Mistwalker

by Fraser, Naomi

  Juliun squeezed her shoulder. “Alec is excellent at his profession.” He nodded at the doctor. “You have done your job well, as usual.”

  The tears refused to stop sliding down her face. “They called me. I was wondering how to handle her mother. But this seems so…so…” She fell silent, then burst out, “Heartless.” Tammy was a werewolf. “Incredible.” Simone’s fingers scraped a path into her hair. “Can’t anything be done for her? Please? I’m begging you.”

  “She hasn’t turned.” Alec gripped the bed railing, his knuckles strained white. “If she did, I do not know what she would become. Her werewolf body is fighting the poison circulating in her system. The consensus of all the doctors is that they believe her heart will give out soon.” He sounded sad. “Werewolves are especially prone to poisons.” He glanced at Juliun. “Lars was sick, and now she is very ill. There’s every chance Lars’ bite was not enough to inject the necessary vampire strength, and she will die.”

  “Lars was sick? You mean he’s better now? Why hasn’t anyone told me this before now? That’s good news, isn’t it?” Simone leaned against the bed frame and studied Alec with panic. She couldn’t believe her best friend had been keeping such a secret for so long. Yet again, hadn’t Simone been keeping secrets?

  Juliun released his wonderfully warm, large grip on her shoulder and stepped away. “Not exactly,” he said. “And we were uncertain how you would react to her being a werewolf.”

  Simone shrugged. “Whatever she is, she’s my friend.”

  “There is a chance I can help speed her recovery,” Alec said, looking at Simone. “But it will be touch and go. I will need your permission.”

  “Speed her recovery how?” Simone stood up and paced the room.

  “Her only chance is to become a vampire, yet I cannot destroy her werewolf side, it’s embedded into her DNA. The change will end her suffering. It is the only avenue open to us at this point.”

  “So, you’re talking, what…she has to drink more vampire blood?” Simone shifted closer to the bed and laid a hand on Tammy’s arm. Her skin was frighteningly cold. Simone’s heart thumped.

  Alec nodded. “Yes and no. I have tried infusions, and they have not worked. She needs to be bitten again. I offer my services. She may change to be both werewolf and vampire. I think by the full moon, she will change into a wolf, and the rest of the time, a vampire. I think.”

  “You think?” Simone studied him. She felt so helpless, unable to do anything. “You think?”

  Alec nodded. “It’s the best I can do. My blood is one of the strongest you will find.”

  What would Tammy want? Would she rather die than go through life as a vampire? What right did Simone have to make that decision for her friend, especially since she was already living as a werewolf? “How can I choose something like this for her? It’s her whole life we’re talking about. You’re the doctor.”

  Juliun’s steady voice answered hers. “It is your choice. We will stand by whatever you decide.”

  Alec frowned at that as though he might put up a fight if Simone chose to end Tammy’s life.

  Life and death. Scratch that. Life as a vampire, slash, werewolf or death as a werewolf. Simone chewed her thumb nail. “How sick will she be when she wakes up?”

  “There’s every chance my blood will override Lars’, and she should wake up feeling fine, although I can’t speak in guarantees.”

  “And without your bite?”

  He sighed and looked down at Tammy lying so deathly still on the bed. The machines made a soft mechanic whir in the background, and the cast of light made her look like a broken doll. “She will be dead within days. She is fighting and suffering as though every minute were a lifetime. I only hope there is no permanent damage. If you’ve ever seen a half turned vampire die…”

  Simone thought back on all her memories with Tammy. Laughing, drinking, dancing; long, intimate lunches at their favourite restaurants and confidences shared. True friendship. How could she say for certain that her friend would be happy with her choice? Simone believed in quality of life, but would Tammy have any? That judgment weighed heavily. Yet, there could be no other choice.

  “Do it. Hopefully, she will understand.” She stood up, tears thickening her voice. “Bite her now.” She held onto Tammy’s clammy hand and prayed.

  Alec looked toward Juliun. “Sire?”

