Bella Notte (32 page)

Everything around me
sharpened; I could see, hear, taste, and smell better than before.
How
can I smell in water?

I knew I had
strength and that getting out of this would be a snap.
Why
hadn't it been a snap earlier?

I ran my tongue over
my teeth as I prepared myself for my escape and felt the now
lengthened canines that had grown instantly.
I
have fangs. Maybe I'm dead
.
A thought hit me.
He
had fangs.
I hadn't made it up. Dom had fangs at my birthday.

Dom. I bet he's
worried. I should go now.
I pushed on the door and it came off easily.

Wait, Mike!

I swam to his side
with an ease I never possessed before and saw to my horror an auburn
wolf muzzle chomping on the door frame. I swam up and pulled it off.
The wolf looked at me and pushed itself out of the crushed car. It
was the real life version of
Wolfman
.
I knew it was Mike.
So,
this is the change for us.

He put down his
head, slightly reached out his hand, shook his head with a look of
disgust on his wolfish features, and swam away. I watched as he
morphed into an actual wolf.
Whoa,
so he can be both?

I felt sad that I
had seen his dislike of my kind on his face, that I had brought out
such emotions cut across my heart. But that was something I could do
nothing about- he was a werewolf and I was now a vampire, and
apparently there was a divide that even our love could not conquer,
or could it?
A
vampire? Am I a vampire? Maybe this is all a dream and I still
haven't woken up this morning
.

Emma.

Whoa! Did I hear
Dom in my head? Great! Now I'm hearing voices. Clearly something is
wrong.

Emma. You need to
get to shore. We're waiting for you.
Dom's voice echoed in my head.

Dom? How can I
hear you?

It all will be
explained. You can't hold your breath forever. Please come to us.

I swam to the bank
that I thought was on the side of the bridge my house would be on.
When I walked out of the water, I was further down the lake then I
knew where my Jeep sat. My family and Dominic waited for me. I saw
the worry leave their faces and the excitement of my change replace
it.

“
So. Anyone
want to explain stuff to me?” I thought the direct approach
would be the best at this point.

I smiled wide and
showed off my newly formed fangs. I received a welcoming return smile
from each person in front of me with their own set of lengthened
fangs.
How
had I never noticed before?

“
We can
retract them. That is how you never saw … well, all but once
at your birthday party.” Grandpa answered the question as
though I had spoken it.

“
How is it
that you know what I'm thinking?” I asked as I tried to wring
out some of my wet clothes.

“
We share
thoughts. The closer we are the better we can hear each other. You
will learn to shield your thoughts later, but, right now, we are glad
you are safe,” my mother said as she wrapped me in a huge hug.

I pulled free as
gently as possible; it wasn't like my mother to be so affectionate. I
was instantly engulfed by Dom's warm arms.

“
Mia bella
,
I was so worried. I was about to jump in after you when I felt you
start to change. I knew it would come but I never thought it would be
from this. I was so excited, I called your family.” He hugged
me tighter.

I heard the call of
several wolves and I looked to the other side of the lake. Dom still
held me in his arms, but I managed to turn anyways. I saw them
gathered around the auburn one I knew to be Mike. They were beautiful
and he finally belonged with them. I felt happy and sad at the same
time. I watched them and as I stared across the lake to Mike, I saw a
dark one turn and nod its head at me. I nodded back- I mean, what was
I supposed to do? - and then they galloped off.

They were graceful
and it took all my will power not to run after them and find my Mike.
No,
he isn't my Mike. The change meant more than us just changing, but I
still don't fully understand
.
I needed answers.

“
Before you,
Child, start to bombard us with questions, I believe it is time to
return home and get you into dry clothes. We might be immortal, but
we are still subject to illness. There is much for you to know, my
dear girl.” Grandma's voice was calm and she kept her distance.
I really appreciated her in times like this.

They escorted me to
Dom's black mustang and let him drive me home.

“
You think
we'll be able to save my Jeep?” Being inside his fast little
car made me miss my monster … that I had put so much effort
into.

“
Perhaps, but
maybe you should get a new one. I mean we could get it customized
like your old one, but then it would be new. Like your life will be
now.” His words held so much meaning and I was suddenly afraid.
What
new life? I like my life just fine.

I snapped closed my
mouth before I said something and started harassing him for answers,
in doing so I sank my teeth into my lower lip.

“
Ow!” I
cried out.

“
You will
adjust to them, and it will not take long for you to be able to
retract them. Until then your quick healing abilities will be able to
fix any damage before it gets serious.” He didn't sound too
concerned.

“
Dude, you
didn't even look. What if I need stitches or something?” I
pulled gingerly on my bottom lip and realized that I had stopped
bleeding and that the holes were almost shut. He made a gesture and I
understood why he didn't fuss.

We drove through the
tree lined road that went to my home and I was fascinated by
everything that I had missed before. My new eyes were able to see in
the brightest light and the deepest shadows. I could smell the small
animals moving around. And I could hear everything; the trees and
leaves, the car, Dom's breathing and his heart beat …
everything
.
It was like I was waking up from a very deep sleep. I greatly enjoyed
it all.

