Read Online Neither by Chelsea M. Cameron - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Chelsea M. Cameron
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her mind to see what is wrong. The mind reading seems to come when I least expect it. I turn our hands over, studying hers entwined with mine. I want to keep it there. Always.
Six
Brooke
The pain consumed me for hours, escalating until it was all I could see, hear and taste.
It was bright and hot like metal.
When I finally opened my eyes, I could see everything, as if the world was connected by tiny threads that I never knew existed. I could hear the earth shifting. The air was not transparent at all. It was filled with all kinds of things.
“Hello again, Brooke,” Ivan's voice said.
I turned and saw him standing against the wall. He was even more flawless than when I'd seen him last, if that was possible. I could see the lines of his face, his hair, his eyes, everything with a clarity that would have been too much for me before.
“Hi, Ivan.” My voice sounded different, too. He was staring at me. Well, not at me. Behind me.
“What beautiful wings you have, love,” Ivan said.
I reach my hand back and touch them. Although they were thin, they were made of a strong membrane that would not tear, even in a hurricane. I followed them to where they attached to my back. They blended into my skin without stopping. They were a part of me. My shirt had shredded from where they'd ripped through it, so it was no more than tatters. My bra was still intact, so he hadn't seen the rest of me.
“Where did they come from?”
“Wherever we come from. I don't know.”
“Do you have them?”
“No. I am different.”
“Show me.”
He took off his shirt, and even though it was dark, I could see his skin as it shifted from human skin to greenish scales. He stuck out a now-forked tongue at me.
“You're much prettier, love.”
I walked toward him and put my hand on his face, just to feel. It was like touching a snake, but the scales still retained some of the feel of skin. They were soft somehow. They had a tiny bit of sparkle. He shifted back to his human face.
“Can I go outside now?”
“Of course.”
He gestured to the trapdoor, and I flung it open. If I would have still been human, I would have been blinded. The sun was glorious. It filled me up with light and brightness, and I thought I would burst from one more second of it.
“We need the sun to live, you see. Those vampire stories are all fiction.”
I wanted to take off my clothes so I could take in more of it. I wanted to bathe in it for eternity. I tried my wings out. They were as easy to move as my arms or legs. I flapped them.
“You'll be able to fly soon, I should think. Are you thirsty?”
“Thirsty?” As soon as he said it, a crippling need overcame me. I wanted something, but I didn't know what it was. I just knew that I had to get it. NOW.
“If I tell you to stay here, will you listen? I will be right back with what you need.”
I listened and stood in the sun for what felt like forever. The initial burst of it had worn off, and now I just wanted something hot and liquid. I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything else.
A smell hit me and I knew that whatever it was, it was what I needed. I followed it, disobeying Ivan's orders. My feet carried me to where he was with a man. The man was dirty and had not bathed in a while, but above all else, he smelled of sweat, human and something else. The thing I needed.
“He's yours. Don't worry about killing him. He doesn't deserve to live.”
He tossed the man at me. He was unconscious. I caught him, and without thinking, ripped into his skin, letting his sweet, hot blood spurt into the air like a fountain. I latched into the hole I'd made and sucked. This. This was what I needed.
In the next few hours Ivan brought me three more people, until I was so full and drunk on blood I could barely move. He didn't take any, and I didn't offer.
“It doesn't disgust you?”
“I didn't think about it.” It was true. Distantly, I thought that I should care. I'd killed four people in a few hours
Six
Brooke
The pain consumed me for hours, escalating until it was all I could see, hear and taste.
It was bright and hot like metal.
When I finally opened my eyes, I could see everything, as if the world was connected by tiny threads that I never knew existed. I could hear the earth shifting. The air was not transparent at all. It was filled with all kinds of things.
“Hello again, Brooke,” Ivan's voice said.
I turned and saw him standing against the wall. He was even more flawless than when I'd seen him last, if that was possible. I could see the lines of his face, his hair, his eyes, everything with a clarity that would have been too much for me before.
“Hi, Ivan.” My voice sounded different, too. He was staring at me. Well, not at me. Behind me.
“What beautiful wings you have, love,” Ivan said.
I reach my hand back and touch them. Although they were thin, they were made of a strong membrane that would not tear, even in a hurricane. I followed them to where they attached to my back. They blended into my skin without stopping. They were a part of me. My shirt had shredded from where they'd ripped through it, so it was no more than tatters. My bra was still intact, so he hadn't seen the rest of me.
“Where did they come from?”
“Wherever we come from. I don't know.”
“Do you have them?”
“No. I am different.”
“Show me.”
He took off his shirt, and even though it was dark, I could see his skin as it shifted from human skin to greenish scales. He stuck out a now-forked tongue at me.
“You're much prettier, love.”
I walked toward him and put my hand on his face, just to feel. It was like touching a snake, but the scales still retained some of the feel of skin. They were soft somehow. They had a tiny bit of sparkle. He shifted back to his human face.
“Can I go outside now?”
“Of course.”
He gestured to the trapdoor, and I flung it open. If I would have still been human, I would have been blinded. The sun was glorious. It filled me up with light and brightness, and I thought I would burst from one more second of it.
“We need the sun to live, you see. Those vampire stories are all fiction.”
I wanted to take off my clothes so I could take in more of it. I wanted to bathe in it for eternity. I tried my wings out. They were as easy to move as my arms or legs. I flapped them.
“You'll be able to fly soon, I should think. Are you thirsty?”
“Thirsty?” As soon as he said it, a crippling need overcame me. I wanted something, but I didn't know what it was. I just knew that I had to get it. NOW.
“If I tell you to stay here, will you listen? I will be right back with what you need.”
I listened and stood in the sun for what felt like forever. The initial burst of it had worn off, and now I just wanted something hot and liquid. I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything else.
A smell hit me and I knew that whatever it was, it was what I needed. I followed it, disobeying Ivan's orders. My feet carried me to where he was with a man. The man was dirty and had not bathed in a while, but above all else, he smelled of sweat, human and something else. The thing I needed.
“He's yours. Don't worry about killing him. He doesn't deserve to live.”
He tossed the man at me. He was unconscious. I caught him, and without thinking, ripped into his skin, letting his sweet, hot blood spurt into the air like a fountain. I latched into the hole I'd made and sucked. This. This was what I needed.
In the next few hours Ivan brought me three more people, until I was so full and drunk on blood I could barely move. He didn't take any, and I didn't offer.
“It doesn't disgust you?”
“I didn't think about it.” It was true. Distantly, I thought that I should care. I'd killed four people in a few hours
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