Chapter 8

He was on the sofa with his back against the arm and his legs stretched out under a thick blanket. His long hair gleamed, as it trailed down over his shoulders and his color looked almost normal. I had no trouble picturing him dressed like one of his ancestors that came before him, astride on a horse with the wind pulling his hair away from his face.

For the first time in a very long time I felt a tug of desire in my gut, and truthfully, it made me angry. Because, I can see myself as the young maiden, waiting for his return, knowing that when he does great pleasure would be found once again in his arms.

I growled low in my throat and thought no one could hear me, but someone did. Levi. As Rose chatted on he turned his head toward me and it was all I could do not to gasp as those piercing dark eyes landed on me. I couldn't help but return his stare; feeling like I was sinking into a black ocean that was filled with knowledge beyond their years.

"Well there you are, dear, come meet our guest." Rose waved me over toward the sofa. I hesitated for a moment. Fought the urge to run which increased my anger because since my turning I had never run from any mortal, much less a mortal man.

I circled around to the front of the sofa and Rose put her arm around me. "Marina, I want you to meet Mr. Levi "Tansy" Greer. Levi, this is Marina Wilder."

He raised his hand out to me and I took it carefully with mine. Sparks seemed to fly when we touched but neither of us pulled away. For the longest time we just looked at each other. I was like we were in a battle of wills to see who would give in and look away first.

"Welcome to my home, Mr. Greer. I'm glad to see you awake this evening. How are you feeling?"

He rubbed his thumb over my skin. "Thank you, Ms. Wilder for bringing me here. Most of all thank you for saving my life. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for you." His caress burned mewith their warmth. "And as for how I feel, I'm so much better, especially since I'm now warm and dry."

"I'm very glad to hear that, Mr. Greer."

"Please call me Levi, Ms. Wilder."

I swallowed a little to loud but finally answer, "As long as you call me Marina, Levi."

Silence filled the air as I looked down at our hands that were still locked together. His complexion was so dark against my pale skin. His fingers so much bigger then my own, but surprisingly he had a soft touch. I glanced back up at those dark eyes and my nipples tighten into hard pebbles and desire pooled between my legs.

"Thank you, Marina." His husky voice said my name and caused me to shiver.

I jerked my hand away from his. I don't know who I'm angrier with, him or me. "Is there someone we can call for you like a wife, parents or maybe a girlfriend?"

I saw him try to fight a grin but he soon lost the battle, which irked me even more that he knew he got to me a moment ago. "No, everyone I know doesn't have a phone. Even if they did the only one I would care about calling would be my grandmother."

"Are you from around here or are you on vacation, Levi?" Chad asked.

"I moved here back in the spring and been living with my grandmother over in Cherokee ever since." Not once did he look away from me as he replied.

"So what happen? Did you go on a hike and get lost?" I asked, sitting down in a wooden rocker next to Rose.

"Well I was on a vision quest, not a hike, and I was on my way back to my grandmother's when the storm hit. It's to early in the year for a storm like that. All I thought we would get was a light dusting of snow, so instead of finding shelter I kept on walking. Then I got wet and so cold that I couldn't keep going. Somehow I lucked upon that cave, but we see what that did for me."

Chad poked at the logs in the fireplace and then turned around. "I've heard of that term vision quest before but don't know exactly what it means, Levi. Can you tell us?"

"A vision quest is a journey for the body and spirit. There is a lot of preparation that goes into a quest with a guide or mentor helping you before hand such as cleansing of the body inside and out, special diets and spiritual training, but this is only a small part of what takes place."

Levi ran his fingers through this hair and took a breath, "Now if this person has a certain job like medicine man or warrior, then certain test are given and they must be passed before any quest is taken. Once all the preparations are done you may begin your journey, usually somewhere remote, the farther from civilization the better really."

He sighed as he shook his head. "Where I went wrong at was by not following the rules exactly when I started my quest or I would have never ended up lost in that storm. You're suppose to take your mentor or guide with you and I didn't. I knew it was dangerous to go alone but I didn't listen and so that's how I ended up in that cave."

