When she wakes up, she finds herself back at Alaric's house. Olivia jumps up, backing away towards the wall.
“You bit me!” She accuses, pointing a finger at the man who is watching her from across the room. Alaric looks at her shocked, shaking his head.
“Look, I’ll tell you what really happened, and then hopefully you stay the hell away this time! Let’s grab a drink, I can’t do this sober.” Without waiting he strides out of the door, Olivia rushing to catch up with him. Alaric doesn’t stop, remaining silent as they walk to the bar. When they get there they order drinks before sitting down opposite each other. Olivia admits that she would rather talk about things here, where she is at least surrounded by people and therefore safe.
“You bit me.”
Alaric shakes his head.
“I didn’t touch you, Olivia. What I said the other day was true. You just wanted to laugh and mock the fact I said it.”
Olivia remembers the last time they were here, how he had said it as if vampires were real.
“Are you really saying that man is a- a vampire?” She stares at him; surely he can’t be. Those things are just in dreams and stories, aren’t they? Surely if they were real, more people would know about it.
“Yes, Olivia. Things aren’t what they seem. I know it sounds crazy, I thought it was crazy at first too, but it’s real, it’s all real. Everything from your nightmares, everything you were scared of when you were young; it exists.” His earnest expression does nothing to convince her. I won’t fall for it; she insists to herself, I won’t let him get to me. Maybe it’s some sort of a cult or something, she knows there are some people out there who’d believe anything. Either way, she might as well have some fun with Alaric.
“So, what- witches exist? Like real witches with magic spells and everything?” She blinks innocently, keeping a smirk off her face and watching as he nods.
“And werewolves as well?”
He nods again. Her mind goes back to the wolf she saw tonight. It was so different from a wolf, but then again she’s never seen a wolf in real life, so how can she be so sure?
“Angels?” She presses further, and once more he nods his assent. He tilts his head slightly, looking at her confused. How many things is she going to list?
“So you’re telling me that everything in storybooks, all the stuff we were taught isn’t real, actually does exist? Like gnomes and trolls and leprechauns?”
He splutters, chuckling. “No, those things really are just stories. But there are a lot of things you see so often in films that do exist. It’s just that people never survive to tell the tale.”
She nods. She can tell he’s being serious but there’s still a part of her that wants to laugh at him. “You’re crazy, you know that right? To think I’ll believe all of this? So, tell me, what exactly is your friend then? Is he some sort of crazy psychopath that tortures people for fun, part of a cult, something else?” She’s had enough of his games; he’s clearly friends with the other guy. He obviously gets kicks from hurting people, and for some reason Alaric just didn’t want him to kill her.
“I’m telling you the truth, Olivia. Whether you believe it or not, it is the truth.”
“And yet every night you survive. You said you’re there to protect people, but why doesn’t this vampire just kill you as well? Let’s be honest, if that really was a vampire we'd both be dead right now.”
He swallows, looking at the ground before flicking his eyes back up to her. He may as well tell her: hell, if it makes her believe him and stay out of that graveyard it’ll be worth it. He thought she would have already worked it out, seeing him stood in front of her, but apparently not.
“I’m… different. That is why he hasn’t bothered touching you; it’s because I’m constantly on your tail.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Then why did he attack me last night and the time before?”
“The first time was because I got sloppy. I was too distracted to check everywhere, I let myself relax and that gave him a chance, one he knew he could get away from.”
She nods, unsure what to believe anymore. “How were you distracted?” Had someone else been there as well? Maybe he was trying to watch them both and it got too much for him to handle?
“It was you, Olivia. You distracted me. I was thinking about why you would put yourself at risk like you’ve been doing over and over again. You didn’t seem to care if you lived or died and that intrigued me, so I wasn’t thinking right because my mind was firing questions at me like you are right now.”
Olivia knows he’s right. She didn’t care if she died; she just wanted answers for Dan. Or, she did until now. With Alaric standing imposingly in front of her, his gaze boring into her soul, she felt powerless. “And tonight? How did that happen?”
Alaric shrugs his shoulders. “He obviously saw you coming. I planned to get there first and cut him off but you were already there and he came up behind you.” He had wanted to stop the attack so badly, but she’d had him frozen where he stood.
“So, this guy, is he the one making people go missing or turn up dead?” With Alaric’s nod, she realises that he could be the one who took Dan, which means there was actually a chance she could find him.
“Why not just kill them all? Why kidnap some of them?”
