A Turn of Events

“Excited?” Damien asked, driving quite recklessly down the road.

I wanted to tell him I’d rather spend the night with Elijah the cryptic vampire then him. Not that I could tell him that, “of course, where are we going?”

“Le Meurice, an exceptional French restaurant,” he glanced at me as he spoke, a cocky grin on his lips.

French, it reminded me of Elijah and the subtle French accent I could detect in his words every now and then. He had hidden it perfectly when Damien had come to pick me up.

“Do you like French food?” Damien’s question made thoughts of Elijah disappear.

“Yes, I love it,” I said, bringing a smile to my lips as he looked over at me once more.

“Wonderful,” he commented, reaching over and resting a hand on my bare knee. My lips pulled together into a tight line but I said nothing.

The rest of the ride was short. Once we pulled up to the restaurant Damien got out of the car and a valet opened the door for me, I was glad to be free of his lingering hand on my knee. My freedom was short lived once Damien rested his hand on my lower back and led me into Le Meurice. Immediately as we walked in a man dressed very nicely came up to us with a big smile, “hello Mr. Strandon, my name is Edward and I will be at your service for anything you may need tonight, may I lead you to your private dining room?”

Of course Damien would have a private dining room; I preferred the idea of staying in public with him, a private dining room seemed too intimate. We passed through the ornate main dining area, full of French art and lit by chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. We went up a spiral staircase to a loft area that would have been incredibly romantic had I been here with anyone else. You could still hear the murmur of the other patrons downstairs but the small area still felt very private. For a moment I imagined Elijah here, but of course he did not eat normal food – he’d probably try to get a nibble from the host. The thought made me grin and Damien smiled in return. The small loft area had a window that filled almost an entire wall and looked out of the twinkling lights of the city.

“What do you think Lydia?” Damien asked, taking his seat as the host – Edward – pulled my chair out for me.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, completely honest for once. I sat down and spread the white linen napkin over my lap and brushed my hair down my back to get it out of the way.

“Shall I get you anything to drink?” Edward asked.

“Two glasses of Sancerre,” Damien said, no please or thank you. He looked to me, probably wondering how I felt about him ordering for me, “it is an amazing vintage, their wine cellar here is wonderful and I am sure you will like it.”

“I must take you at your word then,” I say with a smile. I’ve never been much of a wine drinker, a very embarrassing night has taught me that I can only handle one glass of wine and I remind myself to take my time drinking the Sancerre.

I glance around the table to look for the menu and notice there is no menu to be seen. My confused gaze looks up to Damien and he is grinning. “I placed our orders ahead of time, a dish not on the menu but a specialty of the chef, he only prepares it on occasion.”

Control freak, I thought as I smiled. “I trust it will be delicious then,” I replied, raising an eyebrow.

“It better be,” Damien commented as Edward brought the wine. Definitely a control freak, I thought once more. I lifted my glass and took a small sip to taste the wine. A small, petty part of me was disappointed that the wine tasted exquisite. “What do you think?” Damien asked.

“It tastes wonderful,” and it does, once again I remind myself not to drink more than this glass. His return smile is smug and I immediately regret the compliment.

“So, how is your slave working out?” His question stirs some fear up inside me. This was what I feared, the small talk, and questions about Elijah specifically. I realized then that I had a lot to hide, Elijah being anything but a slave, me being anything but a normal human, and of course by distaste for the man sitting across from me.

I took another sip of wine to post pone answering, looking up at him once I set my glass down again. “It is working out quite well, I regret waiting so long to get one.” There, that was a good reply.

“He seemed odd, but that was such a crazy night with that rogue vampire turning up,” he looked at me and smiled, “I am grateful he did not hurt you, otherwise I would not have gotten this night with you. Especially after finally getting you to agree to go out with me,” his tone is teasing and I let a coy grin slip across my lips.

“I am equally grateful, if it had not been for Elijah I would not be sitting here,” Damien’s expression tells me that I’ve said something I should not have said.

“You should never be grateful to a vampire, they are disgusting creatures, he is your slave – not your equal,” Damien lifted his wine glass as he spoke, taking a drink of it, his dark stare on me. For a moment Damien scared me more than Elijah. Damien was spoiled and knew how powerful his position in society made him; he was volatile and was known to punish people who did him no wrong while Elijah seemed kind and noble. “I hear that you paint, why is it I have not seen any of your work?” He asked, his tone shifting as his smile returned.

“And where did you hear about my painting?” I asked, trying hard to keep my coy grin in place.

He chuckled, “I have my sources Lydia, I was curious about you, the mysterious Lydia.”

“Perhaps some people enjoy staying a mystery,” I replied, letting the words fall from my mouth without thinking. I was supposed to be pushing him away, not feeding his interest.

“Oh?” He said, raising his eyebrows, “what is it you want to keep a secret?” He leaned forward as he spoke, elbows on the table.

