CHAPTER 11
I stared in disbelief at the flames that exploded near the bed. I didnt have time to react as Roberto scooped me up in his arms and headed toward the back of the cabin. The back door was useless because flames were licking through the cracks. A fire must have been started all around the cabin. Looking toward the window you could see an eerie orange glow. Roberto put me down.
"Stay right there."
He leapt straight up through the air and seemed to go through the roof. The smoke was starting to thicken in the cabin. I got on my hands and knees like I was taught to do in third grade and made my way over to the kitchen. I grabbed a few of the power bars I had seen this morning and shoved them in my pockets. I had a feeling that we wouldnt be stopping at the local Ihop for breakfast or dinner or what ever the hell we would be eating at this hour. The smoke was thicker now, and I was having a hard time breathing. My eyes burned so badly that tears were running down my face. Where was Roberto? He wouldnt have abandoned me? No, I somehow knew he would never do that to me. After a few more horrible minutes, in which I was sure I was going to die, I heard, "Olivia, where are you? Damn woman I told you to stay put!"
I stood. "Im over here." He reached me, "Thank God. I thought they might have taken you."
"I just wanted to grab a few power bars for the road trip."
"Im afraid it will be more like a hiking trip."
"Why? Arent we going to the car?"
"No, they have the cabin surrounded."
"How are we going to get out of this death trap?"
Even with the thick smoke surrounding us, I saw Robertos handsome smile. "We are going up."
"Going up?"
78 He scooped me up in his arms and leapt straight up. I screamed, but he put his hand over my mouth to stop me. When before I had thought he went straight through the ceiling, he had actually gone through a small square trap door. We landed quietly on the roof of the cabin. I could hear men shouting to one another.
"They havent come out. Must have got them while they slept." I heard one say.
And another, "YES! F*cking weak ass vampires. Gets em every time."
I felt sick to my stomach, realizing someone felt such joy at another beings death.
Roberto whispered close to my ear. "Hang on tight. We are going to jump into the tree line to the left of us. We will need to move quickly to put some distance between us. It wont be long before they find out were not in the cabin."
Holding on for dear life I tried hard not to scream as Roberto leapt into the air and landed with a soft thud in the woods. He hardly hesitated from the impact before we were off and running. It was hard to talk with the wind whistling past us so I just laid my head on his shoulder and let my mind wander. It was strange. I was worried sick about my parents and Janel. My life, as I knew it, was apparently over. The world had overnight changed for all time, and yet I was elated to be in the arms of this man.
I also, despite being chased by a group of deranged scientists and religious zealots, felt safe and secure in his arms. I knew in my head it was too soon, we just met, but when I looked at him, my heart did a little flip flop.
After a while Roberto slowed down to a slow jog. "I think well be okay for a bit if we walk. We put several miles between us, and they will be forced to track us on foot. They wont be able to maneuver any vehicles through these trees."
"Where exactly are we?"
79 "In the Jersey Pinelands. When they abducted you they surprisingly headed south. We were near Cape May when I caught up to you."
"Hmmm, I assumed we were heading north to Buffalo where my parents are."
"You cant predict what these guys will do. For years they have hunted my family and friends. I dont want to frighten you any more than you are, but you have to understand what they are capable of in order to protect yourself."
He stared straight ahead with a heartrending look on his face. "Back in the late eighteen hundreds, I lived with my family in Crecchio, Italy on our estate. We lived there a long time in peace and happiness. It was my parents, my brother, Cristoforo, my sister Abrielle, and I. Abrielle was so beautiful. She had long shiny black hair and eyes so blue it felt like you touched the sky when you looked at her. She was visiting us that day. She had married the year before. Her husband Marco had stayed home to tend to some business. They were expecting their first child in a month, and Marco hadnt wanted her to travel but Abri thought it would be okay since it was just from the neighboring province of Perugia. They grabbed her soundlessly at dusk from her coach on the evening she was to return home. They killed the driver and attendant. Abri was taken. The alarm wasnt sounded for a few hours when a passerby found the bodies by the coach. By then their tracks and scents had cooled.
But we didnt give up. We tracked them all the way to Vienna to a supposed scientists residence. We found her in the basement, on a steel table."
