The Stuff of Legend is the first book in a series of the same title.

Contains situations inappropriate for children.

I was never one to show my feelings. It just wasn’t part of who I was; am, I should say. I am still alive… I think. It’s hard to tell when I haven’t seen the light of day for—God, how long has it been? There’s no way to tell how the time is passing or if any has passed at all. From the smell of me I’d say it’s been a while. Lord, I smell something fierce. I smell like a rat covered in sewer water that crawled in here and died. Well, maybe not that bad but my point has been made.

Anyway, I suppose you’re wondering where I am and how I ended up in here. That, my friend, is a brilliant question. You may also be wondering why I’m not screaming my lungs out, crying, or, most importantly, not dead. The answer to that is: I’m smart enough to keep quiet. Who knows what’s out there? Sure, someone could walk right by me, hear my screams and jump to my rescue; but what if there’s someone else out there? What if a single noise would bring about my demise? I think I’ll stay quiet, thank you very much.

How I got wherever I am, I have no idea. I don’t remember a single thing. All I know now is that I need him like I need air.

Ever since I was a little girl he was there. He was the guy that walked me to school when my parents weren’t looking, he held my hand when I crossed the road, and he even kept the bullies away; when I got to middle school he worked extra hard to keep the other boys from getting too close. At first I was angry at him for that, but when I realized he was only trying to keep me safe my anger faded. He was my best friend; the only one that ever stopped and listened to what I had to say. The best part about that? He could read between the lines. He knew when something was wrong even when I didn’t say anything. He knew when I was lying, he knew when I was hiding something, and he even knew when I was scared. Sometimes his knowledge of me was terrifying, other times it made me blush. On my sixteenth birthday he was the only one who remembered how much I loved photography. He bought me my first camera: a Nikon D800 with a strap, an SD card, and pretty much all the supplied accessories. It had taken him two weeks to convince me to keep it. That was the most expensive gift I had ever received from him and by far not the last.

Now, my senior year in high school, he was still around and more present than ever. He liked to stay close despite how confined my parents kept me. Despite the nearness he desired, he never came out with me, with the exception of walking me to school, and preferred that I not mention him to anyone. That bit scared me for a while but then I thought: Why would that scare me? He wouldn’t ever hurt me; that much I’m sure of. Besides, he’s been more of a friend to me than anyone else I’ve ever known.

In my mind, as I pulled my pants on over my softly sun tanned legs and a pair of white boy shorts, I thought about him. His eyes were gray with a slight green tint, his skin was pale and smooth, and his hair was as dark as midnight. In all the years I’ve known him, he looked as if he hadn’t aged a single day. If someone had to look somewhere for his age it would be his eyes; they were deep and filled with ponderings beyond his time. His hands were soft and big, his fingers long and slender, and they fit perfectly in mine. The shirt that I pulled over my shoulders, chest, and smooth stomach was deep red and accented the highlights in my dark blonde hair; the red made my deep blue eyes pop, too.

A knock sounded on my door as the hem of my shirt settled on the top of my jeans. “Come in,” I called.

But instead of the door opening, the window to my right did. In he crawled, his movements precise and fluid with practice. Quietly he moved forward and pulled me into a big hug. “I missed you.”

“Missed me?” I laughed quietly. “You saw me last night.”

“Time passes far too slowly when I am not with you.”

I smiled at his kind words. I leaned in to his touch and found myself wishing that I would never have to leave. He smelled so sweet and so…right. I can’t explain it, I would die of embarrassment if I tried, but he was right. Everything about him made the world feel like it was the way it should be.

“Are you ready for school?” He pulled out of the hug too soon for my taste.

“Ready for it to be over. Friday can’t come soon enough.”

“That’s right,” he mused, his smile fading. “You’re graduating.”

I looked at him with sympathy. “You can come if you want, Dom. I want you to.”

“I can’t.”

I sighed, knowing that this fight wouldn’t go anywhere. We’d already had it out over the subject and it had ended in a rift the size of the barrier reef for a whole week. The biggest change in our relationship since high school was that we fought. They were never big fights and they were never anything serious; except this one. I let it go now simply because I didn’t want to start my morning off feeling like I wanted to kill every living, breathing thing that walked within my reach.

