by R A Browell
Lily’s head hurt a little but it was the pain in her chest that troubled her. It was sending shooting spasms through her entire body.
‘Oh, I’m not really sure,’ replied Mareena blankly, ‘I’m never allowed to know how they select them. Aurora picked him out. Does it really matter? Most humans are up to no good anyway. Venetia says that given the chance, they’d put a stake through any vampire’s heart.’
She leaned across the bed and kissed Lily lightly on the cheek. ‘I’m so glad you’re here, the other two can be a little bossy sometimes,’ Mareena smiled happily. ‘As long as you’re sure you’re alright. I’ll leave you to get some rest. I thought we might go and sunbathe on the beach later this afternoon, that’s if you’re feeling better,’ she added hopefully.
‘Maybe Mareena, but right now my head feels weird.’ Lily noticed Mareena’s face fall. ‘But,’ she added quickly, ‘I promise that I will join you as soon as I feel up to it. Maybe we could even go swimming.’
‘I’m not sure about swimming, but you promise you’ll come to the beach?’ replied Mareena, her face lighting up like the moon.
‘I promise.’
‘Then I’ll leave you to rest. But I think you’ll need to open these,’ said Mareena, skipping across to the window. ‘It smells funny in here, like something just died. Oops,’ she added, giggling at her own joke, ‘I suppose it just did!’ She released the catch and flung the balcony doors open, letting the room fill with bright sunshine and warm salty air. ‘Try and rest, Sister!’ she called as she glided out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Lily watched her leave, then pulled down the sheet and tentatively touched where she felt the pain. Under the little star shaped pendant, between her breasts and across her sternum, was a soft lump, tender and painful. She lifted herself carefully from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. Now that she thought about it, she could smell something odd. She looked in the mirror; a huge blister, painful and swollen, nestled between her breasts and she winced as she lifted the featherstone pendant to one side to get a better look at the damage.
‘Stupid, bloody dress!’ she swore, pulling at the laces as she tried to relieve the pressure on the painful wound. ‘Now why did you do that?’ she whimpered talking aloud to the little featherstone. ‘Just look what you’ve done to me!’
She ran the tap and pressed a wet towel gently against the large white blister, grimacing as she thought how very hot the little stone must have become to have done such damage.
‘You’re definitely coming off before you make matters worse,’ she whispered to the little pendant as she reached behind her neck and started to unfasten the chain.
‘No, don’t do that!’ said a voice from the corner.
Lily jumped, turning away from the mirror to immediately scan the empty room. ‘What the …?’ she stared at the empty bathtub, instinctively raising her hands to her chest.
‘And you don’t need to do that either!’
Lily stared. ‘Valens? Valens is that you?’ she whispered, walking towards the voice.
‘A little closer!’ he whispered as she collided with solid air.
‘Valens! Oh, thank goodness, you’re here. I’m so pleased to see you,’ she cried. ‘You have no idea.’ She instinctively threw her arms around the bulky void and squeezed him tight, holding him so close that she could hear the faint pulse of his beating heart.
Despite the chicory infusion that rendered him invisible, Valens couldn’t hide the broad smile on his face. ‘You do know I only put this on because it was the least revealing one they gave me!’ she explained as she pulled away, conscious of the crimson dress and her squeezed cleavage. ‘I need to get this covered up.’
‘I think it’s very fetching. Very vamp-like!’ he added with a chuckle.
‘Hmm,’ she replied, looking towards the voice. ‘If you’re going to save the damsel in distress, you should really try and do it before her jewellery burns her. Look at this,’ she whimpered as she carefully pressed the edges of the raised blister again.
‘I know. I saw it happen,’ replied Valens quietly.
‘What? But how?’
‘I was down there with the lunch guest. I saw your ‘sisters’ at work. Nice!’ he added sarcastically.
‘They’re no sisters of mine!’ replied Lily firmly.
