School for Vampires

by Quinn Conlan

  We go out onto a balcony. I start to feel strange. Almost like I’m floating. Tobias senses the change in me. “There’s always a little queasiness after your first time. Don’t worry, it’ll pass.” I put a hand on the balcony ledge to steady myself. Tobias continues staring intently at me.

  “I want to talk about Kate,” I say. The words come out a little slurred.

  “Weighty matters,” he says. “Maybe we should hold off til your queasiness subsides.” I look at him, and my vision starts to blur. I grip the ledge tighter, but fall back anyway. Tobias leans in and catches me. Suddenly, I’m in his arms. I can hardly make out his face, I’m so out of it. I manage a few more slurred words before my tongue falls asleep.

  “What did you do to me?” I can see his wicked smile.

  “I’ve got a better question Miss Randell. Do you trust me?” I get one last burst of anger coursing through me.

  “No!” I say, “not for a second.”

  His wicked grin swells. “Not a problem. I’ll only need half that.” With these words, we suddenly take off and zoom straight up through the air. Even in my delirium I can tell we’re moving at an astonishing speed. We fly all the way to the top of the building, and as we land on the penthouse balcony, I close my eyes and finally give in to whatever’s trying to claim me.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The first thing I notice is the touch of silk. It brushes my skin and calls me from my sleep. I open my eyes and realize I’m lying on a large, silk-sheeted bed. I’m wearing a gorgeous, gold silk dress. I sit up. I feel groggy and drained. I can feel a pain in my left arm, and when I look down, I see a small bandage. I peel it back to reveal what’s unmistakably a needle stick mark. A dab of blood wells on the tiny wound. I wrap the bandage back over it and try my best to get up from the bed.

  I have to immediately steady myself with the help of a nearby marble pillar. I take a look around. I’m in an enormous, luxurious room lined with marble, huge painted portraits and heavy maroon drapes. I take a few cautious steps forward. I can hear music. Classical music. I step closer towards it, and as I round a marble pillar, I see Tobias. He is standing by an enormous window, waving his hands like a conductor and humming. His head sways with the music. Behind him is an enormous oak desk. I slowly make my way towards him, dragging my feet across a thick red rug.

  I grab hold of the desk and try to compose myself. Tobias doesn’t turn around, but I have no doubt he knows I’m there. “Tell me something Miss Randell,” he says, continuing to conduct his invisible orchestra, “are you a fan of Bach?” The only thing I know about classical music is that Beethoven was deaf and Mozart wrote Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Tobias doesn’t wait for a reply. “The harpsichord concerto in E. Second movement. If you don’t know it, my god you should.” He finally turns to face me. His grin has lost none of its sinister edge. “For the most part, humans are boorish, thuggish and downright stupid. But every century or so, someone rises from the heap and surprises us.” He closes his eyes and sways and hums in musical ecstasy. “How did you sleep?” I can feel myself slowly regaining my strength. The knowledge that I’ve been drugged presents itself. The pain in my arm tells me something’s either been taken from me, or given to me. I touch the bandage.

  “What did you do to me?” I ask.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. Just a little something to make sure your dreams were sweet ones.” He walks over to an open fire and stands below an enormous portrait of himself. He humorously tries to mimic the pose. “Is it the spitting image or what?” I’m trying to take everything in, and work out where my strength is at. “You think it’s a little too Napoleon? Yes, you’re probably right. Onerous toad of a man. Terrible at charades. Now, I’m afraid you won’t find any candles around here. I’m sorry that you can’t do your favorite party trick. But tell me Miss Randell, can you do anything else?” I shrug my shoulders. “Oh come on now, humor me.” I think back to that night at the factory.

  “Well, I can sort of… push things…” I don’t really know how else to say it.

  “Show me,” he says.

  “I can’t,” I protest. “I can’t force it. It just happens.”

  “Oh bosh. You’ve got more control over your powers than you could imagine. Won’t you lighten up my otherwise entirely dull night?” I know that none of what he says is up for debate. This is the heart of his turf. I’m well and truly at his mercy. I look around. I’m stumped as to what to push. “How about that marble pillar right there?” Tobias suggests. “Don’t worry, it’s purely cosmetic.” There’s absolutely no way I can push that, but I try nonetheless. I place both my hands on it and lean in with all of my mite. Nothing happens. I try again, willing my hands to explode with strength. All I feel is the pain in my arm and the lingering grogginess. “Never mind,” says Tobias. “Maybe give it another semester.”

