Magic, Mystery & Zombies: YA starter set

by Elle Klass

  Rodham stood in the front of the office. His brown eyes flashed at Alison, then he walked with the leasing lady towards the open lounge area filled with floral wicker couches and glass tables. Alison’s heartbeat returned to normal as she scurried down the hall and out the large double doors. Before she let go of the door she glanced towards Rodham - he winked. Without further hesitation, she ran-walked through the lot and hopped into his car, sinking into the black passenger seat.

  A few minutes later, Rodham strolled out of the office with a huge smile on his face and his dimple teasing his cheek. “I got your back. Did you get it?” His eyes flashed with intrigue as he slid into the driver’s seat.

  “Yup.” She dangled the key in front of him.

  “The vampires aren’t home. I watched them leave. What do you say we go there now?”

  “In broad daylight!” Her eyes grew huge with fear.

  “They’re vampires. When else do we go?” he asked, snickering.

  “But my mom is home. I live next door! OMG, I’m so gonna get caught.”

  “No you won’t. I’ll go in, you keep watch in the breezeway. Text me if you see anyone walking towards the apartment.”

  Alison moaned with anxiety, but resigned herself to assisting him with the escapade. The dimple nipping at his cheek, and his silky chocolate eyes melted her strength to resist. The most she could do was warn him what to look for. She’d read enough books to have all the vampire folklore memorized. She blinked a couple times then started her spiel. “Vampires don’t like mirrors and their reflections don’t show. They also don’t like garlic. Silver and crosses can be used to ward them off. Oh, and holy water burns them, along with sunlight.”

  She touched his arm as he entered the apartment, her eyes shifted to meet his, and whispered, “Please be careful.” Alison finally had a friend, a hot friend, he had to be safe. She planted her butt on the steps outside their door and leaned back. The concrete wall offered little comfort for her back as she stared through the gaps between the steps, noticing the bottles, caps, and butts outside the apartment were gone.

  A short time later, a young man dressed in flip-flops and knee-length nylon shorts walked past her up the steps. She shifted her body as close to the wall as she could and pretended to text. He continued up the steps and disappeared into an apartment.

  Five minutes passed; ten minutes passed; anxiety manifested in her gut as she waited. Tempted to call him, she stared at her phone, her foot nervously tapping the cement stair. Sweat from the high humidity and extreme summer heat dribbled down her face. Visualizations of sharp movie vampire fangs digging into Rodham’s soft, ebony complexion, draining him of the very blood that kept him alive coasted through her head. She shook her head to rid them but the thoughts clung to the back of her mind like superglue.

  Fifteen minutes passed, and the suspense killed her inside. He’d come to her rescue, maybe now she needed to come to his. Lifting herself off the concrete step, peeling her back off the stiff wall, she scrambled down the stairs. When she reached the bottom step, the door opened and Rodham appeared.

  Rodham

  Rodham entered the vampires’ apartment with caution. The inside was mostly dark, except the thin light slivers through the slight part in the heavy window coverings. The rows of light stretched across the carpet as bars. The layout of the apartment being identical to his, he knew exactly where the light switches were and which one turned on what lights. He flipped the dining room switch and the gentle glow of the recessed lights bathed the room.

  To his immediate left was the laundry room and directly in front of him was a coat closet. He contemplated which to open first. Even with the vampires gone, he wasn’t entirely sure the apartment was empty. Each closet had to be checked to avoid surprises before he moved further into the apartment. Since the door to the coat closet opened towards the laundry room he could use his strength to hold the coat closet door against the laundry door in case his presence awakened anything.

  He took a deep gulp, clutched the door knob and twisted. Poising his legs in a fighting stance, he threw the door open, lodging it against the other door and hoisted his weight against it. He took in every inch with his eyes. It was bare, no dead bodies, not even a coat or umbrella. He closed the door and opened the laundry room with less trepidation.

