by Aria Sparke
‘Which student?’ Tarek asked looking at me intently as though reading my mind.
‘Alice,’ I lied. ‘She said Bella didn’t feel any pain.’
‘So when were you planning on telling me exactly?’ Tarek looked around at each of us as though trying to see who looked the guiltiest.
No one dared to answer.
‘You will prepare a funeral,’ Tarek said to Alexis. ‘I want her buried in our home beside Mirela, so she can keep her company. Tell me when you’ve made the arrangements. I want to attend.’
It all seemed bizarre and macabre, but it was a tradition Tarek had followed wherever he lived. So far only Mirela was buried in the grounds of our home, but in some places, he had four or five wives buried together. How he’d managed to avoid legal officials, I’ve no idea. In Bella’s case, she was an orphan and her world was the dhampiric one. Perhaps if no one reported her death, no one from outside came looking for her. I had to find out more about Bella, so that once Avery was old enough I could tell her about her mother.
Alexis bowed dutifully. ‘Very well, Father.’
Tarek stared at Leah for a few moments as the baby became more distressed. ‘Take the child, and come with me.’ His voice had shifted to a sweeter yet more chilling tone.
‘Father, we can look after Avery. Leah can care for her here today while we make more permanent arrangements,’ said Alexis, obviously fearful of Tarek’s tone. ‘We have a cot that Bella bought last week and stored in the basement. I can arrange for it to be brought to Leah’s room for a few days while she makes sure the baby’s healthy.’
‘If you like I could make some enquiries about carers or perhaps we could hire a nurse for her,’ Anya said.
‘No, I don’t think so,’ Tarek said, not breaking eye contact with Leah.
‘The baby can’t go with you without supplies—formula and diapers,’ said Anya with a hint of desperation entering her voice.
‘Nonsense,’ Tarek said. ‘Bella told me herself that Gregori bought supplies in Wicklow last week and had stored them at home along with clothes and linen for the nursery. He even fitted the car with a baby capsule and showed me how it worked.’
‘It’s alright, I’ll come with you,’ Leah said to Tarek in a relaxed manner before taking Avery from his arms. She cooed and rocked the baby gently, soothing her until she relaxed and closed her eyes.
Tarek turned to me. ‘Flynn, I would like you to collect Lily and bring her to our home.’
I nodded while trying to stay calm. He was capable of moving at three times our speed and although each of us was far stronger than a mortal man, we were no match for him especially unarmed and without witchcraft to augment our defense. In any case we needed him alive and he knew it.
‘Bring her at nightfall tomorrow, so I can greet her when I rise.’
I nodded.
‘I’ll be waiting.’
Tarek beckoned Leah and strode from the room with her following him while carrying Avery.
‘What now?’ Anya asked in a quiet yet tense voice. ‘I’m worried he’s going to punish Leah.’
‘I know,’ Alexis said. ‘She and we are obviously in a bind.’
‘We’ll have to make up something creative about Lily before tomorrow,’ Martin said.
‘Just tell him she escaped,’ Anya said.
‘He won’t believe it.’ I knew all we could do was buy time.
I hated my father. He was a menace and a bully, but without him we had no way of maintaining a force to battle the Berishas, a brutal and amoral group of vampires who viewed humans merely as blood bags existing for their amusement and nourishment.
At this moment, even though I longed to, I couldn’t kill him—not yet.
* * *
CHAPTER 3
Lily: A Different Sky
I’d fought to stay awake as long as I could the afternoon following the flight, but eventually I fell asleep on the sofa and woke to find Dad had thrown a blanket over me. Jet lag and the shocking discovery of my father’s existence had left me feeling jaded, but I forced myself to get up.
Another clear and sunny day greeted me making the gray and violent world I’d escaped from seem less real. Being without Flynn left me with a knot in my stomach that was physically painful. There was no way to contact him. Alexis had decided phones and emails were out of the question, although he thought sending letters the old-fashioned way was probably less risky as long as I didn’t address them directly to Flynn or print my name and address on the back of the envelope.
