I remembered the burning pain that came with the silver. It was so bad, I couldn't even think straight. I remembered my helpless scream as the silver was wrapped tightly around my wrist and all I could do was wait for the sickening pain to stop.
“I know you attacked me at school.”
“Yes, yes I did.” His smile broadened.
Words failed me when I try to describe the hate I had developed for this man over such a short period of time. Everything about him annoyed me; his deep voice, and his boot cut jeans with his tucked in singlet. I even hated the way the light seeped down his long blond hair, barely settling on each strand.
“How dare you! You could have asked me. I would have done anything you wanted if it meant ending up here. You didn’t have to attack me.”
“But it was so much more fun.” Tay smiled.
A low growl vibrated in my chest and Tay threw his silver onto the floor, taking my growl as an indication for a fight. He wanted to fight me one on one, without the advantage of silver. Not that he needed it, though, I was outmatched. He was stronger, taller, and faster than I was. Before I could even jump at Tay, Eli had restrained my hands behind my back.
“Stop,” Eli demanded fiercely into my ear.
“Control your pet.” Tay snickered.
He narrowed his eyes at me, provoking me to try and wiggle out of Eli’s grasp. I was angry and I wasn’t going to be satisfied until I tore his head from his body. Everything that I had been through this year and last flooded into me, fuelling my anger more. I struggled harder against Eli, trying to free my hands. I felt a familiar warm, tingling sensation beginning at my toes. Quickly, it began coursing its way up my body, this time bypassing my heart and going straight to my head. It was magic, my magic. I concentrated on the plant hanging from the ceiling, above the coffee table, a few metres away from Tay. The plant started to grow and stretch, making its way towards Tay's head rapidly. I heard Mr Aleksandrov gasp.
The plant, which I identified immediately as a Golden Pothos Vine, my mother’s favourite, wrapped around Tay's neck. His hands grasped at his throat as he tried to pull the vine away but it was too tight. His eyes were wide with fear and small ragged gasps escaped from his throat.
“Her concentration,” Mr Aleksandrov stated calmly.
Eli knocked me to the floor, my arms still pinned to my back. The plant dropped and hung loosely down to the ground. Tay took no time to recover from his strangulation; he grabbed his chain and jumped at me, but Eli leapt at him, shoving him backwards. After a few misguided steps, Tay recovered from his backwards stumble.
“You’re protecting a vampire?”
I couldn’t help but smile at his expression, an expression of pure disgust. Tay and Eli stared each other down as I rose to my feet.
“Tay, relax,” Mr Aleksandrov commanded.
I saw his jaw clench in frustration before he returned to leaning on the couch, twirling his silver like he was moments earlier. Eli’s eyes narrowed in on me, annoyance dominating his features. He pulled a long piece of silver from his back pocket. He wouldn’t, would he?
“Don't restrain her,” Aleksandrov announced.
Oh thank god someone here was making sense.
“She attacked me,” Tay replied, bitterly.
I bit my lip trying to supress a laugh. He sounded like he was in primary school.
“You provoked her; besides, a good thing came from it. We know that she can use her magic.”
Tay focused on me, hatred, deep and dark, boiled behind his eyes.
“I was going to get Tay to be on guard here tonight but since you handle her better, Eli, you can do it.”
Tay smirked and Eli nodded in agreement.
“We have to leave now; other issues to attend to. I trust that you will keep everything under control.”
“Yes, sir.”
Tay and Mr Aleksandrov left the cabin.
“Let's talk,” Eli suggested, gesturing to the couches.
I walked over to the couch opposite Eli and dropped into it.
“The second you are no longer a vampire, I will be made your guardian angel.”
“… and what does that entail, exactly?”
“We will become bonded by each other’s blood.”
I made a 'that's gross' face and his lips curved into a delectable smile.
“I have never seen a vampire cringe at the word blood before.”
How surprising. I didn’t think Eli was capable of making a joke.
