Leticia

by Lindsay Anne Kendal

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “We’d love to have you.”

  I was about to ask her who “we” was but she turned and ran out of the shop. I pulled the piece of paper back out of my purse and read through it, she was right to write it down, I couldn’t remember much of what she had told me, and to be honest I was very dubious. Who was she? How did she know what I was? Why, when she didn’t know me would she want to help me? Was it a trap? And most important, who was ‘we’?

  I finished my coffee then ordered one to take out with me. I didn’t want to go home, so decided to go for a drive, not the most clever thing to do really when you’ve had two sleepless nights, but never mind. I drove as far as Glossop and pulled up in Tesco parking lot, locked my doors, leaned my head back against the head-rest and closed my eyes.

  When I opened my eyes again and looked at the clock, I saw it was almost 3p.m. I must have fallen asleep instantly. I felt a little stupid, and wondered how many people must have laughed at me as they passed by. I started the engine and headed back home, I was hungry, no, starving, and as much as I didn’t want to go back to the house, I knew it was time I did. All the way back I was checking my mirrors paranoid that someone was following me, even though there was no proof they were. When I pulled into my drive I sat with the engine still running, inspecting the outside of the house and gardens, foot on the accelerator, ready to drive off if necessary. Nothing seemed different; everything was how I’d left it.

  Eventually I ventured inside. There were no notes or nasty little surprises anywhere. Just a card on my doormat from the couriers to let me know they had put a parcel next to my back door. I didn’t panic; they were the courier company who delivered my stocks of nail tips and tools for my work. I collected it and put it in my office with the rest of my stock. I made myself something to eat and sat in the living room. I didn’t turn the TV on because I wanted silence to listen out for anyone or anything in or around my house.

  By the time I’d eaten, washed up and checked my delivery items it was 6:30p.m. I pulled the directions Nancy had given me out of my purse again and toyed with the idea of going. In the end I decided to take a drive up there, not to actually go to the house, but just to see where it was. I locked up and headed over the Moors back into Holmfirth Center, turning as she said, up Dunford Road. Despite having lived around here about a year I’d never driven the full length of this road before. I drove through the little village and past the pub, then the road turned really eerie. It was dark, just like the Moors, but here the trees created a canopy over the road, some of them almost skeletal to half their height.

  I saw the private road on the left too late and passed it, I ended up doing a U-turn and really pissing some guy off who had been speeding down the road. I just smiled at him sweetly before giving him the finger, then drove at 20mph until he overtook me, just to really piss him off. I looked down the little road that led to her house, opening my window so I could see better. It was raining slightly now and so my vision through the glass was limited. As soon as the fresh air hit me, I picked up a scent, the same one I picked up only a few days ago near my house. The scent of a vampire.

  I hadn’t seen or heard of a vampire for over twenty-five years, the last time I’d seen one was when visiting Spain in the early eighties. He owned a restaurant and was doing really well for himself; he was also a really nice guy. I knew Nancy wasn’t a vamp, I’d have picked up on it earlier in the coffee shop, maybe she lived with one, but then why would she if she wasn’t one? Was she something else? I knew there was something different about her, simply because she knew what I was and it didn’t bother her, I just didn’t know what.

  ***

  The road was narrow, but I would be able to turn around even if it meant going up one of the grass verges slightly. This was the problem with owning a Range Rover Vogue; they weren’t the smallest of cars. I turned down the road and drove very slowly, constantly checking my mirrors and looking around. As soon as the house came into view I stopped; the lights were on downstairs and three cars were parked in the drive. I turned my headlights off so as not to draw any attention to myself, I didn’t want to be noticed. I stayed there for about ten minutes before turning around and heading back home.

  When I pulled into my drive I noticed the living room light on, I was sure I hadn’t left it on. This was great, just what I needed, now I was worried about going into my own home, again! I decided to partially change just to be on the safe side, I let my teeth sharpen, my nails grow and my eyes change, before entering my house. After a quick inspection I realized I was alone, there was nothing to be afraid of, but I brought my blankets downstairs and decided to sleep on the sofa so I wasn’t too comfortable, just in case.

  The next thing I knew, it was 2a.m., something woke me, my heart was racing but I knew I hadn’t been dreaming. There was a loud bang and not even a second later, my front window imploded sending shards of glass flying towards me. I sheltered myself as best I could. The sound I had heard was a gunshot, they were back and this time they were trying to kill me. I scrambled through the hallway and into the kitchen, trying to get to my knives. I stayed as low as I could, almost crawling to the drawers and reaching up blindly to get the biggest blade I could find. I stayed huddled in the corner, watching and waiting. Normally, I wouldn’t have been bothered about bullets, it’s not like they could kill me, but since they had sent me a silver bullet in the post, there was definitely a good reason to panic. If the shooter was a good shot they could pierce my heart, then it would be game over. I waited silently, I could hear someone walking around outside, their footsteps getting closer and closer to my kitchen window. I held my breath, waiting for either the door or window to come through, but instead heard a man’s screams, no, more like shrieks of terror, there was banging and what sounded like someone gurgling, and then, silence.

