by Harold Wall
hadn't woken. The last thing I wanted was to wake her up yet again. She deserved a good nights sleep.
As the night slipped on, seemingly lasting forever, it became harder and harder to keep my eyes open. It felt as if heavy weights had replaced my eyelashes, dragging my eyelids
down. I rubbed my eyes, determined to keep them open. I can't go to sleep, I can't go to sleep, I chanted, but even as I did so I began to nod off.
I needed to get out of this bed. Being in such a comfortable setting was making this task impossible. I needed to get up, have a wander. Maybe grab a glass of water. Caffeine!
Caffeine is what I needed!
Carefully, I eased myself up from the pillow, removing the duvet as smoothly as I could. My eyes remained fixed on Rowan as my feet landed firmly on the cool wooden floors. Wincing, I pushed myself up, the mattress rocking slightly at the shift of weight. Rowan didn't stir though.
Quickly, I shuffled across the floor, attempting to make my footsteps soundless. It was no easy feat, especially when you were trying to not wake a sleeping vampire. The walk to
the door from the bed felt like a marathon, every second hyperextending to a lifetime.
Perhaps Rowan was more tired than I thought she was, as she did not move a muscle nor flicker an eyelid, even when the door opened with a quiet whoosh. Slipping out into the
corridor I let out a sigh of relief, feeling oddly triumphant at being able to escape the room without waking my friend up. Now I just had to hope she remained in slumber whilst I
was out on my excursion so that my efforts at letting her sleep did not go wasted. She'd be worried sick if she woke up to find my spot empty.
I quickly pattered down the grand staircase and into the kitchen. The mansion was eerie without the usual hustle and bustle brought on by its inhabitants. The empty halls amplified
every sound, causing me to cringe with each footstep.
I daren't turn the kitchen light on for fear that somehow it would wake someone within the mansion. Instead, I relied solely on the dim moonlight that filtered in through the
window. Its silvery glow only adding to the haunting atmosphere.
As if on autopilot, my hands fiddled around with the buttons on the coffee machine. The steady chugging of the machine shattered the peaceful silence that encompassed the
sleeping household. I held my breath, listening intently to see if I could hear any rustlings from the floors above. I heard nothing, but even if somebody had been disturbed by the
noise, my human ears probably wouldn't have had the capacity to pick it up anyway.
Opening the fridge, my hand hovered over the milk, unsure of whether to proceed with the ingredient. I usually drank my coffee white, disliking the overly bitter taste of the drink
without it. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. I closed the fridge, returning to my piping hot mug of black coffee. For tonight, the stronger the better.
Taking a sip my face screwed up at the overpowering taste, still I powered on, taking another tortured sip.
"Not a fan?" A voice spoke from behind me, making me leap out of my skin. Coffee splashed onto the workbench as a tiny yelp escape from my mouth. Turning, I saw that in the
doorway lounged a highly gorgeous and highly amused vampire.
"Ash!" I whisper shouted. "You scared the life out of me!" In demonstration of my point, I lifted my hand to my chest, letting it rest there until my thundering heart returned to
normal.
"Sorry," Ash replied, and through his amusement I thought I heard a small trace of guilt. A very small trace.
I grabbed a tea towel from nearby using it to mop up the spilt coffee. I sensed more than heard Ash moving across the kitchen towards me. My breath caught in my throat until I
realised he wasn't actually moving towards me as much as he was moving towards the fridge. I shifted out of his way, taking my coffee and taking a seat at the small dining table.
"What are you doing up?" I asked, curious at his sudden appearance. Had he known I was down here? Had he purposefully tried to ambush me?
By way of answer, he pulled out a bottle of red liquid, holding it up so that I could see. "Ah, I see," I said, slowly nodding my head. "Midnight snack."
"Exactly," he agreed with a sarcastic smile. He proceeded to poor the liquid into a mug before placing it into a microwave, setting the timer for thirty seconds.
"Mmm, nothing like a cup of warm blood," I said, pulling a mildly disgusted face.
"Don't judge it till you try it," he replied with a shrug.
"Somehow I don't think that that will be happening anytime soon."
"Your loss."
There was a moment of silence, only broken with the ding of the microwave. He took out the mug, taking a long sip. For a second I thought he might chug the whole lot. "Ah,
delicious!" He stated, lounging back against the countertop.
My heart jumped a beat. He was staying? He wasn't going to leave now that he had what he came for?
"So," he began. "What are you doing up at this fine hour?" It took me a second to register that he'd spoken, my thoughts tangled up in my own panic.
"Uhum, what?" I fumbled, my face undoubtedly flushing a bright red at my lack of ability to string together a sentence. Ash chuckled, the sound coming from low in his throat. The
sound only made my face warmer, so I looked down hoping that my hair would cover my embarrassment.
"I asked why you're up. Can't sleep?" He suggested, nodding his head to indicate the mug of coffee in front of me.
"Something like that," I murmured, taking another sip to hide my lack of a decent answer. I consciously didn't mention that I was actively trying not to go to sleep, though the fact
was obvious by the dose of caffeine I was currently sipping at.
