“Wrestle him out?” Scotty and I asked at the same time, with horror in both our voices.
“Yes.” Lysandro’s no-nonsense response almost took me aback until it hit me how heavy my body had become. Then the old vamp came closer, leaning down and sniffing me like a dog. It was weird.
He stood back up, and I saw relief in his eyes. “You’ve fed.” His gaze moved over to Scotty. “From your anchor.”
I nodded. “You said it would be best, and well, I didn’t hurt him or anything. He wanted me to,” I assured him—and maybe a little myself.
Lysandro’s face softened. “Of course, he did, fledgling. You’re growing up before my eyes. This is all going to work out just fine.” The he stepped back, leaving me to focus on Scotty’s touch.
My eyes were barely open as I peeked back at this man who’d come to mean everything to me one last time. “You’ve got this,” was the last thing I heard him say before I faded away.
“It’sabout time you got here,” were the words I woke up to. “But you’re a fledgling, so I guess you have to wait on the sun, don’t you? So pathetic.”
I felt the hard stone underneath me, so instead of getting right up and answering him right away, I gave myself a second to get my bearings. Each time here had been different. The first time felt like he’d been with me for no time at all, but yesterday had felt like an eternity.
I hoped I’d be able to hear Scotty letting me know when it was time to go back, but I wasn’t sure I would. I also couldn’t lay here too long because I had to convince my Maker to come to me.
“Have you made up your mind, Ego?”
He said my name with such venom, so much like my dad always had, that I wanted to cry. But I had to stick to the plan. I couldn’t let him upset me. I couldn’t let him convince me to cross the river, either. Not until I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn’t cross to my side.
If he didn’t, well, then I’d never see Scotty’s beautiful face or Lysandro’s kind eyes again. I hadn’t told anyone, but I’d already determined that tonight would be the end of this, whether it meant him crossing to me or me crossing to him. I’d never endanger Scotty by letting him come here and catch us unaware.
Thinking back on my morning meditation at Willowhope all those months ago, I decided the best thing to do would be to center myself first. I let myself feel my body against the hard stone. Opening my senses, I heard the gargle of the water as if it was flowing at my feet, and smelled…
Wow. Had this place always smelled so much like death? King and Sky had never mentioned scent when they came back from the Dreamveil, so maybe it wasn’t where they walked. Maybe the foul order was a result of this being a dimension for vampires.
I didn’t want the Master to catch on to what I was doing, so as he taunted and cajoled, I rolled each ankle, bounced out my legs, and worked my way all the way to my head. When I turned my neck to the right, I finally saw him there, standing tall and smug, waiting.
After how close I’d come to going to him last night, I just knew that he thought this was it. Today was the day he’d claim what he’d broken. But he hadn’t shattered me to pieces. He’d only cracked me open in spots, places that were being refilled with Scotty’s presence. Sky’s devotion. Lysandro’s patience. Found family love.
“Ego. I demand you respond to me.”
Instead of answering with words, I went with what felt natural and clapped my hands. I heard his growl, so I snapped my fingers.
“What’s wrong with you? Get over here now.”
Jumping easily from the stone pillar, I hummed a little song as I made my way to the riverbank on my side.
“Can you stop that racket?”
“Sure,” I said, easily transitioning into whistling my latest Dead Air song.
“Are you daft?” he asked as I reached the edge and knelt down, running my hands through the water.
“Not at all.” I slapped my hand onto the blue surface, enjoying the little splash sound it made, and watching it ripple away from me.
“Okay,” he said gently. Was it long life that made him flip-flop his technique so quickly, or was he just a dick? I’d go with the latter.
“Okay, fledgling. You were so patient waiting for me. I’m sure you’ve been under so much stress not having me or my blood. I forgive you for your odd behavior.”
He forgave me? He really was a piece of work.
“But I’m here now, and the minute you cross the river, we can go home, and you can feed from me. Doesn’t that sound good? There’s nothing as delicious as the blood of your sire.” I heard him lick his lips. “The way it coats your tongue. The original essence of the change, of you and me together, will be there. It’ll make you feel so good.”
I thought about how much stronger and faster I felt since I’d fed on Scotty earlier, and I wondered if what he said was true. My mouth watered just thinking about Scotty’s deliciousness. It seemed a shame that the only time my Sire had given me his blood was when he turned me, and I couldn’t remember a thing.
My Maker stretched his sleeveless arm out across the pond. I saw his veins under the smooth, translucent expanse of skin. Would I be able to lean over and take just a little, just to satisfy my curiosity, I wondered.
