Deception (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 3)

by S. M. Spencer

  The most pleasing part of the night was to see how taken my boys were with their younger sister. Their conversation over dinner was mostly stories of their years here with Mladen, and they seemed to take great pleasure in making Ceylona giggle at some of their antics. It was such a delight to see the three of them together that I found myself feeling terribly guilty for having denied them her company for so long. But at least they had each other now, and knowing this took a little of the sting out of having to leave her—she would be with family.

  Dinner was to be followed by coffee and brandy, but I made our excuses to return to our room. It seemed forever since I’d had any sleep, and even though Ceylona was a dhampira, she was still growing and I felt she needed her rest. We said our goodnights and slipped upstairs to our room.

  Shortly after I’d gone to our room there was a light tap on the door. It was Crystal, wanting to know if I was still awake so that we could chat. I looked over my shoulder at Ceylona; she was fast asleep. No harm could come to her here. I pulled the door shut behind me, and then followed Crystal along the hall and down the staircase into a sitting room just off the main foyer. We sat on a small sofa, side by side, and for the first time all day we were alone.

  ‘She’s so beautiful, Lili. You should be very proud of her. But I’m sure you are,’ Crystal said, taking my hand.

  ‘Yes, I am. And you know she’s just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She’s hardly ever said a cross word. Well, just that one time, but I’ve told you about that—the day at the beach. But other than that, she never loses her temper, never cries, never throws temper tantrums like you see with other children. She has been, without a doubt, the perfect child.’

  ‘Hmmm, yes, I’m sure of that. And I’m just so glad you’re here now. So, the flight was good?’

  ‘Fine … the travelling didn’t seem to bother Ceylona one bit,’ I replied. ‘Oh, and I meant to thank you for Ceylona’s birthday gift. It was so thoughtful of you. The locket is similar to the one I have, with my parent’s photos in it. But I guess you knew that—that must be why you thought of it? And the photos—they’re the ones in the photo I sent Sam, aren’t they?’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied, with a shy smile. ‘I always thought it was really lovely that you wore that locket—keeping your parents close to your heart. And I thought it would be nice for Ceylona—to have you and Sam close to her heart.’

  We both smiled, and then sat there in silence for a moment. Then we both spoke at the same time. We laughed, each telling the other to go ahead. Finally, I started.

  ‘And so, will Sam be coming over … to see me … to see us?’ I asked.

  ‘No, I’m afraid he won’t,’ she replied, her face calm, giving nothing away.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, unable to hide the disappointment from my voice as I felt my heart sinking.

  ‘Look, it’s not a good time for him to get away. Michael is quite stressed at the moment, and no-one thought it would be a good idea for both Sam and me to be away at the same time. I told Sam that he should be the one to come, and I’d stay with Michael, but, well, you know how hard it is for him here.’

  ‘Yeah, sure … I mean, I understand,’ I said, trying to sound calm. But I didn’t understand. Not at all. I was aching to see him. Didn’t he feel the same way? I tried to sound more positive than I felt when I continued, ‘perhaps later, he and I can come for a visit—to see Ceylona. That would be nice actually. It would give me an excuse to come back, sooner rather than later.’ The idea of a visit in a few months’ time lifted my spirits slightly.

  ‘Of course. I’ll let you discuss that with Sam … when we get back to Melbourne.’

  Her tone sounded somewhat hesitant, and it made the questions that had been running around in my head all surface at once. Why wasn’t Sam replying to my emails? Why wasn’t he working at the market? And mostly, why hadn’t he answered his phone or returned my calls?

  ‘Crystal, is everything okay—with Sam I mean? He hasn’t replied to my emails in ages. And I tried calling him before I rang you, several times in fact … but he never answered. Is there something that I should know about, before we go back to Melbourne?’

  Crystal sighed and looked away from me for a moment. My heart began to race, and I felt that sick feeling in my stomach.

