Burning

Chapter 9

Valdis stood with the others as Abe came back from the edge of the Hudson River with Henry and Adam walking behind him with blankets wrapped tightly around them. Henry was continuously shoot Adam annoyed looks while Adam refused to look at him as he shivered from the cold.

            "Happy you decided to do that in the freezing cold?" She asked him.

            Adam didn't respond right away but when he did she could faintly hear his teeth chattering. "I-it w-was... n-necessary."

            "Hmm, yes, sure it was." She replied sarcastically before continuing. "Come on, let's get you to the car before you catch hypothermia or something... Vetis has something important to say anyway."

            "Is that code for stabbing me again?" Adam hissed as he glared at her half brother.

            "No." Vetis gave him a hurt look as he let them into his new red and black car. "I do have something for both of you to hear."

            "Just tell us." Valdis told him, seeing Adam wasn't comfortable sitting in her brother's car or with wearing the blanket.

            "Fine." Vetis turned to look at them from where he sat in the driver's seat. "Valdis you know how your, our, nephew said that before you got hurt you seemed to act as if you had been hurt already... well that's because I gave Adam a fatal wound."

            Valdis glared at him. "You're not saying what I think you are... right?"

            "Yes, I am."

            Adam looked between them. "What does it mean? She can feel my pain when I'm killed?"

            "Yes." Vetis nodded. "That's exactly what it means, I confirmed it when you slit your throat and she felt that pain a few minutes later."

            "Why did that happen?" Adam was beginning to get even uneasier, though he didn't show it, as Vetis' burning gaze continued searing him.

            Valdis' face went slightly pink as she began to explain. "Well... uh, when my father fell in love with Vetis' mother and she was killed he felt her pain... same when my mother died as I was born. It doesn't kill us but we can feel injuries of our uh, mate, or mates, if the wound is fatal. I um... I didn't really think it applied to half vampires... or remember it in general."

            "Of course not." Vetis told her before jokingly before turning his gaze back to Adam. "That was why I said to stay away... I was trying to protect my sister."

            Adam thought what he said sounded genuine but then he remembered what Vetis had said while he was dying. "You never expected her to come back earlier, while you were killing me, you said she would be dead."

            "Vetis?" Valdis looked at her brother with a hint of fear.

            "No, no... I never meant it like that." He spoke quickly, hating Adam at the moment for almost ruining the trust he was building with his sister. "I meant, because I knew where you went, that you might be killed. I was saying that because he should have tried stopping you."

            Vetis turned back around and started the car. "Now, let's get back before the others wonder what happened to us, don't worry I'll stop by your apartment so Adam can get changed first."

            Adam grumbled something under his breath before going silent for the rest of the car ride. He felt went lean onto his shoulder half way to the apartment and looked over to see Valdis past out, he was faintly concerned about the dark circles under her eyes and tried to figure out how he hadn't noticed before then how sleep deprived she was. When Vetis finally found a clear parking spot, Adam carefully removed Valdis from his shoulder and got out before going inside the building where now only Valdis and himself occupied.

            "Hey, hurry up!" Vetis shouted out the window. "Molly texted me and I have to meet her soon!"

            Just because of that comment Adam took fifteen minutes to get changed when usually it only took him about five. As he walked out of the room in a slightly ripped black shirt and dark colored jeans; they were the last pair of clothes he had there, he found Valdis sitting on the couch looking at the wall.

            "Shouldn't you be waiting in the car resting?" He scolded her lightly.

            She blinked slowly and looked over at him, taking in his outfit before getting up. "I told him to go on his date and that I would take you back to the others."

            "You look like you're going to pass out again and not to offend your large amount of vampire pride but I would rather not have you passing out while flying us there."

            "I'm fine." She insisted as she stopped leaning against the corner and shook her head. "Come on, I have to go hunting anyway, I'll drop you off on the way."

            "You're drifting off again." Adam spoke up as her glowing red eyes disappeared behind her eyelids.

            "No... I'm not." She mumbled before opening her eyes as the scent of blood filled her senses. "Adam, what are you doing?"

            He held his bleeding arm to her. "I'm not letting you fly me anywhere until you get some strength back to stay awake... just don't take so much that I have to go for another swim."

            "That would defeat the purpose of what you're doing." She replied as she stared at the blood slowly coming out of the small cut. She was about to go over and allow herself to take some blood but then felt sickened at the thought of drinking blood and shook her head in confusion. "I think... I'm just going to rest a-actually."

            Adam nodded in reply and went into the bathroom to bandage the wound before leaving to call a cab. It was obvious something was wrong with her, she wasn't acting normally; he could see the hunger in her eyes yet she had rejected his offer. Was she afraid she would hurt him and in turn hurt herself? He shook his head; she knew it wouldn't hurt him, after doing that multiple times before to help her heal in earlier months he became all but immune to the pain. Then another thought, a worse thought, came to his mind. What if she was dying? No one was sure how long half vampires lived, perhaps she was reaching the end of, what had before, seemed like an immortal life. With that in mind he was beginning to curse himself for getting so close to her, this was why he didn't make friends; in the end they would always leave him. Except for Henry, though the immortal did hate him so they weren't exactly friends.