Destruction

10. The Truth Would Be Nice

Athena

"Caleb could you please show our guests to the guest quarters." Zachary walked up so that he stood by my side as he spoke directly to Caleb, putting emphasise on the word guest. "And I think we need to have a little chat." He whispers in my ear.

"Yes." It'd been a state meant, but I still felt as though I needed to answer it.

"Good, this way." Like a true gentleman Zachary indicated the way by pointing with his whole arm and then offering me the opposite arm to hold. I was sure that he must be doing this as some sort of ploy, what with all the new guests. But the action reminded me of a head teacher showing people around a school, formal and structured.

To say the walk back to my room was awkward is putting it mildly.

Neither of us talked.

Neither of us even acknowledged the other person.

I couldn't help the anger that started to boil up inside of me, if I looked out of the corner of my eyes I could see a look or resentment and anger in Zachary's eyes, this only caused the fire inside of me to burn brighter and hotter.

Resentment. Who did he have to resent?

Had he been torn from his life?

Had he walked into a roomful of strangers that were nicer than his host?

No.

Pure and simple, he hadn't been. He had no right to be angry, no right to be resentful. As we walked side by side down the corridor I made a promise to myself that Zachary would know what anger was, he would have to face my anger.

Lost in my thoughts of consuming anger, I hadn't even realised that we'd made it back to my room, where my once pristine door looked like someone had gone at it with a hammer, until Zachary swiftly grabbed my forearm to turn me around to face him.

"It seems that either you need a new door or a new room." His words flowed out more accented with French than I'd ever hear before. "Quite honestly I don't know whether I should be pleased that you can use your vampire strength or annoyed that you so blatantly defied me." The sentence had started of dripping with sarcasm but ended in a yell so loud I was sure his guests could hear him on the other side of the mansion that was his home.

"Do you have any idea? Any idea at all of what you've done?" His voice had grown quite with venom as he turned his back to me and punch the wall. "Damn it." His breath rushed out of his mouth. "Damn it. Dam nit. Damn it." Each word was punctuated by a punch to the wall so powerful it caused a painting about 10 meters down the hall to shake.

"No." I knew my voice had come out quite, but I couldn't help but be proud at the strength in it.

As if time had stopped Zachary stopped swearing and punching the wall as he slowly turned around to look at me. "What did you say?"

"I said 'no'."

His eyes seemed to be consumed with a dark fiery red this jaw was clenched so tight you could see the perfect shape of his cheek bones. "No?" So much anger was apparent in that single word.

I forced myself to look him straight in the eyes, "No I don't know anything." My voice was so loud it hurt my overly sensitive ears. "You haven't told me anything since you so kindly turned me." I hoped he could hear the sarcasm in my voice.

He moved so quickly that I couldn't follow his movements as he gripped my forearms and stared straight into my eyes. "Did you ever think that I might have been protecting you?"

"How? By keeping me ignorant?"

"No by waiting for the right time to explain it all."

"When?" My voice shook slightly and I hated myself for it. "When would it have been the right time?"