In Exchange for Magic

I hardly slept, actually. My anger kept me up.

Ez didn't sleep either. I could hear him tossing and turning inside the tent.

When I finally drifted off sometime near dawn, I realized that Ez and I were going to have to work out a lot of things if we were to live together.

The sound of a crackling fire rose me from my fitful slumber. Ez was cooking something for breakfast. I stretched, yawned, and wondered out loud what time it was.

Ez's ears twitched.

I stumbled over to the fire pit and sat down, cross-legged, next to him.

"What'cha cookin', Dracula?"
He gave me a long look filled with annoyance.

"What?" I cried. "Was it the Dracula comment? Okay, I'm sorry. Would you prefer Legolas?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'd prefer neither, thank you very much."
"How about a combination of the two?"
"Don't."
"Dregolas?" I offered. "Huh? Huh?"
"Rose, don't."
"Legola?"
"Rose!"
"No, you're right. That one was pretty lame. What about Lacu-"
He shot me a look that silenced me immediately.

"What's the matter with you, anyway?" I pouted.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask another creature? They probably aren't as scary as I am."

Oh, so that's what he was angry about. That comment I'd made last night.

"Are you fully aware of how much danger you put yourself in, Rose?" he asked.
"It's not-"
"Do you even have a clue how many creatures live in that forest?"
"I don't-"
"Well, I'll give you a little hint: A shit-load. And I'd say ninety-nine percent of them are a hell of a lot scarier than I am!"

I sighed.

"Don't be such a baby, Ezekiel," I scolded. "You were the one trying to kiss-"
He groaned in frustration and rubbed his forehead.
"And quit putting your hands all over your face!" I told him. "There's so much oil all over your-"

He got up and started walking away from me, still grinding his palm into his forehead.

"Hey!" I called. "Don't walk away from me! Ez! Ez!"

He continued walking, heading into the forest. I heaved myself to my feet and charged after him.

"Ez!"
He whorled around to face me.
"Leave me alone."

He said it with so much force... So much... meaning.

I mean... Ez has told me to leave him alone before. But this time he really meant it.

I was... scared.

He began moving again, and so I reached out to grab him. But, of course, me being me, I stumbled over my own feet and my hand missed his shoulder. Instead, as I pitched forwards, my palm brushed against the curved cutlass in his belt.

I felt the sting immediately.

I yelped as I caught my balance before falling headfirst onto the ground. Clutching my hand to me like newborn, my eyes widened in horror at the damage I'd done.

The blade was sharpened to perfection, and that one little touch would probably leave a scar. Blood poured out of the deep cut like water out of a breaking dam. It spilled down my arm and onto the forest floor where thin, creeper-like plants stretched their tendrils to gobble it up greedily.

"Shit," I muttered.

Ez had continued to walk into the forest, and I decided to forget about the temperamental baby. I raced back to the campsite by myself. I located the jug that we kept the water in, and began pouring a thin stream onto my wounded hand. A pink river of water and blood fell continuously onto the ground. The blood just wouldn't stop coming.

Suddenly, I was started by Ez's voice.

"Rose!" he cried. "What are you doing?"
Scowling, I said, "Wouldn't you like to know!"
"You need to put pressure on a cut! Stop wasting water!"

I replaced the jug, and my hand continued to ooze.

Ez took a strip of linen from the clothesline and rushed back over towards me. I noticed that he'd taken off his weaponry belt. Probably because he thought I was a total klutz, and that he'd have to baby sit me 24/7.

This is typical Ez. Rushing in to save the day.

Somehow, the ease with which he could forget his anger was comforting. He'd dropped his fury like a hot potato the second he found out I was in trouble. It made me feel... Safe.

Now that's something to think about! How dangerous can Attannia be when you feel safe with a half-vampire?

He took my hand in his, and was just about to wrap up my hand when he stopped, looking pained.

"Rose?"
"No, Ez!" I scolded, already knowing the question.
"But it would be such a waste!"

Blood trickled down my fingers and dripped onto the ground.

"No!"
"Okay, we could have you bleed into a cup or something-"
"Ez!"
"Or I could just lick it off your hand?"
"I said no!"
"What if I get a bit of it on my fingers and lick it from there?"
"No!"

Then, completely ignoring me, he raised my palm to his lips and dragged his tongue all across my hand. I gasped and then cringed.

Smiling, Ez swallowed a mouthful of my blood.

"Oh, Ez!" I whined. "That's disgusting!"
He gave me a big grin.
"You have to promise me that you're never going to do that again!" I scolded, wrinkling my nose.

But, he didn't answer me. Instead, he stared straight into my eyes, with a look of astonishment on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked hesitantly.

Ez's mouth flapped like a fish out of water.

"What?" I cried. "What?"

"You... Your... You..." he stumbled, his eyes widening even further. "Your blood tasted good."

I sighed. "Well, you should have known that by now. You've tasted it before."
"Yeah, but only a little drop of it..." he answered, trailing off.

He was staring at my freely bleeding hand.

"Ez, stop. You're scaring me," I warned, an edge to my voice.

He started, and then blinked forcefully. I could see his muscles tighten, and he made a noise in the back of his throat that suggested he had to vomit. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away, taking a few deep breaths.

Gradually, he relaxed and opened his eyes. He looked pale... Well, paler than usual.

He heaved a shaky sigh and looked at me, apologetically.

"Sorry."
"I know."

He bandaged up my hand, extra tight.

"You'll probably need to wash away the rest of it..." he told me.

Blood that hadn't been soaked up by the bandage was still coating my fingers. I nodded curtly and made a move towards the water jug. Ez lashed out like the strike of a snake, and grabbed my hand once more.

"Ez! Stop!"

He smeared some of my flood onto his own fingers and held it up to the sun.

It was almost at it's natural red color, and it hardly sparkled. In fact, the more I looked at it... The duller the sheen became. Then, quite suddenly, it stopped.

It was human blood.

"Shit," we muttered in unison.

Ez wiped my blood off of the sleeve of his already dirtied shirt and began rubbing his forehead with his palm.

"Come here," he beckoned, not looking at me.
"Ez..." I whined.
"I know. I don't want to either."

I sighed and stepped towards him.

"You know... We don't really have to do this..." he hinted. "There are other ways of masking your human essence..."
I raised an eyebrow in question.
"I could..." his eyes flitted down to my neck.
"No."
"It would be a win-win! You'd be safe from the Shades and I'd get to..." he trailed off.

Taking a few bold steps, I reeled back and slapped Ez Sullivan across the face for all he was worth. He jumped as if he'd been struck by lightning, and then stared at me, his eyes huge.

"Thank you," he squeaked, touching his cheek.
"You're welcome," I replied moodily. "Now let's get this over with."

He stood there awkwardly for a moment. Then he leaned down and softly placed his lips over mine. I froze up, just like last time, resisting Ez when he tried to make me kiss him.

Then, after a few agonizing moments, it was over.

"You know," Ez sighed. "Those would be a lot more fun if you didn't just stand there."
"All you want is friends with benefits, Ez," I scolded.
He snorted.
"Minus the friends," I added.

And that made him downright laugh.