The False Vampire

“I’m taking you back to our house. We have some explaining to do. I think. We kind of just pushed you into the Folk without asking how you feel about it”I stared at Elisa, slightly incredulous.

“You didn’t force me into anything Lis, I will admit it’s all been…a bit of a shock. I’m not sure what’s happening, and sometimes I wonder which was is up and down because I feel like I’m drowning!”

“After last night, I wouldn’t blame you” I shuddered at Elisa’s reminder of my experience. I still felt sore and tender, and my skin felt as though it was covered in a layer of gunk that wouldn’t come off no matter how hard I scrubbed at it. Lost in my memories, I stared out the window of the car, watching trees then houses flying by. Elisa was silent, driving the car lazily. However, despite the silence, it was comfortable. Elisa and I had grown close, close enough that we didn’t need to talk to fill the silences that may fall between us.

The silence between us droned on, leaving me in my thoughts. They flickered back to the conversation with Trinnean, only yesterday. My hand wound against the amulet that circled my neck. Yesterday, my entire knowledge of the world shifted. In one day, I discovered that an entire world of mystical creatures existed right under our noses, with us none the wiser, and, I was walking in the sun. The sun. The sun was bright today, so bright and warm that were it touched my skin it tingled. I sighed, in my moment of bliss I could easily forget all my problems. I watched as the houses blurred together, until all I saw was varying shades of brick. The neighbourhood was turning into that of a familiar one, one that I knew. We were nearing the Purswell house, filled with plants and mystical creatures. And those mystical creatures were the people that I knew as my friends. A faerie, a werewolf and now to my newfound knowledge, as well as a mermaid. What were Anita and John? Were they human? Or did they too possess mystical powers.

“You know that amulet wont last” Lis’s casual comment shook me out of my reverie. I was confused for only a moment, before realising she was talking about the one that hung in my grasp.

“What do you mean?”

“The way the amulet works is that is creates a protective bubble around you, blocking the elements that harm you from entering. It’s keyed specifically for sunlight, but using it to keep out the sunlight drains the magic stored in it faster. You don’t have faerie blood, and that is what drains the power from it. Jae is a sun faerie, his magic replenishes it and feeds its shields” She glanced over in my direction, silent, allowing the words to sink in. I pondered it carefully, like a critic would dismantle a piece of art.

“So if I just gave it back to Jae, it would recharge?”

“Probably. There is a chance considering that he gave it to you that it will not work. Amulets are a bit tricky like that” Elisa pursed her lips in thought “They’re a bit like the wands in Harry Potter. They can change allegiance. They’re actually bloody annoying. The better they’re made though, the less they tend to change. But that is only a cheap one that I picked up at the markets.” She wrinkled her nose, similarly to that as though that she had just smelt something rotten. She pulled into the driveway of her house, killing the engine. We both sat in the silence, watching the rapidly sinking sun.

“Well, at least Dr Treacle said there was nothing to worry about” Elisa bit her lip as she looked over at me.

“There is one problem with that statement. Dr Treacle is a seer. They are notoriously secretive, or cryptic. They never give a straight answer. There’s always something to worry about. However, I only took you to her because she is the best of them all, and she’ll be able to tell you if something would affect you in the long run” We remained sitting in the car, and I noticed that Elisa sat there in silence, twiddling with the ends of her blonde hair.

“So something is going to happen” Elisa began twirling her hair around her finger faster, almost in furious motions. It took a second to realise that she was furious. She nodded her head once, in an agitated movement.

“Yes. She did. And then she went muttering about ants and colonies. They really are crazy you know” Dread knotted in the bottom of my stomach. I wanted to groan in anger, to punch the wall. I knew that the sort of the behaviour I wished to partake would get me nowhere, but I also knew that it wouldn’t hurt to do it. Reputation and pride be damned, I felt cheated.

Elisa shook her head, before pulling the keys out of the ignition, and climbing out of the car. I followed her quickly, tripping over my own feet in my haste to exit the car. It seemed that Elisa noticed my distress, for she quickly placed a comforting hand on my arm.

“Don’t worry, she said there’s nothing to worry about. So there is nothing to worry about. It may be a pleasant surprise. Considering the timing I wouldn’t be surprised if you inherited some sort of power”

‘But I don’t want any powers’

I knew I was sulking. I seemed to do self-pity splendidly these past few days. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a light streak past me, startling a scream. Both the boys, Samuel and Jae, ran out of the house. If Samuel was a wolf in this very moment, I could imagine that he would have his hackles raised.

