ELEVEN
We've returned! After this, I'm going to write the first chapter for Summertime Honey, I'm so excited.
__
Frank saw the world differently after being trapped in the dark for days. The light was far too bright, people seemed so much clumsier compared to the graceful strides of vampires, and all beauty was dulled in comparison to the type he'd witnessed while underground. He looked at his vampire, pale and distressed as he weaved Frank through the crowds of people, but still so beautiful that none of the attractive human beings Frank walked by could ever hold a candle to him. He tried to drown out the noise with his own thoughts, feeling nothing but the grip of his vampire guiding him towards their path.
Gerard purchased their tickets and went off with Frank to get him something to hydrate himself with. Getting a bottle of water, Frank gratefully brought the plastic rim to his pale lips, letting the refreshing water slide down his throat to quench his thirst. Gerard bought him a wrapped sandwich to feed the grumbling, tugging hunger making itself known inside Frank. He savored the taste of it, chewing slowly, sitting as close to Gerard as possible while they waited for the flight gate to open.
"What are they like?" Frank asked in a quiet whisper towards the direction of Gerard. His side was pressed against the vampire's and Gerard's hand laid over Frank's knee in a protective stance, hovering more than entirely touching him.
"The coven?" Gerard asked just as quietly, and Frank nodded. Gerard looked at Frank nibbling slowly on his sandwich, trying to make conversation to soothe the spiking of too many negative emotions swarming in his head like a nest of wasps. "I've met them only once. From what I've witnessed, they're kind, peaceful people who don't play the part of monsters as my own coven does."
Frank picked at his sandwich, removing a bit of crust from the corner of it. "How come you've never gone with them instead of living with the vampires here?"
Gerard pursed his lips, slowly removing his hand away from Frank's knee. "I've always had a hope that my brother would melt the ice between us and we could go together."
Frank felt the heartache coming from Gerard's voice. Frank never had a sibling of his own, his parents fell out long before they had a chance to consider having another child. Though he couldn't understand Gerard's pain to its full extent, he knew it must have hurt to have your own flesh and blood turn on you forever.
"He'll come around in the future." Frank tried to be of some reassurance. "If this plan of ours keeps us safe and content, then he'll know where to find you."
Gerard looked at Frank, his eyes glistening, and the robotic voice coming through the intercom of the airport was announcing the boarding of their flight before they had a chance to continue their conversation. A spike of fear jolted into Frank's spine as he stood up and one of his hands reached out for Gerard, mistakenly finding the latter's own hand hanging in between them. They shared a look, but Frank felt no embarrassment. He held on tight to Gerard's pale hand, squeezing it, letting himself be guided once more to the gate as they held their bags close to them.
____
Frank remembered Gerard explaining to him that the flight to London wouldn't be excruciatingly long as he may have suspected, but Frank was so anxious and exhausted that he could barely hear the words through the muffled noises filling his ears, the noises of the people around him and the voice leaking from the speakers reminding the passengers to buckle their seatbelts. Gerard reached across Frank and did the action for it as he realized his head was lulling to the side from tiredness, and no matter how hard Frank fought to stay conscious, the last thing he recalled was a cold hand brushing against his cheek before everything faded completely.
Frank dreamt of strange things again. Inside the warped vision his mind played while he slept, he walked through cold, empty hallways, shivering violently whenever a shadow would flicker across the dark stone, and when his head would snap toward the direction of it, it was no longer gliding over the walls. He walked slowly, assessing the cold and feeling no comfort in the mysterious place where the walls appeared like they would bleed at any given time. The path ahead was pitch black, terrifying, but he couldn't stop himself from walking.
After what felt like hours of trying to find a way out of the hallways, he found that he could make a turn to the right when the path changed. Relieved, Frank quickened his pace, rounding the corner and not daring to look behind him when the feeling of being watched gradually crawled under his skin. Frank ran down the hall, but seeing as he lived in a dream, his legs moved as fast as they would if they were submerged in quick sand. He began sinking into the ground and he cried out in fear, trying to keep moving. He shut his eyes, the sensation of falling consuming the gravity of his body, and he only opened them again when it stopped.
