Haldred Chronicles: Alyssa (19 page)

“Maybe” she
allowed.

Gretna shook her
head.  “Ah!  Stubborn.  Reminds me of...well, me!  It can be a good thing and a
bad thing.  But in love...”

She shook her
head.  “..yeh got to treat them proper.”

“Thank you.”
said Victoria, a little more honestly this time.

Gretna,
satisfied, turned on her heel and headed out of the room.  She paused at the
door.

“Besides...” she
said, casting Victoria a final look.  “...you're a good looking lass yourself. 
You've a fine arse on yeh and a good figure.  Any man would be proud to have
yeh by his side.”

She headed on
out the door.  Leaving Victoria doing something she didn't do often.  Something
called blushing.

* * * * *

Katy knocked on
the door again

“Maybe he's not
in?” she ventured to the cloaked figure beside her.

“Well he did say
he was working late.” said Alyssa's voice from the cloaks hood.  “But it's
almost morning now.  Surely he's back?”

The two girls
had slipped from alleyway to alleyway, moving slowly toward where James lived,
keeping out of sight of Larrick city militia patrols.  Alyssa had managed to
break into one of the clothes shops and acquired herself a heavy cloak to keep
her hidden, as well as a new tunic to regain her dignity.  She had left the
right coin in exchange, of course, as well as taking a little time to remove
the crossbow bolts.  Katy had advised, rather sensibly, that they were
something of a dead give-away.

Now they had at
last made their way to James' house and were waiting for him to answer the
door.  Patiently, and at the same time, rather worriedly.  Dawn was getting
awfully close.

And I really,
really don't feel like exploding right now
thought Alyssa.

Fortunately, she
didn't have to explode as the door at last opened.  Though James looked like he
might explode, if only for a minute.  He'd obviously been fast asleep as he was
dressed in a night shirt, with a night cap on and rather sleepy look on his
face.  He was also brandishing a saucepan (rather unconvincingly it might be
added) and his face was flushed.  He had obviously been preparing to yell at
whoever was at the door, his mouth was wide open.  He had stopped himself just
in time however when he saw Katy and Alyssa.  His eyes went wide and he very
slowly closed his mouth, his rage at being awoken abating quickly.

“Ah, morning.” he
managed.

“Morning.” said
Katy, trying to look apologetic.  “Sorry for waking you.”

“Ah
that's…that's ok.” he said.  His expressions were all over the place.  He
couldn't be angry so his face was halfway between really pleased and really
confused.

“Suppose, ah” he
was completely at a loss, so Alyssa helped him out.

“Can we come
in?”

“Of course.” he
seemed to recover a little and stepped back, allowing the two girls to enter.

His house was as
immaculate as always.  Alyssa smiled.  She was already feeling a lot less tense
just being here.  Everything was so tidy.  Even the fireplace, with the embers
of a recent fire still visible, looked well maintained.  She could tell from
Katy's expression that she was impressed too.

“So neat.” she
breathed.

“Thanks” said
James rather proudly.  Alyssa beamed at him.

There was a
pause.  Each of them exchanged glances.  Eventually, it was little Katy who
broke the ice.

“You're probably
wondering why we're here?” she said simply.

“I am kind of.”
he flashed Alyssa a smile.  “Though I'm not complaining.”

Oh Gods you
soppy sod.

“We've some
explaining to do.” said Katy, rather quickly so the two lovers before her
didn't have a chance to utter any more statements that might make her sick.

Oh yeah we do
groaned Alyssa inwardly.

She was
not
looking forward to this.

James indicated
the dining table and they all sat.  James and Alyssa opposite each other and
Katy in the middle seat.  Katy looked from one to the other.  Alyssa and James
were staring into each other's eyes.  She coughed tactfully.  Alyssa sighed,
knowing what she had to do.

Might as well
get it over with.

“James.” she
said, for the first time finding it difficult to meet his eyes.  His warm,
welcoming...

Focus!

“I.” she began,
searching for words.  Finally, after tense seconds, she decided to just come
out with it.

“I'm a vampire.”

James, to his
credit, hardly moved on hearing what for most people would be incredibly
surprising news.  He sort of just sat staring.  Not in shock or horror or even
surprise; just staring.  Alyssa frowned.

“James?” she
asked tentatively.  She could see out of the corner of her eye Katy displaying
a similarly confused expression. 

He blinked,
almost as if coming out of a trance.

“Um.” he said. 
He wiped his face.  “What?” he settled on.

“I'm a vampire.”
she repeated. 
What part of that was he having difficulty understanding?

“Ok.” he said.

O
k?  I tell
him I'm a supernatural being and he just nods and says ok?

Alyssa frowned,
looking over at Katy but she shrugged.

“Well.” said
Alyssa.  “I'm glad you're so understanding.”

It was Katy who
suddenly twigged what was going on.

“You don't know
what a vampire is, do you James?” she said.  Not unkindly, just
matter-of-factly.

“Ah.” he made to
argue the point but thought better of it.  “Not as such no.”

“Oh Gods.”
muttered Alyssa, hanging her head.

“Sorry.” he
said.

We are so
made for each other.            

