An Immortal in London: Corruption

by Hardie, Bethanie

  He shook his head and raised his right shoulder. “I wasn’t sure.”

  “About what?”

  “We’ve spent so long searching for answers, it seems too easy.”

  I put my arms around his neck and nodded, “We deserve easy.”

  “I love you Miss Jewels,” he whispered.

  “And I love you my tall dark and handsome stranger.”

  He laughed and with a sigh stepped away from me and returned to the house.

  It was nearly ten, but I wanted to be ready as soon as I could, even if it meant sitting in a ball gown for seven hours.

  George and Gabriel had left earlier to go to Levi’s to set up, I had offered to go, but they insisted that I stay with Brian. None of them trusted him; Gabriel seemed to forget that one of his own was also dead. Their ignorance infuriated me, but I hid it well.

  Levi was stood at the mirror adjusting his bow tie. I smoothed down my dress and walked over to him. “You look…” I swallowed the lump that was in my throat and let out a breath, “You look perfect.”

  His eyes followed my hands as they rested onto his shoulders trembling. He turned around and put his hands on my waist. “Tonight, when we all get back, I’m going to take you away with me, somewhere sunny.”

  I didn’t answer, I simply kissed him. The kiss felt like a goodbye, because it was. There was something in his eyes that terrified me, and I knew that leaving him would be the hardest thing that I had done since walking away from my first life in London.

  “Are you ready?”

  I nodded and smiled. I rested my hand above his scar which lay hidden beneath his shirt and smiled one final time, “As long as you are there, I will be fine.”

  “Just remember tomorrow,” he said, before he opened the door and sent us both into the present, a time and a place that I had always hated.

  “You look wonderful Victoria,” Gabriel said as he opened his car door for me.

  I smiled and sat down next to George. “Still smiling Vickie?” he asked.

  I felt sick and I couldn’t find it in me to breathe. Levi’s hands were cool in my own damp clammy pair. He kissed my cheek and smiled reassuringly.

  I had no time for second thoughts, no time for regrets as we pulled up outside of Levi’s house. He tapped my arm and I looked up to see everyone looking down at me expectantly. I stood out of the car and fixed my smile.

  An hour or so later the other guests, all hunters, arrived and the ball began.

  George took my arm and we mingled within the other hunters. Each of them knew what to do.

  Too many hands touched my arm and whispered words of thanks. I didn’t realise just how many hunters there were in Europe. The ball room was filled to the brim with beautiful immortal faces.

  The room suddenly began to merge with the past. A string quartet within my mind began to play. As if it had been rehearsed the hunters stood in perfect synchronisation and walked to the centre of the ballroom, the magnificent ballroom that stood at the back of Levi’s terribly grand home.

  Sedric held out a hand to me and I looked up into his loving blue eyes. He placed one hand onto my waist and the other he held in mine, just as before. And then I began to dance. I had danced the same dance since I was able to walk, each step I knew like my own name, just as before.

  I closed my eyes and tried to breath. When I opened them I saw a strong hand rested on George’s shoulder.

  “May I have this dance, Rose?” Levi asked. George passed my hand over to Levi’s and my skin burned with anticipation at his touch, just as before.

  “Levi, it’s happening,” I whispered. He looked around and danced me across the ballroom. We passed by ladies in their beautiful dresses and men in their suits, their movements timed with perfection.

  I closed my eyes and forced my mind to concentrate on the present. Levi put a cool hand onto my cheek and breathed comforting words, “Just breathe, and stay with me.”

  I shook my head and looked across the room to Gabriel who had taken up dancing with an immortal who I didn’t recognise. George had wandered to the door with a champagne glass in hand, awaiting the arrival of the dark forces.

  “She’s here,” I said in a breath, the words tumbled from my mouth.

  We all felt it. The force of the darkness overwhelmed the house and the dancing stopped momentarily. All eyes were on the doors. As they opened, each hunter moved aside and a clear pathway was made from the doors to where I was stood beside Levi.

  Bernadette Francis this was not. Our imposter’s feet clad in killer black heels stepped into the room and her hawk like black eyes captured mine. Her smile was one of a predator, a snake hiding in the grass waiting for the perfect moment to strike with its cruel tongue.

  Everything about her was dark, evil. Her black hair fell down to her lower back like a cloak. Her skin was white, so white that it was like a ghost stood before me. He black dress hung on one shoulder and draped lazily over her body, clinging here and there.

