"The problem is, after they cloaked you, I didn't know where to look anymore, which I guess was the point. I'd caught glimpses of your plans the couple of times we met, but you didn’t know where you were going until you knew you're A-level results. When they hid you, I knew to look for a blonde girl at a university." He pulls a face. “Do you know how many universities there are in this country? Too many. Do you know how hard it is to access university records? Too damn hard.”
Lorelei put her hand over her mouth, and Caleb grinned at her.
"Unfortunately, the human idiots kept bringing me the wrong girl. Very frustrating. But, lucky me, I found Ben who knew a girl called Lorelei.” He smiled. “Ben was very eager to please once I filled his head with nonsense about becoming a vampire." Caleb pulled a face. "I've friends who can accommodate the request, but why would anybody want to? Ugh."
"Ben's a vampire?" Lorelei shook her head, trying to dislodge the madness.
"No, he's standing here. Or his body is—I'm merely hitching a ride tonight. But he will be. Apparently, it's his life's dream. Isn't that sad?"
A tight band wound around Lorelei's chest, constricting her breathing. This couldn't be happening. They promised she'd be okay—she would be safe.
"But how can you see me?" The metal of the sink began to dig uncomfortably into her back.
"I'm seeing you through his eyes. He can see you. If it was me—the much better looking and charismatic me—I wouldn't be able to see you. And don't worry, I won't abduct you. I've learnt that doesn’t work and have a shiny new plan."
A knife by the sink, rested close enough for her to slide her hand and get hold of, and Lorelei debated whether to grab it.
"You can't go around stabbing people. I don't think Scarlet would be happy. Or the police for that matter," said Caleb. He leaned around her and took hold of the knife. "I need this anyway."
Lorelei's eyes widened. Could he read her mind as Gabe could?
"What for?" A creeping horror ran through her body. Was he going to kill her? No, she needed to be alive—that much she’d gathered.
"Correct, if you die, then I'll have to waste time trying to find the next unfortunate Host. Don’t stress; I'm not about to kill you."
Lorelei's shoulders relaxed slightly. "If you're not abducting or killing me, then what? We spend the evening chatting? Because I don't want to talk to you; I told you that before."
The knife caught the kitchen light as Caleb twirled it in his hand. "You are captivating, and I can see why he's fascinated with you. You’re definitely different to usual Hosts, but if you're the last, then I guess you would be."
The next move happened in a blur. Caleb grabbed Lorelei's hand and held it palm upwards, and she cried out as the knife slit a line across her hand, in almost precisely the same spot as Erin cut. Blood welled in her palm as she tried to wrench her hand from Caleb’s powerful grip. He pulled a small bottle from his pocket and uncorked it with his teeth, winking at her.
"What are you doing?" Through a haze of confusion, Lorelei watched in disgust as he squeezed a few drops of the blood from her palm into the bottle. Still holding her by the wrist, he held the bottle up and pushed the cork back in.
"I need to break the spell. Ben helped me get to you, and now I have a little of what I need."
"You shouldn't be able to do that!"
"I know, he's a bit puny but stronger than he looks." Caleb squeezed her wrist tighter, and she winced.
"I mean no-one supernatural should be able to hurt me," she said hoarsely. Blood trickling from her palm onto the kitchen floor turned her stomach, faintness taking over.
"You've been ingesting a potent mix of herbs for weeks. A special blend which has weakened the spell enough for me to see you if I take on a human form. Once I use your blood to break the spell, we can see each other properly again." He smiled slyly. “Won’t that be wonderful?”
Ingesting? Her mouth formed an 'oh' as she looked at him wide-eyed. Ben's cooking.
“I wish Gabe hadn’t made this difficult for us all. It hurts my heart that I needed to do this. Why can’t he accept the inevitable?”
Lorelei continued to stare back in terror at what he might do next. Caleb pulled her hand to his mouth and licked her palm, pain shooting up her arm towards her heart, knocking her off balance. He crumpled to the floor and placed her other palm on the cold tiles as she fought against fainting.
