by Sia Wales
I nod slowly, lost in thought. Has he been referring to vampires this whole time?
“Don’t go into the woods, not alone.” His voice is stern, sending a chill down my spine.
“Yeah, sure.”
He doesn’t seem totally satisfied, but throws me a friendly smile and walks away.
I get up and stretch lazily, deciding to go and have a peek at the Bradford’s table to get a better look. None of them are looking my way, although Locke throws me the occasional glance. They are deep in conversation, their heads in close together. However, I’m too busy with bar duties to waste time wondering about what they might be saying. I go into the back corridor where the new deliveries are waiting to be sorted.
As I work, I see the door to Scott’s office open. He’s talking animatedly to Tyler. The hum of his deep voice rises suddenly, making me jump. I laugh at myself.
“Just sorting out the deliveries,” I call over to Tyler when he notices me.
“Good work. I would have given you a hand…”
“I’m sure, but no need, thanks,” I smile. “I guess I’d better get going.”
“Don’t go yet!” exclaims Tyler with a nervous laugh, as he sees Scott almost bursting with enthusiasm to get on with the lesson.
“Gee, I’d love to stay,” I reply with mock innocence, “but Jeff will be wondering if Scott has kidnapped me.”
“Really?” Myco’s eyes darken, his tone is sarcastic. “He’ll think Scott kidnapped you if you don’t get home?”
No need to read too far between the lines. I just shrug it off, as if I haven’t caught the gist.
“It was good talking to you, Myco, see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, and thanks for your help earlier.” Dora suddenly appears by his side, her short blonde hair ruffled, framing her pixie-like features. She is slender as a reed, and there’s grace in her even when she’s standing still. He greets her without taking his eyes from me.
“Dora, Stella. Stella, Dora.” He introduces us with a casual wave of his hand and a crooked smile on his lips.
“Hi Dora,” I murmur shyly.
“Nice to finally meet you, Stella,” she chirps. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Tyler throws her a stare as cutting as a hot knife through butter.
“Ready?” she asks her brother.
“Almost,” he replies distractedly. “I’ll meet you at the car.”
Dora skips off prettily. Tyler, instead of returning to the office where Scott is waiting for him, heads to the back door, his sister managing to get him out of his tiresome chore. I hear the Jeep’s engine fire up.
I turn to go back into the bar, but hear my name being called. It’s Tyler.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispers. His breathe tickles my cheek and makes my skin tingle. I remain glued to the spot as he walks off again.
“Thanks, you too!”
“You’ll always be protected by icy eyes,” he says, recalling the words he wrote on the gift from him and Scott, the Siberian blanket which has now found a home on my bed.
“Ah yes,” I sigh. “They help me sleep like a baby.” A half-truth is ok, right?
“That’s where you’re wrong.” His iridescent eyes bore into me. “They protect you. Always. Whether you’re awake or asleep.” He runs his warm fingers down my cheek before turning to join his family at the car, a contented smile on his face.
As I return to the bar, I think over the strange conversation I had with him in minute detail. Every word he speaks seems to be some kind of clue; a narrow path with crumbs on it, leading me to his secret.
I walk unenthusiastically out the door, not really keen on the idea of walking home. But I can’t ask Tyler for a ride, the Jeep is already full. I watch the taillights of the vehicle head around the corner and disappear.
But all of this hanging round with vampires, wolves, and werewolves has got me believing that anything is possible. This proves to be the case right now. I see my car parked up in the same spot that Vuk pulled into earlier and shake my head, incredulously. I throw open the driver’s door and find the keys in the dashboard. I instinctively search my jacket pocket and find nothing. They’re not in the pocket of my jeans, either. Vuk must have taken my set of keys when we were in the forest or in the pickup so that he could bring me my car, making sure I got home safe and sound. I suddenly realize how cold it’s become.
There’s a note folded up on the passenger seat. I get in, close the door, and open the note, flattening it carefully in my hands. It’s damp––muddy and crumpled from all the times it’s been opened and refolded. It smells minty, the same as his delicious warm breath.
