Full Circle

Chapter 4

I wake up still in my jeans and bra. I look next to me, see Logan there still asleep, and cannot help but to smile. I notice the top of his shoulder no longer has a wound. The only sign of what happened last night is a slightly pink imprint of my teeth. I reach out and run my finger along the smooth pink marks and another smile forces across my face.

A loud squeal bursts out of me as Logan puts one strong arm around me and pulls me into him. His lips come down hard on mine and I use my tongue to caress the tip of his. He releases me and I roll on top of him with one leg on either side. I look down at him and he looks up at me. This time he wears a grin.

“So, you’re like me… or I am like you?” I am having a difficult time accepting that I am not just an ordinary human, but it is clear that last night wasn’t ordinary human actions.

“Are you asking if we are both vampires?”

I cringe at the word but nod my head. He grabs one of my hands, brings it to his lips, and plants a kiss on the front of my fingers.

“Yes, we are, and I want to fill you in on everything, but I think we should include Ana and Isiah. First, let's get something to eat.”

At this statement, I feel my eyes grow wide and worry spread through me. He must have noticed because he instantly pulls me into an embrace.

“Eat as in real food. Bacon. Eggs. Pancakes.” He lets out a laugh, but I didn’t really find it funny.

“This is obviously very new and all I know about vampires is movie stuff. Feed on humans, large fangs just popping out, stakes, garlic, no reflection. That type of stuff. So, we can eat food?” He lets out a playful chuckle and I give him a glare.

“Yes, we can eat food.” His smile fades and he lowers his voice. “And we do need human blood, or we will become very ill, but we still need regular food too. We are not dead like movie vampires, just different... You will have fangs that extend right before you feed, but I wouldn’t really call it popping out.” There was definitely a hint of mockery in his voice as he repeated the term I used. “And your teeth return to normal size afterward” He opens his mouth to show me and I blush to remember the out-of-body experience I had when he sunk his teeth into me.

“How come my teeth didn’t grow?” I felt completely ridiculous at the question, still not totally comfortable with all of this.

“They did”, he said with a small smile. “You don’t really feel it”.

He continues to answer the rest of my questions. “Garlic is good on pretty much everything and you do have a reflection.” He caresses my neck where I imagine I have a pink imprint similar to the one on his shoulder. “We also heal pretty fast.”

I am not sure what to say to all this information, so I smile and then climb off him and look around for my shirt before I remember it is torn in two. I find my sweater and pull it on over my head.

“Is there a bathroom I can use?” He points to a door to the right of the fireplace.

I don’t know why, after what I have seen of this house, but I am amazed at the size and beauty of this bathroom. In the far corner, there is a giant rain shower. One wall and the floor are dark stone, and the other walls are glass, ceiling to floor. Near the shower is what looks like a closet, but upon closer inspection, I realize it is where the toilet is. On the back wall is a large window that stretches the whole length of the deep jacuzzi tub and it reaches from the edge of the tub all the way to the ceiling. The view from the large window is a beautiful green forest, that seems to go on as far as the eyes can see. The grey sky and fog resting in the treetops makes the view almost look like a painting.

I make my way to the long vanity counter, with double sinks, and a gigantic mirror rimmed with lights. I am shocked at my reflection, but at least I have one.

After all the tears, the arguing, the no-makeup after showering away the crime I committed, and sleeping, I honestly expected to see a hot mess in the mirror, but that is not what I see. I see a clearer complexion, smoother hair, and my eyes are not as swollen as they felt last night. I feel different, not just in my appearance, but emotionally and mentally. The overbearing feeling of shame and remorse that I felt only a few hours ago has subsided some. The fear of what is happening to me and what all this means is also winding down.

I emerge from the bathroom to see Logan dressed and waiting for me. “Ready?”

“I am as ready as I can be with no toothbrush, clothing, or a hot shower.” He chuckles, grabs my hand, and leads me out the door.

