The Depths of Darkness

by Laurie Bowler

  “I’m fine,” I answered sleepily, “this is a nice dream,”

  He chuckled, “You’re not dreaming Patty,” he said, “this is real. I’m sorry about last night.”

  I shot up in the bed and pushed my hair from my face, staring back at him. His eyes were full of regret and his smile promised a different and calmer Luke, like the one that I’d always known back at the agency. The fun easy going character that had made me laugh many times, and of course made me want to reiterate the rules of vampire and human dating.

  “This isn’t a dream?” I asked incredulously, “So, you’re really sitting the bottom of my bed?”

  “Yes,” he said, “I can’t come any closer because of the protective bubble you’ve got around you. I had to throw the coverlet over you and wait till you feet popped from beneath the shield so I could make you comfortable. Did I scare you?”

  “Sort of,” I answered, “but I didn’t understand, one minute you were fine and then you wanted to have me for dinner. What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” he sighed. “I just got this magnetic pull to the way you smell. Most of the time I can block it, but because you’re here and I know you’re going to be here for a while, I let my guard slip just for a second and before I knew it I wanted you, badly.”

  “Lovely,” I answered with as much sarcasm as I could, “so you’re telling me, that because I’m staying here with you, that’s the reason why you couldn’t stand being around me?”

  “That’s right,” he said shifting uneasily. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me though. It won’t happen again,”

  “How do I know for sure?”

  “Well,” he said, “you’ve got your shield to protect you if I get like that again, don’t you?”

  “Yeah I guess,” I said. “Luke, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be here if you can’t handle being around me. I don’t know why my smell causes you so much grief.”

  “Grief,” he spluttered, “on the contrary,” he said. “It doesn’t cause me grief; I feel pulled to you. I want to taste you so badly but I know I can’t and I don’t want to be the one to take your life. If and only if you get to that point ever, I want you to know I’ll be there to offer you immortality. Your life will be such a shame to waste.”

  “Am I supposed to be comforted by that?” For some reason his words had the weirdest effect, I was torn between wanting to be near the end of my life and wanting to walk away from him and be true to the rules of the agency.

  “I don’t expect you to be,” he laughed, “but hey, we’re still friends right?”

  “Of course,” I smiled, “can I get up now?”

  “Yes,” he said, “Patty are you going to have the shield around you all day? I can’t stand the fact that you’re still afraid of me; I wouldn’t have hurt you, and I would have stopped myself somehow.”

  Surveying the information and how he was acting with me today, it was like last night hadn’t happened at all and had been a figment of my imagination. “Luke,” I said as I pulled back the shield and allowed myself to become vulnerable to him, “did you control my dreams last night?”

  “No,” he said, “I didn’t want to push the boundaries and I promised that I wouldn’t anyway.”

  “Oh,” I said distractedly.

  What on earth had I been dreaming about? I was much happier knowing it was Luke summoning and placing them into my head without me now worrying about the fact that I was fantasising about him.

  Sighing and grabbing my brush roughly combing my hair, Luke sat back and watched me with the most quizzical look crossed through his eyes and they widened a little.

  “You dreamt of me on your own last night?” he choked out.

  “I asked you not to read my mind,” I snapped, “and you promised to tune them out.”

  “I know,” he said running his fingers through his hair, “but you did, didn’t you?”

  “Yes Luke,” I sighed, “I did,”

  “Jesus,” he muttered slapping his leg angrily, “we can’t let this get in the way and we both have to behave like adults. It’s got to stop, I should never have set them into your head, and if I hadn’t then this wouldn’t be happening. Patty,” he said. “I want you to forget everything I put inside your head; it’s only a dream and you know it can’t come true, neither of us can let it. Not unless you’re near death and then I shall offer you the immortality you deserve, letting you die will be a huge waste to both the world and the agency.”

  I was so shocked my mouth had gone dry; I licked my lips several times and couldn’t think of a positive or negative response to him.

