The Progeny

by Shelley Crowley

  “The story will die out soon,” said Varsee, her eyes heavy-lidded and voice low.

  “Why do you say that?” asked Evie.

  “You saw what just happened. They want justice. And justice will not be served. They can’t risk people getting on their side.”

  “But she’s right. Nico should be punished,” said Robin, his voice tight with anger. “He can’t get away with what he’s done.” He gestured hopelessly to Alexander. “That isn’t Alexander.”

  Varsee scowled, pulling her brother closer against her. “Watch your mouth.”

  “It’s true!” Robin snapped back.

  Evie felt Caius’ hand on her hip press against her more firmly, trying to pull her closer to him and away from the armchairs. This was new. Robin never lashed out – especially not at Varsee.

  The blonde vampire stared him down, her eyes flashing like molten lava in the firelight. Robin’s fingers were curled into the arms of the chair, his back bristled as if he was getting himself ready to lunge. The tension between them was palpable. Evie almost felt the urge to hold her breath.

  “Do you think I’m stupid? Of course, I know he’s different. I probably know more about Alex than he knows about himself.” Varsee gulped, her face suddenly blanching. “At least, I used to.” She stroked her brother’s hair and smiled down at him mournfully. “I wish I knew what was going on inside his head. But he won’t let me in. Patience. That’s all we need. Patience.”

  She snapped her attention back to Robin. “And I need you all behind me with this. Because if not, you know where the door is.”

  Robin shrank back, his chin against his chest like a disciplined child. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Varsee said nothing, but instead leaned carefully across her chair and switched the TV off.

  If it wasn’t for the sun’s ability to knock a vampire out cold, Evie wouldn’t have been able to sleep. She was so pent up all the time now. In a constant state between numbness and complete panic. Her equilibrium was lost to her. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

  Alexander was getting to everyone. It was like that part in The Beach where the man got bitten by the shark and would scream throughout the days and nights while everyone else just stared in wide-eyed vacant horror, contemplating whether to just slit his throat to put him out of his misery. It was a sick thought, Evie knew. And this was different, anyway. Alexander had no physical ailments. It would have been better if he had. Then they would know what to do, how to treat him. This was so much worse.

  Nothing was ever simple when it came to mental illnesses. And it wasn’t like Alexander’s was even a known condition that had remedies. This was all Nico’s doing. Stupid, delusional Nico, thinking he could cure the world when all he actually managed to do was ruin the lives of fourteen – presumably – harmless vampires. And all the lives that they touched.

  Evie felt helpless as a friend and as a progeny. It was the most excruciating thing for a vampire, not being able to be what your Maker needed. It was her job to take care of Varsee but she was completely at a loss. Thrown down a pit that she couldn’t even fathom a way to climb back out of.

  To say she was glad when she felt the sun coaxing her to slumber like fingers prodding her towards her huge, plush bed, was an understatement.

  Chapter 34

  Four nights had passed with no real change. No progression.

  Varsee had been right about the story dying out. There were already noticeably less updates about the ‘Cured’ on the news. It meant that there were no distractions. And no distractions sent the farmhouse back into being a very tense, unwelcoming place.

  Evie and Caius had spent most of their time holding each other, trying to seek some sort of comfort. Robin was like a shadow, drifting from his bedroom to his armchair, barely saying a word. After his snap at Varsee, he had receded into himself. He was now containing his feelings, and his voice along with them.

  And then there was Varsee and Alexander. Evie couldn’t even fathom what was going on between the two of them, all she knew was that her Maker was gravely ill. Emotionally exhausted. She could feel it in her bones.

  Caius was sitting at the foot of the bed when Evie woke. His pale back glowed softly in the grey darkness. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, bunching the covers against her chest.

  “I don’t want to go out there,” she admitted, her whisper was so loud in the dead silence.

  “Me neither,” Caius replied. “He’s not going to be any different.”

  “I feel so sorry for both of them.”

  “We can’t do anything.”