Robertos voice broke, and he finally looked down at me. Sometime during this story he had stopped walking. The tears were falling down my face, and I reached up and held his face in my hands, and because I knew he needed to, I told him, "Go on."
80 His eyes became hard and cold as he said, "She lay on the table still in the peach gown she had been wearing that evening, but now it was stained with her blood. Before we even got close I knew that she was dead, but I was not prepared for the horror I saw. Her head lay at an odd angle and it took me a minute to realize that she had been beheaded. Her bright blue eyes stared back at me unseeing. Believe it or not, that was not the worse to be seen that night. Her baby had been ripped from her womb and was nowhere to be seen. We tore apart the home and slaughtered everyone we found, but there was no sign of an infant. I personally tore the throat out of three Guardians that night and drank their blood. And every night since, I wish that I could kill them again and again. For I will never be satisfied until all of them cease to exist."
I did the only thing I could think of to comfort him, I placed little kisses over his face as I said, "Ohhh Roberto. Im so sorry. I cant imagine finding someone you love like that. Ohhh sweetie I wish I could make it better for you."
He turned his head to capture my lips and kissed me deeply and passionately, as if this would erase the memories.
He pulled back reluctantly. "You do make it better Olivia. Being with you makes my heart lighter than its been in a long time. You remind me a bit of Abri. She had the same gentle spirit you have. She was a little on the shy side, but God help you if you got her angry with you, your life was sure to be a living hell."
His words secretly thrilled me. He looked as if he was done talking about his past. "We better keep walking; we have to get to shelter before dawn."
We walked in comfortable silence for a while. I couldnt help thinking about the horrible things he had experienced. He killed men. Yeah, they were bad men and probably deserved it for what they had done. But I had never known a single person who had taken anothers life.
81 It was a sobering thought. But it didnt matter because I trusted Roberto. He opened his heart to me when he told me about his past, and I knew that I could open my heart to him in the future.
Afraid he was brooding over his tragic past I asked him, "Can you tell me more about my powers?"
He took my hand in his. "Oh" I felt a tingle in my hand at his touch. He stopped walking.
"Well, Im not an expert or anything, but I do know with any type of power you need to harness it. Learn to control it."
He pulled my hand to his mouth and nipped a finger a little before drawing into his mouth.
I felt the heat of his mouth and tongue as if he were between my legs. Every time he sucked on my finger, my body pulsed.
Still laving my finger he murmured rather huskily, "I can smell your arousal Olivia. You must learn to concentrate to not be so effected by your heightened sense of touch"
I stepped up close to him and positioned myself so that I was straddling his powerful thigh. With his head bent down so he could watch me, I was able to reach up high enough to start kissing my way up the side of his neck. I reached his ear and said, "But you like it when I lose control. Dont you Roberto? Mmmm, now I can smell the scent of your arousal and its making me crazy."
What had started out as a lesson to Roberto; that he too could lose control, quickly spun out of control. I found myself rubbing against his leg to find some sort of release from the lust building inside me. I grabbed his head and kissed him hard, sliding my tongue into his mouth to tease and play with his. He kissed me back and slid his hands down to my ass and grabbed me hard. Pure lust took hold of me, and I grabbed a hold of Robertos arms and began to grind harder on him.
82 He broke this kiss off with, "Mio Dio, Olivia, you are magnificent. You make me forget every good intention I have. I want nothing more than to make love to you, right here, right now under the stars."
Giving me a hot look with those sexy blue eyes he promised, "Later Piccolina you can bet that your lesson in self control will resume."
"I will look forward to that." I said in a husky voice.
"Me too, Mia Cara, me too. In the meantime we will travel a few more miles into these woods and then we should hit the bogs."
"Bogs? Like in a swamp?"
"Yeah, there is someone I know that lives in the bogs that will help us."
I looked at him like he was crazy. "You know someone who LIVES in a swamp? How much time do you spend here?"
"Yes I do know someone that lives out here, and I spend a couple weekends a month out here if I can. I like the solitude, and here I can be myself. I can run and hunt and not worry about being seen."
"I can understand how that would be important to you. Is it hard hiding what you are? I guess that is what my life will be like from now on."
