Happy Reading
**Edited as of Sept. 21**
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CHAPTER TWELEVE
School is out for the weekend and I wander the halls of the Manor absentmindedly. My plan is to try to catch Philip alone but all afternoon he is either comforting bewildered vampires or blind Newborns. I sigh, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Michael told you, didn’t he?” a voice says near my ear.
I turn to gaze into Carmen’s face. His cheeks are flushed from a morning run with his group and I look over his shoulder to see Michael and the rest in the foyer, brushing leaves out of their hair. I turn back to Carmen and nod. He grumbles something under his breath before facing me again. “So?”
“So what?” I ask.
“What do you think of the situation?”
“It’s…complicated, that much is for sure. But it seems Philip is still very much in charge. He hasn’t been free all afternoon.”
“That’s because most of the Coven’s problems is his leadership dilemma. They go to him to ask for security, for reassurances that he will stay in power,” Carmen explains, inclining his head to a Newborn that is silently leaking from the eyes. I glance at her, befuddled. What is going on? Are we going insane? What is this? I wonder as the female continues to leak water droplets from her lashes. I peek up at Carmen, embarrassed about asking him.
But he already seems to know what I wonder about. “She’s crying,” he explains. “She’s only a few years old. Her human emotions are still strong.”
I nod, faintly remembering what it felt like to cry. It was like I was leaking salt water. I frown at the memory and sigh. “Do really think that Philip will be overthrown?”
“I don’t know…but it scares the hell out me that it might happen,” he admits, his eyes clouded with worry.
I tentatively touch his arm, flashing him a reassuring smile. He grins softly back. “How is Nora?”
His smile is broader at this statement. “Frantic, as usual these days, as the date looms closer.”
“When is it again?”
“May second,” he informs me, and I smile at his obvious happiness. He is clearly in love with Nora and I no longer feel any hostility towards their unity.
Abruptly, his expression changes and his brow his furrowed, eyes serious. “How is Isaac?”
My muscles coil immediately and he sees this from where he stands. “Fine,” I answer stiffly.
“Sophia, you know that I love you no matter what. Both Nora and I do. But we are worried about you. You have been spending more and more time with this human kid and it just—“ he stops short, shaking his head.
I look to my feet. “Carmen, Isaac is a good friend of mine. He is someone I feel comfortable to talk to. What is so wrong with that?” I can’t understand while my fellow brothers and sisters don’t accept my friendship with Isaac. It is harmless. Isaac is just a human that I share a connection with, a male that I can talk to. Why is that so hard to understand?
“Because, you have so many friends here to talk to! Why choose a human over us?”
“It’s not like that!” I growl.
“Then why?” Carmen demands, struggling to understand.
“You were human once, weren’t you? You had human friends, human parents. There was a time when you ate food, actual food, and cried.” I gaze sadly at Carmen, and he looks to the ceiling, seeking guidance and understanding that I can’t give him. He still doesn’t understand, I think in frustration. “Carmen, I’m just saying that it isn’t as strange as you make it out to be.”
He mumbles something I can’t make out when his head suddenly snaps up. His eyes are intense, zeroing in on Nora’s frame. She beams at the sight of us and waltzes over, her hair swinging loosely around her shoulders. Carmen smiles softly back. They surprise me when Carmen’s lips brush Nora’s. I jolt and look at them in puzzlement, thinking back to when Isaac had brushed lips with Brittany. Nora laughs at my expression and quickly explains, “It’s called kissing, Sophia.”
“Kissing?” I utter, the word sounding odd on my tongue. I purse my lips, thinking long and hard about this gesture.
“Yes, it’s what we used to do to show affection when we were human,” Carmen adds, molding his lips over Nora’s again. This time the kiss is longer and I watch in fascination. I don’t remember a time when I ever kissed someone as a human. Of course, Nora and Carmen have been vampires longer than I have but as I continue to watch them, something far down inside of me stirs—a wanting so deep that I fear I will be ill. I screw up my forehead, completely bewildered.
