by Pat Spence
“That’s just the problem, Tash, the dream was turning into a nightmare. It was all getting out of hand.”
“Tell me!” she commanded, turning to face me.
“Let’s just say, I think Theo may be a bit of a fantasist,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully. Some of the things that had happened seemed so incredible, I didn’t think I could even begin to speak of them without sounding like a gullible fool.
“This is getting interesting,” said Seth from the seat behind, waiting for more.
“Believe me, it’s more than interesting, Seth,” I said. “Some of it’s completely unbelievable, and I don’t know what’s true and what’s not. Theo told me my life was in danger and he was so convincing I believed him.”
“Your life was in danger?” echoed Tash. “You know I always had a funny feeling about them, especially after that incident with the wall.”
I thought about the phone in my pocket. Perhaps now was the time to look at the photos I’d taken. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and clicked on the camera icon. I could see there were around a dozen pictures taken on the night of the Blue Moon Ball.
“What have you got there?” asked Tash.
“Some photos I took at the hall. They had a private function, the Blue Moon Ball. Theo said I wasn’t invited. So I crept in and took some pictures of it.”
“Sounds glamorous,” said Tash. “How come you weren’t invited?”
“It was some kind of secret society, all very hush hush.”
“Secret society? Why didn’t you tell us?” asked Tash, looking enthralled. “We’d have come with you.”
“Well, it was a sort of last minute decision. Sorry, guys. I needed to do it on my own.”
“Let’s see the photos,” said Seth, hanging over the back of our seat.
I clicked on the images, nervous to see what they’d reveal.
“These were the pictures I took when I first arrived,” I explained. “I was hiding behind the curtains.”
“What’s this?” said Tash, laughing. “An old folks’ reunion?”
“Exactly, they’re all ancient,” said Seth. “What was it? A Saga knees-up?”
“Just keep looking,” I advised. “See here, they’re queuing to get out of the ballroom, and here, you can see them putting on these strange blue cloaks with this weird symbol on the back. They were chanting as well.”
“Getting slightly weird,” commented Seth.
“Yes, well it gets a whole lot weirder in a minute,” I warned him. “I put on one of the blue cloaks and followed them to see where they were going.”
Seth and Tash both looked at me incredulously, unsure whether I was winding them up or not.
“OMG, that was brave. What did you see?” asked Tash.
“They went to the top of the house, into the old servants’ quarters, and then up into the Clock Tower, where this strange blue light was shining out. I hid in one of the old servants’ rooms and took photos as they came back out again.”
The next few shots weren’t brilliant, as they’d all been taken through a small gap in the door. The first showed a glamorous woman walking towards me, laughing, arm in arm with a handsome man. Despite the photo’s poor composition, they looked fabulous, sparkling with excitement and energy.
“Isn’t that Chevron d’Ego, the game show hostess?” asked Tash.
“Yes,” I answered, “that’s her. Just made a TV come-back, looking fabulous and young, as if she’s defied old age….”
“And, OMG, she’s with Christian Hart, the Hollywood heart-throb,” shrieked Tash. “Hang on, I thought the party was full of old people. Where have they gone?”
“They haven’t gone anywhere,” I said enigmatically. “Keep looking at the pictures. See who else you recognise.”
They looked at the second photo.
“This is Sugar, the famous singer,” said Tash. “She looks amazing, you’d never know she was in her late sixties.”
The third showed a close-up of a woman’s face. She was young and stunningly beautiful.
“Coola boola!” said Seth. “She is fit.”
“Hang on,” said Tash, “she’s that actress from the 1960s. Rachael Ravel. My mum was watching a film she starred in the other day. She’s got to be in her seventies now. It can’t be her.”
I showed them the next photo.
“Half-man-amazing!” exclaimed Seth. “That looks like Sergio Brioche, the footballer. Just signed for Barcelona for £95 million. What’s he doing there?”
