Night Shadows

by Billiejo Priestley

  Everyone she knows also knows her mum and sister, so they’ll just agree with what her family says. Every time she made a friend, somehow the friend always ended up with Mel’s number, and she lost that friend quickly because everything she did or said got passed on to Mel. Dan was the only one who was different. He pulled her away; he listened to her and never told them anything.

  “Surely you need freedom from it all, though? From everyone who knows you and expects things from you?” He should have a friend who isn’t in that world.

  “Friends come with danger, Olivia. Those who hate us see which mortals we spend time with, and know the easiest way to get to us is through that person. So no, I don’t have friends who can’t protect themselves anymore.”

  Olivia laughs. Cayson turns to her, shocked.

  “Sorry, but mortal? Every time you mention something else, it just makes me laugh and think this is crazy and that I must be in some sort of movie.” She looks at him, realisation hitting her. “I’m dead, aren’t I? That night I thought was bitten, I was, but I died, didn’t I? This is just one long dream.”

  Cayson laughs, his body shaking with humour.

  “Oh, honey, you’re far from dead. You’re staying away from everywhere I said, right? No wandering the streets after dark?”

  “You sound like my sister now.”

  “Maybe I do, but it’s to protect you. What choice do you have? He’s gone, and he’s not coming back. Trust me when I say even if he wasn’t killed, you don’t want to find him.”

  “You know something, what do you know?”

  “I had a feeling. I remember a guy walking through called Dan, he was with someone else. I didn’t connect him to your partner until I saw those pictures.” He gestures to the floor. “He won’t be who he was, Olivia, he may still be walking around out there but he isn’t alive. Anything he felt for you is gone.”

  “Surely he could still be good, though? Just because there is a chance he was turned, surely that doesn’t mean he killed someone and became bad?” She can’t see it, Dan was amazing and caring, and he wouldn’t kill anyone. Why would he? Why would anyone kill if they didn’t need it to survive?

  “Being a Ceprimora isn’t easy if you were once a human. All the thoughts, the feelings, the emotions are stronger. Their own human blood mixed with that of those they drink pushes them to the edge. Not many can handle it. After a few months, the emotions, the visions, and the memories settle down, but many of the new-borns don’t last that long. Most choose to become a Monventla after a few days, to remove all sense of feelings and emotions. Some are not just battling that. Some are chosen to be turned because the vampire turning them can sense they will have underlying powers, something more. Those with powers often struggle even more.”

  “Vampires can have powers? Like what?”

  Cayson shrugs his shoulders.

  “The usual, some are just stronger than they should be, others have the power to manipulate your mind, make you do things you shouldn’t, make you agree to things you shouldn’t. Others can control emotions, hear what you think, see what your next move is.”

  “Can werewolves, too? Do they have powers? What do you mean, manipulating the mind? You said they make you do things you shouldn’t; is there no way of stopping that? Can’t you stop someone who’s been manipulated?”

  “There are some things that can clear a mind that is hazed over by a vampire’s words, yes. Not many know, about it. Werewolves, when they have shifted form, can hear the thoughts of anyone around them, we can heal quickly and help others heal too.”

  “That is it, that’s how the bite is gone with no scar or anything.” Olivia rolls up her sleeve, looking at her arm. There isn’t anything but there definitely should have been. She remembers checking her arms that night, there were no nail marks either.

  “Yeah, you were bleeding badly, and we’re not meant to heal people but I couldn’t exactly carry you to a hospital. It would have raised too many questions.” He also didn’t want to just leave her there and hope she survived.

  “Well, thanks, I think.”

  Cayson nods. He should leave; he’s putting her in danger by being here.

  “Wait, I didn’t tell you where I lived. I was waiting for you to reply but you didn’t; how the hell did you know where I live?” Olivia should be more freaked out than she actually is.

  “Two reasons. The number of times you walked through that place and I followed while I was in my wolf form I heard your thoughts, saw everything in your mind, so when you were thinking about going home I could see your house as you pictured it in your mind. Secondly, I followed you home for a few nights when you left after I noticed you were being followed home, it stopped them from following you all the way home.”

  “So they know where I live as well?”

  Cayson shakes his head at her, she clearly didn’t listen.

  “No, because when I started following, they left and walked away. Look, Olivia, just promise me you’ll stay away from those places. Stop looking for Dan, because that only ends one way and it won’t be a happy ending like it is in films.” She needs to get this thought out of her head that vampires are cute, cuddly things, because they sure as hell aren’t.

  “I will, I promise.”

  Cayson nods, standing up and nodding a quick goodbye as he leaves. Olivia was telling the truth: she will stay away this time and she means it. She’s come too close to death now to risk any more.

  She knows Cayson is just as dangerous as the vampires if not more, but she can’t bring herself to stay away from him. He’s told her all about vampires and how even the nice ones can become nasty, but werewolves? She has no idea what they are like.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to my editor who did an amazing job. You made the book even more amazing and powerful.

