Ageless (14 page)

The idea of being alone in a
secluded place with her grandmother and a group of vampires for an
indeterminate amount of time sounded like some kind of fresh hell
and it made Violet’s skin crawl. Then Riveka revealed her trump
card.

She reached down into her purse and
drew out a piece of folded paper. She unfolded it and handed it to
Violet. “This came in the mail a few days ago. I also thought that
this would give us time plenty of time to discuss your plans for
the fall. Your grandfather and I are very eager to talk about how
we can support you as you take this next step in your
life.”

A gasp escaped Violet’s lips as she
saw the seal of Brown University at the top of the page. She
scanned the letter quickly, but focused on one word: Accepted. She
leapt to her feet with a squeal. She started jumping up and down
and for a few moments everything else disappeared. Her admission
had gone in late and she was certain that she wouldn’t make it. It
was like a dream come true. Then Riveka’s words sunk in.

Brown was expensive. Even though
Violet had been saving every penny that she could, she knew that
she didn’t have enough to even get her through her first year. It
had been the biggest reason that she hadn’t applied at first. Margo
had convinced her that financial aid was a bridge to cross later.
It appeared that later had arrived. Riveka was dangling a very
large carrot in front of her.

She swallowed hard as she became
aware of how she was behaving in front of Riveka, and what Riveka’s
likely judgment of that would be. She darted a look at Riveka as
she sat back down and dropped her eyes. “Thank you, Grandmother.
This is very good news.”

“So I’m assuming that a few days in
our company while we ensure your safety would not be too onerous
for you then?” The trap had been neatly set. The promise of
financial support through college guaranteed that Violet would do
whatever her grandmother asked, and suddenly Violet was certain
that this sudden seclusion was only the tip of the iceberg. She was
being softened up for the kill.

That was when all hell broke
loose.

Violet would later think that the
first thing that broke her attention from Riveka’s gaze was the
sudden absence of sound. It was like the world sucked in its breath
to prepare for what was about to happen. Then as the sound came
rushing back in, it was like the harsh implosion of screeching
metal and the earth being ripped apart. It was so loud that it felt
like it blew out her eardrums. For the next few minutes after that,
all Violet would remember was a series of still images.

Her grandfather’s newspaper fell to
the ground and his expression of shock and horror. Her grandmother
half out of her seat pointing at the front of the car. Elysa,
clearly visible in the back window of the engine, with her hands
around her mouth shouting something indecipherable at them. Then a
cloud of smoke rolled over the entire train and the sun’s bright
light was extinguished.

Everything sped up, as if someone
had pressed the fast-forward button on the events unfolding in
front of her. She watched in horror as the engine car seemed to
lift straight up in the air and then twist violently to the side.
This caused the attached passenger car to suddenly jackknife. The
abrupt movement threw Violet backward so hard that she was lifted
out of her seat and smacked against the glass window. Her head
cracked hard against the glass and her vision went blurry. Then the
lights in the car flickered and went out, just as Violet felt her
body now start to roll forward. The passenger car was starting to
flip over.

Her stomach churned as she went
head over heals following the movement of the railcar as it rolled.
She had no idea if they were tumbling off the edge of a cliff and
down to their doom. She hadn’t been paying any attention to the
scenery whizzing by behind Riveka’s head just before the
accident.

The overwhelming sense of fear
turned into grief even as she felt herself thrown about while the
car continued to tumble and spin. She wondered if this was the end,
and if she was about to die. She hoped that if she did, she would
meet her parents on the other side. But there was a thick sense of
regret about all of the things that she had never done because she
was too chicken, and now there may be things that she had always
wanted to do that she would not be able to. As the car finally
stopped, it swayed back and forth, but didn’t roll any further. She
felt the pain start to set in.

Then sound fully returned to her
ears. She heard shrieking and moaning. It took her a moment to
realize the moans were coming from her own lips. It was dark and
even though she thought her eyes were open, she couldn’t see
anything clearly. She could only hear the groaning metal and
continual sound of glass breaking. She tried to move her hands and
legs, but it was like she was trapped in a small box with no way
out. Panic started to set in, and her moans turned to
screams.

Then she felt rough hands grip the
top of her arms. She was dragged upward and she cried out as pain
sprouted anew from all of her extremities, but suddenly she was
able to move all of her limbs. Her hands came up and wrapped
themselves around the hands holding her. There was nothing else
around her; it was like she was dangling in the air and her legs
were kicking. Then her body was weightless and it felt like she had
been sprung off a trampoline. She cried out as she felt herself
start to fall but then she landed in a solid pair of
arms.

“Why can’t I see?” she said,
desperately wiping at her eyes trying to clear any dirt or
debris.

“Shhh,” was the whisper in her ear,
and then she felt the abrupt forward movement. Whoever was carrying
her was running. It felt like the air was whipping around her and
that sensation combined with the inability to see caused her to
whimper. Her hands crept up as she was drawn closer. The bulging
biceps and barreled chest clearly indicated that she was in a
male’s arms. Without being able to see, she felt completely
vulnerable and helpless.

Then his speed decreased and then
she felt herself being gently set down. The ground was springy
beneath her, and then she felt hard roughness behind her. She could
only make out dark gray impressions, but she could tell from what
she was feeling that she was sitting next to a tree. Her mind was
trying to assign things to the sensations around her. She could
pick out the sounds of birds all around her and the rolling sound
of a creek. She was still in the forest.

“What’s happening?” she asked, her
voice trembling. She was tempted to reach out to touch him. A
sudden paranoia gripped her. What if he left her here? How would
she find her way back? “Where am I? Who are you?”

