Blood Delirium (Blood Trance Book 1) Page 5

  “I cannot tell you that I am harmless, but I can promise you that you are safe with me. I can also warn you that there are others that might seek to use you to harm me should they find out about you. Just know that I want you, and that I will agree with whatever you decide.”

  I put the note down, still unsure about what I should do. Dazed, I started getting dressed to go to class. As much as I liked Christopher, I wasn’t sure if I could ignore what he really was.

  Chapter 14

  Ten minutes later, I walked into class to see Christopher and Kevin at our normal seats. I realized guiltily that I’d bailed on breakfast with Kevin trying to decide what to do about Christopher. Sitting between them, I got out my notebook and started doodling, ignoring both of them until Dr. Fritz walked in.

  “Today, we are going to be talking about the nature of good and evil. Can they change? Or, is true nature undeniable? Let’s start with Christopher.”

  “Everyone can change. Evolution is a fact of nature. If primates can evolve into humans, isn’t it possible that people can evolve mentally?” He seemed to be talking directly to me, as if he could read my thoughts. “If change was impossible, then the entire field of psychology would be a complete hoax, and criminals would never be able to change, to recognize their mistakes.”

  “Good,” said Dr. Fritz. “What do you think Julia?”

  Turning to look at Dr. Fritz, I said, “I agree. Humans can change. But, theoretically, what about monsters like werewolves and vampires? They are cruel, vicious, and inhuman. By their very definition, they are evil. Their purpose is to kill, to destroy.” Looking at Christopher, I said, “Can evil creatures ever be good?”

  “Yes,” he replied, looking back at me. “Everyone, everything can change.” Staring into Christopher’s eyes, I found I could no longer hear what the rest of the class was saying. Trust me, he seemed to be saying.

  Abruptly, I stood up. “Excuse me,” I said, interrupting the student that was speaking, “I don’t feel good.” I nodded to Dr. Fritz and rushed out of the room. I opened the door of the academic building and ran into the guy from my dreams, the gorgeous one with brown hair that had warned me about Christopher. My book and binder flew from my hands as I was knocked off my feet. From my awkward position on the floor, all I could do was stare up at the live version of one of my dream phantoms.

  He stuck out his hand to help me up, “Hi. I’m Phil. Sorry about that.” Staring at his hand, I was momentarily stunned. Again, my dreams seemed to foretell what would happen to me.

  Eventually, I grabbed it and was helped to my feet as I replied, “I’m Julia. Call me Jules.” I bent down and started picking up my stuff that was strewn all over the floor.

  “Are you ok?” he asked. “Here, let me buy you a cup of coffee to make up for the inconvenience.” Nodding mutely, I followed him to the café.

  I sat talking to Phil and nursing a latte. He was talking about some book he was reading. For the last ten minutes, he had been talking to me about books. A lit major, he was well qualified to tell me about the various enticing literary aspects of different books. For the most part, I let him talk, listening to him while I thought about Christopher. Turning my eyes up to look into his eyes, I said, “Let’s talk about something other than books. What do you think about vampires?”

  He started, looking at me funny. “Vampires?”

  “Yes. Can they be good, or are they just evil?”

  “Vampires are just stories. They don’t exist.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. I put a hand to Phil’s face and said, “Thanks for making me feel better, but I have to go now.” Smiling, I added, “Thanks for the coffee. Let’s do this again sometime, ok? There’s something I have to do.” I got up and headed out the door. Class was over, but I had to find Christopher. I had to tell him that I wanted, needed him.

  After walking around campus for an hour, I still had not found Christopher. Giving up, I headed back to my room. I unlocked the door and turned the knob to find Damian waiting for me in my room. Grabbing my wrist, he threw me against my bed and locked the door.

  He grabbed my throat and held me down, cutting off my air supply. As I started to black out, he whispered in my ear, “Tell Christopher that Marcus doesn’t understand, that he wants to know why.” Then, the world disappeared.

  Chapter 15

  “Jules… Julia… JULIA,” I heard Christopher saying. “Wake up. Please wake up.” I moaned and stirred.

  “Christopher,” I whispered. “Did I find you?” I opened my eyes to see him kneeling next to my bed.

  He grabbed my hand and pulled it to his mouth. Pressing it to his lips, he said, “Yes, you did. Are you ok?”

  My vision cleared, and I sat up. “Damian was here. He choked me. I thought I was dead.” Looking at him, I added, “I didn’t want to die, not yet. I have so much left to accomplish.” It was obvious that, when Christopher said that I was in danger, that he meant it.

  Christopher pulled himself up off the floor, went over to my desk, and sat in my chair. “This is why I shouldn’t have told you, why I need to leave. I need to stay away from you for your safety. You almost died because of me, because Damian knew I wanted you.” If he left, I knew that things would fall apart again. I hadn’t felt really alive for years. The last time I had felt real was before Sharon’s death. Though they’d been dangerous, the last few weeks with Christopher had made me feel alive again. Maybe it was the adrenaline junkie in me, but I wanted to see this through. Making a decision, I realized that I was willing to risk it to see what could happen with Christopher.