  Juliun nodded.

  Alec closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Seconds passed by. Then he leaned down and gently stretched his mouth over Tammy’s neck. His fangs flashed, then bit down with indescribable slowness. The second hand on the clock ticked loudly in the silence. His throat muscles strained and stiffened, then he slowly licked and sucked.

  He lifted his head for a moment, and red streaks stained his lips, chin and razor sharp incisors. He bent down again and licked Tammy in the softest caress Simone had ever seen, man or immortal. A vampire’s healing kiss.

  Juliun reached out and grasped her hand, squeezing her fingers. “It is done. She is safe in Alec’s hands. We must leave.”

  Simone didn’t want to go. She resisted Juliun’s pull and rubbed Tammy’s arm, leaning in to kiss her friend on the cheek. “I’ll be back tomorrow night. Get well quickly.” Simone’s throat closed over with emotion. “I feel terrible just leaving her.”

  Juliun enveloped Simone in his arms and hugged her tight. “It is best that she rests. The turn will be hard enough. We will come back tomorrow,” he promised, rubbing his hands in comfort down Simone’s back. “She will be better then.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Simone’s gaze roamed over the luxurious room, slid to the king-sized four-poster bed with black satin sheets and red coverlet turned down at one corner. Mountains of pillows dominated the top of the bed, and crimson velvet lined the wall behind the headboard. A huge gold framed painting of the beach at sunrise hung at the centre. “Where are we?”

  “I always appear in my suite when I arrive at Ravenkeep. Come with me.” Juliun grasped her hand and stalked toward the door.

  She didn’t follow and simply looked down at the brown points of her boots covered by the thick white rug. Warmth licked her back. She turned; the golden-orange flames of a fire burned behind the grate and heated her face. The night air came over the balcony, through open French doors, and she released his hand to step outside.

  The snow-capped north York moors staggered her. The sea, wet and windy, surged against the cliffs and moonlight cast a glow upon everything fortunate enough to stand beneath its presence.

  “What does it look like in daylight?”

  She smiled. “Imagine a blue carpet of moving diamonds; stars that undulate with the waves. The sky is so blue it hurts your eyes. I can’t describe the colour exactly. It changes every day. White clouds shuttle overhead and they look like soft cotton wool. The water can be so rough you can’t make it across the beach. The moors are purple with heather, and the sun, it’s a star lighting up everything…warming you.” She shook her head, fighting back tears. “You lay down beneath the sunlight, feeling as though every cell in your body hums.”

  He sighed and took her hand. “Yes, that’s how I always imagined it.”

  She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and spun around. Metal shutters edged the frame of the doors, and she touched the cold steel. “How do they work?”

  “The panels close at dawn and open at sunset. I check the timing and set them myself at each change of season. No one can override the code for my suite. Grandfather and mother have their own.”

  She nodded. “I suppose we’d better go to see him.” She let Juliun lead her through the doors, marvelling at the gold candelabrum candles instead of electric light. A natural glow flickered over the red, burgundy, gold and black décor. Everything seemed a mix of old world and new. “That reminds me, how did Lars get better? Maybe it could help us figure out how to heal Tammy.”

  “Lars has not healed. He left.”

  She stopped at the door of
the room and looked at him in confusion. “What?”

  “He broke out of the clinic the same day you left. We have not been able to find him.” Juliun looked at his watch. “We can stay here if you like instead of seeing my grandfather.”

  “Oh no, that’s okay.” She high-tailed it out of the doors, nearly falling over her feet.

  He smirked and hooked an arm around her shoulders. They passed through a room full of pictures and paintings, and she slowed again. “What is this?” she asked. “A studio?”

  She stared at a framed photograph of the sun burning down on the esplanade.

  His hand came to rest on the small of her back, and he led her forward. “This is me wanting to be a mortal boy and play on the beach at noon and eat ice creams. Still do not know what they taste like.” He had an endless look in his eyes, and then he hovered over to another picture of the moors before a cold change swept over the land. He stopped by a close up of sunflowers with bees nestled in the crumbling, yellow pollen. The lights shone down and lit the pictures perfectly. “The little things keeping nature alive.”

