She suddenly felt very empty inside. She had thought so ill of him.
Then she recalled Dr. Weilms interview when he spoke about a Joseph Turner who had been on the project. Everything slotted together.
“What happened to him?” she asked, unable to remember what else the doctor had said. “To them.”
“They got out. I made sure of it.”
Evie nodded, satisfied. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for him. He’s a good man.” He spun to Caius. “As for you, Caius. What do I have to say to you?”
Caius stuck out his hand as an offering. “It was nice knowing you, Alexander, and I wish you all the best.”
Alexander smiled and grasped his hand in a firm shake. “Likewise. Although I would have loved it if we’d been able to hook up on the down low.” He winked and let go. Caius blinked, perplexed. Alexander cackled. “Lighten up, old man. I’m kidding. Well, I’m not because you’re gorgeous but I’d never get in between you two.” He glanced at Evie. “I know true love when I see it.”
Evie flushed and Caius sent her an easy smile.
Alexander moved on to Robin.
“Nico is a sick bastard,” Robin grumbled. “I can’t believe he’s taking you away from us.”
“Come ‘ere.” Robin’s eyes bulged when Alexander threw his arms around him, squeezing the young vampire tightly. “Don’t you worry about Nico. He’ll get what he deserves sooner or later.” Alexander released him and held him at arm’s length. “I’ll be waiting for you to show your face again.”
“Nothing will stop me.”
Alexander grinned and slapped him playfully on the arm. “That’s the spirit.”
Alexander spent another few minutes wandering around the farmhouse, picking up the surviving pieces of Mrs. Braverman’s collectables and placing them back down again. Evie watched within Caius’ arms as his face sank with the dawning realisation that this was it. This was the end.
In the corner of her eye, she could see Robin with his fist against his trembling lips, irritably swatting away tears when they sprang free. Varsee was sitting on the bottom step, gazing vacantly at the floor between her feet.
The house was so quiet. Caius pressed his lips against Evie’s forehead and she closed her eyes at the touch.
Never leave me, she thought as the shadows of Varsee’s plagued feelings swam through her. I’m not as strong as her. I’d never make it through.
It was three in the morning when Alexander tapped Varsee on the shoulder and told her that he was ready. She brushed away a tear and silently got to her feet. He looked back to the rest of them standing in the living room and gave them a farewell salute. Robin openly sobbed then. The sudden outburst set off everyone else. Evie was juddering in Caius’ arms and he held her tight, his own emotions subdued to just a crease in his forehead.
Varsee pushed her brother gently, guiding him towards the door. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
Alexander nodded, dipped his head, and left. Varsee shut the door behind them and the three remaining vampires sped to the window to watch them leave. It was so dark outside that even with her vampire sight, Evie could barely make out two black forms walking down the path.
She felt sick to her stomach at the thought that only one would be returning.
Now it really did feel like the end.
Epilogue
It was a clear night. The stars were shining in the sky like crystals on a cobalt blue shroud. The summer nights were the nights when vampires felt just that little more… dead. Separate. Like the line between human and vampire had split into a huge chasm. The air stood still and with vampires unable to experience changes in temperature, the soft caress of a breeze was the only thing that stopped them feeling like an awake corpse.
Caius didn’t like the summer for that reason. Although the winter wasn’t much better, having to slap his own cheeks to bring out a hint of colour whenever he went out in public really irked him. To be honest, Caius’ default setting was mild displeasure.
But as he leaned back on the wall he had perched himself on and gazed up at the cloudless sky, he did feel an easiness and comfort with his company that he had long ago forced himself to stamp out.
“You know, Guardian still wants you. Every time I go gallivanting off to see you, he tells me to do everything in my power to sway you.”
“I’ve told you time and time again, Milah, I am not joining the Court,” said Caius in an exasperated exhale. His long hair swished over his shoulders as he rocked back ever so slightly, just to create some sort of draft.
Milah sighed, squeezing the blood bag in her hand so the red contents funnelled up the unscrewed cap. She sucked eagerly, swinging her legs beneath her like an innocent child enjoying an ice-cream. They were both sat on the wall of the hospital car park. Milah had hunted Caius down as he had nipped into the hospital to grab his monthly assigned blood bags. The supply at the farmhouse was running low.
“You’re basically doing our job anyway. Might as well make it official,” said Milah, her blue eyes wide and on him. “And then you won’t have to call for me every time you get into trouble. Not that I mind at all, obviously.” She winked.
She was wearing a short summer dress that fell just below her knees. White, of course, with a lace frill. Her long raven hair tumbled down her chest in curls and her lips were stained from her blood bag. Not a night went by that Caius had the slightest doubt that things could have happened differently that night in the cottage when he had been Turned. Right from the moment he had laid eyes on her, he was hers.
“What do you mean? I’m not doing your job.”
She screwed the cap back on the blood bag and rested it on her lap. “You’re taking care of the Cured guy, right? Checking up on him. Making sure he doesn’t go wandering off and you know, commit genocide or whatever.”
Caius’ eyebrows furrowed. “You mean Alexander?”
