Night Shadows

by Billiejo Priestley

  “You could be amazing if you’d just look into the truth,” he murmurs stepping forward, his body almost touching hers.

  “Or I could find out they were crazy and killed loads of people, which adds to how insane I seem to be these days. If you want to know so much about my parents, why don’t you just find them and tell them you had a sex change?”

  She smirks and Cayson stares back at her open-mouthed. Their eyes meet. Olivia can’t deny she likes him; his voice is like honey but with a rugged edge to it.

  As Cayson goes to talk, Olivia moves to cover his mouth with hers, pressing her lips against his and wrapping her arms around his neck. Cayson pushes back, his body slamming hers against the wall, causing a loud thud to sound around the room as he moves his hands to grasp her hips. His body shivers slightly as he catches glimpses of her power, her hands tugging his hair roughly. He brings his hands gently to her shoulders, pushing her away, his lips swollen and red and his face flushed.

  “I-I should go,” he stammers, and he runs out the house, and into the trees. Quickly shifting form, his mind replays everything. There is no hiding this; Gwenael will have seen as soon as he shifted.

  Olivia stands shocked; why the hell did she kiss him? She walks to the bathroom, brushing her teeth quickly and tying her hair back in a messy bun. As she climbs into bed, her mind reminds her of how his velvet lips had felt against hers, his tight grip on her body before he’d ran away. Her body sinks into the old lumpy mattress, her arms covering her face in regret as she feels herself falling asleep.

  Cayson walks through his front door and sits down at the table, his head falling forward in sorrow. Why did he have to kiss her back? Why did she have to kiss him?

  “Well?”

  He doesn’t even bother to look at Gwenael. He already knows he’s in trouble, even though Gwenael’s only said one word.

  “You saw it for yourself, her parents were Depraysie. No-one has seen any of that bloodline since Celestia and Elwin were turned. They weren’t even from this country. Do you understand what this means?”

  He does. If she is indeed their daughter, he dreads to think what would happen. If anyone knew she was a Depraysie it would create an all-out war.

  “You should have walked away once she was safely at home, not pushed and poked her into wanting to know her family. She’s right, Cayson, no good can come from her knowing. Yes, she could unlock her powers and be one of the strongest witches around, but at what cost? To find out her parents were turned into vampires and killed the rest of her family?”

  “I thought-”

  “You thought wrong, Cayson. You need to keep your distance from her. Let's not forget what happened last time you got close to that bloodline.”

  Cayson moves to stand up, everything falling off the table as he knocks it in the process. If looks could kill, Gwenael would almost certainly be dead right now.

  “Leave her out of this. It could have been any woman, her bloodline doesn’t matter.”

  Gwenael laughs, picking up a drink.

  “No, nothing matters to you, does it? Lovely Yasmine was a target, because werewolves don’t mix with witches like that, Cayson, just as they don’t with vampires. We stick to our own kind and we have done since this damn war started!”

  Cayson says nothing, his body trembling with anger and hurt.

  “I loved her. Yasmine was… something else. She was a talented witch, the strongest Depraysie there was at the time.” His head falls as he feels his heart quaking and shattering in his chest.

  “And then she was turned, and you had to kill her. Does it sound similar yet, Cayson? They’re the same bloodline. If you go near her, they’ll figure it out and then she’s dead, and that wipes out a whole bloodline for the second time. No-one knows the baby survived and it needs to stay that way. Take a holiday or something! I don’t care if you’re in charge; you’re just putting her in more danger.” Cayson’s head snaps up, his vicious look one that could kill.

  “As you said, I’m in charge, and I make the decisions. I won’t be going near her. Get someone else to guard her for all I care.” He sits back down. Yasmine drew him in, and right now it looks like Olivia’s doing the same. Why is it always witches with him? Why can’t it be another werewolf or even a human? He should have known; from the moment he set eyes on her, he had known, he just hadn’t wanted to accept it.

