by Emme Wesson
Sylvie Monroe
A Children of the Hunt Short Story
By Emme Wesson
Sylvie Monroe
Copyright: Emme Wesson
Published: June, 2013
Publisher: Emme Wesson
The right of Emme Wesson to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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Author's Note:
When I first wrote this story, Liam's character had not yet made an appearance in what was then the rough beginnings of Hunt. This was meant to be an unrelated werewolf story. But when it came time to introduce the Sunapee Alpha, I knew it was Liam. Jamie and Clay only get a brief mention.
When my editor, A.C. Rogers, read the first incomplete draft of the second book in the series, Jamie and Clay make an appearance and how they met is mentioned. Her note back to me was 'this would make a great short story'. To which I replied, 'it already is one' and sent it off to her for proofing.
The events in the story take place four years before Hunt.
He had no air! He twisted his body, trying to free himself from the tree roots under the water, but he was caught and he was running out of air. Precious seconds ticked by as he struggled not to breathe, until his lungs burned with the effort. What a stupid way to die, trying to spy on their neighbor. His mother would be heartbroken. If they ever found his body, that is. He tried one last time to pull himself free and then it was too late. Water filled his lungs and he could feel himself losing consciousness. What a stupid way to die.
Clay sat up in bed, gasping for breath, his legs kicking at the sheets in an effort to free himself from the nightmare tree roots. He swore and pulled his knees up, putting his head between them as he tried not to hyperventilate. It had been ten years since he'd dreamt of drowning and fifteen years since he actually had drowned. Maybe coming home to Sunapee, NH for his newest book launch hadn't been the greatest idea, not if it brought back the nightmares. He had wanted to say no when his agent, Michelle Kane, had suggested it, but she had this way of getting him to do things he'd rather not. It was part of what made her a great agent and the bane of his existence at the same time.
A glance at the clock told Clay it was almost 4:00AM. It would be no use trying to get back to sleep now, so he threw back the sheets and got out of bed. He booted up his laptop and went into the kitchen to start the coffee. If he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well write. Bringing his coffee back to his desk, he sat down and opened up the draft of his next book. It wasn't going as well as he'd hoped, not after writing about the same character for the last ten years. Even if he felt he was ready to take a break from Sylvie Monroe, vampire, she didn't seem ready to let him.
Maybe his nightmares were her fictional revenge for abandoning her, since writing about her was what helped him banish them in the first place. Because Sylvie Monroe was based on the young woman who had saved his life that late summer day, the very same one he had been trying to spy on. Clay had been fifteen years old that summer and totally obsessed with her. His parents had been getting divorced and his mother had opted to spend the summer at their house on Otter Pond in Georges Mills, the very same house he sat in now. The woman had been staying with one of their neighbors who had recently purchased a house on Otter Pond and they kept to themselves, so no one knew anything about either of them. His teenage mind had been left with a lot of time to ponder who she was and why she was there, even making up his own stories about her. She had gone from battered wife in hiding to super spy on vacation to movie star avoiding the paparazzi. She had been sleek and beautiful, lounging on the boat dock in her bikinis, her black hair shining like obsidian in the sunlight, her sunglasses always keeping her blue eyes from view.
In the end though, she had become his vampire angel savior, his last glimpse of her burned into his mind forever. When she had finally gotten him breathing and coughing the water out of his lungs, he had looked up to see an unexpected sight. Two very long and pointed canine teeth had been visible in her open mouth. As soon as she realized he was staring, she had covered her mouth with her hand and started to back away. By then, his mother and other neighbors had come to help and she slipped away between them, pausing only once to look back and find him still staring at her.
Clay had looked for her the rest of the summer, but she was gone. Her friend still lived at the house, but Clay was too afraid to go ask the man about her. Later that year, his mother moved them to Florida and the few times he visited with his father in Sunapee, he had never seen her again. Now he owned the house on Otter Pond, but this was the first time he had been there since his father passed away five years ago. Clay had always found it ironic that while he had nightmares of drowning, he never dreamt of her saving him. It was what had driven him to write about her, giving life to Sylvie Monroe, vampire.
With a sigh, Clay opened a new document and started to write about Sylvie, feeling like he needed to take the not so subtle nightmare hint. If she wasn't going to go away even temporarily, then he might as well use it to his advantage.
Jamie sat fidgeting on the railing of Liam's deck, waiting for him to bring out their breakfast. The sun was just barely up and the air was still chilly, but she was too excited to notice either. Today she would get to meet her favorite author at Liam's bookstore, Crescent Moon Books. She had been reading Clay Coolidge's Sylvie Monroe series since the first book, ten years ago. The spunky vampire had grabbed Jamie's attention from the first page and was still one of her favorite characters of all time.
''Jamie girl, get off the railing. It's not as young as it used to be.'' Liam set their food on the redwood table and went back inside for their tea. Jamie hopped off the railing and sat in one of the chairs instead, starting on her bacon and eggs before Liam had returned. ''I see your manners haven't changed any,'' he observed as he set her tea down in front of her.
