by Aria Sparke
‘What is it, Lily?’ she said seeing my distress.
‘Where are they—Flynn, Cecilia and the others?’
‘In Wicklow for the raid.’
I shook my head and tried to stem my panic. ‘It’s all wrong. It was a trick or diversion, I’m sure.’
‘Calm down. What are you saying?’ I could see she was alarmed and confused by my gibberish. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself before telling her about my vision.
White-faced, she reached for her cell phone and dialed quickly. ‘Ces, it’s me, Bella. Have the vamps arrived yet?’ Bella listened intently and a surprised look spread over her face. She thrust the phone out to me. ‘Tell her what you saw.’
My voice wobbled as I tried to give her a steady account of my dream.
‘It’s okay, Lily. The triplets will check on Mirela at the mansion.’
‘What if it hasn’t happened yet or I’m wrong?’
‘Listen to me Lily, this is the lot of a witch,’ Cecilia said calmly. ‘Sometimes you’ll get clues about time and place, but other visions may come to you fragmented with no reference points. You can only do your best.’
When I hung up the phone I had an overwhelming surge of worry for Flynn and the others. ‘Cecilia said the triplets are going to check on Mirela. I want to go too.’
Bella didn’t hesitate. ‘No, it’s too dangerous for you to go there.’
‘But I was so flustered I forgot to tell Cecilia about the man in the coffin.’
‘What are you saying?’
My mind was scrambled, so I took a deep breath and tried to think clearly. ‘When the vampires were killing Mirela, Vincent Berisha was upstairs and was angry that someone had escaped. He said it was because the others had killed Mirela.’
Obviously horrified, Bella ordered me to ring Flynn while she jumped back on the phone to Cecilia.
‘He’s not picking up,’ I said while realizing I didn’t have Anya or Martin’s numbers on my phone.
‘Hey, Ces,’ Bella said. ‘We have a complication. In Lily’s vision, Tarek fled the mansion after Mirela’s death.’ She listened intently on the phone. ‘Okay.’
‘Nothing’s making sense,’ I said after Bella had spoken to Cecilia. ‘And who’s Tarek?’
‘Flynn’s father.’
‘He lives in the mansion,’ Bella said.
Of course, now it was falling into place.
‘The vampires didn’t show up at the Greenday Hotel, so Ces thinks it was a trick as you thought.’
Blood pounded in my head. All I could think of was the vicious vampires and Flynn, Martin and Anya walking into a trap. ‘We have to go to the Ruberio’s mansion. They might need our help.’
Bella shook her head. ‘Not you. You haven’t mastered any skills yet. I’ll go.’
‘I can cloak myself and draw a circle of protection. What else do I need?’
Bella looked at me pensively. Get your cante and I’ll meet you out the front parking lot.’
‘Huh?’
‘Your bag of candles and chalk.’
I raced upstairs and picked up the navy bag covered in stars. It was too big and obvious, so I tipped the contents from my cosmetic purse and poked chalk sticks, two candles and matches in it before stuffing it into an inner pocket of my jacket.
After I climbed into Bella’s small red VW, we sped toward the Ruberio mansion. I tried Flynn’s number several times, but he didn’t pick up. Various scenarios ran through my mind and raised my anxiety.
‘He’ll be fine, Lily,’ Bella said reassuringly.
I turned away from her toward the window to hide my distress.
‘We’re nearly there.’
‘What about Mirela? I’ve no idea if my dream is of the past, present or future. She might still be alive. We could save her.’
‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ Bella said softly.
‘What did Cecilia say?’
Bella sighed. ‘She told us to stay at college and leave it to the triplets.’
I sniggered. ‘Too late for that now.’
‘Cecilia warned that Tarek might be about and for us to use our protective spells. You do know about him, don’t you?’
‘I’d never heard his name before although Flynn told me he was a vampire a week or so ago, and that he sleeps upstairs in their house.’
