Thicker Than Blood

by Shalini Boland

  Suddenly, she felt the motorcycle slow and swerve. She was nearly thrown off and she gripped the seat tighter. A dark shape flew low to the ground, hurtling towards them. A vampire. Coming to claim her back and congratulate the bikers on capturing the runaway, no doubt. The riders stopped, their engines still purring. Maddy saw the snow already lay thick on the ground, the motorbike tyres almost buried.

  ‘Another has escaped,’ the vampire shouted over the loud engine noise.

  Maddy looked up to see a female vampire, her face almost covered by a thick black scarf.

  ‘I’ll take this one back,’ the vampire said. ‘You need to pursue the runaway. It’s another girl. She’s headed north, stupid creature. There’s nothing for miles in that direction, you’ll catch her easily.’

  ‘But the snow …’ one of the bikers began to protest.

  ‘Stop whingeing. Your bikes can handle it. We don’t pay you to complain. Give this one to me. I’ll take her back.’

  Maddy couldn’t believe it. She could barely stop herself from laughing out loud. She knew that voice. It was Zoe.

  ‘Get off your bike,’ Zoe ordered the man who still had his arms around Madison.

  ‘Off my bike?’

  ‘Yes. I’m not carrying her all the way back. You can ride shotgun with one of the others.’

  ‘But it is …’

  ‘You want to argue about it? Meanwhile your girl’s out there waiting to be caught.’

  The man turned off the engine and dismounted, leaving Maddy still sitting there. He climbed onto the back of another bike.

  ‘Get going. And don’t come back without her,’ Zoe said.

  They left. As soon as they were swallowed up by the snowy night, Maddy slid off the bike and ran to hug Zoe.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ Maddy said.

  Zoe pulled the scarf away from her face. ‘What were you doing getting caught?’ she said. ‘Didn’t you find the knife?’

  ‘Yes I found the knife, but I couldn’t use it against four huge biker guys. They would’ve killed me.’

  ‘I suppose so.’

  ‘I can’t believe you saved me again. Does Sergell know you’re out here?’

  ‘Yeah. I told him I’d bring you back. I said I felt terrible that you’d escaped under my care and that he had to let me make it right.’

  ‘What are you going to do? You can’t go back to that place without me. They’ll know. Those bikers will tell them. I take it there is no other runaway girl?’

  ‘Don’t worry about the bikers.’ Zoe gave a grim smile.

  Maddy didn’t like to think what that meant.

  ‘Take the bike and make sure you escape properly this time.’

  Maddy looked back at the dirt bike.

  ‘Well?’ Zoe said. ‘Do you know how to ride it?’

  ‘Yeah. We’ve got bikes at home.’

  ‘Thank God for that. We haven’t got time for motorbike training. You need to go now.’

  ‘Thanks, Zoe. I mean it.’

  ‘I know you do. Now go. You’re not safe yet. Others will come.’

  Maddy hopped onto the bike. She didn’t think she was scared but her hands were shaking.

  ‘Take my scarf.’ Zoe unwound it and put it over Maddy’s head, draping it over her mouth and nose. ‘Head back towards the cliffs and try to find a way around. There are villages that way.’

  ‘Okay.’ Maddy put her hood up over the scarf and started up the engine. ‘Bye Zoe. Be careful.’

  ‘You too.’

  Maddy pointed the bike back towards the mountains and took off through the blizzard.

  *

  Where was he? Was he dreaming?

  ‘Papa? … Isobel?’ Were they here in the dark with him? ‘Maman? Are you there? Are you alright?’ He’d had a strange dream about demons and … But no. It was not a dream. Alexandre’s mind began to clear. He must have passed out. He was here, back under the ground in Cappadocia. He was a prisoner. Sergell. They had beaten him. Madison was out there being hunted. He had to get out.

  He shook the remnants of sleep and dreams from his brain and stood. His body had healed from the battering and he felt strong again. Alexandre patted his jacket pocket – his phone was gone but hadn’t really expected it to still be there. This room, it was one of the underground caverns. A mill stone blocked the entrance on the other side. He could shift it easily. Surely there would be guards behind it, but he couldn’t sense anyone. Strange. They wouldn’t leave him unguarded. Well, there was only one way to find out.

