbit's fur at once, my fangs digging deep into its skin and tearing at it. I didn't think, I didn't feel, I just let the warmth of the blood run down my throat. Soon the hunger was gone, the need had vanished, but something didn't feel right. The guilt was overwhelming. My grip loosened and the lifeless rodent plummeted to the ground.

I ran to Salem, tears streaming down my cheeks as I hid my face in his shirt – no doubt staining it with the moist blood from around my mouth and hands. He held me quietly, letting me release the anguish I felt. I wondered if he had felt the same the first time he committed such an act. I tugged away from him and started running toward the creek.

“Alex?” he stared after me, then followed behind.

I knelt at the water's edge and stared in awe and horror at my reflection. My skin was paler, but it was nothing compared to the snow-white complexion of Salem or Hannah. There was a hint of rosy warmth in my cheeks still, but the thing that caught my attention the most was the ring of red around my otherwise hazel eyes. My hands plummeted into the water, rinsing away the evidence of what I had done and scattering my horrible reflection. I watched the swirl of red dye the once clear liquid, then brought a handful up to my face and wiped it clean. If only I could wipe away the red in my eyes...

Was this truly what I had wanted? I felt Salem kneel beside me and pull me away from the creek. He laid me against the dew-covered grass and held me against him. His body felt cold, but not nearly as much as before.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered lightly into my ear. His cool breath tickled the nape of my neck.

“For what?”
I asked, staring up into the sun and resting my hand across his abdomen. He tightly gripped my hand with his own.

“For doing this to you.”

“It was my choice, remember? It is what I wanted,” I replied quietly.

He lifted his head up to look at me, grief displayed across his flawless face. “What if it isn't, Alex? What if there is still the possibility that you will age and die as you previously feared, because you are in fact not a full vampire? For all we know you could still only have one life to live, but have to suffer through it as…”

My mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. I hadn't considered that fact. “I-I don't know...”

“Exactly,” he frowned.

“Well, no sense in worrying about it until we find my grandpa,” I replied, “and if that proves to be useless, we'll just have to find someone else that knows.”

Salem didn't reply. He simply lay down beside me, breathing ever-so-gently and I felt another unexpected feeling overcome me – sleepiness. With a stifled yawn, I curled up beside him and let myself drift away to sleep as I watched the sun fading in the darkening sky.

How much time had passed was a mystery to me when I felt Salem shake me awake. I blinked my eyes open and stared in disbelief. We were laying upstairs in his bedroom in complete darkness. The black curtains were drawn closed, and there wasn't even a hint of sunlight through the thin material.

“Was it all a dream?” I asked quietly, rubbing my eyes and stretching.

“No,” he replied flatly. “Paul and I are both worried about you, Alex.”

My eyes blinked again and settled on his. “What? Why?”

“You shouldn't need to sleep.”

“It’s not like sleep is a bad thing, though. So what if I am still mostly normal?”

“You have been sleeping for over a day, Alex.”

“What! No...There is no way.”

“I have attempted to wake you numerous times,” he stated. “Paul almost forced me to rush you to a hospital because he thought you were in some sort of coma.”

I groaned and covered my head with a pillow to cover up the intensity of my scream. Salem plucked the pillow away and stared at me. “Was that really necessary?”

“I think so,” I replied hoarsely, my throat now sore. “What all have I managed to hibernate through, anyway?”

“Not a lot. Paul has been frantically worried this whole time. Hannah has behaved well, much to my surprise. I half-expected her to have killed him by the time I brought you back here. I cannot believe it slipped my mind not to leave them alone together while we went off to hunt.”

“Oh...” I gasped, “I hadn't thought of it either. I was so hungry…then so tired.”

He smiled faintly. “I do feel kind of useless now.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, sitting up on the bed and staring at him.

“I am so used to serving you breakfast every morning.”

“Well, summon me a rabbit,” I laughed half-heartedly. This did have me wondering though, “Why don't you ever summon your 'food' instead of risking getting spotted out hunting animals with your bare hands?”

“There are limitations on my ability,” he replied glumly. “I can’t summon anything that is living.”

“Ah, I see. Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Summon me something simple. Like a chocolate chip cookie or something.”

He looked at me awkwardly then with a flicker of his eyes, a cookie appeared on his held out palm. “Here…”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “So how do you feel when you eat regular food? Like, the grape you had during the picnic.”

“Sick,” he replied.

“Food doesn't taste good to you at all?”

“No.”

As I contemplated this, I bit into the soft texture of the cookie. It tasted sweet and delicious and had me longing for more. “So I shouldn't be enjoying this so much, then?”

He sat up and gave me another awkward stare. “You are enjoying it?”

“Oh, yeah!
It’s delicious.” I replied, biting into it again.

“Bizarre,” he said quietly, watching me intently.

“Why couldn't we have tried this first, you know…before tormenting the poor little bunny?” I asked as I popped in a piece of cookie I had ripped off.

“I don't know...I had just assumed you would be like me,” he replied.

The tone in his voice made me sick to my stomach. He sounded hurt and confused – no doubt still concerned with what he had done to me. For the time being, I had decided I wasn't going to let it bother me. I would find my grandfather, regardless how difficult it ended up being, and get answers from him. Until then, I would take things as they came, and enjoy the benefits of both worlds.

