No Such Thing As Immortality

by Sarah Tranter

  ‘We know he died, because of his last communication with his coven. It was made on the day of the fire and there’s been nothing else since. Seth Locke was able to communicate like us, but over greater distances. He made a call for urgent assistance to Fergus. He told him, if he was too late, Rowan and Clare were in the cellar. It wasn’t Clare’s cries that alerted the human fire services to their presence, but Fergus. Despite responding immediately, they arrived too late to save Seth and Rosie.’

  I moved to sit in the armchair by the bookcase, in a darkened corner of the room, and let my head drop into my hands. Rowan wanted to know more about her parents, but any discovery she made would be devastating. Her parents had been murdered. That should be more than enough for anyone to bear. But that wasn’t the half of it. She had absolutely no idea – and why should she? – what her father, and myself, were. I really wasn’t sure how any human could handle that enlightenment.

  ‘But how was he killed?’ Elizabeth asked, her terror unmasked.

  ‘As we know, there aren’t many ways to kill us. The only way we’ve been aware of is through other vampires severely wounding us and then our bodies being burnt to prevent regeneration. Fergus considers there are other methods, involving dark magic.’

  ‘Dark magic?’ Elizabeth whimpered.

  Frederick snorted in disbelief. ‘What is Fergus on?’

  ‘They found a number of strange-scented trails around the house. They attempted to track them, but they led nowhere.’

  ‘Okay, forgetting the method for a moment, which incidentally is giving me the willies – Why? Why kill them?’ James demanded.

  ‘We don’t know. That’s where speculation comes in. Nate – are you okay?’

  I gave a curt nod. I was currently experiencing the newfound sensation of empathy – and couldn’t stop thinking how this would all impact on Rowan. As a result, I was barely holding things together.

  ‘Rowan doesn’t know any of this – does she?’ It was more statement from Madeleine than question.

  I shook my head. I didn’t yet feel able to communicate in anything other than small movements of my head.

  ‘Fergus said she’d no idea. He is, incidentally, Rowan’s godfather – her Uncle Fergus.’

  ‘You are kidding me!’ Frederick cried.

  ‘This just gets better!’ James muttered. Both effectively verbalised my sentiments.

  ‘He sends human birthday cards and Christmas cards, but she’s never been enlightened as to what he is. The last time he officially saw Rowan was at the funeral when she was six. He volunteered his assistance with bringing the girls up, but was more than a little relieved when Aunty Hetty stepped in.’

  ‘Does Aunty Hetty know what Fergus is?’ Elizabeth asked.

  ‘Yes. She also knew about Seth, hence we can assume she senses what we are.’

  James exhaled his breath in an amazed whistle, whilst shaking his head. ‘So Rowan Locke has been surrounded by vampires and now finds one besotted with her …’ I could feel James’ eyes on me, ‘… and yet she doesn’t even know we exist!’

  ‘Nate?’ Madeleine prompted, obviously checking this was still the case. I nodded again.

  ‘Why was he killed though?’ Frederick asked quietly. ‘Was it … because he was involved with a human?’ I now felt all of their eyes upon me. I refused to read their thoughts.

  Madeleine continued, ‘No, it wasn’t that, but we don’t know the reason yet. And this is where it gets even more difficult, I’m afraid.’

  I took a deep breath, pleased my head was already in my hands and my eyes shut. Perhaps Rowan was catching, I reflected. She currently had her head in the sand, not wanting to know what I was. And at this point in time, I relished the idea of doing likewise. I really didn’t want to know anything more. I was struggling to resist the urge to get up and leave. All I wanted was Rowan – full stop. I didn’t need to know about her history. I just wanted her – even though I knew I couldn’t have her. I didn’t want any more complications; there was no more space inside me for dealing with them.

  ‘He married Rosie Fairchild and they lived a conventional human lifestyle for all intents and purposes, even adopting two mortal children, whom they were clearly bringing up as human. As must be obvious with that particular set up, Seth abstained from a human diet, as Fergus and his coven do.

