Blood and Snow 1 Page 4

  As we padded along I got the distinct impression I was being watched. Paranoid much? I berated myself. It was just that I was in a strange place. It was unnerving.

  Abruptly the hallway ended, and we had to either turn to the left or the right. Hiro led us to the right. Not too far after that, he stopped in front of double paper-looking doors. Sliding it opened, he ushered us in.

  The room looked like a dining room. A large onyx table sat majestically in the center. Ten black leather chairs surrounded it. In the middle of the table a rock and bamboo water fountain gurgled contentedly. Directly above it hung an enormous chandelier. I couldn’t see the ceiling, though. It just seemed to go up and up and up without end. That has to be a trick of the light, I thought.

  Hiro patted a chair at the head of the table and said, “You, girl. Sit here. The rest of you can find a spot. I’ll be right back.” Without another word, he left.

  We looked at each other and laughed.

  “That kid has more confidence in his little finger than most people have in their whole bodies,” Dorian said.

  We all agreed as we went to our seats.

  “I wonder why he wanted me to sit here?” I asked, cautiously pulling out the chair and sitting.

  “Probably because you’re cute,” Gabe said, and the others agreed. He winked at me. I blinked, unsure. Gabe shook his head, a half-smile on his lips. “Snowflake,” he uttered, grabbing my hand between his and massaging it.

  Heathcliff looked from me to Gabe. “What’s going on with you two? Are you a couple now?” He seemed irritated and I sat back, surprised. Gabe would have to answer this one, because I didn’t know either.

  Gabe gave Heath a pointed stare. “You’ve known about my feelings for Snow for quite some time. It wasn’t until last night I had a suspicion she might feel the same way about me.”

  His feelings, I thought. I was shocked, but worked to keep it hidden behind a blank face.

  Gabe continued, turning to Dorian. “You guys don’t have a problem with me asking out Snow, do you?”

  Hey, what about me? As much as I was certain my feelings for Gabe were obvious, shouldn’t he have mentioned this to me first?

  Dorian shook his head. “It’s cool with me, man.”

  Heathcliff turned his attention to me. “How do you feel about all of this? About you and Gabe?”

  I blew out a breath. “I’m not sure,” I said, pulling my hand from Gabe’s and biting a nail. Of course I liked him, but this conversation didn’t sit right. Gabe’s green eyes penetrated mine. “I think we should talk alone, don’t you?” I asked in a whisper, though it echoed around the room.

  His eyes fell, and I wondered if I’d hurt his feelings. “You’re right,” he agreed.

  Hiro walked in with a silver tray that was almost as big as him. On it sat a white teapot and several cylinder-shaped cups. He set it down to my right. I watched as he poured the tea in four cups and handed one to each of us. “Drink,” he said. “Grandfather will be with you shortly.”

  Then he was gone.

  I picked up the cup and the others followed. I sniffed it, letting the steam hit my face, and it was then that I realized it was quite chilly in here. The tea smelled good, like peppermint. Carefully, I took a sip and swallowed. The heat hit the back of my throat and I felt it go all the way down to my stomach. Contentment fanned through my insides like the sun on a hot day. I took another sip, then set down the cup.

  “Is that sugar?” Heathcliff asked. I opened the container and looked.

  “Sure is. You want some?” I picked up the white container and handed it to him.

  My eyes suddenly seemed to have lead on their lids. I struggled to keep them open. I watched Heath put one, then two, then three scoops of sugar in his tea. Dorian did the same. By the time Gabe reached for the sugar, my eyes had shut.

  Chapter 8

  When I opened my eyes I immediately realized I wasn’t in the dining room any more, but lying on a satin-soaked bed. Thick, white curtains sealed me in like leftover spicy tofu in a takeout box. Sitting up, the slick red sheets fell into my lap and saw I wasn’t wearing my clothes anymore. Instead I had on a black silk nightgown with thin straps.

  What in the world? I thought, too bewildered to be nervous. I remembered I’d been tired. Perhaps the old man had put me to bed. But where were the guys? I needed to get out of here. Hopefully they were okay. We still had a musical to attend tonight.

  “Gabe,” I called out, trying to find a separation in the curtains.

