Clarity: A Young Adult Paranormal Vampire Romance (Blood Haze Book 4) by Tara Shuler
Authors: Tara Shuler
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decades!” Alexi demanded. “Even I could not get in before you opened the door and left it partly ajar!”
“I just walked in,” I told him with a shrug.
“You are telling me you had no problems whatsoever, as if the door were unlocked?” Alexi asked skeptically.
“It wasn’t locked!” I insisted. “I just walked in!”
Alexi rubbed his chin thoughtfully and peered down at me as if he were sizing me up for some reason. I began to feel uncomfortable and I shifted from foot to foot and refused to look at him.
“Did the crystal speak to you?” he finally asked.
“Speak? N-not exactly,” I answered.
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? Did it communicate with you in some way?” he asked, taking my shoulders in his hands. “Any way at all?”
“What is this thing?” I asked him. “And why are you grilling me like I’m a criminal?”
“Darling, please do not think that,” Alexi said gently. “This is very important. Did the crystal communicate with you?”
“I had a vision,” I said. “I saw the snow from my dream, and the wraiths, and I heard a voice calling for Olivia. Then I saw this strange sign that looked like two tall antlers or horns or something, and a word that looked like… I don’t know, Alexi, Greek, maybe? Or Russian?”
“What did it say? Can you remember?” he asked me.
I shook my head and said, “I think it started with a B. That’s all I remember.”
“Think, Alice,” Alexi urged me. “Close your eyes and try to picture the sign in your head. What did it say?”
I sighed and closed my eyes, concentrating on the image of the sign. I felt the thrum of the crystal resonating within me, and the sign came into clear focus.
“It says B-E-P-X-O-R-H-C-K,” I read, my eyes still closed. “But the R is backward.”
“It is Russian,” he confirmed. “But I do know what it says.”
“I do.”
Alexi and I immediately faced the source of the voice, and Liam was standing ashen-faced in the door.
“That’s the Pole of Cold in Verkhoyansk, Russia,” he said. “It’s a very old town on the bank of the Yana River.”
“How would you know this?” I asked.
“Because my mother and I lived there for about a year when I was a kid,” Liam said. “It can get down to 50 below there. Sometimes even colder.”
“Is it that cold all year?” Alexi asked.
“Nah, not really,” Liam answered. “It can get up in the 60s in the summer.”
“Well, if this is where your dream took place, then I would say we have until wintertime to prepare,” Alexi said. “Did you see anything else?”
I shook my head and said, “That’s it, really. But I still feel the crystal.”
“Feel it?” Alexi asked.
“It’s like a constant vibration that is resonating inside me,” I told him. “It’s stronger when I touch it, but I can feel it all the time. I was touching it when I had the vision.”
“No one has connected with the crystal in a v ery long time,” Alexi said. “I know the last time was well before I was born, perhaps before our father was born. I have heard tales about it, but I have never seen it until…” he reached his hand toward the crystal and before he even managed to touch it, some sort of electrical zap surged through him and knocked him backward onto his butt with a thud.
“Alexi!” I gasped, kneeling beside him and placing my hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
He shook his head rapidly as if to clear his mind of some haze, and he nodded. He patted my hand gently.
“This is why the room was sealed,” Alexi said. “If one is not connected to the crystal, it can be exceedingly dangerous. It has killed weaker people.”
I shivered at the implication. Alexi could have died. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around him and nuzzle his neck.
“Why did you even try to touch it?” I asked him. “If you knew what it could do.”
“The crystal’s pull is quite powerful,” he answered. “It can lure you in and… Liam, stop!”
I
“I just walked in,” I told him with a shrug.
“You are telling me you had no problems whatsoever, as if the door were unlocked?” Alexi asked skeptically.
“It wasn’t locked!” I insisted. “I just walked in!”
Alexi rubbed his chin thoughtfully and peered down at me as if he were sizing me up for some reason. I began to feel uncomfortable and I shifted from foot to foot and refused to look at him.
“Did the crystal speak to you?” he finally asked.
“Speak? N-not exactly,” I answered.
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’? Did it communicate with you in some way?” he asked, taking my shoulders in his hands. “Any way at all?”
“What is this thing?” I asked him. “And why are you grilling me like I’m a criminal?”
“Darling, please do not think that,” Alexi said gently. “This is very important. Did the crystal communicate with you?”
“I had a vision,” I said. “I saw the snow from my dream, and the wraiths, and I heard a voice calling for Olivia. Then I saw this strange sign that looked like two tall antlers or horns or something, and a word that looked like… I don’t know, Alexi, Greek, maybe? Or Russian?”
“What did it say? Can you remember?” he asked me.
I shook my head and said, “I think it started with a B. That’s all I remember.”
“Think, Alice,” Alexi urged me. “Close your eyes and try to picture the sign in your head. What did it say?”
I sighed and closed my eyes, concentrating on the image of the sign. I felt the thrum of the crystal resonating within me, and the sign came into clear focus.
“It says B-E-P-X-O-R-H-C-K,” I read, my eyes still closed. “But the R is backward.”
“It is Russian,” he confirmed. “But I do know what it says.”
“I do.”
Alexi and I immediately faced the source of the voice, and Liam was standing ashen-faced in the door.
“That’s the Pole of Cold in Verkhoyansk, Russia,” he said. “It’s a very old town on the bank of the Yana River.”
“How would you know this?” I asked.
“Because my mother and I lived there for about a year when I was a kid,” Liam said. “It can get down to 50 below there. Sometimes even colder.”
“Is it that cold all year?” Alexi asked.
“Nah, not really,” Liam answered. “It can get up in the 60s in the summer.”
“Well, if this is where your dream took place, then I would say we have until wintertime to prepare,” Alexi said. “Did you see anything else?”
I shook my head and said, “That’s it, really. But I still feel the crystal.”
“Feel it?” Alexi asked.
“It’s like a constant vibration that is resonating inside me,” I told him. “It’s stronger when I touch it, but I can feel it all the time. I was touching it when I had the vision.”
“No one has connected with the crystal in a v ery long time,” Alexi said. “I know the last time was well before I was born, perhaps before our father was born. I have heard tales about it, but I have never seen it until…” he reached his hand toward the crystal and before he even managed to touch it, some sort of electrical zap surged through him and knocked him backward onto his butt with a thud.
“Alexi!” I gasped, kneeling beside him and placing my hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
He shook his head rapidly as if to clear his mind of some haze, and he nodded. He patted my hand gently.
“This is why the room was sealed,” Alexi said. “If one is not connected to the crystal, it can be exceedingly dangerous. It has killed weaker people.”
I shivered at the implication. Alexi could have died. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around him and nuzzle his neck.
“Why did you even try to touch it?” I asked him. “If you knew what it could do.”
“The crystal’s pull is quite powerful,” he answered. “It can lure you in and… Liam, stop!”
I
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