  He returns to the desk and gestures for me to join him. I sit down opposite him and wonder where this night is going to end for me? “It’s so much nicer up here, wouldn’t you say?” he asks. “Away from the teeming masses. Honestly, sometimes I swear those rabblers downstairs are no better than common tunnel folk.” I bristle. The anger in me, dulled by drugs, stirs itself once more.

  “Oh, do they take the fall for your crimes too?” Tobias grins.

  “Yes, I understand you heard a little of what went on. Notice how I placed stress on the word little? I think you’ll find it takes more than a single semester down at that ridiculous school to understand the ways of the world.” As he talks, a woman enters from a side door carrying a tray with a bottle and two drinks. She deposits them and leaves. I stare at the brown liquid in the glasses. “Single malt, 1538. A fine year.” I still look entirely skeptical. “Scotch whiskey, no more, no less. I assure you.” I still don’t go near it. Tobias picks up the glass intended for me and downs the drink. He slides the other glass over to me. What the hell, I can’t exactly fall any further than I already have. I pick it up and put it to my lips. Tobias stops me and pours himself another. He then holds his glass up for a fresh toast. “Let’s drink to either the arrogance or the innocence of youth. I could go either way.” He laughs at his words and sips his drink.

  “How bout we drink to Kate?” I ask. Tobias briefly and ever so slightly chokes on the passing single malt. He puts the glass down.

  “You know, you remind me of her.”

  “So everyone keeps telling me.”

  “With good reason my dear. You’re smart, talented, headstrong. Beautiful.” I shudder, thinking about Tobias finding me attractive. “You’d be surprised where all those attributes might lead you. The things all those talents might come to crave. The power. The encouragement. The things you might come to find…appealing.” I shudder for a second time. I think of Garret, and Jason. Way down underneath us. I miss them both. I even miss Dorms at this moment.

  “She didn’t have to die, and you know it,” I say, trying to bring things back to what matters. When Tobias hears these words, a sudden rage bursts out of him. He grits his teeth, picks up the bottle of whiskey and hurls it against a pillar. Glass and booze fly in all directions.

  “Don’t try and tell me what I do and do not know little girl.” I startle. He quickly composes himself. “I don’t pretend to be entirely devoid of regrets about the unfolding events. But believe me when I tell you my hands were bound and tied.” I’d struggle to believe anything this vampire says. It dawns on me that I’m not going to find anything here. This guy is some kind of sociopath. He’s toying with me. Like he toys with everything. I look out the window behind him. I’m suddenly wracked with panic. I can see the very first signs of an approaching sunrise.

  Tobias notices that something has caught my eye. He turns and sees what I see. What he already knows. He looks back and grins that nightmarish grin. My panic grows.

  “How long was I asleep?!”

  “Oh, hard to say. Five, maybe six hours. The funny thing is, even when you’re dead to the world, you’re still bet
ter company than most of those hoodlums downstairs.” I get up and rush to the window. The sky has definitely begun to lighten. My skin already feels a little hot. Tobias gets up and yawns dramatically. “Getting mighty close to bedtime, wouldn’t you say? You’re more than welcome to have another turn in my silken paradise.” I look over at the enormous bed. His bed. I feel sick. And increasingly angry.

  “I’d rather die than go back to that bed,” I say, staring him straight in the eye. He shrugs.

  “Well I could always have them knock up a coffin for you if you’d be more comfortable. It’s so last millennium, but horses for courses.”

  “I have to go. They’ll already be wondering where I am down there.”

  “Quite possibly, yes. They might even be doing a slow walk through the train tunnel, body bag in hand.” I’m overcome with fury. I try to tell myself he’s just goading me, but his words explode inside me. This guy is nothing short of a monster. I see an elevator in the corner of the room. I start to run towards it. Tobias steps in my way. “I’m ever so sorry to say, but if you leave now, you just won’t make it in time.”

  “Yes I will, it’s right around the corner.”

  “I’m sure your little rabbit hole is, but it’s still too risky my dear girl. I’m afraid I can’t allow it.” As he says these words, a towering, bodybuilding freak of a vampire enters the room. He’s holding restraints. Tobias steps back to let him do his work. The thug approaches and tries to grab me. His fangs descend and mine follow close behind. Acting purely on instinct, I take hold of the restraints, spin around and fling them across the room, with the thug still holding the other end. He smashes into a bookcase and it topples onto him. Tobias laughs uproariously. I stand there entirely shocked.

  “I say it every god damned night of my life. Good help is hard to find,” he says. And with these words, he flashes his ancient fangs and bears down on me in less than a second. Again, my instinct kicks in. I realize I can see him move, even at such an insane speed. I can feel his fury and his strength. And I know what he’s going to do.

