Tainted Blood (12 page)

When I sat back at the table I explained to Kiera that Oliver wasn’t feeling well. Kiera expressed her concern that he might miss out on going downtown with us to celebrate the Halloween festivities. I reassured her that he’d be fine. Zoey left too, taking her costume with her. She also said she wasn’t feeling well but that she would definitely see us in a couple of hours.

So, it was just the three of us and five pumpkins to carve. Carter had a blast. He actually ended up taking over so Kiera and I could get ready for the evening.

Chapter
4
- All Hallows’ Eve

Kiera had searched high and low to find the perfect costumes. She always had a theme when it came to dressing up for Halloween, and this one had been in the works for quite some time. My cute little pixie friend was adorned in a light green fairy costume, complete with glittering white wings, a poufy skirt that was lined with sparkling sequins, and a bodice that pushed a whole lot of cleavage to the surface. Her hair was up in a cute blonde bun with her bangs swept to the side. She was wearing matching glittery, green ballet flats with a big white puff ball attached to the front, just like Tinker Bell’s. She even had a glittery wand.

She made the cutest Tink I had ever seen!

When Zoey arrived, the pumpkin smell had faded enough that she didn’t gag, and we admired each other’s costumes and compared wings. We were Tink’s fairy friends. Our dresses were identical except for the color. Zoey’s was a pale shade of yellow, and mine was a shimmery, light blue. A mix of metallic and sheer fabrics hung down into points just past our knees. The tops were trimmed with a strand of rhinestones, and the sleeves had little puffs of sheer fabric. A thick light blue ribbon was attached just under my boobs and was tied into a bow at the back. Even though Zoey’s dress was the same design, I felt like mine left me a little more exposed. Our wings were the color of our costumes and had sparkly swirl patterns throughout. Kiera had decorated a matching pair of flip-flops for each of us; fake flowers were glued to the straps.

Zoey had secured a large, yellow, daisy-clip to the side of her head in the midst of her poufy hair. It looked super cute! Kiera had insisted on doing my hair up so that my wings could be seen. She’d pulled my hair up into a high ponytail then proceeded to twist chunks of it around the band of my ponytail. With the strands that were left, she curled them into large chunks and secured most of them into place with little, white, flower clips. By the time she was done, I had this elaborate hairdo going on. It was pretty, not me, but still pretty. And I was wearing my birthday gift from Oliver, of course. I had yet to take it off.

We were all set. I had everything I needed in that cute little bag that my aunt had made me for my birthday, and Zoey stuffed her cell phone into the top of her dress. Kiera had her pixie wand and called for Carter to hurry up and join us as she applied a thin layer of glitter to her exposed shin.

Carter grumbled profusely as he emerged from the bedroom. I covered my mouth, trying to keep from laughing out loud. Zoey didn’t even try to conceal her laughter and busted out in a rolling fit of giggles at the sight of him. Kiera told us to stop and tried to reassure Carter, telling him that he made the hottest Peter Pan ever. He rolled his eyes and told her he was probably going to get the crap beat out of him. His costume included a dark green tunic with a brown belt, a matching green hat complete with a red feather, brown tights, and brown shoe covers. He had a little foam sword and a look on his face that made me think he might cry if we continued laughing. I was embarrassed for him, I truly was.

Finally, after Zoey and I had had a really good laugh at poor Carter’s expense, he told us to shut up. Then he lifted his chin, put his hands on his hips in a very Peter Pan sort of way, and said, “I make this look good!” It was a good try on his part but it just made us laugh even harder.

Amidst our amusement, there was a knock at the door so I went to answer it while trying to stifle my giggles. There, standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the darkening night sky, stood Oliver. He was dressed in an old-school Dracula costume: cape, pendant, hair slicked back and all. Although I did not recall Dracula ever wearing Levi’s and Converse, he still made it look good. Oliver made everything look good.

He pulled the side of the cape up to his face in a dramatic flair of movement, and in a very terrible Dracula impression he said, “I vant to suck your blood.”

