Page 12 of Vampire Claus
There was no rush, though. The night was far too special to end things, at least until the gift escapade ran its course. He wanted to see Paul’s expression as he passed presents to the needy children at the shelter. Maybe he could join in the simple pleasure of giving and receiving that he’d lost long ago?
In the meantime, he could help with the cold, for a short time at least. He stopped Paul and, setting down the bags of presents, asked, “Do you trust me?” Paul looked at him and swallowed. Nodded.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.” Taviano slid a hand up Paul’s shoulder until it tangled in blond hair. His demon was remarkably cooperative that evening. When Taviano was sure of its mood, he let a small stream of its magic slip through his fingers. He spoke silently to the icy breeze and bid it wrap around Paul’s torso. “Be warm,” he whispered and the shivering ceased instantly.
Paul’s jaw dropped open and his eyes again resembled saucers. “Man, what did you do? I feel like it’s eighty degrees out and I should be in shorts.”
“It won’t hurt you. I made the air responsive to that strong will of yours. Since you’re working so hard to convince yourself that you’re warm, you made the air cooperate.”
“So it’s, like, willpower? I’m like Green Lantern?”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You know, the superhero? He has a space ring and whatever he dreams up, his ring forms out of green energy. Didn’t you see that shitty movie a few years ago?”
“I rarely go to movies. Too much close contact is risky if I haven’t fed.”
Paul looked at him blankly. “Oh. Right. Vampire. I kind of forgot already.” He frowned. “Did you start making me forget?”
Taviano shook his head. “No. I’m enjoying myself too much. We’ll do that after you accomplish this project of yours.”
“But…” Paul looked down at the ground.
“Yes?”
“Can we have a real goodbye first? I mean, I don’t want you to just whammy me and go away.” Taviano could sense extra warmth rise to Paul’s cheeks as he flushed. “I don’t want to forget at all.”
“It’s for the best. I promise, though. I won’t ‘whammy’ you until we get a proper goodbye.”
Paul seemed to accept that, but didn’t talk as he resumed hurrying down the street. He moved too fast and slipped on a patch of ice. Taviano helped steady him and adjusted the bags to one hand so he could give support around the hazards.
The deserted sidewalk stretched ahead for many blocks, he could tell. He had an idea for lightening the mood between them.Why not?The strange night brought out mischief in him that felt wrong and right at the same time. He grinned at Paul before gathering him closely and speeding up.
The pavement flew by under their feet as they ran faster and faster. When Paul stumbled slightly, Taviano swept him into his arms and kept running. Paul gave a jubilant cry and wrapped his arms around Taviano’s back. “Left!” he called out, and they altered their trajectory.
The chilly, fresh air whipped Paul’s hair, but he kept his shining gaze on the road. Still no one was ahead for a good two blocks so Taviano gathered himself and leapt to the top of a brick wall. He ran along it like a cat as far as he could, until the wall ended and he had to jump back down to the pavement.
At the sound of voices in the near distance, he slowed to a human pace and let Paul put his feet to the ground once more. Paul panted next to him and a quick glance showed his eyes shining with excitement. “Dude! That was…so amazeballs. Flying! We flew!” He buried his face in Taviano’s neck, seemingly overcome with his emotions.
“Not really, we just ran very fast. I can’t actually fly.”
“Sucks for you,” Paul murmured into his neck. “I want to kiss you again so badly right now.”
The desire rising from his skin mixed with the scent of rosemary and lemon to make Taviano’s mouth water. His demon stirred and took notice but seemed content to let the moment pass unchallenged.
Hand in hand, Paul directed them down a street lined with trashcans and battered cars but devoid of people. They stopped before a ramshackle townhouse. Someone had draped strands of multicolored lights irregularly across the front of the building. Here and there, a bulb was missing or burnt out. Through a first-story window Taviano could see a Christmas tree encircled with white fairy lights.
All of the windows were otherwise dark, however, and when Paul tried the door, it was locked. His happiness from the journey faded rapidly.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Paul berated himself. “I got carried away and now it’s all ruined.” He kicked at the concrete stair and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Taviano heard the edge of tears in his voice, and sensed shivers again. Frustration eroded Paul’s ability to ignore the icy air, even with Taviano’s little trick. The loss of his innate joy alarmed Taviano in a way he’d never experienced. They’d known each other for mere hours. For no reason he could identify, Paul’s happiness had become important to him.
More than anything, he wanted to restore the light to Paul’s eyes.
He looked over the dark façade with its glowing streaks of color as Paul leaned against him. The surrounding cocoon enveloped Taviano as well. He hadn’t felt so warm since he was in New Orleans three, no, four years earlier. It wasn’t entirely about the stimulated air molecules, though.
He longed to wrap his arm around Paul’s shoulder. Instead, to re-establish some distance, Taviano took a few steps toward the closed shelter. “This mission seems to be very important to you.”