Eden's Mark (10 page)

             
The noxious fumes of burning fetid flesh made my stomach roll and I lost concentration, falling from the sky. I hit the ground with enough force that I felt bones break. Blinding pain surged through my limbs as I lay on my side, fighting the sleepiness that was calling to me. A warm wet puddle spread out underneath me, feeding an illusion of floating in warm water.

             
Cool hands touched me, “Eden, do not go to sleep, stay with me.” Gregor was at my side, coaxing me from the fuzzy haze in my mind. Maiya stood over him staring down at my limp figure.

             
“Gregor, she has ruptured her femoral artery, she is losing too much blood. She has broken too many bones.” Maiya was crouched over me as I lay in a heap on the ground. I saw her eyes glisten and realized I was going to die right here, right now.

             
“Leave us.” Gregor spoke quietly. “Make sure Lex is taken care of and tell Valora, Eden will be fine.”

             
“Gregor, I know what you are thinking, but it is a bad idea.” Koren was now just a fuzzy spot in my vision.

             
“Leave us, I said!” The force behind his words made even me shudder a little. My two friends took to flight effortlessly and left me with Gregor.

             
“Eden, this may hurt for a moment, but it will help you.”

             
I used my mental connection because I was just too tired to talk.

             
I’m sorry I fell, the smell was… bad. I know you are angry with me.
I slurred even in my mental voice. I was just too weak and tired for anything else.

             
Very much so. You did exactly the opposite of what I asked you to do. Do you know what I would have done had they taken you?

             
Be happy you don’t have to watch me anymore.
I tried to laugh, but it was more of a cough.

             
Now is not the time to discuss this. Let me heal you.

             
Gregor?

             
Ssh. You are weak. Rest and let me do this.

             
I love you.

             
The world went black, I was falling into a void of nothingness. Save Gregor’s essence keeping me tied to the living world, I would have let go and succumbed.

             
Before I was completely out, I barely heard Gregor whisper,
“I love you too, Eden.”

             
A warm, spicy, semi-metallic tasting liquid wet my parched throat. I drowned in the heat until my broken down weary body gave up on me.

Chapter Fourteen

             
Searing pain crept down my sides and through my muscles, waking me with an agonizing wail. I seized up as wave after wave of excruciating spasms covered me. I had no idea what was happening, I did know this feeling made me feel as if my blood was acid and my organs were melting. I stifled as much of my groans as I could, not knowing what was happening to my body.

             
I writhed on the ground in the dark, praying the waves would end. The precious moments between the racking pain was just long enough for me to try to reach for Gregor.

             
Gregor. What is happening to me?

             
I didn’t know this would happen. Forgive me, Eden. I couldn’t lose you.

             
Another wave hit me sending my limbs convulsing.
Gregor.
Tears were in my voice.

             
Eden, I am here. Relax. Let me shield you from this unpleasantness.

             
I felt Gregor’s essence wrap around my soul and a shield went up in my mind. My last memory was of warmth.

             
I woke to the soft rhythm of the earth and the faint glow of the veined mineral light on the walls. I was alone, but for how long? I was clean with fresh clothes on. Wait, these are not my clothes. I didn’t pack any large tee-shirts or boxers…these are his. Did he clean me up and change my clothes? Please say he didn’t. How embarrassing! I wracked my brain but came up empty. Fuzzy half-images swirled in my head, not making sense. I needed to find Gregor so he could fill me in.

             
I stretched my muscles, relieving the stiffness, taking note of new sensations. Something was different about me, nothing I could pinpoint. I could hear everything around me in surround sound; bugs chewing and crawling, underground water bubbling away. I heard it all so clearly.

             
I was on my feet before I even knew it. “Huh.” I thought about moving and my body reacted so fast I didn’t even have time to process it until after I was on my feet.

