Circle of Death (2 page)

She frowned, not understanding my question, and then widened her eyes.

“Oh, no, no. This is just to keep anyone from seeing what they shouldn’t inside my apartment.”

Of course, I thought, ironically, the answer should have been obvious. What did she mean with that? What could possibly happen there? With each passing instant, I realized that Kelene was not a normal young woman, but what could she hide? She had no ties to the Otherworld, I would have noticed if it there were anything. However, then, what was that strength in her eyes? In addition, I knew she would not answer me if I asked. She had that aura of mystery around her, and probably not even those who saw her everyday knew much about her.

“I like this place, but wouldn’t you have problems with your neighbors?”

I was not sure that she would understand what I meant, but she just shrugged.

“Don’t do anything to call attention, and they’ll act as if you were human.”

I stared, not really believing what she had said. They would ignore the fact that I was part of the Otherworld and a predator? She sighed before going on.

“Many people who lived here early on had some kind of tie with the Otherworld. This place isn’t new, I’m sure you noticed. The complex was built in the years when the Otherworld showed itself. When everything was just like the fairy tales, remember? These people had the chance to know the Otherworld better than most humanity. There were even a number of nonhumans living here.” She gave me a quick smile. “I bought this apartment from a witch who left when all the persecution began. But the fact is that most of the ones who lived here back then wouldn’t sell their apartments. They passed it in the family, along with the stories and what they learned. Believe me, they’ll treat you as if you were human.”

“And the ones who moved in later?” I tried to keep my surprise from showing in my voice.

“They’re the minority. They probably won’t even notice you’re a vamp, unless you make that clear. And if they notice… Well…” Another reserved smile, but this time there was a touch of something naughty on it that made me lower her probable age in some years. “Two years ago they learned not to talk about what happens in my apartment. And, some time ago, they learned that not annoying me would bring advantages for them. They won’t do anything.”

I nodded. I had always imagined that places like that existed, where Otherworld and humanity had lived together. But since the reintegration of the Otherworld, I had always been running from one place to another, with no chance to search for those places.

And what did Kelene do to gain those people’s respect? What advantages could she give them? What did this woman hide?

“Was that the reason why you chose to live here?” I asked, voicing at least one of my various questions.

“Yes.” Her voice was calm, but something wild shone in her eyes when she answered.

It was already eight o’clock when I woke up. Damn, I had fifteen minutes to get ready and run to the bus stop, or I would be late to class. In a hurry, I took a shower and dressed in the first clothes I found, while I balanced the phone on my shoulder and called the bakery in front of the bus stop, asking them to have my breakfast ready. Still almost running, I grabbed my bag of books and left home. My hair was having bad day, and I tied it up in a passable ponytail while walking to the bus stop.

I barely had time to pick up my package at the bakery, and the bus was there. I sat on one of the last seats and opened the paper bag. A bottle of orange juice and three cheese breads. I hated eating on the bus, but the other option was to wait until lunchtime. No way.

I managed to arrive on campus exactly at nine o’clock, and got into the classroom shortly after the professor. Philosophy class was one of the few ones that really interested me. But I was so sleepy that I went straight to the back of the room and sat down leaning against the wall.

“Philosophy class and you’re here in the back of the room, Kelene? What kind of miracle is this?”

I turned to face the guy who had spoken. Artur was tall and thin, with that kind of lack of motor coordination you see more often in someone who just grew up a lot and didn’t exactly know what to do with his body. His dark hair was always short, and he had deep blue eyes that saw too much, sometimes. He looked just like a normal guy, but I knew he had some ties to the Otherworld. And, of course, he had no idea I knew it. I never said anything because I also knew that, if someone else noticed it, he would start flunking all classes. They couldn’t expel him for being part of the Otherworld, but they would do everything they could to make him give up.

“Bad night.” I answered.

And it had been a bad night. After Lucio left, I had started working on how to hide what I did from him. At around three in the morning I had been called to deal with a problem, couldn’t finish it, and would have to go back there later. The result of it all was that I had slept for less than two hours, and was exhausted.

“Is all this because of the guy who was interested in sharing the apartment?” Artur asked, sitting on the desk beside mine.

“No.” I had forgotten I mentioned the vampire’s call to him. “He seems to be a nice person.”

Artur kept staring, waiting for me to tell him why I was so sleepy. I ignored him and leaned against the wall again, closing my eyes.

“Okay, I get it, not my business.” He muttered, before starting to listen to what the professor was saying.

I almost smiled when he gave up questioning me. After Nara, the girl who died, and one of my neighbors, he was the closest thing to a friend I had. But I needed to be careful, otherwise his curiosity would give us problems. I feared he would figure out what I was if I slipped just once. If that happened, he would have to make a not so pleasant choice, as mine had already been made.

I never understood why Artur decided to approach me at first. I was the strange girl in the back of the class, the one who was friendly enough to everyone, but no one knew anything about. Most of my classmates felt uncomfortable with that and avoided me, but not Artur. Sometimes I think that he was attracted by the other “strange one” in the classroom, maybe because he instinctively knew I wouldn’t make any complicated questions about him. But, in the end, it didn’t matter.

Suddenly, I was thinking about Lucio. The vampire had been surprised when he saw me, saying that I wasn’t what he expected, but he wasn’t what I had imagined, either. The old vampires can usually be divided in two groups: the ones who cling to life as it was when they were turned, and the ones who sail on the waves of the new trends and technologies. But not Lucio. He was in a separate category.

Once in a while a vampire would learn to just blend in, take what he wanted from the modern world and keep what he wanted to keep from the old time. Lucio was like this. While he wasn’t blind to the modern world, he didn’t feel the need to be one step ahead of any new tendency. It was easy to notice this by the way he dressed: comfortable jeans and a dark green shirt, the kind you could find in any popular store. Nothing of the new and the best, and not trying to imitate something that was in vogue centuries ago. And he didn’t seem to dress like this because he didn’t have money.