Then she felt herself being cradled
back into those strong arms, and tears ran down her cheeks. “It’s
okay, Violet. You are safe.”

The words were music to her ears,
mostly because she knew that reassuring voice. “Jonah?”

“Thank God we found you, Violet.
Before it was too late,” he said. She heard anger beneath his
soothing words.

Violet wanted to ask more, but
another matter was more pressing. “Jonah, why can’t I see?” As she
waited for his answer, she felt herself begin to
tremble.

She was gently pushed away and back
against the tree. His hands softly touched her cheeks and she
flinched. “Let me,” he said. His hands explored the sides of her
face, and then crept around to the back of her head. She gasped as
his fingertips crept to the spot where she had initially cracked
her skull against the window when the railcar went off the
rails.

“Violet, I want you to listen very
carefully,” Jonah said. “I think that you have experienced some
kind of head trauma during the accident that is affecting your
eyesight.” Violet grabbed Jonah’s hands to center herself for his
next words. “I am not a doctor, so I have no idea if this is
something that is temporary or something that could cause lasting
damage.”

“Get me to a doctor, Jonah,” she
said, feeling panic taking over.

“Shhh,” he said as he wiped her
tears away. “Violet, I need to ask you a question. Would you like
me to heal you?”

The words were unexpected, and
brought home the fact that she was sitting there almost completely
blind with a vampire. But the thought of living the rest of her
life not being able to see was too much to bear. “What does that
mean?”

Jonah sighed. “It means that I
would give you some of my blood. Given a little bit of time, it
will heal you.”

“But...” Her voice quivered as she
considered his words. She felt a quick moment of hope. “Is it
dangerous?”

“There are some side effects,” he
said.

“Will I become a
vampire?”

“No,” he started to continue but
Violet cut him off.

“Then I’ll do it,” she said.
“Quick, before I lose my nerve.”

“Violet, we should talk about this
for a minute.”

“No,” she said firmly. “Do
it.”

There was another heavy sigh. Then
after moment’s pause he said, “My wrist is right in front of your
mouth, Violet. I’ve opened a vein for you to make it easier. You
don’t need much; just a few ounces will do the trick. If you don’t
want to do this, just turn your head away.”

The images of the accident were in
the forefront of her mind. She had almost died. Now everything that
she wanted to do with her life was there in front of her again. She
just had to take it back. Damn the consequences. Opening her mouth,
Violet’s lips crossed the inches and encountered the soft
resistance of skin. Immediately a thick, coppery liquid filled her
mouth and she gagged.

“Easy, Vi,” Jonah whispered. His
voice sounded strained.

Then she heard a roaring voice from
off to her left. “Jonah, no!!”

Jonah’s wrist was yanked out of her
mouth and a hard shove sent her flying backward into the tree
trunk.

“What are you doing, you idiot! She
can’t drink vampire blood or she’ll die!” It was Jeremiah’s voice
and Violet felt that cold clench of fear close her
throat.

Then she realized it wasn’t fear
affecting her body, but something else. Her throat muscles were
contracting and literally closing off her air supply. She started
to gasp even as she heard the grunts and hard thumps that indicated
a fight was going on in her proximity.

“What are you talking about?”
Jonah’s voice was angry with a tinge of doubt.

A hard smack was the reply. “I
asked you to get her out and keep her safe. It’s possible that you
have ruined everything, just like you always do with your
recklessness.”

She was choking now. She wasn’t
sure how to get the attention of the warring brothers without
getting caught up in the middle, but she started to wave her hands
and stumbled to her feet. Her knees gave out almost immediately,
and she prepared to hit the ground but she felt a hand wrap around
her wrist and pull her back up, supporting her around her
waist.

“Dammit, Jonah. She’s suffocating!”
Jeremiah’s voice was right next to her ear and he sounded panicked.
Then he paused and said more calmly, “Violet. Violet, I need you to
listen to me. Focus on my voice.”

Her body was shuddering and she felt herself twist
violently. But she tried to do as he asked.

“What is inside you is like poison.
Your body is rejecting it. I can’t compel you to get sick. For some
reason you appear to be resistant to that, so I need you to do it
yourself. You have to get it out and you have to get it out NOW.”
His words were commanding.

She didn’t know she found the
strength inside of her, but she pushed away from him and went to
her knees. Even though it was the opposite thing her mind said she
should do, she stuck her finger as far back into her throat as she
could manage. The gagging reflex opened her throat for just a
second, but it was in that instant that she knew that she was doing
the right thing. She pushed harder and that’s when her throat
completely opened and she felt hot bile and something else rise up,
and then it spewed out.

Sweat rolled off her forehead as
her body took over on its own and she was sick over and over again.
Then it felt like there was nothing left. She was alone, weak and
sick, in the dark.

It was too much to take in. She
rolled her mind to her happiest memories as she felt her mind start
to close. It was her last summer with her parents on the beach.
They had run in the surf and kicked in the sand playing Frisbee.
They had a clam bake on the beach at dusk and then sat on the porch
with hot tea watching the water before going to bed. They had
laughed and loved. She felt her consciousness tear away from her
body, and she floated away on that happy memory.

Violet felt like she had covered
the entire ground of her life while she floated in that
transitionary place between life and death. It wasn’t her reality,
but she didn’t care. She was free and happy, and she had no desire
to return to the place where her life was a mess and everything
around her was confusing. Still, there was an increasingly
insistent tug that her time in this place of happiness was only
temporary. Violet skittered around her memories, pulling them in
close, embracing the sights, sounds, and emotions she felt in each
one. All too soon those memories started to fade, and the ones she
could still touch felt paper thin, as though they were nothing but
hollow shells of things past.