The Diaries Of Liz Davids: Secrets Uncovered (Book One : Complete)

Chapter 11

I gasped, "But – you can’t – I mean – you can’t be-"

"I am."

"But-"

"Then what other explanation can you think of?" Nicholas asked testily. I tried to pull my hand out of his grip, but he held on, and his face turned pleading. "Please don’t go. Please. I won’t hurt you, I promise."

I relaxed my grip a bit. I could still hear my heart beating loudly, and I was sure, as a vampire, he could hear it, too. I didn’t trust myself to speak, though.

"I knew this moment would come soon. You’re a very intelligent girl, and you see the signs, and I knew I’d have to explain myself one day, so I thought making you that locket would prove that I care about you more than anything else," Nicholas said.

I automatically reached for the silver locket around my neck, "You made this?"

"I’ve been around here a little longer than you," he said, smiling humourlessly.

"But, really, you can’t be vampire. I mean, your skin isn’t cold or anything-"

"If you let me speak, I’ll explain," Nicholas interrupted.

He sat up slowly with a strained expression on his face. I winced as I watched him. He didn’t let go of my hand, and when he sat upright, he let go of his neck and pulled the chair nearer to the bed, and held my other hand. I kept quiet and still as he started caressing the lines on my palms.

"I’m very different from other vampires," Nicholas said, "I was turned about ten years ago by Dorion ‘Firefang’ Kargoth. I suppose you’re familiar with the Brothers?" I nodded, and he continued, "Now, my friends and I were an arrogant bunch – the popular crowd – and one summer we got out of our heads for a bit and planned a trip to the Deadlands and try to kill the two brothers ourselves. We were very talented sorcerers, more talented than most the kids in the school. Everything went well until we got into the tower, and the brothers somehow knew of our plan. Both of them just stood there, and Valentine killed my friends, but Firefang got to me first.

"For about two weeks it felt as though every fibre, every muscle, every molecule in my body were on fire, and I was somehow stronger than other vampires. I’d broken out of the prison the brothers put me in. I was on the verge of killing Firefang when Valentine summoned another of his vampire minions. She sucked out Firefang’s venom and replaced it with her own. Luckily I escaped that night and came back to the school to seek advice from Professor Darthorion.

"For years, we experimented on the best remedy for my condition. He kept me away from any other human contact, and let me drink from all the magical creatures he knew of and recorded their effect on me. It took about two years before we discovered the perfect solution: dragon’s blood. Red dragon blood worked the best, and it tasted the best as well. It satisfies me for exactly a month, it keeps my blood warm, so I’m not so cold to the touch, and it keeps my eyes dark so that the red isn’t clearly visible.

"The twenty-fourth of every month, I have to spend a day in Professor Darthorion’s office and let my instincts take over. He lets me kill evil-doers he happened to have come across, and then gives me a vial of red dragon blood.

"Other than that, I don’t burn in sunlight-"

"And you don’t sparkle," I mused.

He chuckled, "Yes, I don’t sparkle or burn in sunlight because every morning I put a bunch of spells on myself. At first Professor Darthorion had to do it, but I memorized the incantations and started doing them myself."

Nicholas stopped tracing the lines on my palms and stared at me. I took his hands and held them. I asked, "So what happens if you go into sunlight without all those spells?"