The Violet Line

by Bilinda Ni Siodacain

  There had been one vampire. He had gone by the name Tristan, no last name; he was supposed to have been old and very powerful. He went nuts one day and massacred families in their homes. When the police did eventually catch up to him, they had counted over one hundred and twenty three victims – and they were just the ones they had found. He hadn’t really fed on them, just simply killed them for the thrill because he could and he knew they couldn’t stop him. A vampire serial killer.

  They put him in prison, but vampires are far more powerful than the authorities could ever have anticipated. Even if he hadn’t had the ability to cloud minds (which all vampires have but some are better at it than others), this vampire could basically reduce people to a zombie state. They enjoyed and welcomed the death he brought.

  That was the last time they had tried to imprison a vampire. Shortly after that, the vampire council sent representatives to set up a vampire council branch here. Nobody really knows how rogue vampires are dealt with; they never release information on it and the problems just seem to disappear.

  The vampires are all terrified of their council. Sam won’t even talk about them; he’s afraid that if I know too much about them that they’ll come looking for us.

  I stirred the pasta that I was cooking in the pot and added a stock cube to the water. I watched it bubble, nervously chewing my lip as I became lost in my own thoughts. I didn’t hear Sam come up behind me and only noticed he had when his arms slid around my waist and he laid his head on my shoulder. I sighed, releasing the breath I hadn’t noticed I’d been holding onto.

  “You’ll be careful won’t you?” I asked, trying to hide my mounting concern about something he did regularly; I just couldn’t fathom my feeling of fear.

  “I’m always careful,” he replied laughingly, “and anyway if I have any problems I’ll just put them under my gaze; you know how good I am at that.”

  As he was talking he had turned me around to face him. I tried not to look into his eyes. I knew he was messing with me, trying to reassure me, but I didn’t want to be reassured. I knew enough about my own powers not to completely disregard a feeling I had, especially one this insistent.

  “But Sam, I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen but I don’t know what and it’s worse than any other time you were going out looking for food. I know you need to eat but maybe you shouldn’t go tonight...?” Faltering, I came to a stop as he pulled away from me and leaned against the sink.

  “Jade, I have to go; I’m not risking you again. Would you really want me to take that risk; I could turn on you. How could I live with myself if I hurt you- or worse…” He stopped then and turned to face me, spreading his hands palms up away from his body,

  “I love you too much to let your fears stop me from what I have to do so we can be together.”

  He looked at me; his eyes held no power in them but I still felt drawn to him. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his body, burying my face against his chest. I tried to hide the fact that I had started to cry. Silently the tears ran down my cheeks to soak into his grey cotton shirt, leaving behind a darkened stain that oddly reminded me of a blood stain.

  “I know that, but I just need you to come back to me and I feel as though tonight everything is going to change, we’re going to change…”

  Placing his fingers under my chin, he tilted my face upwards to look at him. He brushed away the salty trails that covered my face and looked at me; his eyes had a fierce and intense quality to them that I had only ever been given glimpses of.

  “How I feel about you won’t ever change; my love for you is eternal. I won’t ever love or want anyone the way I love and want you. We belong together, and if it ever happens, then death can’t even keep us apart. I will always find you no matter what. I burn for you.”

  With that he bent his head to mine and kissed me. Our lips met and it felt as though a fire consumed him; he kissed me like he never had before. It felt wonderful and exquisite but I also felt as though part of my soul was being ripped from my body.

  I opened my eyes and he was gone. Touching my fingers to my lips; I almost expected them to be burned. The kiss felt like an expression of our connection but to me it had a fatalistic feel to it, as though our goodbye was of a more permanent nature than just Sam going hunting.

  I turned back to the cooker and my dinner preparations as I mulled over where the feeling might be coming from. As we said goodbye the pasta had boiled dry. Sighing, I added more water to it and tried to salvage what little there was left that wasn’t stuck to the bottom of the pot. I took the tin of soup from the cupboard and added it to the drained pasta.