''Should I have waited for you to say grace, Liam?'' she asked, taking another bite of bacon.
Liam snorted and ate one of his own slices of bacon. ''No, but you could have waited for me to join you. You American cousins have no common courtesy.''
''As opposed to cousin Shamus or cousin Celine? It seems to me that the Scottish born MacKenzies think they're better than us American born ones, but the truth is that even your own brother and sister have less manners than I do.''
Liam smiled a sharp toothed smile at her reference to the incident. Their last MacKenzie family hunt in the highlands had ended with Shamus and Celine splitting the boar between themselves before the rest of the family could join them, which was rude considering they had all helped in the hunt. It had breached family etiquette and made their father, Dougal, look bad.
''At least they had their young age to excuse them,'' he prodded her.
''And I had my hunger to excuse me. You took too long with breakfast and I was starving.''
''Aye, you're all skin and bone these d
ays,'' Liam said doubtfully as he cast an eye over her supple curves. Jamie stamped on his foot under the table, causing him to raise his hands in surrender. ''Enough, Jamie girl. I should know better than to engage you on the subject of food.''
''Yes, you should. Is there any more bacon?''
Clay was wearing jeans and his nicest casual blazer, looking very author-like, he thought as he looked at himself in the mirror. He knew he was never quite what people expected, even though they all had his picture on the backs of their books. He was shorter than they thought he would be, wore glasses and was generally just nerdier than they expected he should be. He didn't care really that he didn't meet their expectations. He just got tired of hearing people tell him he didn't.
Michelle wouldn't be here with him for this appearance like she usually was. Clay was on his own this time and being back in Sunapee, he preferred it that way. He needed to know it could still feel magical being here, the way it had when he was younger, and it still did in its own way. Time seemed to stand still in his parent's house, leaving him feeling like the awkward fifteen year old he had once been. Not for the first time, Clay wondered if he should move back here. If he was going to finally let Sylvie go, maybe he needed to come full circle.
Looking at the clock, Clay realized he needed to get going. He needed to be at the bookstore before the launch party started. The owner of the bookstore, Liam MacKenzie, had been generous enough to plan the party in Michelle's absence. He would read the first chapter of his newest Sylvie book, Blood Burial, talk about his next book, answer questions and sign books for the fans. Only locals had been invited to this party, through a lottery drawing, because space was limited in the small book store.
Clay got in his rental car and drove down Route 11 to Sunapee Harbor, where Crescent Moon Books was located. The store was in an old converted A-frame house with an addition built onto one side. He parked in back in a reserved spot like the owner had suggested and knocked on the back door. Liam opened the door for him and ushered him in, checking to make sure no fans were lurking about. ''The front of the store is already filled with fans and the local press,'' Liam told him. ''Even all of my employees are here, on duty and not. I told the ones not working to watch from the loft and said you would sign books for them personally later. I hope that's all right.''
''Yes, that's fine,'' Clay assured him. ''I'd be happy to.''
''My cousin Jamie has even driven up from Rhode Island to see you. You're her favorite author. She hopes you'll forgive that she's no longer a local, but she did live here for a while.''
Clay smiled, amused by the dedication of Liam's cousin. ''I'd love to meet her after the party.''
''You can wait in my office for now if you'd like. The party isn't scheduled to start for twenty more minutes.'' Liam led Clay through the stock room and into a small room that served as his office. There was a small one way mirror on the wall that looked out into the store and Clay couldn't help going over to it to see the people milling about. ''There're drinks in the fridge if you need one. If you're hungry, I can bring you some food.''
''I'm fine for the moment, thank you.''
''I'll be back to collect you for the introductions,'' Liam told him, then left him alone in the office.
Clay stood looking out at the fans who had been chosen to attend. A few were even in costume, dressed like some of the characters from the Sylvie Monroe books. He watched as Liam stopped to talk to one dressed to look like Sylvie herself and when she turned around, Clay felt his heart clench. She didn't just look like Sylvie, she looked like the woman who had saved him from drowning. But that was impossible, wasn't it? She would be fifteen years older and this woman looked just like she had the last day he'd seen her. Unless…no, that was impossible. There were no real vampires.
''It's an honor and my great pleasure to introduce the best selling author of the Sylvie Monroe series…Clay Coolidge!'' Liam stepped aside and Clay came forward to the sound of thunderous applause. While he didn't necessarily like the lime light, sometimes it felt pretty good to know that people really appreciated his books. He glanced around quickly, looking for the Sylvie Monroe look-a-like, but didn't see her.
''Thank you,'' Clay said, raising his voice to be heard. ''I'm happy to be here with all of you tonight and I'm glad you could all come. I'd like to start the evening by reading the first chapter of my new book, Blood Burial.'' The crowd quieted down as he opened the book and started to read. They listened raptly as Sylvie's new adventure began, only breaking their silence when he finished the chapter and closed the book. The applause started again, but lasted only a few minutes as he raised his hand and asked if there were any questions. In between, he spoke about his ideas for his next book, mentioning that it wasn't about Sylvie. This brought a whole new round of questions asking if he was abandoning Sylvie all together, to which he could only reply that she didn't appear to be done with him just yet.
