6. Xander

As soon as I had Luke’s confirmation that he would come home with me for the night, we made our way to the front desk to bid our goodbyes to The Librarian. They concealed a knowing smirk, the corners of their mouth curling ever so slightly before they forced them back down.

“Have a good night,” they told us, their chestnut ringlets falling over one shoulder as they waved goodbye.

Luke walked with a certain stiffness in his gait, which told me he was still nervous despite giving his consent for the night’s activities. As we traveled down the dark, empty street, I slipped my hand into his. My grasp was cold and unwelcoming, but it was the best I could offer.

Luke squeezed it tightly, human fingers wrapping around mine. The warmth he offered in return felt like a feathery blanket draped over me. It warmed me to my very core and made me yearn for more.

I’d told myself I wouldn’t speed-travel with Luke, lest I scare him off after the painstaking upward battle we’d gone on just to get to this point, but now with visions of us together in my bed, fantasies of his body pressed against mine with nothing to keep me from studying every inch of him, I couldn’t stand the long walk back to my estate.

“Luke,” I began, letting out a long sigh before continuing. “Luke, I would like to show you something I can do.”

“Right now?” Luke looked up at me incredulously. “There might be people watching.”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. And it will happen so fast, no one will know what they saw anyway.”

Luke’s palm grew clammy. “I guess,” he said hesitantly. “Is it going to hurt?”

“Not one bit. In fact, in an effort to make this trip less painful, I’m going to return us to my mansion in a matter of seconds.”

“Oh. That doesn’t sound too bad. But how can I go with you? I can’t do that speed thing you vampires do.”

“I shall carry you in my arms. It will work, I promise. I’ve done it before.”

Luke smiled. “I bet you have.”

I dropped his hand and turned to lift him into my arms, cradling him like a baby. He wrapped one arm around my neck, nestling in closer than I expected him to, and with a running start, we were off.

The world around us flew by, blurring into a greenish-brownish-grayish amalgamation. I had the brief concern that it would make Luke motion-sick, which I knew humans could be plagued with in certain circumstances, but it was over too quickly for him to even fully understand what had happened.

“Are we here already?” he asked dazedly as I set him down on the ground in front of the wrought iron gate.

“We are indeed,” I told him. “Did you enjoy your first experience of traveling with a vampire?”

Luke looked around him, taking in the tall stone wall beside him and the dark countryside illuminated only by the sliver of the moon high above us.

“I think so,” he said after a moment. “It went a little too fast for me to remember much. How far did we travel?”

“Not very. This land may look deserted, but it’s only because few humans want to live next to a vampire. We’re not well known for taking care of our property, as you can see.”

Luke surveyed the unkempt grounds and nodded. “Yeah, I do see that.”

“We also had the benefit of establishing our homes long before many human lineages ever existed. If I were ever to move, I might pick somewhere farther from town, but I’m quite happy living where I do.”

“Has your family owned this place for long?” he asked as I unlocked the gate and let him in.

“Centuries. My great-grandparents built it themselves when they first settled here.”

“Are they still around?”

“No, I’m afraid not. They were killed off in the great vampire panic in 1679, along with my grandparents.”

“There was a vampire panic in 1679?” Luke furrowed his brow as he thought back through all the nuggets of history he’d no doubt learned in school.

“It’s not taught by humans. They attempted to erase that time in history after they learned that vampires are not hostile creatures by nature, and are, as it turns out, as harmless as humans.”

“Humans aren’t exactly harmless.” Luke laughed.

“Exactly my point.” I looked down at Luke, who’d stopped laughing.

His lips had closed into a thin line, and for a moment I wondered if I’d gone too far.

“I’m sorry your family had to go through that,” he said quietly after a few more seconds of silence. “I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.”

“Fortunately I was not yet born, but my parents were and they said it was dreadful.”

“And where are your parents now?”

“They moved some time ago. Life in one place grows rather boring when you’re facing down eternity. But enough about my family history. Let’s get inside quickly before you catch an illness out here in the cold.”

I couldn’t feel it, but I noticed Luke shivering, so the air must have been rather chilly. I didn’t want to kill the mood either, although the state of the mansion might have been enough to do that on its own.

“What do you think?” I asked, opening the front door with a triumphant push.

“It’s…nice,” Luke replied, his eyes roving around the dimly lit house. “Do you have any more lights aside from those sconces on the walls?”

I shook my head. “But we don’t need any more lighting than that.”

“And what’s down there?” he pointed to the heavy iron door leading down below the main floor.”

“Never mind that. It’s…a sort of basement. There is nothing of interest down there. Come with me and I’ll show you the most important room in the house.”

“The kitchen?”

“No, the bedroom.”