“What is it with you boys?” She sniffled. “Why are you all such pigs, such back-stabbing douche bags, such...such...” She appeared to run out of steam.
Charles sat next to her. “Why not start from the beginning?”
She sniffled again. He contemplated taking her hand to comfort her, but he was not sure he could handle the sparking energy. Physically, obviously, he would be fine. It was his emotions he was worried about.
Funny that, he thought, they did not used to matter.
“It’s Mike.” Charles did not like to say he guessed. “I... I think he’s cheating on me, or he did... Or... I don’t know...” She took a deep breath, cut short when Charles gave in and took her hand.
The familiar tingle shot through him, the sparks flew – ever so faintly – and he needed to breathe deeply not to let the flood of images from those dreams take over his mind. He had trouble forgetting them and, whenever they touched now, he would remember the feeling of holding her closely and dancing under those smoky dragons.
“I... Um...” He was at a loss for words.
He had never had a female friend, certainly not one that needed help with an unfaithful spouse. He had often been the one with the unfaithful spouse, or been friends with the unfaithful spouse, but he had never been on the receiving end of unfaithfulness.
“I just feel so stupid. We didn’t see each other much after you and I met,” Pet had begun referring to the curse that way and Charles saw it as the beginnings of forgiveness. Whether it was or not was another matter, “and, then school started and he seemed distant, but I had my own stuff to worry about so I didn’t really notice, or mind... Then, I wanted to fix whatever it was that went wrong. I thought it was me! He seemed pleased about that and everything looked like it was going back to normal... But...”
“But?” Charles did not know if he should prompt her or stay silent, but he embarrassingly found himself rather engrossed in the narrative.
“Well, Ashleigh’s been... Well, touching him in a very intimate manner and I saw them kiss the other day. Well, I thought I saw Ashleigh try to kiss him and he looked at me guiltily as he pushed her away. Maybe I’m making it all up; maybe it’s all in my head?”
Charles doubted, with Ashleigh involved, that any of it was a product of Pet’s imagination. However, he was not entirely sure how to go about telling her that. Of course, a part of him wanted to tell her it was probably all true, and then maybe he would have a chance with her – no, that is stupid, he told himself. Then, another part of him did not want to tell her what he thought of Ashleigh for fear that he would lose her trust because it was not what she wanted to hear. Another part of him still had no idea what was going on, and did not want to be the bearer of potential false information, regardless of what was true or not.
Oh, why does being human and having friends and hormones and emotions need to be so hard? he wondered.
Not knowing what to do, he just sat and held her hand for a while.
“Do you think it’s all in my head?” she looked at him. Seeing those big blue eyes filled with tears made him want hold her until all her fears went away, to hurt all those who hurt her, and to protect her from all the evil in the world – even if that meant from him. He knew that was not his place, though. It was Mike’s place, if he was still worthy of it.
“I don’t know, Pet. I just don’t know.” He leaned his head forward and she touched her forehead to his. “Is there anything I can do?” he asked her.
She was silent a moment. “No, thanks. She sat up again. “I guess, if I really want to know, I’m just going to have to ask him.”
Charles did not want her to have to do that, but he knew there was no other way.
****
At school the next day, he met with Coleman before going to Pet’s house.
“How is everything going?” Coleman asked him as he sat down at his usual after-school-session seat.
“It’s awful, Coleman, just awful,” he sighed.
“What’s happening, Charles?” Coleman sat on the front of his desk.
“It’s Pet, Coleman. She is unhappy and there is nothing I can do for her.”
“Developing a bit of a crush, I see?”
Charles sat up straighter in his chair. “Not at all!”
“Uh-huh...” He did not sound convinced.
“Coleman, for goodness sake! She confided in me and I want to help her. There is nothing more to it than that.”
“Who are you trying to convince?” Coleman laughed but continued before Charles could interject. “How are the fluctuations? The same?”
“Yes, stuck on human unless I deliberately change them. I managed to do it on my own yesterday.”
“Really? Well done. How is Ellie’s magic?”
Coleman had often asked Charles about Pet’s magic before. But, Charles reasoned, Coleman was friends with her family, after all.
“She is getting better with it. Regaining whatever confidence she lost when... We met.” Charles thought a bit about it. “She has found a potential familiar, and her magic seems very strong. I have not seen her use it much, but she uses it absentmindedly a lot which I believe indicates her strength?”
“Indeed it does. What sort of things does she do absentmindedly?”
“Juggling balls of fire in her hand or levitating objects. Once, when she was in a good mood, she sent the clouds away. At least, I am sure it was her.”
“Interesting, and the potential familiar is intriguing; not many of us find their familiar these days. She must be…special…” he said, appearing to let his mind drift momentarily. “We shall have to see how that goes for her. Has she named it yet?” he asked, snapping back to reality and looking like he felt he had said too much.
“No, he said she was supposed to figure out his name.”
“That sounds right. That’s the way it goes.”
“I suppose I can tell her that then. Any idea how she is supposed to find out what it is?”
