Nightmare (32 page)
Di must be close by. I hear hear voice as she says, “Ivan, darling. What on earth are you doing here?” The ice is in her voice, but her tone is friendly.
“We're here for Peter. We want him back.” The sound of Ava's voice is almost my undoing. How could I have forgotten how lovely it is? It is, perhaps, the most beautiful sound in the entire world. Di cannot talk to Ava, or look at her. I hear her moving away from Ava. I did not give parameters for the bind, but it seems to be working.
“Ivan, why are you here? With her?” She cannot talk directly to Ava. I enjoy that very much. Cal looks at me, and then emerges. He doesn't do anything to stop me from doing the same. The sun is pleasant on my face after being underground. My eyes find her face and she beams the most brilliant smile at me. And I smile back. For the first time, I can smile without trying to.
Ava
Oh. My. God. He's here, he's here, he's here. I want to run to him and touch him and make sure he's all in one piece. Yes, I know he's immortal, but that doesn't stop me from making sure he's unharmed. Or at least that he's still generally okay.
“Peter.” I breathe his name, and everything inside me shatters. All the pain and the wanting and waiting. I want to jump on him so bad.
“Ava.” He breathes my name right back. He's still got the most glorious smile on his face that I don't think I'll ever forget as long as I live. Which I hope will be a very long time.
“I am here on an errand. It is none of your concern.”
“It is my concern. You are my son. I don't let my children keep secrets from me.”
“Then you should have put that in the bind.” Oh snap. I'd never been an Ivan fan, but I was starting to kind of like him. It would be a whole lot easier if it weren't for the almost strangle and the fact that he wants to destroy Peter. Other than that, we'd be buddies.
“What is he doing here?” Ivan says to Cal.
“I have come to support our mother. Unlike you.”
“She is not our mother,” Ivan snaps back. Feisty.
“You knew?” Peter says.
“Of course I did.” Ivan looks at me like I'm an idiot. And now he's back on my shit list.
“Why did you not tell me?”
“It did not matter at the time.” Guess I'm not the only one in the dark.
“It does now.”
“So it seems.”
“Can we go now? You guys can stay and chat, but I've got to get my beauty rest.” I yawn, which is totally unplanned, but totally works.
“Ivan will you tell that human that she is not leaving with him. I will not let it happen.”
“And how are you going to stop me? None of you can touch me. You can't even look at me or you'll crumble into a pile of dust. Which might not be a bad look for you.” I stare right at her. I feel her flinch and look away. Oh, I am enjoying this. It's sick, really. Ivan pinches my back through the blanket.
I walk to Peter and finally give him my hello. I let the blanket fall away from me, which exposes skin that they can't touch. My hands go around his neck and I pull him in. He resists for a moment, and I don't understand it. What is he doing? And what about Ivan and the whole promise thing? I shut my brain off for a moment and kiss him with everything I have. He gives it back to me. Tenfold. It's perhaps the sexiest kiss I'll ever have. Tongue and lip nibbling and hands in hair and pressing bodies.
“Ivan. Come to me. Bring her.” Di's voice is like a being dunked in an ice cold pond in January.
“No,” he says, stepping away from her.
“What did you say?”
“No.” He looks at me one more time. His eyes are deep and haunted. Then he winks. And he's gone. I scream, because it's a very troubling thing to see a person wink at you and then crumble into ashes. A wind comes out of nowhere and sweeps most of them away.
A brilliant sound fills the air around us. Di. She screams on and on as Peter puts his hands on my ears. It doesn't do much to stop the sound. I guess noctali can't cry. But talk about the cry of the banshee. My eyes tear up a little bit, even though I hated him most of the time. He'd brought me here. And he'd sacrificed himself for me. I hold onto Peter. I turn around to see his face. It is still, and not in a good way. Di stops keening. Finally.
“You did this to him, Peter. You killed your brother. For her.”
“Yes.”
“And you will keep killing. For her.”
“Yes.”
“When will it end? Would you try to kill Cal? Me? You cannot kill your mother, Peter. Not if you love me.” Cal is silent, watching. I wish he'd go to hell.
“Are you crazy? Don't listen to her.”
“You should listen to me Peter. She will destroy you too. I can't have that. Do you love me?” He looks at me and then over my head at her.
“Yes.”
“Then do what has to be done.”
“It will not end. I will do what she asks. It will only be a matter of time.”
I meet Peter's eyes and I can almost hear the wheels churning. He's sending me vibes, but I can't quite make them out.
“I am sorry, Ava. I must do this.”
“What? What are you doing?”
“Are you going to kill her at last?”
“Yes. I can no longer fight the bind.” Di shrieks with delight. It isn't that different than her wail of sorrow.
“What are you talking about?” What the hell?! Peter takes my arm, not roughly but strongly. “Peter.” I know this can't be happening. That this is some plan he's got going that I'm just not in on.
He pulls me tight against him, and I think he's going to fly with me. Until he sinks his teeth into my neck. It isn't gentle this time and it's not on my wrist. I try not to scream, but it seems like the thing to do. I can feel him sucking the life from my body. Just before I think I'm going to pass out, he pulls back and whispers something so low I can barely hear it.
