To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,6
my endless life …
A near soundless knock raps against the door and a jolt crawls through my body. Someone snuck up on me? A part of my once-mortal soul blushes crimson at the thought of being surprised by anything now.
“Fallon, can I come in?” Asher’s voice is just audible over the sound of the busy deck above.
He isn’t supposed to be here. I didn’t tell him I’d be leaving today … I didn’t tell him goodbye.
My chest grows tight. I want to crawl into his arms and hide from the darkness that is my life. But I also want to kiss him hard and urgently, my lips trailing over his flesh and biting down until the life drains from his body and into mine.
“No,” I say with haste.
I hear his heartbeat pick up from the other side of the thin door, the noise setting me on edge and sending a burst of adrenaline through my body. He exhales loud enough to pique my interest. In the silence I cross the small room, my hand lingering on the cold, metal door knob.
The words stuck in his throat make me sick with dread. I hate that I’m doing this to him. In this moment, I hate myself, too.
With another jagged breath he turns away from me, his first step not getting far before I finally speak in a whisper I know he will hear.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
A pause fills the quiet between us. Only the sound of the heavy steps above and the calm and caressing waves surround us.
For a moment I think he won’t reply at all. But he does, of course. In a voice so raspy, I barely recognize the sound of it.
“Neither should you.”
Pain pushes at the emptiness in my chest. Anger and annoyance flood my mind until I’m moving without thinking. I jerk the tiny door open. A cracking sound follows the movement as the hinges tear from the frame, the door coming off in my small hand. My eyes search for the hybrid in the sun filtered room. Bright and intense rays of sunlight crawl down toward me from the stairway that leads to the open deck.
But he isn’t here. Awkwardly, I hold the door to me, leaning my chest against it, almost hugging it as I listen for him up above.
“Did you talk to her?” Gabriel’s question rings out through the muddling sound of the world.
I hold my breath as I wait for Asher’s reply.
“No, I – I think she might be asleep.”
Confusion settles into me before realization cuts through, slicing open the ever stream of incessant thoughts that now cloud my mind.
I’m hurting him.
A scraping sound fills the room as I drag the door back against the frame. The leaning door offers the appearance of privacy. The peace and quiet allows the guilt to grow in me, festering by the second. Luckily it doesn’t last long. A knock breaks through my thoughts, and my shoulders tense at the simple sound.
“Go away,” I say muffled, my face buried in the thin pillow.
“Fallon, I brought you something to eat.” Declan’s voice echoes against the door, a hesitancy filling his tone.
My stomach rumbles at the thought of the bones. Declan seems to have an endless supply for me. My spine turns to steel as I take a deep breath and walk toward his voice, cracking the door open only an inch, holding the weight of the broken door in my hands.
“Thank you,” I say, reaching my eager palm out almost impatiently.
“Are you going to invite me in?” A shaking laugh rumbles through the door that separates us.
“Are you going to give me my food?” My hand still hangs through the minimal opening of the door in a desperate plea.
“Hmm,” he says in a teasing tone. “I suppose.”
A sigh of relief slips over my lips, my empty palm waiting for the unseen food.
“After you’ve invited me in.”
My teeth grind and my eyes roll heavily before swinging open the door to his ridiculous smiling face.
“Thank you, love. You’re too kind.” An easy and carefree gait accompanies his steps as he crosses the room and makes himself comfortable on my bed.
I glare at him, taking a seat on the small bed opposite him, the thin mattress not allowing me to relax in the least.
He begrudgingly hands over a brown paper bag with a smile, and I rip it open the moment it’s in my grasp. The small broken bits of bone slip over my lips like they’re the most delicious treat