Thicker Than Blood

by Shalini Boland

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cappadocia, 575 AD

  *

  Aelia recovered quickly and by the following morning she felt almost completely well again. Widow Maleina’s attitude seemed to have changed and softened. She wasn’t what you would call friendly, but at least her tongue had lost some of its serrated edge. She didn’t care how pleasant the woman was being, all Aelia could think about was trying to find her family.

  ‘If you go, you will be inviting death in one form or another,’ the widow said. ‘I know you don’t entirely believe me, my dear. But I am speaking the truth.’

  ‘I need some fresh air,’ Aelia said. The cave felt oppressive and warm.

  ‘Come. Let’s go outside.’ The widow picked up her walking cane and hobbled to the cave entrance. Aelia stood and followed her. She would rather have been alone with her thoughts, but it seemed there was no chance of that happening. The air outside was heating up, the sun already high in the sky, almost bleaching out the rocks below. It was hotter out here than in the cave and Aelia instantly wished she had stayed inside.

  The widow was already a few steps ahead so Aelia sighed and followed on behind. They threaded their way through the parched shrubs and junipers, occasionally receiving some much needed shade from the tall stone outcrops that punctuated the landscape.

  After about ten minutes of walking in silence, the widow stopped and thrust her cane into the dusty earth. Aelia sat on a low rock and picked up a handful of fine brown gravel. She let it run through her fingers and watched as it bounced and slid off the rock. The widow handed her a pouch of water and she took a grateful gulp.

  ‘I’m going back to my village,’ Aelia said quietly, defiantly.

  ‘Yes,’ the widow replied.

  ‘What? You’re letting me go?’ Aelia was surprised. She had expected the usual mocking resistance. As long as she didn’t plan on drugging her again.

  ‘Yes, you can go. I think you may have a part to play in this,’ the widow said.

  Aelia didn’t know what the widow was talking about, but she wasn’t going to argue. She felt nervous and excited that she was finally going to be reunited with her family.

  ‘I’ll rest today and travel tomorrow,’ Aelia said, a small smile curling at her lips. Will you come with me?’

  ‘No,’ the widow replied. ‘But I’ll help you. We must go back and prepare. There is much to do and much you need to know about the risk you are taking.’

  Aelia still didn’t know if she believed Widow Maleina’s warnings, but at least the woman wasn’t going to stand in her way anymore. Aelia decided she would humour her and take whatever precautions the widow thought necessary.

  Back home, Widow Maleina began working on her medicines. She called to Aelia to pass her the various powders and herbs she needed.

  ‘I’m preparing this for you, my dear.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I have been experimenting for a number of years and I am sure it will work. But it may also end up killing you.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Aelia asked, alarmed.

  ‘These demons drink human blood. Pass me that cup.’

  Aelia handed her the vessel and noticed her hand was shaking. She made a fist to stop the tremble.

  ‘If you enter that cave,’ the widow continued, ‘they will want to drink your blood. Of that, there is no doubt.’

  ‘So you’re saying they will kill me and drink my blood?’

  ‘No. I am saying they will drink your blood. It is not certain they will kill you. They may keep you human, they may kill you or they may turn you. Make up a fire. I need to reduce this mixture.’

  ‘Turn me?’

  ‘… into one of them,’ the widow replied.

  Aelia felt numb. The widow was speaking so certainly and surely. In all the months Aelia had been here, Widow Maleina had never lied. So why should she make these horrific things up now? She set to work making a small cooking fire, trying to decide what to believe. The wood was so dry that the fire caught instantly with a whoosh, making Aelia start and jump back. The widow’s voice rose above the crackle and roar of the flames:

  ‘Now I must ask you if you are certain this is the path you wish to take? Once we embark on this journey, there is no going back. And you must understand there is a very strong likelihood you will die a slow and agonising death.’

  Aelia tried to block out the widow’s melodramatic words. ‘But is there also a chance I could save my family?’

  ‘There is some hope. There is always hope.’

