CHAPTER 9 - WHAT'S ON THE MENU

Fred raises an eyebrow, a puzzled expression I always found amusing. "When have you been there?" He asks.

"On one of my many adventures," I reply. It's best not to give too much away from my past. I can be a very secretive person when I want to be. Fred catches on to this. "Forever a mystery, Maia." He chuckles.

Bree and Diego stand by my side. "What did you mean when you said our meal would be different?" Diego asks. Bree clings to his arm, staring up at him with such a loving gaze. I love her devotion to him. It's a constant reminder that this trip has a point; that we are escaping any past lives that we may want to forget. I know we all have things we want to leave behind.

I realise I still haven't answered Diego's question, as he stares expectantly at me. "Earth to Maia!" Fred waves a hand in front of my face. "Sorry, I zoned out for a second" I shake my head. Fred laughs.

"Well, Diego, you may have noticed that I look slightly different to you guys."

"Aside from the fact that we're two different people you mean?" He responds, a sarcastic air to his tone. Bree rolls her eyes and punches his arm playfully.

Ignoring him, I continue with my point. "My eyes, Diego! My eyes are gold, not red like yours!" The realisation hits all three of them.

"Wow!" Fred says. "I'm amazed I missed that!"

"You never were very observant," I respond.

"So why are your eyes that colour?" Bree asks, trying to focus on the point. I let out a long breath. Here goes nothing. "I don't drink human blood. I only drink animal blood." I pause to let that sink in. I can feel their shock. Well, not all of them. Fred is relaxed at my side. I turn my face up to look at him. He smiling, no, he's grinning. Fred is grinning like a Cheshire Cat. My forehead creases in confusion. Then he laughs. He laughs so much that, if he could, he would be crying.

I scan Bree and Diego's faces and theirs reflect mine. Complete confusion. Has Fred gone insane? "Hey!" I yell at him. "What's wrong with you?"

He coughs slightly, trying to recover himself. "I'm sorry," he chokes between laughs. "It's just..." He pauses again to let out another peal of laughter. "Hey, focus!" I snap my fingers in his face. This is getting irritating. "I'm sorry! You always were kind of kooky, weren't you, Maia!" His hand reaches up and cups my face. The laughter has stopped, but he's still smiling. He leans down and pecks me on the lips.

I roll my eyes, mimicking Bree's earlier expression. "Are you done now?" I find myself smiling at him. "Yes," he replies, trying to make his face as serious as possible and failing.

"Ok, back to business. So, in the 1900s I began a new diet that I had picked up from some older covens." I don't want to reveal too much to them, so I leave the information about my past at that. We all have our secrets. "These covens had discovered a way of controlling themselves around humans by only drinking animal blood. I was beginning to find it difficult to avoid humans, so I decided to try their method." I look up at Fred. His smile is reassuring now, all joking put aside. I continue. "It was hard at first because I missed human blood a lot. Animal blood does not taste the same. It's not as sweet, but it does its job."

Diego's face is incredulous. "What?" I ask. "You haven't drunk human blood since the 1900s?" His shock makes me laugh a little. "No," I say. "I plan on converting you guys to the same diet. It will make it easier for us all to be around humans. Plus, your eyes will be less noticeable."

Bree nods, understanding. "Well," she says, "I'm up for it if you guys are!"

Fred nods too. "I always did love a challenge."

Diego, looking a little wary, agrees.

"So we're set? Mount Rainier, here we come!" I grin. Fred squeezes my arm. "I admire you, Maia. You're being so strong and brave." I reach up on my tip-toes and kiss his cheek. "I've had to be. Living on my own so long has given me some new personality traits."

Fred takes my hand and we start walking. Bree and Diego follow close behind. "What's on the menu?" Fred asks.

"I've only hunted here once, but I remember bears, deer and mountain lions. Mountain lions are my favourite to hunt. They put up an interesting fight." I recall the last time I was here, taking on two of them at once. I don't tell Fred and the others this though. I don't want to scare them. Fred wouldn't be, but I don't know about Bree and Diego.

The mixed emotions across our group at this moment are quite interesting. Fred is excited, I can feel that the strongest. Bree is a little jittery, but there's a hint of curiosity in there too. Then there's Diego. He's feeling so many things all at once that it's hard to decipher each emotion individually; Resentment, fear, hunger, distress. There's also a feeling that can only be described as protectiveness. I know how badly he wants to keep Bree safe. That's evident from the way he looks at her and always holds her close. Any misconceptions I may have had about him are gone, He's just struggling to keep up with change right now and I of all people should understand that.

Diego suddenly speaks up. "Well, I for one am definitely looking forward to wrestling some bears!" I laugh. I have no worries about him. He'll be fine.

"I think I'll stick to the deer," Bree says. "I think they're more my pace." I nod and then turn to Fred. "You might have to fight me for some of those mountain lions." He winks.

I'm suddenly overcome with a sensation of happiness. I fling my arms around his neck and bury my head in his shoulder. His arms wrap around my body. "I love you," my voice comes out muffled against his shirt. He kisses the side of my head and whispers, "I love you, too."

Releasing me from his arms, he lifts my chin to look at him. "Whatever this journey brings, we will be together. No matter what, I will never leave you again."

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