“The handsome blond, yes. It’s a pity he was cured and has that deadly virus swimming through his veins. He looks positively delicious.” The tip of her tongue flicked out and swiped up a remaining droplet of blood on her plump lips. “But looks can be deceiving. The thrill of sinking my fangs into that beauty is not worth the consequence.”
And the consequence was a one-way ticket to puddlesville. Because there was no cure now. Those thirteen unfortunate, haunted souls were the first and the last. Nico’s incredibly flawed ‘cure’ had died with him.
His death was publicised nonstop for several weeks afterwards. Nico’s seemingly innocent face was plastered on every front page and on every screen. But no one really cared. It wasn’t exactly unexpected. He had a lot of powerful enemies. The cause of his death had been by vampire which was also no surprise.
Doctor Bergan hadn’t been sent to prison for his crimes because they were against vampires and not humans so they weren’t considered crimes at all. Experimenting and torturing vampires was not illegal. Varsee had thrown her shoe at the TV screen when one news reporter actually compared what had transpired in the basement of Nico’s mansion to animal testing.
But Guardian certainly got the last laugh when his patience paid off and he was able to rip the pompous visionary’s beating heart from his chest. It seemed that the doctor had been stowed in a not-so-safe safe house after all. Unfortunately for Guardian, the doctor’s blood was also riddled with his very own specially made virus and so the heart was burned along with the body when Guardian had longed to have it for dinner. The members of the Court in the vicinity were invited to watch the burning of the body as if it were some sort of ceremony. It was incredibly fitting that it all took place on bonfire night. And Nice Bergan was their very own Guy Fawkes.
“I’m not taking care of Alexander. He doesn’t even remember me. I just observe from afar on occasion. But most of the time I don’t even go.”
“Because you busy yourself by doing the blood run instead.” Milah arched an eyebrow down at the full plastic bag a
t Caius’ feet.
Caius bent his head down, feeling a swelling of guilt press behind his breastbone. “It’s just weird... him being there but… it not being him.”
“It is him. Just human.”
Caius shook his head. “I don’t mean that. I mean him not remembering. I guess the whole wiping memories thing, it brings up a part of the past that I’d rather not think about.”
He was referring to Evie’s William. He had changed that man’s whole perception of Evie that night without a second thought.
Milah nodded, understanding. “If only you could have your memories wiped, huh?” She nudged him playfully.
He smiled at the ground but then shook his head. “I’d never want that.”
“Never want what?”
“To forget.” He looked at her straight in the eyes. The connection between them was visceral and intense. It always was - even if they were a million miles away from each other. But in times like this, when their eyes locked at such a close proximity, the fixation between one another was like a thunderclap. Everything just snapped into place. The opposite poles of two magnets smacking together.
Milah gulped, her eyes vibrating in their sockets as the silence grew. Caius inspected her. The face of his mother who had birthed him into this new life. “I want to remember it all.”
She smiled, a delicate smile that broke her lips just enough for the tips of her fangs to poke through. “Really? Even after everything I did? We did. What I made you do.”
“It’s all part of who I am. And it’s all led me to who I am today.”
“You mean a melodramatic martyr in dire need of a haircut?”
Caius laughed and rolled his eyes to the moon that gazed at them from above, bathing them both in its serene glow.
“I have another question.” She tapped his calf with the tip of her dainty plimsoll. “If the cure was still around and it was perfectly safe and you were promised a wonderfully happy life, would you take it?”
“Are you asking me if I would choose to be human again?”
She nodded. “And don’t worry about hurting my feelings. I just want the truth.”
Caius hesitated, his eyes swimming absently over her porcelain face as he tasted the question. “Yes. Yes, I would take it.”
Milah’s eyes glazed over, fogging with disapproval. Her body wilted. “Forget about Evie. Evie doesn’t exist. Would you take it?”
It was no surprise to him that Milah was able to read his mind. He knew she could read him like an open book. And she knew just how deep Caius’ love for Evie was. It wasn’t even an emotion, a separate entity. It was a part of him, woven into his very being.
“Without Evie?” Caius’ voice was hoarse. “I would still take it.”
Milah guffawed. “Liar.”
“What? That’s not a lie.”
Milah rolled her eyes as if she didn’t even need to back herself up. This angered Caius. His back straightened.
“It’s not. Vampirism is a curse. We are beasts that drink the life essence of what we once were. We have to hide out in the shadows like phantoms.”
Milah was chuckling to herself, shaking away the words.
Rage boiled up in Caius’ gut. He twisted his body towards her, renowned vigour making his voice louder and stronger. “I’ve lived for ten centuries. And I have done nothing with my life. I have just… persisted to be. And it gets tiring. Immortality is tiring. So yes, I would like to be human again so that I could grow old gracefully, achieve things in my time, and die. Why are you laughing?!”
Milah waved her hand at him, her other hand pressed against her stomach as if calming laughter-induced cramps. “Oh, Caius.” She wiped away a bloody tear and locked eyes with him. “You really think you believe that, don’t you?”
“It’s because I do.”
Milah smiled at him pityingly. “Sweetheart, you lived through the Rage.”
Caius’ brows creased. “So?”
