Breathless (18 page)

That night, Alexei prepared for the unbearable pain the death of his mortal being would bring. He had spent all day staring into the sunlight, knowing it would be his last opportunity to face its bright rays for some time. Though his father could tolerate the sunlight, it had taken several years for his eyes to adjust and skin to keep from burning in its hot glow.

Alexei dined on all his favorite fixings, from roast duck and cranberry jelly to rack of lamb and rosemary potatoes. Such delicacies would lose their appeal, their taste becoming bland, once Alexei had turned. He dressed in his evening gown, and climbed into his oversize bed, satin sheets and velour trim enshrouding him.

At midnight, Vladimir came to him. He lifted Alexei’s wrist gently to his mouth and bit down hard, his long, sharp eye teeth piercing the skin fiercely. Alexei let out a painful yelp. In an instant, it was over. Vladimir kissed his son on the forehead and left the room.

Sweat poured from every inch of Alexei’s body. He felt no pain, just fever. He lay there paralyzed as his father’s sting rippled through his body. In the morning, he woke to find that he was still the same man. The nurse brought a tray of food to his bedside, and to his surprise, it still carried an incredible taste sensation. The flavors danced together on his tongue, almost more robust than they had been the night before. As often was the case, sometimes it got better before it got worse. This was one of those instances. Despite his protests, the nurse drew open the heavy drapes, letting the sunshine pour into the room. Alexei felt nothing unusual. In fact, he felt perfectly well.

This same process repeated for three nights, until finally, Vladimir sunk his teeth into Alexei’s wrist and began to drink his warm blood. When Alexei was near death, Vladimir slit his own wrist for Alexei to drink from. Then, he left his son there to writhe in pain. All night long, tremors shook throughout his body. Chills raced up and down his spine, and he screamed in agony from the horror. By morning, it was over.

The nurse was no longer waiting by his bedside with a warm meal. The drapes remained closed, and Alexei just lay there, thirsty. He couldn’t move, and no one came to help him. He lay there for days, wondering when the feeling of emptiness would pass. After what felt like eons but was actually only a week, Vladimir appeared in the darkness of night.

“
Come, my son,” he said, extending his hand for Alexei.

The pair walked hand-in-hand down the spiral staircase and out into the woods. Vladimir had hoped his son would appreciate his discrete feeding habits, preferring to keep attention away from their unusual lifestyle, but he was disappointed to learn that Alexei’s thirst was far beyond anything he had experienced. A lone hunter had been taking aim with his bow and arrow at a wild boar when Alexei came across him. With one swift move, Alexei pounced on the hunter, twisting him to the ground, and searing into his jugular with his pronounced eye teeth.

Vladimir was taken aback. He had created a deadly monster, and he feared their façade would soon be revealed. He quickly found a way to dispose of the body and attempted to force his son back indoors. But Alexei was not yet done. He wanted more. The fair-faced demon took to the streets of the nearby village and began terrorizing those who walked its alleys. That one night, three more lives were lost.

By the time Alexei returned home, Vlad had packed a number of their belongings and made preparations for them to leave hastily. Alexei realized the need to leave; he was terrified of the monster he had become, but he couldn’t bring himself to get in the waiting carriage. Instead, he vowed to spend forever mourning his lost love. At that moment, Alexei went running into the woods as fast and as far as he could get away from the village. Vladimir stayed at his castle for decades, hoping his son would one day return, but after years of longing, he decided it was time to move on.

Alexei remained in isolation, living in a small, Tudor-style cottage in the English countryside near the woods where he and Lorelei were to meet on that fateful night decades earlier. He spent day after day painting his memories of their brief time together over and over again, until the day he learned of Lorelei’s failing health. When he could sense that there was no longer any hope for her survival, he went to her.

“
You are my love, my life,” he told her, her frail body trembling at his touch. “Though your beauty has withered like a wilted flower, I will love you forever.”

He was every bit as perfect as the last time she had seen him, unchanged, like Michelangelo’s David or an immortal god. And, with the electric pulse of his touch, she knew. She understood who he had become.

“
We can be together still,” he said softly. “I can offer you eternity.”

She closed her eyes, the corners of her thin lips turned upward, and she sighed. He knew what she was thinking. Though he wished she would accept, he knew the monster he had become. He wouldn’t wish an eternity of the nightmare he had already lived for so long on any other person, especially her, his one true love. She shook her head to decline his offer and squeezed his hand with all her strength, though he could barely feel her grip.

With that, her eyes closed for the last time. Despite her last wish, he bit her wrist, hoping it wasn’t too late to begin the process, but he knew her heart had stopped. A rage burned inside Alexei. He was angry for not acting sooner. Years earlier, he had vowed to come for the next crimson-haired female in Lorelei’s family line, and he knew now this was his only remaining hope for happiness. This yet unborn female would become his immortal bride, to live with him for all eternity.

My grandmother stopped pacing and looked up at me then. I knew she was done relaying her folkloric tale.

“
That’s a great story grandma, but I’m not sure how this relates to Chaseyn,” I said quizzically.

“
Honey, don’t you see? You’re the only other crimson-haired beauty to be born into this family line,” she said as if it should answer the question.

“
And?”

“
And Chaseyn … well, he’s the hunter. Chaseyn
is
Alexei.”

My heart stopped, and for a minute, I forgot to breathe. Then, I heard a rattling as the doorknob twisted open.

“
Did you guys have fun today,” my mom asked, a huge smile inching across her face as she marched into the room.

Chapter 19 - Answers

“
Can I be excused,” I asked, avoiding my grandmother’s apologetic gaze. I didn’t wait for an answer before running out of the room at top speed.

“
Lia,” my mom called after me. “Honey?”

