Ofelia (The Book of Davoth 1)

by Martyn Stanley

  She turned to Bercow. ‘Thank you for this. Victor will be pleased with you. Be ready, he could call on you at any time.’

  Bercow’s face lit up with hopeful delight. Had Victor been promising Bercow immortality for some time? They said their goodbyes and left, then headed back to the car and they got in. Once they were back on the road, Mike asked Ofelia, ‘So what exactly happened? I still don’t get it?’

  Ofelia groaned, ‘It’s simple. Victor try to use page to lure me to Stonehenge. He has the most important stone, the blood stone, at his house so he knows I couldn’t complete the ritual. His spell would have told him I was there. So he goes to Stonehenge and hope I turn up again. Maybe he try to convince me first, failing that maybe he capture me. I wonder if he planned for the car crash? He wanted to catch me at Stonehenge. I don’t think he even knew what I look like. After the first time I went there though, maybe he spend every day there watching who goes back and forth and keeping an eye on his spell stone.’

  Mike nodded, ‘That would explain it. What now?’

  ‘I told Julia I’d turn her before I undo the curse on myself.’

  Mike drummed his fingers on the steering wheel pensively, as if searching for the words. ‘Hang on a minute, why did Victor want you-’

  Ofelia scowled and raised her palm. ‘That’s complicated. I don’t want to talk about it. If you ask me again - our friendship is over.’

  Her sharpness shocked him. For the rest of the journey, she rode in silence while Mike drove them back to Chipping Brasford.

  Chapter 34 - Turning Julia

  The page retrieved, it was almost time to return to Tempest House to complete the ritual. She knew there’d be questions to answer. Where had Ofelia been? Did she know what had happened to Victor?

  Before they headed to Tempest House, they went back to Julia’s. She was at the sink washing a bowl full of plates and cups when they entered. She turned when she heard the door slam shut. ‘You’re back. Did you get it?’

  Ofelia waved the page in the air, ‘Yes. I knew he had it.’

  Julia frowned, ‘But you haven’t-’

  ‘No. Once I complete the ritual, I don’t think I will be able to make more vampire. If you want me to turn you - it has to be now.’

  Julia pulled her yellow rubber gloves off and dumped them on the edge of the sink. She walked to the sofa in the living area and slumped down. ‘What do you need?’

  Ofelia stepped closer now, with Mike following her. ‘Doctor Sterling, are you sure you want to go ahead with this? You know what you’re letting yourself in for right?’

  Julia gazed wistfully at Mike, then sighed. ‘He was dead. I could see what was coming. I don’t want to die. I definitely don’t want to grow old. My whole career I’ve been watching people wither and die. Most people accept it. For most people, one life is enough. I don’t think it is for me though.’

  Ofelia stepped closer and looked her in the eye. ‘You realise, if you go ahead with this - you can’t have kids, not now, not ever.’

  Julia shook her head. ‘I don’t want them. I don’t think I ever did.’

  Ofelia sighed and turned back to Mike. ‘Fine. Follow me to the kitchen. I need your blood.’

  This confused Mike, but he followed her all the same. A sharp knife and a gob of vampire spit later and Mike was being ushered out of the kitchen, by Ofelia - holding a tumbler full of fresh blood. She didn’t emerge for some time. When she did, Julia was sitting in the armchair, quivering with fear. She looked up to Ofelia. ‘Just do it!’

  Ofelia extended her fangs and sank them into Julia’s neck. She drank deeply while the immortal paradox mixed with Julia’s blood and sedated her completely. While Julia slept, Ofelia returned to the kitchen. She ensured the door was closed to prying eyes while she prepared the serum. When she exited the kitchen, Julia was still zonked out on the chair. She sat with Mike on the sofa opposite. ‘So what will you do now?’ he asked.

  Ofelia shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Victor had legally adopted me. Now he’s dead, but there’s no-’

  ‘Body? I think if someone is missing for seven years they get declared dead anyway. I saw the news. They found the car and sent divers down. Whatever happens, at least you know he can’t-’

  ‘I know! It doesn’t make me feel any better about killing him. While he was still trying to convince me to agree to facilitate his plans by choice, he was kind to me.’

