Now her fries sat on her lap and she dipped into the packet as she drove on aimlessly. “What the hell is going on?” she mumbled, shaking her head. “We’re on the run. On the run. From some crazy scientist who wants my blood and God knows what else. And then there’s Joe. What the hell has he got to do with everything? Was that his dirty little secret he desperately wanted to keep hidden? That he was working for Nico?” She gritted her teeth with frustration and slammed the heels of her palms against the wheel. “But that makes no sense. He likes vampires, I could tell. Unless he’s just a really good liar… was that all just an act? To draw me into a false sense of security?” She shook her head again.
“But just then… at the pub. He seemed so sincere. He seemed scared. Why would he be scared if he is working for them? Why did he try and give me a head start if he is working for them? God, this makes no sense! What the fuck is going on?!” She glanced up at the rear-view mirror, at Caius balled up in the black and white duvet, and sighed. “Not like I’m going to get anything from you. Just keep talking to yourself, Evie, it’s better than driving in silence.”
She was heading down a narrow country road with fields stretched across either side of her. Sheep huddled up together to deflect the harsh breeze and the rain that seemed to sweep through the air like a sheet. She’d been driving for an hour since her detour and luckily the sky was starting to darken, but not by much. Now she was very thankful for the short days and long nights. She was driving herself crazy. Every time she thought about the near future, about what the hell they were both going to do, she would end up panicking so much that she’d start to hyperventilate and then have to calm herself down again.
A human and a vampire could never work. She had no idea how a human and a vampire on the run was going to work.
“Evie?”
She jumped and jerked the wheel dangerously to the left, making the car swerve and almost veer into a fence. She glanced up at the mirror. Caius had sat up with his face poking through the duvet wrapped around him. The blood had dried on his face and was crumbled and peeling in places.
“How long have you been awake?” The sky had only grown dark enough for her to need her headlights moments earlier.
“Would you want me to become human?”
The question caught her by surprise and she found herself lost for words. “Erhh… um.” She cleared her throat and looked back to the road ahead but she could feel his eyes on her still. “No. To be honest, no, I wouldn’t want you to become human.” She winced, unsure of how he’d react.
A pause followed. “Why not?”
His soft, passive tone made her heart contract. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened until her knuckles were almost piercing through her skin. “Because I don’t think you could handle it.”
She glanced up at the mirror. There was a spark of curiosity in his eyes as he cocked his head to the side ever-so-slightly. Evie knew he wanted her to continue so she sucked in a breath and readied herself.
“When I Turned… back, it was like everything had come back into focus. I hadn’t really noticed it before but being a vampire… it kind of puts you in a bubble. It protects you from all the shit in your life. And Caius, you’ve been through a hell of a lot of shit.” The thin line of his mouth dipped into a slight frown.
“I mean, you’ve been alive for over a thousand years. A thousand years. You haven’t just gone through your fair share of bad times. You’ve gone through a hell of a lot of people’s fair share of bad times. And if you became human, if you even were able to become human again… I think it’d crush you. All those bad memories you’ve been able to carry around with you will drag you down and mess you up.”
A heavy silence filled the car as Evie followed her headlights through the tunnel of trees.
“You think I’m messed up?” asked Caius in a small voice.
Her brows furrowed at the sting in her chest. “I love you. Warts and all.”
She looked to the mirror when she heard rustling. His shoulders had slouched and he pulled the duvet tighter around his head so it was completely framing his face. “I don’t have warts.”
Evie laughed. “Everyone has warts in one way or another.”
“What’s your wart?”
She paused and shifted her eyes back to the road. “Now that I’m human? Loving you.”
She couldn’t bear the silence that followed and had to see his reaction. The muscle in his jaw rippled and his right eyebrow lifted a fraction, creasing his forehead. A reaction so minor that no one except for Evie would have noticed. But being with him for ten centuries had given her a deep insight and expert knowledge of Caius’ facial expressions and what they all meant. This one was one that she so hoped to never see. This one was one she tried to avoid. And it hurt her tenfold to know that she was the one who had made his jaw flex like that.