  Aelia paused for a moment before speaking.

  ‘I was almost sentenced to death three years ago. This second life I live now is a blessing, but I will risk it to save my family. There’s no other choice.’

  ‘Then it is decided. And who knows, perhaps you will also live a third life. But now you must leave the cave, my dear. This next part is too dangerous for you to remain.’ Widow Maleina tied a square of material over her mouth and nose. ‘Do not re-enter the cave until nightfall.’

  Aelia’s heart beat loudly now. This was all becoming too real. What was Widow Maleina going to do that was so dangerous?

  ‘Why are you still standing there?’ the widow snapped, her voice muffled by the cloth. ‘Out!’

  Aelia backed away, stumbled out of the cave and began walking. The best scenario would be if the widow was crazy, then Aelia would reach her village to find her family safe underground and she could start to rebuild her life. The worst scenario … Aelia did not want to think about the worst scenario. It was like a nightmare. Murdering barbarians or night demons and death. And what was the widow doing in there? She would probably find out soon enough.

  Chapter Twenty

  Present Day

  *

  As the hours dragged by, Maddy switched between fear, frustration and mind-numbing boredom. She would have to ask Zoe for a book or a magazine or something. Madison had even attempted to do a few sit-ups and push-ups, which was a sign things had become truly desperate, but her heart wasn’t really in it. She didn’t need to get fit, she needed to get out of here, to get back to Alex and Ben.

  Whenever she tried to formulate an escape plan, she got as far as: ‘ask Zoe to help’ but then her mind would wander or go blank. And the chances of Zoe helping her were pretty slim anyway. Even if she agreed (unlikely), the other vampires would probably kill them both or worse. She would have to find out why she was actually here and who was behind it. Maddy’s heart gave a lift as she heard the lock rattle.

  ‘Hi.’ Zoe entered the room with lunch which she deposited, as usual, on the end of the bed.

  ‘‘Hey, Zoe.’

  ‘Hey.’

  ‘I just have to ask - do you know if they’re keeping my brother here? Or Alex? Or the others?’

  ‘No, it’s just you.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Pretty sure.’

  ‘So you don’t know for definite?’

  ‘Let’s say I’m almost ninety nine percent sure they’re not here.’

  ‘Good. That’s good.’ At least that was something Maddy could stop worrying about. ‘So, what’s going on?’ Maddy asked.

  ‘The usual.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Look, Maddy. All you need to know is, you’re not in any immediate danger.’

  ‘Great.’

  ‘Don’t be like that.’

  ‘Well, how would you be if you were being held against your will and didn’t know why?’

  Zoe sat on the floor and leant back against the grimy wall.

  ‘Maddy, I’m not here for the fun of it. I’ve got no choice either.’

  Maddy raised a cynical eyebrow. ‘Just because you’re a vampire, doesn’t mean you have to stay here with the rest of them.’

  ‘Where else would I go? Sergell turned me into this. He thought he was doing me a favour, but he got that wrong.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean … I was as good as dead, but he changed
his mind and turned me into this.’

  ‘How did you nearly die? If you don’t mind me asking.’

  ‘My life was normal. Some people might’ve called it boring, but I was happy. Married with a beautiful son, lots of friends, pretty outgoing. The usual.’ Zoe spoke the words automatically, with no emotion.

  ‘Believe me,’ Maddy interrupted. ‘That is not the usual. I’d say you were lucky.’

  ‘Oh, I know I was lucky. My life was as near to perfect as it could be.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘Sergell happened.’ Zoe sighed.

  Maddy waited, hoping she’d continue.

  ‘I was on a day course in London for work. I missed my train home and had about four hours to kill until the next one. I didn’t want to hang around the train station, so I went for a walk.

  ‘It was a warm night with loads of people around, so I didn’t feel nervous about being on my own. I thought I’d find somewhere to eat, take my time and then head back to the station. I was going to call my husband and let him know I’d be late home. But as I pulled my phone out of my bag, I accidentally knocked my lip gloss onto the ground. It was one of those little pots you dab your finger into, you know the sort?’