  ‘He captured you and drugged you. I don’t think he had any intention of ever letting you go.’

  ‘No, he didn’t. He told me as much. I never told you what went on in the cellar. Victor told me the whole story. He’d spent years looking for me. He had hoped I’d agree to his plans and he would have shared the proceeds of his business with me. I couldn’t agree to it though. The people he wanted to sell the immortal paradox to... They would have made the world a dark place. You realise after I’ve completed the ritual, you two will be the last two vampires, except for this one guy in Africa who Victor recently turned using my blood. I hope you guys enjoy each other’s company. When you made your vows and said “til death do us part” you might have been agreeing to a very long relationship.’

  Mike nodded sagely. ‘I know. But here’s a thought. Your main complaint over your five centuries of vampirehood seems to have been, being stuck as a child. Maybe, if you share the secret with us... When you’re ready of course.... Jules or I could turn you back to a vampire, but at an age you actually want to be stuck at?’

  She smiled at him. ‘You know what. That’s not actually bad idea. I think maybe spending a decade or so as a mortal, then seeing out the rest of the millennium as a vampire might be a way to go. You’re right. Being an eternal kid sucks, but I don’t want to die. I definitely don’t want to grow old.’

  Julia started to stir now. Ofelia stood and picked up the tumbler of mixed blood. She took it to Julia and told her to drink the contents. It wasn’t easy, but she fought her natural, human repulsion to blood, and with Ofelia’s encouragement, emptied the glass. It was done. Julia would sleep, die, then be reborn as a vampire. It was time to return to Tempest House.

  Chapter 35 - Homecoming

  Ofelia decided to make her way home on her own. It was a long way, and the night was drawing in, but she didn’t feel the cold. She felt invincible this night. Everything had somehow fallen into place. She was going to become mortal again, for the first time in over five centuries and she even had a convenient ‘get-out clause’ for if she changed her mind later. The vampire legacy hadn’t died, but it’d changed. Hopefully the new generation of vampires - those she’d turned - would silently observe history from the shadows and not seek to subvert the course of it? It was a nice thought. She’d avoided using her phone for her time lying low, for fear of transmitting where she was to the authorities. Now she wanted to text Ollie. She powered up her phone and typed a text message as she walked.

  At first, she got no reply. However, it was a Saturday so he could have gone out with his mum. Just as she tucked her phone into her pocket, it beeped. She took it out and read the reply.

  She paused for a moment, thinking about what to say.

  The phone beeped again.

  Ofelia tucked her phone away and continued the lonely trudge back to Tempest House. When she got to the main gate, she climbed over and began crunching up the long gravel drive. Would the servants still be there running the house? Had they been looking for her at some Swiss Boarding school? The questions were intriguing and Ofelia expected the answers to be forthcoming. By the time she had the house in view, dusk had truly set in. She could see lights on, but only on the ground floor. She’d left the suitcase full of clothes, which had been neatly packed for her to take to Switzerland in the cellar. As he walked she considered all the different stories, she could concoct that would explain where she’d been. In the end she decided it’d been long enough for her to have made it to the school. The question was, how could she have slipped out of the country and back without anyone no
ticing?

  By the time she got to the front door she had a handle on the sort of thing she was going to say. Despite this, she felt nervous reaching up to press the bell.

  She heard the ring elsewhere in the house, faintly. Then she heard scuttling feet, but not heels, shuffling frantically on the tiled floor beyond the door. Nancy opened the door in the end. She’d eschewed her traditional maid’s uniform in Victor’s absence in favour of loose-fitting jeans and a baggy T-shirt. When she saw Ofelia, her jaw dropped. ‘Miss!’

  Ofelia raised her palms. ‘Calm down! It’s okay.’

  ‘Where have you-’

  ‘I’ve been to Switzerland, remember? The school?’ Ofelia said, matter-of-factly.

  Nancy’s face fell. ‘Oh god! You haven’t heard?’

  Ofelia frowned. ‘Yes, I heard about Victor’s accident. Do they find the body?’

