by Bree Wolf
“Sure. Just checking if you’re going to be home for dinner,” her mother said, sounding distracted, probably due to dinner preparations. She lived in her own little world where food was concerned.
Quinn nodded and then, realizing her mother couldn’t see her, said, “Yes, I’m on my way.”
Hanging up, she quickly put on a sweater she found on the back seat and zipped it up all the way to hide the dried blood stain on her shirt. Then she turned the key and hearing the engine come to life with another sigh of relief, she drove off Arnaud’s property without a look back. At least the world had settled down and she got home without a hitch.
Coming in the front door, Quinn suddenly found herself back in her normal life. There was nothing unusual, nothing absurd or scary. Just the usual dynamics of her family. Her sister looking annoyed that she was home. Her father busy, all his attention focused on yet another gardening book that once again would not be able to teach him anything useful. And her mother calling for them to wash up and come to dinner.
Leaning back against the door, Quinn smiled, relief washing over her. Finally she felt safe again.
They sat around the kitchen table, eating and chatting. Only Quinn remained silent and after her mother had served dessert, they noticed that something was up. At first there were a few questioning glances until her father asked, straight-forward as always, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” was her instant reply. “Just a little tired.”
Her mother frowned. “I’ve seen you tired. This is not tired. Tell me.”
Quinn hesitated but she really wanted to tell someone. Anyone. And damn the consequences.
Interpreting her daughter’s silence differently, her mother glanced across the table at her husband. Instantly he rose from his chair, put a hand on Cora’s shoulder and said, “Let’s see what’s on TV.” Reluctantly and with an annoyed sneer on her face, Cora followed her father out of the kitchen.
Turning her attention to her oldest, her mother said, “Okay, what’s going on?”
Quinn took a deep breath, feeling the words on her tongue. She opened her mouth, but nothing happened.
The words stayed where they were. She knew what she wanted to say. The thought was clear in her mind and yet …it refused to come out. A frown creased her forehead. What was going on?
“Sweetie, you can tell me,” her mother encouraged.
“I know, mom,” Quinn said and tried again. She had never so consciously thought about the process of transporting her inner thoughts to the outside world. Usually it just worked, automatically. But not now. She tried again and again, but the words just wouldn’t come.
Squeezing her hand, her mother said, “I’m always here for you. You know that, right?”
Quinn nodded. “I think I’m just gonna go to bed. I’m really tired.”
“Alright, but think about it. You can talk to me. No matter what about,” her mother said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Have a good night.”
Upstairs in her room, Quinn sank down on her bed. She still felt a little weak although dinner had helped. The dizziness was gone and she didn’t feel faint any more. But the events of the day were still buzzing in her mind. Why had he let her go? Was it part of his game? Had he done the same to Amanda?
Lying back on her bed, she put an arm over her eyes, feeling exhausted. “Why did this have to happen to me?”
“That question will get you nowhere.”
At the sound of his voice Quinn jumped up, almost falling off her bed.
Arnaud stood by the window and for once his face didn’t look amused. There was a seriousness to his eyes that was new. But none of that mattered. Feeling her heartbeat starting to hammer in her chest, Quinn bolted for the door, only five paces behind her. The moment she tried to open it though, there was a resistance that didn’t come from the door itself.
“Why do you feel like you need to run?” Arnaud asked, his voice right beside her left ear. “What makes you so afraid?” His hand came down to her shoulder and reluctantly she turned to face him. Her eyes cast down, she stared at a button on his shirt.
“Would you look at me,” Arnaud said, putting a hand under her chin. “Don’t worry. I promise I won’t bite.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice as he spoke, but Quinn shrank back nonetheless.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Bad joke.” His eyes searched her face again and he started to look frustrated. “What do you want me to say?” He took a step backward, giving her room. “I can see that you’re scared of me and I can, at least partly, understand why, but there is something else and I really wish you’d tell me.”
Still unable to speak, Quinn’s hand went to her neck.
Arnaud nodded. “Okay, I can see how that might have scared you. But,” he took a step closer and only stopped when she tensed, “that was kind of your fault.”
“What?”
A smile flashed over his face at hearing her voice. “You staked me,” he said flatly, as though reminding her of an appointment she had missed. “Unprovoked I might add.”
Quinn didn’t know how to react. She hadn’t expected him to open a discussion on who did or did not have a reason to kill whom.
“Which is exactly what brings me to my main question,” he went on. “Why did you do it?” Suddenly he shook his head, laughing. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m impressed. It’s been a while since someone’s tried. I’m just curious why.”
“I saw you,” Quinn said, rediscovering her voice. “In the alley by the diner. I saw what you did to Amanda.”
“You saw me feed on her?” he asked to confirm, and when she nodded, he went on. “I thought you might have. Then why didn’t you say anything that night I showed up after your training?”
“You didn’t either?” she shot back, instantly terrified that she was actually starting to argue with a vampire.
But Arnaud just smiled. “Touché.” He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “So you staked me because I snacked on your friend?”
A wave of outrage washed over Quinn at his feigned ignorance. “You killed her!” she blurted out.