  “We just need to be there for them. But don’t you get the feeling that we are just getting in the way?” Evie stared at Caius’ back, seeking for some sort of reaction. “We all seem to just be getting on top of each other. We have no room for our own feelings.”

  “Varsee can’t do this alone. She’s a strong person, but Alexander is her Achilles heel.” He paused. “It’s the people that feel like they need to be strong that crumble the quickest,” his voice was a soft murmur, as if he was reciting something he had once read or heard.

  Evie dropped the duvet and crawled across the bed to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and placed her chin on his shoulder. He tilted his head slightly so that they were cheek to cheek. Evie closed her eyes at the contact and felt the burn of brewing tears as she remembered how lonely she had felt when she had left him. If she ever lost Caius, really lost him – that would be it for her. There would be no coming back from that. It was a daunting concept but it was the truth. One simply couldn’t live without the other.

  “I heard Varsee leave earlier,” said Caius.

  Evie turned her head, blinking at him in the dark. “Where?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “With Alexander?”

  “It didn’t sound like it.”

  “She hasn’t left the house since he was taken away.”

  “I know. Maybe you should go and find her. I’ll check up on Alexander, I think he’s still in Varsee’s bedroom.”

  Evie scrabbled about collecting her clothes then had the afterthought that maybe she had put them on backwards in her haste as she hurried down the stairs. Robin was in front of the TV.

  “Varsee? Where did she go?” Evie asked.

  He turned to her. “She said she needed to vent.”

  Evie sent him a quizzical look to which he replied with a shrug.

  Outside on the country road, Evie closed her eyes and searched for her tie to Varsee within her. It was an odd sensation, trying to search for something that you were always aware was there. She could always feel the influence of their bond but, at the same time, it felt normal. Like something that shouldn’t be thought about. Like humans breathing in oxygen.

  She imagined herself snatching the rope from her depths, tugging it and watching it pull taut. Varsee was on the other end, resisting. She followed the rope, letting it pool behind her as she closed the distance.

  She hopped over a fence and landed in the field. The grass was frosty and crunched under her feet. Getting closer now. The pull was more insistent. Two opposite magnets seeking each other. She squinted in the darkness. It was empty apart from a dark figure hunched over several yards away.

  Evie jogged over, deciding not to use her vampire speed and possibly frighten her. She wanted Varsee to know she was coming, and hoped it wouldn’t make her bolt.

  As Evie got closer, she noticed more smaller black forms scattered around Varsee’s kneeling body. The smell hit her before her eyes grew accustom to what was before her. Her nostrils flared at the smell of fresh blood. Fresh animal blood.

  “Varsee – oh my God.” Evie grinded to a halt. Varsee had her back to her and her head bent. The black forms around her were the remains of a sheep. A hind leg had been torn clean off and the stomach of the poor animal had been gutted. The ribcage was shattered and stuck up like gruesome grabbling claws. The blood made the whole scene glis
ten in the moonlight like tar.

  Evie looked around the sparse field before settling her eyes back on Varsee. There were no other sheep, alive or dead, around them. “Did you break into the paddock?”

  “Just be thankful there aren’t any humans around for miles.” Her voice was rough, haggard.

  Evie gulped at the thought. “What happened?”

  “There was no more crockery for me to break.”

  “You’re angry.”

  Her bloody hand screwed into fists on her lap. “Of course I’m angry.”

  Wanting to see her face, Evie walked around and sank onto the grass before her. Varsee peered at her through her hair. Blood tracks were smudged across her cheeks. “This is hard, Evie.”

  “I know.”

  “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “Looking after your brother.”

  “But I don’t know if I’m doing it right.” She sobbed.

  Evie thought back to what Caius had told her. “I felt like that once. Caius was in a bad state when he first Turned me. He had just lost someone who he loved very much. I didn’t even really know Caius then, and I had no idea what I was doing, but apparently I helped him through his grief.”

  “What did you do?” Varsee asked in a small voice.

