Torn - Abigail Livinghouse (top 100 books of all time checklist .txt) 📗

Chapter One

I gripped Pearce’s hand as he and I ran through the forest. I knew why we were running. Anyone who would see us would kill us on the spot. Pearce ran fluidly, his breathing perfectly even while my chest was burning from the effort. I knew that this was probably a slow pace for him, while I could barely keep up. I could run fairly quickly, however my pace was nothing compared to an immortal’s. When we had covered about two miles I had to stop. I doubled over with my hands on my knees, nearly gagging from my dry throat and not to mention that my insides felt like someone was poking them with a knife.

 

“Are you alright?” Pearce asked, looking down at my pathetic figure.

 

I shook my head, letting out another cough. I straightened up when I could get a breath in without retching. I wouldn’t be able to run like that again without vomiting.

 

“Maybe that was a little too fast for you.” He said, a hint of teasing in his tone. I narrowed my eyes at him.

 

“I can take it.” I said, even though my voice was hoarse from the coughing fit.

 

Pearce shrugged. “Alright. But I think we’ll walk the rest of the way.”

 

I shrugged, as if I couldn’t care less when really I was grateful. I would collapse for sure if we picked up at the same pace.

Chapter Two

We walked steadily for the rest of the way in silence. Neither of us spoke because really there was nothing to talk about. After about an hour of walking, Pearce held his arm out, stopping me. He looked around the area for a moment as a smile slowly lit up his face.

 

“We’re here.” He said. “C’mon de quisque!”  Pearce shouted at the trees.

 

I recognized the language: Latin. Immortals were centuries old creatures who sometimes could not communicate without being positive that they were not currently spied on. So they would speak in their native language which was like a code for them. That is, unless the eavesdroppers knew the language than they would switch to something even more foreign like Arabic or Serbian. I was fluent in Latin, and I could understand every word. He was telling people to come out. I peered into the trees, looking closely for any sign of life, but I saw none. Not even a rabbit or fox, which was what alerted me that there must be vampires here considering that there were no living creatures scurrying about.

 

“Est ut Pearce?” A call came from the darkness.

 

“Sic.” He responded.

 

About ten people moved out of the shadows and came into focus in an instant. If you would’ve blinked, you would’ve missed it and thought that those people had always been there. A few people came up to Pearce and slapped him on the back, however they paid no mind to me. A girl did come over to Pearce, hug him, and then her eyes rested on me. She smiled brightly.

 

“Hello, what have we here?” She asked, looking at me however the question was directed at Pearce. The girl had long wavy dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes. She was a few inches shorter than me, and had a girlish sweetness to her even though she seemed to be about sixteen.

 

“This is Kyla.” Pearce replied, his tone wary. Her smile seemed to become even brighter.

 

“Nice to–” She broke off midsentence, her eyes widening as she observed me closer. “Oh no Pearce”, she said, her hand going to her mouth almost in fear. “She’s human?” She said to him, her tone heavy with horror. Pearce shook his head.

 

“She’s an outcast in her village. She has nowhere to go. And I daresay that it’s a fault of mine that she is homeless.” He said, ashamed. The girl dropped her hand, her gaze sharpening at Pearce.

 

“Oh for the love of God, a local girl? You took a local girl? Jesus Pearce, are you trying to get us all killed? If you have a death wish I suggest you keep your suicidal notions to yourself and not involve us.” She said, running a hand through her long hair.

 

“Please”, Pearce said, his eyes glistening and tone terribly pathetic. “Please, I can’t send her off to be slaughtered. The people of her village will surely kill her if I let her go back.” He begged. The girl sighed, shaking her head.

 

“Fine. We’ll keep her here. But if any trouble comes are way because of this it’ll be your head on a spit, not mine.” She warned, but Pearce’s expression had melted into one of relief. He took the girl’s hand, smiling graciously.

 

“Thank you so much.” He said. She rolled her eyes, pulling her hand out of his grasp.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Well”, she turned to me, the smile back in place. “I suppose we should get you settled in.” She observed my face for a while. “You have dirt on you.” She said, then reached out to touch my cheek, and I jumped back reflexively.

