《Your Guardian Angel (Guardian Angel #1)》


 Page 1

    In the Beginning


    When I think of death, I picture a warm light embracing me in my sleep at a very old age. When I experienced death, it was completely different¡­


    The hot red flames that exuded from the fireplace had a calming effect on my nerves. It was winter; through the frosted window in the lounge room I could see the thick blanket of snow that covered the ground outside. The cool air blew under the front door, cooling my skin after the burning heat warmed it.


    ¡°Did you pass your math test?¡± Mum asked.


    ¡°Barely¡­¡± I mumbled, inching towards the fireplace, attempting to absorb more of its heat.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    I opened my mouth to explain but three loud bangs thundered on the front door and my words were caught in my throat as Hank, my stepdad, burst through the door and zipped over to us.


    ¡°Run, Ruby!¡± She shrieked in pain as he grabbed my mother by her hair.


    A cold sweat ran down my forehead, it wasn¡¯t sweat from the heat of the fire but sweat from the anxiety that grew in my chest. My heart pounded like a drum and I flicked my eyes, searching for possible exits. The door seemed like the only logical exit. I tried to run for it, but my legs didn¡¯t work. All I got was a twitch in my calf muscle. I was frozen, staring at Hank''s new appearance. The usual cheerful smile that played upon his face was contorted into an evil grin. His face was void of any warmth, any life. His usually tan skin was a deathly pale color and I could see veins run and pulsate underneath his translucent skin.


    ¡°You never have listened to your mother,¡± said Hank.


    His long fangs stuck out from beneath his smirk. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen, until I met his eyes.


    Look away, I urged myself, but I couldn''t; they were too alluring, too black. They had an almost devious gleam to them, as though he knew something I didn''t.


    ¡°What do you want, Hank? I¡¯ll give you anything, just let Ruby leave,¡± Mum begged.


    ¡°Oh, Meredith¡­¡± Hank chuckled. "You know what I¡¯m here for; you knew the moment I kicked down the door."


    When I was sixteen, Mum explained to me that a newborn vampire needs to feed off a ''pure¡¯ being. In our world, that meant either a guardian angel or a god/goddess. If a vampire feeds off one of these ''pure'' creatures, he receives a more human-like appearance. This allows them to walk with humans at night without being too noticeable. If an already normal-looking vampire feeds off a ''pure'' being, he becomes stronger. If Hank drained my mother right now, all the creepy new changes he had would disappear. I couldn''t let that happen. I lunged forward in an attempt to save her, but before I could even move an inch, Hank grabbed me by my throat with his free hand. I kicked rapidly when I could no longer feel the ground. I tried to scream but the tight grip around my throat made it harder for me to breathe. I¡¯d read about vampires and how strong they were, but I had no idea. I also read about their insane bloodlust and how they would kill anyone to satisfy it, family or not. They¡¯re pure evil.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mum extend her hand towards the fire. It seemed a failed attempt on my part was all she needed to conjure a fireball from the fireplace.


    My mother was an elemental goddess; she could control and manipulate the four elements of nature. I inherited those abilities, but given the fact that I go to a human school, I haven''t learnt how to use them yet.


    A ball of fire flew out of the fireplace, not stopping until it came in contact with Hank¡¯s face. He grunted in pain as the ball of flames connected with his skin.


    Suddenly, the cold surface of the wooden floor rose to meet me, connecting solidly with my body as he dropped me. I sat, forcing as much air into my lungs as I could. A warm hand took my arm and I stumbled slightly as I was abruptly pulled to my feet. I forced my legs to move one after the other towards the door. If it wasn¡¯t for the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream, I probably wouldn¡¯t have budged. We made it as far as the front door and I dove for the handle, but my face hit a wall; no, my face hit a cold, dead, hard body.


    ¡°Too slow.¡± Hank chuckled, blocking our exit.


    I grunted in pain as he backhanded me to the floor and slammed a foot down onto my head, pinning me to the ground. The pressure was intense; any harder and my head would no doubt be crushed. I strained my eyes to see out of my peripheral vision. He had my mother by the hair again; I could see her as she fought against him. She extended her hand, once again, towards the fire.


    ¡°If you do it Meredith, I will pulverize Ruby''s skull.¡±


    ¡°Please!¡± I cried out as he pushed down harder. The pressure was so intense and the pain was just as bad. It felt like I had dived into the sea and my ears had popped a thousand times. I could feel my brain pulsating and that was not a good sign.


    ¡°Okay, okay stop!¡± she begged. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    Mum smiled at me and tears rolled down her face. It wasn¡¯t a happy smile; it was an apologetic one, a smile filled with sorrow and regret. Hank pulled her hair harder and pressed her back against his chest, exposing her neck.


    ¡°No¡­ Please don''t!¡± I sobbed.


    His long white fangs flicked out further and he ripped into her neck. My stomach sank into my intestines and my heart shattered into a million pieces. A loud sob escaped my lips as her warm blood sprayed my face. Squeezing my eyes shut, I prayed for my own death. I prayed for something to come and relieve me of this sick, twisted nightmare. Mum¡¯s pain-filled grunts turned into a blood-curdling gurgle as her life was drained from her. I squeezed my eyes tighter and felt a few more drops hit my face.


    It felt like an eternity had passed before I heard Hank toss her body away. She hit the floor; he empty eyes were level with mine. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a scream; I could hear my heart hammering in my chest as it rattled my ribcage. My lungs ached and I realized I was holding my breath; I eased the air out of my lungs slowly. He removed his foot from my head and the adrenaline kicked in again. I started crawling frantically away from Mum, towards the kitchen.


    Hank grabbed me by the legs but I kicked free; one of my blows hitting his face. He was no longer human so of course it didn¡¯t affect him. screamed as he grabbed me by the hair, lifting me off the floor. He then switched hands, grabbing me by the throat. His fingers curled around my neck, pressing harder. A strangled scream fell out of my mouth as I kicked my legs in an attempt to break free. Hank¡¯s hands continue to squeeze, making my ragged breathing turn to gasps. My heart, once quickly beating, slows in tempo. My arms and legs droop to my side as all energy escapes me. I locked eyes with my stepdad and chills rolled down my spine. The veins that recently ran under his skin had disappeared. His complexion was deathly white but no longer translucent. His eyes were still pitch black but no bags hung underneath. It was true; in order for them to look normal again they had to kill ''pure'' beings.


    ¡°Please, Hank, don''t,¡± I managed to squeeze out.


    My lungs burnt with every word due to the lack of oxygen.


    ¡°You¡¯re useless, more or less; a snack,¡± He growled.


    He pulled me closer and bared his fangs. I began squirming in his grasp but he squeezed harder, blocking all air from my lungs. I flinched as his fangs penetrated my skin, the pain was excruciating. I wanted to kick and scream but I was paralyzed. He lessened the grip on my throat and air flooded in. With the new found energy, I tried to thrash and wriggle out of his grasp but I just couldn''t move. Seconds later, the pain subsided and I could feel my body growing weaker once again. Hank pulled away from my throat and smiled ravenously at me.


    ¡°Delicious.¡± He drank hungrily from my neck again and I was left to wonder about his question. He knew what I was, he just drank my mother.


    The pain that came from being bitten became tolerable, then it became pleasant.


    Am I dying? I tried to get my bearings but my head was spinning. I no longer knew where I was.


    A burning pain tore through my veins as what felt like a rather thick liquid forcing its way into my bloodstream from Hank¡¯s fangs.


    He was turning me.


    Out of shear panic I tried to fight it him off but I couldn''t the pain was too much and I was paralysed; I couldn''t move.


    My entire body became overwhelmed by pain as if I was doused with gasoline and set alight but beneath it all; a weird tingling sensation started in my toes and began working its way up my body, coming to a stop at my heart.


    My thoughts became non-existent; there was too much going on within my body, mind and soul. Hank pulled away from my neck and my head fell, my chin touching my chest. I started passing in and out of consciousness as fire gushed through my insides and a beam of light exploded from my chest, throwing Hank and I to opposite sides of the room.


    Pain shot through my body as I hit my head on the bricks surrounding the fireplace and darkness swallowed me.


    Lured


    I was fourteen when we discovered that I had inherited the goddess magic. One morning, Mum and I were having an argument at breakfast. When I look back, it was a minuscule fight but one that changed my life forever. I wanted to go to the local carnival that rode through town once a year and of course, she said no.


    ¡°It''s a school night,¡± she protested.


    Like any other hard done by teenager, I got angry.


    ¡°You never let me do anything!¡± I shouted, throwing my arms up in exasperation. The jug of water that sat upon the table flew onto the floor, shattering and sending glass and water in all directions.


    A few weeks later, Mum uprooted us from Salter City and we moved to Lake Thanton. She claimed it would be safer and that vampires strolled through there less frequently than the busy city of Salter. For the few vampires that visited Lake Thanton, Mum assured me she could handle them. A few months later, she met Hank. He was so good for her, he made her happy; so happy that just after my fifteenth birthday, they got married and Hank became my step-dad. Sadly, just after my seventeenth birthday, he had become a vampire. He killed my mother and technically killed me.


    ¡°Are you even listening?¡± Camilla asked me, shaking me from my memory.


    Camilla has been my best friend since kindergarten, and as luck would have it, she was also my cousin, at least on paper. Aunt Jen was adopted into the family when my mother was young. Regardless of the un-blooded relation, they were always close and I always have (and always will) class them as family. Family ties run deeper than blood.


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± I lied, glancing uneasily at my watch and pushing the dark tangle of hair out of my face.


    ¡°Then what did I say?¡±


    Busted. Staring at her with a blank expression was the only answer I could provide.


    ¡°Typical.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her.


    ¡°I was talking about your party tomorrow.¡±


    Camilla pulled her long blonde hair into a stylishly messy strawberry blonde bun and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as she bent over in search of something in her make up bag. My long dark hair was looking a little messy. I grasped the hairbrush that Camilla left on the table and after a few frantic strokes through my hair, I gave up and tied it into a ponytail.


    ¡°What about it?¡± I asked, checking my watch again.


    I was ready to leave for school half an hour ago, but Camilla was taking her time doing her hair and make-up. She has her own room with a functioning bathroom and mirror; I could not begin to understand why she was doing it in my room.


    ¡°Don''t you have your own room?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Please, don''t get mad, but I changed the plans¡­ I invited the entire senior class,¡± She said, ignoring my question.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    I can''t say I¡¯m too surprised. Camilla has always changed plans at the last minute. Just last week we were supposed to see a movie but at the last second she cancelled because she decided to go to a late night dance class.


    ¡°Don''t stress, it¡¯s only for a few hours. Besides, in a few short weeks you won''t see them again. School will be over.¡±


    I sighed.


    It''s not that I have a problem with my school mates; we generally got on well. I just prefer to keep school and home life separate. The last thing I need are snoopy teens asking questions about my family.


    ¡°Don''t worry, your party will still be bad ass,¡± she said, noticing my worried expression.


    ¡°Yeah, because that''s what I¡¯m worried about,¡± I scoffed.


    ¡°I know you don''t get on with everyone, but it¡¯s not hard to pretend for one night.¡±


    "Is this party yours? Or mine?¡±


    Camilla rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s your party, but I''m hosting it.¡± She laughed, putting her mascara back into her make-up bag.


    I exhaled in relief, it was about time she finished.


    We found Aunt Jen downstairs; she was busy setting up some decorations for my party.


    ¡°Bye, Mum,¡± Camilla called, walking past Jen and exiting out the door.


    ¡°Bye!¡± Jen called back.


    ¡°Thank you for doing all this,¡± I said, gesturing to all the colourful decorations that hung from the ceiling and ran across the white walls.


    ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome; you deserve it after everything.¡±


    She pulled me into a hug. I subtly held my breath as the smell of her blood, mixed with her sweat, filled my nose. I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the excess saliva that now filled my mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s my first birthday without her; it¡¯s going to be hard,¡± I mumbled. I tried to push down the lump that formed in my throat.


    Jen didn''t say anything, she didn¡¯t have to. I had lost my mother and Aunt Jen had lost her sister.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing great, despite your loss and¡­¡± she paused, releasing me from her embrace. ¡°¡­changes.¡±

 Page 2

    Aunt Jen and Camilla knew what Hank had done to me. She was aware that his bite had left me in somewhat of a vampiric state.


    I say ''somewhat'' because the night Hank bit me, something happened, something I can''t exactly explain.


    When his razor sharp teeth pierced into my skin, pain tore through my entire body, but then something else happened. It began at my core, a burning sensation rising up my body, getting hotter and hotter until suddenly a beam of light threw Hank and I to opposite sides of the room, causing my head to hit the bricks that surrounded the fireplace. Whatever happened that night, whatever occurred inside me, made me different from Hank and any other vampire that I know of. I could go out during the day and still have my normal appearance, except for the two bottomless, cold black eyes, which were easily passed off as contacts. I was weaker than other vampires, a lot weaker. If I ever fight another vampire, it would be like sending a toddler to fight a lion.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t too late to cancel the party, if you¡¯re not feeling up to it.¡±


    ¡°I''m fine,¡± I assured her, forcing a fake smile.


    I really wasn¡¯t in the mood for a party. It was, after all, Camilla¡¯s idea.


    Her expression made it obvious she didn¡¯t believe me when I said I was fine, but thankfully, she didn¡¯t elaborate on anything.


    Camilla¡¯s incessant honking pierced through the house, forcing me out of it. There isn¡¯t a day that goes by she doesn¡¯t honk that bloody horn. I walked out the door, stepping into the morning sun. Although I couldn''t feel its warmth pierce my ice cold skin, it was nice knowing I was the only vampire that could appreciate it, despite its irritation to my eyes. I approached Cam''s pink Barina in the driveway.


    Oh god. I could feel my face cringing like it always did before I climbed in.


    ¡°Do you want your breakfast?¡± Camilla asked, pulling a bag of A-negative blood from her purse that was sandwiched between two ice packs. The red liquid gushed around as she handed it to me.


    I stared at the bag. Any other teenager would be sitting down to a nice big bowl of cereal, not me. I want to be normal, like other teenagers, but no matter how much I beg and cry, I''ll always be a bloodthirsty monster.


    Donated blood was a personal choice and the only way I could lessen the burden on my shoulders. I don''t drink human blood directly from the source; I did previously, but stopped. I guess you could say that not taking blood unwillingly from a human was my way of protesting against what I have become. There was nothing I could do about my previous mistakes, they have already been done, but still, it made me feel more human. I guess I was lucky; Aunt Jen was a nurse at Bridgewater Hospital and knew a guy who would provide her with free blood without it being recorded on the system. Unfortunately for her, in return, she had to see a movie (with said guy) on the first Friday of every month. Aunt Jen didn¡¯t mind; she figured seeing one movie a month was better than me slaughtering her and Camilla in their sleep.


    I squeezed my eyes shut and bared my fangs. They slid through the plastic with such ease. I glanced sideways at Cam; she was staring at me wide eyed like she always did when she saw me eat.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you do this for a while now and I still find it creepy.¡± She shuddered.


    I threw the empty bag into the glove box.


    ¡°It could be worse,¡± I said, contracting my fangs and concealing them with my upper lip. ¡°You could watch me munching on humans whilst they scream a couple of times a day.¡±


    Camilla shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Shit. I probably shouldn''t talk about munching on humans in front of a human.


    ¡°That was a joke.¡±


    ¡°What does being bitten feel like?¡± she blurted out.


    My mouth dropped a little and my stomach followed suit. So did my heart. I didn¡¯t have to think about how it felt to be bitten. I haven¡¯t forgotten what it feels like. Instantly, I was taken back to the night it all happened. Hank¡¯s face, so white and translucent. His eyes were so piercing and cold. I remember him staring into my eyes with such hate before he bared his fangs and sunk them deep into my neck. When I thought about it, excruciating was such a weak word to use when it came to describing the pain of his teeth sinking deeper and deeper into my flesh.


    ¡°Ruby?¡± urged Camilla, her voice pulling me from reliving my nightmare.


    I felt her warm hand tightly grip my forearm. I reached for a tissue out of the glove box as a single tear pushed itself out of my eye. I would have left it if it was a normal tear, but it wasn''t; vampires cry blood.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I didn''t mean¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said, interrupting her apology. ¡°Let¡¯s just get to school.¡±


    I wasn''t mad at Camilla, it wasn''t her fault. I was caught off guard; the question came out of nowhere. No one has ever asked me anything about that horrible night. I forced a fake smile at Camilla. I was so used to being depressed that the fake smiles came easily. Camilla¡¯s pink Barina roared to life and she drove us to school, neither of us uttering another word.


    We arrived at school in the nick of time. The bell hadn''t rung yet, thank god, and students were still making their way around campus.


    Cutting across the quadrangle was the quickest route to the science room, where my first class was, and I wasn''t in any mood for hanging around.


    ¡°Hey Ruby, you¡¯re looking fine this morning.¡±


    I threw a sharp glance to my left; no surprise there, it was Darren Jolter.


    Darren is your typical jock who thinks he¡¯s god¡¯s gift to, well, everything. Darren, especially, took a shine to me when I enrolled at Bridgewater High. His hooded brown eyes were always watching me, evaluating everything I did. It wasn¡¯t just Darren that unnerved me regularly at school. Day in and day out, boys slung obscene sexual comments at me, hit on me and stared at me. Not one single boy at this or any other school has interested me romantically or physically, ever, ultimately keeping me a virgin. Don''t get me wrong, I have wanted to have sex, a lot, it''s just the boys I''m surrounded by are destroying any sex drive I''m trying to develop. I thought being a vampire increased your libido, but I guess the boys I know cancel that perk out, or maybe I¡¯m just one pathetic excuse for a vampire¡ª which wouldn¡¯t be a surprise.


    ¡°Ruby, wait!¡± a puffed voice called.


    I exhaled in frustration but didn¡¯t turn around.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± the voice shouted again.


    I spun around abruptly, to silence the annoying name shouting. It was Kyle, the only boy in this school I could tolerate, even though he was crushing on me, evident by the way he followed me around. Unlike the others, he hadn¡¯t hit on me. He didn''t have the confidence, which I was thankful for. I was also thankful because Kyle was a larger guy and not my type. I¡¯d hate to hurt his feelings.


    Finally he caught up to me.


    ¡°Do you want to walk to science together?¡±


    I glanced around awkwardly, if I said no, we would have to walk together anyway, we have the same class, which means we¡¯re going to the same place.


    ¡°We¡¯re¡ª¡± I stopped; I wasn''t in the mood to pick out the floor in his logic. ¡°Sure.¡±


    Kyle was taller than me and a lot wider. He had dark blonde hair and freckly skin. It matched his shy personality and all around goofiness perfectly.


    ¡°I¡¯m so excited!¡± he declared.


    ¡°Me, too, it will be good for you.¡± I smiled.


    Kyle had never been to a big party with other students. He got picked on a lot for his size; he wasn''t exactly Mr. Popular.


    ¡°Give up, Kyle,¡± Darren said, interrupting our conversation. "She would never sleep with you. Me? It¡¯s inevitable, no woman can resist this."


    Kyle dropped his head to stare at the ground, feeling insecure. Anger rose in my chest and my calm demeanour disappeared as Darren slung an arm around my shoulders.


    Usually, I could put up with Darren''s childish antics and sexual harassment but today was different; today I wanted to rip Darren to pieces. I shrugged him off and fiercely shoved him backwards. Not hard enough to send him to the other side of the school, but just enough for him to get the hint. The shove was harder than I intended and Darren flew a metre before hitting the ground.


    He stood up and brushed the dirt from the cuts on his hand and then shook the dirt from his mousy brown hair.


    ¡°If you ever touch me again I will rip your throat out,¡± I growled.


    His eyes met mine. Anger fuelled my relentless stare, but something I hadn''t expected spread across his face, a smirk; and not just any smirk, one that had satisfaction written all over it. He narrowed his eyes at me before turning and walking away. Darren didn''t panic or cry; he didn''t call me a freak or run away screaming. My mind went rampant, maybe I was reading too much into it?


    Kyle was staring at me, fear filled his eyes. I grasped each side of his face with my hands and I kept eye contact until his face relaxed and his expression turned dopey.


    ¡°Darren never approached us,¡± I spoke softly.


    Kyle nodded slowly and I let go of his face. I stood staring at him nervously, hoping that the lure I used on him worked and the recent memory was successfully erased from his brain.


    ¡°The party will be good for you,¡± I told Kyle, continuing to walk towards the science block.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± mumbled Kyle, still dazed by lure.


    Lure was another perk to being a vampire. It works like hypnotism, in a way. Once I have someone¡¯s full attention I can plant thoughts and memories into their brain, whatever I want. In the beginning I only used it to attract prey. Now (since I don¡¯t trap and eat humans) I use it to get out of assignments and any other situation I don¡¯t want to be in.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll meet a girl at my party,¡± I chuckled, hoping Kyle would catch on and add to the conversation.


    Some humans have a stronger will than others, which means Lure takes longer to settle in.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I have the best standing right next to me.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Please, I¡¯m too pale,¡± I joked.


    ¡°Are you kidding?¡±


    I exhaled a breath of relief, he was back on track.


    He stopped walking.


    ¡°You¡¯re perfect; do you even know how beautiful you are?¡±


    If I wasn¡¯t dead, blood would have rushed to my cheeks in embarrassment. I glanced around awkwardly, hoping no one else was near enough to hear the speech that was inevitably coming.


    ¡°I didn''t intend for the conversation to go down this road.¡± I chuckled, nervously.


    ¡°Any guy would die to have you on his arm, you look like¡­like¡­ like beautiful.¡±


    ¡°That doesn''t even make sense.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, did I offend you?¡±


    ¡°No, you didn''t offend me, it just doesn''t make sense.¡±


    Kyle didn''t laugh. Instead, he went all doe eyed.


    ¡°And your smile, so innocent; and your eyes, the strangest eyes I have ever seen¡­ dark¡­ it¡¯s like staring down a tunnel¡­¡± He leaned forward, like he was going to kiss me.


    My body was using lure on him, it does by itself occasionally when it craves human blood from the source. More experienced vampires know how to control it; I don''t.


    Vampires are the ultimate killers. We don''t have to work very hard to get our prey, all we have to do is smile and they follow. Kyle was so caught up in lure right now, I could tell him to burn down the school and he would do it, no questions asked.


    ¡°I''ll meet you at the science block, Kyle. I need to use the bathroom,¡± I lied.


    I walked away, heading in the direction of the ladies room. I glanced back; Kyle was looking around confused, but then the bell rang and he began walking in the direction of the science block.


    I reached the girls¡¯ toilets and sat on the steps before the entrance, breathing easier now. Venom trickled into my mouth rapidly; I inhaled deeply as I picked up a strange scent. A scent so sweet and delicious, it immediately took me back to when I was a child. Every Saturday, Mum would take me to the bakery on the corner, down the road from our house. The smells of the fresh bread and sweet pastries came rushing back to me. I found myself inhaling deeper, trying to absorb as much of it as I could. It was coming from around the corner of the building. I couldn''t resist, I stood up and followed the scent.


    This is a bad idea, I thought.


    I would have to kill whatever was hiding around this corner. I didn¡¯t have the strength to resist whatever it was. Something so delicious smelling wasn''t going to get away from me. I pondered the taste and more venom gushed into my mouth. I neared the corner, and even though instinct in my body told me to ignore it, I turned the corner anyway. I needed to taste it. Every urge in my body had been defeated and I was left alone with the unavoidable appetite to feed, to bite into its body, and drink away at the sweetest blood I had ever had the pleasure of smelling. It was a scent like no other, taking control over every aspect of my thought. I was left with nothing else but to act upon the urge to drink the deliciousness that was flowing through someone¡¯s heated veins.


    I put one foot onto the concrete and turned around the corner.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I grunted.


    My head hit the brick wall, hard. A scream pierced my ears; it was mine.


    ¡°No!¡± I yelled, as I thrust my body forward, rebounding off the man¡¯s torso.


    ¡°Quiet!¡± he boomed, wrapping a thick silver chain around my wrists.


    My face slammed hard against the wall as he spun me around, pinning my torso against the building. I screamed in pain as the chain seared my skin. It wasn''t Hank; this guy was tall and muscular and his skin was too warm to be dead. I fought against the solid body that had me captured but I couldn''t. His strength was too great.


    ¡°She¡¯s weak.¡± The man snickered.

 Page 3

    My face became wet as blood-filled tears poured from my eyes.


    ¡°Let her go!¡± another man snapped.


    I squinted and blinked, turning to move my head around enough to make out their faces, but I couldn¡¯t. The blood that was pouring profusely out of my eyes blurred my vision.


    ¡°She¡¯s a vampire, Eli! We can''t just let her go,¡± the man that trapped me growled.


    ¡°She¡¯s weak; you said so yourself. Give her the serum and let¡¯s go,¡± Eli replied.


    I flinched as a slight injection was administered into my neck.


    What is it? Was it a tracking device or a poison that was going to kill me? My worry jumped up a scale as my vision started coming and going in waves, it must be some kind of sedative¡­ that or I¡¯d just go to sleep and never wake up.


    I put all of my strength into my legs but I couldn¡¯t stand. My face met the solidity of the concrete and I blacked out.


    I opened my eyes and squinted around a room that was familiar; my room. I was at home, in my own bed. I looked down at my wrists ¡ª no burns, not even a scratch. What happened? Normally, a human would first assume it was all a dream. Oh, how I long for simplicity. No brief relief for me; vampires don¡¯t sleep.


    I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Camilla''s number. Instead of answering the call, she barged through my door, her mother in tow.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± they said in unison.


    I shrugged my shoulders. How should I be feeling? I was attacked at school by some delicious smelling strangers who may or may not work for the man that slaughtered my mother and turned me into a monster. I feel fantastic.


    ¡°School said you fainted; they called me and wanted to send you to the hospital, but I told them it was normal and I brought you home,¡± Camilla explained. ¡°Did you really faint?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I fainted,¡± I lied. ¡°Sometimes the sun becomes uncomfortable and too much to handle.¡±


    Camilla''s eyes narrowed; she knew I was lying, but Aunt Jen believed the story, thankfully. I felt horrible lying but if Aunt Jen knew what happened, she would kick me out. Camilla was her top priority, and if people were hunting me, it put her in danger.


    ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯re okay and have no injuries, then I¡¯ll let you rest up. If you need anything, let me know,¡± Aunt Jen said, relieved.


    She left the room and I relaxed. I didn¡¯t think Aunt Jen would believe that. I mean come on, a vampire fainting?


    ¡°What really happened?¡± Camilla asked.


    I was skeptical about telling Camilla the truth. I knew she would follow me everywhere and try and confront those guys on her own if they showed up again. The last thing I wanted was for her to be involved in my business and get hurt, or worse, killed, but at the same time, I didn¡¯t want to go through this alone.


    ¡°I was attacked, near the girls¡¯ toilets,¡± I explained. ¡°I was trapped with silver.¡±


    ¡°Was there only one?¡± Camilla asked.


    ¡°There was another guy there. I couldn''t see their faces really because I had hit my head and then he pinned me against the wall.¡±


    ¡°And you couldn''t break free?¡±


    I shook my head. If only she knew how painful it was when that silver touched my skin. It definitely rivaled being bitten. Camilla wrapped her long arms around me.


    ¡°I''ll let you rest. I''m so glad you¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°Cam? Did the school say anything about blood? I cried, and you know how it is when I cry.¡±


    ¡°No. They didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    She handed me a bag of blood from the fridge. I distinctly remember crying, they must have cleaned the blood from my face. What did they want from me?


    ¡°I have to go, but I¡¯ll see you later.¡± Cam left me alone.


    I sucked back my meal and pondered the fact that I was such a shitty vampire. I''m nothing like the others or like you see on TV or in movies. I go out in the sun, I don''t have see-through skin, and I¡¯m nowhere near as fast, strong, or as bloodthirsty as the rest of them. I''m weak; I might as well be human.


    I couldn''t put what happened at school behind me, my mind kept obsessing over it. Could they be working for Hank? No. They couldn''t be, the man made it very clear how he felt about vampires. I was at a loss. I sat in my room alone, depressed, and scared for the rest of the day.


    Taken


    I watched from my bay window as the sun rose over the trees, its light sent a glossy gold shine around the room. I hadn¡¯t really moved from this spot all night. I sat obsessively watching the surroundings for any movement.


    When the sun was high enough in the sky, I heard noises coming from the kitchen; I changed out of my casual jeans and white tank top from yesterday and into a pretty yellow knee length summer dress. I didn''t think it was possible, but somehow it made my skin look even whiter.


    Today, I planned to focus on pushing yesterday''s events out of my head. I tried hard not to watch over my shoulder or glance nervously out the window. It was easier to do during the day; everything seems so much scarier at night. Forgetting all about yesterday was easier today because it was, after all, my birthday.


    ¡°Happy Birthday!¡± Camilla screamed, bursting through my door.


    I didn''t spoil her surprise by revealing that I heard her before she even opened the door. She wrapped her arms around me tightly and squeezed.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing like a birthday bear hug.¡± Aunt Jen chuckled, entering moments after.


    The hug was a little awkward; there was no doubt Camilla could feel how cold my skin was, I sure felt her warmth. Venom flooded my mouth and my throat burned. In this moment, my craving for blood was as strong as a dope fiend''s yearning intensity for that next hit. My craving consumed my mind; a vast psychic parasite devouring any thought of anything but the steely sweet relief of another''s life force. I was due for my morning blood and my body was constantly reminding me, but I didn¡¯t want to rush the moment. Who knew if I was going to get another?


    Camilla released me from her embrace and handed me a little red box tied tightly shut with a pretty rose colored bow.


    ¡°Open it!¡± she urged.


    I pulled the ribbon open slowly and pulled off the lid.


    ¡°Oh my god¡­¡±


    It was a beautiful gold necklace with a big red heart-shaped pendant. I tried to say something about it but I couldn''t. It was so beautiful. I looked up from the gift to Camilla''s face; her facial expression told me she was satisfied with my reaction.


    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± I managed to squeeze out after several long seconds.


    ¡°You are more than welcome. After everything that has happened in the past year, you deserve something nice. It''s a ruby for Ruby!¡±


    Her melodious laugh echoed through my room. At times like this, I was so lucky that I had a best friend like her and just as lucky she was a part of my family.


    ¡°There''s something else,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh no, Cam, please, this is more than enough.¡±


    ¡°This one is from Camilla and me,¡± Aunt Jen exclaimed, pulling a red dress from a long bag.


    I gasped at its beauty. If words could describe perfection, this would be it. I was itching to try the halter neck on. Suddenly, I felt excited. I tried to picture myself in it, at my party, my new necklace hanging from my neck. I marvelled at the way the knee length fabric flowed so elegantly.


    ¡°It¡¯s something to wear to your party.¡±


    ¡°It is so beautiful, you have both overdone it today, I would have been happy with just a card.¡±


    ¡°You deserve more than just a card,¡± Aunt Jen chuckled.


    I took the dress from her hands and laid it gently on my bed.


    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s have breakfast,¡± Aunt Jen suggested.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you in there.¡±


    They left my room and I opened the mini fridge that Aunt Jen had concealed in my dresser. The bags of blood, I had to drink cold. Even thought they were in a fridge, they still felt warm against my cold skin. The donated blood does the job, but it still doesn¡¯t quench the burning desire of taking it forcefully from a human. Feeling the pulsing of their heart through the thick liquid as I sucked it from them was exquisite. It¡¯s sweetest right before they die, when their pulse slows down. In my mind, I pictured Camilla and Aunt Jen¡¯s pulsing arteries, so thick and juicy. The acidic venom tickled my mouth as I swished it around, contemplating their death. Quickly, I pushed my teeth into the bag of blood, slurping back the D-grade red liquid. I needed to calm the constant desire for human flesh before I kill the only family I had left. The hunger, the blood lust, it made me want to tear into human flesh with my ridiculously sharp fangs. I never knew if I''d be able to hold myself back the next time a human walked by. The smell of their blood wafting by my nose, put them in more danger than they realized.


    After breakfast I helped with the last adjustments and additions to the party decorations downstairs, which surprisingly took me to lunch. I guess time goes quickly on your birthday.


    I was hungry again. Whilst Aunt Jen and Camilla were eating their lunch in the kitchen, I drank mine in the perfect solitude of my room. I would join them, but Aunt Jen isn¡¯t as comfortable with it as Camilla is.


    Licking my lips and retracting my fangs, I joined them in the kitchen.


