Upon Waking (Youngling Series) (8 page)

The
club was busy, as always; the bouncers merely glancing Tessa's way before opening their respective doors to let her in. The crush of bodies would have at one point in her life made Tessa anxious to quickly leave. But tonight, dressed in a silver mini-skirt and loose marigold tank top, she felt comfortable and confident. She held her head up and smiled, careful not to make eye contact with anyone seeking her attention. Although she had shown surprising control over her blood lust, she was still only a mere two months into her change and the hunger could easily rear its blood thirsty head and sweep her into a killing frenzy. So caution was her best friend these days.

Tessa maneuvered her way through the crowds, making it to the bar in double time. Carter grinned at her from behind it, his large hands resting easily atop the varnished wood as he leaned towards her. 

“Welcome to the Hollow, little lamb. Alyssa and I had started to worry about you. She had said she hadn’t seen you since the masquerade.”

“Carter, right? Somehow, I don’t imagine you felt quite as much concern as your friend.” The male shrugged and grinned, flashing two long canines at her. “Where is Alyssa anyways?”

“She happens to be off for the night. Doesn’t mean she isn’t here, however. I suspect she is somewhere out there, in the crowd, drinking her fill. So tell me, lamb, how can I be of service?” Carter leaned a little further over the counter and Tessa wondered how she could have ever mistaken him for Harper. Yes, they both had black hair that hung down into their eyes and Carter was certainly handsome enough. His eyes though…they were the brightest shade of emerald that Tessa had ever seen. They nearly glowed, they were so bright. And he was missing the scar on his upper lip. The vampire’s skin was perfectly smooth and bronzed with just a hint of dark stubble that was just coming in.

“You’re starring.” Tessa gave a little shake of her head and smiled.

“Sorry. I was just…Anyways, I'm looking for Harper. Is he here?” Carter jerked his head towards the door at the side of the bar.

“He’s in his office.”

“Thanks.”

“Any time, lamb.”

“Don’t call me that.” She turned and made her way to the side of the bar and knocked once on the door before opening it and walking in. Inside, the walls were covered with shelves filled with books and a single desk with a dual screened computer with two chairs facing it. Harper sat at the computer and smiled when he looked up at her.

“You showed up. I wasn’t sure you would. You seemed so angry earlier.” He stood and walked around the desk to take her in his arms. “I'm glad you did, though.” Before Tessa could utter a single word, Harper's lips came down on hers and Tessa melted against him, her arms coming up to circle his neck and pull him closer.

With a groan, Harper backed her up against the door, his lips moving slowly against hers like they had all the time in the world. Tessa heard a click and realized he had locked the door. She gasped against his mouth and pushed him away with all her strength. Harper flew across the room, crashing into one of the many shelves, books falling to the floor around his feet. Tessa's chest heaved as she struggled to catch the air that she no longer needed to breath. She slowly straightened and rearranged her tank top that had slid up her stomach.

“I didn’t come here to make out with you, Harper. I came here for an explanation and I don’t plan on letting you distract me. So just knock it off.” He chuckled and smoothed down his tie, his eyes dark as he took his seat at the desk again. Tessa followed suite, taking one of the chairs facing him. “Sorry, I'm just a little on edge right now.”

“No worries. I completely understand. Where would you like to start? I’ve already explained how you were turned.”

“I'm not looking for more of that story. I want to hear yours.” The room fell silent as Harper stared at her, his face contemplative, like he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to tell that particular story. Tessa opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off.

“My story…Not many people ask to hear it. I won’t lie and say I'm not surprised. It is a long and sad story, I suppose, but one that should be told on occasion. Would you like something to drink first?” Tessa shook her head, settling further back into the chair. “I’ll try to tell it in order but, to be honest; it is harder than it sounds. So be patient.