‘Did you sleep well?’ Dad asked.
I turned to see him in the kitchen filling an old-fashioned kettle with water before placing it on the stove to heat. It was difficult to understand I’d ever believed he’d died.
‘Fine, thanks. What about you?’
‘Okay.’ His eyes seemed to disagree, looking hollow with deep circles under them. ‘Coffee or tea?’
‘Coffee, thanks, with milk and no sugar.’
‘I haven’t forgotten.’ He smiled. ‘Once we’ve had breakfast, we could drive to the university. Does that suit you?’
‘Sure, but why don’t we walk?’
‘I can’t today with the sunlight being so strong.’
‘Of course.’ It was then I remembered how my father had avoided the sun by working at night and had only come outside to play with me as a child when the days were damp or gray. Now I understood why he had been such a night owl when I was growing up. He often said he burned easily and couldn’t tan. No wonder. As a dhampir he had no choice. Why had I never noticed it properly until now?
I padded in bare feet to the back porch and saw black birds fighting for worms in the vegetable plot crowded with broccoli, cabbage and spinach. He must have spare time on his hands, I reasoned. I found it difficult to picture my father gardening in the moonlight.
He was thinner than he’d ever been, almost transparent. It was then it hit me, he missed my mother too. He was suffering just like me. Of course he had loved her because he had allowed himself to age twenty years to be in step with her. I felt an urge to hug him but resisted because it was obvious now, there were deceptions they had both woven. I wanted explanations. For instance, they couldn’t have grown up together in the same neighborhood as childhood sweethearts like they had told me. At least now I’d have a chance to understand who my parents really were unlike a couple of days ago when I believed their true history had been lost to me.
‘Dad, did you know I was a witch like Mom?’
His eyes popped slightly. ‘We were set to tell you when you turned eighteen, when you were ready to deal with it.’ He sounded guilty.
‘I’d like to have known earlier.’
‘I get it, but we thought being able to enjoy your childhood free of the worry you have now was the best gift we could’ve given you.’
I smiled and nodded my head.
‘Your mother was set to teach you the craft. She knew you’d inherited the necessary ability—not everyone does, you know.’
‘How does everything work if I’m part dhampir?’
‘As far as I know, when you’re one quarter vampire you don’t show any physical differences to humans,’ he said. ‘Witch genetics are different though. Either you inherit the talent or not—a fifty-fifty chance.’
I sat in the sun eating toast and eggs. Since leaving Wicklow, I couldn’t get over how amazing the ordinary sensation of sun warming my skin felt and how beautiful it was seeing light and shadows playing in the garden. I’d forgotten simple mortal delights.
When I returned I paused in the doorway. ‘What’s it like not being able to enjoy the light?’
He looked up from the computer and frowned. ‘Elise used to ask me that.’ I saw him flinch when he said my mother’s name and felt sad for him.
‘I don’t crave it because I’ve never liked the sensation of sun on my skin. Would you miss icy winds on your bare skin if you never felt them again?’
‘I guess not.’ I brought my dis
hes to the sink, put the plug in the hole and turned the hot water on. ‘Why did you come here to Australia?’
He smiled. ‘Long ago Elise came here on holiday with her family. She said it was quiet yet a beautiful place to live.’
‘And what about Florida? It couldn’t have been a great choice for a dhampir with all that sunlight.’
‘Exactly. I thought vampires might stay away from all that sunshine and our family would be safe, but I was wrong. Wherever you are, at night there’s no place safe from vampires.’
I allowed myself a smile. ‘Unless you happen to know a good witch who can whip up a few decent ward spells.’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘I’m experimenting and learning.’
‘Be careful, it can be terribly dangerous you know.’
I nodded. ‘So I’ve heard.’
‘You really need to attend an academy or at least find a good teacher.’