Frank found himself in front of an open door. The warm lighting from the inside poured over him, but he didn't turn his head to see what laid behind him in fear of being gripped and pulled into the darkness again. Wide eyed and deeply confused, he looked at the ground, recognizing the porcelain white marble tile smoothly serving at the flooring in the room, his gaze traveling up the platform step where a bed laid at the center. An occupied bed.
He was stunned into silence at the sight before him. It couldn't be possible, he thought, knowing he was himself as he stood in the doorway, going completely unnoticed by the pair moving around on the large bed he once slept in. Frank gaped as he watched himself, scarcely unafraid, in the embrace of his vampire. Frank watched his body writhing underneath the weight of the vampire, and though he should have been alarmed, he froze in place as he heard himself moaning. His own hands weaved into Gerard's hair, pulling his face into his neck, and Frank watched as Gerard's pearl white hands glided down his body, one of them sliding in between Frank's legs and making the copy of himself cry out softly from whatever went on that the real Frank couldn't see.
Frank was hyperventilating, backing away and knowing what would take place here. Some invisible force prevented him from running away, keeping him nailed to the ground, and he screamed out in horror as Gerard let out a growl and ripped his teeth into the other Frank's throat. Before he could see the mess of the massacre taking place before him, the room flipped over in a blink of an eye, leaving him falling backwards into a pit of blackness without an end.
When he awoke, it wasn't with a deep jolt as one would have suspected. His eyes shot open, his body flinching slightly at the sudden awake state of his mind. Frank sucked in a gasp of air, eyes darting above him to take in his surroundings. Instead of finding the back of a seat on an airplane, his mind plummeted into a state of confusion when he was met with a dark ceiling, shadows and orbs of light going across it. It took him a moment to register the material covered seats below him, the hum of a motor and the vibrations rattling through the frame. Frank swallowed thickly, slowly sitting up and feeling a wave of a harsh headache crashing into his skull as strongly as the rolling waves of the ocean. He pressed his palm against his forehead, looking across from him.
"You're awake." Gerard, sitting quietly on the backseat with Frank's legs draped over his lap, observed quietly.
Frank squinted to clear the grogginess away from his vision, seeing the color of a red stoplight flashing over the snow white skin belonging to his vampire. The window was being pelted with rain, the smell of it entering the car along with a cheap air freshener he suspected must have been purchased at a dollar store.
"I slept through the entire ride? How did I get off the plane?" Frank couldn't remember waking at any moment.
"You were only half asleep for a moment, and off into your own world again before I could fetch us a cab." Gerard smiled slightly, gesturing to the vehicle they sat in.
Frank turned his head and noticed the tinted glass closing them off to the driver in the front, only slightly see through, but nearly impossible to catch a glimpse to the other side when it was night. Frank caught a glimpse of his own dim reflection as the glow of the street lamp filtered in, showing how disheveled his hair had gotten and how his lips has puffed slightly from sleeping so long, his cheeks flushed alongside these details. Frank ran a hand through his hair to flatten it, cringing as he carded his fingers through his roots and realized his hair was in dire need of a wash.
"You've been carrying me around this entire time, practically." Frank's cheeks warmed. "I'm sorry."
"I don't mind in the slightest." Gerard smiled softly at him, then turned his head to look out the window as the car started moving again. Frank's eyes traced the outline of his vampire's side profile, the remains of his nightmare an unwanted presence sneaking back into his mind. Looking at Gerard now, he knew his dream was only his fear of vampires manifesting in the form of Gerard. A fanged creature seducing and slaughtering him as many had done to their prey before. Though Gerard owned his own pair of gleaming fangs, he was of a gentler kind, and Frank knew neither of them would wind up in such a position as the one in his nightmare in the first place.
