Circle of Death

by Thais Lopes

  Again, Kelene needed half an hour to wake up.

  “Good morning.” She greeted me, the cup of coffee already on her hand. “Excited for tonight?”

  “A lot.” I smiled. “Do you want me to make lunch?”

  “There’s no need, thanks. I have a class this afternoon, I’ll probably arrive here around five.”

  I nodded, and she went back to her room. A couple of minutes later she left, saying a quick “goodbye”. I waited until I was sure she would be a safe distance away before leaving, too, using enough mental suggestion to make sure that no one realized I was following her.

  I had never been to the campus before, but I had heard about it. It was a huge space, filled with different buildings and a lot of greenery. The building Kelene studied in seemed to be one of the old ones, and looked like three different buildings that were joined somehow. I sat in the lawn outside, hidden from view from the main street and still using that small amount of mental suggestion to make sure no one thought anything about me being there. It was better to wait there than to go into the building, where it would be harder to go unnoticed. I had always had the ability to sense other vampires’ presence, and one as old as Seth would be easy to notice, unless he knew I was there and was shielding.

  But the day went by without incidents. I followed Kelene back to the apartment, and only when she was already inside the complex I used a stronger suggestion to hide me and ran ahead. When she opened the door, I was lying on the couch reading one of her books.

  Kelene greeted me and went straight to the bathroom. She was agitated, almost angry, and it surprised me that I hadn’t noticed it while following her. What had happened? After taking a shower, she locked herself into her bedroom, and the phone rang almost at the same time. Not the apartment’s phone line, but that line she had warned me to ignore. She picked it up after the first ring, and I couldn’t avoid hearing her words.

  “I don’t care about what they said. You failed. Don’t make this mistake again… Yes, I know you’re new to this, or I wouldn’t be so gentle.”

  There was anger in her voice, and a strength that was completely different from what I was used to hearing from her. What did Kelene hide? But I couldn’t ask, she wouldn’t answer and would be furious to know that I had overheard those words.

  She left the bedroom a couple a minutes later, looking just like the young woman I knew, as if nothing had happened.

  “I’m going to help them with the preparatives. The party starts at nine o’clock, I’ll be waiting for you.” She sounded light and carefree, not at all like what I had just heard.

  “I’ll be there.”

  The hours went by quickly after that, while I was lost in thoughts. Kelene’s secrets, the Witches’ Council words, and all that Avés had revealed… Everything was tied together, somehow, and I was in the middle of it all. But how did those pieces fit? I couldn’t see anything, and was sure that I was missing the most important information. I didn’t know enough. Leaving that enigma that had become a hobby for later, I went down just before nine o’clock, and went to the complex’s lawn, where a bonfire had been lit.

  All the teens and young people of the complex were sitting in a circle with two openings around the bonfire. Some of them had percussion instruments, flutes, and a violin. Other ones didn’t carry anything, and I wondered if they were there just to complete the circle, of if they would sing too. Kelene and another girl were standing, each one in front of an opening. Not exactly surprised, I realized that the girl was the one who had smiled at me the night before. She was restless, and I could see that she was completely human, but had some kind of connection to the Otherworld. Looking around, I saw people spreading around the circle, waiting for them to begin.

  The minutes went by, the small conversations dying one by one, until there was only the silence and the fire. The girl started singing, the melody sounding almost too low for her, but her voice was still strong and clear. There were no words to what she sang, only a melody that seemed to dance around the fire, almost visible. For one moment, I felt as if I had heard it before, half-buried memories of my childhood coming forth, but I ignored them.

  She stopped singing, and the deep sound of a drum cut the air. One beat, another, and then the other drums joined in. The woman moved into the circle following their rhythm, dancing with the strong and primitive melody. She started singing again, dancing around the bonfire, two soft voices backing her. A flute joined the song, and then the violin, giving it a cadence that felt alive, almost magic. I felt something stirring inside me, my most primitive instincts being called and fought to control myself.

  Once again she stopped singing, and the instruments went on, more flutes joining in, changing the soul of the song, delineating a melody as fluid as the fire. Only then Kelene, who had spent all that time standing still, entered the circle, dancing. The two women faced each other for a second, before starting to sing, always dancing, their voices entwining. The song, which until then had been alive and pulsing, now was reverent and even dark, Kelene’s clear soprano voice giving it a supernatural touch.

  It was then that I realized I had to move away. I didn’t recognize that song, but I was sure I knew it, and that it was a melody of power. It wasn’t safe to be so close to it in the middle of so many people. Slowly, I backed away.

  All the instruments were being played, and the other voices joined the melody in intricate counterpoints, weaving a web of power. I blinked, moving away from my memories again, only then noticing that I was almost at the complex’s outer wall. Kelene and the other woman were still dancing, always in opposite sides of the bonfire, and it was impossible to tell if they and the music moved according to the flames, or if the flames moved according to the music and the dancers.

