Cave of Terror (14 page)

"I'm going with Brad. Remember?” She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but you don't really know him that well or the other people who might be there. It would be safer if we go together.” That made a little more sense at least.

"We've known him since fifth grade. Hello.” She lifted one hand and flipped it palm up and bugged out her eyes.

"You know what I mean. You don't know him like
that
."

"Whatever."

We walked out the doors and headed toward our cars on opposite sides of the parking lot.

"I'll meet you at your house,” I said.

"Yep. See you in a minute."

Breathe in. Breathe out.

As I stood on the beam, I let out one last cleansing breath before attempting a front aerial side aerial connection—a new flight. I had one last chance to prove I could do it. If I didn't make this one, I'd have to take it out of my routine. Completely psyched about it, that was the last thing I wanted to do. It could give me the edge I needed.

I knew I could do it, but I had concentration issues. With everything falling apart around me, I found it harder and harder to keep my mind on the present task. Mind set is everything in this sport. Talent only takes you so far.

I sucked in a breath and went for it. As I whipped into my front aerial, a prickling cocoon of energy enveloped me—kind of like being trapped inside an electrified balloon suspended in mid-air. Freaky.

When I regained my senses, my body already headed back toward the beam. I struggled to catch my bearings before I crashed head first into the beam. Both feet made it on somehow, but I teetered side to side. Like a monkey, my toes gripped the edges and I managed to save it—barely.

"Oooh, man, that was close. Okay, I'll give it to you,” Larry said. “And, Cheyenne, I liked how you fought for it. That's what I want to see."

He didn't have a clue what I fought for, or who I'd have to fight for that matter. From here on out, my life would be one battle after another. These negative thoughts bit into my mind, leaving me numb to the accomplishment I had just made. I should be ecstatic, but instead my future gloom shadowed the one positive I had in my day—my week.

My life seriously sucked. I felt like a sitting duck. I wasn't safe anywhere. Nothing more than a rat in a cage awaiting its fate. My mood darkened, causing a total brain fart about what had happened on the beam until a static pop zinged my tailbone, sending a jolt straight up my spine.

Immediately, I swung my body around, looking for the cause.

Ryan. Of course.

Without thinking, I stormed right up to him and demanded, “What are you doing here? Your
sister
have another class?” My tone dripped with snark and I didn't really care.

He ignored my rudeness and smiled. “No, my sister left her jacket.” He held it up for proof. “Besides, it was an excuse to see you. I've been getting the feeling you're avoiding me."

"Really? What gave you that idea?"

"Look, I'd really like to take you to dinner or something. How about after you get off gym we go get some Mexican food? Maybe Chuy's?” Hopeful anticipation played across his face.

"I can't. I have ... plans.” I sighed. Another ‘lesson’ with Nicoleta. And I love Chuy's!

"Okay, then how about Saturday night?"

In my peripheral vision, I caught Mandy passing by, reminding me about our Saturday night cave adventure.

"No, I'm busy."

His expression fell, making me feel like a real jerk for being so rude. “Maybe another time. And maybe you'll tell me what's bothering you.” He turned without waiting for a reply and left the gym.

Yep, I was officially an ass.

Nicoleta had already arrived by the time I got home. Her black, sporty Mercedes trespassed on
my
parking spot. Funny how even her car reeked class.

I dropped my stuff by the stairs and headed straight for Dad's office. I knew the drill—another day, another ... lesson. I could hardly wait to find what I had in store for me today. Whoopee!

As I walked through the door, Mom and Dad quietly got up from the couch and walked past me, leaving us in privacy. No doubt we had a lot to discuss.

"Good evening, Cheyenne.” Nicoleta patted the place next to her, inviting me to sit. “I trust you are well?"

"I guess that depends on your definition of well.” I gave her a half-hearted smile and sat next to her.

"Your mom and dad told me what happened in your bathroom last night ... and about the presence you felt during the meeting with the ancients."

I shuddered, unable to hold back the revulsion. “Yes."

"I can imagine that must have been very frightening for you.” Nicoleta reached out and placed her hand on my knee, a gesture of comfort.

