Opulent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) (2 page)

A
warm ray of sunlight flooded into my room for a brief moment, just long enough for the light to warm my face, waking me. I tried to recall the night before, wondering if it really happened. I shifted slightly and something gently touched my arm. My head pounded painfully against my skull. Fitzray sat on the edge of my bed. His marvelous green eyes settled on me.

“What happened?”

“You passed out,” he said quietly, “and you hurt your head pretty bad, so I took you here, to your house. When I turned to tell your brother Zaire about what happened, you begged me to stay and I did.”

              Without warning, the door flew open and Amelia stood in the doorway, her eyes narrowed to glare daggers at Fitzray.

“
You
. What did you do to her?”

              Before he could reply, Calvin rushed through the door at Amelia’s heels. He let out a sharp hiss when he caught sight of Fitzray. Fitzray loosened his grip around my arm and growled in response.

              Zaire appeared from behind Amelia and Calvin and grabbed their shoulders, dragging them both down the hall before either of them had a chance to speak to us.

“I suppose I won’t be going over the Bridge.”

“I’m afraid not. Maybe another month.”

              At the sight of my disappointment, he let out a sigh and smiled, running his icy fingertips down my arm.

“So how long have you been a vampire,” he inquired softly.

“Not all that long, barely a year.”

“I suppose you don’t know much about the vampire ways here.”

“No, this world is confusing to my everyday life. Zaire hasn’t been of much help either.”

              He chuckled softly and held out a rose in one of his porcelain hands. His hand was bleeding from the sharp thorns that protected the beautiful flower. He studied my expression for a moment in silence.

“For starters, vampires aren’t supposed to faint at the sight of blood.”

“I didn’t faint at the blood. You
petrified
me. You…you murdered an innocent woman. It had nothing to do with the blood,” I said, casting a glance toward the bloodied rose in his hand.

“I wouldn’t call her
innocent
. Her intentions were worse than you think. ”

“How would
you
know?” I spat, insulted.

“Listen, I’ve been around long enough to know when Hell’s about to break loose. I stopped that from happening. I did you
a favor
.”

“You still murdered a woman.”

“She brought that upon herself. Besides, she’ll come back in another life,” he said with contempt.

              My hands flew to my head that pulsed with discomfort, causing a groan to escape my lips.

  “I have something at my house that can help with the pain.” Fitzray offered suddenly as he rose to his feet.

“Can I come with you?” The words slipped off my tongue so slickly, but if I could harness them and take them back, I would have. I was in no condition to travel.

“If you must, I won’t stop you.”

              He helped me to my feet and I tightly gripped his hand for balance. I should have sat back down, but instead I fought to stay on my feet. Something in my head told me to appear strong before this potentially dangerous vampire. Here, on Catastrophe, it was survival of the fittest and I was not taking any chances. I could not have the appearance of prey. I could not appear weak.

              While he guided me outdoors, I tried desperately to masquerade my lingering mortal-like qualities. It was cold and I could not help but shiver. The fact that I was clutching Fitzray’s hand like a child did not make it any better. Fortunately for me, he did not appear to be paying much attention.

              He snaked me through the woods as a cold drizzle began to fall. It became foggy and I strained my eyes to find him. We had not walked very long, but I was tired and I wanted to go home already. Fitzray shouted something and I turned around.

              With the fog rolling in thicker still, the path before me was barely visible. The dense fog prevented me from seeing a large tree root in my way, which, when I stumbled over it, forced me into cold water.

              Cold water, ice-cold water, encased my being. All of my senses were completely gone, and despite my attempts, I just could not break the water’s surface. My head was spinning while water went up my nose. I swam upward, stretching my arms at full length, hoping to grab onto anything at all, but there was nothing. I thought I was going to break the surface when a force pushed me back down. My body was numb as I fell into the dark depths of my subconscious.

              The cold water submerged my thoughts for a long while until something warm touched my face, forcing my eyes open. Fitzray was bent over me. His raven, shoulder-length hair hung down, his head inclined toward me. My hands clutched a soft carpet. Fitzray’s back was to an ignited fireplace that illuminated the room and cast warmth around us.

“Are you okay?” He asked, placing his other hand on my face, his wet hair tickling me.

              In an instant, he was gone and a few seconds later, he sat on a large red velvet chair in front of me. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. He silently handed me a large mug. The liquid that filled the mug was bitter and I quickly handed it back to him.

“It’s for your headache. It will help relieve the pain, trust me.”

