Witchblood

by Emma Mills

  Chapter Seven

  I felt a now familiar energy build within me to uncontrollable levels, and a second later the lights of the entire lower floor had briefly flickered before making a popping noise, and gone out. We were flung into what I found a comforting darkness. The room was lit by the dull glow at the emergency exits, and light escaping from the upper level. Daniel appeared in front of me and a second later Eva was behind me. A chorus of screams and shouts went up in the darkness.

  ‘What the hell? Did you do this Jess?’ Eva exclaimed.

  ‘It’s her old friends, they’re here. Let’s get her out of here,’ Daniel explained swiftly to Eva.

  By the time we reached the door someone had flipped a fuse switch and the lights came back on, instilling peace and laughter once again. Wordlessly, I was steered back through the corridor, through the back door and into the car.

  ‘Daniel, you take her home, and I’ll go and explain what happened to Sebastian,’ Eva said quickly, as Daniel climbed into the driver’s seat with a nod. I slumped back in my seat and closed my eyes. Had Gemma recognised me? I told myself that no, of course she hadn’t, she was just freaked out, seeing someone who reminded her of a dead friend. As far as she was concerned I was gone and the person she’d just seen was physically completely different to the old me. I calmed my breathing and opened my eyes. Right now she’d probably be chatting and laughing, saying how something weird had happened, how she’d seen someone just like me, but with dark hair and eyes, slimmer and prettier! I guessed I should be far more concerned about Sebastian’s reaction to the events and wondered if I could deny the lighting episode and put it down to a faulty fuse.

  ‘Don’t even think about lying to Sebastian, Jessica that would irritate him far more. Eva will have told him by now anyway.’ Daniel’s voice interrupted my musings.

  ‘Daniel, will you please quit reading my mind and give me some privacy,’ I answered quietly.

  ‘I’m not reading your mind Jessica, but unless you put up your defensive wall, then you're actually projecting images without knowing you’re doing it. Our minds are linked, you know that,’ he said.

  I turned away from him, swivelling in my seat so I faced the passenger window, and slammed all the defensive walls I could muster into place. I closed my eyes. It was too much, just too much. I was confused and tired and my emotions were swirling like a black thundercloud.

  Presently, Daniel drove the car onto a familiar street and down the drive into the underground garage. As soon as the engine stopped I was out of the car, into the house and up the stairs, heading for my room. Seconds before I closed the bedroom door behind me, I heard Daniel enter the house and close the kitchen door quietly.

  I wondered if he'd follow me, and wasn’t sure whether I wanted him to or not. Yes I wanted privacy. Hadn’t I just demanded privacy in the car? A part of me didn’t want to look into the face of the one who’d taken everything I had and everyone I loved away from me - OK, I realised that if he hadn’t done that I’d now be dead and buried - but sometimes I wondered if that would have been better, at least then I wouldn’t be so confused and messed up.

  A different part of me remembered the quiet calm that filled my body when he took me in his arms. The peace that filled my head and pushed away my worries when he stroked my hair, and very occasionally, when I let my guard down, the wave of excitement and pleasure that broke over me and made me forget all about Luke and my past life.

  Guiltily I closed my door and curled up in the middle of the bed, snuggling my cold body under the duvet. I closed my eyes and shut out the thoughts hammering in my head. Luke… Daniel… Luke…

  I must have dozed off, as I suddenly realised I had heard someone move in my room. I uncurled myself slightly and focused my eyes in the darkness. Daniel appeared in front of me and sat on the edge of the bed.

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you might feel better after a drink,’ he said smiling, and after I’d sat up, he handed me a warm mug which I took and huddled my still freezing body around.

  ‘I feel so cold,’ I said, and watched as a puzzled expression flitted across his face.

  ‘Our body temperatures do run lower than humans, but you shouldn’t feel cold. A vampire only starts to feel shivery or cold if his body starts to reject the change; or if he doesn’t manage to feed enough and his body starts to die. Jessica, it could be different with you because you’re much more human than normal vampires, but I’m worried it’s because you’ll not drink pure blood,’ he said quietly, his face failing to conceal the concern.

