Ofelia (The Book of Davoth 1)

by Martyn Stanley

  ‘That depends.’

  ‘You don’t need to. You slew the old guard. You hunted them down one by one. Once you’d sprung your trap in London, you’d killed every living vampire in Europe. You’d fulfilled your father’s vow.’

  Ofelia stared at him, ‘Then how-’

  ‘How did I become a vampire? I was a servant of Nicholas Bourne and Estelle Marsh, two members of the coven. They feared you. They feared the end of the vampire legacy. They created a dose of vampire serum, and gave it to me, and instructed me to use it if they were killed. They’d arranged for other members of the coven to do the same, with their servants. There were three doses of the serum created. We each wore a pewter phial around our necks, ready to ascend to vampirehood at the given time. Two girls, Lucille and Victoria, were waiting in the London homes of their blood parents. They never made it out of the fire though. So I’ve been alone for over three centuries, knowing you were out there, knowing you were my only chance of rekindling the vampire legacy.’

  ‘Vincent was not your ancestor. All your ancestors on these walls... They are all you!’

  ‘Very good Ofelia. As to how I know you started the Great Fire of London; I didn’t until you admitted it to me in this library. I’d suspected. The whole coven summoned to one property? Then a massive fire, which started at that property engulfs the whole of London? They knew you were coming for them. I put two and two together. We can restart the vampire dynasty, but anew, with us at its head. What do you say Ilona Neamțu, daughter of Dimitrie?’

  Ofelia swirled the amber liquid in her glass. ‘I didn’t want this. I wanted to become human again.’

  ‘You can’t. I need you.’

  ‘Why?’ Ofelia demanded.

  Victor knocked back his drink and stood. ‘I just do. I need you to uphold your side of our bargain. I need your blood. Either you agree to give me a sample, or our deal is off and I send you back to Harper House.’

  Ofelia knocked back her drink, stood, and headed for the door. ‘I’ll do you deal. I’ll give you a sample of my blood, if you give me a sample of yours. Fair?’

  Victor trembled and avoided eye contact. Biting his lip - he nodded. ‘Fine, if that’s what it takes. Go to bed; tomorrow, we’ll do a swap. After school?’

  Ofelia nodded, then trudged back to her room. Her feeling of unease was growing. Victor’s ambitions of restarting a vampire legacy - starting with some of the world’s greediest, most despicable people… That was not attractive to her. She had to buy time though. She had to think about what to do and how to handle Victor.

  She enjoyed a dreamless night and an uneventful day at school. Forcing Victor to agree to give her a sample of his blood had been something she’d done on a whim. She wasn’t entirely sure she knew what to do with it. However, the school did have well-equipped labs and powerful microscopes; a lunchtime in the learning resource centre researching ‘how to prepare slides’, both in books and on the internet would help.

  Victor waited until after dinner. Amy was working and had prepared them roast beef. Victor dismissed her early and ordered Ofelia to follow him to the library. Once there, Victor opened a mahogany cigar case and pulled out two unopened single-use syringes and test tubes. Ofelia stared as he began unwrapping the first one. ‘Have you ever done this before?’

  Victor nodded. ‘Many times. I had hoped to discover a way of creating vampire serum without your blood. I knew you didn’t know I existed. Given the fact you hunted down the rest of the vampires, I thought it might be desirable to keep it that way.’

  With that, he pulled his slender belt off and used it as a tourniquet, pulling it tight with his teeth. In one swift motion, he jabbed the syringe into his vein and pulled back the plunger until it was full. Then he withdrew it, spat on his thumb and rubbed the red dot where the needle had entered. The wound healed instantly. He offered the second syringe to Ofelia. ‘Your turn. Do you know how to do this?’

  She shook her head, removed her blazer and rolled her shirtsleeve back. ‘No. You do it.’

  Victor repeated the process on Ofelia, sealing the wound afterwards as before. He handed the syringe of his blood and an empty test tube to her, then began decanting her blood into the other test tube. Ofelia copied him and soon they’d both got a test tube full of each other’s blood with a bung tightly squeezed into the opening. Victor rolled his sleeve back down. ‘What are you going to do with it?’

  Ofelia shrugged. ‘I dunno. Maybe look at it under a microscope? Compare it to mine? Why is my blood special? Why can’t you use yours?’