  2 LOST BLOODLINE

  The week passes by quickly and Olivia finds herself giving up on trying to find Dan. She gathers all the newspapers and cut-out articles from the floor and stuffs them in the bin where they should have been for a long time. She takes the opportunity to tidy the rest of the house, too; all of Dan’s stuff goes into a cupboard where she doesn’t have to look at it every day, watching her go about her life and constantly confronting her with what now seem like distant memories. She forces herself to work as much as possible, spending any free time she has finding friends and, in a way, trying to forget Cayson. Since he left, she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him.

  Something inside her craves him, craves to be near him, and she can’t seem to work out why. Sure, she likes him. She’d even go as far to say he’s hot, but there’s something else there; something else that’s pulling her into him.

  She has stayed away from most of the places in which she spent so much time before, but still ventures out at night, unable to stop herself from visiting that one place. She doesn’t know why she’s drawn there, doesn’t know why she keeps going, it’s her mind that seems to bully her into it even though she knows it’s crazy. Part of her hopes she’ll run into a vampire there because that way at least there’s more of a chance of seeing Cayson.

  “Olivia!”

  The voice calling her name startles her. She’d been deep in thought, not paying attention to the seven girls crowded around the table laden with empty plates and glasses and two half-heartedly floating balloons, a big number nineteen emblazoned across the translucent latex. She glances at Jade trying to work out what the right response is: she hadn’t been listening at all.

  “Yeah, sure,” she settles on with a smile, trying to look interested.

  “Really? You’re actually going to come out with us?”

  Olivia nods. She wishes she had been listening because it’s way too late to say no now, and going out with them isn’t really her thing.

  “Just for an hour, yeah, I’ve got work in the morning.” She supposes she can go out and have a few drinks; try and have a bit of fun for once. She glances around her; it feels weird goi
ng out with them all.

  “Olivia, come on! It’s your birthday, and you want to go home for nine? It’s not every day that you turn nineteen, are you crazy?”

  “Fine, maybe a bit longer, but I want to be home before midnight.” She will be, too: partly because she has work tomorrow morning and partly because she wants to ensure she has time to go to- to that place again. Even thinking about it makes her feel a bit guilty but she can’t give up the opportunity to see Cayson again.

  “Great, let’s grab the bill and go to the club.” Jade pulls Olivia up from the table with her and the pair make their way to the till, Jade wobbling slightly both due to her high-heeled shoes and the cocktails she’d knocked back during the meal. Olivia shoots a glance back at the other girls.

  “Stop, Olivia, we’re all your friends. They’re worried, that’s all; you have to admit you went just a little bit crazy after Dan went missing. What you need right now is a new man.” She winks and Olivia laughs at how unlikely that is these days. When it’s their turn, Jade insists on paying for Olivia’s share because apparently ‘you can’t pay for anything on your birthday’, and they collect the others before heading to the club.

  Olivia gets her drink and chooses to lean against the bar instead of joining the others on the dancefloor. She can’t dance but she’s more than happy to watch them drunkenly swaying with the closest boy they find. She remembers Cayson’s words. It’s more than likely there are at least a few vampires here, and if they have their normal colour eyes, how will she know who is and who isn’t?

  “Come on, Olivia, have one dance with us. Please!”

  She rolls her eyes and stands up from where her elbow had been leaning on the counter, following another of her friends – Danielle – to the dance floor. Half-heartedly swaying to the music vibrating through her soul, a few minutes pass by before she needs another drink. She moves to go to the bar but Jade stops her, handing her the glass she had left on the counter before being persuaded to dance. Olivia laughs and takes it, taking a sip of the bright liquid then deciding no-one here is worth caring about so she might as well dance properly. Or at least, that’s what she thinks until she sees Cayson out of the corner of her eye, dancing with a tiny blonde woman in a scarlet mini-dress with lips to match. Jealousy bubbles inside her and she frowns. Why is she jealous when he was never hers to begin with?

  She finishes her drink, feeling herself relaxing as she dances more, laughing with Jade. The hours pass by and she notices Cayson has disappeared somewhere. She shrugs and continues to dance; she’d never wanted him anyway.

  When her feet are too sore to continue, she lays a hand on Jade’s shoulder and leans forward to whisper – or shout, really – in her ear.

  “I’m going home, it’s way past my bedtime,” she says, laughing slightly as she talks, swaying on her feet. These heels are coming off as soon as she gets outside.

  “Fine, we’ll keep celebrating your birthday for you. Thanks for coming, get home safe.” Jade pecks her cheek before turning back and dancing with whichever guy she was with, and Olivia pushes through the throng of bodies until she feels a sharp breeze on her skin, spreading goose-bumps up her arms with the not-unwelcome cold. She stops, bending down to unbuckle her shoes and letting out a small moan of pleasure as the soles of her feet touch concrete, feeling like she’s freed her feet from torture.

  She sets out on the twenty-minute walk home, silently talking to herself as she does. A sound registers in her mind but she laughs as she keeps walking, her feet slowly becoming numb from the cold ground, which actually seems to be helping with the pain.

  “Olivia.”