  ‘Daniel, what do you mean when you say about a body rejecting the change?’ I asked after a pause.

  ‘Nothing, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It happens so very rarely. I know of only one case in my whole lifetime. It’s when a human body is unusually strong. After the change to vampire, the body begins to reject the changes and instead of blood being the life force, it begins to poison the body. But don’t worry Jessica, it won’t be happening to you. I was reckless to mention it.’

  ‘Has anyone ever survived and returned to human again, after their body’s rejected it?’ I asked, a new hope growing inside me.

  ‘No, they all die. I know what you’re thinking, which is why I should never have mentioned it. Your body would have started rejecting before now anyway,’ he added. ‘You are different, it’s true, but you're a strong vampire already. I’ve seen and felt the power of your bloodlust for the split second that you haven’t controlled it. You’re cold because you’re not feeding enough. Now drink.’

  The warmth from the mug had seeped through my fingers, slowly travelling up my arms and through my chest where I’d been holding it, but now the sweet dark chocolaty aroma filled my senses and I lifted the mug to my lips. Daniel was right. Within seconds of the blood hitting my lips, warmth trickled back through my body, chasing away the shivers and making me feel re-energised. I drank the contents and smiled sheepishly at Daniel, before handing it back and curling back down into my duvet.

  Daniel may not need to sleep, but a quick cat nap was not enough for me and a heavy tiredness hung like a thick velvet curtain as my eyelids drooped, shutting out the memories of the evening that were threatening to resurface.

  It felt like hours, but it can’t have been more than two or three, because it was still dark. Of course, as it was mid-winter, dawn was not breaking till seven or eight o’clock, but even so it had been nearly three when I’d finished my drink. I was shivering again, but this time with emotion.

  My dreams chased and hounded me. Faces from my past flitted in and out. Gemma stood before me, her hand reaching out to touch my frozen face. I looked into her eyes and started, as she morphed into Alex, who cried out and recognised me. ‘You’re dead! You’re dead! You’re dead!’ She said over and over again. I reached out to her and she fell into my arms crying. Our tears mingled and we clung to each other. My arms held her tight and suddenly she tried to pull back from me.

  Within seconds the dream became my worst nightmare as I saw myself leaning over her writhing body, holding her still, biting her, draining her. I looked down upon myself; I was removed and yet there. I was both the monster and the observer. I saw myself pull back from her slumped body and watched a trickle of blood run down my darkened lips and over my chin.

  I screamed and screamed, unable to stop.

  ‘Hey, Shhhh, Shhhh!’ Daniel was there. He held me still and stroked my forehead. ‘It’s just a dream. It’s OK Jessica, it’s just me,’ he said as I tried to push him away, recoiling.

  I sank back into the pillow, sobbing and suddenly he was there, next to me. He pushed off the heavy duvet and curled his body behind mine. His knees bent up fitting neatly behind mine, his body seeming to melt into every contour, his chin resting on top of my head. Even Luke didn’t seem to fit me quite this perfectly. At the thought of Luke, I began to edge away from Daniel, pushing him away half-heartedly, my heart feeling guilt but my body craving the warmth and se
curity.

  ‘Shhh, it’s OK. Just relax, Jessica. No one can hurt you.’ His words soothed me and I relaxed back into his embrace. I was glad I’d bothered to put on my pyjamas, and not lazily ignored the trouser bottoms and crawled into bed in my top and knickers, as I normally did. He too had changed out of his club wear and was now in a pair of black, heavy jersey tracksuit bottoms and a white t-shirt.

  ‘It wasn’t me getting hurt that was the problem,’ I whispered.

  ‘Shhhh. It didn’t happen. It won’t happen. Alex is fine. Don’t worry,’ he whispered back, the heat from his breath caressing my neck.

  ‘Are you still cold, Jessica?’ he asked holding me tighter, and I felt a blush rising to my cheeks, and was glad of the darkness, before whispering back,

  ‘No, I’m fine now.’