  I knew Sam would never willingly give me up but that thought alone couldn’t stop the fear from gripping my stomach and twisting it into a knot. I tried to relax and take some calming deep breaths. Sam wouldn’t be gone long, just a few hours. I’d watch some telly and check my emails, maybe go to bed early; anything just to help me pass the time.

  Putting my dried pasta and soup into a bowl, I sat down on the sofa and flicked on the TV. News and sport occupied most of the channels so I put on a soap opera. I sat and watched but didn’t take in what was happening; I just needed something mindless that didn’t require any real thought so I could be with my own thoughts.

  I sat like this for what felt like an age. My food had long since gone cold; I couldn’t eat it, the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach was too great. I dragged myself into the kitchen and forced myself to clean up.

  I’ve always found washing up to be a very mundane task and this time was no different. I was glad to be doing something, anything at all to keep myself somewhat occupied. As I plunged the dishes into the soapy water and scrubbed the food off their surface, I thought about Sam and what he’d be doing now. He’d probably be back soon, it never took him long when he was on a mission like tonight. He knew how worried I was so I knew he’d hurry back to me just so he could tell me I had nothing to be worried about in the first place.

  He liked doing that. He told me often enough that I read too many fairy stories and my imagination was far too overactive for my own good. I smiled at that; ever since I was a small girl, I had always wanted to be either Cinderella or Rapunzel. I was fascinated by their lives and adored the idea of being rescued by a handsome prince and living as a princess.

  The more I thought about it, Sam was probably right; I was just afraid that because I was happy, I was terrified that something would happen to ruin it. Happiness didn’t last, that only happened in the fairytales. But I deserved to be happy, didn’t I? I deserved my fairytale ending and I wouldn’t let silly fears stop me from having it. Smiling, I picked up the drying towel and started stacking the washed dishes into a neat pile.

  I was glad I had figured out where my fear was coming from. I didn’t want to jinx it but I couldn’t let it rule me either; I just needed to get on with things and not let them hold me back and as long as I had Sam by my side, I realised I could tackle anything that life wanted to throw at me.

  I knew Sam wasn’t the only thing keeping me together. I’m quite a strong person and I had coped and managed before we met, but it was nice to know you had somebody completely on your side. That no matter what happened this person loved you, flaws and all. They were there beside you shouldering some of life’s difficulties and helping you to make the best decisions for you. They wanted only the best for you and you wanted the same thing for them. It was a lovely feeling of security and I allowed it to wrap around me. I savoured my realisation as I finished tidying up.

  I sat back down on the couch. I felt lighter somehow I couldn’t wait to tell Sam. I still had an unexplainable feeling of fear but it had diminished under my musings on why I had it in the first place.

  The phone rang, causing me to jump nearly clean out of my skin. I scooped my mobile phone up from its position on the couch beside me; the caller id read ‘Mom’. I hadn’t spoken to her yet today and we never went a whole day without contacting each
other.

  Sliding the phone open it answered the call, “Hi mom, how’s things?”

  “Hmmm grand and you?” She didn’t sound too happy in the way she answered.

  “Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked,

  “Oh nothing; I just hadn’t heard from you today and I was concerned.”

  It hit me then why she sounded so worried. “No, Mother, Sam isn’t here and I’m fine; he hasn’t tried to eat me yet before you ask!”

  Mom was one of the old school parents. They had always known that vampires and other things existed, but they didn’t believe that people should have anything to do with them.

  Mom knew about Sam; she knew that he was a vampire but she didn’t approve of me dating him. Every so often we would have the same argument. Why couldn’t I find a nice human boy to date; why did it have to be a vampire? Didn’t I realise how dangerous they were? Wasn’t I watching the news? I knew all her arguments and she had made very good points. The only problem in all of this was the small issue of my being completely head over heels in love with Sam. No matter how dangerous he was, I loved him and I wouldn’t give him up; I trusted him implicitly. Mom believed that trusting him was my greatest flaw, that it was only a matter of time before he betrayed that trust and attacked me.