  ‘Is everything okay …,’ she said, repeating my question. ‘In some ways, yes, everything is fine. But we’ve all been busy. Remember that rogue vampire you encountered—well, he turned out not to be such a one-off as we’d hoped. Unfortunately others like him have been appearing more and more frequently the last couple of years. It’s no longer just at night that we watch the area. Sam and Tom are pretty much on patrol, what’s the saying, “twenty-four-seven”. There hasn’t been a lot of time for anything else.’

  So, he was busy. That could explain why he hadn’t been answering my emails. Maybe he never logged on anymore. And of course, if they were patrolling that much, they’d have given up their jobs at the market. But that was still no reason for him not to answer his phone, was it? Surely he’d have seen all the missed calls? And if he’d wanted to speak to me, he’d have rung, wouldn’t he? I had to find out if Crystal knew something more.

  ‘So, have you ever, you know, talked about me? Do you think he’s missed me? Is he looking forward to me coming home? I’m really nervous about seeing him again; it’s been so long now.’

  ‘We haven’t really talked about you, Lili. I never wanted to bring it up, in case it hurt him to think about things. But I do know he hasn’t been the same since you left. He’s lost the smile you gave him. And the sadness that was there before he met you has returned with a vengeance. I don’t know any more than that, however.’

  This lack of optimism in Crystal was unsettling. She was usually so positive, always looking on the bright side of any situation, and saying that things would work out. Why wasn’t she saying that this time? Why was she just looking at me, not offering any hope? It felt as though a knife had been stuck into my heart.

  Maybe I really had blown it; maybe by leaving, and not trusting him to look after us, I had hurt him too deeply. I was about to lose Ceylona. Had I already lost Sam?

  I gritted my teeth, and yelled at myself to snap out of it. It had been a long day, and I was dead tired. Exhaustion was making it hard to think straight, but there would no doubt be an explanation. I just needed to talk to him.

  We sat there for a few minutes, both of us staring into the middle of this quiet, darkened room. Eventually Crystal spoke.

  ‘I have to go into Northam tonight. Jenny’s husband is there.’

  It took me a moment to remember who Jenny was. Of course, the pregnant woman who I’d met at dinner. She was staying in the room I had each time I’d given birth.

  ‘Her husband?’

  ‘Yes. Mladen wants me to try to remove the vampire contagion from him. He’s at a bed & breakfast, in Northam.’

  ‘Oh.’ So she was going to try to do for him what she hadn’t wanted to do for Sam—return him to a normal human.

  I could tell she saw the look on my face when she replied, ‘He’s only just become a vampire, Lili. It’s only been a few months.’

  I didn’t say anything, but sat there recalling the reasons she hadn’t been able to do this for Sam. She’d felt it was too risky; her tears might not return him to a twenty-four year old human, but rather a hundred and seventy-something year old human. She was afraid he could turn to dust right before her eyes. Crystal had refused. I had agreed with her decision … but Sam had wanted to take that chance so we could be together, as humans. He’d loved me that much he was prepared to die for me … surely then, he must still love me, mustn’t he?

  ‘What should I do, Crystal? Should I just go home, and wait for him to come in and talk to me?’

  ‘Oh, Lili, you don’t know, do you?’ she asked, the slightest of frowns casting a shadow on her beautiful face.

  ‘Don’t know what?’ I asked, feeling like the knife
had been shoved even deeper into my heart.

  ‘Sam moved out of the house—your house.’

  ‘He moved?’

  The knife was now being twisted. I felt betrayed. Couldn’t he at least have sent me a message to say he’d moved? I know I didn’t have many things there, but I had some. It had been my home too.

  ‘It’s only just happened. We were feeling a bit … nervous about being watched, so Michael and I moved. And Sam and Tom, well, they’re staying with us for a while. We’re very careful about how we come and go. We haven’t moved far, just into a little laneway back behind the markets. Since neither Sam nor Tom sleep, and barely even come in these days, it hasn’t been a problem at all, and it was meant to be just for a little while. I suppose you could stay with us as well.’

  ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ll stay with Debs. It’s fine.’

  It wasn’t fine. That was just something you say. I was crushed. My husband had moved and not felt the need to even let me know. I felt like I was no longer even a small part of his life.

  ‘Please, don’t be upset,’ she said, placing one of her hands over mine. ‘Really, it hasn’t been that long ago. Both Tom and Sam have been so busy I don’t even think they’ve set up the computer.’

  So, maybe that explained the lack of emails. But they’d stopped quite some time ago … not just a few months ago.

  ‘When, exactly, was it?’ I asked, feeling the frown on my face as I tried to recall just when Sam’s emails had stopped completely.

  ‘Well, it wasn’t that long ago … a few months? Or … perhaps it’s been a bit longer than that … last winter I suppose, so that’s what, oh my, more like ten months ago … or it could be almost a year I suppose. But you know how time is for us … that seems like only moments ago.’

  Okay, so that could explain why he’d stopped replying to my emails. But it still didn’t explain the phone.

  ‘So, what were they planning to do? Is Sam going to find another house? Surely his things … furniture … are they in storage?’ It didn’t really matter—I was just jabbering while my mind continued to race.

  ‘Yes, Sam certainly intends to find another house. But I don’t know if he’s looked yet. As I said, all they seem to do is walk around patrolling … they don’t really need a home as you know. Not really. So I suppose it hasn’t been a high priority. But I’m sure that now you’ve come back—well, this does change things.’

  ‘You don’t need to make excuses for him. I’ll ring Debs. I’m sure it will be fine for me to stay there until I decide what to do. I mean, I don’t know whether Sam will want me to stay, or whether I should just go back to California.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure Sam wouldn’t want that.’

  ‘Are you? Are you sure, Crystal?’

  ‘Get some rest, Lili. I’ll see you in the morning. Things will work out as they should. They always do.’

  ~ Chapter Eight ~

  Rest wasn’t something that came easy—not that first night, and not the next few either. I couldn’t stop stressing over the uncertainty of how things stood with Sam, and I was plagued by the knowledge that in a few days I’d have to let go of Ceylona.

  Letting go of Ceylona—even saying the words was hard. But watching her with Ben and Henry made it infinitely clear that she belonged here. I was the one that was out of place. I was out of sorts and missing her company already because for the first time in over three years, she didn’t need me. Ben and Henry monopolised her time—and between them and Sebastian, her days were spent getting to know the school, its grounds, and the way of life she would have for the foreseeable future. Indeed, their influence was having a big effect—her vocabulary was expanding exponentially, and even though she had just turned three, each evening she would explain her whole day’s activities to me in a great amount of detail.

  During the day, Ceylona didn’t need me. And Crystal was nowhere to be seen. I assumed she was simply busy with Mladen—planning classes for Ceylona perhaps. Whatever it was, she hardly seemed to remember that I was around at all.

  At least Jenny appreciated my company. I think having me there, as someone that had gone through exactly what she was going through, was a relief for her. And so for those first few days we walked around the grounds, and swam, and chatted. Occasionally we’d sit quietly and I would try to read, but that was useless because I couldn’t even focus on the words—all I could do was think about Sam and how desperate I was to see him. If Jenny and I weren’t talking, the thoughts went round and round in my head as I tried to convince myself that there was no basis for my worrying. I went back and forth, one minute making excuses for his lack of communication, and then the next getting mad at him for being so distant. Then I’d get mad at myself for not being understanding enough.

  And then there was Angelica. I was keeping a close eye on her ever since I’d caught her looking admiringly at Ben that first night. On a few occasions I spotted her trying to pin him down in conversation, and it made my skin crawl; I couldn’t imagine her as my daughter-in-law. Luckily, when Jenny’s baby arrived, both Ben and Henry were fascinated with him. Between spending time with the baby and with Ceylona, Ben seemed to have little time for Angelica. I couldn’t help secretly smiling when I saw him cut short her attempts at conversation on more than one occasion.

