Hello everyone! Welcome back! It's been a little while since we've all gotten together so let me fill you all in on what's going on with me. First and foremost I am feeling much better. After my stay at a mental home (others call it a halfway house) I've discovered an interesting irony: being in the worst place imaginable is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Ever since then I've had nothing but good news. My daughter is getting big and we're only getting closer. My book is nearing full completion, gearing up for print and to go on eBooks. My sales career is kicking off. I'm helping my mom sell her house (it was on the market for a week and we've already got a buyer!) My brother is getting his Afghanistan tour cut short so he'll be home in time for my birthday! And I'm getting to reconnect with all of you!!
I'm feeling much better, both physically and mentally. My pacemaker was replaced last Tuesday. It's still a little tender but overall I feel great! To all those people who have written in to me, Sam, Korina, Korenza, Ellen, Namie, Wolf, Sher, and Anita to name a few, I wish to impart my heartfelt thanks and well wishes for you too.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the latest episode of Abandoned Blood.
Chapter 16
Nadia and her surprises. I will never tire of them, but I'll never get used to them either. It seems like every week she has a new "surprise" for me. Granted the last few have been nice, but that wasn't always the case--just ask Father Darien, Tiffany, Travis, and/or Henry. But this was a good day so far for the most part, and damn it, it was going to stay that way, which is why I regretted asking, "So what's the surprise?"
She just smiled and replied, "If I tell you it won't be a surprise now will it?" I don't know what it is about this chick, but whenever she says those modern phrases with such ease with her eastern European accent, it just makes me hotter for her.
"A hint?" I tried putting on my pouty-face, but her beautiful, perfect, vampiric smile rendered it useless.
"A hint?" she repeated. "How about this: think hard enough and you'll know exactly where we're going and what we're going to do."
I groaned my disapproval. I didn't want to think, let alone think hard. I rested my head against my hand on the window. I looked over at her and took in her outfit with a new disregard. I've noticed over the past few weeks that she dresses a certain way for every occasion, albeit one I don't understand in the least. She was dressed in something somewhat elegant, not like our first meeting, but much better than when she's just bumming around the house. And I was in a pair of black jeans and a corset-looking-bodice-tank-top thing. She said she designed it herself, and I'd believe it. That's another thing I've been having a hard time getting used to: my clothes being taylor-made to me.
We made a few turns and stopped at the light. Nadia leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Close your eyes," she murmured in my ear, her vampire pheromones lulling me into a near-stupor.
I did without a second thought. I trusted Nadia with my life--shit she's saved it I don't know how many times. I inhaled her scent like the flower I knew her to be. She may be a sadistic killer that'll rip your insides out in no time flat, but it's not like she does it for no reason. It's simply the nature of her being. Is it terrifying? Yes, but it can't be helped. Besides she does it mostly to keep me safe and in some twisted way it's kind of sweet--blood and guts aside of course.
Looking at her so content made my heart flutter a little. I like it when she's like this, peaceful, relaxed, at ease with herself. I know about her childhood and when she became a vampire by virtue of a shared pain-filled memory, and I'm very much aware of her degrading situation with the local master vampire, Father Darien, but my brain is still on the fence about how I feel about her. Yes she's protected me a lot from the little street demons and from the master himself. I adore her for that. She's taught me a few things about fighting them off and she takes care of me in ways I never could have asked for. And for that she's important to me. But there's one final threshold before it becomes something more. I'd like to think I'm in love. I'd like to think I had the courage to tell her that, but I've been burned by love too many times before. Yes, one time is too many. Of course it doesn't help my confusion any that she's already said those three little words to me.
"We're almost here," Nadia's sweet voice said, pulling me out of my own little world. I looked up and noticed that we were parking in front of the Were-House.
This is my surprise? I almost said. We both have been here countless times before, and a few as a couple. "Okay, Nadia, I'll bite. What's the surprise?"
"Remember, Charlene, answers always lay within," she said with a charming smile, showing me a slip of fang.
"Okay Miss Fortune Cookie." She giggled as we got out of the vehicle. I held her hand as we walked up the sidewalk.
I couldn't help but notice that her grip was a little tighter than usual. ''Something wrong?"
"Just nervous," she retorted looking down.
After a moment, I prompted, "About..."
"Your surprise."
Of course she was worried about that. I swear she had to be the biggest worry-wart I knew. She's worried about how I'll react to my surprise, but doesn't think twice about ripping a man's throat out of his neck. I don't think I'll ever understand vampires. Hell, her hand started to tremble when we were a few feet from the door. "Jesus Christ, Nadia relax. It's just us. You don't have to worry so much if I like it. Chances are if it came from you, then it's awesome."
