Shattered Hope * Book 2, free, on going *

9. Flicker

Roman

Year: 1984, 29th May, Tuesday, 7.02 PM, P.S.T, Spring.

The blast of her emotions ripping through the space I’d left in the dimensional pocket had me on high alert. Claws extended from my fingers. My eyes shifted, becoming a solid glossy black. Desperate to discover what was causing Sally-Anne such distress I yanked Zatihier and myself into the visible world.

“I-is t-this b-b-blood?”

Naked, dripping bathwater over the bedroom floor, Sally-Anne stood, holding all her limbs away as if she feared them. I saw no danger, I sensed none either and yet the young Vampire trembled as her emotions tumbled through the room. Next to me Zatihier was taking big calming breaths. Sally-Anne’s terror was rolling through my Elven friend.

“Is what blood?” There was a slight growl to my voice brought on by the intense need to defend Sally-Anne. Logic, along with what I could see before me, told me that there was no threat but her emotional outpouring was making it hard for me to completely dispel the notion.

“The, the, this.” Her voice shook as much as the hand she lifted towards me. Her eyes, deep emeralds, followed the drips of water as gravity sucked them to the floor.

“It-” I caught myself just in time. “I only see water - from the bath.” That had been close. I’d almost said ‘It’s water.’. That might have been ok. It might not have been. I didn’t want to risk her thinking for a second that I had possibly commanded her. Here, with me, needed to be a safe place. It couldn’t be safe for her if she was second guessing her reality.

“Water.” She closed her eyes. Entirely still, not even breathing. She didn’t need the oxygen intake but there would be a discomfort to it. Zatihier went to move from beside me but I stilled her with a glance and subtle shake of my head. My friend was likely intending to fetch a towel but Sally-Anne hadn’t relaxed yet, her response to any changes would probably be violence. “They feel the same…” She croaked, her voice full of the tears she couldn’t shed. “You’re scared, you’re sacred…it’s got to be blood, it must be, or, or you wouldn’t be scared.”

“Sally-Anne, I would really like it if you would open your eyes. Would you please look at me?” Ever so slowly she cracked them open. “I can feel your feelings. They are making me feel the way you feel. How do you feel?” My measured words got her thinking.

“I’m scared. I’m projecting my feelings.” Her answer was a whisper but the tug as she took the fear back was internally deafening. For a split second I was entirely void of any feelings; I couldn’t even taste hers. Once her fear was her own again, she looked down at the floor. “Sorry.”

“I would like to suggest something, if that’s ok?” My will power was being tested. Everything in my being was demanding that I go to her, hold her, soothe her. I needed to balance everything so as not to exacerbate the situation. If I fed into her Tick all hell might break loose, same as with touching any of the raw, exposed nerves of her mental state.

“Mm-huh.” Sally-Anne’s eyes flicked up, almost glowing with desperation.

“How about you try a drop? Then you will know what it is by how it tastes.”

Still trying to keep all her ‘blood coated’ limbs out so they didn’t touch she awkwardly twisted her pale arm. Once her hand was close enough Sally-Anne stuck out her tongue, catching a glistening droplet as it fell. She cringed, fearing the worst, before relaxing. Arms and legs no longer splayed, wet waves of black hair plastered to neck and shoulders, she hugged herself. A look of shame brutalised her face while the flavour of the emotion filled the air.

Sally-Anne’s eyes were locked with mine. Her emotions had retreated, wrapped chaotically around her body. With a flick of my hand I motioned to Zatihier that she could move now but my gaze didn’t waver. It was as if everything depended on me holding contact. I tried to keep an air of calm about me, letting it spill over into the room. Hopefully it would take the edge off of her pain.

Zatiheir returned with a bath sheet. Holding it wide open, she stalked Sally-Anne. The way she came up behind her, determined, silent steps - akin to approaching a wild animal, stirred my need to defend. A little whimper slipped from the Fledgling and Zatiheir struck. The large fluffy towel engulfed Sally-Anne. As it covered her naked body she collapsed into it, falling back into Zatiheir’s arms.