Coleman laughed. “That’s what she’s supposed to figure out.”
“Helpful,” Charles grumbled.
“How much do you know about magic, Charles?” Coleman asked, walking around behind his desk.
“Not a lot, except that every time I tangle with it, it kicks me in the arse.”
Coleman laughed. “It will do that if you don’t treat it right.”
“If I don’t treat it right? What about it treating me right?”
“It doesn’t work that way, Charles.”
“Well, why the hell not?”
“Charles, language.”
“Oh, seriously, Coleman, we’re going to play that game? I am almost twice your age.” Charles stood up and picked up his bag.
“What are you doing, Charles?”
“Going. Are we not done?”
Coleman looked surprised. “Oh, I suppose so.” He looked at his watch. “If there’s nothing more you want to discuss? Is everything else going okay with Ellie, school, home, the curse?”
Charles thought about it. “I think it is all okay, thank you. Besides, I am meeting Pet and Lee for our English assignment.”
“Oh, good, good. Well, let me know how Ellie’s magic is going, won’t you?”
“Um, sure. Same time next week?”
“Uh, no. I have a meeting next week. How about we take the week off and do in two weeks?”
“I can do that, see you in class tomorrow.”
Chapter Twenty
L
ee was just arriving at Ellie’s when he saw Charlie coming down the road. He stopped and waited for him to catch up. Charlie and Lee nodded to each other as they made their way to the front door.
“Hi guys, come on in.” Ellie was bouncing up and down.
“Are you all right?” Lee asked, taking a handful of chips from the bowl she was holding and walking into the living room.
“You have no idea how excited I am.”
Lee barked a laugh and almost choked on his chips. He coughed the stray piece of chip out of his windpipe. “Yes, I think we probably do. What’s the good news, then?”
“I totally worked out what the ferret’s name is!” she squeaked and Lee saw Charlie wince as well.
“Well, that is good news...” Charlie started. He shot Lee a strange look, but Lee couldn’t decipher it.
“His name is... Duh duh duh da! Archibald!”
Lee spat out the drink he sipped and Charlie made a snorting noise. The supposedly named Archibald hissed at Charlie and made his weird chittering noise to Ellie.
“It’s okay, Archie. They just don’t appreciate the prestige of your name.”
Lee had to stifle a snigger and Charlie choked on his own spit.
“It’s… it is very prestigious Archibald. We could call you Baldy.” Charlie gave up and laughed out loud.
Archibald hissed again and launched himself at Charlie. Charlie caught him and almost dropped him as sparks flew between them. Red and blue flew, just like when Charlie and Ellie touched. Lee pretended not to see it when they touched, but he was fairly sure he knew what it meant. He didn't know if he should tell Charlie and Ellie, or not.
He remembered a supernatural fairy story his mum had told him when he was little about two wolves who were very much in love. Their souls had known it long before they did and whenever they touched, their souls tried to tell them by releasing some of their energies. Lee wasn’t sure if Ellie and Charlie had the same thing or if it was more like their souls hated each other. Lee would understand that, Charles did almost kill her, and Ellie had ensured Charlie had suffered ever since.
Archibald hissed and struggled, and Lee was worried someone would get seriously injured. Then, as the sparks disappeared, Archibald stopped squirming and hissing and hung quietly in Charlie’s hands.
Charlie looked between Ellie and Lee and back to Archibald, who made a strange almost purring noise. Charlie placed him down gently on the floor, taking his hands away slowly. Archibald looked at Ellie and made a chittering noise. Ellie nodded, smiling. Archibald climbed into Charlie’s lap, turned around a few times and lay down, again making that weird purring noise.
“What the-?” Lee looked at Ellie, reaching for more chips, thankful the bowl hadn’t been upended in the fracas.
Ellie laughed as she looked at Archibald and Charlie. “I don’t know. I thought he hated Charlie.”
“He nearly scratched my eyes out!” Charlie said, careful not to disturb the ferret in case it changed its mind about him.
“He certainly did.”
“Is that all you have to say for him?”
Ellie laughed again. “Yes, I think it is. He says he thinks you’re ‘okay’.”
Lee stopped listening to their banter as his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and saw it was Amber. His heart raced and he smiled to himself as he moved to another room to answer it.
“Hi Amber.”
“Hi Lee, how’s things?”
“Oh, not too bad, how about you?”
“Good, yeah they’re good.” Amber sounded a bit distracted. “I was just wondering if you were coming to camp this month?”
Lee’s happy mood fell. “No.”
“Again?”
“I know, it sucks, and I don’t think we’ll be going next month either. But, Mum and Dad have promised I’m going in August!” Lee tried to smile, but he didn’t really feel up to it. Amber lived hours away from camp as well, only in the opposite direction to him, so they couldn’t really see each other outside of camp.
“Damn, I’m really going to miss you!”
“Me too-”
“Lee!” He was cut short as Ellie called his name.
“Hang on,” he replied. “Sorry, Amber, I guess I’ve got to go.”