  Evie shrugged. “I was just there for him. Which was pretty difficult because I hated his guts back then.”

  Varsee’s eyebrow quirked up dubiously.

  Evie laughed. “Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true.”

  Varsee started to absently pick at the dried blood on her hands. “I know what you’re saying but I guess I just got a little overwhelmed. It’s so horrible seeing him like this. He’s even worse than when Godfrey first Turned him and he came back from checking up on his family.” She shook her head sadly. “He was such a mess back then, but it was nothing compared to this. I feel like I can’t even get through to him. That he’s blocking me out. There are those little moments when I think he’s reaching out, but then he just shuts off again. Somehow, I think that’s worse.

  “He keeps having fevered dreams, too,” Varsee continued. “I had to put a towel underneath him on the bed, he was sweating that much.” She was wringing her hands now. “He mumbles stuff. I can’t make out most of it but I caught him talking about Elizabeth and his son. The rest is a jumble, things from the war. Someone called Seb. I figured he must have been someone he had been in the army with.” She sighed and pushed her hair back, exposing her bloody face. Her eyes were downcast, focusing on her fumbling fingers.

  “It’s like he’s being plagued by his past, and now that he’s human, he’s more emotional. More vulnerable. How do you fix someone whose problems are in the past?” Her stormy eyes found Evie’s. The look was sombre, depleted – like she wasn’t even searching for an answer. Because there wasn’t one.

  “Do you want me to leave?” asked Evie.

  Varsee nodded, looking back down at her hands on her lap. “I’ll come back to the house in a bit. I just need to clear my head.”

  For her own peace of mind, Evie went upstairs to check up on Alexander. She had already been told by Caius, who had check up on him a few moments ago, that he was tipsy but fine.

  Varsee’s bedroom was empty but then Evie noticed that the bathroom door was ajar. She pushed it further open tentatively, not wanting to barge in on him.

  She stepped into the room. “What are you doing sat in the bath?”

  Alexander’s head lolled back and he gazed up at her with unseeing eyes. He had his bottle of Jack Daniel’s held by the neck wedged beside him. His hair was tied back but it was slick with sweat. The strands that had come loose were stuck to his neck in swirls. His whole body glistened with the sheen of perspiration. Even his black boxers – the only item of clothing he was wearing – were a shade darker and plastered to the tops of his thighs like they had been painted on.

  His lips parted, or more like his bottom jaw dropped as if suddenly unhinged. “What I am supposed to do, Evie?” His words were slurred, and it somehow made the pain in them more acute.

  The question dropped her to her knees. “What do you mean?” She lay her forearms on the bath, attempting to look collected and relaxed.

  His blue eyes roved hers, all wide and crazed. “I don’t belong here.”

  “Of course you do.”

  He clamped down on his own tongue, shaking his head with clenched eyes, fending off her words. “No. Not true. I heard what Robin said the other night. He’s right. This isn’t me.” A sudden sob escaped him. He waved his hand to the healed brand on his neck. “I mean look at me!” He wailed, and the bottle beside him knocked over. The brown contents sloshed to the cap but didn’t spill. It was already half empty. “I’m all scarred up like fucking Frankenstein’s monster.”

  At a loss for words, Evie grabbed his hand instead and squeezed. He sobbed again. It was more like a convulsion that wracked his whole body.

  “In this house full of vampires, it doesn’t work. It can’t work.” He shook his head furiously. “Things could have been different if he was here. But Nico took him from me.”

  “Who?” Evie squeezed his hand harder. “Who’s he?”

  Alexander blinked, watery eyes setting on Evie. “I’m so alone.”

  “No, you’re not. You have us. You have Varsee. We’re not leaving you.”

  “Maybe you should. I’m dead weight.”

  “No.” Evie’s voice was harsh with steely resolve. “Don’t think that. Once you think that, Nico’s won. Varsee loves you. She’s determined to sort this out.”