              My head still hurt, but the pain no longer clouded my thoughts as it once did. I took another sip of the drink and made a face of disapproval, swallowing quickly though it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Why are you going through so much trouble for me? You must have better things to do then to tend to my needs,” I said at last.

              He shrugged. “You need some looking after.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Now, now, let’s not be resentful. After all, I
did
just save you from drowning.”

“I didn’t
need
your help. I could’ve saved myself if you hadn’t plunged into the water to save me.” 

              He straightened up and leaned against the chair slickly. For a moment his gaze rested on the bottle he held in his hands.

“If that’s what you think.”

“I mean…I don’t even know you.”

“Oh you don’t?” He laughed quietly to himself.

              I looked at him with a new sense of perplexity.

“I’m just messing with your head.” He said after a few suspenseful moments of silence.

“I…should be going home.” I handed him the mug, my head jerking in the direction of the door.

              His hand gripped my shoulder and I turned back to face him. He did look familiar in some way.

“You should rest,” he insisted.

“No, honestly, I’m fine.”  

“Should I come with you?”

“No, stay here. I will be fine.”

              He shrugged on his cape and set the bottle down on the velvet chair.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“So you’re going to walk me home?”

“Well,
can
you walk?”

“I think so.” With Fitzray’s hand offering leverage, I was able to stand without much difficulty at least.

              Outside it was misty and cold. The first signs of daybreak erupted through the clouds of the passing storm, making me realize that I had spent the whole night unconscious in a stranger’s house. This only pushed me faster and I did not stop until I saw my brother’s old shack. I never thought I would be so relieved to see it in my life.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m just keeping an eye out for you,” he chimed in a near-mocking tone.

“Still, thanks.”

              Once I turned to open the door, Fitzray called my name. I was not out of the woods yet.

“Come back to my house later. I’ll tell you all about the insanity of this obscure planet.”

              I smiled and walked inside, not giving his words much thought. “I’ll see you later then,” I called back in attempt to appease him.

              Zaire was not there when I entered the house so I went up to my bedroom. Amelia and Calvin sat on my bed half-asleep but became alert when they saw me.

“What happened?” Amelia shouted loudly, practically jumping up.

“Well, I was nearly killed by a couple of clan members and a werewolf…and nearly drowned in a lake, but that’s not any new news on my account.”

“I knew that guy was trouble!” She cried.

“He’s not all bad,” I struggled to justify. “He saved me today.”

“Well, just as long as you’re ok.” Calvin mumbled, barely listening to me anymore.

“Well, now that you’re here safe and sound, I’m going home. It’s like four in the morning and I am exhausted. But this conversation is
not
over!”

              Once she left, I looked at Calvin, his sleepy eyes coming to life before me. Tiny orange sparks glittered in his black eyes, like dying embers that caught fire again. When his eyes took their radiant orange glow, he stood up and stretched, letting out a yawn.

“I’m going home too.” He said, quickly kissing my cheek.

“Good night.”

“Yeah, good night, sweet dreams…see you tomorrow I guess,” he cooed and sluggishly left the room.

              Silence enveloped the room as soon as my friends were gone and in the moment of peace, I rested my aching head against my pillow and fell asleep.

S
unlight beamed off the tips of my eyelashes and warmed my face, slowly waking me from deep slumber. I sat up and stretched out my arms, inhaling a deep breath of dust. Light bounced off the decaying walls and illuminated the corners that showed off their cobwebs. I could almost see all of the dust particles swarming around me.

              Recalling my encounter with Fitzray the previous day, I changed into jeans and a warm sweater. I walked outside and noted that the moons were separating; the sun’s rays were breaking through. Since no one was home again and I had nothing else better to do, I figured I would take Fitzray up on his offer.

              Desperately, I tried to recall the way to Fitzray’s house and shortly found myself lost in the woods. It only took a deep growl to send me running as fast as I could, causing me to stumble over branches and brush. I nearly fell into the creek again. Then I saw it - two large metal gates opened to a large driveway.

             
This must be it,
I told myself as I looked up at the huge house.

              I arrived at the door, hoping it was the right house and knocked as loudly as I could.

“Come in!” I heard Fitzray shout from a distant room in the house.

              With relief that I was at the right place, I walked in, dazzled by what I saw. The windows looking out to the front porch were open, the light from the morning sun flooded through them and the white scarves hanging on the curtain rod above them swayed in the breeze. It was much larger inside than it appeared outside with its high ceiling and grayish white marble tile floor. In the distance there were two red velvet chairs and a plush white rug was stretched out before the majestic stone fireplace. The polished wood staircase followed, leading up to the second story of the house. I looked to my right where a black leather couch remained in front of a plain coffee table. Not far from that, an archway led to the kitchen. Thunderous music played, echoing through every room.