My soulmate only nodded, asking no further questions for which I was grateful. I didn't think I could go over my nightmares again. It seemed to be the only thing people wanted to
talk to me about. I mean it was understandable considering that my screaming woke them up most nights, but it was nice to have a break.
"How's training going?" He asked, a look of genuine interest crossing his features. Now this was a topic that was safe to talk about, a subject that I was comfortable and even happy
to discuss. With everything that was happening no one seemed interested in my daily training sessions with Rashel.
"Good!" I said, nodding enthusiastically. "Really good. I'm learning so much, and Rashel is a really great teacher. I didn't realise how crappy I was at fighting until I started these
sessions," I laughed.
Ash frowned, shaking his head, clearly disagreeing with my statement. "You weren't crappy, you'd just never had any reason to fight before."
"True," I conceded. "I wish that gym class had taught me something more useful than how to play dodge ball. Self defence classes would have come in handy right about now."
"Rashel told me you're improving quickly. She said that you should be able to take me on within a couple of weeks at the rate you're going," Ash said, an emotion that I could only
describe as pride filling his voice. My nerve endings ignited at the thought. You shouldn't care what he thinks, I chastised myself. But I did care. I wanted him to acknowledge that I
was doing well, that I was trying to fit in to this crazy world.
Maybe this was how he felt when he left me in Briar Creek. Needing my approval that he was doing well, that he was a better person.
"She's right," I stated, smiling mischievously. "It'll only be a matter of weeks before I can kick your ass, Redfern."
He raised a single eyebrow into a perfect arch. "That sounds like a challenge, Carter."
"You bet."
"You're on," he stated, raising his glass in cheers. I did the same, and we did an imaginary chink before gulping our respective beverages.
I once again cringed at the too bitter taste of the coffee. Ma
ybe I should just face it and get the milk. I felt awake enough. I should be fine.
I looked up from my mug, opening my mouth to speak, only to freeze midword. Out of their own accord, my lips twisted into the biggest grin I'd had in a while. I tried to contain it,
but it was useless. I covered my mouth with my hand and bit my lip, doing all I could to stop the giggles that were brewing inside me. I could feel them ready to erupt in a volcano
worthy explosion.
"What?" Ash asked, a stricken look crossing his face at my reaction. A large red line had settled above his top lip creating a frothy moustache.
An unattractive snort escaped my mouth, a sound I would have been embarrassed with if it hadn't been for my current concentration on trying not to laugh. But as soon as that one
snort was released, I erupted into a fit of giggles.
The look of childlike panic on Ash's face only made it worse, his innocence both endearing and hilarious. Soon I was clutching my belly, my sides aching. I couldn't remember the
last time I'd laughed like this, which made me all the more delirious. On a normal occasion I probably wouldn't have found the situation that funny, but I was both sleep deprived
and laughter deprived; a deadly mix.
"Seriously, Mare, what is it?" Ash asked, his words interrupted by his own small laughs. His amusement brought on by my manic fit of giggles.
My hand rose pointing towards his upper lip, but my finger was quivering so much as a result of my laughter that it was impossible to see what exactly I was pointing at.
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself, I indicated my own lip. "You have a little something," I started but was soon cut off once more by the last few remaining urges
to laugh.
"Oh," Ash said, his eyes lighting up in realisation. With the back of his hand, he wiped his mouth, getting rid of the bloody moustache. "Gone?" He asked, turning his head from side
to side so that I could get a good view.
"Yeah, all gone. It's a shame, you looked cute with a moustache." Instantly I felt my face flame. Had I really just said that? Oh, god.
"Really?" Ash said, his voice turning dramatic and raising in volume. I had a feeling that I was about to seriously regret my last words. "I never took you for a girl who was into
facial hair," he said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Yeah, well," I said with a shrug. "The heart wants what the heart wants."
"I can't argue with that."
Silence seemed to take over, floating like an invisible mist between us. Though it wasn't that suffocating kind of silence where you feel as if, if it's not broken soon it will surely kill
you. No, this was the kind of quiet that felt like a continuation of the conversation, natural. We were both just comfortable to be in each other's presence. We didn't need nonsense
ramblings, or awkward small talk or pointless white noise. It was enough to just hear the sound of each other's breath and the faint rustle of fabric whenever we moved slightly. It
was enough to just know that in that second we were not alone.
Perhaps it was this silence that lulled me into a sense of security, prompting me to reveal what I did next. Or perhaps it was just the knowledge that if I did not let it off my chest
soon, I would surely burst.
"I remember," the words rung out through the air, bouncing off every surface. It was too late to real them back in, they'd already touched everything, scattered into the night.
"Hmmm?" Ash said, the question shining through in his molten eyes. A strand of hair had escaped the masses, hanging across his forehead. I focused on that strand as I spoke.
"That night at the club. The night you found me round the back, I remember it, all of it."
"Since when?"
"Since the night I left, with Jez and Illiana and Delos." I chose my words carefully, unwilling to break the mutual understanding that we had found tonight. I wasn't looking for
another argument or to make him feel bad.