    We sat around talking in between making food and drinks for the guests, and before we knew it, it was five-thirty and the party was scheduled to begin in half an hour.


    ¡°Shower time,¡± I mumbled to myself as I pulled my blue fluffy towel from the hook behind my door and transferred it to the hook on the wall in my bathroom. I didn¡¯t have to shower, I have no bodily fluids. I only shower because I was accustomed to my human routine. I turned on the hot water and steam filled the bathroom, blurring my mirror. I inched on the cold tap, reducing the steam slightly. It didn¡¯t matter whether the shower was hot or cold, my body barely noticed the difference between the two.


    I was out almost as soon as I started. I did, after all, have less than half an hour to get ready. I didn¡¯t want to waste my time on something I didn¡¯t need.


    The soft fabric of my dress welcomed my body as I pulled it over my head. I felt like Angelina Jolie in Mr and Mrs Smith, except my dress was red and knee length, but just like hers, it clung to all the right places. Once I did my hair and applied minimal make up, I dare say I looked just as sexy as Ms Jolie herself.


    I needed a full stomach if I was going to be surrounded by sweaty teens, especially drunken sweaty teens. I pulled two bags out of the hidden fridge. My fangs popped out by themselves as I brought one of the bags to my mouth and pierced it.


    ¡°I knew it.¡±


    I retracted my fangs and dropped the bag. It hit my carpet with a light thud, leaking blood everywhere.


    ¡°Darren! The party starts in ten minutes.¡± I cleared my throat, trying to sound friendly. ¡°And it¡¯s downstairs.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± he said, striding over to me. The smirk that had spread across my face made me want to kill him where he stood.


    ¡°If you touch me, I will kill you.¡±


    ¡°You can try, but we both know how pathetic and weak you are.¡±


    ¡°You don''t know anything about me. I gave you a pretty good warning at school today, don¡¯t make me repeat myself,¡± I snapped.


    ¡°I know everything about you. It¡¯s my job. And that ¡®shove¡¯ you gave me at school, you caught me off guard.¡±


    ¡°Your job is working front counter at McDonald''s.¡±


    Darren¡¯s dark eyes narrowed in on me as he smirked; once again, it made me want to kill him.


    ¡°You''re a vampire, and my ''profession'' will soon be to hunt your kind.¡±


    I tensed my muscles as Darren circled me, coming to a stop behind me. I cringed as I felt his warm breath on my ear.


    ¡°You are a vampire in my jurisdiction, which means I have to kill you¡­ Unless, we can make some sort of temporary arrangement¡­¡±


    I shook under his grasp as his grimy hands slid around my waist and then down to my thigh.


    Grabbing the base of my dress, he began to slide his hand upwards, lifting the fabric as he went. He kissed my neck, unflinching at its temperature. I could no longer bear the thought of his touch. I turned fast and pushed him, my bed thudded against the wall as he slammed into it.


    I didn''t run, I couldn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t going to involve Aunt Jen or Camilla, or ruin the party they worked so hard on. I was going to have to take care of him myself.


    ¡°Lucky shot. Normal vampires are hard to kill, extremely hard, but you, you¡¯re like killing a child, so weak and defenseless.¡± Darren chuckled as he climbed to his feet, putting a hand in his back pocket.


    I felt more and more frustrated every time he called me weak. I had done a good job at defending myself against him, so far.


    I stood in an attack stance, just waiting for him to jump at me. From his pocket, he pulled out a wooden object and he lunged at me. I didn''t move, not because I couldn''t, I''m faster than Darren. I didn¡¯t move because I didn¡¯t want to. What was the point in living like this? I couldn¡¯t even go a year without being hunted down. If I let Darren kill me now, it would save me having to wait for the next people to come. When would the two strangers from school attack me again? What if I came across another vampire and they saw how weak I am? What if I want to die? I want to be freed from this awful state. Is it selfish of me to want to die, to end my suffering?


    Glass hit my face and Darren was knocked into the wall, he didn¡¯t move. He was out cold. A hard object hit my chest and I was pinned to the floor. The smell and the feel of it made it obvious, it was another vampire.


    Hank? No. this vampire was an old one. The older vampires get, the stronger they are.


    ¡°Hello, half cast,¡± he whispered.

 Page 4

    Fear shot down my spine, my body was shaking. There was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I couldn''t seem to swallow. My breath was coming out in uneven gasps. I didn''t know what to do and I could barely think over the rising tide of cold fear in my chest. My eyes began burning with tears and I realized they were squeezed shut. I opened them slowly and my heart leapt into my throat. His face was white; his eyes were black and sunken deep into his skull. The veins that ran under his skin stood out and his wry smirk exposed two big fangs.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I cried.


    ¡°I know what you are, goddess,¡± he growled. ¡°I''m not the only one that knows, either. Last I heard, Hank was after you as well.¡±


    I flinched at Hank¡¯s name.


    ¡°I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about; I¡¯m a vampire, not a goddess.¡±


    He moved his hands to my throat and squeezed hard. The pressure would have turned human bones into powder, but for me, it was only enough force to cause discomfort.


    ¡°Do not play dumb with me; I can rip your head off in one swift move. I¡¯m going to have to kill you before Hank gets the chance to¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, I heard footsteps. I inhaled deeply through my nose as familiar scent filled the air, so sweet and delicious.


    Could my night get any worse?


    The old vampire smelt them, too; he reacted quickly, but the others were a step ahead. A man threw silver chain mail on top of the vampire before he could get up. He screamed in pain as a man with short dark hair pierced the vampire¡¯s heart with a stake. The vampire exploded into dust, leaving the chain mail to fall directly onto my body. I screamed in agony; there was no doubt that Camilla and Aunt Jen heard it.


    The pain was excruciating, it was as if acid was being poured all over my body. Another scream escaped my body as the man that killed the vampire pulled the net off me and quickly scooped me up into his arms. Instantly I could feel my body healing. I felt weak, like I always did when my body healed itself.


    My body jolted and cool air hit my face; we were outside. I could hear the thudding music from my party getting further and further into the distance.


    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± My voice was quiet and drained.


    ¡°Rest.¡±


    I flinched; someone injected something into my neck and as I slowly became drowsy, there was no doubt it was the same serum that made me pass out yesterday.


    ¡°Happy Birthday to me,¡± I mumbled sarcastically. I couldn¡¯t pin point it, but there was something reassuring about his voice. I put all my faith into that, letting my body take me away into a deep, recovering sleep.


    ¡°Happy Birthday,¡± he whispered.


    Sage Sanctum


    I opened my eyes and squinted painfully around a brightly lit room. My feet hit the concrete floor as I jumped off the bed. The room bore an uncanny resemblance to a prison cell. I approached a painfully obvious two-way mirror that conspicuously took up the entire wall.


    I needed an escape plan. I looked at my options; I could smash through the mirror but I would definitely cut myself. If I did so,, I¡¯d need time to rest and heal, and that would be a luxury I surely wouldn''t have.


    Perhaps I could try and rip the door from its hinges and just run for it? I approached the door cautiously. It wasn¡¯t the fact that the door was lined with silver that stopped me in my tracks. It was a scent; how did I not notice it before? My fangs throbbed and my mouth was tickled as venom slowly leaked its way in. I wasn''t alone in this room. My eyes followed the dull bricks along the wall until they rested on a woman who was sitting on a stool. I made a mental note to kick myself for not paying proper attention to my surroundings later. The woman sat, swaying back and forth.


    A heavy clank from the door rumbled through the room. I was scared, but I couldn¡¯t let these people know it. Two men entered the room, the sweet scent rushed in through my nose once again. Whatever they were, they smelled delicious. I stood facing them, my posture confident and my face hard.


    A short, old man walked in behind them. Analyzing the two men that now stood behind the old man, I noticed the blond man was holding a silver chain prepared for any attack. I tried to stare them all in the face unflinchingly, exposing no trace of fear or any of the other emotions that were jolting down my spine and threatening to overcome me. Even though I was locked up in their cell, I wasn''t going to let them know they were winning.


    ¡°Are you vampire hunters?¡± I blurted out.


    I hope I was the only who noticed my voice was shaky. The man on the left laughed at my question and his long, dirty blond hair bounced around his shoulders. His long hair hid most of the structure of his face. He wasn¡¯t an ugly man. I mean, he wasn¡¯t hot, but he wasn¡¯t totally gross, either.


    ¡°Has she eaten?¡± the old man asked the handsome man on the right, ignoring my question completely.


    ¡°No, sir. She just woke up,¡± the man replied.


    Immediately, I recognized his voice. He was at the school when I was attacked, and he was the one that carried me last night, Eli. He was handsome, very handsome. His hair was short and classic but styled messily. It exposed his high cheekbones and manly jaw structure. His hair could almost be mistaken for jet black but the deep brown could be seen around the edges. I dragged my gaze away from him and focused on the old man.


    ¡°I don''t drink directly from humans.¡±


    The blond guy scoffed.


    ¡°Then how do you survive?¡± asked the old man. Kindness laced his tone.


    ¡°I live off donated blood, from a bag.¡±


    ¡°Where do you get the blood?¡± Eli asked.


    ¡°My aunt gets it from the hospital she works at.¡±


    The questions were simple, yet overwhelming. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I was letting them into an intimate part of my life, one that very, very few people knew about.


    ¡°And why should we believe you, vampire?¡± the blond snapped.


    I couldn¡¯t work out why his voice he sounded so familiar. The chain swung around his hands, making a slight grinding noise as the silver links rubbed against each other.


    The chain.


    He was the one that attacked me at school. Anger rose in my chest, I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him cry in pain like he did to me, but I couldn¡¯t, not if I wanted to get out of here alive.


    ¡°Don''t believe me. I don''t care,¡± I growled at him.


    I made eye contact with the old man again. "I haven''t taken blood from that crazy woman nor have I attacked you three."


    ¡°Vampires¡­ you''re all lying, unnatural killers,¡± the blond boomed.


    I lurched forward a few steps and stopped in an attack stance, keeping my eyes locked on the rude, arrogant blond. He smirked and loosened the silver in his hand like he was going to lasso me.


    ¡°Tay, stop,¡± the old man stated calmly. ¡°Ruby, don¡¯t start a battle you can¡¯t win.¡±


    Little black shoes pointed out from under his smoky grey robe as he took steps towards me. His guards attempted to block his path but the old man nodded his head; it was an obvious indication to let him pass.


    The long white hair that cascaded down his chest bounced up and down with each step.


    ¡°May I?¡± he asked. He extended his arm towards me, taking my hand in his. I twitched at the warmth of his skin and the acidic scent of his blood.


    My mood change from confused and angry to relaxed and kind of happy, he was doing something to affect my mood and emotions.


    ¡°What are you doing to me?¡± I demanded, snatching my hand back.


    ¡°One of my many abilities; I can''t make people do what I want or implant memories like you can, but I can influence your feelings. I can make you feel what I want you to feel.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a vampire!¡± Tay growled through clenched teeth. ¡°She doesn''t have feelings.¡±


    Anger filled my chest and then disappeared when the old man took my hand in his again.


    ¡°If she was a complete vampire, I wouldn''t be able to control her emotions.¡±


    Complete vampire? Questions formed in my mind by the dozen but no words came out of my mouth.


    ¡°Give us a moment alone, please; both of you.¡±


    ¡°No way,¡± Tay protested.


    ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good Idea¡­¡± Eli informed him.


    ¡°Now.¡±


    Reluctantly, Tay and Eli left the room, leaving the door ajar behind them.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± I murmured awkwardly.


    Granted it wasn¡¯t the most important question, but if I asked questions in baby steps, perhaps my brain would absorb all the information, fitting the pieces together like a puzzle.


    ¡°You, my dear, are at Sage Sanctum.¡±


    ¡°I''m at Sage?¡±


    I had heard about Sage Sanctum through Mum. She said it was a school hidden somewhere in a forest, protected by various charms and spells. It was a place where young gods and goddesses could learn about their world and how to use their magic. They could explore their powers and purpose without the threat of vampires.


    ¡°Aren''t there various charms and spells keeping monsters like me out?¡± I continued.


    If I was at Sage Sanctum, then I knew exactly who I was talking to: Mr Ivan Aleksandrov, the headmaster of Sage and a powerful wizard.


    ¡°Yes, but you aren''t exactly on the school or town grounds. You¡¯re in a holding cell, deep underground on the outskirts of the safety border.¡±


    The excitement that built itself in my chest slowly deflated like a balloon with a pin hole in it. In order for me to attend Sage I have to be pure¡­ I have to be a goddess.


    ¡°What is going to happen to me? I can''t stay in this cell forever.¡±


    What were they going to do with me? I wasn¡¯t a goddess, so I couldn¡¯t be a part of their student body. A dark feeling filled my stomach and I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that maybe they were going to kill me. What other reason would they have to keep an ex-goddess and potential threat to their kind locked up underground?


    ¡°You will be moved to better housing; once again, on the outskirts of the safety border.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do to me? I can¡¯t imagine that harboring a vampire is something your kind permits.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to fix you, transform you back.¡±


    Well, I couldn¡¯t say I expected that. His words came as a shock.


    ¡°As in¡­ I will be normal?¡±


    I searched his eyes, looking for any indication that he was messing with me. His lips were pursed into a line and his eyes held a caring gleam. Either he was telling the truth or he was very good at practical jokes. Subtly I pinched my arm, expecting to wake up, but nothing happened.


    ¡°As normal as any teenage goddess can be.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°But h-how?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t delve into the technical side of things, but when you were born, your mother decided to live amongst humans. She wanted you to attend Sage Sanctum when you were old enough, but in the meantime she wanted to be your sole protector. Your mother signed a contract stating that when you turned eighteen, you¡¯d come to Sage Sanctum and learn how to use your abilities. So, upon your birth, we cast a charm spell on you. A charm spell so powerful that not even a vampire¡¯s venom could destroy it completely.¡±


    ¡°When Hank bit me ¡ª¡± I swallowed hard, recalling the events. ¡°A beam of light exploded from me and Hank and I were torn apart¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, the charm would have felt the venom spreading through your veins and counteracted it. Unfortunately, it couldn¡¯t stop the process completely; it stops it only enough for us to bring you back.¡±


    My gaze fell to the ground as I soaked in all the new information. I was happy, I was excited. I had thought for a year now that I would be stuck like this; doomed to walk to the earth until I was hunted by Hank or killed by another vampire.


    ¡°We have a wizard, older and more powerful than I, coming in a day or so to turn you back, or at the very least, try.¡±


    Mr Aleksandrov let me sit in silence for a few minutes. The silence helped me regroup my thoughts; it prevented me from crying hysterically or screaming in excitement.


    ¡°I was told¡­¡± Ivan began as he adjusted his strange grey robe. ¡°That when the guardians got to your room, there was another vampire there.¡±


    I nodded, cringing as I recalled his deep black eyes and pale skin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to scare you, but we need to get you back to a goddess as soon as possible. There is a high chance that every vampire on this side of the country wants you dead.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Just my luck, there isn¡¯t one vampire after me, there are thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only thing stopping Hank from ruling this section of the vampire underworld. If you¡¯re alive, the vampire society sees it as his fail, and until he can kill or fully turn you, he can''t rule. As for the other vampires, they don¡¯t want Hank to rule them. They want to take you for themselves.¡±


    ¡°We won''t let them kill you.¡±


    I jumped at Eli''s voice; he was inside the room, leaning on the wall.


    ¡°And what do you do?¡± I was eager to find out what he was and why he smelt so delicious.


    ¡°I''m a Guardian Angel.¡±


    Of course, how could I forget? I remember being told that vampires crave pure beings and needed them to look normal (as normal as a vampire can be). No wonder vampires craved them, the smell was compelling. My venom saturated my mouth and grouped in pools underneath my tongue. I swallowed it back, fighting against the unquenchable hunger that burned my throat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get you to proper housing,¡± said Mr Aleksandrov. ¡°Take her there.¡±


    Mr Aleksandrov was still holding my hand; he must have felt my mixed emotions. Eli nodded in agreement.

 Page 5

    ¡°Maybe she should eat first,¡± Tay suggested, pointing to the woman who was still sitting in the back corner, humming away.


    ¡°I¡¯m not drinking from her,¡± I objected. ¡°I told you, I don''t drink directly from humans anymore.¡±


    I focused my mind elsewhere; the smell radiating off the woman mixed with the guardian angel blood was intoxicating, and I was contemplating whether I should stick to my horrible donated blood or not.


    Aleksandrov gave Eli a nod of the head, like they had some silent understanding of what to do next. He then headed out the door with Tay.


    I watched in longing as Eli walked over to the woman, took her by the hand and escorted her out of the room, closing the door behind him. Almost immediately, I relaxed. I didn¡¯t realise how hard I had been tensing and holding myself back from attacking anyone.


    I walked over to the sink and splashed water onto my face, hoping this wasn''t a dream. I stared at my reflection, trying to picture what I would look like with sun-kissed skin again or normal teeth, and to see my old blue eyes instead of these horrible black ones. I focused on my eyes; I couldn¡¯t remember what my previous colour even looked like. All I could see were the same eyes that killed my mother. Every time I saw them I felt sick¡­ I felt Hank.


    The loud clunking noise thundered through the room again and the air soon filled with a sweet scent as Eli entered the room.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I''m fine,¡± I lied, forcing a fake smile and walking over to the bed.


    I thought about those two words ¡®I¡¯m fine¡¯ ¡ª it¡¯s funny how they just come out even when you¡¯re far from being okay. In the past year, those two short words had become my hymn. How could someone be ''fine¡¯ when they are like me?


    Eli walked over and handed me a bag of blood. I could smell the blood through the plastic, but I didn''t take it.


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°We took it, from your house.¡±


    Thoughts of Camilla and Aunt Jen filled my thoughts. I was too absorbed in what was going on with me to ask if they were okay.


    ¡°Did you see my aunt? What about Camilla? Are they okay?¡±


    ¡°They were asleep and they¡¯re fine; well, as fine as you can be when a family member goes missing.¡±


    ¡°Gets abducted,¡± I corrected him, grabbing the blood out of his hand.


    His tense green eyes looked at me in amusement as his perfect teeth bit his bottom lip, hiding the smile that hinted at the corners of his mouth. His lips were full and luscious. I forced my eyes nervously from his mouth and down to my bag of blood, hoping he didn¡¯t notice that I was lusting over the plump lips that sat on his face so perfectly.


    ¡°A little privacy?¡± I asked, feeling self-conscious.


    I didn¡¯t want Eli to see me drink blood. I didn¡¯t know him, but I knew that I didn¡¯t want him to think even less of me.


    ¡°Sorry, Mr Aleksandrov¡¯s orders, I have to make sure you drink it all.¡±


    Slowly I brought the bag to my mouth; the plastic was warm on my lips. I pierced the bag, concealing as much of fangs as I could. Eli watched, his face unchanging. If he was disgusted, he sure wasn¡¯t giving anything away. My brain buzzed and my body tingled as the blood entered my system. I became more energized and less hungry but it still wasn¡¯t enough to quench my hunger for a taste of Eli¡¯s blood.


    I squeezed what I could out of the bag before handing it back to him. I darted over to the sink and washed my mouth. Even drinking from a bag can be messy sometimes. A tall blonde woman entered the room as I dried my face and she placed some clothes and a pair of shoes on the bed.


    ¡°Here are some fresh clothes,¡± she said bitterly.


    I opened my mouth to thank her but she left before I got the chance.


    Rude.


    ¡°Get changed and then we¡¯ll go.¡±


    I watched as Eli¡¯s shapely back exited out the door. The privacy I was given was pointless, there was a two way mirror on the wall, he might as well have been standing right next to me. I picked up the sneakers and almost fell to my knees. Thank god I didn''t have to wear high heels for a second longer.


    One. Two. Three. I counted in my mind. I pulled my dress off fast so I wasn¡¯t exposed for too long. I kicked off my heels and threw on the pair of baggy denim jeans and the light blue tank top that were messily thrown onto my bed.


    Perfect fit.


    I sighed in relief as my feet slipped perfectly into the level joggers and Eli appeared in the doorway. Once again a small smile played upon his lips¡ª he was so tantalizing.


    ¡°Don''t worry,¡± he said. ¡°I wasn''t watching.¡± His full lips broke out in a seductive smile as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.


    ¡°Before we go, I thought maybe you¡¯d want to call your cousin,¡± he suggested, walking over to me and handing me his mobile phone.


    I grabbed the phone from his hand, my skin coming into contact with his. He didn''t even flinch. If I could blush from embarrassment my face would have been as red as a stop sign. Thankfully, blushing was reserved for the living.


    I moved my eyes from his hand to his face, waiting for a disgusted expression to cross his countenance.


    No reaction.


    ¡°Most people jump at how cold I am,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Most people haven¡¯t spent a lifetime killing vampires.¡±


    His response got a smile out of me. Here at Sage, they were used to ¡®other worldly¡¯ creatures, it was normal. Vampire or not, I still fit in here.


    ¡°Don''t tell her where you are, what you¡¯re doing, or when you will be back,¡± Eli explained.


    I dialed Camilla''s number, but hitting the call button took longer than I expected. Millions of questions and doubts buzzed around my brain. I wanted to put the phone down and never contact her again, it was safer for her. I was dangerous and I brought nothing but danger to their lives. However, on the other hand, she at least deserved to know that I was okay; she deserved a proper goodbye.


    Pushing the doubts aside, I exhaled deeply and hit the call button.


    ¡°Hello?¡± she asked slowly.


    ¡°Camilla, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, Ruby! Where are you? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I''m fine and I¡¯m safe.¡±


    ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll come get you.¡±


    ¡°I can''t tell you where I am.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I can''t.¡± I swallowed hard, forcing the lump in my throat down.


    ¡°Tell me where you are; we¡¯re bringing you home. Do you know how worried Mum and I¡ª¡±


    Beep.


    I hung up on her. I squeezed my eyes shut, using every ounce of will not to cry. Electricity shot through my body as Eli put his hand on my shoulder. How did he provoke such a strong reaction from me? I turned to face him and he dropped his hand back by his side, much to my dismay.


    ¡°Everything will be okay, eventually,¡± he claimed.


    ¡°She was so hurt that I couldn''t tell her anything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s safer for you and for them if they don''t know where you are or what you¡¯re doing,¡± He explained, taking the phone off me. ¡°Come on, I''ll take you to your new place.¡±


    Eli escorted me out of the door and I was careful not to touch it. I had experienced enough silver burn to last me an eternity. On the bench in front of the mirror (which was a two way mirror, like I assumed) was a pillow and a blanket.


    ¡°You slept here? I asked, pointing at the pillow and blanket.


    ¡°Yes, Iva¡ª Mr Aleksandrov gave me orders to in case you escaped.¡±


    ¡°You do know the door is lined with silver?¡±


    ¡°You can never be too careful.¡± Eli chuckled. ¡°Before we go¡­¡± He held up a pair of handcuffs.


    He had to be joking. The handcuffs swung gently as they hung of the end of his index finger. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. I¡¯m not going to run; this is what I want.¡±


    His eyes searched mine; I could tell he was questioning whether or not to trust me. I was a vampire, after all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me regret this.¡± He sighed, throwing the handcuffs down on the bench.


    He turned and began walking up a rocky tunnel and I followed. Fifty metres ahead, the sun peered in, lighting up the exit to the tunnel.


    ¡°Wow, you really wanted to make sure I wasn''t evil, huh?¡±


    ¡°We take whatever cautions needed to ensure the safety of our school, students, and faculty members,¡± replied Eli, his voice stern and hard.


    ¡°How much do you get paid to say ridiculous lines like that?¡± I said mockingly.


    He didn¡¯t acknowledge my comment, not even a smirk. I smiled and dared to peek at him. A tall, muscular build, ridiculously mysterious green eyes that was hard not to get lost in. His hair, dark and incandescent, had a shine like fine hardwood. I suppose that comparison wasn''t entirely fair. Hardwood doesn''t swish gently like his hair; swaying with every step he took.


    I hadn¡¯t realised how dense and muggy it had been in the cell. It was a relief to feel the cooler air against my skin. We trudged along the soft floor of the forest. The tree''s soft whisper against the wind was like a lullaby. It was so welcoming and calm. Despite my situation, I felt safe and secure.


    ¡°So you¡¯re a guardian angel?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Where are your wings?¡± I wondered aloud, as I often did.


    Eli laughed. ¡°I assume you expect angel wings to be big and white and feathery.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ yes.¡±


    ¡°No, they aren''t like in the books at all. Our wings are connected to our souls, and like the soul, our wings aren''t physical. They are a mass of energy, in the shape of wings, yes, but not physically.¡±


    ¡°Wow, what a rip off.¡±


    ¡°I don''t see it that way. If I had massive wings, I couldn''t fit through doors or drive a car.¡±


    ¡°Who needs to drive when you can fly?¡± I commented as I climbed over the rotted trunk of a tree.


    ¡°Humans would have a heart attack if they saw us flying around,¡± he countered.


    ¡°Touch¨¦.¡±


    I liked hearing his voice; it was deep and husky, soothing even.


    ¡°So, can you do anything else other than not really fly?¡± I asked, as we trudged through the bush land.


    ¡°I can do a lot of things, but you¡¯ll find out more about that later.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but link his comment to a sexual gesture, what is wrong with me? Of course that wasn¡¯t what he meant, but my libido was hoping that it was.


    After ten minutes of ruthless hiking, I could see the cabin. It was wooden (as cabins usually are) and had a very pretty rustic colour to it. We proceeded up the cracked footpath to the front door. Eli pulled a key from the pocket of his dark baggy jeans and unlocked the door, with a loud creak and a slight nudge, it opened.


    Eli stepped aside to let me in first.


    ¡°Do I tip you now?¡±


    He ignored my joke and entered the house behind me. ¡°This was your mother¡¯s. Apparently she stayed here when she was doing her research.¡±


    ¡°Research?¡±


    He nodded. I pondered on the thought of my mother existing here. The house was amazing; it was like a studio¡ª everything was in the one room, the kitchen was right by the lounge and the lounge was by the bed. The bathroom had its own room, behind a door, for obvious reasons. I walked around the massive room, touching everything and thinking of my mother. Images and thoughts of her ran through my mind.


    ¡°Why was she staying outside the border? That¡¯s extremely dangerous. Vampires hunt goddesses.¡±


    ¡°They say your mum was amazingly strong and fantastic at wielding the elements. She and her guardian angel, Michelangelo, were a strong team; they could defend themselves very well. She stayed outside the charms because she had vampires visiting regularly.¡±


    I stopped in my tracks and suddenly felt ill.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Because she was studying them. They were like you, not completely vampires, but not like us either, stuck in the middle. Unfortunately, full vampires came in the night; Michelangelo fought them off so Meredith could retreat to the safety of the school. She made it; unfortunately Michelangelo was never seen again. Soon after, your mother found out she was pregnant and left to make a better life for you. Everything is how she left it.¡±


    I walked over to the door on the left wall near my bed, it was the bathroom. It had a big white spa bath with a matching porcelain sink sitting in a beautiful black wooden bench. The toilet was also porcelain and elegant. In the corner was a big shower with glass surrounding it. I felt like I was in a five star hotel, it was so modern despite the look on the outside.


    ¡°Amazing, isn''t it?¡±


    I spun around.


    ¡°Mr Aleksandrov! I didn''t hear you come in.¡±


    ¡°Scaring a vampire, there is a first for everything I suppose.¡± Mr Aleksandrov chuckled.


    I smiled an uneasy smile.


    ¡°I just came by to see if you liked your new accommodation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing,¡± I replied, even though I had only just got here myself.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    I stepped past Mr Aleksandrov and back into the main area. Tay was here also, leaning on the back of the couch, twirling a silver chain around his finger. It infuriated me just having him around. They say first impressions are everything, and my impression of him was that he was an arrogant, self-absorbed bully.


    ¡°You do know silver doesn''t kill a vampire,¡± I blurted.


    Tay grinned at me. For a moment, I imagined ripping his throat out with my fangs.


    ¡°No, it doesn''t kill a vampire, a little piece like this.¡± He lifted it into the air, examining it. ¡°It wouldn''t cause a normal vamp too much pain, but it does great damage to you.¡±

 Page 6

    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¡ª¡° 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:


    ¨CAgrobiology, the study of plants, nutrition, and soil yields.


    ¨CBotany, the study of plants.


    ¨CFluviology, the study of water courses.


    ¨CHydrogeology, the study of ground water.


    ¨CAngelology, the study of Guardian Angels.


    ¨CFire 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¡ª¡± I snapped. ¡°Wasn¡¯t what it looked like; it was a misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°Can you take your clothes off and explain to me why?¡±

 Page 7

    Ugh! He was so frustrating; my brain was about to explode. ¡°Never in my life,¡± I said through clenched teeth.


    The amusement displayed on Tay''s face made it obvious he was enjoying this.


    ¡°Technically¡­¡± he said, rubbing his chin like he was having a long, hard think. ¡°You''re dead.¡±


    Screw what Mr Aleksandrov said. I leapt off the couch and ran at Tay. My fist was clenched and it flew out in front of me. I felt like I was being controlled by something else. It was a punch that would normally hurt a human but Tay caught in his hand, making me look like a weak child. He spun me around, pressing my back to his torso. I struggled but couldn''t get free.


    ¡°Let me go.¡±


    ¡°Not until you say sorry.¡± I could hear the smile playing upon his lips.


    Just say it, my body yelled at me. As I was about to betray my pride and actually say sorry to Tay, there was a knock at the door.


    ¡°Saved by the bell.¡± He whispered into my ear.


    He strode over to the door and answered it. In stepped a woman, her long mahogany hair bounced with every step she took. Her attire was white, making her look even more heavenly. Even with the subtle lines of aging that played upon her face, she was breathtakingly pretty.


    ¡°Hi, you must be Ruby.¡± She extended her hand to me.


    Her voice was light, so light that if we were outside I¡¯m sure it would have blown away in the wind.


    I hesitated before taking her hand. No one who knew I was a vampire had voluntarily wanted to come into contact with me, except Mr Aleksandrov.


    ¡°I''m Lillian, your theory teacher.¡±


    I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the scent that followed her inside. It was greater and sweeter than the smell of guardian angel blood. I still hadn¡¯t eaten and the blood coursing through Lillian and Tay¡¯s veins was intoxicating. Finally, I shook her hand.


    ¡°Shall we get started?¡± she asked, gesturing to the couches and piles of books on the coffee table.


    I nodded and we sat down.


    Two hours had passed and Lillian finally finished the introduction to all of the classes. I admit it, I was bored. If there was one state I hated more than being hungry, it was being bored.


    ¡°That¡¯s just the introductions, tomorrow we¡¯ll delve into the first chapter, spending half an hour on each subject.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    She seemed oblivious to my sarcastic response. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    She left the room and I sat inhaling as much of her scent as I could before it all wafted out of the cabin. Soon after, when her smell died down, it was replaced with the sweet blood of a guardian angel.


    ¡°She¡¯s a goddess?¡±


    ¡°Oh, now you want to talk?¡± He smirked, sitting back into the couch.


    ¡°Oh now you want to talk?¡± I copied in a mocking tone. ¡°Is she a goddess?¡±


    ¡°Why? Do you want to drain her and become stronger?¡±


    My eyes fell to the floor. I wasn¡¯t used to being attacked for being a vampire.


    ¡°Yes, she is. Lunch will be here for you soon.¡±


    Lunch? I haven¡¯t even had breakfast. I nodded in response. My throat burned at the thought of blood once again.


    ¡°What did Mr Aleksandrov mean when he said it¡¯s forbidden to be with a Guardian Angel?¡± I asked, ignoring Tay''s lunch announcement and hoping to take my mind off my burning desire for his blood.


    Tay eyed me suspiciously. ¡°Are you hot for De Luca?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Eli.¡±


    I wanted to ask Tay to define the term ¡®hot¡¯ but I decided it probably wasn¡¯t a very good idea. Eli¡¯s blood wasn¡¯t the only delicious thing about him. His skin was a nice tan and totally kissable, his eyes were a deep green, like moss on a rock by a pond, and his face was perfect, literally sculpted by angels.


    ¡°What? No! I''m just asking why it¡¯s forbidden,¡± I stated, forcing my mind off the forbidden fruit that was Eli De Luca.