“What was this, some kind of celebrity lookalike party?” asked Tash. “And what’s happened to all the old folk?”
“These are the old folk,” I informed her. “What I showed you first were the ‘before’ shots, when they were old. And these are the ‘after’ shots, when they became young again.”
I could see from my friends’ faces that they weren’t keeping up with me.
“Sorry, you’ve lost me,” said Tash. “You’re saying these shots were all taken on the same evening and are the same people? I don’t understand.”
“You mean they went through some kind of rejuvenation process,” said Seth. “Sounds spooky.”
“It’s more than spooky, Seth,” I told him. “This is like a horror film. Even your theory about vampires was easier to get your head around than this.”
I had their full and undivided attention.
“Hit us with it,” said Seth.
“Look again at this photo of the old folk,” I said, showing them the first photo I’d taken. “See this woman in the stunning green ballgown….”
They both looked closely.
“Now, look at this photo taken around fifteen minutes later. See anything similar?”
“It’s the same dress,” said Tash in a whisper.
“Exactly!” I said. “I believe the old folk and the beautiful people are one and the same. They started the evening old and they ended it young and beautiful.”
Tash looked at me as if I’d lost leave of my senses.
“Impossible,” she said.
Seth whistled through his teeth. “Weirdo, schmeirdo. I knew it,” he said, “I knew there was something going on.” He balled his fist in a victory gesture. “Yes! Seth’s sixth sense strikes again. Try saying that quickly!”
“Seth, this is no joking matter,” I said sharply. “I don’t know what’s going on at Hartswell Hall. Theo’s told me this story and I don't know whether to believe him.”
“What’s he told you?” asked Tash.
“This may take a while,” I warned them.
“That’s okay,” said Seth, “we’ve at least another twenty minutes before the bus gets to college.”
And so I told them all about the party, about seeing the dying guest who arrived too late, about escaping through the woods and spending the night in the church…
I told them about meeting Theo in the church the following evening and going down into the vault, and how he’d explained about the blue crystal, kept securely in the Clock Tower, with its amazing youth bestowing properties, and the Blue Moon Ball, attended by the rich and famous who’d paid a fortune for eternal youth, but were sworn to secrecy on pain of death. I told them about Viyesha’s life in Egypt three thousand years ago and how she’d discovered the crystal’s power, how Theo believed we’d been together many years ago, about The Lunari, Aquila and Pantera, and the other so-called dark forces… how my life was in danger and how he’d given me a blue crystal pendant to wear for protection. I told them about Violet’s kitten and its miraculous recovery, how I’d asked Theo to help my Granddad and how he had refused.
When I’d finished there was silence. My friends looked at me incredulously.
Then Seth grinned widely and said, “Cool bananas! An ancient blue crystal with the power of giving eternal youth… guarded by shape-shifters and a secret society… with a soupçon of celebrities thrown in … This is great! And to think I thought it was vampires. How wrong can you get? This is a million
times better.”
“Or a million times worse, depending on your perspective,” I pointed out. “If it’s true, it’s not looking good for me.”
“Talk about The Beautiful and Damned,” said Tash.
“Very good,” said Seth, “F. Scott Fitzgerald. An apt analogy, Tash. Although personally I think it’s more like Faustus, you know, selling your soul to the devil. That’s on the A-level English Lit syllabus for next year, by the way, I’ve just been reading about it. Christopher Marlowe.”
“Forget Faustus and Scott Fitzgerald,” I said. “What about me? I appear to have a choice of becoming Beautiful and Damned or finished off by dark forces. Neither option is great. And that’s supposing the crystal doesn’t finish me off first.”
“That’s if you believe what Theo has told you,” said Tash. “The only bit that stacks up for me is rich and famous people paying a fortune to try and stay young. There’s nothing new in that. The rest sounds like something out of a fairy story.”
