"Crimson chapter 10" by Alyssa B. Green

Chapter 10

Rose stood on the roof and rubbed her bare arms, looking out over the small lights of the city. She was a bit apprehensive about this. Cal walked over to her.

“Do you want a sweater? It’s a little chilly out here.” Rose shook her head.

“No, I’m not cold.”

“Just kind of nervous” She added after a minute.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Cal said hurriedly. “Seth might ask you to do the same thing when we get to his place.”

            “So he said that he might know something about why I’m like this?” Rose asked.

Cal nodded.

“Then that’s okay if he asks. Anyway, I want to show you.”  She walked slowly to the edge of the building and looked down. The height made her dizzy. Rose tripped back nervously.

Relax, she told herself. I just have to do this like it happened at my house.

            Closing her eyes, Rose let her senses roam more freely. The sound of traffic, the light breeze on her fingertips, Cal’s breathing, it all fit together like a puzzle. Everything had its’ place, it all belonged somewhere. Fit. Perfectly.

            A sharp lash of pain went through her body. Rose bit down hard on her lip; containing the cry.

“Rose….?” Cal’s wondering voice slipped lightly into the noise around them. She ignored him, concentrating. The grit of the roof’s dirt bit into her hands. What? Why was she on the ground?

A whip like crack resonated loudly around them.

            Rose realized it was coming from her. Tiny splintering sounds continued to echo around them, and her whole body shifted unnaturally. Rose crawled on her hands and knees. Why was everything so much more vivid? She could feel….oh God. Rose gasped.

She opened her eyes.

            The world below Rose swam as tears fell onto the ground far below her.  So far……

“ROSE!”

            Cal ran forward as Rose rolled over and closer to the edge. In a blur she was gone. He skidded to a stop and looked frantically over, scanning the pavement below.

“Looking for someone?”

Cal’s head swiveled to his left.

            Rose’s fingers scrabbled for grip on the small ledge. She took a deep breath, and tried to ignore the emptiness in which her feet were hanging.

“Wait one second, I’ll help you up!” Cal insisted.

“I can manage,” Rose grunted back.

            Flapping awkwardly Rose propelled herself over the edge and onto the top of the building.

“Okay, that was not graceful in the least bit,” She announced, flopping onto her stomach and letting her wings stretch.

 Cal tripped and fell over back wards.

Rose stood up, folding her wings with a soft whoosh behind her. The tips of the flight feathers brushed the cement ground.

He stared.

            “Cal?” Rose asked.

He said nothing.

“Cal.” Rose repeated.

            The dark haired vampire stood up slowly and brushed off his jeans. “Its….Just a little surprising, that’s all…”

            She snorted. Cal shook his head slowly. Rose ruffled her feathers and smiled.

“I thought you fell,” He whispered.

“I think it takes more than a fall to kill a vampire,” Rose stated.

“Still…” Cals hand reached out, but stopped as he paused. “Can I…..?”

“Go ahead.”

            His hand brushed lightly over her wing, almost touching her shoulder. She shivered.

“Never, I mean never, in my entire life have I ever seen anything like this.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“I don’t know.”

            His hand dropped to the side suddenly, as if he had forgotten his place. He looked beyond her, out over the city lights. Rose turned so that she stood beside him, listening to the noise of distant traffic. You could see sky so much more clearly from up here, and though the stars weren’t out, the harvest moon shone brightly when it wasn’t hiding behind the cover of clouds. She thought about her parents momentarily, wondering if they were worried. Something in her wished they could see what she was seeing now.

Cal’s hand brushed hers, and they stood there, fingers touching, watching the world below.

*

“From what I’ve hear, I can’t come to any possible explanations.”

Seth halted momentarily in his pacing to kick a book aside that was in his way.

            For all the valuable tombs he owned he certainly didn’t treat them as such, Rose thought. She fiddled with the end of her shirt, pulling loose threads out. It had taken a beating. Seth continued a little more fervently.

“There’s just no way that this should be happening. It’s against our nature. I can’t think of any known vampire that has this- this ability. And trust me; I’m one of the most informed vampires out here.”

“Maybe there’s an unknown vampire with it,” Rose suggested. Seth just shook his head.