Paul nearly tackled me when I finally arrived downstairs, engaging me in another tight unbreakable hug. I laughed nervously when he released me, noting his appearance. He looked like he hadn't slept in hours. “You look terrible.” I frowned.

“Wow, thanks. You would too if…” he sighed, “I'll get a nap in here soon. I should probably check in at the shop. Kate is probably going crazy over there. I gave her a few calls but, well, you kind of know her.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” I replied. “Get some sleep; I'll wake you up in a few hours, okay?”

“Sure,” he barely smiled before sluggishly wandering to the sofa.

“Paul,” Salem said as he came downstairs, “there is a guest bedroom, if you would find that more comfortable. It is the door on the right.”

“I've never been in there,” I said quietly, suddenly realizing the fact.

“It's nothing compared to ours,” he grinned.

Paul somewhat-reluctantly rose from the comfort of the sectional and lumbered up the winding staircase. Once he was out of view, I noticed Salem and I were alone.

“Where is Hannah?” I asked, gazing around the house in case I had somehow missed her.

“She went out...” he said quietly, uncomfortably.

“She's not out hunting humans, is she?”

“No. She promised she wouldn't...” he seemed just as doubtful as I had, “she claimed she was saying farewell to Karen.”

“What?” I asked in alarm. “Why would she do that?”

“As shocking as it may sound, she said she grew a likeness for her and felt bad at the idea of leaving her without saying goodbye,” he almost laughed. “I guess she’s never really had a friend before, not even a fake one.”

“Saying bye? Is she going somewhere then?” I wondered.

“Hannah isn't leaving, but Claire is...if that makes sense.”

“Yeah, it does.”

Salem stared at me for a moment, his eyes clouded with uncertainty and he briskly pulled me up against him. I found a strange joy in the fact that his skin still felt cold to me, and nestled my head against him. “I truly am worried about you, Alex,” he whispered, then parted away slightly to tilt my head up so he could stare into my eyes. “I could never forgive myself if I did anything to harm you, temporary or otherwise.”

“I know,” I replied quietly, “but, you really shouldn't worry about it...everything’s fine. And besides, even if it wasn’t there’s no since in dwelling on it.”

With a half-smile he leaned his head forward and brushed his cool lips against mine – gently at first, then progressively more passionate. I gasped at his touch, the way his hand wove through my hair and tangled it between his fingers. The moment felt infinite and magical – our bodies pressed close together, my heart thumping loudly against his hollow chest, our breath mingling together with each passing kiss – until the hideous, disgusted shriek broke us apart.

“Yuck! Do you mind?!” Hannah shouted as she came in through the front doors. “I think I’d throw up if I had the ability.”

Salem and I rolled our eyes at her. “You are the one who stormed in without knocking,” Salem replied, observing his half-sister tearing at the strawberry blonde wig on her head.

Hannah dumped the false hair into the garbage and stared at us. “I told Karen I would see her again sometime. But, don't be surprised if she comes to you in tears in the future, bawling about her distant cousin Claire drowning or dying or something.”

“That's horrible,” I fumed, “she deserves better than that.”

“What's horrible,” she interjected, “is whatever I just walked in on.” She shuddered.

With a sigh, I plopped myself down on the sectional. I had so much to figure out, and an unspecified amount of time to do it...but I needed Paul to be awake and alert in order for me to even begin.

“I have something for you, Hannah,” Salem said, twirling something around in his hand. I glanced at him from the couch and saw the shimmering gold locket.

“Oh!” she gasped with a pleasant smile – it reminded me of when Daniel first presented it to her. “I was certain it was lost forever, until I saw it the day of the picnic – it was really hard not to steal it.”

“So I noticed,” he replied, “don't be too surprised if it's not everything you remembered.”

“What does that mean?” she shot him a dirty look, “is it scratched? Did you break it? Is my picture gone?!”

Salem laughed and shook his head, handing the jewelry over to her. She examined it closely, turning it around in her hand over and over to check for any damage. When she finally opened the locket her eyes lit up and a joyful expression swept across her face. “Salem...” she whispered, “how?”

“The same way I summon anything else,” he said with a satisfied grin. “Do you like it?”

“I love it...”

My curiosity grew stronger by each passing second and without much thought I approached them and peeked over Hannah's shoulder. The locket still held the familiar image of the golden-haired child, but the opposite portion of the heart was no longer empty. Instead, it held the image of Daniel – before he became a vampire. I could scarcely stop myself from smiling, despite my hatred for the man. Hannah seemed like a completely different person when she wasn't ravenously hungry, angry, or trying to kill me.

“Have you shown her the pictures upstairs?” I asked.

“No,” Salem replied, “would you like to see them, Hannah?”

The two of them wandered upstairs, leaving me alone in the now quiet living room. I took that opportunity to take advantage of the piano – my piano – once more. How I had not forgotten how to play Nevermore was somewhat of a mystery to me. In fact, I wasn't even quite sure how I came up with it to begin with. But all this time, it was nestled somewhere in the back of my mind just begging to come out, and as soon as my fingers hit those ivory keys it was brought to life again.

My eyes lit up with amazement and I nearly stopped playing, startled by the alluring, hypnotic sound that I knew must have been coming from the instrument...however, it sounded so different from the tune I remembered so well. I was positive I hit the same exact keys as always, but this song felt and sounded so much stronger, so much more beautiful...

Was this how it had sounded to Salem when he first heard it? It was no wonder he admired the song so much. This must be how music sounded to a vampire's ears...