  ‘Fergus assured me all they ever wanted was a human life. Seth and Rosie were desperately in love, and Seth led a human life as much as possible. There was something very compelling about Rosie Fairchild, however.’ She sighed, as if she really didn’t want to be the harbinger of more bad news.

  I braced myself.

  ‘He said she was devoted to Seth and their children, but he sensed something – nothing remotely sinister – but he sensed some kind of innate power from her. He didn’t consider her to be … defenceless. He considered she may have had some magical abilities, that she may not have been … strictly human.’

  I heard the gasps. I was now staring, in an unfocused manner, at an unidentified point directly in front of me.

  ‘He apparently broached the subject with Seth, but didn’t get far. It was clear to him, though, Seth knew more than he was revealing. There is the question, therefore, of whether the target was Seth, or Rosie, or indeed both of them. It’s likely, however, some kind of magic was involved in their deaths.’

  ‘Is it just me, or is everyone else getting slightly concerned about this magic crap?’ Frederick muttered. ‘Because for the record – I don’t even believe in magic!’

  James laughed derisively. ‘Freddie the Vampire, who can fly with no wings, can charm, can live forever; has enhanced senses, can hear our thoughts, is more than two-hundred-years old – oh, and is in all likelihood dead! – doesn’t believe in magic! Freddie, come on! How do you think we do it?’

  Returning to Madeleine, James asked, ‘Could Rosie have been a shape-shifter?’

  ‘Werewolves, James?’ Frederick exclaimed, disgustedly.

  ‘Not necessarily,’ Madeleine countered. ‘Lots of magical entities are meant to have the ability to shape-shift. Werewolves, of course, but the witches and the Fey, too, if they exist. But we don’t even know if she was a shifter, so—’

  ‘Oh please! I’ve heard enough,’ Frederick snorted.

  ‘Just because you don’t believe, doesn’t mean they don’t exist!’ Madeleine was clearly exasperated. ‘Fergus used to think like you but he’s been forced to change his mind. Did you believe in vampires before you became one?’ She knew the answer and didn’t wait for his response. ‘Precisely!’

  I spoke for the first time and all eyes were on me. I was currently struggling with a fear that was growing within me and I didn’t know how to contain it: the parties involved in the murder of Rowan’s parents had neither been identified, nor brought to justice; it didn’t sit well with my need to keep Rowan safe. My instinct couldn’t be suppressed: I sensed danger.

  ‘Rowan is not safe,’ I stated simply, with no feeling; I was trying to contain that within.

  ‘Fuck Rowan …’ Frederick began his sentence, but I didn’t let him finish.

  With a roar, I was instantly before him. Elizabeth put herself between us.

  ‘Let me finish, Nate!’ Frederick cried, meeting my densely black eyes over the top of Elizabeth’s head, with his own frustrated ones. ‘I was going to continue with, what about you? There’s a dead vampire in the equation now!’

  My eyes remained fixed on Frederick’s and growls emanated from my chest.

  ‘You shouldn’t get too alarmist,’ Madeleine said, calmly. ‘This all happened twenty-nine years ago. It’s not new news – only to us – and there’s nothing to demonstrate that Rowan was ever a target. Nothing untoward has happened to Rowan or to Clare in all that time.’

  ‘Until the night of the accident,’ I stated, between tightly clenched teeth. I could see my stance was upsetting Elizabeth, so I let out a last low, guttural growl, before repositioning myself by the window.
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  ‘Well, yes …’ she conceded quietly.

  ‘It might be old news, but there was magic used back then, and it might bloody well explain the impossible things that have happened to Nate,’ James exclaimed. ‘Come on, not only did he crash, but he ends up crashing into a girl whose parents were vampire and spook, and ends up sharing her soul! That ain’t normal!’

  ‘I agree with you about the magic,’ Madeleine said. ‘It’s difficult to see, however, what any external party could have hoped to achieve from uniting Rowan and Nate. Is it just me, or can anyone else see what could be gained? Assuming Rowan’s a target, the result is she now has Nate protecting her. And why would Nate be a target?’

  There was silence. Nobody, including myself, could provide any answers. She continued, ‘So assuming magic is involved, because it certainly wasn’t normal, we know it can’t be from Rowan because she’s human … so that just leaves Nate. The magic involved could have been his.’

