“Human.” The blood was still flowing from my nose. He caught it with his finger and asked: “May I?”
I flinched, disgusted by the sight. “Oh, eww, if you must. That is so yucky!” I shuddered. He ignored my reaction and stated dreamily: “You have no idea; this is delicious. I’m not surprised that Jeremeia wants you all to himself.”
“Come on, stop that. Try to be nice, for I may just have saved your life.”
“You’re a useful pain in the ass.” He all but spat the words.
“See, that wasn’t so hard.”
We drove in the direction of Anif, turning into a narrow forest path that led directly to a castle. It was surrounded by an intimidating wrought-iron fence with spiked posts. The gate was an imposing bronze portal, embossed with Jeremeia’s family crest, a man who balances a full moon over his head, arms raised high. Jeremeia was already waiting for us in the doorway of the castle. The front door was a massive and heavy wooden portal. I don’t know why, but that was when I remembered that I hadn’t had a sip of water since the early morning. The bottle of Coke that I had been offered by the guy in the cinema was still in my backpack, unopened. I gulped down half of it, put the bottle back in my backpack, and got out of the car.
“Weren’t you glad that you had an escort after all?” The vampire welcomed me with this snarky question, and his face showed that he expected gratitude. I didn’t know what had bitten me, but his words made me see red. “We both know that your buddy here was their target. If I hadn’t watched his back, you’d be one minion short now.”
Jeremeia studied me with a bemused expression, but seemed to find my outrage amusing. “My, my, who’s gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Get into the house now!”
Angrier than the situation warranted, I marched into the huge entrance hall. I could see at least three more vampires sitting in the room beyond, another cavernous hall. Jeremeia ruffled my hair in passing, and I exploded. “Stop that! I’m not your cute little toy. You know what I’m really sick of? Being threatened, injured and almost killed at every freaking turn. Either your enemies use me to humiliate or provoke you, or it’s you lot that endangers me. You know what’s become my favorite line? ‘I was just trying to protect you, I’m sorry if I almost killed you in the process.’” Instead of blowing off steam and then calming down again, I felt more and more aggressive by the second. I was so blinded by my anger that I didn’t see Jeremeia’s reaction to my tirade.
“Where do you think you’re going?” His voice was firm and authoritative, and it brought me back to reality. I felt bewildered and looked around me, only to realize that I had walked back out into the driveway. Jeremeia was at my side. My legs kept moving, every step taking me further away from what was probably the only safe space in town right then. Wait a minute; that was not me doing the walking. It was as if my body had its own will and plan. Shocked, I grabbed Jeremeia by the arm, but my legs tried to march in the opposite direction. “Something’s wrong with me,” I squeaked.
“I know; you’re under a spell. Try to stay calm. I just smelled it on your breath; you must have ingested a potion.” Jeremeia gestured for Janosch to help, and the vampire picked me up and carried me back inside where it was warm. My legs kicked out at him, my hands slapped and battered, though I did not want to do either of those things. How was this possible? I was immune. I wouldn’t let it control me. My shock made me forget my anger, and I regained control of my body with a painful jolt. Jeremeia was censoring Janosch: “How could you miss that?”
I was in control of my own body again, but now I felt myself break into a cold sweat. Janosch had set me down on a couch. He was sitting next to me, holding me in place with a firm grip. I was getting colder by the second, and felt an ache that seemed to penetrate into my bones. It didn’t take long before Stefan stepped into the room. Jeremeia was visibly relieved when he saw him. “Stefan, finally. Her breath smells of bloodwort and oakwood. She was ranting and raving, walking away from the house without volition.”
Stefan pondered the symptoms briefly. “I know this sort of spell all too well. You gain control through an emotion. Once that is accomplished, it is impossible for the victim to regain it without help. These spells are insidious and work on almost any given creature.”
Meanwhile I was feeling as if I was freezing to death. “But I regained control of my body … I think.” My lips felt still and my voice was trembling, which was why the men had a hard time understanding my words.
