Bite Shift

22

"Say that again."

"You were flying. Well, not flying so much as levitating. You were a foot or so off the ground and swaying side to side and twirling. It was beautiful. I must say, I am thrilled your first power has manifested but I am a little taken aback. Until three minutes ago, I believed that only the very old ones could fly."

What the hell do I say to that?

"How did you do it?"

I started to feel a little faint and decided to sit in the recliner before I lost consciousness. It was all a tad too much for one night. I should be doing a victory dance. I can, freaking, fly. Who wouldn't want that? I'd love to see the look on the faces of all those bitches in high school that called me a loser. Who's a loser now, Tiffany?! But all I want to do is go back to the way it was before the pledge, before Alex's story, before the turning, before the attack. I just want to worry about clipping coupons and making it to spin class.

Rhys dropped to his knees in front of the chair and laid his hands on my thighs. I looked down at him. He couldn't tell if he should congratulate me or console me. Frankly, I didn't know what I wanted. He chose to drop it all together.

"Let's go lie down. You must be exhausted."

I nodded my agreement, too fatigued to say anything. I let him lead me to his room and laid on the same spot I had when I came to him after saying goodbye to the last of my humanity. I was relieved to see he had, somehow, found a moment to change the sheets. Any other time, I'd ask him his secret to time management. Now, I silently thanked him and slid under the clean down comforter. He made his way back into the main room, turning off the music and we heard Stevie's tale of leather and lace abruptly end. The lights in the room went dark with a snap. In his room, a small lamp by the bed was the only source of illumination. With my new vision, the dim light bulb was unnecessary for me to see him return to the bedroom and lie next to me. I couldn't think of a single moment in my life when I had been as scared as I was now.

"What is going on with me and what are we going to do? Tell me you have some idea."

"These are very difficult questions for so late in the night but I will try to answer the best I can. You are coming into your vampire self. Think of it like adolescence. Your body is changing. Your potential is coming through. In the next few days or weeks, you will become the vampire that you are meant to be. I do not know if it is fate or abilities that were always in you or something in the vampire blood. All I know, is that each of us is different and powers come to us without pattern or reason. As for the second question, I do not know what we are going to do. I wish I did. I have spent so long avoiding danger, laying low, not drawing attention to myself. I have forgotten how to do anything else. I don't think either of us will figure it out tonight. We need rest. When we wake, we will begin to plan. This is something that I doubt many have done so we have no reference. We will need to do some research."

Screw research.

"Rhys," I asked and rolled to my side, facing him. "Am I going to die? I mean, for real, this time?"

It was his turn to roll onto his side and face me. "Not if I can help it. I will stand between you and the beast if I need to. I will not put you through all of this, just to see your life ended. I will not let your girls be motherless, if I can help it."

That was the best thing he could have said. Promising me would be a lie. Avoiding it and changing the subject would scare me.

"Thank you."

"No need. When we wake, we will get your bed and dresser carried in. Then, I will teach you what is necessary for the immediate future. If you'd like, we can explore your new ability or wait until after the hunt. Most importantly, we will order you a new phone. Last, we will find out anything we can about the murders. Seems like the best place to start."

"How do we do that? You don't have a computer."

"I do. It is in my home office upstairs. You have not seen it yet but I assure you it is there. It is nothing to worry about. Try to rest."

Rhys leaned in and laid his lips on my forehead. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to the kindness or understand the feelings, I had for him. This must be what it is like to have family; to have a father or big brother.

That was the last thought in my head as my awareness melted away and sleep carried me away for a few hours of peace.