“The year was
1599 and
 
Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex, had
 
arrived in Ireland with over 17,000
 
English troops, hoping to make an attempt on Ulster. My father, Stephen, hoping to avoid having his only two sons being brought into a war that he wanted nothing to do with, fled the country. He took his second wife, Liamhain, the twins she had borne him, his eldest son from a previous marriage and his son’s betrothed with him. They boarded a small vessel destined for the new world. Some days, when I think back, I wish we had never left Ireland. I think he wishes it as well.” Harper stared at the far wall, remembering the long journey and the even longer streak of bad luck that welcomed them to their new home.

“I can’t remember how long the journey took, just that it was long and difficult with many lives lost at sea. The captain hadn’t counted on there being so many aboard his ship and had miscalculated the need for food and fresh water. He also hadn’t counted on a vampire being among his passengers. See, back then, my father was the only one of my family afflicted with that particular problem. It’s not like in the movies, you know.”

Harper finally met Tessa's gaze, his eyes glinted with unshed tears. But he quickly blinked them back before she could comment on them. He took a deep breath and continued.

“It is possible to be either born into this world, such as myself, or to be bitten into it, like you. When you are born with vampirism in your genetics, you are still only human when born. As you age, the virus begins to take hold and you start to notice differences. Increased strength, senses, and a decreased appetite, coupled with a slight aversion to sunlight. Your body reaches maturity by your seventeenth year then stops aging. I believe the term thought of by humans is a Dhampir. Vampires call them Darklyngs, or ‘young dark one’.

“I was the oldest son from the previous marriage, my mother having died in the birthing bed to bring me into this world. She was only human and to bring something unnatural, such as myself, into this world had taken a tremendous toll on her body. She lived only long enough to name me Loki before she was gone from this world.  She was of Norse descent and believed in the old gods and found it appropriate to name me after a god of mischief and trickery; of fire and deceit.”

“She didn’t know you, Harper. She was dying. Your father-“

“My father!” Harper exclaimed as he stood and walked to the book shelf behind her. “My father could barely look at me for years after my birth. He said he could not bring himself to love something that had taken his beloved Astryd from him. You see, before she became pregnant with me my father did not even know that he could get a woman pregnant with child. It was only a myth for there were very few of us back in those days. He swore never to love again, that no woman could surpass her in his eyes. Imagine my surprise when he re-married not ten short years later.”

“Ten years?”

“Ten years was all it took for him to forget her.” Harper paused, suddenly staring right into Tessa's eyes. He seemed almost to be searching for something and when he didn’t find it a small smile curved his lips. “You haven’t figured it out yet, have you? Elijah hasn’t told you?”

“Told me what?” Out of the blue, Harper’s phone went off and the two of them jumped a little in their seats. Harper held up a finger to ask for a moment before answering it.

“Harper, here…Ah, speak of the devil! And how is my little brother tonight? Mmhm…yes, she’s here with me, where else would she be? Right, well you know where we are. Good night, brother.” Harper ended the call and shoved the phone into a drawer. “Sorry about that, now where were we?”

“What did Elijah want?”

“Seems he stopped by your place and when he couldn’t find you, he got worried.” Tessa nodded slowly. She couldn’t help but wonder if Elijah should be with them, giving his side of the story. Not that Harper had mentioned him at all yet.

“Your father had just decided to get remarried.”

“Yes, her name was Liamhain and she was an Irish girl through and through. Even I must admit to be stunned by her beauty. She was young; barely eighteen and my father looked to be in his thirties. Lia, as we called her, was an orphan; her parents had been murdered when she was but a child, or so she had people believe. To try to describe her would only bring shame to her beauty. Elijah looks more like her than our sister but Rowena has her power, her strength.”

“Her…power?”

Tessa, DON’T!

She nearly flew out of her seat in fright; it had been weeks since she had last heard the strange voice in her head; the voice that she now knew to belong to Elijah. She scowled and crossed her arms. It was unfair of him to keep so many secrets from her when she had none from him.