Scratching his head absentmindedly, Alaric grimaces. “Some are taken to be used as a meal for later. Others… well; others show potential and are changed.”
“So, Dan, he could be dead? Or alive, or- one of them?” She stares at him; she would honestly rather he was dead than the other two right now.
“He won’t be alive, Olivia.” She doesn’t believe that, and how does he know he won’t be?
“He could be; how do you know? You have no idea if he’s alive or not.” He nods. She’s right, he can’t be sure.
“Look, no one has disappeared from that graveyard since I started patrolling it two months ago. They wouldn’t keep him alive for that long; it would be a waste of time and effort. Whoever this Dan guy is, the answers aren’t worth what you’d risk to get them: you’re in far more trouble now that you know what you didn’t before. The only reason I told you is so that you don’t go looking for that guy to ask him!” He pauses for a breath before throwing his arms up in exasperation. “Look, you’re young. You’re what, like seventeen?! Go home, enjoy your life. Forget about all of this.”
Olivia laughs. “I’m nearly nineteen, thanks, and you don’t look much older than me anyway. I won’t come back, don’t worry.” She needs to just accept that Dan is gone instead of carrying on searching for him anymore. Maybe she could try to find out who that other man was…if she knew where he lived, she could perhaps find Dan.
“You’re right, I do look nineteen, but I’m a lot older than you’d think. Look, the graveyard isn’t the only place you need to be careful of.” Sitting down, Alaric explains a few local places she should avoid at night, places she never usually goes to at night anyway so it won’t be much trouble to avoid them.
“I should get going. Look, here’s my number in case you need me. You’re better off staying away from me, Olivia; as far away as you can. Stay away from those places and stop looking for answers or you’ll just end up getting caught up in it all.” Alaric stands and walks out. Olivia looks around her mindlessly before getting up herself and making her way home.
Newspapers still litter her living-room floor forming a carpet of black-and-white, Dan’s face staring at her from a thousand grainy photographs printed under bold headlines. She wants so badly to believe that he’s still alive, but how can she? All this vampire stuff sounds crazy, but it kind of explains it all. She looks down at her arm; she forgot to ask Alaric how it had healed so quickly. She knows she should be bleeding from tonight too, but again there’s nothing to suggest she’d been injured at all. She spends the next few hours looking through news articles of mysterious deaths and disappearances: the more she reads, the more she is convinced that Alaric is telling the truth.
It seems this has been going on for centuries, but given that no-one had an answer they had just chalked the deaths down to natural causes, and the disappearances as runaways. They mostly happen at night – very few during the day – which just confirms Alaric’s story even further. She giggles in the quiet of her house. Why is she even considering believing his story? It’s so bizarre… it’s at that moment that her mind reminds her of that man: the bite, his eyes, everything about him.
Alaric has to be telling the truth. She should run, ignore it all, yet there’s part of her that wants to go back out there right now and look for proof, to be sure it’s real and that he’s telling the truth. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s crazy, but then she can at least say for sure that yes, vampires do exist, and that Dan is gone forever. Having an answer though, an answer she can’t share, an answer that involves vampires, does she want that?
No, she doesn’t. She doesn’t want to know a vampire killed him if she can’t tell anyone, and she knows if she did try to tell anyone they’d think she was going insane. She finds herself considering it before finally drifting asleep as the morning light peeks through the gap in her curtains.
When she wakes up it’s late. There’s a momentary panic before Olivia remembers that it’s Saturday and she doesn’t need to be anywhere, although it doesn’t mean she’s going to stay at home. She gets ready quickly and grabs her coat before leaving, hastily pulling the door shut behind her and briskly walking without lending much thought to where her feet take her.She’s made this journey so many times that at this point it’s muscle memory. She will keep her promise to Alaric and stay away from the graveyard, but she still needs to know if it is true. She walks to the old mining hill; walking around it she sees nothing. There is no-one there. Sitting on the ground she relaxes, waiting in the quiet morning air.Someone must come soon, and then she’ll finally be able to prove that either vampires are real or that Alaric was lying. She hea
When Alaric gets home an incredibly short while after, the first thing he sees is Lucas standing there covered in blood.“I swear I had no idea, he jumped on me from behind and while I was trying to get free that twat fixed himself up and ran.”“The other guy?”Lucas shakes his head. “Didn’t get a look.” They sit and talk, Alaric annoyed that the vampire somehow got away.Meanwhile at the café, Olivia gives up waiting to see if he comes back and starts her walk home. It was nice knowing her? That isn’t what normal people say to someone. She arrives home and drops straight onto the sofa, letting her head fall back against the cushions. She likes Alaric, she isn’t sure why, but for some reason, she just does.