When we finally got
to the house it felt like it was brighter than before. Dominic was
quiet the entire time after I bit myself and now he watched me. He
smelled really good and I wanted to stand next to him and just
inhale, but I wanted to see everything with my new eyes as well. I
went inside and up to my room. It was as though I had turned a lamp
on even though my thick dark winter curtains were keeping all light
out. Even my dark colors stood out. My sense of touch was bumped up
as well. Everything felt so other worldly and different; the softs
were softer and the hards were pliable.

I wandered back
downstairs, sat in the dining room, and waited for the others to join
me.

Dominic came in
first and sat next me, then my parents and they sat opposite us, and
finally my grandparents came in and sat at the heads of the table. I
thought all vampires looked the same, or at least held similar
features or something, but they did not seem like carbon copies.

My dad looked like
the son of my grandparents, and I looked like the daughter of my
parents, yet, other than that, we didn't look alike at all.

I sat still and
tried to be quiet and not erupt into a billion questions. It was hard
to say the least.

“
Emma, we have
discussed this and each one of us will try to tell and teach you
about some aspect of your change. If you listen carefully, then it
should go smoothly, please ask questions as you get confused.
Afterwards, we shall begin discussing your change event and how you
would like it to go. Any questions?” my dad asked.

I shook my head.

“
Good. Then
your mother will begin with a little history for you. Edwina, when
you're ready.” My dad looked at my mom with adoring eyes.

“
Thank you,
William. Now, Emma there is much you must learn about your own
people, so please do listen, honey. I know it will be boring but I
will strive my best to make it understandable. Now, we have always
been here. Our records indicate that vampires were developing
alongside man and yes, we do separate ourselves from them. We have
helped to create most of the advances in science, art, and technology
today. We have been a part of every major civilization and eventually
we manufactured their downfall as well. Power corrupts and when that
has happened, as it has with all growing empires, we have intervened.
Some examples of our hand at this would be Helen of Troy, Cleopatra,
and Brutus. Unfortunately, we have gotten involved with people and
allowed them to know our secret … and that is where many of
the legends come from. For Bram, it was a beautiful woman vampiress
that was his downfall. Many say that he was insane when he wrote
Dracula
,
we, on the other hand, do not have to speculate about that. He wasn't
the lackey in his story- no; he fell in love with one of us and
wanted to remain with her. Unfortunately, she was mated and the beau
played with poor Bram's mind.

Some say that we
were the great makers of everything yet this is not true. But we did
have a hand in Shakespeare's great works, and many of the artists
used our steady hands to help with their perfect creations. Vlad the
Impaler was not a vampire either, just a tyrant that got what he
deserved in the end. Um ... let's see, what else is there? We have
great political power but always try to be fair. If you could picture
the world as a puppet show then what everyone sees are the puppets
and we are the puppet masters. I know it can sound terrible, but it
is a fact of life. We developed mentally before man and were thus
able to dominate the weaker species. I do hope that you do not think
less of your kind, or me, for the speaking the truth so frankly…
but that is the best I can give to you. Any questions, my darling?”
My mother's eyes were penetrating.

“
That is like
a lot to take in. Bram wasn't a vampire, just obsessed with one. We
control all the important stuff and always have. But if that were
true then what about the witch hunts and things like that. How did we
let that happen?” I needed to understand my own people.

“
Ah, well,
those were dark times for us. We were the ones being hunted. Many of
our kind have special gifts for healing and illusion. Our talents
work on mankind. There are some that can work over the mind of both
us and them, but it is generally looked down upon. We were hunted for
our unique abilities. Man tried to knock us out of power, but many of
us merely had to pretend to be human and we survived in our stations,
untouched. But that left those that had flaunted to the hands of the
trials. It was unfortunate that we could not get involved in these
for fear of our own discovery. Many times the accused would try and
negotiate with their captors by giving more names and hiding places,
but this never worked and generally led to more death. Some went
underground and hid from man- fear is a very powerful tool. But not
all of us were so easily scared, so we were able to keep control over
things afterwards … and soon the trials disappeared into
history. Emma, I know there are many moments in time that you can
recall where there has been cruelty towards other humans, they are
generally not as they seem. The ancient Egyptian times are a clear
example of when we got ahead of ourselves and enslaved humans. Or
allowed them to believe us to be Gods and Goddesses. Times have
changed though. Oh, I almost forgot one more thing about our history,
one that involves your dear friend Michael … it was in the
times of the druids when we first came into contact with our enemy-
the werewolf. Their legends say that their people evolved to help
destroy us from the world because of some great evil we had
committed, I am certain that there was also a level of jealousy for
the great things we had accomplished as well. That is the beginning
of the hunt between our kinds. We have always outnumbered them and so
they have not been a real threat. But now they hunt us as though we
are game and it injures our numbers when we lose one. You see, we are
only able to have one birth, oh, now I am getting ahead. Your father
can explain that if you have no more questions for me.” She
glowed with knowledge and I was shocked by what my mother knew.