"He was in
my
house. In
my
bathroom. He not only violated my privacy, but my sense of safety as well. And I know he was in here, too.” Blood pounded through my veins and my breaths came in rapid succession. “How can he just show up wherever he wants and me not be able to do anything about it?"

"You
can
do something about it. It is within your power, but it's up to you to discover what it is."

"What?"

"I can't tell you."

"You say I have the power, yet you can't tell me what it is? That doesn't even make sense.” I huffed out a breath. How gay! Would I have to start solving riddles now?

She sighed. “What I mean is that you hold the key, and I don't know what it is. Think of it as a password to get into MySpace. You're the only one that's supposed to know what it is. If everyone else knew it, it wouldn't be very secure."

She knew about MySpace? Interesting. I looked up at the ceiling and thought for a minute. “So, you're telling me I have a secret password that only I know, but I have to figure it out?"

"That's correct."

"I can't make one up myself?"

"No, you cannot."

I shook my head in complete disbelief. “Do I go through the dictionary until something clicks? How the heck am I supposed to know when I've found the right one?"

She smiled. “No, Cheyenne, you won't need a dictionary. It won't do you any good anyway. It's more of a phrase, not a single word. And you will have no doubt when the right one appears."

"Appears? Like it will show up on say ... a foggy mirror?” I couldn't resist throwing that in.

Nicoleta leaned against the back of the couch. “No. What I mean is you'll come up with it all on your own, and you'll have no idea why you said what you did. It just ‘appears’ in your mind."

"Okaaay."

Sure, why not? I mean I am a vampire after all, not to mention a
Vanator.
Why can't I have passwords spontaneously popping into my head? Totally makes sense to me.

"I know it sounds a bit unbelievable now, but soon it'll become second nature to you. We've all had to adjust to what we are and how we fit in.” Nicoleta patted my knee, her beautifully manicured long, ruby nails glistening in the light.

"Yeah, about that.” I leaned toward Nicoleta and braced my hand on my legs. “Why are we blindsided on our sixteenth birthday of all days? Why can't we know of our heritage from the start? I think it's cruel to allow a child to believe they're human when they are anything but that."

"You think that's cruel?” Nicoleta narrowed her eyes. “Cruel is watching a whole family be slaughtered because an innocent child, who didn't know any better, let it slip that she belonged to a vampire
clice
. The next thing you know a full-out witch hunt commenced."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. How horrible. That would never happen now.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking it won't happen today. People fear what they don't know. It's best to protect the innocence of the young and assimilate them into society, allowing them to believe they are just like anyone else until they're old enough to understand the consequences of revealing the truth to a human or another race for that matter."

Another race besides humans and vampires? I had no desire to go there.

"So stop with the pity party and accept what you cannot change.” Her fingers clenched into tight fists.

Whoa! That statement hit me in the face like a stream of ice cold water.

"We all have our burdens to bear.” A note of sadness crept into her voice.

I felt a moment of shame and ducked my head. Something told me Nicoleta had a few stories of her own to tell.

When the silence stretched on, I lifted my head to glance at her. Her eyes were fixed on me. She had apparently been staring at me the whole time.

"I think it's time I told you something.” She gazed into my eyes as if reaching for my very soul. She continued to study me as the pause became rather uncomfortable. I turned my body away from her. “I knew your great-great-grandmother."

I swiveled my body back around toward her. “What?"

"Yes, mentored her.” She looked at me as if she attempted to send me a message telepathically.

"You mentored her?” I pulled at my lower lip. “Wait ... my great-great-grandmother was a
Vanator
like me?"

She bobbed her head up and down slowly. “More like you are a
Vanator
like your great-great-grandmother."

"But I thought she died of old age?"

Nicoleta glanced away, unable to look me in the eyes. I could guess what that meant.

...
Vanators have a short life expectancy.

...she was like a daughter to me.

My eyes widened. Oh, my God! My great-great-grandmother must have been the last one who had almost killed off the
Liliacs—
the one Nicoleta thought of as a daughter. I glanced at her. A single tear slipped down her face.