  “But maybe that’s the problem.” Suddenly, there was a change in his gaze. Tectonic plates shifting. He looked like he was almost pleading with Evie. The look chilled her. A lone tear ran down the curvature of his face and dripped off his chin.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  His lips pursed together so tight they became a white line. “I don’t know,” he sobbed. “I don’t know anything anymore. My thoughts don’t feel like my own.” He jerked forwards, his face inches from Evie’s. She could smell his sweat. His fear. His wrongness. Black fumes clogging her nose. What has Nico done to you? “I hear things, Evie. See things. They come back to me. All the things I’ve locked away.” He pressed two shaking fingers to the back of his head. “He’s broken the seal, and it’s all coming through.”

  Evie could see her own horror reflected in his huge, feral eyes. A lump lodged in her throat. A trapped scream. Part of her wanted to flee, but he still had her hand. It was then she realised that she was no longer squeezing his hand, but that he was gripping onto hers. Tight. So tight that if she had been human, she would have been worried about the loss of blood flow to her fingers.

  After a few calming breaths, Evie spoke. Her voice was calm as she emphasised each word. “I’m not going to lie to you, Alexander, I don’t have the answers you’re looking for.”

  His body noticeably relaxed, like all his bones had turned to mud. But he didn’t look disheartened by Evie’s words. He looked resigned.

  “That’s because there are no answers, Evie. Nico isn’t dead because I didn’t kill him.”

  “Why didn’t you kill him?”

  “Like I’ve said before, I wanted to give him the chance to redeem himself. To fix us. But they don’t care, do they?” His brows knitted with despair and Evie let out a slight gasp. He looked so much like Caius in that fraction of a second. That hopeless lurch of his right eyebrow always hit her in a very visceral way. “Instead they just mark us and hope we’ll keep our distance. Let’s not make too much of a fuss about it. They’ll all probably be dead in a few months, anyway.”

  “Varsee won’t let you die.”

  He showed a weary smile. “No, she won’t.”

  Evie smiled back, but hers also felt brittle. Smile and pretend everything’s fine.

  Everything’s fine.

  “I’m going to go down and cook you something, okay?”

  “My sis left because of
me, didn’t she?”

  Evie forced the lump back down her throat. “She just needed to clear her head, that’s all.”

  “She’s tired. I’m tired. I do nothing but sleep and I’m exhausted.”

  “Sleep and drink,” Evie chastised softly and bent over the bath, ceasing the Jack Daniels. His hand fell from hers as he pathetically tried to grab it back off her with a whine. It slipped through his fingers like an oily fish.

  “Maybe we could drink together? They say it heals.” He flashed her his signature cocky-flirty grin, yet it was a little lopsided. He could barely hold his eyes open.

  “Thanks for the offer but I think I’ll pass.” Evie got to her feet. “Now get cleaned up and I’ll make you some food.”

  Alexander fumbled to his feet, almost tripping over himself. Evie hovered in the doorway, wondering if it was right of her to leave him in such a state. She caught his eye. His back was turned and he was grinning at her over his shoulder. “You can stay and watch if you’d like.” And in one swift motion, his boxers were at his ankles. Evie squeaked and slammed the door shut.

  She leaned back against the door and smiled. There was the Alexander they knew and loved.

  The soft, pleasant sound of piano keys greeted Evie as she headed down the stairs. She smiled and cocked her head, pausing in the hall to listen to the caressing notes being playing by Caius’ deftly fingers. She knew it was him. She recognised the melody. Back when Evie had first been Turned and Caius began to actually engage with her, he had attempted to cement their growing bond by teaching her the piano. Her lessons had lasted a whole week before they had both given up. Evie had been an awful student with the lack of interest and skill. Caius had been a short-tempered teacher, releasing his residual heartache and anger onto her. She hadn’t been able to get her head around reading music and so, when she had messed up the melody Caius had thought he had successfully taught her, he had snapped and slammed the fallboard down on her hands, breaking all of her fingers.