She sighed.  How
do you explain vampires to someone who doesn't know what they are?  Technically
not knowing what a vampire is wasn't all that surprising.  Their very existence
hadn't been that widely known until after Igor Regorash was defeated.  Whilst
he was rampaging around the southern lands, reports of the attacks had been
hushed up by the Argon government.  Even after the heroes had become famous,
the vampire slaying was overshadowed by the peace.  Not everyone had been
following the plucky adventurers’ saga; it had been kind of a fad at the time.

Still, it was a
bit inconvenient at this particular moment.

“Ok” said Alyssa
raising her head.

Here we go.

“A vampire,” she
said.  “Is a supernatural being that must drink human blood in order to stay
alive.  Vampires were once human but through a process...”

She paused
briefly then shrugged.  “A process I don't know, they are changed into
vampires.  A vampire cannot exist in the sunlight.  They tend to...explode!”

She found
herself casting a worried look at James' curtains but fortunately he used
similar blackout curtains to herself.

“They are
technically dead, so don't breathe.  They possess unnatural abilities, like
flying or changing into animals.”

“So.” She didn't
know if she could say anything more.  “Ah, and I'm one of them.”

“Oh and I'm the
last of my kind.” she added.  Best to give the complete picture after all.

There was that
wonderfully delicate kind of silence.  Where one party feels as if they've
explained themselves reasonably well and the other party has no idea how they
are expected to respond.  James was quite clearly the latter.  The poor sod was
sitting partially dumbstruck, not knowing how to reply to this revelation.  He
bit his lip, his eyes switching from Katy to Alyssa and back again.

“Ah.” he began. 
“So you think you're a vampire?”

“Not think. 
Know.” said Alyssa.

Katy, who was
losing patience, came up with the perfect idea.

“Just show him
your teeth.” she said.

Alyssa, a little
apprehensively, opened her mouth, and let her fangs extend with a distinctive
hiss.  James, at last, showed the kind of reaction Alyssa had originally
expected; except more so.

His eyes went
wide, he leaned back in his chair, and after a few seconds of staring in mute
shock, fainted and slumped to the floor.  It was Katy's turn to sigh.

“Your
boyfriend's a wimp you know that?”

“Ge is ghot!”
Alyssa said

She pulled the
fangs in, the authority of her boyfriend's defence well and truly ruined.

James awoke with
a start, gasping for breath and shivering as the cold water did its job rather
well.

“Told yeh.” Katy
said, nodding at Alyssa.  They were both crouched over James.  “One cup isn't
going to drown him.”

James wiped his
face before looking from one girl to another.

“What happened?”
he asked.

“You fainted
when you saw Alyssa's teeth.” said Katy.

“Teeth?” he
frowned, his expression indicating a quick search of his most recent memories.

He fainted
again.

“Oh for God's
sake!” Katy's patience had broken as she grabbed the cup she had used before
and took another sop from the water bucket beside them.  A soaked James awoke
again but this time Katy showed initiative.

“Don't faint!”
she commanded, grabbing him by the cuff of his nightshirt and pointing a
commanding finger.  Alyssa and James were both taken aback.  Even with pigtails,
Katy could actually look quite intimidating.

Katy seemed to
realise her actions were a little over the top as she quickly let go of James
and returned to a more timid nature.

“Sorry.” she
said.  “I just, get a bit impatient sometimes.”

Alyssa looked at
James.

“Are you going
to faint again?” she asked, not unkindly.

He shook his
head.

“Good.”

They let him get
back to his seat and the three of them sat round the table again.  Alyssa
wasn't sure where to go from here.  James was.

“So.” he said,
seeming to be more awake and more coherent now after having water splashed over
him.

“Not human
then?” he said, wiping water from his eyes.

Alyssa nodded
solemnly.

“You're a
vampire.”

She nodded
again.

He seemed to
consider this for a while.  When he spoke again, it was very accepting

“Ok.”

Katy and Alyssa
exchanged the same glances they had used only a few minutes before.

“That's what you
said before.” said Katy, a frown appearing on his face.  “Then you fainted. 
Twice.  After the explanation, you're still ok with this?”

James fidgeted,
looking uncomfortable.

“Well.” he
looked over at Alyssa.  She saw the look he was giving her.  It wasn't angry. 
It wasn't regret.  It wasn't even surprise.

“You're not
going to eat me are you?”

And it wasn't
sensible either.

Alyssa smirked. 
“I don't eat people.  I just drink their blood, and no,” she hastily added. 
“I'm not going to do that either.  Sorry”

His patient
little face didn't change.  He just nodded, as if that simple sentence had
allayed all his fears.

“Ok then.” he concluded.

The hell? 
He's not even concerned?

“That doesn't
completely answer why you're here at this time of the night though”

Well that was
true.

Together Katy
and Alyssa filled him in on everything.  The investigation, the raid, how Katy
had met up with Alyssa again, and their plans for the immediate future.

“So, you don't
like being a vampire then?”

“No!” Alyssa
said, rather automatically taking his hand in hers (and for a change, not
blushing).  “I've been a vampire for a year and a half now and I hate it. 
I...”

She felt tears
welling in her eyes again. 

Gods I'm so
emotional tonight.

“...I just want
a normal life.”

James, to his
credit, leaned forward and embraced her and Katy put her hand on Alyssa's back,
comforting.

“It's ok,” Katy
said “We'll find a way”

That
determination was in the girl's voice again.

I am very
lucky to have them on my side.  I just hope we do find a way.

* * * * *