‘Glad to hear it,’ he said and Lily felt a strong invisible hand take hers and give it a reassuring squeeze, ‘because that little pendant of yours just happened to save you from taking part in something pretty disgusting downstairs. I’ve seen a lot as a Protector, but the way that human boy just offered himself to those girls was something I wouldn’t want to see again. I mean he didn’t even try to fight. He just let them….’ His voice trailed off. ‘Anyway, that little pendant of yours spared you all that!’ he paused as Lily pulled her hand away. ‘You do understand that if you’d tasted his blood, life would never have been the same for you, don’t you? And probably not for the better. You’d have been theirs. It would’ve been difficult, maybe impossible, for you to have broken free from them or your appetite.’
Lily blushed, nodding silently as she turned back to the mirror.
‘Lily,’ he continued, this time his voice sounding serious. ‘I need to know what they’ve been saying to you because from where I was standing, it looked like your teeth were out and you were ready to feed?’
Lily hung her head in shame.
‘To be honest it wasn’t until just now, when Mareena said that I’d missed out on feeding that I realised that I hadn’t actually, you know…fed. I thought I’d…’ She paused and swallowed hard. ‘Just now, when I woke, all I could feel was the guilt.’
She waited for his response. Did he hate her for being so weak? Did he know that she already felt as guilty as it was possible to feel? She couldn’t see his face or his eyes, so she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
‘So, what did they say to convince you to even go into that room with them?’ he asked. ‘I mean you weren’t exactly dragged in there, Lily…’
‘I was trying to work out what was going on,’ Lily mumbled, still staring at the floor. ‘It wasn’t so much what they said, as the way they said it. They see themselves as some kind of judge, jury and executioner, getting rid of humans who are inhuman. Their arguments sounded so convincing and their reasoning seemed so logical that I think I kind of believed them. Now, I’m not so sure they weren’t just saying that for my benefit. Mareena gives more away than the other two,’ she added as she fought back the tears.
She felt him take her hand once again. ‘It’s the music as well,’ she continued, lifting her skirt with her free hand and wiping her eyes on the diaphanous silk. ‘I know it’s no excuse, but I think that it doesn’t just work on the prey. I think it sort of concentrates the sanguin’s desires too. All that I could think about was his blood. I could hear it pumping around his body, like a beating drum, drowning everything else out…’
She paused and swallowed back her tears. ‘So, how come you weren’t affected by the vampire song?’ she asked.
Valens smiled. ‘Longish story that!’ he replied.
‘Go on.’
‘I’m half bokwus,’ he said.
‘Bokwus, yes I know?’ Lily replied uncertainly, waiting for his explanation.
‘They hunt in deep water. They’re great swimmers who happen to be able to seal their ears. It helps with the pressure underwater and it also seems to protect against vampire song!’
He smiled.
Lily nodded. ‘So, you’re like me, a child of mixed blood. The best of two species rolled into one!’ She looked up at the empty space. ‘And is that you?’ she asked, suddenly aware of the terrible smell surrounding them, ‘because, if it is, then it’s terrible!’
‘At first, I thought it was James’s idea of a joke,’ Valens chuckled, ‘I can’t even smell it now. A lovely pocketful of rotting rodents, but that friend of yours is pretty smart for a bloodsucker. I can’t knock him, it’s w
orked so far. Even you, with your keen senses couldn’t work out I was here and it’s worked a treat with the Seleni.’
‘Dead mice?’ Lily grinned. ‘I should have guessed, although it sounds like more of a Charlie trick! So, where are they?’ she asked, looking around, ‘Topping up their tans on a rock? When can we go home?’
‘Actually Lil, they’re not here,’ said Valens in a low voice. He watched her face drop with disappointment. ‘It’s not that simple,’ he explained. ‘Your abduction has caused a bit of a diplomatic incident back home.’
‘A diplomatic incident? What do you mean?’ she asked. ‘And do I have to keep speaking to the bathtub in this stupid half whisper?’