  As he extends his arms and goes to grab me, I put my hands out to block him. When we make contact, he comes out of warp speed and immediately feels the force of my hands. They send him flying across the room and crashing hard onto the floor. Again, I am shocked. He lies there coughing and laughing in equal measure. I’ve winded and amused him. I run behind the desk for some protection. I feel the heat on my skin from the shards of dawn coming through the window. Tobias gets up, dusts himself off and goes to the other side of the desk. “Careful now. You don’t want to stand in the sun. Not yet anyway. I’ve got a few more…tests to run.” I think of the bandage on my arm and can only imagine what it alludes to.

  His fangs come out with full force once more. I have a feeling I won’t be so lucky this time. In a panic, I pick up a large, freestanding wooden spinning globe that sits by the window. “Now, who have they got teaching Combat down there these days? Don’t you know it has to be a stake?” Tobias says. I realize my weapon of choice is pretty ridiculous. I fix that by ripping the base off it, which exposes the wooden column that runs to the globe. I turn it round in my hands and point the bottom end of the column in his direction.

  “Close enough?” I ask. Tobias smirks.

  “Tell you what. Close your eyes, spin the globe, and I’ll take you wherever your finger lands. Except for Argentina. I’m not welcome down there. There was some unpleasantness.” He’s back to toying with me. We both know I don’t stand a chance in this battle. I only have one strength, and practically no control over it. This guy’s had 1000 years to sharpen his fangs.

  But I cannot bear the thought of going back to that bed, or spending another moment in this monster’s company. I look him in the eye and match his smirk dollar for dollar. “I’ve got a better idea,” I say. I turn around and fling the globe at the window. It smashes through, taking out an entire pane of glass. Wind gushes in. Along with some serious heat. I look back and see Tobias furiously clambering over the desk to grab me. For a moment, my mind falls silent. It’s my heart’s turn to do the thinking. It tells my body to jump. Just jump. And so I do.

  As I fall hard and fast towards the street, I look up and see Tobias peering out the window in awe. I look down again. I’m not flying right now. Only falling. But again, I close myself to my thoughts and let my heart speak. It waits just a moment longer, before telling my body to fly. And so it does.

  Just in the nick of time, my body takes off, swooping low against the street and then soaring high in the air. I’m flying. Just like Kate. I’m flying. I can hear Tobias’ voice. His awe has given way to wild hoots of laughter, which echo across the city. Hoots and howls. They can’t touch me now.

  When I finally feel the swelling heat, I realize I’m out of time. I soar towards the door to the Underground, and slow myself down to come in for a gentle landing. There is no forethought involved, I just know how to land. I touch down right in front of the door.

  By now, the sun has well and truly risen, and the light creeps confidently across the city. It’s like being in a furnace. I can see the long arms of the light reaching towards where I stand. Edging closer and closer. I turn and grab the handle. To my horror, it’s locked. I bang on the door, calling out Carter’s name. I’ve been gone so long, there’s no way he’s still there. But I call just the same.

  I pull on the handle. I try to rip the door off. Nothing works. I turn again to face the coming sun. It’s only centimeters from me. I look around. There are buildings, doorways, alleys, but I can’t get to any of them now. I’m marooned where I stand. I look down at the ground and I realize there’s a manhole underneath me. I bend down and try to lift it up. It has no finger holes. It won’t budge. I can’t get any purchase on it. I stand up. There is still a sliver of shadow cast by an overhanging sign. I squeeze into it as tight as I can, but it covers only half my body. And even then, it’s hardly a solution. The sun rolls in across my exposed right arm. Instantly, it bubbles and boils my skin. I cry out in agony. I’m done for. The pain is unbearable, and in a few seconds it will envelope my whole body. I shut my eyes. I think of my dad. And the farm. And then, suddenly, I am falling. The manhole has opened from below and I am falling. Straight down into the darkness.

  I fall forever. Then, just as suddenly, I find myself in the arms of a large, overalled man. I cannot see his face but he has caught me. I’m delirious from the pain of the sun. It burns so bad, I’m close to passing out. I see the man’s enormous hand approach my face. Ash from a fire is rubbed into my nose. I try to resist but I’m spent. Suddenly, my body goes numb. I’m floating now. I’m placed on a bed. I’m slipping in and out of consciousness. I’ve lost all sense of direction. I hear the strangest sound. The sound of fire. But like no other fire I’ve heard. I tilt my head back and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. A fire that burns in every color. A flaming rainbow. And then sleep wins out, and I’m lost to the world.

  School for Vampires

  Copyright: Quinn Conlan

  Published: 31 December 2012

  The right of Quinn Conlan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

 

 

 
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