  She walked step by torturous step past each stunned hunter. Her heels penetrated the floor and the sky outside rumbled angrily. Her dress fluttered gracefully as she moved, so delicately, yet each step was like a knife in my stomach.

  Levi stepped closer to me, but I held up my hand. I stepped forward and she stopped several paces before me.

  “Tor,” her voice was sweet, sickly sweet like a spoonful of honey. Her laugh scattered around the room like Lucifer’s poisonous melody.

  “You have no right to call me that,” I said, my voice was stronger than I had expected.

  After a moment of fear passed I realised why she hadn’t ventured closer, my light was too strong for her, it repelled her, as her darkness repelled me. I took a step forward and winced as her darkness tried to penetrate my light.

  She laughed once more and joined me in moving forward. “You look well.”

  “Not what you expected I suppose.”

  She looked around and raised her brow, “I expected no less from you. It’s quite an impressive army you have here.”

  I stepped even closer and I could feel Levi behind me threatening to step in, to protect me. “Where is Francis?”

  “Oh it’s too late for her now. Anyway I have some friends that I want you to meet.” As she spoke she lifted her delicate tiny hand into the air and suddenly Levi’s house exploded with shadows.

  It was so sudden that I couldn’t quite believe that it was happening. Dresses and suits flew by me with very little grace, the antithesis of mere seconds ago. Bodies were thrown by other bodies. When I turned back to our imposter she had gone, vanished into the shadows.

  Levi had already begun to fight, he could hold his own. Anger boiled the blood that flowed through my veins; I had to find her, my only want was to hold her heart in my hands. I ran stealing hearts as I went until I found Gabriel wrestling on the floor. I thrust my hand through his attackers back and helped him up.

  “Did you see where she went?”

  He looked around and shrugged, “I don’ know.” As I turned to go he put his hand onto my arm and frowned lightly, “Be careful.”

  I nodded and kissed his cheek lightly before I ran through the doors into the scarily silent hallway. Shouts could be heard from the ballroom, how many she had brought with her I didn’t dare to speculate. I moved to run from the house, but a small voice hidden at the bottom of the stairs stopped me.

  “Victoria?”

  I span on my heel and hesitated at the site of her. She was young and had neither light nor darkness around her. She was mortal.

  “Who are you?” I asked, kneeling down in front of her.

  She looked around and leant forward, “Francis wants to see you. I can take you to her.”

  I too looked around before I stood. I took the young girl’s hand and followed her out of the house.

  “Here,” she said, releasing my hand, “I’m sorry.” She took a step back and as I turned to open the door she ran as fast as her small legs could carry her.
/>   I rested my hand on the patio doors, the doors which I had entered not long ago. The thought that I had been so close to her made a sickness rise in my stomach, guilt and grief riled within me.

  Without another moment of hesitation I entered the house and inhaled, seeing through the darkness, searching for her light. The second that I felt it I hesitated no more. Corridors and stair cases seemed never ending; in reality it was nothing like the maze that had taken over my mind.

  After forty years of searching all that stood between me and my immortal sister was a thin pine door.

  With an effortless push the door swung open with a small creak.

  I closed my eyes and took a breath, my feet carrying me across the boundary of the room.

  “Is that you Tor?”

  I hurried to her bed and fell onto my knees at her bedside.

  “Francis,” I whispered, my mind spinning at the sight of her.

  Her skin was purple, red and grey, blisters covered her every limb, and blood stained her pretty white night dress.

  “Oh Fran, no, no, no, hey, I can… I will get you the cure, like I did for Gabe, oh God, no,” my voice was too high, too rushed, my sobs caught in my throat and I coughed trying to hold myself together.

  Her skin that was once snow white was no more, her eyes were lifeless, and her hair was slick with grease and sweat. Beneath her white dress I could see bruising on her chest from the convulsions that had broken her ribs. She was sick, even more so than Gabriel had been.

  “I’m here,” I said quietly, taking her feverous hand in mine, “I’m not going to let them hurt you anymore.”

  She tried to smile, but a grimace took its place. “I’m sorry I ran away.”

  “I forgive you, oh Lord please no, no, listen to me, you will not leave me again, you hear?”

  She laughed, but as the breath reached her throat her entire body contracted and her body convulsed. I held her down as my tears fell onto her rotting flesh. I squeezed my eyes closed tightly as her body writhed beneath my grasp.

  “Shh,” I whispered, my voice trembling, “It’s ok, everything will be ok.”