“Fitzray?” I could only hope he heard my voice over the music.

“In here,” he hollered from the kitchen.

              I had to admit, for a vampire, he had an enormous kitchen. The kitchen was probably twice the size of the first floor of Zaire’s house, with its mahogany cabinets and granite tops, an island located in the middle of the room. A small silver birdcage was located on a stand in a far corner.

              He turned to me and smiled, apparently happy to see me. He was wearing a white button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black pants. It seemed he was dressed a bit formal, but I decided it was best that I did not comment.

“Hey, did you get lost?”

“How can you tell?”

“Lucky guess,” he said, eyeing me. I ran a hand through my hair; leaves and twigs were tangled and twisted in a big mess on my head.

“Oh…well.” I started to claw the leaves from my hair and felt reddened to my face, green eyes still staring.

“Do you need some help?” He reached out to pull a tangled twig from my hair.

“No! I’m fine. Trust me, this happens a lot.” I stumbled back quickly, throwing up a hand to prevent him from coming any closer.

“I suppose it’s just something to get used to.”

              My eyes flicked to the nearest object, the birdcage, wanting to change the subject. “Do you have a bird?”

“No, I don’t have a bird.”

“What is it then?”

“Charlene,” he called.

              At that moment, a beautiful white bat flew into the room and landed on his shoulder. A heavy white coat of fur covered her body. Her eyes were sinister.

“What a miraculous creature,” I said with a smile.

              All of a sudden, she flew from Fitzray’s shoulder. Her exposed fangs gleamed while she flew at her full speed toward my face. Before her fangs took off my nose, Fitzray launched forward. He held her tightly in his hands as she struggled, her wings firmly pressed to her body. She screeched sharply and bit her master’s hand with full force, still struggling to break free and glowered at me, the intruder.

              Fitzray rushed up to the cage and threw her inside, slamming the door shut. His cool blood dripped from the deep puncture wounds on his right hand as he proceeded toward the kitchen sink. He placed his hand beneath the cold water that spilled from the faucet.

“I’m sorry…she…she’s usually good with strangers. I don’t know what happened.”

“I thought…she was a fruit bat.”

“She looks like a fruit bat, doesn’t she, but she’s not, she’s a vampire bat. She was the daughter of my mother’s bat.”

“
Was
the daughter of your mother’s bat?”

“My mother was killed on a trip over the Bridge a long while ago, as well as her bat who had tried to protect her.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right.”

              I glanced at his hand that was still gushing blood.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, following my gaze.

              He turned off the water and placed his hand gently on the counter. With his pointer finger and thumb, he pinched the broken skin together and once he removed his fingers, the wound was gone.

“How did you do that?”

“It takes a great amount of power for a vampire to heal wounds. It’s a great advantage to be able to heal your victim’s skin so there isn’t a trace of stolen blood. Only a few vampires have this ability.”

“Is that so?” I inquired, half-interested, working the twigs out of my hair.

“You know, you had a long scratch running up your arm when I pulled you from the creek, and I healed that.”

“Thank you…again.”

“Anytime,” he purred, taking a step toward me, “now come, let me…explain some things-,”

              A loud rumble shook the house. We ran to the window to find that the two moons, Earth’s moon and our moon Clesta were moving back together in their eclipse. The sun disappeared behind the clouds once again.

“What does this mean?”

“I’m not sure. The eclipse isn’t over…but it has begun again. This only happens once every hundred years or so, an eclipse lasting longer than one month.”

“So what do we do now that the eclipse is longer than usual?”

“I am going to cross the Bridge again.”

“I want to come with you.”

“Have you crossed the Bridge before?”

“No but-,”

“Then I cannot let you come with me. You are still too young of a vampire to cross the Bridge anyway. In time when you learn to defend yourself in this world, nevertheless in the mortal world, I will bring you across the Bridge myself.”

“But that’s not fair! I must go over the Bridge of Secrecy. Please Fitzray, let me come with you. I’ll be safe beneath your wing.”

“No, you will have to wait for your time to come when you become a bit more experienced.”

              I crossed my arms and stared at him with frustration. “That’s not fair.”

“
Life’s
not fair. I am leaving tomorrow and you are staying
here
.”