“Quinn—“

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just another day, I guess.”  I turned to put my things in my backpack when I felt his arms wrap around me tightly. He pulled me against his chest and rested his cheek next to mine.

“It’s a very important day, Quinnie. I am so very proud of you.”

The sound of my nickname made me smile. My heart melted at his touch and the soft caress of his breath on my cheek. “You have got to stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Being so damn adorable.”

He was just about to reply when there was a knock on my door. I knew it was my door this time because of the voice that spoke after the knock. “Quinn, you should get going or you’ll be late. Are you sure you don’t want a ride?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, mom. Fresh air won’t kill me.”

“But those flip flops will.” Dom whispered in my ear.

I smiled shortly then turned to the door. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

“At the rate you’re moving? Make that five.”

I shook my head as I watched him climb out of my window. When I finally made it downstairs and managed to escape out the front door without eating a proper breakfast he was already waiting for me. Dominic never wanted my parents to see us together so he hid in a little alley between my house and my neighbor’s house. I felt his hand slide into mine as we walked, his soft skin rubbing against mine making me feel light and free. His hair was hanging low in his eyes; the smile on his lips was large and contagious. I chewed on the granola bar I’d snagged from the kitchen and enjoyed the scenery around me.

The sun was out, lighting up the magnificent green grass around the chalk covered sidewalks; the sky was blue and cloudless, the air was cool, and there was a gentle breeze that wafted through the leafy trees. Several buses were picking up other students around the neighborhood, ready to take them to the one place most of them hated. As we walked I thought of all the amazing shots I was missing; the mother kneeling down to make herself level with her son’s eyes before sending him to school, the couple up the road holding hands and leaning in for a kiss, even the roofs of the houses and trees against the early morning sky would make a great photo. My hand ached for the feel of my camera in my hands…

“You’re thinking about it again, aren’t you?”

I smiled. “I can’t help it. There’s so much beauty that hasn’t been captured. Every photograph captures a single moment in time. Without my camera this is just another moment forgotten.”

“You have a superb memory. If it is worth remembering, you’ll remember it.” He squeezed my hand gently. “Do you have anything going on after school?”

“I have an appointment at three-thirty, but I’m free after that. Why?”

“Just curious.” He shrugged.

“Come on, Dom. There’s a question in those big gray eyes of yours.”

He laughed shortly and reached his hand back to ruffle his hair. “How’d you guess that?”

“I’ve known you for how long?” I smiled. “I think I know you well enough to know when you have a question to ask.”

“I suppose you do.” He squeezed my hand and looked down at the ground. His eyes had lost their smile and were drooping just a tiny bit at the corners.

I pulled on his hand and waited for him to look at me. “What’s up?”

“No—” he started to say ‘nothing’ but I glared at him. He chuckled softly, knowing that I wouldn’t stop asking until he gave me a believable answer. “I just wanted to spend more time with you, that’s all. With everything that’s been going on I feel like we’ve been going in different directions.”

He went on for a few more steps before he figured out that I’d stopped. “Really?”

Dom nodded. “You’re busy. It’s not a big deal.”

I gave him an exasperated look, letting him know that I didn’t agree. I hadn’t realized before, but now that I thought about it Dom was right. We’d been spending less and less time together as my graduation loomed closer. We usually hung out after school but this last month had been so hectic with last minute graduation details and planning for my open house that we haven’t been going about our usual activities. Now I felt bad. Twisting my mouth up to one corner in a thoughtful grimace, I looked out at the busy street ahead of me. We were about three blocks away from the school and two blocks away from the group of friends I usually met to finish the walk there.

Quickly making a decision, I pulled out my cellphone from my pocket and dialed the number for school. It rang twice before someone picked up; the conversation was short and sweet, but I still hated calling that place. The lady who answered always sounded like she had a chainsaw in her throat. When I hung up the phone and put it back in my pocket I looked back up to Dom.

“There. Problem solved.”

“Why did you do that?” He asked with wide eyes.

“You said you wanted to spend more time with me. I just cleared up some of my schedule so you could do just that.” I smiled at him widely as I squeezed his hand. “What do you want to do?”