  Nancy shook her head. ‘No. Some people were looking for you too - something to do with the will? Oh, and there were some other people asking after you. Looked like they were something to do with the Government?’

  Ofelia stepped inside and closed the door after her. ‘I thought they might be. That’s why I headed back. Is my room still made up?’

  ‘Yes miss. Would you like me to make you a hot drink or something?’

  Ofelia smiled. ‘Sure. How about a cup of hot cocoa? Then you can take the rest of the night off.’

  Nancy smiled and hurried off to the kitchen to make the drink. Ofelia waited patiently for it in her room and got into her pyjamas to give the impression she was getting ready for bed. Once she was satisfied Nancy had turned in for the night, she approached the window and gazed out at the starry sky. It was a cloudless night. She stared up at the moon and smiled, then pulled out her mobile phone to send a text.

  Ollie texted back almost immediately.

  Ofelia threw the phone onto the bed and got dressed back into her jeans and T-shirt. This was it. Finally, it would be over.

  Chapter 36 - The Ritual

  When Ollie turned up at the front door, Ofelia was already waiting for him. She opened the door as he climbed the steps, worried the bell ringing might awaken the servants and this was something she wanted to do in private. When he reached the top step, she ushered him in. ‘Ollie! Is your mum okay with this?’

  He shrugged, ‘What she doesn’t know... To be fair, I don’t think she’d have been happy about me swanning off just before midnight. You ready?’

  She nodded. ‘I have the page, it’s a new moon and we have the blood stone. I already got two bowls from the kitchen. Let’s go to the cellar.’

  Ollie followed her down into the wine cellar and the secret cellar beyond. It was even more eerie than last time they’d been here, knowing that it was nearly midnight and Victor’s blackened remains were hidden here. Would some black magic have resurrected Victor, leaving him hiding here waiting for them? It seemed unlikely, but they knew Victor owned a full copy of ‘In Libro de Davoth’. There could be a spell within that somehow... She was being silly. Victor was dead, they were safe. But why didn’t they feel it?

  By the time they got to the room with the blood stone in the centre, their nerves had calmed, giving way to a curious excitement. Ollie stared at the black altar. ‘What do we do now?’

  Ofelia took out her page and read the instructions for completing the ritual.

  ‘First, we place these two bowls here on the altar. We need a few drops of vampire blood in the left one and pure blood in the right.’

  ‘Typical! You could’ve said!’ Ollie spat as he pulled off his jacket.

  Ofelia sighed. ‘Sorry. I was supposed to be using Stefan’s blood for that. Thanks for helping me with this Ollie.’

  Ollie took out his penknife and slit his thumb, then squeezed a few drops in the correct bowl. ‘That enough?’

  ‘I think so. It doesn’t specify an amount. I think there just has to be some. Can I borrow your knife?’

  He handed it over and she repeated the process, squeezing a few drops of blood into the other bowl. ‘What time is it Ollie?’

  He checked his watch. ‘Erm, it’s actually a couple of minutes to midnight...’

  Ofelia climbed onto the altar and lay down so her head sat between the two bowls of drops of blood. She handed the page to Ollie. ‘It’s time! You need to read the incantation. Read the first bit three times, then read the second part twice.’

  ‘What’ll happen?’

  Ofelia shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Just read it, and we’ll see.’

  Ollie stared at the archaic writing on the page in front of him. It looked like Latin or a similar ancient language. He didn’t understand it, but he could tell which parts of the page were the incantation by how it was laid out. He held his breath for a moment, then began, ’Vocatis me in virtute Davoth. Vocatis me in virtute Davoth. Vocatis me in virtute Davoth.’

  He actually felt silly saying this. Despite knowing Ofelia was a five hundred year old immortal, he still wasn’t entirely sure he believed in magic. As he finished the final syllable the air began to smell of static. The edges of the room blurred. It was as if the walls of reality had suddenly grown thin. Ollie felt a tingle run up his spine. It seemed as if the walls had eyes and were watching his every breath. He looked at Ofelia. ‘You feel anything yet?’

  She shuddered, ‘I don’t know! Keep going!’

