The Realm of Truth (Book 1) [In the process of editing]

Chapter 19: Catch Me, If You Can

"So...how old exactly are you?" Damien repeated again to make sure he was being heard. Needless to say, Esme definitely heard him.

Esme closed her eyes and concentrated. I watched her raise her hand towards him and pushed with some force. A second later, we watched him get flung backwards. There was some boxes and chairs around in the back of the room and he crashed right into it. He yelped in surprise.

I was surprised too, but I was used to her telekinesis. I hurried over to Damien to help him up. "You okay?" I asked, holding his arm up.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" he retorted, offensively. "Obviously, I'm not!"

"Insult me again and I'll incinerate you." Esme said with a smile.

"What did I even do?" Damien exclaimed. "You just flung me across the room for no reason with your...strange, voodoo magic!"

"I'm 5 centuries old." She answered, her voice was ice cold, and his jaw dropped to the floor. "And that was not voodoo magic. It was telekinesis."

"Oh my god. You're that old?" Everything got awkwardly quiet in the room, and I elbowed him in the ribs. He winced and rubbed it. "Ow! Hey, breakable human here!" I looked back at Esme who was fuming, and I stepped away from Damien cautiously. I did not want to be in the middle of it. If it was any consolation, it's an easy win for Esme. "Why are you backing away from me, Odette?"

"No special reason." I lied, crossing my arms. "But, I'll just stay over here. Y'know...safe. From harm's way."

"You're so helpful, y-you know that right-? Ah!" He started screaming in pain as Esme walked over to him. At first, I thought, Idiot. He knew he had it coming. Then I realized Esme stared down at him, inflicting pain. He crumpled to the ground with his hands covering his head. I started frowning, as he screamed louder and louder.

"Okay, Esme." I said, and she kept going. She didn't listen to me. "Esme! Knock it off!" Esme stopped to look at me and the pain subsided.

Damien relaxed on the ground finally and I saw him beading sweat on his forehead. I hurried over to him and I placed my cool hands on him. He started to relax finally and then managed to look at me.

"That's enough torture for today." I said, looking back at her. "Geezus, you did a number on him." Damien rested his head on my shoulder and I comforted him. "Back then, you would only be able to just lift some leaves around back at the old house. Or you know, just turn candles on and off at will. Didn't think you could go this far."

"Powerful witch now, aren't I?" She said, kneeling down to us. "It'll wear off in a bit. I only inflicted some pain on you. Just think before you speak next time around an old witch."

"Noted." Damien muttered, while grimacing. I rubbed his back a little bit and we sat there for a moment. Then, we heard people walking around the cemetery and coming inside the building. I started to stand up but Esme held out her hand.

"Don't worry," she said. "They can't come upstairs. It's blocked off anyway by chains. They'll just be here for maybe 5-10 minutes. We'll stay here till closing time, and if you're hungry, Damien, we can find a restaurant here later to find you something to eat."

"Sure," he said, sitting upright. "So long as you are paying."

"On the house. Lobsters Shanty or the Village Tavern?"

"Lobsters sound expensive."

~~~

We waited until the last person left the old building of the Burying Point and we were able to sneak behind them. Esme closed the doors behind her and we followed her to the main road. It only took maybe a few minutes to get there, mostly because me and Esme were catching up to see how we've been.

"You've been on your own for this long?" Esme asked me.

"Yeah, until two years ago." I repeated. "Damien was the only one who accepted me in really. I had no where else to go. I just showed up on his porch and there he was."

"He knew your secret too?"

"And kept it." Damien chimed in. "Told no soul."

Esme opened the door to the Lobster Shanty and it was night time. It had an hour or two left before closing and we were able to dine in. We sat down and a waitress came up to us to take our orders. Once they looked over the menu, Damien asked for a beer, and the traditional lobster roll. Esme ordered a soda as well as the Caesar salad. I declined the offer when the waitress turned to me.

"I still can't believe you went without..." Esme said. "...Human blood after all these years, Odette."

"Yep." I nodded. "Well, not anymore. Damien made me have his."

"You must be feeling frenzied up right now. On top of that, you have a doppelganger." Esme said, eyeing me carefully. She looked nervous, in case I were to jump over the counter to have my own take out for dinner. I clenched my hands into fists and Damien placed his hand over mine under the table. "And you're sure your doppelganger is finished?"

I nodded, and felt the fire burning in my throat. Ever since we walked to the restaurant, I couldn't help but hear their blood rushing through their arteries. The sounds I heard were pounding against my eardrums so violently that I was on the edge of my seat. It wasn't just Damien and Esme's, either.

This was getting difficult for me. I wanted to scratch at the surface of our table.

When the waitress stepped close beside me after delivering our drinks, I wanted to throw her on the table. I wanted to hypnotize her and tell her things will be okay when I wanted to feed on her too...

She was my prey. I was the predator.

My eyes started glowing emerald green after a very long day of it not. Esme looked right at me and wanted me to knock it off.

"I need to get out of here." I said, and Damien held me down. "Let me go, Damien."

"Just take my wrist." He said suddenly.

"I'm not going to suck you dry." I spit out, and he blushed. "Ignore that."

I hurried out of the restaurant and all my senses started going off like crazy. It was...it was too vibrant. I can hear voices nearby me. People's scent of blood were filling my nostrils as they walked past me. Before Damien and Esme could follow behind me, my green eyes glowed and I escaped within a millisecond.