END ROADS

CHAPTER 14: EXPECTING WHAT IS IN FAIRY TALES

Ari entered the room rashly, she was breathing hard-panting like she has been running. She was scaring me when she shut the door and locked it.
“Ari, what is it?” I asked sweat trickling down my forehead.
“Come here” she pulled me towards the sofa and made me sit “Keith Harvins will be visiting in two days’ time. Things are very ugly and Steel is so determined to get you killed. Keith is not a good vampire. He is from the Flames coven. A bad fellow!” she was serious about it.
“He is coming alone?”
“Of course not, he is coming with his very close cousin…Arthur. I would like to warn you about Arthur though, he loves women a lot. He takes advantage of everything to have you in his bed. He is bad. Keith on the other side is a blood lust vampire, he even killed his own mate”
“That is very awful” knots tightened in my stomach.
“Hope and pray Grey will wake up soon, before the visit. Am pretty sure he will be strong more than he was, but a quarter of his energy might take forever to be recovered”
“Why?” wasn’t he supposed to get well and that was all. The way Ari was looking at me, it seemed it was all my fault.
“The enchanted knife’s fault” she said silently “Don’t blame it on you, you didn’t know anything when you used it. I now have to go, Steel is becoming a little hard on me”
“Why, did you do something wrong?” I asked with a concerned tone.
“No it is not that…he keeps on calling you a witch. He does not want anyone around you!” she lowered her gaze
“It is okay, do as he says. I will be fine” I patted her shoulder with a bitter smile she returned it and left the room. I sat in the same position, worried then turned to Grey…please wake up, if you don’t…I will be killed in two days’ time.
For the rest of the day, I was casting spells and shifting his sleeping position. He didn’t come up, I stayed awake even when every vampire was asleep. I tried watching TV, it didn’t work. Reading literature but I could not concentrate. All I did was to sit down and watch Grey sleeping hoping he would wake soon. I fell asleep somewhere in the night, when I woke up, it was Ari bringing in my breakfast. She only said hi and left. I went ahead to take a shower, I walked back into the room in my bathrobe and bikinis inside. Grey was asleep, I was alone anyway no one peaking. I decided to look at the fang marks on my neck, they were red and sore. Painful like hell. That was stupid of me, I fed Grey like my life depended on him. I gave myself a mental smack and decided to change the bandages on my hands. I sat in front of the mirror and dropped the robe. I removed the bloody bandages and ditched them in the bin. My arms looked ugly, not to mention my sore pinkish neck.
“Someone is succeeding in seducing me somehow!” I thought I was imagining things. It was Grey’s voice, I was not certain but when I saw his reflection in the mirror as he stood behind me, my heart expanded with ecstasy.
“Oh my goodness, Grey!” the shock left me numb and unmoving. Instead of smiling the hell out of myself, I was crying. He grinned.
“Now, why are you crying? Are you not happy to see me?” he squatted in front of me shifting the robe to cover my bare thighs.
“Shut up you idiot, am so overwhelmed. We made it” I was so happy beyond boundaries.
He stood up, “We surely made it, am a lot better”
“Come here you idiot” I jumped into his arms, wrapping my hands around his neck and my feet around his waist. I didn’t care if he was shirtless and my robe had come off. I was just so happy to have him alive, walking and talking. He made it-we made it.
“Hey, you will be stuck with me, get dressed at least” he was teasing me.
“You once said I am stuck with you forever, it seems to be true.” I let go of him anyway, I didn’t want to look clingy.
“I like you in red” he teased again
“Silly, is that all you could see?”
“Am seeing a lot more, it is only that I don’t want to be called a pervert. Am already an idiot!” his eyes could tell it all, he already had me in bed. I played dumb.
“You, know you have been on that bed for fourteen days. I had to work myself to the bone to see you getting well. Congratulations to me, I took care of the first ill vampire and he got well” everything was tensed now.
He hugged me from behind, we were still standing before the mirror “And it seems I drained your veins badly. You such an idiot too. You shouldn’t have done that”
I turned around and cupped his face “I wanted you well, seeing you like this right now, makes me the happiest being in the world. What I did to get you well, doesn’t matter, what matters is that you are well” his eyes sparkled and a smile curved on his lips.
“You are so sweet” I blushed and bit my lower lip, feeling embarrassed “stop doing that”
“What?” my brows knit
“Biting your lower lip”
“Why?”
“you make me want to kiss you” he answered simply, making me blush even more. “Why couldn’t they heal you? You mean all vampires were against us?”
“It is not that, there is no other vampire whose powers can have an effect on me except you. Sandy tried but failed, I had to stay with my scars hoping you will get well soon” I explained taking a step away from him.
