Page 42 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Thrall
Hayes coughed to hide a laugh but a living vampire in the row ahead of us shot me a glare that I returned with a wide smile. He looked away at the sight of my fangs and I relaxed back into my seat as West cleared his throat.
"Those of you who have yet to be read by a Searcher, please line up before me."
Everything about his tone was begrudging, but I could see the gleam in his eye even from my seat near the back. He may not want to help us come into our power, but hedidlike showing off his own.
I stood and walked towards the front of the room with a handful of others, all living vampires. One girl tried to elbow me to get ahead in the line and I caught her arm before it could dig into my ribs, snapping it effortlessly and continuing on like nothing had happened as she cursed up a storm behind me.
They could be mad about the death ofColinif they wanted, but I didn't regret it. He had murdered Emerson and who knew how many others. I'd done what was necessary. If I had to break a few bones to drive that point home then I would, happily.
West paused in front of the first vampire in the queue and held his hand to the side of the vampire's head. A faint warmth seemed to come from between his palms and I watched in as much fascination as everyone else in the class as a small glow appeared between his fingers.
West took a step back, nodding as he declared, "Air!" and then waved the living vampire away. Clearly the elemental magick was unimpressive to him, but I thoughtanymagick was fucking cool.
The next guy in front of me stepped forward eagerly and West received him with a look of boredom on his face, placing his hands at the man's temples the same as before. Warmth, then light, and West looked slightly less disinterested as he stepped back. "Flame. I can sense something else within you, but I will have to go deeper." He barely waited for the living vampire to nod before placing his hands against the living vampire's head once more. The glow and heat seemed more powerful this time, like West was channelling more than before, and after a second objects around the room began to float in the air—a chair, a bag, and several books, before West broke the connection and the items fell back to their positions with a thump. "Telekinesis."
The living vampire seemed pleased but West was too distracted by the next face in line to pay him much attention. Mine. "Elowen believes you have some kind of natural resistance to enthrallment."
I nodded as I stepped forward. "Yes."
"But you're hoping for more than that."
I shrugged. "Who wouldn't?"
A small smile ghosted across West's face and I narrowed my eyes.I didn't like the look on his face—not one bit.
He stepped forward and his smile widened when I instinctively tensed. "Let's see what you're really made of," he said quietly and I stared stubbornly back, unsure why he seemed to have such a problem with me. But some members of the undead were just like that—territorial.
His cold hands cupped my face, his fingertips resting at my temples, and I could feel his mind brushing against mine, probing and searching. The gentle warmth of his power began to heat up alarmingly fast and I wondered if this was how it had been for everyone else, if this was all part of the process, or whether he was trying to harm me. My eyes flashed open but West's stayed shut. His whole body had stiffened and his eyes roamed beneath his lids, body spasming occasionally.
I tried to turn my head, to find Hayes, but it was held firmly in place as West’s grip tightened.
I gasped as the heat seemed to sear into my skin and I was surprised when it didn't bubble right off. West's eyes snapped open, wild and distant like he was seeing something I couldn't. A pale hand gripped West's arm, trying to pry it away from me without success, and it was clear that West was no longer in control.
"What are you?" he whispered and as the room darkened, I felt real, true, fear for the first time since becoming a vampire. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the hair on my arms and West's head stood straight up as the tangy scent of ozone filled the air. Wind began to swirl around us, whipping my hair about with a ferocity that felt as freeing as it did concerning. It was like being caught in the centre of the storm. A surge of power charged the air between us and lightning struck just out of my periphery once, twice, three times, the bright light just a smear of white in the corner of my eyes. If there were sounds of alarm, I couldn't hear them past the wind in my ears.
I wasn't sure if this was West's doing or mine, but neither of us had control over it. West's hands shook as they released me and he dropped to his knees, eyes rolling up into his head as he trembled like he'd touched a livewire.
Leonora.It was Hayes, his voice laced with a panic that surprised me as another wave of static-electric power rose in the room, like a tide waiting to sweep everyone away. It cut off Hayes’ words and I drowned in the power that seemed to pulling from me like a conduit.
You need to turn it off, his voice came through again but I didn't know what to do—if this was really my doing, how could I control this power I hadn't known I had?
Though it did feel familiar, tickling my memory strangely as the storm seemed to grow once more, the room now almost pitch-black as the light was sucked out of the air.
Hands touched my neck and the taste of the memory grew stronger, the scent of water and dirt and blood permeating it like a bittersweet coating.
I'm sorry, love.They were the last words I heard before the world ended with a sharp crack.
ChapterTwenty-One
Hunger was allI knew when I awoke. I was in bed and the sheets covering me smelled of Hayes, relaxing me as well as heightening my need to feed.
I sat up and the sheets fell to my waist. At some point someone had changed me out of my clothes and into one of the skimpy nightdresses I'd found in my room—only this one was unfamiliar. Was Hayes the one slipping them into my room while I was gone? Did he have a collection of them in his room just for me?
The air was a cool rush over my skin and I stiffened when I felt eyes on me.
Hayes stepped forward, still half-shrouded in shadow as he watched me.
"What happened?" My voice was a dry rasp that made me wince but Hayes didn't move closer.
