‘I need to switch it up,’ I said, and cleared my throat. It was best to stick to the subject at hand, because after all, I couldn’t say I was happy to see her alive.
I was glad she didn’t notice that I had chosen to wear combat boots. I couldn’t run or potentially tackle someone in four-inch heels.
‘Are we waiting for someone else?’ I asked, when the car didn’t move.
Just as I said it, Rhode stepped out of the darkened pathway. I immediately fumbled with my belt, careful not to expose the ruby-encrusted hilt of the knife I had hidden away. Rhode slid into the seat next to me, he smelled fresh like aftershave.
The modern-day ointment masked the woody, ancient scent I was used to.
‘I didn’t think you would come,’ I said quietly.
Rhode clicked his seatbelt shut.
‘Two hours, Tony. That’s it,’ he said.
‘Live a little, Lewin,’ Tony said turning from the front seat.
‘No debate team? No prep for assembly?’ Kate said. ‘No speech for student council?’ She added, ‘Oh, by the way, that was a good speech on pranks this morning. You scared everyone to death.’
‘The wrath of Rhode,’ Claudia added.
‘The movie!’ Tony added, and everyone erupted into laughter, even me.
‘Since Justin’s disappearance and now Jackie Simms’s, I think it’s rather stupid to go off campus,’ Rhode said. Jackie Simms – that was her name. Jackie had been abducted from school in March and Justin was most likely the person responsible. The coincidence was just too convenient.
We turned on to Main Street and I met Tracy’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.
‘Rhode likes to talk fancy,’ Claudia said with a giggle.
‘Do you now?’ I asked, finally finding the courage to look at him. I wondered how I was going to break through the wall of distrust. He had said it so plainly. I don’t trust you.
‘That gem,’ Rhode said. He gestured at the necklace Fire had given me. ‘I noticed it earlier, but I thought it was a reflection from the sun. It’s really unique. Is it changing colour?’
‘Just a cheap thing,’ I said, bringing my fingers to the stone. Interesting! Rhode could sense that my gem wasn’t natural. Perhaps this was a small clue that he might be able to recall something about our life together.
His eyes lingered on my fingers covering the pendant but quickly looked ahead, his jaw tight. Damn it. I didn’t know if he could tell I was lying.
I can’t figure you out. You show up here just when something isn’t quite right.
As Rhode’s words replayed in my head, my good mood dissipated.
I don’t trust you, he had said.
He clenched his jaw tight and I knew it was because of me.
Bolt Club was the biggest club on the Cape, with two floors. We found only one empty table near the ground-level dance floor. Rhode went to grab drinks and Tracy was in charge of ordering appetizers. Claudia and Kate joined her, which made it easier for Tony and me to be alone.
‘I think there might be a table upstairs . . .’ Tony said, making an excuse so we could scout out the club. The upstairs tables were favourable seating, so it made his lie believable.
Tony and I climbed to the first floor to look for the vampire, the one with the silver pendant and strange eyes. We stepped out and on to the deck. There was no bar but instead there were many tables filled with Wickham students. Some people tried to get Tony and me to come sit with them and chat, but I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted. If the vampire was watching us now he would have hundreds of faces to hide behind. There were plenty of people crowding Bolt.
Another stairway on the deck led down to the parking lot. A woman teetered down the stairs in five-inch platforms. A girl from my French class leaned in to kiss a boy I recognized.
‘Any sign of him?’ Tony asked.
‘Not yet. He’ll keep to the shadows,’ I said. After checking through the people on the deck, we walked inside.
Tony and I found a spot where we could lean against a wrap-around balcony. Black lacquer covered most of the surfaces, making them seem slick. Tony bopped his head to the music and observed the dance floor below. I inhaled foreign smells, still amazed how different the odours of the modern world could be. Sugary sweet drinks, and oil from bodies that were deodorized by powder and perfumes. As people passed, I couldn’t help but applaud Tracy’s choice of ensemble for me. Most girls wore form-fitting dresses and sky-high heels. Form-fitting was actually an understatement.
