A fascinating being
“What are you?” My own voice sounded strange in my ears, too quiet, too sharp.
Kellan’s gaze didn’t waver. “If I tell you, you have to promise me something.”
“I am not promising you anything until I know what you are.”
He took a step closer. “Then at least promise you won’t run before I finish.”
There was a tightness in my chest I didn’t like, but I nodded once. “Talk.”
His jaw worked as if he were choosing his words with care. “My name is Kellan. I know what I am, even if I don’t remember everything else.” His eyes locked with mine. “I am a vampire.”
I stared at him for a moment, waiting for a laugh, for some sort of punchline. None came. His face was stone serious.
“That is not funny,” I said.
“I am not joking.”
The room felt colder. “Vampires are myths.”
“Then how do you explain this?” He opened his shirt completely now, showing the smooth skin where there had been gashes earlier. “I heal fast. Faster than you can imagine. And I am telling you the truth. I am from an ancient bloodline.”
My laugh was shaky and short. “You sound insane.”
He stepped forward again. “Ree, please. I am harmless to you. I swear on my bloodline I will never hurt you.” His voice was rough now, like the words cost him something. “Do not be afraid of me.”
“That is easy for you to say,” I muttered, even though part of me wanted to believe him.
“There is something about you,” he said, and his voice dropped lower, softer. “Something about the mark on your neck. When I saw it, I felt… safe. I do not know why. I just know it is real.”
Safe? My pulse jumped. “Safe? How could a mark make you feel safe?”
His eyes were shadowed. “I wish I knew. My instincts tell me things. My mind is still… fractured. I do not have all my memories, but my body remembers what my head does not.”
I folded my arms. “And you expect me to believe this?”
“I expect you to listen.” He hesitated. “If you give me a few days, I want to go back to the woods. Maybe something there will trigger what I have lost.”
My lips pressed into a thin line. “Even if I want to believe you, it is impossible to ignore how crazy you sound.”
Something flickered in his eyes, something between frustration and desperation. “I can prove it.”
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but before I could, his body blurred.
It happened so fast I almost thought my eyes had betrayed me. One moment, he stood in front of me; the next, his form melted, shifted, and pulled inward, shrinking and twisting until where Kellan had stood was a small, black bat with wide wings and gleaming eyes.
I stumbled back, the air leaving my lungs. “No… no… no.” My voice broke.
The bat’s head tilted, those impossible eyes still his. I felt the floor tilt beneath me, my knees weakening.
The last thing I saw before the blackness closed in was the bat dissolving back into the shape of a man.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. His chest was solid and warm, the opposite of what I thought a vampire should be.
As my head lolled against his shoulder, a faint light pulsed at the edge of my vision. I realized dimly it was coming from me. From the mark at the nape of my neck.
Kellan’s voice was the last thing I heard before I went under, low and urgent in my ear. “I knew it… it’s you.”