Eventually, Nora and Carmen break apart and all of us turn to watch Philip who is finishing up with the weeping female. When she gets up to leave, I see Philip excuse himself for the kitchen. I watch him go, the urge to follow strong, but I know I am not the one he wishes to see. I then turn to Carmen; he looks back in puzzlement. “You have been friends with Philip since the beginning. You should go talk to him,” I insist with a slight push. Nora nods in agreement, and Carmen sighs before finally nodding in finality. We watch him go in apprehension, not knowing how Philip will react when Carmen confronts him.
* * * *
My headache worsens as I pace aimlessly inside my room. Back and forth, back and forth, from window to wall. Nora watches me, not bothering to tell me to stop. Her eyelids are heavy, her whole face seeming to droop as the hours wear on. My thoughts are making circles, from Carmen to Philip to Rebecca. I groan audibly when I see the time blinking back at me from the electronic clock on the side table. Nora sighs in response. “That late, huh?”
“One o-clock!” I grumble, rubbing at my eyes as I struggle to stay awake.
“He’ll be back soon with news,” Nora reassures me but I don’t dare relent with my pacing. It is the only thing keeping me awake. Nora’s eyes follow me as I walk, saying not a word. Her mind is elsewhere, as mine is. I can see the flash of her canines and know that she is hungry but she dares not leave the room. She might miss Carmen’s visit, however brief it will be.
I eventually cease my pacing and proceed to crawl into bed, my head hitting the pillow. Bad idea. My lids fall close, the lashes hitting my cheeks. I groan, forcing my eyes open. That’s when I see Carmen sneaking in through the outside window. “Carmen!” I exclaim in surprise, sitting bolt upright in bed.
“Shhh,” he hisses at me with a deadly glare. I clamp my mouth shut, preventing the flow of questions I so want to utter from escaping. Nora leaps from the bed as if fatigue no longer effects her and falls into his arms. “I was so worried,” she gushes, holding him close.
“It’s fine,” he whispers, leading her back to her bed and sitting beside her. I near the end of my own bed, observing Carmen closely. His hair is messy and his shirt is askew, one shoe missing. “What happened?” I ask, no longer able to hold back my questions.
Carmen doesn’t look at me but continues to stroke Nora’s cheek, both staring into each other’s eyes. I frown, irritated that they can sit here and have an intimate moment while I am itching to know the news. I sigh, crossing my arms tight across my chest. My movement breaks their concentration and both growl in annoyance. “What?” I wonder with a shrug.
“If you would wait a second, I will let you see too,” Carmen explains, and my eyes light up with excitement.
“You mean, you are using our gift to show us?”
“Yes,” Carmen replies in exasperation. “I was just showing Nora, but you had to be so rude and interrupt.”
I snarl. “Well, you don’t have to be so grouchy.”
Carmen glowers. “I—“
“Stop!” Nora cuts in, her voice harsh. “Everyone’s tired. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can go to sleep. Got it?”
I quickly nod, wary as Nora’s eyes transform to a candy-apple red, infuriated by our rally. Carmen follows suit before cradling Nora’s face in his hands. They lock eyes and soon, they are lost in each other’s souls. I wait patiently, tracing the designs on my bedspread with a steady finger. I jump when another figure tumbles in through our window, less gracefully than Carmen had. His orange curls stand out against the stark-white carpet. “Michael!” I pull him onto the bed with me. His smile is weak, slightly dizzy from falling through the air and onto our floor. “What has been going on out there?” I repeat my question to him but Michael’s eyes are locked on Carmen and Nora. It seems that they have gotten to a very important part for Nora is starting to shake under Carmen’s fingers.
Finally, he releases her and she gasps as if she was just underwater for a long time and is just now breaking the surface. I watch them closely. Nora looks frightened beyond anything else. She glances at me and urges for me to follow her. We switch spots and Carmen takes my face in his hands—they are slightly warm against my skin from being outside—but nothing compares to the warmth that spreads through me when he reaches my soul. His eyes take on a hypnotizing glint, lulling me into a false sense of security. I feel the gentle prod in the back of my mind as he enters my brain and then a stab in the very center of my being.
