by Aria Sparke
He leaped to his feet and strode toward me with an unhinged expression. Grasping the door and its handle, he suddenly emitted a guttural sound before tearing the door from its hinges. We stood apart only two yards. One lunge separated us. I froze, not knowing if the ward I’d cast minutes before would hold.
‘I tasted your blood, Lily and I know you’re not like everyone else.’
Hell, he was no mortal. Horrified, I shrunk away from him, praying my wards would hold and the others would turn up. To be sure of my safety, I stepped back further into the circle of protection.
He chuckled softly. ‘Did my sun-kissed face throw you off, dear Lily? Next time you try to judge us, remember pale skins can be tattooed in all shades—even with pretty freckles.’ He stepped toward me and just as he was about to breach the threshold he stopped with a stunned expression. ‘What have you done?’
Feeling delirious with relief, I taunted him. ‘Aren’t you coming in, Jack?’ I knew I wouldn’t need the police. I just had to sit tight.
He spat on the ground in disgust. ‘You think you can keep me out forever? Poor old Prof. Gamin thought he could stop me at the hospital. He was such a shining star.’
‘What did you do to him, you monster?’
‘Dear, dear, did you have a soft spot for the old fool even though you barely knew him? Let me tell you, Lily dearest, his blood may have been old, but it was so tantalizingly sweet. I also helped myself to his fridge packed with blood before smashing his brain.’
‘You’re disgusting.’
‘I made ground beef of the professor. What do you imagine I can do to you? You can’t stay here forever.’
Shadows and movement appeared behind Jack in a blur. My eyes couldn’t process the motion. One minute he was there, the next he lay on his back with a blade protruding from his chest. He had no time to scream or fight. Jack was stone-cold dead.
I slumped to the floor and held my head in my hands. My body shook. I wanted to be sick. I’d never get used to the brutality. Breathe, I told myself. As the moments passed and shocked by what I’d seen, I hadn’t checked to see who had killed him. What if there was another monster out there?
‘Lily, it’s us,’ said a familiar voice.
Slowly I raised my head. ‘Flynn, you came.’ Tears of relief, joy and despair fell from my eyes.
‘It’s okay, we’ve taken care of him,’ Flynn said softly. ‘Will you lower your wards and let us in please?’
I clambered to my unsteady feet and went to the doorway to smudge my chalk markings. Staring at their fragments I realized with gratitude that they had saved me. When I looked out the doorway, Jack’s body had vanished. Where had he gone? Soon the triplets filed in quietly. I caught the respect in their eyes and felt proud.
Flynn held me tightly as though he never wanted to let me go again and I breathed again, grateful to see him and relieved to be alive.
* * *
When morning broke I was standing on the back porch alone watching a clear, new day dawning. I hadn’t slept. I heard someone stirring in the house and waited to see who it was.
‘Good morning,’ Flynn mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.
‘Hi.’ I held my cup of coffee to warm my hands. ‘What did you do with his body?’
‘Your father took it away last night. He has contacts to make him disappear.’
I shuddered with the thought. Was this how they operated?
‘Won’t someone know?’ I asked. ‘Surely the police will come here to question me about Professor Gamin’s death. They’ll think I’m an accomplice.’
‘Who else knew you were there? Anyone in the lab? Other students?’
‘I don’t think so. Jack and I were with the professor alone in a really old part of the hospital, so I doubt they had surveillance.’ I wracked my brains and suddenly remembered a worrying detail. ‘I filled out a card with my details and I’m certain it was dated.’
Flynn reached into his pocket and handed me a card. ‘Is this it? We found it in Jack’s pocket.’
I read the card and nodded. ‘I had no idea Jack was a dhampir. He had blond hair and freckles and a girlfriend. Why would he have come after me?’
‘Some of us go rogue. He may have developed a taste for drinking blood at the source.’
‘The source?’
‘You, Professor Gamin—straight from the veins like a vampire.’
I shook my head.