“What else did you say happened?”

“A lamp exploded.”

“That could be coincidental.”

“Don’t forget the bulb at my place, “Added Cal, flipping through one of the huge books slowly. 

            Seth frowned. Cal put down his book and picked up another. Rose tucked her feet under her, watching the two.

“Well, my family’s freaked out; I haven’t been home in two days, my grades are falling, and I don’t eat. They’re starting to get suspicious. How the hell am I supposed to explain it to them?”

“Don’t.”

Rose tried to protest, but found that she could not come up with a reasonable argument. Finally she settled for muttering; “Parents aren’t exactly like they were in the eighteen hundreds.”

            Cal opened his mouth to argue but Seth interrupted him.

“Listen, there’s not much we can do about your parents now Rose. They will find out eventually what you are, whether you like it or not. Though this inaccuracy could have been avoided,” He looked at Cal pointedly and continued. “The only thing your in control of is when you tell them.”

            He sat down and crossed his legs.

“Now, about this whole wings issue. I will do some research and see what I come up with. In the mean time I advise you two to keep your minds sharp and your eyes peeled. We don’t know if there are any others like Rose, or what kind of things they are.

            “I propose to lie low and see what happens.  Rose, try to earn some of your parents faith back in you. Work a little harder at school, I’m not saying much,” He said, seeing the look on her face. “But don’t give them any more reason to suspect anything.”

            “What about the feeding?” Cal broke in finally. “I don’t want to have another close call like that again.”

Rose winced.

            Seth looked into Cal’s eyes, and something passed between them.

“I think the best option for you two would be …….The Hunt.” He said at length. Call nodded solemnly. They stood, and Rose hopped up, feeling slightly confused. What had that been about? Seth held the door open for them as the left the apartment.
”Trust your instincts.” He said, and the door closed, the lock turning into place.

            Rose and Cal descended the stairs in silence. Pushing open the dented doors of the lobby, they stepped into the night.

~*~

            Rose walked slowly, her feet scuffing the ground. Her hood was up and her head was down an effort she hoped would blend her into the background of other people

            Not that there were any. Unfortunately.

She kept her hood down, however, trying to ignore the brightness of the early morning light, which was giving her a headache. She scratched her back idly. Those damn feathers were driving her nuts.

            Cal had left her after they entered Rose’s neighborhood, saying he had something to do. Rose had persisted angrily, saying she needed someone to back her up in front of her parents. Cal had ignored her mumbling something about seeing her at school. Provided she made it to school, she thought to herself. Coward.

            Right now, three blocks away from her house, Rose had no idea how her parents would react to her walking in the door for the first time in two days. She just hoped she would make it to school alive. Dead. Whatever. Turning the corner Rose remembered guiltily that she had no excuse for them.

Well, that was her own bloody fault.

            Rose looked up. Her house loomed over like a pending sentence. She stood there for a moment, weighing her options. Finally deciding that her parents couldn’t kill her they tried, Rose walked down the driveway and up the stairs. The handle didn’t turn when she tried it, so she fished under the mat for her spare key out of habit. Somehow she didn’t feel like knocking.

            The front door opened and Rose was greeted with the faint smell of coffee lingering in the air. She stepped in quietly, looking around. The daily newspaper lay folded neatly on the table, the dishes loaded in the sink.  Rose frowned. Walking slowly, she peered in the living room, then the den. The bathroom doors were open, and no sound came from the house save for her soft footsteps. Her unease mounting, Rose jogged up the stairs and peered in the master bedroom.

Empty.

            Slowly she turned and walked into her own room, unable to ignore the dullness she felt. In a trance, it seemed, Rose changed her clothes and packed her unfinished homework.

            Outside Rose lent against the locked, peering upwards to the sky. Her hands fell to her sides and her bag dropped to the ground beside her.

Two nights.

Two nights spent alone at a boy’s apartment, in the middle of the city. Alright. She was a big girl. She could show them exactly what they had shown her. Pulling her hoodie back up, Rose walked down the porch and started on the way to school.

Rose found Cal waiting at his usual spot around the corner.

“I take that it didn’t go over too well,” He commented. Rose looked at him then ducked her head and kept walking.