Thankfully Edward chose that moment to come up the stairs with our food, it smelled wonderful and looked equally good as he set the plates down in front of us. The dish was very simple, elegant almost, as all expensive meals are. Edward refilled our glasses before I could refuse, the wine was too tempting.

Before I began to eat I took another drink of wine, this one longer than the others. Damien was making me nervous and the wine was making me brave.

“So, your secret?” Damien was relentless.

I took a bite of the fish to postpone answering. “And ruin the mystery Damien? After all, what is life without a little mystery,” I couldn’t help myself, my conscience kept telling me to be boring, talk about knitting or something, but then the wine kept pushing me to say such brave things.

“Indeed, you are right Lydia; you certainly know how to keep a man interested.”

No more witty comebacks I lectured myself, the wine didn’t seem to agree. “I aim to please.” Yes that was certainly not what I should have said, the smug grin was back on his lips and a glint came to his eyes that made me squirm.

“After our meal you should come see my new home, a small thing compared to my previous one but it is closer to town – which has suddenly become much more interesting to me.” I nearly choked on my wine, I knew exactly why he would want me to come see his new home, his tone and expression was enough to give it away. I was a conquest and he thought he was close to the summit. How wrong he was.

“Perhaps another night, too much of a good thing and all,” I was very aware of how precarious this situation had become. Damien gave me a long look before grinning.

“Always keeping me interested,” he muttered, giving me an odd look before eating his meal. How wrong he was.

I was drinking my wine, finishing of the second glass I noted with a little self lecturing, when the screams began.

I jumped in my seat and turned around, but I could not see down to the first floor from where I sat. Damien stood and hurried over to look down upon the first floor. “Damn vampires,” he muttered. He took out his cell phone and made a quick call which I only caught a few words of before he was at my side and rushing me up with a hand around my upper arm. I stumbled in the heels but quickly righted myself and followed after him.

“What is going on Damien?” I asked, my question was answered when we got to the first step leading down to the first floor. What looked like a group of five vampires were working their way across the main dining area of the restaurant, flipping tables and sending guests flying across the floor if they were in their way.

“Find her!” The voice was horribly familiar and I felt my blood run cold. Alexandru, the vampire who had tried taking me after finding out I was a seer. I could only guess who the ‘her’ was.

“Lydia we must hurry, my men are waiting at the bottom of the stairs.” As soon as my name left Damien’s lips Alexandru’s eyes snapped to mine and I felt a scream leave my lips as he leaped from where he stood and landed on the stairs in front of me and Damien.

“Give me the girl Mr. Strandon and we’ll be out of your hair,” Alexandru’s voice was chilling, I tried to step back but Damien was still holding my arm. He let go and took a step in front of me.

“I have men ready to take you and your rogue friends down, do not threaten me you disgusting animal.” Alexandru grinned, obviously expecting that answer and lunged at Damien. For a moment I thought Alexandru was going to kill Damien, wasn’t that his intent when he crashed the ball? However, the vampire only knocked Damien down, successfully knocking him unconscious and turning back to me. Another scream left my lips as I hurried down the steps, thankful that my mother had thought it essential that I know how to walk in heels as if it were second nature because tonight I had to run in them. What I assumed were Damien’s men were being taken out by the five vampires I had seen earlier.

They were surrounding me, their attention turning to me as they finished off the last of Damien’s men. People lay around me groaning and motionless. I was on my own. Suddenly I wished Elijah was here.

“Looks like you don’t have your traitor here to protect you,” Alexandru’s words were calm, taunting. He circled me, glowing red eyes looking me up and down as he did. I tried to make a run for the kitchens but his hand wrapped around my arm in a grip that made my knees buckle and I scratched desperately to get him to loosen his grip before he broke the bone there. With his other hand he slapped me, the hit sending stars across my vision and making me go limp. Never in my life had I been hit. “You think you can run from me? Go ahead and try,” with that he let go of my arm and held out his hand to keep his comrades from advancing further. “Run little rabbit, I love a chase,” his smile widened so that I could see the sharp canines there. I scrambled up to my feet and ran towards the kitchen, praying there would be an exit through there. I tripped but shot my hand out to catch myself; I felt a deep pain and pulled my hand back to see I had cut my palm catching my fall. I kept running. Tears of joy almost spilled down my cheeks when I saw the exit sign glowing over a door, I burst through it and into the street, right into a hard, cold chest.

My first thought was Elijah, “Eli-,” my relieved words stopped short and dread replaced the hope. I had not run into Elijah, I had run into Alexandru. He had been toying with me completely, there had been no chance of me escaping and he had been sure of it. His red eyes shot down to my hand and suddenly the feeling of the blood dripping from the cut became very clear. Alexandru opened his mouth and was suddenly in front of me, his hand tangled in my hair and holding my head back in a painful arch. His other hand grabbed mine and held it up to his face, “I’ve heard myths about a seer’s blood, how sweet it smells and its equally mouthwatering taste, never until now did I think blood could be so potent.” I felt his thumb dig into the cut and I screamed from the sudden pain, struggling in his grip. His eyes flashed brightly and I realized my struggling was only making it worse.