"Are we on our way to them?" Frank asked, moving his legs away from Gerard's lap to sit properly in his seat.
"We are." Gerard nodded and looked at Frank once more. "Our arrival will be nothing short of a surprise, but I know they will welcome us. If Lindsey is the one we wish to escape, their sympathy will be placed in our story."
Frank bit his lip lightly as he tugged his seatbelt, sliding the metal into the thin slot across his body with a soft click. "She must be going mad as we speak. I should have been dead hours ago." Frank's chest filled with a hollow pain at the memory of it all, the loss of his dear best friend and the punishment meant for himself and his vampire. He swallowed against the bitter sting, shoving the sleeves of his sweater over his hands.
"She should have known I'd never allow such a thing." Gerard spoke as he flexed his jaw, moving his gaze down into his lap. Frank noticed he couldn't remain eye contact for longer than necessary, and he suspected that the reason behind it was because Frank shared the eyes of Charlotte Iero. Light hazel, at times appearing a subtle gold when the light shined into them. Frank remembered Jamia being envious of his eye color, poking jokes that they should trade eyeballs so she would have the lovely hazel Frank did.
"I wonder how long it will take before someone realizes Jamia's missing." Frank whispered, his throat suddenly much tighter than it had been just moments ago. He touched his neck, swallowing hard to try and loosen the tension.
"I believe someone will soon, and when the times come to accept her disappearance, they will mourn properly for her." Gerard softened his voice, lowering it at a soothing level that reminded Frank of soft wind chimes fluttering together through the subtle breeze flowing past the metallic instruments of nature. Frank sank into his seat, looking out the window just as they passed a large body of water he'd only ever seen in pictures.
"I left her thinking I'd come back," Frank told his vampire, his voice breaking with emotion. "I told her not to worry, that I'd be back sooner than she imagined and I wouldn't get myself killed trying to find you. All this time, she had a bad feeling about my curiosity, my need to know more. I thought only once that maybe she was right, maybe I would be killed just like the rest of the people who tried to find them. Vampires. But I chose not to believe her because my vampire would never do something so horrible to me."
Gerard exhaled quietly beside Frank. Frank didn't look at him, he continued to watch the rain roll down the window, letting them serve as the tears he couldn't bring himself to shed when he felt emptiness at the thought of losing Jamia.
"I should have let you go." Gerard whispered.
Frank could never fully blame Gerard for the cruel events taking place in mere hours. They were both to blame for everything, one for having too much consequential mercy and another with a curiosity burning so brightly that the fire left him with scalding wounds. Gerard was his flame, vampires were the ring of fire closing in on them.
"I don't want to talk about that." Frank said hoarsely. "We need to think about now, about the future. Lindsey will surely be looking for us and we needed to be prepared if she finds out we're here."
From the corner of his eye, Frank saw Gerard shift. The vampire nodded stiffly in response to Frank's statement.
"As soon as we reach the coven, I'll inform them of everything." Gerard said. "I'm positive they'll have proper quarters for you to stay in. I'll take care of it all while you do what you must to refresh your mind."
"I want to be with you when you do it." Frank refused to sit back and relax while Gerard took each matter into his own hands. "I'm only here for you."
"I know." Gerard said softly.
Frank peeked at him then. Gerard was facing his direction, but his eyes were trained on the unraveling seam on the seat close to the buckle of Frank's seatbelt, long eyelashes falling over the brilliant green irises tinted with specks of brown inside. His messy hair, having been misted over at some point by the rain falling outside, blended in with the night, and the beauty of his porcelain skin and the curve of his top lip overwhelmed Frank. Shivers erupted at the base of his spine, moving upwards, and he trembled the slightest bit at the beauty of the angelic being beside him.
The two of them fell into silence, looking out their windows and watching the distorted view of the capital of England passing by them as the rain slowed into a gradual mist, while Frank was struggling more and more every second to shake the creeping feeling of something more etching into his very own DNA when he looked at Gerard for so long.
