Ofelia (The Book of Davoth 1)

by Martyn Stanley

  Ofelia shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before.’

  Over time, Mike’s breathing grew shallow, and he slumped back, looking drained.

  ‘Is this normal?’

  Ofelia peered at the gaunt man, lying prone on the sofa. ‘I don’t know. I think... I think it’s working.’

  ‘How long will it take?’ Julia asked.

  ‘Hours, days - I don’t know. My memory of the time when this happened to me is hazy. You need to keep an eye on him. If it works, then when the process is complete he’ll need to feed.’

  ‘Urgh! How-’

  Ofelia stopped her. ‘Just let him feed on you. It won’t kill you. I still don’t know if this will work. You have to let me know. We should probably get back now though.’

  Ollie exchanged a knowing look with her. Julia didn’t know about the other vampire, for some reason Ofelia seemed to have decided to try to keep this secret.

  Julia gazed forlornly at Mike, who now appeared to be in a deep, deep sleep. ‘Will he be okay if I leave him for a bit? Can I give you both a lift home?’

  Ollie was about to agree, but Ofelia cut him off. ‘You’d better stay with him. We can walk.’

  ***

  By the time Ollie and Ofelia had left, Mike’s condition hadn’t changed. He was still breathing, but barely. Julia was clearly unnerved by the night’s proceedings. It seemed to Ofelia that Julia hadn’t accepted that vampires were real and was just going with the flow and seeing what happened. Did Mike know what he was letting himself in for? She doubted it. If her assumptions about the process were right, and it worked, she’d possibly condemned a man to walk the earth for centuries. Something he might one day come to regret.

  They walked in silence for a long time. They took some wrong turns too. By the time Ofelia had walked Ollie back to his house, they’d missed dinner, and it was dark. A light drizzle started to fall. The average eleven-year-old would be shivering and huddling inside their coat, but to Ofelia the cold was comforting. She walked confidently with her head held high. She actually started absent mindedly walking towards Harper House. She even asked herself whether Gavin, Molly or Nina would be on and wondered how much trouble she’d be in for getting back so late. Of course, she soon remembered she’d moved to Tempest House, the trouble was, she didn’t actually know the way to back along the winding lanes from here. The only route she knew was the path Ollie had taken her on past the reservoir, then scrambling through the bushes as she’d done first with Ollie, then with Stoney, Lucy and Kerry as well. It didn’t seem ideal, but she didn’t want to call Victor to come and pick her up. She began making her way to the country park and the reservoir.

  On the way, a small, silver van trundled past her. The driver slowed down as he passed her, then stopped. She was soaked by now, her hair dripping and water running down her forehead. As she walked past the van, the window wound down. A man in his fifties, wearing steel-rimmed glasses leaned over to her. ‘Are you alright love?’

  Ofelia stopped and smiled at him. ‘Aside from being very wet, yes.’

  ‘Can I give yer a lift somewhere? Get yer out of the rain?’ His voice was cracked and anxious. He had a sinister hunger in his eyes, but Ofelia decided she would be thankful to get out of the rain. ‘Okay.’

  She opened the door and slumped into the passenger seat. The man pressed a button on his car key and the doors central-locked. He pulled away from the kerb and turned his wipers onto full. ‘Where can I take you?’

  ‘You know the big house on the hill? Behind the reservoir?’

  The man reached into the map pocket of the driver’s door and pulled out an opened, large bag of Haribo. ‘Yeah, I think I know the place. Sweet?’

  Ofelia eyed the sweets with suspicion, then raised a palm. ‘No thanks.’

  ‘Were you stopping at that children’s home in town? I drive past a lot and I could swear I saw you coming out one morning.’

  Ofelia nodded. ‘Yes, I was at Harper House, but I moved now.’

  ‘So you’re in care? You from out of the area then?’

  The questions were starting to annoy Ofelia now. She wondered where they were leading. ‘Yes. Out of the country actually. I grew up in Transylvania.’

  This response seemed to cheer the driver up, given his expression. He grinned and turned to her. ‘Hey, it’s not late, my dog’s just had a litter of puppies. Would you like to see them?’