  I waited a few minutes, just to be safe, before standing up and looking out my window. I couldn’t see anyone around but did notice something on the path, a gun. I ran out the back door and grabbed it, then ran inside again slamming the door behind me. I took the bullets out, they weren’t silver, just bog standard ones. Then something else caught my attention, the scent I’d picked up twice already was back. The vampire had been here, was it him or her that had stopped my attacker? Was I being watched by someone other than the ones attacking me? Was I being protected? It would be nice to think so.

  Chapter 5

  I was on the phone with one of my customers the following morning, cancelling my appointments for the day, and telling her that someone had broken my window. How could I leave the house so unprotected? Her husband had his own double glazing firm and told me he would send a couple of his guys out to my place straight away. At 10:30 he turned up with two of his guys and got to work. I supplied them with hot drinks and sandwiches and when they had finished, he refused to take a penny from me. I was so grateful that I told him I would never take money from his wife for doing any of her beauty treatments ever again.

  It was now 5p.m. and I was alone again. I was so tired but scared to go to sleep. All I saw when I closed my eyes was the silver bullet. I was going through my bag and purse emptying them of all the bits of rubbish and old receipts, when I came across the paper Nancy had given to me. The scent of the vampire last night filled my nose, it had saved me. I knew it must have something to do with Nancy since I’d picked up on his scent at her house. I also remembered her saying they wanted to help me. I had to say thank you.

  I locked the house up and headed out over the moors again, through Holmfirth and up the winding lane towards their private road. This time I actually pulled into the driveway, the same cars were parked there. The house was beautiful, bigger than mine, an old English farm house. They had no neighbors that I could see, and were surrounded by open fields. The view was breath-taking. I took a deep breath, nerves were kicking in now and my hands were shaking slightly. Before I reached the front door, it opened, Nancy stood there with a beaming sm
ile on her face.

  “I’m so glad you came,” she blurted out. “Come on in,” she grabbed my hand and led me into the living room. “Would you like a drink?”

  “Yeah sure.”

  “Tea, coffee, something cold?”

  “Tea would be nice.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  She walked out of the room, letting the door shut behind her. I sat on one of the sofas looking around. They had a big log fire surrounded by a beautiful marble fireplace. Old paintings, some of landscapes, others of cities around the 1920’s were dotted around the room. The suite was navy blue velvet, so big and soft, it must have been expensive. They had two three-seaters and three armchairs, with an oak coffee table resting on a navy rug between the two sofas.

  “Sorry it took so long,” Nancy said, walking back into the room with two cups in her hand. “Here you go,” she passed me my tea then sat on the chair facing me. “I thought you would have come last night, I hoped you would have.”

  “Sorry, I had a lot going on.”

  “Hmm, Leticia, you don’t have to lie to me, I know you came you just didn’t come in. It’s OK, I take it nerves got the better of you?”

  “You could say that, I don’t know you so....”

  “That’s alright I understand, but you have nothing to be worried about.”

  “What are you? Who are you? Why the sudden interest in me?” I asked.

  “I will answer that, no problem, but first there are two people you need to meet,” she said standing. “Well, one of them you already have.”

  She popped her head around the door and motioned someone in. She sat down again and a few seconds later, a tall, fair haired young man walked in.

  “Hello Leticia,” he said, as he walked over to me, holding his hand out to shake mine. “I’m Tristan.”

  “Hi,” I almost whispered, shaking his pale hand. He was the vampire; he was the one at my house last night; the one who saved me. “You were at my place last night, weren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome,” he smiled before sitting on the arm of Nancy’s chair.

  “Where’s my brother?” she asked him.

  “Messing around with something, he’ll be in in a minute.”

  “Men,” she sighed, and then turned her attention back to me. “I’ve been told about what happened last night, I was worried, but Tristan told me you were OK.”

  “Who are you?” I asked again.

  “We’re....”

  She was interrupted by someone else entering the room. When I looked over I couldn’t believe my eyes. My stomach started doing somersaults and I started trembling again slightly, he stared straight at me.

  “I think you already know my brother, Jackson.” Nancy grinned.

  “Yeah we’ve come across each other,” he said to her, as he sat on the other sofa. “A couple of times.”

  “Really? I thought it was just the once, in that parking lot.”

  “OK, I feel a bit awkward; I think this may have been a mistake.” I said fidgeting a little.

  “Nonsense.” Tristan smiled. “It’s just the meet and greet that’s a bit daunting for you that’s all. Relax Leticia, besides you want to know who and what we are don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well I think you know what I am, so we can skip that part.”

  “Jackson and I are, different, I don’t know if you have come across our kind before, there aren’t that many of us, we’re what’s known as... shape shifters,” Nancy explained.

  “I know what they are, but I’ve never actually met any, not until now anyway,” I told her, a little shocked.

  “So we don’t have to explain what we can do?”

  “I know you can take the form of other people.”

  “Animals too.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, we’re cool,” she laughed. “I like the sounds of you, I’ve never met a wolf before, I know Jackson and Tristan have, but I’ve lived a sheltered life,” she laughed again.

  “Rubbish,” Tristan grinned.

  “Anyway,” Jackson interrupted. “Are you going to tell Leticia why you asked her here? I think that’s what she really wants to know.”