“And how exactly are we bonded by blood? I drink yours, you drink mine?” I asked.
“No, blood drinking is forbidden.”
He didn't elaborate as to why it was forbidden and I wasn’t going to ask. It was obvious; that it was only a vampire thing.
“You will receive a tattoo on your wrist; it will be mixed with my blood and ink. I will also receive one and a Shar will bind us together.”
“Shar?”
“A Shar is an angel with special powers; they bond guardians to their charges.”
I opened my mouth to ask another question but the words never came out. Eli raised his hand and stopped me.
“I’ll tell you what happens. I’ll be able to tell when you’re in trouble because your emotions will be linked to me and you’ll be able to feel me when I'm close by.”
I nodded and took in everything he said. Eli stood up and pulled out a gold whistle on a gold chain from his pocket and handed it to me. I examined it, it was beautiful and heavy.
“What is this?” I asked.
“A whistle.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Obviously. What is it for?”
His lips twitched and he licked them, trying to cover up a smile. “It’s a whistle that only I can hear.”
“Oh… Like a dog?”
“I guess you could say that.” He laughed and it exposed his perfect, white teeth. “Whilst we aren't bonded and I'm away and something happens, blow it. The downside is that it only works when I'm within a few kilometres of you.”
I brushed my fingers over the whistle, thinking of my mother and her guardian angel. “Did my mother have a whistle?"
"I'm sure she would have.”
"Michelangelo, was he a good angel?"
“One of the best I’ve ever seen.” Eli smiled off into the distance, his eyes clouded like he was stuck in some distant memory.
“Did you know him?”
I couldn’t help but pry. I was a curious person; I always wanted to know things even if it had nothing to do with me.
“You could say that.” Eli's eyes met the floor and his face became hard as he cleared his throat. “I need to take care of a few things right now; I will be back later.”
He stood up and gave me a nod before exiting. I heard the click of the lock and I was alone. I propped a few couch cushions and lay down.
What a morning. I was excited, scared, and any other word that related to what I was about to go through. I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but I did know that I would be ready for it.
Learning
I spent the night alone. Eli didn’t come back. It didn’t bother me, but I was hungry and no one had left any blood for me. I glanced out the window; the sound of the birds and the low lying sun confirmed that it was indeed, a new day. I found myself coughing and swallowing abruptly every few minutes as my throat burned with hunger. The only door in the room caught my eye; perhaps taking a shower would take my mind off thick arteries throbbing under juicy, human flesh.
Just like I imagined, the shower was amazingly therapeutic. I sat on the floor of the shower, letting the water roll over my face and down my back, massaging my skin. In replacement of slaughtering someone for blood, my mother began playing on my mind. Words couldn’t express how much I missed her.
The once white shower floor rapidly turned red as my tears began to pour uncontrollably from my eyes. Death is cruel, isn’t it? It takes away those you love. Death can take anything away in a heartbeat and it gives nothing in return. Who wants painful memories of the happy times you spent together? I would rather have my mother, here in the flesh, than stupid memories that cause me nothing but grief.
Knock Knock. A quiet knock sounded upon the bathroom door whilst I was literally ‘drowning in my sorrows.’
“I'm showering.”
“There are fresh clothes on the bed,” a woman's voice called through the wood.
Her words were cold. Immediately I linked her face to the tall woman that gave me new clothes in the underground cell yesterday, and just like yesterday, as I opened my mouth to say thank you, the front door slammed. I guess everyone has issues with vampires around here, not that I blame them.
I used the head of the shower to wash the blood off the shower floor.
The towels were soft, like kitten fur. I wrapped one around me and opened the bathroom door. Carefully, I put one foot in front of the other, trying not to slip on the hard wooden floor beneath me.
“Eli!” I screamed, nearly slipping and almost dropping my towel. Eli, who was standing in the lounge room carrying a pile of books and pens, turned abruptly, causing some to fall on the ground.
I quickly grabbed fresh underwear from the bed and ran back to the bathroom, slamming the door.