  Her body stops suddenly. That’s him, that’s his voice. She feels his breath warm against her neck and her head fights to turn, to look, while her body screams at her to run away. She hears sounds from behind her but nothing distinguishable, just a scuffle, and she takes a deep breath before quickly walking – almost running – away with panic. It wasn’t Dan. Dan is gone, he’s dead. It must have been the alcohol making her hear things because it’s not possible that it was actually him… is it? She keeps going, feeling a sickness build inside of her as she speeds up, unsure as to why because there is no one behind her anymore, if there ever was.

  Glancing back at the empty, moon-lit street behind her she continues to run, but as she turns to look forwards again she comes face-to-face with a figure, running straight into the person. She screams and jumps back, her eyes glancing up to see Cayson holding his hands up.

  “Hey, don’t worry, it’s me. You okay?” He looks worried at her frightened reaction. What happened to her?

  “Was that you back there?” She stares at him, her body trembling violently.

  “No, I walked my cousin home and I was just on my way back to the club. Here.” He shrugs his jacket off and wraps it around her. “I’ll walk you home, Olivia. What happened?”

  She shakes her head as she steps forward, offering a small grateful smile for the jacket draped over her shoulders.

  “He said my name, he was right behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck.” She feels tears build up in her eyes as she remembers that Dan is gone, she knows he is.

  “Who? Who was it?”

  “Dan. I swear it was Dan.”

  Cayson nods and they continue the walk in silence. There’s a strong chance Dan is a vampire, but he doesn’t want to tell her that. If he’s right, she’s no longer safe at home. Dan knows where she lives, he could still have keys for all Cayson knows, and the prospect of a vampire being able to get to her so easily… He shakes his head looking at her bare feet as she carries her shoes, swinging with the steps she takes.

  “Did you see him, Olivia? Did you actually see his face?”

  “No, he said my name and then there was some sort of scuffle behind me, like fighting, and I panicked and just ran until I bumped into you.” She hadn’t wanted to turn back for fear that she’d see him and lose all sense of sanity. She doesn't know what she would have done had it have been Dan. All she knows is that she still loves him; part of her will always want him.

  “It won’t have been him; it was probably just someone else who knows you. Honestly, no vampire is stupid enough to go back to their past.” He barely believes what he’s saying but he hopes it’s true, or Olivia could be in grave danger. When they arrive at her house after what feels like a lifetime he follows her inside, taking his coat back when she hands it to him.

  “What happened to your dress?”

  She looks back at him, confused. “It’s ripped, straight down the back,” he explains.

  Olivia twists, trying to see what he means, but she can’t crane her neck around far enough. She stands on her tiptoes to use the mirror in the living room – it’s always been too high, Dan had put it up and he was taller – and furrows her brow in confusion when she sees what Cayson is talking about. , There’s a huge rip, right down the back like Cayson had said. The problem is that she can’t remember that happening at all’ how could she have missed it?

  “Turn.”

  She obeys; her back facing him again so he can examine the tear.

  “I’m guessing I just caught it on something and it snagged,” she shrugs and then shivers as she feels Cayson’s hand tracing the rip.

  “Did someone touch you, Olivia? You have a scratch where the dress is torn.”

  “No, I don’t think so. I don’t really know, I mean, I assumed I was just drunk and imagining things anyway. I can’t remember feeling anything.”

  She tries thinking back but there’s nothing, nothing there to make her believe something happened. Maybe something did, and she just can’t remember it?

  “Look, I’m sleeping here tonight. I’m not leaving you alone in case whoever did this tries to come back. Try and get some sleep, okay?” Cayson smiles at her, knowing he is breaking the rules. He’s breaking so many rules for her and it will almost certainly end badly, but he has to, he has to try and save Olivia from anyone who wants her hurt.

>   “Thanks. Is it your night off then?” Cayson shakes his head.

  “No- I mean, yeah, I was at the club having fun, but if I see someone leaving alone I follow them to make sure they get home safely.” He’s never meant to go into the house with them, just supposed to, watch them shut their door from a reasonable distance and go back to the club ready for the next person. The difference is that this time, it was Olivia- not just because it was her, he means because she’d apparently seen Dan, and how could he leave her alone after that? She thinks he’s safe; she could invite him in thinking everything’s okay or he could let himself in while she’s sleeping, and… he shudders. He doesn’t want to think about what could happen if he wasn’t here to protect her.

  “So do you go there every night?”

  Cayson shakes his head. “No, there are a few of us. We take it in turns and every now and then we change the places we keep an eye on, too. I was watching somewhere else before, but things seem to have quietened down there now. Usually that means they’ve moved further into town, but this time it’s different. We’ve no idea where they are going.” He pauses, sitting on the sofa and clasping his hands together, looking at them in frustration.

  “If I could just find out why they moved… I thought it was you. I thought I was maybe missing you at the places; that it was you they were following and you were just never in the centre. It’s almost like when you stopped coming, they vanished with you.”

  “Maybe they just found somewhere new to hang out and find victims. Would it be that strange for them to move? Why is it so suspicious?” She sits next to him, tucking her feet underneath her to try and warm them up. There’s a comfy throw on the back of the sofa that was a gift from her sister, but she’s infinitely grateful for it now and wraps it around herself.