I spent the whole walk to the kitchen, examining the house and all its splendor, so I wasn’t caught off guard by the size and magnificence of the kitchen. I was, however, eager at the strong smell of coffee and bacon. We make our way through the kitchen into a dining area, where Ana and Isiah sit next to each other at one end. Some of my intense emotions from last night may have diminished, but I am still furious at Ana and our entire fake friendship.

At the sight of food and coffee, I sit down at the table anyway and Logan takes the seat next to me. At first, we eat in silence and I practically swallow my cup of coffee in one large gulp. I can tell everyone, except for Ana, is shocked by this, but she does know me well enough to know that I essentially bleed coffee.

“Can someone please, starting from the beginning, tell me what is going on here?” I say this clearly and calmly because I want to know what is going on and I am tired of getting broken chunks of information that make no sense to me.

Ana starts speaking first, “Isaiah, Logan, and I all grew up together, in a small town comparable to Shelton. Shikaar is so small that it is more of a village than a town. The entire town is made up of people who believe that vampires are unnatural. Most vampires are brutal, evil, and have no regard for human life. The war between the Shikaaree people and vampires has been ongoing for many generations.” She says all this with such passion and conviction.

“I don’t understand… If I am a vampire and Logan is a vampire” – “and me” Ana adds in and I am really not surprised, but I am reminded that I know nothing about her. “If we are all vampires, except Isiah, why would we be helping a community of vampire hunters? That sounds a little self-destructive.”

“You don’t really have to do anything you don’t want to do; however, Iry and her henchmen will never stop hunting you. As soon as they know, you are the one meant to fulfill the prophecy, you are the only creature that walks the face of this earth that has the ability to kill her, she will be relentless.” Isiah is the one talking now, and I feel a shift in the atmosphere, and I see the look of fear on all their faces and I know that they all believe this without a doubt.

Both Logan and Ana jump out of their seats and become visibly alert. “Are you guys okay?” Logan responds with a low “Shhhh…” as he yanks me to my feet and pulls me close to him. Not a second later, a man wearing all black, appears in the doorway, blocking the only exit.

“We are here for the girl. Hand her over and we will leave quietly.” The man speaking is very large. His body seems to barely fit in the doorway. His eyes are pure black. I want to run more than anything, but there is nowhere to go.

Logan is the one who replies, “not a chance”. Within a blink of an eye, Logan was at the doorway, snapping the enormous man’s neck and his body dropped to the floor with a loud thud. At the same time, Ana picks up a nearby chair, snaps a leg from it, and throws it to Logan. Logan catches the chair leg and plunges it into the chest of the man’s body.

All three of them herded me through the dining room and the kitchen. We entered a hall where we find 3 men, who looked almost identical to the first man, on either side of us. Six vs. four is not great odds. Ana, Logan, & even Isiah spring into action. Isiah seems more like bate than actually taking action. Logan & Ana are so fast it is hard to keep track. I saw them both snap the necks of two of them. And then two more. Four bodies hit the floor.

I feel two strong hands wrap around each of my arms from behind and I realize that I have been standing here petrified, watching, but not reacting. I began to awaken inside. A sensation starts building up within me and releases in the form of aggression. My longing to flee transforms into a desire to kill.

I grab hold of the goon’s hands and flip his giant body over me. He is smoother than anticipated and lands directly on his feet, but we now face each other. My hearing narrows on the attacker’s heartbeat. I became so focused that I could practically see the heart beating in his chest. I lift my arm and plunged it hard into his upper body. I grab hold of his warm beating heart and teared it from his chest. I drop the heart on the ground and then feel another dominant presence approach me from behind.

I swing around and clutch a man’s throat. I begin to dig my nails in before realizing that this is not one of the henchmen, but Logan.

At this recognition, I relax and release my grip. I do understand what I have done, but I don’t feel the way I did the night before. I took another life, but it seems I am feeling less remorse and less guilt. It is hard not to wonder if this makes me a monster. What am I becoming? Logan pulls me into him. It’s like he knows what I am thinking because the only thing he says is “you’re going to be okay”.

Isiah opens a nearby closet and tugs out a heavy metal box and opens it. He pulls out a large shard of wood carved with a point and walks over to the nearest body and plunges it into his heart. Ana & Logan take a stake out of the same box and do the same to four other bodies, excluding the one I removed the heart from.