I curl up into a ball, clutching my arms tight around my chest to avoid crumbling to pieces. It’s not just a couple of words, it seems to be a letter or a poem written in his messy, manly handwriting:
You’ll find me soon,
The stellar star and the wolf.
So soon that you won’t have time to
feel my warmth eclipsed,
The void far from my chest.
Look and you will see me:
The known and the unknown.
Cover up, in the meantime.
Take care of what is mine.
Eternal captivity, remember?
You are the immortal part of me.
You are the best part of me.
Be careful. For me.
My lips curve into a smile as I turn the ignition key. I almost jump out of my skin at the rumble of the engine, deafening without even having to press down on the gas. I carefully place the creased up note into my jacket pocket.
The confusion I feel seems to grow during the ride home. I can’t get him out of my head, no matter how hard I try not to think of him. I battle with the feeling that things are really getting out of hand, way out of my control.
When I arrive, I reluctantly climb out of the warm car, closing the door as noiselessly as possible. I notice that Jeff turned off the porch light. As I try to focus in the darkness, I spot the outline of a person leaning against a tree in the garden, standing still, his black eyes fixed on me. Dorian.
“Donn, oh, Donn,” my voice is a delicate whisper. My instinct is to run to him, but I hesitate and come to a halt after just one step. My knees begin to tremble, my head spins. I feel faint.
I manage to stay on my feet, at the edge of the strip of golden light streaming from the parlor window onto the pathway, but I know I can’t put off our encounter forever. What did I do to deserve him?
Actually, I know what I’ve done. I overstepped the mark. I went to Vuk’s house in Wolfeboro, into the wolves’ territory. But I shouldn’t be too alarmed; I can explain everything to him. So why do I feel overcome with anxiety? Geez, he’s going to make me pay, I’m sure of it.
His face is hard and cold as ice, his posture stiff. He just stares at me in gloomy silence, his gaze a curious mix of torment and disappointment. No minor detail escapes him. I just wait for the fog to return, or at least the pain. I just concentrate on his features for the moment; he’s so graceful and perfect that, in his motionless stance, he looks like a Hellenic statue of the finest marble. One of the most fearsome god. He has absolutely no imperfections to be corrected. The irises of his eyes are so black that I fear that lightning might suddenly strike down from the skies above.
He unfurls a crooked smile as if he has noticed something expected and inevitable behind my back, and he’s trying to assure me that everything will be ok. My heart stops. I try to stay aware, despite the rising panic.
“What is it?” I say numbly, running a hand through my hair.
“He just wants to tell you that if you see a wolf near your house, not to yell.” It’s a husky, familiar voice from behind.
I jump, understanding now why Donn is chuckling to himself. Vuk is here, right behind me, his warm breath on my neck. I can’t even begin to picture an angel more beautiful than him. But I forgot that he moves around as stealthily as a ghost. I turn to him; those emerald eyes
in his sculpted, angular face look alarmed by my expression.
He’s obviously been waiting for me and on the alert after my afternoon in Wolfeboro. Donn has been waiting as well, on the other side of the garden by the edge of the woods. Vuk probably saw him in the shadows of the alley when he dropped me off at the bar.
I can tell by Donn’s face that he’d rather we were on our own, but has something to say to both of us. His eyes narrow as he peers at Vuk through the light mist. I’ve seen that look before. I feel as if I am in a waxworks museum. His eyes are immobile, but penetrating, glazed with anxiety.
“Hope I didn’t scare you,” grins Vuk. “Do you really think the kitchen door should be left open like that? Jeff almost spotted me when he opened the fridge.”
“Well, you should have gone right on in! That’s all I need…you get me into trouble with my father too!” My eyes flash irony, and then I turn back to Donn. He’s still looking at Vuk menacingly as he slips into position by my side, returning Donn’s stare.
“I thought maybe someone would give you a ride while I was going to Boston to get your car back,” Vuk says.