“Hey! Rose, what’s wrong? Come on, they can’t ground you forever.”

“They weren’t there,” Rose muttered.

“What?” Cal asked as he tried to keep up to her long strides.”

“They weren’t there.” She said louder.

            Cal was silent.

“Maybe they’re out looking for you,” He suggested.

            Rose shook her head, her dark hair brushing against her cheeks and making the tears on her face spread. She adjusted her backpack.

            A hand on her shoulder spun her around.

Cal’s hand fluttered over her face, soft as butterfly wings, freeing her face of tears.

            They walked in silence the rest of the way to school.

The school doors opened to them with stares and whispers.

“At his apartment-“

“Two nights-“

“She didn’t even call her parents.”

“What a slut-“

“What a whore-“

“Oh my God, I saw her parents when they came to look for her-“

“Really?”

“They were so-“

            Rose slammed her locker door shut. Cal looked worried.

“What I don’t get,” She said through gritted teeth, “Is how the hell they know all about this.”

Cal jumped as a tenth grader slapped him on the back. “Way to go man.”

            Rose turned on her heel and shoved her way to class, leaving Cal to fend for himself as students closed the gap between them. She was one of the first people to get to class, and plopped down at the desk farthest from the front. Ten minutes later, Cal was the last to take his seat. He dragged his backpack to the desk beside her and sat down just as Mr. Clark entered the room and gathered his papers.

“Homework, please.” He said without looking up.

            Slowly the students got up and dropped their sheets on the teacher’s desk. Rose didn’t bother to move. Cal stood up, glanced at her, and deposited the pile of the last two days homework.

            When had he had the time to finish homework?

“Math books open to page seventy-two; please complete the following three pages.” Mr. Clark said lazily, looking over the homework.

            There was a great ruffle of bags being opened and pages turned. Rose was on question three before she was interrupted.

“Ms. Robinson? I don’t believe you handed in your homework.”

Rose looked up at his sneering smile. She didn’t say anything.

“You were, however, warned of the consequences that would follow if this happened again.” He continued. “Come here.”

Rose closed her book and picked up her bag. She walked to the front of the class and stood beside the teacher’s desk. Mr. Clark shuffled his papers in an annoying way while talking to her.

            “You see, Ms. Robinson, that while you were off doing what pleased you,” His eyes flicked up from his desk to glare at Cal meaningfully. The class sniggered, watching. “I had a class to teach. And I cannot be responsible for who is here and who is not. Now, here is your missed homework,” He handed her the papers. “I expect this and the work you have still not completed to be on my desk by tomorrow. A grand total of seven pages. Something for you to get started on while you enjoy your stay at the office.”

            Mr. Clark went back to grading his papers dismissively. Rose left, slamming the door. Sure, she would do her bloody homework, but no one in this damn school could make her step foot into the principal’s office. So maybe she was a little iffy about breaking her perfect record. She didn’t care. There really wasn’t much point in going to the office with all the school she had skipped anyway. Old habits die hard just as fast as new ones are picked up.

            The school doors opened to a chilly day, the wind whipping at Rose’s hair. It was enough to make you turn around and head back into the cozy warmth of those dimly lit halls.

It didn’t affect her though.

            She remembered last fall; shivering and pulling her sweater tighter around herself, looking up at the beautiful oak tree lose its leaves.

            Rose stood exactly where she had one year ago, where she had been thinking about her future at this new school in the year to come. She had wondered about friends, or what her social status might be.  It seemed a distant reality now, something that would be in a stupid story. Those worries seemed so little compared to the ones she had now.

            What had this morning been about with Cal? She remembered how his hand had touched her cheek so softly.  She shivered. Looking up once more, she watched as a single leaf fell slowly to the ground.

                        And was jumped from behind.

