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“Wow, that doesn’t sound fair,” Fiona asked.
“No, it isn’t,” Arman said.
“Okay, so if hunters were also turned by the Black Death, did they live long lives also?” Fiona asked.
“Yeah, if they were turned by the plague. But their offspring didn’t have that ability,” Arman said.
“There’s so much to remember. So what happens when I turn eighteen during the blood moon?” Fiona asked.
Stasio said, “Between my researching historical documents…”
“And my help with unraveling data online…,” Ruric said.
“And me analyzing the dreams I’ve been having of you…,” Arman said.
Levka cleared his throat. “We’ve learned you will have the ability to manipulate dreams—giving a targeted individual pleasant slumber, torment someone with nightmares, or even cause the person to sleepwalk and act out in some way.”
“Like killing someone?”
Arman glanced at the others, and then back at Fiona. “Yeah. And Tobias and Regina and their clan want your ability to control others in their dream state.”
“And you?”
Arman shook his head. “I only want what’s best for you. If we can break the curse, then Tobias and Regina and their minions will no longer have any need to take you into the fold.”
10
Fiona had finally found freedom from her crazy homelife and thought going to Moody Gardens would be fun before she left the States. But was she nuts to want to do this now? With Regina and Tobias probably trying to track them down?
Ruric was working his vampiric magic to pay for the expensive tickets, Arman was beside Fiona as they got their tickets, Levka and Caitlin were behind them, and Stasio and Jasmine beside them.
She wanted to ask Caitlin what powers a witch had but didn’t want to sound too nosey. She figured she would learn about them soon enough. Then they headed into one of the glass pyramids featuring the rainforest. They saw beautiful orchids perched on trees and brilliantly colored macaws gathered together in pairs of blues, reds, and greens. Fish swam in the ponds and skates, similar to manta rays, glided across the water in the shadows. Alligators were in one area, fruit bats clung to manmade caves in another exhibit. Monkeys roamed free in the jungle of trees and vines. Other brightly colored tropical flowers that Fiona didn’t know the name of filled pockets here and there.
Her next favorite thing was the butterfly exhibit and she reached into her pocket to grab her phone to take pictures of them, realizing at once she didn’t have her phone. Arman, seeing her distress at being cut off from the world, pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “We’ll get you one.”
Tears filled her eyes. She didn’t know why she’d suddenly become overcome with sadness. She was supposed to be enjoying herself for the moment, but it just hit her all at once. Here she was again, her whole world turned upside down from living with one dysfunctional foster family to another so to speak, and now? She was with a group of vampires who were probably just as dysfunctional, yet Arman’s gesture to give her his phone, to show he was watching her, understanding how she felt, it just…well, it just had overwhelmed her all in that moment.
He reached over and pulled her into a hug then and she needed that. She’d needed it ever since she’d learned her parents, or foster parents, had died in the car crash. She’d needed to feel like she’d belonged somewhere with someone, not like how she’d lived with Regina for the last few months.
Then she realized another thing. She didn’t have to go to school any longer! No more extra credit classes for social studies or attending dumb Halloween parties, no expectations of going to the prom when she probably wouldn’t have been asked anyway. Though she wanted to graduate. But on her own terms. In her own way.
“Thank you,” she belatedly said and took a picture of Arman, wondering if she could even take a picture of him.
He was smiling so brightly at her, she thought she’d made his day. Probably no one ever took his picture. She smiled back, the lighthearted feeling contagious. Then she began taking pictures of the butterflies, closeup, sitting on flowers, lingering on fruit. She made everyone go back through the rainforest so she could take pictures of the monkeys, macaws, and flowers and then they went to see the aquarium.
An octopus moved around coral, trying to hide from her. She knew the feeling, but she managed to capture a couple of good photos. An electric eel, a neon green, appeared just in time for a photo. Penguins were getting a meal of fish in the exhibit. Puffins were swimming in another area. Seals were likewise diving into the water in an exhibit. Walking through a glass tunnel surrounded by sharks and fish while divers were cleaning the glass was the coolest. Even seeing the different varieties of jellyfish was really fun. Or the sea stars and other sea life that she enjoyed capturing on the cell phone. Then she wondered what pictures Arman might have taken. She would check the first chance she got, when he wasn’t aware of it, just in case he had taken some selfies with a cute girl.
She assumed everyone would have been annoyed with her for wanting to take so many pictures, but they had seemed glad to do whatever she wanted to do. Maybe because by doing so, she would agree to stay with them. Even though Jasmine said it was her choice, Fiona suspected that they wouldn’t want to give her the freedom to decide to stay behind. Still, she appreciated that they were letting her do whatever she wanted to and seemed to be enjoying the time they spent with her. Unlike Regina who had never wanted to let her out of her sight except to go to school, normally. Until that Halloween high school party. Boy did Regina make a mistake then.
At the cafeteria, they all ordered pizzas and then sat down to eat them.
“I hope everyone is enjoying being here and it’s not just me that is,” Fiona said, thinking they were, but maybe they were just pretending.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve never been here either and I’ve had a ball. At least five morpho butterflies were traveling on the back of Levka’s shirt. He really was attracting them. It was hilarious,” Caitlin said.
Levka smiled at Caitlin.
Fiona knew then Caitlin was being honest with her and Levka seemed to enjoy anything that made Caitlin happy.
