Blood and Guitars (40 page)

I’d been allowed to peek at the individual
paintings she’d done for each of us on occasion, but I hadn’t seen
so much as a glimpse of the front cover art. I was anxious to know
what our new album would look like to the world. I followed her
back into the loft and walked around the easel to see the image
painted on the canvas. It was so bizarre that it took me a moment
to take it all in. The largest object in the painting was a huge
gnarly tree. Its limbs reached upward at odd angles, tangling in
each other and twisting toward the sky. The tree itself wasn’t
exactly out of the ordinary, but the weird and wonderful part was
that guitars were hanging from its branches, drooping like fruit.
Among them, I recognized Liza, my green Fender Strat, O’Shea’s
white Telecaster, and Jonas’s sunburst Jaguar Bass. Other random
guitars hung from branches as well. There were seven in all.

My eyes followed the trunk of the tree down
to where it disappeared into the ground. An amazing likeness of me
was leaning casually against it staring back at me. Jonas was
sprawled out on the grass that surrounded the tree, his hands
behind his head as he gazed up at the sky. O’Shea sat near me, his
back against the tree trunk. Chase was the only one who sat further
away. Once I looked closer at the likeness of him sitting on a tree
stump, I saw why. A bush to the right side of the canvas had the
different parts of a drum set growing out of it. Cymbals, tom toms
and a snare all protruded from it in the correct order and at the
right levels. Chase was holding a stick in one hand, a knife in the
other. It appeared he was whittling a drumstick out of it.

The detail in Aurora’s painting amazed me. It
was only then that I began to fully appreciate just how much of a
photographic memory she had. The metallic paint accents made the
instruments come to life. The copper and silver guitar strings
shone in the light, as did the metal tuning knobs. The casings of
Chase’s drums were mostly silver metallic paint, adding a dimension
of reality to the fantastical image. In the space to the right of
the tree, with the dark and ominous blue sky in the background, the
album title Until Sanity was painted in cryptic letters. The name
of our band was in the sky above the tree.

I was so engrossed by the painting that I
hadn’t realized Aurora was staring at me expectantly.

“Well?”

“It’s perfect,” I exclaimed. “It’s so much
more than we could have ever dreamed up. I don’t know how you do
it.”

She gave me a satisfied smile and I made a
connection between our chosen art forms just then. The process of
writing a song is never complete for me until I can share it with
an audience. I could tell by the look in her eyes, which had
returned to the state I was used to seeing them in, that showing me
the painting had been the final step in the creative process for
her.

“I can’t wait for the guys to see it,” I
added. “I wish we could take it to them right now.” I pulled out my
phone, a little overzealous. “Do you think they’re still up?”
Aurora smiled while I checked the time. It was one in the morning.
“Uh … maybe not.”

“Tomorrow will come soon enough.”

I sighed, resigned to wait. “I guess.”

“Besides, I bet I can think of a topic that
will take your mind off it.”

“You know me too well,” I told her. “It’s
scary. Really.”

Aurora picked up her brushes and carried them
to the nearby sink to rinse them. “Of all the things about me that
might scare you, that should be the least of them.”

I started with the question that had been
burning in my mind since the night I’d found out about Aurora’s
true nature. “You told me before that you’re still very young in
the world of vampires,” I said. “What did you mean by that
exactly?”

“The first decade is spent learning to
harness the special abilities that come with being a vampire.” She
lifted my hand and began playing with my fingers as she continued.
“We are encouraged to spend enough time using each one to gain
control over them. When the end of the tenth year is up, the Elders
test us to determine the extent of our control. In short, not all
vampires are granted the privilege of using all of the powers
available to us in the end. Those who have made poor decisions will
be limited for the rest of their long lives. That’s why most
vampires belong to a clan. It’s the job of the clan leader to help
guide young vampires down the right path to achieve control over
all the abilities.”

“Wouldn’t you do whatever it takes to learn
them all well?” I asked. It seemed pretty simple to me.

“It’s harder than it sounds,” Aurora said.
“Most new vampires find that they are naturally able to control one
ability better than the others. That ability is called our
moon-given talent. Mark, for instance, is a natural healer. That’s
why it was an obvious choice for him to be the Synod’s contact at
the hospital. Being a doctor is quite easy for him, compared to
most. But the temptation to always choose the healing ability is
great.”

“What’s your moon-given talent?” I asked,
although I thought I might already know.

“I am able to shield my thoughts from others
without much effort.” She smiled. “Reading other people’s thoughts
is something I have to work for. We choose an ability to practice
each month with the full moon. You’ll understand better when you
attend a ritual with me.”

As thrilling as it was to think about
attending a secret vampire ritual with Aurora, it was also a little
nerve-wracking. “I can deal if you’re here by my side.”

“I will be.” She raised her hand to the back
of my neck, raking her nails through my hair gently. “I’ll teach
you everything I know.”

I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers. My
heart fluttered, which I knew she would hear, but I didn’t care. If
you had told me six months ago that I could feel more alive than I
do when thousands of fans are screaming for me at one of our shows,
I never would have believed it. But the exploding feeling inside my
chest every time I kissed Aurora was proof enough that there is
something even better than being a rock star.

It had only been one week since I’d learned
that my girlfriend was a vampire, but those were seven days I had
managed to stay alive against all odds. In the little time I had
left as a human, there was a lot for me to learn about what I would
become. There were still so many questions, so many things I wanted
to understand before I became a very real, very permanent part of
Aurora’s world. If everything went well (and I survived the mob of
angry vampires that wanted to kill me) I’d have Aurora, a new
album, and a string of cities to tour. And to top it all off: a new
pair of fangs.

If you enjoyed the book, please let the
author know by rating and reviewing it online.

About the author:

Heather Jensen lives in Southern Utah with
her husband and son. She enjoys writing fantasy for teens and
adults and is currently writing the sequel to
Blood and
Guitars
and other works of fiction.

Connect with Me Online:

Heather’s Website:
http://www.heatherjensen.info

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/BloodandGuitars

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/theedgeofwords

Official Twitter Hashtag for Blood and
Guitars: #bandg