  My traitorous body urged his hand to move from my waist to stroke my thigh, my hip, but he didn’t move and I was glad.

  A soft sigh left his lips and he shifted away from me, sat up and pulling the duvet back over me, gently climbed out of bed. I rolled onto my back to watch him, wondering if he’d felt what I had; if he’d felt my pulse quicken and my body heat up. I thought he had and I was thankful that he’d not taken the next step, knowing I was nowhere near ready.

  His face suddenly loomed over mine as he bent over me, his dark, shaggy, shoulder-length hair flopping sweetly around his beautiful face. He got closer and suddenly I felt his soft lips close on mine. His lips pressed against mine insistently as his hand reached underneath my head and cupped it, holding me to him. After a second of surprise, I looked into his open eyes and saw them glimmer with passion and sparkle in the darkness. A second later he was gone, his final words bringing a secret smile to my lips.

  ‘There’s only so much waiting a man can take, Jessica,’ he said, as he gently closed my door behind him, leaving me breathing hard and wanting more.

  I looked over at the window and thought I saw a glimmer of dawn threatening the night sky, so I decided to get a couple more hours of sleep in before having to face the day and my growing feelings for Daniel. I curled back up into a somewhat warmer ball and drew the duvet right over my head, grinning like a schoolgirl as I remembered the feeling of his lips pressed against mine, the warmth of his body as he curled behind me.

  The next time I woke, dawn had been and gone and another bright, sunny day greeted me. I looked at my clock and frowned as I realised it was nearly twelve, and yet again I’d slept more than I should. Damn! I rolled onto my back and sighed, as the events of last night crowded in. The front door slammed downstairs, interrupting my musings, but all was quiet. Had Daniel gone out and left me here alone? Unlikely. My interest was piqued so I slipped out of bed, quickly pulling on a pair of blue jeans and the nearest sweatshirt to hand. As I pulled it over my head, I knew instantly it wasn’t mine. It was Daniel’s. He must have left it here last night. It smelled delicious, intoxicating and very comforting. I smiled and felt my spirits rise, before catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror and instantly frowning.

  Stupid girl! What about my feelings for Luke? They were still there, and I wasn’t about to forget about him, just because my body was attuned to an unjustifiably gorgeous vampire who happened to have saved my life. I remembered the day Luke and his family had moved into the house opposite. I was only thirteen and trying to tidy up the garden for my mum, who’d just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Rumour had it he was a freak, that he got expelled from his last school; but I didn’t care. He smiled at me as he carried boxes into the house and I felt the first flushes of a crush that would turn into true love.

  Damn! I sighed, but I couldn’t quite get myself to remove the sweatshirt. I told myself it was just because it was warm and comfy, perfect for a frosty winter’s morning, or afternoon.

  After pulling on some socks and cursorily pulling a brush through my hair, I left my sanctuary and went in search of Daniel. I wondered if he’d let me call him Dan? Hmmm, somehow I thought not. I smiled again and followed the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. Eva was sitting on a chair, her feet propped up on the kitchen table. Daniel must definitely have gone out, because Eva wouldn’t bother creating the hassle, if Daniel saw her with her feet on the kitchen table.

  ‘Oh, ehm, hi!’ I faltered.

  ‘Hullo. I thought you might be avoiding us, but here you are. Just avoiding Dan then? Hmm,’ she said with a grin, looking pointedly at my sweatshirt and raising an eyebrow.

  Drat! I knew I should’ve taken it off. Now she was going to think something had happened between us, when it hadn’t. Well, nothing much anyway. I felt the oh too familiar blush slowly rising to my cheeks, and determined to ignore it, I turned away from Eva and walked towards the pantry, trying to sound flippant as I answered her.

  ‘I wasn’t avoiding anyone. I was just chilling in my room, and when I heard the door shut I decided to come and investigate. Where’s he gone anyway?’