  “Hello, Snow White.” It was a male voice, low and soft. It sounded familiar, but it wasn’t Gabe’s.

  “Who’s there?” A little more vigorously I ran my hands over the velvety softness, searching for an opening.

  I heard a click, and the room was blanketed in darkness.

  “W-What’s going on?” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It’d raised an octave.

  This is what terror feels like, I told myself, standing up on the mattress, trying to pull the curtains from the frame. “Where’s Gabe? Where’s the old man?”

  “Relax, beautiful. You’ve been chosen by her Highness, and the Queen always gets her way.”

  Even freaked, I noticed a twinge of regret or remorse in his words. Focusing on that was pointless though. Escaping, getting out of there in one piece, that was priority number one.

  I’d moved from one side of the bed to the other, trying to get out. Without meaning to I stepped off the edge and between the curtains and the mattress. When my foot hit the floor a sharp pain zinged my knee, but I barely noticed. Swinging my other leg around, I placed it on the floor, scooted onto all fours, and climbed out of the curtains.

  Free! I let out a sob of relief, but quickly covered my mouth. If I couldn’t see, then maybe he couldn’t either. Wiping my eyes, I stuck my hands out in front of me, feeling for the wall, or a chair, or a door, and took a cautious step forward. My knee gave, and I whimpered.

  “This isn’t funny,” I said, my teeth chattering.

  A moment later, I bumped into something. It was pliable yet solid. Apprehensively I touched it, trying to figure out what it was. It wasn’t a door, or a chair.

  But a person.

  The face was unshaved, his hair soft and thick, shoulders broad and muscled. His chest was taut. When my mind realized what my hands were doing, I screamed and took a step backward. Strong hands grabbed me by the waist.

  “Snow,” he whispered. His breath brushed against my cheek and smelled of peppermint tea. A wave of relief washed over me. It had to be one of the brothers.

  “Who is this?” He hadn’t really sounded like Dorian, Heathcliff, or Gabe, but he’d kept his voice low so the possibility of it being one of them still existed. I reached up and touched his face with my hands. It wasn’t Gabe. Of that I was certain. Heath was tall, like this guy, but he didn’t have scruff on his face. Dorian was taller than them both and certainly as brawny.

  “If you’re trying to tease me, I’m not laughing. I hurt my knee and I’m scared.” Another sob grabbed my throat, but I clamped it down. I hoped my honesty would reprimand him and he’d turn on the lights.

  “I’m not teasing. This is deadly serious.” His grasp on my waist shifted as he pulled me firmly against him with one arm. His other hand slid into my hair. With a firm yank he pulled my head back, exposing my neck.

  I sucked in my breath, preparing to scream. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness and I could see the red tinge in his eyes. They glowed the way the old man’s hallway had.

  “Who are you?” I asked again.

  He opened his mouth. I saw his white teeth, witnessed his canines grow. Without thinking I kneed him in the groin.

  A look of humorous surprise sprang into his eyes before burning anger replaced it.

  I felt his teeth sink into my neck, felt my skin part like a boat gliding through water. When he started to suck everything became hazy, like a dream. My body suddenly ached for his touch even as my mind revolted. I heard m
yself sigh and pushed my neck deeper into his mouth. He shuddered, and the pull of my blood from my body became stronger.

  Then there was darkness.

  Chapter 9

  I was being shaken.

  “Snow. Snow. Wake up.”

  With a jolt I shot back in my chair. My head had been resting on the table. My eyes were blurry. The light from the chandelier blared. All my thoughts were on the man with the glowing red eyes and the way he’d been drinking my blood. Yearning and revulsion swirled through my organs. A scream gurgled out, and I grabbed at my throat.

  “Are you okay?”

  It was Gabe. Wiping my eyes, I scanned the room. Kenmei, Hiro, Heathcliff, Dorian, and Gabe stared at me with a mixture of apprehension and worry.

  Standing, my chair shot out and knocked to the floor. “I am not okay. What’s going on?” I don’t know why, but I focused all of my anger on Kenmei. “Some psycho bit me,” I screamed, slamming my hands on the table. It shattered right down the middle.

  The guys stood as the table leaned toward them and the white cups slid to the floor.

  Kenmei bent and whispered something to Hiro. The boy nodded and ran off.

