‘Yeah, it will. You know, she was wondering if maybe the four of us could get together—you know, with Tom. She thought maybe a football game or something like that,’ I said, trying not to sound overly enthusiastic, but hoping he would think it was a good idea.
‘Oh,’ was all he said, a slight frown appearing on his face as he crossed his arms.
‘Is that a problem? Doing something with Tom, I mean? You know, I haven’t even seen him yet.’
‘Yeah, well, he’s been sort of preoccupied these days,’ he replied. Now he was definitely frowning.
‘Preoccupied? Doing what?’ I crossed my arms just as he’d done, and could feel myself frowning too. There was a name for this behaviour—taking on the same body language as the person you’re speaking to—was it mirroring, or something like that?
‘He has a new girlfriend,’ he finally replied, saying the words quickly.
‘Really? Since when? You’ve never said anything about a new girlfriend,’ I said, taken aback by this news.
‘Didn’t I? Well, it’s been quite a while—well over a year … maybe going on two years even, come to think of it,’ he replied, then squinted as if trying to remember exactly when they’d met. ‘It was way before we moved anyway. He isn’t at the house much, at Michael and Crystal’s. He’s pretty much either with me, or with Rebekah.’
‘Wow … so … where did he meet her? Where does she live? What does she do? I need some details please—Claire will give me the third degree, and I’ll need some answers.’ I was rattled by this news. Why hadn’t he mentioned it earlier? I suppose I hadn’t asked, but still, you’d think he’d have said something.
He looked at me blankly, and for a moment I thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer. Then he spoke, in a calm voice, completely in contrast to mine. ‘He met her through Erranase, who knew her from the galleries. She’s like Erranase that way … cultured … likes the galleries, and the theatre, stuff like that.’
I smirked, and asked, ‘So, what’s she doing with Tom then?’
He smiled at that, and shook his head slightly. ‘I know what you mean. But they do say opposites attract. Anyway, Tom ran into Erranase outside the theatre one night, and Rebekah was with him. They were introduced and I guess they just really hit it off.’
‘Wait a minute … if she was with Erranase … is she a vampire?’ I could feel my eyes opening wide and could almost feel the look of disbelief that must be written on my face.
‘Yes.’
‘And … Michael and Crystal … they’re okay with her staying in the area and all?’ I remembered a conversation I’d had with Crystal one time—she’d specifically said they didn’t allow other vampires to stay in the area.
‘Yes. She’s different. She doesn’t kill people,’ he replied, his voice still soft and calm.
‘Oh, so … she’s like you, is she? Survives on animal blood?’
‘No, not … exactly. But she doesn’t kill anyone. And she’s taught Tom to be the same as her. And me too, to some extent.’
I felt myself pushing back away from Sam to the other end of the bench, almost involuntarily.
‘What do you mean by that, Sam? So, are you drinking human blood now?’ I shivered at the thought of him drinking the blood of humans. I knew he’d done it from time to time; like that time before the encounter with Zunios, when he and Tom killed those drug dealers. But now?
‘It’s not what you think, Lili. She has this ability to hypnotise people, sort of like what I can do, but she’s much better at it. She can put someone into a trance as quick as lightning. She looks at them, and they sort of slip into a state of unconsciousness. Once they’re out, she cuts them, usually on their arm or leg, and then gently sucks out some blood. Not enough to harm them. Then she sets them down on the ground and lets them wake up. They just think they’ve tripped and cut themselves. It’s so easy. And she doesn’t hurt anyone. Not really.’
‘Oh, so they have this cut, with bruise marks shaped like lips on each side. Yeah, they wouldn’t be suspicious of that,’ I said sarcastically, trying not to cringe.
He shook his head and started to reach across to me but then stopped, seeming to change his mind. ‘It’s not like that. There isn’t a bruise. We’re … gentle,’ he said, his tone soothing.
I grimaced, and sat staring at him from the opposite side of the bench for a few moments, taking it all in. The fact that he said “we’re gentle” wasn’t lost on me. Was this why he’d been so distant? Was he craving my blood, even now?
