Bloodseeker - Colin's Conquest Part 17

"Cowboy boots, Ben? Well at least they're black!" She laughed even harder at his sheepish expression. "Don't tell me you bought a horse too! Ben the cowboy. Sorry, I can't see it!" Tears flowed down her cheeks as she laughed ... pure joy to be teasing him again.

He stared hard into her laughing face, happy to see that she recognized him, but worried at the same time. He'd missed her bantering, but what would Colin do now? She continued to stare at his feet, and he felt the need to defend himself like he'd done so many times when she lived with them "I wanted the sales girl, and what better way to get her alone than to buy her wares? Anyway, they feel comfortable. I like them!"

"O.K., O.K., I was just kidding! Come on up here and sit down. You've already fed tonight, right?" She giggled at the way he crossed the porch, tapping his heels to hear his new boots on the wood. In many ways he seemed so young, but then she met his intense blue eyes and saw maturity there. Taking his hand they entwined their fingers, pus.h.i.+ng the swing together, enjoying the companionable silence and each other's presence.

Ben spoke with a quiet, timid voice. "Do you remember everything about me, Joanna?" He hoped with all his heart she didn't recollect all that transpired between them. He'd grown so fond of the fiery little human.

"Yes, I do."

His face fell when she answered.

"But, I forgive you. As a matter of fact, I like you, Ben." She saw the corner of his mouth lift in a smile. Then a worried look washed over his face.

"Do you remember everything?"

She hesitated before answering, staring at the blue veins in the back of Ben's hand. "If you are referring to Colin, then yes I do, and I'm mad as h.e.l.l at him for dumping me. I don't understand." She caught herself about to start whining and changed her tone of voice.

"I thought he cared more about me than just as his next meal, that's all."

"Joanna, if I tell you something, will you vow never to tell Colin?"

"But..."

"No, you will see him again, of this I'm certain. Do you promise? He is a Centenarian and I am only a very young apprentice. I'm not allowed to speak of him and I have no idea what the consequences would be if he found out I defied him."

Joanna gasped.

"Ben, I don't want you to be hurt!"

"No, don't worry about me. I think because I am so young I can get away with a lot, but it's only because Colin has such compa.s.sion. Still, I don't want to risk raising his ire. You've seen for yourself what can happen."

Knowing without a doubt he referred to her escape attempt at the shopping mall she nodded in agreement. How ironic, her situation. Back then all she thought about was getting away, and now all she wanted was to get back to him ... to Colin.

"I swear I won't say a word to him, Ben. O.K?"

He glanced around, his movements nervous, worried. Then when he spoke, he did so in an almost inaudible whisper.

"I fear that he may be close by."

Joanna jerked her head towards the woods, listening to the sounds of the thicket, her gaze darting into the darkness in search of his tall form.

"Colin did what he did because he cares for you and he feared for your life." He paused to rub his nose with the back of his hand.

"Do you need a tissue?""For what?"

Widening her eyes, she glared at him for a second then she sighed. "Never mind, please go on."

s.h.i.+fting his boots across the wood planks once more, he continued. "As you may already know, when he brought you to our lair he intended to convert you into his life-long mate. The thing is, when the time came he couldn't go through with it."

"But, why?"

"You don't understand! In order to change, your heart must stop from lack of blood before he can give you his own blood back.

Don't you get it? You must die and be brought back! That is why there are so few of us in this world today. Most humans do not revive and women almost never survive the metamorphosis."

Joanna felt his words like a kick to her stomach.

"He doesn't want you to die by his hand, Joanna, and he seems to think you would hate him if you did survive and turn into one of us."

"That's a bunch of s.h.i.+t! I thought Colin was smarter than that" She spat fire with her words. Ben grabbed her upper arm and shook her.

"Don't say such things about the Creator! It's your fault! You have awakened human emotions in him and now it clouds his judgment!" His punis.h.i.+ng grip on her arm hurt and she winced as she tried to pull away from him.

"I'm sorry, Ben. Really I am. I forgot he was not a normal man. Please let go of me before you break my arm in two." Releasing her, he left the swing and walked to the stairs leading down from the porch. He paused as if to say good-bye.

