Chapter 13

            They were feathers….. Feathers that drifted gently downwards to land in that soft warm liquid….. A distant light shone upon them suddenly, in the darkness, illuminating the slick red which was smeared across the floor……it was everywhere.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight.” Cal said.

            Rose blinked, snapping out of her reverie.

Do you know where we’re going? He asked her silently.

No. She answered simply.

Seths’.

Oh.

            They slowed to a walk, the streetlamps around them lighting up the darkened street.

“He thinks he’s found some information about your wings.”

Rose didn’t say anything.

            Cal made an impatient gesture.

“What?” She asked.

            “You’re acting weird. You’re thinking about something, but I can’t tell what, and its driving me nuts.”

Rose blinked. Then she smiled.

            “Sorry. I’ve been having really weird dreams lately, and I still haven’t talked with my parents since I got back from your place. Well, except from maybe screaming at them, but somehow I don’t think that counts. I know its stupid, but I-“ She stopped talking, realizing that Cal wasn’t beside her anymore. He was standing still, a few meters back, a strange look on his face.

“Cal?”

            He looked up, and though he was standing from her, she heard his whisper as if his lips were against her ear.

“Vampires don’t dream.”

            “I told you, I can’t remember anything.”

Cal smacked the table lightly with his hand. “There has to be something!” Rose could tell he was frustrated, though not at her. Seth leaned back in his chair, absent mindedly flipping through a new book.

“We obviously aren’t getting anywhere with this.” Seth announced. Cal huffed and crossed his arms. “Well if she can’t remember then she can’t remember.” Seth continued. He put his book down and leaned forward, pressing the tips of his fingers together. Rose sighed and slumped in her chair.

            “I found some information that may help our situation, however.” He said. Rose perked up.

“Apparently, somewhere in Europe, there is a vampire with ‘wings’. There are also two other vampires that seem to connect to him somehow, but I can’t figure out how, much less any other information about them. Other than that, apparently his name starts with E, but-“

“Evander.”

“What?” Both men said in unison.

“Evander?”  Seth questioned. Rose was confused.

“I-I don’t know-I just…..”

            “Alright then that’s what his name is. Rose are you sure?”

She was silent. Seth walked up to her and looked into the deep black pools of her eyes.

“You….Know something don’t you?” He asked slowly.

“Seth-“

“Shh,” He said, motioning for Cal to remain silent.

            Rose was perfectly still, breathing slowly and deeply. She seemed to be held there, as if she was prey to only something that she could see. Her irises had retracted, and a bolt of red raced around their rim. Her eyes widened. Cal leapt up and came to Seth’s side.

“What’s happening?” He asked urgently.

“I don’t know…” Seth replied. He lifted a hand in front of Rose’s face and moved it back and forth slowly. She didn’t move.

“Evander…”  The light over head flickered. A tear slid down her face.

“Rose, Rose,” Cal said gently, a hand on her shoulder.

“Shion. David.”

            The eyes faded slowly back to black. Rose blinked suddenly, looking up at them in confusion.

“What are you guys doing?”

Cal took a step back. “You just, you said-“ Seth put a hand on Cal’s arm and shook his head. Cal closed his mouth, his eyebrows drawing together. Rose looked at the two of them, her eyes flicking back and forth. The tear dropped onto her jeans and Rose brought her hand to her face.

“What happened to me?”

*

      “David.”

The man sitting on the edge of her bed looked up from his book, his dark eyes drifting over her in a lazily, seemingly exotic manner.

Smooth as silk and slick as fresh blood, she thought; just as always.

“Yes.” His dirty blonde hair fell into his eyes just a little as he tilted his head towards her.

            Shion looked around the expensive suite, from the hot tub in the corner to the plasma flatscreen on the wall. White curtains fluttered as a strong breeze blew through the open window, revealing to them the perfect blue essence of the California sky. Humans and their material needs…. Shion shifted slightly in her sitting position.

“They’re gone.”

“What are?” His fingers were tracing swirling patterns over her open palm.

“The memories.”

            His fingers continued to move.

“Where to now?” He simply asked.

            The fingers were trapped abruptly in a movement too swift to capture. Blood welled from her nails and over their hands and onto the perfect white linen sheets. He shivered, and Shion licked her lips, tasting the strong smell in the air.

“Canada.”

*

“Close your eyes.”

“They are closed!”

“I mean it.”

“I know!”

Rose pulled Cal along the crowded street of downtown, navigating throughout the many busy evening shoppers. She led him around the corner, searching for it. There. Rose pushed open the tiny shop’s door.

“Rose….” Cal said suspiciously.