  ‘He’s gone to meet Sebastian, to discuss the details of your hospital visit.’

  ‘Oh right.’ It seemed odd that the discussion with Sebastian had happened only last night; so much had happened in the few hours after.

  ‘Is Sebastian pissed off with me for blowing the light fuse?’ I asked, dreading the answer that I’d have to go and see him again. The man gave me the creeps and irritated the hell out of me.

  Eva smiled - she knew where I was coming from. I’d bet she didn’t like acting subordinate to Sebastian anymore than I did. Eva was the strongest willed woman I’d ever met; she wouldn’t enjoy taking orders from anyone.

  ‘No, honey. Actually he was rather impressed. I didn’t mention that it was an involuntary action. I think your talents are exciting him,’ she said, wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively.

  ‘Yack! Don’t even go there. So now he’s going to expect magical powers at the drop of a hat and I still haven’t got a clue how I do it. Thanks!’

  ‘Or so you say!’ she answered, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

  ‘No, I told you! This crazy stuff’s never happened before and I don’t know how it happens. It just does!’

  ‘Fine, relax. Just go back to last night. Did you think about anything specific just before it happened, or do anything? I don’t know, flick your fingers or something?’ she asked smiling again.

  ‘No, I can’t just flick my fingers like Piper from ‘Charmed’ and freeze time! Though it would be very cool if I could,’ I said grinning.

  ‘Yeah, I love ‘Charmed’. We should watch it more. It might give you some tips,’ Eva interrupted grinning.

  ‘No, OK! I’m not a witch. ‘Charmed’ is fictional; I am not. This is just weird stuff that seems to be happening. I have no idea why or how,’ I said, my voice creeping higher with stress.

  ‘You are a witch Jess, part-witch anyway. Have a think. You thought vampires were fictional a month ago, and now it turns out they aren’t, so why not witches too? We just need to help you work out how to control your powers. So think back to when you saw your friend, Gemma was it? What was going through your head?’ she asked again gently.

  I sighed. I had to admit something was going on, and what she said made sense but opened up a whole new ballgame. I mean if vampires and witches existed, what else was out there? Ghosts? Werewolves? Fairies? And dare I say it, angels? Hmm, I didn’t want to think about it. I also knew that if I didn’t convince Eva that I was trying my best, I’d be unable to escape Sebastian’s control. I sat down opposite, finished my drink and closed my eyes.

  ‘OK, I’ll try and think back,’ I said quietly.

  The room stayed quiet and she didn’t disturb my thoughts as my mind raced back through the evening, and then I started talking.

  ‘You left me to go and sort out that sleazy guy.’

  ‘And sort him out I did! I kicked his butt right out of the club,’ Eva said chuckling. ‘I’m sorry, were you upset that I left you alone?’

  ‘No, I was fine.’ I went on to tell Eva what hap
pened, from when I saw my friends, up until the lights going out. I could hear my words pouring out faster and faster as I re-lived the panic of the previous night. ‘I knew I had to get out of there and fast.’ I paused.

  ‘What is it? What have you remembered?’ she asked, as my eyebrows pulled together. I had remembered something else. I spoke quietly, knowing this was the key.

  ‘At the same time I called you and Daniel, I felt a surge. Like you’d imagine an electrical surge, before a fuse blows. I felt so emotional I wanted to scream, hit someone, or cry out. All the emotions rushed to my head, and at the same time I remember thinking that if everything was dark, I could hide. I wouldn’t have to face anything. I felt a sudden calm, only for a split second, and then the lights popped and went out. That’s all. I don’t know how I made the lights go out. They just did.’ I let out a breath and opened my eyes.

  ‘I do,’ Eva said. She was looking at me intently. ‘But first I think you need another drink. You’re looking pale even for a vampire. I wish you wouldn’t insist on living off this stuff,’ she said.

  I felt drained, I wished Daniel was here, and surreptitiously I pulled the sweater up round my chin as if getting cosy, and breathed his scent, feeling it steady me.

