Andreas had watched everything with heavy-lidded eyes. Weakened by the blood loss, I staggered over to where he lay. “Where are your car keys?” He pointed at his pants pocket. I took the keys, stumble-ran to his car, got in and maneuvered it over. I left the engine running and jumped out, opened the passenger door and hauled him towards it, inch by exhausting inch. He tried to push off with his legs to help, but the hardest part was getting him up and into the car. Andreas was tall and rather heavy. I did my best and he helped as best he could. When he was finally slumped in the passenger seat, we were both strained and exhausted. I got in behind the wheel, stepped on the gas and floored it to the exit ramp. Before we left the garage, I yelled loudly: “It’s okay, you can stop now, but if you try to follow us, I will change my mind!” The vampires deserved it, but I still was no murderer – or murderess, as the elf had claimed the day before.
“What happened back there?” Andreas had found his voice again.
“I’m not a murderess.”
He gave me a look of incomprehension. To save him the effort of speaking, I explained: “Vampires like my blood, as you witnessed. But if they bite me against my will, it literally kills them, unless I change my mind in time.”
“So you just spared their life? Can you reconsider and kill them anyway?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. It’s called bluffing.”
“You should have let them die.” He took his phone from his other pocket and typed in a text message. A short while later he asked: “Since when have you known about vampires and the like?”
“Do you remember the Monday I showed up injured for the first time? The weekend before that.”
“What are you?” I decided that he was my friend and that I trusted him. “Allegedly I’m a dragon, but I don’t believe that.”
“Interesting. Why don’t you believe it?” He sounded so weak, so helpless.
“I promised not to tell anyone. Why were those vampires after you though? What did they inject you with?” I countered with questions of my own.
His eyes kept falling shut. “Not important. Melanie, I mustn’t fall asleep. Talk to me! Tell me anything, please!”
I had no idea what to talk about, so I simply thought out loud: “I was just wondering where we could go. We could drive to the house that belonged to my parents; we’d be safe there. No supernatural creature can enter.”
“But you’re supernatural.”
“It was my father’s house; of course I can enter it.”
He stared at me, apparently astonished. “You are a Halfling, a female dragon?” I hadn’t meant to tell him that.
“Of course I’m not a Halfling,” I lied frantically.
“Melanie, don’t try to take me for a fool. You’re a pathetic liar. So you’re a dragon.” My attempt to deny it had only served to convince him that I was in fact a dragon.
“When I was in London recently, it turned out that I speak Terakon. But if my father was a dragon, I would have seen that, even as a kid. Andreas, you can’t tell anyone. Please! You have no idea what will happen if word gets out.”
“Melanie, I’m sure I understand the consequences of this better than you do. Take me to my place!”
“We’re not safe there.”
“Trust me, I’ve already called for backup.”
“Do you have an idea of how strong those vampires are?” I asked him skeptically.
He rolled his eyes in irritation. “We’re not weak either.”
“You’re not human?”
He almost managed to laugh. “Certainly not. Why was Nikelaus Dravko after you?”
“I’m his nephew’s … I mean, I was his nephew’s girlfriend. The two of them are not really on friendly terms with each other.”
“You … are Michael Dravko’s human?” His mouth hung open and he stared at me, fascinated now. I felt uncomfortable with a supernatural giving me this kind of attention, even if it was Andreas. “I’ve heard the rumors about you. Are they true?” he wanted to know.
“What rumors have you heard?”
“Did you hurl Nikelaus against the wall?” Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. Nikelaus didn’t seem to be very popular with anyone. Andreas took my reaction as a yes and grinned with satisfaction.
“Does Michael know that you are a Halfling?”
“Yes, and he asked me to keep the fact to myself. He was with me when I found out.”
“Yeah, Michael has always been the selfless one, right?” He couldn’t sound any more sarcastic. A few moments later his head lolled and he lost consciousness. I shook him by the shoulder with my right hand, tried to wake him, but to no avail. His breathing came erratic and his forehead broke out in sweat. The rest of the drive seemed like an eternity. He had a remote control for the garage door in the center console. The garage was large enough to accommodate at least three cars. I killed the engine, pushed the button to close the garage door behind us, and leaned over to check on him. He looked wretched. I had healed a perfect stranger earlier that day, so I should be able to heal a longtime friend. I held my hands over his chest and focused. Once again they were filled with pleasurable warmth, and then the yellowish light flowed from my palms. I guided it towards him, explored his body, and found the problem. It was in his veins. There was no torn tissue to heal this time. Instead something needed to be removed, but how? It was worth a try! I used my energy to burn the harmful substance in his blood.
“Melanie? What …?”
I had closed my eyes to better focus. He had regained consciousness and had watched me doing my own kind of magic. When I heard his voice, I stopped and opened my eyes. My nose was already bleeding. As soon as I let go of the light and the energy, my body began to hurt. I was scared of what I knew would be next. “Ouch, not again please,” I moaned helplessly. I gasped for air and writhed in pain, while Andreas had fully recovered. He picked me up and got out of the car with me. “Melanie, what is happening? How can I help you?”
