by Mira Crest
“Hi, Virginie,” Trevor said.
Kain chuckled. “Why do I feel like we’re at an AA meeting?”
Lovejoy scoffed. “You would know what an AA meeting was like.”
“You’re so funny,” Kain said sarcastically.
Axel sighed. “Guys.” He motioned to Virginie. “We have a guest.”
“So what,” Kain said. “Do we need to be on our best behavior or something?”
Axel rolled his eyes. “Maybe just don’t act like bickering children.” He turned his attention to Trevor, who had been quiet for the past couple minutes. “You all right over there?” he asked.
“I don’t even know what happened,” Trevor said. “Everything happened in a split second. One minute, I’m just playing and a second later, Kain is pulling me backstage to get away from… I don’t even know what.” Trevor’s normal smile had given way to a furrowed brow and a worried grimace.
Axel matched him in expression as they started to dissect the evening. “The cop that I fought with that night was strong too. He wasn’t just some common vampire.” His fingers nervously tapped against the couch. “After I told you to leave,” he said, briefly looking at Virginie. “I don’t know how, but I managed to wound him. While we were locked in battle I kept trying to preserve it all in my memory: what he looked like, what he was doing... It was unlike anything that I’d ever run across before. I’d never fought a vampire so powerful.” He looked down and repeated the words again. “He was just so strong. Every time I threw something at him - whether it was a punch or whatever - he would thwart it like it was nothing. But when I finally had my wits about me and I had the opportunity to use Maya, someone else appeared.
‘’Someone else?’’ Lovejoy asked.
It was another shadow – another vampire. I don’t know where he came from. He just appeared out of nowhere. I couldn’t see his face or make out any feature in the gloom, but I could sense a deep malice.” His voice and mannerisms became more animated as the story went on. “I struck, but he deflected my Maya almost effortlessly. Then, I heard sirens. When I turned back, he was gone.’’
“No way,” Lovejoy said. Worry was written all over his face. He brought his legs up and crossed them on the couch. Virginie watched as he brought his boots up onto the delicately embroidered fabric of the camelback sofa. Her eyes moved from his boots to his face, which was focused on Axel.
“You’re the strongest vampire I know,” Trevor said. He placed his elbow on the armrest of the chair and brought his hand up, resting his head on his fist. “I can’t believe that there’s another vampire out there who’s stronger than you.”
Axel sat back on the couch. He rested his head on the back of the sofa and looked up at the ceiling as he thought out loud. “Those shadow vamps,” he said. “What did they want? A vamp can’t be killed by mere bullets. All vamps know that.” He blew a raspberry.
Kain chimed in. “It had to be because they wanted to out you in front of the crowd. They wanted everyone in the crowd to know just what you are,” he said. He crossed his arms.
Virginie turned to Axel. “Why would they do that?” she said, her brows furrowed in worry. “Do you have any enemies?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. It’s not like we’re feuding with another band or anything. I don’t know anyone who’s angry with me or with Night in general.” He sat up straight. “I especially can’t think of any vampire that’s crazy enough to challenge the Slayers. Just by going out there and shooting at us or feasting on humans - they’re putting themselves in danger too.” He gritted his teeth and as he did, his jawline clenched. “It bugs me, though. I mean, I’ve never run across such vampires before. And that shadow form… that was new.”
They all shrugged and shook their heads. A silence filled the room as they pondered over the questions that hung in the air.
Axel suddenly turned to Virginie. “Did you see anything peculiar that night?”
“Peculiar? I mean, it was all new and different but… I think I know what you mean and… No. Besides what happened when you saved me?” She thought back. “I don’t really remember a lot before Olivia and I tried to make it out of there. It all happened so quickly. I heard the gunshot and the next thing I remember was everyone going silence and the blood on your forehead and you falling on the ground. Before I could fully take in what was going on, people were screaming and running.”
He nodded. “What happened on the stage, did you tell anyone?” he asked.