  Getting up and going over to him, I said, “I don’t care.” He looked up at me, shocked. “I want you, and I want to see this through. Yes, Damian could have killed me. But, he didn’t. Whatever plans he and Marcus have for me, we’ll be able to prevent them.”

  Standing up, Christopher went white. “Marcus? How do you know about him?” he whispered.

  “Damian mentioned him,” I whispered, standing up to join Christopher. “Damian said that Marcus didn’t understand, that he wanted to know why. What did he mean?”

  Stepping away, Christopher said, “Marcus was part of my past, more so even then Damian. He was from my dark days, my evil days. I am no longer that person.” A shadow passed over his eyes, indicating just how painful these memories were. Smiling, he continued, “Now I am with you.” He pressed his lips to mine briefly. “You’re all I need.” His mood slightly improved, he roughly kissed me, showing me that he needs me as much as I need him.

  After a few seconds, I pulled away, saying, “You’ll still be here tonight, right? No running away for my own good?”

  “No,” he replied, laughing. “I’m all yours.”

  Chapter 16

  Walking up the stairs to Christopher’s apartment, I could feel a shadow of dread flit through me. Though only a few elements of my dreams had turned out to be true, I still could not shake the feeling that something bad would happen tonight. As I approached Christopher’s door, I banished my fear, sending it to the back of my mind along with the memories of the prophetic dreams. There was no room for them in reality, and I was anxious to get back to mine, to Christopher. Closing my eyes, I mentally took the file that contained them in my mind and put it in the recycling bin. I like to think of my memory as a supercomputer, encrypted and in a language only I understand, a combination of Egyptian hieroglyphs and Spanish.

  Opening my eyes, I saw a note taped to Christopher’s front door. Come on in, it read in his elegant script. Instantly my dream was pulled out of the recycle bin and put on-screen, taking precedence over even the sight in front of me. This is not happening, I thought as I pushed open the door. Walking to the kitchen, I was quite relieved to see not steaks, but a fondue pot. Weeks before, I had mentioned to Christopher how much I missed going to the fondue restaurant at home with my parents. Smiling, I turned to see Christopher standing in front of me with a single, long stemmed white rose.

  Quickly closi
ng the space between us, I reached Christopher and pressed my lips to his cheek before whispering, “You remembered!”

  “Of course,” he replied. Walking over to his fridge, he pulled a bottle out, adding, “Fondue, white roses, and Jones’ Fufuberry Soda.” Laughing, I went over to him and gave him a quick hug. He tightened his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss. It felt weird to be so casually kissed by someone. Even when I’d been dating Josh, there were no brief kisses without purpose. When Josh had kissed me, he didn’t want to just stop there. After a few seconds, he pulled away from the hug, saying, “And, one more thing.” He put something into my hands. Looking down, I saw a black box tied with a white ribbon, identical to the one in my dreams. I gasped and dropped the box. Letting it clatter to the floor, I stood there shaking while Christopher grabbed me, asking, “Are you ok? What happened?”

  “I’ve seen this box before,” I whispered, “In a dream. We were here, in your apartment. You made me dinner and gave me this box. I unwrapped it to find a knife, but when I looked up to ask you about it, you were gone. Kevin was in your place, and he killed himself with the knife. Then, Phil appeared. He appeared and told me that I had to… that I had to kill you before you killed me.” I took a deep breath and sank to the floor. “I thought it was just a dream. I hoped it was just a dream.”

  Kneeling down next to me, Christopher said, “It was just a dream.” Grabbing the box, he untied the ribbon and opened it. He pulled out a silver Celtic symbol on a silver chain identical to the one on the ring he first worn as part of his costume and had continued wearing since then. It was what appeared to be a snake encircling the trinity symbol. “It is my symbol. Wearing it marks you as mine, and it will protect you from most vampires.”

  Turning my back to him and lifting up my hair, I asked, “Most?”

  Reaching around my neck, he closed the clasp, saying, “There are always exceptions.”

  Fingering the charm with one hand, I guessed, “Like Marcus.”

  “Or,” a voice behind us rang out, “Damian.”

  Chapter 17

  Damien grabbed Christopher and threw him across the room. He slammed into the wall with a sickening crunch. I started to move to him, but Damian grabbed my hand, spinning me around to face him. I drew my free hand back and smacked him, nails leaving angry welts on the side of his face. “Let go of me,” I hissed. Surprised, Damian let me go as his hands flew to his face to assess the damage. Running over to Christopher, I pulled him to his feet. Pushing me behind him, Christopher’s face changed, eyes and teeth morphing to match Damian’s.

  He ran at Damian, ramming his head into Damian’s stomach. As soon as they touched, Christopher and Damian disappeared. Though I had known about the thirst and the superhuman strength, the knowledge that vampires could teleport was a shock. Furious, I knew Christopher hadn’t told me everything about being a vampire. So, I left. If we were to have any future together, Christopher needed to tell me the truth about everything, and I wasn’t going to sit around, waiting for him to come back.