When she looked up again, Caleb had gone.
Chapter Twenty-One
The street lights shone through the window, illuminating the furniture with a yellow glow, the heavy brown curtains wide open. Opposite the window Lorelei sat on one of the chairs, not noticing the time passing or the temperature dropping. She gripped fistfuls of her hair as she pulled and squeezed the unwelcome tears back, refusing to let them fall. She refused to be dragged into the battle again.
This was her life — no-one else's.
Thoughts circled through her mind with no resolution. Where had Ben—Caleb—gone? Now he possessed her blood was it over?
Her biggest question: where the hell was Gabe?
One thing was for sure— Lorelei refused to sit any longer and wait to find out what happened next.
Lorelei pulled clothes from her wardrobe and shoved them into a rucksack, scrunching a cardigan into a ball and wedging it hard into the bag, frustration building.
How could Caleb find her—touch her—and there be no hint of Gabe? She chewed a nail, hating to accept she needed protecting but she’d had her hand sliced open by Caleb, and her unwanted Watcher was nowhere near.
In the half hour it took Lorelei to pack she tried to contact Scarlet half a dozen times and only got her voicemail. She sent texts too, but no reply. Would Scarlet be okay if she left? Maybe it would be safer if Scarlet didn’t know until she’d gone.
Bag packed, coat on and face hidden under her hood, and Lorelei was ready. The next problem—where should she go? After Ben left, her first urge was to call Alex. But he'd been clear about how he felt, she couldn't go to him with half a story. That would be unfair and confusing. Explanations would be too complicated—he’d doubt her sanity.
Gabe. Where the hell was he? All those years of frightening her half to death and now when she needed him... nothing. But didn’t she tell him this was what she wanted? Lorelei slumped onto the sofa, her mind grasping at half-formed plans—she had no alternative. Run.
Someone knocked on the door, and Lorelei sat up, snapped back to reality, holding her breath. Another knock. It couldn't be Caleb or Gabe—they wouldn't knock.
"Lorelei?" asked a voice from outside.
Alex. More tears spilt from her eyes. What was he doing here? She rubbed her face, trying to relax her features before she opened the door.
"Hi," she said breezily.
Alex stared at her. "Oh my god, Lorelei—what's wrong? You look terrible."
Her hand trembled on the door handle, and she quickly pulled it behind her back.
Alex's eyes dropped to the bandage wrapped around her other hand, and he frowned. "Can I come in?"
Mutely she stood aside, and as he walked through the door, his gaze moved to her backpack on the low coffee table. "Where are you going?"
Lorelei shook her head if she spoke her voice would crack, and she'd need to explain everything.
Alex approached her, unease furrowing his brow. "What's happened? Is this because of what happened tonight and what I said?"
She rubbed her temples and shook her head vigorously.
"Talk to me—you're worrying me.”
"I have to leave," she said in a tiny voice. "I'm not safe here."
"Why? What's happened? Is somebody threatening you?" How could she begin to explain? Lorelei shook her head again, not meeting his eyes. "What did you do to your hand?"
"I cut it; it's fine." Lorelei spoke to the floor.
"You cut it? Lorelei..."
She looked up in alarm. "No! Not deliberately...Wow." Did he think she'd do somethin
g like cut herself? "Why did you come over?"
Alex sighed. "I went home and thought about what I said. I feel bad for being blunt. I’m confused. I came to apologise and see if we could work something out."
"You feel how you do. Everyone should do what they need in life. It's fine." Alex narrowed his eyes, and she could tell he didn't believe her. "I’m not leaving because of you, Alex. Other things are happening."
"Things that would make you quit before your term's final exams? Not you. And leave in the dark without telling anyone? What's happened?"
His voice gentle and face full of genuine concern, Lorelei looked away, not wanting to be pulled in by his sympathy. This situation hers to deal with. If her other reality was colliding with this one again, she wasn't dragging anyone else in with her.