It is as if Carmen is one with me; my thoughts are his, my desires are his. He sees everything, from my Birth to today. All my secrets are his; all my worries are now upon his shoulders. I see images of my childhood as a human; I see my transformation, the wonder it had held for me. These images are fresh, many of them ones that I have never seen. I make Carmen pause here, savoring some of them and filing more away to revisit later. I pause the longest on my transformation. It is still a wonder to watch it, to feel that sudden exhilaration when the vampire blood mingles with mine. It’s like a shot of adrenaline right into my heart. But it’s not painful. It’s like a fluffy dream, all clouds and no worries.
Then Isaac’s face swims to the surface. I feel Carmen’s fingers tighten on my face and I struggle against the urge to pull away and free myself from his control. I feel so weak under his command but I know that if I do pull away Carmen will think I have something to hide. And I don’t…do I?
He flips through all the images of Isaac and I; of the first day we met, all the interactions in Bakery, the car ride. Carmen smells Isaac’s scent, he wants him, he’s thirsty, just like I was. His fingers are digging into my skin now. I can feel his nails. I want to cry out, to tell him to release me, but he goes further, deeper into my mind. That’s when he finds the image of the soap fight; of Isaac kneeling over me, his face inches from me, his lips nearing my own, and that’s when I feel him pull away, and abruptly I am myself again; Carmen is gone.
I shake my head, trying to clear the heavy fog that has covered my mental being. When my vision clears, I see Carmen on the far edge of the bed, breathing rapidly. A pain I had never seen is spread out across his face, his eyes filled with such anguish that it makes my stomach twist into painful knots. I reach out to touch him but he flinches away, his eyes suddenly filled with such hatred that I myself cringe away. The one thing that I can decipher from his expression is that he somehow hates me for what he has seen. Hates Isaac, hates humans, hates everybody and he is hurting, hurting badly. I swallow the lump forming in my throat.
“Carmen, I—“ I manage to choke out before he shakes his head, yanking my face back into his hands rather roughly. I snap my eyes closed at the gesture, knowing that he is doing everything in his power not to hurt me even as angry as he is. When I open my eyes, he is watching me, waiting for me, and I see what he wants.
It is now my turn.
I can’t help the excitement that boils in my belly as I gaze into Carmen’s eyes. I lift my own hands to his face and I feel his muscles loosen as my eyes turn to a hypnotizing shade of emerald green, the brightest green my eyes have ever been. He gives in to my power and abruptly I am yanked inside.
Carmen is everywhere; his desires, his needs, his issues. Everything is there but I don’t dare pry. I know that this is what he wants for me to do: to look into his own thoughts. But I know I will only find trouble.
I feel a small tug in the back of my own mind and we are together at the same time in each other’s souls; Carmen’s in mine and I am in his. It is the oddest feeling I have every experienced. It as if we are under a thick cover of fog or in a glass dome. It is only us and no one else. “This is what I wanted to show you,” Carmen speaks but it is faint, ghostly sounding, as if he is talking from a great distance. But I can still feel his hands on my face and my own hands on his neck. There is another soft tug in the back of my mental being and then I am sucked into a very bright light as if I am falling into a hole from the sky. And then the whole world goes black and the vision begins…
Carmen is seated in the Council room, Philip in his usual spot perched on his desk, his chin in his hands. I realize that this is only mere moments after I had told Carmen to speak with Philip. I am standing in the corner invisible to the two men before me. “You know what the Coven will go through if Rebecca comes into power,” Carmen speaks, his voice soft in fear of being overheard.
”You don’t think I know that!” Philip grumbles, his eyes flickering from one corner of the room to the other never resting on one spot for longer than a few seconds. He’s restless and I sense his confusion coming off of him in waves.
”Philip, I didn’t come here to nag you. I came her because I’m your friend and I care about you and the future of this Coven.” Carmen stands and takes Philip’s shoulders in his hands, gripping them tight. “How many followers does Rebecca have?”
“So far, not very many. But the number is growing. She has gone out and sought vampires elsewhere in this area. I fear she will sway the reckless families out there,” Philip replies with a heavy sigh.
“Is she here now?”
”No. She left this morning.”