“We store blood, they could have used that to feed me” he suggested.
“I think you know Steel way better than I do. Using your words against you. He thought because you tortured me I wouldn’t offer my life for you. He was wrong, I was very willing to see you get better” I tied my robe and went ahead to find my clothes.
“I have made your arms and neck so ugly, I remember how good they were back then” he sounded guilty.
“You fell ill while trying to protect me, getting my hands this ugly is worthy it” I selected some clothes to put on. He came to my side and pulled me into his arms, starring down at me.
“I missed you Becky…”
“No you…” he pressed his index finger on my lips
“I know you like me, and I think I like you too” my heart sunk.
“No Grey, you were sick and maybe you are not well yet. Please have…” my words were stopped by his mouth pressed on mine. I froze, tried to resist but in the end gave in and closed my eyes. Like a wave his spirit was hovering all over me, filling the open scars and fang marks. When he broke off he was in his avatar.
“I have never met a wonderful human in a whole century, thank you for being different” his skin was pale and cold, his hands cupping my face. He was leaning in for another intimate moment when he suddenly stepped back.
“Please get dressed, I don’t want to take advantage of you” he turned around “I will go take a shower” then he disappeared into the bathrooms. I had my breakfast then dressed up, I made my hair and sat back on the sofa.
THE SPELL BOOK!
Immediately, I began looking for it, I hid it in the shoe section in the closet. Just then Grey walked in, I stood up in shock.
“Oh, you are done should we call the others to celebrate your recovery?” I asked nervously
“No!” he got dressed silently while I looked away “I will surprise them tomorrow when the two idiots will be visiting”
“How did you know that?” I moved towards his side as he pulled on his hood.
“I discovered you got something cooking in your mind, I decided to find out and I did. Am going back to my room, you will stay here. This will be your room. If Ari and Sandy come in, tell them where to find me” he was leaving and the way he was suddenly behaving coldly towards me, made me wonder if I had done something wrong.
“You didn’t have to protect me by the way on that day. All this should not have happened. Why did you do it anyway?” I asked to buy some time to be with him.
“I had informed you on that day, I can’t live without you in my life anymore. Am not ready to start another life without you!” he sat at the arm of the sofa, lowering his head. His hair swung over his forehead as he fiddled with his fingers.
“But am nobody. Am not your mate, or friend or even sister!” I wanted to leave and stay. I was only afraid of dying in the hands of a vampire.
“I can’t let you go” he stared at me below the lids “you can stay as my partner or companion. You are already in my life, and I think I don’t want you out of it any time of my years”
“I will be dying soon, and you know we humans don’t live for ages as you do” this talk was boring but what choice did I have?
“Look, I want you here and am keeping you alive. This is an assurance and not a promise. You saved my life I owe you big time”
I nodded, he rose up to leave but the restriction could not allow him to.
“This is not normal, the border I told you to put in place was to prevent entry, not exit!” god! Please don’t find out what I did.
“How did you do this Becky? Are you going to tell me exactly what you did?” he was angry?
“Nothing, I just used….”
“Don’t lie to me” he cut in “This is not my power, my own power can’t stash me off. What did you do?” he took a threatening step towards me, I retreated plastering my back against the wall. “Don’t forget am stronger than I were before, am going to hurt you so badly. Just tell me what secret you are hiding!”
“I cast a spell okay?” I hoped he was not going to demand for details, his brow rose
“How, from when have you been casting spells?” his gaze intensified.
“I don’t know how, but I have been casting spells since you fell ill!” I answered nonchalantly
“That is not all, how have you do it?”
“I speak and something happens” I began blubbering words out of fear “I say let there be a wall and it appears, I say Grey recover your strength, may your pain disappear, may you feel at peace…may your nerves stop going crazy. Get well soon, be strong and healthy…then the things happen just like that…I used spells and magic to get you well…and…and no one found out though everyone…I mean Ari and Sandy were surprised how you got well so quickly…I…I told no one and…I hid the spell book!”
He smirked “you are beating around the bushes so much, yet all I needed was just the spell book. Can I have it?” he demanded coldly.
My whole body was shaking as I made my way to the closet to find the book. He was staring at me intently. I found it and gave it to him. He perused it and dumped it on the bed.
“That book belongs to the princess of the witches of the northern Crescent castle. She was the most powerful witch. She turned into mist and from then, she has never been seen. No one has ever used the book, when my father found it…Dermot was asked to destroy it. Am surprised it still exists, stranger to say is that you found it and you are able to use it. Only a witch can be able to use this spell book.” He exhaled loudly “Now I feel I don’t know you anymore” he turned to look at me, dangerous and death promising. “Who are you?!”