“You can’t just skip school, Quinn.”

“Did you hear what I said on the phone? I think I’m staying home to help my sick mother recover from a terrible bout of the flu. After all, she can’t really take care of herself anyway.”

He let out a huff of air. “What if you miss something important?”

“You feel like we don’t spend enough time together. I think fending off the pending fadeout of our friendship is pretty important.” I pulled him around the corner and into an alley between the neighbors’ houses. “Besides, this means I get to take out my camera early.”

He rolled his eyes as he followed along beside me. “You pay more attention to that thing than—”

“Than what?” I asked, pushing him up against the tall wooden fence as if I were going to pounce on him. “Honestly, Dom; jealousy does not suit you.”

“Who said I was jealous?” He asked softly. His eyes were trained on mine, taking me in, observing every move.

I leaned forward until my lips were next to his ear. When the tension was so thick and buzzing I could taste it, I whispered, “Your eyes.”

I skipped backward and started making my way down the alley, laughing loud enough for the world to hear. When I was halfway to the other end of the alley I looked back and saw that he was still standing against the fence. His eyes were wide with surprise, his mouth slightly open. He looked ridiculous like that. I let out another laugh and waved him on. Finally, he made his way back to my side and we continued walking. We held hands like we normally did, talking about whatever it was that came to mind.

Without even realizing it, we ended up at Dom’s place just outside of town. It was a white trailer out in the middle of the woods where no one ever went besides the two of us. I admit that when he first showed me I was nervous. I mean, what’s the first thing that pops into a helpless girl’s mind when she sees a creepy trailer in the middle of a place no one else goes? At first I thought that he was a creeper that had bided his time and was making his move. But after, reluctantly, going inside and realizing that he wasn’t going to do anything, I accepted that Dom was just…Dom. He wasn’t violent and he would never hurt me; he is far too kind to even raise a finger at me unless he was pointing out the leftover dip at the corner of my mouth.

We walked inside his out-of-the-way home and I immediately threw my backpack to the floor and laid down on the couch. After he brought out two old fashioned bottles of Pepsi he moved my feet and sat down, laying them gently across his lap. The gentleman that he was, he slipped off my flip flops and threw them on the floor next to the door. I wiggled my toes at him in thanks and laughed when he started to tickle them.

“Your place hasn’t changed at all, Dom. I think you should fire your decorator.”

“Well, he doesn’t get paid so I can hardly blame him for the lack of effort.”

We laughed. “It feels good being here again. It’s been weeks.”

“Two, actually.”

I looked at him with wide, adoring eyes. “You’ve been counting?”

His cheeks brightened and turned a soft pink. He was so adorable, not only when he blushed, but all the time. It was cute how embarrassed he got if he accidentally walked in on me changing or if I was wearing a bikini instead of my usual tankini and shorts. I sat up a little and leaned back on my elbows, keeping my eyes on him and watching his movements carefully.

“That’s really sweet, Dominic. Really, it is.”

He turned to face me but when he opened his mouth to say something, someone else’s voice came from it. “Well, isn’t this cozy.”

His hair was short and brown, his eyes just as gray as Dominic’s. The only exception was the allure that man’s eyes had… They seemed to glow when I looked into them, making my heart pound faster and my cheeks flush. His clothes were very stylish, almost like he’d just walked off a runway. Dom had a different reaction than I did. His body tensed and became stiff, his eyes clouded over with anger and his hands curled into fists on my ankles.

“What are you doing here?” He growled.

“Oh, Dominic. Is that any way to greet your father?”

“F-Father?” I sputtered. My eyes widened as I looked back and forth between them. They looked absolutely nothing alike except for their eyes. That and Dom had always told me—

“Let me guess, dear,” he said as he walked further into the room. Dom tensed even more. “He told you his father was dead. Well, I could only suppose he would tell you that. We didn’t exactly part on friendly terms.”

“Killing my mother wasn’t a very friendly thing to do.” He spat.

My heart was racing in my chest and it only got worse when Dom gently moved my legs aside and stood. The way his fists were clenched was a telltale giveaway of what he was about to do. I jumped to my feet and pushed my way in front of him. “Dom, don’t. You know what happens when you get angry. Look at me!”