‘It’s okay, Cecilia’s been teaching me.’
A mixed expression crossed his face, but I didn’t probe. There was plenty of time to learn my family’s secrets. I avoided telling him about Cecilia missing Elise’s funeral too. On this bright morning, I didn’t want to talk about death and funerals or disappointment.
After we’d cleaned up and changed, we headed out the door to drive to the university. My father had spoken to an administration officer before I arrived. After checking through my academic history and knowing about my medical aspirations, he’d given me a list of subjects or courses, as they called them here, to choose from. I discovered I had the option of staying at the university on exchange for one or even two semesters.
Surely Tarek would’ve found another wife by then, yet I didn’t want to think about him. For Tarek to let me off the marriage hook, it would mean he would have to ensnare some other poor woman. It was a natural but selfish hope.
After we climbed into the car, Dad handed me a map of the campus and a timetable for the subjects for the spring semester he had taken from under his seat.
I flicked through the long list and saw the admin officer had circled four recommended subjects: Human Anatomy, Statistics, Genetics and Human Physiology. Nothing vampiric at this university!
‘They look great, Dad, thanks.’
Even though it was early morning, he squinted at me in the sunlight before putting his sunglasses on. ‘I thought you might be impressed. So, I gather you’re still aiming for a medical career?’
I grinned.
‘Good for you.’
Just reading the list gave me a thrill as it made me realize I was moving closer to my goal despite the external chaos. Although a few seconds later, I felt guilty for being excited as I thought of dear Bella and how her life and aspirations had been snuffed out. What dreams had she nurtured before Tarek stormed into her life? I decided there and then, I had to make my life count for something important. Medicine would give me that chance, I was certain.
And as for Avery, I couldn’t bear to dwell on thoughts about her future. I hoped Leah was looking after her and Tarek was keeping his distance. If she were still in Wicklow when I returned, I would seek her out and work out how I could fulfill my promise to Bella. In any case, I would need to perfect my witchcraft if I was to teach Avery properly.
Maybe when I became a doctor and I was living on that sunny beach in my dream home, I could adopt and raise her. Tarek had so many offspring, he’d never miss her. As I floated in my daydream, I suddenly realized that wouldn’t work because she was also a dhampir and would need to avoid the sun. I’d have to think my plans through more carefully.
‘You’re lucky because classes don’t start for a week.’ My father’s voice pulled me back to the present. ‘You just need to enroll online and get textbooks today. You might want to get a student card too. I’ll drop you here and you can give me a call when you’re done.’
‘It’s fine; I checked a map online this morning, so I know my way back to the house. I may as well get used to finding my way around.’ I relished the idea of wandering free in my new environment and not worrying about crazy vampires or their children.
With a weary look, Dad turned the key in the ignition.
‘Are you okay?’
He nodded.
‘How do you spend your days?’ I asked curiously.
He gripped the steering wheel. ‘Since Elise died, I’ve traveled the world helping out.’ He sighed. ‘I guess there are no secrets between us anymore. I spend the nights doing what I was born to do. I hunt and ferret out nightlife.’
I really didn’t want too many details about the helping or ferreting. ‘I thought you said Canberra was quiet?’
‘Nothing like Wicklow.’
‘But there is some activity?’ I knew he wouldn’t be here otherwise.
‘There are no large clans that I know of.’ I could tell he was understating things.
‘But?’ Immediately I worried about him and the risks he might be taking.
‘We do find the odd rogue vampire or dhampir here and especially closer to the big cities like Sydney and Melbourne.’
‘I like that word—rogue—a polite way of saying violent killer.’ I wished he would be more upfront with me.
He shrugged. ‘You know what they’re like when they’re feral.’
‘Mmm, first hand.’ An image of Vincent Berisha launching at my neck flashed in my mind. I shuddered.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Fine.’ No doubt he had a catalog of unwelcome encounters with vamps filed away in his brain too. I wondered how he dealt with it and whether we would ever talk freely about our experiences. I doubted it.
