Elysium (7 page)

“It’s beautiful.” Mikhail looked over at me and smiled. “Is this the Manor?” It seemed like such a mundane word for such a magnificent place.

“It is.”

I followed him up several steps that led to the huge, dark, double wooden doors. I turned around and took note of the front yard, if you could even call it that. It was more like a football field, wide and large with a circular paved driveway. A fountain sat in the middle of the driveway—a robed woman perched high on a podium and holding a vase. I assumed the water poured from the vase, but the fountain was turned off for the season. I could see the clinic from where I stood, along with another building far behind that. I couldn’t tell what the building was, but there were no windows and only a few spotlights around it.

“Ready?”

I turned, nodded, and followed him in. My mouth dropped open as he pushed the doors open and I stepped into the foyer. A staircase sat on each side, meeting together at the top loft. A chandelier hung right above me, a crystal canopy casting a rainbow of light along the walls. Two large doors sat off to the side, both closed.

“Are you coming, Meadow? I will have someone give you a tour once you’re settled in.” Mikhail gestured me to follow him up the stairs.

My shoes clicked along the wooden floors, echoing off the high ceiling. I followed him up the stairs, turning left once we reached the landing. Rows of doors lined each side, each closed with shiny, brass numbers placed in the center of the wood. Loud music came from some of them, as well as laughing and talking. We took another turn and stopped at a closed door at the end of the hall. It was the only door down this hallway, which had elegant pictures hanging on the walls and soft lighting illuminating everything. Mikhail turned and smiled at me as he opened the door and stepped out of the way. I walked in, stunned again at what was on the other side.

“Oh, my.” I slowly walked in until I stood in the middle of the room, turning in a full circle.

“I take it you like it?”

“Oh, yes.”

“This is one of the bigger rooms in the student quarters, and all yours.”

I walked over to the vanity, which sat in the corner. I ran my fingers over the dark wood with the gold trim, the three mirrors catching different angles of my face. The seat was dainty looking, with puffy cream colored padding. On the other side of the room sat an armoire, trimmed with gold. Four drawers were nestled at the bottom and two bigger ones on the top. A little farther down sat a cream colored chaise, gold and floral print on the soft looking fabric. In the center of the room was a huge bed, a black comforter topping it, and about a dozen silk pillows atop it. I walked over to it, fully aware of the big smile on my face. A door sat off to the side, and I could see black tile peeking from the darkened space. I assumed it was a bathroom and smiled at my luck. There had never been a time when I had my own bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed, facing Mikhail, and noticed the flat screen TV hanging on the wall. My eyes traveled down to the floor, and that was when I noticed several sealed up boxes. “What’s that?”

He stepped into the room and shrugged. “I thought you might like your things from your old room. So I had them brought here.”

I was touched by his thoughtfulness. “Thank you, that really means a lot.”

He shrugged again and smiled. “I’ll have Cadeon stop by and answer any questions you may have.”

He lifted his hand in goodbye and shut my door. I took off my coat and stared at the door for several minutes. Boxes littered my floor, and I got up and walked over to them. The carpet was plush beneath my feet, and when I sat down I pulled one of the boxes close to me. I ripped the tape off and sat there for a minute just staring at the contents. A picture lay atop the mass of articles inside the box, and I stared at it a moment before picking it up. Tears started to form at the corner of my eyes. It was a picture of Cecile’s seventh birthday, when Marie had taken everyone to the zoo. Cecile sat atop an iron hippo, Toby, Mack, Marie, and I standing beside her. Some old lady had offered to take the picture for us, which had been a bad idea, since it took her twenty minutes to figure out how to focus the thing.

I smiled as I stared at the picture, Cecile’s hair a wild mess, and all of us looking drained from the walking. It had been a great day, one I would never forget. The tears didn’t stop as I continued to pull things out of the box. Little trinkets the kids had made me, pictures, and some stuffed animals. I went through the other boxes quickly, my head pounding from my crying as my emotions bombarded me.

When I finally finished going through all the boxes, I sat there, thinking about how everything was so different. Just thinking about how “normal” my life had been only days ago, and how drastically it had changed, was like a punch to the face. My life wasn’t mine anymore. I had to follow a whole new set of rules, had to abide by them or I could die. I didn’t even know if I could go out in the sun, something I really had liked before, but still something I would have been able to do if I were still human.

Human.

I still couldn’t believe I didn’t fall under that category any longer. I couldn’t really expect people to understand how I felt, but to wake up one day and find out you aren’t
you
anymore is depressing. The tears continued to flow, my sinuses becoming so clogged I had to breathe through my mouth. I still wasn’t used to my fangs, and every time I sucked in a gasp of air, they would prick my inner lips. It made me cry harder.

I just had to keep telling myself what Marie would say, “you have to accept the things you can’t change.”

I didn’t know if I was strong enough.

I sat at the vanity and stared at myself. I looked the same, but so very different. I probably looked at my teeth a hundred times, touching the sharp tips of my fangs. My face looked paler, my hair darker and shinier. My eyes were still a little red and puffy from my crying, and because my skin looked so pale, they really stood out.

I had thought about what happened, running it through my mind over and over again, trying to put the pieces together. None of this made sense, and I half expected to wake up, lying in my bed at Marie’s house, realizing this was all a bad dream. It wasn’t though, and even though a part of me wanted things to go back to normal, I knew it wouldn’t happen, that I would have to accept this new life. I ran my fingers through my hair, under my eyes, and back again to my teeth. I heard a knock at the door and looked at myself once more in the mirror before getting up to answer it. Even though I knew Cadeon was going to come by, it was still a shock to see him standing on the other side of the door when I opened it. He had a smile on his face, but as he took in my appearance, and most likely saw my red rimmed eyes, his entire expression changed.