  Ofelia smirked, then looked him in the eye. ‘Seriously? You’re one of those?’

  At that moment he had to stop for a red traffic light. Ofelia swore under her breath, then reached over and tugged the door catch. Nothing happened. She tugged on it a couple of times fruitlessly, as the lights turned green and the van rolled away. The driver chuckled to himself, ‘That hasn’t worked in years. It only opens from the outside. You’re not going anywhere.’

  The driver had been expecting a different reaction. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t for Ofelia to burst out laughing. Once she’d managed to control herself, she turned to the driver. ‘So what? You’re kidnapping me?’

  The driver still looked baffled as he pulled away at the green light. ‘What’s so funny? Just do as you’re told and I won’t hurt you.’

  Ofelia couldn’t help, but think about feeding. She imagined drinking his rich, salty-tasting blood. She fought her emotions as they bubbled to the surface; a cold, destructive uncontrollable anger - a wild fury unleashed. Her fangs descended, and she felt her muscles tense and her face contort. When she turned to the driver, he didn’t see the vulnerable child he’d hoped to abduct. He saw a vision straight out of a nightmare. For a split second he was in a horror film. She grabbed the wheel yanking it hard, ripping his hands from it and sending the car careering down the grassy embankment, into a ditch. She’d done it just as they were approaching the treacherous hairpin bend overlooking the reservoir. If the van had been going only a whisker faster, they’d have ended up in the drink. When the van’s nose hit the ground, the airbag exploded in his face and the passenger airbag hit Ofelia. The driver was stunned, but Ofelia was unaffected. She reached up and grabbed the back of his head, gripping his hair so tightly he howled in pain. She proceeded to smash his face into the steering wheel twice, leaving his nose flattened and his face bloodied. Then she made a fist and punched him hard in the ribs, so hard she heard the distinct crack of a rib breaking. He was screaming now and trembling in pain and fear. Ofelia grabbed his wrist with both hands and in one swift motion, snapped his forearm. Then she ripped her seatbelt off and leaned over him. She sunk her fangs deep into his neck and drank deeply. Once she’d drank her fill, she backed off and held his chin in an iron grip, forcing him to look her in the eye. ‘You’ll live, this time. If you try to kidnap me again, I will kill you.’

  With that, she smashed the windscreen out with a kick and climbed out over the bonnet, leaving him writhing in pain, yet dopey and sedated. It took her a few minutes to scramble up the bank, back to the tight hairpin bend. As she left the scene, she heard sirens blaring in the distance. Her first priority was to flee the scene. If she was in luck, the police and ambulance people would assume he’d been driving alone and just had a bad car crash.

  Once she was away from the crash, she started trying to find her way back to Tempest House. It took her a long time to find her way back and when she did, Victor was waiting up. He quizzed her on where she’d been. She mixed lies with the truth - telling Victor she’d been with Ollie, but then going on to tell the story of the stranger trying to abduct her. Victor was amused by this, and used it as an argument for her to forget her intentions of becoming mortal again - warning that if the same thing happened and she wasn’t a vampire, there was no telling what would have happened or where she’d have ended up. A good feed made her feel satisfied, but her loss of control haunted her. She’d come within a breath of killing the man; something she’d sworn never to do again. Her only consolation was that his injuries were probably so
bad; he wouldn’t be preying on other youngsters for a long time. She suffered a disturbed night’s sleep, despite her having fed so recently.

  Chapter 21 - The Result

  Ollie looked shattered when Ofelia saw him at school the next day. He could barely keep his eyes open during form time and didn’t fare much better for the first lesson. They sat on their usual bench. Ofelia noticed that he was tired and challenged him on it. ‘You didn’t sleep last night?’

  ‘Couldn’t sleep. I just keep thinking about that bloke. Do you reckon he’s a vampire now?’

  Ofelia shrugged. ‘I dunno. Maybe.’

  ‘And do you think that’s a good thing? Does the world need more vampires?’