    ¡°Guardian angels can only be with guardian angels.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Tay shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just the way it is.¡±


    ¡°What about goddesses?¡±


    ¡°Untouchable by guardians; they marry their own kind or they die alone. Goddesses hold such purity they make the snow fall in winter and the flowers blossom in spring. Humans call it Mother Nature and rely on scientific reasons as to why the seasons and the weather change.¡± Tay shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s the goddesses that make all the beauty in this world.¡±


    ¡°Has a guardian ever fallen in love with a goddess?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°Yep, plenty of times¡­ but they aren''t here anymore; the higher power strips them of their magic and forces them to live amongst the humans. Many of them become vampire to get a sense of power again.¡±


    I stared at him, confusion dominating my facial features. It just didn¡¯t make sense to me.


    ¡°But guardian angels and goddesses are both pure¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the purity levels are different. A guardian angel isn''t pure enough to be with a goddess or god. Gods can be with goddesses, which are male versions of you; the purity level is basically the same,¡± he explained.


    Suddenly, Tay didn''t seem so obnoxious and I felt like maybe we could actually be civil to each other.


    ¡°But you don''t have to worry about that, for now at least. You¡¯re the devil, pretty much. It''s disgusting.¡±


    There went that thought. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying.¡±


    Tay opened his mouth, no doubt to say another smart ass comment, but his words never came out. His phone rang, interrupting whatever it was that he was going to say.


    ¡°Mr Aleksandrov,¡± he answered. ¡°Yes, the classes were fine¡­ Okay.¡± He hung up and slid his phone into the front pocket of his jeans. ¡°I have to go.¡±


    I was going to ask him why but then I realised I didn''t actually care.


    Being stuck in this cabin was great at first, but with every minute that passed, it became more and more intolerable; there was nothing to do. No videogames, no magazines, no novels, only boring textbooks. I grew hungrier and hungrier by the second. I jumped as two loud knocks thundered through the wood on the front door.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    The lock jerked, rattled, and the door opened. It was Eli; my stomach fluttered a little as I met his deep green eyes. The moment of slight joy didn¡¯t last long as the dazed woman from the underground holding cell drunkenly stumbled in after him. The sympathetic expression that filled Eli¡¯s face told me he¡¯d noticed my frozen features.


    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± I asked slowly.


    ¡°Do you want the good news or the bad news?¡± he said, escorting the woman over to the couch, opposite to where I was standing.


    He stood next to her; I ignored his question and eyed them cautiously. It was getting harder and harder to hold back the hunger that was burning inside me. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if starving me would make me more inclined to drink from the human.


    ¡°The good news is Gwydion, the wizard that¡¯s going to transform you, will be here any minute. The bad news is you have to be full, which means she will be your meal,¡± he explained, pointing to the dazed lady, who was humming to herself.


    I bit my lip nervously. It was all too much to take in. I started pacing rapidly; my breathing and my heartbeat began speeding up. I wanted to chew my nails but forced myself to keep my hands by my side.


    ¡°I¡­ I can''t do that,¡± I stuttered.


    I wanted to, so badly.


    ¡°Yes, you can,¡± the woman cooed. ¡°I want you to.¡± There was a look of extreme desperation in her eyes. I stared at her painfully, suddenly feeling ill, but at the same time my stomach and my fangs throbbed with longing to taste human blood directly from the source again.


    ¡°I¡¯m here; I won¡¯t let you hurt her.¡±


    I met Eli¡¯s eyes. They were so beautiful, captivating, intelligent and honest. I didn¡¯t know him, but I felt like I could trust him. I walked over to the woman and she shivered in ecstasy as her body prepared itself for the bite. The woman presented her neck to me, she closed her eyes and a victorious smile stretched across her face.


    Eli stood less than an inch away from me, the sweet smell that guardian angels have, that Eli had, poured in through my nose along with the human blood that radiated from the woman. My fangs shot out of my gums with a click. I leant down to her neck and pierced her flesh. She gasped in pain but immediately began to moan with pleasure. The sweet blood flowed into my mouth like a river that flowed down the rocks. For a few seconds I was lost in my need to quench the burning thirst in my throat. I watched as blood rolled off her neck, past my lips and down her back. My skin tingled as the warm blood entered my bloodstream and my fangs pulsated in time with her heart beat.


    ¡°You''re done.¡± Eli placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly.


    Reluctantly I pulled away and headed straight to the bathroom. As I expected, there was blood smeared around my mouth. I turned on the tap and washed my face vigorously. Afterwards, I stared at my appearance. I could have sworn my eyes had grown darker and my skin was a little paler.


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± an unknown male voice called through the door.


    ¡°Uh, fine,¡± I replied, stammering at the unfamiliarity in his voice.


    I splashed water onto my face; still I could see and feel blood around my lips. More knocks rattled the bathroom door and I looked back at my face; it was clean.


    ¡°Ruby, do you need help?¡± Eli murmured, his voice was deep and it carried through the wood.


    You can do this. I took deeper breaths as my chest grew heavier. It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t panic, change is good.


    Cautiously I opened the door. I recognized everyone in the room except the old man sitting across from Mr Aleksandrov. The stranger was clearly older than Aleksandrov but his beard was shorter and whiter. My breathing became more rigid as all eyes fell on me.


    ¡°My, my,¡± said the older man. ¡°You look just like your mother, except well, more vampiric.¡± His voice was kind and knowing, but despite his kind tone, I didn¡¯t appreciate his observation nor did I acknowledge it.


    ¡°Ruby, this is Gwydion, the wizard that has come to help you.¡±


    I suspected as much but the shock still hit me. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re here already.¡±


    ¡°When I heard that the daughter of Meredith Moore was a vampire, I cancelled all my errands and I jumped at the chance to help. Did you know that your mother saved me from an angry group of vampires once? I never got a chance to repay her, so here I am.¡±


    He was very energetic and happy despite his rather large size. Gwydion turned to Mr Aleksandrov. ¡°Do you mind if I test her life force?¡±


    Aleksandrov nodded.


    Gwydion, in his long deep purple robe, waddled over to me with his hands extended out in front of him. I shot a look at Eli and he nodded his head in reassurance.


    ¡°Give me your hands,¡± the wizard commanded.


    His warm chubby fingers tightly gripped my hands. He shut his eyes and his face fell serious. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and smiled.


    ¡°Oh my dear, you are powerful. Just like your mother.¡±


    ¡°Why do people keep saying that? She wasn''t that powerful. She couldn''t even fight off a newborn vampire.¡±


    Gwydion pulled his hands back, looking disgusted.


    ¡°That¡¯s because your mother left our world behind and married a human! She went against the natural order and defied the higher power. Everyone knows that goddesses can only be with gods. If they don''t marry gods, then they don''t marry anyone; they will die alone until eventually their souls return to the one who created them. As a result her powers became weak. I respected your mother, until she broke faith and became a whore. Look how that turned out, look where that got you.¡±


    I clenched my fists. I couldn''t believe that a second ago he was praising my mother and now he was completely disrespecting her name. My hand went flying from my side and it didn¡¯t stop until it came in contact with the wizard¡¯s chubby face. My body met the cold hard floor and my wrists were bound by a long silver chain before I even had a chance to react to what I had done.


    Familiar Faces


    I howled in pain as my skin melted into the silver.


    ¡°Stop it,¡± Gwydion demanded.


    It took all of my strength but somehow I was managing to keep my tears in check. Tay didn¡¯t let up, he keep the silver wrapped around my wrists, squeezing tighter and tighter. Eli stepped forward and grabbed Tay firmly by the shoulder. It took a few seconds before Tay released me. As the silver peeled off, taking pieces of my skin with it, I cradled my burnt wrists and fought back the tears. The quietness in the room was unsettling as all eyes were on me. Gwydion took a few steps closer and I tensed, I was either going to get slapped back or he was going to turn me into a frog. Instead he watched curiously as my wrists started healing themselves.


    ¡°The devil¡¯s magic,¡± Tay scoffed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I mumbled, ignoring Tay''s close-minded statement. I wasn¡¯t actually sorry, he was lucky that I didn¡¯t kick him where the sun doesn¡¯t shine.


    ¡°That''s okay, it¡¯s not you. It¡¯s that vampire rage,¡± Gwydion stated, rubbing the throbbing red hand print on his cheek.


    I didn''t dignify him with a response. Anyone would have done the same thing. Who sits by silently whilst another person talks bad about a dead relative? No one; they aren¡¯t here to defend themselves, someone has to do it for them.


    Pride surged through my chest as the welt on his face became more prominent. He deserved it. I became increasingly tired, like I always did when I needed to heal.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Mr Aleksandrov asked Gwydion.

 Page 8

    ¡°More than ready, come, lay down.¡± The wizard grabbed me behind my elbow, helping me off the floor and escorted me over to my bed. ¡°Lie Down.¡±


    I did what I was told. I stared at the ceiling not making eye contact with any of the men that now circled my bed. I jumped as a small knock rocked the front door. Eli answered and in stepped a girl about my age. Her long blonde hair draped over her narrow shoulders. Were all goddesses so pretty?


    ¡°Hi,¡± she said cheerfully, gliding over to the bed. ¡°I''m Mila.¡±


    ¡°Ruby.¡±


    ¡°Okay, now we are ready," Gwydion called. He threw four ties over to Eli.


    ¡°Tie her down.¡±


    ¡°Wait, tie me down? Why?¡± This was becoming increasingly undesirable by the minute.


    ¡°If you thought the first split-second of a vampire bite is painful, you¡¯re in for a rude shock.¡±


    Eli bound my ankles with the cloth and tied them to the bottom two bed posts. He did the same with my wrists. Meanwhile, Gwydion was pulling potions and parchment from his knitted handbag. I couldn¡¯t help but make connections to a deep black cauldron and a makeshift house in a cave.


    ¡°Aha,¡± he exclaimed as he pulled a little clear bottle filled with white liquid from his bag. ¡°Drink this.¡±


    I opened my mouth and he poured it in. I swallowed hard, screwing my face up in disgust as the ''off apple'' bitterness ran down my throat.


    ¡°The reaction is always the same,¡± Gwydion said, highly amused.


    Slowly, my eyes grew heavier and a bout of nausea coursed through me. ¡°What''s happening?¡±


    ¡°We aren''t that cruel. You¡¯re not going to be awake when this happens¡­ although you might as well be. It¡¯s going to be excruciating. The potion you were given isn¡¯t an anaesthetic, but it puts you to sleep and immobilizes you so you can''t scream or move. I guess it is pretty cruel.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ll still feel it?¡±


    Gwydion nodded. Worry burned at my chest. I was so scared of what was to come.


    Happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, I urged myself. My vision went black, pain and fear began dominating my mind. I glanced around the nothingness, frantically searching for something, anything at all, but there was nothing. My heart leaped out of my chest at the sound of a scream, my scream. Fire tore through my insides; I tried rolling onto my side and bringing my knees to my chest but it was hopeless ¡ª I couldn¡¯t move. I was paralyzed, left to cry alone in the darkness, When the pain subsided, a small light floated towards me; it got bigger as it came closer. A video clip of all my memories played, there was Hank killing my mother and then biting my neck; after that, I watched myself kill and eat a bunch of humans. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping the images would stop. Screaming and tearing flesh filled my ears as the memories replayed themselves over and over. Another scream escaped my mouth when another flare of pain ripped through me.


    ¡°Please, please, stop. I can''t do this,¡± I begged, my voice echoed around my own mind. It was useless, no one could hear me and no one could help me.


    I opened my eyes. It was morning and I was no longer tied to the bed. The last thing I remembered was an agonizing pain and then nothing, I must have fallen into a deep dreamless sleep. My brain pounded in my head as a headache surged over me. It felt like I''d been hit with a brick and the bright light that cascaded in through the window wasn¡¯t helping. I slid out of bed cautiously, trying not to lose my footing as my feet came in contact with the floor. I stood for a while and closed my eyes. I couldn''t hear or smell anyone. Opening my eyes, I drifted over to the bathroom, consciously I put one foot in front of the other, steadying myself as I went. I came to an abrupt stop when I ended up face to face with myself in the bathroom mirror. I stroked my cheek with my hand; my skin was so warm and alive. I was still a little pale but at least it was the kind of pale you develop through winter and not the kind of pale that resembled death. I stared at myself. Underneath my long lashes were two bright ocean blue eyes.


    ¡°My eyes¡­¡± I whispered.


    As the ray of light glinted off the mirror, I couldn''t help but to shed a tear as my emotions set in. Even my long black hair seemed more ¡®alive.¡¯ It flowed in waves, adorning my new glowing, porcelain-like skin. I rubbed my fingers over my teeth¡­ no fangs. I was no longer a vampire. Never again would I crave blood every second of every day, suck blood from a bag, or pierce the flesh of a human. I''d have a normal life, a life where the only things I''ll ever need to worry about would be sleeping or boys or food.


    My body began to shake and a lump formed in my throat. I tried to fight back the tears that pushed against my eyes but I couldn''t. Tears poured down my face, so clear and perfect. I don''t know whether I''m happy or sad, maybe both. I¡¯m happy I¡¯m no longer a monster, but at the same time, I''m sad that I was lucky enough to get a second chance and my mother wasn''t.


    I leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground, angry at myself for this imbecilic reaction. Drawing up my knees, I rested my forehead on them. I felt the cool tiles against my skin; my body went into shock and suddenly everything overwhelmed me. I didn¡¯t want to do anything but curl up into a ball on the cold tiled floor. It seemed that not long ago I was in more pain than anything I¡¯d ever experienced; now, I¡¯m normal, I should be happy¡­ but I don¡¯t know how I feel.


    ¡°Ruby?¡±


    A deep, calming voice echoed through the bathroom. It was Eli. I didn''t open my eyes to look at him; I probably couldn¡¯t if I tried. His crisp aftershave and clean sweat wafted into my nose as he sat next to me, not saying a word, just providing company. He still smelt amazing even now that I couldn¡¯t smell his blood. I waited until the tears slowed before I leant my head against the wall next to him.


    ¡°How long was I asleep?¡± I sniffled.


    ¡°Twelve hours.¡± His lips arched with a trace of a smile, and my eyes were drawn to his lips.


    My heart pounded, he has such a sweet smile.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± he asked softly.


    ¡°Sore, overwhelmed, hungry, I think¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if it was hunger or nausea. I had forgotten what being hungry with a normal digestive system felt like.


    ¡°Hungry? Why didn''t you say so?¡± Mila¡¯s cheerful face peered into the bathroom. ¡°I actually planned a picnic for us in the clearing not far from here; there¡¯s a waterfall and everything!¡±


    ¡°Mila, I think we should give Ruby some time to adapt to everything,¡± Eli replied.


    ¡°No, it sounds great,¡± I blurted. ¡°I want to go outside.¡±


    His green gaze held mine and his lips formed an impassive line. He was not happy with my decision.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I feel like I need to get some air.¡±


    His eyes searched mine, looking for something. Eli exhaled as he stood up. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll leave when you¡¯re ready.¡±


    I sighed in relief; I didn''t really want to go out but I needed a distraction. I just wanted to forget about what happened to me for the time being.


    The shower was a godsend. The hot water rolled down the back of my neck and trailed down my spine. The cool air clung to my body when I opened the shower door and stepped out. It was strange, feeling all these new sensations that weren¡¯t actually new. All these new feelings reminded me that I was alive, that I was me again.


    Slight panic washed over me when I realized I hadn¡¯t brought any fresh clothes in.


    ¡°Thank god.¡± I exhaled when I saw a new shelf had been attached to the wall.


    Amongst the underwear and jeans that were stacked on the shelf there was a very pretty white summer dress, perfect for a picnic and catching some sun.


    When I was a vampire, I would apply make-up so I could look more ¡®alive¡¯ and less, well, dead. Today, I didn''t have to put any make-up on, my dark lashes and once again full red lips had already given me that natural beauty look. I grasped the handle of the bathroom door and drew in a big breath before walking into a room full of people. Whatever the discussions in the room were, it went silent as soon as I stepped into the room. All eyes fell on me. Gwydion, Mr Aleksandrov, Tay, and my teacher Lillian stared wide-eyed and pleased. My eyes rested on Eli, I seem to always find his face when I need reassurance, and it helped, a lot. Eli¡¯s eyes glazed over with such astonishment and awe. When he realized my eyes were on him, his hard gaze returned. I approached Gwydion and hugged him.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered.


    He simply nodded and smiled.


    ¡°And thank you, Mr Aleksandrov. I¡¯m finally me again and it¡¯s all because of you.¡±


    ¡°You are more than welcome, Ruby. You will be a great asset for the school, I just know it.¡±


    I nodded. I completely forgot that after this I would be attending SS as an actual student.


    ¡°We must leave,¡± said Gwydion. ¡°We need to attend to that issue, Ivan.¡±


    ¡°Yes, very well. We shall see you shortly.¡± Lillian, Gwydion and Ivan left the Cabin.


    ¡°Time for that picnic,¡± Mila called. ¡°Eli, can you help me carry the basket?¡±


    Eli and Mila left the cabin, leaving Tay and me alone. Tay was sitting on the arm of the lounge.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the mean shit I did to you. Since you¡¯re no longer a child of Satan, I have no reason to kill you,¡± he said, approaching me.


    ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess.¡±


    ¡°Are you two ready?¡± Mila¡¯s voice carried through the open door.


    I slipped on a pair of white flats and exited the cabin.


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s go!¡± she called cheerfully when she saw Tay and I step onto the concrete path. Tay grabbed the basket off Eli and followed closely behind Mila.


    ¡°Who is that girl?¡± I asked Eli as we proceeded to walk.


    ¡°Mila is Mr Aleksandrov¡¯s niece. She¡¯s a good girl and a great friend for you to have.¡±


    Mr Aleksandrov seemed a little old to be an uncle; a great, great, great uncle maybe; but not an uncle.


    ¡°Why was she there at my¡­ thing?¡±


    ¡°She gave her blood. Without goddess blood, you could never be transformed back. She¡¯s the only student at the school who knows what you were¡­ it should make things easier for you when you make the transition.¡±


    I faded off in thought. Do they honestly expect me to just go to a new school and continue on with my life, forgetting about my family in Bridgewater? Being a goddess was something I wanted, but after everything that had happened, I just wanted to be alone and take a moment to get used to everything.


    We sauntered through natural avenues of trees; it was shady and cool against my skin. I couldn¡¯t help but gape at the beauty of the world, everything seemed so much brighter, more alive. Moments later, we reached a clearing. It was so beautiful; lush grass covered the floor of the open space. A lake had carved its way through the middle of the clearing, and as we stepped out into the sun, the air grew warmer, the sounds of insects became almost too loud and the sun bounced off the deep blue-green surface of the lake.


    I spotted, not too far away, a waterfall cascading down through a medium pile of boulders in the lake. Words like trickle or small came to mind when I looked at it. Still, it was beautiful, peaceful, and it streamed effortlessly between the mossy rocks.


    Mila and Tay already had the blanket laid down and they began setting out the picnic basket.


    ¡°Oh gosh!¡± Mila announced. ¡°I forgot the knives and forks.¡±


    ¡°I can go back and get them,¡± I offered.


    ¡°We,¡± corrected Eli.


    Of course, a young goddess couldn¡¯t possibly walk three minutes back to the cabin to get some cutlery alone. Having a guardian angel was going to be so much fun. Not.


    ¡°No, no don''t be silly, you relax. I''ll go, Tay you¡¯re going to have to come, uncle''s rule and all,¡± she said.


    ¡°Uncle''s rule?¡± I asked.


    ¡°When my uncle isn''t here, Tay has to follow me everywhere. It¡¯s annoying but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Necessary,¡± Tay interrupted.


    Tay and Mila set off back towards the house and I strolled over to the water and dangled my feet over the edge. The sun kissed my skin and the warm feeling made me happy, less stressed. I could smell it all, flowers, bark, moss and the grass. As a vampire, you can smell a lot of things, but you never appreciate the beauty of it, the only smells you care about are blood and sweat, things that shouldn¡¯t matter.


    A plopping sound filled my ears as a fish broke the surface of the water and splashed back down, causing ripples to widen out. Following that, I heard pebbles crunch and the grass move under heavy feet as Eli sat down next to me.


    ¡°Now that I''m a goddess again, can I control this water?¡± I asked.


    A dragonfly caught my attention, landing on a cattail nearby.


    ¡°I¡­ I don''t know,¡± he muttered, spotting the dragonfly as well. ¡°You can try.¡±


    I wanted to try, I wanted more than anything to be able to move the water with my magic but I was afraid. I didn¡¯t want to be disappointed; what if all this was for nothing and my magic was damaged or worse¡­ gone?


    ¡°If I can''t use my elemental magic, can you teach me how to fight?¡± I kept my eyes on the water, however it would have been interesting to see his reaction.


    ¡°Goddesses aren''t meant to fight.¡±


    ¡°Goddesses aren''t meant to be vampires, either.¡±


    ¡°No, but you didn¡¯t have a choice in that.¡±


    I plucked a small yellow flower from the ground and crushed it between my fingers and my palm.


    ¡°My mother told me that when a goddess''s body recognizes the magic, her insides feel warm,¡± I explained to Eli.

 Page 9

    I opened my palm and let the flower roll down into the middle of it. I closed my eyes and thought of my mother; nothing happened. I focused on the earth and all living things that inhabit it. The trees, animals, humans; I thought about the different smells and then it began. A warm sensation started in my chest and sent a tingling sensation throughout my body. The warm feeling travelled throughout my body, coming to a stop in the palm of my hand. I opened my eyes and the flower had healed. I looked at Eli; he was looking at me with the same awe and affection I had seen earlier. I extended my hand and gave him the flower; he took it and then leaned toward me. For the first time in a very long time, I felt my cheeks flush with self-consciousness. Our faces now only inches apart, he put the flower in my hair, above my ear.


    ¡°You did it.¡±


    We were gazing into each other¡¯s eyes with such passion and understanding; I felt as if he could make everything better. At this very moment he was filling whatever hole I had in my heart and whatever piece was missing from my soul.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± I asked as Eli rose to his feet.


    He didn¡¯t reply; he kept on walking, disappearing into the forest, leaving me staring after him wondering what had just happened between us.


    Daydreaming by a lake wasn¡¯t how I imagined spending my first day as a goddess, but I¡¯m not going to complain, either.


    ¡°How are you?¡± Mila asked as she sat down next to me, pulling me from my own thoughts.


    ¡°I''m good.¡±


    ¡°You must be nervous?¡±


    ¡°About?¡±


    ¡°School in two days.¡±


    ¡°Two days?¡±


    ¡°No one told you?¡± Mila''s innocent smile faded.


    I stood up and stormed over to Eli, who was engaged in a conversation with Tay. I thought about yelling at him and Tay, but I didn''t want to talk to anyone right now, so instead, I stormed right past them.


    ¡°Ruby?¡± Tay called.


    I picked up my pace, hoping to make it back to the house before everyone else had time to gather up the stuff and come after me. I turned instantly when I heard sticks and dry leaves crunching behind me. I knew it was Eli. Tay can¡¯t leave Mila¡¯s sight when her uncle isn¡¯t there.


    ¡°When were you going to tell me?¡± I snapped.


    I wasn¡¯t angry, was I? I don¡¯t know. My emotions were all over the place. How could they be so insensitive to my changes, to my feelings?


    ¡°When I thought you were ready.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this.¡± I pleaded.


    ¡°You were against all odds Ruby, you were a vampire! Starting at a new school is nothing. You can do it; you can do anything.¡±


    I dropped my eyes and fiddled with my fingers nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can.¡±


    Eli took a step toward me. He ran his index finger along my jaw line and under my chin, tilting my face towards him. I tried not to gasp at the electricity that tickled my skin.


    ¡°Trust me, you can.¡±


    Tay and Mila emerged behind Eli as he brought his hand back to his side.


    ¡°Ruby, I''m sorry I didn''t know¡ª¡±


    ¡°That''s okay; it¡¯s not your fault,¡± I interrupted.


    ¡°So¡­ no picnic?¡± Judging by her tone, she already knew the answer.


    ¡°I just want to rest.¡±


    On the way home I ate an apple ¡ª I was enjoying it way too much. The apple was delicious; it was so fruity and fresh. I loved the way it crunched between my teeth and oozed a tasty liquid. It was strange having to eat actual food. I kept forgetting that I actually needed to chew it.


    When we arrived home, I climbed into bed. Being outside in the sun and all the other drama that went on was physically draining. When I awoke, I was feeling refreshed and happy. It was the first time in a long time that I had fallen to sleep voluntarily, if at all. I suppose that¡¯s another thing I have to get used to, sleeping.


    ¡°Where is everyone?¡± I asked Eli, who was sitting on the couch reading.


    I noticed the sun was disappearing behind the trees. For a year I have watched the sunrise and the sunset but it seemed so much more beautiful this time.


    ¡°Tay took Mila back to her home. Then he has a few errands to run,¡± he explained, not looking up from his book.


    I got a bit excited that it was going to be Eli and I alone tonight. It would have been ideal if he wasn''t six years older than me or my guardian angel. It would have been ideal if he wasn''t an angel at all, considering it¡¯s ''forbidden.'' Not that I was going to do anything anyway, but Eli was hands down the most attractive man I had ever seen. I couldn¡¯t help but to crush on him slightly after everything he¡¯d done for me. I see him as my hero and I hate myself for sounding so cheesy.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± His eyes were resting on my face and I realized I was staring at him; how awkward.


    ¡°Who? Me?¡± I stammered.


    The corner of his lip twitched as I wracked my brain, trying to come up with something quickly.


    ¡°I was just wondering if you could show me some defense moves,¡± I lied.


    Oops. There goes my hormones talking for themselves and thinking up an activity that involved a lot of contact.


    ¡°I don''t think that¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°Why? Should I ask Tay? Mila said he was a better fighter than you,¡± I lied.


    Eli lifted his eyes from his book. He didn''t even look the slightest bit offended. In fact, his eyes were alight with something wicked.


    ¡°Mila doesn''t know what she¡¯s talking about.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°I''ll teach you a basic move, but that''s all.¡±


    I knew his male competitive side couldn¡¯t give that challenge up. I raced to the bathroom and threw on tracksuit pants and a tank top.


    ¡°Okay, I''m ready.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one move; you didn''t have to get changed.¡±


    ¡°I was in a dress.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    I walked over to Eli, standing about a meter away. He took off his black jumper and was now in a black tank top. I adjusted my shirt, feeling a little flustered at his physique. I observed his upper body; it was so strong and muscular. Eli began explaining and demonstrating various pinning and throwing moves to me. Of course, this involved a lot of touching, but I really didn''t mind.


    ¡°Okay, run at me,¡± Eli announced.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Run at me. I¡¯m going to pin you and you¡¯re going to stop it.¡±


    ¡°I can''t do that. I have only been doing this for minutes you have been doing this your whole life,¡± I explained.


    ¡°No harm in trying.¡± He smiled.


    I ran at him front on. He grabbed me by the wrist, twirled me, and pinned my back to his chest. We paused at the feel of each other¡¯s skin. At least I wasn¡¯t the only one feeling the electric current between us. His firm grasp sent good shivers down my spine.


    ¡°Again,¡± he called, realizing his grip.


    I ran at him again, same thing happened.


    ¡°Again.¡±


    After my fourth try, he grabbed my wrist and as he proceeded to spin me, I kicked his leg, hoping that it would come out from underneath him. It didn¡¯t, obviously, he was too large and I wasn¡¯t strong enough. He pinned me against him once again, releasing me seconds later. A proud smile spread across his face and I smiled back. Eli was breathing at a normal pace and not a single drop of sweat touched his skin. I was breathing heavily and fast and I felt sticky with sweat. I sat down on the floor and he joined me.


    ¡°Well done.¡±


    I noticed the sun was down and the moon was up and glowing. When the sun went down, Eli became more ''aware.'' He was constantly standing and checking windows and doors. It bothers me a lot now that I''m a goddess, something they¡¯re hunting specifically.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have a shower,¡± I said, taking Eli¡¯s attention away from the darkness outside and he nodded in response.


    When I came out, Tay was here and they both wore hard expressions.


    ¡°We need to go now,¡± Eli said, calmly. The way he said it made my skin crawl and I tried not to panic.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hank is here.¡±


    Near Miss


    Eli and I tore off into the bush, oblivious to the spider webs and other creepy things that scuttled beneath our feet. Stray twigs and branches snagged strands of hair from my no-longer-tight ponytail. Eli was a lot faster than me but he kept a firm grip on my arm, forcing me to keep up. It would have been easier if I hadn¡¯t chosen to wear a short emerald green dress made from silk, and a pair of white flats on my feet, but Eli and Tay rushed me. I had no time to change, gather any of my newly acquired things, or say goodbye to my mother¡¯s house.


    ¡°Where''s Tay?¡± I puffed.


    ¡°Keeping far guard,¡± he said, without sounding out of breath.


    I had no idea what that meant. As I ran, sticks scratched my legs. The adrenaline that pumped through me kept me going. The sheer fear I felt deep inside me prevented me from curling up into a ball and crying. I could see the lights from the school in the distance and relief flooded my chest until two ice cold hands grabbed me, pulling me from Eli''s grasp. If I wasn''t already scared enough, I was now in the arms of a vampire. I shivered as his cold skin touched mine. A cold sweat ran down my forehead. Not sweat from all the running I had done, it was from the anxiety. My heart pounded like a drum. I stared at Eli, my eyes never leaving his face.


    ¡°Let her go,¡± Eli growled.


    ¡°Fat chance of that happening, pretty boy; Hank wants her,¡± snarled the vampire.


    The cold monster holding me wasn¡¯t Hank, but his voice was just as hollow and dark. I shuddered again at the thought of my voice sounding so evil. I watched as Eli stood in attack mode, he was crouched down low, like a tiger ready to pounce, analyzing his next move. He never took his eyes off the vampire. If Eli didn''t already look sexy enough, this really tipped it over the top. He was so fierce and powerful.


    ¡°He can''t have her.¡±


    The vampire let out an extremely loud snarl that turned into a squeal as he disintegrated into dust. I turned around fast to see what happened and there stood Tay with a stake in his hand, centimeters away from my stomach. I stared, wide eyed.


    ¡°I have never been happier to see your face,¡± I announced.


    ¡°We need to keep moving,¡± Eli urged, taking my hand in his.


    Tay disappeared into the forest again and Eli and I continued running. Every step we ran brought us closer to the school.


    ¡°Stop.¡± We both came to a halt.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I trembled.


    He didn''t need to say anything. We were surrounded by vampires, at least twelve of them, and they were closing in on us.


    ¡°Ruby, at last,¡± said a voice in the distance. His voice floated through me like a ghost from my not so far away past. I cringed at the sound of the empty voice that spoke my name.


    ¡°H-hank,¡± I stuttered. It had been so long since I had even spoken his name.


    ¡°You remember me.¡± I could hear the smile play upon his lips.


    His statement made my mind reel back to the night he ruined my life. I closed my eyes for a split second, trying not to panic or cry. When I opened them, he was leaning in and breathing on my face. I forgot how fast vampires move. I analyzed his face. If it weren''t for his deep black eyes and beyond deathly pale skin, he looked exactly like his old self. I cringed at the thought of how many pure beings had to die in order for him to become this, my mother included.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I hesitated.


    ¡°You, of course.¡±


    ¡°Over my dead body,¡± Eli snarled.


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan; I¡¯ll kill you exactly how they killed your father, slow and painful.¡±


    I felt Eli tense up next to me and anger surged throughout my body.


    ¡°You can try, but I guarantee he¡¯ll kill you first.¡± Even I was shocked at the words that shot out of my mouth.


    Hank was grinning from ear to ear now as he let out a chuckle. ¡°Oh, so fierce ¡ª just like your mother, and where is she now?¡±


    I took a step towards Hank but Eli squeezed my hand and pulled me back. The vampires that circled us laughed at my attempt to take Hank on myself. I eagerly searched the surrounding bushes for Tay, but it was too dark. I had come this far, I wasn¡¯t going down without a fight. I noticed the vines running up the trees that surrounded us. I dropped my head to the ground and closed my eyes.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Eli asked.


    He must have noticed what I was trying to do. He knew exactly why they were here; he just needed to buy me time. I began picturing the vines in my head, the familiar warm sensation was building in my chest and began to course rapidly through my body.


    ¡°I thought it was obvious by now. I want your precious goddess.¡±


    I opened my eyes and snaked them around and in between the vampire¡¯s legs. I clenched my fists and the vine tightened, forcing all the feet of the vampires that circled us to stay on the ground. They all shouted and stomped their feet but couldn''t break free. Hank was distracted momentarily but turned to me when he realized what was happening. I thought Hank would be furious but he smiled a fang-filled smile.