‘I’m sorry Lil,’ Valens kept his voice low, ‘but I need to stay hidden. It’s not safe for me to be discovered here. I’ve been sent ahead of the others to make sure that you were kept safe. The others have gone to get permissions from the Kelpasian Council and then they’ll follow but it looks like your pendant seems to have managed perfectly well without me.’
Lily automatically reached to touch the little featherstone.
‘No matter what anyone says, you mustn’t ever take it off,’ continued Valens, ‘I don’t know what it is, but that pendant stays where it is, and as for going home, I’m afraid my instructions are that we sit tight. I’m only to intervene if you’re in immediate danger. When the others arrive, and if everything goes to plan, no one will be the wiser. We’re hoping for a peaceful solution to you going home. That’s the plan. So, I’m afraid you’ve just got to carry on with the tight dresses and vamp routine for a little longer. Not that I’m complaining,’ he grinned, ‘but you’ve got to act as though nothing has changed. Can you do that?’
‘So, my dress code aside, what you’re actually saying is that you’re here alone. Like, once again, they had so much on that they couldn’t actually look after me like they promised my dad!’
‘Lily, it’s not like that and you know it. I was sent here to keep you from falling under the Seleni’s persuasive charms. The others have gone to Serenisa to get the Magisterie’s authority to come here and request peacefully that the Seleni allow you to leave. I don’t think you appreciate how powerful these sisters are. Think of the vestal virgins and double it!’
‘But I can’t see why we can’t just leave now. Together, you and me?’
‘Lily, if I just took you now, there would be more trouble between the Kelpasians and the Farisians than you could possibly imagine. The two worlds rub along well enough nowadays, but there are protocols that must be followed. The Seleni are the Kelpasian State assassins, it would be seen as an affront to the Kelpasian State if I was to effectively abduct you without permission. The Magisterie would feel obligated to support the Seleni, irrespective of one young female vampire; even if she is destined to save the worlds! Unless we want war, we must have diplomacy. It’s a different matter if the Seleni choose not to follow the Magisterie’s directions. If that happens, then they forfeit all State protection. Do you understand?’
Lily nodded. ‘I think so.’
‘So, we must wait for the others to arrive with the necessary authority but in the meantime, you need to keep the Seleni on side and there’s another thing too.’
‘Go on.’
‘It’s possible that someone told them about you. We don’t know whether the sisters are aware of your significance but we need to find out what contacts they have, either here, or back in your world.’
‘But why would someone tell them about me?’ asked Lily quietly.
‘I don’t know,’ said Valens and shook his invisible head, ‘but we need to find out whether they found you by chance or whether they wanted you because of what you might be able to achieve. Anyone who is chosen to find the Elementals could easily become a target for mercenaries.’
‘Which is why the gatekeepers allowed the others through the gateway with me,’ said Lily, nodding..
‘Maybe, but what we need right now is for you to go upstairs and act as normally as possible with those girls. It’s got to be business as usual. See what you can get out of them, and you need to keep that on. For some reason that little stone wants to keep you safe and I can’t argue with that,’ he added softly.
‘But what about this?’ she touched the blister. ‘It’s taking time to heal and with these dresses they’re bound to notice.’
‘Give yourself a couple of hours rest and the blistering will probably have gone.’
‘And what if it leaves a scar?’
‘Lots of people have scars, Lil. I doubt they’ll even ask. Try and cover it the best you can and just think of it as a reminder of how close you came to taking a step you’d have regretted later,’ he added softly.
‘Will you tell the others?’ she whispered.
Valens shook his head. ‘That’s your story to tell. It’s between you and them.’
He was now so close that she could feel his warm breath against her cheek and hear his heartbeat as his body pressed closer to hers and then without warning, he pulled away.
‘I’ve got to go,’ he whispered and gave both her hands a final heartfelt squeeze.
‘You mean you’re not staying with me?’ she asked.