“I just have to go over the Bridge! Don’t deny my only wish-,”

“No. As much as I would like to take you over the Bridge I
can’t.
”

              I would not be going; I would have to wait at least a year more. I sat on the soft couch and sulked.

“Now, don’t be like that,” he said, his hand brushing the side of my face. “I have much to tell you and show you of this crazy world.”

“Humor me.”

“Ok then, if you insist.”

              He clasped a cold hand to the side of my neck, which sent me into a dream-like state. I saw a man, perhaps in his early twenties holding a baby with brown eyes, wrapped in a black blanket. Around them were tombstones. On the stone before the man was the name Luna Silver.

              A flurry of clouds filled my head as a new vision rose. Fitzray was walking down the halls of a busy hospital. He entered a room with the name Doctor Silver in boldface letters on the door. He then sat at his desk and rubbed his eyes from exhaustion. Once again a new vision formed. This time Fitzray knelt beside the man shown in the first vision whom was dying. Fitzray’s eyes were greener than I had ever seen them before and then my eyes flew open with a gasp.

             
I know this vampire. I know him from somewhere, somehow. He seems so familiar,
I thought.

“What was that?”

“That was the bond of two vampires coming together. The visions you saw were past experiences of my life.”

“Luna Silver, was that your mother’s name?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re a doctor?”

“Yes, well, I’m a healer.”

“I’m not surprised, with you and those healing powers, it’s no wonder you’ve taken up medicine.”

“I belong to a special group of vampires. We heal the wounds of newly-turned vampires that cross the Bridge.”

“In the third vision there was a man with you…and your eyes were so bright.”

“That man was probably my father, probably when I was turned into a vampire.”

              I turned to look at him over my shoulder. “What do you know about me?”

              He walked around the couch and sat next to me.

“You were once rich when you lived in the mortal world, on Earth, but then you left your family and crossed the Bridge when you became a vampire. You are and will always be eighteen. And you…you like me more than you know.”

             
That doesn’t make sense. I’ve only known him a couple of days,
I thought.

              He looked at me and smiled as if reading my mind. 

“You know me from somewhere. I’m familiar to you.” His tone was low, hard to decipher.

“Yes, I know you. I’ve met you before, haven’t I?”

“You tell me.”

              I tried to recall, but found no answer. I knew him, but I still did not know how.

“Maybe some fresh air will jog your memory.” He took my hand and led me outside.

              The brisk air stung my face, refreshing me. Fitzray held my hand tighter and kissed me lightly on the cheek without warning.

“What? What are you doing?” I yelped, breaking from his grip.

              Something gave a startled cry at my feet. Quickly disregarding what he had just done, my eyes searched for the source of the cry. Through the growing darkness, I could just make out a small shape that was a baby bird. I gathered it in my hands and stood up. It was a blue jay, with striking navy blue feathers and distinct black and white pattern over its wings.

“I haven’t seen blue jays ever since I left the mortal world. Where do you think it came from?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps he was brought here from another vampire or werewolf.”

“Let’s get him inside, it’s cold out here.”

              Once safely inside, I sat before the comfortably warm fireplace, the little bird nestled in my hands. Fitzray picked up the little creature and set it in a blanket. The little bird’s black eyes studied him and he opened his mouth, letting out a cry for food.

“What can we feed him?”

“There’s some bread and milk in the kitchen, but I think it’s best if it rests. First thing in the morning he should be fed.”

“Can you tell if it’s a boy or girl?”

              He studied the bird’s wing and ran his fingers down the small feathers.

“It’s a boy. You can see by the way his feathers are arranged,” he said, pointing to the feathers to show me.

“He’s so young. He’s probably only a couple of weeks old.”

“What will you name him?”

“I don’t know. I had a parrot when I was younger. His name was Valiant.”

“That’s a nice name.” Fitzray purred close to me.

“Such a cute little hatchling you are,” I cooed quietly to the little bird.

“Hatchling,” Fitzray exclaimed, “I almost forgot.”

              He grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. “What,” I cried back, struggling to break free from his grip.  “Let go of me!”

“Leave the bird here and come with me!”

              He hastily led me up the polished staircase to his room. On the nightstand next to the king sized bed there was an egg, roughly the size of a melon. It was settled on a pile of hot coals and rocked from side to side every so often. Standing out from its light blue surface was a sharp point where cracks branched out over the top of the egg.

“What
is
that?”

“It’s a dragon egg,” he remarked, annoyed, as though I had asked a stupid question.

              I snickered and shook my head. “A dragon egg? A
dragon
egg? Seriously, you’re kidding right? Dragons don’t exist.”