Her eyes darted around all over the place, unsettled. Noting she didn’t have the two knives with her, I Flickered. A dimensional travel technique which made it look like I hadn’t even moved - it was that fast. The range was short and it was exceedingly difficult to execute; taking hundreds of years to perfect.

“Uuuh.” Sally-Anne reached, her outstretched hands and spiking emotions demanding I hand over the two knives. Kneeling, I offered them out. She tried not to snatch, I saw how she held herself back. “Thank you.” She breathed, sagging further into Zatiheir’s arms.

“Would you tell me what happened?” Giving her time to move away I reached out to move a wet lock of hair from her cheek.

“I, I don’t know.” Clutching the blunted knife I’d taken from Guy’s ankle holster for her, she used her knuckles to rub down her sternum. She retched a little. I was a little worried that she might catch herself with the edge of the blade but it wasn’t a major concern. A little nick or even a large s***h would heal almost immediately. Especially after Sally-Anne had fed on me. The reason I was watching her like a hawk, trying to hold on to my expression of calm, was what she’d told me that action meant. It eased the desperate feeling of failure, of a deep sense of having no self-worth, of the aching from both attempting to take her own life and from also not being successful. “Everything was ok. I was in the bath… - I think the water was getting cold and then… I panicked.”

“Oh, Sally-Anne.” Zatiheir’s words held a pinch of pity. She pulled Sally-Anne's towel wrapped body closer. Sally-Anne responded positively, leaning in and pressing her head against the Elf’s shoulder. What had that bastard done to her? If he had bathed her in blood then her injuries must have been exceptionally severe. Her hair was longer. The only way to grow it out was by stimulating the follicles with blood. The hair of Pure Vampires would grow out over time but they could cause growth spurts in the same way.

“May I?” Gently I touched the back of her hand, the one that was still rubbing the centre of her chest.

“Yes.” Tentatively she lowered her hand. With a firm pressure I massaged the spot that was bothering her. “That’s better.” Sally-Anne sighed, relief melting across her face.

“How about Zatiheir dries your hair and I get you a night gown?”

“I wore Guy’s tee-shirt to bed.” Big green eyes looked at me expectantly. I glanced at Zatiheir who looked as baffled as I felt.

“Sally-Anne, are you asking to wear my clothes to bed?” She looked a little guilty and I could feel a kernel of embarrassment peeping through the fading fear.

“Please…” She dipped her head a little, looking through her thick eyelashes.

“Alright.” It wasn’t that I found the request odd as such, it was more the contrast. Did she think I owned her now? Tee-shirts were not something I had in my closet nor nightwear, instead I selected a white, pure cotton shirt from the walk in. Just as I was about to exit the walk in closet an idea came to me. Sally-Anne had been pleased that I’d brought her to my bedroom rather than a guestroom, the scent had soothed her. That in mind I grabbed a shirt from the laundry hamper as well as taking the clean shirt. This way she would have a choice.

The two ladies were back in the bathroom, hair dryer whirring away.

“Roman.” Sally-Anne turned to look at me, smiling. She had missed me in those few moments.

“Which one would you like?”

“This one.” Oddly excited she snatched the worn shirt from my hand. The towel dropped as she stood to put it on. Despite me having already seen all of her I looked away politely. Zatiheir turned off the hair dryer, giving me a look. We had been disagreeing on what to do about a number of things regarding Sally-Anne’s stay here. She believed that it was best to get everything out of the way at once, spill the whole truth and let Sally-Anne work through it. I wanted to give her a chance to ‘catch her breath’ as it were. Heal a little and tell her then. As far as I was concerned, Sally-Anne’s interruption demonstrated my point perfectly. She was in no state to be bombarded with the heavy burden of her legacy or the events of this evening. “Thank you.” With a heady mix of shyness and desire Sally-Anne stood on tiptoe to kiss my still turned cheek.

A giggle escaped, bubbling out of her mouth from behind a hand. The chaste kiss had stirred me and she felt it. There would be no hiding from this beautiful, captivating creature. Perhaps Zatiheir was right.