"She risked everything to save our
clice
and lost her life in the process. I thought you should know the truth.” She reached out her index finger and tilted my chin up. “I see much of her in you.” She dropped her hand back to her lap.

"I never knew much about her."

"No, you wouldn't have. She died long before you were ever born.” Tears once more glistened in her eyes. “I loved her,"—Nicoleta's voice broke—"but I couldn't keep her safe."

Guilt and remorse shadowed across her face. Sympathy swelled in my heart. This must be one of the forced burdens she had to bear. I had no comforting words, so I remained silent.

Nicoleta reached behind her neck and fumbled with the clasp of her necklace, then let the gold chain pool in her hand and extended it toward me. “It belonged to your great-great-grandmother. It had been ripped from her throat and thrown on the ground beside her body. I've worn it ever since, waiting for the day I could pass it on to the next
Vanator
who would ... avenge ... her death."

Well, I could've done without knowing the details. I accepted the necklace with the tear-shaped pendant and secured it around my neck. I tucked it inside my shirt like I had seen Nicoleta do. The warm metal surrounding the black and clear gemstone rested against my skin. A tingling sensation radiated around the pendant. Unconsciously, I reached up and covered it with my hand. I inhaled a small breath.

"What's the matter, Cheyenne?” Nicoleta frowned.

"It kind of feels like it's tingling or something."

She smiled. “That means it belongs to you. You can feel the power. This is good."

I touched the pendant again. “And a bit weird. I've never had a necklace that felt ... alive before."

Nicoleta's lips flattened and her nostrils flared as she speared me with a stare. “It could save your life one day."

Not that I wanted to get into it, but wouldn't my great-great-grandmother have been wearing the necklace when she died? I tried to shake the thought from my already bursting with way too much information mind.

"I know what you're thinking—that she had the necklace on when she died. No, it had been savagely ripped from her body.” She paused and swallowed hard. “You must never become separated from it. From now on, it's a part of you. Do not even remove it when you shower. I think you can understand why after last night."

I guess it's a good thing it was a beautiful pendant since apparently I'd be wearing it the rest of my life—a fashion accessory for every occasion.

"One more thing before I leave. I need to see your mark—see if it's changed in any way.” She scooted forward on the couch.

Why not? I stood, then realized I hadn't taken the top of my leo down as I normally do toward the end of gym because of how tight the dang things are. Pulling my arms through the sleeves of my t-shirt, I fished around until I could push the leo straps off my shoulders, then I popped my arms back through the holes of the sleeves. Nicoleta watched with amusement as I completed the task. I turned around and tugged the right side of my bottoms down.

Nicoleta brushed her fingers across my mark. “Wow. Cheyenne, I've never seen anything like this. You're coming so close to being full power. It took your great-great-grandmother years to develop hers."

Since I didn't feel any different, the whole ‘being close to full power’ thing didn't mean much to me. I craned my neck around to see if I could tell if the mark had changed—just a blur of colors.

"Have you had a
bloodcrave
yet?"

"No, but I'm hungry all the time and can't seem to ever get full enough."

"Ah, you're getting very close.” She dug in her purse and pulled out a sample size vitamin container. “Keep these in your purse and near at all times. You're changing so rapidly I have a feeling the
bloodcrave
is going to hit you hard. You'll probably need at least two the first time it happens and one a day afterward or as needed."

"Let me guess, my body will let me know what I need."

She slightly narrowed her eyes. “Yes, as a matter of fact it will, smarty pants. You do understand the seriousness of this situation, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Just so we're clear, the
bloodcrave
is a hunger like you've never experienced in your life. It's strong and immediate. And if you don't take care of it at the onset, it could be very dangerous for you and anyone else around you.” She extended the bottle toward me and I took it. “The supplements look and feel just like real vitamins. They have a special coating for effect. That way if any human comes in contact with them, they wouldn't know the difference. Humans aren't harmed if they happen to accidentally ingest one. They may have a stomach upset and possibly vomit, but they won't be harmed."