‘So, you said “we”. Does that mean … are you drinking human blood all the time now?’
He looked down at the ground, then sighed before turning to face me.
‘Not entirely, but yes, quite often. I find it makes me stronger. And as you know, we’ve been under a fair amount of strain here lately.’
I sat thinking about this. So, he was drinking human blood. Not killing anyone, but drinking their blood none-the-less. But he was doing it so that he could protect humans better. Was that sort of like the collateral damage that the government always talked about when discussing civilian casualties in war zones? But he wasn’t actually killing anyone, so were they even casualties? Was it really so bad? Or was I just trying to justify his behaviour for my own selfish reasons?
‘And Michael and Crystal ... they’re … okay with this?’
‘Under the circumstances, yes. They know it helps make us stronger, and they need us now more than ever. They like Rebekah. She’s been a good influence on all of us—even Erranase.’
‘I see. And so, when you sit with me … like we are now … do you crave my blood?’
‘No, Lili, no, please … it’s not like that,’ he said, his voice pleading, and his eyes full of emotion.
‘You’re sure?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow. I wanted to believe him—to trust him—but should I?
‘Of course not … I mean, I never allow myself to get too hungry … and even if I was, you know I could never harm you—not for anything in the world.’
I studied his face, carefully. He had changed over the three years, and maybe this explained it. The rational side of me told me I should be wary of him, but I wasn’t frightened.
He held his arm up invitingly, and smiled shyly, so I slid over and he put his arm around me. When he spoke his voice was warm and soothing. ‘Everything will be fine. I promise. We’ll get things under control again. And you’ll find us a house, and we’ll move in together. We’ll pick up where we left off. It’ll be fine. Please don’t worry.’
We sat like this for several minutes, and his comforting words reassured me quite a bit, but I still had some reservations. I remembered how bad he’d felt when he killed those drug dealers. He’d taken no pleasure in it, and had only done it for the added strength it would give him. Surely, what Rebekah had taught him was even better, wasn’t it?
‘Okay, Sam. I trust you know what you’re doing.’
We sat there for a few more minutes, and then I leaned back away from him and stood up.
‘I have to go. Will you walk me home?’
‘I’d like nothing better than that,’ he replied, standing up and taking my hand. Then he pulled me close to him and kissed me. Only this time, his kiss was like the old days. And there was a passion in him that I hadn’t felt for a very long time. He was Sam again; my Sam.
~ Chapter Fourteen ~
‘Aha! I knew it. That’s why he hasn’t been answering my calls,’ Claire said when she called me for an update later that night. ‘The chicken … he didn’t have the nerve to tell me himself.’
‘You know what men are like, Claire. They don’t like confronting us. In fact, they’ll do anything to avoid it,’ I said, trying to laugh convincingly.
‘Yeah, you’re right there. Ah well, not to worry. I’ll just have to meet someone new then, won’t I?’
She seemed to be taking it in her stride, as I’d hoped she would. After all, she’d been away for four years, and she’d had a number of r
elationships during that time. She could hardly have expected him to be sitting here, waiting for her.
‘So, what are you going to do? I mean, about getting a job?’ I asked; mostly to change the subject.
‘Oh, Mum’s got some friend at an advertising agency and she’s arranged an interview for me. It’s tomorrow in actual fact. Assistant to an account manager I think she called it—sounds an awful lot like a secretary to me, but who knows. I’ll go and have a chat to them anyway,’ she said.
‘It could be fun … working in an advertising agency.’
‘Yeah, that’s what she said. Anyway, how about drinks this Friday? Remember that place we used to go to … I’d love to go back there.’
‘Sure, okay,’ I said, thinking about the last time I’d had drinks with Claire at that place. I doubted Claire remembered Sam having to chase her suitor off, but I sure did. I’d let him know where we were going, and let him decide if he wanted to keep an eye on us or not.
When I hung up the phone, I realised that it had been ages since I’d seen Crystal—other than just in passing. I rang her number, and she answered immediately.
‘Hi Lili, is everything alright?’ she asked.