His gaze switched from his father to me and I saw his anger slowly melt away. His eyes softened, his fists slowly unclenched, and his body released its tension. He reached his hands up and framed my face gently. The way his thumbs traced my cheekbones made my body shiver and my heart stutter.

“Oh, isn’t that cute—”

“I think you should leave,” I said without looking away from Dom. “It’s obvious you aren’t welcome here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, dearie.”

I turned and faced him, releasing my hold on Dom. “Don’t call me that. Father or not, Dom doesn’t want you here. Leave. I won’t ask nicely again.”

He just smiled and took a quick step forward. “Sorry, Quinnie. You really don’t intimidate me.”

He grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly, not allowing for any chance of escape. As soon as his fingers made contact with my bare skin my eyes started to blur and my knees grew weak. But it wasn’t the kind of weakness that came from passing out; it was the kind of weakness a girl felt when she was falling in love. I fell against him as my knees gave out completely. I heard Dom yell my name, but beyond that, I was lost.

Distantly, I felt another pair of hands grab me and some clarity returned to my head. Dom’s father was talking to him, making odd references to his mother and how she had never cared about Dom at all. He kept saying that she deserved what she got, that he had deserved to be motherless. It was the shout of Dom’s anger that pulled me entirely out of my stupor. I pulled myself up and out of his arms, drew back my right hand, and hurled my fist into his face. He flew back and out the door, landing with a gratifying thud on the forest floor.

The room was quiet, Dom shocked into silence by my sudden act. I shuffled back until I fell on the couch, cradling my hand against my chest. It was throbbing heavily and turning an ugly black and blue color. I couldn’t even move the first three fingers on that hand. Dom looked out the door and cursed under his breath. He slammed the door closed, locked it, and turned towards me with a worried gaze. He sat next to me and tried to take my hand. I hissed with pain and pulled it back.

“That was one hell of a punch, Quinn.” He said softly.

I winced. “I can’t move my fingers.”

“Wait here.”

He stood and walked down the hall, disappearing through the door I knew led to the bathroom. In a matter of seconds he returned with a white box in his hands. As he sat down and pulled out all the necessary things, I watched him. His movements were stiff and precise, his eyes avoiding mine the whole time. He wrapped my hand tightly, ignoring my winces and the hisses that escaped my lips. As soon as my hand was all wrapped and splinted he gave me two little white pills and passed me my drink. I took them without arguing, knowing that he would force them down my throat if I refused. After, when the silence was too much to bear, I looked back over to Dom to find that he was gazing angrily out the door.

I touched his cheek with my uninjured hand. “Was he really your father?”

Dom nodded slowly and lowered his gaze to my other hand. “I am so sorry. If I’d known he was here—”

“What, Dom? What could you have done?” I looked at him for several minutes before his eyes finally gave away his thoughts. “I wouldn’t have let you leave.”

“Quinn—”

“I can take care of myself. I don’t need you wandering off because you think it’ll protect me. I need you around. It’s been that way for twelve years. If I don’t have you near me, my world dissolves. You are the only one I can talk to about anything.”

“That’s not true.” He said softly. “You have other friends.”

“But they are not you. No one can replace what we have.”

“You don’t understand!” He stood up and ran his hands through his hair, mussing it up the way I liked it. “He knows about you now. He can use you to get to me; he can use your family to get to you! There is no way to protect you now. Not without telling you everything.”

I narrowed my eyes. “But you always tell me everything.”

He looked away, defeated. “Not always.”

“Explain.”

He sighed and looked at me with desperate eyes. That look always made my stomach churn with worry and pain. If he was hurting, I was hurting; if he was sad, I was sad. But this was something even I couldn’t understand. His pain was so strange, so out of place, that I had no idea what I was feeling; confused and scared, maybe, but certainly not what he was feeling.

“I am not what you think I am. I’m not from around here. My family descends from Bulgaria; our history isn’t pure, not by anyone’s standards—”

“What are you talking about?”

“Please let me finish.” He leaned against the doorjamb and avoided my steady gaze. “There is a legend in Eastern Europe. It’s about a creature born of a human and a vampire—”

I shook my head. “Vampires? Seriously, Dom. Cut the bullshit and just tell me what’s going on!”