Worried Alex might try to comfort her, she slumped into the armchair behind and wrapped her arms across her body.
"This isn’t a situation you can help with."
Alex glanced around the room. "Have you told Scarlet? Where is she?"
"I left her a message. A lot of messages. I'm not sure where she is." She cringed at her croaky voice.
"Are you sure someone isn’t threatening you? Do you want me to call the police?"
"No and no." Lorelei picked at her fingernails, willing him to give up and go away, knowing he wouldn't—that wasn't Alex's style. She needed to get away from him.
"I'm going home; I need time out. Everything has built up—living away from home, exam pressure, and tonight was the catalyst."
Lorelei squeezed her eyes closed—please let him believe her. She didn't want him to consider calling the police again.
"But why leave now? Wait until tomorrow at least."
Nausea flooded into her stomach; she wasn't staying. "You know me; once I get an idea in my head, I won’t let go. Trains head down to my home town every hour until midnight. It’s only nine p.m.."
He weighed up her words. "You're really going tonight, aren't you?"
"Yes."
“Whatever I say?”
“Yes. Sorry.”
Alex rubbed his face again, and Lorelei's false smile made her face hurt.
"Then let me take you to the station and make sure you catch the train safely."
Through the open curtains, a starless night waited for her, leaden clouds hiding the moon. The kind of night where the shadows were darker. Tonight she didn't want to be among the shadows or find what might lurk in them.
Supernatural protection failed her when she needed it, and here she had help. Human help. Anger at Gabe briefly washed over her again.
Caleb possessed her blood—he would reverse the spell and be able to see her again outside of a possessed human. Locate her. She had a window of opportunity to find somewhere he wouldn't think to look—a head start. She'd make it difficult for Caleb, not sit and wait for an unwanted destiny.
She still had choices and, although she hated her decision, running was her only choice.
Alex looked at her, waiting for an answer, worry paling his face. Lorelei stood. "You can take me, but we have to go now."
He smiled his Alex smile, and she felt guilty about her plans.
"My car's outside."
The train platform tunnelled the night's wind, stinging Lorelei's cheeks with bitter air as she stood with her hands buried deep into her pockets, rucksack between her feet. She hunched her shoulders, burying her nose in the top of her coat. The station screen time switched over to 21:34 and the low hum on the tracks warned of a train's arrival.
Alex stood nearby, but she couldn't face talking to him. He'd refused to leave when they arrived at the station, insisting he watched her board the train and expressed concern about her being alone at night in an almost empty city station. If only Alex knew—muggers and rapists were the least of her problems. The longer he waited, the closer she felt to breaking down and asking him to take her somewhere safe. To be with her. But that wasn't an option, he wasn't hers, and she didn't intend to involve him any further. His ability to help her against the real threat would be useless and might put him in danger.
The sickening realisation hit her. She could no longer reach the future she planned.
The train arrived, slowing, the brightly lit carriages nearly empty.
"Get in one with other women, please, Lorelei," Alex said, picking up her rucksack and guiding her towards one he chose.
She followed him mutely.
"Do you have your phone?" he asked.
Lorelei produced it from her coat pocket and waved it at him, smiling. For a moment they looked at each other, Alex's eyes wide and his mouth pulled straight.
"Thank you, Alex. I'll be back soon. I need to do this."
"I don’t understand why, but stay safe," he whispered. "Call me to let me know you’ve arrived safely, please. I hope the fact I'm not pushing you to tell me what’s happening shows I'm your friend. I care about you a lot. Don't struggle with things on your own."
The tears irritated the backs of her eyes, and she blinked, nodding quickly before stepping onto the train.
Alex watched, but Lorelei didn't look back once the train began to move.
Ten minutes later, the train arrived at the next stop where Lorelei alighted and caught a train back to the city.
Fewer people waited at the station than when she'd left. The large screens displayed the departure times of all the trains that evening. Lorelei chose a destination she'd visited before, purchased a ticket and waited, keeping a watchful eye on everyone around her.