Her face slammed to the ground violently and Rose felt knees pressing into her back, forcing her down. She tried to reach for her dagger and heard a snap, then realized her wrist had been broken. Rose half yelled half grunted in pain as she tried to throw the attacker off. Adrenaline was rushing into her system, overcoming the momentary shock and fusing her with energy. Her muscles tensed, and she bucked strongly, hearing grunts from the attacker on top of her. Fingers scrabbling desperately for some sort of weapon, Rose saw her daggers laying ten feet away and felt her chances of escape getting dismally smaller and smaller. In a last ditch effort Rose pulled out one of her tiny pin daggers from her bracelet and slashed upwards roughly. Small warm droplets of blood fell onto her arm and cheek, and Rose heard a curse.  Her head was pulled back roughly, a hand entangled in her long black hair. She tried to fight but a wave of sickness came over her, sending her gasping for air. Anything to get away, it was burning her, she was choking, it was too close, they wouldn’t let her go-

            There was an abrupt shriek, and then it was over. Rose collapsed on the ground, coughing, and rolled over to look up, lest her attacker come at her again.

            Cal held a small girl pinned against him, her arm twisted sharply behind her. He twisted harder and she grunted, her dagger falling to the ground. Cal kicked it away and brought his own to the girl’s throat. For a split second Rose saw a look of pure fear flit over the girl’s face; the kind a small animal gets when caught in the jaws of a predator. Immediately it was replaced by a look of grim resolve.

Cal’s eyes were full of cold fury.

            Rose stood up slowly, still breathing heavily. She stared into the brown eyes of her attacker. Anyone else would’ve considered them to be cute and kind eyes, but looking into them, Rose thought she caught a glimpse of something deeper. Pain?

            The girl’s mouth twitched.

“Hunter,” Cal said slowly and smoothly, “You’ve forgotten a key rule.” He glanced up at Rose.

“A vampire is never far from a young fledgling.”

           His grip lessened slightly on the dagger, allowing the girl to be more comfortable, but his hold on her stayed the same.

“Who sent you?”

            The girl remained silent.

Cal frowned, and lifted the short brown hair off the girl’s neck. He frowned and let her go. She flung herself from him, keeping an eye on Rose, but didn’t try to leave. Cal walked over to Rose and ran a finger down her neck. She startled and looked at him.

“Your hurt,” He said and held up his hand. Blood trickled down his finger. He handed her a handkerchief and Rose pressed it against her neck, catching the small rivulets of blood that dripped down. Cal turned back towards the girl, and Rose wondered why she hadn’t run away yet.

            “Because of protocol,” Cal said, answering her thoughts,

“What?”

Cal kept his eyes trained on the girl as he explained.

“One, she’s hurt a fledgling of mine, and two, I caught her, which means that she has to wait until I say she can go. I could also do whatever I wanted to her, and she couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Is that bad?” Rose asked.

“It’s a major screw up for a hunter.”

            The girl looked furious.

“So,” Cal continued, “What have we done to attract the attention of the FDS?”

“The what?” Rose asked; lost.

“The Fleur Du Sang,” Said a small voice. Rose looked over to see the girl watching her.

            “The Flower Of Blood.” Cal said solemnly. “It’s a strong line of powerful witches dedicated to vampire hunting. It started around the fifteen hundreds. They usually only deal with strong vampires that cause a lot of trouble and bring attention to themselves.”

“Then what do they have to do with us?” Rose said, completely p*$$ed off momentarily. She had enough problems to deal with right now.

“That’s what I want to know,” Cal said, aiming the question at the girl.

“We got a tip off.” She said monotonously.

“What’s your name?” Cal asked.

“Samantha Julia Martha Blackroot.” She answered evenly.

            Cal ran a hand through his hair. “Wow. That makes me feel old. Last time I heard Martha was settling down. I take it she’s your grandmother?”

Sam nodded.

“Who gave you the tip off?” Cal pressed. “Answer me.”

“We don’t know who gave it. An envelope was dropped near head quarters containing your picture. It said you were planning something.” 

“Since when does the FDS investigate information from anonymous sources?”

Sam shrugged, ignoring the question.

            Rose didn’t like the feeling she was getting. It was something creepy…. Some one was out there that knew about her and Cal, and shouldn’t. Not to mention these weird FDS people. She bit her lip.

            Cal sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Rose was dimly aware of the school bell ringing.

“Fine,” He said finally. “That’s all.”

            Sam turned and picked up her dagger. Slipping it into her belt, the girl disappeared from sight into the forest.

*