by D. H. Davis
It feels like seasons have passed by the time someone breaks our silence. I, myself, am too busy absorbing the situation to even begin to have the mental faculties to string a sentence together.
“I think we should call it a day here. Brooke has been overloaded with sensitive and unpleasant information today,” says Lucille softly. “Expecting anymore from her at this point would just be cruel.”
I look up at the Elders, realising they are all showing expressions of concern. I want to reassure them I’m okay but my desire to get out of there overpowers anything else and all I can muster is a slow nod of my head.
I stand, grab my bag from under the chair, throw it over my shoulder and head towards the stairs.
“Brooke.” I turn and look back at the Elders. “When you’ve processed, we are all here to talk and help you make sense of it.” Peter assures me while Albert adds, “But just remember, you can’t ever trust a vampire. Truce or not, they’re dangerous.”
I nod again with a kind of half smile before turning back around and heading back up to the church. They think I’m messed up because of what I saw and heard. If only they knew what really had me in pieces.
As I’m walking down the path from the church, back onto the main street, I hear footsteps behind me. I whirl around expecting to see one of the Elders chasing after me but instead I’m met with my idiot brother.
“Sammy, what the hell are you doing here?” I cry.
“Hell, outside a church that’s really Godly of you, Brooke.” He laughs catching up with me so that he is now walking beside me.
“I’m serious, Sammy, how are you here?”
“I got curious about what you do in your little sessions. If I knew they were that interesting, I’d have spied much sooner.” He replies, far too casually for someone who was just admitting to crashing an elders meeting.
“Oh, shut up. You couldn’t possibly have heard any of that. It’s a sealed room.” I roll my eyes at his stupidity.
“That, my sister, is where you are wrong. There’s an underground tunnel going along the cells that takes you right up to the air vent in the sanctum. You have to practically army crawl to get there but when you have a physique like mine, it’s not a problem.” He does an annoying flexing of his biceps as he says this. “I mean I couldn’t see whatever vision you guys had but I heard all the shit after. Interesting stuff, hey!”
Just when I didn’t think I could be anymore shocked today, my little brother surpasses expectation.
“You cannot breathe a word of any of that to anyone. Do you realise how much trouble you’d get in if anyone found out?” I scold him. “Those rituals are sacred and not meant for just any coven member.”
“And that is what makes it so fun.” Sammy grins and playfully punches my arm.
“I’m serious, Sammy. Promise me now! I’ve got enough to stress about without worrying about you!”
I’m getting agitated now. I know this is all just a joke to him and that he’s too immature to even comprehend the sensitivity of the information he’s just heard and that’s why it concerns me so much.
“Alright, alright just chill!” Sammy agrees holding both hands in the air, pretending to surrender. “I won’t say anything.”
I let out an enormous sigh of relief. As annoying and silly as my brother is, he’s also insanely loyal. He never has and never would break a promise.
“The only thing I will say is, don’t you find it strange that co-existence means we have to hate each other? Especially, when it sounds like we both did pretty horrible things.” Sammy stuns me.
I pause for a moment thinking over his surprisingly wise words and something clicks.
“I don’t think that was the whole story. They only showed me the first part then told me the rest. They’re missing something out.”
“The question is why?” Sammy replies insightfully as he raises one eyebrow.
Chapter Four
I’m stood in the middle of the Spinny; a drastically overgrown collection of bushes and trees that the youth of Arcane Grove tend to use as a secret hide out. It’s attached to the park but no sane adult would ever dream of coming here as you can only get into it by crawling through a narrow space under a holly bush, which is hardly fun; it leaves you with mud stained knees and half a shrub in your hair. Judging myself for agreeing to meet here, I take a pew on a thick tree trunk, which is somehow grown at a horizontal angle. I just couldn’t let it lie when I got home. Too much didn’t make sense. I had to get some answers; so of course, I made the rash decision to stalk Jessie on Facebook. Unfortunately, he has his wits about him and has his profile set to private. The best I could do was send him a private message and on impulse, that message requested a meeting. I didn’t for a second think he’d reply but here I am in the middle of a secluded, wooded area, awaiting the arrival of a vampire with no one knowing my actual whereabouts. I’m an idiot. I almost deserve to get killed!
In an attempt to stop dwelling on my stupidity, I decide to try and climb higher up the tree. Physical activity always seems to settle me; it’s why I like dancing so much, it helps distract me and release a little stress. I scramble easily about halfway up the tree then realise I can’t quite reach the next branch, it’s offset over to the right instead of simply above and neither my arms nor my legs are long enough.
I’ve never been one to quit though, so I decide to make a jump for it. I take a deep breath then rock my body back and forth like a pendulum in a grandfather clock, attempting to build momentum. On the mental count of three, I let go of the thick branch I’m holding and fling myself over, grabbing hold of the thin one to my right. I land the jump, let out a sigh of relief and as I begin to pull myself up towards the top of the branch and I hear a crack.