  Victor sighed and headed for the door clutching his test tube. ‘Go to bed Ofelia. We can talk in the morning.’

  Chapter 19 - The Mystery of the Blood

  The next day, Ofelia took her test tube of blood to school. She kept it hidden at the bottom of her bag and didn’t mention it to anyone, not even Ollie until first break when they were alone. They sat on their favourite bench, Ollie holding up the tube and peering into it. ‘And this is Victor’s blood?’

  ‘Yes, I told him I give him some of mine if he gives me some of his. He was reluctant though. I don’t think he wanted to give me this.’

  ‘I wonder why?’ Ollie murmured.

  Ofelia shrugged. ‘I dunno.’

  Ollie was staring at the tube. Then realization dawned on him. ‘Wait! I think I have something! Remember when you told me about vampires making more vampires? You called them blood children right? How many blood parents does a vampire have?’

  ‘Two.’

  ‘Right, so are the two parents always a male and a female vampire?’

  Ofelia thought for a moment. Her mind scanning the ancient vampire lineage drawings she’d seen in the houses and castles of medieval Europe. ‘So far as I know - yes.’

  Ollie handed back the test tube. ‘There you have it then! Making blood children is like making children. You need a male and a female. You must have to do something with BOTH parents’ blood to make it work.’

  Ofelia’s eyes widened. ‘I can’t believe I never thought of that. You’re right though! We should try mixing a drop of mine and Victor’s and look at what happens under the microscope. We can sneak into the old lab at lunchtime.’

  ***

  The old lab was officially still in use, but it tended to be the last choice for a science lesson. It was in desperate need of refurbishment and looked like it belonged in a school from a different era. It suited Ollie and Ofelia though. It was the last room at the end of a deserted corridor and it seemed unlikely they’d be disturbed. Luckily, the microscopes and slides were already out. After a couple of failed attempts, they managed to put a slide together of Victor’s blood. Then using the point on a set of compasses, they pricked Ofelia’s thumb and prepared a second slide. The difference was not immediately obvious. They used the best microscope in the room, the one setup on the teacher’s desk. It was of good quality and magnified 100x, 400x, 800x, and 1200x. Taking it in turns, they peered at the slides. At 400x magnification the difference wasn’t obvious. They could see the Immortal Paradox on both slides. At 800x they saw the difference. Victor’s Immortal Paradox looked like little black octopuses, but with only three arms, swimming amongst his red blood cells. Ofelia’s had four arms. Ollie suggested preparing a third slide with a mixture of the two. They put it together then slid it under the scope. Looking down the microscope they could see the three-armed and four-armed cells merging to create new cells with seven arms. After they’d both seen it, they destroyed the slides and put everything away. Ofelia felt satisfied. ‘I think I know how it works! You were right, if you want to create new vampire, you must use a mixture of male and female vampire blood. That’s why Victor needs me.’

  Ollie didn’t look so sure. ‘Hang on though, you said to make a new vampire, the blood parents need to dri-’

  ‘I don’t know! Maybe they do. Maybe one has to drink the candidate’s blood, or maybe neither do. We could try it on you, but-’

  Ollie threw his palms up and b
acked away. ‘Whoa! I quite like the idea of growing up and not drinking people’s blood. I don’t want to be a vampire. Especially not now.’

  She nodded and sighed. ‘I know. I can’t blame you. I wonder though? I have an idea. What are you doing after school?’

  ‘I was going home to do my homework then play on the Xbox.’

  ‘Change of plan. You text your mum, tell her you’re going to mine. I text Victor, I tell him we’re going to yours.’

  Ollie eyed her with suspicion. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘You’ll see. Trust me.’

  Chapter 20 - A Visit to Julia Sterling

  After school, Ofelia and Ollie headed to the hospital. It took two bus journeys to get there, but it being after school they didn’t attract any unwanted attention. Commuters would simply assume they were on their way home. Walking up to the huge hospital brought back mixed memories. She hadn’t enjoyed her time in the emergency department. She’d been desperate to get out. Despite this, she felt she had a good rapport with Julia. She trusted her. The question was: could they find her? Navigating the hospital would have been impossible, if not for the regular signs pointing patients, staff and visitors in the right direction. Miles of identical white corridors stretched in every direction. Staff and visitors were bustling about, while patients shuffled along or were wheeled along in chairs or on trolleys. When they found the emergency department, Julia was behind the reception desk, drinking a coffee from a styrofoam cup. She looked up when Ofelia approached and glared. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. ‘Ofelia.’