“No, so thanks for that.” I smile graciously at him. “And anyway, do you really think those vampires hunting me would turn back if they saw a closed door?”
“Good point,” he concedes. With a nod in Donn’s direction, he adds, “He’s waiting for us.”
“What are you doing here? If Jeff sees me outside with you, he’ll come charging out the house like a raging bull!”
“I saw Donn outside the bar and I knew he’d be coming to see you to talk about me. So I just wanted to be present, if that’s ok with you.” He growls, sliding an arm around my waist as we walk toward the path leading to Donn.
“Let me go,” I almost yell, wriggling to get free.
“Shh! Jeff will hear. And once he gets you inside, he’ll barricade you in!” I remember that my father is just a few feet away. Vuk finally lets go.
I walk on in silence, trying to keep up with Vuk’s quick step. As we approach, I suddenly realize that Donn is not leaning against a tree by the woods, but against his Bentley, parked up by the trees.
Vuk glances at the house again and puts a hand behind the small of my back to hurry me along.
“Come on. Jeff is waiting up for you, he’ll start to suspect something soon.”
Donn’s eyes go back and forth between Vuk and me, his mouth twisted as if he has just tasted something sour. We stop a few feet from him, and Vuk takes a protective step forward. I hold my breath, expecting to get an earful. But Donn doesn’t utter a word, he’s too angry even to speak. And I imagined that seeing his expression full of rage and cynicism would have made my own blood boil. But all I can think of are the words he spoke the last time we met. My heart melts at the aquamarine of his eyes. We haven’t seen each other since the night we stopped on the coast, and I don’t want our first encounter after such a long time to be bitter.
“Hi,” is all I can muster.
His face seems carved in stone, his expression does not change.
“Stella,” he nods in greeting, without ever taking his eyes from Vuk. Both men turn their gaze on me. I count to ten before speaking.
“See? I’m still alive,” I mumble.
A low growl can be heard from deep in Donn’s chest, but his facial muscles don’t budge an inch. He looks at me with disapproval in his eyes.
“Have you finished?”
“I haven’t even gotten started!” I quip back, stunned. But all I really want to do is clear the air between us.
“Me too,” mutters Donn, in reply to my unexpressed thought. “So how was your afternoon?”
I wonder if he knows just how charming his voice is. I bet he does…
“Very nice, thanks,” I reply.
He smiles, seeming to be amused at something that only he and Vuk understand.
“Can I ask what you were up to?”
“Better not, not today anyway,” I smile. His eyes bore into me, now heavy with melancholy.
“Why? How could you do this to me?” he bellows, emphasizing every syllable.
“Nobody got hurt,” I shrug, hoping in my heart of hearts that this is true.
“What does that mean? You’re in trouble. Big trouble!” he says, answering my silent prayer. “The wolves will seem like cuddly pets compared to what you are about to deal with.”
He roars without a thought to what kind of reaction this might provoke in me. Anxiety and fear flash across his onyx eyes. “You could have gotten hurt. And Jeff would just about kill you if he found out! Or are you hoping to give me a heart attack? You may be mad at me about the conditions of the deal, but how could you do something like this to him?” Donn stutters.
Vuk looks at me out of the corner of his eyes and giggles. The atmosphere lightens.
“I don’t wanna hurt anyone,” he says.
“We can talk about this later,” Donn says sternly, nodding in the direction of the house as we notice Jeff’s shadow moving beyond the curtains.
“Yeah, right,” coughs Vuk, his yellow eyes turned on Donn, filled with pure hate. “Let me guess. Wrong place, wrong time. I could always pop into your crypt under the library is it’s convenient for you. By the way, you’re not listening in to Stella’s thoughts, are you? Like you were doing today in the parking lot after lunch? That’s how you found out she was setting foot into enemy turf, right?” He looks at me, the accusation in his eyes a plea for me to understand just who Donn really is.
“What’s that?” I ask with a whisper.
“I’m sure he’s not ashamed to admit it,” says Vuk.
“Were you listening in again?” I whimper.