But what really caught my attention was that, unlike almost all the old vampires, de didn’t have any Caucasian trait. His skin had a slightly dark tone that was familiar, his dark hair was long, straight, and tied in his nape. Brown eyes, a face with vaguely native South-American traits, something exotic. He wasn’t exceptionally tall, but was tall enough that I almost needed to look up to talk to him.

I could barely wait to see the reaction he would cause in the girls who lived in the complex. Alice would go crazy.

I must have slept after that, because when Artur called me and I looked up, the class was almost over.

“Kelene?” He called again.

“What?” I turned to him, blinking.

“The guys are going out later today. Cinema. Horror movie.” He drawled, smiling.

I smiled in response. He knew I would like that. Horror movies showed more and more creatures from the Otherworld, but they were so far from reality that, for me, they almost worked as comedy. Most humans had no idea that when the Otherworld decided to show claws and fangs, it was far more dangerous than they imagined. Far more dangerous than what they had seen.

Once class was over everyone went in different directions, looking for lunch, and later we would get together at the cinema. It was the time I needed to disappear and finish that not so little trouble that had occupied the early morning hours. Finally, I would have some quiet.

When I arrived at the cinema the tickets had already been bought and everyone was in line for popcorn. I approached Artur, who gave me my ticket, and I paid him my part while we waited for the room to open.

“Hey, Kelene, what’s this?” He asked, pointing at my ear.

“This what?” I quickly put my hand there.

“There’s a cut, a little bit to the right.”

I searched for said cut, and soon I felt something wet on my hand. Great, I had cut myself and didn’t even notice. Quickly, I took a tissue from my bag, cleaned the blood, and released a few strands of hair to hide it.

“This is the last time I try to put this earring while I’m on the bus.” I said, even though I knew it sounded ridiculous, but without any other ideas.

He just stared at me, his expression shouting loud and clear that he knew I was lying, but that he would respect my decision to keep whatever had happened a secret. I kept my own expression firm, as if that was what had really happened, until Artur looked away. And then he glanced at me and looked away again, giving me a moment’s warning that I wouldn’t like his next words.

“Did you decide? Will you come back next semester?” He asked.

I closed my eyes for a moment. I didn’t want to talk about that, and regretted mentioning it to him. I was thinking seriously about not enrolling on the next semester. After all, how would a degree help me? I could barely attend classes; I was often too sleepy, or needed to leave early. And nothing would change after graduation… My life would always be like this. All this study would be worth nothing. I would never have a steady job, a true career. I always knew college was just another layer to a semblance of normality, something to distract me from my real job.

“I don’t plan to.” I said softly, knowing what would come next.

“Will you give up on everything you’ve dreamed? Everything you fought for until now?” He sounded aggressive, even.

“Not again, Artur. Please.” I sounded tired, and I didn’t care. He had no idea of what I was giving up, of what I had dreamed for my life. I only wanted to be normal. But it was too late for that.

“Then don’t give up. Come back next semester. Please.”

I looked away, but knew I couldn’t avoid it. Facing him again, I answered, still sounding tired.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to, Artur. Honestly, I don’t know.”

“Then promise me you’ll continue if you can.”

I sighed. That was an old dream that never disappeared. Being a normal girl. Just study, have family trouble, fight to have my own place… But I had never been normal, and had attracted the attention of people who should never have known about me. I had made my choice a long time ago, and now I had to pay for that.

“Kelene?” He called, bringing me back to the present.

“I promise, Artur, I promise.” I said impulsively, moved more by the desire to come back than by any real hope that it would be possible. “Now let’s go, the line is moving.”

While we went to the screening room, I still allowed myself some hope. It was useless, I had always known. But I had insisted in studying for the admission exams, and then enrolled in college… Just to satisfy my need of a normal life. None of that was real to me, and it would never be. I should have known, and should have already stopped hoping.

It was almost ten o’clock when I arrived at the complex. I was thoughtful while going down the street to my building: that would be Lucio’s first night there. How would be the reality of living with a vampire? I was curious, but also very worried. And not without reason, he was old enough to know stories about what I was. I would have to be extremely careful from now on.

When I unlocked the door, I was surprised by the music. I knew it, but it took me an instant to recognize it. Old Times, from a not very known French band. An old vampire with an unusual preference for music. With a smile, I started humming along. Lucio was sitting on the couch, reading one of my books, in a relaxed position that made me think of another time. Most people never saw a vampire looking so relaxed, and I smiled lightly when I realized that was his way of showing that he was putting his trust in me.

“Good night.” I said, crossing the living room and following the hallway until my bedroom.

“Good night.” I heard his reply just before closing the door.

I threw my bag in a corner, and turned to the wardrobe, thinking about what to wear. After just a moment I shook my head, mentally scolding myself. What use was it to pretend to be a little vainer just because I had a new roommate? Even if the way I dressed to sleep meant something to him, in a couple of nights I would be back to what was normal for me. Without more hesitation, I grabbed the shirt and the shorts, both really old, that I used to wear to sleep, and went to the bathroom. I needed at least a quick shower.

From the shower I went straight to the kitchen. I was starving. But I was also feeling lighter when I sat down to eat. Lucio had this good feeling around him, something that was rare, and even rarer on vampires, and he seemed to be an easy person to have around. He was still on the couch, in the same place, apparently engrossed in one of my books, without that feeling of
tension
that almost everyone had these days. And it had been wonderful to arrive at home and hear a song that had marked my life. We would get along well, my intuition was saying.

Singing along, I washed the dishes and went back to the living room. Lucio was still sitting on the couch, and he turned to me when I approached.