Free The Amulet by Lisa Phillips Page B

gather from vapor into mist, and finally into almost a thick cloud, laden with moisture. Her balcony came into view and she directed them towards it.
    When they hovered just above it, she drew herself up and returned to her fully solid form. The feeling of gravity weighing heavily on her was lessened by the fact that she was expecting and controlling it. It was really easier than she had imagined it. It probably required very little thought once the process was mastered. She picked up the faint scent of new leather and men's cologne. She recognized it as Xander instantly. She was amazed that even two days later his scent still lingered in the air and even more so that she picked up on it.
    Alyssa found her way to her balcony door, which was locked. Ugh, and she didn't have her keys. She had seen Nevar slip through doors before. She should be able to as well. She didn't need to ascend, just hover. She was light. Her form was fading. She wasn't sure if it was happening as she thought it, or if she thought it as it was happening. She dissolved into mist and found the cracks in the doorframe. Once on the other side, she gathered herself and let gravity pull her once more as her body solidified. She unlocked the door for Nevar and stood back to let him enter. He seemed proud as he looked at her.
    "You catch on very quickly," he said. "I would be afraid to cross you."
    "Why is that?" She didn't understand how he had gone from complimenting her to being afraid of her.
    "If you learn this quickly, you could be very dangerous. It takes most vampires a decade or two to transform, and you are not even a week made. You could be very dangerous, indeed. Your demeanor seems to suggest otherwise, although, I saw the flash of anger in you before when I was on the receiving end. I would prefer not to be your target."
    "I have no desire to bring harm to you, Nevar."
    He averted his eyes, as if he could not bear to look at her. "You have plenty of reason to want to harm me, whether you intend to or not. I destroyed any chance of a normal life for you. I have cut short your career. What's worse, you will have to watch as everyone you have ever loved grows old and dies, while you remain, unchanged and unable to die. I have lived it. It might have been better for you to have passed on instead of choosing this life." He paused for a moment, then turned back to look at her again. "Why did you drink from me?"
    His eyes were soft, but demanded answers. The question was simple enough, but the answer was much more complex. She had been in a haze when he gave her the choice. She wasn't afraid of death, she just wasn't ready to go. "Self-preservation," she said. "There was so much left that I wanted to do. I suppose it wasn't my time yet, at least, I didn't want it to be time." She paused a moment before adding, "You could have just let me die if you felt so badly about turning me."
    "I would have felt worse if I had been the cause of your death. Given my options, I took the lesser sin of turning you. I feel badly that I lost control of myself. I know what I have put you through already, and your road has barely begun. Having you with me is a pleasure, one I feel guilty for, but a pleasure nonetheless. Each accomplishment of yours sends a thrill through me like I have never felt before. I have been alone for so long, I had forgotten the simple pleasure of conversation."
    She was flattered by his words. Who was this man, this vampire? So charismatic, and eloquent that he made her knees weak, even in this new, stronger body. She opened her mouth to say something when she heard her cell phone ringing. It was on her bedside table, where she had left it on the charger. She walked over to check the caller ID. It read "Jessie T Foxx", her agent. With a nervous look at Nevar, she touched the screen to answer the call. "Hello?"
    "Alyssa! Oh thank God! I've been calling all day! Where have you been? I was about to file a missing persons report on you! I've been out