  I looked at Madeleine as if she was insane, but she continued, ‘Nate may have developed a new power which targets only Rowan. It can’t be ruled out. I actually really like Fergus’ view on the matter.’

  Fergus’ view on the matter?

  ‘I hope you don’t mind, Nate, but I told him about your connection with Rowan; he was fascinated.’

  Fabulous!

  ‘He thinks it could simply be you were meant to be together, and this was the way of securing it. After all, you were hardly capable of loving before you were reintroduced to emotion, so your magic …’

  Frederick hissed in disbelief.

  ‘… or power, whatever you want to call it,’ she continued pointedly, ‘could have been used subconsciously to target Rowan. This connection could be completely separate to what happened twenty-nine years ago … and may involve no other parties. It could simply be you two finding each other.’

  ‘The connection is not just one way,’ I added quietly. I had remotely no idea whether it added any credence to any of this speculation whatsoever, but it needed to be shared. Everyone looked confused. ‘I feel her emotions but there is another link. Despite Rowan’s hearing problems, she has never failed to hear me. Tonight she heard me when I was speaking at a level no human, with perfect hearing, could have possibly heard. And no matter how good her hearing aids, they could never have picked up the pitch. Rowan seems to be attuned to my voice. She is connected to me, too.’

  Madeleine looked fascinated.

  ‘This is getting fucking weirder by the minute!’ Frederick hissed.

  ‘She finds me comforting,’ I said quietly.

  That was too much for James. ‘You – comforting? Now I’ve heard it all! Even as a human you were never comforting … and as a vampire? A vampire comforting! Jesus! You are so losing your knack, Nate!’ His face was now contorted with disgust.

  ‘She said she finds me comforting … because there is something about me that reminds her of her father.’ I was aware of everyone staring at me in amazement. ‘She does not remember much of him, but my cold hands – which she, incidentally, considers only to be cool; my mannerisms; the way I speak. I think that is why she refuses to accept I represent a risk.’

  Madeleine smiled. ‘Then that could be the reason why the connection happened with Rowan. It’s what could have made the connection viable and allowed the relationship to develop. Who else would find a vampire comforting?’

  ‘You are meant to be together,’ Elizabeth stated assertively. ‘I don’t know why all this has happened, or how it happened, but you are meant to be together. I know it!’

  I didn’t know what to think. I believed myself to be getting a headache for only the second time in one-hundred-and-ninety-five years.

  There was a long silence. I remembered Aunty Hetty and everything started to make sense. ‘I am assuming …’

  Madeleine anticipated my question, ‘Yes, Aunty Hetty is a Fairchild and Fergus considers her to be of the same ilk as Rosie.’ No wonder she unsettled me. She wasn’t even human!

  ‘God in heaven,’ James muttered under his breath, before asking, ‘Could she have been involved in the accident?’

  I couldn’t see why. I had been asking that myself, ever since she had repelled my charm at the hospital. I kept coming up with the same answer: ‘It would make no sense. It was putting Rowan at risk.’

  Madeleine seconded my view. ‘No, it wouldn’t make sense. The involvement of any outside party makes no sense.’

  James shook his head and spoke derisively, ‘Yes, I know! Nate’s magic ensured he crashed into someone, so he could start feeling again, and fall in love with a human who would accept him for what he is. I’m not buying it, I’m afraid – it’s nuts! As far as I’m concerned, we are no closer to knowing the cause of the accident – and now we have a dead vampire and spooks on the scene! And as for Rowan …’

  He leapt up from the floor and started uncharacteristically pacing up and down in front of the fireplace. ‘I know we are vampires and should be able to absorb all this information effortlessly, but I’m struggling! Can I just recap on things?’ He raised his eyebrows and cried sardonically, ‘Shout if I’ve missed something!