“Maybe just a little bit. But only right at the end,” he smiles sheepishly. “But it’s not easy ignoring someone who’s yelling.”
I think back to his afternoon’s chat. A light bulb goes off in my head and everything becomes clearer. I turn to Vuk.
“That’s why at one point, you put your arms on my shoulders as we were walking to the pickup. I thought it was to protect me from the cold!”
“Well, in a certain way…it was.” He narrows his eyes at Donn.
“It didn’t take you long to persuade me to come along, you just made it sound like a spur of the moment idea. And you didn’t really even wait for me to answer, you just led me to the pickup and helped me in.”
Another thought flashes through my mind, and I stare off into the distance.
“Then by the lake, you tried to find out if I was aware of anything. When I told you how pissed Donn would be if he found out, you suggested I stay. Because you knew that…” I break off, no longer able to get the words out. I observe Vuk, waiting, hoping he’ll bring my sentence to a close.
“At least he would only have it in for me,” he shrugs, looking Donn up and down. Donn ignores him, his eyes calmly fixed on me.
“Am I mistaken or did you want to ask me something?”
“Me?” I look at him, puzzled.
“Didn’t you promise me that you wouldn’t go to the Wolf home, beyond the border? You could at least have asked my permission.” He’s not raging mad, as I would have expected, he just seems slightly put out.
“Oh, I didn’t want to bother you. You have so much on your plate right now.”
“You can see Vuk whenever you want at college. Isn’t that enough?”
“I guess.”
“Then respect the deal.”
“A bit over-protective, aren’t you?” Vuk sneers. He turns to me, his face darkening, his eyes glowing with indignation. “I bet you’re not allowed to have fun, have a life, right?”
Donn’s face reddens with rage, he draws back his lips to reveal his teeth.
“Shut your mouth, Vuk,” he says slowly, a dangerous edge to his voice.
“That sounds like a no to me!” Vuk laughs.
A mighty shiver rocks Donn’s body, his jaws so tight the veins on his face are almost bursting.
“And
what are you doing here? You were supposed to be solving that problem!” he roars.
Vuk’s face hardens.
“I changed my mind,” he replies, a furtive glance my way. Donn scoffs contemptuously.
“That was the condition, if you want to take part in the ritual.”
“I tried talking to him about it…but nothing doing.”
“I told you it was too risky! In the library, tomorrow,” he orders, his tone clear that he’s not going to take no for an answer.
“The ritual?” I frown. “You mean at the ceremony? I talked to Vuk about that, I’m hoping he’ll withdraw. Right?” I turn to Vuk. Donn also looks at him, his eyes expressing the exact opposite. Then he turns patiently to me.
“Stella, do you know how close I was to entering Wolfeboro to come get you?” He says. “I didn’t see you return. Can you even begin to realize what the consequences could have been? If they had hurt you…”
“Why? What could the consequences have been?”
“For us, any excuse is good for a fight,” Vuk interrupts. Every trace of good-humor is gone from his voice.
“Maybe you’re not the only ones looking for a fight,” replies Donn in the same tone.
“You agreed to abide by the agreement about the boundaries, now you can’t break the rules, you have to respect it,” warns Vuk in a roar that echoes through the silence.
“Oh, really?” Donn’s jaws stiffen. I try to break the tension.
“No, you can’t,” I say to Donn, my voice perhaps a little too high-pitched as I hold Vuk back with my outstretched arm. “Look, don’t start now, there’s no need to argue. I’m not worried about getting into trouble when I’m with Vuk, nor when I’m with you. So just stop it!” I stress what I say in hushed tones, trying not to attract Jeff’s attention. Donn rolls his eyes skyward.
“Stella, you’re not exactly impartial. You can’t determine what is dangerous and what’s not,” he reasons. His fists are tightened, resting on his hips as he stands tensely by his car. I hate it that he’s keeping his distance.
“Oh, Donn! I’m sorry if I worried you, really I am.”
I take a deep breath and cross the distance between us. Not one muscle of his body moves as I embrace him.