  He turned back to the page and continued reading the incantation.’Umbrain lucem. Post velamentum de Domino. Hoc parum sana animam maam. Sanguis sanguinem inrita fieri. Et hoc animus reneo et nigrum. Totum faciunt. Sanguine flammas animo factum infectum!’

  As he uttered the last word of the incantation, a new spell appeared on the page. The new writing glowed bright red, in flaming letters. The language consisted of ancient symbols, reminiscent of ancient Hebrew. Just as Ollie wondered what the words meant, his pupils vanished as his eyes rolled back. Paralysed, he began muttering unearthly syllables under his breath, each symbol glowing brighter as he said it. Finally, the whole passage was glowing bright white, then it faded and Ollie staggered to his knees. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Ofelia groaned and winced. Ollie looked up and gasped. ‘Are you okay?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, it hurts!’

  Slowly her eyes began filling with an inky black and she writhed violently on the table, groaning in agony. Ollie stepped back, looking panic struck. Could he stop this? Before he could answer, her eyes filled completely with midnight black. The black liquid began to spill down her cheeks like midnight tears. Then more black goo began seeping from her ears too. In moments Ofelia had twin pools of bubbling black ichor on either side of her head. Then the immortal paradox streamed in thin lines to the waiting bowls. Ofelia fell limp now; her breathing became shallow. A network of black slime trails, which ran to her eyes and ears, connected the two bowls. The bowls were filling up. Slowly, the red turned black, and the level rose millimetre by millimetre. Then Ofelia’s face started to return to normal. Slowly the trails trickled away and subdued, leaving two bowls of purest black and a red-faced and tearful Ofelia. The room began to feel normal again, the haze lifted and Ofelia curled up into a ball and began crying.

  Ollie rushed over. ‘Ofelia! Are you okay?’

  She reached up and pulled him down, hugging him. ‘Yes! It worked. I... I think I’m human again!’

  Ollie grasped her hand. It felt warm, warmer than it’d ever felt. She had a glow in her cheeks, which he’d never seen before. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but she somehow seemed... More alive? He stared at the twin bowls of jet-black ooze. ‘What’s in the bowls?’

  Ofelia, her eyes still streaming, shook her head. ‘I don’t know… It didn’t-’

  ‘I’ll check the book. Hang on.’ Ollie interrupted. He rushed over to the lectern with the ancient grimoire sitting on it. It wasn’t hard to find the place where the page had been ripped from. The following page had the top portion missing. It appeared to have been ripped out a long time ago. There was no clue as
to what the black ichor was, except one line. Ollie read it out. ‘Sanguinem autem lapis sculptus esset de vestiga est conditor. Hoc modo tantum est, ut sero conditor.’

  Ofelia fought herself up onto her elbows and panted hard. ‘I... I know what it is.’

  Ollie frowned. ‘What?’

  ‘It’s founder serum!’

  Ollie left the book and stepped closer to the altar. ‘What? What’s that?’

  ‘Victor mentioned it. It means you drink it - you become a vampire. All the normal rules don’t apply.’

  Ollie leaned close and peered into one of the bowls. ‘This stuff would be worth a fortune! What-’

  ‘We keep it safe. Keep it secret. We grow up, we enjoy life, but then maybe we take some founder serum each. We could both become immortal again! But not stuck as some kid, we could become ageless at a sensible age. What do you think?’

  Ollie eyed the goo, then Ofelia. The thought of living forever was tantalising. Being a vampire wasn’t the perfect existence, but Ofelia had seen Europe evolve. She’d lived since the fourteen hundreds. The alternative, a rotting carcass in a wooden coffin, buried beneath a slab of granite... That didn’t appeal. ‘Come on, it’s late. I’d better get home. Are you going to be okay?’

  She pulled herself off the slab, grabbed his shoulders and kissed him right on the lips. ‘More than okay! I’m alive!’

  They left the cellar together, Ofelia locking up. Ollie snuck back home, leaving Ofelia to sleep for the first time in five hundred years as a human. Everything felt different. The world felt more vibrant. She could almost feel the seconds ticking by from the pressure of time, so nearly forgotten... She’d done it. She’d almost given up more than once. But she was human again.

  Chapter 37 - Resolution