From between clenched teeth, I forced out the words: “You can’t.” Then finally the pain started to slowly subside. Andreas was still carrying me in his arms. He studied me with curiosity. “Your energy is amazing, and that beam of energy you just healed me with is indescribable. Alexei was right. But how come your reaction afterwards is this extreme?”
“I don’t know. Usually it’s even worse.” I paused, thinking. “Did you just say Alexei?” I knew I had heard that name before.
Before he could answer, a young man came limping towards us. It was the half elf I had run over in the afternoon. “I told you, father, it’s an incredible rush.”
Had he just called Andreas ‘father’? I slapped my own forehead. I had turned myself over to the enemy! “You are Xavier,” I breathed. It was no more than a sigh of despair. I tried to back away from him, but now that he was well again, he was so much faster than me. He grabbed me by my shoulders and made it impossible for me to flee.
“Melanie, calm down. I’m not going to harm you. We’re friends after all.”
Friends? How many times had he tried to kill me already? I thought about Silvia, Adelheid, and Gerlinde. Then I remembered the four horrible kidnappers who had planned to rape me before they would hand me over. “You’ve tried to murder me at least four times so far. Why don’t you fucking get it over with now? We both know that I can’t vanquish you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The werewolf attacks, the poison in my Coke? Don’t you dare deny it!”
“Melanie, honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Then he changed his tack and got defensive: “Michael has been attacking us for months and without reason,” he claimed and let go of me, shaking his head. My attempt at getting back into the car was thwarted by Alexei.
“Where do you intend to go, back to Michael?” Andreas asked, sounding almost offended. I nodded and his face betrayed pity. “After everything he’s done to you.” I did not want his pity. “What are you talking about now?”
“No, he didn’t do that. I had the same suspicion at first, but he wasn’t behind this.”
“If you’re so sure about that, why are you so upset? You’ve always been such a smart cookie, come on, think for a minute. He didn’t want you to tell anyone what you are. A Halfling has certain rights. He or she may not have a lot of power, but we make sure that those rights aren’t violated. If word had gotten out, he could no longer have treated you as his property.”
“Allegedly I’m a dragon. Hiding the fact that I’m a Halfling must have been in my best interest, but now that you and Alexei know, that train has left the station I guess.”
“Melanie, don’t worry, you can trust us.”
“Come on, I almost killed your son today.”
“True, but then you healed him and saved my life.”
“Then just let me go!” I pleaded. His body language was unequivocal: He wasn’t ready to let me go. “Melanie, Michael will interpret your actions as treason. He would kill you if you went back now.”
“I’m willing to take that risk.”
“But I’m not! The others will be here any moment. I don’t have the time to argue with you now. Son, how are you doing? Are you strong enough to watch over her?”
Alexis took my arm and I tried to jerk it free. He laughed. “Father, are you kidding me? She’s no stronger than a human.”
I had a suspicion, and it would explain Andreas’ behavior over the last few weeks: “Alexei, do you guys feed on energy, too, the way the Peris do?”
“Of course we do, why?”
“Now I understand why I’m still alive.” Andreas wanted me for the same reason Nikelaus did; for my tantalizing energy.
More elves came and joined us. I recognized three of them from earlier in the square. One of them turned to Andreas. “Boss, you know that she’s Michael’s human? Well, and not just human either.”
“She’s been my friend from university for much longer than she’s known him.”
“And you seriously never realized that she’s more than human?”
Andreas gave him a devastating glare and the elf was silent. I had never seen Andreas this formidable. The man who had spoken out of line came over. “Alexei, I can put a spell on her. Then you don’t have to watch her the whole evening.”
“Zarek, I’ve already tried all possible spells on her. It’s not going to work.”
“I’ll start with the strongest if that’s the case.” He confidently wove a spell. Naturally I played along and pretended to be apathetic and obedient. He proudly pointed out his success to Andreas, but my old friend wasn’t so easily convinced.
“Get her to tell you her biggest secret, and to take off her shirt. Maybe then I’ll believe that it works,” he said skeptically. Apparently he thought that I would never undress in front of him. I wasn’t that prudish. And a secret, a believable one.
Zarek demanded I tell him my biggest secret, so I did: “My skin is covered in golden lines, all around my body. You can make them visible with the help of a spell that reveals hidden magic.”
Zarek murmured some words and the lines appeared on my body. Andreas’ jaw dropped, and then Zarek ordered me to drop my shirt. I obeyed. Andreas stepped closer. “What are they?”
Zarek told me to answer, so I shrugged and said: “They’re a part of me; I don’t know.”
Andreas was still suspicious. “Why does the spell work this time?”
“I had an exhausting day. This afternoon I almost choked on my own abilities. Afterwards I gave Michael lots of energy, vampires drank my blood, and then I healed you.”
“How did Michael know my student identity?”
“Do you remember the caricature? I was afraid you would tease me with it, so I snatched it back from you. Michael found it a few days ago. At the time I didn’t think much about it, because I was distracted by the symbols that had just appeared on my body, but now I know why he was so interested in it. I thought he was merely jealous.”