‘Lily you’re fine. I’ll be around, just watch out for the stink of rotting rodents, but I promised I’d make a full reconnaissance of the island and keep an eye out for the others arriving. If it turns nasty, we’ve got to be able to get you off Aldrovanda, and quickly.’ He paused. ‘Get some rest and then join the girls upstairs as you promised, I’ll be keeping an eye on you, even if you can’t necessarily see me…’
She felt his lips as they touched the top of her head and then his hands slowly pulling away, his touch lingering until he finally released the tips of her fingers. Then the bathroom door closed and he was gone. Lily looked at her face in the mirror. It was a deep shade of red, almost the same colour as her dress. She smiled to herself, ignoring the painful blister, as she tried to count the butterflies that were now jumping, reeling and somersaulting in a mad dance in the very pit of her stomach.
Visitors
Charlie broke the surface of the water and reached out to grab the wooden post in front of him. He missed, snatching a handful of dark green, slippery seaweed, as the tiny air-filled rubber bladders popped and he lost his grip. His head disappeared under the light swell, then reappeared seconds later as he took a firm hold of the jetty leg and looked back for the others.
‘Why does everything have to be a huge competition with you?’ spluttered Hari as his head broke the surface of the water and bobbed up and down so that he looked like a seal.
Charlie grinned, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Survival of the fittest!’ he said, smirking as he splashed an armful of water into his friend’s face.
Hari blinked the salty water away, then ran his fingers through his long, wet fringe, before pushing it out of his eyes.
‘Watch the hair!’
‘Give it a rest you two,’ warned James in a hushed voice. ‘This is serious. These girls are used to getting their own way the whole time. Remember what the Magisterie said. I can’t see any of them relishing giving up their latest plaything, can you?’ He reached out and caught one of the other jetty posts, letting his body move up and down with the ocean swell as he spat the salty water out of his mouth. ‘Even though we’ve got diplomatic authority, the Laudis have forbidden us from telling anyone, including the Magisterie, why Lily is important and the Magisterie have said that if it comes down to it, they won’t back us in favour of the Seleni…’
‘I know what they said,’ snapped Charlie, ‘but I still don’t understand why no one, including the Seleni, can know why Lily might be the only one who can recover the Elementals? If she’s got to search the whole planet to find these things, surely it would make sense if the Seleni and a few other billion people were in on the secret too! Think about it – unite the worlds and save the planet! All we need to do is let the Seleni know that if they don’t let Lily c
ome with us, then pretty much everyone, including them, will die!’ Charlie bent his head to one side and shook the water out of his ears. ‘If the Laudis didn’t want to keep the truth a big secret, then it’d all be a lot quicker and easier and we wouldn’t be here cowering under a jetty!’
‘We’re hardly cowering,’ said James indignantly, spitting yet another mouthful of saltwater into the swell, ‘and I hope you never decide to go for any job which requires defensive or even offensive strategy!’
Charlie looked back at him with a puzzled expression on his face. ‘Defensive strategy?’
‘Charlie!’ sighed James, ‘we’ve already had this discussion. If the whole world knows that Lily is ‘the one’, can you imagine how many mercenary nutters would come out of the woodwork, not to mention giving open season to the Ghevler knights and then there’s the occasional psychopathic vampire or human tyrant, who just might think it’s worth a pop at Lily so that four worlds could be held to ransom! Have you never thought about how international or even inter-world politics would actually play out?’
‘Politics?’ repeated Charlie, crumpling his face. ‘Since when have you been interested in global politics? Hello, James Crowley has been abducted by aliens and replaced by this. Please let us have him back – all is forgiven!’ He banged his head with his hand to empty the remaining water from his ears.
‘He’s still here, but he’s been thinking,’ replied James. ‘That’s what swimming across open water does for you! Seriously, why do you think the gatekeepers let us through when they blocked the adults? Why do you think they let us bring our great big dirty bikes through the gateway?’
‘Hey, less of the dirty,’ objected Hari, as he grabbed a passing jellyfish. ‘My little beauty happens to be cleaner than a washing powder advert.’ He passed the slimy creature from hand to hand, observing its tentacles as they wrapped themselves around his arm and released their venom. ‘We got through the gateway because we’re expected to protect Lily,’ he replied.