  ‘In summary: Rowan’s adoptive dad was a vampire. Her adoptive mum was spooky – gifted by magic, or something. Despite this, they lived together as a human family, adopting two human children. Her adoptive mum and dad were both killed by some, as yet unknown, spooky creatures, and Rowan has been brought up by another spook, aka Aunty Hetty. Her godfather, Uncle Fergus, is a vampire. Her soul is currently being shared with our very own Nate, another vampire, who has fallen in love with her, to all intents and purposes. But she doesn’t know he’s a vampire, or that he shares her soul. In fact, she doesn’t know any of the above … but does find her relationship with Nate the vampire, somehow comforting, despite him ramming her off the road and nearly sucking her dry of blood!’

  I grimaced. That appeared to be pretty much as it was.

  James shook his head at me and for once, spoke seriously, ‘You’d better pray she doesn’t find out all this, because she’s going to go to pieces.’

  There was no question about that, but I couldn’t afford to think about it right now. I had to try and get my head around a way forward. There were still people out there involved in the death of Rowan’s parents, and I didn’t like it; it made me more than a little uncomfortable. And then there was the issue of Simeon Frey and Jonathan Martin.

  ‘Madeleine, did the private investigator find a home address for “S”?’

  ‘No, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I’m beginning to give up on the detective. The exact same thing is happening in his attempts to find out information on “S”, as happened with Aunty Hetty. She must have caused some lasting damage or something.’

  ‘Simeon Frey – Frey Investments,’ I growled ominously. ‘And he has to be removed.’ I let them see Rowan’s account of her encounter with him, and their growls and curses reverberated around the room. ‘And if that is not enough, he was at the hospital and gave Jonathan Martin a job. It could be that he was using him to get to Rowan. Martin, I hope, is already out of the picture.’ I didn’t mean to, but they saw that encounter in my head, too.

  ‘I take it all back. There’s nooo way you’re losing your knack!’ James spoke, admiringly.

  ‘I’d safely say Martin is off the scene,’ Frederick added, coming over to clap me on the back.

  ‘Frey is dangerous. I need an address so I can follow this one up personally – I will find it out myself.’

  ‘Look out Frey!’ Frederick chuckled.

  ‘Why would the detective struggle with him, though?’ I uttered almost inaudibly and more to myself than anyone else. Before I made a connection and the most horrifying thought crossed my mind. Dear God! No!

  ‘Madeleine …’ I hissed so quietly it was close to being inaudible, even to us. I didn’t feel capable of speech in this state, so instead opened up my mind.

  She looked confused for a mom
ent, after which she looked decidedly uncomfortable. She paused, and glanced at me nervously before speaking, ‘I have to admit, it is strange the same pattern is happening there, as with Aunty Hetty … more than strange. I hadn’t considered that. It’s true, if Frey isn’t human, and of the same ilk as Heather and Rosie, it would explain why the investigator has been struggling.’

  Everyone in the room was now taking in my horrified expression and reading the frantic things that continued to race through my panicked mind. Something not human had killed Rowan’s parents … and something possibly not human had attacked Rowan.

  Madeleine spoke gently, ‘Nate, firstly, the problems with the investigator could just be coincidence …’ I met her eyes and she sighed. ‘Yeah, okay, but it’s true.’

  I remembered the strange scent at the hospital. There had been strange-scented trails at the scene of the fire. It hadn’t been bins, it had been Frey! And then there was Aunty Hetty’s heated exchange with him, and his words: ‘Your meddling will not stop me!’ And his written words, ‘It was not yet our time.’ He would be back!

  Rowan wasn’t safe, I could sense it. My instinct was on red alert. We didn’t have the facts. But I could sense it. Even if he wasn’t connected to events back then, he had Rowan in his sights. And if he wasn’t human … how the hell was I supposed to protect her? To protect her from a creature my strength might not work against, a creature whose powers might extend to killing vampires! I knew neither my charm nor Madeleine’s power worked against Aunty Hetty, and she unsettled me big time – was Frey going to be the same?

  ‘What are they?’ I snarled, barely in enough control to utter those three little words.

  There was a long pause, whilst everyone reflected. Only Madeleine spoke up. Looking nervous, she conjectured, ‘The Fey?’

  ‘Faeries?’ Frederick spat the word out. ‘Now I’ve officially had enough!’

  I looked at Madeleine. I knew why she had said it. ‘Do you believe in the Fey?’ he had asked Rowan.