Part 8 (1/2)

But then my darling Sofia had turned into one. Along with Derek. And they even spoke of turning their children once they were old enough to make an informed decision. And something had stirred within me. A desire to live on past my natural lifetime. I felt blessed to have the family that I had, and somehow, my limited human lifespan didn't feel enough. Knowing that they would go on to live eternally while I pa.s.sed away after a few more decades was haunting.

Sofia didn't stop urging me either.

So here I stood.

So this is the day Aiden, one of the most feared hunters the world has ever known, becomes the very creature he hunted.

Clearing my throat, I knocked on the door.

Footsteps sounded and the short blonde vampire appeared in the doorway.

”Oh, Yuri,” she called. ”Look who's here for your, ahem, services.”

She winked at me and opened the door fully for me to step inside.

Yuri entered the hallway and, rolling his eyes at her, walked up to me and gripped my hand in a firm shake.

”You'll have to excuse my wife,” Yuri said, eyeing Claudia with mock disdain. ”As much as I've tried over the years, I still haven't quite managed to rescue her mind from the gutter.”

Claudia reached up and grabbed Yuri's ear between her fingers, yanking him down to her level to kiss him full on the mouth.

”Baby,” she whispered as their lips parted. ”Stop pretending you'd want me any other way.”

Yuri's cheeks flushed. He pulled away from her and stood up straight, clearing his throat.

”I'll leave you two to it,” she said, winking and floating out of the room.

”Well,” Yuri said, raising his eyes to me and grinning sheepishly. ”Follow me through here.”

I followed him into their spare bedroom, which he had stripped of all furniture, curtains and carpets. Anything that could be stained with blood or ruined in case I was overcome by a violent fit, as was often the case with newly turned vampires.

”You sure you want me to be the one to do this?” he asked, eyeing me dubiously.

Yuri had come to be my best friend on that island-the level of friends.h.i.+p I'd struck up with the young vampire had surprised even me. Somehow, I felt more comfortable with him turning me than my own daughter. I didn't know what state I would wake up in, and exposing my daughter to that side of me before I got control of myself made me very uncomfortable. I trusted Yuri and developed a level of comfort of him over the years that I felt I could discuss things with him-man to man-that I felt embarra.s.sed discussing with others. He just seemed to be the logical choice, the first person to spring to mind, when I thought about who should turn me.

I nodded and lay down on the wooden table in the center of the room.

”Let's just get this over with,” I said, grimacing.

”All right. Man, this ain't gonna be pretty.”

Splas.h.i.+ng cold water over my face, I looked up at myself in my bathroom mirror. Even after eleven years of being a bloodsucker, my reflection still shocked me sometimes.

Those first few years had been harrowing. That all-consuming greed to feed on human blood. To hunt, to harm, to devour. I hadn't allowed myself to even go near the part of the island where my grandchildren lived for the first month after turning. The whole experience had made me more sympathetic toward vampires than I could have ever been before.

Somehow, it had also given me renewed emotional strength.

The day I'd pushed my wife into the pit knowing she'd be burnt alive, I'd thought my ability to feel for anyone else ever again had burned alongside her.

Then along came Adelle. The shy, soft-spoken witch who through her devotion to teaching the children of The Shade soon became appointed headmistress.

The striking red-haired beauty had called to me like a siren the moment I'd laid eyes on her. But I'd still felt too numb inside to do anything about it.

But then, when I'd turned... something had s.h.i.+fted inside me. Perhaps it was a renewal of confidence. Confidence to open up again in ways that I hadn't thought I was capable of while still a human. I supposed that confidence was a natural consequence of knowing you'd live forever.

My daughter had encouraged me ever since I'd first turned. ”You've got forever now, Dad. You need to find someone to live it with other than just me and the kids.”

I'd come to realize that I'd been through enough heartbreak and pain in my mortal life already for much more to make a difference, especially since I now had an eternity to recover from it.

I took a shower and got dressed. Although I dressed casually, inwardly, my stomach was in knots as I prepared myself for what I was about to do. Today was a big day. The day that I was going to ask a girl out on a date. The day I would hopefully escape the dreaded friend zone, as Sofia would have referred to it.

I hadn't told Sofia yet that I was pursuing Adelle. Sofia would find out if and when we became lovers. I smiled as I imagined the smile on Sofia's face if it actually happened.

Leaving my penthouse, I headed toward the Vale and stopped once I reached the town square, in clear view of the entrance to the school where I was due to meet Adelle.

I had to catch myself from exhaling too audibly as she stepped out onto the steps. Her long wavy hair hung loose down her shoulders, and she wore a pretty floral summer dress that stopped just above her knees.

”Aiden! There you are.”

”Hi, Adelle.”

She walked up to me and greeted me with a peck on the cheek.

”Shall we?” I held out my arm for her to grasp and led her away from the clearing and into the forest.

”Well, I'm intrigued, to say the least, about what you might want with me on this fine summer's evening.”

”I thought it'd be nice to take a walk after school for a change, rather than always chatting in the cla.s.srooms.”

We walked through the forest making small talk. I stopped once we reached the old boathouse on the border of the lake. I led her inside and to the edge of the wall, where the windows were open, affording us full view of the beauty of the lake. The scent of fragrant lotuses drifted up toward us.

”Even in the darkness, it's so beautiful here in the summer,” she remarked. ”I always look forward to this time of year.”

”Don't you miss your real home? The Sanctuary? I've heard that the witches' realm is ten times more beautiful than this.”

She leaned her arms over the banister and stared down at the water, gathering her thick hair so it fell down one shoulder.

”Everything is superficially beautiful there,” she said. ”Me? I like raw beauty. Everything feels real, genuine, on this island. And the people. Oh, the people here. They have heart. Something that's rare to find back where I come from.”

”And it's all worth it even with a shortened lifespan?”