  Suddenly all the instruments were silenced, and the women still sang. The power seemed to build, their voices interlaced in a melody that was older than any legend. They finished the song raising their arms at the same time, one on each side of the bonfire, and the flames shot higher and higher. The women were still for a couple of seconds, their bodies trembling with tension, before lowering their arms and leaving the circle.

  The reverent silence was a praise as big as any applause, as their neighbors parted to let them pass through. I could almost see the power gathered by that song, even though I couldn’t understand what it meant. And then one person clapped, soon followed by everyone around the circle, and the tension was broken.

  The deep drum sounded once again, and the boy playing it shouted. “Let the party begin!”

  People shouted all around us, not only the young ones. The old rituals and festivities were long forgotten, but it seemed that they had made their own in the complex.

  One of the older people sat on one of the benches and started playing a guitar. Soon there was a small circle around him, as people sang along. The long table with food and drinks was already surrounded, and Kelene was walking on that direction.

  Smiling, I went to her.

  8. Kelene

  I left the circle exhausted, as usual. Every time they invited me to the bonfires I promised myself it would be the last time I would join it, but couldn’t refuse when they asked me again. It didn’t matter that I left it feeling completely drained, I simply couldn’t refuse it. One of the reasons for that was simple: the idea of the bonfires had been mine, and I had worked on all those songs with them, using them to take some of them away from the streets. But there was more… I didn’t know if it was because of the memories of my past, what I had been, or what my father had left me, but I couldn’t refuse the call of the flames. Those moments singing and dancing around the fire made me feel alive, complete, as I rarely felt.

  Slowly, I went towards the table with food and drink, already knowing that I would have to wait a long time before being able to get anything. Everyone who wasn’t singing with Marcelo and his father was around the table, and I didn’t felt like getting into all that pushing and s
hoving. I felt someone approach me, and turned when he put a hand on my shoulder.

  “What do you want?” Lucio asked, staring at me with an intense expression.

  “Broth, before they eat it all.” I told him, trying to ignore the weight of his eyes.

  “Wait here.”

  People seemed to move away as soon as he got close to the table, and I was sure he was using some mental suggestion. Just as he had done the whole day, following me to the campus and back to the apartment. Protecting me. But protecting me from what? He didn’t know I was immune to vampires’ powers, and it would be better if he didn’t figure it out, as it would raise too many questions.

  He was back less than five minutes later, carrying two cups of bean broth and spoons.

  “Where to?”

  I pointed to one of the tables near the outer wall, under one of the few big trees in the lawn, and Lucio started walking in that direction. I held out my hand to take one of the cups, but he pretended not to see and kept walking. Okay, if he wanted to be a gentleman I surely wouldn’t complain. We sat down facing each other, and he put the cups on the table, in front of me.

  “Thank you.” I picked one of the spoons and started eating. I was very hungry, as always after using my inheritance.

  “That was nothing.” He answered, his gaze so intense that I could feel it, and I didn’t dare take my eyes away from the cup of broth. “Now tell me, where did that song come from?”

  I tried to hide how uncomfortable that question made me, but soon realized that it would only make him even more curious. A quick memory came to the surface, of another time, the bonfires and who had taught me part of the song. I didn’t even try to hide my small smile. Those had been good times.

  “Are you certain you can hold the power, Kelene?” The fey prince asked, his own power still around the girl, ready to catch anything that might escape.

  “I am.” Kelene smiled, closing her eyes and moving slowly, as if the flames were guiding her. “Fire is easy, it is part of me.”

  “The idea for the central melody was mine, but we composed it as a team.” I told him, and that was true, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

  “It was amazing. It did really remind me of the old circles of fire. You were incredible.”

  Surprised, I looked up and didn’t take long to recognize the vampire’s expression. He was deep into his memories. But what memories? Circles of fire were a half-forgotten legend when I learned that song. I had known only the fire circles, and it was said that they were very different. Circles of fire were a tribute to that element, and involved knowledge that had been lost too long ago. The fire circles were just part of the rituals and spells of the Fae.

  But I also remembered the man who had taught me that melody telling me that it was old, the oldest of the known chants. And that was also why no one still knew it fully. The Song of Day and Night, he had called it.

  Was Lucio really old enough to remember the circles of fire and that song, back when it was known? I couldn’t ask, I already knew he didn’t want to talk about his past. And if I demanded answers, I would be giving him the right to do the same thing.

  “Thank you.” I looked down again, concentrating in my cup of broth.

  “And you are a great singer, besides having a lovely voice.” He continued.

  I blushed. I didn’t know if that was a simple praise, or if there was something else behind his words. He was staring at me with an intense expression again, after all.

  “Thank you.”

  I resumed eating, and he was silent for a couple of minutes, looking at the starry skies and the crescent moon. Lucio was still going through his memories, I realized. And that wasn’t really a surprise. In nights like that even I had to strain to remain in the present.

  “One thing caught my attention.” He said, suddenly. “The fire really seemed to follow your movements. How do you do it?”

