The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 79

There was some large, comfortable looking furniture scattered around the room we appeared in. Plants grew along the ceiling and walls. There were old paintings and pictures all over. It was a very homey little place. Marius let me go and sat me on the couch. I was a little nervous. I hadn't really been thinking when I called him, but it kind of worked out. I just hoped he wouldn't be angry at me for what I did to Victor. "Would you like to tell me what happened?" He asked.

My phone started ringing. I looked at it. Gray was calling. I sent it to voicemail and turned off my phone.

"Sorry." I murmured.

"Tell me what happened, Echo. I want to help, but I can't if you don't tell me." Marius said.

I took a deep breath. Maybe he could help with the controlling the imagination thing. My mind worked more like a vampire's not like a werewolf's. I needed that help.

"I... I made Victor and Gray see some things. At first it was an accident, but then I did it on purpose and that's why Victor's mad at me." I blushed.

"You imagined things and made them experience it?" Marius asked.

I nodded.

"Good. That's how my ability to make people see their death works. It's the death I imagine for them, not their real death... unless they anger me again." He said darkly. "I can't make them feel what I imagine. They see it from my perspective."

"Unless you were imagining yourself getting hurt, I don't see how that would work to cause him to be harmed. Or what could have caused him to be angry." Marius wondered. "It wasn't pain.... It was bedroom stuff." I admitted.

"I never thought it could be used like that." He replied, licking his lips and shifting his gaze down the hall. "I'll have to test it later."

That seemed a little weird. I blushed a bit as I realized that I had told someone I saw as a father about what I did. He was my best option to learn, though.

"Is there someone else here?" I asked.

"Lila is in her workshop. She spends a lot of time in there right now. She just received an abundance of ingredients and is like a child, giddy with excitement." Marius chuckled. "Do you love her?"

"Of course not. She's just a way for me to relieve some tension and relax. She sees me the same way." He scoffed. "We should get back on task. So, you looked at them and imagined bedroom things and they felt them?"

"I think they felt what I did. Earlier, when I did it on accident, they saw what I was imagining. They didn't feel anything." I explained.

Marius nodded. "You haven't really learned how to project the feeling with the imagining. You're working with the feelings you know, not the ones you can imagine."

"And I wasn't looking at them. I was in the bathroom when I did that to Victor." I admitted.

"It's more powerful if you can see them. It makes it easier to focus the feelings. Try this, I want you to look at me, then focus on the feeling of being slapped by Daniel Darknight. Instead of it being you, I want you to imagine it being me." He said.

I did what he instructed. I looked at Marius and imagined him trapped in the cell, begging to be released, like I was. I remembered Daniel slapping me so fast I couldn't even see it. I could see Marius reacting like I did. Being knocked to the ground hard with a yelp. "Perfect." He grinned as the vision faded. "Try it again with a different feeling, something you can picture easily."

This time I thought of the biggest, warmest hug I'd ever gotten. I imagined Marius being wrapped in the arms of someone who cared for him and held tightly. I almost smiled at the image.

"That was much stronger." Marius murmured. "You don't like the idea of hurting me. I understand, you're a sweet and caring girl. Now I want you to think of something you've never felt before. I want you to focus on my eyes. Imagine what it might be like to be stabbed in the stomach."

With a nod, I thought of what cutting was like then married that feeling with being punched in the stomach. I figured it was a mixture of the two. I imagined the sudden impact of the knife, the slip of it into a soft stomach, the way it might feel like a sharp pain as the blade went through everything.

When I came out of my imagining, Marius was grasping his stomach. I leaned forward and put my hand on his arm. He smiled proudly.

"That almost felt exactly like being stabbed in the stomach. You have a wonderful imagination. Let's take a break. I think we should practice every day. I want you to call me after your dinner and I'll come to train you with this. I knew you were going to be a powerful vampire. I'm so proud of you, Echo." Marius hugged me.

"You said that before. I don't understand." I mumbled into his shoulder.

"Most vampires can sense the power level of other vampires. I am a little more adept, like my other colleagues in the High Council. It's something you get better at with age. I had the sense that you were weakened, but powerful when I met you. I didn't get my traveling ability until I was about a thousand years old. I can travel to any place I've been before.

When telephones came into fashion, I found I could travel to the location of any person who contacted me over the phone. It was very unfortunate for the man who made the first call that angered me.

The way you communicate telepathically, is not an ability any living vampire has. We can only communicate with those bonded to us. Our servants, our spouses, our Solus Amors, and any we create a blood bond with. You seem to be able to communicate with anyone you focus on." He explained.

"I can't hear anyone, though." I said.

"Talk with Bellamy. She can help with return communication. Rogues do not have the ability to mind link with anyone except their mates. She may be able to give you tips on that."

"She wasn't able to teach me how to put up walls with my imagination. She tried, but it didn't work." I sighed.

"She was trying to teach you how to deal with one ability, it may not work with the other. Image sharing is rare. It's more powerful than just words and emotions. You are projecting to all of the senses. I would say, practice not focusing on anyone in particular if you are imagining things for fun." Marius suggested.

That was going to be hard. Most of my imaginings had to do with people I knew. I would try not focusing on them as hard. Victor and Gray didn't see any of the other stuff I imagined. Maybe if I wasn't so immersed in what I was thinking of, I would be better able to stop them from seeing it.