  Her hands fell to her sides. “You took these?”

  He ran a finger down the edge of one of the frames that held a picture of a field filled with purple heather. “Do not sound so surprised.” He slanted a glance at her. “I set up the cameras to take pictures of the things I cannot see in the daylight.”

  He photographed the sunbathed world. The prince of vampires wanted to see the world as she once had, yet even with technology, it was still second hand. Second rate. She squeezed his hand. “I have heaps of photos if you want to look at them sometime.”

  He grinned. “I will take you up on that offer.”

  They stepped down a golden curved staircase, and she glanced up at the length of it. “You sleep in a turret?”

  “I have always loved this part of the castle. I used to play in here as a boy.” He gently ushered her down a long corridor and toward a set of open oak doors. “Not far now, we walk through these doors and—”

  She sucked in a breath and stopped.

  Radu.

  Skin clung to his bony face, a mask, wrinkled and slack, but the beam of his steady gaze held never-ending wisdom. She felt pinned to the spot as though he could see right through to her soul.

  Juliun stopped beside her, holding her hand. “Grandfather, I would like you to meet Simone.” Juliun led her inside the room. “Simone, this my grandfather, Radu Cel Batrin, king of all vampires.”

  Her heart swelled at the undercurrent in his words, what they meant, and she didn’t know whether to curtsy or run.

  “Simone Woods,” Radu drawled her name with acute deliberation. “What a merry chase you have led us. Welcome.” He gestured to the numerous soft leather sofas in the room. “Take a seat.”

  She dithered finding a suitable chair, and then settled down close to the door. She’d taken a good look at all the exits. If she needed to escape it was best to hedge her bets. They were in a library with books stacked high and little nooks filled with candles and antiques. “Thank you.”

  “That is all right. Please call me Grandfather as Juliun does.”

  She bit her lip at this unexpected invitation and turned to Juliun. He reclined on the sofa beside her, his body heat warming the space. He must have had blood before he came to visit her at the holiday apartment in Whitby. Simone didn’t want to spend too much time back in the U.S. until Tammy was better. She’d already paid the next week’s bill in anticipation.

  Juliun nodded to her, his arm brushing against hers, and she caught an enticing whiff of his warm, spicy scent. She turned back to Radu and tried the word on for size. “Thank you, Grandfather.” It sounded good. It felt good.

  Strange.

  “Wonderful.” Radu smiled, and his fangs glinted in the light. “It is time for us to talk.”

  She hoped he wouldn’t get used to her following orders. She knew full well who she was dealing with. As long as he thought she was going along with everything, she would be safe. She must earn his trust if she wanted to live in this strange new world.

  Juliun leaned close to her, his thigh brushing against hers. “Are you hungry again, love?”

  She stared at the heart-stopping look in his eyes. The handsome planes of his face had softened. How could he change from dangerous vampire to gentle giant so fast? “Starving,” she admitted.

  Radu pressed a button on the desk, and a couple of minutes later, a female vampire in a black dress and a white apron knocked on the door. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “Hazel, I would like to introduce you to Simone Woods, my grandson’s special guest.”

  Hazel curtsied. “It’s an honour to meet you, Miss Simone.”

  “Thank you,” Simone said. “I’m glad to meet you, too, Hazel.”

  “Please serve us some refreshments, Hazel. Our guest and I are rather hungry.” Radu turned his attention once again on Simone.

  “At once, Your Majesty.” Hazel curtsied again and hurried out the door, closing the heavy wood behind her.

  “Not since the Great War has a vampire not born in this family possessed the mist,” Radu began, then paused letting this bit of information sink in.

  Simone frowned. Great War? Did he mean the World War? She shook her head.

  His eyes narrowed. “You are not familiar with what that means. Let me explain. Your life has never been in more peril than it is right now, and it is not because you are in this castle.” He rose from the chair and glided with astonishing speed toward a file cabinet. He searched for a folder, found it, and then seated himself again in the manner of an aristocrat.

