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Ch6 The Initiation

I went to the other realm nearly three hours before my initiation. I was walking along a stony path; it had beautiful smelling flowers on either side. I had no idea where this path would lead me, but it helped me think. I knew what my prophecy stated, but was I ready to take on the world to get what was rightfully mine?

I came to a wooden bench that overlooked the town. I was on a hill now, and I could see a river and many houses. I sat down, not even close to making a decision.

Sat on a wooden bench and only an hour to my initiation, I was looking around when I realized someone was next to me. I gasped when I turned to see a man sitting beside me.

He had the most amazing blue eyes, one could get lost in them. I caught myself smiling—what was I thinking?

"I'm Damon, I'm a vampire. You are?"

He stuck out his hand for me to shake.

"Uh, hi, nice to meet you. I'm Anastasia. Apparently, I'm a witch." I shook his hand and my head at the same time. He smiled at me.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too. Now, what's wrong? You seem lost."

"Oh my God, Damon, so good to see you!" The voice made me jump.

It was Robert. Damon looked at me, confused, trying to figure out why I jumped.

I glared at Robert.

"Sorry," Robert whispered, putting a finger on his mouth as he stood there awkwardly.

"Um, ghost," I explained to Damon, pointing at Robert. Damon nodded understandingly. "He seems to know you. Robert Leatherman—does that ring a bell?" I asked with a shrug.

"Haha, sure does. Robert was a good friend, part of the council actually. Good guy, good guy." Damon leaned forward with elbows on knees, maybe starting to think about the past.

"Anastasia, I was thinking about your initiation," Robert began.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Clearly, you have things to discuss with your ghost, so I'll leave you to it. It's nice to know you're okay, Robert. I miss you," Damon announced as he got up.

"No, stop him, don't let him leave! We need him!" Robert shouted.

"Um, wait, Damon! Robert says you shouldn't leave," I shouted after him.

Damon stopped walking away and turned to face me. I shrugged. "He thinks we might need you," I finished, my head tilted to the side.

Damon smirked a sexy smirk—wait, what? Did I just think that? Oh dear lord.

"That's Robert, always needing me," he said, looking smug as he sat back down. I caught Robert rolling his eyes.

"So, what's going on?" I asked. Damon sat awkwardly as he listened to our one-sided conversation.

"You can't go to the initiation," Robert said. He had already mentioned this before, so I said nothing, just nodded as if to say, go on. "...During your initiation, your prophecy will be revealed."

"Wait, that means..." I didn't finish as Robert interrupted me.

"They will know who you are and will stop you, probably kill you."

"Well, is there a way to stop them?" I asked hopefully.

"You need your powers to stop them, which you would receive during the initiation," Robert announced sadly. I sat down on the bench next to Damon. What could I do now? I needed my powers to become a witch, but I couldn't get my powers without being initiated.

But I can't have the initiation because that will reveal who I am and get me killed. A death loop.

"What do you think I should do?" I asked Robert. From the corner of my eye, I could see Damon frowning, probably trying to figure out what was going on.

"Go back home, miss the initiation. Damon will look after you."

"Wait, what? Why? I don't need him," I whispered, trying not to be heard by the vampire sitting right next to me. Do vampires have super hearing? Robert explained that if I don't turn up for the ceremony, nothing will happen. But it may mean I shall not be allowed into this realm without an immortal's help, and my best bet was Damon, someone Robert trusted with everything he had.

Robert walked away.

I turned to Damon and began to explain to him the conversation I had with his once trusted friend.

"Robert said I shouldn't attend the initiation. I will be in danger if I do. He also asked me to ask you to walk me home and stay with me. You don't have to, honestly, it's just..." I shrugged.

Just what? I had no idea.

"It would be my honor to walk you home and stay with you, milady," the man said. Aahhhh, swoon. Seriously, if I wasn't sitting down, I probably would've fainted.

I smiled and stood. There was an awkward silence between us as we walked towards the mountain that led to the cave, that led home.

I didn't know this man, and I had to trust him?

Once home

"Sweet setup," he exclaimed as we entered the study, his hands in his pants pockets looking all cool and sexy. Oh, what was happening to me?

These feelings were weird. I had had a crush in secondary school before, but this was a whole new feeling. I wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to hold him. I had to control these feelings.

"My father set it up, I guess," I shrugged. I had never thought about how much skill it would've taken. Damon just nodded.

"Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee? Do you even drink anything else but blood?" I didn't know what I was saying, but Damon seemed amused.

"I would love a cup of tea. I can eat and drink what you do, but it does nothing for the energy. We, as vampires, need blood to survive."

We walked towards the kitchen. Damon saw a picture of my parents and me at the park two years ago. We were smiling; we were happy.

"Are these your parents?" Damon asked, picking up the picture.

"My mortal parents, yes."

"Mortal?" Damon seemed confused. I shook my head a little, as if to say never mind, and I started walking again.

Damon put down the picture and followed me. Once we got to the kitchen, I made two mugs of tea whilst Damon sat at the table and watched. Once I was done, I sat next to him, placing a mug in front of him and one in front of me. I kept both hands on my mug.

"I guess I should explain who I am, right?" To which the vampire next to me nodded, as he took a sip of his tea.