Carmen nods. He opens his mouth to say something and then stops. I know that the next thing he asks will be the hardest question of all. “Do you still want to be leader?” His voice is steady but I see the wariness in his eyes. Philip hesitates before answering and that’s all it takes. Carmen shakes his head, collapsing into the nearest chair in defeat. I myself feel my knees buckle. How can Philip not want to be leader anymore! I wonder in disbelief, hugging the wall for support.
Just then, the Council door is thrown open. Rebecca and a few of her followers stand in the doorway, filling the small space with her frame. Her eyes are a wild orange color, all energy. Her cheeks are flushed on her small, pinched face, her muscles coiled, ready for action. I observe her from under my lashes. Her nose is flat, her lips thin, barely there. Her chin is pointed and her hair is a wild mess of tawny curls, tightly spiraled around her skull. She reminds me of a lioness on the savannas of Africa out on the prowl.
”Rebecca,” Philip says, standing immediately at her arrival.
She grins, her teeth unnaturally pointed. “Happy to see me?” she asks with a slight tilt of her head. Philip chooses not to reply as Carmen stands with him. Her eyes flicker over him and I see a hint of longing in her eyes. I spot that Carmen senses this as well and uses it to his advantage.
”Rebecca,” he says her name in a low rumble, soft and alluring. Philip’s eyes glance at Carmen with surprise, and Rebecca’s shine with approval. “Don’t do this,” Carmen purrs, his eyes pleading.
”Oh, don’t worry your handsome little head,” she coos as if talking to a child. Carmen’s maneuver is lost on her. I realize that Rebecca is more intelligent than I previously assumed. Her smile is broader as she looks back as Philip, too wide for her face, making her look slightly psychotic. “I have waited a long time for this, Philip. It is long in coming. I have sat behind and watched you run this Coven straight into the ground. Now is the time for us to shine, to pick us up from the shadows and bring fear back into the name of vampires!” she shouts triumphantly. Philip just shakes his head. Rebecca frowns at this, clearly angered by this gesture.
”Rebecca, you are foolish. Don’t do this!” Carmen tries again, his voice like velvet. Rebecca flashes her crocodile grin, her eyes shimmering.
”Don’t bother, Carmen. Her mind is too warped by now to care,” Philip remarks, his voice steely now.
At this statement, Rebecca’s whole demeanor changes. Her back arches and her hair bristles, her canines lowering to become two-inch fangs. Her pupils stretch to accommodate her new stance and she flicks her tongue over her new teeth. I cringe from where I am in the dome. “He is right, you know. You are weak. You have lost your touch. Just like he predicted.” With that, her figure returns to its usual stance, canines shrinking, orange eyes returning. She flashes Carmen a grin and a wink before prancing off, her mane of curls swinging around her shoulders.
Carmen pulls me sharply back into reality, completely severing the connection between us. My head is light, my vision blurry. I reach up and press my fingers into my temples, alleviating the pain. I can hear Carmen saying my name and a voice shrieking but my brain is too foggy to comprehend what is happening.
A pair of hands descends upon my shoulders and I am roughly shaken. Immediately, my vision clears and the fog lifts. Carmen is the one who has shaken me and I glower at him.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, “I shouldn’t have broken the connection so severely. But I have to go.”
My mind seems to take longer to understand his words and I fumble for something to say. “I-I…ah…well—“ I stop, clutching at my head and moaning audibly.
“Rest,” he orders. I hear him whisper something to Nora and I hear my name come from his lips. I shake my shoulders, struggling to hear but my brain is heavy with a sort of mental fatigue that I can’t overcome. I can barely see Carmen stand, Michael already at the window climbing down. He winks at me before dropping two stories to the ground. Carmen follows but not before expressing his affection for Nora in the most human way. Their lips seem one and I can’t tell where one face begins and the other ends.
Eventually, Carmen vanishes, leaving Nora gasping for air. I feel the fog descending upon me again and I try to fight it. Nora sees my struggle and hurries over. But it is too late. The fog is there and my mental fatigue overtakes me.
I sink into a black oblivion.
I almost forgot about that...
& I have to say I'm glad I devoured them all in one day 
so it might be late. But thanks so much for reading this!
Another very promising story of your production.
Love it a lot, PM me for this one too! I will berate you heartily if you forget!
My post's the longest! You poor thing, you had to read all that...