“Adore.”
And now I'm pleased to give you an interview with Peter and Ava!
(clears throat and shifts into "talk show host" voice) Today on Left and Write we have Peter Hart and Ava-Claire Sullivan with us. They're both characters in my book, Nocturnal. Let's have a round of applause for Peter and Ava!
*blinking applause sign*
Ava: Thanks for having us. (looks at Peter.) Aren't you going to say something?
Peter: Yes. Thank you for having us.
Me: Oh, you're welcome. (shifts in seat, looks through question cards) So why don't we start with you, Ava. Tell us about the first night you met Peter.
Ava: I, um, I don't really like to talk about it. (looks at Peter again. He blinks) It was kind of a bad night.
Me: Except for meeting Peter.
Ava: Well, he didn't really make a good first impression. I thought he was going to kill me.
Peter: I nearly did. I still might.
Ava: (rolls eyes) Yeah, you've said that before. A million times. I have yet to see it.
Me: You don't seem really concerned, Ava.
Ava: I know I should be. Because there was that one time... but I just don't think that he'd hurt me. (stares at Peter. Peter stares back. Staring lasts for several seconds)
Me: *clears throat* So Peter, what was it about Ava that attracted you?
Peter: It was her eyes. The way she looked at me. I could not look away. (reaches one finger out to touch her cheek. She blushes) I wanted to keep her safe. Because her soul is pure. I couldn't taint that.
Ava: (looks down at lap) Thanks, Peter.
Me: That's very sweet, Peter. (fans self with cards) So you'd say it was an instant attraction?
Peter: Yes. She reminded me of my mother.
Ava: Awesome. That's what every girl wants to hear. "Your soul is pure and you remind me of my mother." (crosses arms)
Peter: You are upset.
Ava: (sighs) No, I'm not upset. I'm just... I don't know. It's like sometimes you say sweet things like that about my soul, and then you say other things, and it's very confusing. Do you understand?
Peter: More or less.
Me: Moving on. Peter, was it hard to tell Ava about you not being human?
Peter: No.
Me: Not at all? No reservations?
Peter: She needed to know. So I told her.
Me: You didn't think that would freak her out at all?
Peter: I thought that it might. I still wanted her to have a way out, if she wanted. I could not keep it from her any longer. (he blinks)
Ava: It wasn't really that big a secret. I noticed that first night when you weren't breathing.
Peter: You did?
Ava: Uh, yeah. There was also that freaky conversation with your brother that tipped me off.
Peter: Yes.
Me: Are you close with your brother, Peter?
Peter and Ava at the same time: No.
Me: (senses this is a touchy issue. Decides to move on) We're almost out of time today. How about one last question? Hmmm... (shuffles through cards) Oh! Same question for both of you, what is your favorite thing about the other person?
Peter: I am not a person.
Ava: Yes you are. We've been through this a million times. Just go with it, Peter.
Peter: But I am not.
Ava: (turns to Peter, ignoring me) Peter Henry MacKintire. You. Are. A. Person. You may not be human, but you are a person. So just answer the question.
Peter: Her. She is my favorite thing.
Ava: Aw, you're my favorite too, Peter. (turns to me) How could you not fall for that?
Me: (gazing at Peter) What? Oh, right. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Thank you Peter, Ava for chatting with me today.
Ava: It was cool.
Peter: Thank you.
Me: So, uh, how many brothers do you have, Peter?
Ava: Oh boy.
*music plays as credits roll*
Nightmare is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012 Chelsea M. Cameron
www.leftandwrite7.blogspot.com
e-mail: [email protected]
Anyone who has ever written a sequel will tell you it isn't easy. Writing can be a solitary pursuit, but it can't be done alone. I have the following people to thank for helping to bring Nightmare to life:
For my parents, as always. Dad, I did it again :). Mom, sorry I've been neglecting you. Again. I swear things will get back to normal soon. I love you.
For my friends: Bix, Eenie, Ray and Lizard. You guys still rock my socks.
For all the book bloggers who have been so amazing and supportive of me and my writing. Especially Tiff Mahaffy, Jessica from Lover of Paranormal, Autumn from the Autumn Review and Ashley from What's Your Story.
For all the people who have followed me on Twitter, followed my blog or liked my Facebook page. Thank you.
To my fellow indie author friends, including Shelly Crane, Fisher Amelie, Michelle Leighton, Brina Courtney, Ali Cross, Raine Thomas, and Tiffany King. You all warm the cockles of my heart every single day.
And finally, this is another book about love. Because, to quote the Beatles, "all you need is love."
Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA writer from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, vacuuming and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head.
She is hard at work on her next project, a non-ghosty ghost story called Whisper, which will be out in May/June. Numb, the third book in the Noctalis Chronicles will be out in the summer. Numb, the final book in the series will be out this fall. To learn more about Chelsea, and her work, visit her blog: http://www.leftandwrite7.blogspot.com, find her on Twitter or Facebook.
Nightmare
The Noctalis Chronicles, Book 2
By
Chelsea M. Cameron
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