"Dont sound so sad. Its not that bad. We have a rather tight knit community of species. There are others that you wont have to hide from. Plus you will have the added benefit of having powers. Dont underestimate what it will be like for you. The world is going to be different when you come into your full powers. Your sense of smell will be so heightened you will be able to smell a predator a mile away. You will be able to see sharply in the total darkness. You will hear the slightest whisper of sound. Feel the tiniest of tremors. You will have amazing abilities. You will become a first class tracker, predictor of nature and possibly a spirit walker."
83 I had no idea what he was talking about, but it didnt seem frightening. It seemed important and powerful, and it seemed like destiny to me.
"Thank you Roberto. I really dont know what I would do without you to guide me through all of this. Im sorry if Ive been a pain."
"Youve not been a pain Olivia. Im very glad you walked into my casino."
I didnt want to bring it up, but it had been on my mind. "What about Alex?"
Roberto sighed, "I know I am breaking some rules here, but he cannot have you. I wont let him touch you again Olivia."
"I dont want to hurt him, but I also dont want to lead him on. I let him kiss me and at the time I wanted more." I was ashamed to admit.
He stopped me and made me look at him, "Olivia, dont be ashamed of who you are. You havent learned to control your powers yet, and what you felt was natural between a man and woman. From now on I will be the only one who will teach you. Agreed?"
Looking at his handsome face I swear I would agree to anything he asked me. Holy crap I wanted this man every minute of every day. All I could say was, "Yes."
"We will be at the bog soon. I need to hunt before we go in. There are more animals out here. While I do that you should rest for a bit and take care of any business.
You should probably eat one of those energy bars until I can provide you with a decent meal. My friend should be able to help us out with that."
"Im a little scared to be out here in the dark. Cant I come with you?"
"You will be fine Olivia. Here is your first lesson. Close your eyes. Now, clear your mind. Reach out with your mind to the world around you. What do you hear Olivia?"
84 I did my best to relax and clear my mind. With my eyes closed, I tried picturing what the forest looked like around us. All of a sudden I heard a rustling in a bush, some small animal that was scurrying back and forth, possibly a chipmunk. I heard the soft rustle of leaves as the wind moved them across the forest floor. Somewhere in the distance I heard what sounded like an animal lapping at water. I opened my eyes and gave Roberto a wide smile.
"That was amazing!"
Roberto and kissed my forehead, "That is just the tip of the iceberg Piccolina. Soon you will learn how to strengthen your abilities and mold them into a powerful gift."
"How do you know so much about a Sensays powers?"
"It is the same for anyone who has abilities. I needed to learn how to fine-tune my own gifts just the same as you. Of course living as long as I have, you have a lot of time to practice honing your skills. As a young pup, my father would take me out into the night and have me listen to the sounds of the world around us. At first it was so overwhelming that I wanted to run away, but my father would be stern with me and help me focus on one sound at a time. That is what I just did with you. It is all about using your mind to focus on your abilities."
I looked at him anxiously. "Will you teach me?"
He tilted my head up and brushed a soft kiss across my lips and said in a husky voice, "I will teach you many things Mia Cara."
I shivered and he laughed. "But right now I will feed and you will take care of your needs. There is a small stream a few hundred yards straight ahead. The water is good to drink. I will meet you there in half an hour. If you need me for any reason, just yell, I will hear you. Im not going far."
He gave me another quick kiss and walked away in
85 the opposite direction. I was smiling to myself as I walked ahead to find the stream. I found the stream easily enough because I stepped in it. Damn, I would be glad when I developed a better sense of sight. It was a nice evening for early May, but I had a feeling walking around with a wet shoe was going to make it feel a lot colder tonight. Well, there was nothing I could do about it. I found a nearby bush and took care of business and went back to the stream to drink some of the water. I sat there listening to the sounds of the night.
While I waited, I ate a power bar, and then decided to try reaching out as Roberto taught me. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on one sound at a time. Cool, I thought to myself. I think I could hear an owl hooting in the distance. I wondered if it would be possible to hear Roberto on his hunt.
Speaking out loud I said, "Hmm, I wonder if thats even ethical."
I jumped out of my skin when a strange voice answered, "Dont care nothin about ethical. I prefer my women immoral."
I opened my eyes and my heart stopped when I looked into a pair of red glowing eyes.