I needed to also figure out how to control myself when I got angry. I was giving in to the urges the anger sparked in me. It could be that was just who I was now, but I could see why Victor was mad. I made him do something he didn't want to just because I was upset at him for telling me what to do.

It wasn't right. I needed to apologize. I needed to tell him why I did it and make changes in a way that was more mature and meaningful. I couldn't just punish people because I was angry. I needed to apologize to Gray as well.

What I did to him wasn't fair. I should have talked to him, too. The more I grew, the more I would have to focus on behaving like a mature person and not giving in to my urges. I knew that Victor managed to control his temper a lot. He wasn't perfect, but he tried. I could do that much.

"I really messed up, papa." I sighed.

"You are powerful for the first time in your life. You are entitled to a few mistakes, as long as you take responsibility for them. I would use this as a warning to them, but you aren't as... harsh as I am. I think they value your innocence as much as I do. I think it leads you to more creative uses of your power. You could have projected anything, but you projected pleasure. You could have run away anywhere, but you chose to stay near them.

Once you knew you could travel, you could have kept moving, but you called me instead. Not as a shield, but as an educator. You wanted to learn how to control this. Yes, you had me take you from that situation, but you wanted to figure out your abilities, not run away. I assume you're planning to go back." He said.

"I gave in to my anger. I shouldn't have done that. I asked Gray to stay with me and he refused. The anger I had from that just came back while we were eating and I decided to punish him." I told him.

Marius chuckled. "You get that from me. It's not always best to control your anger. With the people you love, yes, but the world is a dangerous place and there are some who would try to harm you for the entertainment of it. Promise me you won't hold back when it's not someone you love. Even if it is someone you love, if they're trying to hurt you, I want you to do everything you can to not be hurt by them."

"I promise. I'll protect myself. Do you think Victor is going to hurt me?" I whispered.

"No. He would have probably scolded you. He was fairly upset. I don't believe he would have seen that look on your face and been able to actually harm you." He replied, gently.

I suddenly realized exactly what I'd done. By calling Marius, I'd subjected Victor to one of his fears. He told me he was afraid of Marius taking me away. I hadn't thought of it when I'd done it. Only that I needed Marius to help me. Traveling had scared me, but not as much as Victor's anger had.

It was all my fault, though. I made him angry and didn't stick around for the aftermath. I couldn't imagine what was going through Victor's head.

"You're frightened. You went from worried to fearful. Has Victor hurt you before? Is that why you were so concerned that he might hurt you?" Marius asked with a growl.

"No. I'm just used to getting hurt when people are mad at me. You were right, Victor wouldn't hurt me." I told him.

"It seems to me that you need to get the emotional part of this resolved. Do you remember how to travel, or did you need me to take you home?" He asked.

I thought about it. If Marius took me home, I knew that Victor would have to talk to me. I wanted to fix this, but using the threat of Marius to make him talk to me would be cheating. I needed to do it on my own.

"I can try it myself, but if I can't, would you take me home?" I asked.

"Go ahead. I want you to call me after you finish dealing with your husbands. Starting tomorrow, you will be training with me to better use your abilities. I'll teach you how to create fear in the hearts of any who cross you. I'll help you practice your traveling, and I will start your formal vampire education." Marius promised.

"Thank you, papa. I love you." I said hugging him.

"I love you too, daughter. Go make up with them. If I do not hear from you by eleven, I'm coming to that house and there will be trouble." He vowed.

"Of course. I'll remember." I smiled.

"Focus on where you want to be. Until you're more practiced, you will need to really focus. It can take time to do it as effortlessly as I do." Marius said.

I nodded and thought of where I wanted to be. I wanted to be with Victor. I wanted to be with Gray. I wanted to be home. I didn't know where Victor was, but I wanted to go to him first. Gray was probably mad, but Victor had been hurt after being angry. Suddenly, I wasn't sitting on the couch anymore, I was in Victor's office. Sitting on his desk right in front of him. My feet dangled in the gap between his desk and his seat.

He stared at me. A relieved expression crossed his face briefly, but was soon gone beneath the businesslike mask that he often wore. The cool look that I didn't like to see him wearing.

"Echo." Gray whispered from behind me.

I turned and saw him in one of the chairs opposite the desk. He looked very happy to see me. I looked back at Victor.

"I'm sorry. I let my anger get the best of me and did something to you two that I shouldn't have." I said softly. "Please forgive me."

"You called Master Marius to take you away." Victor replied coldly.

"I was scared. You were so mad at me and I just traveled for the first time. I didn't know what to do, so I called him for help. I'm sorry I hurt you, Victor."

"You knew that I was afraid of him taking you, and you called him to take you away. I don't know how I can forgive that, Echo. Take your things and work on your schoolwork elsewhere. I need time." He said, looking away from me.

I slid off his desk and went to gather my papers and books. I deserved this. I deserved his anger. I would give him all the time he needed.

Once my bag was packed up, I looked up at them. Gray hadn't moved or said anything. He was probably mad at me too. I closed my eyes and thought of being in my room.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in my bedroom instead of his office. I sat my bag down and laid on my bed. I couldn't believe I messed up so bad. How long would Victor and Gray be mad at me? Would they come in for bedtime with me? Would Gray want to sleep next to someone who embarrassed him like I did.

Amy told me yesterday how proud alpha blood wolves were and male wolves. I would have to find a big way to apologize if I wanted to overcome that. I would miss having them with me. I would find a way to make it right again.