‘A vampire knows exactly when his bride dies if she is killed by a vampire. It’s like a sixth sense. He will wake the moment she takes her last breath.’
As I tried to make sense of her words, the image of the man in the coffin I had dreamed about over several nights floated into my mind.
‘And then he’ll wander the night until he finds another bride.’
‘What if he fails?’
‘He’ll try again tomorrow night, and so on, until eventually he finds someone. That’s his lot.’
‘Who will he target?’
Bella rubbed the outside of her arms as though she was cold. ‘He has chosen ordinary women for the last few hundred years. He can use his vampiric powers making it almost impossible to resist.’
‘What about witches? Would he chase them?’
A ripple of worry crossed Bella’s face. ‘I believe so.’
I shuddered as I desperately tried to remember the spell to resist a vampire’s glamour even though I had practiced it several times the previous evening.
‘Tell me again. You’re certain you saw him flee the mansion, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘He’ll also need to feed.’
Suddenly the full horror dawned on me. Tarek Ruberio was Flynn’s father and I had glimpsed him in my dreams over several nights and now Bella and I were in grave danger if he should find us before the dhampirs arrived.
* * *
CHAPTER 25
Flynn: The Raid
When Lily told me of her vision, I worried. How could I not? Crouching in the undergrowth near the Greenday Hotel parking lot, I was growing impatient and wanted to return to college. My mind kept wandering to Lily, which I knew was dangerous. A distracted dhampir could end up a dead one on a night raid.
Cecilia and her witches had predicted at least four Berisha vampires, including Vincent and his brother and sister, were due here to attack three young humans. Even though we were well prepared and armed, it was a nervous wait.
When hunting, the first rule for a dhampir is to keep your wits about you. One slip or lapse in concentration, could see you lying on your back with a silver blade in your chest. The vamps were silent, fast and deadly although we had one advantage. They needed to feed on live humans and we had witches to anticipate their moves, so we could lay in wait for them.
Every witch in this deadly game knew that daylight was their friend, and to avoid the Berishas, they kept to it, never venturing out at night unless protected by dhampirs. If the Berishas managed to draw witches onto their side, we could be in trouble because they could anticipate our moves and dabble in spells and wards like our witches did. However, most witches knew about the Berishas’ reputation and none of them went willingly to them.
Checking my watch, I realized the time had passed well beyond the expected attack. The parking lot was empty of cars and humans and the hotel had been closed for an hour. It seemed our witches had failed.
I glanced at Cecilia, who was on her cell phone further back amongst trees and bushes. If witches accompanied us on raids, they usually remained at the rear of the group to give them time to cast a circle of protection if we were under attack. Ces was lucky though because unlike most of the young witches at college, she had an array of more advanced magic she could call upon if needed.
‘What do you think?’ Martin asked Anya and me as he stood and stretched.
‘False alarm obviously,’ Anya said. ‘I wish Alexis would hurry up and decide what to do.’
‘No, he’ll insist we stay for another hour,’ I said, knowing how diligent and cautious he was.
Martin yawned. ‘I could be tu
cked up in bed asleep or entertaining.’
Cecilia stepped from the shadows toward us. ‘I just got a call from Bella. Seems Lily had a vision. She’s worried about your mother. It’s probably nothing, but would you three go to the mansion and check on her, please? I told Bella and Lily to sit tight at college.’
‘Of course,’ I said glad that she had told Lily to stay put. ‘We should let Alexis know.’
‘I’ll tell him. He won’t mind as I don’t think anything will be happening here,’ said Cecilia with a guilty grimace.
‘It’s not your fault,’ Anya said. ‘We know visions can be tricky.’
‘You go now then,’ Cecilia said and hurried toward Alexis, who was with a group at the other end of the parking lot.
I tried to contain my anxiety as I checked my jacket for my cell phone but realized I’d left it behind. ‘Did you bring your phones?’
‘No,’ Anya said as she and Martin looked at me strangely.
‘Come on, let’s go quickly,’ I said leading the way.