"Stay away from us, Joanna. All too soon it will be the week of the full moon." He took off at a brisk pace toward the trees and she jumped from the swing and ran to the steps to yell after him.

"I would gladly die for him, Ben. Do you hear me? I would do anything..."

Camouflaged in the gloom of the towering trees, the swaying hammock's green and brown splotches blended in with the surrounding foliage. Colin lounged motionless on the canvas hammock, his long denim clad legs crossed at the ankle. Although his mind churned in turmoil, his body stayed relaxed ... hands behind his head and eyes closed. In the distance he heard his friend moving through the thicket with exceptional speed. Soon, the young one approached, oblivious to Colin's presence.

"Where have you been, Benjamin?"

Colin's voice startled Ben, and he felt like a child who'd just been caught doing something wrong. If he lied Colin would know ... by his vocal inflections. And he refused to tell him of the faux pas, talking about his creator to another person.

He shuffled pine needles about with the toe of his boot, his voice a nervous murmur. "Uh, Joanna is at her cabin by the lake again. I saw her."

Colin opened his eyes, watching his neophyte's face. "You spoke to her?"

Ben drew several deep breaths to steady himself before meeting Colin's intense gaze.

"Yes sir, I did ... I happened upon her by chance. On my way past the area I spotted her on the porch. She called out to me, Colin. She said to come on out, that she knew I was there. Uh ... she ... uh ... she said she could smell me, Colin."He had a difficult time suppressing the laughter that swelled in his chest as he watched Ben's growing discomfort. The young one's face flushed and he averted his gaze to a point somewhere on the forest floor.

"Have you been neglecting your toilette, Ben?"

Fl.u.s.tered, Ben could do no more than utter a simple, "No."

Unable to suppress it any longer, Colin burst out laughing. "I think, perhaps, she was teasing you my sensitive friend."

Ben replied with an airy laugh of his own. "Yes."

"She must have overcome the mental block from my hypnotism. Correct? She obviously knew you."

Lifting his eyes to Colin's, he nodded. "That's right. But, not only does she remember me, she knows everything that transpired between us." He hesitated, the uneasiness ... an ache in the pit of his stomach.

"She remembers you too, Colin." He watched his creator's face for reaction and saw none. His features were etched in stone and unreadable.

"Thank you, Ben. Would you excuse me please?"

Colin kept his indecision and confusion hidden from Ben, who slipped away, knowing he couldn't do or say anything to help Colin right now.

d.a.m.n her for complicating his life so. Before the encounter with her, his heart served as just another organ, a muscle with the singular purpose of pumping his vivifying blood through his veins. Now, these warm sensations consumed him, the pa.s.sion burning within and radiating from his swollen heart.

His decision to release Joanna was a difficult one to make ... so much easier to love her from afar than to risk her life. Now it seemed she would risk her own life to be by his side. What to do ... what to do?

Rising off the hammock in one swift motion he sped through the woods ... he could not stop himself, he had to see her once more.

She left the windows of her tiny cabin open, as he knew she would, and he removed the screen with ease, pulling the tiny curtains aside.

She lay sprawled atop the covers, flat on her back as if she had flopped down with exhaustion and fallen right to sleep. Colin feasted on her slumbering body with his eyes. Heat flared in his chest as he gazed in at her ... she wore his unders.h.i.+rt again, and it quivered with every beat of her heart.

An involuntary thirst welled up in Colin's parched throat and his mouth watered. Disgusted, he tore himself away from her window and wiped the drool off his chin with his s.h.i.+rtsleeve. His fangs tickled the inside of his lip as they retracted. Grimacing, he swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He wouldn't allow himself to look at Joanna again, and he replaced the window screen.

Even more depressed than before, he made his way back to his own cabin. No more proof needed ... he must keep her away from him, allowing no contact between them, none at all, and he must make her forget him. Though he could never forget.

Hypnosis failed. Now he would do whatever it took, no matter how outlandish the method, to make her forget him once and for all.

Colin knew he must also leave the thicket and leave it now ... or else...

Fifteen

"Pack your bags, Ben." Colin entered the house shouting.

