Where The River Flows Red

Two

Fun.-Some Nights

    I was almost late. I walked in with a small group of students and looked around to find an empty seat. There are two at the top. The class seems to be divided into groups. They're all talking to each other inside the groups they had formed. I sat down in the empty seat and pulled out my notebook. It had been a long time since I felt like an outcast but here I am, feeling insecure about sitting alone as if it were high school all over again.

    I scribbled the name of the course at the top of the page and looked back up to see the professor walk in with someone behind him. The guy from this morning. My heart began to pound in my chest and as if they could hear it everyone turned to look at me. I sat up straight trying to ignore the intensity of their gaze. I wanted to shrink away when I noticed that the seat next to me was the only other available one. 

    "Good Evening," the professor greeted us all. "I'd like to start by saying that the seat you are currently in will be the seat you will stay in, the remainder of the semester. I am not good at putting a name to a face. This helps me with who you are. I will pass the roster around starting here at the beginning of each class if you are not signed in by the time the clipboard gets to you, it is an automatic absence. Mr. Collins, since you are the last one back there, you are in charge of getting this to me when you sign your name," 

    His name is Mr. Collins. The guy with the beautiful green eyes has a name. Well, a last name. I seriously doubt his name is Mister. He slowly climbed up the steps and sat down next to me. I briefly glanced over at him. He smirked making my face heat up. I looked down at the piece of paper clearing my thoughts. There's something different about him now.

    I just imagined them disappear. There is no way that was real. I repeated that to myself a few times and then looked up for the professor to catch my attention. He's oddly handsome for an older man. He glanced back at me and smiled. I didn't say that out loud, did I? No one was looking back at me so I brushed it off as a coincidence. 

    He's tall. Very tall. I'm tall for a girl and he towers over me about a foot easily. His dark hair is pushed back with what I am guessing is some expensive product because his hair doesn't look shiny, greasy, or like he used too much gel and hairspray to keep it that way. It looks like it would be soft to touch. His thick well-groomed beard looks amazing which is weird because I hate beards. The man who took me to the convent when I was a little girl had a beard and he scares the hell out of me. From time to time, he'll pop into my dreams. This man is nothing like that one. His beautifully tailored suit put him in the could be exceptionally evil in grading but not in life category. 

    "Tobiania, right?" I looked over at the Mr. Collins. 

    "Right. I didn't catch your name," I nodded.

    "Zachariah Collins," the way he said his name sent shivers through my body but there was something definitely different. His voice seems friendlier somehow. 

    "That's a very..." 

    "Biblical name?" he offered. I shook my head. 

    "No. I was going to say powerful. Are you a business major?" I asked. He smiled broadly. 

    "I am," he admitted. "How do you know that?" 

    "My dad is a businessman. You have this vibe around you," 

    "Poise?" he asked. I laughed. 

    "No. Intimidation," I didn't think it was possible but his smile got bigger and prettier. Maybe it was the scare from this morning but I was no longer completely intrigued by him the way I was this morning. He's less scary now.

    "I intimidate you?" 

    "Of course not. It's just the vibe you have. It's cold," 

    "So, I don't intimidate you?" I could think of a lot of things he did to me but that wasn't one of them. 

    "Nope," I said glancing him over. I looked to the front to see just how similar he looks to the professor. I did a double-take between the two. 

    "He's my uncle. My dad's little brother," he smirked, leaning back in his seat. I noticed the way some of the girls up front glanced back at me. Curiosity more than anger but there is definitely anger in there. 

    "I'd like for you to do your research in groups of two. You have two days to decide what genre and writer you will choose. No, you cannot turn in one paper. Two individual papers. Different citations. I don't want two papers that sound identical to one another. If possible one of you take an opinion and the other disagrees with it," he wrote a few options on the blackboard. "If you have a specific genre and author you'd like to base your paper on please let me know as soon as possible. Choose your partner," 

    "Want to be my partner?" he blurted out. I looked over at Zachariah Collins. He looked back at me expectantly. 

    "You want me to be your partner?" I asked. I looked into the crowd of students to see some of the girls from earlier glaring at me. 

    "Yeah, I want a literature major as a partner. I bet you never get anything lower than an A-minus," is that sneer I detect in his tone? I laughed. 

    "I'm not a literature major. You know that. Professor Gallihad commented on how young I am to have chosen the Engineering program," I shook my head. He flinched. 

    "You have professor Gallihad in the morning?" 