  Maddy nodded.

  ‘Well, it fell onto the ground and rolled down a side street. I didn’t think twice, I just followed it. It was expensive stuff. It rolled along the pavement right up to these shiny black shoes. I looked up and saw this amazingly handsome man. Not as lovely as my husband of course, but this man … he was out of the ordinary. He picked up my lip gloss and handed it to me. I couldn’t even speak to say thank you or anything. The man made me feel odd. Nervous. But at the same time I felt like I knew him.

  ‘I took back my lip gloss and turned to go, but then I felt his breath on my neck. Part of me wanted to scream, but the other part …’ Zoe stood up. ‘Sorry, my story is probably the last thing you want to hear.’

  ‘What!’ Maddy said. ‘No. Carry on. Please. Of course I want to hear your story.’

  ‘Well, if you’re sure …’

  Maddy gave her what she hoped was an encouraging smile. It really did show how deceptive appearances were. When Maddy had first seen Zoe, she’d assumed she was an ancient vampire with no real feelings. How wrong could she have been. She was just a normal person who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like Alexandre.

  ‘So I felt his breath on my neck.’ Zoe closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She was now standing in front of the bed and Maddy reached out her hand and took one of Zoe’s in hers. ‘I felt a sharp pain and then a warm glow through my body. I lost consciousness pretty quickly.’ Zoe opened her eyes again and looked at Maddy.

  ‘So when you woke up you were a vampire?’ Maddy asked.

  ‘Pretty much, give or take a few days of brutal agony. Sergell said he hadn’t planned on turning me, but I reminded him of someone he knew. Someone special from his human life. He treats me well.’

  ‘So are you and he …’

  ‘God, no! No. He treats me like a daughter or a sister. It’s weird, because even though he looks so young, he acts like my father, only much, much stricter. I suppose I’d be dead by now if he hadn’t turned me. But I don’t know if that would’ve been better than this. He said I wasn’t to see my human family again because they would be put in danger. And I miss my son so much it’s like someone stabbing me in the heart every day.’ Zoe’s breath caught in her throat and two blood tears slid down her cheek.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’ Maddy tried to squeeze her unyielding hand.

  Zoe wiped the tears across her cheek and sat next to her. ‘Life’s a bitch and then you die and death’s a bitch too. Only my life was lovely and I miss it so much.’

  ‘Then go back to it,’ Maddy said.

  ‘How exactly?’

  ‘What Sergell said - about how seeing your family would put them in danger – well yes, maybe he’s right. But don’t you think they’d prefer that to thinking you’re dead?’

  ‘But I …’

  ‘No!’ Maddy said, anger flaring. ‘I grew up without a dad and then my mum went and died on me. If I found out she was out there, but hadn’t come to see me because it would’ve put me in danger, I would’ve said ‘stuff the danger’. Do you honestly believe your family would be happier thinking you’d died, than you’d become a vampire?’

  ‘But it would freak them out. How could I turn up like this? And what if Sergell’s right and something happens to them? What if they get hurt by all this?’

  ‘Why would they get hurt? You’re a vampire, you can protect them from anything.’

  ‘I don’t know …’

  ‘Don’t be such a coward! Your son needs you.’

  Zoe’s eyes flashed and she put her face up close to Maddy’s with a snarl. Then she crossed over to the other side of the room and hung her head.

  ‘It’s too risky. Look at you. You’re involved with vampires and you’ve been abducted and locked up in a cell. And these vampires, they won’t just let me walk out of here and go back to my life.’

  ‘Well, it doesn’t look like you’ve tried very hard. Maybe your perfect life wasn’t so perfect and you’d rather stay here and deliver room service to prisoners for the rest of your eternal life.’

  ‘You’re quite a bitch, you know,’ Zoe said.

  ‘No I’m not. I’m just telling it how it looks.’

  Zoe flashed her a dirty look and left the room.