    ¡°Well, well, well.¡±


    Eli took his chance and lunged at Hank. They were locked in battle. I wasn¡¯t sure what to do; I couldn¡¯t fight a vampire and I surely wasn¡¯t going to run and leave Eli here alone. I didn¡¯t have to wonder which decision to make for long. Tay appeared and staked his way round the circle. Soon all the surrounding vampires were dead, except Hank. Eli and Hank were still fighting. They were both so fast; granted Hank was faster, but Eli wasn''t making it easy for him. If anyone could take on an incredibly strong vampire it would be Eli.

 Page 10

    ¡°Get her out of here!¡± Eli demanded, whilst ducking punches.


    Tay grabbed my arm but I shook him off.


    ¡°No, we can''t leave him!¡± I protested.


    Hank turned and ran at me; he clearly didn''t want to miss his chance. After this I would be under the school¡¯s protection. Tay jumped in front of me, blocking Hank¡¯s path. I watched in fear and anticipation. Suddenly something hard hit me from behind. The pain in my head was sharp but it only lasted a second; blackness swallowed me and I was out for the count.


    I opened my eyes and glanced around a large room. The Gothic styling made me nervous. The ceilings were high, the walls were stone, and the carpet was bright red.


    ¡°You''re awake!¡± called Mila.


    She came rushing over to the bed. I was actually really happy to see her; it confirmed that I wasn''t being held captive by vampires.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked, touching the tender lump on the back of my head.


    ¡°You¡¯re in the teacher¡¯s medical lounge; my uncle didn''t want the other students to find out what happened. High School can be pretty brutal with gossip and things like that.¡±


    Movement by the door caught my attention.


    ¡°Eli!¡± I called. ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡±


    His lips curved into a smile.


    ¡°I have to go and meet uncle for breakfast now, but I¡¯ll come see you later,¡± said Mila and off she skipped.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Eli asked.


    ¡°I saw Hank last night and ¡¯m still alive, so I''m feeling pretty good. How are you feeling?¡± I asked, pointing out the cut that ran across his left cheek.


    Eli shrugged and smiled a soft smile, my heart fluttered. ¡°I have been through worse.¡±


    There was a silence that followed as we sat in thought.


    ¡°And Hank?¡±


    Eli didn''t make eye contact with me; instead, anger crossed his features.


    ¡°He got away. There were more vampires in the surrounding bushes. He ran at you and Tay blocked it. A vampire came out of nowhere and hit you on the head. He picked you off the ground and tried to run with you but Tay stopped him¡­ Hank and a few others fled, and it was over,¡± he explained.


    I sat absorbing all of Eli''s information, it wasn''t exactly what I wanted to hear, but I was glad we were all okay. He sensed my unease and put his hand on mine.


    ¡°I won''t let anything bad happen to you.¡±


    We locked eyes; they were just as serious as his tone. He opened his mouth to say something but the door creaked and he let go of my hand as a tall elderly lady entered the room.


    ¡°How are you feeling, Miss Moore?¡± she asked.


    Infatuated.


    ¡°I have a bit of a headache, but that''s all.¡±


    ¡°Before you go, we have to do some tests to make sure you¡¯re okay.¡±


    The colourful numbers and strange splatter patterns the doctor showed me were simple. It was over as soon as it began.


    ¡°You might have a headache for a little while longer, but that¡¯s all. You¡¯re free to go.¡± Her voice was kind and cheerful.


    ¡°Are we going back to the cabin?¡± I asked Eli as we left the medical building and stepped out onto a concrete path.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not safe. I''m taking you to your dorm room.¡±


    I stopped in my tracks.


    ¡°My dorm room?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I can''t go there; I''m not ready for school.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes life isn''t fair,¡± he said flatly.


    ¡°Life isn''t fair?¡± My voice kicked up a few decibels. ¡°I have had my share of unfairness! Why can''t something happen in my favour for once?¡±


    ¡°Ruby, some things in life don¡¯t work out the way we want them to. At times, things seem unfair and you feel like there¡¯s no way you can overcome them, but you can. Do you want to know what I think? I think we aren¡¯t given problems we can¡¯t overcome.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    His words were harsh to hear but he was right. I had to suck it up and push forward, besides it wasn¡¯t like I had much of a choice anyway.


    ¡°Mila will keep supplying you with clothes and Lillian will bring your textbooks and class supplies to your dorm later,¡± he said as we started walking again.


    It hadn¡¯t crossed my mind how I had been getting the clothes, I thought the school was providing them. I must remember to thank Mila later. As we crossed a grassy field to get to the student campus, Eli stopped me.


    ¡°I almost forgot.¡±


    He pulled a gold chain from his jacket. It was the small gold whistle he had given me earlier.


    ¡°I thought I lost it.¡±


    He gestured with his finger to turn around. I pulled my long dark hair out of the way and he fastened it around my neck. I ran my fingers along the whistle; it was so shiny and gold. I rubbed my index finger along the smooth metal. It was completely smooth, except for a little engraving on the side that I hadn¡¯t noticed before.


    ¡°Tua Custos Angelus; that¡¯s Latin, what does it mean?¡±


    ¡°Your guardian angel.¡±


    ¡°So you''re really going through with this? You don''t have to be my guardian, you can still back out, you know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±


    As we approached the female campus, I couldn''t help but to notice how old this school was. All the buildings resembled fourteenth century castles but they were obviously maintained and modernized. They were fitted with windows and lighting and all the other things you would normally see in a school. When we entered the girl¡¯s dormitory, it was quiet.


    A small lady sat behind a desk. Her hair was white and bunched into short curls on top of her head.


    ¡°Is this the new student?¡± she called to Eli as we approached her desk.


    ¡°Yes. Ruby Moore.¡±


    ¡°Three zero eight.¡±


    She handed Eli a key and we proceeded up a flight of stairs and down a corridor. My knees were shaky, my stomach full of butterflies, and my heart in my mouth, thumping to an irregular beat. I found myself silently praying for no one to exit their rooms.


    ¡°What is the time?¡± I asked Eli.


    ¡°Seven o''clock.¡±


    ¡°And what time is breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Eight o''clock.¡±


    I looked down at my filthy, torn dress. I cringed; it was such a pretty dress and I did want to wear it again.


    ¡°Can we hurry this up? I don''t want to be seen like I rummaged through a trashcan and fought a possum for scraps.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, its right here. Room three zero eight.¡± He pointed it out and handed me a small silver key.


    The door unlocked with ease. The room was nothing like the cabin; the window was dusty and the walls were an off white. It was very small and it smelt like old books.


    ¡°Don''t forget breakfast is at eight,¡± Eli said, closing the door behind him.


    I didn¡¯t have time to fully appreciate the nonsensical size of my room. Breakfast was in an hour and I need to get out of this ruined dress. I ran to the nearest cupboard and wrapped my fingers around the handles. Please have fresh clothes, please have fresh clothes.


    Yes! Fresh clothes!


    I made another mental note to thank Mila when I saw her next. I picked out a pair of baggy black cargo pants and a sky blue tank top. I figured I wouldn¡¯t stand out if I was dressed casually. I ran to the bathroom to shower. The shower in my dorm room was mediocre compared to the one I had in the cabin. When I emerged, I ran a brush through my wet, tangled hair, cringing as I ripped through big knots.


    ¡°Seven fifty,¡± I whispered to myself, putting my shoes on by the clock on my bedside table.


    I had no idea where the common room was, and according to the map on the back of my door, it was halfway between the girls¡¯ dorm and the boys¡¯ dorm. I estimated that it was a two minute walk. I left my dorm room, and immediately two girls that were leaning against the wall of the corridor came over to me.


    ¡°Ruby?¡± the girl with the full head of brown curls asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Oh no. My heartbeat accelerated and my cheeks began heating up.


    ¡°I''m Sam and this is Cloud.¡± She pointed to her leggy blonde haired friend.


    ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to sit with us at breakfast?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± I hesitated, searching for an excuse. I didn¡¯t have one. ¡°Sure.¡±


    At least I didn¡¯t have to worry about getting lost now. We exited the girl¡¯s dorms and the sun greeted me by kissing my skin. The sky was blue, the air was crisp, and the sun was shining gloriously.


    ¡°I take it you¡¯re a goddess?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°We are guardian angels in training,¡± Sam said.


    It was something I had guessed already, their thick, fit bodies and height gave it away. The rest of the conversation was a blur; I wasn''t paying attention at all. I was too busy thinking about breakfast and the classes that followed. I snapped back into focus as we reached the common room steps. Butterflies fluttered around my stomach and I felt like vomiting. The room was alive with chatter and gossip, boys mingled with girls, and Eli, Tay and other guardian angels, I assume, were sitting around big tables, chatting away. The teachers¡¯ table was filled with older men and women; I wondered which ones would be teaching me. My eyes met Eli¡¯s and he shot me a smile and a proud nod when he saw me with my new friends.


    ¡°Over here,¡± Cloud announced, tearing me from Eli¡¯s gaze and pulling me over to a spare space at one of the long breakfast tables.


    ¡°I''m glad Sam and Cloud found you,¡± Mila said, joining us at the table.


    ¡°Yeah, me too¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, so is Eli, like, your guardian?¡± Sam asked in a gossipy high school tone.


    ¡°Yes, he is.¡±


    ¡°That is so hot!¡± Cloud squealed.


    ¡°You¡¯re so lucky.¡±


    I looked around nervously but thankfully no one seemed to hear her. I really didn¡¯t want attention on the first day.


    ¡°He¡¯s so hot,¡± added Sam.


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s hot?¡±


    God, yes.


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡­ he¡¯s all right, I guess.¡±


    Sam and Cloud looked at me like I was crazy. ¡°Tay is cute, too.¡± Cloud giggled.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s good looking, too, but he doesn''t compare to Eli De Luca,¡± Sam announced, dramatically placing the back of her hand on her forehead and pretending to faint.


    I suppressed a laugh.


    ¡°When are you getting your bonding tattoo?¡± Cloud asked.


    ¡°Bonding tattoo?¡± I questioned.


    They nodded.


    ¡°Oh, the tattoo¡­¡± I had forgotten about that. ¡°I don''t know.¡±


    I jumped as a hand touched my shoulder, it was Eli.


    ¡°Gwydion would like to see us.¡±


    I rose from my chair; we got a few stares from the surrounding students but no real attention, thank god.


    ¡°I didn''t get to eat,¡± I complained as we exited out the door I came in.


    ¡°This won''t take long; we can go get something to eat after.¡±


    Like a date? "Okay." I replied, smiling at my inside joke.


    No more words were spoken as we walked over to the teacher¡¯s side of the campus. They didn¡¯t have dorms; their accommodations were like mini houses scattered everywhere, their own little community. It seemed out of place in comparison to the very old architecture of the rest of the school.


    ¡°Sign this.¡± A man in the booth beside the gate extended a pen and paper towards me.


    Without reading, I signed my name along the dotted line at the bottom.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± I asked Eli.


    ¡°Students aren¡¯t allowed in this area, so on the rare occasion that one does come for reasons such as this, there is proof that it was strictly professional and that the student wasn¡¯t pressured, etcetera.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s protection against student-teacher relationships?¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°What about other parts of the school? There are plenty of places a student and a teacher can have an affair.¡±


    ¡°I never said the system was fail proof, but extra protection is worth it.¡±


    The teachers ¡®town¡¯ was cute. I say town because I no longer felt like I was in the school. Small houses lined up each side of the streets, complete with mail boxes, street signs and telegraph poles.


    We turned up a small street and approached a small brick house.


    Eli raised his fist to knock on the door but Gwydion opened it before his hard knuckles touched the wood.


    ¡°Time for your tattoos.¡±


    My Guardian Angel


    Eli was first to get his tattoo. I was chewing my nails nervously, sitting on the other side of the room.


    Gwydion approached me with a tiny vial in his hand, pulling a tiny scalpel from his pocket.


    ¡°I need your blood.¡±


    I already knew he needed my blood; I just was trying to convince myself to go through with it. It had never been a goal of mine to tattoo my skin. Some call it art, I call it unnecessary pain. My pride nagged at me. I didn''t want to look weak in front of Eli, so I held out my arm. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut but I didn''t, for the same reason.


    Eli gave me a reassuring smile as Gwydion sliced my hand and caught the blood drops in his vial. I became increasingly light-headed; it was either because I didn''t have breakfast or I hadn¡¯t seen my own blood in so long. Gwydion screwed the lid on the vial and pulled another out of his pocket. This one already had liquid in it; it was clear, and when he opened it, a petrol like scent filled the room. He poured it over my cut and it stung. I bit my lip in hopes to ease the pain. I forgot all about the stinging and watched in amazement as the cut started healing; it was magic.

 Page 11

    The sudden hollow echo of knuckles rapping on the door demanded our attention. Eli rose from his chair as Gwydion opened the door, a deep mumble echoed throughout the room. The wizard stepped aside and in came a really tall, really tattooed man.


    ¡°Your Shar is here,¡± Gwydion announced.


    Eli sat back down as the Shar walked straight over to Eli and unpacked a tattooing kit from his bag. Without a word he plugged it in, switched it on, and started tattooing Eli''s left wrist.


    According to Eli, a Shar is an angel who bonds Guardian Angels to their charges. This tall, fat, tattooed guy is a Shar? I pictured them¡­ well, a girl, for one, and heavenly. The Shar cleared his throat disgustingly.


    How charming. Eli smiled at me occasionally, probably because he saw the horrified look on my face. The tattoo gun was loud and shaky, making me change my mind about getting it done.


    After an hour of watching Eli ¡ª he didn¡¯t flinch once ¡ª it was my turn. The man covered Eli''s wrist in a bandage and called me over. Uneasily, I got out of my chair and took Eli''s place by the Shar. Eli eyes settled on me as Gwydion cut him, collecting his blood in a vial. I tried hard to focus on the bare room around me as the Shar prepared a new needle. Gwydion brought Eli¡¯s blood over and the guy started the tattoo machine. Once the machine started, I no longer cared about looking ¡®tough¡¯ in front of Eli. I squeezed my eyes shut as the needle came closer to my skin and my body began to shake in fear. Why did these machines have to sound so scary?


    I opened my eyes slowly and Eli was chuckling at me. My body ceased shaking, the pain from the tattoo gun wasn''t nearly as bad as being sliced with a scalpel, but it still wasn''t pleasant.


    Within an hour it was done; a little black feather that tinged red in the light adorned my wrist. I loved it.


    ¡°Now to bond you,¡± said the Shar. He gestured for me to stand up and for Eli to come over. ¡°Grab her hand.¡±


    Eli extended his left hand and I took it with my right. His touch was electrifying; we locked eyes. He felt it, too.


    The Shar chanted and hummed for a few minutes but I didn¡¯t feel any different.


    ¡°We¡¯re done.¡± The tattooed man packed up all his things and left in a hurry.


    ¡°Well he wasn¡¯t what I was expecting.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, more stereotypes?¡± Eli chuckled.


    The beginning of a laugh escaped my lips but I supressed the rest. Gwydion seemed uncomfortable with our personal jokes.


    When I had first arrived at SS, I was still a vampire and prior to that, I lived among humans, therefore, I¡¯d had no encounters with guardian angels and Shars. I only went off what brief stories mum had told me. The rest I had to imagine for myself. Apparently going off angel cartoons and movies was inaccurate.


    We thanked Gwydion and headed outside. Eli was walking me towards a car park.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I promised you food, hop in.¡± He pointed to a black SUV.


    ¡°Nice car.¡±


    Eli¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It¡¯s an Audi Q5.¡±


    Oh, Boys and their toys. I didn''t ask any more questions, car talk was difficult for me. It wasn¡¯t the fact that it was boring, I just have a hard time following. I jumped into the passenger seat. The car was very nice; it had cream leather seats and a small seven inch screen that was built into the centre console.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to a small bakery in Sage town down the road from here.¡±


    I was happy that Eli and I were going to be spending a little time alone together. There were a few things I wanted to talk to him about.


    We pulled up at the bakery. Eli wasn''t exaggerating when he said the bakery was small. I chose a blueberry muffin and strawberry milk. Eli had a sausage roll and caramel latte.


    ¡°So you teach them how to fight?¡± I asked, eating the last bite of my blueberry muffin. We were discussing student guardian angels and his teaching skills.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are they any good?¡±


    ¡°They are exceptionally good.¡±


    ¡°Meanwhile, I''m stuck studying leaves and moving bodies of water.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s just as important, if not more.¡±


    ¡°I just feel like I''m useless.¡±


    ¡°Useless? You saved our lives last night. There was no way we would have survived without you. There were too many of them; we would have been slaughtered.¡±


    That was true. Tying up the vampires¡¯ feet had immobilized them so Tay could stake them but I still felt useless.


    ¡°About last night¡­¡± I started.


    Eli''s eyes darkened and narrowed in on me.


    ¡°Your dad was murdered by vampires?¡±


    He glanced down at his coffee.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Michelangelo was my father. He was guarding your mother the night her cabin was attacked. He helped her escape but he was taken by them.¡±


    Guilt struck my chest and I suddenly felt bad for bringing it up.


    ¡°And that''s why I had to help you and guard you. It¡¯s what my father would have wanted.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°That doesn''t matter in my world.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s pretend for a second that it does matter. What do you want?¡±


    Eli paused in thought and took the last sip of his coffee. "Let''s go."


    I sighed loudly. For a moment Eli looked like he was going to tell me everything but he didn''t.


    The car drive back to the school was quiet. As much as I wanted to talk, we didn''t.


    ¡°You''re late for your angelology class.¡±


    I was relieved, it was the first thing he¡¯d said to me since the bakery and I was worried he was upset with my prying.


    Angelology was a class that studies guardian angels, what they are and what they do. I shot Eli a pained expression and strolled back to the girl¡¯s dorm, hoping that Lillian had forgotten to drop my books off so I could take a nap. No such luck. When I arrived there was a stack of books outside my door with a note attached:


    Ruby,


    Here are your books. I look forward to teaching you.


    Regards,


    Lillian.


    I unlocked my door and kicked them inside; I still wasn''t going to class. I stopped dead in my tracks as I closed the door behind me. Someone had been in my room. The bed was made up and the sheets were a light purple silk; there was a huge deep purple rug on the floor, and a computer desk by the window. I noticed on the desk there was another note. I opened it:


    Ruby,


    I hope you like your room and I hope it makes you feel


    more at home.


    Love Mila.


    Wow, Mila did this. Damn, I forgot to thank her for the clothes. I made yet another mental note to thank her when I saw her next, this time I hoped my memory didn¡¯t fail me. I threw myself onto the bed and closed my eyes. I couldn''t help but think back to how lucky I was with my second encounter with Hank and how that night panned out.


    ¡°Ruby,¡± Mila called through the door.


    My eyes snapped open, I must have fallen asleep. I stumbled over myself to get to the door.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t at Angelology, Eli was extremely worried. I told him you decided to skip it because you were worn out and I was right!¡± She strolled into my room. Her eyes dropped down to the bandage that was wrapped around my wrist.


    ¡°Did you get it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this morning after breakfast.¡±


    ¡°What is it?"


    "A feather.¡±


    ¡°Can I see it?¡± she begged.


    ¡°I''m not supposed to undo the bandage until tomorrow. Gwydion said it should be fully healed by then,¡± I explained ¡°Also, thank you for all the clothes. I hope I¡¯m not putting you out; if you see something you want to wear, please, take it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly!¡± She giggled. ¡°I bought them specifically for you.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I was a charity case. Her clothes were nice, but I wish I had my own to wear.


    ¡°Well, thank you.¡±


    ¡°C''mon, we have a Fluviology class now,¡± she said, whilst picking the appropriate books off the floor.


    ¡°I don''t want to.¡± I sighed dramatically.


    ¡°Lillian is teaching, so it''s not like you don''t know anyone.¡±


    After a little more persuading and a lot of protest on my part, Mila was dragging me to class. Lillian''s classroom was on the other side of the common room. As we got closer and closer, my nerves grew stronger and my palms started sweating. Noticing my uneasiness, Mila slowed her pace.


    ¡°Once your first class is over it will be easier,¡± she said, trying to comfort me.


    ¡°Anything I should know going in?¡±


    ¡°Raina and her crew are total bitches.¡±


    ¡°Great, bitchy high school girls, exactly what I need right now.¡±


    ¡°Just ignore them; they¡¯ll leave you alone after a while. Then they¡¯ll come back and bully me like they always do.¡±


    ¡°They bully you? But you¡¯re so pretty; I just assumed you were¡­¡±


    ¡°Popular? Cool? No, Sam and Cloud are my only friends.¡±


    I was gobsmacked; I thought Mila would be quite popular. She was so beautiful and caring. I was a stranger and someone that hunted her kind, but she had given me her blood in order to get my life back. She gave me a second chance at life and I owed her everything.


    When we reached the classroom, the loud chatter made me realize the teacher hadn¡¯t arrived yet. Mila and I sat in the very back row, taking the last two seats. I spotted Raina and two of her friends at the front. They were the only ones giving Mila an evil scowl. They rose from their seats and walked down the back, stopping in front of our desk.


    ¡°Mila, who¡¯s your new friend?¡±


    ¡°This is Ruby,¡± Mila replied.


    ¡°Hi Ruby, would you like to sit with us at dinner?¡± she offered.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mila look down at her paper. I assumed that Raina did this to all the new girls that Mila befriended.


    ¡°No, thank you.¡±


    Raina facial expression was priceless; a few students sitting nearby snickered at her rejection. Her face grew stormy and dark. She turned violently on her heels, as if to leave, but instead she turned back to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret that, vampire,¡± she snarled.


    Her friends giggled, no doubt at the horror reflected in our faces. Satisfied, Raina and her posse turned and walked back to their desk. Vampire? How did she know?


    Forbidden Touch


    Fluviology was a blur; my mind was running a million miles an hour. Who could have possibly told Raina that I was a vampire? The only culprits were Tay, Eli, Gwydion, Lillian, Ivan Aleksandrov, and Mila. The only person that was there and spoke more to the students was Mila, but surely she wouldn''t tell people, would she? There was too much on my mind to think about moving bodies of water. After what felt like hours, class was finally over and the next class was a five minute walk, so I took the opportunity to talk to Mila.


    ¡°Did you tell anyone?¡± I demanded in a quiet tone.


    ¡°Ruby, you have to¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you tell anyone?¡± I interrupted. She looked down at her feet, confirming that she did tell someone. I turned around and stormed off towards the girls¡¯ dorms.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± she called behind me. ¡°It was an accident. Where are you going? We have Botany class now!¡±


    I didn''t turn back to acknowledge her. I was too angry and too emotional to deal with her or a stupid plant class. I walked around the school until I found a little nook tucked away near the student medical block. I sat down and brought my knees up to my head. It was stupid of me to think that my past would be behind me and that I¡¯d never have to think of it again. I hadn¡¯t even made it a day and my secret was already out. That had to be some kind of record.


    ¡°There you are, goddess,¡± called Eli, appearing from behind the corner.


    ¡°Mila told you?¡± I asked, not lifting my head up from my knees. I didn''t want him to see my red-rimmed eyes. He didn''t say anything.


    ¡°Is there anything she doesn''t tell people?¡± I snapped. I felt Eli sit down next to me, his warm body heat exuded off him.


    ¡°You can''t blame her.¡±


    ¡°She has ruined everything here. I wanted to start fresh and to forget what I was.¡±


    ¡°Mila has to battle fitting in as well. It isn''t easy being the headmaster¡¯s niece. She can be easily peer-pressured, you don''t know what happened. You didn''t stick around to find out,¡± he explained.


    ¡°Find out what? She told Raina what I went through and where I¡¯m from. That¡¯s everything.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Ruby. It isn¡¯t the end of the world. So what? A bit of gossip gets around, what damage is that really going to do?¡±


    ¡°You clearly don¡¯t remember what high school is like.¡±


    ¡°I believe you¡¯re late for your Botany class.¡± I lifted my head; Eli was now standing with his hand extended out. I took it and he helped me up.


    ¡°You didn''t have to come find me. You¡¯re my Guardian Angel, not my councillor.¡±


    He smiled that make-the-world-stop-and-women-faint smile.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot. I just want to be there as a helping hand, for as long as you need me to be.¡±


    Along with his smile, his words were another thing that took my breath away. He just knew what to say and when to say it. Eli was the perfect man; rock hard body, tall, amazing green eyes, olive skin, and a total badass. He was someone you could feel safe with no matter what the circumstance was.


    We approached a building where I assumed my Botany class would be.


    ¡°The teacher''s name is Mr Leo Farley, but address him by his last name. He¡¯s a bit of an old timer and takes it to heart.¡±

 Page 12

    I entered the classroom. Raina and her two girls wore smartass expressions that I just wanted to kick off their faces.


    ¡°Come sit.¡± Mr Farley gestured to the only empty seat in the class.


    I held my head high and walked to the opposite side of the room and sat next to a cute boy. Eli walked in after me and all the girls gasped and the boys stared in envy.


    ¡°Do you mind if i watch, sir?¡± Eli asked with such formality it was sexy.


    ¡°Not at all, Mr De Luca, please, come in.¡±


    Eli walked and leaned against the back wall with his arms folded. I watched as the girls forced their eyes from Eli and back to the old teacher at the front.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Rylan,¡± said the boy next to me.


    I looked at him; his eyes were as blue as ice and his hair was dark, so it made them ''pop'' even more.


    ¡°Ruby,¡± I replied.


    ¡°That''s pretty.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± I tried to focus on whatever Mr Farley was saying, but Rylan''s cologne kept taking my mind elsewhere.


    ¡°So you¡¯re new, huh?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen me before?¡±


    ¡°Well played. No, I haven''t.¡± He laughed.


    ¡°Ruby, would you care to explain why?¡± asked Mr Farley.


    I froze and glanced around at all the staring faces; I glanced back at Eli, who was highly amused at my embarrassment.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ uh, I don''t know,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°No, of course you don''t, and you aren¡¯t going to find the answer gazing into Mr Pascacio¡¯s eyes. Look at your text book. Thank you,¡± he announced.


    I died from embarrassment in my chair. Moments later, the bell rang, perfect timing; I had to get out of this class.


    ¡°For the record, Ruby, you can gaze at me anytime.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°Lucky me.¡±


    I grabbed my bag and left the room. The cool air hit my red cheeks and cooled them down.


    I tried to walk as fast as I could; I was too embarrassed to talk to Eli and too upset to talk to Mila. Going straight to my dorm and getting dressed for dinner seems like the best choice.


    I pulled the small key from my bag when I reached my door.


    ¡°You forgot this,¡± said Rylan.


    I turned. He was holding my textbook firmly in his hand.


    ¡°You could have waited until the next class," I informed him.


    I couldn¡¯t help but glance nervously around the corridor.


    ¡°Relax, no one saw me. Besides, I was only returning your book.¡± He handed my Botany textbook over to me.


    ¡°Thank you, how did you get here so fast? I left before you.¡±


    I gestured for him to come inside. I had my bag in one hand and the key in the other; I couldn¡¯t hold a textbook as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re new; you don''t know the shortcuts like I do.¡±


    The shadow of Eli¡¯s figure appeared in the door way. ¡°Boys are not allowed in the girls¡¯ dorms.¡±


    I turned abruptly and there he was.


    ¡°Right away, Mr De Luca,¡± said Rylan sarcastically. Rylan winked at me and then left.


    ¡°What are you doing, Ruby?¡± asked Eli


    ¡°I was on my way back to my dorm to get ready for dinner and he appeared. He had my Botany book. I had my bag in one hand and I was unlocking the door with my other hand¡­¡± I explained.


    ¡°That''s unacceptable.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± I wasn''t sure if I detected a hint of jealousy in his voice. Either way he was pretty frustrated. ¡°I think I¡¯m old enough to look after myself. You aren''t my father,¡± I protested.


    ¡°Dinner is in an hour,¡± he retorted, with attitude, closing the door loudly.


    I felt guilty; my last comment was a low blow. He was only looking out for me and enforcing the rules. I was happy it was Eli that came, anyway, anyone else would have given me detention.


    I wanted to make it early to dinner so I could talk to Eli; it bothered me that he was upset with me and I wanted to fix it. I opened my wardrobe and pulled out a strapless, aqua coloured dress. Mila definitely had good taste in clothes. I accessorised the dress with a small pair of peacock earrings and pair of beige flats ¡ª they were the best match for my dress.


    I opened my door to leave.


    ¡°You look amazing,¡± Mila gasped. Her dress was beautiful, it was long and white, and something you would wear to the beach.


    ¡°Thanks to you,¡± I said awkwardly.


    ¡°Can I come in?¡±


    I stepped aside and let her in. An awkward silence hung in the room until she sat on my bed and managed to talk.


    ¡°I''m really sorry. It was Raina. After you left with Eli this morning at breakfast, she came over and she promised she¡¯d stop bullying me if I told her where you were from. It was so selfish of me, I know, but she¡¯s picked on me since kindergarten and I felt like I deserved a break.¡± She sobbed.


    Her eyes started getting red-rimmed as a single tear fell down her cheek. I walked over and sat down next to her. I couldn¡¯t hold a grudge. It felt wrong after all she¡¯d done for me.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It would have gotten out at some point, its high school. You can''t keep secrets; might as well get it over with. She isn¡¯t going to stop until you stop giving her ammo to use against you.¡±


    Mila hugged me.


    ¡°I am truly sorry.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    The common room was alive with discussion and laughter. I scanned the room for Eli but he wasn''t there. How disappointing. Mila pulled me by the arm and sat us down near Rylan and his friend. My stomach growled as a plate of roast chicken and vegetables was set down in front of us.


    ¡°This is Mila,¡± I said, introducing Rylan to her.


    It was funny, I had been at school one day as opposed to Mila, who had been at this school since god knows when, and here I was introducing her to people. Rylan, in return, introduced us to his friend Zavion.


    We chatted and laughed over dinner. I had a really good time; it was definitely the highlight of my day, but when dessert rolled around, Raina thought it was her duty to ruin it.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your guardian now, Vampire?¡± she teased. She was sitting a few seats down from Mila and I.


    ¡°I don''t know, we aren''t joined at the hip,¡± I replied, trying to sound indifferent.


    ¡°That''s not what I heard.¡±


    My heart sped up a few beats. Here we go; my first rumour. ¡°And what did you hear, Raina?¡±


    ¡°That you an Eli were pretty joined at the hips in the cabin,¡± she trumpeted.


    A few people snickered and I swallowed hard, trying to control my anger.


    ¡°If you have a problem with me, tell me now or keep your mouth shut.¡±


    Raina smirked; she knew she got to me. ¡°Defensive, much?¡± She giggled.


    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Rylan asked.


    ¡°Oh, nothing; just Ruby being a whore, but apparently that''s normal.¡±


    I jumped out of my chair but a hand wrapped around my wrist, preventing me from running across the table and kicking her off her chair.


    ¡°Ruby,¡± the voice said firmly.


    It was Eli. I didn¡¯t turn to face him, all my attention was on Raina.


    ¡°Now, now Raina, play nice. We all know who the biggest whore is, don''t we, Zavion?¡± Rylan sneered.


    Zavion and many others started laughing. Raina''s face turned red and she leapt from her chair.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± boomed Mr Aleksandrov all the way from the teachers¡¯ table.


    If only a few students were watching before, all eyes were on us now.


    ¡°Eli, escort Miss Moore to her dorm. Tay, take Miss Guild to hers, and Jaycee, take Rylan and his friend to theirs.¡±


    A woman stepped away from the wall. I could tell she was a guardian. She wore her incredibly blonde, almost white, hair in a tight bun and her clothes were tight; she looked like she was prepared for a fight at any second.


    I was fuming with anger as Eli dragged me from the common room but he didn''t direct me to the girls¡¯ dorm. Instead he walked me to the medical block and we sat down on a flight of stairs.


    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± I asked, my tone thick with attitude.


    ¡°We can''t exactly walk alongside Raina to the dorms; she¡¯ll just upset you more.¡±


    ¡°Let her. She¡¯s in for a rude shock.¡±


    ¡°Ruby, you¡¯re better than that. You don''t have to prove yourself to people like her.¡±


    ¡°You don''t understand,¡± I snapped. ¡°She doesn''t even know me and she thinks she has the right to even speak my name. No. I won¡¯t stand for it.¡±


    There was a long silence. Eli watched me intently, making the silence seem longer.