  Once she had calmed I climbed onto the bed and lay next to her. I pushed her hair from her face and kissed her cheek as lightly as I could.

  “I should have found you sooner,” I uttered, my teeth gritted.

  She lifted her arm a little and rested it on the top of my leg, “You’re here now.”

  “I can’t let you go again.”

  “I won’t leave you,” she said in a breath. Her voice was weak and lifeless, like her eyes, it resembled nothing of what it once was, none of her did.

  “Promise?”

  “Mmm,” she mumbled. “Prom,” she had to take a breath and as she did my heart broke into a thousand pieces, “promise.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and rested her head on my chest. I held her close to me and we didn’t say anymore. It was too much for her to speak, to laugh, to smile. She was clinging on only to be with me, I was the only reason why she hadn’t let go, I was the only one that could free her from the suffering that she had endured just so that she had the chance to say goodbye. I stroked her hair and kissed her head, rocking her gently I sang songs of our past and kept her close to me. As I held her I felt her body tremble in my arms before it finally peacefully stopped.

  I so often fought against my tears, but my defences crumbled around me and I let myself cry for Francis. I held my immortal sister in my arms and spluttered my denial as I sobbed with all of my heart, as the pieces of it scattered around us.

  An old fashioned telephone rang out into the room and I stole myself from Francis.

  I picked up the receiver and said nothing.

  “How is our patient?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Outside.”

  I dropped the phone and walked from my sister’s bedside.

  As I reached the bottom of the stairs I lifted a marble statue of Mars and threw the Roman god through the locked front door sending splinters of oak through the frozen night air.

  Stood in the driveway was the hideous creature that had taken so much from me.

  “Tell me something,” she said, “How does it feel to lose everything?”

  It felt like death. It felt like Hell. It felt like nothing.

  “Not up to talking? Oh I’m sorry.”

  I lifted my heavy eyes to meet hers and she laughed.

  “The great Victoria Roseanna Jewels stands before me a pitiable wreck.”

  I took my hands from behind my back and her eyes shifted down to them lazily. She was terrified of me, but the longer I stood in my solitary grief the more confident she became that she might in fact return to her power with my heart.

  “This is going to be easier than I ever imagined.”

  She slowly walked towards me, her dress seemingly floating behind her. I swallowed and stopped thinking. Thinking had gotten me to where I was, and that was no place good.

  “I’m disappointed,” she whispered, her breath hot on my neck as she crept up to my side.

  I closed my eyes and my lips trembled up into a smile as a single tear graced down my cheek. She stood back and as I opened my eyes and ran towards her she moved only slightly, kicking my legs as I flew and laughing as I landed face down in the gravel.

  “Is that all you have?”

  She stood over me and buried her monstrous black heel into my back. I screamed and my shouts pierced the frozen night as her shoe pierced through my skin. She walked around me and with her right foot bore down into me again as I tried to pull myself back up. I cursed her and scraped up a handful of gravel. I rolled onto my side and as she lifted her leg I threw the gravel up into her face. She jumped back and cursed my name.

  I scrambled to my feet, warm blood pouring down my back.

  I swayed, trying to keep my balance and ran once more towards her my arm held out. She took it swiftly in her cruel grasp and snapped it with ease. I collapsed at her side and she released my broken arm. I held it to my chest hopelessly as hot tears raced down my cheeks.

  She lifted me by my neck and shook me, pushing me up against the front of the house.

  “Goodbye Victoria.”

  She tore the front of my dress and dragged her nails across my chest. She lifted her arm back and as she began to smile I closed my eyes.

  Her hand would fall through the air and explode into my chest. Her fingers would search for my heart and when they found it they would tear it from me, not before she would look into my eyes and cackle, gloating over her prize. Still beating she would hold it above me and let my body collapse onto the rough gravel.

  My eyes opened as her breath exploded onto my face. Her mouth and eyes were wide open. I dared to look down and where there should have been a gaping heartless hole there was my skin, perfect and flawless skin. Blood trickled down onto my bare feet, but it was not my own.

  I looked up and the eyes that greeted me were those of my immortal child. He pushed her body away from me and she skittered across the gravelled driveway, he dropped her heart and took her place before me. Jesse looked down into my eyes and slowly lifted his hands, resting them first onto my arms before he pushed them up onto my shoulders. I let out the breath that I had been holding, keeping for my last, and he pulled me into the safety of his dark arms.

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  First Edition Cover Art

  By Melissa Condliffe