The garage was warmer than outside, but still too cold to be half naked for long. I started to shiver, because I was freezing. Andreas murmured a spell and the lines vanished again. Then he handed me my shirt back. “Put that on and then go sit in the car. And don’t move.” I obediently got into the car. The key was in the ignition where I had left it. I waited until the elves focused their attention elsewhere. It was even better than I had expected, for they filed out of the garage. Now I had to be quick. I put the car in reverse before I started the engine. I didn’t dare open the garage door, knowing they would hear it if they were still in the house. I needed every second I could get. It had to be a fast escape. I turned the key and started the engine, stepped on the gas and let the car break through the door behind me. Garage doors should start to fear me; this was already the second one. When I had turned the car around and stepped on the gas again, Andreas appeared in the driveway.
“Andreas, I will not be your plaything.” I was convinced that that was what he’d had in mind. He was Andreas after all.
I was afraid of Michael’s reaction. He would not kill me, but beyond that I was clueless. I cautiously opened the front door and stuck my head in. They had heard me arrive. Michael met me at the door. “I heard you were assiduous.” He studied the wound on my neck. “You should have let them die for that.”
“Funny that you and Xavier, a.k.a. Andreas, are of the same opinion.” I followed him into the lounge, where his men were all gathered.
Michael loomed over me in disapproval. “They should have recognized you. You’re under my protection and that of Jeremeia, too. First you heal an elf who would kill you without hesitating, and then you spare two vampires who were ready to break your neck. Melanie, are you insane?” He sounded too calm, too restrained.
“Michael, I’m not a murderer.”
“If you want to stay alive, you should become one. So you saved Xavier?”
“I had no idea who he was.” Michael knew me too well, so I decided to be totally honest: “He’s my friend; I would probably have done it anyway.” I gave him an apologetic look.
He turned to the other Peris. “We should act quickly before Xavier regains his strength.” He was so calm. Either he was about to explode, or it really didn’t bother him that much. I had learned that he looked the most indifferent when his feelings were really strong, no matter which they were. I cleared my throat. He sounded all too nonchalant and slow when he asked: “Is there anything else I should know?”
I was reluctant to answer, but I had to: “It’s possible that someone healed him.”
“You’re not serious. You did not!? How could you be so stupid?” His voice had grown louder with every word, and now he grabbed a decorative vase from a side table and hurled it right past my head, against the wall. Chips of plaster and shards of porcelain ricocheted through the air, a few of them cutting me where my skin was exposed. “Ouch!”
He glared at me, his eyes blazing fury. Maybe he would kill me after all. “Melanie, don’t look at me like a frightened rabbit,” he demanded, sounding terribly frustrated. Maybe my eyes were swimming with unshed tears by then. Coming here had been a mistake. I turned on my heel and ran for the door, but he was there before me and blocked my exit. “Where do you want to go now? Back to Andreas? You’re less afraid of him than you are of me?”
A mere week ago I would have sworn he was offended. I was no longer sure how to interpret his emotions, so I simply stood there feeling helpless. With a flash move, he turned his back to me and whacked the front door with his hand, which caused it to jump from its hinges and fly to the other end of the garden. When he spoke again, he sounded fully restrained again: “Stefan, take her upstairs to ou
r room. I will deal with her later.”
What did that mean? ‘I will break her neck later,’ or rather ‘I will make her see her own stupidity later?’
We had gone halfway upstairs when Michael called after us: “Take away the rose trellis and lock the door.”
There I was, sitting on Michael’s bed, locked into his room, with too much time to think. I remembered Andreas’ protestations that he and his people had nothing to do with the attacks. I thought about the werewolves and was certain I knew why Michael and Andreas were at war. The only problem was that neither would listen to me … unless I could forced them to talk to each other. I could not do anything if I stayed in this room, and if I didn’t interfere, they would likely smash in each other’s heads that night. The keys to Andreas’ car were in my pants pocket. Luckily Michael hadn’t touched my side of the closet. I retrieved the rope and the rappelling aid from the false bottom. My motorcycle gear was still there as well. I would need all the help I could get. Clad in my gear, I tied the rope to the closet, since it was bolted to the wall. Then I opened the window and climbed out. I crept through the garden, got in the car, and drove off without looking back.
When I crossed the Staatsbrücke, I received a call from Michael. “Melanie, love, come back. He will kill you.”
“Skip the endearments. What happened to ‘I’ll deal with her later’?” I imitated his angry voice. He didn’t say anything, so I continued: “I’m not headed for Andreas’ place. If I had stayed in the room, you wouldn’t have listened, and neither would he. I want you guys to talk to each other, because it’s happening again: You’re being pitted against one another.”
“Melanie, this is different.”
I used the conference call function and added Andreas. I wanted them to listen and talk.
“Melanie, are you alright? Let me guess: You were wrong about Michael and barely made it out alive. You can always come back to me if you want to,” Andreas said when he picked up.
“I would never harm her,” Michael flared, outraged and pissed.
“Oh, you’re still with him after all,” Andreas concluded.
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 35