  Several bags filled with empty beer cans and alcohol bottles filled the space, instead of exsanguinated bodies or a washer and dryer. Relieved, he moved through the dining room and into the kitchen. Fear resurfacing as he opened the refrigerator, expecting to see pitchers of blood or fresh human hearts, but it was empty. He rummaged through every cabinet and drawer, every one of them empty, encouraging his belief that they were vampires.

  The dread he’d felt exited his body and he relaxed, that’s when he noticed a steady emerald light shining from the master bedroom. Trancelike he proceeded, drawn to it. The steady glow beckoned him, words forming in his mind: Rodham, find me, untrap me from the beasts of night, the immortal creatures of the dark.

  He continued through the living room, paying no attention to the single fuchsia couch and rattan chair with matching fuchsia cushion. As his hand brushed against it, a single drop of red stained the cushion beneath his fingertips.

  Inside the master bedroom, glowing beneath the closet door, the light continued to call for him by name.

  Rodham.

  With each step he grew closer, until he slowly opened the closet door. A simple wooden box with gold clasps loomed from the top shelf, emerald light spilling through the cracks which began to pulsate. He reached towards it and pulled it down.

  Open the box, the emerald light commanded. He lifted the lid. Inside was a timeworn leather book laying flush against the bottom of the box, the light beaming from inside it.

  Take the journal, it’s yours.

  Rodham lifted it from the box. Warmth emanated from it and a tingling sensation passed through his body as he opened the book and stared at the object from which the light originated - an emerald amulet on a silver chain. He reached inside.

  Not yet!

  He paused, knowing intuitively he had to take it with him. Having no pockets, he stuffed the journal and amulet into the waistband of his shorts. Suddenly he remembered he was in the vampires’ apartment and caught his first glimpse of the closet’s contents. Clothes, dresses, blouses, skirts and racks of shoes.

  An unmade king-sized four poster bed sat in the middle of the master bedroom, not against any wall but in the middle of the floor. He walked around it, gawking at the thick drapes surrounding it, covering the top like a canopy. The frame solid, dark wood. The room lacked any other furniture.

  Get out! The light demanded from his waistband.

  Why? What will I find? He knew it was crazy, but if the light talked to him maybe it had some type of intelligence and could carry on a conversation.

  He waited for a response, but got nothing. Pressing his hands against his forehead, he sighed and moved into the other bedroom. It spoke again: Nothing. You will find nothing. At this moment he realized the voice was inside his head. The light sent messages directly into his brain. With a renewed sense of urgency to show Alison what he’d found, he hurriedly left the room, returned to the living room and thrust the front door open.

  A couple steps from the door, she scampered to his side and wrapped her arms around him. Surprised, yet enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his, he hugged her back, then she jumped backwards as if bitten by a snake and dropped her eyes to the walkway. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He cupped her chin in his palm and lifted her head. “Were you worried?”

  Oh gosh. I‘m not answering that question. “What took so long?”

  “I’m curious.” He sauntered towards his apartment. “My parents are gone. Come inside - I’ll show you what I found.”

  Chapter 6

  Alison

  Come inside. Of course, Rodham, because I want nothing more than to be alone with you. Her
dream coming true - only it was about vampires not him professing his undying love for her.

  When he dipped his hand into his waistband, she noticed a green light shining from his shorts. Relieved he was OK, or more because she was off the hook, she hadn’t noticed the mysterious light. He pulled an old, worn leather book emanating an ethereal emerald beam and set it on the sleek granite kitchen counter. “The radiant light led me to this. It was in a closet, buried inside a wooden box.”

  Alison’s eyes shifted and fixed themselves on the glowing book. “You don’t think they’ll notice this missing? What does it mean to them?”

  “I left the box where I found it and I think they stole it, but the book isn’t as amazing as what’s inside.” He opened the book and an emerald amulet surrounded by and attached to a thick silver chain lay inside the book.

  “What is it?” Her question drifted to deaf ears as both their eyes were stationary on the glowing stone. As Alison’s eyes adjusted, she read the print beneath the amulet.