When the questions were done, the crowd lined up to have their books signed and take pictures with him. Many people told him how much they enjoyed the Sylvie Monroe books, told him who their favorite characters were and graciously shook his hand after he signed their books. Some complained that he had killed off their favorite characters and didn't like how the story lines had progressed. To those people, he would only say thank you for their input and move them along as quickly as possible. The whole time, he kept waiting for the Sylvie look-a-like to make her appearance, so he could see that he'd been mistaken and she wasn't a dead ringer for the real woman. But when the last books were signed, there was still no Sylvie.
Finally, Liam and his employees had cleared the store of customers and locked up for the night. Liam led Clay upstairs to meet all the employees, sign their books and take pictures with them. He thought perhaps that Sylvie would be up here, one of Liam's employees made up to look like her, but still he didn't see her. Eventually, the employees all filed out the back door, leaving him alone with Liam.
''Didn't you say your cousin was here too?'' Clay asked him. ''You didn't introduce her.''
''Oh, Jamie. You haven't met her yet. She's probably waiting in my office.''
As Clay followed him downstairs, he asked him about the woman he'd seen. ''Liam, earlier when you left me in the office I saw you talking to a woman who looked like Sylvie Monroe.''
Liam paused and gave him a questioning look, then laughed. ''Oh, yes, I know exactly who you mean. She could be Sylvie's twin, couldn't she?''
''But who is she?''
Liam pushed open the door to his office and stepped inside, motioning Clay to follow him. ''Clay, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Jamie.''
Jamie stood up from Liam's desk and held out her hand to him, a pleased smile bright on her face. ''I'm so happy to meet you. I've been a fan since the first book came out.'' She paused, then asked worriedly, ''Are you all right?''
Clay simply stood there looking at her, not really believing his eyes. She was the woman he had seen earlier talking to Liam and she didn't just look like the woman he had based Sylvie Monroe on…she was her, right down to her blue eyes and obsidian black hair.
''It's you…'' he said and passed out cold on the floor.
When Clay came to, Liam and Jamie were both kneeling over him, their faces showing worry. For a moment, he flashed back to that day fifteen years previous, when she had knelt over him after saving his life. Without thinking, he blurted out, ''Where are your teeth?''
''What?'' They both asked simultaneously. Then Jamie smiled and said, ''Mr. Coolidge, I'm not Sylvie Monroe.''
''No,'' he answered. ''You're the one who saved my life.''
Jamie shook her head, misunderstanding. ''You weren't dying. You just passed out.''
''No. Fifteen years ago, I was drowning in Otter Pond and you saved my life. It was you.'' Clay grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. ''I saw your teeth that day. I saw… and you don't look any older than you did then. Are you really a vampire?''
Jamie laughed and looked at Liam, s
haking her head. ''No, Clay, I'm not a vampire. Come on, why don't you sit in the chair and I'll explain everything.'' They helped Clay up and sat him in Liam's chair, got him a drink of water and seated themselves on the other side of the desk. Jamie shook her head slightly, whispering, ''I never dreamed…you based Sylvie Monroe on me. It's no wonder I was drawn to the character the first time I read about her. I always thought it was funny that the pictures on the covers looked like me. I didn't know, didn't put together that you were Clay Coolidge. The boy I saved was called Tom.''
''Clayton Thomas Coolidge Jr. I didn't start going by Clay until I published my first book. My parents called me Tom.''
She gave him a sad smile and continued. ''I saw you watching me that summer. You thought you were being so covert about it, but I was watching you too. If I hadn't been…well, things may have ended differently that day. As it was, I thought I was too late. I didn't think I would be able to get you breathing again. I was so frantic and absolutely terrified. And then you were breathing and awake. Your mother came and other neighbors and I fled.''
''I saw your teeth.''
''I never did have very good control when I'm terrified.''
''But you said you weren't a vampire.''
''Vampires aren't the only ones with sharp teeth, Clay,'' Liam answered him. ''Or the only ones who don't show their age.''
''Then what?'' Clay paused and looked at Liam more closely. ''You were there too, weren't you? You owned the house?''
''Yes. I sold it shortly after and bought one right on Lake Sunapee instead. Jamie and I both thought it was best, after you saw.''
''But what did I really see?''
''You saw me trying to control the change,'' Jamie told him.
''What change?'' Clay asked.
''Into a wolf.''
Clay sat there staring at both of them, at a loss for words for once. Then, finally, ''I think I need a drink.''
Liam went home, leaving Clay and Jamie to make their way back to Clay's house on Otter Pond. Clay questioned his own sanity, being alone with Jamie after she's told him she was a wolf. But she had saved his life once, so he didn't think he was in danger now. Once in the house, Jamie went to the windows overlooking the lake and stood looking out at the moonlit water, while Clay poured himself a scotch.