    ¡°I would like to go to my dorm room now.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave when you have calmed down.¡±


    I stood up. ¡°I''m not asking for your permission.¡± I began to walk away.


    ¡°Sit down.¡± I was intimidated by how calm yet threatening he sounded.


    I leant up against the wall. I wasn¡¯t completely disobeying him, but I wasn¡¯t full complying, either.


    ¡°Why are you so angry over this?¡± he asked, walking over and coming to a stop in front of me.


    I glanced down at my feet, avoiding his eyes. Suddenly I became embarrassed by my outburst.


    ¡°I just wanted to start fresh but she is making it difficult¡­ and then she brought you into it, and it upset me because you¡¯ve done so much for me. I didn¡¯t want her to disrespect you.¡±


    He took a few steps closer to me. He was so close I could feel heat radiating off his body and I could smell his alluring cologne. ¡°She¡¯s jealous of you; you¡¯re so strong and confident, despite everything you¡¯ve been through. You¡¯re fierce and caring, and on top of everything you¡¯re¡ª¡± He paused and inhaled sharply. ¡°So beautiful.¡±


    My heart pounded faster as he traced the back of his hand down my cheek and along my collar bone, leaving tingles in its wake. He stepped forward and I leant backwards slightly, pressing my back firmly against the brick wall.


    ¡°Sometimes, I have to look twice at you just to see if you¡¯re actually real. That much beauty is dangerous.¡±


    My breathing intensified as he leaned closer. Was this really happening? He searched my eyes for a sign of hesitation but I wanted this, I wanted him. I pressed my lips slightly against his and his hand traced the shape of my body before resting in the middle of my back. The kiss began slow as we tested new waters, but it intensified rapidly. It became passionate and hungry; we lost our hands in each other¡¯s hair as we urged our lips together. I pulled my lips away; I needed a breather, to clear my head. This was dangerous; I didn¡¯t want to do this to him. If we were caught, he would be in trouble regardless if I started it or not.


    Eli turned abruptly, running his fingers through his hair like he was frustrated with himself.


    ¡°Eli, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he interrupted


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    He shot me an agitated look. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t about to discuss what just happened between us.


    The walk back to my dorm was awkward, to say the least. I couldn¡¯t help but glance sideways at him. His face was hard; he was so frustrated with himself. It was dangerous, what we did.


    It is forbidden; if the higher power ever found out, Eli would have to kiss his guardian angel life goodbye and he¡¯d be banished to live amongst the humans, powerless and alone.


    ¡°Do you have your key?¡± Eli asked sternly.


    I was too consumed in my thoughts to realize we had arrived at my room.


    ¡°I left it unlocked,¡± I muttered.


    Eli turned his back to me and headed down the hall.


    ¡°Eli¡­ I¡ª¡±


    He turned precipitously, frustration still dominating his features. I couldn¡¯t have this conversation in the hallway, it was too risky. I was going to have to speak with him one on one when I had the chance. He took a few quick paces towards me.


    ¡°It was a mistake. It won¡¯t happen again. Ever.¡± His tone was harsh and quiet. ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    He left.


    Panic


    The blaring of his clock radio woke me up with a start. I threw the covers back and sat up on the edge of the bed. Bleary eyed, I peered at the clock.


    ¡°Six a.m., right on time.¡±


    This morning, I woke up with mixed emotions. Eli and I kissed last night and it was amazing and passionate. Even though he told me when we got to my dorm that it was a mistake and it won''t happen again, it did happen, and now I know he feels something for me at least. During the kiss everything just seemed to fall into place and when our lips touched¡­ no words can explain how I felt.


    ¡°Are you ready yet?¡± Mila¡¯s voice echoed through my front door.


    Today was Saturday, which meant no classes. Before our night was ruined by Raina and her obscene comments last night, I promised Mila I would go with her to see Sam and Cloud do their fighting assessment. Apparently, every second month, guardian angels in training put their skills to the test, literally. They battled it out to get a good grade. Not only was I excited to look at something other than a textbook, but I¡¯d also get to see Eli.


    ¡°I just woke up,¡± I replied, opening the door and letting her in.


    ¡°Well. Get your ass into gear!¡± she squealed excitedly, forcing me into my bathroom.


    A red singlet and baggy jeans seemed appropriate enough. I checked myself over in the mirror once more. My hair was perfectly straight and long, so I let it hang down my back.


    ¡°How much longer do you think you¡¯ll be?


    ¡°Almost there,¡± I called, removing the bandage from my wrist.


    Yesterday, Eli and I both got bonding tattoos, which enables Eli to feel my emotions and in return, I can feel when Eli is nearby. I examined the tattoo. It was a pretty black feather with a red tinge.

 Page 13

    I felt rather self-conscious about my chosen outfit when I left the bathroom. I hadn¡¯t noticed how dressed up Mila was when she had first arrived. Mila was wearing a beautiful floor length sky blue summer dress. She had her hair tied up into a bun and two little gold earrings hung from her ears.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to see people fight, not watch horse races.¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡± She laughed. ¡°It¡¯s fine. C¡¯mon, we need to go. We¡¯re going to miss Sam''s fight, and she¡¯s first.¡±


    We walked over to the guardian block where the angels take their classes. I marvelled at its size. It wasn¡¯t exactly a ¡®block,¡¯ it was an auditorium, and a big one at that.


    A lot of students were already there, including Raina. She glared at me as we walked past, I smiled sweetly, making her glare deepen.


    Mila and I managed to find a small row of seats at the front of the auditorium that were unoccupied. I spotted Eli chatting with Tay in the middle of the mats as competing guardians stretched around them. Almost as soon as I sat down, Eli saw me and awkwardly looked away; so much for things going back to normal between us. Within a one minute time span, Eli and I had made eye contact at least five times. Every time his eyes met mine, it sent butterflies fluttering around my stomach.


    ¡°Samantha Windsor verses Caine Jones.¡±


    He brought the whistle to his soft but firm lips and blew. It looked like Sam was first as she approached the mat, tying her dark curls into a tight bun. Everyone cleared the fighting space and her opponent stepped forward. The guy was huge, he was just as tall as Eli, if not taller, and he made Sam look like a child. Her face showed no signs of fear or doubt, instead her eyes were fierce and ready. Eli blew the whistle again and the competitors dropped to fighting stance. It was amazing to watch as they danced around each other, punching here and kicking there, everyone flinched and cringed every time a hit landed. They both had so much strength and speed, no wonder vampires chose to kill our species more than guardian angels.


    The match was over quicker than I had anticipated and the results were mind boggling. Sam had gotten the incredible hulk on the ground, giving her the victory. We clapped, cheered and chanted her name.


    ¡°Zavion Forster,¡± announced Eli, ¡°verses Leonardo DeLanzy.¡± He blew his whistle and the match begun.


    ¡°I didn''t know Zavion was a guardian angel,¡± I said to Mila.


    ¡°He isn''t,¡± said the voice next me.


    ¡°You again?¡± I sighed, my eyes falling onto Rylan.


    ¡°I just can''t seem to stay away from you; you attract me.¡±


    ¡°Get in line,¡± I said jokingly.


    ¡°Zavion is a god.¡±


    "What? Then why is he fighting and taking guardian angel tests?"


    ¡°Wow, you really don''t know anything about our way of life. Gods are trained to fight as well. Zavion filled in for a sick angel.¡±


    ¡°What about goddesses?¡± I asked, eagerly.


    ¡°Goddesses aren''t meant to fight.¡± Rylan chuckled. ¡°They¡¯re too precious.¡±


    Too precious? I hadn¡¯t experienced so much sexism before in my life until I came here. Goddesses were put on a pedestal. We were the same as gods in every way. The only difference was that we were female. That didn¡¯t mean we were less capable of bringing down a vampire.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± interrupted a familiar voice.


    I looked up, it was Tay. Rylan gave Tay a dirty look and then nodded goodbye to me.


    ¡°How are you feeling?" he asked.


    ¡°I was good until you chased off my friend.¡±


    ¡°He has detention he should be tending to, not socializing,¡± Tay countered.


    I ignored his comment.


    ¡°Sorry I haven''t spoken to you since that night,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Things have been a little rushed; I¡¯m sure Mr Aleksandrov will come speak to you at some point.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, in the meantime I¡¯ll just get on with my life and pretend that I wasn''t almost slaughtered by the one person trying to kill me.¡±


    I was bitter. I''d like to think that after the whole situation with Hank, that Mr Aleksandrov and Tay actually cared, but I got the feeling they didn''t. I was alive and in the safety of the school; as far as they were concerned, the whole incident should be forgotten. Little did they know that every time I close my eyes, I see his deathly white complexion and his petrifying stare. I picture his cold laugh and scary snarl. Thinking about Hank made my chest heavy and my breathing hard. I tried to calm myself. Was I having a panic attack? It felt like the room was closing in and suffocating me. Hot flashes began rolling through my body, getting hotter and hotter.


    ¡°Ruby, are you okay?¡± asked Mila.


    ¡°I- I don''t know. I can''t breathe. I¡¯m burning up,¡± I gasped. I leant over, bringing my chest to my knees, nausea radiating through my stomach.


    ¡°Eli!¡± called Mila.


    Within seconds Eli was at my side. ¡°What''s wrong?¡±


    ¡°She can¡¯t breathe.¡±


    ¡°Am I dying?¡± I cried.


    ¡°You¡¯re having a panic attack; we need to get you outside.¡±


    Eli wrapped his arm around my waist and I slung my arm around his neck. I tried walking but I couldn''t, I tried with every urge in my body to move but I didn''t budge. Eli scooped me up and carried me outside. I could feel everyone''s curious stare burning my skin, high schoolers loved gossip and I had a feeling that I was the one that would be talked about today, once again.


    As soon as the cool air hit my face, I breathed in deeply and the air filled my lungs. The oxygen swooped in so fast I thought my lungs were going to pop like a balloon. Eli carried me onto a grassy area and leant me up against the tree.


    ¡°I need you to breathe slowly. In, out, in, out,¡± he said, coaching me.


    Within minutes my thoughts started grouping and breathing became easier. In the distance Mila and Zavion came running over.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± they asked, almost in unison.


    ¡°She needs space; I''m going to take her for a walk. Zavion, tell Tay he¡¯s going to have to referee the rest of the exam.¡±


    ¡°Tay left just after you took Ruby outside.¡±


    Confusion crossed Eli¡¯s face. "Okay, the clipboard is on the ground, where Ruby was sitting. Give it to Guardian Sera and tell her to take over."


    He nodded in agreement and they both ran back to the auditorium. Eli helped me get to my feet and we slowly walked towards the sports oval.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. I was thinking about that night with Hank and then I started panicking and getting hot.¡±


    ¡°That night is over, you beat Hank. You were better than him and you got away. I know the nightmares are still fresh in your mind, but just know that you are safe here at Sage. You are untouchable. The more you think about it, the more these panic attacks will reoccur.¡±


    His words echoed through my mind, untouchable? Safe? Then how come I didn''t feel safe? In the pit of my stomach a horrible feeling stirred.


    ¡°About last night,¡± he began, interrupting my thoughts. ¡°I think instead of pretending like it didn¡¯t happen, I should apologize. It was wrong of me to use your emotional vulnerability to take advantage of you.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t take advantage of me Eli, I¡¯m not a child.¡± I¡¯m not. I¡¯m eighteen, which gives me the right to vote, drink, and do anything I want. Legally.


    ¡°Now that I have apologized, I want to put it behind us and forget about it,¡± he continued, as if I never said anything.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    The walk back to the auditorium was just as awkward as the walk back to my dorm last night. No words were spoken and no glances were spared.


    The fights were still going; two male guardian angels that I didn¡¯t know were fighting it out in an intense brawl. They did high kicks, low kicks, rolls and flips. I envied the way they moved. If I had skills like that, I¡¯d hunt Hank down and take him on myself. I saw Zavion and Mila sitting where I was earlier, at the far end of the auditorium. I walked up to them and sat down.


    ¡°How are you?¡± asked Mila.


    ¡°I''m a lot better now. I have no idea what happened,¡± I explained.


    ¡°That''s okay; you¡¯ve been through a lot,¡± she said.


    I didn''t want to talk about me anymore so I changed the subject. ¡°Has Cloud fought yet?¡±


    ¡°She didn''t show up for the test; she was matched up against Raphael," Zavion replied.


    ¡°Maybe she slept in?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn''t be the first time.¡± He snickered.


    ¡°Does Raphael pass automatically because his partner didn''t show up?¡± I wondered aloud.


    ¡°Nah, he¡¯ll fight your Angel.¡±


    I smiled at the term ''my angel.'' Eli was my angel; so far he was always there even when I wasn''t in immediate danger.


    A woman called Raphael to the fighting mats. She was very tall and slender, definitely super model material. Her auburn hair glistened in the sun that shone through the dusty windows. She was carrying a clipboard; she must be Sera. Sera was very pretty but a little weathered from fighting and being outside so much. She looked like she would have been my mother¡¯s age, maybe even a little older.


    ¡°Raphael Ames will be fighting his mentor, Eli De Luca, due to his opponent not arriving today,¡± Sera announced.


    Her voice was husky and deep, it complimented her features well. Eli stepped up to the mat; he had switched his baggy jeans for a rather sexy pair of black sweat pants. All the girls that sat in the auditorium sighed as Eli pulled his shirt off and revealed a black tank top that clung to his muscles.


    Sera blew her whistle and they dropped to fighting stance. Eli circled Raphael rapidly, trying to seize him from behind but Raphael was definitely trained to avoid that situation. Everyone watched in amazement as they fought. Raphael wasn''t taking it easy just because Eli was his trainer and Eli wasn''t slowing down just because Raphael was his student. Raphael''s face was determined and angry; he wasn''t able to land a hit on Eli. Eli''s speed was hard to focus on and although Raphael was fast, he was no Eli. Eventually the match came to an end after Raphael was pinned to the ground.


    Students drifted from the auditorium, no doubt heading to the common room; it was breakfast time, after all. I wanted to run over to Eli and tell him how amazed I was, but I figured it wouldn''t be much of a compliment considering he was only fighting a student. I gave in to my hunger and headed to the common room for breakfast. The room was fuller than I anticipated but Mila and I found seats next to two students, one was noticeably a god and the other a guardian angel. They were both boys and looked older than eighteen.


    ¡°Goddesses,¡± they both greeted and smiled.


    ¡°I''m Ruby, this is Mila. Can we sit?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I''m Gabriel and this is Hunter.¡± He gestured to his friend.


    Gabriel was the guardian angel. He was average looking with blond hair and a group of light freckles spread across both cheeks. He looked innocent, but his friend, on the other hand, gave the impression that he was a total bad boy. His name, Hunter, made him sound even more badass.


    Over breakfast we had a rather interesting conversation. Gabriel was on his second to last year before graduating and joining the official guardian angel ranks. Hunter was also on his second year before graduating. He was supposedly joining the higher powers army against vampires and their leaders.


    Mila was lost in Gabriel¡¯s eyes as they discussed whatever it was they were discussing.


    ¡°So are you the vamp girl?¡± asked hunter.


    My stomach lurched. "No, I''m not." I growled.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I find it sexy,¡± he said, finishing with a sultry wink. His smile widened as fire rushed through my cheeks.


    ¡°We need to go,¡± I mumbled to Mila.


    Mila opened her mouth to protest but after a quick glance at my face, she quickly stood up and said goodbye.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± she asked as we left the common room.


    ¡°They¡¯re seniors.¡±


    It was weird for me to refer to them as seniors because at the human school I was referred to as a senior. This particular school ends when you are twenty two.


    ¡°So? Gabriel was nice.¡±


    ¡°Do you like him?¡±


    ¡°He''s cute.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s also a guardian; your uncle isn''t going to like that.¡±


    I know it was unfair of me to play that card because I wanted to avoid Hunter, but I was also looking out for Mila; I didn''t want her to get hurt. If they did see each other again and it became serious, Gabriel had to finish school and the higher power will forbid it.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Can''t you sleep with people your own age?¡± a voice snickered behind us.


    I opened my mouth to tell her off.


    ¡°Can''t you sleep with someone that isn''t related to you?¡± Mila countered, stepping in before me.


    My mouth dropped as Mila took care of Raina herself.


    Raina''s friends looked at her disgustedly, making Raina look worried.


    ¡°You''re disgusting,¡± Raina grunted.


    She turned on her heels and left with her posse in tow.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± I laughed.


    ¡°Once, when we were little, I dared Raina to kiss her brother and she did,¡± Mila explained.


    ¡°You knew her when you were little?¡±


    ¡°We used to be best friends,¡± she informed me.


    The thought of Mila being best friends with someone like Raina made me cringe. I was glad Mila didn''t turn out like her.


    After today''s events, I invited Mila to come sleep at my dorm room. I wanted company to stop me from thinking about Hank. My mind had a way of always coming back to him, as much as I tried to think about something else, the night of my mother¡¯s death and the night at the cabin kept creeping back into my mind and I was scared of what might happen if I was alone. I know the school is protected, but I just didn''t feel safe. I felt like Hank could snatch me from my bed at any moment.

 Page 14

    Whilst she went to gather a few things from her house that she lived in with her uncle Mr Aleksandrov, the headmaster of the school, I went to talk to Eli. I wanted to thank him for helping me with my little panic attack. I was still confused why it occurred out of nowhere and in front of so many people instead of when I was alone and at my most vulnerable. I found Eli; he was still in the auditorium, picking up the fighting mats and collecting rubbish.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d find you here,¡± I called.


    ¡°Someone has to clean it.¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to thank you for helping me.¡±


    Eli sat down and I sat on a chair next to him. ¡°You''re welcome.¡±


    ¡°And about last night¡­¡± I began. ¡°I should be the one apologizing; I put you in that position¡ª¡±


    ¡°You didn''t put me in any position,¡± he interrupted. ¡°If anything, I put you in that position. I took advantage of your emotions to benefit myself, and for that I¡¯m sorry. I think it would be better for our situation if we only see each other when other people are around. And only in extreme exceptions should we be alone together.¡±


    ¡°You make me sound like a rapist,¡± I scoffed.


    Eli didn''t find my comment humorous. ¡°I''m serious, Ruby.¡±


    ¡°So we can''t even be friends and hang out casually?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± he paused, planning his next words carefully. ¡°I''m afraid I won''t be able to keep my hands off you. I¡¯m afraid I won''t be able to resist you.¡±


    I followed Eli''s eyes down to my lips as he no doubt pondered the thought of tasting them again. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could.¡±


    ¡°No, I can''t.¡±


    Eli leant in and we were definitely going to kiss again; my heart pounded fast and my mouth watered at the thought of our lips connecting.


    Damn it! My insides shouted as Eli¡¯s phone rang. We were still inches apart as he answered his phone.


    ¡°Hello. On my way.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We need to get you to your dorm immediately; don¡¯t open it for anyone until I say so.¡±


    He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me off my chair, sprinting out of the auditorium. This was too similar to last night. I ran as fast as I could toward my dorm. My thoughts were all over the place; it wasn''t Hank, it was the middle of the day, and regardless, the school was charmed, preventing any kind of soulless creature from entering. As we ran, I repeatedly asked Eli to tell me what was going on but he didn¡¯t say anything. We reached my dorm in record time and I saw Mila waiting for me.


    ¡°Get inside, both of you. Remember what I said, Ruby,¡± he ordered and then sprinted off.


    I locked Mila and I into my dorm room. I looked over at Mila, whose mascara was running down her face.


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I asked, panic rising in my throat.


    ¡°It''s Cloud. She''s dead.¡±


    Death and a Letter


    I felt so many feelings all at once. I felt dizzy and then nauseous, the nausea soon turned into numbness. Cloud was a guardian angel in training who wanted nothing more than to use her skills to watch over and protect newborn babies. She was so simple and compassionate, and now she was dead. Apparently she had slipped and fallen, banging her head into a rock early this morning, probably when she was on her way to the auditorium. I didn''t know Cloud too well, we¡¯d only met yesterday, and yet I could still say all these nice things about her. The majority of my pain lay not with me but for Mila. Cloud and Mila had been friends since Kindergarten, just like Camilla and I. My heart sank at the thought of Camilla. I hadn''t thought about her since our last conversation on Eli''s cell phone.


    My mind drifted over to my own sorrows. I wondered how Aunt Jen and Camilla were doing and if they had managed to move on without me. I thought about Kyle and if he had made any new friends. Lastly, my mind fell onto Darren, a boy who had been obsessed with slinging sexual comments at me daily, a boy who claimed to be a vampire slayer, and not a very good one. Darren had cornered me in my room the night the angels came for me. He was ready to kill me but wanted me to exchange a sexual favor in place of my persecution. After I declined his disgusting offer, he tried to kill me, but he was knocked out by a vampire that came crashing through my window. The guardian angels followed suit.


    Mila had been lying on my bed since she informed me of Cloud''s death. Her mascara and eyeliner stained my purple pillows. I sat on the edge of the bed comforting her whilst saddening myself with my own grief. We jumped as a knock sounded upon my door. I gestured to Mila to be quiet. I grasped my whistle and prepared to blow it. Within seconds, in my mind I felt Eli''s presence; I could smell his cologne and hear him breathing. It must be my tattoo; it¡¯s working, when i focused on Eli I felt that he was close by. I ran to the door and opened it, just like I thought, it was Eli.


    ¡°You already know?¡± asked Eli.


    I nodded. Our red-rimmed and make-up stained eyes had given it away.


    ¡°Aleksandrov told her what happened and she told me.¡±


    Tay and Sera jogged up beside Eli. ¡°Mila, your uncle demands that you come home immediately.¡±


    The look on Mila''s face told us she didn''t want to but she wasn''t about to fight her uncle. She grabbed her stuff and left.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Eli asked.


    ¡°I''m okay; Mila, on the other hand, isn''t doing too well,¡± I informed him.


    ¡°Sam isn''t doing too well, either.¡±


    Sam was Cloud''s best friend. If Mila was this sad, I couldn''t begin to imagine how hysterical Sam would be.


    ¡°Do you want to come in?¡± I asked Eli.


    ¡°That''s not a good idea.¡±


    Although I wanted to be wrapped up in Eli''s arms and have him comfort me with kisses, that wasn¡¯t what I intended when I asked him to come in.


    ¡°The school is in lock down. There are twelve guardian angels guarding the girls¡¯ and boys¡¯ dorms and more or less the same guarding the teachers¡¯ area. Senior gods are helping us with securing the school; same with senior guardians. We¡¯re having the scene fingerprinted and examined further. The results will tell us what happened. In the meantime, stay in your dorm room,¡± he explained.


    Eli walked off and I closed the door.


    Sage Sanctum was supposed to be about learning how to use my magic and becoming a goddess, and yet here I stood. I hadn''t learnt how to use water, earth, or fire. I could make a plant grow and manipulate it to wrap around things, big deal. I wanted to make a difference and help people, I wanted to make up for the lives I stole when I was a vampire, but I have been given no freedom to do so. I''m starting to contemplate whether being assigned a guardian angel was actually a good thing or not.


    It was breakfast time an hour ago and my day had already been crazy; that''s my life lately, just one thing after another. I changed my pillow sheets and washed my face. Five minutes passed since and I had already run out of things to do. How long were they planning on keeping us locked down?


    It was two hours off dinner time when the lock down was broken. They filed Cloud''s death as an accident; there was no sign of struggle or bruising, although I''d imagine it would be hard to tell with all the fighting the angels do. I emerged from my dorm and Hunter was leaning against the wall, opposite my door.


    ¡°Goddess, fancy seeing you here.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°Outside my door?¡± I replied bluntly, refusing to get on board with his humour.


    If I had a normal life, the next set of events would never have happened, but seeing as though my life is as clich¨¦ as a movie, anything that could go wrong does. Sure enough, Rylan came up to us, and if things couldn''t get any weirder, Eli showed up.


    Nausea rose in my stomach. It looked really bad on my part but I only had feelings for Eli, and had never led Rylan or Hunter on. I met them once and then they were everywhere. My face flushed red as Eli''s eyes squared in on me. I looked at Hunter, he looked at the situation with an amused expression. Rylan was more frustrated that Eli showed up and Eli''s eyes were focused solely on me.


    ¡°They just showed up and they were just leaving,¡± I hinted to Rylan and Hunter.


    ¡°I wouldn''t miss this for the world.¡± Hunter chuckled, leaned against the wall and stuck a toothpick in his mouth.


    ¡°You¡¯re a senior; do you lurk around the younger girls¡¯ dorms often?¡± Rylan snarled at Hunter.


    Hunter took a step towards Rylan, but Eli stepped between them. He was bigger than both of them.


    ¡°Get to where you need to be, now,¡± he growled.


    The two boys stormed off, leaving me with Eli.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t pleased. ¡°You seem to be the talk of the male population lately.¡±


    This time I heard jealousy in his words. ¡°Probably, Raina has already told people that I was a vampire.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that kind of talk.¡± Eli had a disgusted look on his face.


    ¡°Oh? ¡­ Oh! Gross,¡± I complained. I wasn¡¯t even flattered that boys were thinking that stuff about me. I had never really been the type of girl that cared about boys intimately until I met Eli.


    ¡°Anyway, I came here to let you know my tattoo started working.¡± Eli presented his wrist. There, in tinged red, black ink was a quarter moon attached to a full moon, which was attached to another quarter moon.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It is the symbol for goddess.¡±


    ¡°That''s awesome! I got a feather, and since guardian angels don¡¯t actually have big feathery wings, it must mean I''m protected by a chicken.¡± I laughed and Eli laughed, too.


    We were smiling and talking as students walked past but we were oblivious to them.


    ¡°So why were you strolling through the girls¡¯ dorms?¡±


    Eli checked his watch quickly. ¡°I was actually on my way to see Sam. Cloud was her best friend, and as her teacher, I feel obliged to see how she is doing,¡± he explained.


    ¡°You''re a good teacher.¡±


    A trace of a smile appeared on his face and then he walked away.


    I wanted to go to the library before dinner and read up on teaching myself how to use my magic. If the teachers here were more obsessed about me knowing what plants survive in various conditions, then I had no choice but to teach myself the important things. The library wasn''t too big; I found the books I needed immediately. When I was checking out, the librarian gave me a funny look; she was definitely a goddess. Besides the obvious give away ¡ª stirring her lemon water without actually touching it ¡ª her skin was incredibly smooth, despite her age. There was no doubt, she knew what I was doing but she didn''t say anything.


    I circled the school and eventually found a pond hidden behind the sports oval and running track. I sat down and opened the first book, titled: Water Skills. The first chapter, ¡®How to conjure a water ball¡¯ caught my eye immediately. I held my hand out towards the water and slowly pulled my fingers back to form a closed fist just like the book said; nothing happened. I tried a few more times and they all ended in defeat.


    ¡°You''re eager to learn,¡± said Hunter as he stepped out from behind a tree.


    ¡°And you''re eager to be labelled a stalker.¡±


    ¡°Easy now, I was here before you arrived.¡± Hunter brought a cigarette to his lips and inhaled.


    ¡°Then let me make this easier, I''ll leave.¡± I started packing up my books.


    ¡°I can help, you know.¡±


    ¡°The only thing you¡¯re helping with is my death. I don''t want to die of lung cancer from second hand smoke, thank you.¡±


    Hunter threw the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. He put the packet into the back pocket of his baggy jeans. I watched curiously as he approached the pond and conjured a water ball from it. He made it look so simple.


    ¡°How¡­ how did you do that?¡± I gasped.


    ¡°I have a few more years¡¯ experience than you, remember.¡±


    ¡°Can you help me?¡± I asked. I knew it was a bad idea but I desperately wanted to learn how to use my magic.


    ¡°That depends.¡± He smirked. ¡°As long as I¡¯m in charge, you do everything I say and I can smoke, then we have a deal.¡±


    I thought the conditions over a few times before eventually accepting. Hunter was my only hope at advancing my powers and I was already behind my class mates. They knew how to conjure balls out of each element, they knew how to control them and make them move. I could only make plants grow and heal, granted it¡¯s pretty cool, but I need to know more. Hunter and I agreed to meet here every Saturday. I wanted to do it every other day, but Hunter insisted it was too obvious and people would become suspicious.


    At Sage Sanctum, like any other ¡®magical¡¯ community, you¡¯re not allowed to use your magic without teacher supervision and outside of school. You¡¯re only allowed to use it to defend yourself. Many gods and goddesses use it around the house, away from human eyes, to do things like stir their drinks and maintain their garden, which is okay and seen as harmless.


    I hauled all my books back to my dorm and spread them out on the floor to read them. Unfortunately, I¡¯m a better procrastinator than studier. First, I painted my fingernails, brushed my hair, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. As I sat there I couldn''t help but to notice how bland my toenails were, they had no color. I thought about the last time my mother and I painted our toenails.


    We spoke about school and work and boys. I remember the color she chose; it was lavender, her favorite. I closed my eyes tightly as a single tear ran down my cheek. I took a few deep breaths and composed myself, trying not to relapse back into a panic attack. I didn''t realize before how much I actually feared being alone. When I''m alone, I slowly descend into depression¡­ every color I look at is dull and every thought is negative. It isn''t like clinical depression where it affects my daily life; it only creeps up on me when I¡¯m alone. I feel useless and weak, no emotions pour over me, instead I cry.

 Page 15

    Usually when you cry, you¡¯re overwhelmed with emotion, whether it be sadness or anger. When I cry, I feel empty and numb.


    I lay down on my stomach on the soft purple rug and closed my eyes. I focused on all the accomplishments I had made since my birthday a few weeks ago. I was no longer a vampire and I¡¯m attending Sage Sanctum like my mother had always wanted. Those milestones made me feel better, but not enough to pull myself out of the dark hole I had dug for myself. When depression hit me I tried hard to fight back with positive thoughts but when I feel like this, those thoughts aren''t so positive.


    Beep, Beep. I lifted my head towards the alarm clock, it was time for dinner.


    I walked into my bathroom to check my hair and clothes. Sure enough, my eyes were red and blood shot, my hair was tangled and my clothes were a little dirty from being at the pond.


    Even though it was compulsory to attend every meal, I wasn''t in a rush to get to dinner. I heard the dorm lady a few doors down telling the other girls to get to dinner. When my door opened, I hid in the bathroom quietly. Thankfully, she shut the door. I decided to shower and change clothes before I went down. I didn''t want people to know I¡¯d been crying all afternoon. Once my hair was brushed and I applied minimal make up I exited the bathroom.


    Dinner was supposed to be ''classier'' than the other meals, so the student body had to dress nicely. I threw on a stylish white and black track suit. I wasn''t in the mood for being classy, only casual. I threw on a pair of runners and headed over to the dining hall.


    As the air hit my face when I left the girls dorms, I felt better and a lot happier; that was, until I saw Raina and her crew. I rolled my eyes and sighed as they stood in their ugly patterned fifties style dresses and snickered at me.


    ¡°Are you going to chase and kill the food yourself?¡± Raina sneered.


    I kept walking, ignoring her ridiculous comment.


    ¡°It¡¯s dinner time, not track time,¡± called one of her friends.


    I cringed at the horribly thought out insults, was I really supposed to be offended by that?


    ¡°Just make sure Mr Farley gets his curtains back when you¡¯re finished with them,¡± I called behind me.


    Mr Farley, our Botany teacher, had these ugly curtains in his classroom. Everyone groaned in pain every time they entered his room and saw them. I smiled as they stood around comforting each other, saying, ¡°They look nothing like his curtains, don''t worry, she¡¯s just jealous.¡±


    ¡°Self-obsessed Barbie dolls,¡± I scoffed to myself. I entered the hall and searched for Mila. I found Eli sitting at the teachers¡¯ table chatting to Mr Aleksandrov, and I spotted Hunter smiling and talking to a beautiful red haired girl. I guess I was having dinner alone. I found an empty section at the end of a table; the kitchen steward placed grilled fish and vegetables in front of me. Nausea radiated from my stomach; I certainly didn''t feel like dinner, at all.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± called Rylan, before sitting down next to me.


    I gave him a small smile, hoping he would get the hint and leave. He didn''t. ¡°Look, Rylan, I¡¯m not in the mood to chat right now.¡±


    ¡°That''s okay; we can just sit in silence.¡±


    ¡°I don''t need company to do that.¡±


    I looked over at Eli, who was watching me with a worried expression. He would have been able to feel how sad I was. He turned back to the conversation with Aleksandrov but his mind was clearly still on me.