  ‘Doctor Sterling.’ Ofelia said in a deadpan tone.

  Julia put down her coffee and leaned closer. ‘Ofelia, what can I-’

  ‘I think I have it.’ Ofelia interrupted.

  ‘Have what?’

  Ofelia leaned closer still and whispered into Julia’s ear, ‘I think I know how to turn people. I think I know how to make the vampire.’

  Julia frowned, ‘What? Why-’

  ‘I want to try it, see if it works. Your husband Mike? You said he-’

  ‘You think this’ll save him?’ Julia gasped.

  ‘If it works - yes. Becoming a vampire has a price though. I need to talk to you both. Make sure this is what you want.’

  Julia looked around, the department was still busy. ‘Look, I can’t get off just yet. If I give you some money to get yourselves a magazine from the hospital newsagents, can you wait for me in the main waiting area? I should be able to get away in an hour.’

  ‘Okay. We’ll wait for you there.’

  Julia pulled a folded ten-pound note from the breast pocket on her white coat and handed it to Ofelia. Then Ofelia and Ollie left the way they came. They spent a while looking at the magazines in the newsagent as Julia had suggested, but nothing grabbed them. In the end they bought a bag of Skittles to share and sat in the waiting area. Julia actually managed get away after only 40 minutes, but she was looking tired and frustrated, as if she’d been run ragged. When they saw her approaching they got up and she took them out to her car, a tired-looking Fiat 500 on the staff car park. Ollie sat in the back, it wasn’t as cramped as he’d expected. Ofelia rode shotgun in the front. As they pulled out of the car park, Julia asked Ofelia, ‘so who’s your friend? Does he know?’

  ‘Julia, this is Ollie. Ollie, this is Julia Sterling - the doctor who help me. Yes, he knows everything.’

  ‘And you honestly think you can turn Mike or whatever you call it?’

  ‘I think so. I don’t know though. I need to try it, but this method is one I never try before. I think it will work.’

  The rain started hammering down as they trundled through the town. Julia had a large comfortable flat with an undercover car park beneath it, so they didn’t even get wet. She led them through the building to the lifts and pressed the button marked PH for penthouse. As the lift ascended the floors, Ofelia turned to Julia. ‘Does Mike know about me? Have you-’

  ‘I’ve told him everything; you can trust him. He’ll keep your secret.’

  ‘And do you think he want to do this?’ Ofelia asked.

  ‘Oh, I’m sure. He doesn’t want to die. I think he’d do anything to survive this.’

  ‘Even live forever? Surviving cancer is one thing, but if I do this and it works, he could live for a thousand years and never age a day.’

  Before Julia could answer, the lift ground to a halt. The door swished open and Julia led them down a plush, carpeted corridor. She pulled her keys from her bag and opened the door. She ushered Ofelia and Ollie in, then pulled the door closed after them. When the door banged shut, a voice echoed from the living room. ‘Jules, is that you?’

  When they entered the living area, they saw Mike reclined on the sofa. He was short and thin, almost gaunt. His hair was thinning on top and he was wearing thick-rimmed glasses. His cheeks and chin were covered in uneven stubble. He clearly wasn’t well. ‘Jules, I need to change the bag... Oh my god. Is that her?’

  Julia nodded. ‘Mike, this is Ofelia.’

  Mike immediately began shaking - his eyes were welling up. ‘Is it true?’

  Ofelia pushed forwards and sat on the edge of the sofa, then leaned close to the armchair where Mike was sitting. ‘Yes, it’s true. I am Ofelia. I was born in December 1440 and I am a vampire.’