“Lia was not an orphan as she had led us to believe. She was what was called a leannán sídhe, a creature of the Tuatha Dé Danann.”

“You’re telling me that Elijah’s mother was a fairy?” Tessa burst into laughter, not stopping till she realized that Harper was just sitting there, staring at her. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” He nodded slowly. “Holy crap, you have got to be kidding me.”

“I’m completely serious, Tessa. It doesn’t really surprise me that Elijah hasn’t told you yet. He never was very forthcoming with the mummy dearest crap. And I believe they prefer the word
fae
, not fairy. Lia was basically the Irish version of a Greek muse. She would find a particularly handsome looking fellow with a modicum of talent and offer her services to him in exchange for his love. Only, Lia ended up falling for my father instead of the other way around. So, they were married and she gave birth to Elijah and Rowena.”

“I didn’t know that Elijah even had a sister. I’ll just add that to the list of many things I don’t know about either of you.” Harper chuckled and sat back down, leaning back in the plush chair.  “So, your father remarried and had more children then left the old country. What happened to your…betrothed?” The word stuck in Tessa's throat like a wad of dry cotton. He’d been engaged to a woman that he had loved and she had died. She couldn’t begin to imagine the pain that had caused him. The pain was clearly evident in his dark eyes, the unshed tears from before welling once again.

“Her name was Isobel Mac Carthaigh. Isobel was beautiful and smart and…” Harper’s voice drifted off as he lost himself in the memory from so long ago, staring at some spot on the wall behind Tessa's head. “She was everything to me, my reason for getting up in the morning. Isobel had no idea what I was, of course. Not until the very end.

“She died from a simple case of dehydration on the trip to our new home and when it became evident that she would not be joining us in the new world, I broke and told her everything. What I was, what my father was…that I could save her if she would only let me…” Harper cleared his throat, staring down at his hands. “She refused me, of course. Isobel was extremely religious and was in fear for her soul, as well as mine. Two days before we reached shore, she told me she loved me and that she would see me again on the other side as long as I repented and never gave into my
demon
.” The word was spit out as though it were acid, the anger that filled him evident on his face. “She didn’t realize how little choice I had in that matter.”

A tense silence filled the room and Tessa knew Harper would go no further with his story; nor was she about to ask him to. She stood and walked around the desk to him, kneeling between his legs to lay a hand over his. She didn’t say anything, just looked him in the eyes so that he knew how sorry she was. It surprised her when a moment later he continued.

“I buried her when we made port and the moment she was in the ground…I took my own life in the hopes of staving off the transformation I knew awaited me. I wanted, more than anything, to join her in the afterlife. I cared about nothing else. Elijah tried to talk me out of it but there was nothing he could say or do to change my mind. I leapt from the cliffs overlooking the port.”

“Harper…”

“My own father did nothing to stop me because he knew. Tessa, he
knew
I would come back; that my death was the catalyst for the change. Elijah says I was gone for only a day and that when I came back I was barely recognizable...no long human.”

“I’m so sorry.” Tessa stood and laid her cheek against his head as his arms wrapped strongly around her slim waist, tugging her down into his lap. Harper's lips suddenly covered hers in a searing kiss, leaving Tessa dizzy. Then she was kissing him back, taking his face in her hands and biting gently at his lower lip.

Harper groaned loudly and, in a flash, everything from the desk crashed to the floor and Tessa was on her back, Harper tightly grabbing her hips. His fingers dug into her soft flesh and she gasped, arching beneath him.

“Harper-“

The loud knock at the door froze them both, a snarl escaping Harper's throat. When he looked down at Tessa his eyes crackled with heat, the tips of his teeth drawing blood from his lower lip.

“Sir?” There was another knock at the door, Carter obviously too worried about his own life to actually walk into the room. After another silent moment, Harper climbed off of Tessa and they quickly straightened themselves out, leaving the mess on the floor to be put to rights later.