“Now I understand what was so important. She just doesn’t give up, does she?”Olivia nods, not finding it very funny.“My mum doesn’t care, as long as I’m alive. It’s Mel who can’t leave things alone.”Alaric nods. “She’s just worried – overly worried, yes – but at least you have someone to worry about you.”Olivia laughs. “Trust me, it’s overrated. Sometimes I think it would be better to not have a family.” She looks at Alaric guiltily, realising what she had just said. It was inconsiderate of her; he had lost his family decades ago.“Sorry, I didn’t think. I doubt not having a family for so long is much of a good thing.”He laughs, shaking his head.“As I said, Olivia, it runs in my bloodline, so my family are there, just none from when I was born. I do see family from time to time. Most stop shifting after a
The week passes by quickly and Olivia finds herself giving up on trying to find Dan. She gathers all the newspapers and cut-out articles from the floor and stuffs them in the bin where they should have been for a long time. She takes the opportunity to tidy the rest of the house, too; all of Dan’s stuff goes into a cupboard where she doesn’t have to look at it every day, watching her go about her life and constantly confronting her with what now seem like distant memories. She forces herself to work as much as possible, spending any free time she has finding friends and, in a way, trying to forget Alaric. Since he left, she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him.Something inside her craves him, craves to be near him, and she can’t seem to work out why. Sure, she likes him. She’d even go as far to say he’s hot, but there’s something else there; something else
Glancing back at the empty, moon-lit street behind her she continues to run, but as she turns to look forwards again she comes face-to-face with a figure, running straight into the person. She screams and jumps back, her eyes glancing up to see Alaric holding his hands up.“Hey, don’t worry, it’s me. You okay?” He looks worried at her frightened reaction. What happened to her?“Was that you back there?” She stares at him, her body trembling violently.“No, I walked my cousin home and I was just on my way back to the club. Here.” He shrugs his jacket off and wraps it around her. “I’ll walk you home, Olivia. What happened?”She shakes her head as she steps forward, offering a small grateful smile for the jacket draped over her shoulders.
Alaric follows, staying at a distance so she doesn’t notice him in the shadows. It’s clear she isn’t in control, but what – or who – is making her go there?Vampires can manipulate if that’s their power, but they never leave the victim alive. The problem is that he doesn’t know what else it could be. He stops, as he sees Olivia come to a halt; watches as she sits down, his eyes widening as he sees a man walking to her. Olivia stands up and hugs the man, who the moonlight reveals to be… Dan? She must have been right earlier, it was Dan she saw, but the fact just renders Alaric more uncomfortable. He watches knowing he can’t do anything even though he wants to: there’s a reason Dan keeps pulling her in and Alaric needs to know it. Why would he taunt her by getting her to come here every night then making her forget she saw him? He’s fascinated by Dan’s behaviour. It isn’t exactly typical. He watches
“Why do I see Dan and I together?” Olivia demands. “What the hell is going on? And who the hell is this guy, how did he do that?” She remembers nothing from her nights for days and suddenly with his help she remembers so much: Dan is alive! Or at least, he’s kind of alive. She’s seen him every night this week, every night. Her hand moves to her shoulder and neck, tugging on her collar to run her fingers over the raised marks from him feeding off her like she’s some kind of thing.“I’m Gwenael,” he says. “My mother was French.” Olivia nods a response and Gwenael continues, this time to Alaric. “I’ll grab a drink, she needs one.”He walks out, Alaric sitting down on a chair not too far from Olivia’s. She looks puzzled as she realises Alaric’s size compared to the chair.
Alaric walks through his front door and sits down at the table, his head falling forward in sorrow. Why did he have to kiss her back? Why did she have to kiss him?“Well?”He doesn’t even bother to look at Gwenael. He already knows he’s in trouble, even though Gwenael’s only said one word.“You saw it for yourself, her parents were Depraysie. No-one has seen any of that bloodline since Celestia and Elwin were turned. They weren’t even from this country. Do you understand what this means?”He does. If she is indeed their daughter, he dreads to think what would happen. If anyone knew she was a Depraysie it would create an all-out war.“You should have walked away once she was safely at home, not pushed and poked her into wanting to know her family. She’s right, Alaric, no good can come from her knowing. Yes, she could unlock her powers and be one of the strongest witches around, but at what