  ‘Can you-’

  ‘I don’t know. I think so. I want to try. But before I try, I want you to know what you are letting yourself in for. If this works, you will die. You will feel as if you are on fire, you will succumb to the pain, you will die, but then you will come back to life. Once you are a vampire, you will have to drink blood. It has to be human blood and you have to feed maybe once every two weeks. If you don’t, you will suffer something we call “the craving” where you will lose control and feed on anyone you meet, even if you don’t want to. It’s best not to let your thirst get so great the cravings come upon you. If it works, you will stop aging. Your body will adjust itself to how it should be at your age and it will keep it that way. You will be faster, stronger, your memory and thinking skills improve. But you will have to keep out of direct sunlight or wear sun block.’

  Mike stared at her. ‘Will it cure the cancer?’

  ‘Vampire don’t get ill. I don’t know for sure, but I think it stop the cancer and fix all the nasty side effects that go along with it. I can’t promise this will work, but do you want me to try?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Even though you will experience pain greater than you imagined possible and you will die, at least for a moment?’

  ‘Just do it.’

  Ofelia stood and turned to Julia and Ollie. ‘Stay here, I need to use your kitchen to prepare. Ollie, don’t let either of them come. I’ll be back when I’m finished.’

  Ollie guarded the door to the kitchen. Moments later, a bloodstained knife from the kitchen drawer lay on the worktop and Ofelia emerged with a tumbler with a few millimetres of blood in it. Ollie eyed it with suspicion. ‘Is that-’

  ‘Yes, a mixture. But I don’t know if I have to drink his blood before or after so I put some of my blood in. I feed, then I put some more in. Then he drink the mixture.’

  Mike was sitting up now. His face radiated pain, but a glimmer of hope shone through. Ofelia approached and stood behind him. ‘I need to feed on you. If you aren’t sure you want me to try this, you need to say so now. I can’t make any promises. This will either do nothing, kill you, or make you a vampire. I think it’s third choice, but I honestly don’t know. Are you sure you want me to try this?’

  Mike shrugged. ‘I’m dead anyway if you don’t. Weeks, months, I don’t know how long. Just do it! Do it now!’

  Ofelia stood behind him and placed her right hand on Mike’s right shoulder and her left hand on his head. She looked Julia in the eye. ‘I don’t think you want to see this. Look away.’

  Julia shook her head. ‘No. Just do it dammit.’

  Ofelia stared at Mike’s jugular and imagined sinking her teeth into it. Her
fangs immediately elongated and protruded. In one swift movement she yanked his head aside and buried her fangs in his neck. She lapped and lapped, sucking at the wound and drinking deeply. Mike was unconscious in seconds - the Immortal Paradox sedating him completely. Once she’d drank her fill, she sealed the wound with a gob of spit and laid him back on the sofa. Then she took the tumbler back to the kitchen and added some more of her own blood. She’d tried to do everything in as logical a way as she could think of. She’d drank Mike’s blood, Mike had a small sample of Immortal Paradox in his blood. She’d mixed male and female vampire blood together. The only thing she hadn’t accounted for was whether Victor needed to drink Mike’s blood too. The tumbler prepared, it was a waiting game. Mike took nearly an hour to recover his senses, and Julia spent most of that time gazing forlornly at him and checking her watch. When he did come around, he was still groggy. Ofelia felt it would be best to hurry and try the serum they’d made straight away, so she handed him the tumbler. ‘Drink, drink all of it.’

  Almost retching as it touched his lips, Mike’s shaking hand fumbled with the tumbler. Ofelia helped him. She gripped his head and poured the blood from the glass into his mouth. As the last dregs of the crimson-stained tumbler trickled onto his tongue, Ofelia put the glass down and held his head. ‘Now swallow! Drink! You must drink!’

  For a moment it looked like Mike was going to bottle it and back out. His cheeks were full, and he was holding the blood in his mouth. Then he remembered what this was about, shut his eyes and swallowed hard. Ofelia released him. ‘Good. Now rest, lie back and rest. I’m sorry if what happens next hurts or doesn’t work. I promise I did my best, and this is the only way I can thi-’

  ‘We know,’ interrupted Julia. ‘We’ve discussed this. I wondered if you’d find out how to-’

  Mike, letting out a heart-wrenching groan as he curled up in pain, silenced her. He began writhing and twisting on the sofa. Julia shuddered, forcing herself to look at him. He was in agony, the whites of his eyes filled with an inky black. His veins engorged and took on a darker hue. Julia stepped closer. ‘Is he dying?’