Witchblood (17 page)

         ‘No, honey. Actually he was rather impressed. I didn’t mention that it was an involuntary action. I think your talents are exciting him,’ she said, wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively.

          ‘Yack! Don’t even go there. So now he’s going to expect magical powers at the drop of a hat and I still haven’t got a clue how I do it. Thanks!’

         ‘Or so you say!’ she answered, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

         ‘No, I told you! This crazy stuff’s never happened before and I don’t know how it happens. It just does!’

         ‘Fine, relax. Just go back to last night. Did you think about anything specific just before it happened, or do anything? I don’t know, flick your fingers or something?’ she asked smiling again.

         ‘No, I can’t just flick my fingers like Piper from ‘Charmed’ and freeze time! Though it would be very cool if I could,’ I said grinning.

         ‘Yeah, I love ‘Charmed’. We should watch it more. It might give you some tips,’ Eva interrupted grinning.

         ‘No, OK!  I’m not a witch. ‘Charmed’ is fictional; I am not. This is just weird stuff that seems to be happening. I have no idea why or how,’ I said, my voice creeping higher with stress.

         ‘You
are
a witch Jess, part-witch anyway. Have a think. You thought vampires were fictional a month ago, and now it turns out they aren’t, so why not witches too? We just need to help you work out how to control your powers. So think back to when you saw your friend, Gemma was it? What was going through your head?’ she asked again gently.

         I sighed. I had to admit something was going on, and what she said made sense but opened up a whole new ballgame. I mean if vampires and witches existed, what else was out there? Ghosts? Werewolves? Fairies? And dare I say it, angels? Hmm, I didn’t want to think about it.  I also knew that if I didn’t convince Eva that I was trying my best, I’d be unable to escape Sebastian’s control. I sat down opposite, finished my drink and closed my eyes.

         ‘OK, I’ll try and think back,’ I said quietly.

         The room stayed quiet and she didn’t disturb my thoughts as my mind raced back through the evening, and then I started talking.

         ‘You left me to go and sort out that sleazy guy.’

         ‘And sort him out I did! I kicked his butt right out of the club,’ Eva said chuckling. ‘I’m sorry, were you upset that I left you alone?’

         ‘No, I was fine.’ I went on to tell Eva what happened, from when I saw my friends, up until the lights going out. I could hear my words pouring out faster and faster as I re-lived the panic of the previous night. ‘I knew I had to get out of there and fast.’ I paused.

‘What is it? What have you remembered?’ she asked, as my eyebrows pulled together. I had remembered something else. I spoke quietly, knowing this was the key.

         ‘At the same time I called you and Daniel, I felt a surge. Like you’d imagine an electrical surge, before a fuse blows. I felt so emotional I wanted to scream, hit someone, or cry out. All the emotions rushed to my head, and at the same time I remember thinking that if everything was dark, I could hide. I wouldn’t have to face anything. I felt a sudden calm, only for a split second, and then the lights popped and went out. That’s all. I don’t know how I made the lights go out. They just did.’ I let out a breath and opened my eyes.

         ‘I do,’ Eva said. She was looking at me intently. ‘But first I think you need another drink. You’re looking pale even for a vampire. I wish you wouldn’t insist on living off this stuff,’ she said.

         I felt drained, I wished Daniel was here, and surreptitiously I pulled the sweater up round my chin as if getting cosy, and breathed his scent, feeling it steady me.

         ‘Earth to Jess, hello?’ Eva said loudly, suddenly drawing me out of my daydreams and back into real time.

         ‘Uhm, sorry, I uhm…’ I stumbled.

         ‘OK, now listen. I think you’re telekinetic. You’re using your mind to do the things you subconsciously want, like blow the lights, explode mirrors, and move objects. At the moment you only seem able to access this power when you’re under extreme stress.’  I stayed silent taking in the information and realising with a jolt that it totally made sense. After a pause she added, ‘Now that’s all very well and good, but Sebastian will have no time for you unless you manage to control it. The key will be getting you to teach yourself how to use these talents on demand,’ she finished, raising her eyebrows and smiling as if we were discussing something as simple as learning to talk or walk.

         ‘Right,’ I said doubtfully, trying to keep the sarcasm at bay, as I was beginning to learn that neither she nor Daniel approved, and it tended not to get me anywhere other than into an argument.

         ‘Look, why don’t you spend some time this afternoon on Daniel’s computer. I gather you’re a bit of a whiz on the internet? I bet if you look up telekinesis there’ll be hundreds of results, and some are bound to be helpful,’ she said with a shrug. ‘You may even find a fellow witch to chat to,’ she added with a grin.

         ‘Yeah right, and they’ll all be perfectly sane people I suppose,’ I said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, as I got up wearily from the table and left the room.

         I went straight to the study which I’d found on the second floor of the house. It felt chilly due to lack of use and I was glad of Daniel’s jumper. I glanced at the floor to ceiling shelves, absolutely crammed with books, and wondered if it would be possible to light a fire in the old fireplace, as I slid the comfy armchair over to the gorgeous mahogany desk with the ease of an athletic man. Curling up in the armchair, I switched on the banker’s lamp and booted up the laptop.

         I’d been badgering Daniel to get wireless network set up so I could take the laptop downstairs, but for now I had to stay put in the study. At least there was broadband.

