The Greatest Obsession

Chapter Thirteen: A Decision Must Be Made

Elijah stared down at his windowsill with his arms crossed over his chest. The blue-eyed bat gazed up Elijah innocently, but behind the innocence, he saw the humor. Elijah's nostrils flared and leaned at eye level with the creature. "No," he mouthed. He pulled the window up just a crack after unlocking it, and he pressed his lips between the crack to feel the rush of air on them. "Go away, you monstrous beast, I will not tolerate your presence!" he seethed.

He caught the bat inching closer to the cracked pane and squeaking at Elijah as if he were dismissing the statement. Elijah pulled away and tried to shut the window, but for nothing. The bat had dissipated into a hazy mist, the color was a neon green. It took but seconds to make its way inside.

The color spread through Elijah's room. He looked around, slight panic evident in his eyes. What is this, what is he doing? The green smoke slowly concentrated beside the bed, hovering uncomfortably, like a parent over a sleeping child. The smoke took shape. It was gone with a feathering, leaving the vampire in its place.

Elijah backed into the corner of his room. He eyed the vampire suspiciously while said creature offered a polite smile and let his eyes roam the dimly lit space.

"What are you doing here?" Elijah asked.

"You know why I am here."

"If you do not leave, I will-"

The vampire stopped him with a chilling gaze. Still, Elijah could see the bits of humor in those husky eyes. "What will you do, Elijah?" The young man's shallow breath was now the only sound in the room. "I never took notice of how cozy your bedroom was the last time. Also, I must say, how untimely of your woman to end what could have been a satisfying release."

"Leave now, or I will call the bobbies," Elijah told him with a threatening tone. "How dare you?"

A sharp snicker slipped the vampire's lips and he crossed the room to Elijah who shrunk with fear and irritation. Do not touch me, he thought. The vampire saw this and took a step back. "They would not catch me if you sought for them nor would any pest control put me in a cage. I am quicker, stronger, and smarter than anyone you know. Any attempt to capture me would prove unsuccessful, especially if by a loony-headed police officer."

A look of shame and defeat crossed Elijah's face, and he put down his head, only for a moment, and shrugged. "I know that you are right, and that is what I hate."

The handsome man's anxiety skyrocketed when the vampire drew close again. His eyes bulged from their sockets and he instinctively lifted his hands to cover his throat. The vampire gripped Elijah's wrists, much like he had done to Irina when she wouldn't calm down the morning after the failed capture.

The vampire remembered how he would behave. Be stern, be persistent, state your case, and be gentle with the lost soul before you, he thought. He leaned down, his face inches away. The poor lad had tried so hard to be tough and be as confident as he had in the garden, but here, in this closed space, he did not feel safe. Elijah was so close to giving up, so close to bearing himself, but it seemed the vampire had other plans that shocked him.

"'Let us engage like civilized men'," he whispered, quoting Abraham from when they reconciled.

Elijah gasped. The noise was subtle, almost nonexistent but the vampire heard it. He hadn't been aware that the vampire had been spying on them then, not in the opening of the conversation.

Elijah's wrists were released and the vampire had taken a seat on the edge of Elijah's bed. He had patted the space next to him, but the weary Elijah shook his head to decline. Instead, he curled up in the plush chair by his writing desk. His legs were drawn to his chest and he glared at the vampire, who remained silent with his hands clasped together on his lap. The brown-haired man pushed his strands behind his ear, eyeing the vampire's attire.