Witchblood (4 page)

         ‘I saw him with blood on his face. I remember,’ I interrupted, but she merely frowned slightly and carried on.

         ‘He did
not
set those girls on you. We have nothing in common with those half-demon miscreants.’ Her face screwed up with disgust as she recalled them. ‘If he hadn’t found you when he did, you would be rotting in your grave as we speak, and you would never have risen to this new life,’ she finished, with a somewhat dramatic flourish.

         I stood frozen, watching, as Daniel gently moved behind me and led me to his chair, pushing my shocked body down.

         ‘You’ll be more comfortable here Jessica,’ he said. So I sat and stared, as they both went and sat on the bed, watching me watch them. My head thumped with the sharp pain of confused emotions, as my thoughts whirled around like a cyclone, destroying any ability to make a coherent sentence. The strange woman’s words raced back and forth in my brain - her flippant attitude as she remarked upon my death, her calm yet jokey demeanour when she found me attacking her friend, or boyfriend, or whoever he was. She’d just been amused. I would’ve been livid if it had been some girl attacking Luke. Everything whirled around until eventually I realised that several things she’d said didn’t add up, and I was finally able to put a sentence together.

         ‘But I thought you just said it’s difficult to hurt you?’ I questioned, before immediately regretting it, as I was swamped with a whole new load of gory information.

         ‘It’s difficult for humans to hurt us, yes. Superficial wounds, even bullet or stab wounds will heal within minutes, as long as it’s not through the heart or doesn’t sever the head,’ she said. I flinched involuntarily at the gruesome nature of her statement, but my interest was awakened.

         ‘I thought vampires’ hearts didn’t beat? I thought you were supposed to be dead, or rather undead?’ I asked, feeling a little braver.

         ‘If our hearts didn’t beat then how would we bleed, and how would we heal? Of course we have different blood, with different cells and DNA, but it still needs to be pumped round our bodies.’

         ‘Right, so unless I stab him through the heart, or chop off his head he’ll be fine?’ I said, feeling a bubble of humour threatening to burst into nervous giggles.

        
Still dreaming, still dreaming, still dreaming!
part of me repeated like a mantra deep inside.

         ‘Not quite. We have the strength to literally rip each other apart, so we’re capable of killing each other as easily as humans kill each other; and for that reason you’ll be trained,’ she said.

         ‘Who are you anyway? Why are you here with him?’ I had so many questions surging through my head, but as I had no idea where to begin, I just blurted them all out. ‘I remember you from the club; you were there,’ I said. ‘You licked my hand in the alleyway,’ I added, scrunching my nose up in disgust.

         ‘My name is Eva. I’m helping Daniel take care of you and keep you away from Manchester, until we can trust you not to cause trouble. Your blood tasted exquisite, quite unlike anything I’ve tasted before. It’s such a shame we didn’t get to you earlier, before it all spilled onto the road. What a waste!’ she replied smoothly, laughing at her quip.

         ‘Jessica, Eva made me what I am. Consequently she is responsible for me and my actions, as I am for you and yours. She’s here to check everything goes smoothly,’ Daniel added.

         ‘
Great
! So although you’ve saved my life by turning me into a vam….one of you, you’re jailing me here, so I can’t even see my family and friends?’ I spat out.

         Daniel answered. ‘Jessica, believe me, you wouldn’t want to see your family and friends right now,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I’m sorry that you care so much. I was drawn to you in the club, yes, but you walked away from me and I let you go.’

         ‘Right! You let me go? How nice of you!’

         He ignored my interruption and went on.

         ‘Those girls ended your life. I felt your distress, and so I came looking for you. I found you and I saved you the only way I could. Your heart drummed its last beat as I held you. They stabbed you in your descending aorta and..’ I looked at him questioningly ‘My what?’

         ‘It’s a main artery, actually the largest artery in your body. It runs all the way down your chest and abdomen. They stabbed you from behind and it went straight in, through your ribs. You bled to death in a matter of minutes,’ Daniel explained, gently caressing the top of my arm, his eyes boring into mine.

         I flinched away from him involuntarily. Everything was just too much to take in. He might be gorgeous, and he might have saved my life, but I wasn’t about to get all cosy with him. I had Luke.

         Breathing deeply, I sighed and mentally pulled myself together. I tried to take in everything they told me, I really did. I even tried counting to ten; but nothing worked. A week ago I’d been a regular, normal, well, almost normal, considering I'd started uni a year early, seventeen year old. Now the life I knew had been extinguished and I was being told I’d been murdered by a girl gang, saved by a vampire, been buried, dug up again and here I was walking, talking and feeling a thirst like no other!

         Turning round I stalked over to the window, fed up of looking at their beautiful faces, and needing to see daylight. Without thinking, and within a space of seconds, I’d grabbed the heavy curtains and whipped them open. A very human impulse, and as both the vampires’ shouted ‘No’s’ rang in my ears too late, the dull winter light poured in and blasted my eyes with such a brightness, my head exploded. I staggered back and sat down in shock, my head pounding and my eyes burning.

         ‘Here, your eyes will be sensitive for the first few months.’ Eva threw me a pair of dark sunglasses, and with new super reflexes I neatly caught them in one hand.
Whoa!

         Once I’d recovered and my head had stopped pounding, I looked up at them both again.

         ‘So, I take it daylight doesn’t kill us and we don’t have to sleep in coffins?’ I said, looking at the bed and realising I was very much relieved on both accounts.

         ‘What about garlic and stakes?’ I added with a wry smile.

         ‘I’m going to need some refreshment if we’re getting into this conversation,’ Eva stated and walked out of the room, as Daniel laughed at my horror-struck face.

         ‘Don’t worry, it comes from a blood bank,’ he chuckled.