We hurried away from the parking lot and down a side street where I’d left our car.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ Martin asked.
‘Lily had this weird vision before we left about a vampire attack on a woman but didn’t know who it was,’ I said to explain why I was rushing.
Immediately, I saw the alarm in Martin and Anya’s faces.
‘Hurry then,’ Martin said as he jumped in the car.
The tires screeched as I took off and accelerated down the street.
‘Who were the attackers in the vision?’ Martin asked.
‘She thought there were three vampires.’
Martin groaned. ‘Vincent, Odeta and Samir.’
‘She mentioned a room with a coffin.’
‘Father?’ Anya said.
‘Sounds possible.’ Or more likely probable, I thought. ‘Lily also said Harper’s vision wasn’t consistent with those Ces and the others had.’
‘But Harper’s the best at visualizing after Ces,’ Anya said in a perplexed tone.
‘Something’s not adding up. First this debacle at the hotel and now Lily’s vision.’ I felt a growing fear as we tore down the highway toward the mansion.
‘It smells,’ Martin agreed. ‘Do you think the visions were tampered with?’
‘I don’t know. Is that even possible?’ I said.
* * *
CHAPTER 26
Survival Spells
When Bella and I pulled into the Ruberio’s drive, I noticed the small boom gate was smashed. We ventured very slowly up the drive, so our approach was as quiet as possible.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed no cars parked outside the mansion. ‘If the Berishas were here, they’ve gone.’
‘Not necessarily. Some move pretty fast on foot—up to 30 miles an hour. They jump ridiculously high too.’
The thought horrified me as I surveyed the roofline and remembered Flynn saying Vincent Berisha had leaped over the college wall after attacking me. ‘Think about it though why would they bother to smash the boom gate if they ran here?’
‘Because they’re crazy and violent and enjoy senseless stuff like that,’ Bella said in a quiet voice as though afraid they might be listening.
We parked the car in shadows beside the garage away from the view of the drive. When Bella turned the engine off, I could hear screaming and slamming coming from the first floor of the mansion. No wonder they hadn’t come out to check the sound of a car arriving. Immediately I knew my vision was becoming reality. Terrified, we crept swiftly from the car to the far right side of the building and ducked around the corner to wait for Flynn, Martin and Anya.
‘We need backup,’ I whispered and gestured to suggest ringing for help.
Bella raised her empty hands to show she hadn’t brought her phone.
‘Mine’s in the car.’
‘We can’t go back,’ Bella said quietly.
A piercing scream from the house cut through the night disturbing birds in a nearby tree.
‘What can we do to save Mirela?’ I whispered desperately.
With a horrified expression, Bella shook her head.
‘There must be something? I could do the cloaking spell.’
‘Me too,’ Bella said, ‘but then what?’
The cloaking spell wasn’t too difficult—a candle and chalk-free ritual that involved a sequence of words and gestures. The problem was that it was short-lived, ten minutes max. Too bad; I had to try something. I closed my eyes to focus and began the incantation while performing the hand gestures slowly and deliberately.
‘Well?’ I asked.
‘I can still see you.’
‘Rats.’ I tried again.
‘Now you’ve done it. Perfect,’ she said when I’d made the final gesture.
Although I could hear Bella, she had vanished too. I realized she had already performed the spell before I’d finished my second attempt. ‘Do you have any physical weapons or spells of attack?’
‘Sorry, but that’s not my specialty,’ Bella said. ‘My only real talent is visualization.’
We made our way to the back door as the sounds from within the house died. If my visions were true, I knew in my heart we were already too late for Mirela. I gasped as I remembered my dream of her lying lifeless on the floor.
I tried the back door, but it was locked. We edged closer to the living room window. I didn’t want to look, but I knew I had to. The sofa was blocking my view of the white rug before the fireplace where I knew if my vision was accurate, Mirela was probably lying.
‘Quickly, let’s try the front entrance,’ I suggested.