  ‘Ollie, I don’t think being a vampire makes people evil. I don’t think I’m a bad person. I think maybe only bad people got to be vampires, maybe-’

  ‘You don’t know this Mike! What if he’s an utter git and is planning on-’

  ‘I promised the doctor alright! Besides, I need to know if our theory on how to make the vampire is right. He’s dying anyway; if it goes wrong and kills him he didn’t lose much, if he becomes vampire, we saved somebody. I owed this to-’

  ‘So you said. I dunno though. Is it right? How do you feel about being made a vampire now?’

  Ofelia shrugged. ‘I’m glad I’m not dead. If I hadn’t been turned, I’d have died centuries ago.’

  ‘But you went around hunting all the other-’

  ‘Yes! I never try to hurt humans though. The other vampires - they capture people, they feed on them and kill them. People disappeared. I wanted to stop that.’

  ‘And now?’ Ollie asked.

  ‘I don’t know. I thought I was the last vampire. I’d intended to become mortal again. Now I know there is at least one more. Maybe two more after last night. Maybe I should try and recover my missing page and try to complete the ritual to make me mortal?’

  Ollie smirked. ‘Yeah, it’ll be awesome, you’ll be able to enjoy being ill, getting injured, growing old, dying... Being mortal is mint.’

  Ofelia sighed, ‘Being stuck as a kid for five centuries isn’t the best either.’

  They sat in silence for the rest of break. When the bell rang Ollie stood first. ‘Whatever you decide to do, I’ll try and help you if I can.’

  She smiled, stood, and they walked to their next lesson.

  ***

  At lunchtime they ate and went to the chess club together. Ollie perked up a little towards the middle of the day, but by the time the final bell rang he was flagging. They were walking out of school at the end of the day when Ofelia’s phone beeped. She glanced down at it. It was a text from Julia.

  Ollie saw it and muttered under his breath. ‘I’m knackered. Are you alright going to see them on your own?’

  ‘Yeah, you go get some rest. You can cover for me. I tell Victor I went to yours again - okay?’

  ***

  Ofelia texted Victor and told him she was going to Ollie’s. Then she texted Julia and asked her to pick her up from outside the school. As promised, Julia turned up fifteen minutes later. They headed towards Julia’s place and drove into a thick fog. By the time they pulled up in the underground car park, they were engulfed in a pea soup. Ofelia tried to talk about Mike in the car, but Julia insisted she saw him first. When they entered the flat, it was dark. Julia led the way in. For some reason Ofelia expected Mike to be sprawled on the sofa looking pasty and ill. She couldn’t remember what it was like being turned, she’d made the transition centuries ago and she suspected the process made your memory hazy and fuzzy, anyway. Mike was in the doorframe between the hallway and the living room. He wasn’t standing on the floor, he was gripping the top of the architrave with his fingertips and holding himself in the air. He’d pulled his heels up to keep himself off the ground and was doing pull-ups, each time straightening his arms fully, then lifting himself so his nose gently kissed the top of the doorframe. After a few repetitions, he dropped one arm to his side and continued to perform one-handed pull-ups using his right hand’s fingertips. It looked impossible, but it didn’t surprise Ofelia at all. ‘It worked then?’

  His head snapped around and he dropped onto his feet. ‘It did. I can’t believe it.’

  Ofelia stepped closer. ‘How does it feel?’

  Every trace of illness had left Mike; his gaunt features had filled. The weatherworn weariness in his eyes had gone. He looked ten years younger than the last time she’d seen him. ‘I feel amazing, I never expected... Look at this.’

  As he spoke, he gripped his T-shirt and pulled it up. A slender pink scar was visible.

  Ofelia was about to ask, when Julia interrupted. ‘It’s his stoma. Or where it was. He had a colostomy bag for the last few months.’

  Now Mike continued. ‘But when I came around it had healed up. I can sense my colon regenerating.’

  ‘I didn’t know it would do that,’ Ofelia admitted. ‘Maybe you should hold off eating until you know everything has joined up and is back where it should be. Can you remember the change?’

  ‘Yes! I felt like I was burning, right down to the bone. I’ve never imagined a pain so... But god it was worth it. How-’

  ‘That’s my secret!’ Ofelia snapped. ‘I don’t want a world full of vampires. I give you the gift, but I don’t want to share the secret of how to pass it on.’