  ‘Earth to Jess, hello?’ Eva said loudly, suddenly drawing me out of my daydreams and back into real time.

  ‘Uhm, sorry, I uhm…’ I stumbled.

  ‘OK, now listen. I think you’re telekinetic. You’re using your mind to do the things you subconsciously want, like blow the lights, explode mirrors, and move objects. At the moment you only seem able to access this power when you’re under extreme stress.’ I stayed silent taking in the information and realising with a jolt that it totally made sense. After a pause she added, ‘Now that’s all very well and good, but Sebastian will have no time for you unless you manage to control it. The key will be getting you to teach yourself how to use these talents on demand,’ she finished, raising her eyebrows and smiling as if we were discussing something as simple as learning to talk or walk.

  ‘Right,’ I said doubtfully, trying to keep the sarcasm at bay, as I was beginning to learn that neither she nor Daniel approved, and it tended not to get me anywhere other than into an argument.

  ‘Look, why don’t you spend some time this afternoon on Daniel’s computer. I gather you’re a bit of a whiz on the internet? I bet if you look up telekinesis there’ll be hundreds of results, and some are bound to be helpful,’ she said with a shrug. ‘You may even find a fellow witch to chat to,’ she added with a grin.

  ‘Yeah right, and they’ll all be perfectly sane people I suppose,’ I said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, as I got up wearily from the table and left the room.

  I went straight to the study which I’d found on the second floor of the house. It felt chilly due to lack of use and I was glad of Daniel’s jumper. I glanced at the floor to ceiling shelves, absolutely crammed with books, and wondered if it would be possible to light a fire in the old fireplace, as I slid the comfy armchair over to the gorgeous mahogany desk with the ease of an athletic man. Curling up in the armchair, I switched on the banker’s lamp and booted up the laptop.

  I’d been badgering Daniel to get wireless network set up so I could take the laptop downstairs, but for now I had to stay put in the study. At least there was broadband.

  I clicked on Google and typed in telekinesis. To my amazement and dismay – after all I was going to have to sift through this lot - I found 843,000 results. The first was a Wikipedia entry for so- called psychokinesis, and it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know from watching TV. It said that telekinesis was the paranormal movement of matter. I knew that, although something that did catch my eye and make me smile was a subheading, ‘Self-Levitation’, followed by the definition, ‘rising in the air unsupported, flying.’ Now that would be serious fun, and hadn’t Daniel mentioned that some vampires had special powers? Hmmm! I moved on.

  Then Google became decidedly silly, and a host of YouTube videos filled the page with supposedly real footage of people moving objects with their minds. I watched the first with vague interest then swiftly scrolled past the rest. I spent the next two hours reading page after page of telekinesis information, most of it the same recycled stuff, occasionally hitting on something that seemed to be more knowledgeable.

  Strangely all the sites, knowledgeable or less so, seemed to offer the same advice; that keeping a positive and accepting attitude was important. Many went on to say that a person with good intent would have more success or power than if they had negative energy and intentions. This I felt put me in an interesting predicament what with me being a vampire. Many of the websites suggested these abilities were God-given gifts, and one such person went on to say,

  ‘As long as you give credit to God and believe that all things are possible, you will be able to do all things through Christ.’

  Hmm, an interesting point of view, but not so helpful. Surely a vampire was from the opposite spectrum to God and Heaven? Who knew? I mean Hell wasn’t something I was going to worry about yet as I clearly had several hundred years ahead of me first, unless I took to sunbathing, that is. Or I really pissed off Sebastian, a little voice inside me whispered.

  Yeesh, I’d had enough of this. I looked at the clock and realised it was nearly three o’clock, so as I’d highlighted a couple of the saner websites for future reading, I decided to switch off and go in search of some mind-numbing TV.

  I found Eva in the ‘girls’ sitting room. Both Eva and I chose the back room rather than the big front room, even if Daniel was out. Our room was cosier and we both appreciated the feminine touches, like the coffee table full of magazines, which Eva topped up every couple of weeks. Eva was sat with her feet on the table, as always, watching her favourite programme of the moment, ‘Project Runway’.