I desperately look over at where the branch meets the trunk of the tree and my heart sinks. It’s about to snap. Before I have a chance to cast an incantation to brace my fall, the branch gives away and I begin plummeting down towards the ground. As I fall, my body twists so I’m actually facing the floor, seeing it get closer and closer.
Then all of a sudden there’s something there. Something in between me and the ground and whatever it is, I’m about to hit it. I close my eyes anticipating the thud that’s about to occur, but to my astonishment I feel no such impact. Instead, I open my eyes to find myself staring at Jessie.
Instead of landing in a heap of broken bones on the weed-ridden floor, I’m lying neatly in Jessie’s arms; exactly how Superman would carry Lois Lane. He’s starting at me very intently with his piercing blue eyes. For a moment, I forget where I am, what I’m with and simply think about how nice the eyes looking at me are and how much I like the feel of his muscular arms around me. I breathe in the scent of his undone, black, leather jacket and the smell of his aftershave bounces from his strong jaw. My body remains on the grey hoody beneath his jacket, which separates his cool skin from me. I sink into him.
“Lucky I was here, hey?” Jessie grins, breaking my daydream, reminding me of reality.
“Put me down!” I command, flustered, I begin wriggling to escape his grasp, which he lets me do. I get to my feet and attempt to straighten myself up as best I can; quickly pulling my top back over my stomach as it had rolled up during the fall. I wasn’t quick enough however, because Jessie comments on liking my belly bar.
“We aren’t here to discuss my piercing.”
“Straight to business then. God, you’re such a witch. Not even a thanks for saving your pretty, little self.” Jessie shrugs his hands in my direction as he turns and sits on the tree trunk where I was sat earlier. I pretend not to notice that he just called me pretty even though I got a small flutter in my stomach as he said it.
“Thank you but I don’t need your help. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“Sure looks like it, love.”
“It would have been fine, I was about to cast something.” I’m lying, it happened too fast. There was no way I could have and he knows it
, but instead of calling me on my crap, he just lets me have this one.
“So why did you summon me here then?” Jessie enquires, folding his arms as though he’s settling down for a long wait.
“You know why.”
“Well, I was under the impression we had an understanding. Me, I go about my business, you, you go about yours.”
“You really think it’s that simple. If any of the coven find out you’re in town there will be an uproar. You must know Arcane Grove is witch territory. It’s my responsibility to keep everyone safe. I can’t just sit on this!”
Without meaning to I’d taken up a power pose with my hands on my hips as I said it and soon as I realise, I feel ridiculous for trying to act intimidating, so I go to lean on a tree opposite where he’s sitting instead. Jessie ponders over what I’ve said for a moment before replying, “Well two things there. One, why is it your responsibility and two, why does me being in town mean there’s a threat?”
“Because you’re a vampire!” I yell, getting irritated at his ignorance.
“And?”
“And, you kill people. You drain ordinaries of their blood and you hate witches, which in Arcane Grove there happens to be a lot of. Is that why you’re here? To pick us off one by one?” I suddenly feel uneasy, realising if that’s true I’ve made it pretty easy for him to make the first move on his chessboard.
“Can you hear yourself?!” Jessie cries, jumping up from his seat, visibly irritated by me now. “You’re no different to a kid believing the ice cream van only plays music when it’s sold out! Maybe it’s time you made your own judgements instead of taking your precious Elders at their word!”
I stare at Jessie trying to work out where he’s going with this and how he has any kind of knowledge into how a coven works. He’s made his way over to where I’m leaning, so he’s stood directly in front of me. A little too close, if you ask me.
“Despite the lies witches tell, vampires aren’t killers by nature. We’re no different to ordinaries or you in that sense. If you weren’t a killer before turning then you’re not going to be one in your new life. It’s a personality thing. I could name as many murderous witches as I could vamps and that’s because it’s about how you’re wired and the choices you make, not what you are.”
I look at him sceptically. “It’s a nice story but I’m not buying it. You have to drink blood to survive. It’s literally the most fundamental thing about your kind.”
Jessie lets out a sigh and shakes his head. “Again, explain to me why that means you have to kill?”
This question puzzles me. I guess he’s got a point. It’s never occurred to me that it could mean anything but that.
“Contrary to how we’re portrayed in films, we don’t actually need that much to sustain ourselves. Feeding once a week keeps us strong, two weeks at a push. Most feed on ordinaries that volunteer and some feed on animals. Me, I like to mix it up.”
“People volunteer?” This just seems like a totally foreign concept. Why would anyone volunteer for that?
“Yeah, you’d be surprised how many are out there, we call them feeders. Like I said, we don’t need much, it’s the same as if you were just having a blood test; so people really don’t see it as a big deal,” Jessie shrugs his shoulders as he replies.
“Where do you even find these people?” I ask, completely intrigued.
“It’s twenty seventeen; you can find anything on the internet.” He laughs.
I pause for a minute, absorbing his words.
“Okay, say I believe you, that still doesn’t answer what you’re doing here in witch territory.”
“Getting my A Levels. What else?”
I roll my eyes unsatisfied with his answer but then a thought pops into my head.