“I saw this light streak past me! What was that?” my voice shook and my hands wouldn’t stay still. I occupied them by running a hand through my hair, tugging on the loose strands and tangling them between my fingers. Samuel, the one who was normally so serious, surprised me by laughing. Behind him, Jae stood with his arms crossed, a grin stretching across his face. My eyes zeroed onto his lips. Full and lush, I bet they could have melted me if they were used in other ways.

“They were mums brownies”

“Brownies?”

“Yeah. They’re cousins of gnomes and faeries. Like gardening and cleaning. They’re made of pure beams of light, you can only see them from dusk until dawn unless you’re a special one and can see outside the normal ranges of light, isn’t that right pixie boy?” Jae chuckled darkly, sending a look at Samuel, as though he were wishing he would shut up right where he stood, or that the earth would swallow him.

“At least I don’t look like an overgrown Chihuahua in my spare time”

“But at least I’m tall, not three inches”

“I’m tall for a faerie!” Jae stomped his foot like a two year old, crossing his arms and scowling. Beside me, Elisa laughed lightly.

“Look at them! At least I never get caught up in these silly things!” Her whispered voice tickled my ears, and Samuel’s head snapped in our direction before he snorted.

“Yeah right! Look who’s speaking fish girl!” Elisa raised her blonde eyebrow, a look of incredulousness crossing her features.

“Hey mutt, at least I don’t ran under a certain some ones bed with their tail in between their legs every time there’s a thunder storm”

“Low blow Lis, low blow”

“Well what do you expect when you play with the best?” Samuel stuck his tongue out at Elisa cheekily. Though I had previously thought him sombre and serious, I realised that they did indeed have a soft side to them all. Perhaps all it took was the revelation of a mystical world that could very much kill you to see it all.

The breeze blew through the trees, cold for a spring night. We all huddled inside, as if someone had told us to come in. Like all I had been doing for the past twenty-four hours, I thought about our conversation outside. Samuel claimed that brownies could only be seen in the dark, unless you could see more than the visible spectrum. Does that mean that they too are made of sunlight? Or some other kind of light that wasn’t visible to the human eye during daylight? A light throbbing formed above my temple, betraying the stress that I felt. I felt like I would ache for days, weeks and months more.

As though the pain had just realised I had remembered it, it rushed back to my body as though carried on a tidal wave. I wanted to curl into a ball, preferably on a soft bed underneath a heavy, fluffy blanket. I was almost under the impression that Samuel was reading my mind when he pulled out a duvet and draped it around me. He picked up my feet and placed them on his lap, unlacing the boots and pulling them off. My feet throbbed, but certainly weren’t the part of me that ached the most.

Just as Samuel was about to start rubbing my feet – or at least, I hoped he was, Jae interrupted with a scowl and a cough, which was in no way done politely. Samuel left, mirroring Jae’s scowl, before Jae replaced him, and placed my feet into his lap. His hands, slightly rough, began rubbing into the soles of my feet, lingering on the arches. The feelings from his hands had me struggling to keep silent, wanting to moan from the pleasure and pain. The massage felt wonderful.

“Why do you have bruises everywhere?” He lifted his eyes so that he was staring at me from underneath his lashes. I bit my lip lightly, remembering a second too late that it too was bruised.

“I was training. I’ve taken self defence classes”

“Where?”

“At school” Jae gave me a look, telling me plainly that he didn’t believe me.

“There isn’t a self defence club at school; at least, not anymore. Where are you going?”

“Trinnean volunteered to train me”

“Trinnean Thordis?” at my nod he continued “The blind one?”

“Yes”

“What the bloody hell would he know about self defence? He is blind”

“He’s actually the one who told me initially about the Folk” I could feel Jae’s hands tensing, even though he continued massaging, higher up my legs, now around my knees and my lower thighs. I bit my lip, sensing his playfulness, his flirting, and decided that I would let him continue, seeing where he would go.

“So it wasn’t us?”

“No” Jae gave me a look. I didn’t know what the look entailed but suddenly, I found myself underneath him, his body pressing into mine, our clothes and the duvet separating us. I couldn’t move my arms, and found myself not wanting to. His face hovered close to mine, and in a moment of clarity, I understood.

It was Jae that I wanted, not Samuel. Heat pooled in my stomach, and I wasn’t sure if it was from desire, or embarrassment. I wanted so desperately for him to kiss me, and yet, I didn’t know if I could handle it. He breathed heavily, his eyes staring directly in mine for long moments.

“You are not to see him. They are not nice people, and will do dangerous things to you if you get caught up with them.” His head lowered, and I thought that if he lowered them just a fraction his lips would meet mine. I could feel my eyelids wanting to flutter closed, and had to fight against the sensation. I licked my lips, watching as his eyes followed the action, and what I perceived to be desire lighting in his gaze.