‘We can’t afford to have their numbers grow if they’re destructive.’
I glanced at my page of science subjects and wondered how I was going to mesh my desire to be a doctor with this strange new world. Would my ambition be permitted to survive?
‘I’d like to help.’ I meant it.
‘You have to learn witchcraft first. Otherwise you’ll be a liability.’
I shivered. I’d thought this city and country were safe. As soon as I’d settled on my courses and bought textbooks, I was determined to return to my witchcraft. It was my only defense in this new world whether in Wicklow, Canberra or for that matter, any place on the planet.
* * *
CHAPTER 4
Flynn: Loss
In the early afternoon the following day, Anya, Martin, Alexis and I gathered in the college parking lot and piled into my car ready to rescue Leah and Avery. It was risky, but knowing Tarek slept soundly during daylight hours in his coffin on the third floor of the mansion, we hoped we’d be safe. Alexis had tried to locate Ces to bring her with us to provide backup spells if we were caught by Tarek. But no luck. We hadn’t seen her since the college vamp attack before Bella’s death on the night Lily left. It wasn’t unusual for Cecilia though. She had a habit of being unreliable and a little eccentric. It always puzzled me that the careful and conservative Alexis had fallen so hard for her. Sometimes I caught him looking at her in a way that suggested he still had a soft spot in his heart for her. If it had been me, I’d have run a mile.
I wondered how Lily was coping in Australia. Had she met the contact and was she getting on with him or her? Thinking about Lily left me distracted, so I threw the keys to Martin, who instinctively seemed to understand and jumped in the driver’s seat. I guessed it was an identical twin thing.
‘What’s the plan?’ Anya asked.
‘It’s fairly simple. Get Leah and Avery out without the old buzzard knowing,’ I said.
She laughed. ‘And then?’ She was always driven by a need to know detail and control every situation.
Martin and I looked at her blankly.
‘You boys,’ she said as though we were simple. ‘We’ll need to hide Leah and Avery. Tarek will search for Lily and the first dhampir he’ll come after will be you, Flynn, especially when he wakes and finds Leah and Avery missing and no sign of Lily.’
/> Alexis nodded. ‘I think the three of you need to head south for a spell with Leah and Avery. I’ve contacts we can use to hide you for a few weeks until Tarek settles down and focuses on his next bride.’
Feeling comforted by our loose plan, I relaxed as we drove into the grounds of our family home.
‘Home sweet home,’ Martin said quietly. ‘Do you sometimes hate the sight of it?’
‘Always,’ Anya said.
‘You haven’t lived,’ Alexis muttered.
I looked at him curiously.
‘Before we came to America, I spent my brief dhampir childhood in a stone castle in Lithuania complete with a moat and gargoyles. Every second night there were raids and battles between warring vamps and dhamps. As a child, I went to bed dreaming of flying blades and hideous decapitations. Even though the Berishas are a foul lot, our home is a peaceful haven in comparison and Wicklow, a sleepy hollow. I was so grateful to come to America.’
‘So no European holidays for you,’ Martin said.
Alexis grinned wryly as he turned into our drive. ‘It was a long time ago. Maybe things have changed.’ He parked the car and we climbed out. ‘Are we ready?’
The sun peeked out between fragmented cloud making me feel disoriented and bilious with the light.
‘Aghh, that sunlight’s making me dizzy,’ Anya complained.
‘Shh, you don’t want to wake him,’ Alexis said as we crept toward the front steps of the mansion.
‘Isn’t the place creepy by day?’ Martin said.
Anya giggled nervously.
‘Shh, keep it down,’ Alexis said as we almost tiptoed to the front door.
I turned and checked the parking area for the servants’ cars and noticed one missing. ‘Looks like Gregori’s out.’
‘Good,’ Alexis said. ‘I’d forgotten about him.’
‘We’re not too professional at this, are we?’ Martin said and chuckled.