She was about to shake her head but stopped. The cops, she thought. And Olivia. “Um,” she said softly. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. I mean, it doesn’t really matter, though. I just told the detective that was interrogating me, and Olivia, my best friend. But the detective didn’t believe me at all. He thought I was just making the whole thing up or that I had dreamed all of it.”
“That’s good,” Kain said.
“I don’t know,” said Lovejoy. “I mean, that guy you were fighting with backstage. He was a cop, right? That shadow figure or whatever he was?”
“A disguise, most likely. But that doesn’t mean that all cops are bad,” Axel said.
“Who says?” Kain said, punctuating his question with a scoff. “I would beg to differ.”
Axel threw him a stern look, much like a mother would to a disobedient son. “You know better. Vampires have dealt with enough discrimination. Not all cops are bad just like not all vampires are bad.”
Virginie had never thought about that before. She’d seen racism in books and movies. She’d even seen some of it at school before but vampires. This was all so new to her. And yet they too faced the same problems as some humans. They had to deal with discrimination too.
Trevor piped up. “What about that friend of yours?” he asked. “Did she believe you?”
Virginie shrugged. “I don’t know. She sounded like she was just humoring me, but she knows that I’m not a liar, so she might believe me.”
Trevor pursed his lips for a second. “Well, is she good at keeping secrets?” he asked.
Virginie bit her lip. She’d known Olivia for most of her life. Telling Olivia a secret was like telling a secret to a tabloid reporter.
Chapter 4
-Finding Olivia-
Virginie sat on the floral sofa with a lump in her throat. She wanted to share everything with Olivia. She always shared everything with Olivia. The problem was that Olivia liked to share everything with the world too.
The boys stared at her from their positions in their various seats.
“Your silence isn’t very comforting, kid,” said Kain. He cocked an arrogant eyebrow at her.
“Sorry, it’s just- Olivia is good at keeping secrets when you tell her that it’s a secret.” Sometimes, Virginie added in her thoughts. “But I didn’t tell her not to blab so I’m afraid -”
“This is bad,” Lovejoy said. “Your friend might just doom us all.”
Axel held up his hands. “Everyone, just calm down. Take it easy.” He turned to Virginie. “Everyone’s about social media these days. I’m assuming that she is, too?”
Virginie nodded. She felt guilty but she knew that she had no reason to. Right? “She’s one of those people that post absolutely everything on their InstaFace pages.”
“Check her social media status to see if she’s said anything about us. If she has…well, we’ll have to put a stop to it and have her take it down.”
“Have her take it down?” Lovejoy said, his voice squeaking. “You’re kidding, right? If she’s posted it already, probably a couple hundred people have already seen it.”
“Who says?” Kain said. “She might only have a couple of friends.”
That’s the most optimistic thing he’s said, Virginie thought. It’s not true, but it’s optimistic. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She looked at it. It had all of the bars. Reception, great. I didn’t want to have to wander around looking for service, she thought to herself.
She
quickly opened her InstaFace app as the guys began to bicker against each other. As she tapped on the InstaFace icon, their voices turned to a mumble and faded into the background. Her heart was in her throat. Scrolling down Olivia’s timeline, Axel’s name caught her eye. She did do it. She posted about it. She posted about the night of the concert.
“That look on your face isn’t comforting either,” Trevor said. His voice brought her back to reality.
When Virginie looked up, all four of the band members were staring at her. Their gazes pierced through her soft exterior. She could feel sweat forming on her forehead. “She posted about that night,” she said, her voice soft and shy. It shook with hesitation as she continued. “I told her that I saw you die and that you came back to life and saved me from some shadow creature.” Her voice got faster and her pitch slightly higher as she sped through her excuse. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”
Kain leaned in toward her. “She posted that?” The words came out sharp, like he was shooting arrows at her.
She nodded and hung her head. There was a commotion as Kain bolted upright and tried to take her phone from her. “Let me see that,” he called out.