‘Hi, Crystal. Yeah, everything’s fine. I just thought I’d ring and say hello, and see if you wanted to have lunch or something. We haven’t really seen each other since I got back from Mladen’s. And I have some photos to show you—from Ceylona.’
‘Oh, that sounds absolutely delightful. We’re free tomorrow, how does that sound?’
‘We?’ I asked.
‘Yes, Angelica and I—we’re free to have lunch tomorrow, if you are. There’s a cute little café near the markets; shall I book us a table, say for twelve-thirty?’
‘Oh, yeah, well, sure,’ I said, a little disappointed that she was including Angelica. I’d been looking forward to seeing Crystal, and being able to talk freely, but I couldn’t exactly say I didn’t want Angelica to join us. ‘Yes, that would be fine, twelve-thirty is good.’
‘It’s called La Cantina. We’ll see you there tomorrow. I’m so glad you rang.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ I said, trying to keep the hesitation out of my voice. Oh well, we were a long way from Ben, so I had no reason to be wary of her any longer. Besides, Crystal seemed awfully fond of her, so surely I could try to be nicer to her myself.
~~***~~
When I arrived at the café, I could see Crystal and Angelica already seated at a table at the back so I carefully made my way through the cluttered array of tables.
It was a miserably cold day, so I was dressed for it—jeans, boots, a heavy jumper and my black hoodie over the top of it. But Crystal had on one of her saris and Angelica wore a long sleeved yellow tee-shirt with a light weight lacy jacket over the top of it. Both dhampiras seemed oblivious to the weather.
‘You’re looking well, Lili. I’m so glad you rang. It’s wonderful to finally have a proper catch up,’ said Crystal as she stood up and hugged me.
Angelica didn’t stand, but smiled sweetly. ‘Yes, Lili, it is so nice to see you again. Have you eaten here before? The food is simply to die for.’ She laughed wildly for a moment then covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the laughter.
‘No, I haven’t. But everything looks good,’ I replied, giving her a sort of sideways look. She was strange, there was no denying it.
‘Yes, the food here really is quite good. So, how are you?’ asked Crystal, sitting back down and indicating for me to sit next to her.
‘I’m well, thanks.’
‘That’s good. Sam has said as much, but I was feeling that it was time for us to catch up. You’ve been back here a few weeks now. And so … you’ve spoken to Ceylona? Or at least you’ve heard from her?’
‘Yes. She’s written a few times now. And sent photos,’ I answered, pulling them out of my backpack. ‘She’s taken lots of photos, mostly of the dogs. She seems quite settled in. I even think she’s enjoying her classes.’
‘That’s wonderful. Oh yes, she is growing isn’t she?’ Crystal said, looking at the photos.
‘I guess,’ I replied, studying the photos. It was hard to gage her height, but I could see that she had lost even more of her babyish looks, taking on the shape of a young, almost pre-teen girl.
‘Well, it won’t be long until she’s fully matured, I dare say. Two years, tops, even with the slow start,’ said Crystal.
‘You can tell that, from the photos?’
‘Well, I can tell that she’s grown quite a bit since I last saw her, and that was only a month ago. So, she’s growing very quickly now, making up for lost time I daresay. Now, not to change the subject, but Sam tells me you’re looking for a house, so that you two can be together. Is that right?’
I looked at Angelica quickly—I hadn’t really wanted to talk about this in front of her, but it was too late now—I had to answer Crystal. ‘Yes, I’ve been looking at websites trying to find houses worth inspecting. Do you have any ideas?’
‘Hmmm… not really. Just a word of caution, I suppose,’ she said, looking at Angelica who sort of nodded, in an encouraging way. ‘You know that Sam would do anything to make you happy, don’t you—even if it meant risking his own safety?’
Her question caught me off guard, and I’m sure my face showed it. ‘Risking his own safety? What do you mean by that?’
‘Well, just that, I suppose. I mean,’ she said, then lowering her voice to a whisper, ‘these vampires we’re dealing with are pretty bold, occasionally even coming out in broad daylight to abduct people. They are ruthless and calculating, and I daresay they would find it very interesting to see you and Sam coming and going from the same house. It would make you somewhat vulnerable, as a target … or as bait … if they wanted to lure Sam into a trap.’