    ¡°Nobody likes to be alone,¡± said Rylan.


    ¡°Well, I do!¡±


    It was a lie. I hated being alone and I felt sorry for snapping at him, but I just wasn''t in the mood to handle his smart comments and subtle flirting right now. Rylan put his hand on mine and I had a hard time trying to work out if it was friendly or not.


    ¡°I''m here if you need me.¡±


    Slowly, I took my hand back, hoping I didn¡¯t offend him. The chair scraped against the floor as he got up and left.


    I sighed and exhaled dramatically for what felt like hours. It had really only been forty minutes since I arrived. I just wanted it to be over so I could go to bed early.


    When the kitchen staff began to clean up after dinner, I prepared to leave the dining hall but was stopped before I could even get out of my chair. It was Aleksandrov.


    ¡°Good evening, students and faculty members,¡± he began. ¡°Most of you are probably wondering why the school was in lock down today. A student was found dead.¡±


    The dining room lit up with gasps and lively chatter.


    ¡°Silence!¡± boomed Mr Aleksandrov.


    The room fell quiet.


    ¡°Miss Cloud Banks fell and hit her head on a rather large stone. Her death was accidental.¡±


    I glanced around the room as students cried and some just looked on in horror. My eyes rested on Raina''s face. She was looking at me and shaking her head, of course she¡¯d think I killed Cloud.


    ¡°A memorial service will be held on Monday, on the oval at nine in the morning. Thank you.¡±


    Once again the hall filled with talk and sobs. I didn''t think it was possible, but being here made me even more depressed. I strolled out of the hall, walking as fast as I could to get away from the cries and pleads to god.


    Finally I made it back to my dorm room; I shut the door and leant up against it, sighing with relief.


    The day turned out completely different than I imagined. It started of good, it was a normal day. That was the story of my life, I guess. When I had something good going for myself it was always ruined. I changed into black silk boxer shorts and a white singlet; I approached my bed and paused when I found a letter perched upon my pillow. Slowly I reached down and picked it up. I don''t know why, but I glanced around my room, expecting to see someone lurking in the shadows. My eyes fell back on the letter. I opened it and pulled out a little red piece of paper and sprawled across the paper in black ink read:


    You are mine, Ruby.


    Coffee and Punching


    Sleep didn¡¯t come easy, in fact, sleep hardly came at all. I was relieved when the sun came up and I heard students buzzing around the dorm. Last night was horrible. After reading the letter, I couldn''t sleep. Sure, I dozed off every now and then, but I awoke at every bat squeal and cricket chirp. My main fear was not that someone wanted to kill me; I was used to that. I¡¯m on the top of a few people¡¯s list. My main fear was that there was someone who wanted me dead who lived at this school and had been inside my room. I shivered at the thought of being watched by someone wanting to kill me.


    Even though it was in my best interest to tell Eli about the note, I didn''t want him to have to deal with anymore ''Ruby Drama.'' After the whole capture me, turn me back into a goddess, fight Hank, help me through a panic attack and everything in between, I just didn''t want to bother him anymore. I put all my fears and paranoia to the back of my mind. Today, I wanted to see Mila and help her with whatever she needed; I had to forget about me. I think it was about time I forgot about my own issues and helped someone else with theirs, be selfless for a change.


    I quickly jumped out of bed and rummaged through my wardrobe. I decided on a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, then I pulled my hair into a ponytail and left my dorm room. A soon as I felt it, I saw him. Just my luck ¡ª Eli was walking towards me. Actually, this was perfect. Students aren''t allowed in the teachers¡¯ residential area without an actual reason. I needed Eli to take me to Mr Aleksandrov''s house.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said, trying to sound cheerful.


    ¡°Sure, if that¡¯s how you see it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°C''mon, we both know you didn''t sleep last night.¡±


    Shit. I forgot about the tattoo. A few days ago Eli and I each got a tattoo; the tattoos are infused with each other¡¯s blood. Eli can feel my emotions and I can sense when he¡¯s near.


    ¡°I slept fine, actually,¡± I lied.


    I looked closer at Eli; he looked tired. Still unbelievably good looking, but nonetheless tired. I felt bad; I wasn''t able to keep my emotions in check at all yesterday.


    ¡°I must have had a nightmare¡­¡± I lied again.


    ¡°Must have,¡± he replied. His expression told me he didn''t believe me.


    ¡°Hey, do you have a moment? I need to see Mila but can''t get into the teacher residential area without clearance.¡±


    ¡°Sure. And we can talk on the way.¡±


    I cringed; I knew he wanted to talk about my feelings and all that jazz.


    We didn''t say a word until we left the student campus.


    ¡°You can talk to me, Ruby,¡± Eli said.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then why don''t you? I''m not stupid; I know something is happening within you. Being able to feel what you feel has only confirmed my thoughts.¡±


    Seeing Eli''s expression fill with pain made my heart pound.


    ¡°I''m still getting over things; you don''t need to worry about me.¡±


    Eli opened his mouth to say something but bit his tongue. I wondered what he would have said, that he wants to worry about me? Maybe or maybe not, now I''ll never know.


    We walked into the teachers¡¯ campus and Eli and I had to sign a few papers before we could enter. As we walked along a path hidden by trees, Eli grabbed my wrist and pulled me to face him. His warm hands made my skin tingle and set butterflies loose in my stomach.


    ¡°You might think that no one cares about you or how you¡¯re feeling, you¡¯re wrong. If you don''t think I can see through this ''tough girl'' facade you¡¯re putting on, I can. It hurts me to see such a beautiful girl go through so much pain, but hurts me more when she doesn''t want to share it.¡±


    His voice was hard and fierce. I looked back into his eyes, trying not cry and pour all my thoughts out or tell him about the letter. I responded like I always do when I''m put on the spot, with attitude.


    ¡°Do you share your pain? How many people know that your dad was murdered by vampires when you were still a boy?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make this about me.¡± he growled defensively.


    ¡°See, you and I are no different; you shield your emotions better than anyone, even me. We both have issues, we both have felt the pain of losing a loved one and we both keep to ourselves,¡± I protested.


    I marched off down the path, hoping that somehow I could pick out Mila''s house on the other side. Luckily for me there was only one house. Mila¡¯s house was huge, at least two stories. Her front yard was beautiful; there was a huge fountain in the middle of a driveway that wound around from the back of the house. I didn''t know what was more tiring, the walk from the school to the front yard or from the front yard to the front door. There was too much land for two people and no animals. Eli fell into step with me as I reached the front steps. He pressed the intercom button and Mr Aleksandrov¡¯s voice projected through.


    ¡°Eli, I wasn''t expecting you today.¡±


    I glanced around looking for cameras, there were at least seven.


    ¡°I have a visitor for Mila. Ruby insisted that she keep her company today.¡±


    A horrible buzzing noise sounded as the doors opened. We stepped inside, my mouth dropped open. I felt like I was inside a palace. A large staircase was sprawled out in front of us.


    ¡°Do we go up?¡± I asked.


    Eli shook his head.


    ¡°Ruby, how nice to see you,¡± said Mr Aleksandrov as he entered the main foyer.


    I flashed him a fake smile.


    ¡°Mila is showering at the moment; please, come to the tea room and wait.¡±


    Eli and I followed Aleksandrov into a side room. I assumed it would be a small to average sized room; after all it was only a tea room, but I was wrong. I could fit my dorm room into this room at least nine times.


    The three of us sat around a beautiful antique gold edged table.


    ¡°Ruby,¡± Mr Aleksandrov said, making himself comfortable in his chair. ¡°I hear you¡¯re unhappy with Tay and I.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± I said sharply. There is no point beating around the bush.


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°Have you even stopped by to see how I was when Hank attacked me? You went through so much trouble to get me here.¡±


    ¡°Were you injured?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no reason for your anger towards anyone.¡±


    ¡°I could have been killed.¡±


    ¡°But you weren''t.¡±


    I leapt out of my chair.


    ¡°Ruby,¡± warned Eli, standing up from his chair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you care that a psychotic vampire was so close to your school? To your niece?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have enough guardian angels, both certified and in training, to take care of a few pesky vampires.¡±


    My blood boiled.


    I was confused why Mr Aleksandrov was being so indifferent about the whole situation.


    ¡°Ruby?¡± I heard Mila calling from the staircase. I turned and stormed off towards the door of the tea room.


    ¡°Oh and Ruby, don''t be selfish. It¡¯s a bad look for you,¡± stated Ivan Aleksandrov.


    I turned and glowered at him, he returned a blank stare. I was really starting to dislike him. When we first met he was so kind and understanding, now he was a total asshole. I stomped up the stairs one by one and met Mila at the top; she led me to her bedroom. Again, I could fit my dorm room twelve times over in here, minimum.


    ¡°Wow, maybe I should sleep here instead of having you over in my dorm,¡± I gasped.


    ¡°At least your dorm is cosy. Being in here can be quite lonely,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°So, how are you feeling? I didn''t see you at dinner last night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to terms with it, I suppose. Last night I was with Sam, she¡¯s a real mess. I thought I was upset; her grief blew mine straight out of the water.¡±


    ¡°Is she going to continue with classes tomorrow?¡± I asked.

 Page 16

    ¡°She went home to her parents,¡± Mila informed me. ¡°Uncle gave her clearance to return whenever she wanted.¡±


    I had to leave a lot earlier than I planned; Mila and Ivan Aleksandrov were going to visit Mila''s great aunt. I hugged Mila goodbye and walked out the front door, to my surprise Eli was leaning on a concrete column.


    I walked past him but he caught up quickly. We walked through the hidden path again. I thought back to when Eli grabbed me and had spoken to me with such emotion. He did care about me, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.


    When we emerged from the opposite end of the path, Eli pulled me by the wrist in a different direction.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°For coffee.¡±


    ¡°I thought we couldn¡¯t be alone together?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just coffee and it¡¯s in public. I¡¯m not an animal.¡±


    ¡°You said it, not me.¡±


    I followed Eli until we reached a cute brick house; it reminded me of my grandmother¡¯s house.


    ¡°Is this your house?¡±


    ¡°Yes, awesome, isn''t it?" He laughed. He ran inside and grabbed a set of keys for his Audi Q5 that sat in the driveway.


    We drove down to the Sage shops and ordered coffee at the bakery Eli took me to on my first day at Sage Sanctum.


    ¡°I know I came on a little strong before, I just wanted you to know there are people here for you,¡± he confessed.


    ¡°I know, thank you.¡±


    He exhaled in defeat. I knew it wasn''t what he wanted to hear. Eli wanted me to confide in him and put all my feelings on the table, but I couldn''t do it. Even though he could feel the highs and lows of my emotions, I didn''t want him to know the cause of them. I did, however, want him to know he was my high and that I felt instantly happy as soon as I saw him. He probably already knew that.


    ¡°I¡¯m petrified of being alone,¡± I mumbled. ¡°When I¡¯m alone, I spiral into depression. I feel like I¡¯ve lost all hope, all strength, and all my emotions rain down on me. I feel like I¡¯ve fallen down a hole and I don''t have the strength or will power to climb back out. So I give up all hope and let the darkness take over me. I let it consume me and I feel hopeless and worthless. I feel angry and sad at the same time. I just¡­ I don''t know.¡±


    Eli placed his hand on top of mine and we locked eyes. His reflected the same despair mine did, he felt what I felt. He had experienced some of my pain first hand. I felt guilty opening up to him and bringing him into my world; I wouldn''t wish that on anyone.


    He let go and sat back as a woman brought us our coffee. She smiled and flirted with Eli. I also noticed she had pulled her shirt up a little, revealing her stomach. I didn''t know you could ask someone if they wanted any sugar in such a suggestive manner. Eli smiled and declined politely. When she left, she threw a bitchy glance at me over her shoulder.


    ¡°Jealousy?¡± questioned Eli.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I looked at him with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°I have never felt jealousy come through our bond before,¡± he stated, with a rather amused expression.


    I felt my cheeks light up in embarrassment. ¡°Jealous? Yes, because she didn''t offer me any sugar.¡±


    ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, you¡¯re way better than her,¡± he said casually whilst sipping on his coffee.


    ¡°How so?¡± I asked, trying to sound indifferent, but straining my ears to hear what he had to say.


    ¡°She clearly tries too hard; wears way to much make-up and went as low as showing flesh to get my attention. You and I both know her shirt wasn''t that high when we arrived.¡±


    ¡°You were perving?¡±


    ¡°I was being observant, two completely different things. A guardian angel has to be observant, no matter where they are.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I replied.


    We finished our coffee pretty quickly and talked about classes. An hour had passed before we jumped back in the car and head back to the school. After a quiet car ride, we arrived at his house. I unbuckled my seat belt.


    ¡°Ruby, wait,¡± Eli blurted, he looked like he regretted it as soon as he said it. ¡°Thanks for opening up to me at the bakery.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Well, it is Sunday, and we don''t have classes, so tell me something about you.¡±


    ¡°I love coffee,¡± he proclaimed.


    I nudged his shoulder. ¡°C''mon, you know what I mean, something personal.¡±


    Eli stared out the windscreen, thinking. ¡°I am glad you came to Sage Sanctum.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t really have a choice. You abducted me, remember?¡±


    ¡°It was more like a rescue.¡±


    I listened as he laughed. It was so melodious and perfect.


    ¡°And if you need anything, anything at all, let me know. I don''t care if it¡¯s the middle of the night or midday. I¡¯m your guardian angel, that''s what I¡¯m here for.¡±


    ¡°¡­Then kiss me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, Ruby.¡±


    ¡°You said if I need anything. Don''t you want to?¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t a necessity, and whether I want to or not is irrelevant. It¡¯s wrong.¡± I leant over to him and he didn''t lean away from me.


    ¡°Why should we have to conform to what the higher power wants? I know you feel it, too.¡±


    ¡°Ruby, stop.¡±


    Our faces were only inches apart. I could feel his hot breath on my face, he still hadn''t moved away from me.


    I opened the door and slid out of the car. It took Eli a few seconds to compose himself before he followed.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± he called after me.


    ¡°It¡¯s eleven thirty, so I¡¯m going to the dining hall, sir,¡± I said mockingly, with my back to him. ¡°See you there.¡±


    I walked quickly back to the student campus. Mila said she would be back in time for lunch and to meet her at the dining hall. Sure enough, outside the dining hall stood Mila and Gabriel. Noticing my arrival, Gabriel said farewell to Mila and acknowledged me with a wave.


    ¡°Guess, what?¡± she squealed. She didn''t even give me a second to try and guess.


    ¡°Gabriel asked me on a date.¡±


    ¡°Mila¡­¡±


    ¡°I know, I know, uncle blah blah blah, but Gabriel has already asked for my uncle¡¯s permission and he said yes!¡± she interrupted.


    ¡°He said yes?¡± I spat.


    That definitely wasn¡¯t what I was expecting.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to dinner at La Hope this Tuesday night,¡± she informed me.


    ¡°He¡¯s a senior and is twenty years old,¡± I debated.


    I know, I was being a bit of a hypocrite considering I made out with a teacher at this school who was also my guardian angel and seven years my senior. Not to mention I''ll be meeting up with Hunter secretly to learn my magic, but still, this was Mila, and I felt protective of her.


    ¡°It¡¯s only two years. Ruby, don''t worry,¡± Mila said. ¡°It¡¯s just one date.¡±


    Even though I protested a little more, she ignored it. There was nothing I could say to change her mind, she was going and that was that.


    We sat down for lunch; on the menu today was ham sandwiches and fruit salad. My stomach grumbled at the healthy choice, I was really hoping for cheeseburgers.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re pimping Mila out now to make extra money,¡± sneered Raina.


    I don''t know what went on in her silly little head, but for some insane reason she had chosen to sit next to Mila and I. Even though she sat next to us, she was thinking when she decided not to sit within arm¡¯s length of me and on the other side of the table.


    ¡°What are you talking about, now?¡± asked Mila.


    ¡°The word is that you are going to ¡®dinner¡¯ with Gabriel.¡±


    Her emphasis on ¡®dinner¡¯ annoyed me.


    ¡°¡­and he¡¯s a guardian angel.¡± Her friend snickered.


    ¡°What are you getting at? It¡¯s just dinner,¡± Mila mumbled.


    ¡°Oh honey, when Ruby is involved, it¡¯s never just dinner.¡±


    Bam! Something within me clicked, a fire burned in my chest and my skin became increasingly warmer. I lunged across the table, punching Raina in the eye and knocking her off her chair. There was a loud slap as we came into contact with the hard floor. Her friends screamed but didn''t help her. I had Raina pinned to the floor; she held such fear in her eyes a few tears rolled out. Strangely enough, I didn''t feel sorry for her. I wanted to hurt her more.


    ¡°What gives you the right to talk as if you know me? If you ever talk to me or even look at me again, I will kill you.¡±


    We were circled by people chanting ¡°fight, fight, fight,¡± and I even heard some people ask their friends if I was going to bite and drain her blood. Whatever vampire stories were circling around about me now, I would have just confirmed them. I moved with such precision, control, and speed, I would have thought I was a vampire, too.


    ¡°The guardians are coming,¡± someone called out.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± the inevitable deep voice boomed. Of course it was Eli.


    The crowd moved out of his way in fear he might throw them across the room. Strong hands reached around my waist and pulled me off her. Eli slung me over his shoulder; I kept contact with Raina¡¯s face the whole time Eli was carrying me outside.


    ¡°Put me down,¡± I growled when we were out of the common room. ¡°Put me down! I''m not a child.¡±


    Eli dropped me straight on my arse. "Then stop acting like one," he shouted.


    I stood up and looked him dead in the eyes. ¡°She deserved everything she got; she has messed with me from day one all because I wouldn''t sit with her and her shitty group.¡±


    ¡°Watch your language.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s disrespectful, it¡¯s disgusting, and I¡¯m telling you to. You can''t just lose control like that.¡±


    ¡°That wasn''t me losing control. That was me smacking a bitch.¡±


    ¡°Ruby, stop! Who are you trying to impress? No one is here. Drop the act.¡± I sat down in the grass and dropped my head into my knees. I didn''t cry, I was too angry to cry. Eli knelt down in front of me.


    ¡°You can¡¯t let anger get the better of you, same with jealous girls and their gossip.¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°Ignore it.¡±


    ¡°I can''t, she pushes and pushes. It¡¯s not once a day, it¡¯s every single time she sees me or Mila.¡±


    ¡°Mila handles it well; she handles it like a goddess should. You handle it like a renegade angel. You can''t beat up everyone that makes you angry.¡±


    I wanted to reply with things like ¡®I can try¡¯ or ¡®watch me,¡¯ but as much as I didn''t want to admit it, Eli was right, as always. I shouldn''t have attacked Raina, but at the same time, I felt so much better. I felt relieved I let Raina know I wasn''t afraid of her, that she couldn''t push me around like everyone else.


    ¡°Miss Moore,¡± called Mr Aleksandrov. ¡°I see you have gotten yourself into a bit of a situation.¡±


    Shit, it must be serious if Ivan Aleksandrov himself came to see me about punching a student, but not when a bunch of psychotic vampires attacked me. I didn''t answer; I kept my head on my knees.


    ¡°Stand up,¡± Eli demanded.


    He was always bossy when Mr Aleksandrov was around. Exhaling dramatically, I stood up, looking Ivan Aleksandrov dead in his face.


    ¡°Every afternoon you will assist Mr De Luca in cleaning the auditorium.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°No buts.¡± Aleksandrov turned and walked off. That¡¯s it? I never got to explain why I punched Raina.


    ¡°Control your pet,¡± Tay scorned before thudding off after Ivan.


    Eli scowled at him, arms crossed in front of his chest.


    ¡°You¡¯re confined to your dorm for the rest of the day and you¡¯ll only come out for dinner,¡± he ordered.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s only lunch time!¡± I protested.


    ¡°I''ll let Mrs Ploit know that you can''t leave. I''ll escort you from your dorm to the dining hall and then back after you¡¯ve eaten.¡±


    I stormed off in the direction of my dorm room, tears splashing at my eyelids as I stomped. I knew Eli would have a hard time trying to block out my emotions. I was angry and I was making sure he knew it. I marched through the dorm, eventually coming to my door and slamming it behind me. Just as I thought today couldn''t get any worse, there, upon my pillow lay another letter.


    Deeper Than Physical Attraction


    I froze. I breathed slowly trying hard to control my emotions so Eli didn''t come kicking my door in.


    ¡°It''s okay,¡± I whispered.


    I thought saying something out loud instead of in my head would help, but it didn''t. I grabbed the note and opened it rapidly. I used both hands as I held the paper up, hoping to calm the shaking, again, it didn''t.


    Dearest Ruby, began the note.


    Relax a little. I am not watching you from around corners or through windows. I will not come to you, you will come to me.


    I have something special planned.


    See you very soon.


    I frowned. Whoever it was, they were delusional. Who in their right mind would go to their killer? My body relaxed as I thought this could all be a sick practical joke, perhaps it was Raina? Regardless, until I found out if it was or not, I couldn''t let my guard down.


    This morning was very eventful; I argued with Eli, visited Mila, got coffee, and punched Raina, not to mention all the other stuff in between. I grabbed my pillow and threw myself onto the bed. As soon as I got into a comfortable enough position, I fell asleep.


    I felt like I napped only a few minutes when knocks sounded upon my door. I glanced at my clock as it beeped, alerting me that it was dinner time. I slept for five hours! I raced over to the door; not bothering to straighten my hair.

 Page 17

    ¡°Ruby, its dinner time,¡± called Eli through the door.


    I pulled it open.


    ¡°Why aren''t you dressed?¡± he asked. ¡°Have you been asleep this whole time?¡±


    His voice wasn''t angry or annoyed; I think he was more amused than anything.


    ¡°Give me ten minutes,¡± I said, rushing over to my wardrobe and pulling out a knee length, flowy, Athena styled dress. I raced to the bathroom, ripped off my clothes and slid into the dress. I brushed my hair down, regretting that I didn''t brush it this morning as my brush ripped massive knots from my hair. I applied a base foundation and some light mascara, I was done. I slipped into a pair of black flats and opened the door again. Eli didn''t say anything, he didn''t have to. His loss of breath and long gaze said it all. I looked good.


    ¡°We¡¯re late for dinner,¡± he said, clearing his throat. With a broad smile on my face I walked beside Eli to the dining hall.


    ¡°I''m not dangerous; I don''t need to be escorted.¡±


    ¡°You are dangerous and you do need to be escorted.¡±


    I guess I did attack another student, but still that didn''t mean I would attack other students.


    We made it to the hall. As I entered, some people clapped, some people gasped, and some even stared at me in fear. Apparently, at my level of detention, I wasn¡¯t allowed to sit with friends or near other students. Eli and I sat at the far end of the room at a single table, well away from everyone. Shortly after, burgers on Turkish buns were placed in front of us.


    ¡°Ugh, just my luck,¡± I groaned as I looked over and saw Raina walk through the door. My eyes focused directly on hers, no matter how much concealer, foundation, and eye shadow she had used, her bruise stood out like a sore thumb. I was trying to figure out whether she had a concussion from the hard hit to the head or if she was just plain stupid. She spotted me and came storming over, no doubt trying to gain her dignity back. As long as Eli was here she knew I couldn''t touch her.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± she boomed. A few people close by heard her and stopped to look but no one else paid attention.


    ¡°Raina,¡± Eli warned, rising from his chair and standing in front of her, blocking her path to me.


    She stopped in her tracks and peered around Eli to look me dead in the face. ¡°You are a psychopath!¡± she yelled. This time, drawing a few more gazes to us.


    ¡°Brilliance is impossible without a touch of insanity.¡± I smiled.


    Raina growled in frustration.


    Eli signalled Sera over; she walked over casually but quickly, trying not to draw any more attention. She stood by Raina and tried nudging her slowly to the far end of the room.


    ¡°This isn''t over.¡±


    I stood up. ¡°What are you going to do? What could you possibly do to hurt me?¡± I yelled.


    The majority of the room was staring at us now, including the teachers. A few students yelled fight, some wolf whistled, and others watched silently.


    Raina¡¯s facial expression made it clear she didn''t want to get into another fist fight with me, we both knew who would come out on top in that one. Knowing Raina and her vindictive personality, she was going to try and dig up some dirt on me. She played mentally not physically. It was safe to say I was Raina¡¯s new worst enemy, not Mila. Bad choice on her part though, I clearly wasn¡¯t afraid to throw the first punch or the last. She turned and thundered to the other side of the room.


    Eli sat back down in his chair, I followed suit. ¡°You need to control your temper,¡± he stated, taking a bite out of his burger.


    ¡°Me? She provokes me,¡± I scoffed.


    ¡°Ignore her.¡±


    ¡°I try to, but she keeps pushing.¡±


    ¡°Let me teach you.¡±


    ¡°To ignore people? That''s useless; teach me how to fight.¡±


    ¡°Judging by the size of her black eye, you already know how to fight.¡±


    ¡°Punching a skank is easy; I need to learn how to take down vampires or at least a student angel.¡±


    Eli flickered an expression of disapproval when I swore, but he didn''t bother pulling me up on it.


    ¡°Not going to happen. That''s why you have me, and student guardian angels are still deadly.¡±


    ¡°You get all the fun.¡±


    Eli flashed a sexy smile and it drew my attention to his lips, making me ponder the thought of tasting his lips again.


    Most of the time I was unsure about how Eli felt about me. Sure, we kissed and it was passionate and unforgettable, but since then he has hardly given any indication of how he feels about me. This morning we connected, but I wanted more, I wanted to be on a physical level with him.


    I cared for Eli, a lot more than I should, but I wasn''t sure whether it was lust or if my feelings went beyond his godly good looks. We continued to eat dinner in silence. Eli texted a few times and it brought my mind back to when I was in the underground cell. Camilla''s words were so alive and real in mind as I thought about her. She had been so sad and frustrated with me. I wanted to call her again but I was afraid.


    ¡°Rubes!¡± called Rylan, walking over to us.


    Eli shifted in his seat and watched Rylan cautiously.


    ¡°Wow! Did you see the damage you did?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I replied, feeling embarrassed. ¡°I''m not really allowed to socialize. I''m a criminal right now.¡±


    ¡°Oh okay, well I''ll see you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Actually, Rylan, sit. Keep her company whilst I run a quick errand,¡± Eli interrupted. He got up from his chair and walked out the door. I stared after him.


    ¡°You can throw a mean punch! Half the school is buzzing with gossip.¡±


    ¡°What''s new¡­¡±I mumbled.


    Rylan didn''t seem to hear me. ¡°I didn''t come over here to talk about that, I actually came over here to tell you that every year we hold a dance and it¡¯s coming up in three months. Would you like to go together?¡±


    I almost choked on the piece of lettuce I was nibbling on. Wow, this was awkward. Rylan was cute and wore cologne you could get lost in, but I didn''t want to be his date, for anything, at any stage in my life.


    I wanted a guy who made my stomach flutter, who was polite and respectful to everyone because he didn''t think of anybody as beneath him, a man who did good things not because of what he¡¯d gain but simply because it was the right thing to do. I wanted someone that cared about the injustices of the world and tried to help even if the issue didn''t affect his life; I wanted a man like¡­ like Eli. I had answered my own question, the feelings I felt for Eli went deeper than his appearance, he had been my rock, my support beam throughout everything that had happened to me these past few days and he didn''t have to be.


    ¡°This is honestly not what I was expecting,¡± said Rylan.


    ¡°Rylan, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡­¡±


    ¡°You''re going with Hunter,¡± he replied, bluntly.


    ¡°No. I''m not going with anyone. I didn''t even know there was going to be a dance.¡±


    ¡°Then just come with me.¡±


    ¡°No, I''m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked me.¡±


    ¡°I do, as a friend, but I¡ª¡°


    ¡°¡ªthat day in class, you¡­ I thought you were into me,¡± Rylan interrupted.


    I stared at Rylan blankly.


    ¡°Never mind.¡± Rylan left his chair stormed out the door.


    I thought back to the day I met Rylan in class, had I really flirted with him?


    ¡°Men,¡± scoffed Hunter, walking up to me.


    I looked up to the ceiling and threw my hands up in exasperation.


    ¡°Why me, god, why me?¡±


    ¡°C''mon, now, I''m not that bad.¡± He chuckled.


    Truth was, no, he wasn''t. He leaned over the back of the chair, today¡¯s attire was baggy jeans and hooded jumper ¡ª casual but sexy. However, in reality, he wasn''t Eli.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I would have chosen me over Rylan as well.¡±


    ¡°I didn''t choose anybody.¡±


    ¡°Yet.¡±


    ¡°Look, I''m not going to this stupid dance.¡±


    ¡°You have to, it''s mandatory.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go alone.¡±


    Eli came back through the door and walked over to us.


    ¡°Time to go,¡± Eli said.


    ¡°You relax, Mr De Luca, finish your meal. I''m a school prefect; I can escort students back to the safety of their dorm.¡±


    ¡°Not this time,¡± Eli replied.


    Hunter''s smile faded in defeat as Eli escorted me out. ¡°Ruby,¡± Hunter called from behind us.


    Eli kept walking as I turned around.


    ¡°You look beautiful, as always.¡±


    I gave him an awkward smile, it was a little embarrassing. I turned and caught up with Eli, who was now walking at a frustrated pace.


    ¡°You¡¯re walking too fast,¡± I complained.


    ¡°You want to learn to fight vampires and yet you¡¯re complaining about me walking too fast? Great start.¡±


    ¡°What''s wrong?¡±


    He didn''t answer but increased his speed. I gave up; I wasn''t going to play this game. I sat on a bench along the path in between the dining hall and the girls¡¯ dorm.


    Eli turned around. ¡°Come on, Ruby.¡±


    I didn''t budge. He exhaled loudly before sitting down next to me. There were no students walking around, we had left dinner early. I assumed Eli wanted to avoid another run in with Raina.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I just¡­¡± he stopped.


    ¡°You just what?¡± I prompted.


    Eli sat in thought. ¡°I¡¯m frustrated. I hear what the boys at this school say about you and I just don''t want you to be taken advantage of¡­¡±


    I made a disgusted face as a few images filtered through my head.


    ¡°I mean, I understand their teenage boys and all, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in any of them. I don¡¯t even know why they¡¯re interested in me; I was a vampire, for crying out loud.¡±


    ¡°You have this energy that makes you hard to ignore. The reason you keep having these run-ins with Raina is obvious, you¡¯re considered a threat. Not to mention that you have this humour and charm that no doubt intrigues the guardian angels and gods. Goddesses aren''t usually so¡­ like you. You¡¯re special, you¡¯re amusing, and attractive, and just an accomplishment in their eyes.¡±


    Eli looked down. I could tell he had come to the same conclusion I had earlier. We cared for each other, deeply. Our feelings ran deeper than our appearances and as long as Eli was a guardian angel and I was a goddess, we could never be together.


    ¡°You really think all that about me?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡±


    ¡°To me it does.¡±


    ¡°Well, it shouldn''t. Nothing can ever become of us. You should be dating boys your own age and kind.¡±


    ¡°But I don''t want them, I want you.¡±


    Eli stood up. ¡°C''mon, we have to get you to your dorm.¡±


    ¡°No. Listen to me.¡±


    He glanced around nervously before locking eyes with me. I kept my voice as quiet but as stern as I could. ¡°You can¡¯t say the things you do and expect me to not feel anything for you. You know how I feel about you; you can feel it, but I can¡¯t feel how you feel about me and it kills me. You say and do these things that make me think you feel the same way, and then you close off and pretend it never happened. I hate it.¡±


    He pondered for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if you feel like I led you on, but I feel nothing towards you; you are a student and a goddess, both of which are not okay.¡±


    Pressure grew in my chest as a lump formed in my throat. I fought hard to fight back the tears that welled in my eyes. Eli¡¯s face grew pained; he could feel my heart breaking, but not as much as I did.


    I headed off towards my dorm, Eli followed closely behind.


    The walk back to my dorm was long and painstaking; I inhaled deeply in relief when I approached the door.


    ¡°Ruby¡­¡±


    I turned abruptly but I couldn¡¯t look him in the eyes. If I did, I would certainly lose my composure.


    ¡°What I said was harsh, but you have to understand where I¡¯m coming¡ª¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± I interrupted, still not making eye contact.


    "Goodnight, Ruby¡­ See you in the auditorium tomorrow after classes."


    I didn¡¯t say goodnight; if I opened my mouth anymore I would have choked up. I closed the door and leant against the back of it.