‘It’s okay, Lily, you’re safe now.’
I wondered if the triplets or my father could ever go feral. ‘Why would they develop a blood lust?’
Flynn shrugged. ‘It’s probably like those who risk taking drugs that develop a liking and dependence on it.’
‘Have you ever?’ I felt embarrassed asking.
He seemed offended, but I pushed on. I needed to know. ‘Would you ever?’
‘Never.’
When I struggled over to uni later in the afternoon, whispers of Professor Gamin’s death had spread through the anatomy class. Although the students hadn’t known him closely, many were upset at hearing the news. I asked the girl sitting next to me in the lab whether she’d heard what happened to him.
‘It’s bizarre and really quite sad. Apparently the poor old man had been drinking and slipped in a pool of blood from a bottle he’d dropped. He fell heavily and slashed his neck on a large chunk of glass. Because he was taking anti-clotting medication, he bled out overnight.’
‘Yes, that sounds unbelievable,’ I said, feeling angry at the feeble interpretation of his demise.
I now knew Canberra was no safer than the U.S. when it came to the vampiric world, and I would need to be forever vigilant.
As we pored over the various bones of the human body comparing their features with those in our human anatomy book, I felt restlessness for the first time. Since arriving in Canberra I’d been looking forward to anatomy and physiology labs in particular. I saw them as the true beginning of my medical training, but today all I recognized in my heart was a sense of boredom. It all seemed lacklustre and mundane when compared with the excitement of casting spells and seeing them in motion. I was also curious about the other magic books in Anubis Library. The thought of them was like a siren song singing softly to me in the background. And even worse, I was becoming obsessed with the idea of other libraries holding similar books in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world. Casting my first successful wards had awoken something deep inside me and it was begging for attention.
Perhaps I was just shocked and stressed by Bella and Professor Gamin’s deaths, and if I could restore calm and balance, my old passion for anything to do with medicine would come rushing back like an incoming tide.
* * *
CHAPTER 10
Flynn: Facing the Future
Anya, Lily and Martin had gone to bed early. As usual Daniel was compulsively studying his computer for news of accidents or murders. I snapped the book I was reading shut. Once the author had introduced dragons, the fantasy became too unbelievable for me.
My mind kept wandering to Lily. Anya had said she had woken a few times this week to discover her poring over her spell books and whispering incantations as she practiced them. I was worried about her because she looked strained and exhausted, yet there was nothing I could do. If she strayed too far with her magic it could have terrible consequences although I knew it wasn’t my right to tell her what to do. It was entirely her decision.
‘Going to bed?’ Daniel asked as he closed his laptop.
‘Yeah, the book wasn’t to my taste.’ I sensed he wanted to talk.
‘How are you and Lily faring?’
Inexplicably, my hackles rose. I raised my eyebrows to force him to ask me what he wanted.
‘Did you have that talk?’
‘Oh,’ I said playing dumb. ‘Yes, we did.’
‘And?’
I shrugged. I really didn’t feel like sharing our conversation with him.
‘I know what it’s like, Flynn. I went through it al
l twenty years ago. They can’t understand the abhorrence we have for aging and how our very makeup drives us to resist it.’
‘So did Lily’s mother pressure you?’
‘Good God, no, the opposite.’
‘So you freely chose to age?’
‘At first I told her I couldn’t deliberately choose to age, and she understood. In fact she openly encouraged my decision. I tried staying away from her, but I came back. I then thought if I took regular vacations I might wean myself off her.’ He shook his head and chuckled.
‘But you’ve aged.’
It took me two years to decide, but it’s not for everyone.’ Daniel smiled. ‘I made the decision yet didn’t tell her. I pretended I was still drinking blood.’
‘Didn’t she guess?’
‘Would you believe it took a decade? One day we were looking through old photos and she compared them with more recent ones. I think the penny dropped because she looked at me sadly but then kissed and thanked me.’ He went to the kitchen to make tea.
‘I admire your courage.’