Stefan looked at me closely for the first time. He seemed puzzled. “You shouldn’t even be able to for a coherent thought.” I shrugged my shoulders helplessly, while he kept examining my face. “You’re getting terribly pale. Do you feel unwell?” he finally asked.
“Not only that; she’s also getting warmer.” Stefan gave Janosch a blank look. He didn’t understand what the vampire wanted to tell him. As if Stefan was missing the most obvious thing in the world, Janosch said patiently: “She’s running a fever.”
Right, that was a plausible explanation for the ache in my bones, the chattering teeth and the cold sweat. Stefan slapped his forehead with his palm. “A fever, of course! She’s human. Not a word to Michael, before he and Iveria are finished with their tasks. We can’t risk that he gets distracted!”
I spied a blanket on a bench a few yards away. I tried to get up to fetch it, but Janosch wouldn’t let me. Stefan saw what I was after, so he handed me the blanket and asked: “Do you have a guess how they could have slipped you the poison?”
I don’t know. All I had in the last few hours was a little Coke, just when we arrived. A customer bought it at our kiosk, and then gave it to me.”
They all stared at me, their expressions saying: ‘How daft are you?’ Stefan voiced what they were thinking: “Michael warned you that currently nothing is safe, and you go and accept a beverage from a stranger?”
I nodded sheepishly. “The rest of the cola is still in my backpack.”
Stefan went outside to get the bottle, smelled it, and nodded his confirmation. My fever was getting worse by the minute, and then I felt a sudden wave of anger building inside me, ready to break. This time I understood that the source of the anger was outside of me. The fear and despair I was feeling made it easy to withstand the artificial anger. Stefan had sensed that I was racked by a new onslaught of the spell; he’d rushed over to hold me down. I didn’t fight him. I was master of my own emotions again, but the fever was making me feel terribly weak. I told him as much, and he reluctantly let go of me. I shivered, I was cold, I felt exhausted and tired. After a while a woman entered the room. I couldn’t even lift my head to look at her. She knelt beside me with a thermometer in her hand. “Melanie, don’t be scared, I’m just taking your temperature.” I could have sworn it was Sarah’s voice, but that was impossible and I was probably already hallucinating. I tried to raise my head and open my eyes, but I couldn’t muster the energy.
“This shows more than 109 degrees. If that is correct, she should be dead by now. We need to do something,” the woman urged.
A phone buzzed close to my ear. Stefan answered the call, and after a brief pause, he said: “That’s good to hear; so you’ll be back earlier than you planned?” After another pause he told the caller: “She’s right here, next to me. You know, we do have sort of a precarious situation on our hands …” He quickly summarized the latest events, and then listened patiently to the person on the other end. It had to be Michael. Calm down, we’re doing what we can,” Stefan assured him. To be honest though, they weren’t doing anything. I had suggested they find an antipyretic for me, but they had ignored me.
Alessandro appeared and helped his father, who had started to brew an odorous potion. Whatever it was, the smell made me gag. Then they expected me to drink the swill, just as I had feared they would. Stefan lifted me into a half-sitting position, and I opened my eyes. Outside, dawn was rising slowly. I reluctantly started to drink. It was the most disgusting stuff I’d ever tasted. I ha
d barely drained the cup, when I felt the potion burn through my body like acid. I cried out in pain and writhed on the sofa.
“That was a non-starter,” Alessandro commented matter-of-factly.
Then finally the pain subsided and I calmed down. It had drained the last of my energy. Stefan kept asking me questions, but I could no longer signal my understanding. I was fully conscious, but couldn’t move a muscle. And I was still freezing.
The woman who sounded like Sarah was obviously worried. “She’s burning up inside. You need to do something!”
“But what else can we do? So far we’ve only made it worse. We can’t do anything. I should call Michael.” Wow, Stefan really knew how to say encouraging things. I was sure that ‘We should call Michael’ was code for ‘She’s as good as dead.’
After what felt like a cold eternity, I suddenly heard Michael’s voice. “Where is she?” I felt his hand on top of mine. It was so cold. “Stefan, are you sure you did everything correctly?”
“Michael, come on, we know how to brew the antidote.”