    "You were there," I reminded him. What the hell us up with him? He smirked. 

    "No wonder you were so comfortable around me. You met my brother. Elijah Collins. He's part of the Daywalkers Clan," 

    "Zach," we both looked to the front of the class. "She's not one of us," 

    There he is. The guy from this morning. Identical to the guy next to me now. The entire class turned back to look at me. There that is was again. The word "Clan". Elijah had asked me what Clan I had come from and now Zachariah had said his brother was from the "Daywalker's Clan".

    "She's mortal?" I heard a low whisper. I sat back looking around trying to figure out what's happening. 

    "Tobiania, look at me," I looked over at Zachariah. His eyes zoned in on mine taking my complete attention. "You won't remember anything about Clans," 

    "Why not?" I asked, he flinched. "What's going on?" 

    "It didn't work," he said looking back at his brother. 

    "What...?" My question died out when I noticed I still had everyone's attention around me.

    "Get her down here, Zach," Elijah demanded. 

    Zach began to put my things into my bag along with his own. He grabbed both our bags and gripped my arm tightly, pulling me with him. The three of us were out of the classroom and in the empty hall faster than I could have gotten there. 

    "You need to tell us who the hell you are youngling, right now," Elijah demanded, taking hold of my other wrist. I tried to pull away from them but their grip on me is tight. 

    "My name is Tobiania Bourne. I was born August six, nineteen ninety-eight. Let go," I demanded they let me go of my wrists. It's starting to hurt.

    "Miss Bourne," I looked over at Ivanka. She stood in front of the Rolls Royce with the door open. "Gentlemen do we have a problem?" 

    "Ivanka," I said feeling instant relief. I snatched my bag from Zachariah's hand and began to walk over to her. 

    "Don't," Zachariah warned, grabbing my wrist. He did it gently this time. 

    "Don't go with that woman. She'll hurt you," Elijah second him.

    "Ivanka is one of my nannies. I've known her most of my life. She and her sister basically raised me. The only ones that hurt me tonight were you two," 

    "We didn't mean to Tobiania. We're just trying to figure out who you are,"

    "You will be hearing from my masters. If you ever put your hands on her again... She has a brother. A very protective one with skills your Clans are very familiar with. Leave her be. She doesn't need to be involved," 

    "Tobiania, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a prude. This is all a misunderstanding," Elijah ignored her.

    "Right. You thought I was something else," I scoffed. He looked at me curiously. 

    "You heard that?" he asked. I nodded. "We'll see you soon then," 

    "I guess. Zachariah and I have a paper to write," 

    Now looking between the two. I can spot the differences. Elijah is the intimidating one. There is an anonymous mystery to him. Those eyes that had met my own this morning bore into my own igniting something I had never felt before. I can only describe it as something close to hunger. A hunger for what though? Zachariah didn't hold the same look. He doesn't intrigue me the way Elijah does. They may look the same but they aren't and had I not been trying to keep Zach from distracting me the way Elijah had I would have noticed they weren't the same person. 

    "Are you okay, Tobi?" Ivanka asked once we were away from the school. 

    "Ivanka, what just happened? What were they talking about? What are the Clans?" I asked. She smiled. 

    "They're the blood Clans, my lady. It's an old money thing. Perhaps your mother can enlighten you better than I. It's kind of like founding families from the old world. The rich own their own world. They speak their own language," 

    I sat back. I didn't fully believe it. There has to be more than just a money thing. Silas would have told me had that been the case. Warned me, maybe? They had been so persistent for it to be just that. Blood Clans? Daywalker's Clan. Zachariah said Elijah was in the Daywalker's Clan. Does that mean that Zachariah isn't? If it had to do with Bloodlines, shouldn't they be part of the same clan? 

    "We're here my lady. Your parents are waiting for you. I'll take your belongings to the library," Ivanka bowed. I nodded. "Your brother is home as well,"

    "Tobi, you never text me," Silas said angrily. 

    "I'm sorry. I forgot. The weirdest thing happened," I pointed back at the car. He looked me over. 

    "Are you alright? You're hurt," he rushed out, lifting my arm. A bruise is forming where Zachariah had grabbed my arm another where Elijah grabbed me. "Who did this to you?" 

    "It was a misunderstanding. There were these guys. They're twins. They asked me about a Clan. They wanted to know what Clan I was part of. It seemed so important to them. Ivanka said it wasn't," 

    "The Collins? Elijah and Zachariah Collins?" my dad asked. He had been waiting by the staircase when we walked in.