That look was of unequivocal pain. Like a wooden bullet to his un-beating heart.
Tears began to swell and Evie looked back to the road, unable to take the agony shimmering in the pale blue pools of his eyes.
“What do you mean by that?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and let the tears fall before gasping a sob and staring ahead at the blurring patch of light from the headlights. “I’m human. I have a chance to live. I want to live. To have a normal life. But I can’t because it’s not with you. I was without you for a day and it was killing me. I love you more than life itself and it scares the crap out of me, Caius. If I lost you-” She shook her head vigorously, biting back sobs. “-I’d lose everything. I wouldn’t be able to cope. And that… that is intense. So intense, it’s terrifying.
“And now we’re back together, on the run. I have no idea where we are or where we’re going but I know one thing for certain and that is that this-” She lifted her hand from the steering wheel and gestured between them. “This is not going to work. No matter how desperately I want it to.” Her heart then thumped with realisation and she looked back at Caius. He was just staring at her with that same tortured expression. “Is that why you asked me if I wanted you to be human? Because you know this can’t work too but you know I don’t want you to Turn me back?”
His eyes flitted to the fields outside but he said nothing. Evie wasn’t in the mood to force an answer out of him so she just continued driving. “I brought you some jeans and shoes. They’re in the backpack.”
A silence rang between them as Caius shuffled about in the backseat, trying to wriggle himself in a pair of skinny jeans as Evie steered around bends and avoided potholes. Then Caius let out a throaty groan. He was lying down arching his back like he was being electrified.
“Caius?”
He groaned again in response and then relaxed, dropping on the seats and rubbing his temples. “Milah’s summoning me.”
Evie’s eyes widened. “Milah your Maker?”
He groaned. “Yeah.”
“What could she want? You haven’t heard from her in years.”
“I don’t know, but I have to go find out.”
She looked around them. They were still in the middle of nowhere. For all Evie knew, she was driving them further into the middle of nowhere. They had passed a few farmhouses and campsites along the way. That was it.
“You’re going to leave me here?”
He pushed himself up so he was lounged on his side, his dark hair hiding half of his face. He must have rubbed his face because there were only speckles of blood now under his eyes and in the creases of his nostrils. His light stubble was still coated in it.
“I’m sorry, Evie. I can’t ignore her. The pain-” He clenched his eyes shut and rubbed his head. “-it’ll only get worse. You’re going to have to pull over.”
“But where the hell am I supposed to go? How will you find me?”
“Evie, please.” He fell forwards and touched her shoulder, wheezing. “Pull over.”
Setting her jaw, she veered off and pulled up. “At least take your phone and I’ll give you my number.”
But Caius was already shoving the door open and stumbling out. “No time. I’m sorry. I have to go.” He grunted and almost fell to his knees. “She’s getting really pissed off.”
“Well that makes two of us!”
He looked back at her, his blue eyes shining through his hair in the moonlight. “I’ll come back for you, Evie. I promise.”
“But how?”
He showed her a slanted smile. “The same way I did before.”
She opened her mouth to speak but he set off with vampire speed, becoming a black blur in the dull grey mist.
She had been left alone in the middle of a country road. It felt like she hadn’t seen a sign in miles. What was she supposed to do? Wait? Keep driving? But where to?
Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to the passenger seat. A dark puddle was starting to form in the crease of the fabric, turning it an ugly brownish colour. She shifted her handbag to the side and noticed the corner of it was leaking. Leaking blood.
“Fuck!”
Hastily, she started rummaging through the blood bags and found the one that was leaking. It had been pierced by the comb she hadn’t realised she’d left in her bag.