"I hope you think that in five minutes." I let out a sigh.
Marcus met us at the door with his marker in hand. "Evening ladies. You two know the drill. She me the cards." Both of us had them out and ready for the question. Even though I'm underage, he marked me able to be served alcohol. I like having good friends.
"Enjoy yourselves ladies." The tall black man winked at me as I passed him. There was a glint in his eye that told me he was in on whatever Nadia has waiting for me. It was almost creepy, he's never done that before.
There was something else that piqued my attention. Or should I say something that was missing? We walked through the dark entrance tunnel to no noise whatsoever. In light of recent events, yeah I was a little freaked out. My grip on Nadia's hand tightened.
"Relax, Charlene," she coaxed in her eastern european accent.
"Why is it so quiet in here?" I couldn't hide the panic in my voice. "Nadia? Nadia!"
A booming sound of a heavy electric guitar shook the air. The chord played for a few seconds before the rest of the band kicked in. It scared the shit out of me. The stage spotlight turned on to reveal Sven standing at the mic. The place went from dead silent to roaring like a concert. I spun to Nadia, her face smiled brightly in the dim light to show me her fangs. Sven's voice bellowed out a tune from another one of my favorite Five Finger Death Punch songs, "Never Enough".
"What is all this?" I had to shout over the noise. Nadia either too wrapped up in the music or flat-out didn't hear me. I nudged her arm. I repeated the question only to get an even brighter smile from her. It may have just been me, but her fangs seemed longer. "Nadia, are you okay?" I asked with my mind Her eyes dilated. "Never better," she answered back.
"IT'S NEVER ENOUGH/NEVER, NEVER ENOUGH! NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY!" Sven sang out. He knew it was one my favorites that Kerberus has covered. As I looked into Nadia's swollen eyes I could see the gears in her head turning.
Our eyes stayed locked for another few seconds. The band started fading into the background. The crowd noise seemed to be a mere whisper. I heard Nadia's voice in my head once again, whispering sweet things that only I held dear. My heart melted as she spoke. She stepped into me. Her hand traveled up my arm, her strong fingers raking my skin with just enough pressure to give me goosebumps. Her eyes blackened fully. I more than welcomed the pheromones she threw at me, though I put in a little resistance.
"Don't do that," she all but growled.
"Why not?" I asked coyly, the question steaming off my lips.
"We haven't gotten to your surprise yet." She had to force the words out of her mouth. A pained expression slowly replaced the hunger. "If you keep doing that I just might lose it here and now."
I loved hearing those modern American phrases in her accent, especially when they come out in a raspy breath. "I though you liked to be teased."
"Not in public with this much free energy in the room." Her other hand roughly grabbed my waist. She balled the fabric of my top in her hand, fighting off the urge to rip it off. "Charlene... Stop it." I love making her beg.
"How can I do that when you're tugging at my clothes?" Nadia let go of my top. I ran my hand down the length of my body as seductively as I could, smoothing out the fabric. I noticed a few holes where her claws grabbed me.
"IN THE END, WE'RE ALL JUST CHALK LINES ON THE CONCRETE; DRAWN ONLY TO WASHED AWAY. FOR THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN GIVEN, I AM WHAT I AM... I'D RATHER HATE YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU ARE, THAN EVER LOVE YOU FOR SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT. I'D RATHER YOU HATE ME FOR EVERYTHING I AM, THAN EVER YOU LOVE ME FOR SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT!... IT'S NEVER ENOUGH, IT'S NEVER ENOUGH..."
Nadia continued staring at me with her blackened eyes. I tried to read her aura like a book written in a different language. The words were right there, but I couldn't quite make it out. After I heard Sven sing those lines everything became a room of nothingness, save us two. I don't think I could put my finger on it, but as eerie as it was for her to do that, it felt right. We were the only people or things that were in the room, almost literally.
Nadia reached out and touched my cheek. I closed my eyes as her fingers gently rubbed against my skin. My head fell against it, my hand covered hers. I kissed each one of her fingers. Her thumb wiped away a tear that I didn't know I let out. Before I knew what happened, my vampire pulled me to her and kissed me fully.
Her lips were both rough and sensual. Nadia's strong hands held me to her as our mouths massaged one another's. Her tongue traveled over my lips knowing damn well that would get my juices flowing and there wasn't a fucking thing we could do about it right now.