Michael lay down next to me and watched over me. Time passed and I could feel the first rays of sunlight touch my skin. They were so comforting, so warm, thawing my stiffened limbs. When I was able to move again, I reached for his hand and whispered: “Take me outside please.”
He lifted me up and carried me through the hall. Moments later I could feel the sun on my skin – no more curtains or panes of glass between me and the caress of the light. I opened my eyes. Michael stood in front of Jeremeia’s castle, holding me in his arms, looking desperate. There was a small pond not too far off. I asked him to carry me there. He sat down in the snow by the side of the pond, cradling me in his lap. I could reach out my hand and touch the frozen surface of the water. The warmth of the sun and the cold of the pond felt like a healing melody. The sunrays cleansed my body and the pond gave me strength. It was an elating feeling.
“You’re cooling down,” Michael stated with relief. I nestled against him and reveled in the solidness of his body. I had cheated death this time. Michael kissed me on the forehead. “If you ever accept a drink from a stranger again, I promise you I’ll wring your neck. You hear me?” I grinned against his chest. “I love you, too.”
Stefan brought us a blanket, and Michael wrapped it around me. We sat in the snow for another while, and he kept stroking my cheeks. “Your skin has a new golden glow. I would love to know what you really are.” There was nothing I could tell him, so I buried my face against his chest. I felt well again. Very tired, but well. Michael carried me back into the house, put me to bed, and snuggled up to me. It didn’t take long before I was asleep.
19 CHRISTMAS
When I woke up after dusk, he was still lying next to me. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was his smile. I returned it happily.
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve; we should go back to your place so I can pack. Michael, when do you want to drive over to Martellius’s place?” He made a face. I must have offended him somehow, but I had no idea how. His voice sounded neutral: “I arranged for your suitcase to be packed. As soon as Stefan and Alessandro are back, we will leave.”
“But I have to go get my presents. They’re all in the travel bag I brought from my apartment.”
Michael rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry; I’m sure they’re looking for the infamous bottle of saffron liquor.”
“Are you talking about this bag here?” Stefan’s voice came from the door. So sneaky, those Peris! Yes, that was my bag, so I nodded. Before we left, I had one more question: “I thought I heard Sarah’s voice last night. Where is she, and why was she here at all?”
Stefan frowned and shook his head. “Your fever was very high. I guess you were hallucinating.”
I told them I wished to say thank you to Jeremeia, but Stefan said that he was no longer at home. Alessandro joined us a moment later. “Natalia wanted us to bring our own humans. Annette and I are heading out now.” He looked into my eyes with a mischievous grin and raised his eyebrows. I had no idea what I had done to him, but one thing was clear: The only reason he’d picked Annette was to torture me. And speak of the devil, there she was, appearing behind him in the doorway. She threw me a provocative glance. I don’t know why I let her get under my skin, but I did. I refrained from saying what was on my mind, and tried not to move a muscle, but inside I felt like I was close to bubbling over with anger and frustration. How could he bring this woman along for a family Christmas party? No doubt she would spoil it all for me. Michael looked from me to Annette and gave Alessandro a questioning look. His grandson merely shrugged with a perfidious grin. I marched past them without gracing them with another look, heading outside and to Michael’s Audi R8. Stefan and Tanja took the Audi S8, and Alessandro and Annette the Mercedes. We had been on the road for a while, when Michael got frustrated with my silence, and exhaled his irritation. “Can’t you just try and ignore her?”
“Imagine Iveria would bring Andreas; would you simply ignore him?”
“Yes, if he left you alone.” He didn’t actually believe that, did he? But he was right; I should try to make the best of the situation. He engaged me in conversation, and my mood improved slowly. When we reached Martellius’ manor house, I was happy as a clam again.
A beautiful woman in her mid-twenties came striding towards us. Her green eyes lit up with joy at the sight of Michael. She brushed her long, dark red hair away from her face before pulling him into an embrace. Then she pressed a loving kiss to his forehead and threw me a glance that was filled with curiosity. “Don’t you want to introduce us, son?”
