Turn of Darkness: Book One: Diaries of Nicole Johnson

Chapter Four

"What are you," I demand as Demetri opens the door with an astonished look at the fact that I had pounded on the door with my fist as hard as I could. He raised an eyebrow and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. I hated how some people could do that with such ease. He chuckled. "I'm a vampire, wooooo" he says, moving his hands in front of my face, imitating a ghost. I do roll my eyes this time.

"You're a predator," I say. He stops dead and stares at me for a long moment. His chuckle sounds even more nervous than before. "Yes, I am a predator. I prey. I am on the top of the food chain. But why are we having this discussion? I read a book once, it was called Twilight. It was about a fairy pretending to be a vampire and the girl comes to him with something like this. Unfortunately, that book is not real. Vampires are not sparkly, forest dwelling creatures. And society has known about our existence for decades. Since before you were born, correct? Or am I mistaken? Do you bathe in the blood of virgins to keep your false image of youth?"

I huff. "Yes, I'm not stupid. Yes, I am young. I've always known about the existence of vampires. But what do you prey on?" I ask. He starts to fidget. "Blood of course. You're in a college studying vampires for Goddess's sake. Acting like you don't know the first thing about vampires."

"And yet there's still so much I don't know. There's still so much that none of us know. There are many facts in fiction that are just wrong."

"Well, I can assure you, we do feed on blood. That's the point of being a vampire..."

"Who's blood?"

This stops Demetri completely. There's nothing he can say now. Unless he lies. He looks at me with suspicion. "What do you think?"

"I honestly don't know what to think. Or didn't before I read the book. I saw you. You invited me to the Blood Bank, and I was there. I saw you with my professor. I saw you...drinking from her."

The red in Demetri's eyes grows deeper, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My instincts are telling me that I am looking into the eyes of my predator and I need to run. His eyes turn to cold stone, and he grips my arm in a tight vise and drags me inside, slamming the door closed.

"Why the fuck were you at the Blood Bank? And how did you see me? I ensure that everything is completely discreet-"

"You invited me!" I scream. "Why?"

Demetri seems to lose control and visibly becomes a monster right before my eyes. He bares his fangs and hisses and growls in my face, looking ready to slaughter me. I shrink away and cover my body as best as I can, trying to make myself as small as I can as if I can hide from him. He grabs me and slams me against the wall. I cry out. Oh my god, I'm going to die.

"Why do you say I invited you? I would never invite you or anyone. For this secret to come out would be disastrous. The whole world would hunt me down. The military would cage me and study me as if I was an alien. Do you understand?"

I whimper and nod. "But you gave me a letter..." I reach into my pocket and pull out the letter that I had found on my bed. I hold it out to him and he snatches it away in his fist, the paper almost ripping from the force. He quickly reads it then balls it up and throws it at my face. I flinch and a tear slips down my face.

"This is some fucking joke? You bitch, I will drain every last drop of blood from your body and throw you into the fire until you're nothing but ashes. No one will come after the vampire prince himself to avenge you."

"Hey asshole, lighten up. It's not the 1800s, you can't treat women like that anymore," Shadow says from the landing above us. He's resting his forearms against the balustrade, watching us like we're performing a live show for him. "I'll touch you," Shadow warns.

Demetri drops his hand from around my throat and I gasp in air, trembling. I hold myself and start to cry.

Demetri takes a deep breath to calm himself and speaks in a much calmer, almost apologetic voice this time. "Where did you get this? Who wrote this and how do they know her handwriting?"

"It was on my bed when I came back to my dorm after my classes," I say. "And I thought you wrote it. What do you mean "her handwriting?" I whisper.

"It's Ophelia's handwriting." Demetri says matter-of-factly. "What?" Shadow exclaims and races down the stairs to get a look at the letter. I balk.

"How is that possible?" I ask. Demetri shakes his head and glares. "It's not possible." he reprimands.

"You're scaring me, Demetri. Though at least I know it's not my blood that you want." Fire fills Demetri's gaze. He bares his fangs and slowly stalks towards me from where he had backed away. He tilts his head so that his face is level with mine, until I'm practically breathing the same breath as him. Then he puts his face in the crook of my neck and shoulder and, lips brushing against my ear, says "And whoever said that?"

A tingling sensation erupts over my entire body, and he backs away slightly and grips my chin in his fingers, lifting my face to his. His lips hover over my own. It feels dangerous, like being face to face with a rapid wolf, knowing he will strike at any minute.

Then he finally does, crushing his mouth to mine. I am so surprised, I just stare with my eyes open, not kissing back. It is a feeling of possession, like he is marking his territory, saying "this is my prey." As quickly as he strikes, he backs off.

"My apologies, Miss Johnson," he says as if he is not sorry in the slightest. "But I am a wolf and you are a mere kitten. Now run back home before I catch you, little kitten." He backs away to give me space to leave, and I do, running through the foyer and crashing through the front door.