         I clicked on Google and typed in telekinesis. To my amazement and dismay – after all I was going to have to sift through this lot - I found 843,000 results. The first was a Wikipedia entry for so- called psychokinesis, and it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know from watching TV. It said that telekinesis was the paranormal movement of matter. I knew that, although something that did catch my eye and make me smile was a subheading, ‘Self-Levitation’, followed by the definition, ‘rising in the air unsupported, flying.’ Now that would be serious fun, and hadn’t Daniel mentioned that some vampires had special powers? Hmmm! I moved on.

         Then Google became decidedly silly, and a host of YouTube videos filled the page with supposedly real footage of people moving objects with their minds. I watched the first with vague interest then swiftly scrolled past the rest. I spent the next two hours reading page after page of telekinesis information, most of it the same recycled stuff, occasionally hitting on something that seemed to be more knowledgeable.

         Strangely all the sites, knowledgeable or less so, seemed to offer the same advice; that keeping a positive and accepting attitude was important. Many went on to say that a person with good intent would have more success or power than if they had negative energy and intentions. This I felt put me in an interesting predicament what with me being a vampire. Many of the websites suggested these abilities were God-given gifts, and one such person went on to say,

         ‘
As long as you give credit to God and believe that all things are possible, you will be able to do all things through Christ.’

          Hmm, an interesting point of view, but not so helpful. Surely a vampire was from the opposite spectrum to God and Heaven? Who knew? I mean Hell wasn’t something I was going to worry about yet as I clearly had several hundred years ahead of me first, unless I took to sunbathing, that is. Or I really pissed off Sebastian, a little voice inside me whispered.

         Yeesh, I’d had enough of this. I looked at the clock and realised it was nearly three o’clock, so as I’d highlighted a couple of the saner websites for future reading, I decided to switch off and go in search of some mind-numbing TV.

         I found Eva in the ‘girls’ sitting room. Both Eva and I chose the back room rather than the big front room, even if Daniel was out. Our room was cosier and we both appreciated the feminine touches, like the coffee table full of magazines, which Eva topped up every couple of weeks. Eva was sat with her feet on the table, as always, watching her favourite programme of the moment, ‘Project Runway’.

         It didn’t surprise me, because Eva was seriously into fashion and had already admitted she’d been thinking of signing up for a fashion design course just before Daniel had fallen for me in the club; but now of course she was stuck helping babysit me.

         I plopped myself down on the couch and had a sudden weird desire to reach for a non-existent bag of crisps. Bag of blood – yeah, that was possible – bag of crisps, unlikely. I frowned slightly at the sudden feeling and shook it off, putting it down to déjà vu and habit.

         ‘So, did you find out anything useful?’ Eva said, as she turned herself to face me.

         ‘Maybe, but it was like wading through mud. There are thousands of results. It’s ridiculous,’ I replied shaking my head slightly.

         ‘OK, well stick with it. Sebastian’s been trying to find a contact for you, but there aren’t many witches in the north for sure, and at the moment things are pretty tense with the Southern Clan. Although I’m pretty sure Cole hasn’t got any witches under his control either. Us vamps tend to keep ourselves to ourselves as much as the rest of the supernatural community,’ she said.

         Before I could get into this conversation and ask who Cole was, although I guessed he was probably Sebastian’s Southern equivalent, I heard the door to the cellar open and close, and a minute later Daniel popped his head around the door.

         ‘Jessica you’re looking pale and tired again. Haven’t you eaten?’ Daniel said, with no hint of the warm greeting I’d come to expect. My welcoming smile slipped from my lips and I frowned instead.

         ‘That’s some way to greet a girl. Dan, you’re a real charmer!’ Eva said grinning. ‘And she did feed, when she eventually dragged herself downstairs. She’s been on the laptop for the last few hours. That’s all that’s tired her out.’

         ‘Hello, I
am
actually here you know,’ I said, waving slowly and scowling in his general direction. I hated it when they talked about me as if I wasn’t there.

         ‘Sorry Jess, I was just a little shocked by how pale you’ve become, and the traffic out of town is a
complete
nightmare. I’m sorry,’ Daniel said, instantly softening and smiling apologetically at me.

         I battled against the effect his smile had on me, as I wasn’t quite ready to forgive so easily, but I’d been interested to note that for the first time ever he’d called me ‘Jess’, instead of the full ‘Jessica’. I liked the way it sounded on his lips. I liked that he wasn’t being so formal with me. What did that mean? Was it because of our kiss last night? A blush instantly rose to my cheeks and I lowered my face to hide it, mumbling an answer to his apology.

         Daniel didn’t have much to say regarding his time with Sebastian, but excitement fizzed through my body as he did tell me how Sebastian thought we should visit my father in the next couple of days.

         ‘He’s sorting out some finalities with a couple of insiders at the hospital, which will make our visit less problematic, so he suggested tomorrow night,’ Daniel said, smiling at the huge grin that was spanning my face.

         He’d no idea how amazing it would be to finally get to see someone I loved; well actually he probably did, but the force of my happiness even came as a shock to me. I was speechless and could think of nothing to say, so I just nodded and grinned.

         He went on, discussing the details with Eva, mentioning other vamps, someone called Charles, and another called Peter, but I couldn’t take it in. I was thinking about my dad, wondering if he’d recognise me. I mean he was in intensive care, and he thought I was dead, so would he think I was a ghost? If he did recognise me, would this revelation be too much for him? I could give him a heart attack? Or maybe he’d be so pleased to see me that he wouldn’t mind the fangs? Hmm, too weird, maybe that’s not such a good idea. Maybe I could pretend I was in his dream? This seemed more feasible, especially if he was still on a load of drugs. As long as he recognised me; which he probably wouldn’t. Maybe I should get a blonde wig and blue contacts?