  If you can read this and have the glowing amulet than you are a Slayer. Put the amulet around your neck. Its power will bind with you.

  They gazed towards each other, eyes doubled in size, and said in unison, “We’re Slayers?”

  Almost too astounded to believe in vampires, and now Slayers, she asked, “What is a Slayer? It’s a glowing stone, probably battery operated.” She picked up the amulet and turned it around in her hands. There was no battery compartment or power button.

  “Umm… can you hear it?” Rodham asked, curious if it spoke to her as well.

  “Hear it? No, I see it.”

  Rodham stared at the book and turned to the next page. “It says here only Slayers can see the light, but not every amulet works for every Slayer.”

  “I think it’s a hoax and, furthermore, I don’t think our neighbors are vampires.” She proclaimed this not truly believing it, completely overwhelmed by what she was learning about the supernatural world she’d previously thought only existed in books and imaginations. And a Slayer of what? Or who?

  In four days she had gone from lonely bookworm, drooling over the hot boy across the hall to having vampires living next door, to say nothing of illegal activities with said boy across the hall. At the moment she desired nothing more than her toughest decision in life to be which book to read next. She knew which book she was reading next and it was leather, worn and not on her tablet.

  She placed the amulet on the counter and reached for the book. “I’m going to read this tonight, but you can keep the glowing amulet. My mother wouldn’t appreciate the bright light.”

  “Someone’s got a bossy side.” He tilted his head, placed his hands on his hips and chuckled. “Unless she’s a Slayer she’ll never see the light.”

  “Like I believe that. It’s probably a magical vampire amulet that gives them the ability to day-walk or something,” she jested.

  He decided against telling her how it spoke to him. If she couldn’t hear it then maybe the amulet was meant for him and he was the Slayer.

  She set the book on the counter and picked up the amulet up by its chain. It twisted and turned. “Instead of being a smart ass, we need to hide this thing so your parents don’t see it. Or worse, whatever is living beside me. I’m sure they won’t appreciate it being stolen from their home.”

  “If the warning in the book is correct they won’t see its light, but you’re right, we need to be cautious,” he said, leading her to his bedroom. If her mind wasn’t so preoccupied she’d be daydreaming of his touch and kiss. They chose the closet to hide it. She wrapped it inside a sweater and stuffed it into a shoebox. After that Rodham piled blankets on top and closed the door. The light still glowed but not as bright.

  He dropped onto a black leather computer chair and rolled towards her. “I don’t know why we’re doing all this. According to the book no one else can see the light. Remember the deafening scream the other night? I told you my parents never heard it. They heard the music but not the scream.”

  She planted herself onto the corner of his unmade bed, resting her hands on her lap. The plain baby blue comforter bumpy beneath her rear, and let out a deep breath. “You believe all this. I mean, I don’t know… it seems too fantastic. Like something I’d read in a book.”

  He scooted his chair towards her knees and grasped hold of her hands. His sable eyes speckled with emerald green - or maybe it was the glowing light making them look greenish. “I don’t know, but I feel drawn to it.” His eyes drifted towards the floor then shot towards her. “Since the day they moved in I’ve started… You already think I’m crazy. Never mind.”

  She squeezed his hands. “No, I don’t. I’m scared. All of this. It really scares me and I don’t want to believe any of it.”

  The green in his eyes danced against the brown as if trying to free itself. “I didn’t really see one of them bite anyone. Not with my own eyes. I saw it in my mind. I’ve been seeing and hearing stuff - thoughts. I answered my mom’s question today before she asked it. She gave me the weirdest look. I shrugged it off. Then that amulet, it talked to me, inside my head.”

  She drew in her lips, the way she did when deep in thought and sucked at her bottom lip as she contemplated his words. “So if this stuff is real it might explain your visions and thoughts.”

  He nodded yes.

  “I don’t feel drawn to the light, nor have I experienced any telepathy lately. The answers are maybe in the book. It said not every amulet works for every Slayer. So each Slayer has their own amulet and power? Didn’t it say something like, ‘its power will bind with you?’”