‘I really had no choice. I was addicted to Elise and there was nothing I could do to stay away. As time went by, my addiction intensified, so I never regretted my choice. I was glad of it.’
‘Our dhampiric way of life isn’t very appealing to an outsider.’
‘Being a witch she knew what she was getting into. It’s curious though, once I gave up blood my desire to hunt died, so I changed ‘careers’. I worked night shifts in human jobs. Being a vampire hunter didn’t involve her until I became embroiled in the Berisha struggle a couple of years ago.’
‘I really don’t want to endanger Lily.’
‘I see, but perhaps you’re too late for that.’
‘I wish my clan were not so deeply tied to the Berisha group.’
Daniel nodded. ‘I understand. Killing Besian Berisha has endangered my clan and drawn us into the middle of this feud too.’
‘Why did you do it?’
‘The Varnas clan sprung from Russia and had nothing to do with your ancestors, but as dhampirs we are, of course, driven by the same impulses you are. The Berishas are known by dhampirs everywhere in our nation as being the most deadly and destructive. Vincent turns his own children or sacrifices them whenever the whim or need arises.’
‘Are your parents alive?’ I knew this was a touchy question because dhampirs hunted vampires from other clans.
He shook his head. ‘My vampiric father died at Vincent Berisha’s hands.’
‘So your clan is dying?’
‘Unless another is found to continue the line.’ He sighed. ‘But I would rather that didn’t happen.’
I tried to imagine if I could ever feel this way.
‘If you stop drinking blood and age for a few years, your mind opens up to a new way of thinking.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘It broadens your horizons.’
‘But you resumed drinking blood didn’t you?’
He nodded. ‘When Vincent killed my father two years ago I decided I had to, so I could go after the Berishas. I killed Besian in one of our deadly encounters, so the Berishas came after me. I’d be dead now if I hadn’t taken blood as that car accident would’ve finished me off.’
‘There are advantages,’ I said quietly.
‘When Elise died and I lost contact with Lily, I stopped taking infusions again. I fell into a spiral of depression. I didn’t care whether I lived or died.’
‘And now?’
‘After arriving here several months ago, I refrained, but more recently I decided to take infusions again, so I could help hunt vamps. I’m regaining weight and strength by the day. I must admit, I feel fantastic. Strangely, it’s also helped me deal with the grief of losing her ... that and reuniting with Lily.’
I grinned wryly at him.
‘There is another problem though once you have children who are not fully dhampiric.’
I nodded as I knew what he was going to say.
‘As the years pass, Lily will catch up and pass my age. If she lives a long life, I’ll probably see her die of old age. I don’t know if I can do that.’
I could see his awful dilemma and knew it was no different to mine now.
‘So have you decided what you’ll do?’ he asked.
‘I’ll think about it, but I worry the reluctance is also on Lily’s side. She doesn’t want me to throw away immortality.’ I couldn’t tell him about my deeper reason—about my father and the danger he posed to Lily if she continued to hang around me and my world.
Daniel frowned. ‘Are you sure? I know Lily and how she looks at you.’
I needed to throw him off the scent before he delved too deeply. ‘I saw the expression in her eyes when I talked about drinking blood and hunting vampires.’
Daniel held out a mug of tea to me. ‘Never talk of blood and the hunt to humans. It isn’t becoming, and I don’t think they’re able to warm to the idea. Keep the details to yourself if you care about them. I never spoke of it to Elise and won’t talk of it with Lily.’
Living in separate rooms in this house kept Lily and I apart and bought me more time. I wasn’t sure whether I should delay my decision until I could find a way for us to live together free from the threat of the Berishas and my father. I knew if I agreed to age, Lily would never leave my side. I would be binding and dooming her to a Berisha-clouded existence. Once we returned to Anubis College, I vowed I would tell her one way or the other of my decision. But for the next few weeks I would help Daniel and his quest to root out rogue vampires while protecting Lily and preserving her medical ambitions. I would also do a lot of thinking.