    "Who are they?" I asked.

    "If you are asked again you are part of the Ubiets," 

    "What does that mean?" I asked. 

    "It's not as important as they make it seem, honey," mom tried to reassure me. "Come, I'll tell you a story about us and them while dinner is served," 

    "Go, I've heard it already," Silas smiled encouragingly.

    "I never thought I'd have to give you a history lesson. I never thought you'd get mixed up in all of this but I guess it was bound to happen now that you are right in the heart of it all," 

    "The heart of what?" I asked. 

    "Our family. We originate from Bulgaria. The legends of our family proceeds us. A long long time ago, a plague took the capital. Sofia was infested with a disease. They called it the Red Plague. The people believed that everyone was dying. Many had fallen to it but moments after their supposed death, the plagued came back to life. Many priests believed that those who were infected had died had lost their soul," 

    "Like Zombies?" I asked. She smiled. 

    "Not exactly. These people had in fact died. When they were evaluated, doctors found that these people had no pulse. Their skin paled, they became hypersensitive to the light, they were unnaturally strong and fast. So much of them changed in their death and after a while, they developed a hunger or rather thirst," she smirked. I smiled. 

    "Let me guess, for blood?" I scoffed. She nodded with a grin on her lips. 

    "The men in our family were known to be hunters. Animal hunters and because of their expertise they were sent to hunt down these people. A lot of innocent people died because of this tragedy. It's not easy to forget something as gruesome as that. The Clans were established to keep the peace in our families. There is what everyone refers to the Nightstalkers, Daywalkers, Coveners, Angelic, Demonic, Lupine, and it's all based on what everyone believes. Nightstalkers kept guard during the night. Daywalkers during the day. Coveners, are those who believe that nature has the answer. Angelic are those who believe in religion. Demonic believe in the devil. Lupine believe in the spirit of the wolf," 

    "Do they still believe in it? That legend?" I asked. 

    "For some, it's easier to believe in something that is impossible simply because the truth hurts. No one wants to believe that so many who could have been cured were senselessly massacred because they didn't understand the disease. It's easier to cope with a scary bedtime story. I think you can relate to that,"  she smiled. I nodded. 

    "Yeah, I can. Are there rules? I mean if they believe in these stories there have to be things that they won't like for us to say or do," 

    "Try to stay away from those twins. The legend states that the disease sprung from their family. They were the source and many of them were killed. If there are people who are still hardcore believers. It's them. I wouldn't want you to get hurt again because of something so stupid. Do you want to talk about what happened?" 

    "It was just weird. There was this moment," I laughed. "When Zachariah looked me dead in the eye and told me I wasn't going to remember anything about the Clans," 

    "Really?" she asked intrigued. "What happened?" 

    "I asked him why and he seemed really disturbed about the whole thing," 

    "I'll talk to his parents. I don't like that you were marked," 

    "They're just bruises, mom," 

    "Yes, Tobiania. Bruises. They shouldn't have laid a finger on you, baby. This will not go without consequence," I sighed and nodded. She's right. They shouldn't have done what they did. "I don't suppose I can talk you into dropping that class?" 

    "Mom," I said annoyed. 

    "I had to try," she came over to me removing the golden necklace around her neck. I had never seen her take it off. "This is the family crest. They should leave you alone. Now that they know you're one of ours,"

    "Ma'am, dinner is ready," Matilda called from the doorway. 

    "Come on. Let's get some food in you," 

    I looked down at the crest. A shield with two hunting axes forming an X and a sword down the middle, I'm not really sure what the design in the center is but it's beautiful. All I can really make out is a lion and maybe a horse. I'm amazed by how much detail is in such a small pendant. I didn't push the matter. The story is nuts, this whole thing is nuts. I was exhausted by the time I was done with dinner. I went straight to my room to get ready for bed. I have all day tomorrow to do Wednesday's homework. I just need to rest for now. 

    "Don't ever take it off," Silas said when he came to check on me. 

    "Why is it so important?" I asked touching it.

    "Our family is weird. They hold on tightly to traditions and things like this. If she gave it to you it means you're worthy of what we represent to others. It's not just to protect you. Promise me you won't take it off," 

    "I promise," I agreed. I've felt honored by my family before but I feel like, after all these years, I know something about them that is outside the life they've been sketching around me.