Now it was Arnaud’s turn to stare. “Excuse me, what?” There was a dumbfounded expression on his face. “You think I killed her?”
Quinn nodded, afraid that she had just sealed her fate.
“I see,” he said as though to himself. “I guess that’s a good enough reason then.” He turned to look at her once more. “There is only one flaw in your line of thinking.” Holding her eyes for a moment, Arnaud said, “It wasn’t me.”
“Yes, it was,” she shot back, again kicking herself for her big mouth.
He took a step toward her. All amusement had disappeared from his face. “Care to tell me why you’re so sure of that?”
“You drank her blood,” she accused, a disgusted expression on her face. “And a day later she was dead. Killed in the same alley.”
“And that’s it?” he asked. “Is that why you think I’m going to kill you next?”
Quinn nodded, suddenly unable to look at him.
Once again she felt his hand under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. Another shiver ran over her skin as he touched her. “I did not kill your friend,” he said, the seriousness in his eyes emphasizing his words. “And I have no intention of killing you.” His eyes searched hers, waiting for his words to sink in.
Feeling herself tremble, Quinn didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know if she believed him. She only knew that she wanted to.
After a while Arnaud spoke again. “You don’t believe me,” he said as though reading her mind. “Listen, I fed on your friend because …it’s what I do. It’s what I need to do to survive.” His brows rose as though asking her to understand. “And I bit you because you wounded me. I needed to heal and that’s how it works. But I didn’t kill Amanda and I won’t kill you.”
Quinn nodded but she still had doubts. It had to be showing on her face because Arnaud didn’t look convinced. “What can I do to
make you believe me?” he asked. “Just name it.”
Taking a deep breath, Quinn said, “Leave.”
For a moment Arnaud looked confused but then he nodded. “Alright,” he said, stepping back. “But promise me you won’t tell anyone,” he added. “About me.”
“I can’t any way,” Quinn said, eyes narrowing. “Why is that? What did you do?”
There was a twinkle in his eyes. “I blocked your ability to speak about it.”
She stared at him. “You can do that?”
Arnaud just raised an eyebrow.
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because I took it back,” he said, his eyes intent. “I’m taking a leap of faith here, deciding to trust you. Maybe it will help you trust me.”
In one swift motion he was out the window, dropping down to the ground. By the time Quinn reached it, there was no sign of him any more. Looking up, Quinn noticed that the sun, though low in the sky, had not yet disappeared and wondered what else the movies had gotten wrong. After all, the stake had only wounded but not killed him.
Closing the window, Quinn opened her mouth and tried to articulate the thought she hadn’t been able to say to her mother. “Arnaud is a vampire,” came her voice in a whisper and she felt a burst of relief.
Chapter 16 – Consequences and Implications
The next week was a mixture of routine-meet-sad-occasion. School resumed, by the end of the week football and soccer practice were not cancelled any more and people did what they always did. Only everything seemed a bit more gray, overshadowed and tense. Laughter and smiles here and there returned but were often followed by a guilt-ridden expression. And then the sad highlight of the week was Amanda’s funeral on Saturday morning.
It seemed like the whole town was out by the small cemetery just down the road from de la Roche property. Most wore dark colors, black and gray. Some eyes were filled with tears, leaving glistening trails as they spilled over and dropped to the ground. A baby cried. A dog barked. And the sun beat down mercilessly. It was a day like any other. Except for the hole in the ground and the quietly whispered goodbyes to a young girl with dyed blonde hair, who hadn’t had enough time to find out who she was.
Quinn’s eyes were dry. She felt sad but not enough to lie to herself and pretend that Amanda had meant more to her than she had. The girl had been a pain in the butt, but she hadn’t deserved to die. After accepting that Arnaud had not been Amanda’s killer, Quinn hoped that it wouldn’t be too long before Sheriff Monroe and his deputies were able to solve the case and put everyone’s mind at ease.
Lost in her thoughts, Quinn almost jumped when she looked up and her eyes suddenly fell on Arnaud, standing a little off to the side. He caught her looking at him and slightly nodded his head, but his face was serious, sad even, and it remained so. However, what surprised Quinn even more than the earnest expression in his eyes was the fact that it was almost mid-day and that the sun overhead burning down on him didn’t seem to bother Arnaud a bit.
Over the past week, he hadn’t crossed her path once. Quinn had thought on more than one occasion that he might be avoiding her to give her the time she needed to accept the world that had suddenly opened up to her. There were moments when she still heard a little voice whisper that she was going insane. But these moments had become fewer in number and the voice had grown fainter. Most of the time Quinn knew that what had happened had indeed happened. She could accept that now, but that didn’t mean it had ceased to amaze and terrify her. A million questions buzzed around in her head and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answers.
At the wake, which was held in town square because none of the few restaurants and diners were able to hold that many people, the mourners split into various groups. There were the ones that were devastated, like Amanda’s family, namely her parents and her little brother Ryan. Then there were those that could relate, which included about every parent in Crescent Rock. The teachers, including Coach Grainer, grouped around Principal Wood. There were the old ones and the young ones, all of them dealing differently with death and its implications and consequences.