         Making me jump, Eva suddenly reappeared with three more mugs in her hands, and after handing them out, settled herself in a wicker chair.

         ‘OK. Shoot!’ she said, grinning at Daniel.

         ‘Fine. Well, in answer to your first question, you can of course sleep in a coffin if that’s what you fancy, but we tend to prefer beds for comfort and practicality!’ he said with a grin.

         ‘And no, the daylight will not kill you.’ I nodded and he carried on. ‘We can go out in the day, as long as we stay out of direct sunlight. Our skin and eyes are extra-sensitive, so the sunlight burns us a lot quicker than it does humans. However, it would take about twelve hours for us to actually turn to ashes, and that’s under direct, hot Mediterranean sunlight.’

         ‘Oh well, that’s a nice thought,’ I interrupted, turning my head and squinting up at the window, feeling a powerful urge to jump out of it, into the rolling, endless hills. Be free of this macabre scene I’d found myself in.

         ‘It’s fine, Jessica. In the summer we just tend to sleep in the day and get up at night, hence all the stories. It’s just like shift workers really,’ he said.

         ‘But we don’t need to sleep as much as humans. Some of us prefer to sleep a couple of hours a night and some stay awake for several days and then sleep for a twelve hour block,’  Eva interrupted.

         ‘Right, this is getting a little too much. I need some air. Is it OK to go outside for a bit then?’ I asked, putting my empty mug down on the side and standing up.

         ‘Yes, but we’ll come with you,’ Eva answered.

         ‘In case I decide to run away?’ I sighed and rolled my eyes.

         ‘Yes Jessica. We cannot afford for you to be seen by the public anytime soon. Your photos and story are in all the media, and you haven’t changed enough yet,’ Daniel said as he led the way out of the room.

         ‘What do you m…. Oh!’ I exclaimed, seeing myself in the mirror as I passed by, on my way out of the room. I stood and stared at my reflection. Transfixed, I slowly sat down on the padded stool that had been tucked under the dresser and simply gazed at myself for a couple of minutes. In the obvious ways I still looked exactly the same, and yet there were subtle changes already visible. I ran my fingers through my tangle-free blonde hair, which looked like I’d spent hours in an expensive salon and was gleaming healthily. My pale skin looked like porcelain, smooth and unblemished, and I couldn’t help touching my cheek gently with the tip of my finger, just to check it was me under there. My lips stood out a darker red, sensuous and full, and I pressed them together, watching them ping back and fill with blood into a perfect Hollywood pout.

         After a second’s hesitation, I pulled my top lip up and back to inspect my teeth, but they looked perfectly normal - just a shade whiter maybe. Phew! Relieved I got back to my self-inspection, and looked into the eyes staring back at me through the mirror. They were definitely my eyes, but they seemed to sparkle a slightly darker blue than previously. Ironically, I looked a picture of health and felt the first hint of a smile forming on my lips.

         ‘Another unexpected perk then? I asked, with a slight tinge of sarcasm. ‘How long have I been here?’ I said, the questions still falling from my lips relentlessly, but noticing I was smiling for the first time, albeit only slightly.

         ‘It’s Friday. Your funeral was on Wednesday. We brought you here on Wednesday night, and you have since been asleep two days,’ Daniel replied.

         Eva came over and stood nearby, looking at me through the mirror.

         ‘A looking glass was my favourite place when I first changed. Although I suppose it always was,’ she laughed. ‘It becomes fascinating watching the change. You’ll become more beautiful with every drink, and your eyes will darken a little more each day, until they match ours, so eventually your appearance will no longer be a risk.’

         ‘OK, so I need to see Luke and my dad soon, before I change too much. Or they won’t recognise me, will they?’ I asked, returning to my forgotten argument. The thought of Luke and my father not recognising me cut deep into something still human in me, and my eyes filled with tears.

         ‘No, you can never see them. You would kill them. You haven’t felt the power of blood lust yet; you haven’t tried to control it,’ Daniel answered coldly. The smile left his face and turned it to stone.

         ‘Then I have to learn. Now! I have to control it before I change too much. I owe them that much. Luke is my soul mate. I need to see him again.’ I saw them exchanging quick glances, hers irritated, his softer.

         ‘Maybe, let’s see,’ he acquiesced.

         It wasn’t until I got downstairs and started looking for shoes, that I wondered about my clothing. Obviously someone had dressed me, although not adequately for going outdoors, as I was wearing pale blue satin pyjamas. I wondered if they were Eva’s.

         ‘Here you can borrow these,; they should fit.’ Eva passed me some green Hunter wellingtons and I smirked at the brand she’d chosen – well-suited for a vampire, and laughed again at the idea of a vampire taking country walks.

         ‘What’s the matter?’ Eva scowled at me.

         ‘Oh nothing, I…’ and dissolved into giggles again. ‘Sorry, just ehm, just the idea of you guys getting muddy in the country…!’ Tears rolled down my cheeks and I doubled over, as both vampires stood and watched me uneasily, clearly thinking I’d lost the plot, and maybe I had. It still felt like a very surreal dream and I could feel hysteria welling up.

         Eventually I managed to control myself, and followed them outside to find that I was standing by an idyllic farm cottage, surrounded by acres of rolling hills. There was nothing else in sight, no buildings, no villages and no roads. Nothing. It was beautiful and bleak, peaceful but eerie. I guessed it would be a very long walk to the nearest house. The cold winter air was refreshing, but didn’t chill me like it should have done, considering I was wearing thin pyjamas. As the day was so dull and cloudy, I decided to try taking the sunglasses off. This time my eyes were prepared, and even though it was so bright that it felt like a glaring summer day, I could manage. It felt good, more human I guess.