A girl walked past us. She wore a black dress with two thin straps and black heels that could have skewered a wild beast.
‘Hello . . .’ Tony said. He turned his body to follow the girl as she joined a table of people.
I hit him playfully. ‘You have a girlfriend.’
‘Who is sexier than that girl!’ Tony smiled brightly.
Under the dance of lights, we headed towards the stairs to the main floor.
I imagined for a brief moment my mother and father at a table here in their simple shifts. Would anything in this club remind them of the world in which they lived and breathed? The only thing that was the same? People. They talked and laughed together; that was the same. I supposed humans would always love to converse with one another, no matter the age. But so much about this world was different from my world in England. Not just the clothes but also the casual way people went about their lives. They simply had more time than I did in the fifteenth century. In the medieval world, if you reached thirty you were positively ancient.
At the top of the stairs, a man with light skin swirled ice in his drink. Whiskey sloshed over the rim and dripped down the sides of the glass, like the blood I once carried in brimming goblets. The man motioned to me as if he wanted to dance, but I panicked and gripped on to Tony.
‘That man would have been a tasty aperitif in my former life,’ I muttered in Tony’s ear.
Tony pulled me down the stairs. I stopped to pretend to fix something on my shoe as I moved the dagger from my waist to my boot. I could grab it just as easily, but it wouldn’t be so obvious to someone standing close to me on a dance floor.
‘When you’re done adjusting your accessories, can we dance?’ Tony asked with a small tilt of his head.
He pulled me along and we made it to the dance floor. When I had first come to this club, Tony hadn’t been here. He hadn’t understood my friendship with Justin. As I followed Tony now, he wiggled his behind to make me laugh. He should have been here back then. I shouldn’t have shut him out. At the time, I thought it was the best thing to do. He had feelings for me and I couldn’t return them. It had been selfish not to have been more open with him from the start.
‘So, Vampire Queen,’ Tony said, ‘did you ever see anyone dance like this?’
He waved his hand up and down, accidentally smacking some girl in the behind.
She spun around.
‘Oh my . . .’ Tony said, freezing.
‘What are you doing?’ she barked.
‘Accident. Complete accident.’
I laughed and let Tony fend for himself, which he did by running off the dance floor. He passed Rhode, who was standing at the top of the dance floor stairs. On cue, the song changed to a slow ballad. The lights high above flickered red, then blue over the dance floor as Rhode made his way to me. I couldn’t help but take him in; I wanted to run my fingers over his broad and muscular chest. The steel grey of his button-down shirt made the blue of his eyes absolutely radiate.
So this was Rhode and me as humans. Itrembled from the anticipation of his closeness to me.
‘Shall we dance?’ he asked in a low voice, close to my ear.
‘You sure you want to?’ I asked, given how we parted at the archery hill. He wasn’t exactly friendly during the car ride over here either.
‘Have you ever danced before?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I replied, thinking it was a strange question.
‘Good. See? The truth. It’s working f
or us already.’
I had to look away; my cheeks warmed.
Rhode laced his hands with mine . . .
Rhode takes my hand. This is the 1700s and we are in a giant ballroom. Palm to palm, we move in calculated steps, creating heat every time we touch. We love so deeply that when our skin meets, a thrill of heat shoots through my cold, dead vampire body.
In that memory we turned to the right, to the left and touched palms on each side. We danced with our hands pressed together in front of a room of humans who had no idea how important it was for us to love. To love so deeply that when your dead heart could no longer beat, your true love’s warmth could light you up from the inside.
The pulse from the electronic speakers returned me to the dance floor at Bolt. I blinked away the ballroom of my memory, but the young man across from me was the same.
Rhode slipped a hand around my waist. I was grateful I had dropped my dagger in my boot.