“This is fucking fantastic,” she mumbled to herself. There was no point moving the other blood bags and cleaning out her handbag. But then it was going to stain the seat. She groaned inwardly and found some tissues stuffed under the driver’s seat.
Then there was a noise.
The back door of the car was still open and she felt the wind change as if disturbed. She sucked in a breath when she heard the sound again. A soft swoosh. A soft swoosh she was very familiar with.
The sound of vampires.
Clicking then started ringing around the car. The clicking of fangs unsheathing. She flipped her head from side to side, scanning her surroundings but the night had grown dark fast and all she could see was straight in front of her in the pool of light coming from her headlights. She leaned over her seat to try and pull the back door shut but when she grabbed the handle, another hand grabbed the edge of the door. Sharpened fingernails scraped against the metal. Whimpers started to leave her before she even got a good look at her new company.
The whole car bounced as something thrashed against the rear. Evie screamed and covered her mouth with her hands as a pale face pressed up against the back window. Eyes as black as pitch. The vampire was a woman with long dark hair that had a hint of blue against moonlight. It blew back from her face in the breeze, revealing her strong, angular face. Evie gasped and turned to the other vampire as it ripped the back door clean off and sent it hurtling into the field behind them. This one was male. He hissed and lunged at her but the door behind her flew open and she was grabbed from behind. Kicking and screaming, she was torn from the car. Her seatbelt dug into her chest painfully until it completely snapped off.
Claws dug into her middle, slicing through her jumper and raking across her stomach. Pain exploded through her body as she felt her hot, thick blood pouring from the tears. Snapping fangs rang down her ears as she thrashed against the body she was pinned to.
“Please, please don’t. Don’t hurt me, please!” she begged, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Please!”
But all she got was a chuckle from the female vampire who strolled up to her, licking her lips. The male vampire that lunged at her grabbed her handbag in the passenger seat and tore it open. He picked up a blood bag, sneered, and threw it back.
Fangs sank into her neck and she shrieked, trying to kick back against the vampire that had hold of her. But its arms were locked around her middle and now drenched in her blood. She was going nowhere. The female vampire swooped up in front of her and tore at her jumper before sinking her fangs into the other side of her throat. Evie garbled, coughing blood. She tried to plead. Tried to scream. But she was getting fainter and fainter with every passing second and her airways were quickly clogging up.
She could feel her life draining out of her.
Caius. Help me. Come back to me, Caius. Save me…
The vampires released her and threw her onto the road. She cried inwardly at the impact and squinted up at the three vampires over her, backlit by the moonlight and hazy in the soft rainfall.
She was coughing, choking on her own blood as it felt like fists of ice were squeezing her lungs. The vampires all cocked their heads, inspecting her, and clicked their nails together as if deliberating. The third vampire that had had her pinned back was another male with a bald head. With a start, Evie thought it was Guardian, the head of the Vampire Court that had forced Caius to Turn her. But this vampire was far too young looking.
This whole night seemed like a horrid remake of what had happened in that graveyard a hundred years ago. But one thing was different. This time she knew she was going to die for real.
She cringed and tried to cover her face but her limbs were no longer co-operating. The three vampires grinned down at her, blood dripping down their throats.
And then they lunged.
PART II – The New Maker
Chapter 11
“I think she’s waking up.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I’m right next to you. I don’t need the running commentary.”
“Sorry, I just saw her eyes flickering. I’ll shut up then, shall I?”
“That would be best. Although I know that’s wishful thinking.”
“Do you really want her to wake up to all this negativity?”
“Shut up, Alex. And back up, would you? You’re going to scare her.”
“Oh, I’m going to scare her, am I? What are you trying to say? That I have a scary face?”
“Your face is fine. Just step back.”
“My face is better than fine and you know it.”