Her cerulean eyes shone at him. “Only the vampires that were determined to live survived the Rage.”
Her eyebrows quirked up as self-satisfaction radiated from her. She swung her legs happily. “When I Turned you, Caius, I took you from nothing. From a human life, yes. But a bloody boring one. You had no wife, no girlfriend, no kids. You weren’t close to your family. No aspirations. I saved you from dying alone and being eaten by your own cats.”
“I didn’t have cats.”
“Oh yes, those came after. See-” She slapped his upper arm. “If I hadn’t Turned you, you wouldn’t have met Catherine.”
Caius’ heart sank. “And she wouldn’t have been killed by the Court.”
Milah’s smile turned upside down. But then her eyes sparkled and she slapped him again. “You would have never met Evie.”
“And she would have married William and had a normal human life.”
“Which would have been all well and good for her, but what about you, Caius? What about your happiness? Are you saying you would have been happy living and dying having never met the two loves of your life?”
Caius’ gaze drifted to the ground. He had never thought about it that way before. He found himself rubbing his chest absently as a chill seeped into his bones. There would have been a hole, a gigantic open abyss inside him had he never met Catherine and Evie. And that was the truth. The real truth. The realisation left him speechless.
Milah patted him on the back and Caius felt like she was waking him up from a dream, no, a nightmare. A nightmare of his own creation. All the hate, the anger, the hurt, the pain, it all felt so small now. Like an ugly blot he could easily wash out. And he was finally able to do it.
He was seeing the world through brand new eyes.
Being Turned had been the best thing that had ever happened to him.
_____ # _____
Evie’s eyes were trained on the window of the terrace house just down the road. She couldn’t bear to look to her immediate left because she knew what she’d see if she did. Her Maker trying desperately to hold herself together.
Robin was sitting on the sofa in the cosy looking living room of the house. He was opposite Alexander and Daisy. The two humans had cups of tea while Robin sat empty handed, his young face rapt and posture relaxed.
“He looks so different. He doesn’t even look like my brother anymore,” said Varsee, her voice holding a frail quality.
They were both standing on a grassy verge at the end of the street but they could see what was transpiring within Alexander’s house easily.
Evie furrowed her brows, inspecting Alexander. He didn’t look that different to her. His hair was a little shorter, styled so that it was short at the back and sides but he still had his signature blond locks on top. It was possible that he may have grown facial hair but that could have just been shadow, and slight creases had formed at the edges of his eyes. But that was bound to happen. He was human now; he was going to age. And it had been three years since he’d been cured.
But he was still Alexander, without a shadow of a doubt. He even wore the same outlandish outfits. His leopard print silk shirt and tight leather trousers matched perfectly with Daisy’s corset-style black dress and fishnet tights.
Alexander and Daisy were laughing at whatever Robin was saying, an easy, free-flowing laugh that made them curl up into each other.
“He looks so happy,” Varsee gushed with nostalgia. “Really, truly happy. He could never fool me. I always knew he was hiding his pain. He knew it, too. He was hiding it from himself. But now- that’s not an act down there. That’s real.” Her lips formed a thin white line. “Am I selfish to want him back the way he was? Back when he needed me? I miss that. I miss that so much. Being needed.”
Evie grasped her Maker’s hand so tight it locked her bones. “I need you.”
Varsee sent her a sad smile and squeezed her fingers. It was a smile that said thank you for the offer but that’s not good enough. Evie didn’t take it to heart, she knew it wasn’t personal. Evie would never
fill the crater Alexander had left. And she didn’t want to.
“I wish I could tell him how proud I am of him,” said Varsee, looking back into the window. “He’s made a good life for himself.”
Evie smiled. “Who’d have thought he’d settle down?”
“Oh, he always wanted to. But Elizabeth had a strong hold on his heart. I’m glad he’s finally let her go and moved on.”
Evie thought back to when Alexander had proposed Varsee to wipe his memory, and how he had also wanted to forget his feelings for a man called Seb. It sounded to Evie that Daisy hadn’t been the first person to win him over since his wife. But Seb had tragically took his own life. Evie had all her fingers crossed that Alexander’s relationship with Daisy was going to be one that lasted. Alexander deserved a happy ending.
“Are you doing any better?” asked Evie. It may have been three years since Varsee had rooted around in her brother’s head and erased most of the bad but that wasn’t very long for a vampire. Sometimes it felt like a week could be missed in a blink of an eye.
Varsee nodded. “I’m fine.” Her voice wobbled with emotion. “I’m a survivor, Evie. I’m fine.”
And by the tone of her voice, Evie knew exactly what she meant.
I’m fine. Never great, not even good. But fine.
Evie looked to the house and saw the empty living room. The handle of the front door then pushed downwards. Robin was leaving.
She had almost forgotten she was still holding hands with Varsee, their cool palms had formed together like two stone statues. But then the sudden tension in Varsee’s grasp sent an echo of pain up Evie’s arm.
Robin stepped outside. His head was still turned to the happy couple in the hallway.
“It was great to see you again, kid,” said Alexander, leaning out to give him a one-armed hug. Robin noticeably stiffened in the embrace, still not completely comfortable with physical shows of affection.
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