“Who’s that?” she asked. Lee was pleased to hear she sounded jealous.
“Just a friend from school, she’s a witch.” He thought it good to mention that since werewolves rarely dated outside their own kind.
“Oh.” Amber sounded happier. “Well, I might talk to you later then?”
“Sure, bye.”
“Bye, Lee.”
Lee wandered back into the living room. It was odd for Amber to call him, especially just to ask about camp. She had only called him once, as far as he could remember, and that was only because he’d called her and left a message. He shrugged Amber’s odd behaviour to the back of his mind and joined the others, who were throwing chips at each other while Archibald darted between them trying to catch them. Lee shook his head and laughed as he sat down, although, he got less joy out of the situation than he usually would.
****
Charles stalked the night, a devilish grin upon his face. He enjoyed this time of year; when the nights were warm and people stayed out later and later as the season progressed. He wound his way through the streets looking for the best meal.
He passed a drunken man, presumably on his way home from the alehouse, but dismissed him. The man’s heart beat sluggishly and, though he would have felt no pain from Charles’ bite, he dressed in a manner that suggested he would be well missed. Besides, Charles had to cover his nose as he passed closer to the man, who stank unbearably of ale and piss. The smell of dirty women also lingered on him.
Charles laughed to himself and felt a stab of pride at the ease with which he could control his instincts now. A hundred-or-so years ago, he would have torn into the first person he saw with a stomach as empty as his – he had travelled for days and not found a meal along the way.
He revelled at how he could control his speed; a slight thought here or there and he could travel as fast as he could, or slow to normal human pace. He had mastered his strength; with one finger, he could gently caress a woman or pierce her heart – though that one had taken some practice. Most smells and sounds no longer assaulted him; he had learned to focus on the ones he wanted and tune out almost all others. He could turn down the man or woman who threw themselves at him, knowing what he was and wanting to die or become like him. Or, he could acceded to their wishes, if he felt so inclined.
He stalked the night proudly now. No longer did the kill terrify him, nor did the bloodlust take control of him. He needed blood to survive, and he would take it. Human life was fragile, meant to crumble. Otherwise, his family would still be alive; he would still remember their faces, their laughs, their smiles. Humans were disposable when need be; it was the law of nature for the weak to become the prey.
Thinking of prey, Charles located a scent he found pleasing. He followed it to a young woman, only a little younger than he had been when he was turned. Her bright red hair cascaded down her body – very unseemly for a woman of that time. Charles was pleased; he could get some pleasure before his meal.
****
Charles awoke suddenly; the feel of the woman’s body pressed against him had made his heart race and his groin warm. He could still feel the pleasure coursing through his body as the blood poured through him, invigorating him.
He lay back on his bed, feeling the sweat on his sheets. The night was still young and a sudden urge to seek out Red filled him. One way or another, he would get his vampire life back.
****
Ellie and Archibald sat in her room. She was practising magic and he was watching enthusiastically. She would create little spheres of light, and he would chase them around the room.
“Archie, why do you sometimes seem so wise, and others seem so young?” Ellie asked, twirling smoke around her hand.
He stopped playing and looked at her. “Because I choose to.”
Ellie laughed. “Of course you do.”
She looked out the window and saw the full moon. Lee would be running with his family, no doubt, and Charlie would be tucked up in bed. She pulled her knees to her chest and wondered what it would be like to be oblivious to the supernatural world; to not know about witches, vampires, werewolves, and all the other
things that made up her world.
“Life would be very boring,” Archie said as he hunted a moth.
“Would it though?” Ellie lay on her stomach watching him play. “I mean, life would be normal, there’d be no magic, no curses-”
“No talking to me,” he interrupted.
Ellie stopped and thought about that. “You’re right. Life would be very boring.” She could have sworn he stuck her tongue out at her. “So, tell me, Archie. Are you my proper familiar now?”
“You found my name, so yes.”
“But, other people know your name.” Ellie was slightly confused about the whole process.
“Yes, but I chose you and you reciprocated by finding my name. We are linked now until death.” He was in a very sombre mood, Ellie decided.
“Why don’t I feel any different?”
“Because you’re not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you not spoken to Miriam about this?”
Ellie sighed and flopped onto her back. “I tried yesterday, but she was as cryptic as usual. She pretty much just said that I would figure it out on my own... Well, not on my own...with you. But, you know what I mean.”
Archie didn’t say anything more. He looked like he had run out of things to play with, so Ellie conjured him a butterfly, which he bounced after around the room.
“So, are you going to tell me why I’m no different?”
Archie stopped jumping at the butterfly and looked at her. “Because I was always part of you.”
“What if I hadn’t found your name?”
“You did.”
“Yes, but what if I didn’t.”
“You would have.”
Ellie felt like bopping him on the head. “But, if I didn’t?”
“Then, I suppose you’d find another familiar.”
“Just like that?”
Archie gave the mental equivalent of a shrug, but before Ellie could question him further her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw Charlie’s name.
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