Again, Crystal looked at Angelica as she finished, and Angelica nodded her head in agreement.
‘Do you mean to say you think they’d be watching him? Watching … us?’
‘Yes. That’s why he moved out of the house. We had this sense of being watched, all the time. We’re very careful now, but still … if they see you and Sam, coming and going from the same property, they’ll pretty quickly work out that you can be used … to catch him.’
I felt a shiver run down my spine as she spoke. Could she be right? That was part of the reason I’d taken Ceylona away in the first place; so his enemies couldn’t use her as bait to get to him. Was I as much of a lure as I’d feared Ceylona would be?
‘But Crystal, surely, I can look after myself. They won’t be able to get to me, if I’m careful.’
‘Careful? Like that day in the gardens, when you approached that vampire because you thought it was Sam? You mean careful, like that?’ she asked sarcastically, her voice no more than a loud whisper.
‘Oh, that,’ I said, remembering the day well and feeling the heat of embarrassment rising to my cheeks. ‘That was stupid, I know. But I’ve learned a lot since then, don’t you think?’
‘I’m just saying it’s risky, Lili, for both of you,’ she said with an air of finality. She looked to Angelica, who nodded her support once again, frowning at me.
‘I guess it never occurred to me,’ I stammered, feeling awkward, and outnumbered.
‘And that’s exactly why I’m mentioning it now; to give you the opportunity to rethink things.’
I sat there, nearly dumbfounded. I’d expected to have a lovely lunch and catch-up with Crystal. I hadn’t expected to be warned against making a home with my husband.
‘So, what are you saying, Crystal? Do you think I should go back to California, until things settle down?’
‘No. I mean, I’m not telling you to do that. Of course, you could decide that for yourself. I’m just saying that it might not be safe for either of you to have a house together, in view of those that might be trying to harm one or the both of you.’
‘So, you’re saying I should leave.’
‘Or you could simply stay with Debs … until things settle
down. We may get things under control, and back to a manageable state, sooner rather than later. And then next year either Ben or Henry, if not both of them, should be ready to join us. That will give us a much greater coverage of the area. Sam might not need to be so close … you could find somewhere a little less … conspicuous.’
‘Ben and Henry? Coming here?’ I hadn’t really thought much about where they would go, but I hadn’t thought of them coming here.
‘Why yes, of course. The idea was that they’d come here and Michael and I would work with them for a time, then when we’re satisfied that they’re ready, we’d move on to another area for a few years. Ben, Henry and Angelica should be well and truly capable of protecting this area, under normal circumstances.’
I looked at Angelica and she was smiling, and I had to fight to keep my voice even.
‘Of course, I mean, yes, I do remember you saying you would leave at some stage.’ So, Ben wasn’t safe from Angelica yet after all. And by the look on her face, she knew exactly what I was thinking.
Crystal smiled at me, then reached out and took my hands in hers. Her hands were cool, and her touch was as light as a feather.
‘Now, Lili, you won’t say anything to Sam about this, will you? He’ll just deny that it matters, and say that I’m being overly cautious. But I truly believe you would be putting him, and yourself, at risk.’
‘So, does that mean we shouldn’t be meeting in the gardens either then? I’ve been sitting with him after I run in the mornings.’
‘It’s probably not such a good idea, not regularly anyway. You just never know who could be watching,’ she said, looking at Angelica for confirmation. Angelica didn’t speak, but just nodded encouragingly.
The waiter arrived to take our orders, so I quickly scanned the menu and ordered the grilled calamari with a rocket side salad, even though I no longer had much of an appetite. After he’d taken the orders and gone, I sat quietly as Crystal and Angelica chatted about how they’d spent the morning at the hospital visiting the lonely elderly patients. It seemed that Angelica was learning more from Crystal than how to kill vampires; she was also learning compassion. And even though I knew this was a good thing, I could feel the sharp claws of jealousy grasping me once again. Crystal was my friend. I should be going on these visits with her.
Deception (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 3) Page 12