Slightly amused, I put a hand on my hip and said, quietly enough that only he could hear me, “When you told me you were going as a vampire, I thought you just meant you weren’t dressing up.”

He laughed and pulled the cape away from his face. He smiled down at me, his gaze taking in every inch of me, especially the exposed parts, and I had to fight the urge to squirm under his stare.

His eyes met mine, and in that seductive voice of his he said, “I’ve never kissed a fairy before.” The corner of his mouth picked up into a smirk just before his lips met mine.

“Okay okay, you two. Break it up,” Zoey teased as she pushed past us through the open doorway. I felt my cheeks warm and saw Oliver enjoying it just a little too much.

“Ooh!” Kiera began as she headed out of the apartment. “I should’ve gotten Oliver the Captain Hook costume.” She pouted a little at missing the opportunity to dress Oliver as a one handed pirate while the rest of us had a good laugh at the idea.

As the others descended the steps, Oliver held me back at the top of them. “Look what I can do,” he said, then he opened his mouth just wide enough that I could see his fangs slide down and then back up into their fang pockets. I raised an eyebrow, questioning him. “I’ve been practicing,” he said with a grin. “I can make them come out and go back whenever I want now.”

“How’d you figure that out?” I asked.

“When I think about you they come out.” He pulled me close and nuzzled my neck, his fingers trailing down my arms. “Especially,” he began in a super sultry voice, his cool lips brushing the skin of my neck. A shiver ran through me, and I felt that tingling start in secret places. “Especially when I think about last night.”

His lips pressed against my bare neck. My body trembled. He’d mastered getting his fangs to come out whenever he wanted just by thinking of me…totally naked me. Heat ran up my neck and into my cheeks as I thought about this. He chuckled as his lips worked their way up to my ear.

“I love you,” he whispered.

My eyes met his, and I said it back. He lightly brushed the backs of his fingers against my cheek and twirled a loose curl, one that was hanging free near my face, around his finger.

“You look gorgeous,” he said softly as he rested his forehead against mine.

What I wanted was to take him back to his apartment and finish what we’d started last night. Before I could even suggest it, we heard Zoey calling up the steps for us, and we hurried down to meet our friends, but not before enjoying one more really long, knee-weakening kiss.

Carter and Kiera, hand-in-hand, led the way through the tree-lined streets as we headed toward the Halloween festivities that were being held downtown. We passed houses decorated in a variety of ways: some were super scary but most were fun and whimsical. We also passed hordes of trick-or-treaters dressed in all sorts of costumes. I even pointed out a mini version of Kiera, blonde and everything. No doubt she could give Kiera a run for the title of best Tinker Bell.

Zoey hung back with Oliver and me as we continued on. “You both over your pumpkin aversion?” I asked with a playful smile, my fingers intertwined with Oliver’s.

Oliver explained that he’d known that the smell of fresh pumpkin was unappealing to vampires but he said he’d had no idea of the severity. He also told us that it’s been rumored that this was why the pumpkin carving tradition had originated—to repel vampires. I found this information rather…interesting. Mostly because of something my aunt had insisted on doing year after year. That woman would carve and put out about ten pumpkins each and every Halloween. This new information made me wonder if my aunt, who had always expressed her distaste, not hatred, of vampires, had known something. And if so, what and how much…?

“You know,” Zoey began, bringing me back to the present, “it’s never bothered me in the past. It’s only been recently that certain smells are getting to me. And that pumpkin stench was the worst!”

We trekked along, Kiera and Carter still leading the way, hand-in-hand just as Tinker Bell had always wanted while Oliver and Zoey quietly chatted about Zoey going through her vampire transition. Oliver explained to her that this was most likely the reason for her aversions to certain smells.

I felt a little envious. Zoey would soon be a vampire and have a huge thing in common with my boyfriend. I was just going to continue being the measly-me. All I really had to look
forward to
was
finally being bonded
with Oliver
—if that was ever actually going to happen...