  But unlike Ben and Henry, Crystal seemed to have plenty of time for Angelica. And if I was to be honest with myself, I had to admit that this made me more than a little jealous.

  But at least there was one thing Crystal and Angelica’s friendship didn’t extend to; Crystal had asked me not to mention anything about Jenny’s husband. She said it was to be our secret, and that the others, including Angelica, weren’t to be told. I found it hard to wipe the smile off my face when I remembered Crystal saying that. At least I had this one bit of insight into Crystal that Angelica didn’t have. Crystal was my friend. We had a special bond, and I took great pleasure from that knowledge.

  ~~***~~

  Debs was thrilled when I rang to say I was at Mladen’s. And when I explained that Sam was staying at Crystal’s and that it was a small home, she said of course I could stay with her for as long as I liked. She even said that Sam was welcome to stay too, for that matter. She just had one little favour; she wanted me to ask Mladen if it would be alright for her to come over for a visit—to meet Ben and Henry, to see Ceylona again and of course, to meet Mladen himself.

  Mladen was flattered when I went to speak to him.

  ‘My aunt Debs … she’d like to come here—to meet you, and Ben and Henry. She knows pretty much everything. I mean, after all, Francis was her grandfather,’ I said, trying to justify why I’d told her about him.

  ‘Of course she knows about us, Lili. I can hear the hesitation in your voice, but you needn’t be concerned. I’m sure your aunt can be trusted with what she knows. And by all means, it would be a pleasure to have her visit for a few days.’

  ‘That’s wonderful, Mladen. I mean, I know it’s more crowded here than usual, having Ceylona back, and now Mark. Not to mention Angelica.’

  ‘Angelica? Well, yes, she and Crystal are here as well as you, but really, it’s no trouble. We enjoy the distraction of visitors.’

  ‘So, I can tell her she can visit for a few days then?’

  ‘Yes, by all means. She can stay as long as she wishes—just as you may. And I daresay Crystal and Angelica will also stay until you leave.’

  ‘Crystal and Angelica? But I thought Angelica was staying here at the school—like, all the time? I mean, when we leave, she will stay on, won’t she?’

  ‘No, my dear. She’s staying with Crystal. I thought you knew that. She came to learn from Crystal—not from us here at the school. She arrived here the same day you did—with Crystal.’

  I suddenly felt like my head was being squeezed in a vice grip. Angelica was staying with Crystal? Hadn’t it occurred to Crystal that I might like to know that this strange woman was staying in the same house as my husband? I felt
deceived, not to mention entirely overwrought with jealousy. Had Crystal deliberately misled me, or had she just assumed I knew? I shook my head, and tried to regain some sort of composure, then thanked Mladen for being so understanding about Debs’ interest in everything. Then I excused myself and went up to my room.

  I sat on the end of the bed for ages, torn between jealousy and some other emotion I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Was it anger, or something else? Angelica was staying with Crystal. And so was Sam. Did that have anything to do with his lack of communication? Was she behind that somehow? Of course I was being ridiculous, wasn’t I? Surely, if Angelica was interested in anyone, it was Ben, right? I mean, she’d been batting her eyelashes at him every chance she got, wasn’t she? One side of me, the logical side, knew I was over-reacting. But the other side of me—the fragile side that was upset about having to leave Ceylona soon, and nervous about seeing my estranged husband—wasn’t so sure.

  When I regained some level of composure, I rang Debs back with the news. It was the shortest conversation I’d ever had with my normally chatty aunt—she wanted to get off the phone so she could book her flight and a car. She rang back a few minutes later to say she’d see me at the end of the week. It was then that I raised my concerns about Sam, and as always, Debs was clear-headed with her advice.

  ‘Ring him, Lili. Speak to him. Better to know the truth, than to keep fretting over what may or may not be.’

  ‘But he doesn’t answer my calls.’

  ‘Well then, borrow Crystal’s phone. Surely she has a mobile phone? Tell her your battery has gone flat.’