I took a sip too and began to explain everything—from how my dad told me about his desk before he died up to the point we were at. I left nothing out. At first, I was hesitant, but once I started, I believed I could trust him.

By the time I finished explaining, we were in the living room, sitting comfortably. I was sitting Indian style sideways on the couch, and Damon sat in the same position facing me. My right elbow and his left elbow rested on the couch back. We sat in silence for a while. He asked me questions along the way, which I always answered. In the end, all he could say was, "Wow."

After about five minutes of silence, I broke it.

"So, can I ask you some questions, please? You know, about you?"

Damon smiled and gave a nod, encouraging me to go on.

"As a vampire, you need blood-" He nodded. "Do you kill?" I was scared to ask but needed to know.

"Since turning, I've only killed animals. Does that count?" I shook my head no.

"Then no, I haven't killed anyone," he assured me. I nodded, pleased with his answer.

"As a vampire, do you need to be invited in?" I asked my next question.

"Only in the mortal world, and only if the house belongs to a human," he answered. This house belonged to me, a witch, so no invitation was needed.

"When you're thirsty or hungry for blood, does your face change?" I had seen face changes in movies, and I wanted to know if there was some truth to it.

Damon didn't laugh and answered seriously, "Personally, my eyes change from blue to red, and the veins, around my eyes, become a visible black, and my fangs come out, ready to drink."

I had no idea where this next comment came from, "I want to see your fangs. I mean, can I see them, please?" I covered my mouth.

"Sorry," I said through my covered mouth, "I don't know why I said that."

I was so embarrassed I stood up and started walking away from him towards the kitchen.

"Please stop," he asked as he too stood. I did, my body obeying him.

"Turn around," it was barely a whisper, but again my body obeyed. He wasn't controlling me; no, I wanted to listen.

His fangs were out, they looked so sharp. I gasped. But my feet moved forward, towards him, on their own accord; my hand rose, by itself. He gasped but I kept going. I touched his left cheek, wanting to get close to his fangs. Was that weird?

He closed his eyes, his mouth opened a little, and he quickly turned away.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I can't. I can't let you see." He walked away, into the kitchen. And I walked to the couch and sat down. That was so stupid. Why did I do that?

After around five minutes, which felt like an eternity, he came back in. He apologized once more as he sat down next to me, sitting with his elbows on his knees. I mimicked him.

"When my eyes change color, it scares me, and everyone else around me. If you're to trust me and let me stay here, I can't allow you to see."

I nodded. I kind of understood. When I began to apologize for my foolishness, he just shook his head and then, thankfully, changed the subject.

"So, tell me about you. How old are you? Do you go to college? Do you work?"

I smiled and leaned back on the couch. I folded my hands on my lap, and I shrugged.

"I'm twenty-two, I work in a cafe. I'm actually working on a book right now, but my creativity isn't flowing."

"Well, what are you working on? Maybe I can help," Damon suggested.

I laughed at his question. This should be good. I did start writing this book before my dad died, before I knew vampires exist, "It's a fantasy about a girl falls in love with a vampire, but she doesn't know he's a vampire. When she finds out she runs, but they get back together. I'm stuck on how she comes back. How do I make her fear change? I don't know, I'll figure it out," I shrugged.

"Well, think, if it were you, what would you do?"

"I don't know, that's the problem. I've never met someone I'm scared of."

"You've met me."

"I'm not scared of you, Damon," I rolled my eyes, smiling.

"Why not? I'm a vampire. I could drink you dry, leave your body here and no one would ever find it," he leaned forward, bringing his face very close to mine. My breathing hitched, my heart raced, but it wasn't fear; it was lust. I looked at his lips, and my mouth opened to say something, but I closed it, not knowing what to say.

He looked confused. I brought my face forward. I stopped before I got too close, but close enough to feel his breath on my lips, knowing he wasn't going to move. I moved the rest of the way, and merely touched his lips with mine. I moved my head back a little, to see him looking more confused. I smiled and kissed him again. My hands moved to his hair and his hand held the back of my neck to hold me in place, but he pulled away quickly and turned away.

"What's wrong?" I touched his shoulder, trying to get him to turn, but he wouldn't budge.

"Nothing," he whispered, letting out a breath before turning to me again.

"Did your face change? Are you hungry?" He shook his head.

"I'm not hungry. It was...um you. The kiss... it made me change." I smiled a little shy, and embarrassed understanding what he meant. I mean yikes!

I lay my head on his chest. He explained that his emotions were magnified as a vampire, and sometimes his emotions blurred. When he was hungry, angry, or feeling lust, or love, his eyes changed, and his fangs protruded. It was all tied together.

I became really shy and wanted him to shush; my cheeks burned. Thankfully, he couldn't see my face, but he did chuckle, and his chest vibrated when he did that.

I felt faint, my head hurt. I stood up, thinking of getting some water, but I saw black dots in my vision. Damon was just a blur as I fell to the floor. I didn't feel any pain, but I did feel like I was being lifted and placed on something soft—the couch.

Damon was kneeling next to me, holding my hand. I knew he was saying something, but I couldn't hear him, nor could I figure it out.

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