Fuck it! I reciprocated. My tongue mashed against hers, savoring the rough-soft texture. Her hand moved up to my breast, her mouth groaned against mine. Her breathing was getting hoarse. Her aura blended with mine, coating me with every emotion and sexual thought running through her mind. I moaned when her hand squeezed. My hand slipped under the skirt of her dress. Naughty little thing took her panties off without me realizing it. And her juices were flowing. I teased her a clit. Her head reared back, then covered my wounded shoulder. Her fangs touched my delicate skin, her tongue tickled my scar. I shoved my finger inside of her and immediately went for gold. I touched her G-spot with just enough force to get her off without making a mess. Her tongue's pressure matched my own. I think we orgasmed together. If my surprise was finger-fucking my vampire during my brother's concert then it's the best surprise ever!
"All right, that felt pretty good," I heard Sven say to the Were-House. I opened my eyes to find Nadia standing her usual arm's length away clapping. I ran my fingers over my lips to find them completely dry. Okay, what the hell just happened? "We're happy to be playing this stage tonight to give a little surprise to a special someone." That got my attention. There's no way that troll is talking about me. "Terry, point the light on her. There she is!" I shut my eyes as hard as I could. "My baby sister, Charlie! Happy Birthday!"
What! I thought amidst the enormous applause and cheers. What the fuck is he talking about? My birthday isn't for another month. I tried calling out to Nadia, but everything about the room bombarded my senses. The air filled with emotion so rapidly and the odor of alcohol-laced breath hit me so fast that I nearly collapsed. And would Terry shine that fucking light somewhere else? "Nadia..." I drawled as I felt my head going numb. "I don't feel so good."
The only thing I remembered after that was my half-brother making a crack about singing a hoedown.
******************** "Charlene? Honey, can you hear me?" My eyes cracked open. Looking down on me was Nadia's perfect smile. I groaned and put my hands over my face. "She's awake," I heard her say to someone else.
"About freakin' time," an all too familiar voice scoffed. "After all we had to do to make this happen."
"What are you talking about, ass-wipe?" I hissed through my hands. "My birthday isn't for another month."
"You see that?" my brother spat. "Not even a 'thank you'."
I could only groan at that. My blood was boiling and my head felt like it was in a fucking vice. "Nadia, Sven, could one of you get me some aspirin please?"
The troll cracked up. "Damn, Charlie, you are such a lightweight."
I slammed my fists on the ground and sat up. "Shut the fuck up!" I screamed, regretting it a second later. "Just tell me what the hell is going on here."
"We thought you might like it," Nadia apologized. "Sven is going on a big tour in three weeks and wanted to do something nice for you." Great, now I have guilt AND a fucking migraine. "We thought you knew about the tour." I hate it when this strong woman refuses to meet my eye like that.
"Nadia I'm..."
"Don't bother," Sven chided. "I thought a concert dedicated to you would be the best gift I could give. But no-o-o. You had to go and fuck it all up."
"Hey, why don't you shut up." I shouted standing up. Ow. "I've had a really bad last couple of weeks and then all of a sudden I pass out in the middle of a fucking club. Give me a break here."
He chuckled. "That's the thanks I get for all of this..." We both tossed our hands up in defeat. Weird. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes. For some reason I couldn't get a read on his aura, or his mind. His memories were nothing but a brick wall. I changed my vision over just to see if I could get a response from him. Nothing, but a harder glare. "A bad couple of weeks huh?"
"Yeah," I answered tightly. I never was good at fighting him--the last time he nearly put my arm in a cast. "Why?"
"So I see that you've already found out the truth. That only took nineteen years."
"What truth?" If he knew anything about anything, now was the time to get it out of him.
"That my dad is not your dad." I nodded my head. "So did she tell you who your real dad is?"
I shook my head. "She really didn't have a chance to."
"Why not?"
My mouth hung open. Shit. "I thought you knew."
"Knew what?" he asked in an soft, steady tone.
"That mom and dad are dead." Again, I got no response from him beyond a simple blink. His stance became somewhat defensive, probably from hearing it come from his baby sister more than anything, but other than that he didn't move a muscle. "Nadia killed them when dad attacked her. Mom tried fighting her off with a kitchen knife, but Nadia overpowered her and killed her. There was so much blood. Mom cut her in the wrist and on the neck, they bled out on the floor." A shiver went up my spine remembering that much. "It was... sickening."
He gulped. Good, a reaction. "How did she kill them?" His light tone cracked a little.