  He put his weight against the stone and pushed. As soon as the stone moved a fraction to the side, Alexandre jumped back in shock. Through the gap in the entrance way shone a deadly beam of UV light, scorching his face and neck. He threw himself out of the way, but the light followed him into the furthest corner of the cavern. He took a breath and flew closer to slam the stone back into place but as he did so the light seared into him again, melting his skin and hair.

  Bastards.

  Fury pulsed through him and his body screamed in pain. They had well and truly imprisoned him. There was no way past that light. He was trapped.

  *

  Maddy glanced over her shoulder as she rode away from Zoe. The snow was easing, but she had to keep a tight grip on the machine to stop it skidding out. It was hard going and took a lot of concentration and energy – energy she didn’t have. The cliffs were up ahead, getting blessedly closer again, looming white this time. As the blizzard eased, the moon made sporadic appearances, throwing the winter landscape into focus.

  The bike sounded too loud. Surely every vampire within a fifty mile radius would hear her escape. Hopefully they would think it was the other bikers. The wind made her eyes water and her hood had blown down, but she couldn’t afford to stop just because her ears were cold. She pressed on through the night, skirting the edge of the cliffs and at last coming around the other side where the land dropped sharply away to a steep incline.

  It was nerve-wracking, riding at such speed through the snow. Potholes nearly jolted her from her seat and the bike got air more than a few times as she hit bumps along the way. She clung on though and kept going. How much fuel did these things have? What happened if it ran out? Her rucksack was still strapped to her back, so she had cash if she needed it. A petrol station would be good about now.

  She wondered what the time was and if morning was far away. Where was Alexandre? Surely he would’ve found her by now if he was in the area. Come on, Alex. Come and find me. She willed him to appear in front of her, but the land remained empty and white and cold. Just the roar of the bike and the wind in her ears. A creature darted out in front of her, its eyes luminous in the headlights. Maddy swerved sharply, almost coming off the bike, but she pulled it together and righted herself. What was that? A fox or a big cat or something. She kept going.

  The intense concentration had made her eyes sore and heavy. She really was exhausted, but there was no way she could stop now. Please let there be … Wait … Were those? Yes! Yes! Lights! She could see lights ahead. Orange and yellow orbs, winking in the darkness. Adrenalin shot through her body, her eyes feeling bright and clear again. She angled the bike slightly to her right and headed directly towards the town or village or whatever it was. She needed a phone and she needed fuel for the bike and food for her, although she’d gone past the point of hunger. All she felt now was a nagging light-headed nausea.

  The lights grew brighter and she could see they lay beyond a narrow valley. She could either head down into it – there did appear to be a track – or she could go around. The track looked too treacherous in the snow, so she opted to ride around the top.

  Soon Maddy reached a signpost with a foreign name that pointed down into the village. She didn’t stop, but joined the road which led down a slight incline. It felt good to be on a smooth surface, after jolting along through that frozen desert out there, even if the road was still thick with snow. A house clung to the side of the hill, its wooden door an invitation.
Maddy stopped outside it. No lights were on. She turned off the engine. Silence. It was unnerving. She got off the bike, her boots squeaking and crunching on the snow. Maddy found herself swaying a little and she tried to get her balance. Either the residual motion of the bike or the lack of food was making her unsteady on her feet.

  She rapped on the door, a dull muffled sound. She banged harder and called out.

  ‘Hello!’

  Nothing.

  She banged again. ‘Please! Can someone help me?’

  ‘Hello.’

  Maddy swung around. A man stood in the road.

  ‘What?’ She took a step back. He didn’t look like a vampire. He looked … harmless. Just a middle aged man bundled up in a thick waterproof coat, scarf, hat and boots.

  He began to speak. Turkish she presumed.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re saying. I don’t understand.’

  ‘Ahh, American?’ the man asked.

  ‘English,’ she replied. ‘I need help. Have you got a phone I could use?’