__
The rain became a distant memory dissolving into the past when Frank and Gerard reached their destination. The street was desolate and wet with the glistening remains of raindrops, the car parked beside a home that easily could have counted as a mansion in the 1800's from the coned rooftops and the mass of separate sections branching off from the wide center. Frank could see concrete steps leading up to the towering double doors made of the darkest wood possible, giving off an eerie vibe as the dark clouds in the sky had yet to completely vanish.
"Thank you for bringing us here," Gerard spoke to the driver once they were out of the car and collecting their things. He slid out a dollar bill worth fifty dollar, placing it into the driver's hand with a closed lipped smile. "Drive safely on your way home."
"Take care of yourselves and be cautious." The driver said in a thick accent, eyeing the enormous home concealed behind black iron gates with curling designs coming in towards the lock at the center. "This family is one of London's most . . . curious additions."
"We share mutual friends and enemies, we are more than sure our welcome with come instantly." Gerard brushed his hand against Frank's shoulder, gesturing for him to come along as he made his way to the tall iron gate dripping with droplets of rain water. Frank glanced back at the driver, walking in Gerard's shadow while the man entered the car once more, giving Frank and the mansion an uneasy glance. Frank looked away, stopping beside his vampire who began undoing the latches of the gate.
"Do you think they have a security system or something? If I were them, I would be afraid of getting robbed or attacked." Frank bit his lip, looking around the area.
"Vampires are intimidating creatures, even if humans aren't aware that we are of another kind." Gerard undid the last latch, causing the iron to groan. "They wouldn't dare come near us."
Frank stepped back as the black iron gates slowly swung open with a deep groan, giving the pair access to the gravel pathway leading to the massive steps ahead. Frank gulped, clutching the strap of his bag.
"Stay close." Gerard whispered, his hand brushing against Frank's hair briefly. He lead the way down the gravel path, the substance crunching lightly underneath his steps. Frank's steps sounded much louder, perhaps because of his lack of grace and messy coordination on the lumpy ground he wasn't used to. Gerard could be walking over a trail of uneven and broken ground and he'd still appear like the shadow of an angel floating over the earth, completely unfazed by the change. Frank stood close behind Gerard, looking around at the dewy wet grass and the neatly trimmed bushes with blooming flowers, the statues of macabre scenarios standing tall as they guarded the path. Frank's heart was racing, his hands cold but breaking out in a sweat from the nerves churning in his stomach.
When they reached the steps, Gerard glanced back at Frank quickly to assure he was still there. Frank gave him a small nod, willing him to go first. Gerard quickly trotted up the stairs and Frank followed, attempting to avoid the shallow puddles and the water dripping from the dark ceiling that splattered onto the cold concrete. Frank shivered, uneasily moving towards the door Gerard stopped in front of.
"They won't try to attack me, will they?" Frank whispered.
"No, not if they see you are with me." Gerard reassured him equally as quietly. He looked behind at Frank just as the porch light flickered on and illuminated the deep green of his eyes. Before the two could say anymore, a series of rapid clicks coming from the door came to their attention. They looked towards the entry, watching as it quickly swung open and hit the opposite wall on the inside. No one stood at the threshold to greet them, but the inside was full of light.
The inside was like a church. The tall foundation allowed the stone walls to stretch up high, stained glass imbedded into the walls to portray holy scenarios that contrasted greatly with the terrifying images made of stone sitting outside. The patterned stone tile reached the wide, stony path of stairs branching off into separate hallways, one of the long halls leading to an area where its light leaked out onto the black velvet carpets rolling out over the ivory and pale blue tiles. Moonlight shone in through the windows in pale beams, casting over the stone pillars and the carefully craved layout of the staircase. Frank looked up to see a ceiling of skylight, showing the brilliancy of the night sky and the twinkling stars shining through the thick clouds rolling through the atmosphere as the storm rolled over. The remains of rain looked like tiny crystals imbedded into the glass and the irons beams, trickling delicately like the tears from the lord himself.