  “Don’t take that tone of voice with me; I’m your mother and it’s my job to be worried and concerned for you, especially when you’re seeing that…- vampire.”

  It nearly choked her to have to actually call him a vampire. In the beginning she had thought up some more choice names for him but it seemed we’d gotten past that point at least. I softened my voice, “I know you worry, but really there’s no need. Sam’s gone out, he’ll be back later and work was fine, boring as usual.”

  We settled into a more relaxed conversation then, chatting about our respective days work and the fact that there was never anything on the telly worth watching. She didn’t mention Sam again until we were saying goodbye. “Tell Sam I said hi,” she said, her voice quiet.

  “Thanks mom, I’ll tell him.”

  I couldn’t keep the happiness from my voice. This was a big step indeed; she had never wanted to include him in anyway.

  “Sweet dreams Jade.”

  “You too, Mom. Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

  Our conversations always ended on this note; it was a throw back to my childhood when she would tuck me up in bed and well some habits are comforting and you never really grow out of them.

  Putting the phone down, I switched the TV off. Sam should be home soon; it was starting to get late. I wandered out into my kitchen area and spotted his jumper flung over the back of a kitchen chair. Picking it up, I held it close to my face and inhaled deeply; it was comforting, it smelled just like him: fresh, clean and something that was uniquely all Sam. I pulled it on over my head and switched off the lights as I made my way to bed.

  Laying there in the dark I cuddled down deeper in his jumper, pretending he was beside me and that it was his arms that were wrapped around me and not just the sleeves of his jumper. I wanted to wait up for him but surrounded by the warm comforting smell of Sam I drifted off to sleep, still fully dressed and on top of the covers.

  The sky was a crackling purple and blue mess. I was on my side in the water, the sea roared behind me. I couldn’t understand what I was doing here; it all felt strange.

  Turning my head, I looked behind me. The sea boiled and raged and the waves crashed down among the rocks. Even though I was lying down in the water, the frothy foaming mess never touched me. The water lapped gently around my body as I continued to lie there.

  Turning my head the other way, I could see a giant muck encrusted cliff face stretching up above me into the purple and blue mass that was the sky.

  He called to me. Sam called me. I couldn’t see him but I could hear his voice; he sounded panicked. I tried to drag myself towards the sound of his voice but the water was so heavy and kept tugging me back. It soaked through my dress, making it weighty; I found it difficult to move forwards. I began dragging myself through the water towards the cliff face.

  I could see Sam now. He was standing at the bottom of the cliff calling me, his arms outstretched waiting for me. I pulled myself through the water faster trying to reach him. I could see the top of the mucky cliff face beginning to crumble. I opened my mouth to scream for him to move, to be careful; couldn’t he hear it breaking off?

  The sound of the cliff face breaking up roared in my ears; no sound left my mouth. I had no voice; I tried to scream again but still nothing. The tears ran down my face in hot scalding lines, mixing with the salt water of the sea. My arms ached from the effort of trying to drag the dead weight of my body through the water. I watched it falling towards Sam; I was helpless to stop it.

  Sam disappeared in front of my eyes, buried beneath the weight of the rock and muck that had fallen from the cliff face. Even as it had fallen on him he had still called me until I couldn’t see him anymore. The dead weight of my body lightened and I pulled myself to my feet. Dragging the dress up out of the water, I splashed through the shallow water lapping around my feet and ran as fast as I could towards where I had last seen him. Reaching the edge of the debris, I noticed that if I hadn’t seen it fall on him, I would have simply thought this was all just a part of the cliff face.