“Have you been crying?”

I was surprised to hear such concern in his voice, but I knew he was just being nice.
He did after all help me recover from my transition. I smiled and rubbed my eyes, which only made them redder. “No, I mean, I was just looking through some old things, and thinking about stuff. Everything’s dusty and all.” It was a bad lie, and I knew he didn’t buy it, but admitting I was crying over a picture seemed kind of lame. I was glad he didn’t press it, and, as I stared at him, my pulse picked up, as it seemed to do every time I saw him. He had ditched the white lab coat and now wore faded jeans and a Henley, which I might add, made him look really good.

“Can I come in?”

“Oh, of course.” I felt my cheeks get hot and stepped to the side.

“I thought I would come by and give you a tour of the place, that is, if you would like to?”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds great.” I didn’t want to stay in this room anyway—looking at all my old things and missing everyone that I loved. He was only standing at the entrance way, but I felt his presence so intensely. I don’t know what it was about him.

“Would you like to go now?”

I nodded and followed him out the door, shutting it gently.

“Everyone is in class now, so it should be fairly quiet.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me.

I walked a little quicker, so that I kept pace with his long strides. He pointed out the student rooms, which I didn’t bother telling him Mikhail had already done.

“Most of the upper level rooms are for student housing, along with a few wings on the east and west side of the Manor.” He took me down the staircase and stopped in front of huge, closed double doors. I stayed a few feet back from him, and, as he pushed them open, light speared through the crack. “This is the ballroom. Dances and other social gatherings are held here.”

I followed him in, my mouth dropping open in awe. The floor shined brightly, and I could even see my reflection in the black marble. A gigantic chandelier hung from the center of the cathedral style ceiling. I could clearly see the crystals covering it, each looking like an iridescent feather. It was strange to look at, but so very beautiful. A four piece orchestra was set up on a stage off to the side, along with elegantly dressed tables and chairs on the main floor. He pointed out the amenities of the room, saying words that I didn’t even understand, but wasn’t about to admit.

After the ballroom, he took me to the kitchen and the dining hall, which might I add did not look like any cafeteria I had ever seen. He showed me the sitting areas and pointed out chairs that he dubbed “Louis XIV”, whatever that meant. The place was bigger than anything I had ever seen, with more rooms than I thought one building could have.

“Would you like to see the courtyard?”

I nodded and followed him as he took so many turns I would have gotten lost by myself. He finally stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. I walked past him and into a beautiful courtyard. Semi-bare trees were lined against a stone wall that was at least twenty feet tall. An elaborate fountain stood in the center of the courtyard, a winged angel seated on the edge, her small hands reaching for the Heavens. There were several stone tables placed around the courtyard, some covered in awnings, other illuminated by the moonlight.

“It’s so beautiful.” He was probably sick of hearing that from me since I said it at every room, but this place was truly breathtaking. The white lights on the trees added to the magical feeling the place inspired, giving it just enough of a glow to make it seem like a dream. I wrapped my arms around myself, just then noticing the chill in the air.

“I thought vampires couldn’t feel the cold?” I was half joking, but hadn’t I heard they were immune to hot and cold weather? I heard Cadeon’s deep chuckle and turned and smiled up at him.

“No, we can feel fluctuating temperatures. We may not be human, but we do have senses.” He laughed again and gestured for me to follow him back inside. “Come on, we can talk in one of the sitting rooms.”

I rubbed my arms together and followed him through the door and down the hall. We ended up going into what looked like a regular living room. There weren’t any fancy chandeliers, elaborate paintings, or polished marble adorning this room. Two black leather couches sat in front of a fireplace, a coffee table between them and two end tables on the sides of them. I made myself comfortable on one of the couches, the leather’s coldness going through my clothes and straight to my bones. Cadeon sat on the other couch, facing me. We sat there a moment, just staring at each other, hearing the rhythmic tick of the clock on the wall.

“So, would you like to ask me some questions? I know all of this is new, and probably very strange.”

I gave him a sarcastic smile, or at least that was the look I was going for. He had no idea how strange all of this was. I rubbed my arms together, trying to get rid of the chill that had settled into my bones. I gasped as the fireplace became alive, the flames licking through the wood and the sound of crackling echoing throughout the room. I looked at Cadeon, a small smile tilting his lips.

“You seemed cold.”

It had to be an electric fireplace.
Maybe he had a remote or something. I looked at his hands, which were folded neatly on his lap. “How did you do that?” The warmth of the fire felt wonderful, and I felt the chill start to leave my body. He shrugged and looked at the fire.

“We all have our own … talents.”

I thought he might elaborate on it, but when he didn’t, I took it upon myself to ask. “So, what else can you do?” All of a sudden the lights went out, the glow from the fire casting shadows across his face. In the next instant the fire flared wildly, the heat so intense, I felt my skin become hot. The next instant the fire returned back to normal and the lights came back on. I could hear the lock unlocking and locking and looked behind me. “Wow. That really is unbelievable. What else?”

“That’s all. I can control fire and electricity, and I’m pretty good with locks.”

“Can I do things like that?”

“Every Arcane is different, each gifted with unique powers. You will have to work on unlocking yours, but it’s possible you can do what I can do.
It’s also possible your powers may be weaker or may far surpass my own.”

“Can you teach me? I mean to ‘unlock’ my powers, that is?” It fascinated me, the very idea that I could do these supernatural things. It almost drowned out the depression that had started to slowly settle within me.

“I’m sure you’ve already realized your hearing is far better, and your eyesight as well.”