Okay Charlie, think. Don't speak, think. Telling him that vampires exist and one killed our parents could set him off in ways I can't, or would ever want to, imagine. Telling him that I'm the person who is supposed to keep her sated and sane would only add to that. But how can I lie after I just told him she overpowered dad? It wasn't like there was a gun involved or anything. Mom was the one holding the knife, not Nadia.
"Charlie?" The sound of my name brought my eye back to his. They were pleading; he needed to know what really happened.
"Sven, when I tell you this, promise me that you'll believe me. Tell me that you won't think I'm crazy, or full of shit, or anything like that." A pain-filled nod was my answer. I took a deep breath and blurted out, "Nadia is a vampire."
It didn't have the effect I was expecting. He just continued to stare at me, but now there was a tear in his eyes. I made a gesture to get more than two words out of him. "And you're her Watcher?"
What the fuck... Seriously, did I miss the day when all these people got together and had this conversation? "You knew about all of... this, this whole time?"
"No. I figured it out when Sylvia told me a story about our great aunt." My half-brother sat down on the sound box behind him. "If you recall, mom used to tell us that Aunt Betsy was ridiculed, shunned, and abandoned by our family right about the time you were born. I never understood why, she was always nice to me and mom. But in Sylvia's version mom was much more to her than a great-niece. She was her Watcher. They had a sexual relationship that the family never spoke about. You reminded everyone so much of her that the family decided to never allow you to see her with out another family member around." That explains all the tension at the family Christmas parties.
"I remember grandpa going on and on about how the two of them bewitched men into living with them, and, in mom's case, marriage. He told us stories about his own grandmother having a sister who wasn't normal, who was always kind of 'out there'. His family didn't shun her, but they didn't talk to her either. Sylvia laid out our genealogy dating back to that point. She said she got it from some old texts that were laying around one of the university's depositories."
I believed that last part. What I couldn't believe was everything else. How was it that Sylvia could tell him, but not me, especially after she came to visit me in the hospital? "When did she tell you all of this?"
"About two weeks ago." Go figure. "And since then I've been spending my time trying to piece together everything that's happened to you in the last two months." His mood went from stale to sour in a heartbeat. "What happened to their bodies?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea. When mom cut Nadia's throat I lit out of there and took her to the hospital. I haven't been back to that house since. Father Darien came to our room and told me that he 'took care of it' for me, but that's the last I heard of anything."
Sven's eyes doubled in size. "You're on speaking terms with that son of a bitch?"
Then my eyes doubled in size. "You know of that son of a bitch?" At least we share an opinion of the man.
"Yeah, mom said he used to come to the house every so often to check on the family. She said he was an old friend of Aunt Betsy's, but then went on to describe one night a while back when she got wasted with some friends and ended up in an alley somewhere. She said the last thing she remembers was a pair of 'screaming blue eyes looking down at her'..." He paused as he and I shared a realization. "Oh shit..."
My eyes widened, my heart sank. "No. No." I shook my head, the pain faded into a black hole of nothingness. "No! I can't accept that." My brain switched into autopilot. "No. He can't be..."
Nadia came back with a glass of water in one hand and a couple of pills in the other. "Charlene, what's going on?"
I started crying when I looked her face. There was no way I could say it out loud. "No," I mumbled, then said again and again with increasing force. "No. No. No! NO! NO-O-O! It's not ture. THERE IS NO FCKING WAY HE'S MY FATHER! NO!" That's not true. That can't be true.
"Charlie, calm down," a man's voice said.
I pulled out of his reach and wrapped my arms around myself. I fell to my knees, then fell to the floor. I cried, then screamed, then cried some more. My fists started to hurt the harder I punched the floor. "Charlene, talk to me," came Nadia's sweet voice. I felt her arms around me. I stopped thrashing, but continued rocking. She kissed my head and asked, "Who's your father?"
My eyes cracked open. She looked so beautiful, so strong. How could I sit there, wrapped in her warm embrace, and tell her that her eternal tormentor was my father? The man whose sole existence was to make everyone around him suffer and die was the man who fathered than girl she loves. It would destroy her from the inside out, the outside in.
"Charlene, please, tell me. Who's your father?"
"Father Darien."
Next time on Abandoned Blood:
Charlie tries to come to grips with the latest revelation in her fucked up life. Even with the overwhelming evidence, she refuses to believe it. Nadia, Amber, Sylvia, along with Sven, get together with Travis and Henry to try to get to the bottom of it. The whole time Charlie considers telling them about the book still in her backpack.
Meanwhile: Tiffany and Marianna struggle to stay one step ahead of Father Darien and his army of street demons to get their own realization to the girls in question.