 

Years of hunting has taught me never to let anyone get close enough to touch you. She recoiled almost as if I had wounded her.

 

“Alright. Well you’re a mess, there’s dirt all over both your faces. Come along”, she said, waving for us to follow. She walked by my side, with Pearce in the back. She kept glancing behind her shoulder and then at me, as if she wanted to keep an eye on both of us.

 

“Oh, I’m Miramar by the way.” She said to me. I gave a small smile.

 

“So, is there a river where we can wash?” I asked. She looked at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. I turned around to see Pearce chuckling as well.

 

“What?” I said, my face burning and tone rising. “What did I say?” I asked angrily.

 

Miramar straightened up, waving a hand. “It’s okay. You didn’t say anything it’s just that, do you think we are cave people?” She asked, giggling again. My lip quirked partly in anger and embarrassment.

 

“We have a manor.” She said. “Just a short walk from here. About a mile. Come along Kyla, unless you prefer the river just down the hill.” She said, letting out another laugh.

 

My face was bright red, and I wasn’t sure if I should scream at them, laugh with them, or just keep quiet. I chose the third one. As we walked, Pearce and Miramar discussed food supplies, saying that they could survive on the same food as me as long as they had at least a bottle of blood to keep them going for a while. I learned that they usually kill animals and use their blood, and try to avoid having to pick off humans from local villages like mine.

 

“Ah, here we are.” Miramar said as we came upon a large house, no it wasn’t a house, it was a mansion.

 

A massive white building with columns and a huge front porch rested as if it had been dropped down in the middle of the forest, however at the same time it belonged there. It had at least twelve floor-to-ceiling windows just in the front. The house stood proud and tall, with ivy crawling up the one side like hands clawing the white brick. There were a few smaller cottages in the back and off to the sides of the home that were like miniature versions of the main house.

 

“What are those for?” I asked Miramar.

 

“Privacy for the few of us who have mates.” She said, leading us up to the house.

 

I cast a glance at Pearce who winked at me and gestured for me to go in front of him. Miramar opened the large white doors as we followed her into the house, and my eyes widened at what was inside. There were large couches everywhere of varying colors from black to dark green. There were mirrors here and there and some people were looking at themselves in them, fixing their hair or even winking at themselves. The floors were white marble, a few rugs were placed under coffee tables. There was a large double staircase, with a balcony at the top overlooking the foyer. There were no lights in the house except the recess lighting in the ceiling and the crystal chandelier hanging above us. The windows were tinted so that no light would be able to get in, and I noticed that there was no wood in the house either. I shut my eyes. Crap. I was defenseless here, I had left my stake back on the outskirts of the village. I had no weapons and I was in a house full of vampires. Careless would not even begin to describe how stupid I’ve been. 

Chapter Three

“This is basically where everyone hangs out–well, people hang out everywhere so wherever you want to go it’s fine by me!” Miramar said with a giggle.

 

We walked up one of the large staircases and entered into a hallway that seemed to go on forever. Down the hall, Miramar opened a door and gestured inside. “I hope you like this room, Kyla.” She said.

 

I came over, peeking inside and having my jaw drop pathetically. The bedroom was bigger than our whole house. There was a sitting area with puffy couches and fluffy pillows and a coffee table with a spread of magazines resting on the tabletop in the far corner of the room, just near a bay window overlooking the garden area down below. The bed was a king, with gaudy gold covers and pillows. I could just see a door open leading to a bathroom with a large tub, two sinks, and a steam shower. God, it looked like a spa, something out of a dream.  

 

I swallowed my desire. It was something that we wouldn’t be able to afford back home, and the guilt of me being able to enjoy it and not the girls or mother was crushing. I cleared my throat, noticing that Miramar was standing waiting for me to say something.

 

“It’s–something.” I said, clearing my throat again. She giggled.

 

“Never lived the life of luxury huh? That’s okay. You’ll get used to it.” She gave me a smile before she turned, walked just across the hall, diagonal from my room, and opened a door. “This is yours, Pearce.” She said.

 

My eyes widened and I opened my mouth,