Chapter 14 FALLING ANGEL.

WEDNESDAY
Jhan came back home in the evening looking rather tired. He spoke little with Jereum before making is way up the stairs. Jhan was busy most of the time. He was no adjudicator but he still had an in important role to do in ensuring that we faired well.
His job as a survey elite also included training younger amateur vampires which was s daily task.
I passed the night wide awake and as soon as it was seven in the morning is saw Jhan and Jereum already in the parlour.
"Is everything alright Jhan?" I asked him, after he had a brief word over with Jereum, who was now frowning.
"Err... Yes Kaldar, just a little issues with our patrols," He said, and I believed him. If it was something serious he would tell me... Right?
They left the house shortly after that, both wearing silver boots and their brown jackets.
"Be back love," Tia said, and she planted a kiss on my cheek, before she followed after them.
It was a cloudy day, or so it seemed to be, and the perfect opportunity to meet Dawn. I was alone with Leya again, she was on the couch, sipping, through a straw, a red liquid from a wine glass. I looked at the glass, then at her.
"Still skipping school?" I asked her.
She slurped loudly and I got my answer.
"Going to see her again?"
And that's how our discussions had been, she'd say "Going to see her again?"
I'd say, " Yeah." When I'm at the door.
She'd click and point to the kitchen. I'd go in and drain the flask.
"Be back before ten." I'd say.
And I'd go.
And that's how it had been. Today was no exception. I was already at the door.
I caught her off in mid click saying, "I've already did."
"Oh, I thought you'd never remember," She said.
"Be back before ten Leya," I said.
"Yah yah," She replied.
Today I had something different planed for us to do. Dawn was a great swimmer—or so her medals told—so I thought we could go swimming.
I got up her window and into her room. She was lying on her bed fast asleep. She looked so peaceful, so tender, so beautiful as she slept. I admired her from where I still, taking in her view with every breath she took in. I didn't want to wake her up, I didn't want to interrupt her sleep.
I was already at the window, ready to jump out when I heard her voice.
"Just gonna leave?" She supported herself by her elbow. Her hair was all over her face.
"Oh, I didn't want to disturb you," I said.
"So, my secret lover, what do we do today?" She asked, smiling brightly.
"I have something in mind," I said, "Let's go swimming."
She smiled.
"Where?" She asked.
"You'll see, it's a surprise."
The forested area Jhan had taken us had a large stream. It looked completely safe and free of wild animals so I decided to take her there. She hopped on my back.
"We could have taken my caaaaaarrrrrrrr..." And her voice was carried with the wind. There was a straight path from the back of her house to the forest. She started to laugh and tightened her grip around my neck. I got to the large forest in no time.
She was still holding on to me even when I stopped.
"We are here," I told her and she got off me. I wasn't wearing the cloth over my face. The shrubs that grew here were the same ones Leya grew in our backyard and the fumes emitted from these plants here filled the air and diluted her strong scent.
"In a beautiful place..." I answered.
She looked around, taking in the ethereal environment. "Wow," She sighed.
"This looks like, a paradise."
Without warning I grabbed her waist and tossed her into the air. Her piercing scream filled the forest and she pleaded with no one in particular. I jumped up, meeting her on ascent. She looked at me in the eye, she hugged me tightly, muttering the words, "Oh please, oh please." Over and over again.
I landed with a loud thump and got to her feet, shaking like a little cat.
"That...was...crazy," She said, shaken.
"Do you want another go?" I asked, a devious smile on my face.
"No," She said, realizing that I was walking closer to her.
"Don't you dare, don't yoooooouuuu...." She was already in the air. I had thrown her away from me and towards the lake. I ran, catching up to her from under, I jumped and caught. We landed together.
"You're scaring me," She said.
"I'll go with you this time." And I leaped with her in my arms. She didn't scream this time, she was way more relaxed, although her grip on my jacket was still as tight as ever. She looked at the tree around us, bewildered by the beauty of the forest.
We landed again and this time she was much more relaxed.
"Let's go swimming," I said.
"Where?"
But I had already swooped her off her feet and made a run for the stream. On reaching it I leaped as high as I could into the air, she screamed all the way up and even louder as we crashed into the stream. She emerged, gasping for breath and laughing at the same time, her hair, now soaked and heavy, covered most of her face.
"This is so..."
"Amazing?" I guessed.
"No, I was gonna say insane."
I threw my head back with laughter; she looked like a little bird that had been wickedly thrown into the stream to die. I took of the jacket I wore am tossed it to the bank, next it took off the black body hug long sleeve and tossed it in the same direction.
Her face flushed red and she stared at my bare chest.
"Let's swim." I waddled my legs with enough force to push me through the water at an incredible speed.
I circled around her, she looked tried pin pointing where I was but to no use, I was too fast. Emerging, I swam up to her and seized her arm.
"You might want to hold on tight, and hold your breath." I didn't even give her another second, I pulled her under and waddled my feet with all the force I could generate. She had somehow maneuvered herself on top of me and was screaming with joy as she sped on her personal speed boat.
The stream was long and I swam for s distance before turning back. And swimming the way we came.
On stopping I said, "Now it's your turn."
She seemed surprised.
"I can't swim like that," She argued, but I wasn't going to let her of without giving me a show.