Axel held him back and tried to calm him down. When that didn’t work, he forcefully sat him back down in the chair. “Chill,” he said. Without turning to Virginie, he gave her instructions. “Call her,” he said. “Tell her that she has to take it down. NOW.” His voice boomed with the last word.
She quickly exited the app. Frantically, she looked up Olivia’s number and hit Send. The phone rang.
And rang.
And rang.
Virginie thought back. Did Olivia even have a phone? Oh, that’s right, she thought. Her mom gave her an old phone to use while they waited for a replacement from the store. It was an agonizing minute until Olivia’s voicemail picked up. The sound of her voice made Virginie’s heart jump. “Olivia,” she said as soon as the beep sounded in her ear. “You have to take that post down. The one about Axel and what happened at the concert. You have to take it down. I know that you said that you believed me. I know you do. But you have to take it down. I can’t explain it right now. It’s just super important.” Her hand shook as she took the phone away from her face and tapped on the red square, ending the phone call. Her eyes scanned the room.
When her eyes fell back down to her screen, she noticed that Olivia’s call screen had disappeared and Virginie’s InstaFace app popped up to where she was before. Olivia’s timeline. She tapped on the post and found a comment by a man she didn’t know. It didn’t look like any of the guys at her school. This was an older guy. A handsome guy in his twenties. She didn’t claim to know all of Olivia’s friends, but this guy surely wasn’t one of them.
“Who’s this?” Virginie said, thinking out loud.
“What is it?” asked Axel. He sat back down on the couch next to her.
“There’s this weird reply. I don’t know this guy.” She tapped on his response, so she could read the whole post. “Hey,” she read aloud. “You don’t know me but I’m a reporter for The Herald. I’ve been looking for first-hand experiences from that night at the concert hall. I was hoping that you’d want to meet for an interview. Bring this friend of yours with you; the one that you went to the concert with.”
Axel looked over her shoulder. “Do you know him?” he asked. He held his hand out. Virginie placed her phone in his palm and he held it up for Kain. “Do you recognize the face?”
“Looks familiar,” Kain said. He looked angry. His eyes seethed, even more than before. “I’ve seen his face somewhere but…” He shook his head. “He might just have one of those faces-”
“One of those faces?” Trevor asked.
“We’ve been around for a while, dude,” Kain said. “I’ve seen a lot of people. He just might have one of those faces that look familiar.” He nodded toward the phone as Axel held it up for everyone to see. “I don’t know if I know him,” he said, eyeing Axel as the words spilled out of his mouth.
Axel handed the phone back to Virginie. “If your friend goes to meet him, she could be in danger.”
“Danger?’
“We don’t know who this guy is,” he explained. “He could just be a reporter, or he could be a vampire.”
“It might already be too late for your friend,” Lovejoy said. Virginie looked at him. His eyes were sympathetic to her worry.
“I can’t let anything happen to Olivia,” she said, her heart in her throat. “Maybe I can comment on her post to warn her. She checks InstaFace a lot. Or maybe I can tell him that I know who he is, then he’ll be in danger from hunters instead-”
Axel grabbed her hand. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he said. “The last thing that we need is to tip him off. If he is already with her, he’s just going to get rid of her right then and there.”
Virginie squeaked as she shut her mouth. “What should we do?”
“Call her house. Find out where she’s at,” Axel advised.
Her fingers flew as she quickly found Olivia’s home number. She pressed Send and the screen changed to Olivia’s face as the phone rang.
“Hello?” It was Olivia’s mother.
“Hi, Mrs.-“
“Oh, V!” she said, her voice nearly singing. “Did Olivia get a hold of you?”
“What?” Virginie asked.
“She’d been trying to get a hold of you for the past hour, but she says that she’s only been able to get your voicemail. Does that mean that you’re not going to Mr. Burger?”