  Gabe put his hands out. “Snow, it’s okay.” He studied the table, dragging a hand through his gorgeous hair as though he were trying to come to grips with what’d just transpired.

  I shook my head, unable to rein in the burning anger. Loud pounding noises, like a hundred drummers banging the bass, sounded inside my head. The rhythm made my blood boil. I touched my neck in the place where the man had bitten. I could feel the raised scar tissue.

  “Aha!” It had really happened… somehow. That knowledge thrilled me in a strange, crazy way.

  “Look,” I said, grabbing Gabe’s hand and pressing his fingers to my neck. So close, I smelled his shampoo and his deodorant. Peppermint tea tinged his breath. I also smelled something else. It was fragrant, musky. Was it fear? Placing a hand on his chest I realized the banging bass in my brain was Gabe’s heart, and the other pounding was the beating of the others’ hearts. “Can you feel the scars?” I asked Gabe, trying to contain my need to shout.

  He leaned away slightly, his gorgeous green eyes wide. “No.” He tried to look at my neck but I pushed him away, frustrated. “No. How can you not feel it? Where’s a mirror?”

  Bowing slightly I stopped in front of Kenmei. Tilting my neck toward him I swallowed my overwhelming panic, brushed away tears, and fought my ferocious anger. “Do you see anything?” I asked through clenched teeth.

  He shook his head. “No. I am sorry. But I sense supernatural magic surrounding you.”

  I couldn’t push my wayward tears back any longer. Sinking in the chair Hiro had occupied, I whispered softly, “What’s happening to me?”

  The little boy, Hiro, peeked around the corner. “Shiryo! Shiryo! Shiryo!”

  The word filled me with panic. “What’s that?”

  Heathcliff, Dorian, and Gabe had come to stand behind me. I knew it because the rapid pounding of their hearts grew closer.

  Dorian spoke, “Shiryo. What does that mean?”

  Kenmei gave Hiro a reproachful look. “Did you do as I asked?”

  “Yes, Grandfather. Adam Henry is coming.”

  Heathcliff sprang into action. “I’d better leave a message with the others that we might be a while.”

  Kenmei dragged in a deep breath. “Shiryo is Japanese for ghost, spirit, soul, or revenant.”

  As he spoke the last word he looked directly at me. His explanation sunk deep into my veins. Revenant. I rolled the word over in my mind.

  “What exactly is a revenant?” Gabe asked. His voice shook with emotion and I looked back. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Our short-lived romance was over before it’d begun.

  But he promised, I thought, agony crushing my heart.

  “After I tell you, you boys should head home. This may take a while.”

  “We aren’t leaving her,” Dorian added.

  “I understand.” A sad smile lifted Kenmei’s lips. “A revenant is a changeling. Not quite human and not quite vampire.”

  At that word—vampire—all hell broke loose. The guys started shouting simultaneously about lies and fairytales. I pulled my knees to my chest and put my forehead on my kneecaps. Tears dripped from my eyes onto my jeans.

  I’d let the brothers figure this one out.

  Chapter 10

  I spent another hour in the chair hiding my face, barely listening to the conversation between Kenmei, Dorian, Heathcliff, Gabe, and Hiro. Professor Pops finally arrived along with the other four brothers. With his assurance that he’d fill them in later, he sent them home. Then Kenmei led Professor Pops and me into another room. It was small, more like a closet, with just an organized brown desk and three straight back chairs.

  Professor Pops patted my back kindly and said, “Tell us what happened, and don’t leave anything out.”

  I relayed the events, including the embarrassing fact that I’d found pleasure in the guy biting me, sucking my blood. Professor Pops and Kenmei exchanged a knowing look.

  “Do you understand what’s happened?” I asked Professor Pops.

  He cleared his throat and studied his hands. His nervousness scared me worse than anything. “Snow, I’ve known for some time that you’d been chosen. I expected she would wait to send him after your sixteenth birthday. That’s normally when the first exchange happens.” He glanced at Kenmei. “I’d hoped, between Kenmei–sensei and I, we could find a way to keep it from occurring.” He blew out a breath. “We’ve failed.”

  “What does the bite mean? It did actually happen somehow, right? I didn’t dream it?”