  “Whatever, Cayson. I’ll send Azriel to watch over her until her ex disappears and quits. You stick to the clubs; if you see her in one you leave immediately and get one of us to take over.”

  Cayson simply nods, he doesn’t want to argue, and even though he’s in charge he’s glad Gwenael is here to remind him how badly this could end.

  He lies back on the sofa, legs hanging off the end, and he falls asleep with images of Olivia in his mind that temp him to break the rules and run back to her. The week passes both him and Olivia by as they don’t see each other; Cayson trying to avoid even thinking about her while Olivia can’t seem to stop her mind from thinking about him. The week is long and painful. Every night Olivia considers going to those places to see Dan; to see if the images in her mind are real. She knows they are, though, she doesn’t need proof to know that they’re real and that there’s no way to save him or to get the real Dan back. He is gone. He killed someone; she knows that for a fact, she could tell from the images in her mind he was bad.

  She stands looking around her bland living room. It needs a change, she thinks. She’s bored of it; she’s bored of seeing the same beige walls Dan and her had chosen when they moved in for their neutrality. Maybe changing it and removing Dan’s input from the house will help her move on? Grabbing her coat, she heads to the nearest DIY store and immediately goes to the paint. She knows what she wants.

  “Ma’am, you may want to hurry,” says a voice from behind her, “I’m about to close up for the night.”

  Olivia turns to the guy.

  “It isn’t even late.” Why is he shutting so early?

  “It’s nearly eight.”

  Olivia nods, she hadn't realised. Having taken the week off of work it had seemed to last both forever and just a minute at the same time. It definitely wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had: all it had done was make her watch the time disappear before her. She realises now, looking at a paint sample labelled ‘cinnamon spice’, that she hasn’t even eaten today, and it’s already late.

  “Five minutes, I promise, please?” She looks at him sweetly, knowing the painting will occupy her through the sleepless night that awaits her back home.

  “Fine, I’ll make myself another coffee.”

  Olivia nods and thanks the employee, browsing through the samples until she decides. She realises she has nothing at home to actually paint with, so she picks up a paintbrush, then a roller, then a bunch of other things she probably needs. It was always Dan who had done the DIY. Walking to the counter, she sees the guy sat back with his flat cap tilted to cover his face. Olivia clears her throat.

  “It’s about time,” he huffs, clearly not happy to have been kept late. He scans the items, a methodical beep as each one passes through the red light, and Olivia pays then walks out. Glancing at her watch she realises that, okay, he’d been right to be annoyed with her: her five minutes buying paint had turned into an hour, and she wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d just given up and thrown her out. Then again, she’d probably bought more than most of his other customers had today. Choosing a colour apparently wasn’t as easy as she had hoped. Had she really spent a whole hour there?

  Walking home she smiles, bags swinging from her hands. She will find a place she fits. She doesn’t fit in with her mum and sister, or her friends, but maybe this is the turning point she needs. She was comfortable with Dan, but that’s now ended with no chance of giving things another go. Walking across the field her eyes scan around, seeing the trees sway gently in the breeze.

  “You seem to be lost.”

  Olivia jumps, turning to face the man. It is
the same one from before, from when she had started going to the graveyard. She steps back, her knuckles turning white as she grips the bags so hard the plastic cuts into her skin.

  “Not lost, thank you.” She starts to turn but is stopped by his hand which grasps her threateningly, stopping her from walking away.

  “You’re going to run? Last time you were so defiant, ready for a conversation, but now you run?” He steps forward, Olivia frozen still while she tries to find something to say.

  “Not running,” she says, her voice quiet. She sounds petrified and she knows it.

  “Shame… I quite fancy a nice game of catch.”

  Her body trembles.

  “And Dan did agree you taste so nice.”

  She screams as he pulls her closer to him, his head lowering to her neck as she fights to get free. Suddenly her body is thrown across the field. She sits up quickly, not seeing anyone around her. Where did he go? Moving, she tries to stand up, a sharp pain stabbing through her ankle as she hobbles slowly in what she thinks is the vague direction of home. Her eyes are continually glancing back to check if he’s following or not. Getting to the door she goes to grab her keys and realises she not only dropped the bags of painting supplies but her own bag, too. A sickening feeling rises in her stomach as she rests her forehead against the door. There’s an icy feeling spreading through her as she sways on her feet.