We rushed around the building and after reaching the front, froze. Three tall figures strode down the front steps toward the drive. After identifying the lead figure, I almost vomited.
‘They can’t see us,’ Bella whispered.
The man, or was he a vampire, stopped and turned toward us like he’d caught a sense of our presence or a whiff of our scent. I knew he had heard something. In the moonlight I recognized Vincent Berisha’s spiky white hair, cavernous cheeks, pale face and cruel voice from when he had attacked me. My legs went to jelly as I held my breath. I longed to have a wooden stake or silver blade and the courage and power to drive it into his evil heart. The blond woman wore leggings, a leather jacket and a long blade hanging from her belt. The other male figure with dark hair and powerful shoulders strode to Vincent’s side and spoke quietly. A blade handle protruded from a leather holster on his back.
They stood motionless for what felt like minutes before resuming in the direction they had been headed. As we watched, the three vampires suddenly took off on foot, sprinting at inhuman speed.
‘Careful,’ I warned Bella. ‘In my vision, there were four vampires—three who killed Mirela and one who tried to attack Tarek in his bedroom.’ I glanced at my watch. ‘We have barely four minutes left at most before our cloaking spells fade, but that might be enough to save Mirela.’
‘I don’t know what to do,’ Bella said.
Neither did I although I forced myself to keep moving. ‘I’m going to see if I can sneak inside.’
‘Lily, no. We have to wait for the triplets.’
‘It’ll be too late.’ I pressed on toward the front steps with Bella creeping reluctantly behind me. When we reached the front door, I pressed my finger to my lips for us to be quiet. The door was unlocked.
‘Stop, Lily!’ Bella said in a harsh whisper. ‘I can see you. Your spell has worn off.’
‘Now what?’
‘We have to wait, so we can refresh the spell.’
‘We can’t.’ She was visible now too. ‘When can we perform the spell again?’
‘Ten minutes at least.’
‘You’re joking? We can’t wait that long.’ Although frightened, I turned the front door knob.
‘Please don’t,’ Bella implored.
‘I have to.’ The house was still. I didn’t bother to che
ck if Bella was following me because I had one intention. Find Mirela.
Someone had killed the lights, and it was deadly quiet. I sensed Bella had decided to follow me, yet I didn’t dare to speak to her. I heard shuffling and dragging coming from the living area followed by a moan. Creeping along the darkened hall to the double doors that opened into the living room, I held my breath. I pushed one door open a crack and peered through, but it too was in darkness. As my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I could make out a figure curled on the rug. In my heart I knew we were already too late. The door suddenly flew back in my face and slammed my nose. I yelled and fell backward on the floor. Clutching my nose, I tried to stem the blood flowing down my face and through my fingers. The light in the hall flicked on, but there was no sign of Bella.
I looked up to see a tall blond-haired vampire standing over me with his arms folded.
‘You were making such a racket,’ he said. ‘All that heart fluttering and heavy breathing. I couldn’t think straight.’ He leaned toward me and clutched the front of my sweater before raising me from the ground with one hand and pulling me into the living room. ‘And what a delicious mess, you are.’ He ran a finger over my cheek and licked my blood from his finger.
‘You pig,’ I screamed at him while struggling to free myself.
‘Actually, my name is Veli, and yours?’
I scowled at him. Over his shoulder I spotted Mirela sprawled on the white rug in a shaft of light streaming from the hall with her eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. She was obviously dead.
‘Now, now, where are your manners?’ Veli asked.
‘Put me down, you animal,’ I said through clenched teeth.
Glass shattered in the hall outside. The vampire dropped me onto the floorboards and I lay jarred and winded for a few seconds.
‘You leave this room and I’ll hunt you down. If you try to escape your death will be slow, I promise.’ He swept into the hall leaving me alone.
I sat up and pulled my purse from my jacket with shaking hands. I whipped out the yellow chalk and drew a circle around me on the polished floorboards. Gasping and trembling, I willed myself to draw the symbols, blocking out the screams and the sound of footsteps in the hall.