Vampire Abilities
Vampire Abilities:2320words
Update Time:2024-11-01 09:40:47
[Carmen]When we arrived in the office, I could smell Echo and Harmony. I knew vampires were fast, but I didn’t think I was gone long enough for her to run all the way to the pack and back. They were talking excitedly about babies and didn’t seem to be worried at all about what we were about to go do. Though I didn’t think Echo was a good gauge of what was and wasn’t safe or normal, Harmony had more experience with the world. If she wasn’t worried, then she knew she had it handled. Then again, she was only eighteen. I knew from being raised around a young Alpha how powerful people viewed themselves. Their brother had left back on New Year’s Eve to stay with their sire, so I hadn’t gotten much of a chance to get to know him. One thing I did know was that their dynamic was one that put the health, happiness, and safety of their siblings above themselves. It wasn’t a very healthy way to live, but I heard multiples could be like that. They cared for and protected each other as if they were extensions of each other. Sometimes, their relationships were closer than those of mated pairs. It caused problems from time to time. The happy chatter stopped as Austin and I entered the room. Viola muttered something under her breath, but I didn’t quite catch it as Harmony decided to greet us at that moment. We went over to where they were standing and Harmony gave me a hug. Her belly was pretty big. She was definitely ready to pop. I could feel her baby moving around as she squeezed me. “He’s been active lately. I think he knows it’s almost time for him to move out,” she laughed. “Alright, we should go,” Echo said. “How are we getting there? Is your car outside?” Austin asked. They were quiet. I could see their outlines as they looked at each other. There was some sort of silent communication that passed between the two of them. Viola stopped typing and I was sure she was giving us her full attention. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you didn’t know. One of my vampire abilities is the ability to transport myself, magically, to any place I have been to or have connected to before. I got here by connecting through a picture of the lobby. I was going to take you to my home the same way,” Echo explained. My hand went up to my mouth. I couldn’t believe it. I knew there was all sorts of magic out in the world, but teleportation was massive. Someone with that ability could do all sorts of damage if they had a mind to. “And you can transport other people?” Austin asked. “Yeah. It’s really not that hard after you do it a couple times. I can take a lot more than I could the first time I traveled with someone else. If you all want to put a hand on me and hold on, I can take you to my home.” Austin looked at me, then watched Harmony take Echo’s hand. Echo reached out her other hand to us. Hesitantly, I accepted it. Austin took hold of Echo’s wrist, his hand wrapping all around her dainty wrist. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Echo. She wouldn’t offer if this wasn’t safe, but I had never done anything like it. I was a little scared of experiencing something so different. There was a slight shift under my feet and the outlines of the nearby chair and desk disappeared. The smell of vampire grew much stronger along with the scent of werewolves and pack while the scent of troll and dark elf faded completely. I let go of her hand as soon as I felt stable. Wherever we were, we were far enough away from other things that I couldn’t see them inside the circle of my magic. “Are you okay, Austin? You look a little green,” Echo said. “Bend over and take some slow, deep breaths,” I told him. He did what I said. I saw the sympathetic expression on Harmony’s face. This was something they knew was possible. “Sorry, I should have told you to close your eyes. Some people get motion sick if their eyes are open when we go,” Echo murmured as she rubbed his back. “I forgot to warn you, too. I’m sorry, Austin,” Harmony said. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I just… I feel a little nauseous,” he mumbled. “Well, remember to close your eyes on the return trip,” Echo said. He groaned a little more. I heard footsteps enter the place we were. They were soft and hurried. “Echo, we were wondering where you went off to,” a woman said. “You should tell us if you’re planning to leave so we know if we should make you lunch. Are you having company today?” “Yes, Wendell. Can you make enough for all of them to eat with me? We have some stuff to do. Where is everyone and what are they doing?” Echo asked.“Master Nightshade is resting, as you know. Lisa is out hanging some laundry. Neil is in the guest room with the human. Doctor Hastings left the house this morning.” “Thank you. Once Austin is feeling better, we’re going to head up to the guest room. You can warn Neil if you want, but make sure he knows I won’t be stopped,” Echo told her. “Yes, Mistress Nightshade.”I heard the woman leave the room. She went from fondly scolding Echo and calling her by her first name to talking to her as if she were a superior, but I didn’t hear Echo’s tone change at all to make it seem like she was being commanding. She simply stated her intentions. There were other ways to assert dominance without power, threats, or strength. It slightly altered my opinion of Echo’s ability to judge situations. Perhaps she was more capable of judging a situation than I had previously thought. I would still use my own judgment, but I wouldn’t be quick to dismiss her. If the warrior were warned, instead of having it sprung on him, he would have time to get used to the idea and figure out a plan for protecting us. He’d also know his mistress wasn’t going to accept him fighting it. It would stop them from losing time in an argument. She didn’t tell Wendell not to tell Neil, only to make sure he knew he couldn’t fight her decision. I wondered if Wendell had even thought of telling Neil or if Echo had just made sure she would. “You’re looking better, Austin. Shall we head upstairs?” Echo asked. “I’m