    I didn''t realize I was holding my breath as I looked at my pillow. No note. Surprisingly, sleep came really easy. I figured that today I¡¯d let out a lot of stress. Besides the threats on my life, being hunted by a vicious vampire that murdered my mother, and detention, I felt pretty good.


    I woke up feeling like I had slept for days, I felt alive and rested. It was eight which meant that class was starting in an hour. Taking my time, I slid into a tight pair of denim jeans, threw on a polo shirt and finished with a navy blue jacket. I didn''t dress up because I had to clean the auditorium this afternoon. My stomach twisted at the thought of being with him, I was too embarrassed and mad to talk to Eli.


    A lot of things were occupying my mind, although I slept well, it still wasn¡¯t enough to de-stress my life. Slowly but surely, I made my way over to my first class ¡ª Agrobiology ¡ª the study of plant nutrition and soil yields.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± I turned around, it was Mila.


    She ran over.


    ¡°We have ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Agrobiology.¡± I groaned. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my favourite class,¡± she squeaked.


    ¡°Really? How is that even possible? It¡¯s completely pointless!¡±


    ¡°Not for me, it¡¯s good to know what plants we can turn into medicine and stuff.¡±

 Page 18

    ¡°Still boring¡­¡±


    ¡°What kind of goddess do you want to be?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, when we graduate from here, you get put into a certain path. Most get a fire or water job, but I want something to do with plants and nature. We all have a certain part in the seasonal change. Well, most of us; some of us get drafted.¡±


    ¡°Drafted?¡±


    ¡°Didn''t you learn anything?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Sometimes the higher power forces gods and goddesses into fighting vampires and other underworldly creatures and some people choose to fight the dead.¡±


    My mind flashed to Hunter.


    ¡°No way¡­¡± I gasped in disbelief.


    ¡°Yep, now come on, we¡¯re late,¡± she urged, grabbing my forearm.


    When we made it to class, we weren''t late at all. Students were still trickling into the room and sitting down.


    ¡°We aren''t late,¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°I know, but I didn''t want to risk it.¡± She chuckled.


    We sat at the end of a long desk in the back row.


    ¡°So how do you know what you¡¯re going to be when you leave here?¡±


    Mila sighed. She was hoping that I would drop the conversation.


    ¡°I don''t know, life experiences, preference, skills. At the end of our schooling, we are judged by various tests in different elements. At the end of those tests, we are allotted into categories¡ª seasonal goddesses, war goddesses, educational goddesses, and goddesses of light ¡ª which is working for the higher power. If you¡¯re intellectual and good at teaching, you¡¯ll most likely be an educational goddess; if you¡¯re a warrior by nature, you¡¯ll most likely fight monsters and so on.¡±


    I thought long and hard about what Mila said. I didn''t want a boring job like sprouting flowers in spring and making the leaves fall in autumn, but on the other hand, I didn''t want to spend my life slaying vampires. I needed to think long and hard about what I wanted to do and just hope that I got put where I wanted to be.


    ¡°What will happen to Eli if I¡¯m forced to fight monsters?¡±


    ¡°Your guardian angel will be assigned to someone else or is forced to fight with you for your protection. It can go either way.¡±


    I didn''t want to do any of the careers Mila mentioned.


    ¡°I could be like Mum and run away from it all,¡± I suggested.


    ¡°No, that''s dangerous. Your powers become weak and you''ll be lucky enough to even use your magic. It would be like putting a chicken in a wolf¡¯s'' den and telling him not to eat it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re comparing goddesses and vampires to chickens and wolves?¡±


    ¡°No, I''m comparing powerless goddesses and vampires.¡±


    I thought about Mum and how she conjured the ball from the fire, it wasn¡¯t enough to hurt Hank.


    ¡°The last thing you want to do is what your mum did. Harsh, I know, but look what happened. Just do your best and hope you¡¯re given a job that keeps you safe. Then marry a nice god and have a family.¡±


    I wonder how Mila would react if I told her I didn''t want a god? That I wanted a guardian angel who was a million times stronger and a million times sexier than any god. What if I told her it was Eli that I wanted? No I couldn''t; Raina would no doubt be pressuring her for anymore ''dirt'' on me, even more so now, since I punched her in the face.


    My thoughts were interrupted as Rylan walked through the door; he spotted me and then avoided eye contact. Unlucky for him there were only a few seats left and he had to walk past my table to get there.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I greeted as he walked by.


    He didn''t reply.


    ¡°What did you do to him?¡± whispered Mila.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I didn''t do anything, did I? ¡°I said I wouldn''t go to the dance with him.¡±


    ¡°What? Why did you say no?¡± She looked at me as if I was crazy.


    ¡°Because, I didn''t even know there was a dance, and also because I don''t like him and I didn''t want to lead him on.¡±


    ¡°You could have gone as friends.¡±


    ¡°Then you go with him,¡± I declared.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m going with Gabriel.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡ª wait what? When were you going to tell me?¡±


    ¡°When you had a date, then I wouldn''t feel bad. I don''t want you to go alone,¡± she confessed.


    ¡°I don''t care about going alone. I don''t feel that way about any of the boys at this school.¡± Except Eli, the one guy I couldn''t date.


    ¡°Oh Ruby, just do it,¡± she begged.


    ¡°I thought being with guardian angels was forbidden?¡± I whispered to avoid being over heard.


    ¡°It is, sexually,¡± she whispered ever so quietly whilst glancing around cautiously. ¡°You can date them, but intimacy is out of the question.¡±


    ¡°Won''t the higher power zap you with lightning or whatever it is he does?¡±


    Mila laughed. ¡°First of all, he doesn''t ¡®zap¡¯ people, he¡¯s just the ruler and protector of our kind¡ª like a king, and second of all, the higher power only finds out if someone reports it. If you are in love or having sex with a guardian angel and no one knows, then how can the higher power find out? He can''t watch everyone, he¡¯s too busy, but if someone reports it, necessary steps are taken to prevent further intimate interactions.¡±


    ¡°Okay, settle down,¡± called a statuesque woman that entered to the room and stood at the front of the class room.


    ¡°That''s Miss Willow,¡± whispered Mila.


    She was a mature woman, but stunning nonetheless.


    I can''t exactly recall what happened in Agrobiology, mostly because my mind was fixated on the whole goddess career thing and on seeing Eli in the auditorium later. The rest of the day was the same; my brain was too full to absorb any more information ¡ª there was no way I would be chosen to be an educational goddess.


    When I entered the auditorium, my nervousness disappeared; there were at least seven other students sweeping and packing away mats. Good, the less one on one time, the better.


    ¡°Ruby, I was starting to think you weren''t going to show up.¡±


    ¡°And miss out on cleaning a sweat-filled auditorium? I wouldn''t dream of it.¡± My nervousness spiked again when the students put the brooms away and started collecting their bags.


    ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± Eli called out to them as they exited.


    ¡°It''s all clean.¡±


    ¡°Not even close.¡± Eli chuckled, picked up a cloth and spray bottle, and walked over to me.


    ¡°Start wiping down the seats.¡±


    ¡°You aren''t serious?¡±


    ¡°As serious as a heart attack.¡±


    I couldn''t help but giggle at his joke, it was cute seeing him so happy. The auditorium had at least four hundred seats. It would take me forever to clean them and when I reached about one hundred, Eli came over and stopped me.


    ¡°That''s enough for today.¡±


    I glanced at the huge clock on the wall; I had been cleaning for an hour and had only done a hundred seats.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m so slow, I''m just tired.¡±


    ¡°That''s okay, do the rest tomorrow.¡±


    I said a quick goodbye; I didn¡¯t want to hang around and become even more of an inconvenience.


    Going back to my dorm room was depressing. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I had accomplished nothing today. My door jarred a little before opening, and when I entered, it felt different. I glanced around my room until my eyes rested on a letter that was perched on my pillow. My heart sank and my stomach lurched into my throat. I had told myself over and over this was all a sick prank, but when I saw the letter, my confidence wavered. Forcing myself to move, I thudded over to the bed and picked up the letter. Slowly I opened it; it was the longest few seconds of my life.


    Ruby,


    I have Camilla.


    I told you I could make you come to me.


    See you soon,


    H.


    The Ungodly


    My knees met the hard floor as I dropped and gasped. I felt like vomiting, crying, and screaming all at once. I quickly controlled my breathing and tried not to panic. I couldn''t give Eli the idea that something might be wrong. I no longer thought this was a joke; it was Hank, but how did he manage to get the letters to me? That didn''t matter, what mattered was saving Camilla. I needed to leave Sage and I needed to leave as soon as possible.


    It was like a switch. I was no longer emotional. I was angry, determined, and numb. Camilla and Aunt Jen were the only family I had left and I was not about to lose them.


    I grabbed my lesson timetable out of my bag and looked at tomorrow''s set up. Damn! No good! Tomorrow I had mostly spares, which meant Eli would be spending most of tomorrow with me. I needed to leave tonight, it was my only option.


    I raised my bag above my head from the bottom. Papers, pens and books fell out. I rushed to my wardrobe and threw in a few clothes. A pair of sweat pants, a pair of loose jeans, a few singlets and two jumpers. I had to wait for dinner to grab some water and food as an emergency supply. I needed to keep my energy up whilst traveling.


    I paced the room until dinner time. My nails were destroyed; I had bitten them to calm my nerves. It didn¡¯t work.


    Knock, knock. I opened the door and as expected, it was Eli.


    ¡°Why are you so nervous? You are making me nauseous,¡± he cringed.


    ¡°Oh, I have a test tomorrow, for Fluviology. Very nerve racking,¡± I lied.


    Eli gave me a ''that''s not the truth but I''m not going to argue'' face, which I returned with a ''would I ever lie to you¡¯ expression.


    We headed towards the dining hall. The whole way I was trying to keep my emotions under wraps. We sat by ourselves, just like last night, and dinner was mini Hawaiian pizzas. Despite my nausea and stress over Camilla and breaking out of the school, I forced myself to eat. Eli only picked at his food.


    ¡°Relax, it¡¯s just a test, or so you say,¡± he said.


    ¡°I know, it''s just¡­¡± I thought of another lie. ¡°It¡¯s my first test here and I just want to make a good impression.¡±


    Eli looked like he was beginning to believe my story.


    ¡°How far away from my old town am I?¡± I asked out of nowhere.


    ¡°About a four hour trip. Why?¡±


    I searched my brain frantically for a response. ¡°I thought that maybe I could visit them. You know, down the track.¡±


    Eli nodded but didn''t elaborate.


    ¡°Do you think you could do me a favor?¡± I asked.


    He eyed me suspiciously.


    ¡°Do you think you could get me a few bottles of water and some extra food? When I study, I get really thirsty and peckish, and I just can''t focus when¡ª¡°


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    Well that was easier than I expected.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll do that for you.¡±


    The rest of dinner was quiet, and sure enough, it was time to go. Eli ducked into the kitchen before we left and brought out two bottles of water and a few slices of mini pizza wrapped in plastic.


    ¡°You¡¯re acting very strange tonight¡­¡± Eli said as we walked side by side back to the dorm. ¡°Is everything okay?¡±


    ¡°Everything is fine. Like I said, it¡¯s just test nerves.¡±


    It didn¡¯t feel good lying to him, but I didn¡¯t have a choice. Saving Camilla was my problem and my problem only. During the walk back to my room, I soaked in as much of his appearance, smell, and voice as I possibly could. When he left and I closed the door behind him, I couldn''t help but shed a tear, this could possibly be the last time I would see Eli. I didn''t want to think about that right now. I didn''t need another reason to back out of doing this. Family comes first.


    I laid on my bed, planning how to get past the door lady. On my way in, I noticed it was Mrs Ploit watching the girl¡¯s dorm tonight. She was quite old, but extremely alert; getting past her would be difficult, and there was no way I could out run the guardian angels.


    Finally it was midnight; the time I had chosen to leave. I didn''t particularly want to leave at night, but it was the best chance I had to get out without being spotted. It was also the best time to be ripped apart by vampires. I tied my hair into a tight bun and threw a beanie on top. Next, I slipped into a pair of runners and tied them tight. Lastly, I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door. I stood for a few seconds, there were no noises. I quickly but quietly made my way to the foyer. There was Mrs Ploit. She was typing away on her computer.


    I needed to get past her somehow. I searched the area for any kind of distraction. I noticed a vase of flowers on her desk, luckily for me it was filled with water. I focused hard on the water, nothing happened. I even tried moving my hand, but again, nothing happened. I tried one last time; the water pushed up one side of the vase, causing it to tip off her desk and onto the floor with a loud smash. She leapt out of her chair, allowing me to sneak around behind her and out into the girls¡¯ courtyard. I did feel a little guilty; Mrs Ploit would be in a lot of trouble tomorrow when they noticed I was gone, but if I ever survive this, I¡¯ll explain how it happened and hopefully get her off the hook.


    I sprinted outside and headed for the car park. Surely there had to be a gate that led to a road. There, in the distance, I saw a huge cast iron gate, and to the sides were two booths, each filled with two guardian angels. I didn''t see this coming. A huge spotlight was shining over the car park, so I hid behind the bushes to the side. Just when I was about to give up and circle the school to try and find another way out, a back SUV rolled up to the gate. The driver, a very tall and masculine female, stepped out of the car and walked around to the back. She opened the boot, pulled out a basket and walked over to the booths, leaving the boot door open.

 Page 19

    This was my chance, I had to get into the back of the SUV and pray that it was leaving. I ran as low and as fast as I could and dived into the back of the car. Luck was on my side tonight, because in the boot was a blanket. I didn''t hesitate, I just threw it over me. My heart was beating off the charts and my skin was beaded with sweat. In my head I prayed the woman would drive out of the gates and not U-turn back into the school.


    The boot door slammed shut, so far so good. Next, the driver¡¯s door was opened then shut and the car roared to life.


    ¡°Please, please, please. Drive out the gates,¡± I whispered ever so quietly.


    The car started rolling. I breathed deeply, in and out, as the rocks crumbled under the tires. Slowly, we picked up speed. We couldn''t be going through the school driving this fast, so I assumed we were on a road that ran alongside the school. We turned again and shortly after, rolled to a stop. This can''t be right. We drove for barely ten minutes. The driver once again got out of the car, this time locking it behind her. I popped my head up to look out the window. We were in front of a house, a house that I recognised, because I had walked through the backyard. It was Mr Aleksandrov''s house.


    ¡°Shit.¡± I had to think of something and fast, before she decided to move the car through the gate of Mila''s house. I climbed over the backseat and unlocked the passenger¡¯s side door. I stumbled as my feet hit the gravel. I flung my backpack over my shoulder and sprinted in the direction we had come.


    Shortly after, I reached a long straight road. I didn''t know which way Bridgewater was, but I needed to get off this road before anyone realized I was gone.


    I walked for hours and I was still on the same road. Either I was going the wrong way or Eli meant four hours by car. There were no cars and no hint that the road was going to end any time soon, so my only option was to keep walking.


    The sky grew lighter and I sat down on the side of the road, taking a well-deserved break. I finished a whole bottle of water as headlights beamed in my direction. My first thought was to dive into the bush and wait for it to go by, my second thought was to try and hail it down. What were the odds that it was a guardian angel? They couldn¡¯t possibly know I was missing yet. I still had few hours before breakfast. Either way, it was a chance I needed to take ¡ª I would never make it to Camilla and Aunt Jen''s house otherwise. I stuck my arm out. Thankfully, the car pulled over. Suddenly I began to feel this wasn''t such a good idea; I was an eighteen year old girl, alone, in the middle of the woods. Every inch of my body was telling me to run, but I didn''t. I opened the door; luck was definitely on my side tonight because a pretty woman''s smiling face was on the other side and in the backseat, two small children slept. Immediately I felt a lot safer.


    ¡°I''m Sue, where are you heading?¡± she asked.


    Her voice was very American, quite possibly from Texas.


    ¡°Ruby. Bridgewater?¡±


    ¡°Perfect, luck must be on your side tonight. Hop in.¡±


    ¡°If luck is on my side, then it¡¯s definitely a first.¡±


    She eyed me sideways. ¡°What''s a girl like you doing out in the middle of nowhere so late? Where are your parents?¡±


    Would scare her if I told her my mother was murdered by my stepdad ¡ª a vicious, blood-sucking vampire, who was now trying to kill me? That he¡¯d kidnapped my cousin in order to get me to abandon the protection of my guardian angel and lure me from my safe magical school?


    ¡°I go to a boarding school here. Just on my way back to visit my parents. Unfortunately, I forgot where the bus stop was,¡± I lied.


    ¡°You poor thing, I would never leave my children alone in the woods.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, such is life. Do you mind if I nap?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Go ahead, sweetheart. It¡¯ll be a while before we get there.¡±


    I closed my eyes. My body must have been over tired, because I fell asleep. I needed energy for what was about to come.


    I didn''t dream. I didn''t even feel like I slept. A warm hand touched my arm, I jumped. It was Sue. Her face was filled with sympathy and her kids looked at me like I was crazy. The sun made me squint at our surroundings. Bridgewater.


    ¡°We¡¯re here, honey, what¡¯s your address?¡±


    I gave her the address and she rolled up to our house. I thanked her and apologized I didn''t have any money to give her.


    ¡°That''s okay, I''m just glad I got a young girl home safe. You can never be too sure these days.¡±


    I waved as she drove off. Little did she know she had actually driven me to my death. I walked up to the door and turned the handle, it was unlocked. The bright sun guaranteed my safety until nightfall. I hope. I entered the house. It was dead quiet. I checked every room, but there was no one there.


    My room was exactly how I left it, except the window was boarded up. I sat on my bed and stroked the necklace Camilla got me for my birthday. I couldn''t help but spare a few tears. I wished I hadn''t stayed here after the incident with my mother; maybe that could have prevented this from happening. Better yet, I wished my mother and Mr Aleksandrov didn''t put stupid charms on me and that had Hank killed me. I wished a lot of things, but that didn''t matter now. What happened, happened, and what is about to happen will happen.


    I thought about the odds of Tay and Eli coming to save me. How long would it take them to figure out I had come back to Bridgewater? I sat in my room for hours. I ate the pizza and drank all my water, but that was okay; there was water and food in the fridge here.


    The sun was receding rapidly, I estimated I had only an hour of sunlight left and every inch the sun decreased, my fear increased. I didn''t actually know what I was going to do when the time came. I was hopeless with magic and I didn''t think punching Raina in the face makes me a full blown fighter. I didn''t care what happened to me, my main goal was to get Camilla out of there safely.


    I used my bathroom to prepare myself for night. I changed into a pair of sweat pants and a singlet. I needed to be able to move around and these were the loosest clothes I owned.


    ¡°I knew it,¡± growled a voice as I exited the bathroom.


    I looked up, it was Darren. Talk about deja v¨´.


    ¡°Darren?¡±


    He dropped to a fighting stance and we started circling each other. ¡°I knew you would come back.¡±


    ¡°I''m not a vampire anymore.¡±


    ¡°So? You¡¯re still something ungodly.¡±


    ¡°Ungodly? I''m a goddess, god is in the name.¡±


    ¡°Do not speak His name, evil creature,¡± he snapped.


    I didn''t have time to fight his religious beliefs. ¡°Darren, you need to get out of here. Vampires are coming, and it¡¯s not safe.¡±


    ¡°No, I''m not going anywhere. I¡¯m going to take you and your blood-sucking buddies, down.¡±


    He lunged at me with a small blade but I dodged it. I didn¡¯t have time to congratulate myself; adrenaline was controlling my body now. I couldn''t fight and control my emotions all at once so there was no doubt Eli was aware of what I was going through.


    Darren lunged at me again, and like before, I dodged it. As I eluded his attack, I swung my elbow and clipped him in the eyebrow. Pain shot up my elbow but I ignored it. Darren turned around, blood streaming down his face. Ouch, I got him right on the bone and split his eyebrow.


    ¡°You are going to die, Rubes.¡± He smiled.


    Once again he jumped at me. I wasn''t so lucky this time and his knife cut my forearm.


    ¡°You¡¯re a pretty sloppy vampire slayer,¡± I said through gritted teeth. My comment made him angrier. ¡°Don''t get knocked out this time.¡± I laughed.


    Deep down, I was praying for my life. He jumped at me and we both fell to the floor. We rolled around, wrestling; I managed to get the knife out of his hand. I broke free of his grip and climbed to my feet. I ran out of the bedroom and made it as far as the lounge room before being tackled from behind. I screamed in pain as I was knocked to the floor, Darren landing on top of me. He had my chest pinned.


    ¡°Where are you going now, huh?¡± he gloated.


    I turned abruptly, caught him off guard and threw him off my back. I tried to climb to my feet but he caught my ankle.


    ¡°Get off!¡± I yelled.


    I was no longer scared of Darren, I was angry. He was foiling my plan to save Camilla. Not only that, but he was forcing me to waste my energy fighting him.


    I thrust my ankle and hit Darren in the nose. That was the break I needed. I jumped to my feet and headed for the door. He let go and grabbed his nose, yelling swear words as he struggled to his feet. I tore open the front door and I ran straight into a tall figure. It was Tay.


    Angel Agendas


    ¡°Oh, Tay. Thank god. I need your help,¡± I cried out.


    Darren thundered after me and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Tay. ¡°Good. Now I can kill both of you.¡±


    Tay let out a loud laugh. ¡°Please, just because your father hunts vampires, it doesn''t make you a vampire slayer.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m better than my father. I''ll show you.¡± He dove at Tay, who dodged, causing Darren to fall on his face. Tay kicked him in the head and Darren was down for the count. He then rolled his body out of the way and stepped inside.


    ¡°Thank you, T¡ª¡±


    Tay grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    I kicked and gasped for air as my hands were clutching at my throat. ¡°W-what are you doing!¡± I choked.


    ¡°Following orders.¡± A callous emotionless voice answered.


    I froze. Only one person had a voice that frightening¡­ Hank. My gaze went right through him as I searched for any sign of Camilla. ¡°Where is she?¡± I managed to squeeze out.


    Hank laughed; I cringed as it sent shivers down my spine. ¡°I never had her. In fact, your aunt and cousin are on holiday.¡±


    Relief flooded my mind but soon after, it turned to regret. Not telling Eli about the notes was a horrible idea and my punishment for that mistake was death. A fate I could have avoided all together. My mind was on the verge of giving up. There was no way I was going to cheat death once again and get out of this one. Either way, I wasn¡¯t going down without a fight. If I could hold them off killing me for a little while longer, maybe Eli and the other angels would save me just in the nick of time.


    I gained enough strength in my legs to kick Tay in the genitals. He dropped me, but Hank, with his super speed, caught me mid fall ¡ª again, by the throat. I could feel my eyes widen with fear as small ragged gasps escaped my throat. The pressure of his grasp was too much for me to handle. It reminded me of the cabin when he had grabbed my mother and I by our throats. Like before, his hands were freezing, I thought my throat was going to ice up. Tay unsteadily rose to his feet and raised his hand to backhand my face.


    ¡°Don''t,¡± Hank said. ¡°I don''t want her damaged just yet.¡±


    He stroked my cheek once, quickly, with the back of his index finger. I wanted to scream but the pressure on my throat was too immense. I couldn''t even flinch away from his long, cold finger.


    ¡°Kill her before the guardian angels get here; there¡¯s no doubt they¡¯re looking for her. She and Eli have a tattoo bond,¡± Tay coughed.


    Hank walked me over to an arm chair and sat me down.


    ¡°Tay, What are you doing?¡± I cried. My tears tasted salty on my lips.


    ¡°Hank promised me immortality.¡±


    ¡°Don''t do this,¡± I begged. "Please!"


    ¡°Enough!¡± Hank boomed and he leant right in my face. ¡°I''m not going kill you.¡± Tay stepped forward to protest but Hank silenced him with his hand. "No, that would be too easy for you. I''m going to do something much worse.


    The quick end I had hoped for burnt out and was replaced by a sick feeling that grew heavier in my stomach. No, no, no, Anything but that, I repeated over and over in my head.


    ¡°I''m going to turn you into a vampire, no interferences this time, and you will live under my rule alongside Tay.¡±


    ¡°I am nothing to you, I can''t possibly hurt you. I''m weak, I¡¯m pathetic, just let me go. Please,¡± I screamed, tears flooding my eyes.


    ¡°Dear stepdaughter, you are everything to me. How can I earn a reputation as a ruthless ruler if I had, in fact, let a teenage girl go free? Not just any teenage girl, Ruby Moore, a goddess, and the daughter of my human love; a teenage girl who disrespected me by throwing away such a precious gift. That doesn''t look good for me now, does it?¡±


    I tried hard to stop myself from crying and slowly the tears stopped.


    Hank and Tay paced the lounge room. They were obviously waiting for someone else. ¡°Keep an eye on her,¡± Hank said as he left the room, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket.


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± I sobbed, when Hank was out of sight.


    ¡°I already told you wh¡ª ¡±


    ¡°No, why did you decide to do this? You hate vampires. You hated me.¡±


    ¡°You were just a pawn in my plan. Mr Aleksandrov needed you under the protection of the school. Apparently, there is something ¡®special¡¯ about you.¡± He spat on the floor in disgust. ¡°My plan was almost ruined when Aleksandrov made Eli your guardian angel instead of me, but I managed to work around that. Once that was finished, I made a deal with Hank. He has tasted your blood; he¡¯s convinced there¡¯s something different about you, something he can use. So If I gave him you, he would make me immortal¡ª¡±


    My mind reeled over all the past events.


    ¡°You convinced Eli that the cabin wasn''t safe and you agreed to play far guard so the vampires could take down Eli, but when I intervened, you had to kill them all to avoid suspicion. And then finally the notes, you did that, didn¡¯t you?¡± I said, fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together.

 Page 20

    ¡°No not finally, in-between all that I also convinced Mr Aleksandrov to take no action concerning the cabin attack by playing it down; increasing the school¡¯s protection would foil my plan. Oh, and I killed Cloud,¡± He gloated.


    ¡°You killed Cloud?¡± I gasped, mostly because he said it so casually. ¡°It was ruled an accident.¡±


    ¡°Well, if it looked like a murder, the school would be in a lock down for days. If I made it look like an accident, then once the investigation was over I could slip into your dorm as everyone was mourning the loss.¡±


    I couldn''t believe it. Since the beginning I was all a part of Tay''s selfish plan to become immortal. I was upset I didn''t pick up on it sooner. A shiver shook my spine as Hank strolled back into the room.


    ¡°Everyone else is meeting us at the dairy. We need to move her now; the angels will be here soon. They must have figured out where she is by now.¡±


    I closed my eyes and thought of Eli. He was merely a picture in my head; there was no scent or emotions that usually came with our bond. Every second that passed was a second closer to my death.


    Tay escorted me out the front door, my hands pinned behind my back. We piled into a black sedan. Hank drove and Tay sat in the back seat with me. I made note of every telegraph pole and house we passed. I hadn''t lived here long, but in the short span of time I did, I walked these streets a lot. It didn''t take long for me to realize we were indeed heading for the abandoned dairy farm. Aunt Jen''s house was already on the outskirts of Bridgewater; any further and you hit farmland. The dairy farm was the only building nearby that was vacant. I didn''t think Tay and Hank wanted to risk being out in the open.


    We rolled to an abrupt stop and I was yanked out of the car. The energy that I had before my encounter with Darren was gone. I searched deep inside for a second wind, praying and hoping it was there.


    At Death¡¯s Door


    Soon the dairy barn filled with vampires. I counted at least twelve. It was strange seeing vampires in such large groups. They were generally solo creatures; they lived alone, hunted alone and fought a lot when in groups of more than three. They all eyed me like I was a delicious meal. Each and every one of them stared at the cloth tied around my arm. A vampire can smell human blood through anything. Hank knew he had to get them outside in their positions before a fight broke out and I was treated like an apple pull apart.


    ¡°Positions. Now!¡± Hank growled.


    Soon, I was alone in the dairy, and there were no sounds; not even the chirping of a cricket or the squeak of a mouse. Eli erupted into my mind; I could smell him and feel him as if he was next to me. My morale was boosted; Eli would destroy all of these vampires one by one. I didn''t know exactly how far away he was, but he was definitely coming.


    I waited in anticipation; if my hands were free I would have bitten my nails down to the skin. I had no way of telling him there were over a dozen vampires waiting for them. The silence that accompanied the next few minutes was agonizing, but nothing compared to the stress of hearing cars pull up. It was the guardian angels, Eli had brought back up. I strained my ears, listening for any movement, any sounds; I heard nothing. Minutes passed and still no noise. I was starting to think maybe I was alone at the old abandoned dairy farm until a loud shout echoed through the building. Soon all I could hear was fighting, the grunts and shouts surrounded me from all angles. My courage was faltering with every second I sat tied up, defenseless and pathetic. How clich¨¦, although every good story needs a damsel in distress.


    I pulled hard on the rope. It might be slightly rotted, but it was still strong. I nearly leapt out of my skin as someone was thrown against the tin wall. The entire building rattled and wavered, it was too old. I didn''t know how much it could take before crumbling down on top of me. I pulled on the rope again, nothing. My chest grew tight and my breathing deepened, heat burning at my core. Oh great, this was not a good time to have a panic attack. Again, I tried to break free from the rope ¡ª nothing. My eyesight started narrowing. I felt like the walls were closing in around me. I needed to get outside. My movements became frantic as I wriggled and pulled and shook the rope. I managed to stretch and pull my hands free. I didn¡¯t have time to nurse the rope burn; I just jumped to my feet and ran.


    I didn''t know where I was going, but I knew I needed to get outside. Almost immediately I found an exit. I wanted to run through it but I couldn''t move my legs. Right in front of my eyes, guardian angels were fighting vampires. My vision started growing darker as I took in deep gulps of air in an attempt to shake the panic attack. I dove through the rusted doorway and dodged and weaved, trying to find Eli. Then, I found him. The world went slomo as he, ever so swiftly, staked a vampire taller than him. When I saw that Eli had come for me, my ribcage no longer squeezed my lungs. I could breathe better and think more clearly.


    ¡°Eli!¡± I screamed. His gaze shot over to me and we ran toward each other. He grabbed me by the shoulders.


    ¡°Ruby, Thank god! Are you okay?¡± he asked, searching my neck for vampire bites.


    I couldn''t bring myself to speak, I was too afraid. All I could do was nod.


    ¡°Get in the car and lock the doors.¡±


    We knew it didn''t matter; anyone can smash glass and a vampire is strong enough to rip the door off a SUV. Nonetheless, I ran to the closest car and climbed into the backseat. I locked the doors. As I hid down low, my heart hammered against my ribcage.


    Despite my surroundings I felt safe; I knew Eli and the other guardians wouldn''t let anything happen to me. Their whole existence was based around protecting our kind ¡ª gods and goddesses especially.


    Smash!


    Glass shattered across my face. I winced as a piece of glass sliced my forehead. A pair of hands reached into the car and grabbed me by the hair, pulling me out of the window. I screamed in pain as jagged teeth of glass still attached to the window dug into my thigh. As he pulled, the glass slid through my flesh. He threw me on the ground and leant close, the stench of his bloody breath blew icily on my face. If it wasn''t for the searing pain in my leg or the burning fear in my stomach, I would have vomited.


    It was one of Hank¡¯s pals ¡ª Boothy, he was called when he was human, James Booth. Hank must have turned him soon after he got turned. Hank was cruel and selfish; Boothy had a beautiful wife and they had just had a baby together ¡ª Brea, if I recalled correctly. It was upsetting seeing his once friendly face be contorted by ugly veins and deathly pale skin.


    ¡°Not so fast¡ª¡± He stopped and stared at my leg. ¡°That smell¡­ What are you?¡±


    I felt the warmth of my blood pour out. He flicked his fangs out and turned to my lower body. He positioned one hand above my knee and one on my hip. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the scalding fire that came with being bitten. I didn''t try to fight him or run, I had given up. I didn''t want to, every inch of my body told me to fight, but my brain didn''t process the orders. My brain had accepted defeat. The bite never came. Before I was mauled to death, Hank kicked Boothy, sending him tumbling over me meters down the field. Like a cat, James found his footing and growled. Hank roared back at him, fangs bearing and venom spraying everywhere. Like the weaker lion usually does on the Discovery Channel, James Booth backed down.


    ¡°Go help the others!¡± Hank barked.


    He grabbed my arm and stood me up. My thigh throbbed as the sticky blood ran down my calf and into my shoe. I winced and sobbed in pain.


