Page 12 of Of Shadows and Blood

“What are you?” I can’t withhold the hysteria in my voice because this is not real. No, this is not real. This is a dream. The village was not the dream. Or my first theory is correct, I’ve been abducted. No, Sawyer was here.

Avonde says something and swats at him but he retracts the fangs back to a normal length and stands, indifferent to my reaction. I look at her and jump back as she comes near. “You too? Is this what you are? Is this a cess?”

She shakes her head and starts to gather the glass from the liquid. “You didn’t need to do that,” she groans, her tone angry at Cedric.

He pauses at the base of the stairs. “Vampyr, in case you were wondering,” he announces, getting as far away from me as possible.

Chapter 4

The Village

When the darkness creeps in with tendrils of warmth, it neither intrudes nor barges. It is a silent cat, waiting on the rooftop for the chance to poke and to prod.

“Hello, you.”

The beckoning voice is back, a small lapse since his last visit. This time, I’m no longer in darkness, rather I am sitting in a field full of flowers. So different from the stark surroundings of our village.

The smell of them fills my lungs and my head. They flow with the breeze pulling itself through the field of green and violet. The petals look like waves in the wind as it caresses their softness. The sun above has heated the ground, and I lay down to relax in its soft warmth.

“Hello,” I softly reply.

Eyes closed, I smile and take in the moment. This is the peace I know. The peace that finds its way back to me even through the darkness. It welcomes me. My fingers press and comb through the blooms, relishing in the gentle petals that move in between my knuckles. The scent wafts around me, pulling my mind into a deeper bliss. Laying here could make anyone wish to take no leave.

A shadow steps in the path of the sun, blocking its warm embrace.

“Elivienne.”

My eyes open wide at the sound of his voice, but the shadow is gone and I am sleeping atop a haystack near the riverbed. My cheek peels off the straw one fiber at a time, my sweaty skin clinging to its dusty fingers. How on earth did I fall asleep here?

Sawyer’s form emerges from the bushes in front of his porch in the distance. His speck of a body stands out in the monochromatic landscape. He walks into the pasture towards my house.

Using the hoe I brought with me to clear weeds, I jump down from the stack, the ground crunching beneath me.

“Sawyer!” I frame my hands around my face to call. He doesn’t hear me so I step out of the shade into the blazing sun. “Hey! Sawyer!”

He stops and looks over his shoulder directly at me and seems to look to the sky in thanks before heading my way. Nonchalantly, I wipe my face and dress off as best as I can given the dust in this place. My hair’s a mess but there is little I can do about that now, so I tuck the blonde locks behind my ears.

“I would say ‘Good afternoon’ but it looks like you’ve just awoken.” Sawyer laughs. I rush into his arms and breathe him in.

“Don’t make fun. A girl needs her rest.” I nuzzle my face into his tunic. “You said you were gone?” He had work that called him away again, but I am not complaining about this sudden appearance.

Releasing me, he grabs my hand and hoe, leading the way back to my house. Ma should be home from her personal errands by now. Though she’s not my true mother, she takes immaculate care of me. The least I can do is work the farm and house.

If only I could stay awake.

“I’m just about to go again, things changed. Plus, it should only be a couple of days. Duty calls.” He smiles at me and I look away instantly because he is damning. From his plush, pliant lips, his firm grasp on my hand, I could take him right now.

He squeezes my hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine –” I retuck my hair – “same as always.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He looks up and waves at Hal, who sits on the railing of his own porch. His father must be sleeping off yesterday’s ordeal. I know very little of my young neighbor’s life, but we get along well enough it hasn’t been a problem.

Sawyer pauses on the dirt path in front of my home and rests the hoe against the exterior. “Things might change when I come back from this trip. I don’t want you to worry but I might be gone a lot more if it goes well. The –” he scratches his head – “viability of my assignment needs to be assessed and with that, there are a lot of variables. I’m only telling you because you deserve to know.”

My heart drops and I feel that worry split inside me. He works on some trade deals of sorts. What could possibly pull him from here?

More opportunity. The village barely exists on a map; I could never expect him to stay.