  Mike looked crestfallen now, ‘But what about Jules? I can’t-’

  ‘Maybe I turn Julia too. She’s helped me out and I think she’s good person. But not now - I have too much to deal with. Maybe she should see what life as a vampire is like before she makes her choice. Maybe you don’t thank me for this in a hundred years time.’

  ‘Hah! I doubt it. I’ve always hated death, always wanted to live forever. Life is too short. It’s maybe long enough for people who’re happy to just stay in their town or village, working nine to five, spending the weekend doing DIY or going camping. Not for me though, I want to do things, I want to learn things, I want to see the world. Now I can,’

  ‘Yes, you can. But you have to be careful. I recommend avoiding direct sunlight. You need dark glasses or UV protection contact lenses. You should get used to wearing sun block every day, or only going out at night. Your life will be long now, but I can’t promise you it will be easy. You need to keep this secret too. I don’t want us both to end up locked up in some secret government lab, being experimented on.’

  Julia screwed her face up, ‘That’s crossed my mind too. I’d like to think that wouldn’t happen. Do you think it could?’

  ‘I don’t know. But I worry about it. Something tells me our lives will be simpler if we stay hidden, stay secret. I’ll be honest, I mainly needed to know if my idea of how to turn someone worked. I don’t want to fill the world with vampire.’

  Mike looked serious now. ‘Well, whatever. I’ll always be in your debt. If you ever-’

  ‘I know. I don’t plan on calling on you, but I’ll bear it in mind. You should get Julia to steal you a litre of blood once a week. That should keep the craving at bay. Don’t worry about garlic and holy water. That stuff is just in stories.’

  Julia shook her head in disbelief and relief. ‘He’s going to have a hard time explaining this to his consultant.’

  Mike shrugged, ‘I reckon the best solution would be to hack into my records and delete as much as I can. Then change hospital. Or just start refusing appointments. Eventually they’ll stop bugging me. I know they’re much too busy to go chasing patients around to come-’

  ‘Wait,’ Julia interrupted, ‘maybe you could tell them you’d opted to go private?’

  Ofelia sighed. ‘I don’t know how you deal with this. I’m sorry but it’s your problem. One thing I didn’t tell you, but I think I should; there is at least one more vampire living in England. I knew this for a while, but I didn’t know who it was. Now I know; it’s the wealthy man who offered to foster me. From what I can tell, he was born in the early sixteen hundreds and isn’t a danger. He wants t
o make more vampire, but for insane price. He reckons he can charge certain people billions of pounds to be made vampire. So, maybe you get good deal here? I need to get back now though. He doesn’t know I make another vampire, and I want to keep it that way.’

  Chapter 22 - The Truth

  Ofelia said her goodbyes and Julia drove her home. She parked outside the large gates and left Ofelia to walk up the long drive alone. Victor quizzed her on where she’d been again, but didn’t press for answers when she told a vague story of hanging about with Ollie.

  The next couple of days passed without incident, though Ollie and Ofelia spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing Mike, and whether they’d done the right thing or not. Ollie also pointed out one thing that made little sense. Would Victor still need her? If he had the means to make another vampire, why couldn’t he just use Ofelia’s blood to turn a female? Ollie posed the question, but Ofelia didn’t have the answer.

  The next surprise came on Thursday when Victor asked her to join him in the study for a whisky and a chat. She agreed, and after changing out of her uniform and eating her dinner, she made her way to the study. Victor was sitting in his usual chair - whisky in hand. He’d already poured one for Ofelia and left it for her on the occasional table. She sat, picked up the drink and took a sip. ‘What is it Victor?’

  ‘I wanted you to know, I’ll be out of the country for a few days. I’ve arranged for Nancy and Amy to stay on in my absence. They’ll make sure you get taken to and collected from school. I’ll only be a few days.’

  Ofelia took a gulp of whisky and swallowed hard, savouring the burning sensation as it washed down her gullet. ‘You’re making another vampire.’

  Victor smiled. ‘I am. A customer I’ve had lined up for some time. He’s not too high profile, a dictator for life of a small African country - so tiny you’ve probably never heard of it. He’s agreed to pay me six hundred million American Dollars to be turned.’