    ¡°You ain''t going anywhere.¡± New lines carved through his face as he fought the temptation of tasting my blood again.


    ¡°Let her go.¡± It was Eli.


    A wry smile spread across Hank''s face. ¡°Mr De Luca.¡± Hank let me go and I dropped to the ground. Pulsating blackness filled my eyes and then my vision would come back momentarily before disappearing beneath the darkness.


    My vision returned; Hank and Eli were locked in battle. I glanced around; vampire dust and angel bodies were strewn all over the ground. I assumed we were winning; it was no longer one on one. Three guardians stood off against one vampire, and others were two on one. I watched as two guardian angels tore the head off Boothy. Although he was a vampire and tried to eat me, I couldn''t help but feel a little tender-hearted. He used to be a good hearted, honest man, and Hank destroyed that. Hank took him from his family so he could help grow his numbers in order to rule the vampire underworld.


    Next to me laid a blood-stained stake. I grabbed it and struggled to my feet. I hobbled towards Eli and Hank. Eli spotted me and knew what I wanted to do. Hank, stupidly on his part, wasn''t paying attention. He knew if he took his eye off Eli for a second, he was dead. Eli had no mercy for vampires and even less for Hank. I got within a meter of Hank and waited. Anger rose in my chest.


    This is for my mother, me, James, and whoever else you have hurt. You will never hurt another living soul! I screamed in my head.


    Eli grabbed Hank by the arm and spun him around to face me; Hank''s expression was priceless as I lunged forward with the stake. Eli shoved him forward as I thrust the stake downward, it gave me extra power. The stake pierced his flesh and went straight into his heart. Within seconds he evaporated into dust. I fell to the ground and brought my knees to my chest and cried. The chapter of my life ruled by Hank ruled was finally over. Eli stood protectively over me.


    ¡°You did it Ruby. You did it,¡± he said.


    I didn''t respond. Death should not be celebrated, regardless of who or what has died. Hank was once a loving member of my family, someone who made my mum happy and had given us a better life. Although his soul was already dead, I killed his physical body and it still hurt me more than I thought it would.


    It was over. The angels lit fires all around and burnt all the dead vampire bodies and heads. Hank was dead and the remaining vampires either fled or were burning in the flames.


    ¡°I need to rest,¡± I sobbed. He signalled for a female angel to help carry me back to the car. I leant heavily on her as she opened the back door.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet,¡± yelled a voice.


    Tay.


    He grabbed me from the guardian and kicked her backwards.


    ¡°Tay?¡±


    He spun me around so my back was pressed against his front. Then I felt a cold, hard metal press against my temple.


    ¡°Move and I¡¯ll blow her brains out.¡±


    I thought Tay was dead. I mean, I didn''t see him get killed, but I assumed he would have at least tried to help Hank. After all, he was supposed to make him a vampire. I was weak, I could barely stand. I had lost too much blood tonight; I needed medical help as soon as possible.


    I could see the guardians plotting in their heads. One wrong move and this whole rescue and the deaths of their fellow guardian angels would have been for nothing.


    ¡°Tay, what are you doing?¡± asked Eli, confused and resentful.


    I could tell by his tone he was as shocked as I had been when I ran into Tay earlier.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be immortal, but I needed her to do it. I¡¯m going to take her and get what I want from someone else.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s lost a lot of blood. No vampire is going to take her,¡± begged a female guardian angel.


    ¡°She¡¯s still a goddess. She still has the magic.¡±


    My legs were weak and my knees finally buckled under me. Tay was keeping me up with his arm.


    ¡°Stand up,¡± he snarled. I tried but I couldn''t.


    ¡°She¡¯s lost a lot of blood. She¡¯ll die before you get to another vampire,¡± argued Eli. His face was filled with concern and frustration. Every second that ticked by meant I got more lethargic and closer to death. I was too weak to use my powers ¡ª not that I knew how to, anyway. Tay dropped me on the floor and pointed his gun at the angels.


    ¡°Then one of you is coming with me.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, take me,¡± I whispered.


    No one heard me. I tried to make my voice louder but I couldn''t. My world grew darker as Sera ¡ª the female guardian angel I first saw in the auditorium during the Guardian exam, stepped forward.


    ¡°I''ll go.¡± The rest of them protested.


    ¡°No. Let me,¡± Eli boomed.


    ¡°No, please.¡± I exhaled, my voice was faint. It blew away with the wind, no one could hear me.


    ¡°No, Eli. It will be a lot easier to contain Sera than you.¡±


    Tay knew he was no match for Eli. Sera slowly walked over to Tay, sparing me a sympathy glance. Tay pressed the gun to Sera''s head and walked her back to the car. Once they were both inside, the car started up. Tears poured from my eyes, I didn''t mean for this to happen. Eli and several other guardian angels rushed to my side whilst others rushed to cars and plotted ways to get Sera back. Tay and Sera made their way back down the road. When it seemed like all hope was lost for Sera, Tay¡¯s car screeched its brakes and the reverse lights appeared. It pulled up close to the angels. Tay exited from the vehicle with his arms above his head. Sera had disarmed him and turned the gun on him. A few guardians cheered, but it was short lived as Tay sprinted across the paddocks. Sera aimed her gun at him.


    ¡°Don''t shoot. We¡¯ll get him, stay with Ruby.¡± Eli and two guardian angels chased after Tay. As they caught up to him and squared off for a fight, I fell unconscious.


    Bright Lights and Consequences


    My mind focused in and out briefly. The lights were bright on my face, white lights¡­ I was in a hospital. Faces peered over at me but I drifted back into unconsciousness. In my mind I was at peace. I felt no pain, no regret, and no sadness. I pictured my mother¡¯s face, she was so beautiful. I grew excited at the thought of seeing her again but the excitement lessened when Eli''s smile entered my mind; our kiss and the day at the waterfall. Was I dead? Is this my life flashing before my eyes? It couldn''t be, I¡¯ve only seen Eli. Eli, in my mind, stood tall and fierce with his arms crossed. He started floating into the distance and I reached out for him but I couldn''t reach him. I tried to call his name but I had no voice. Slowly, he disappeared, the blackness had swallowed him.

 Page 21

    I opened my eyes. Mila was asleep awkwardly on a seat next to my bed and Mr Aleksandrov stood against the door.


    ¡°You''re awake,¡± he mumbled, trying not to waken Mila. ¡°It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s slept in two days.¡±


    I turned my neck and flinched as pain radiated through my spine.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty beaten up, I wouldn''t move too much.¡±


    I tried to swallow but my throat was dry. Mr Aleksandrov poured me some water; he cracked a vial of clear liquid, mixed it into the cup and handed it to me. Slowly, I reached out for it, my muscles ached.


    ¡°It will heal you quicker.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I croaked. I drank the whole cup and cleared my throat.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± called Mila. She launched out of her bed and nearly landed on top of me.


    ¡°Thank god, you''re okay.¡±


    ¡°How are the others?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The ones that survived are okay.¡± Bitterness laced Mr Aleksandrov''s tone.


    Of course, guardian angels died and it was my fault.


    ¡°Mila, now that you know Ruby is awake and okay, you need to go back to school.¡±


    ¡°But Uncle, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let''s go.¡± Mila stormed out the door and Mr Aleksandrov turned to me. ¡°Ruby, when you get back to school, we need to have a serious discussion.¡±


    Great, no doubt I would be kicked out of Sage. I nodded in compliance. He grabbed his coat that hung over the end of my bed and left the room. I inhaled deeply and sighed loudly.


    There was a light knock at the door; it was Eli. I should have been relieved when I saw him but I had a feeling our conversation wasn''t going to be nice. He strolled in and sat on the armchair that Mila had been sleeping on.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see that you''re awake and okay.¡± He smiled a painfully fake smile.


    The room was so tense; you could cut it with a knife. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I muttered.


    We glanced around the room awkwardly.


    ¡°I know you need time to recover from what happened, but if I don''t say this, I¡¯m going to explode.¡±


    I dropped my head and braced myself.


    ¡°What you did was selfish.¡± His voice was so cold and fierce. ¡°Do you have any idea what you put Mr Aleksandrov through, what you put me through?¡± His voice had raised a decibel.


    ¡°I know, I''m sorr¡ª¡±


    ¡°People died,¡± he interrupted. ¡°Does that matter to you or are guardian angels disposable? There''s plenty of us, right?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that at all.¡±


    ¡°Then what''s it like?¡±


    ¡°He had my cousin¡­ or at least I thought he did.¡±


    ¡°Ruby, if you had come to me, I would have been able to tell you your family wasn''t even in the country. We kept tabs on them for you,¡± he admitted.


    Guilt bucketed heavier on me.


    ¡°Don''t you trust me?¡± I looked at his face, he was genuinely hurt. It was written all over his face. ¡°I thought we were being honest to each other but you were hiding so much from me.¡±


    ¡°Eli, I didn''t want you to get hurt¡­¡± I pleaded.


    ¡°But instead of calling trained angels that kill vampires for a living, you decided that you, a goddess who doesn''t even know how to use her magic, would go and take one on.¡±


    ¡°It sounds stupid when you say it like that.¡±


    ¡°Reword it any way you want, it won''t sound any smarter.¡±


    A tear rolled down my check and Eli hung his head.


    ¡°I was scared. I was so scared,¡± he whispered. ¡°You nearly died. At one point I thought you did. I couldn''t feel anything from you, and I felt¡­ sick and numb and¡­ alone.¡±


    I looked at him as more tears wet my face. ¡°I''m sorry for what I put you through, but they¡¯re my only family, and I can''t lose them as well,¡± I cried.


    ¡°I just wish you came to me. I guess we don''t have the connection I thought we did.¡± He got up from the chair and walked towards the door.


    ¡°Eli, please, don''t go.¡±


    He paused and turned. ¡°Now you want my help and support? You can''t pick and choose.¡±


    I flinched at his words. He left, closing my door behind him. I sat staring at the door, tears falling one after the other, each dropping faster than the last. Once again, I felt alone¡­ more alone than ever. Eli was the last person I wanted to push away, even though my actions said otherwise.


    The next few days grew more and more depressing as they rolled by. No one visited me, I wasn''t upset about that; I understood. I had put everyone in danger, and risked the school and Mr Aleksandrov''s reputation. I had gotten guardian angels killed and I betrayed Eli. I''m not my favorite person right now either.


    Today was the worst day so far. Today, I had to return to Sage Sanctum.


    My thigh had healed very well in the last few days, just like Mr Aleksandrov said it would. The medical staff at the hospital were shocked it had healed so quickly for a cut so deep, but didn''t really investigate it.


    I was wheeled to the front door; it was hospital policy and it was embarrassing. When we reached the door, I rose from the wheelchair and grimaced in pain when I put pressure on my leg. I shut my eyes and felt Eli. My stomach dropped; they had sent him to pick me up. I suppose it wasn''t a bad thing. Another guardian angel would have driven me off a cliff after what I did, after I got their colleagues killed. Eli opened the door for me and I climbed into his car.


    We drove for an hour without saying a word to each other. I wanted to tell him I was sorry and that I didn''t mean for this to happen. My heart ached whilst we drove. I couldn''t stop fidgeting with my hands.


    Eli pulled over onto the side of the road, exhaling loudly. I glanced around nervously; maybe I wasn¡¯t going back to Sage and they were just going to dump me on the side of the road, like a wounded animal.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ruby, I think that before we get back to Sage, we should talk.¡± That''s what I wanted, to talk to Eli, but now that he wanted to, I didn''t. I was scared; I had no excuse for what I did.


    ¡°It was wrong of me to attack you when you had just woken up. I had been waiting, stressing for two days before you woke up, and it was building and building and I¡ª ¡±


    ¡°It''s okay, I deserved it,¡± I confessed. ¡°Everything you said was right.¡±


    He grabbed my hand, caressing it in his.


    ¡°In my mind there weren''t any consequences. I knew I would be killed or turned again, but I was willing to risk everything to save Camilla. Aleksandrov didn''t do anything when we were attacked at the cabin, so I assumed he wasn''t going to send any guardians to save me.¡± I ignored the way my skin tingled in his grasp. ¡°But now there are consequences and I have to face them.¡±


    ¡°I am your Guardian Angel and I will be here to guide you every step of the way, but under one condition.¡±


    I knew what it was.


    ¡°You tell me everything.¡±


    I stared at our hands but eventually nodded. He was right, the decisions that I made in my life would affect his, too.


    ¡°It was the first time in my life I felt like I truly lost something special to me.¡±


    I turned and looked at him, his eyes fixated on our hands. ¡°But your father¡ª¡±


    ¡°He was a good man, when he wasn''t blaming me for killing my mother.¡±


    We sat in silence for a few seconds.


    ¡°She died when she gave birth to me. The night my father died¡­ my grandmother was babysitting me, I was almost seven years old. She brought me to Sage, and Glenda; an old retired angel, took me under her wing and raised me. When I turned twenty-one, she passed away.¡±


    My heart shattered into a million pieces at Eli''s story, a story of so much loss and sorrow.


    ¡°My point is¡­ I share your fears of being alone. I would have done the same thing as you.¡±


    He let go of my hand and started the car. The rest of the trip was still mostly in silence, and after a few hours, we were pulling into the gate of Sage Sanctum. The very gate I had slipped past the night of my escape. Eli handed a piece of paper to the guard; he glared at me before letting us pass. I guess the guys at the gate got in trouble for not being attentive and failing to see me sneak out.


    ¡°This will be fun,¡± I muttered under my breath.


    ¡°You have no idea.¡±


    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°Your little stunt has made curfew earlier by an hour and dorm students have to be escorted to and from dinner. Students also have to sign in and out of their dorm rooms whenever they leave and every dorm has been issued another dorm monitor.¡±


    I was speechless, not because Eli had used the word dorm to many times in a sentence, but because I single handedly ruined every student¡¯s life at the school. Raina and her posse weren''t going to be the only ones hating on me now. Eli pulled into the car park, exited his door, and came round and opened mine.


    ¡°There¡¯s something else you should know.¡±


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± I groaned.


    ¡°I have to take you to the dining hall; the school¡¯s board has requested a meeting.¡±


    ¡°Like a ''thanks for nothing, see you later,¡¯ kind of meeting?¡±


    He smiled a sympathetic smile. ¡°I don''t know.¡±


    I stepped out of the car and scuffed my shoes against the pebbles. ¡°If I''m kicked out, what happens to you?¡±


    Eli shut the door and leaned up against the side of the car. ¡°I get assigned to someone new and you will continue your life amongst the humans. If you don''t graduate, then you don''t get a guardian angel.¡±


    ¡°I have one now and I haven''t graduated.¡±


    ¡°You only have one because you were being targeted specifically. We¡¯re going to be late.¡± I leaned against the car next to him.


    ¡°I''m scared. I don''t want to leave here.¡± My voice was shaky.


    Eli rubbed his backhand along the side of my face. I absorbed his touch like a sponge absorbing liquid.


    ¡°Whatever happens, I¡¯ll be here.¡±


    ¡°Even if they kick me out?¡±


    ¡°Especially if they kick you out.¡±


    I leant in and hugged him, his muscles tensed from surprise, but he relaxed and hugged me back. I closed my eyes and savored the moment. He said he¡¯d be here for me, but I would never ask him to leave all that he has for me. I hugged him because this might be the last time we see each other.


    ¡°Rub¡ª¡±


    Eli and I pulled apart. It was Hunter. I felt heat fill my cheeks; no doubt Hunter could see how embarrassed I was that he saw our embrace.


    ¡°Aleksandrov sent me to meet you two at the gate.¡±


    Eli started walking and I followed. Hunter fell into step beside me and pulled me back a little.


    ¡°De Luca? Really? That''s the guy you''re interested in?¡± he whispered hastily.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°He''s a guardian angel. It''s not allowed.¡±


    ¡°It was a support hug,¡± I scoffed.


    When we embraced, I felt it. It was my heart, it fluttered and pounded. It felt right, the way he hugged me back showed me he felt it, too.


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± sighed Hunter.


    ¡°Why did Aleksandrov send you of all people, anyway?¡±


    ¡°I happened to be walking by the hall and bumped into him.¡±


    Students were scattered everywhere and dirty looks and comments were whispered from every angle. Most hated me. Some girls looked at me adoringly and boys looked at me like I was a bad ass goddess that had no respect for the rules and could hold her own ¡ª I wonder if it would change their mind if they knew I had my ass handed to me and that I ended up in hospital.


    ¡°She reminds me of Cat Woman,¡± I heard a boy state.


    ¡°Sexy,¡± replied his friend.


    ¡°Your stunt has driven most of the boys crazy,¡± said Hunter.


    ¡°Ew¡­ Please, I¡¯m nauseous enough,¡± I replied.


    He laughed a little more when he saw me grimace. We approached the steps of the hall. ¡°Good luck,¡± whispered Hunter in my ear and squeezing my hand.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Hunter turned and walked away. Before Eli opened the door he turned to me. ¡°He likes you,¡± said Eli, nodding his head towards Hunter.


    ¡°What? No, he doesn''t.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t see his face when he saw us hug.¡±


    ¡°Really? You want to do this now?¡±


    Eli turned back and opened the door. We stepped inside. The room was mostly empty; the only furniture was the long desk filled with people and a single chair on the opposite side.


    ¡°Ruby, come sit.¡± Mr Aleksandrov gestured to the chair.


    They all watched as I walked over to the chair and sat down. Eli stood beside me, arms crossed.


    ¡°Ruby, you sit before us because you broke major rules, not only school rules, but rules that are considered law in our world.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I sat in silence for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. ¡°I received letters from Hank saying he had captured my cousin, Camilla.¡±


    ¡°And why didn''t you tell your guardian angel, Eli De Luca?¡±


    ¡°Because I knew he would stop me from going.¡± My response was somewhat true, that and the fact I didn''t want him to get hurt or to deal with anymore ''Ruby Drama.'' He had already done so much for me.


    The panel whispered amongst themselves before a woman cleared her throat, ready to ask the next question.


    ¡°Miss Moore, are you aware that we knew your cousin wasn''t even in the country?¡±


    ¡°Not until after the incident.¡±


    ¡°So, if you had involved your guardian in the first place, we wouldn''t have dead guardian angels, vampires, and nearly a student, on our hands. Now that you understand that, let¡¯s discuss rule breaking,¡± Mr Aleksandrov continued.

 Page 22

    ¡°Leaving school grounds with permission, and more seriously, without a guardian. Vampire hunting¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mr Aleksandrov, with all due respect, she was hardly vampire hunting,¡± Eli interrupted.


    ¡°Ruby, did you kill the vampire you wanted to in order to save a human?¡±


    ¡°My cousin,¡± I corrected. Human seemed a little impersonal.


    ¡°Did you or did you not kill the v¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Mr Aleksandrov rattled of a few more rules and laws I had broken. Eli protested every broken rule he thought didn''t fit the situation, and every time someone provided some kind of ridiculous example.


    ¡°And lastly, your punishment¡­¡±


    I gripped the edge of my seat and corrected my posture.


    ¡°Expel her,¡± snarled an old man three seats to the left of Mr Aleksandrov.


    ¡°No,¡± called the woman sitting on the right of Mr Aleksandrov; it was Lillian.


    ¡°She¡¯s far behind any of our students,¡± rebutted the man.


    ¡°She has tremendous potential, we need her.¡±


    They all nodded their heads, except the old man. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was something they all knew that I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Killing angels must run in the family. Why are you defending her, Eli? Her mother is the reason your father is dead.¡±


    I whipped my head to look at Eli. His face was fierce as he clenched his teeth.


    ¡°My father died in duty.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but Meredith Moore was associating with vampires¡­ like this one.¡± He flicked his head towards me.


    ¡°It was for a good cause; Meredith was doing research.¡±


    ¡°And they betrayed her, calling in more vampires. She escaped and your father died. Funny that.¡±


    ¡°He did his job and protected her. Where are you going with this exactly, Gordon?¡±


    ¡°Just saying.¡± Gordon smiled wryly.


    ¡°Ruby,¡± Mr Aleksandrov began, ignoring the exchange of words between the two. ¡°You broke many rules and laws, you endangered yourself, and you are responsible for the deaths of three guardian angels. You are lucky the higher power has no idea about this. Your punishment for your behaviour is expulsion.¡±


    Crap.


    Wherefore art thou?


    My life at Sage Sanctum flashed before my eyes. This is it? It''s really over? I felt nauseous and a headache began to pound in my head. I put my hand over my face and exhaled deeply. I tried to focus my breathing; I had to keep it together in order to prevent the walls of my problems from caving in on me.


    ¡°Sir, I think we should discuss this more thoroughly,¡± Lillian demanded.


    Arguments erupted throughout the hall; Eli was at the table expressing his outrage, as well.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Ivan bellowed. ¡°Shall we vote?¡±


    They all agreed. There were six people that sat along the table. I only knew two, Lillian and Mr Aleksandrov. Odds were not in my favor, and even less now that Mr Aleksandrov was the one to decide to expel me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin. Gordon?¡±


    ¡°Expel.¡±


    ¡°Lillian?¡±


    ¡°Stay,¡± she stated fiercely.


    Mr Aleksandrov rattled off a few more names. So far three wanted me expelled and two wanted me to stay.


    ¡°Eli?¡± Mr Aleksandrov asked.


    ¡°Stay.¡±


    That¡¯s three for three.


    Mr Aleksandrov glanced at the paper. ¡°It seems we have a tie. I guess I will be the tie breaker.¡±


    Gordon''s face lit up and mine darkened. No, I wasn''t going to sit there and let someone else decide my fate, and if I was going to be kicked out, I at least needed to fight for what I wanted. At least then I could say I tried.


    Mr Aleksandrov opened his mouth to talk.


    ¡°May I say a few words?¡± I asked.


    ¡°¡­Go ahead.¡±


    I got up from my chair and stepped a little closer to the table.


    ¡°I know, since the beginning, I¡¯ve been a handful. I was a mess and I had so many inner demons, but I just wanted to say that being here has helped me fight off those demons. From the start, I felt welcome. I know how much I¡¯ve thrown it back in your faces, especially you, Mr Aleksandrov, but I have made so many friends, Mila, especially, and I''m not ready to throw that away¡­ she¡¯s my best friend.¡±


    I played the ''Mila'' card. I know it was sneaky, but I knew Aleksandrov loved his niece more than anything, and if her happiness was at stake, he wouldn¡¯t risk it.


    ¡°You can stay,¡± he uttered.


    My knees almost gave way from underneath me. Joy flooded my chest and I smiled at Eli. His expression was proud and happy. The board began to dissemble and Eli, Lillian, and I began to exit out the door.


    ¡°Oh, Ruby,¡± called Mr Aleksandrov.


    I turned around.


    ¡°There will be a letter delivered to your dorm today; it will have a detailed list of all your detention details.¡±


    I smiled and continued walking.


    Sure, receiving detention was a bummer, but after the last two weeks, I was just glad that it was (finally) the only worry I had in the world.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Lillian celebrated, pulling me into an embrace. ¡°See you in class.¡± She walked off gracefully, as if she was walking on air.


    ¡°Not a bad speech. Good idea incorporating Mila into it, he didn''t think about her until you mentioned her.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, I had to give it a try.¡±


    He placed his hand on my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡±


    My inner being floated at his words. I felt silly as a shy grin crossed my face.


    "What?¡± he laughed.


    ¡°Nothing, you have said some pretty nice things to me, but that¡¯s my favorite.¡±


    ¡°Why is that your favorite?¡±


    ¡°Because no one has ever said that to me before¡­¡±


    His smile widened and mine mirrored his. ¡°Well I¡¯m glad that I was your first¡­¡±


    I suppressed a laugh.


    ¡°Not like that ¡ª I didn''t mean ¡ª I meant¡ª¡± he paused and took a deep breath. ¡°Goodbye, Ruby.¡±


    I headed in the opposite direction, towards my dorm. I was in good spirits. If karma had any say, it wasn''t going to last long. Sure enough, Raina and her marauders stopped me in my tracks.


    ¡°Raina, now isn''t a good time,¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Now is a perfect time.¡±


    I leaned onto my right leg and put my hands on my hips. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°The school may think you¡¯re worth something, but I don¡¯t. You might be ''free to go'' for now, but I won¡¯t stop until you¡¯re gone.¡±


    I stepped forward so our faces were centimeters apart. A sweat bead rolled down her face, she was trying hard to hide her nervousness.


    ¡°I don''t know where you got the impression that I''m scared of you, but know this; even though I''m treading on a really thin line with the school, I will not hesitate to punch you in the face again. Now get out of my way.¡±


    She didn''t move, she wanted to, I could tell by her eyes. She was panicking.


    ¡°Why couldn''t it be raining?¡± It was Hunter again, of course it was. He was the only person I had met that had a knack for showing up randomly, especially at times that I didn''t care to hear his smartass comments or condescending humor. Still, Raina and I hadn''t budged.


    ¡°Kiss her,¡± he whispered into my ear.


    I shrugged him away and pushed passed Raina, making sure I nudged her with my shoulder. Hunter caught up with me. I could feel Raina and her group burning holes in the back of my head with their eyes.


    ¡°Not even back a day and you¡¯re already sleeping around,¡± Raina sneered.


    I didn''t acknowledge her; she had a tendency for never saying anything directly to my face and the last time she said anything within arm¡¯s reach, it ended in her getting punched in the eye.


    ¡°What do you want now?¡±


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d wait and see how your hearing went. You aren''t being escorted by guardian angels against your will, so I am assuming it went well?¡±


    I shot him an ''obviously'' look.


    He pulled me by the arm to a complete stop and turned me to face him. ¡°It couldn''t have gone as bad as the conversation you just had with Eli, that¡­ that was awkward.¡±


    ¡°Are you following me?¡±


    ¡°C''mon now, I merely admire from afar.¡± He chuckled.


    Already it was becoming harder and harder to stay in high spirits. ¡°Just stay away from me.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± he asked, keeping a firm grip on my wrist. His eyes were alight with amusement. ¡°Is that what you want?¡± He took a few steps closer and I backed away one. His scent was alluring and the heat that radiated from his body made it near impossible to take another step back or even speak.


    ¡°Y- yes, I do.¡±


    He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. I pulled away and shoved him backwards.


    ¡°You can¡¯t stay hung up on a guy that you can never be with. When you realize that, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡±


    I stood momentarily trying to wrap my head around what had just happened. The kiss was everything, and at the same time, it was nothing. Hunter could never compare to Eli, never.


    I strolled all the way back to my dorm room in a daze. When I entered my room I was relieved, mostly because I wanted to sleep and a perfectly made bed was in front of me, but also because it wasn''t ransacked.


    Upon my pillow was a note. The Hunter versus Eli filled thoughts were sucked away and the familiar feeling of panic descended upon me. I tried to hide my feelings, but was having difficulty trying. Tay was dead, wasn''t he? I knew Hank was. I killed him myself. Slowly, I made my way over to the letter. Relief flooded me as I saw love hearts and cursive writing. It was from Mila. I unfolded it.


    Ruby!


    If you¡¯re reading this then they let you stay!


    Yay!


    I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe and alive.


    We have sooo much to catch up on!


    P.S. They trashed your room so I cleaned it for you.


    Enjoy!


    Mila xo


    I smiled to myself. Mila was great, the one other person besides Eli that had been there for me from the start. In the beginning things were rough, but she always came through. I lay down on the bed; it was so soft and inviting. Much better than a hospital bed. I was ready to doze off when two knocks rattled my door. I reluctantly rose to my feet and strode over to the door, opening it.


    ¡°Mrs Ploit?¡± I said, astonished.


    ¡°These are your detention details,¡± she muttered, her lips pursed into a thin firm line. She turned abruptly on her heel and stomped off down the hallway. Clearly, she was angry at me; I guess she got in trouble, after all, I did sneak by her.


    ¡°Mrs Ploit?¡± I called after her.


    With a dramatic sigh, she turned to face me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean for you to get into trouble.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did. You should have let the angels handle it; you didn¡¯t have to be a hero, leaving me to deal with the wrath of your outraged guardian.¡±


    I thought about the hospital, when Eli was mad at me. It was scary seeing his eyes turn dark, filled with pain and anger. I could imagine he wasn¡¯t as lenient with Mrs Ploit.


    ¡°Again, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    It didn¡¯t matter if I apologized a thousand times, she was never going to forgive me for making her look like a fool in front of her employers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it happen again.¡± She turned and left.


    I closed my door and ran over my detention list, and what a list it was. I had to help Lillian in the printing room every morning, help Gordon with football on Thursday afternoons, which was useless. I didn¡¯t know a thing about football. And every other afternoon I had to help Eli in the auditorium.


    I suppose it wasn''t too bad, compared to what I had done to deserve it. Either way, I was thankful and counted my blessings.


    I had made up my mind to skip dinner that afternoon, but first I had to clear it with Mrs Ploit, who then had to clear it with Eli, who had to clear it with Aleksandrov. When I got the green light, I showered, got into my pyjamas, and went to bed. Even though I had been resting and sleeping almost all day in hospital, I was still tired and my body was still recovering.


    The warm air that circled around my room filled my lungs as I opened my eyes. It was Thursday, a normal school day, and unfortunately one that I had to attend, but not before I helped Lillian in the printing room. Class didn''t start for another hour and I had twenty minutes to meet Lillian.


    I chose to wear my hair down, it made me feel fresh and innocent; a fresh new start to life. My attire was a knee-length cream skirt with a pink singlet. It wasn''t fit for cleaning auditoriums or helping with a football team, but it was fine for wearing in class and printing rooms.


    ¡°Ruby!¡± a voice echoed through the wood of my door.


    I ran to the door and opened it.


    ¡°Mila!¡±


    She pulled me into a candy smelling embrace. ¡°I am so glad you¡¯re okay!¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah, I am too.¡±


    ¡°I overheard Uncle talking about it. You are so lucky.¡±


    I didn''t comment. I wasn''t ready to really delve into the details of what happened and emotionally, I couldn''t.


    ¡°I really can''t stay and chat, I have to run over to the printing room and help Lillian.¡± I entered the bathroom to check my appearance.


    ¡°As part of your detention?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the list is on my bedside table.¡±


    I heard the paper rustle as she unfolded it.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s not that bad. At least you don''t have to worry about cleaning the auditorium.¡±


    I peered out from the bathroom. That was my favorite part about detention.

 Page 23

    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you didn''t hear?¡±


    An unpleasant feeling roared throughout my stomach and the walls surrounding me began closing in on me.


    ¡°The higher power has requested a meeting with Eli¡­ He¡¯s leaving this morning.¡±


    My chest tightened and pain stabbed me so sharply I couldn¡¯t catch my breath. Tears burned behind my eyelids.


    ¡°What?¡±


    I fled from my room, the corridor blurred beneath my feet as I felt a surge of adrenaline.


    ¡°Ruby, where are you going?¡± Mila called after me.


    I didn¡¯t stop to explain and I couldn¡¯t explain it to her even if I wanted to. The cream colored walls flew passed me in a blur and before long I was in the open lobby of the girls dorms.


    ¡°Miss Moore where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Mrs Ploit shouted.


    Once again I didn¡¯t stop to explain. I needed to get to Eli, if he left there was no telling when he¡¯d come back, if he¡¯d come back.


    The quick slaps of my footsteps on the concrete echoed in my ears and I felt a bead of sweat roll down my forehead.


    ¡°Please, please, please.¡± I begged under my ragged breath.


    What do I say when I get there? I hadn¡¯t exactly thought it out. Hell, I don¡¯t even know if he will be there but it was worth a try. The car park was in sight now and if my legs could talk they¡¯d sigh in relief.


    The Audi Q5s were standard issue for guardian angels. When they come to work here they are given one. This made it a lot harder for me to decipher which one was Eli¡¯s. Gravel crunched under my feet as I searched for any kind of movement. From my peripheral vision I saw a car roll up to the entry/exit booth. It had to be him. I ran towards it and the boom gates rose.


    ¡°No! Wait!¡± I called but the car began to roll forward and as I reached the gates the car was out of the school and zooming down the road.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t allowed to be here.¡± The guardian in the booth warned me. ¡°Breakfast starts soon. I suggest you make your way there.¡±


    I didn¡¯t move. I wanted to but I couldn¡¯t. I felt nauseous, my heart was beating frantically and my tears began to wet my cheeks. This wasn¡¯t how things were supposed to be. I didn¡¯t mean for this to happen, I thought things were going to go back to normal.


    As the car disappeared totally out of sight, I felt completely numb. Somehow, I just knew, my life would never be the same again.