  “Well,” he laughed uneasily at my silence, “what do you say?”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’ve already decided that we can’t be anything other than colleagues. And Luke,” I said measuring my next sentence carefully, “I want to investigate the murders.”

  “I thought you might,” he said, “I’m happy for you to look at the records and that kind of stuff but I don’t want you to do anything else. That includes no looking for anything, no leaving the house to search for anything on your own or asking anyone questions.”

  “Right,” I said smiling, “got it!”

  Luke left abruptly softly closing the door behind him, muttering about having to make some phone calls and sort some business out.

  Gladly I was alone, with much to think about and my head still pounded but only distantly and not as severely as last night. My stomach rumbled loudly symbolising that I hadn’t eaten for a considerable amount of time.

  Showering as fast as I could and changing my clothes, my body felt stiff and I had bruising where Tye had attacked me, especially around my neck. Deep purple and blue bruises had appeared; I grabbed the scarf that someone had packed along with my clothes and tied it around my neck to conceal the extent of the brutality shown by Tye.

  Luke was downstairs on the phone, his voice softly speaking to someone; the deep rumble of the voice on the other end told me he was speaking to a man.

  “I told you I can’t do it,” he insisted, “no, I won’t.”

  He listened to the person on the other end of the phone as I perched on the stairs, unsure whether to go downstairs or not.

  “You can do whatever you like,” he said, “but she’s not coming along and I can’t be persuaded either. You know as well as I do how dangerous it is to bring a human and especially a witch.”

  I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation so it didn’t make sense, but I knew it included me somehow but where and in what capacity I wasn’t totally sure.

  I heard the receiver hang up with a click and then he called, “You can come down Patty. , Sorry about that I was on the phone .”

  “No worries,” I smiled brightly and wandered away to explore this huge complex he called a house.

  The other rooms that led off had all been decorated differently, some were light and airy with massive windows very similar to the foyer, but the others had been decorated to cover and hide the outside world. It almost felt like the rooms had something they wanted to hide.

  The kitchen was made with high stools and catered to the needs of whoever entered. Every pot and pan had been neatly stacked; the appliances tucked away backed to the wall with a giant table in the centre laid with the breakfast things that I would need.

  “You must be Patty,” a female voice stated behind me.

  I jumped from shock; I hadn’t heard anyone approach me much less the rustle of clothes of the sliding of someone’s feet across the floors like mine did.

  “Hi,” I croaked aware that I looked plain against this woman who had the kind of beauty I’d always been envious of, “I’m Patty.”

  Stupid me, what a silly thing to say. Of course I was Patty, hadn’t she already more or less told me who I was anyway which could only mean Luke had told her.

  “Hi Patty,” she said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Darcy,”

  “Darcy,” I echoed blinking rapidly, �
��sorry but do I know you?”

  “No,” she laughed, “you might have seen my pictures lying around here though. I’ve known Luke for some time; we more or less changed at the same time,”

  “Changed?” I queried, unsure of what she meant, “I’m not following.”

  “You know,” she rolled her eyes, “turned into vampires.”

  “Oh so you’re a...”

  “Yes,” she smiled, “I’m dead too. But it’s alright, there are more perks than you think. For a start, I can beat a man at arm wrestling. How many girls do you know that can do that? Anyway do you want some breakfast?”

  She spoke so fast and fluently that I hadn’t a clue of what she was talking about, only that somewhere in there I’d nodded at the mention of breakfast which sent her scurrying away into the other side of the overly clean and impressive kitchen. While she spoke and chattered away about herself, being self obsessed, which was one thing I hadn’t come across in a vampire before. I walked over to the windows and I stood looking outside.

  Sliding the glass door open and feeling the breeze gently blow on my face, ruffling my hair and breathing deeply, the smell of the flowers in the garden filled the air. The swing looked inviting and swung gently on its own, pushed by the hands of the wind. The sun shone down creating a magnified glow across the lawn. Now this was my own summons of nature, to summon the weather to suit my mood whether the season be spring, summer or fall.