             
My movements were extremely fast, unintentionally, catching me off guard. I opened the door and walked out taking only seconds to reach the living room. No one was around. The kitchen and other rooms were vacant. Where was everyone? I went out to the mountainside where the battle had raged, hoping to see someone, anyone. Again, no one was up here. I surveyed the area noticing how normal everything looked. Someone had cleansed the whole area. The rock was free of blood and gore, the forest below had been re-grown, and the char from my fire nowhere in sight. An image of Lex lying in a pool of oozes and blood immobilized me. What had I done?

             
I yelled over the mountainside letting my grief float into the night. I sank to my knees realizing he might be dead.

             
He lives, but he is weak. Maiya and Koren have taken your family to their village. Lexington needs special treatment that is beyond Valora’s skill to heal.

             
She healed my arm after that shadow scratched me, how much different is it?

             
The shadows pointed claws hit Lex’s heart. The venom he injected made it to his blood stream and all his organs. Your aunt’s potion cannot pull that much venom out, Lex needs internal healing that the shifters can aid Valora in.

             
This is my fault. What if he dies? Why did I make them come here?
I hung my head in my hands and felt tears well up inside me. If I had listened, maybe Lex wouldn’t be fighting for his life.

             
Eden, what you did was reckless and extremely dangerous. I speak for us all when I say we are very angry that you disobeyed our request. However, without you, we would have been overrun. You helped us a great deal. You saved our lives.

             
Not everyone is safe. To say I saved your lives is a lie. Lex is dying because I couldn’t follow simple instructions.

             
You did save us. I am here; Valora, Koren, and Maiya are safe because of you. Lexington will pull through.

             
What happened after I fell?

             
You broke your femur, arm, both ankles, and your spine. You severed your femoral artery and lost a lot of blood…you almost died.

             
Gregor’s mental voice faded at the end leaving the image of grief behind.

             
Oh. I don’t remember anything except pain. Waves of pain.

             
I didn’t remember any of that. I had a faint sensation of telling him I loved him, but my memory was clouded.

             
I had to give you blood to replace what you had lost. If I had not, you would not be here with us.

             
Where are you?

             
I continued to search for him but it was of no use. He was not in the mountain. I closed my eyes and reached out to him, finding the connection inside me. I felt his sorrow and shame for an unnamed boundary overstepped. It weighed on him like thick chains pulling someone under water.

             
Eden…I did what I did to save your life. You must understand that.

             
Understand what, you gave me blood and now I am fine. What is so bad about what you did?

             
When you woke, did you notice anything odd about yourself?

             
I appraised myself once again. I noticed the super-sensitive hearing, effortless movements, speed, and night vision.

             
There are a few things different, what about them?

             
You still have no idea what I am, do you? Eden, I am a child of the night, a vampire. I need blood to survive. We have supernatural speed, hearing, vision, we are exceptionally strong, and our skin is almost impenetrable. We heal faster than most and we can live far longer than the other races.

             
Vampire. So…

             
I played with the word on my tongue, grasping the reality of what it meant.
It all came together as I rolled it over in my mind. His look, smell, speed, all of it clicked as I dropped to the ground in a heap.

             
What did you do to me?

             
Gregor was next to me in seconds. I looked in his almost black eyes and saw the fight raging inside him. Thunder rolled in a turbulent storm of confusion, anger, and sorrow swelling deep in him.

             
So, does this mean I am like you now? Will I need to…you know…drink blood?

             
I could do a lot of things, but drinking blood just wasn’t one of them.

             
I don’t know. I have never done anything like this before. I can give a person blood to heal them without them changing over. In fact, it takes a lot of our blood to make a conversion. I do not understand how this happened to you; I did give you a significant amount, but not enough to turn you. The only thing I can think of is that you already had these tendencies. My blood brought them to the surface.

             
What about the horrible pain I felt?

             
That was your bones knitting back together at an elevated speed.

             
I see.

             
Anger at the situation, worry over my reaction, pain of hurting me, all this etched into Gregor’s marble face.

             
Please forgive me for causing you pain. Had I known all these things would happen, I would have chosen another course of action.