I could hear my grandma telling her that I hadn’t been feeling well. At least the woman had the good sense to cover for me during my inevitable meltdown. All the way up the stairs, I could only concentrate on one thing—Google.

Tossing my homework to the floor, I slumped over my keyboard and began typing, searching for answers. I was hitting the keys feverishly, trying to narrow down the terms to elicit a precise response. My efforts were futile. Aside from a flattering news story in a community paper about a boy with an incredibly astute ability to decipher scientific code, the name Chaseyn Lear evoked no information about the immortal beings. Baron Vladimir Strigoy conjured even fewer hits. I would need to dig deep if I was going to get to the bottom of this ridiculous legend that was threatening to ruin my happiness.

Then, I saw something that tugged at my interest.

Origin of the name Chaseyn

Hastily, I clicked the link. One word followed the colon after his name.

Hunter

Coincidence. I was sure that it was pure coincidence that Chaseyn would be named for the very thing my grandma said he was. It was ridiculous to think that this beautiful being was anything more than that, a teenage boy who was born 17 years, nine months, three weeks, and four days ago in London, England. An impossibly beautiful, exceptionally intelligent, wonderfully mysterious teenage boy who seemed to be drawn to me like a magnet from the moment he stepped foot in Evergreen. Still, it didn’t mean anything; nothing conclusive, anyway. I pushed the memory of my grandmother’s strange tale from my head, and began sifting through my closet for something appropriate to wear on our double date to ring in the New Year.

It was nearly 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and I knew Chaseyn would be arriving any minute. Chaseyn and I had been seeing each other most nights for nearly two months. It was difficult to be apart from him, and when he wasn’t with me physically, we were connected in other ways. Even now, I was half-expecting an IM to pop up on my screen, knowing he would see me online. I was somewhat surprised that he hadn’t taken the opportunity to remind me that tonight was a very special night. Something he had been telling me all week. I wasn’t sure why, and I had no idea what he had planned, but I knew it would be spectacular. He never did anything halfway.

Chaseyn had instructed me to dress warm. Though, he didn’t tell me anything more. It was a cool December night. Dark clouds were rolling overhead as wind swirled soft snow in circles on the ground. It would be a cruel joke if he was planning to keep me outdoors in the brisk air on a night like tonight. I held my breath for a moment, letting it back out slowly in an attempt to clear my head. I wasn’t sure how I would face him with all of these inane thoughts running through my head. And, I certainly did not want to raise his alarm about my family’s shortcomings by revealing the details of my grandma’s quirky tale. He would know in an instant something was wrong. He had an eerie sense about these things, especially when it came to my thoughts and feelings. Until I had a chance to talk to my grandma and do more background research, I would just have to hide my thoughts. Tonight would be great, I told myself.

Suddenly, the smell of fried chicken wafted through the open door of my room, and I realized my mom had been carrying a bucket in her arms when I pressed past her on my way up the stairs. Now, a scent that would normally have my mouth watering was leaving me in extreme anguish. I was sure I was going to be sick, and I only had moments for it to pass or risk raising Chaseyn’s suspicions that something was wrong.

With that, I heard the front door creak and the heavy stomp of masculine feet. My mom had given Chaseyn an open invitation to virtually come and go as he pleased. Few girls my age were so lucky. I flew down the stairs to greet him, hoping to keep my grandma’s prying eyes away from analyzing his every move. I started to wrap my arms around his waist in a massive embrace, but the cold emanating from his rugged leather jacket cut through me like an icy dagger.

“
You’re cold,” I said shivering.

“
If only you knew,” he muttered so low I could barely make out the words.

“
Come warm up by the fire,” I said, tugging at his hand, but he stood frozen in place.

“
Yes, Chaseyn, why don’t you come stand by the fire,” my grandma added as she walked into the room, a chiding tone in her voice. “You look like your blood could use a bit of a warming.”

It was obvious that my grandma was goading Chaseyn on, and despite his earlier disinterest, he winked at me and took a step forward, stretching his hands out in front of him to warm them in the glow of the fire. The look on my grandma’s face was one of disappointment. She claimed to like Chaseyn, but her actions suggested otherwise.

So many possibilities swirled through my head that I felt dizzy. Given my grandma's history with paranormal experiences—she'd once held a seance for her dead cat—I questioned the sanity behind her latest revelation. For this one night, I would push these thoughts from my head—tomorrow was a new year, a new beginning. I would sort through it then. Chaseyn and Rob had been secretly scheming for weeks to plan the perfect event for this most-magical evening, and I wasn't about to let some reckless fairytale ruin the entire affair. Besides, Addie would hold a grudge forever if I skipped out, and that was the last thing I wanted. That girl was ridiculously stubborn and unrelenting when things didn't work out in her favor. To be on the receiving end of her wrath was a less-than-desirable position to occupy.

“
So Chaseyn, how do you plan on entertaining my granddaugher tonight,” my grandma asked in a taunting voice.

“
I’m sorry, Mrs. Vanderwold, but I’m not at liberty to say,” he said and winked at me. My grandma’s shoulders arched back, forcing her to sit a little taller. It was rare for anyone to speak to her in this way. Chaseyn held firm despite her threatening glare. Surely, her sudden change in affection for him hadn't gone unnoticed. Until now, her interactions with Chaseyn had gone swimmingly well. As my mom entered the room, my grandma's shoulder relaxed. It was evident that she didn't want to raise suspicion amongst the unsuspecting.

“
I assure you, Mrs. Vanderwold, Cordelia's mother is well informed of our plans and is able to reach us in the event of an emergency.”

He was curt, almost smug, in his tone, an unusual quality in his otherwise gentle nature. Only when he said my name did the hard edges of his words soften. The way it rolled off his tongue still sent chills rushing through every inch of my body, even after all this time.