“Melanie, this is my mother Natalia. Mother, this is Melanie.” She possessed a warm smile, unusual for a Peri. I held out my hand and she took it, but then pulled me into her arms. “I’ve heard that you have given my son new lust for life. Thank you for that!”
Alessandro had arrived now as well. He stood right behind me. Natalia threw me another glance and said: “What a strong energy!” Then she turned to welcome her great-grandson. She didn’t seem to register Annette’s presence at all.
The front door was decorated with fir sprigs, mistletoe, and red and gold bands. Natalia led us past the room with the statue of the flutist. I remembered hiding in there when I had last visited. We walked down a long hallway and reached a spacious banquet hall, where a bountiful Christmas table was beckoning. The walls were covered in a variety of family portraits, most of them paintings from long-gone eras. On the far wall above the fireplace, there was a large, framed family photo in black and white, followed by a color print. I walked along the walls, looking at the pictures one by one with mounting delight. One painting on the left wall impressed me the most. Was it possible? Dumbfounded, I pointed at the painting: “Did Michelangelo paint that?”
“Yes, it was a favor to me. Guess who it shows?” I noticed that Natalia had joined me and was standing very close. Of course I recognized everyone in the picture, except for one woman. I didn’t know what she meant by her question, so I named them all from left to right: She and Martellius were in the background, on the left side, followed by Iveria and Michael. The Peri woman who had been present during the meeting with Hugorio stood next to him. I remembered that she had been the only one to be greeted with a hug by Stefan, Michael, and Alessandro. In the painting she had put an arm around Michael. The front row consisted of Stefan, Alessandro, and Birgit. I didn’t know the last person, a pretty young woman, and I told Natalia so.
“They’ve shown themselves to you? All of them?” Natalia asked, sounding surprised. Her astonishment baffled me. “I don’t understand what you mean; I see them almost every day. Okay, maybe not Birgit, Martellius, and Hugorio’s employee, but the rest of them.”
“And they always look like this for you?”
“Yes … why?” I was puzzled for a moment, but then it hit me: “Oh! Did they magically change their appearance?” She nodded and went on to tell me that the woman next to Michael was his ex-wife Kijara, and th
e unfamiliar woman in the front row his daughter Katerina. Kijara was Stefan’s and Katerina’s mother.
Michael cleared his throat, alerting us to the fact that he and the others were already seated around the table. I quickly took my seat beside him. Annette and Tanja were silent for most of the dinner, which meant that the former woman’s presence did not spoil my mood. In the beginning I also merely listened to the Peri conversation, but didn’t join in. Michael was talking to his mother, and at some point she said: “You should watch out. The girl has everything you need to fall in love. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up like your sister a few years from now.” Michael answered her warning with a laugh I didn’t like. Then he put an arm around my shoulder. Mother, you should know that Melanie can hear us. No matter what spell you use to camouflage your words, she can hear us anyway.” He caressed my cheek with a loving hand. “Darling, why are you so quiet?” The echo of his careless laugh was still a discordant note in my head, so I merely shrugged my shoulders absently.
Annette and Tanja were excluded from the Peri conversation, and the former began needling me out of sheer boredom. She opined that I could have worn something more festive for an occasion like this, and not just any old sweater. My reply was simple and sarcastic: “The next time I almost get killed I will make sure I’m dressed appropriately.” She didn’t know what to say to that, so she focused her meanness on Tanja, which sounded somewhat like this: “You look tired today; do you feel sapped and worn-out? I just hope Stefan won’t notice. Maybe I should call Sabrina so he won’t go to bed empty-handed tonight …”
The Peris were engrossed in their own sphere, and didn’t notice what was going on. After we were all finished eating and had left the table, Annette approached Stefan, who had his arm around Tanja. “Alessandro told me to offer myself to you. If you want me to, I will come to your room once he’s done with me. You know, since Tanja doesn’t have much more to offer. I will spoil you rotten,” she promised, fluttering her lashes at him in an unmistakable fashion. Tanja looked humiliated and a little desperate.
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 26