As the train she wanted arrived, Lorelei picked up her rucksack, dropped her phone in the nearest bin and began her journey.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Another sunset, another lost day searching for her. Gabe sat on a bench by the stream, staring at the rippling water. This place reminded him of the last hours he'd spent with Lorelei.
The flowing water left bubbles in its wake as the stream steadily followed its path. The environment soothed Gabe and focused his senses elsewhere. He was exhausted by day after day straining to catch any faint trace of her.
Every day the noise of the human world overwhelmed him, and he sifted through the cacophony of their thoughts, as he waited to detect Lorelei’s presence in the world. By the end of each day, the noise in his head became too much, and he would find his way to a place of nature, reconnecting to the peace and emptying his mind.
How long since he last saw her? Time passing was a strange concept to him, even after all his time here. He tried to remember by counting sunsets to keep track. A day meant nothing to him, little more a week, or a year... His role was tedious and exhausting, but at least human time moved quickly.
And when he finished watching, he had his own time ahead.
At first, he hovered close to Caleb, easily picking up where he was via the connection they shared. He caught glimpses of the atrocities Caleb performed in his search for Lorelei, taking girls and leaving them wandering and confused in a foreign country far from their home. Gabe only tuned into him long enough to locate his movements, but not long enough to watch him take the girls. For the first time, Caleb hadn’t killed when that would’ve made things easier. Why not?
Caleb noticed his intrusion, and one day Gabe could no longer find him—every time he reached out, he found nothing, apart from an impenetrable defence built between their minds. He no longer heard Caleb.
That happened maybe thirty sunsets ago? Gabe wasn't sure.
The whole time he'd been in this world, his purpose had been to watch and listen—now he could do neither, wretched and exiled from his purpose. Failure wasn't something he would accept, not after the misery of the last years...how many years? They were harder to count than the sunsets.
The water trickled on through the stones, and he watched it moving through its cycle and never stopping. Thinking of Lorelei.
He caught something. A tiny glimmer in the midst of the chaos of images and voices. Caleb. Gabe found a crack in the psychic wa
ll—not enough to find Caleb but enough to know something happened. He tried to follow the faint connection, barely perceptible amongst the disturbance of sounds around it.
Then it was there — a tiny spark in the darkness, almost undetectable.
Over the hours and days which followed, the spark grew, and he could hear Lorelei again. Simultaneously he saw more of Caleb. What he heard and saw infuriated him. Their actions made his task impossible.
Winter afternoons in the seaside town weren’t as endearing as the summers Lorelei spent as a child. The brown sea foamed onto the dirty sand as she trudged along the foreshore. The wind whipped her hair around her face, and the noise blocked her thoughts as it tore across her ears. She walked through the small swell, her face smarting and her bare feet numb. A couple swaddled against the weather looked at her as if she were peculiar. They smiled uncertainly as they passed with their small dog who wagged its tail apprehensively.
Two days hiding in a small hotel room sent Lorelei stir crazy. To begin with, she'd read books—textbooks, novels, anything to focus her mind. Then she ruminated on the classes she was missing. She regretted dumping her phone in the bin, now more cut off than she'd imagined she would feel. People would worry. From the hotel phone, she’d made a quick call to Scarlet and another to Alex, assuring them she was okay and needed space. After that, she retreated.
Peaceful nights passed—no visits from any form of supernatural creature; no nightmares plagued her sleep. Why had nothing happened yet? Caleb's plans were either taking longer than expected or had failed altogether. How long should she hide inside waiting to find out? On the third day, Lorelei decided she’d spent enough time in her room.
Re-enacting her childhood summer, she gravitated towards the small pier she once visited. The rides at the end of the short pier were covered against the weather, with metal animal parts poking from underneath large blue and yellow tarpaulins and the paint chipped. Most of the kiosks were closed too, and the only people around congregated in the small arcade at the end of the pier. Who would want to visit the place in November? Apparently at least half a dozen people.
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