Page 34 of To Love a Vampire
She smiles at them, a look of kindness touching the curve of her lips.
“With the help of many, Luca saved me. Tonight, I ask you all to tell those that you trust, that you care about, that a change can happen in their lives. If they’re strong enough to allow it.”
I glance to Mrs. Hollis, the woman that shows compassion and strength with her every breath. “I’ll arrange a meeting place with Mrs. Hollis. She’ll only reveal the location if the person asking is trustworthy of the information.” Sweat begins to appear at the woman’s brow and she wipes it hastily away as her darting eyes meet mine.
I lean over the hardwood counter now, resting my hand on hers. “Say you’ll help us. Say you’ll help them as well as yourself,” I whisper.
She swallows and adverts her eyes toward the flour-dusted floor. “When I was your age, I wanted kids. Loads of them.” Her lip quivers as she takes a big breath, her chest heaving wide with the movement. “I was told I wasn’t qualified but my cooking skills were above average. They assigned me to cook for the local school instead.” My hand tightens on hers, my chest growing heavier with every word she confesses.
Her breath catches but she continues. “I ran away. I just couldn’t let someone else live my life. They found me though and brought me back to the work camp. Sentenced me to live my life here alone, without my unity partner or family or any children. And I’ve done it. For fifty-six years, I’ve done nothing but live the life I was told I was qualified to have. We’re done with that lifestyle.”
She releases my hand and looks to the overflowing and stifling room full of people. “For those of you that are tired of not having a say in your life, come to me and I will tell you the time and the place for a change.” Her voice booms over the heads of the listening audience. “A change that will promise your children a better life. A life of freedom!”
Anxious smiles greet the cook that everyone knows and respects. My heart leaps at the sight of the responsive community. I whisper a location and hour to the beaming woman and then as quickly as possible, Luca and I scurry back to the woods. Like two mice plotting a secret revolution…
Sixteen
Hostility
Asher slipshis fingers through mine, his palm squeezing a jolt of reassurance through me. The five of us stand in the camp’s shed. Half a dozen tractors are lined against one wall, outdated and twisted metal shine against the dim lighting in the room. It’s as much light as we’re willing to risk at this hour of the night.
Kaino stands with his arms folded across his wide chest, a look of impatience filling the commander’s stern face.
Luca brushes her arm against his. “Relax your posture. These people have never met a mystic before, they don’t want to walk in here and come face to face with a scowling wolf. Smile a little.” She nods to her brother.
He thinks for a moment and then uncrosses his arms, she gives him another reassuring nod. Slowly the most conflicting and tense smile fills his face. A smile that makes my stomach drop. A smile that appears false and a little sadistic.
“Don’t smile,” she says in a rush. “Just, stand toward the back and maybe they won’t notice you too much.”
Declan smirks and joins me at the center of the room. “You sure this is a good idea? What if they decide to just burn this shack down instead? Get rid of the few mystics that are creeping into their territory.”
I turn to him, the shadows hiding his feelings from me. He stuffs his hands into his pockets as he waits for my response. He wants to leave. He doesn’t trust these people. Maybe he’s afraid they’ll reject him. All Declan’s ever felt is rejection, he’s used to it, he anticipates it. My emotions cloud my chest as I look at him.
“They won’t,” I tell him. “They’re trusting us. We have to trust them, too.” I touch his arm and he looks at me, his silver eyes catching the light and holding it in his gaze. He stares at me for a long curious moment before nodding slowly and walking away, back into the shadows.
Footsteps echo through the high rafters—hundreds of footsteps—so many my heart begins to race faster with the sound of each new person walking into the room. Asher squeezes my hands once more before stepping away from me and joining the other three mystics behind me.
Mrs. Hollis stands at the front of the overflowing crowd. They’re a mass of black clothing, dignified clothing assigned by the government to keep them cool in the ever rising heat. I glance back at the shirtless men and the cropped shirt that Luca wears that matches my own.
I cross my arms nervously over my stomach, hiding the exposed skin there, feeling more different than these people I grew up with than ever before. I can feel myself beginning to sink to my own self-doubt.
What if we’re too different? What if they don’t want to work side by side with the mystics? What if they really do just want to burn this place to the ground?
A palm brushes my elbow, I turn, almost expecting Asher but I’m met with the warm eyes of a wolf. Luca smiles at me as she subtly shifts our stance toward the crowd again.
“Thank you all for joining us tonight,” she says in a smooth and confident tone. Her capturing voice and assured movements reminding me of her father in this moment. “Fallon appreciates your support and we’ll start by hearing her journey. A journey that many of you, in a strange way, might find you relate to.”
I stare out at the watchful eyes of the audience that I asked to come here. And I can’t think of a single word to say.
Why didn’t I write something down? I can physically feel the labor my lungs are putting into guiding air through my chest. Heat begins to flame my face, creeping slowly up my neck and cheeks.
I swallow as I rack my mind for what to say.
“My-” A pause fills my mind as I begin speaking without thought. “My mother was just like you. Just like all of you. She obeyed when she wanted nothing more than to run away. She wasted her life away in the confines of this camp. She watched the one man she loved from a distance, never actually feeling love the way you should.” I glance back at Asher as my nerves wash away.
“For those of you who don’t know, Charlotte died last year.” My voice catches, still echoing around us, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve admitted that she’s dead… “She died trying to save me from the life she led. A life that isn’t really a life at all. Is it really living if you’re emotions are scheduled by the government? Love and family and employment are all dictated to us like animals. We’re not animals. The mystics behind me are not animals. We’re the same, them and us.”
I scan the crowd for an instant. “Except they’re free. Hidden but free.”