  One thing about my powers, if I wanted summer I’d summon it, if I wanted snow I’d summon it, no matter what the mortals thought of the ever changing weather around them. They didn’t particularly grumble, the news reported it as global warming and such like, they simply accepted it and moved on with their lives like ants scurrying around inside an ant hill controlled by their queen ant.

  “Do you like the garden?”

  Luke stood a few feet behind me, dressed in casual trousers that loosely fit around his waist and a light shirt that hung over the top of the waistband. He looked refreshed and relaxed, the atmosphere between us had changed dramatically and now he was being nice and in complete control of his thirst.

  “It's a beautiful day,” I commented turning away from him to look out over the large garden. “Do you come outside here often?”

  “Not really,” he answered quietly, “Only when I need to ask the gardener something. And yes, like Darcy he’s a vampire too.”

  “A vampire gardener huh?” I smiled, “very nice.”

  “It's not usual for us to have hobbies you know,” he reprimanded amused. “Darcy loves to cook.”

  “And talk,” I interrupted, “she likes to talk.”

  “Yes that too,” he said. “Sorry, I should have been here to introduce you. She’s been close to me for years and just won’t leave. When she found out I was having a mortal to stay round she insisted on making you breakfast today.”

  “Nice,” I said sipping my orange juice I’d grabbed on my way out of the door, “you know,” I said, “this is the kind of setting to have a perfect picnic,”

  “Do you like picnics, Patty?”

  His voice changed from amused to soft and seductive, he leant against the door with his shoulder and stood idly talking to me.

  “I don’t care for them much,” I said almost dreamily, “I loved them as a child but people grow up, don’t they? They get old and change.”

  He stepped outside and stood next to me, not touching but he was close enough that if I allowed my hand to dangle by my side it would make contact with his.

  His eyes watched me thoughtfully. I didn’t turn to face him, it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do and possibly catastrophic. He was confusing and I didn’t want to have him in my life; the rules must be obeyed.

  “Your breakfast is ready,” he said softly, “I’d better get back I’ve got a lot to do today. Will you be alright until later today then we can do something if you’d like?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said my voice softer than before, my eyes enraptured by the look on his face and the need to touch him stole over me. Shaking my head angrily I said, “I’ll be fine on my own. I’ll probably spend the day going through reports. I take it I can access the agency files from here?”

  “Yes,” he chuckled softly, “in the second floor study you will find everything that you need, but remember our deal”

  I raised my brows at him; there was no deal that I’d made.

  “You wouldn’t try and find the murderer and we’ll wait it out here.”

  “No Luke,” I said sadly, “that was your deal, not mine!”

  I turned and walked away when I heard Darcy scrapping breakfast onto the plate.

  “Ta-da!” she said proudly when I walked through the door, “breakfast is served.”

  Now whoever said vampires could cook was so wrong, and whoever thought they should was equally as wrong.

  “Well,” Darcy hovered above me watching me as I sat down and took my first morsel off the fork, “Is it any good?”

  Her hands clenched and unclenched inside the cloth she held in her hand, her light blue apron and her fair hair made her look like a maid.

  “It's lovely,” I lied, “Delicious in fact.”

  It tasted absolutely awful, if ever there was a cook that used too much salt then it had to be said that Darcy was one of them. Rather than hurt her feelings, I smiled and made all the usual necessary noises in the right places.

  “You did well,” I said folding my napkin, “thank you it was great.”

  I wondered why she couldn’t hear my thoughts; they were enough to deafen anyone. Surely Luke heard from the study.

  I finally escaped the kitchen and a very happily lied to and amused Darcy who was busying herself clearing away. When she’d opened the fridge, I’d already spied the cartons of blood contained within which answered my question earlier about where Luke got his meals

  Last night had been peculiar though, and I wasn’t entirely sure I understood what was happening between us; it was strange and disconcerting beyond all my rational reasoning.