"I know, I wasn't asking you to... Swim like a person, not like a vampire."
She looked sceptic, but then she moved a little from me and submerged. She swam downwards and when she was almost at the bottom, she swam gracefully, turning and changing directions like a dolphin.
I was entranced by her sinuous way of swimming, the way she turned gracefully and freely in the water. After about thirty seconds of impressive swimming she emerged. I clapped, cheering her loudly. She smiled nervously and looked at me.
"That was amazing," I said.
"Yeah, it's a move I've been working on really."
"You nailed it," I said.
"Thank you."
"So what now?" I asked her.
"Well... Since we are already here, and we are alone..." She swam up to me and pushed me deeper into the stream. She cupped my face in her palms and kissed me. She kissed me again and again. I enjoyed it and I kissed her back, seizing her lower lip in-between mine and taking her all in. We were suspended in the water, lips changing interlock and my hands fiddling with her body.
She stopped and pushed me deeper into the water as she swam up. I was surprised and felt a tinge of betrayal. She had just emerged and took a few breaths in when I grabbed her leg and pulled her back down. I could see she was laughing and I pulled her to me and kissed her again.
Slowly, we sank to the bottom and she was on top of me, kissing me away. Our bodies we tightly pressed against each other and I felt her heart beat fall into sync with mine. I caressed her all over and she smiled as she looked me in the eye.
She emerged again.
"I always wanted to do that..."
"With me or...?" I asked.
"Well I never had anyone in mind..."
"Oh."
We got to the banks and I put on my shirt. She took of a small pendant from her neck, she gave a careful look before she walked up to me and hung it on my neck.
"It's beautiful," I said, looking at the small green gem that hung from the chain.
"I have one also, now you'd never forget me... Even when we are farther away," She said.
"I'd never forget you Dawn, even without this necklace," I said, "you make me feel more alive than I really am... I'd never forget that."
She smiled widely, revealing her two front teeth.
"Let's touch the clouds Kaldar..."
I carried her in my arms and she wrapped her hands around my neck. I leaped again, she looked in awe at the high trees around and the sparkling lights. We landed and I jumped again, even higher than the first. I got higher and higher and then I saw a distracting yellow light. I felt a strange heat on my face first and then the burning away of my skin.
I don't know how long we fell to the ground, but I could hear her muffled screams of my name over and over again. I blinked and realized that I was upside down, falling to the ground and Dawn was falling a distance above me.
I groaned, trying to correct myself in the air but it felt like all the energy I had, had been drained away from me and leaving me like just an empty, stiff shell.
The ground was almost at us, we would die if I didn't do anything but all my energy seemed to be drained out of my body, leaving me unable to move any muscle in my body.
I heard her terrified screams again as I gazed on the ground below, I would survive it without a scratch but she would die on instance. We were almost at the ground now and I was still heavily dazed, fuzzed and disoriented by the beam that had hit my forehead.
She screamed even louder but I still couldn't move. The image of Dawn's dead body lying on the ground with a trickle of blood down her lips flashed through my mind and just then I felt a buzz, like a spark of energy in my chest that quickly spread through my body and giving me a little strength back.
I had to think fast, the ground was coming at us with speed and the strength I had was almost exhausted. I got an idea that I was betting Dawn's life on to work.
I pushed myself in the air, with the little strength I had left, now falling feet down, I extended my arms below her and waited to land. I felt the ground, as I hit it with my feet and I grunted on impact. She was about ten meters above me. I kept my hands as still as I could and once she hit me, I caught her.
She was safe and that's all what mattered to me.
She was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks. She got to her feet and I fell to my knees.
"Oh, no, oh no. Kaldar?" She said my name, but I could only hear her voice as if it was muffled by something. The vision of her face became a wild blur and I could feel the ground swaying under my knees. I tried to regain balance but fell face forward and lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was in a shaded area. I blinked a few times and cleared the fuzzy feeling from my head.
I heard Dawn call my name in alarm, she rushed over to me and held up my head.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine,"I said, rubbing the back of my hand on my eyes rigorously.
I noticed the forest around me now had patches of bright yellow sunlight.
"Oh no, the sun..."
"Is that why you fell," She asked, and I remembered it. The sunlight hit my face, distracting me and disorienting me thoroughly. The light had distorted me mentally and it felt like a thick cloud had been released on my brain. It drained me of any strength I had and I fell to the ground pathetically.
If not for the spark I felt she would have died and the sun would have probably burnt me up as I lay unconscious on the ground.
"That was close... Too close," I said, "I cannot be in sunlight, I'd die."
"We can wait it out," She said.
Soon enough a cloud would pass over the sun and block the light, then the would be my chance to run us the hell away fro here.
We spent the time talking and laughing over silly things. She mocked me for fainting in mid air and I imitated her screaming. In no time she was kissing me again, kissing me vivaciously and with so much life.
She was on me. "Touch me Kaldar," She breathed out, but then I saw the bright golden sunlight slowly disappear.
"It's gone," I said in alarm.
She also noticed it and I got to my feet.
"You know, you never proved to me you were faster than a car," She said.
"Well there's only one way to find out."
I held her in my arms and ran as fast as I could, her elated laughter filling the air around me and filling me with happiness.