  It didn’t surprise me, because Eva was seriously into fashion and had already admitted she’d been thinking of signing up for a fashion design course just before Daniel had fallen for me in the club; but now of course she was stuck helping babysit me.

  I plopped myself down on the couch and had a sudden weird desire to reach for a non-existent bag of crisps. Bag of blood – yeah, that was possible – bag of crisps, unlikely. I frowned slightly at the sudden feeling and shook it off, putting it down to déjà vu and habit.

  ‘So, did you find out anything useful?’ Eva said, as she turned herself to face me.

  ‘Maybe, but it was like wading through mud. There are thousands of results. It’s ridiculous,’ I replied shaking my head slightly.

  ‘OK, well stick with it. Sebastian’s been trying to find a contact for you, but there aren’t many witches in the north for sure, and at the moment things are pretty tense with the Southern Clan. Although I’m pretty sure Cole hasn’t got any witches under his control either. Us vamps tend to keep ourselves to ourselves as much as the rest of the supernatural community,’ she said.

  Before I could get into this conversation and ask who Cole was, although I guessed he was probably Sebastian’s Southern equivalent, I heard the door to the cellar open and close, and a minute later Daniel popped his head around the door.

  ‘Jessica you’re looking pale and tired again. Haven’t you eaten?’ Daniel said, with no hint of the warm greeting I’d come to expect. My welcoming smile slipped from my lips and I frowned instead.

  ‘That’s some way to greet a girl. Dan, you’re a real charmer!’ Eva said grinning. ‘And she did feed, when she eventually dragged herself downstairs. She’s been on the laptop for the last few hours. That’s all that’s tired her out.’

  ‘Hello, I am actually here you know,’ I said, waving slowly and scowling in his general direction. I hated it when they talked about me as if I wasn’t there.

  ‘Sorry Jess, I was just a little shocked by how pale you’ve become, and the traffic out of town is a complete nightmare. I’m sorry,’ Daniel said, instantly softening and smiling apologetically at me.
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  I battled against the effect his smile had on me, as I wasn’t quite ready to forgive so easily, but I’d been interested to note that for the first time ever he’d called me ‘Jess’, instead of the full ‘Jessica’. I liked the way it sounded on his lips. I liked that he wasn’t being so formal with me. What did that mean? Was it because of our kiss last night? A blush instantly rose to my cheeks and I lowered my face to hide it, mumbling an answer to his apology.

  Daniel didn’t have much to say regarding his time with Sebastian, but excitement fizzed through my body as he did tell me how Sebastian thought we should visit my father in the next couple of days.

  ‘He’s sorting out some finalities with a couple of insiders at the hospital, which will make our visit less problematic, so he suggested tomorrow night,’ Daniel said, smiling at the huge grin that was spanning my face.

  He’d no idea how amazing it would be to finally get to see someone I loved; well actually he probably did, but the force of my happiness even came as a shock to me. I was speechless and could think of nothing to say, so I just nodded and grinned.

  He went on, discussing the details with Eva, mentioning other vamps, someone called Charles, and another called Peter, but I couldn’t take it in. I was thinking about my dad, wondering if he’d recognise me. I mean he was in intensive care, and he thought I was dead, so would he think I was a ghost? If he did recognise me, would this revelation be too much for him? I could give him a heart attack? Or maybe he’d be so pleased to see me that he wouldn’t mind the fangs? Hmm, too weird, maybe that’s not such a good idea. Maybe I could pretend I was in his dream? This seemed more feasible, especially if he was still on a load of drugs. As long as he recognised me; which he probably wouldn’t. Maybe I should get a blonde wig and blue contacts?

  I mulled it all over, the thoughts swirling round my head so fast it left me feeling dizzy; what if he rejected me? Hated me? The all too familiar rush of emotion started coursing through my body, and my vision went blurry with a build-up of unshed tears. I dug my face into the depths of the sweater, and at the same time I felt Daniel’s heavy arm wrap around my shoulders, pulling me into his side as he perched on the edge of the sofa. My pulse began to slow.

