Sunset Blush by Melissa Nichols (book club reads txt) 📖

could have carried you to the hospital. Death. I could have walked away. Death.” With each ‘Death’, his voice accentuated the word, showing his growing frustration. “I did the only thing I could do; I changed you.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean, ‘changed me’? Into what?!” I began to grow angry. He hadn’t answered my question yet. Why was he stalling?! What had he done?!
“You are - we are - I am...Oh, damn it!” He growled as he kicked at a stone angrily. “You are now a vampire.”
“Say what now?” I replied, stunned. I shook my head. No. Surely I must have heard wrong. Please tell me I heard that wrong!
“A vampire. That’s what we are. What you are.” He paused, then continued. “All of your human characteristics have been altered. Your human strength is now tenfold stronger. When you run no human can see you, unless you slow down. Your eyesight, as you’ve noticed, can miss nothing. Your sense of smell, again, you’ve noticed, can detect a drop of blood ten miles away. Your sense of hearing can now hear the buzzing of a hummingbird’s wings fifteen miles away. And you can extend your fangs if you so choose. Your fangs are what enable you to bite into your prey with absolute ease, or can aide you in showing aggressiveness toward other vampires or animals.”
“But…Why? Why would you do this to me?!” 
“Because something internal told me to.”
“So you altered my entire life on a whim?!!!”
“You were dying! You wouldn’t have had a life at all.”
“I still wish you’d let me die. This isn’t right. This isn’t natural!”
“What would have been different? All of our belongings would have been confiscated, your pets sent to the pound, your friends and family heartbroken and your life would have ended. I have extended it, made you immortal and you can go back home and live in the same house, with the same pets and belongings, but you can’t re-meet your friends and family.”
“What?! What do you mean I can’t?!”
“The venom has changed more than your senses and strength. It’s also changed your face, voice and body.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded, my voice shaking at the possibility that I’ve lost all that I’ve worked for and I can’t even go back and make sure it’s all taken care of. 
He reached inside his pocket and removed my makeup case, the one with the blush and mirror. 
“I found it in your bag and figured I could use it to show you, since there aren’t any mirrors or puddles of water for miles.” He whispered, opening the lid. 
My hands shaking, I stepped forward and took it in my hands, keeping the lid low. 

I raised the small container up to my face, like I had on so many occasions, but I paused, trying to steady my breathing and heart rate. 
At last, when I had plucked up the courage to see what had changed, I lifted the lid. What I saw, made me drop the container and back away, shrieking in horror and fright.
I only saw myself for an instant, but that image will forever be imbedded in my mind. 
Everything, except my hair, lashes and brow color had changed. 
My skin was unnaturally but attractively pale, my features had moved around to their ideal positions and even changes shapes and sizes, making me the most beautiful of creatures. My nose, big and awkward before, was now small and cute. My eyes, a little off-center previously, had now moved to either side of my new nose. If someone had a scalpel and cut a line straight down the middle, the two halves would be absolutely identical when there had been a difference before. My mouth, too puffy and pale, was now the perfect size to lure in men and was a delicious shade of pink. My eyebrows, color unchanged, had also been altered. They had been arrow-like before, pointed at the top, then sharply curving downward. Now, they had a shape that would rival the most perfect of eyebrows from the most beautiful Hollywood actress. My lashes, dark and dominating my eyes, had now slipped down the ladder to take their place as an enhancement and liner. My high and too pointy cheekbones had moved to their natural place and had sized down quite a bit, giving my face a womanly quality that I had never possessed before. My chin, double-cleft and the size of a man’s, had unified and shrunk to give my new face a triangular look. Yes, it was true. With all of my changed features, it would be impossible for anyone I once knew to recognize me. But, what would get the most attention was my eyes.
As cliché as it goes, they were of a bright, harsh, and nasty shade of red. Anyone I saw in town, their eyes would be attracted to mine and they would know I was different. 

“I understand.” I whispered, breaking a long silence. “No one would recognize me, not even my mother.”
“That’s part of it, yes. The rest is the color of your eyes. No human has that color, it’s just not possible. For us, it’s like a branding. It marks you as a fledgling.”
“Will the color..?”
“Tone down? Oh, yes. It will. But not for a good decade at the earliest.”
“So, what do we do?”
“We’re going to have to move.”
“To where?”
“Deep in the forest, where no man can go. We’ll be safest there, away from humans.”
“But, aren’t they our source of food?”
“Well, that depends.”
“On what?”
“Your age.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s actually quite simple. During the training period, you are not allowed near humans. The point of the training is to teach you to control the hunger, to minimize human casualties. A newbie is not allowed to graduate without exceptional self-control and self-discipline. Both are gained through not only denying you the satisfaction you crave, but also through hard work alongside the hunger.”
“So, until I ‘graduate’, I am not allowed in the vicinity of a human?”
“That is correct.”
“And then?”
“You graduate, go out into the world and do as you please. Humans or animals or neither, it’s your choice. Once you graduate. Before then, it’s my decision.”
“Fine. Seeing as how I have nowhere to go and no idea what I’m capable of, I’ll go with you.”
“Alright then. Now, let’s get started.” He said, turning away from me once again. “Run with me, but stay behind me.” He ordered, looking over his shoulder at me, before he started jogging. Instinctively, I took off after him, running until I had caught up, then jogged beside him.
He led me deep into the mountains close by, then far north until we were out of human occupation. At this point, we ran dead east…toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

The journey took almost three days. During that time, we neither stopped nor slowed down. We passed town after town, state after state. 
At last, we reached our destination…a cave deep in the Blue Ridge peaks. No hiking trails for miles, nothing but animals for food and no busy city sounds to disturb our rendezvous with nature.
“Here we are. Now, I think I should know your name.”
“It’s Amber. Amber Jayce.”
“I’m Seth Aren. You can call me Master Aren. Nothing else.”
“Okay, Master Aren.”
“You’re learning already. Good. Now, we’ll rest for the rest of today, but tomorrow, you’re training begins.”
“Umm, Mater Aren?” I said, stopping him as he turned to enter the cave.
“Yes?”
“Surely you have a set of rules for me to follow? I usually do better when I know the rules.”
“Okay. For now, don’t wander too far. We don’t know what creatures live up here. If you do get lost, you just have to picture me in your mind and tell me you need help through telepathy. I’ll find you and bring you back here. Second, never go anywhere near humans or animals. Until you graduate, you can have absolutely zero drops of blood. You already know the reason why. Third, you will do as I say without hesitation nor whinnying or demanding an explanation. If you see anyone or anything strange, come straight here and tell me about it. Fourth, you will awaken at dawn every morning regardless of weather conditions or drowsiness levels. The penalty for breaking any of these rules will be severe. Satisfied?”
“Yes, Master Aren.”
“Good. Now, you can go no farther than the square of peaks around us. Good night.”
“Good night, Master Aren.” I said. I watched as he entered the cave before I turned around and started exploring the woods.

 

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Publication Date: 07-25-2011

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