Rose fluffed a pillow behind her back as she asked, "Since you were on your way back to your grandmother's I take it that you found what you were looking for?"

He looked at her for a long time before answering. "Yes Rose, but you know I didn't understand what my visions and dreams were trying to tell me. What they showed me I didn't think it was possible much less real."

He turned his head slightly and looked at me, "It wasn't until Marina found me, Rose, that I knew the spirits had not lead me astray with what I was shown."

"I know it may be to personal son, but what was it you went looking for?" Chad asked quietly.

"Well sir, my mother died when I was very young, I was told I was only a year old when it happen and I was never able to find out the reason behind the middle name she gave me."

"You see my mother was part Hopi and my father part Cherokee. When I was born my mother gave me the Hopi name of Tansy. For the longest time I only knew of Tansy as the name of a flowering herb. Well last year I was finally able to find someone who knew the Hopi meaning. That meaning has been gnawing at me continuously and eventually led me to go on a vision quest."

He stopped speaking and looked at me again and I swear the hair on my neck stood up. With a voice barely above a whisper I found myself asking, "What does Tansy mean?"

His eyes filled with a strange light. "In Hopi, Marina, it means, immortality."

*

The trees shot by with blinding speed as I sprinted through the forest. Small limbs and branches broke off, scratching and cutting my skin through my clothes as I left a trail of debris behind me. I wished I could feel the pain of those scrapes then maybe that would take my mind off Levi.

Why would his mother give him a name that means immortality? I know only that Native Americans sometimes name their children certain things because of signs or visions that they had on the day of a child's birth. Did one of his parents have a vision, or was it a family elder who saw something in Levi when he was born?

And what about the vision quest Levi took and the answers he was shown? He told Rose he didn't understand them till he met me. I feared that he knew exactly what type of monster I am, especially with the way he stared at me when he told us the meaning of his name.

I stopped on the edge of a rocky ledge and stared down into the deep ravine below. A black bear walked by the stream and I watched as he tried to catch fish with his mouth. I fingered my necklace that held Dante's and mine wedding rings and tilted my head to the night sky to stare at a moon so bright it nearly blocked out the stars.

I longed for Dante to be here with me.

This was our favorite place to come to almost every night. We would sit here, his arms around me, my head resting on his shoulder and gaze at the stars. He would tell me stories about his long vampire life that happened before he met me. On some nights, though, we never said a word to each other. Those were some of the best nights of my life. He'd make such tender love to me here. Never in a rush, always caressing every inch of my body again and again till my cries echoed through out the woods.

Before tonight Dante had been the only man to fill my thoughts. But now Levi was on my mind and no matter how I tried, I can't push him from there. I'm so drawn to him, like there is something in his soul calling to me. And I feel like he can see into my soulless body, seeing exactly what I am and everything I've done.

There are millions of reasons why I shouldn't think about Levi besides the guilt and disloyalty I feel toward Dante's memory. The biggest reason deals with him being a mortal. With all the immortals that I know in this world my feelings had to come back to life for a mortal.

I made my way back to the cabin, snow softly crunching under my feet. I can't let him find out that I'm a vampire. No matter what his name means or what vision he saw during his quest, giving him, a mortal, that information would put my undead life in danger.

By the time I returned all the lights were off. I entered through the kitchen door and tried to be quiet and not wake anyone, especially if Levi was still on the sofa instead of moving into the guestroom.

Once inside I saw that the fire still burned in the living room fireplace. Carefully I walk over to the sofa and found Levi lying there with the blanket down around his hips. His chest was bare and so smooth; his muscles so well defined that my fingers ache to touch him.

I stood there and watched him sleep, matching my breathing to his and listened to the strong beat of his heart inside my head. My eyes scanned and found the vein in his neck throbbing softly, making my mouth water with the need to taste him.