  The drive home seemed to last forever, and even Cheap Trick didn’t make me feel better. As much as I liked Christopher, if he couldn’t be honest with me, then I couldn’t be with him. As I pulled into the parking lot, my light fell on a familiar figure. Christopher was standing in front of me. Angrily, I shut off the car, and got out, slamming the door behind me. I walked in the opposite direction, ignoring Christopher. I broke out into a run as I heard his following me. Finally reaching my room, I threw open my door to find him there, waiting for me.

  Angrily, I turned my back to him. “Go away,” I said.

  With a sigh, he replied, “Damian is gone. Don’t worry. He won’t attack you again.”

  Spinning around to face him, I demanded, “Is that why you think I’m mad?”

  Confusion filled his eyes. “You aren’t afraid you’ll get hurt?”

  “No! Do you really think I’m that feminine, that fragile? I thought you knew me better than that.” I paused, collecting my thoughts before continuing. “I realize that some parts of your past are too painful to tell me, but that does not mean you can conceal important parts of your nature from me. I want to know how Damian found us, what you did with him, and what other ‘powers’ you have.”

  “Jules, I was just trying to protect you.”

  “From what? I already know that you drink blood. How much worse can it get?” I demanded.

  Turning away, he replied. “Much.” Pausing, he took a deep breath. “Vampires have basically unlimited mental powers. Even the weakest of us can teleport and sense emotion. If someone has had our blood, the bond becomes even stronger. If I wanted to, I could force my blood down your throat, read your mind, and replace the thoughts I didn’t like with my own. I would always be able to find you. All I’d have to do is think about you, and I’d be at your side. With a single thought, I could make you sleep. I could give you dreams, and I could know your weaknesses.” He grabbed my arm, squeezing until it hurt. Whispering, he continued, “I could use it all against you, torture you until you broke.” His hand trailed down my arm seductively. “But my blood could also do things to you, make you forget who you are in a haze of warmth. It’s more intoxicating than the strongest alcohol.” He pushed me up against the wall, hands biting into my shoulders. His face shifted, and his blue eyes drilled into mine. “I’ve done it before, and I could do it again. As much as I have changed, I could return to my former self instantly.” His right hand traced my collarbone before moving up my neck to caress my face. “You don’t realize how fragile you humans are to us. I could do whatever I wanted to you right here, right now. I could kiss you or kill you, love you or destroy you.” Pulling my head to one side, he pressed his fangs to my neck. “I could drain your blood, killing for the first time in fifty years.” I knew that it was just for show, that he was trying to prove a point, but I was still terrified of him in that moment.

  Abruptly, he let me go. Drawing my eyes to his, he finished, “For years, I did what I wanted. I killed and tortured without regard for the feelings of others. One night, I tortured an innocent girl until she broke. It was only after she died that I realized she was the daughter of a former classmate, a girl I briefly had a crush on when I was still alive. My conscience returned as I saw her mother stumble across her body. That night, I left Marcus and the killing behind. I ran and kept running until the pain stopped. I pledged never to take another life, and I have stuck to it, with the exception of Damian.” Pulling me close to him, he whispered, “I want to be with you, but you have to realize just how dangerous I really am, what Marcus could and would do to you if he ever realized what you mean to me. You need to know that your life is in danger as long as you’re with me.”

  I paused, looking into his brilliant, piercing blue eyes. After Josh, I never thought that I’d be able to find someone that I’d care about in that way again. Christopher scared me, but the fear was electric. Forget skydiving, being with Christopher was like extreme dating. And, if True Blood held any truth, which apparently it did since vampires do have hypnotic powers, sex with vampires was supposed to be fantastic. I cared about Christopher, and I realized that there were way more reasons to go for it than not. “I don’t care,” I whispered. Pressing my lips to his, I repeated, “I don’t care.” He stepped back, pulling away from me. “What?” I asked.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, face returning to normal.

  “Yes. I want you… all of you.” I slowly began to unbutton my shirt, walking towards him. He paused, breathing heavily. Then, he grabbed me, kissing me passionately. The world split as he held me close, transporting us back to his apartment, to his bedroom. We broke apart as I looked around. Smiling, I pushed him. As he fell back onto the bed, I climbed up after him, sliding my hands under his shirt as I returned my lips to his.

  I yanked the shirt open, throwing buttons on the ground. My hands slid down his chest, stopping at his belt buckle. “Are you sure?” He pulled away, holding my head in his
hands, “I don’t want to push you further than you’re ready to go. As much as I want you, I can wait.”

  Laughing, I grabbed his hands, pinning him against the bed. “Shut up,” I whispered into his ear, “I want this as much as you do.” I smiled, planting a kiss on his lips before trailing down to the pants, where I unbuckled his belt and pants, sliding them down to his knees.

  Chapter 18