  I began calling Sam, my voice came out in a cracked hoarse whisper. I dug at the rock and muck, sliding this way and that trying to find him; it seemed an impossible feat. I was determined. I dug until my fingernails were nothing but a bloody mess and still I searched. My hand closed around his fingers. Through the gap in the dirt and the rock I could see him; his eyes didn’t open even though I called his name. The more I dug, the further he seemed to sink in the black dirt. His eyes opened slowly and he smiled when he saw me. “I love you, Jade, remember me.” I opened my mouth to tell him to hold on, to dig up – anything! – but he suddenly sunk into the black mire that had formed and was swallowed into the cliff face.

  I looked at where my hand had held his only moments ago and howled in agony. It felt as though my heart and soul had been ripped completely from my body. I looked up through my tears at the sky as drops of blood red rain began to fall. They splashed around me and onto my face, the bloody rain coated everything in its ruby colour. I began trying to climb the cliff face, trying to find some way to follow Sam, but it seemed impossible. I howled and screamed my frustration. I had to get to him, to find him; I refused to believe he was gone. I tore at the rock face, scrabbling for foot holds, anything just to get to him.

  The smell of death surrounded me, clinging to my hair, my clothes. It invaded my nostrils and made me gag. My foot slipped on the cliff only to be grabbed by something from below. I looked back as a revenant dug its claws into my ankle and began dragging me backwards.

  I screamed and it smiled, showing me a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. I kicked out at it, trying to knock it off balance, anything to get away.

  “I enjoy it when my dinner fights back; I love a challenge.” It crawled up beside me still holding my leg. It smiled again, licking its lips before sinking its teeth into my side.

  I woke up screaming Sam’s name, tangled in the bed covers. Sweat had plastered my hair to my forehead and I was trembling. I didn’t know what time it was. I got up and looked at my mobile; it read 9.30am I shook my head; that had to be impossible.

  I padded out of the bedroom and into the sitting room. Sam was nowhere to be seen and there was no sign of him having returned. I shook my head thinking my phone time must be messed up and I opened the curtains only to be blinded by the dazzling cold but bright light from the morning sun as it flooded in around me. I stood there in the light, the cold fingers of dread clawing at my stomach as I looked at the light. It was daytime, sunny and Sam hadn’t returned home from his hunt. Sam always came back after a hunt, particularly last night when he knew I was so worried. So where was he?

  I picked up my discarded phon
e and punched the number I knew by heart into the keypad. It rang and rang until the voice cut in to say the person I was calling couldn’t be reached. I sat down hard on the edge of the sofa, still staring at the bright light flooding in, calling his phone again but still to no avail. I repeated this action over and over, all the while as the panic built inside me. Sliding to the floor I felt numb all over. Sam was missing.

  I knew the feeling I’d had yesterday was something important. I shouldn’t have ignored it and the dream I’d had terrified me. What had happened to him that he couldn’t answer the phone or even come home? I hugged my arms to myself as a shiver racked my body. I’d had a premonition that something awful would happen to Sam and now he was missing. Getting up off the floor, I slowly made my way into my room to get dressed. I needed to find him.

  Chapter Three

  Sam moved like a shadow. He knew nobody would see him and even if they did, they really didn’t stand a chance against the power of the gaze that he could command. He sat on his haunches like a cat coiled and ready but his was the unmoving variety. He watched and waited for his opportunity. He could stay like this for hours if need required it; being a vampire gave him the ability to become still, as still as the grave. Movement wasn’t necessary, just a welcome distraction most of the time.

  While he waited, he thought back over his conversation with Jade. She had seemed so concerned. It was true she always worried when he went out on a hunt, but this time he had sensed something different in her concern. Somehow this time around, her power was connected to her worry. He had never seen that to happen before and it had surprised him. Of course, he hadn’t told Jade about what he had felt; that would have just concerned her more.

  That wasn’t the only thing that was concerning him right now though. Lately as he travelled around the city, he had caught their scent hanging in the air like some sort of bad smell that he couldn’t shake. He had never noticed their presence here before. They never bothered with a place unless there was some sort of trouble brewing or a vampire had gone rogue or, and this was the part that was really worrying him, there was something in that place that they wanted for themselves.