Ben pushed out of his desk chair and sent it sailing across the room, slamming into his dresser. The mirror fell and hit the floor, shattering into hundreds of glittering pieces. Ben felt his heart dissolve into molten lead and he felt sure that it was about to fall out of his chest, right through his intestines to form a new exit from his body. Clutching his chest, he peeked out of the bedroom door to see Colin barreling down the hallway. In a panic, he looked around the room, knowing before he even did that there was no escape. He couldn't believe Joanna tattled on him! That had to be the cause of Colin's uproar!

"Ben?" Colin stopped in the doorway. "What are you doing standing about like that?" He stared into his face waiting for an answer.

Ben stood like a deaf/mute staring back at Colin, his heart thundering in his chest until he realized that his creator's relaxed posture held not one iota of malice in it. He wanted to say something, anything, before Colin did get annoyed with him, but sound wouldn't escape his tightened throat. Guilt did this to him. Guilt at talking about Colin to that woman!

"Are you in pain, Benjamin?" His gaze drifted around Ben's room, noting the broken mirror and overturned desk chair but he said nothing about the damage.

"Pack your bags, young one, if you can manage to leave your stupor. We are going on a trip. Pack light and pack for warm weather, unless you prefer to remain here alone for several weeks?" But he knew even as he said those words that he would never allow Ben to remain alone for that length of time ... too dangerous for one so young.

Colin's eyebrows rose with his question, those dark jetties that outlined the shadows of his fathomless eyes ... the movements of those expressive eyebrows many times the only indication that Colin didn't wear a somnambulist mask. Ben averted his gaze before he became entranced and finally he managed to speak.

"Creator, where are we going"? Shamed by the pathetic squeak his voice came out as, he tried to clear his throat and apologize but Colin spoke first.

"I have decided to take a little journey into the Amzon rainforest before the week of the full moon is upon us again. Before you ask, I have an acquaintance down there who knows more about making humans forget than anyone else on the planet." He paused, one finger stroking his chin as he considered something that appeared to bother him.

"Our only problem may be finding him." His muttered words trailed behind him as he spun around and left Ben's doorway. Ben stared at the spot on the rug where his creator had stood, relieved that Colin didn't find out about his loose tongue, confused about this sudden trip, and even more confused over the reason for the trip. Never impulsive, to Ben's knowledge, Colin did nothing without careful and meticulous planning well in advance.

Shaking his head, he composed himself and moved to clean off his desk before he began the tedious task of packing. He did want to finish filling out this request for more information on a new company though. It really sounded like it could be the one. He would be getting in on the ground floor of this brilliant new multi-level marketing company and the promises for huge returns sound very impressive! He finished filling out the form and sealed the envelope. He would just have to take it with him and hope that they were near a post office or postal box at some point and he could slip it in the mail without Colin noticing. Fat chance, but he could always hope. He would rather cut out his own tongue than have Colin catch him trying out all these schemes. But no matter right now, he needed to get packed.

Having traveled with his enigmatic creator in the past, he knew better than to ask much, but why the rainforest of all places? Colin enjoyed the creature comforts as much as he did. He could think of no reason other than what Colin told him of the acquaintance that could make humans forget. Of course it was Joanna that he wanted to wipe the memory from, no doubt about that. She was such a pain in the a.s.s! Even as he thought that he smiled, almost laughing out loud over his own fondness for her. Now they would be traveling to the jungle, stumbling through the dense dripping wet vegetation and suffering from the stifling heat because of her. He could just choke her.

Pulling his heavy-duty hiker's backpack from the closet, he eyed it with distaste. They'd never used their backpacks before and he could not even remember why Colin bought them in the first place. What a pain. Not that he was lazy by any means, but hiking through the rainforest? Not his cup of tea. There would be nothing easy about it, even for Colin and himself.

Again he thought of choking Joanna. Hmmm. Maybe he should just stay behind ... but he knew Colin would never allow it.

Colin packed his underclothes and s.h.i.+rts into his backpack then stood back and stared in the closet at his a.s.sorted slacks. The thought of his legs baking in those pants as he tramped through the sweltering jungle was repugnant at best. Neither he nor Ben owned a pair of short pants either. They would have to stop and purchase some for this trip. Hiking boots were another necessity for the rainforest that neither of them owned. Oh how he hated to be so ill prepared.