“Open your eyes.”

            He did, and Rose watched them grow wider as he took in his surroundings.

“Where are we?”

“Papa’s Shop. They specialize in making every cookie imaginable.”

            Cal’s jaw dropped.

“How come I don’t know about this place?”

Rose shrugged, and steered him towards one of the little booths in the corner. He sat down, and she went to the counter to retrieve a mixed box of every flavor. She set it down in front of him.

            “Happy birthday.”

Cal looked up at her slowly.

“This is the best birthday present I’ve ever had.” He said solemnly, his eyes looking up at her in a childlike way.

Rose snorted. “Oh yeah right, and you’ve had how many? This is probably nothing I bet, compared to some of the cool stuff you get.”

            Cal just shook his head and dug in.

She kicked her school bag under the table. They had come straight from school, because Rose had insisted on dragging Cal all the way here to the other side of town. She rested her cheek on her hand and watched him shove another cookie in his mouth.

“Aren’t you gonna save any of those for later?”

He shook his head and she rolled her eyes.

“Hey, remember you were talking about changing our pattern because of that hunter girl?”

Cal looked up, a cookie shoved halfway into his mouth; listening.

“Well, I found somewhere we could go.”

Cal swallowed forcefully.

“What?” He asked, his voice raspy. He wiped his face on a napkin.      

Rose leaned forward, and began to explain.

Sam rubbed the back of her neck. She had been following Rose and Cal today for the last hour or two, and was waiting outside a little dinky bakery. She checked her watch. Why did they have to go all the way to the other side of town? Sam chanced a peek through the window, watching them. Their heads were close, talking fiercely. An argument? No, he was smiling now, leaning back.

Sam leaned back against the wall, unseen once more.

            She hadn’t forgotten about what had happened the other day, with Rose’s transformation. On the contrary, it had been on her mind constantly, she couldn’t rid herself of the question. Why did Rose have wings? Her mind wouldn’t wrap itself around the concept, as if it refused to even acknowledge the idea. But Sam knew what she and seen, and that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon.

             Looking up at the clouds, she remembered rose’s graceful silhouette against the night sky.

            Something about seeing Rose’s wings had changed her. There had never been any question to what she was to become. Her fate was carved in stone, just like every other member of the Blackroot family. It didn’t matter that her powers were dismal compared to the witches in her line; it was the only road she was permitted to take.

            A thing so beautiful and she was taught to hunt it. To eliminate it, to take control of it.

            She sighed, scratching her neck, fingers brushing over the intricate rose tattooed onto it. Why did they feel the need to brand her?

            Her head was filling up with questions. Questions she did not like, much less want to address. Did Mael know that this kind of vampire existed? A vampire that could become airborne, thanks to wings? If she did why was she hiding it from her? Why did the FDS never approach vampires themselves to get information, instead of relying on endless records? It seemed all they did was watch and eliminate those that did not please them.

            The bell on the little shop door jingled, and Rose and Cal were standing out on the sidewalk again, they’re coats blowing open. Sam pulled her own tighter around her and stepped into the shadows of her corner, muttering a spell of warmth under her breath. She wasn’t surprised when nothing happened, and rubbed her hands, waiting for the two to reach the corner before she started her pursuit again.

            All week long Sam had been following them ever more diligently, determined to find out more about Rose. Cal no longer mattered; her main focus now was to figure out how Rose had procured the power of flight. A new breed….? But if she was a new breed, how could Cal be her maker?

            She shook head, trying to clear the nonsense she was coming up with. Why should she even doubt at all what her family had done for nearly five hundred years? It was in her blood and she couldn’t change it.

She couldn’t change it.

*

            Rose sat at the kitchen table, her fists clenched in her lap. Her mother sat across from her, sipping her coffee in small takes.

“Rose, I know you’ve been going through some tough stuff lately, and I think that its time we talked.”

            Rose thanked whatever god above that her father wasn’t here.

“I know that high school is a big change, and is probably taking a toll on you.”

            Rose pressed her nails into her palms and felt the skin break.

“Therefore, your father and I have come to the decision that it would be best for you to receive some support right now. I have set up an appointment with a psychiatrist for this Monday.”

“What?!” Rose yelped. Her mother smiled and took another sip of coffee.

“Don’t worry love, apparently he’s very good. Not many people get to see him, but he’s allowed us just this time; special.”

            Rose stared at her mother in disbelief.

“You want me to what?”

“It’ll be right after school, so I’ll pick you up in the car.” Janet continued as if she hadn’t heard a word her daughter said. Maybe she hasn’t, Rose thought.

 “Alright?”

            Rose simply got up and left the table.