“Why do you guys stake them, when they are already dead?” I am pretty sure I know the answer to this because I have seen plenty of vampire movies and television shows, but I have already learned today that that is not a reliable source of information.

To my surprise, Isiah is the one who answers, and I have observed in the brief time that I have known him, he is quiet or at least to me. “They are subdued when you snap their necks, but only temporarily. They will awaken after a short time unless you stake their heart, remove their head, or apparently rip out their heart.”

Ana hooks her arms under the arms of one of the henchmen and looks directly at me. “Grab that guy.” She says while pointing to one of the other men’s bodies. “We need to take care of these bodies, and then we need to come up with a plan. I thought we had some time. I thought Iry didn’t know you were an inborn vampire, but if they came for you, she knows.”

I am not sure if I can carry one of these giants by myself, but I do as she said. Either this guy is lighter than he looks, or I am much stronger than I thought. I hook my arms under his arms and drag his feet along. Ana leads the way out a back door, and we carry them quite a way into the woods. Isiah and Logan arrive at the same location carrying shovels. They begin to dig a hole and Ana and I return to the house to bring out more bodies.

As we drag another set of bodies into the woods, I want to ask Ana about some things. I am still mad at her, but I miss her, and I am still left with so many questions. I started with a simple one to try and break the ice.

“So, you and Isiah?” She stops and smiles at me and says, “so, you and Logan?” We both burst into laughter, and it feels really good to see her laugh. It feels really good to laugh with her. At the same time, we drop the henchmen and hug each other.

“I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I withheld quite a bit of information, but our friendship and how I feel about you is all very real.” I have to think about what she said for a moment. I grab the body up off the ground and start dragging him along again. Ana does the same.

Once we dropped the bodies next to the now huge hole, I finally replied. “I hope that is true, because I feel betrayed. Realizing how little I know about you has been a harder pill to swallow than learning that I am a vampire”.

“I understand that completely, and I hope you can forgive me.”

I can tell she is sincere, and I do miss her, but I have yet to forgive her. I didn’t reply but headed back to the house.

After we finally buried the bodies, we all stood around the large patch of fresh dirt.

“I know this is really bad timing, but I need to go home.” Everyone looks at me, but Ana replies.

“What do you mean you need to go home?”

“I mean I need clothing, I need a toothbrush, I need a shower, and I have work tonight.”

“Zara, with Iry knowing you are an inborn vampire, you can’t leave. This is the safest place for you right now.”

“How is this the safest place for us, Ana? We were just attacked here?”

Logan is the one to reply now, “We told you, this war has been going on for generations. The people from our village will want to help. I will send for the Shikaaree, and we will set up guards around the property and the house. We will be protected here at least until we come up with a plan” I felt a little better about this situation knowing that we would have help.

“I will still need clothing, a toothbrush, and a shower.”

“I set you up a bedroom a long time ago. I knew we would end up here at some point. It has everything you need including your own bathroom. Logan will show you where it is, while Isiah and I start making calls and brainstorming a plan. I was going to tell you about your room last night, but you stormed off and apparently found somewhere else to sleep” Ana says the last part with a giant smile on her face.

Logan rolls his eyes at Ana, grabs my hand, and leads me toward the house. I am not wearing any makeup today, so there is no hiding my bright red cheeks. I am torn at the idea of my own room. After everything I have seen of this house, I know it will be remarkable, but I am also a little displeased that I won’t be spending the night with Logan again.

I was excited when we reached the large double doors directly across from Logan’s bedroom. I gave him a playful shove.

“You knew my room was here all along? I told you this morning that I need clothing and a toothbrush.”

A breathtaking smile appeared on his face. “I was hoping for another sleepover before you moved into your room.”

I want to invite him in, and I want to feel his lips on mine, but I remember that I am covered in blood and dirt. “I need a shower and a serious nap.” I bite at my lower lip and watch him with amazement as he pulls his shirt off. “I need a shower and a serious nap too”. He swoops me up with one arm, and we enter my bedroom together.