~ 38: A Camping of Sweets and Sours - Part 3 ~

We stumbled behind a rock as soon as we landed from the teleportation. Lucas was hugging me too tightly for me to be able to breathe. I could hear his heartbeat thundering through his chest.

"What's wrong?" I gasped out.

'Don't talk,' he said. 'I will let you go and answer all of your questions when everything is fine.'

'My dear brother, nothing happened. Why are we running?'

'You wouldn't know. You would never know until that time came upon you. Keep shut now. There are questions that I just can't answer for you.'

This time, I only heard his heart. It felt weirdly nice to hear it in the dead, dark forest. After some time passed, Lucas held my hand and took me to a stony path. It was a well-made, though old, cobblestone path. Later up the path, I heard a spring gurgle down softly and merrily, whose music brought tranquillity to my heart.

I wanted to ask him plenty of questions, but all of them had vanished into thin air when I examined the night beauty of the mountains. The place wasn't too silent, unlike earlier, as a few birds chirped from high trees, which guarded the path on both sides. It now felt thrilling to explore more of this unoccupied land.

I couldn't ask Lucas right then about sitting with our legs dipped in the cool water. I had been able to touch it with my fingers for a few seconds before we had moved on with our restless journey. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I wished not to be a heavy burden.

We clambered up a few stone steps, and a clearing came into view. In the middle of it was a stone platform build to look like a stage. He pulled me by my hand as we got up the last set of steps to get on to the platform.

"What?" I finally asked out loud, assuming everything was safe for me to talk loudly.

He smiled brightly as he said, "Look up."

I was astounded by the beauty of the sky, so much that I was completely speechless. Here one could see the dimmest stars shine in the dark sky, creating a galaxy. Even near the sea, such a fabulous picture of the heavens didn't exist. It was only the brightest ones that we could see clearly. On certain nights, which rarely came by, we could view the whole sky.

"Whoa," I gasped after a minute or two passed. "It's more than beautiful. It looks like they have dressed the sky."

Lucas's laugh echoed around, but he didn't worry. I beamed as I gazed upon the gigantic beauty.

"Very beautiful, isn't it?" he said with a sigh. "This is one of the only places that bring peace to my soul."

"How did you come upon it?" I asked in wonderment.

"Vampires don't or rather rarely sleep. Being a mixed breed does mean that I sleep more than an average vampire. But when I'm not, I'm hunting for places that keep myself together."

"You mean, you hunt for your food here?"

"If you can't get fresh blood, small animals do the trick. The animals that you could get blood from and then roast them for dinner."

"That's heartless. You are too cruel to cute creatures."

He chuckled as we lied down with our backs on the platform. I couldn't take my eyes off the sight, although I felt slightly dizzy. When vertigo became stronger, I closed my eyes and sat up, thinking of the questions I had for him.

"Why can't you get blood from the hospital after doing some work?" I asked him the first of my questions. "I don't know how you earn your money, but surely you could work there every few days in a month and get a packet of blood in exchange?"

"There's too much blood in those bags," he complained. "Plus, having those stale leftovers the next day is horrid. Fresh blood is always sweeter. You'll never get the same metallic tang."

"So fussy. Maybe that's why there aren't any women around you, though you are very handsome."

He sat up and looked at me with his daunting eye. I calmly looked back at him, knowing there was nothing to fear. I hadn't been able to look upon his face since he had captured me in his strong safe arms like I was being kidnapped. He looked like a dark prince whose life was illuminated by the stars above, behind and around him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" his razor-sharp voice came through the night forest air, giving it a scarier effect with the raised brow.

"Do you even know how handsome you look when you smile, or even just sit like that with no expression on your face? Maybe some would only look at your sculpted body, but that's really not what's most attractive about you. Your queer personality is at its finest, ensuring that no human dare cross your path unless you wish it. If you keep that up, you'll be alone forever."

"Whatever. I have more time than you think, and I have seen enough to know that I don't want one right now. And maybe not in the next hundred years at least."

I huffed a short laugh at his obstinate nature. He had already prepared himself for the rest of his life, and he probably even knew how long he was going to live. Being a seer had its merits to an extent. Somehow, this little moment with him made my day.

I looked up at the moving twinkling stars as I tried to recollect all the questions I had for him.

"Why did you appear?" I asked suddenly the minute the thought reappeared. "And what's with the fish?"

"I was wide awake this time with nothing to do when I sensed that you are in the proximity of danger," he stated. "Do you think I would leave you in the mercy of the Lycans, who are hungrier for a bite right after a full moon night? As for the fish, they wanted to capture the sea creature, and the only way to divert them is to use another sea creature, isn't it? I thought you didn't want him or her to be caught?"

"You know, it's kind of annoying that you are able to sneak into some things in my head and heart," I answered with a sulk. "I just hope that you don't intrude into all of my thoughts."

"Don't worry. It only happens when I'm sharing my energy with you. Besides, it's fun to get a small peek into your brain. It's filled with some very interesting thoughts, I must say."

I bashed his upper arm as he poked fun at me. It was a relief to have him here without any clue of any lurking danger. Even if it was there, I trusted him enough to know that we would escape it, no matter what.