  ‘Yes. Yes, you come this way. I have phone.’

  ‘Have you got a mobile? Can I use it now? It’s an emergency. I’ll pay you.’

  ‘No, no. Not pay. You use phone. This way.’ He began to walk down the track and motioned to her to follow. ‘It’s cold, yes?’

  ‘Yeah, just a bit.’ Maddy took hold of the bike and wheeled it along the road next to the man.

  ‘Good bike,’ the man said.

  Maddy had a fleeting moment of doubt about following this man into his house or wherever he was leading her, but she banished it quickly. She reckoned she had enough energy to kick him in the nuts if he tried anything funny, but he looked harmless enough and she reasoned he couldn’t be any worse than mercenary bikers or angry vampires.

  They walked quietly along the road, just the squeak of their footsteps and the soft whirr of the bike’s wheels.

  ‘Is it far?’ she asked.

  He turned to her and nodded and smiled. She didn’t bother to ask again. They reached a narrow turning to their left and the man took it. Here, the road was bordered by a wall on one side and a steep drop on the other. Maddy stayed close to the wall. A cluster of small houses crouched at the bottom of the track. Smoke streamed from their squat little chimneys and warm lights glowed in the windows.

  ‘You come, you come.’ The man smiled and pointed to the house on the far left. ‘My house. You welcome. Leave bike.’

  Maddy propped up the bike and followed the man into his house. He took his shoes off at the door and she hesitated, pointing to her boots.

  ‘Yes. You take off. You come in.’

  She removed her boots and touched the ice blocks that used to be her feet. The room was warm, cheerful and cosy. The walls were bare stone but they were hung with wall hangings, curtains and paintings. The stone floor was similarly covered with woven rugs. There was a wooden bench, two armchairs and a couple of low stools. A wood burning stove threw out a ton of heat and Maddy almost collapsed onto the floor with gratitude at being out of the bitter cold at last.

  There were other people in the room, staring at her. Some women and a young boy. They rose to greet her and began yabbering away to the man in their language.

  ‘A phone,’ Maddy said. ‘I need a phone.’ She edged closer to the stove, holding her hands out to the heat. But the older woman took hold of Maddy’s arm and propelled away from the stove and into one of the armchairs. Then the woman removed Maddy’s gloves, took her hands and rubbed at them firmly. She spoke to the other girl, who then removed Maddy’s socks and began kneading away at her feet. The woman said something sharp to the boy who went away and returned moments later with an armful of blankets. The women swaddled her feet and draped blankets over the rest of her.

  Maddy realised she was now shivering uncontrollably, her teeth chattering together so she could hardly speak.

  ‘I … need a phone. Please. It’s urgent.’

  The man said something to the woman who snapped back at him. Maddy guessed she was his wife.

  Please don’t start having a domestic now, Maddy thought. The man shouted at the woman, they glared at each other and then he held out a mobile phone towards Madison. She took her freezing hand out from under the blanket to take it from him with a grateful smile. Finally, finally she could call Alex. Her heart started racing. If he was in the area, he could be here in minutes. But then, with an inward groan, she realised something … she didn’t know Alex’s number. She didn’t know any of their numbers. She had never needed to know them. They were programmed into her phone. No! How could she contact him now? Think … think. It began with 078, she knew that much. Oh God! This was hopeless.

  Ben! She could ring him at home and he could give her the number, or he could call them for her. Yes. Alex might even be at home himself. He might not even know she was in Turkey. With fumbling icy fingers she called home and waited, her heart hammering, unable to believe she would get to speak to them. At one point she’d thought she might never see or speak to anyone she loved ever again. There was a funny dial tone and then a foreign woman started speaking down the phone. Maddy removed the phone from her ear and stared at it in confusion. The man took it from her and listened.

  ‘This not good number,’ he said. ‘Not working.’

  ‘But that’s my home number! I need to call home,’ she said, almost in tears now. ‘I need to call them. Please help me.’

