Shadows Strike(6)
“I don’t know that either.”
Ethan nodded. “Most peoples’ earliest memories are like that. Most start around the same age, too. Now ask me what my earliest memory is?”
“What’s your earliest memory?” she parroted.
“The day I was born.”
Heather regarded him with obvious disbelief.
“I remember the midwife who delivered me,” Ethan told her. “The floral pattern on the dress she wore. The sweat stains under her arms and between her breasts. It was hot as hell that day and the house had no air-conditioning.” He saw it all as clearly as a video. “A mix of gray and blond hairs had escaped her chignon and clung damply to the edges of her face. I remember my father bursting into the room, drawn by my crying. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he looked both scared and elated at the same time. I remember my older brothers peeking into the room while my dad took me from the midwife and presented me to my mother. And I remember feeling an instant connection to my mother, remember the fear draining away when she took me in her arms and kissed the top of my head.”
Heather said nothing.
He smiled, accustomed to the response. “You don’t believe me.” He liked that she would rather say nothing than admit she thought he was full of crap and hurt his feelings.
She had a kind heart.
“When we were in the clearing,” he said, “you dumped the contents of your bag onto the ground when you were looking for your spare magazine.”
She nodded.
Ethan proceeded to list every single item in her backpack.
Her eyes widened.
He told her how many lawn lights she had used, told her how many speckles of blood adorned her shoes.
She looked down. Counted. Confirmed he was correct.
“I asked you where you were going when you left the clearing,” he went on. “You said, ‘I’m going home. I’m going home. I’m going to bed. And I’m going to wait for the damned alarm clock to wake me up. I don’t know why it didn’t wake me up this time. It always wakes me up at the same point in the dream. Every freaking time. Right after I look down and see that it’s 5:43. All hell breaks loose. I fire my gun. And the alarm wakes me up. Maybe there was a power outage. I can’t remember the last time I changed the backup batteries in that thing. Or maybe the damned thing just crapped out on me. I don’t know.’”
“Wow,” she said. “I really rambled on like that? I sound crazy.”
He shook his head. “Those vampires were crazy. You were just rattled.” He went on to tell her how many feet they had walked before they had entered her backyard. How many steps led up to her back deck. How many steps led up to her front porch. How many boards composed the floor of her porch. How many tiles made up her bathroom floor. “I’d recite everything you have in your bathroom closet, but I honestly don’t know what half of that stuff is.”
A moment of silence passed.
Rising, Heather crossed to the bathroom and disappeared inside it. Several minutes passed before she leaned out and stared at him with wide eyes.
“Was I right about the tiles in the floor?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you want to know how many tiles are in your shower?”
She nodded.
He told her.
She ducked back into the bathroom. Several minutes passed. She exited, returned to the sofa, and sank down beside him. “You were right.”
He smiled. “Do you want to count the boards on your front porch? I could tell you how many shingles are on your roof, if you’d like.”
“No thanks. You’ve blown my mind enough.”
“If I really wanted to blow your mind, I’d tell you how many pieces of gravel are in your driveway.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “I told you. Photographic to the nth power. I remember every detail of every minute I’ve ever lived with exceptional clarity.” Occasionally he wished like hell he could forget some of it. He had amassed a lot of memories in just over a century. He enjoyed being able to recall the good times so clearly. But the bad times . . .
He had watched helplessly as a friend had been decapitated last year and would give almost anything to be able to erase that from his memory.
“What did you call us?” she asked, voice tentative. “I mean, people who have special abilities.”
“Gifted ones.” He gave her a moment, then leaned forward and took her hand, careful to avoid touching the scratches. Another spark of attraction zipped through him at the contact. He’d been fighting it ever since he had torn his gaze away from her swaying hips earlier. Something about her just tempted the hell out of him. “What gift have you been hiding?”
Her fingers tightened around his. “You won’t believe me,” she said.
“Try me.” He sent her an encouraging smile. He knew how hard it was to talk about such things.
“I can read minds.”
“You’re a telepath?”
“Yes.”
“I’m guessing you can’t read my mind.”
She bit her lip. “No, I can’t. But I really am telepathic.”
“I believe you. I know other telepaths who can’t read my mind even though they can read almost everyone else’s. Apparently I have a very hard head,” he said with a grin, hoping the furrow in her brow would smooth.
Her expression turned doubtful. “You know other telepaths?” Did she think he mocked her?
“Several actually. Only the most powerful of them can read my mind. And it’s so difficult that, when they do, it makes my nose bleed and hurts like hell.” Fucking Zach had damned near brought Ethan to his knees, trying to read his mind.
“Not being able to read your mind was one of the reasons I thought I was dreaming earlier. I could never read your mind in the dreams. And I’ve never encountered anyone in real life whose mind I couldn’t read.”
“There are others out there who are hard to read, we’re just very rare,” he assured her.
She leaned forward, hope and fear mingling in her wide eyes. “Are you bullshitting me, Ethan? Because—”
“No. I’m telling you the truth.” He frowned. “You’ve really never had any other prophetic dreams?”
“None.”
Maybe she was like Sarah. Sarah hadn’t known her dreams foretold the truth until Seth had told her. But Sarah’s dreams were riddled with symbols. Events didn’t unfold in them exactly as they would in reality.
Heather’s dream had shown her vividly and precisely what was to come.
“That’s a puzzle,” he admitted.
She nodded.
He drew his thumb across the back of her hand. Her skin was so soft.
He heard her heartbeat pick up again. “Are you afraid of me, Heather?”
“No. Not really. Why?”
“Your heartbeat keeps picking up whenever I’m near you or when I touch you.”
Color flooded her cheeks.
“It’s okay. I won’t be hurt if you are. Considering how we met—”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
Ethan studied her. If she wasn’t afraid of him . . .
She groaned. “This is so embarrassing. You’re going to think I’m a total loon.”
“I assure you I won’t.”
She bit her lip. “You must know you’re good-looking. I mean, women probably throw themselves at you wherever you go.”
“You’re attracted to me?” he asked with some astonishment . . . and a lot of interest. This night—or morning—was taking an unexpected and wholly welcome turn.
She covered her eyes with her free hand. “Yes.”
“Good.” When she peeked through her fingers at him, he smiled. “I’m incredibly attracted to you.”
She lowered her hand. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”
“No, I’m not. Why do you think my eyes keep glowing? I assume my eyes are glowing faintly?”
“Yes.”
“They’re doing that because I want you.”
She remained quiet for a moment. “They were glowing when you fought the other vampires. Somehow I doubt you wanted them.”
He laughed, pain again streaking through his back. “I was furious. My eyes glow whenever I’m gripped by strong emotion. Anger. Pain. Grief. Lust. The stronger the emotion, the brighter they glow.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“Does it frighten you or make you uneasy when they glow?” he asked tentatively.
“No.” Her eyes locked with his. “I think they’re pretty when they glow.”
Now his heart began to thud against his ribs.
“I know I sound like a broken record,” she murmured, still staring into his eyes, “but this is so weird.”
He grinned. “It is weird. Here I thought I’d dispatch a few vampires, then head over to a friend’s house to stave off the loneliness that’s been plaguing me of late, and instead, I get to spend the day with you.” He narrowed his eyes. “I do get to spend the day with you, don’t I?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
He winked. “I’m going to tell myself it’s because you enjoy my charming company instead of it being because you’re afraid more vampires might show up.”
She laughed, and seemed to relax for the first time. “And if I admit that it’s for both reasons?”