             
Gregor, you did what you thought was right, kind of like I did with the fight. Both had repercussions that neither of us took into consideration. I can’t say I am not a little queasy about what this means, but I am not mad at you. You saved my life and for that, I can never repay you.

             
Unexpectedly, Gregor pulled me to my feet and our fervent gaze locked tight on each other.              

             
He was so wounded and ashamed. “You owe me nothing. You are so magnificent. All the things you can do, the way you make people feel when they are around you. The way you make
me
feel.” Heat radiated between us and our hands began to glow as my mark tingled.

             
“Gregor, ever since I found you in the woods, I have thought about you. There is a pull inside me that doesn’t go away. I felt it long before our connection was created. I grabbed your essence because it was the brightest light I had ever seen. I can’t even describe the feeling that filled me when it touched me.” The heat spread through both our bodies and my stomach knotted and did that flip thing.

             
“Do you know why it was so bright?” Gregor’s voice was low and sultry. His smell was intoxicating and I was finding it very hard to pay attention.              

             
“It’s because we are destined for each other. I love you, Eden.” He broke away from me and turned out towards the forest.

             
“Gregor, you know how I feel. That’s why I fought. I couldn’t lose you. I felt the pain you

were
feeling and it tore me apart inside. The void I feel when we are not connected makes me want to cry. I know I am too young to really know and understand love, but somehow, deep within myself, I know there is no other for me. I love you, Gregor.”

             
“I have been going in between worlds since you were an infant, watching over you. You do not remember me, but you have seen me since you came to be with Lexington and Valora. I was there the night you went through the portal as a baby. I knew your mother and father. Marcus was a good friend of mine. There are so many things I wanted to discuss with you, tell you, but never had the chance.” Gregor wouldn’t look me in the face. I felt his shyness and inadequacies with himself.

             
“We have time now.” I lifted up on my tiptoes putting my hands behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss. I still wasn’t used to the vampire abilities I had gained and accidentally pulled him too hard and we bumped noses.

             
“Oops.” My laugh eased the tension and Gregor joined in.

             
“Will you come with me? There is a special place I want you to see. No one else has been there, it is secluded, in a sense. I’d like to share it with you.” His face lit up like a young boy’s.

             
“I would love to.” I blushed, sounding like a kid myself. I wasn’t good at flirting, I had never spent time talking to many guys.

             
“All you have to do is think about running, and your body will do the rest. Just try and stay with me.” He gave me a wink and jumped off the mountainside.

             
“Whoa.” I looked over the edge staring at the long way down to the ground. My stomach dropped.

             
“I can do this.” I backed up two steps and took off running with preternatural speed. I let myself free fall until I got close to the ground, my body reflexively adjusted my feet and I landed gracefully.

             
“Nicely done, Eden. You’re a natural.”

             
“I could get used to this.” I beamed.

             
We ran through the forest at a pace that was too fast for a normal person to keep track of. I saw in perfect clarity where we were going even for the speed at which we traveled. When we came to the end of the forest, Gregor grabbed my hand and we jumped over a waterfall and into a canopy of trees. My enhanced vision allowed me to see the trees in the darkness of night. They were extremely tall and thin. The bark was velvety and the color of moss, while the leaves were rubbery and the color of a blue jay feathers. The animals in the trees hid in their homes as we jumped around. Gregor stopped on the limb over a deep pool below us.

             
“Jump straight into the pool and keep swimming until you see me.” With that, he dove head first into the water.

             
I hesitated for only a moment before I flung myself into the icy water below. I sliced through the water holding my breath hoping to find an opening soon. I swam through an underwater cave until I felt a hand pull me out of the water. I stood in front of Gregor gazing at his masculinity in the moon light. He was tall and handsome, with his coal black hair falling over his grey eyes. I could look at him forever and not get tired of it.

             
“It’s just through these vines.” Gregor parted the dark green vines. I walked through. not knowing what to expect. I was hoping for a small piece of normality, something recognizable from my own world. What I saw was unbelievable.