  The study Luke mentioned took me a while to find. The first room I’d entered turned out to be some kind of child’s playroom equally as eerie as anything else considering he didn’t have any children, unless he was thinking about adopting but that was highly unlikely. The second room turned out to be someone else’s bedroom, and I wondered who else stayed at the house. I thought he’d lived alone and then I found Darcy humming and chatting away in the kitchen trying to be the world’s best cook.

  “I see you found the study,” Luke stood behind me, “I’m glad.”

  I jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned to face him beetroot red from the thoughts of him that had crossed through my mind.

  “Luke,” I hesitated, “why do you have a child’s playroom here?”

  He shrugged and smiled.

  “Darcy knows a lot of humans, she’s not connected to the agency in anyway and refuses to do so,” he said. “The humans entrust their children with her to look after occasionally so I make it slightly easier for her to bring them here and to play in there. Why is it a problem?”

  “Not at all,” I replied hastily and instantly regretted my question. “Sorry, I shouldn’t intrude. Already I’m taking over much of your life; you must be glad to be rid of me,”

  “On the contrary,” he murmured, “I’m delighted to have you stay here with me, it’s about time I had some company. I promise there will be no repercussions from last night. I can’t tell you how sorry I am,”

  “It’s fine,” I shrugged, “don’t sweat it.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever be the same with me as you were before?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I said confused, “I am the same. I haven’t changed anything.”

  “No you’re not,” he said, “you’re holding me at arm’s length. When you didn’t know who I was or my job you were different.”

  “So were you Luke,” I answered, “so were you.”


  I pivoted on my heel and entered the study. To my delight there was a large desk and a comfortable chair to sit down on. This was much better and far more up class than my own home study which consisted of a not so comfortable desk to work, but my pet cat had always kept me snuggled.

  “Luke,” I called instantly guilty from leaving him behind.

  He appeared around the door, keeping his distance.

  “Yes”

  “What about my cat?” I asked.

  “What cat?” he asked a slow steady smile appearing, “I didn’t know you had a cat.”

  “Well you do now,” I answered, “can he come here as well?”

  “I’ll send someone over to collect him right away.”

  I watched him leave and sighed loudly settling myself down at the desk; the computer bleeped rather loudly but was much faster than my old decrepit laptop that I’d left behind.

  Chapter Five

  Concentrating on the screen and sitting forwards, I took notes and read the latest updates from Lilly’s files, the ones I could access. My name had been reported to have been involved in an assault; my location had been falsified presumably to protect me from whoever was killing the realm and the leaders, or whoever was close to Matace. Nothing turned up; the recordings were the same as the paper file that Lilly had rescued from me. She’d informed me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t allowed to look at the investigation and neither was I allowed to take part in it in anyway shape or form, ruling out the possibility of me even snooping or coming up with ideas.

  Walking away and sighing deeply, it seemed such a mess, no new leads and all had led to dead ends. It was like no one was talking or too afraid to talk. The only person who had anything remotely useful to say was the guy who owned the bar but then could his words be taken as honest? After all hadn’t he been dumped by the agency? For all I knew it could have been him who’d sent Matace down the alleyway to his death. And then there was Tye attacking the way he had, and his vicious assault on me. It didn’t add up and it didn’t make any sense at all.

  The only place that hadn’t been recorded as being investigated or checked and that was Matace’s house. It was a huge white building that sat apart looking down on the city; the many rumours that had circulated about the house had made me chuckle countless times. Children had honestly thought it was haunted and rejoiced in taking small trips up the hill to glimpse the ghost; they terrorised each other with stories about it. Naturally Matace had lived up the idea and had displayed ghostly apparitions around the grounds and the courtyard that led up to the front black solid door. The imposing look hadn’t meant to cause gossip much less accumulate so many stories from children. Until someone went up there and cleaned it out for Lilly to reside there, it was still deemed as being neglected. Under the rules of the agency that means that I could go there at will and poke about or rather investigate.