“Sorry!” I shouted. “I didn't know you were here.”
I ripped the tags off the bra and undies and put them on; surprisingly they were a perfect fit.
Damn! I didn't grab any clothes. I opened the door slightly.
“Eli? Can you turn around? I forgot my clothes!”
“I’m still facing the wall,” he shouted.
I quickly sprinted from the bathroom and over to the bed. I grasped for anything I could get my hands on. A black pair of jeans was the first thing my hand came into contact with.
Good enough. I threw them on quickly and grabbed for a red singlet. I pulled it over my head and managed to get one arm in when the door opened and in came Mr Aleksandrov and Tay. My heart sank to my stomach; I put my other arm in my singlet and pulling the fabric down to cover my stomach as fast as I could. Tay and Ivan Aleksandrov shot a look over to Eli and I'm sure his expression reflected the same horror as mine.
“The lady left my clothes on the bed,” I mumbled.
“Both of you guardians leave,” said Mr Aleksandrov.
Tay exited out the door and Eli placed the books he was holding on the coffee table, shooting me an apologetic glance before he left. Once the door was closed Ivan beckoned me over to the couches; I fidgeted with my fingers as I approached the couch and sat down.
"It is forbidden.”
“What is forbidden?” I asked, having no idea what he was talking about.
“Being with a Guardian Angel… intimately.”
It took me a few seconds to grasp what he was talking about. Oh, he means sex! I felt my cheeks flush and my face cringe, this was awkward.
“Oh god, no, it wasn't like that.” I tried to explain but Mr Aleksandrov wouldn't let me.
“You’ve been warned. Anyway, I need to borrow Eli for a few hours. Until then, Tay will be here guarding you.”
“But—“ I protested.
“No buts,” replied Mr Aleksandrov as he rose out of his seat.
I had to stop him; I don’t think I could handle being alone with Tay and his snarky comments and barbaric attitude.
“Aren't you worried I'll hurt him?” I threatened.
Ivan Aleksandrov laughed.
“Oh my dear, Tay is one of the strongest guardian angels I’ve ever seen. He can rip the head off a full-blooded vampire in one swift move. So no, I'm not worried about him.”
Why was he being so difficult?
“But yesterday I…”
“Yesterday, you caught him off guard,” he interrupted. “No one knew you could wield your magic. Now he knows, he won’t make that mistake again.”
He opened the door and stepped out. I dropped my gaze onto the floor. Great, just great.
“Oh,” Mr Aleksandrov said as he poked his head back into the room. “If you could try not to upset him, that would be great. He gets out of control easily and I'd hate for him to hurt you.”
Tay entered, grinning from ear to ear, and Mr Aleksandrov closed the door behind him.
“This will be fun,” he said, carrying in more thick books and dropping them onto the coffee table.
“Start reading, your teacher will be here soon.”
I glared at him. He was such an asshole and he knew exactly what buttons to push to annoy me. Tay didn’t even have to try hard to frustrate me. His eyes, his smile, and his hair were enough to set me off. He handed me the sheet from the top of the pile. The bold, underlined title read:
CLASS TIMETABLE
My classes were as follows:
–Agrobiology, the study of plants, nutrition, and soil yields.
–Botany, the study of plants.
–Fluviology, the study of water courses.
–Hydrogeology, the study of ground water.
–Angelology, the study of Guardian Angels.
–Fire Science the study of fire.
I sighed dramatically. Most of the names for the classes were absolutely ridiculous. Botany? Fire Science? How daft.
“Suddenly being like Meredith doesn't sound so fun, does it?”
I flinched at her name.
“Don't say her name like you know her and don't talk to me,” I said calmly. It didn’t sound as childish in my head.
“So, Eli gets a free show but I can't even talk to you? That's a little unjust.”
“That—” I snapped. “Wasn’t what it looked like; it was a misunderstanding.”
“Can you take your clothes off and explain to me why?”