I refused to look at anything other than the strand of golden hair, afraid of seeing the guilt that would undoubtedly be evident in his gaze. I knew that if I saw it, I would want to
comfort him, to tell him that everything would be okay. It would only lead to one of our hearts getting broken, because the only words of comfort I could offer him were lies.
"There was a girl," I continued, moving swiftly on. "A witch I think. She was sitting next to me at the bar, and I think she must have put something in my drink. Maybe that's why I
couldn't remember anything straight away."
I could sense the atmosphere in the room changing, morphing into something much darker. Though I wasn't looking directly at him, I could feel the tension rolling off of Ash in
waves.
"Everything after that becomes kind of fuzzy, like looking through a layer of fog. But I remember giving her my arm, except it wasn't me. I didn't have any control over my limbs; it
was like I was a puppet and she the puppeteer. Anyway, she pulled a load of stuff out of her bag, I can't remember exactly what, but there was definitely some sort of dagger. She
carved something into my wrist, I don't know what, and then it began to burn."
I flinched at the memory, squeezing my eyes tightly closed. The smell of burning flesh filled by nostrils, the thickness of the smoke making me want to gag.
"Hey, hey, Mare you're not there anymore. There's nothing to worry about," Ash said, and his voice was suddenly right beside me. I peeped an eye open, seeing that he'd dragged
over another chair so that was sitting beside me.
I offered him a weak smile. "I know." Except I was there, I hadn't escaped, not really. Not when I saw that witch every day, not when she followed me everywhere I went, playing
on the back of my mind. But I couldn't say that. Not without seeming crazy. It was just one more thing that I had to keep to myself.
"When she stopped, doing whatever to me," I went on, taking a steadying breath before continuing. "That was when I decided to go outside, you know to get some fresh air. But my
head was like a kaleidoscope, and it felt as if I had to wade through thick mud to even reach the door. I didn't really stand a chance, did I?" I said with a dark chuckle, not really
looking for an answer. It was just as well, as the only one I received was a sorrowful frown from Ash.
"I didn't even see that vampire coming. He just appeared, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground with my life being sucked out of me."
"But it wasn't sucked out of you," Ash said, his hands encompassing mine. They were warm and felt like home. "You're here, you're alive. You got through it."
"Thanks to you," I whispered, finally meeting his eyes fully. Something I couldn't quite place lingered there, making my heart clench beneath my ribcage. "Ash, no matter what has
happened since that night, you were still there when I needed you. You are still the boy who saved my life. And for that, I will always be grateful."
He chuckled darkly, tilting his head down so that his face was partially hidden. "It's just a shame I've been a dick every day since," he said looking up through his lashes.
I laughed quietly, though there was little humour in it. "Why do you have to go and ruin the moment?" I asked, shaking my head in exasperation. He leaned back in his seat,
flashing me his most charming smile.
"It's just what I do."
I just rolled my eyes at that, knowing full well how true it was. From the moment I'd met him, Ash had wreaked havoc, ruining everything in his path. He'd ruined my ordinary little
life in Briar Creek, ruined any possibility of a normal life. Ruined every piece of knowledge I'd thought I'd known about love. And I couldn't be happier that he had done so. My life
was better for him having entered it. But then he'd also ruined our chance at having any sort of relationship; he'd ruined the trust between us. He was a doubleedged sw
ord.
"Is there anything else you remember?" He asked, his perfectly framed features lit up in the silvery glow of the moon.
"Uh, no. I don't think so. Like I said everything's a bit blurry."
"The witch didn't say anything to you? Nothing we could maybe use to find her, or figure out what she did?"
I screwed up my features in thought, trying my hardest to place myself back at the club.
I could hear the pounding of the music, felt how it made my bones rattle. I could see the dazzling coloured lights as they strobed, giving everything a slightly dangerous edge. I
could sense the predators lurking around the outskirts of the room, fixing their eyes on their prey. And then I could see her.
Her thick curls toppling down to her ribcage. Her violet eyes dug into me with little hooks, keeping me under her control. Her painted red nails matched her ruby red lips. Lips that
were moving, forming sounds, words, sentences. But it was all a blur, all muffled as if I was hearing it from under water.
"No, she she's saying something," I said, my eyes still tightly closed, I was afraid that if I opened them, I would lose the image.
"What is she saying?" Ash asked, his honey filled voice ringing out through the noise of the club.
I was captivated by the girl in front of me, just as I had been that night. She really was beautiful. But what was she saying?
I concentrated hard, harder than I'd ever done before, blocking out the music, the lights, the people. Through the slurred words spilling from her glossy lips, I managed to catch a
single word.
"Redfern," I whispered, even as I heard her say it. "She knew who you guys were, she saw us come in." If Ash replied with anything, I didn't hear it, too focused on the scene in my
head.
The name seemed to spark something in my head, the shield of water dissipating slightly, allowing me to hear with more clarity. "Lets just cut the crap, MaryLynette,"
"She knew my name," I said out loud. "She knew exactly who I was." Even as I said it, more of the conversation came flooding back to me. Even as the witch in my head continued
to speak, I recited information to Ash.
"She knew I was human. Oh, god, she knew that I lived in Briar Creek, and that you came to take your sisters back to the island, but that you returned empty handed. She was