“I agree,” said Seth. “Some of these looks-obsessed celebs wouldn’t give a toss about selling their soul for smooth skin, firm buttocks and a flat stomach. They’d buy into anything to keep their careers going, the adulation flowing and the cash rolling in. Maybe it was all just an elaborate illusion to relieve rich punters of their money.”
“Exactly,” said Tash. “The guests’ transformation could have been done with masks and prosthetics, or simply different people. There are plenty of celebrity lookalikes around. That would be easy enough to do. Perhaps the ones you saw going up the tower weren’t the ones who came down.”
“A scam to draw rich people in…” I said. “The ultimate con trick. Could be, I suppose. But what about the guest who aged and died? I saw him decay in front of my eyes? That was like something out of a horror movie. If it was a scam, why let that happen? That would only alienate potential new clients. And where were these rich potential punters? I only saw old people. And then there’s the estate agent. She aged and died prematurely, just like the guest at the party. I’m sure she was somehow drawn into this. And you didn’t see the de Lucis family when they came down the spiral staircase. They looked amazing. More beautiful, more vibrant, more radiant than I’ve ever seen them.”
I paused and looked at my friends.
“Believe me, guys, I’ve been through every scenario, ranging from illusion through to Theo being some kind of fantasist control freak and the more chilling alternative that it’s true.”
They stared at me, not knowing what to say.
I sighed unhappily. “Other people just have to deal with a break up. I have to deal with eternal youth, a secret society, rejuvenated celebrities and enemies all around. I don’t know what to believe. I haven’t seen any sign of The Lunari or Dark Forces, so maybe it is all fantasy. Perhaps it will all go away now Theo and I have split up.”
Seth looked doubtful. “If there’s any truth in this, do you think the family will let you walk away, knowing what you do?”
“Thanks, Seth, that’s really put my mind at rest,” I said.
“Can we see your necklace?” asked Tash.
“That’s another strange thing,” I said, showing them the pale blue crystal. “I tried to take it off the other day and the clasp has vanished. It’s a continuous chain that I can’t undo.”
“It’s beautiful,” said Tash, attempting to hold the crystal. As her fingers touched it, she leapt backwards. “Ow, it’s burnt me.”
“Don’t put it near me,” said Seth, retreating to the back of his seat.
Tash rubbed her fingers, looking worried. “D’you think the family will be happy that Seth and I know what’s going on?” she asked.
“Don’t tell me you really believe it, Tash?” I said. “If it’s true, then I’ve just placed your lives at risk too!”
“Chillax, Emily,” said Seth. “How could they know? You’ve told us at the back of a noisy bus. Nobody can hear us. The point is what are we going to do now?”
“We?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” said Seth. “If it’s your problem, it’s our problem. We can’t have our best friend taken out by some secret society or supernatural force.”
“And I can’t bear the thought of you becoming unbelievably beautiful for eternity,” said Tash, making us all laugh.
“So, it’s one for all and all for one!” said Seth, dramatically, raising his fist, “Brotherzone!”
“Except for one thing, Seth,” added Tash, drily. “We’re not the three Musketeers. And for God’s sake stop reading the urban dictionary. It’s driving me loopy. ”
* * *
If I thought it was over with Theo, I was wrong. He found me at break time, when I was putting some books into my locker.
“Emily,” he said, standing behind me and I froze. I’d forgotten the effect his voice and his presence had on me.
“What?” I said, afraid to turn round and look into his eyes. If I gazed into those deep pools of blue, I wasn't sure I could control my emotions. Mentally, I put a force field around my body, trying to ward his energy away from me.
“Emily, don’t close me out,” he begged. “We need to talk. Please turn round.”
He sounded so sad and forlorn, I wavered. “Turn around,” he pleaded again.
I strengthened my resolve and spoke without turning. “I’ve got nothing to say to you, Theo. You told me an elaborate story and expected me to believe it, then when the chance came for you to prove it, you wouldn’t do it. So what am I supposed to believe? I don’t want to look at you and I don’t want to see you any more.”