However, as soon as the thought entered my mind, it fluttered away. And then, I was lifted into his arms, my head resting against the crook of his neck. He was warm, several degrees hotter than a mortal. Even through the duvet I could feel his muscular chest. He walked outside and down to the fence, walking out of a concealed gate. Behind it was not more houses, like I was expecting, but rather a lake with a small jetty. Jae sat me down on the wood, making sure that I was still tucked into the blanket. A chilly wind ruffled my hair, and I imagined that the coolness was making my cheeks turn pink.

“Aren’t you going to sit next to me?” my curiosity was piqued when I noticed Jae was standing at the edge of the small lake, or really it was more of a large pond. He tossed a smile back at me, before facing the water.

“No. Did you know, when Elisa and I were little, we would come and play out here. For hours. I remember when she used to be scared of humans, she would just sit in the water”

“Were you ever scared?” my heart ached for the children who these people once were.

“No. In none of the faerie tales that I ever read growing up, were faeries evil. Yes, they were pranksters, and they could be nasty, but I was confident enough in myself that I knew that I wasn’t like that. Elisa has never been so sure minded” his voice seemed to echo around the pond.

I watched as Jae began to shimmer, his outline blurring as he became a being of pure light, and as the light that emanated from him grew brighter, he became smaller, until he was only three inches tall, with wings that seemed twice as long as he were tall.

He jumped up, wings buzzing like a dragonfly. He flew closer, and as he hovered near my face, I could make out his features, radiating sunlight. He looked relaxed, and suddenly I comprehended that for him, it was more natural to stay in this form. I smiled, causing him to grin, and fussed with the duvet sticking out my arm and watching as he landed on it. He was light as a feather, and almost hot to the touch. I reached out a finger, trailing it along his wing as he stilled. I wouldn’t know how to describe how his wings felt, silky, and they were as thin and transparent as glad wrap.

“You’re so sparkly” I giggled, especially as his face soured and he began talking in that tinkly language that seemed to be his mother tongue. He shook his head at me, before flying away to stand just a metre from my feet. He shimmered again, glowing brighter as he grew taller. It seemed that it took a shorter amount of time for him to change back into his human form, than it did his faerie.

“I am not sparkly” he seemed to huff as he brushed imaginary dirt off his shoulders. No, not imaginary dirt, dust. Sparkly, fine dust. It seemed to coat him from head to toe, and was only visible when you squinted your eyes until they were almost closed. He seemed to have finished brushing off the dust, coming to sit next to me on the jetty.

We sat in a comfortable silence, listening to the ruffling of the trees as the breeze danced through their branches.

“Elisa said she felt like you all had something to explain”

“She often feels like that. She always needs to justify things. It’s just the way she is. I feel as though I don’t have to explain anything. Especially considering we weren’t the ones to tell you. How did Trinnean tell you anyways?”

“He told be about the aliens, and the witch hunts, and something about hunters. He also mentioned the word anthesteria” Jae tensed. “He said that it was anthesteria the night that…you visited” ‘and I had my experience’.

“It was. You were scared to death that night. What happened?”

“I…had an experience” I couldn’t bring myself to call it anything different. It was an experience, a nasty one, and one that I would never forget. It seemed as though it was permanently etched into my skin, like a stain that would never leave. I felt as though everyone was staring at me, as though I had it tattooed onto my forehead.

‘I am a victim of … rape.’

“What happened?”

“Not important. Anyways, what is anthesteria?”

“Anthesteria is a sort of celebration, but it isn’t a celebration, it’s an event. It’s the basis of humans Halloween, but celebrated on slightly different days. It’s when the veil between differing dimensions grows so thin that the magic can be pulled from other dimensions, parallel and non. It seems to be the day when most perform important rituals. Like love, certain marriage ceremonies, harvest, fertility, glamour and sometimes they perform the gifting ceremony. But that’s rare”

“Gifting?” I had remembered hearing the term before, that of a ‘gifted human’.

“Its when a folk shares their life essence with a human, swapping one of their abilities for the humans. So say if I give you the ability to be immune to sunlight, I would in turn get your allergy to the sun. By nature, the folk are selfish. It’s a rare one who allows themselves to care enough for a human to give them one of their abilities." The more I learnt about the folk, the more complicated it became. First I learnt about the things of my dreams and nightmares being real, and than I discover there is such a thing as power sharing, and alternate dimensions.

“That wouldn’t work. You being a sun faerie and all” He looked at me, perplexed and slightly confused, as though he couldn’t remember exactly what it was that we were talking about.

“Huh? Oh yeah, no, not really. You ask too many questions by the way. Come on, I think it’s time for dinner, hopefully, it goes better tonight”

As he led me back to the house, I silently relished the feeling of his warmer-than-average hands against the small of my back.