‘Closer,’ he whispered. ‘Like this.’ There was no space between us, our bodies completely touching. I inhaled his very distinct human smell: aftershave and something sweet I couldn’t quite identify. It was the same comforting smell from the archery field.
‘Rhode,’ I whispered, ‘I’m sorry about today.’
‘Why do you do this to me?’ he asked. The music swelled around us. ‘You confuse me. Completely. I can’t understand you. Your behaviour, how you look at me. How I feel about you.’ His eyes danced over my face as if he was understanding something about me for the first time. ‘Fascinating,’ he said. ‘And beautiful.’
He was so ferocious in his passion. His intensity made my words stick in my throat.
‘Why me?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ I stuttered, because I didn’t want to lie. ‘Why must there be an answer?’
‘Evil be he who thinketh evil,’ he continued gently. ‘Do you believe that?’
Rhode moved his palm to the back of my head. He was going to kiss me.
‘I believe in the intent,’ I said. ‘I believe that if you wish harm on others you’ll bring ruin upon yourself.’
‘What if you want to love someone so badly that you conjure them out of nothing?’ Rhode asked.
His mouth was nearly on mine. I could almost taste him. I inched my mouth closer towards his face.
He whispered softly and his breath touched my lips. ‘Maybe I just wanted so badly to love you that I made you up. And now you’re here. Dancing with me.’
We could have been alone in that room; we should have been alone. I was going to kiss Rhode. Here. Now.
‘You . . . love me?’ I whispered.
His lips parted to reply. He was just about to say something when a shadow above him stepped into the light. On the balcony, just behind Rhode’s head, was the vampire.
He would not get away this time. Rhode followed my eyes.
‘I’ll be right back. Damn it. I’m sorry,’ I said.
Once he spotted me, the vampire ran. Dodging as many people as I could, I pushed dancers out of the way just as the slow song transitioned back to dance music.
I ran past Tony and Tracy. ‘Lenah, wait up!’ Tony called.
‘Don’t wait for me! Go!’ Tracy cried from behind us. I assumed she was talking to Tony, but I couldn’t wait up – I had to keep pace.
On the balcony, the vampire tried to sidestep all the people, to get outside, but he couldn’t. He had to stop and edge through a crowd.
My feet pounded across the sticky tiles. I was almost at the end of the dance floor, where I could run up the stairs and try to cut him off.
‘Where is he?!’ Tony yelled. He was next to me, trying to keep pace. ‘Excuse me, excuse me,’ he said as we pushed our way through the dancing crowd. I ran up the stairs two at a time and stopped at the top. The vampire and I were both the same distance from the door. If he was faster than me then he would escape and I would lose my chance to get him alone.
He stood below a black light, the kind that made everything purple. Vampire eyes usually remained the same colour as when one was alive. His were definitely silver.
‘Where the hell . . .’ Tony panted.
The vampire and I both waited for someone to make the first move.
‘. . . is this guy?’ Tony finished.
He continued to catch his breath next to me. ‘Do – you see – him?’ he stuttered.
Just wait for it. For the propelling forward. One movement of the body forward. You know when to run.
‘Now!’ I cried.
‘I’m right behind you!’ Tony called.
I ran the width of the balcony while Tony yelled behind me. I had never asked this human body to run so hard and fast.
I was going to beat him!
I pumped my arms. My legs burned from the strain. I would make it to him first. I would.
Hand outstretched, I threw myself at the vampire.
I slammed on to his back and he fell forward on to the wall.
He flipped over to me at the last second. I threw all my body weight against him and pinned him under the throat. He needed no breath, but I hoped my force would stop him anyway. His silver eyes moved like little pools of mercury. I flinched even though I was trying to stay formidable. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the shifting colour within his pupils.
‘Renoiera,’ he said in an accent that sounded Italian. What? This was not a word I understood.
‘What do you want from me?’ I demanded. ‘No more mystery.’ I pressed my elbow into his neck even harder. Great, my dagger is in my boot just when I need it.
Tony pointed at the vampire and said, ‘Yea! You’d better tell her everything you know, punk.’
