Page 9 of Incandescence

Maya

A lexander bent his head and I tilted back ever so slightly.

He captured my mouth with his own, his lips soft yet firm, skilled in the art of kissing.

I didn’t dwell on the fact he’d kissed possibly dozens of donors.

I wanted only to focus on the here and the now.

After all, even that small moment in time might be taken from me—from both of us—all too soon.

He broke away first, his stare fierce and his jaw set. “I won’t let you die. Not now. Not ever.”

“I believe you,” I said softly.

It took an hour to walk to the train station, where I purchased two tickets to the next suburb. Of course, we’d be going a lot farther north than that, but, with the funds I had, I wasn’t about to pay for the privilege.

We took the first carriage, and Alexander stared around and took everything in like he’d never seen a train before.

Perhaps he hadn’t. I sighed, allowing my head to droop.

He put his arm around me, his shoulder pillowing my head.

I was too tired to argue, the adrenaline of the last few hours fading into bone-deep weariness.

I breathed in his dark-spiced scent even as I pretended to ignore how right it felt being in his arms. My eyelids fluttered closed about the same time my belly gurgled. My next breath tore a sharp pain through my midsection and forced my eyes open.

I leaned forward, biting back a gasp.

Alexander moved his hand up and down my back, a steady, reassuring touch. “Push through it,” he said gently, “the pain will be intermittent for a while yet.”

I twisted to glare his way and froze at his somber expression. I swallowed back denial. It was hardly his fault my craving was only going to get worse. I squeezed my eyes closed. I’d distanced myself from these hunger pains before. I could do it again.

Eyelashes fluttering open, I asked, “How do we overcome this?”

“More vampire blood.”

The train slowed, a tinny-voiced announcement of the next station dragging my attention away from the plight of my health. The pain subsided even as I glanced at my ticket. “Let’s get off here.”

His eyes gleamed speculatively. “What happened to running and keep on running?”

“There’s an internet café just around the corner.” I yearned for my cellphone, which would have enabled me access to the internet. “We need to see if there’s any real information out there, anything that can help us overcome the bloodsucker, and find a way for our bodies to safely detox.”

“Internet?” he asked.

Sadness filled me, overriding the last of the cramping and pinching in my belly.

Never mind that the world had advanced technologically at a staggering rate—it was nothing compared to knowing his parents were dead while his wife might still be alive somewhere.

I cleared my throat, but my voice cracked.

“I’m sorry you’ve been locked away for so long. ”

He shook his head, strength flashing in his stare. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be a prisoner in the nest.”

I took his hand. “We got out of that hellhole together. And together we’ll keep out of it.”

A smile warmed his eyes. “I believe we just might.”

We alighted from the train, pushing through the crowd of people at the station before finally stepping out onto the street. The yeasty aroma of a bakery made my mouth water while my belly clenched with rejection. Was I already halfway addicted to vampire blood?

No. I sniffed appreciatively. There wasn’t a better smell or taste than fresh bread, cakes, slices and tantalizing coffee.

But even if we’d had the time and money to stop, we had enough food and water to stave off hunger pains for the moment.

I forged past the shop, gaining strength from the warmth of Alexander’s hand on the small of my back.

Ten minutes later, we stepped into the internet café before I logged in and searched for anything related to vampires in Sydney.

I ignored most of the trivial stuff that popped up to browse whatever might give us at least a clue of what to do next.

But nothing even slightly correlated with the vampire who’d abducted me and changed my life forever in such a short time.

I chewed my bottom lip. I could only imagine what Alexander must be going through after having been incarcerated for so many years.

Exhaling softly, I tuned out all introspection to focus on the task at hand, dragging the mouse down to scroll through dozens of subtitles until one caught my attention.

Vampires live amongst us.

I clicked on the link and read the passage of information with a quickening pulse.

Critics mock the claims of once-distinguished academic Doctor Lester Newry, who believes vampires and the supernatural world actually exist. Those same beliefs have forced him into early retirement.

But he stands firm on the subject and has safeguarded his house against the ‘blood sucking predators’.

There wasn’t much more to the article, but excitement filled me even as I clicked on the directory listings of anyone named Newry. There was no Lester recorded, but there were two others with the same surname who I hoped were family and who’d give me Lester’s phone number for my troubles.

Scribbling them on my wrist, I then counted my change and walked back outside for the nearest public phone, Alexander right by my side.

We strode three blocks before we found one.

Again, I wished for my cell phone, and that the convenience of everyone having one hadn’t almost made public phone booths extinct.

I pushed in some change before pressing the numbers and turning to Alexander, who waited outside.

He peered up at the sky like a man constantly glancing at his watch.

I frowned. I knew time was a precious commodity, and contacting Lester was a long shot, but it had to be better that than running all our lives.

The money clattered and a voice answered. “Hello, Amy speaking.”

I swallowed any further anxieties and doubts, and put on my best friendly voice. “Hi, Amy, this is...Sally. I was a student of Lester’s and wondered if you might know how I could get into contact with him.”

I almost felt Amy’s tension leaking down the airwaves. “Oh, my god. Please tell me my father’s not brainwashing yet another student with his supernatural theories?”

I forced a chuckle out of my sandpaper-dry throat. If only Amy knew! “No, far from it.” My brain whirled. I needed to evade the truth and quickly, before Amy decided I was as deluded as her father and disconnected the call. “If you could give me his number—”

“He doesn’t have a phone. He’s hidden away in his little apartment with his cats and his research. Little wonder my sister ran away.” She sighed in disgust. “Look, if you really want to contact him, you’ll have to go see him. Don’t expect him to answer the door, though.”

After she’d rattled off the address and hung up, I leaned my brow against the phone booth glass with a soft exhalation. My eyes involuntarily looked skyward. We really were running out of time.

“Maya, is everything okay?”

I turned and stepped outside. “I have his address.” I smiled. With all but a couple of dollars left, luck was shining on us. “It won’t be any more than a twenty-minute walk.”

He frowned. “In twenty minutes the vampire will be waking from his nest.”

I resisted shuddering and instead nodded, saying briskly. “Then we’ll get there in ten.”