"It's beautiful." Frank breathed, taking in each of the gorgeous details placed into the home owned by the London coven of vampires.
"Thank you, young human." A sudden voice coming from the top of the stairs startled Frank deeply. He yelped, shuffling behind Gerard and looking over his shoulder at where the voice had come from.
A woman, slowly gliding down the stairs, beamed down at the pair below her. Her hair, chocolate brown curls ending just above her waist, flowed like scarves of silk as she moved, pearls gleaming in her locks from the nearly invisible strings trailing down from the crown of flowers nestled at the top of her head. Her dress was pale blue, covering most of her skin, and a film of glittering material seemingly made from beams of moonlights flowed over the cinching material of the gown. She took the both of them in with care, appearing as graceful as an angel despite being one of another kind.
"Please pardon us for stepping inside your home so suddenly, the door opened and we thought someone heard us and decided to let us in." Gerard looked around cautiously, then settled his eyes on the female vampire as she reached the foot of the stairs.
She smiled, the curl of her lips holding all of the soothing qualities in the world. "The door only opens in such a way to those of our own kind." Her eyes ran over Gerard, then flickered over to Frank, lighting up with curiosity. "Although it appears only one of you is like us."
Gerard glanced behind him at Frank and the latter met his eyes, unsure of whether or not he should speak. Gerard did so for him. "I'm Gerard, this is my friend, Frank. He is with me, I would greatly appreciate it if everyone here would treat him with respect."
The woman bowed her head in agreement, sweeping one of her curls behind her shoulder with a gentle touch of her hand. "Of course. Human mates are treated well here, hospitality will be granted to yours just as it is for the rest of my coven's humans."
Frank's cheeks warmed at one select word, finally opening his mouth to correct her. "I'm not his mate."
The vampire looked upon him in surprise, a shocked giggle coming from between her full lips. "Pardon me. The way your vampire protectively shields you lead me to drawing conclusions."
Frank was unsure of how to respond. The blood rushing underneath his cheeks came to the woman's attention, a gleam rippling across her eyes as they roamed all over his face. She stepped forward to stand in front of Gerard, humming softly in thought.
"You come from Lindsey's coven."
Gerard, though shocked, nodded. "How can you tell?"
She smiled serenely. "I can smell her, running through your veins, lingering on your skin. She is my creator, I can sense Lindsey from miles away." She pursed her lips, angling her body so she faced Gerard and Frank equally. "My name is Mina Lennox. I'm not sure if Lindsey has ever brought me to your attention, but she created me and my coven many years ago."
"We are all fully aware of the London coven, I've met them once before. Although, it seems you were missing from the clan during the time we crosses paths." Gerard told her, looking back at Frank and brushing his fingers against Frank's arm to encourage him to come closer. Frank swallowed his hesitation and took two steps forward, standing beside his vampire rather than in his shadow. "We came here seeking safety. Lindsey wishes to do much harm to us and one of her evil doings has already deeply wounded my human."
Mina nodded, suddenly losing the charming joy entering her expression and becoming as serious as she could be while willing to listen. "I see. Lindsey was always one for violence, I know this much from my short time with her. What is her motive?"
Gerard meant to answer her question, but Frank ached to speak. He touched Gerard's shoulder, earning the vampire's attention, and raised his eyebrow only slightly to ask for permission to speak out. Gerard softened and he gave a subtle nod, looking away as Mina changed her focus to Frank.
Frank reached into the bag slung across his shoulder, gripping the zipper and pushing it back over the metal teeth to retrieve the one thing folded at the surface. His chest was filled with the resonating pain of grieving, but he took in a deep breath to make himself strong, taking out the folded shirt and showing Mina the stains of blood ruining the fabric.