“How old are you?” I ask in amazement, suddenly realising I could be stood here talking to someone ancient.
“Eighteen.”
“Yeah, but how long have you been eighteen?”
“Long enough to know that telling your life story to a witch won’t end well!”
“Don’t be evasive!” I scold him, annoyed he’s suddenly not being forthcoming.
“Well, I’m the only one giving anything away! Maybe it’s time you shared, witchy!” Jessie stares me dead in the eye.
He does have a point; as unsure as I am of him, he must be feeling the same towards me. He’s told me a fair bit willingly and naively maybe, but I believe him. So I decide to give him something back.
“On my eighteenth early next year, I’ll be acceding to head of my coven. That’s why I said it’s my responsibility to keep everyone safe. It’s not delusions of grandeur, it’s literally in my job description.”
A smile appears across Jessie’s face. “Holy Shit! You must be powerful then. Remind me to never get on your bad side!” He laughs.
“What makes you think you’re on my good side?”
“Well, you haven’t burnt me on the spot for starters,” he replies, inching closer to me. “Although, your heart does race whenever I get closer, so maybe you are a bit scared of me.” He points at his ear, confirming that he has an enhanced ability to hear and is picking up on the fact that my heart’s about to jump out of my chest. “Or maybe, you just like it when I get closer?”
He looks at me with that same intensity as before but this time the look lingers. I feel something rise inside me, like I’m being drawn towards him, my body begging me to step closer. His skin, so perfect and his lips, so alluring. I’ve never felt this kind of desire before. Sure, I’ve thought boys were cute but this is different; this is all consuming. In this moment, I don’t care what he is, what I am, it doesn’t matter, attraction is taking hold.
I take that step my body is begging me to and he greets me with a hand placed on my lower back. It feels electric. I just want him to pull me closer and as if he can read my mind, Jessie wraps his other arm around my waist and pulls me tight to his body so we’re pressing against each other. Anticipation consumes me, I know what’s about to happen, I’m about to kiss a vampire. I tilt my head up towards his and catch a small smile escaping his lips, while he’s staring at me. I tear myself away from his embrace and swing my right arm at full force until my hand plants on his left cheek.
“What the hell Brooke!?”Jessie cries taking a few steps back, wincing from my slap (clearly humouring me as I know I couldn’t have possibly hurt him, he is after all, a vampire).
“How dare you?” I scowl turning away from him and facing the tree. I don’t want him to see my face.
“How dare I? … What are you on about, you crazy witch?”
“You think I’m stupid, you think I’m like every other girl, easy to manipulate, well I am not, vampire. I am soon to be head of one of the most powerful covens in the UK, so do not mess with me. I know your mind tricks, your influence and I won’t be stupid enough to succumb to it.”
Jessie just laughs in response to my words. Words, which I think are brave but for some reason, he finds amusing.
“Brooke, would you just look at me?” he asks once his chuckling has ceased and he walks back towards me.
“No, I know how this works, you look in people’s eyes and you make them susceptible to suggestion. Stay away from me!”
I feel Jessie’s hand on mine. He’s stood behind me now and if he wasn’t technically dead then I would feel his breath on the back of my neck.
“Fine, don’t look at me,” he speaks softly in my ear, “just listen.”
Even this seems to take my breath away, what is wrong with me?
“You’re right we do have influence and you’re right, it comes from intense eye contact, you saw me do it to the muggers but I hate to break it to you, but you’re wrong about me using it on you. Your desire towards me, that’s all you.”
As he speaks, he intertwines his fingers with mine and I let him. I also let his other hand run its way across my hip to my stomach and pull me tight. Jessie is now hugging me from behind and I lean back resting my hea
d on his shoulder. Confusion fills my mind. How can something so wrong feel so right? How can this be the direction my life is taking? Everything I’ve known, have been taught, been warned about, defies what’s happening right now.
“How do I know I can trust you?” I sigh closing my eyes.
Jessie leans right into my ear and whispers
“You don’t.”
With that, he turns me round so quickly that before I’ve had time to anticipate it, we are kissing. Not only are our lips locked but Jessie is holding me close and tight while running a hand through my hair. The perfect kiss, intense, romantic and forbidden.
I don’t know how long we’ve stood here kissing. It’s good, so probably quite a while but eventually reality dawns on me and I pull away, pushing him from me.
“We can’t do this, its bloody madness.” I sigh, still out of breath.
“Isn’t that what makes it more fun?” Jessie asks, grinning at me.
“Do you ever take anything seriously?” I shout, once again getting annoyed by his nonchalant demeanour.
“Of course I do, but I really don’t think this is something we should overthink. I like you, you intrigue me and clearly you like me too.”
His arrogance is adding to my annoyance.
“Well, one of us has to have their head screwed on. This can’t happen and it won’t happen again. It was a mistake.”
I turn away from him and start walking back to the entrance to leave. I don’t trust myself to follow my own instructions; I need to get away before I accidently kiss him again.
“In answer to your earlier question, I’ve been eighteen for about fifty years. Give or take a year or two, I lose track.”