  ‘No Daniel, let her go.’ Eva’s most unwelcome voice broke my concentration as his arm pushed me away slightly. I caught his puzzled expression, but he continued to obey her. Her voice turned authoritative, cold.

  ‘Jess, listen to me. Feel all the sadness. Feel the anger. Look at me Jess,’ she commanded.

  I looked up into her eyes which suddenly seemed hundreds of years old, full of experience and pain. I thought I saw a glimmer of compassion in them and I held onto that as the anger and sadness coursed through my veins, threatening to take hold.

  ‘Now, I want you to look at that mug on the table. Look at it and imagine you are pushing all those emotions out of your body towards that mug. Push them away and store them in the mug, then move the mug away from you. That mug is full of your emotion and worry. Throw it away Jessica, now!’ she instructed me.

  I looked at the mug on the table and instantly understood what she wanted from me. I looked at the mug so hard, but the feelings refused to obey. It felt like thunder brewing as the lights flickered ever so slightly.

  ‘No Jessica, control it. Rein it in and concentrate on the mug; only the mug,’ she repeated.

  Frustration and pain seared through my temples and round the base of my skull. I projected the emotions with all my heart out and into that mug. I felt them waver and come together, then a slight feeling of calm followed as the mug moved a fraction, not even a centimetre, and then chaos descended again. A second later the fuse had blown, the overhead light bulb exploding above our heads, as the feelings rushed back at me and left me panting, the pain almost blinding me.

  ‘Enough Eva, enough!’ Daniel’s arms pulled me toward him again and his voice shushed quietly in my ear, as if he were calming a child with nightmares. I zoned out and concentrated on nothing but his breath on my cheek, as the pain began to subside.

  Thankfully Eva let it drop and once Daniel had re-set the fuse box the TV was switched back on. I huddled into Daniel’s side, not wanting to pull away, and after ten minutes or so the pain had gone and the cocktail of emotions with it. I knew Eva was only trying to help me, but I was a little unnerved by the display of authority, and the look in her eyes. I shifted into a more comfortable position and Eva moved from her usual spot at the end of the sofa to the opposite one, to give us more room. I moved up but felt reluctant to let go of Daniel, and as he seemed happy to keep his arm around my shoulders, I stayed put.

  Around seven o’clock, Eva went upstairs to change into a gorgeous, understated and very sexy outfit, which must have cost a fortune. She then headed out to meet her latest ‘beau’ as she called him, or ‘sex on a stick’ which she described him as; neither of which seemed to work very well together. However, I guess that’s what you get, when you have a woman who grew up in the French Revolution, who’s now slipped seamlessly into the twenty first century.

  I stayed up with Daniel till past midnight, watching a mixture of weekend TV and cable movies and sometime after midnight, Daniel’s mobile rang and mouthing ‘Sebastian’ at me he disappeared off into the front room. After waiting a couple of minutes, I decided I’d had enough television and headed up to my room. It was only as I climbed into bed with a favourite book that I realised how tired I was.

  The tiredness had initially hit me head-on, shortly after Eva’s little training episode, and even though Daniel kept getting me drinks, the hit of energy only lasted an hour or so each time. I put my book down and felt simultaneously exhausted and wired. My mind kept running through the events of the past twenty four hours - disturbing flashes of my life on fast forward.

  I thought I’d never be able to sleep, and the images actually seemed to speed up, but I soon found I couldn’t concentrate on any one memory. They became a blur. I was so tired I couldn’t focus and as I snuggled down, I pulled Daniel’s sweatshirt up from the floor and guiltily pulled it under the covers. I brought it up to my face, and inhaling his still lingering scent, I felt safe and calm. The blurring images began to fade and I was gone. The last flickering image I remembered was that of my dad, six months ago, smiling at me across the kitchen table. I was reading him my exam results. My future was like a bright star. I was unstoppable.