  “It’s a pretty effect, isn’t it?” I smiled, and this time I had to lie. That was one of my biggest secrets, and what had initiated all that in my life. “I don’t know, it simply happens.”

  “It’s fascinating.” He answered, staring at me.

  I looked away, once again unsure of what he really meant with those words. My heart was beating too fast, and I didn’t know if it was because of the possibility that I could almost taste in the air, or because of the fear of what might happen.

  9. Lucio

  Kelene slept until three in the afternoon. All right, we returned to the apartment as the sun rose, after a lot of music and talk, and that was just because she insisted a lot. My habit of keeping secrets kept me of telling her the sun wouldn’t affect me.

  On that night, after she finished eating and I realized she was getting uncomfortable with my questions, we sat with the musicians around the fire. They were still playing and singing, even though they changed to some modern music, some with interesting arrangements, other ones just following the original. Kelene joined them in some songs and she was always telling stories when she wasn’t singing. I was impressed with her voice.

  Actually, not just with her voice. While we talked I found out a lot about her, and felt more attracted to her at each passing moment. She was simple, funny, and I didn’t even remember all the secrets that seemed to surround her. Kelene was just a young human woman, with a still spine hidden behind her ordinary appearance. To my surprise, my attraction to her had nothing to do with her blood. That was barely present, as if she wasn’t completely human, even though that was one of the few things I was sure about her.

  The strong coffee was ready when she woke up and dragged herself to the kitchen, looking like a sleepwalker. I couldn’t avoid laughing.

  “Laugh all you want,” she muttered. “You’re lucky you don’t have to sleep.”

  I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender, while she started drinking her coffee. In a short while, she seemed to be awake.

  “Tomorrow will be worse, just wait.” She added.

  “I was thinking about it.”

  “You think you’re funny…”

  The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, with Kelene throwing down her wardrobe as she searched for something to wear for tonight’s party. I didn’t imagine she would take that much time to get dressed, she didn’t seem that kind of person. Fortunately, I had my TV, and I watched a couple of movies while she complained.

  We left the apartment at nine. Kelene was stunning, wearing a blouse that marked her waist, a skirt and high-heeled boots, completely black. I was already used to seeing her in t-shirts and jeans and hadn’t even imagined she had such a beautiful body.

  I called a taxi, as I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be alone. If Seth found us, he would initially avoid an attack in front of any kind of witnesses. I couldn’t guess what he would do after some time without success, but for now we were safe.

  When we arrived there was already a line by the door. I offered my arm to Kelene, and she accepted without any hesitation, surprising me. While we waited I noticed that, even though she seemed distracted, she was fully alert to everything around us, restless, as if something was bothering her. I knew that reaction, she was feeling some kind of threat near us, but considered me safe. What had I done to deserve that trust? It was true that I wouldn’t do anything against her, even without our contract, but how could she be so sure?

  Fortunately, we didn’t wait long and were soon inside the club.

  The loud music hit us as soon as we crossed the door. The strong and fast rock beat made Kelene smile, excited, and I felt myself answering her smile.

  “This night is promising.” She said, not raising her voice, knowing that I would understand her even with all the noise.

  “Yes. Do you want to dance?”

  “Of course!” She opened one of her rare sincere smiles.

  I smiled again, taking her to the dance floor.

  Before my transformation I had been, in part, a dancer.
Everyone trained in the Sanctuary were musicians and dancers, it was necessary for our work. The pleasure of dancing had never abandoned me, but most vampires were usually too worried about appearances and the impression they were causing to truly dance, and I would never dare to put a human in risk just for a couple of minutes dancing. But now… I knew Kelene was a great dancer, after what I had seen in the fire circle. And she knew what I was and didn’t fear me.

  Of the modern music, what attracted me most was rock and its various forms, the strong, fast and alive, or at least heavy sound, made me remember the old times in the Sanctuary, somehow. I allowed the music to carry me, and when I noticed my surroundings we were already in the dance floor.

  Kelene understood perfectly what I wanted to do and moved accordingly, without missing a beat, and always with a sensuality that wasn’t intentional but seemed to be part of her. I still tried to keep some distance between us, but as the music asked for proximity she held her body close to mine, fearless, in a natural and almost unconscious way. It was the first time since my transformation that I danced like that with someone.

  10. Kelene

  Yes, I noticed Lucio was trying to keep some distance between us. That is the problem with vampires: they want to be accepted, but when they aren’t killing machines they have more prejudice against themselves than anyone else. He was afraid of hurting me, of losing control, but I knew I was safe. There are signs that can give a clear warning to anyone who knows how to read them, and that tell when a vampire is about to lose control. I had learned those signs a long time ago. With that in mind, I ignored all his care and worry and got closer and closer as the music asked.

  And he was such a dancer! By all that’s sacred, what a dancer! I relaxed, letting the music carry me as we created choreographies that became more and more complex and the songs changed. It had been a long time since I had so much fun, since I felt so alive.