The Vampire's Carnival

Chapter 7

I wake to the sound of rattling chains and the clunking of wood on rock. Opening my eyes, I see I'm in a dark room, no, not a dark room, the back of a covered wagon, with things hanging from the ceiling and banging on the walls with each rock we roll over.

I blink a few times, my eyes adjusting to the lack of light.

"H-"

A hand covers my mouth and red eyes stare back at me through the darkness.

"It's me again," the voice whispers. His other hand is busy picking the lock holding my arm up to the right wall of the wagon. "I had to suck the venom out of you."

"Venom?" I mumble through his hand.

"Oop, sorry," he chuckles, releasing my mouth.

I lift my free hand up to my neck, where pain moved through my body, and for a moment I picture him there, sucking the venom from my blood, and my heart does a little dance.

He chuckles.

"Venom?" I ask again. I hope he doesn't have the power to read minds too...

He nods in the darkness. I can barely see his face.

"The vampire that bit you left a lot of it in your bloodstream. They really wanted to do some damage."

The lock pops open and I rub my wrist. It tingles as the blood returns to where it needs to be.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, looking up at him.

I see his glowing eyes dart to mine, and I lose my breath for a moment. Something about him seems familiar...

Nope. Just my imagination.

"I don't know," he says quietly. "Call it a gut feeling. Now, come on, we've got to move."

He takes my hand and a tingling sensation runs up my arm.

He's a vampire remember? They deceive to kill.

I shake my head and stand up with him, the wagon rocking underneath us. It starts to slow.

"He knows you're awake. Hurry."

We jump out of the back and start to run down the rocky path in the moonlight. I'm out of breath soon, and he drags me along behind him. He looks back in frustration and picks me up like a baby. I almost protest, if it wasn't for that moment of exhausted relief that washes over me as he holds me.

We're running faster than any human can go, and I watch as trees whip by us. Another set of footprints falls behind, and the boy stops to listen.

"He's gone," he says and sets me down.

He looks at me, his glowing eyes staring me down and studying me. I look away shyly, a quality I've never had, until now. If I were still a vampire, I'd definitely say something about the attention from him. But the feeling of inferiority as I stand as a human in front of him makes me think twice about what I want to say.

"What?" I ask, looking at the ground.

"I just can't figure out who you are," he whispers and moves my hair from my eyes as I look up at him. "I never forget a face..."

"What's your name?" I ask suddenly, shocking even myself.

He backs away and walks to a nearby tree.

"I don't think I should tell you that yet," he leans against the dark trunk that's barely visible in the scattered moonlight. "Not until I know who you are. What's your name?"

I start to answer, but I don't know which name to give him. Rachelle or Vanessa?

"Um..."

Branches snap overhead, and, instinctively from being a vampire for so long before, I'm thrown into a defensive position.