Page 43 of Addicted in Blood
“I believe I said some vampires can’t change.”He took her hand and kissed it, which sent the wrong kind of shivers over her.Ones she hadn’t felt in a very long time.And he was the last vampire on earth who should be creating them in her.“But you have.And perhaps you would consider that when you think of others.”
“Perhaps.”She walked through the door then turned.“After all, it’s not like you’re going to live forever.”
His brow lifted and that golden glow sparked to life.
“Haven’t you heard?Those cigarettes will kill you.”She gave him a hint of a smile then strode away.His hearty laugh followed her as she descended in the elevator.
ChapterTwenty-Two
I blinkedas I slowly came out of the dream.A long breath escaped as I stretched my neck from side to side, working out the kinks from another long session.It was somewhere around mid-morning, but as usual, with four solid walls, it was anyone’s guess.
From what Colantha told me after the third middle-of-the-night session, they’d been running from thirty minutes to two hours.If I thought I’d have the evenings to sleep, I’d been living in a fantasy world.I was allowed an hour nap between sessions, and the only thing keeping me going and supplementing my psychic power were the glasses of Colantha’s special juice.It didn’t matter how long each session was, I was given food and an hour nap.
If I hadn’t known it would only last for three days, and the condensed training had been my doing, I would have made a break for it.I’d probably get eaten by a gator before I got anywhere close to a town.At least I had a cell phone.I giggled at my sidetrack to crazy but straightened immediately when Colantha frowned.
“Well.Are you going to enlighten me today or sometime next week when you’re back home?”
She’d been getting testier as each session went by with little to no success.She wasn’t alone.I was feeling the stress.
“I managed to hold the construct this time.I even changed a couple of objects to see if I could.But I don’t feel strong enough to reach out to anyone.”
What I didn’t want to tell her was that I’d been partially cheating.I wasn’t supposed to build a construct from a previous dream.And while my first dreams had been of Oasis, I’d been there once and experienced the garden, lake, and oak tree from a very different perspective.And it was from that viewpoint I created my constructs.
I particularly loved the long arbor in the garden and created the flowers in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors.Not racing through the colors but taking time in between to appreciate the contrast with the foliage supporting the blooms.When I made the leaves a blend of pink and turquoise, the colors must have overwhelmed me.Or maybe it had been the shadow of a presence somewhere behind me.It brought back memories of using my necklace and someone possessing me.I didn’t know if Colantha was strong enough to pull me out of a psychic coma, so I stepped away, collapsing the construct.
Colantha clucked at the minor progress.It was the closest to a satisfied sound she’d made since the training began.“I’ve been thinking about the construct during your very first session.I believe the dream in the alley was in fact prescient.I’m not sure that I can explain why it manifested, but it was the alley itself you’d been trying to avoid.It’s possible that was enough to trigger a prescient dream in that particular location.”She stood and strolled to the table in the corner of the room, her slower pace a sign she was thinking, and poured a glass of juice for both of us.
I was still sitting in the pit.If I could have slept there, I’d be a happy little dreamwalker.But Colantha insisted I return to my room each time.Something about laying on my back to clear my chakras.I thought they were just fine all curled up in a fetal position.
I sipped the juice and stretched my legs, one at a time.“Are we going straight into the next session?How long was the last one?”
She drained her glass then stood over me until I finished mine.“I had wanted to wait until you were faster at building constructs, but it’s critical, as you said, that you learn to control the medallion.”Once she had my glass, she held out her right hand.
My necklace.
“Where did you get that?”I stood, albeit a bit wobbly, and reached for it.
“You need to take better care of it.”
I snatched it out of her hand and looked it over, searching for any damage.“It was in my room—safe and sound.”
“Obviously not safe, since Jamison found it in less than a minute.”
I stared at her.The woman had her vamp steal my necklace, and now she was irritated that I hadn’t hidden it well enough?“I assumed my room was safe from thieves.”
My own irritation didn’t seem to fase her.In fact, her voice grew hard.“Never assume.Hide it well, carry it on you, or store it in a safe.”
I snorted.“Safes aren’t safe enough.”
“Really?”
“I crack safes.Take my word for it.”
It was the first smile I’d seen on her since training started.She was still shaking her head when she sauntered to the opposite side of the room and pressed a button on the wall.A spot light shined from the ceiling, revealing a table large enough for two.
“Come here so you can see the symbols etched into the medallion.”
I stepped out of the pit, eager to learn more, but I was reluctant to let go of the necklace.It didn’t make sense, but there wasn’t any explanation for irrational students who’d had little sleep the last two days.I placed the medallion in the middle of the table and at down, staring at the symbols.