* * *
CHAPTER 11
Lily: Balloon Magic
As the days passed by since my conversation with Flynn in the gardens, he seemed aloof as though he had made his decision but didn’t have the courage to tell me our relationship was over. Inside I was bereft yet knew I couldn’t ask him to change his mind. It wouldn’t be right or fair. Once we returned to the U.S., I’d immerse myself in the magic books and search for a college in the south far away from Wicklow. I hoped my father would be willing to come too, so I could use my magic to keep him safe. If I wasn’t going to be part of Flynn’s life, I really didn’t have any obligation to involve myself with these crazy vampire wars.
Strangely no one at uni commented on Jack’s absence in physiology classes, however a week after his death, I ran into Maeve. She was outside the genetics lecture room and I was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch.
‘Lily! It’s me, Maeve!’ She ran across the road to the footpath I was walking on.
I froze for a second but waited for her to reach me before hugging her. ‘I’m so sorry, Maeve.’
‘Thanks.’ She held a tissue to her eyes.
‘I didn’t get to the funeral.’
She nodded. ‘It was in Sydney.’
She looked so sad and lost. ‘Come on, come to lunch with me.’
‘I have to hand in an art assignment.’
‘We can go to the art school cafe.’
It felt strange sitting near the table we had all shared only a few weeks ago. I fetched two coffees and some sandwiches. Once we were settled, I asked, ‘What happened to him?’
She dabbed her eyes again. ‘It was awful. They found him in the lake.’ She sobbed.
A part of me was unsure of her. For all I knew she could be a dhampir too, but we were sitting in strong sunlight, and she showed no sign of it affecting her.
‘How dreadful.’ I tried to sound genuine, but I was battling. ‘How are you coping?’
‘We’d had a fight. The last time I saw him, I told him I hated him ....’ She looked away. ‘I’m a horrible person.’
Far from it, I wanted to say. ‘No way, Maeve. He knew you loved him. We all have little arguments, but no one can know when we shouldn’t. No one can see the future.’ Well, that was definitely a white lie.
‘You don’t understand.’ She ran her fingers through her hair.
‘We broke up.’
I nodded and looked away.
‘I had my doubts about him, you see.’
‘It happens to us all.’
‘No, he wasn’t normal.’
My stomach flipped.
‘You were friends, weren’t you? So you probably don’t want to hear negative things about him.’
‘I don’t mind,’ I said softly. In fact, I was dead curious.
‘He kept weird hours, night hours but wouldn’t talk about it when I asked. I think he was dealing drugs. They found him with a stab wound to his chest and the police think he was murdered in a deal that went wrong.’
I must have looked suitably shocked.
‘I know it’s unbelievable. He seemed just like one of us, didn’t he?’
It had worked out perfectly. ‘I’m sorry, Maeve.’
‘Thanks. Maybe it’s for the best, but I miss him so much even if he was doing the wrong thing.’
‘We all do.’
‘Would you come to Burgmann on the last night of semester? A few of his friends are traveling from Sydney and will be coming. Nick, Cheng and a few of us are going to have a few drinks and a ceremony in his honor because some people didn’t get to the funeral in Sydney.’
She picked at her sandwich. ‘I miss him so much. He was an orphan you know. He used to come and stay with my family when we went home at the weekends. My mum treated him like a son.’ She sobbed. ‘You must think I’m insane after breaking up with him and knowing about his background?’
I patted her hand and let her talk uninterrupted.
‘He was funny though. He used to tell kids at Burgmann he was a surfie and spent weekends at the beach. I think he thought it was way more cool than telling them he was an indoor nerdy type who loved reading books.’ She stopped and looked at me with eyes wide open. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on. Will you come? I’m sure Jack would have wanted you to.’
I nodded and smiled. Anything to stop her talking about the monster. ‘Of course, I’ll be there.’ Poor Maeve, if only she knew she’d been saved from the clutches of a vile animal.