The Deathly Kiss

Six

She woke up in Ivans arms hours later. It was still dark out. Ivan was awake, staring at her as if she were the one who could vanish at a moment's notice.

"Hi." She said sleepily.

"Hi." He said. She leaned up on her elbows and kissed him gently.

"I can't believe this is real." He whispered.

"I have a lot of questions..." He looked at her seriously and nodded.

"First you should go back to your room. I'll be there soon."

"Pops will wonder where I am." She leaned up and kissed his lips softly.

She found her clothes and dressed quickly. She stared at him sitting on the bed for a moment...How surreal it all felt to finally have him close to her.

"I'll see you soon?" She looked into his eyes and he smiled and nodded. She tried to remember if she'd ever seen him smile fully. He usually smirked if he expressed anything at all. Or frowned. But his smile was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

She walked briskly through the tread in the tall grass, the air chilled her and the house felt impossibly far with how much anticipation she felt to get back to him. Ivan. He might already be there waiting for her in her bed.

When she finally arrived at the main house she walked quickly past the kitchen doorway and up the stairs as quietly as she could. Pops was still asleep it seemed.

The day prior she'd swept the whole house, windows opened and cleansed the air in hopes it might dispel whatever dark energy that had been in the kitchen that day. Her grandmother had always done this. Clean and sweep away the bad energies, clean everything down with watered down vinegar and sing a song while you do it. Leave the broom over the door for protection. It was caked with superstition...but she didn't know what else to do and it made her feel better. At this point she didn't know what she didn't believe in regards to the supernatural.

She continued to her room, turning the knob quietly and slipping inside. She immediately felt a hand on her back, pulling her close. Ivan.

"Ivan."

"Not exactly." She froze. Icey hands with spindly fingers grasped her throat and pulled her back. She tried kicking at the body to no avail; it was like kicking at a hurricane. She felt nothing solid, just a strong force holding her back.

She opened her mouth to scream but found no sound could exit with the tightness of the grip at her neck.

She was thrown.

Her body hit the top of her dresser, shattering her mirror with the whole left side of her body. Glass shards fell in all directions and she felt pain along her upper arm and shoulder; sure that something had broken skin there.

She refocused ahead and saw a tall woman a few feet away staring at her coldly. She wore a long white dress and had long blonde-platinum hair that clung to her face.

"Who are you?"

"You aren't going to live long enough to warrant an answer." She began stepping forward and she reached a long pale hand out again to get hold of Jane.

Then a growl shattered the terrifying silence of her attackers' steps as Ivan appeared between them, teeth sharp and protruding, and immediately clenching his jaw around the woman's throat, tearing out a chunk of flesh there. The woman choked on her own blood, grasping at her neck, and fell to the floor.

"Quickly. Jane! She won't be down for long."

She wouldn't? They ran together down the stairs. Ivan attempted to drag her out the front door but she couldn't just leave without her grandfather.