Oliver gently squeezed my hand and gave me a heart-melting smile, and I realized that he must’ve picked up on my emotions. At that moment I thought mind reading might’ve been a better ability for him to have, but then I came to the realization that having absolutely no privacy would not be something I would want. Ever.

The Halloween festivities were in full swing by the time we arrived. Carnival rides, game booths, food carts, street performers, spooky decorations, and balloons filled the streets of downtown. Costumed people were everywhere. It was still early enough for the little kids to be out, but it was also just late enough for the older crowd to start rolling in.

One of the things l loved about Halloween was all of the costumes. I would’ve been perfectly happy people watching but my friends had other plans, and Oliver and I followed.

We wandered the crowded streets of downtown. Carter had to have some cotton candy, while Oliver and I shared an organic caramel apple. I had to eat all of the caramel off of his side before he could have any, but I was fine with that, considering my earlier caramel apple tragedy.

Quite a few of the same vendors from the regular street fair were set up for the Halloween festival. One of them stood out to me more than the others. Madam Habitha had her same set-up except she’d added some plastic bats—at least I hoped they were plastic—under her sign, and she had some hanging from her table, too. She seemed to remember Oliver and me, she beckoned us over. Oliver took hold of my arm and ushered me out of her sight and out of the path of foot traffic.

“What was that about?” I asked him.

“She’s knows too much.” I didn’t understand. He lowered his voice and got really close so that only I could hear him. “She’s a witch, Laney.”

I wasn’t sure how to take this new information. “Is that a good or a bad thing?” I asked.

“Normally, it doesn’t matter, but tonight, on Halloween, we’ve got to keep our distance.”

“I’m not following.” I felt my forehead crinkle as I tried to figure out what he meant.

“Today, tonight, is Samhain, the witches’ New Year.” I felt my brow scrunch even more as he looked down at me, seeing if any of this information was registering. “The veil between the living and dead is thinnest tonight.”

I felt my eyes widen. “There’s a veil keeping the living and the dead apart?”

He nodded. “Yeah, and witches, especially those who know you have lost someone, like to have a little fun on this particular night. They are also out in force on Halloween, and together they are stronger.”

I didn’t say anything. I just stood there, staring at him and soaking in this information.
A veil keeping us apart…
That just sounded…frightening.

“Hey, you okay?” His eyes showed concern. “What are you thinking about? I can’t get a grasp on your emotions right now. I think there are too many people.” He glanced up and scanned the crowd quickly before returning his eyes to mine.

“I’m thinking I don’t want to be out tonight. Maybe we should just go home?” I was kind of freaked out by the information he’d just shared with me. I was definitely missing the days when I didn’t know any of this supernatural crap.

He pulled me close, wrapping his arms around my winged body, and said, “It’ll be fine, Laney. You think the coven doesn’t have our members out in force too?”

I shrugged. How the hell would I know? But from experience, I knew bad shit could still happen even when these vampire forces were stationed all over town.

He hugged me tighter and told me again that everything would be okay.

“There you two are!” Kiera said as she and the others found us snuggled beside a game booth. “Everything okay?” she asked. I nodded and smiled so she wouldn’t think something was up. “Then let’s go have some fun!” She looped her arm with mine and pulled me back into the bustle of the crowd. I kept a death grip on Oliver’s hand. There was no way I was being separated from him.

We played a few games. Oliver won me a cheesy-looking, pink bear that I gave to the teary-eyed, little girl dressed as a princess whose daddy, after many tries, was still unable to get a plastic ring around the top of a bottle. She hugged her new bear with genuine enthusiasm, and her father mouthed a thank you to me as he ushered his daughter away from the game booths. It made me think of my dad and all that we’d never done together. I wondered if I should tell Oliver that I had spoken to my father but I pushed the thought aside for the moment; it wasn’t like I’d tell him right then, amongst all of those ears.