In Exchange for Magic

"Hey Ez?" I asked the darkness in the tent. "Ez?"
"Mmm?" he grumbled.
"I was just wondering... Why the sudden bloodlust today?"

"Rose... Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"No."
He sighed.

"But seriously, Ez." I continued. "You were itching to drink me dry and it was the middle of the afternoon."
I heard him shift in his blankets. I saw his hazy outline staring at the ceiling of the tent.

"I think... I think that I'd grown accustomed to not having any bloodlust. Well, excepting that full moon. I didn't feel the need to... Well, you know. I guess, when the kiss finally wore off, the bloodlust caught me off guard."
"Oh."
"I really am sorry, though."
"Yeah, I know. It's not your fault."

"Goodnight, Ez."
"G'night."

-_-_-_-

The next week, it was the same. We pricked my finger each day, witnessing the sparkle slowly leave my blood. Then, on the very last day... When we were sure I couldn't even go another couple of hours... We kissed.

It was the same painful experience as it was the first time.

The week after that was the same, too.

Really, the only good thing about these role-reversals was, when Ez was feeling particularly good and "Human-y," he was more likely to answer my questions.

"Do you ever get bloodthirsty during the day?" I asked casually one night as we lay in the tent.

He thought about it slightly before answering, "No. It's rare that I feel bloodthirsty at all, actually. After my nightmares, it gets pretty out of control... But that's about it. Full moons will do it. And when your human-ness is wearing out of my system, I feel pretty antsy."

"So... Do you even feel like a vampire during the daytime?"

"During the day, I'm an elf. I can feel it... in my bones, you know? And, during the night, I'm a vampire. I feel impulsive and bloodthirsty..."

I tensed.

"Not right now, sweet, don't worry," he reassured me.
I laughed weakly.
"But... right before sunrise... I don't feel anything. I can be me. Same with twilight. I don't feel like an elf or a vampire... I just feel like Ez."
"That's pretty profound for a guy who doesn't own a pair of socks," I teased.

He snorted. "Well, now that you've sufficiently ruined the deep moment-"
"Hey!"
"I think I'm going to sleep now."
"Goodnight Ezekiel Sullivan," I said and rolled over.
"I think you mean good morning."
I snorted. "That was lame."

He shrugged. "I do what I can."

We were silent for a moment. I thought that Ez was going to go to sleep, but, instead, he blurted out something that had obviously been on his mind.

"You know, we don't have to keep kissing. There's another way to-"
"Ez! I've already said that-"
"No," he interrupted. "Not that."
"You mean..."
"My mother's necklace," he finished for me.

I furrowed my brow. "You want to get your mother's necklace back from an entire army of Shades?"

He sat up and leaned forward. His face fell directly under the notch of moonlight that streamed into the tent from the top where the poles didn't meet.

He looked at me quite seriously. "I want that more than anything in the world."

"Okay," I said.

What else could I say? I had to agree. If you could have seen his face, you would have agreed too. He was... begging me... With his eyes. With every fiber in his being, he wanted that necklace back.

"What?"
"I said... Okay."
"Okay... We'll get it?"
"Yes. We'll get it."

"Rose!" he shouted with joy.

He scrambled out from under his blankets and wrapped me in a crushing hug.

"Hey! I can't cause trouble if I can't walk, Ez!" I scolded playfully. "You're about to break me in two!"

He laughed and pulled back, the biggest smile I've ever seen was plastered on his face.

"Thank you," he said, shaking me slightly by the shoulders. "Thank you."

I couldn't help but smile. When someone says something to you that's that honest... It just kind of reminds you that there's still a bit of good in the world.