Looking around, Quinn desperately wished she could just leave. The sadness in the air weighed heavily on her shoulders. The heartbreaking looks on her parents’ faces she would never be able to forget. Being a mother herself, Julia, though young, resembled them to such a degree that Quinn immediately dismissed the idea of leaving this festival of misery together with her.
“You weren’t close?” Arnaud’s voice came from her left. She hadn’t seen him walk up. He still made her uneasy but she felt safer in such a crowd.
Quinn shook her head. “No, I found her terribly annoying,” she admitted, keeping her voice low. Looking up at his face, she added, “You didn’t know her, did you? Not really I mean.”
There was no amusement in his eyes at her reference to the only time he had met Amanda. He shook his head. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you do look sad.”
He stayed quiet and she started to wonder if he would answer her at all when he suddenly said, “She reminds me of my sister.”
Quinn remembered the night he had come to dinner and how he had told them of his sister having been murdered. Even then, before knowing any of what she knew now, she had wondered if what he had said was the truth. Maybe it had been.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but turning to look at him, she found the place next to her empty. He was gone.
***
The Monday morning after Amanda’s funeral was a new beginning, as though silently agreed upon by the citizens of Crescent Rock. Those that had loved Amanda still wore black and their faces were still distorted by grief, but everyone else slowly returned to their normal lives. Almost everyone.
“I won’t be at training today,” Julia said, her eyes slightly red-rimmed as though she hadn’t slept much.
“You alright?” Quinn asked as they walked to Mr. Sanders’ geography class. “You don’t look so good.”
Julia tried to smile. “I don’t know. I can’t ...” She stopped, leaning against the hallway wall, closing her eyes. “I can’t forget my father’s words … about how they found her. And then ...” She shook her head as though in disbelief. “And then I look at Luke and ...” She looked up at Quinn, a cold terror in her eyes. “I’m scared. I’m just so scared. I can’t imagine …” Her voice broke and Quinn pulled Julia into her arms.
They just stood like this for a while until Quinn felt her friend’s body relax and her breathing even. “Go home,” she whispered. “Go and be with him. I will excuse you with Mr. Sanders.”
With a grateful look in her eyes, Julia left and didn’t show up for school the following day either. At night Quinn called her to make sure she was alright but other than that left her alone, giving her the time she needed.
Since Julia was a good student, all her teachers understood and were lenient towards her. After all, she was not just a student. First and foremost she was a mother, a parent. Like many of them were too.
When Wednesday came and there was still no sign of Julia, Quinn made up her mind to give her friend until the weekend, but then she would go and talk to her. Luke wouldn’t benefit from an overindulging mother suffocating him.
Cheerleading practice that night was probably the most normal part of the day. Coach Grainer thought nothing of holding on to the past and yelled and cursed as she always had, giving her team an even stronger sense of normality. They trained until their faces were red and their limbs seemed as heavy as lead.
After hitting the showers, the girls grabbed their stuff and left. They were exhausted but their faces were cheerful. Drilled exercise, Coach Grainer’s recipe to overwhelming sadness. The endorphins it brought them lifted their spirits and made them see that life would not always be sad and that it was okay to be happy.
Quinn was just on her way to her car when her cell phone rang. A look at the display told her it was Julia and she felt a hint of relief.
; “Hey, how are you?” she said, picking up.
“I’m okay,” came Julia’s voice, almost whispered. Quinn could barely hear her.
“Do you want me to come over?” she asked her friend, dumping her gym back on the passenger seat. “I can be there in ten.”
“No, no,” Julia said, sounding agitated. “I’m actually by the lake. Can you … can you come there? I need to talk to you.”
“Sure. I’ll come right over,” Quinn said, hanging up. She locked her car and headed up the slope of grass past the school building and the gym towards the woods through which a well-trodden trail led to Almond Lake. It was basically a small pool of water, a good swimmer could cross within five minutes. But especially in hot summers it was a favorite spot among the young. Only training had kept the cheerleaders from indulging in a little late night swimming along with the rest of their school.
Wondering why Julia had gone there, Quinn carefully picked her way through the small cluster of trees when suddenly the amulet, she hadn’t removed since the day it had been sent to her, started to pulse in a bright red, illuminating the path in front of her.
At first she had looked up at the red ball in the sky slowly gliding lower, before her mind recognized the origin of the light. Taking the small silver amulet with the now ruby-colored stone in her hand, she wondered once more who had sent it to her and why. Not to mention how the stone glowed and changed color.
“Quinn!” came Julia’s voice, making her look up and the moment she did the glow died and the stone was emerald again.
Frowning Quinn stopped, but hearing her name called again, she headed onward and came into a small clearing with the lake right in front of her. Not seeing Julia, her eyes traveled over her surroundings, searching.
“Where are you?” she called.
“Over here,” said a voice that wasn’t Julia’s.
Chapter 17 – Upside Down
Turning her head in the direction the voice had come from, Quinn’s mouth dropped open.