Page 75 of Autumn Secrets
“We?Who else is with you? Evangeline?” I was just guessing here, trying to keep the conversation going until I figured out what to do. He surprised me when he actually gave me an answer.
He grinned. “Wow, not so oblivious after all.”
I gave him a stern look. “Why am I not surprised? Of course you two play for the same team. It makes perfect sense; you’re both cold and creepy…and rotten.”
“Watch your mouth,” Luca interrupted and gave me a look that made my bones chill. He obviously cared about Evangeline.
I swallowed. “What is she then?”
“You’ve met her. Whatdoyouthink she is, Aurora?”
I thought about my first meeting with her in the classroom, how she had flawlessly moved herself across the classroom, her pale skin, and how she had made me feel this evening. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said she’d compelled me; that’s why I couldn’t scream or move away from her. There was one thing that didn’t add up. I took a deep breath.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would say she’s a vampire. But that doesn’t make any sense.”
“And why is that?” Luca asked curiously.
“I’ve seen her in daylight.”
Luca burst out laughing. “Oh my God, princess. You are just hilarious. There’s a lot more to the vampires of today than what the old tales tell.”
“And what does that mean?” I asked with an angry glare.
“Well, I normally don’t kiss and tell, but this is hysterical. They really haven’t told you anything. You see, Evangeline is indeed a vampire. She’s just got a few extra gifts. She’s a special vampire. She is what we call an energy vampire.”
“Energy vampire? What the hell is that?”
“She can use our energies, powers, the essence of a human soul. When she’s got access to this, she can use it to her advantage. For example, a human soul will always give her the ability to move in daylight. She just needs to find a way to take it. Energy vampires are unique and extremely powerful. The most powerful vampire there is.”
Well, this was news to me. I didn’t even know you could have different kinds of vampires. I wasn’t sure Mr and Mrs Peters knew either.
“What? So, she just takes whatever she wants, whenever she wants? I don’t get it. How can she take a soul from another human?”
“Well, not exactly whenever she wants. They aren’tthatpowerful. There’s one thing she needs to do to access another soul’s energy.”
“And that is…?”
“She needs to drink their blood.”
“You mean she has to bite her victim to be able to access their soul?”
“Yep, exactly. And the effect doesn’t last forever; it’s temporary. That’s why you’ve seen her in daylight.”
My thoughts immediately wandered back to Julian’s party. I thought I had been hit by something in the back of the neck. But when I woke up on the floor, there were no marks and I had brushed the whole thing off as a fainting incident. I instinctively reached back to the spot on my neck, even though there was nothing there. Was Evangeline behind everything that had happened that night?
I heard Luca chuckling beside me. I turned my head to look at him.
“It was her. The night at Julian’s party. It was Evangeline. She bit me, and I lost consciousness.”
“That’s correct. With a little help frommeof course. You see, I’m quite good with mind manipulation. I planted the whole scene with Lexi in your head, and the hidden staircase. Nothing was real of course, except when you arrived on the second floor. That was all real.”
“Why, what did you want from me?”
“What we all want: the amulet and your powers of course. But it turned out, you didn’t have any of it. You were quite a disappointment, I must say.” Luca chuckled.
“Because of my protection spell,” I mumbled.
“We needed to see if it was true, and yes, you were indeed shielded from your powers.”