Part 9 (2/2)
”What are you talking about?”
”Magic and science. Alchemy. I devoted my entire lifetime trying to cure death. And, at some point I stumbled across the answer. After all, I'm living proof.”
I scratched the back of my neck. ”What are you saying exactly? You became a vampire through alchemy?”
”I did.” He flashed me a very satisfied grin. It wasn't at all like Matyas's snotty, smug smiles, but instead was pure boyish isn't-it-cool enthusiasm. I felt the corners of my mouth tipping and my heart melting.
”You're cute,” I said.
His eyebrows raised skeptically. ”I am?”
I leaned over to kiss him on the nose. ”Yeah, you are.”
He put an arm around my shoulders, holding us close. ”I always thought cute was a bit of an insult.
Shouldn't I be handsome or powerfully s.e.xy or... ?”
I gave him a more serious kiss, hard and full. His tongue tasted of dill. I lingered long enough to let him know exactly how hot I thought he was. ”You're definitely all that, Sebastian. But, cute, in this case, is good. Trust me.”
”I guess I'll have to.”
I smiled warmly at him. I could live with the whole buried/not-dead lover thing, I decided. Sebastian had a good soul, even if I couldn't see his aura. I was curious about something, though. Something that could complicate my newly sparked feelings toward him. ”Are you hoping to use alchemy to revive Tereza?”
”Yes.” He paused and chewed on his lip, his eyes focused on some internal argument, to which he responded, ”Well, no.” He looked at me and let out a sigh. ”I don't really know.”
I frowned, unable to follow his thoughts.
”Tereza's situation is complicated,” Sebastian said. ”At this point, she's been dead, or rather, undead for a long time. If I could duplicate the formula successfully, which I'm not even sure I could, how can I make her swallow it? An injection wouldn't work, either. It's not like her blood is flowing anymore. I'dhave to come up with something that could be absorbed through dead skin, and again you really need blood flow for all of that to work properly...”
His voice trailed off. Perhaps he realized how much like Dr. Frankenstein he sounded, or maybe he just noticed the horrified look on my face. I wanted to say,Great G.o.ddess, Sebastian, what are you thinking? You don't reanimate a corpse after a hundred and fifty years. Have you never read ”The Monkey's Paw” ? It occurred to me his whole life, or, rather, existence after death, was one big Pet Sematary moment after another. Of course, it seemed reasonable to him.
”I have to re-create the elixir somehow,” Sebastian said sounding nonchalant again, as though we were discussing something completely ordinary. Settling back down in his chair, he turned away from me. ”I can feel the effects fading. If I can't rework my magic, I'll soon be a prisoner of the night... or, well, I'm not sure.”
”So, the potion that made you a vampire also protects you from the sun?”
Sebastian's jaw worked for a moment, then he said, ”Yes.”
I waited for more, because there was something about his simple affirmation that seemed to suggest abut or anand . Instead, he stood up. Walking over to the fence, he pulled up a weed that had sprouted near the base of one of the posts. Methodically, he began moving along the perimeter, gathering up the offending plant matter.
For the moment, at least, the sun seemed to love Sebastian. The brightness that reflected from his white s.h.i.+rt as he stooped and dipped almost hurt my eyes. I sipped more coffee and popped another sandwich in my mouth. As I reclined deeper in the lawn chair, I felt like that old joke, ”I love work-I can watch someone else do it all day.”
I must have dozed, because I dreamt. In my dream, a blue jay hopped out of the maple tree to perch on the linen-covered table. It scolded me with a loud cawing, which somehow I understood as words. The jay said,Get Sebastian's formula, Garnet. It is our demand for what he's taken from us .
Shooing the bird with my hand, I said, ”No way. Anyway, what does a G.o.ddess need with a vampire's magic potion?”
The bird hopped deftly out of my reach and flapped back onto the table. It pecked at the sandwiches, then c.o.c.ked its head to glare at me with a glittering black eye. This time I heard its reply in my mind.The formula is more powerful than he admits. It makes life. That is a woman's power. It should belong to womankind. We want it. It is owed to us .