The voices were so loud, like they were talking down a megaphone. The strange voices mixed with the impossibly loud gong of a grandfather clock and the incessant thumping of heavy rain all swirled together into a mess of white noise that Evie couldn’t bear. She tried to shift onto her side in the emptiness of her closed eyes but her body wouldn’t budge from her lack of energy. A pain lanced through her jaw, making her groan deep in her throat. The sound was brittle and groggy. She tried to lift her hand to cup her face but she ached all over. Her muscles felt as heavy as rock. Flickering her eyes open, she winced at the harsh light.
“Turn the light off,” she heard a voice say. A female voice. The bright pink of her closed eyelids dulled to a deep scarlet and when she opened her eyes once more, her vision blurred then sharpened onto a woman knelt before her.
She was on the floor. Carpet. She was in a house. Not her house. This woman’s house? A table lamp behind the woman’s head lit the room a dull orange. Once tuned into her surroundings, she could hear properly again, like the volume had been lowered on everything yet she swore she could hear the humming of the electricity running through the walls.
The woman was beautiful, with soft pale skin, plush pink lips and a strong jaw. Her honey blonde hair was pin straight and fell forwards like two curtains.
“Hi.” The stranger smiled at her. Her eyes were a stormy mixture of blue and green yet when she smiled, they seemed to light up.
Evie opened her mouth to speak but her throat was dry so she ended up coughing. She cleared her throat and tried again. “H-hi.”
“Phew, she’s English. That could have been awkward. Then again, I probably should learn some other languages but really, who has the time?”
Evie’s eyes shot to the source of the second voice. A young man was leaning against the wall covered in sickly floral wallpaper that made Evie’s eyes hurt. He was handsome. No, beautiful. Even more strikingly beautiful than the woman before her. His skin was lily white and his face was a masterpiece of sharp angles and hollows. His dirty blond hair fell to just above his shoulders. One half flopped forwards, covering his left eye while the other half was tucked neatly behind his ear.
He must have been around Evie’s human age judging by his youthful glow and clothing choice, a lot of leather and ripped denim.
He raised his light eyebrows with a smile and Evie quickly shook her head and looked back at the woman before her when she realised she had been staring.
“Who are-” Evie’s voice broke with a gasp and she jerked up when a memory flashed in her mind, burning her vision white for a fraction of a second. The strangers watched her expectantly like they were waiting for a kettle to boil. She started panting but something felt wrong. The air. It felt empty. She felt empty. Realisation hit her and she smacked her hand to her chest desperate to find her heart racing. But it wasn’t. It was cold and lifeless inside her. “Oh my God.” Her shoulders sagged as her vision started to stain red with ugly blood tears. “I’m a vampire, aren’t I?”
“Ooh, this one’s clever!” said the man with a grin.
The woman before her went to touch her shoulder but Evie jerked back. The woman was wearing a smart, elegant white blouse with a burnt scarlet leather jacket over the top. Evie studied her and her eyes widened when their gazes locked. Something surged though her, strong and unavoidable like a tidal wave. Suddenly, she had the urge to embrace her. Just before she gave in and allowed her arms to reach out to the welcomed stranger, Evie drew back with a start. This wasn’t the first time she’d had that feeling. She remembered when she had opened her eyes and had seen Caius gazing down at her in the graveyard. She felt safe and secure, even when she was surrounded by psychotic vampires.
“Y-you…” She pushed herself up and leaned against the edge of the sofa behind her. The woman just smiled and crossed her legs before her on the carpet. “You’re my Maker?”
The woman’s eyebrows rose, impressed.
“Wow.” The man pushed himself off the wall and squatted down to get a better look at Evie. “She really is clever.”
“Yes, I am your Maker,” said the woman with an air of… pride? “My name is Varsee. And that’s my brother, Alexander.” She waggled her dainty hand in the direction of the man but never took her eyes off Evie. “We found you dying at the side of the road. I sort of have this sixth sense when it comes to finding progenies. I know which ones are worth the risk.” She looked to her brother and sighed. “Something my brother sadly lacks.”
The Progeny Page 15