"Lindsey wanted to get rid of any person I may have told about Gerard, so she sent one of her coven vampires to kill my best friend in cold blood." Frank said shakily, watching the sadness shadowing over Mina's face. "They brought me proof of her murder, and as a punishment for both myself and Gerard for making such a mess, I was supposed to be killed next."
Mina reached out, brushing her fingers over one of the blood stains now forever imbedded into the fabric of the shirt. Her sadness was as strongly visible in her face as it would have been in Frank's if he allowed himself to bring down all of the walls protecting himself from the stranger across from him. Mina was kind, showing more humanity in a handful of minutes than Lindsey had in a matter of days, but Frank was unsure of whether or not he could fully rely on her.
"A monster in disguise is what that woman is." Mina drew her hand away, eyes shining as she clenched her jaw. "You may stay here for as long as you need, and if that means an eternity, I will let it be. Come, we will meet the rest of the coven and there, you can tell us the full story." She gestured for the pair to follow her, her shoes clicking against the ground as she began making her way to one of the rooms filled with a pale yellow light casting over the pillars in the room.
Frank folded Jamia's shirt and safely tucked it away, pulling the strap away from his shoulder and setting his bag at the edge of the stairs as Gerard did the same with the rest. His hands trembled subtly with nerves, unknowing of whether or not she should put his trust in vampires who weren't Gerard.
"Do you trust her?" Frank whispered before they left, tugging Gerard's sleeve slightly to gain his attention. The vampire turned and looked back on him, seeing how Frank remained weary of his kind ever since the happenings with the New Jersey coven.
"Mina is kind and willing to help us." Gerard whispered to him. "If she was deceitful, I would be able to detect it. No harm will come to you here, Frank, I swore I would keep you safe."
Gerard's promise couldn't be empty. His words rang with truth, determination glittering inside his eyes each time he repeated it to Frank, and Frank didn't think anything in the world could have been filled with more truth. If Mina was an ally and not an enemy, Frank would be willing to speak with her and be assured that her coven would shelter them from the hands of Lindsey. If the time came where Lindsey went after them, Frank could put his trust in Mina's words stating she could sense Lindsey from miles away, a result of being a part of her flesh and blood. Frank wondered if Gerard could feel the same.
"You and Mina were both created by Lindsey," Frank said as they made their way towards the direction Mina had gone. "Can you sense her too?"
Gerard's lips twitched, discomfort drawn all over his features. "Unfortunately I can. The bond between a vampire and his creator can be the strongest thing to ever exist if the pair come together, a friendship and love that will surely last for eternity. In my case, my hatred for her runs deeper than the blood she has given me."
It sounded like it could have been the most beautiful link to exist. Sensing one another must have been the most ethereal experience to have if the person was a friend or lover, being tied together by so much more than spoken words and different feelings swirling in one another. Hate must have been equally as strong, burning true and terrible in one's veins until they swore off the bond, fighting against it.
"What would our bond be like if you turned me?" Frank found himself speaking without thinking about the depth of his question. It wasn't so that he wanted Gerard to turn him, but the question stewed under his skin, and he remained unsure what he meant when it came to terms of endearment.
"Such questions will have me wishing for things I can never strike upon you." Gerard avoided Frank's eyes, his jaw a set line as he went ahead of Frank for the human to follow him. Frank, slightly shocked, slowed his pace, but never stopped in his pursuit of meeting with the London coven awaiting them.
His uncertainty of what things Gerard spoke about was bound to keep him awake all night.
___
A/N; Sorry that took kind of long, I'm in the middle of moving while trying to maintain my grades and life has just been a gigantic exclamation point lately. I caught a few moments alone to put this together.
I can't wait for you to meet the London coven, this is the first fic I've made that has more than one original characters in it. Except for Mina, idk if you guys are fans but I took her character from Winona Ryder's portrayal of Mina in Dracula.
Gotta love the original vampire lovers, step aside Frank.
I hope you liked this and that you don't think it was total flaming garbage! More to come soon.
"You were meant for this love, you're my flesh and blood."
-aprilxo
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top