  “You forgot these,” says a voice, and Olivia screams slightly, feeling a hand grasp her as everything goes black. Someone’s arms wrap around her body and carry her away; she doesn’t know who it is or where she’s going but it’s too late to fight back; she’s already passed out. Olivia sleeps, a feeling causing chills down her spine. Something is wrong, but she can’t work out what it is. Her body hurts yet her mind seems to be blocking out the pain, but the shaking still hasn’t stopped.

  For hours or days – she doesn’t know – she feels like all she does is sleep, silently drifting in a dark and vast universe, unable to wake up. Her mind is craving a way out. There’s a voice, a noise, a small ray of light which seems too far away as her soul considers leaving her in the death she feels she is suffering alone.

  Her eyes open gradually. Her hand tries to shield her eyes to protect her from the bright light that greets her in the real world. It hurts, how long has she been asleep for the light to hurt this much? Her mind goes back to that night. She was caught. There had been someone there, it was the vampire from before- her body tries to jump up but she’s paralysed, unable to move. The smell of paint surrounds her and as she manages to move her head slightly to the side she realises she is in her own home.

  “You’re awake, finally.”

  Olivia turns and looks at Cayson confused. Why is he here? How did he get here? How did she get here?

  “What did you do?” All she remembers is feeling fine, albeit panicked from losing her bag, but she was okay. And then she had just passed out. Something had to have happened.

  “Nothing. I was on the field, Olivia, we didn’t realise the guy was with someone else. His friend jumped out, it caught us off guard. The guy clearly wanted you; I chased after him and got here just as he grabbed you again. You lost a lot of blood, before we caught up with him he wanted you dead so much that he was ripping your skin open with his nails as he fed.”

  Olivia sits up her body trembling. How can she not remember that? It explains why her whole-body hurts.

  “You will hurt for a bit, Olivia. I healed you but you were so badly hurt that there will still be effects. Unfortunately, he got away; it was either chase him down and leave you to die or save you and let him go.” Cayson tries a half-hearted smile. He didn’t want to leave her alone after he’d learned they knew where she lived.

  “How long have I been asleep?” She asks, looking around her room confused. It’s painted.

  “Did you paint?”

  Cayson nods and laughs. “I got bored; you were out of it for three days. You need to move houses. It isn’t safe for you to be here alone anymore. He could come back, and yeah, okay, he can’t get in without you letting him in, but that doesn’t mean he won’t wait on the street until you let your guard down.” Cayson shakes his head; why are they all changing now? “They never attack like this, on the street, outside other people’s homes. It makes no sense and has me wondering why you, Olivia? Something has them wanting you dead.” Maybe they can tell she’s a witch; his head shaking as he realizes now he has no choice but to tell her everything and hope that it somehow helps. If she knew, she could use her powers to get stronger, to protect herself from them all.

  “I can’t remember much. I remember the field; him talking to me. Running home, then realising I left the things, and everything going black as he grabbed me. I can’t remember anything other than darkness and pain, but it was like the pain was happening to someone else. It was all… muffled.” It was unusual and nothing like anything she had experienced before. She had truly thought she was dead.

  “Yeah, that was me. If you woke up too soon it could have made things worse, so while I healed you I made sure you wouldn’t wake for at least two days until your body had had a chance to heal and to restore some of the blood you lost. You’ll have some scars. I’m sorry; I couldn’t get rid of them.” Cayson’s head drops. He should have realised he wasn’t alone; he should have followed Olivia and left the others to deal with the vampire. Olivia simply nods. She won’t ask, she will see the scars for herself later and judge how bad they are, yet from what he’s said she’s expecting them to be awful.