"Ben!" Colin bellowed, his irritation flying like a bright red flag. He heard a crash following his exclamation. Hmm, the second time today that he startled his neophyte. Breathing in and blowing out, long deep breaths, he calmed himself and went to Ben's room, stamping his feet to warn of his approach.

Ben faced away, but Colin knew he was aware of his presence. The thin s.h.i.+rt revealed Ben's back muscles tensing in nervous spasms. When Colin spoke he used a kind tone, with obvious affection for his friend.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you and I should not inflict my irritation on you." Bending down beside his silent blonde companion Colin helped him pick up the pieces of the mirror, wondering what troubled him so. Not the fact that he had startled him again, causing him to drop the broken mirror he had just picked up. Reaching out for Ben's face Colin stopped and let his hand drop. Ben would not appreciate being treated like a child, however young he may still be.

"Look at me."

Ben worked his jaw back and forth grinding his teeth together. He stared at the mirror fragments in his hand, refusing to look up.

"Look at me." Colin spoke with a little more force, this time placing his hand on Ben's shoulder. To his surprise, Ben trembled!

Very subtle, the s.h.i.+vers, so much so that he failed to notice when he came in and bent down so near to his young one. Now he knew something was wrong, very wrong.

Ben lifted his head and Colin was taken aback at the haunted sky blue eyes that met his. His ashen face a ma.s.s of worry, wrinkles appearing even as he watched, on his forehead and at the corners of those sunken eyes. His full bottom lip quivered as he began to speak.

"It isn't your fault that I'm so jumpy, Colin."

He drew a deep breath and watched as those delightful eyebrows of Colin's shot upwards and his eyes widened. Ben teetered and caught himself with one hand on the floor as his knees gave out. Leaning back against his bed, he sat on the floor, putting as much room between them as he could without making it a distinct act.

Colin never moved ... that same puzzled expression stayed on his face as he knelt in the middle of Ben's rug, one knee up and one knee level with the floor. His body presented a series of flowing curves, down his back, around his behind, over his knees and past his bent ankles. An uncomfortable looking position, but he stayed that way with no apparent discomfort or unsteadiness. So unnerving ... Colin's total stillness. He hated that. Ben cleared his throat, his eyes focused on Colin's flat-heeled shoes. When he tried to speak his voice came out as a pathetic squawk once again, and this time he cleared his throat so hard it gave him a momentary twinge of pain.

"Creator. I have done a forbidden thing."

Colin said nothing. When Ben raised his gaze from Colin's shoes to his face he felt chilled to the bone ... an unblinking, lifeless expression, black eyes boring into him. Oh nooooooo.

Colin re-animated and in one fluid movement drew up next to Ben, pulled him to his feet, then flopped him onto the bed. Towering above him, arms crossed, he waited for him to continue speaking. If Ben had taken Joanna he would have to kill him, even though he did not want to do it. He hoped this was not the case, for he loved Joanna and Ben both. Holding his anger and dread in check he waited for Ben to tell him what he did not want to hear, praying he would not be forced to destroy his young companion. He is waiting for me to sign my own death warrant. Ben had no idea if he could ever get his voice to work again. The very formidable being towering over him had stolen his voice away with the power of his stare. Colin glared and Ben trembled for what seemed like hours, then Colin broke the silence.

After drawing a very audible deep breath Colin spoke. "Do not be afraid. Please do go on." Gripping Ben's leg right above the knee he bent to stare into his face.

"Do it, now."

Ben gasped. "I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me Colin. I swear I'll never do it again. Please don't slaughter me." The hasty words gushed from him like floodwater through a swollen valley stream.

"I knew not to talk about you. I knew you would not like it. I knew all the while even as I spoke to her that you would be furious. I know this. I am sorry. Have mercy, please Colin, I beg you. I will never utter another word about you I swear!"

Colin wore his blank mask so often it was easy to maintain, but he almost laughed with relief at Ben's over reaction. How could he be so terrified of his own creator? Perhaps it was an act, brought on by guilt ... easier to believe than the terror Ben displayed.

Aside from that, he could not pa.s.s up this temptation to use Ben's fake hysteria to his advantage.