As if he hadn’t heard my outburst, he continued. “The child born of the two parents becomes a half breed called a Dhampir. A Dhampir is a humanoid creature that eats, sleeps, and breathes. It is the perfect predator because it blends in so well with its prey. They are immortal; they never age after they’ve reached maturity. The plus side to a Dhampir is that most of them hate their vampire parent-which is always the father-enough to find ways to kill him. Most are considered experts on the many different ways to kill vampires. The only problem is…they’re not legends.”

“You’ve lost it, Dom. Maybe you should go lay down.”

“I didn’t want to do this.” He took three slow steps forward and opened his mouth wide.

Inside, instead of the perfect teeth I was so used to seeing when he smiled, were sharp, pointed, and terrifying things I assume he called fangs. I couldn’t help the small scream that escaped my lips as I jumped and threw myself into the back of the couch. He closed his mouth and looked away from me, his eyes filling with moisture.

“I never told you because I didn’t want to scare you. But I can understand if you never want to see me again. I just… I wish it could have been different.”

The tear that fell down his cheek was so Dominic that my fear started to ebb. He’d shown me some weird, terrifying part of himself that could have given me a heart attack and yet he was the one crying like he’d lost something important. I leaned my head against the back of the couch and let my own tears fall down my face as everything, unfortunately, started to make sense.

There was a reason he didn’t like to be seen; I’d assumed he was just shy and didn’t want people knowing about him. He was okay to walk around town with me, but when it came to meeting people, he was all opposed. He wanted to remain invisible so he didn’t raise attention to himself; to keep his father from finding him. It does explain how, in the twelve years I’ve known him, he never changed. His face never got older, he never got taller; when he did eat, it was rarely and never a full plate. He’d kept that part of himself a secret to keep me around, to keep me safe.

It would be so easy to look at him and call him a monster. It would be even easier to say that I never wanted to see him again. But it is so much more complicated than that. Dominic has been with me for twelve whole years; he’s been with me during my awkward phase, during my know-it-all stage; he held my hand as I matured and grew into myself as a young woman. Dom has protected me from bullies, creeps, and several of the cheerleading squad. He’d never admit it, but without Dom I wouldn’t have survived middle school, or even high school. So how could I tell him that I hated him for being what he was? Dom saved my life with every breath he took and with every beat of his heart.

I stood slowly and managed to make my feet take me to him. When I was close enough, I reached my uninjured hand forward and placed it on his shoulder. He looked at me with wide, watery surprised eyes. In all our years together I’d never seen him so…broken. I’d seen him laugh, I’d seen him angry, and I’d seen him cry; but never like this. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him to me, resting my head on his shoulder and letting my tears soak into his white shirt.

When the both of us had had enough, we pulled apart and stood around awkwardly.

“So,” I managed through my thick throat. “You have super sharp teeth and can drink people’s blood. I guess I should ask if you ever planned on becoming a politician.”

He chuckled and rested his hand on my cheek. “And I should ask you if you’re crazy. I expected you to run off, to scream the horrifying news to everyone that would listen. Not once did I anticipate you staying.”

“I think I’m in shock,” I whispered. “I have one question…”

He nodded.

“If you’re immortal…exactly how old are you?”

Dom chuckled nervously and it made my heart stop. “I’ll be celebrating my two-hundred-seventeenth birthday on Saturday.”

My eyes widened in unabashed surprise. “God you’re old.”

***

We sat on the couch, Dom tracing small patterns on my hand as I rested my head on his shoulder. I wanted to pretend that it was just a dream; that what he’d told me was some weird figment of my imagination and that his father’s reappearance was a strange occurrence. The thought of my best friend belonging to the supernatural world was odd and still hadn’t sunk in yet. Without a doubt, he was still my Dominic; but that didn’t change the strange feeling bubbling up in my stomach. Despite my soaring revelation not even an hour ago, I felt as if there were still things I didn’t know about him.

“Is there anything else I should know? I mean, I like surprises and all, but I’m not sure I like the ones that could possibly end my life.”

