Chapter 23: Chapter 22

“It’s the three ring circus. There are clowns, tigers, one legged elephants, and for a bonus feature: we’ve got a white zebra. You in for the count? You want tickets with that heaping bowl of popcorn? Deal’s going once, twice, too late.”

Only one voice said things like that—I sighed and sat up in the darkness. “I’m sleeping… again.”

“Again—you mean ‘finally’!” It chided me, “You’ve been awake for a very long time. It’s about time you fell off to nanaland. I can only amuse myself so much here. You’re not that entertaining of a person.”

“Thanks… for that.”

“Keeping it real, Bearded Lady.”

Oh, lovely. A circus theme.

“Fairytales are overdone. The court jester wants his turn.”

“Last time you told me I’m the Immortal. I’ve adjusted. I’ll do whatever I need. What else can you hit me with? I’d like to wake up or go back to normal dreams. You’re a little hard to handle sometimes.” If I tried to reason with it, would it work?

The voice laughed. Shrill. “Would you like a comb for your beard?”

No reasoning would be had. “So what are you here to enlighten me with?”

“You lie really well.” The voice had been maniacal before, but it was calm, eerily calm now.

I felt shivers go down my back. “What are you talking about?”

“Ask your lover.”

Roane’s words lashed back at me before I could stop them. ~Lying. All you do is lie.~

I flinched and murmured, “No. You’re wrong.”

“I haven’t said anything,” the voice gloated.

“I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say what he said. I don’t lie. I’m not a liar.”

“Tigers spawn earthlings on their back. Sometimes they ride on the backs of elephants, but only the ones with roller skates.”

“Make sense, for once!” I shrieked into the darkness. It was an abyss.

“Silly Bearded Lady. They don’t ride on the one legged elephant. That’d be dangerous.”

“I’m not lying to anyone.”

“And stupid. Who’d want to ride on the back of a one legged elephant? You’d fall right off.” The voice ignored me and continued, amused, “And then rolling hula hoops that are on fire would burn you. Why are they always on fire? I’ve never figured that out.”

“Enough!” I’d forced it before and I was willing to bet that I could do it again.

A black wind shrieked in protest and swept around me. I blinked, startled, and tried to stand still as a tornado picked up from underneath my feet. It rushed upwards, enveloped me, and as it started to settle—I found myself staring back at… what a shocker—myself. Except that it wasn’t me. My brown curls looked sleek and framed my shoulders. My eyes weren’t innocent. They were knowing, wise, and a little crazy. And still, I looked sultry. I was dressed how I had dressed for Adam’s date, in my lace shirt and snug jeans, but there was a different aura that surrounded the Immortal me. Confidence.

She grinned and winked. “Bet this isn’t what you wanted, huh?”

“How’d you know?” I returned, sardonically. “It’s not as if you’re a part of me or something.”

“You’re sarcastic.”

“Just because you’re inside of me doesn’t mean that you understand me.”

The Immortal me smiled sweetly. “I know a lot more about you than you know about yourself. I know all about Craig. I know about Kates. I know how you’re heaping a whole pile of denial poop on a burning house because you did the deed with a vampire. And not any vampire, Bearded Lady. You did it with ~thee~ vampire. There are ramifications that you can’t handle right now.”

It wouldn’t stop. “Please, please. All this nonsense—I can’t handle it. I might go insane.”

“Every circus must pitch a tent and entertain.”

“Let me guess, I’m your audience?”

“You’re the tent, Beardy, but you’ll do. The tigers might not think so. They might want to shave off your beard or burn the tent. I haven’t decided which.”

“I’d really like to wake up. I need to tell Roane something and I can’t when I’m asleep.”

“That’s right, Horny Bearded Lady. You didn’t stop to think. The tigers think it’s funny how the Bearded Lady forgets her beard when she’s around The World’s Strongest Man.”

“Oh, please. Roane is not the world’s strongest man.” I felt foolish saying that. Who said things like that?

“You might be surprised.” The Immortal laughed it off and vanished.

Great—back to the dark abyss. There were no winds this time. It was just darkness, no mocking voice, and no uneasy feeling inside of my stomach.

I looked down and choked out a gasp. I lifted my arm and like before, I saw the same silver color underneath my skin. I watched in fascination as the silver color seemed to melt into a thick rich paste that sparkled like diamonds. I liked diamonds, just not inside of me.

“You’re every girl’s best friend. You’re the prize, Davy. You’re the one that everyone wants.”

“Tell me something that I don’t know,” I challenged.

“Craig wanted to make you a vampire. He told you how he’d do it, how much he’d enjoy it, and that you’d thank him in the end. And now—vampires, vampires all around the shiny prize. What’s a scared little girl to do? The hungry monsters keep circling, but they won’t be kept at bay for long. A shark’s going to bite soon—or maybe one did.”

“Roane didn’t bite me. I bit him.”

“You liked it. You’d do it again. I can feel the thirst inside of you. What’s that mean? Are you going to become a vampire?” The Immortal laughed hysterically and spun around me in tight circles.