”We want it, my precious,” I hissed, mocking the G.o.ddess. ”You sound crazy. Forget it.”
”Channeling Tolkien, are we?”
A blue pitcher of ice water sat in the spot the jay had occupied. I blinked, trying to pull myself from my dream/vision. ”Uh, sorry,” I said. ”I'm still kind of woozy, I guess. I was kind of dreaming or something.”
He looked sheepish. ”Yes, well, I got caught up in the moment. It won't happen again.”
A lascivious smile crept across my face; I certainly hoped it would. I remembered Matyas's remark, and my expression sobered. ”It's not dangerous if I don't bite back, right? I mean, that is, if you... we... hadan accident.”
He grinned lightly. ”I don't think so. No one else that I've... uh... well, let's just say, there's only one Tereza.”
”Matyas made it sound like-”
”Matyas would prefer it if I didn't have a s.e.x life.”
Made sense. I mean, I didn't always want to think about my folks getting hot and heavy, and they were married. Sebastian sounded pretty terse about it, though, which made me wonder if there was some history of Matyas coming between his father and a lover. I started to ask him about it, but what came out of my mouth was completely different.
”So, about your formula. You wrote it down?”What ? Why had I asked himthat ? Focus on Matyas, Garnet. I opened my mouth and, ”You have notes at least, right?” came out instead.
”A grimoire.” He nodded. When Sebastian sat back down, I detected the sweet, gra.s.sy odor of pineapple weed on his skin. He smelled surprisingly good for someone who'd been working in the hot sun. There was no hint of sweat. ”I have a ton of notes.”
”What did you mean when you said alchemy made you?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Somewhere, deep inside, I felt the G.o.ddess smile.
He poured himself a large gla.s.s of ice water before answering. He drank it in several fast gulps. ”Just what I said,” he replied. Then, after a moment of consideration, he continued, ”No. The truth is, I'm not certain how I became a vampire.”
How could he not know? ”Isn't it kind of a big moment, the Awakening?”
Sebastian sputtered out a laugh. ”The 'Awakening'? Where do you get your vocabulary?”
I blushed furiously. ”What is it supposed to be called? Anyway, you said, 'dark gift.' That's pretty d.a.m.n cheesy, too.”
He nodded. ”Good point. I also think I talked about being a prisoner of the night.”
”Yeah,” I said. ”So there.”
Taking a sandwich, he smiled to himself. ”Still, 'the Awakening.' Do other vampires say that?”
”You've never talked to any?”
He shook his head. ”Not many. And those few I've met have not really been the sort to hang out and swap terminology with. I find other vampires to be, well, somewhat territorial.”
Well, there was that.
”Yeah, they do call it the Awakening, as a matter of fact,” I said since he couldn't refute my claim, taking the last of the sandwiches out of spite. After I'd swallowed the final delicious bite, I added, ”Anyway, I still don't get how you could not remember the big waking-up-dead moment.” ”Oh, I rememberthat ,” Sebastian agreed, with a wistful look at the crumb-filled plate. ”Who could forget the moment you realize you've been left for dead and buried in a ma.s.s grave? Many of us were killed the night the Turks attacked the stronghold. I wasn't the only person to claw his way out from the dirt and bodies. A lot of people had been left for dead, but I wasn't weakened. In fact, I possessed surprising strength and speed to defend the others from the wolves. Still, I would probably have thought nothing of it, if it wasn't for this,” he touched the spot above his sternum where the scar lay beneath his s.h.i.+rt. ”And, of course, the Hunger.”
Despite the seriousness of his revelation, I couldn't help but tease him, ”The Hunger?”
He laughed, but shook his head with the memory. ”It's a startling thing, the Hunger. Even after all this time, I find it somewhat disturbing when it comes upon me. And, then, when I wasn't expecting it...”
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