He sighed and turned his body towards me, keeping my hand in his. “My mother was my best friend. She was kind; she bandaged my wounds and made me feel better when I was sick, she even took the time to read to me before tucking me into bed. I loved her so much… My father saw that and he grew jealous and angry. He decided that she was making me soft; that I was denying the other half of my heritage in favor of being a momma’s boy.

“There is no doubt that that was true but there was nothing he could have done to make me love him like I loved her. He was cruel; as evil as devils came. He would hit me if I didn’t do something right. Always going off about how I didn’t dominate the younger girls, how I didn’t make my wealth and power known among the other children. When I got older he would take me out and show me all those things… I can’t even begin to describe the things I saw or the things he made me do.”

A tear fell from his eye and I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“On my eighteenth birthday, the night I was to become a man, he took me to a pub in this small town just outside of the Danube River. I remember the smell of vomit, the feel of the smoke in my eyes and lungs, the taste of the things he made me drink… I even remember him taking me to the back and shoving some poor girl on me. The horror in her eyes was enough to scare me, too. I had to do it. He said he’d kill her if I didn’t, and I couldn’t fight him off. I—” His voice broke and he tried so very hard not to let himself snap. “I bit her, Quinn. That was the first time I’d ever tasted blood and I liked it.

“As soon as we got home, she knew. The sound of their fighting was like nails on a chalkboard and the threat of her leaving was imminent. She’d threatened it several times but had never gone through with it because I couldn’t leave with her. If my father ever did anything that earned him the title of father it was protect me. But that was then… She left right after, her bags already packed and ready to go. I watched as she rode away on her horse, disappearing from sight long before she’d really gone. Three days passed and time after time my father brought girls to my bedroom door. I would drink, careful not to kill them, and then send them away; the best part about the victims? They never remembered what happened.

“On the third night my mother came back. She snuck in through my window and woke me, begging me to leave with her. I agreed because I didn’t want to be with my father anymore. He didn’t seem to grasp that because I was half-vampire and half-human I still needed a human’s nutrition. I’d realized as much by the end of the first day without my mother but was too scared to tell my father. We made it to the end of the drive before he found us. There was no doubt in my mind that he’d known I would go with her and there was no doubt whatsoever that he waited until I was there to see him kill her. I tried to push him away, I tried to save her, but I couldn’t. He was so much stronger, so much faster.

“In the end there was so much blood that I couldn’t stand to stay any longer. My stomach was churning with disgust while my throat was burning with thirst. I ran from him without bothering to look back. As soon as I could, I traveled to the sacred land of my ancestors and beseeched them for protection. They agreed and settled me here in the Americas. Years passed and I watched humans develop their tools and technologies, waiting for them to finally destroy themselves; it’s inevitable, you know. There is an end to all things and to all things a new beginning.

“Finally, I met a young girl in a park on a cold November day. She was alone yet happy, her long dark blonde hair a tangled mess under her baby blue hat and her pale cheeks red from the bite of the cool air. Her smile brought warmth to a very sad and very lonely man. That little girl gave me hope for a future I’d lost all faith in. When she took my hand and led me to the snowman she’d been building, I vowed to let her show me happiness again. And she did. She’s given me the best twelve years of my life and I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

I looked at him with teary eyes and quivering lips. “I remember that sad and lonely man. Now that I know the reason for his sadness, I only wish I could have done more to make him smile.”

“No,” he whispered. “You’ve done enough. You’ve done everything humanly possible and I couldn’t be more grateful. My only regret is that I could’ve protected you so much better if only I’d paid more attention to my surroundings. If only I’d been watching for him—”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Dom.” I maneuvered my way into his arms and rested my ear just above his heart. There it was; the thudding sound that meant he was just as alive as I am. “We’re fine and we’re together. That’s all that counts.”

He pressed a hand to my forehead and pulled me back, gazing into my eyes calculatingly. “There has to be something wrong with you. You’re not normal.”

I smiled. “Neither are you.”

“Touché.” When he pulled me back into his arms I sighed and relaxed into him, welcoming the familiar feeling of his arms around me.

“You know what I can’t believe?” I asked softly.

“What, Quinnie?”

“It’s only Monday.”