“Emily, I tried to tell you…’ he began, but I interrupted him.
“Theo, my Granddad is dead. If you and your family have the powers you say you do, you could have saved him. But you didn’t.”
“Couldn’t, Emily, couldn’t. I tried to explain.”
“So you couldn’t help my Granddad, but you could help all those old folk at the Blue Moon Ball?” I turned suddenly, my anger getting too much.
If anything, he looked more beautiful than ever. I yearned to touch his smooth, perfect skin, gaze into his troubled blue eyes and feel his soft, sensuous lips on mine. The attraction between us was almost too great. I steeled myself and resisted the temptation to fall into his arms.
“The Blue Moon Ball was different,” he said. “Look, we can’t discuss this here. There are too many people. And it’s all too complicated. Meet me later? Give me a chance to explain properly?”
I stared at him, trying desperately to control my emotions.
“You’re not listening to me, Theo. It’s over. I don’t want to see you any more. Please leave me alone.” I turned back to my locker and continued taking out my books.
I felt his face close to the back of my head and heard him say, “For now, Emily, but it’s not over. You know it.”
At lunchtime, he found me again. Seth was at rugby practice and Tash had a dental appointment, so I sat in the far corner of the cafeteria feeling alone and vulnerable. It was inevitable he would seek me out. As I sat, pushing the food around my plate, without any appetite, he slid on to the chair opposite me before I realised it.
“Theo, I’ve told you…..” I started to say, but he interrupted.
“Emily, listen to me. You have to let me explain properly. You owe me that at least.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” I said wearily.
“No, I’m not, so you might as well let me have my say.”
“Okay, go on then.”
“Not here, it’s too public.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Theo. It’s here or nowhere, take your pick.”
He grinned at me. “You can be very forceful when you want, Emily, your energy is very strong.”
“I thought you were going to give me an explanation,” I said coldly.
“I am.” He looked at me earnestly. “Emily, what were the last words your Granddad said to you? Think clearly.”
His words took me
by surprise and I faltered. “That’s none of your business.”
“Did he say he wanted to live forever?” persisted Theo.
“No,” I had to admit, “he didn’t.”
“What did he say? Emily, this is important.”
I remembered back to that afternoon in the hospital. “He said he’d had a good, long life and although he hated to leave us behind, he didn't want to go on for eternity. He said there was a time for birth and a time for death. The natural order. That’s how things were meant to be.” The tears were starting to stream down my cheeks. “He said he was going to see my Grandma.” My voice was little more than a whisper. “He told me to remember that.”
“You see, Emily, your Granddad didn’t want saving. He understood the natural order. He knew it was his time to go.” Theo spoke kindly.
“No,” I said, through my tears, “it was too soon. I didn't want him to go.”
“I know,” said Theo. “Death is never easy to accept, but sometimes we have to.”
“What do you know about death?” I asked him angrily. “Haven’t you and your family managed to cheat it for thousands of years? How could you possibly know what I’m going through?”
“Death is a constant fear for us, Emily, and it doesn’t happen naturally,” he replied. “Ours is one of rapid ageing and decay, as you saw with our unfortunate guest. Can you imagine how it feels for your skin, your organs and your senses to shrivel to nothing within minutes? For your hair to thin, your teeth to fall out and your body to fail in less time than it takes to walk across a room? There’s no slowing up, no gradual descent into old age for us. It hits us full in the face, like being hurled off a precipice.” He laughed scornfully. “That’s the threat hanging over us and that’s the price we have to pay for eternal youth. Which is why I don't want it for you.”
“But what about your guests at the Blue Moon Ball?” I asked. “They were old and yet you made them young.”
“I know that’s how it looked, Emily, but the truth is, they were young when they were first initiated, and that’s the age they’ll remain, frozen in time for eternity.”
“But they were old when I saw them,” I persisted.