  “Yes, it happened. No, it wasn’t a dream. The Vampire Queen has very powerful magic. When the boys believed you were asleep, you’d actually gone into another realm. The Hunter, a drone vampire, bit you. He is special, also chosen by her. He’s been given the specific task of changing you into a vampire. Do you remember anything about what he looks like?”

  I shook my head. “Only his red eyes.” Answering my questions only filled me with more. Who was this Queen? Why had I been chosen? And what did all of that mean?

  Professor Pops gave me a meaningful look. “I can almost see the questions in your head. They will be answered. Of the upmost importance is for you to realize you’re changing, and you’ll be craving blood.”

  “I see,” I said, not really seeing at all. I’d never liked meat. Never. At the thought of killing an innocent animal I winced in disgust, so the idea of craving blood seemed unimaginable. I also felt a wiggle of wanting. The beating of Professor Pops’ heart called to me like an indulgent song. Strange—I couldn’t hear Kenmei’s. Out of everything, that’s what I blurted. “Why can’t I hear his heart beating?” I pointed accusingly and immediately felt ashamed. Pointing was disrespectful. “Sorry, Kenmei-sensei.” I bowed my head.

  They both flinched in surprise. “You can already hear the beating of a heart?” Professor Pops asked.

  “Yes, I hear yours, but I don’t hear his.” I bobbed my head in Kenmei’s direction.

  “Kenmei-sensei’s heart no longer beats,” Professor Pops said seriously.

  “What? Why not?” I was stunned and discreetly pinched myself. My life had gone from normal, boring even, to supernatural. Overnight.

  “Your world, as you’ve known it, is about to be altered in the most extraordinary way. Now that it has begun there is no going back, I’m afraid.” Professor Pops touched my cheek with his thumb, stroking it. “I’d hoped it would never come to this, but I’ve prepared nonetheless.” He glanced at Kenmei.

  “Are you ready to learn, Shiryo-san?”

  “Okay.” That was all I could utter. I didn’t seem to have a choice.

  Revenant In Training 1.2

  Chapter 1

  “You are a revenant,” I said to my reflection. Even she wasn’t buying it. I didn’t appear any different. It’d been two hours, seventeen minutes, and—I
checked my watch—eight seconds since the guy with glowing red eyes sank his extra pointy canines into my throat. One hour, forty-five minutes, and twelve seconds since Professor Pops and Kenmei told me what being bitten meant. Was I worried I’d grow fangs and start shunning the light? A little bit.

  According to Kenmei, that wasn’t going to happen—at least, not in this phase. Over the next several weeks I’d gain strength, agility, and a penchant for blood.

  Yay, I thought sarcastically, gagging.

  Professor Pops and I were still at Kenmei’s. Little obnoxious Hiro had gone to bed. I didn’t feel tired, not really. From my expression, clearly I was in shock. No one could blame me. It wasn’t every night I was bitten and changed into a make-believe being, only apparently they—we—weren’t make-believe. Evidently revenants existed, as did vampires, fairies, unicorns, and… other creatures I’d rather not think about.

  I turned on the faucet in the bathroom, patted some water on my face. The cool temperature soothed.

  “Snow, are you alright?” Professor Pops asked after knocking on the door lightly.

  I jumped.

  My first thought was, No! I’m freaked beyond my wildest imagination and I want to go home and hide under the covers. Out loud I said, “Yes, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  I washed my hands and turned out the light. He waited for me on the other side. I knew because I heard the slightly accelerated beating of his heart. A twisting need rose in my throat, but I pushed the wanting down, the craving tolerable. Resting my hand on the knob, I turned slowly.

  The first thing Kenmei had given me after the revenant revelation had been an herbal tea which consisted of Chapparral, Red Clover, Bloodroot, Mistletoe, Eye of Newt, Unicorn horn, and Fairy dust. It didn’t taste the best, but it was bearable.

  Professor Pops had explained I needed to drink the tea twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening to control my bloodlust.

  I still had a hundred questions. The biggest: “Why me?” I asked as I opened the door.

  Pops stepped back, then cleared his throat. “Come and sit. Let’s talk.” A sea of guilt washed over his distinguished features but, before I said anything, he turned away.