ready,” he said. Harmony and I echoed his agreement. Austin took my arm and wrapped it around his. It would enable me to let my magic rest for a little while. I appreciated it and pulled it in so I wouldn’t use it too much. I heard Echo and Harmony start walking and then the sound of them climbing stairs. Austin started moving and we followed the sounds of their footsteps. I remembered touring the house with Rock. A slight blush burned my cheeks when I recalled what happened in the library. When we reached the top of the stairs, we headed to the left. I heard a slight growl of frustration from Echo as we walked. The warrior must have decided he wasn’t going to just sit by and let her do what she wanted. “Neil, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be in the room with Spencer,” she said. “There’s nothing you need in there. Master Nightshade said only to bring your sister if he tried to leave and we couldn’t get him to stay. He’s not trying to leave. He’s resting.” “We just need to talk to him for a little while. I only need ten minutes. That’s all.” “With a heavily pregnant werewolf, a blind werewolf, and an omega? Do you really think I’m going to allow this? It’s my job to protect you and you’re not going to be safe if you go in with only them to protect you,” he insisted. “Then come with us. Now, you can either open this door and let us pass, or we can see how long it takes you to get her from the pack lands on foot,” Echo warned. “I’m doing my job.”“Victor never told me I couldn’t go in there. He never told me not to do anything else with the man. All he ever told me was not to try healing him, and I didn’t. I’m not asking you to agree with me. I’m telling you that we’re going in there and you can’t stop us.” He was quiet for a few moments. Harmony wasn’t saying anything, probably trying not to influence the warrior. I held on to Austin and waited. The warrior shuffled a bit and I heard the latch on the door click as the knob turned. We moved forward, following Echo and Harmony into the room. The warrior followed us. I could hear the sound of someone moving in a bed. A scent that was a mix of nerves and something else filled the room as I heard a heartbeat pick up slightly and someone breathe in slow and deep. “What do you want? Didn’t I give you enough earlier? You pulled all that about my family out of me. What else can I give you?” As the door clicked shut, I felt a shiver go through me. I couldn’t see it, but I felt as if a predator was watching me. I gripped Austin’s arm tighter. Echo hadn’t lived her whole life with a threat like this hanging over her. The predators she dealt with were kept contained and were given what they wanted from her. This man wasn’t like them. He didn’t want anything that required her. He wasn’t going to try to take or manipulate anything out of her. What he wanted was his freedom and that was something he could give himself. She was like a child at the zoo thinking she was safe because the lions were behind the glass. This lion wasn’t behind the glass, though. He was in the room with us. “I didn’t mean to hurt you earlier, Spencer. I really want to talk to you. This is my sister, Harmony. Over there is Carmen and Austin. They are friends of mine. Carmen would like to look you over and see if there’s any deeper healing you need. She has a gift called true sight. It will tell her if we need to do more before letting you go,” Echo told him. I could only barely smell her lie. That meant it was likely the other werewolves in the room couldn’t. She lied to him so smoothly that I doubted anyone who didn’t know the truth would know it was a lie. “Why did you bring your pregnant sister with you?” he asked. “Harmony was curious about you. She’s a little overprotective, so she wanted to be with me if I was coming in to see you,” she explained. “How is she going to protect you if she’s, what, nine months pregnant? The blood loss might have weakened me, but I’m pretty sure I can take a pregnant woman. And the other woman doesn’t look directly at me, only in my direction. Either she’s afraid to look at me, or she can’t see me.” He was very perceptive. Not a lot of people picked up on the possibility of me being blind when we first met. In fact, fear was never something they thought of either. “Of course, that’s not to leave out the man she’s clinging to. He barely knows how to move his body to do anything but cower. The only person in here who’s a threat to me in any way is Neil over there. And he doesn’t look all too happy with this situation.” I heard Harmony move a few steps. If not for the fact that I would have to use my magic shortly, I would have pushed it out to see at least a little of what was happening. I squeezed Austin’s arm. ‘She’s staring into his eyes. He was scowling before, but he faltered. Now it looks like he’s confused. The changes in his expression and body language are very small.’ Austin told me in our pack link. “We just want to talk to you for about ten minutes, then you can rest. It would really make me very happy if you would allow it. I promise we won’t keep you very long and we won’t probe into any wounds,” Harmony told him in a soothing voice.“You look like her,” he whispered. “Like who?” she asked. “Stephanie. My wife. You look more like her than your sister does….” I could feel the pain in his voice. He was obviously suffering. Echo hadn’t told me about his family, but the way he talked when we came in made me think he lost them in a way he can’t get them back. It made me wish I had Rock with me. A man with nothing to lose was far more dangerous than any other man in existence. He didn’t fight for anything but himself. He didn’t need to live for anything other than himself. A man with nothing to lose and nothing to live for was a lot harder to kill, because they didn’t care what happened to them. They would push harder and take more risks. If he was a hunter, it made him even more dangerous than just being trained to kill. In fact, adding that to his mental state, meant there was nothing to stop him from hurting all of us. Echo had no idea what she was playing with.