‘You’re not helping, Tony,’ I said out of the corner of my mouth. The vampire wasn’t fighting me. ‘Tell me, why are you following me?’ I repeated.
Silence.
I removed my elbow from his throat and held the pendant he wore around his neck between my thumb and index finger. It was the same necklace I had noticed at the farm the other day. A small circle with an R in the middle. It was made of weathered silver and no larger than a dime. I dropped it so it lay flat against his skin.
‘It turns out you need more help than I thought,’ he said, and I noticed his Italian accent again. ‘You come to see me at the Wickham chapel tomorrow night. At midnight.’
‘The chapel?’ I asked. ‘I’m not putting those students at risk.’
‘They were at risk the moment you returned to Lovers Bay.’
That truth stung and immediately silenced me.
‘I have wanted to orchestrate our meeting another way but it seems it’s no longer possible. As you have so gracefully made your concerns about me known to the public, it’s safer for them and for you if we speak at length,’ he said. He seemed genuine, though there was no way to tell for sure. He could have been working for Justin. I had been fooled many times by the most beautiful and innocent of faces.
‘I promise I will tell you what you need to know,’ he said, standing up straight.
‘What do you mean, need to know?’ I asked, though this time my tone was much more gentle.
He bowed his head goodbye and made his way to the door.
I decided to try a different tactic.
‘Perche non si fida di me?’ Why should I trust you? I asked in Italian. He turned with his fingertips on the door. The hint of a smile played at the corner of his mouth.
‘You have no choice left but to trust me, Renoiera,’ he said. There was that word again.
It was strange, but I didn’t sense animosity from him.
He had that waxy appearance of all vampires, but something about him was different. Besides the eyes, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
The light touch of someone’s hand grabbed on to mine. I glanced back at Tracy, who had joined the group of onlookers. I expected to find Rhode among the faces, but he wasn’t there.
The vampire straightened his shirt, and just as he reached the exit at the
end of the hall he looked back.
‘You be careful tonight. Others are watching,’ he said, and pushed the door open. This time his strange gaze landed on Tony and Tracy. ‘And, tomorrow, come alone.’
With that, he disappeared into the night.
CHAPTER 9
‘Why do you have to go alone?’ Tony muttered to me, but loud enough so that Tracy could hear. ‘Because it’s easier to kill you if you’re all by yourself,’ he concluded. Tony and Tracy followed me to the railing overlooking the main dance floor.
I didn’t care any more what Fire thought. I was telling Rhode what was going on, and I was telling him tonight. He needed to protect himself.
‘And his eyes,’ Tony said.
‘Yeah, what was up with them?’ Tracy asked.
‘And what did he mean that “others are watching” – way to be cryptic,’ Tony said.
The music boomed around us, and as we stood on the balcony I wanted nothing more than to leave. In my six hundred years I had never seen a vampire with eyes like that. His demeanour was strange as well. He had followed me and watched from afar, yet he wasn’t attacking.
Tony tugged gently on my arm. I looped it through his and Tracy took her position on his other side. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said, leading us down to the ground floor. ‘Others are watching.’
Back in the car, Kate sat between Rhode and me. Rhode had waited till last to get in so he wouldn’t have to sit next to me for the ride home. I couldn’t blame him, after I had run off the dance floor. I let everyone else chat around me on the way home. I kept my focus out the window and on what lay outside. I avoided it for so long but I knew what I needed to do.
I would tell Rhode the truth. Tonight.
We made it back to campus with only fifteen minutes until curfew. ‘I’ll catch up with you later,’ I said to Tracy as we got out of the car and she and Tony walked from the parking lot to the pathway. He threw an arm over her shoulder, and I hoped that now that they were alone, he was filling her in on everything that happened tonight.
Rhode was already halfway up the path to the library. I was doing him no favours by putting him in harm’s way. There were too many scenarios in which he would be attacked.
Eternal Dawn Page 9