He stopped his torture and laughed, “oh how I wish I could take more than a taste,” he muttered, taking my hand and licking across the cut. The feeling made me nauseous and I tried pulling my hand away. His grip continued to tighten and he pulled away with a deep breath, “very intoxicating,” he whispered. He then began pulling me down the back ally, deeper and deeper.

My eyes flashed behind me, where was Elijah? Had he not said he would protect me? I was dragging my feet too much it seemed since Alexandru picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Elijah would come, he had to come. A thought crossed my mind, absolutely crazy but maybe it would work.

I closed my eyes and tried to recall what Elijah had said about my powers. I pictured Alexandru, thought of shoving visions into his mind like I had down with the vampire slave of Damien’s at his party. Elijah had said nothing about doing that but I had to try and confuse Alexandru. I pressed my hand up to his bare neck, blood smearing against his skin and closed my eyes tightly. Suddenly my breath was stolen from me in a rush and I felt Alexandru stiffen and I was sure he was seeing the vivid flashes of images and sounds. Screams, blood, anger, they all flashed through me like a tidal wave. I gasped as I felt him let go of me and before I could catch my fall my head cracked against the concrete and once again stars danced across my vision.

I watched as Alexandru stumbled around, trying to blink away the visions. In a desperate attempt I focused all of my energy on Elijah, he said he could read minds – except mine. But maybe I could let him, maybe that nagging pull I felt towards him from our related power would call out to him. I thought ‘help’ over and over again, squeezing my eyes closed in concentration. I tried getting up but my wrist gave out and I hoped it was not broken.

“You little witch,” Alexandru swore, obviously regaining his vision of the present as he focused on me. I shut my eyes and prepared to be hit once more but the blow never came. A cool rush of wind blew by me and Alexandru let out a shout of surprise. I opened my eyes to see Elijah standing in front of me.

Alexandru stood up from where he’d been knocked down and chuckled darkly, “coming to the seer’s rescue again? You must have had a taste of her, delicious isn’t it?”

I held my bleeding hand closer to my chest and Alexandru looked at me and slowly licked his lips, making my heart race in fear. The comment sent Elijah flying at him, Alexandru struck but it was as if Elijah saw it coming, once again Elijah checked the other vampire’s blow before he even made it. I watched in awe as I realized Elijah was reading the moves Alexandru planned in his mind before he made them. Suddenly Elijah had a piece of wood artfully carved into a spike in his hand, before Alexandru could right himself from Elijah’s last blow Elijah sank the stake into him. Alexandru groaned and collapsed on the ground. I half expected him to burst into flame or dust but I knew that was only in stories. Depending on how old a vampire was a stake would only cause paralysis until it was removed. Regretfully it seemed Alexandru was old enough that the stake merely kept him paralyzed on the ground. My eyes shot away from Alexandru when I noticed Elijah was in front of me, I scrambled backwards away from him, whimpering as I did.

“Lydia, it is me, Elijah,” he spoke softly, holding out his hand slowly for me to take. “Ma chéri, we must hurry before his comrades come looking,” the thought made my heart race even faster and I grabbed his hand. He lifted me and swung me into his arms so I was cradled against his chest and shot upward. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes as I felt us soar across the rooftops, it felt like we were flying but when I peeked my eyes open I realized he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. I shut them once more and curled tighter against his chest. Never had I thought I would be so grateful to see this vampire. As his run finally slowed I noticed we were back at my house, he opened the door without setting me down and rushed into the living room where he laid me down on the couch. I had not realized I was crying until Elijah wiped his thumb across my cheek and it was wet. He carefully took my hand and inspected the cut before standing and rushing into the bathroom. He came back with my first aid kit.

Kneeling down in front of me he once more took my hand and began cleaning the cut, “I should have been there, I knew I should have followed you. I thought I would go spy on them while you were out, when I noticed Alexandru was not there I knew something was wrong and hurried to find you.” He seemed to be lecturing himself; I could hear the undertones of his French accent rising up in his voice from frustration with himself. His gentle hands finished cleaning the cut. He pulled out a gauze pad and wrap. Gently he put Neosporin on the cut and then began to bandage it up. When he was done he looked up at me and brush my tangled hair out of my face, I flinched when his hand brush over the spot where I had hit my head and worry spread across his face. “Did you hit your head?” I nodded. “Badly?” I took a moment to focus on my head and felt the jolt of pain and nodded once more. Elijah held my face between his hands for a moment, my gaze locked in his. Traitor tears began to flow freely once more and I found myself crying. He pulled me into his arms, settling me in his lap and holding me securely against his chest. “He drank my blood, I thought he would kill me right there,” I whimpered, gripping his shirt tightly despite the pain in my wrist and palm.