  They all went quiet for a moment and I started to feel really out of place, all I wanted to do was leave.

  “We know you’re having some trouble at the moment,” Jackson started. “I kept an eye on you after the attack in the parking lot.”

  “Why would you do that?” I asked.

  “Like I told you, we look after our own.”

  “Yeah right,” Nancy muttered, before taking over. “So he came home that day and told us about you and what had happened. Tristan was a bit shocked because he would normally have picked up the scent of a wolf, so not long after he went out to try and track you.”

  “I picked up the scent of a vamp, I knew one had been close to my house,” I told them.

  “We wanted to find out where you lived just so we could keep an eye on you,” She continued. “Then we took turns watching when we could, Tristan got there just in time last night.”

  “No I was late, that guy had already shot out her window.” Tristan added.

  “You have no idea how grateful I am for what you did,” I told him. “But what did you do with the guy?”

  “Sucked him dry...”

  “You said you wouldn’t drink from anyone,” Nancy shot at him.

  “He was an ass, he’d attacked Leticia and he deserved to die.”

  “So why not just snap his neck.”

  “Nancy, I am what I am, anyway, as I was saying, I sucked him dry and buried him on the moors. Nobody will ever find him.”

  “Oh,” I almost whispered, paying more attention to the way Nancy was glaring at him than what he was actually saying.

  “One less scum bag to worry about.”

  “Why did you invite me here? I’m grateful for your help don’t get me wrong, but...”

  “We want to get to know you; it’s been a long time since we’ve come across someone supernatural like us. It’s just been the three of us for a couple of decades now at least,” Nancy told me.

  “Well, it was lovely to meet you all, but I think I’m going to be leaving.”

  “The area?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed.

  “Why?” Jackson asked.

  “I just think I need to.”

  “No you don’t, you shouldn’t have too.”

  “Look, I don’t mean to sound rude, but you have no idea what I’ve been through, I can’t go through it again,” I said standing. “I stayed away from people for a long time because something similar to this has happened before. Now it looks like someone else has found out about me. Thank you for everything, and it was nice to meet you all, but I’m going now, look after yourselves.”

  I grabbed my bag and almost ran out of the house. My eyes were welling up and I could hardly see. When I got to my car Tristan was standing there waiting for me, I’d forgotten how fast vampires could move.

  “Leticia wait,” he said grabbing my shoulders. “Let us help you.”

  “You can’t help me, nobody can. It doesn’t matter where I go, someone will always find out about me.”

  “Stop running, you can handle them.”

  “You mean kill them?”

  “Yes, if necessary.”

  “Sometimes you have to,” I heard Jackson say.

  I turned around to see him and Nancy walking towards me.

  “Do you know who’s doing this?” Nancy asked me.

  “No, I just...”

  “Why don’t you come back inside?”

  “I can’t, I don’t want you involved in this, it’s not fair.”

  “Surely we should be the ones to decide that,” Jackson said. “We want to help you.”

  “I can’t let you do that, sorry.”

  I got in my car and drove away. All of them stood on the path and
watched me leave. I couldn’t let them get involved. For starters I didn’t know them and as awful as it may sound, I didn’t trust them. How could I? On the other hand they seemed so nice and sincere, but I didn’t want them getting hurt, these people, whoever they were, they wanted me not them. I didn’t want to risk them being found out.

  As soon as I walked in my house the phone rang, I ran into the kitchen to answer it expecting it to be one of my clients again.

  “Hello,” I said, in as friendly tone as I could manage.

  “So, you have friends do you,” the male voice from the other night said.

  “What?”

  “A nice young girl, and two young men, hmm, do they know what you are?”

  “What’s it to you?”

  “It means...”

  “You’re a coward,” I snapped. “Sending your little friends to taunt me, making your ridiculous phone calls in a lame effort to frighten me, well d’you know what? Piss off, I’m sick of you already, now either come here and face me or just find a busy road and stand in the middle, I’ll let you pick.”

  I slammed the phone down and started swearing my head off. A moment later it rang again, this time when I picked up the receiver I said nothing.

  “If you ever put the phone down on me again...”

  I hung up. I wanted to piss him off; I wanted him to come after me. I wanted to fight him. I didn’t like the thought of killing people, but now I was starting to think maybe Jackson was right, sometimes it had to be done, it would be self-defence anyway, kill or be killed. The phone rang again, this time I just let it ring and ring. He was persistent I’ll give him that. He must have tried about eight times before finally getting it in his head that I wasn’t going to answer. Every time it rang I smirked to myself; knowing how frustrated he would be made me happy.

  I walked into the living room with a drink and sandwich. I’d hardly eaten anything all day and my stomach was screaming at me. I put the fire on and sat on the rug in front of it looking out my window, even though it was nearly the end of May it was still rather chilly at night; it nearly always was in the hills. It was starting to get dark out now and a low level mist was hovering around my house. I used to love it when it was like this, the eerie feeling of it all, but now with everything that was going on, I felt really on edge and just wanted it to pass. Once I’d eaten I lay down enjoying the warmth of the fire and staring at my ceiling.