  He lifted his gaze to hers, so much like his grandson’s. “How do I know your name? These documents detail your life before you became a vampire.” He glanced at the paperwork. “Attacked at the age of nine here in Whitby.” His voice quietened. “Taken to an orphanage in London. Suffered through a series of foster parents. You were a quiet, shy girl who fell off the radar after high school.” He smiled and steepled his fingers.

  Her chest wanted to cave in, and she nodded. “Parts are missing.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “Of course.” He looked to the painting on the far side of the wall. “You see this painting?”

  “Yes.”

  “It symbolises strength in the face of adversity.” He turned back to her. “A child painted it. A very talented child. Tell me what parts are missing to better understand the vampire you will become.”

  It was an order, but cloaked in velvet so she stalled as Hazel entered the room, wheeling a trolley with ornate crystal glasses filled with blood. Simone’s stomach twisted, her mouth watering.

  “Serve our guest first, please,” Radu said.

  She took a glass on the tray with only the slightest hesitation, and then drank slowly, gloriously, enjoying slaking her thirst. “Oh, thank you.”

  “Have another,” Hazel offered with a pleased smile.

  “Thank you.” Simone debated between the glasses and eventually grabbed one. She kept it in her lap, feeling rather nervous.

  Hazel moved to Juliun, but he waved her away with a smile. Radu took a glass. Hazel exited the room as quickly as she had entered.

  Silence echoed, and Simone stared at the candlelight cast upon the leather spines of ancient books behind Radu. “My mother worked three jobs to pay the rent. My father died at sea when I was six years old. It was not until I turned into a vampire that I remembered parts of what happened that night when I was nine. I don’t recall any faces.” Her gaze focused on Radu. “I used to hate myself for that.”

  Radu gave a slight nod, but he remained silent.

  “I had to go to late night care because mum didn’t finish at the shop until ten o’clock. We were walking home, and my legs were tired…” Simone blinked at the memory and continued, “I begged her to take a shortcut so we could get home faster.” She stared down at the glass of blood, and the red glistened in the light of the chandelier. “She normally would ha
ve said no, but I was complaining a great deal. Someone attacked us. I remember her on the road; her blood flowed between the cobblestones.”

  Simone swallowed, and her breathing came hard and fast. “I tried to protect her, but I was too weak. A child. I was hurt…someone tossed me against a building, and I crashed through a window, landing on the concrete floor two stories below. That’s where I was found by the police.”

  Juliun held her hand securely in his, and he pulled her closer. “Oh, love—”

  “Wait, there’s more. Glass pierced my skull. Doctors inserted a partial titanium plate to protect my brain. Both my arms and legs were broken. I couldn’t walk without rehabilitation. I was unconscious for six months, but extremely lucky to be alive. The doctors were afraid I would suffer from brain damage when I woke up.”

  “A plate in your head…” Radu considered her. “Has it been removed?”

  She shook her head.

  “Ah. Please continue.”

  “What’s missing?” She sighed, realising she was revealing things they would never have known without her help, but it was easier to tell them so she could help herself and Tammy. “After the last set of foster parents, I boarded with some guys who needed help paying the rent. One of them had an older brother who was a karate champion. He was the one who got me interested in self-defence. I moved around a lot learning different styles. I never dreamed about the attack when I was a human,” she said, quietly. “The doctors thought that was strange. I couldn’t give the police any clues.”

  She sipped the blood in her trembling hands and took a moment to collect herself. “All I remembered was my mother lying on the street. They never found any trace of her. I didn’t recall anything else. I tried to put that memory gap behind me, but the nightmares wouldn’t leave me alone. I couldn’t sleep. I needed therapy, and when that didn’t work; I decided to do something about stopping the nightmares. I put an ad in The Whitby Herald with a reward. A fisherman answered who said he might have answers for me, but I’d have to come here to see him, during the Gothic Festival.”