  “I’ll be fine. Honestly, Cayson, you can go now, I’ll be fine.” Cayson nods, walking to the front door before pausing for a moment.

  “You need to know, Olivia, and I’m breaking the rules by telling you this, but I don’t care. Olivia, I know who your parents were. They didn’t leave you; they were murdered.”

  Olivia stares at him appalled, her body moving back slightly in disbelief. “Why the hell would you say that?”

  “Because it’s true. Your parents were Celestia and Elwin Depraysie. I am telling you this because they were powerful. There’s a reason you’re compelled to be close to this world; a reason that man wants you dead.”

  Olivia rolls her eyes. “What were they, then, Cayson? Come on, enlighten me. Let’s have a bit of fun, shall I try and guess?”

  Cayson gawks at her words.

  “You know what, Olivia? I don’t care. You have their names; do what you want with them. I don’t care. You want to laugh and mock me, then mock away. From where I am standing, you’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for me.” Cayson turns and walks out, the door smashing into the frame as he slams it behind him. The echo of the cracking sound resonates around Olivia as her eyes widen.

  With how forcefully he shut the door, she wonders how it’s still standing. Her head bows forward as she feels regret. She overreacted. It was a shock; she had only survived so long by thinking her parents had given her up. She hadn’t wanted to think of the alternative as an option. The idea that they wanted her is overwhelming. They could have been a family, but something had stopped them from keeping her.

  Cayson had just walked into her life, told her who her parents were and that they were murdered. She didn’t want to have to grieve for parents she never knew existed and yet here she was mourning their deaths.

  A light tapping on the door prompts her to walk over to it, her head staying down as she now realizes she can’t just pretend she doesn’t know about her parents, her hand opens the door. Slowly her eyes peer up and see Cayson.

  “Sorry, I just thought I should come back and apologise for been an idiot. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

  Olivia nods, fighting back the tears that threaten to escape her chest. She moves to the side, giving him space to enter.

  “I’m sorry for how I reacted. I shouldn’t have laughed or ridiculed you.” Olivia smiles slightly; if he knew her parents she shouldn’t be running from him or pushing him away. “Can I get you
a drink and we talk?” She needs to know the truth, and then she can move on.

  “Sure. I’ll just take a coffee.”

  Olivia walks to the kitchen while Cayson moves around the living room, finally deciding to sit on the chair he had found himself trying to sleep on over the last few days to avoid leaving her alone. His eyes flit up, seeing Olivia walk over, and he takes the mug from her gratefully.

  “So what can you tell me, Cayson? About my mum, dad and any family I have left?”

  “There is no-one left, Olivia. Look, the Depraysie bloodline is one of the strongest bloodlines within the witch world. They’re witches who have the power to control vampires in so many ways, and the vampires wanted them wiped out. Your mum and dad were turned not long after you were born. You weren’t with them when it happened; I have no idea how you survived or where you were or anything. After your parents were turned the vampires realised they could kill the whole bloodline. They drew in the powers of those they killed; killing all the witches made them deadly. They spared no mercy with your family, Olivia. Of course, they were greedy, as are any vampires in that kind of situation, so eventually they made enough mistakes for others to take them down and kill them. We all just assumed you were dead, Olivia, no one had heard anything from you. They just assumed the whole bloodline was wiped out, but it isn’t: you are alive, Olivia, and you alone can bring the Depraysies back.”

  Olivia feels like laughing again. A witch?!

  “How do you know? How long have you known?” Was this why he had protected her for so long?

  “Gwenael felt it when he tried clearing your mind. He felt your powers, but we didn’t know your true potential until I kissed you .I felt it, I felt the bloodline run through you and saw memories of your parents from when you were a baby.”

  The connection had been so strong, full of the strength and power she has. He clenches his jaw as he looks at her confused. How hasn’t she realised yet? The energy he felt should have shown itself to her years ago; it’s almost as if her mind is blocking it out.

  “So what you’re saying is I could be a witch?” She looks at him with an amused smile, there’s no way she’s a witch. She would have known by now, right?