“Mr. Burger?” Virginie repeated. “Is that where she’s at?” She thought back and realized that she hadn’t gotten any phone calls from Olivia. She must not have had service at Nowhere.
“Yes,” her mom said, still happy. “She’s meeting some reporter there. Isn’t that exciting? I’m just so happy that you two are safe and now you’re both going to be famous.”
“Wait, what reporter?”
“Oh, I don’t remember the fella’s name. She showed me his picture – he’s a handsome young man with blonde hair.” She continued to rattle off details about his appearance, each detail confirming Virginie’s suspicions. “Oh, I remember now. His name is Lance something-or-other.”
The air from Virginie’s lungs escaped, leaving her heaving and the world spinning. Olivia could be in danger. Olivia was in danger. The words repeated over and over in her head. In the distance, she could hear Olivia’s mom as she continued to rattle on and on about the nice young fellow that was going to meet her for the interview.
“Virginie?” Axel said. “Are you okay?” He touched her shoulders.
Virginie took in a deep breath. Her brows were furrowed, and she could feel the tears forming. “Um,” she said into the phone. “You said that she was at Mr. Burger, right?”
“Yes. She didn’t leave too long ago. You can still get in on that interview if you meet her there,” she said.
“Thanks. I’ll rush over right away,” she said before hanging up the phone. Her gaze moved up to Axel. “Mr. Burger. I have to go. I have to warn her or save her. Or both. I just-” She stood up and walked in the direction from which she came but there wasn’t a door in sight. “Oh, that’s right,” she said. She turned to Axel. “I have to leave. You have to let me go.”
“Okay, okay,” Axel said, standing up. “But I’m going with you.”
Kain held up his hand. “You can’t. The Slayers will find you once you step out of this house.”
“Well, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Especially if her friend is in danger. What am I supposed to do? Just sit around on the couch until the next full moon?” He waved his hand. “Besides, it should be okay if I’m only leaving for a short while.”
Virginie leaned in toward Trevor as the two bickered. “Are the Slayers able to sense him when he’s around?” she asked.
“Lovejoy cast his Concealment Maya to prevent others from tracking Axel with Maya. But it only works if Axel is in the ho
use. He can’t go out in public. At least, not until the next full moon anyway.”
“What happens at the next full moon?” she asked. Visions of werewolves appeared in her head.
“We can only change our appearance once every full moon. It’s how most vampires turn on new identities. You know, we can’t keep the same face for decades at a time. Humans die. In our case, it’s our identities.” His friendly tone was a welcome change from Kain’s stern and terse voice.
Virginie grinned through her confusion and worry.
Trevor continued. “Just like Axel said, all that common mythology is based on something. Remember that. There’s a little bit of truth behind all of it.” He flashed her a smile. “The full moon has quite an effect on supernatural beings like us.”
“Let’s go.” Axel’s voice was commanding but it didn’t frighten Virginie. She hopped to attention and followed him back to the poster on the wall, taking his hand as they walked through the same path that they had used to get to their hidden lair.
They reappeared in her bedroom, stepping out of the Night poster and onto the soft, familiar carpet flooring. She looked behind her at the poster of Axel. It’s like a doorway into Nowhere, she thought.
“Do you know where this place is?” he asked, putting his hood on.
She nodded and dashed to her desk to grab her keys. But as soon as she got to it, she nearly fell over. Her hands reached out for the cluttered desktop to keep her balance.
“The portal,” he said, in a hushed tone. “Sorry. I keep forgetting that this is all new to you and this portal hopping affects you like it does. Are you okay?”
“Just a little dizzy,” she said. “But it’s not as bad as it was before.”
“Oh, good,” he said. “That means that you’re getting used to it.”
As soon as the world steadied, she led him out of her bedroom door and into the upstairs hallway. It was time to rescue Olivia. But first, they needed to get past her mother.
“Should I just jump out the window?” he whispered as they both listened to the television set blaring from the living room.