Elijah stiffened, did he bite you or merely drink from your wound?” His tone sounded urgent.

“He didn’t bite me,” I choked out, feeling him relax. Why would Alexandru biting me cause him to tense up like that?

We sat like that for a moment, me crying and him holding me. “We can’t stay here,” his words were whisper quiet.

“Why?” I asked, slowly starting to calm down.

“Alexandru will be able to track your scent now that he had become so accustomed to it,” his words made a shiver of fear run through me.

“I can’t just leave, everyone will think something terrible has happened to me and they’ll accuse you for sure,” I gripped his shirt and looked up at him.

He chuckled softly, “attacked by a vampire and still you express worry for me,” he mused, his tone holding wonder.

“You’re not like him.”

“Maybe in your eyes, ma chéri,” he paused and looked down at me for a moment, “you will have to make up an excuse then, for why you will not be here. That you are going on a vacation perhaps.”

“There was an art gallery that was opening in Del Mar,” that was a city about nine hours away, far enough to not be expected back soon yet close enough that no one would cause such a fuss over me going there as a last minute thing.

“Tell them that then, that tonight has made you want to get some fresh air away from this town and that you desire to go to this art gallery opening.”

I nodded, my breathing slowing down. My grip around Elijah’s neck, however, had not loosened. He stood with me in his arms and began heading up the stairs to my room. “Where will we go?” I asked, realizing then and there that I was trusting this vampire with my life.

“My home, no other vampire knows of its existence, I like to lead a private life style in my clan.”

Once again I nodded, the gentle rocking his steps created making my eyes droop. He opened the door to my room and I heard the lock click into place. He laid me down on the bed and gently began to work at taking my heels off. Before I could protest they were already off and he was pulling the bed covers over me. I watched him pace in front of the windows, looking out onto the street below as he did. For a moment he stood still and closed his eyes, his face pulled tight in concentration. Then those eyes opened and locked on me. “We are safe for now, Alexandru will not try an attack knowing I am prepared.”

“What if he gets more backup?”

“I will hear his thoughts as he approaches,” Elijah says, tapping his temple as he speaks. I must have still looked frightened because Elijah slowly approached me and sat on the edge of the bed, he reached for my hand and held it tightly. “Please rest, I am worried about you having hit your head.”

“It feels better now,” I said softly, rubbing my free hand over the sore spot. “Why were you grinning when Damien called?” I asked, the question caught him off guard and he tilted his head to the side.

“Are you positive your head is not hurting badly?”

“Answer me,” I mumbled, sleep pulling at me.

“I was considering how amusing it would be to crash your little date with that scum, looks like Alexandru thought the same thing in some ways,” his words were chilling but spiked my curiosity.

“You don’t like Damien?”

“No, his thoughts about you are hardly a gentlman’s, even without reading his thoughts I could tell he was just a bad human being. Please tell me you do not desire such a man?”

“Absolutely not, he just will not leave me alone and I don’t want him angry at me,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes weakly.

“Good, he would never deserve someone like you.”

His words made a weak smile pull up at my lips, barely there. My smile made him smile softly as well and he lifted my chin once more so I was looking at him. A yawn slipped from my lips and he sighed, “I will let you rest now,” he said, standing and letting go of my hand.

My hear began to race, he was leaving, I would be alone in my room. “No!” The plea left my lips before I even thought about it.

Elijah stopped half-way out the door and looked back at me in surprise. I had sat up on the bed, staring at him with wide eyes. “Don’t leave me in here alone,” my words were so quiet I wondered if he had heard me.

He closed the door and locked it once more, walking over to the small seating area in my room and taking a plush chair over to my bed side. He sat down in it and took my hand once more, “sleep ma chéri,” he said softly.

I laid down once more, pulling the covers over me again with my free hand. Elijah leaned back in the chair and stared at me. “When I was following your scent back to that restaurant I heard your voice in my head, were you trying to reach out to me?”

I nodded as a yawn rendered me incapable of speaking, “you had said you couldn’t read my mind but I thought I could try to let you somehow.”

“It terrified me, I thought you were near death,” he said, the raw honesty in his voice making me fight off sleep to continue speaking to him.

“I want you to teach me how to use them,” I said before I could second guess myself. There was no walking away from this life, I had to learn how to use my powers.

Elijah’s eyes widened and he leaned towards me, “teach you how to use your powers?” I nodded. Elijah sank back into the chair relieved, “I will begin teaching you once we are safe.”

Once more I nodded, my mind seemed satisfied and ready to sleep. “Thank you,” I mumbled as my eyes drooped shut and I was swept away by sleep.