  “It did. You’re the reader. Take the book, read it and we’ll meet tomorrow.” He let go of her hands, stood, and walked towards the kitchen table where they’d left the book.

  Alison’s mom wagged her butt singing Happy by Pharrell Williams while stirring dinner on the stove. She stopped as Alison came through the door and turned towards her. “Have you been with your new friend?”

  “I have. He’s pretty cool.” Big mistake. The word “he” alerted her “my daughter has a boyfriend” button.

  “He. A young man?”

  “We’re friends mom.” Under other circumstances she’d be happy for her mom to think she had a boyfriend and not a homely nerd for a daughter, but at the moment she wanted to get her nose into the mystery leather-bound Slayer book. The Rodham conversation would have to wait. “Did you go to the office today?” She stuck a finger into the fresh salsa and sucked it off.

  Her mother swatted her hand. “Get out of the food until its ready. Jeez!”

  Alison smiled, mission accomplished, she forgot about Rodham.

  “Yes, I went to the office and they’re going to talk with them. Hopefully the noise problem is over.”

  “Hope so,” she said, strolling to her bedroom, where she pulled the book from her shirt. Its worn cover soft beneath her fingers, the pages inside yellowed with age.

  Engrossed in the brown leather book, she jumped when her phone rang. Vicky’s picture flashed across the screen as she swiped it to answer. “Vicky! You aren’t going to believe everything I’m going to tell you.” Alison didn’t attempt to hide the excitement in her voice. “Hit the video button, I want to see your face when I tell you everything!” Vicky’s face popped up on the phone, brown eyes set against caramel skin. Her BFF swept her dark, thick hair away from her face.

  “Al, wow! I guess things are better. OMG! Did you meet Rodham?”

  Alison peeked out her door. Her mother was in the kitchen setting the coffee pot for morning. She closed the door for privacy. “Yes! But there’s more.” She had to tell Vicky everything, they were best friends who never kept secrets and this was huge. “We broke into our neighbors’ apartment. No, actually we stole the key and Rodham went in. He found this old book, and glowing emerald amulet. It’s so bright we hid it inside his closet, under a bunch of stuff, but it still glows from around the door. He texted me, his parents don’t even notice it. A
ccording to the book, we’re Slayers because we see it. So I started reading…”

  Vicky interrupted, “You’ve got to slow down.”

  Alison took a deep breath and repeated the part about the amulet.

  “Wicked! His parents don’t see it. What about your neighbors? Won’t they be upset when they find it missing and why did you break into their apartment to begin with?”

  She caught Vicky up on their vampire suspicions. “We were right. The book calls them Bloodseekers. Slayers have the power to destroy Bloodseekers. They each have an amulet and a leather book, it’s a journal of each Slayer who wears an amulet and this Slayer has the ability of telepathy. I think it belongs to Rodham. He’s been hearing other people’s thoughts, seeing things, and the amulet speaks to him.”

  “That’s heavy.” Dead silence across the phone, then Vicky said, “You go to Florida and find a supernatural mystery, special powers, amulets, and I’m here in Virginia and nothing. Tell me more?!” Her brown eyes saucers.

  “Only Slayers can see the print in the book.”

  “Show me the book. I want to try.”

  Alison held it to the phone. “Are you ready?”

  “The suspense is killing me, open it!” Her voice rang with excitement.

  To tease her, she slowly opened the book, the printed words clear to her eyes. “Can you read it?”

  She sighed, the twinkle in her eyes dulled. “No. I see blank, old paper.”

  She put it down. “I’m sorry, Vick.”

  “Tell me more, what kind of special powers do they have.”

  “Garnet red is invisibility, Agate orange is empathic, I already said green, Beryl yellow is telekinetic, Topaz blue can see the future, Onyx indigo is a teleporter, and Violet Amethyst is a healer, the strongest of the Slayers. Red is the weakest.”