  Maddy was too cross to call her back in. If she’d been in Zoe’s situation, she knew she would do anything to get back to her family. Saying that, wasn’t she jeopardising her own chances of getting out of here by making Zoe angry? She was supposed to be befriending her, winning her trust and getting her to help her escape. Instead, she was giving her a hard time. The trouble was, Maddy was genuinely starting to like her and wanted to reunite her with her family. Poor Zoe. Maybe she had been a bit harsh on her. She’d had the courage to spill her guts and all Maddy had done was criticise. Maybe she was a bitch.

  *

  ‘I think we should take our chances and attack tonight,’ Alexandre said.

  They were gathered in the sitting room area of their hotel suite, the blackout material firmly secured against the large window. Tension and worry was painted across the vampires’ faces.

  ‘I agree,’ Freddie said, his blue eyes glittering. ‘We have to attack.’

  ‘Well I do not agree,’ said Isobel, rising to her feet. ‘We risk Madison’s life if we rush in with no real plan.’

  ‘And we risk her life if we do nothing,’ Alexandre replied.

  ‘May I suggest something,’ Morris interjected.

  ‘Of course,’ Isobel said.

  The vampires turned towards him. He was sitting at the dining table, his thick fingers drumming the polished table top.

  ‘Why don’t you just go and talk to them,’ he said.

  ‘We tried that last night,’ Alexandre said. ‘It didn’t work. They want us to present ourselves tomorrow night, like obedient servants.’

  ‘I think it’s a good idea, Morris,’ Leonora said. ‘Maybe a couple of us could go tonight and see if they will talk, tell us what they want from us.’

  ‘But whoever went would be putting themselves in greater danger than if we all went together and attacked at once,’ Freddie said.

  ‘No,’ Isobel said. ‘We should only attack as a last resort.’

  ‘I will go and ‘talk’ to them.’ Alexandre drew imaginary quotation marks in the air. ‘And while I am there I will attempt a rescue. Maddy will be in that place and once I’ve located her, I will get her out.’

  ‘But you’ll need our help,’ Jacques said. ‘How can you hope to …’

  ‘No.’ Alexandre cut his brother off. ‘If we all go, they will expect an attack. If I go alone it is less suspicious. More … conciliatory.’

  They all began to talk at once, voicing their objections and putting forward alternative suggestions. But Alexandre
couldn’t listen. He left the sitting room, went into his bedroom and closed the door. He couldn’t think clearly with everyone chattering, trying to press their opinions on him. He sighed. He supposed he was doing the same – trying to impose his will. But Madison was his responsibility. It was up to him to get her out of there.

  He sat on the end of the huge four poster and rested his chin in his hands, his mind spinning this way and that, not able to settle on any semblance of a watertight plan. Every choice involved a massive risk, with Madison at the centre of it. At least if he went alone, it would be the simplest way. The least messy.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Leonora came in.

  Good, she had closed the door behind her. He couldn’t face another planning committee session with everybody talking at once. It was too exhausting and confusing. Leonora sank into a leather armchair and gazed up at him.

  ‘It will turn out well,’ she said. ‘I know it.’

  ‘You cannot know it. We are caught in an impossible situation and I feel responsible for you all.’

  ‘You are not responsible for me,’ she said with a sad smile.

  ‘You are all my responsibility whether you like it or not. And I refuse to allow any harm to befall any one of you.’

  ‘Why don’t you and I go to the city tonight?’ she said ‘We will talk to them and find out what it is they want. Morris is right. It is the simplest way.’

  ‘Let me think about it,’ Alexandre replied. ‘There are many hours between now and nightfall. Perhaps another solution will present itself between now and then.’

  Chapter Twenty One

  Cappadocia, 575 AD

  As the bats emerged from their places of darkness and the cicadas began their evening chorus, Aelia returned to the widow’s cave. She hesitated outside. What if she was too early? The widow had said not to return before nightfall. She turned and looked up at the velvet sky. Milk white stars emerged before her eyes, growing larger and brighter as she stared. It was time.