I looked down at my arms and watched, detached, as the sparkling paste thinned and became like blood. “Roane said you chose me, did you? Did you actually choose me or did you get stuck with me?”

“The divorce will have collateral damage that no fortune teller can foresee.”

That was a cheerful thought. “What do you want from me?”

I felt the Immortal slow to a stop, instantly, and sensed its calm. “Stop lying to yourself. You’re only hurting yourself.”

“Fine,” I gritted out. “You invaded me! You had no right.”

“He’s thee vampire. You should sit up and pay attention.”

“How can I? Your riddles are a bit mind twisting,” I snorted out.

Then it answered another one. “As long as you’re the Immortal, you are unable to become a vampire.”

I clasped my eyes closed in relief. Maybe there were some benefits to being the Immortal.

“You drank his blood. There are ramifications for that—ones that won’t be foreseen until much later, but they’ll still be there when you’ve forgotten your worry.” Relief, release, and now doom.

“I’m tired. I want to wake up.”

“Every circus has a snake charmer. Who’s yours? What snake slithered in your tent?”

I gasped awake and bolted upright in bed. I didn’t need to find my bearings. Everything rushed back at me at breakneck speed. I was in Roane’s bed. His sheets were a welcoming cool touch against my naked skin and I turned to see him at his window, gazing outwards. His black pants rode low on his hips. There was no shirt in his hand this time, only worry in his eyes.

I swallowed tightly because I felt what he felt inside.

Resignation and fatigue. Underneath that was determination. He was going to win. He’d always known it and now it was time to remind everyone else.

“What’d you dream about?”

I curled against the headboard and wrapped the sheets around me. I felt exposed. “A lot of ramblings and crazy talk. There was a circus theme this time.”

“Circus?” Roane frowned, but never moved away from the window.

The fairytale wasn’t worth mentioning. “The Immortal told me that there was a snake charmer in my tent.”

“You talk? You have conversations?” Roane looked taken aback.

“Yeah, anyway—the snake charmer sent a snake inside the tent.”

He crossed to sit beside me on the bed. He sat with his back towards me and I watched the corded muscles on his back. He was primed and ready to go.

“I think… I’m the tent. The Immortal told me that, but someone was inside of me.”

Roane swung his hypnotic eyes toward me.

I grinned and rasped out, “No, not you. She meant like an empath was inside of me. Sometimes… it’s been known to happen. If an empath is skilled enough, they can find someone and look outward—look at where they’re at. I did it. I had Blue do it to Kates for me.”

“You think that someone was inside of you to see where you are?”

“I know it.” The moment my eyes had opened, everything flooded to me. “Kates told me that Blue was in a coma. If I’d gone further inside of her I would’ve seen that Kates hadn’t put Blue in a coma. She took her captive. Blue was being held in the same castle where they took me with Emily and Adam. I didn’t search inside of her enough.”

Roane stood and crossed to his closet. I watched as he flung open the doors and quickly rifled inside. “Tell me more.” The command was thrown over his shoulder.

“Blue was inside my head. They made her go in when I had my shield down.”

Roane paused and looked at me.

I swallowed painfully. “She got inside and they’re coming here.”

“That’s what he intended the whole time.” Roane suddenly stopped and straightened to his fullest height. Each muscle on his back stood out, primed and livid.

In that moment, I was suddenly aware of how Roane was a vampire. He was a predator and now he’d go against another predator. Roane was a Hunter. Their skills went unmatched by other vampires. It was why they were chosen to be the hunters of their own kind, but… Lucan was his human brother. And he led, what Kates believed to be, a revolution.

“They had no intention of you delivering a message to the Immortal. Let me guess, they have her boyfriend and they hoped she’d give herself up for him?”

I nodded. “How’d you know?”

“I can read thoughts. The girl they think is the Immortal has no idea what a shield is—and your shield was down too, Davy. I read that they’d taken Adam and Emily. I know that Kates used you.”

“Did you read inside of my head what your brother really intends to do with the Immortal?”

Roane paused.

“He wants my blood because he wants his Family to have the Immortal’s powers. He’s hoping to have an army of unstoppable vampires so that they can reverse the decree. The one that states they can’t hunt, bite, or kill humans. The one that started the Hunters in the first place and the one that’ll allow Kates to do all the slaying she wants.”

I looked at my hands, lifted them upwards, and gasped as I saw a glimpse of the sparkling diamond blood that I’d dreamt about. My eyes closed and then my normal skin was back. But I swore….

“No,” Roane clipped out. “My brother doesn’t just want to reverse the decree. My brother wants to rule the entire Vampire nation.” He lifted his eyes once again to me. Then he reached inside his closet and pulled out a lethal sword. He strapped the sword diagonally across his back and lifted a gold necklace over his head. It hung on the apex of his chest. I wondered at the significance when I saw that a small leaf emblem that dangled from the chain.

“Well…,” I searched for something to say. “At least he’s ambitious.”

Roane clipped out, “His ‘ambition’ just sealed his fate.” Then his jaw clenched, unclenched, and clenched again. “He wants you. He can’t have you.”