  Chapter Thirty One

  Cappadocia, 575 AD

  *

  It didn’t take long for the door to wheel open again. This time, Aelia was ready , knowing the others expected her to go instead of them. She didn’t mind. It made her feel a little better about what lay ahead. She wasn’t cowering in the corner in terror; she was taking control and fighting back, even though her battle was a silent one. Perhaps that was why she had this strength – because she alone knew the power of her tainted blood. Maybe if the others knew the secret war she was waging on the demons, it would give them hope too and with this hope would come courage.

  But Aelia’s bravery wavered as soon as she saw who had come for her. For standing in the doorway was the man, the demon, Mislav. She remembered the feeling of pure fear she’d had when she’d looked up at him in the dining hall and had seen his demonic face for the first time. Those teeth and the absence of human expression had been like a dream turned into a nightmare. But here, now, his face was soft again with that deceiving friendliness she had almost trusted when she first arrived.

  Mislav didn’t even glance at the others. He smiled down at her and held out his hand. She stood and walked across to him, not able to meet his eye, instead staring at a point on his chest. His hand felt cold and hard, like living marble. They walked out into the corridor. No words had yet been spoken. He moved slowly this time, still holding her hand. He wore a deep blue robe belted over a long dark tunic. The material was a kind Aelia had never seen before and it rippled like a river as he moved. The robe’s braiding shone like spun gold as it caught the lantern light and she felt like an insignificant beggar girl by comparison.

  They came to a narrow set of stairs which they descended, her feet barely touching the narrow treads. At the bottom, Aelia hesitated as a thin scream pierced the air. Mislav, tugged on her hand and they continued on. More passageways, more sealed-off chambers, more steps downwards, more screams, darkness, torchlight. Her head span with the rhythm of their journey. How far down had they come? Would she spend forever so far away from the light of day? Would she die and be forgotten beneath the ground?

  Soon, Aelia sensed a thickening in the air; a warmth and a mugginess which replaced the cool dusty atmosphere that had preceded it. There was a strange heat in this corridor. They were heading towards something. It was as though the air had a fever. Moisture appeared on Aelia’s skin. Was this it? Was this the infection making itself known in her body?

  ‘Come,’ said Mislav.

  Aelia had stopped to wipe the droplets from her brow and ch
in.

  ‘It’s warm,’ she said.

  ‘Come,’ he repeated.

  She took his proffered hand again, aware her own was hot and clammy against his cool skin. Why this should bother her she didn’t know. Why should she care what a blood-drinking demon should think of her sweating palms?

  A moment later, the corridor opened out into a large chamber and Aelia realised why the air was so thick and warm. They stood on a slippery wet ledge and in front of them great puffs of steam were billowing up from an underground lake. Shards of rocks hung from the roof of the cavern, like dripping stone and there was some kind of shining natural light covering the walls and ceiling. It glowed and pulsed in blues and greens, like a living thing. Two girls materialised at her side as if from nowhere.

  ‘I’ll return later,’ said Mislav, before turning on his heel and leaving the cavern.

  The girls tugged at her clothing and Aelia realised they meant her to go into the lake. The surface was black with just a few ripples where water from the roof dripped down. She didn’t know if she should be pleased she had escaped Mislav for a while, that she now had the chance to bathe and wash away the blood and grime which felt as though it were now part of her body. Or whether she should be terrified at what lay beneath the still, dark water.

  ‘Is it safe?’ she asked the girls who were peeling away her garments.

  They didn’t reply.

  ‘Are you human?’ she asked.

  One of them nodded quickly and then looked away.

  ‘Can you talk?’

  The girl put her finger to her lips with a scared expression on her face.

  ‘You’re not allowed to talk to me?’

  The girl nodded and the other girl gave her a warning look.

  Aelia sighed. She felt so set apart from everyone all the time. First, she’d been banished from home, an outcast living on the fringes of society and now, here, again she was separate from all the other humans. What was wrong with her that she never seemed to fit in? She supposed that feeling had been with her for her whole life. Did everybody feel like this? Or was it just her who was different? Even as a child she had never seemed to quite sit comfortably within the crowd. If she ever did, it was because she’d made an extra special effort to do things that hadn’t felt natural to her merely to gain acceptance.