The False Vampire

If I knew one thing, it was that I was extremely confused. If I knew another, it was that I hated being confused.

One, three and eight.

What relevance could those particular numbers have to me? And better yet, how was Jae's life going to change in eight months? I looked around the Asethrian market, spices permeated the air and colourful silks decorating the stall. Beneath my feet, the ground was covered in sand. It was as if we were walking on never ending sand dunes, and I winced as the sand spilled over the sides of my sandals.

Not knowing the exact time that we had been wondering the market, only knowing that it had been awhile, I noted the suns hadn't risen or fallen. Though it did appear that some sort of night time had arisen, the winds whipping at my thighs.

Jae's (who was walking at my side) arm brushed against mine, and without thought, our hands and fingers laced together as though we were in perfect harmony. I thought back to only a few days ago. There was a marked difference in the way he was treating me, and I couldn't help but voice my thoughts.

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" Jae's fingers tightened around my own for a brief second. He raised his free hand to rub the back of his neck, in a manner that I had noticed him doing often as a sort of nervous tick.
"It's easier for me to be around you now"

"Why?"

"Because before, whenever I touched you, or got near to you, I would burn you. I couldn't exactly explain that I could give you a special amulet that would make you immune to sunlight. You would notice the difference. And it's forbidden by the Imperial Court of the Otherworld to reveal our true natures to humans. "

"But you didn't tell me. Trinnean did"

"And Trinnean is a hunter"

"So? He still told me what you are"

"The difference is, that Hunters are completely of their own free will. They don't associate with the Folk at all. Because you found out through him you can't be tried. Hunters are allied with humans and Earth."

"Is that good?"

"For you, yes" Jae chose that moment to smile down at me, and suddenly I felt like someone had punched me in the gut, leaving me breathless.

No, I was actually breathless. My stomach throbbed as though someone had actually punched me, hard enough to wind me. I kneeled over, gasping for air for the second time in that day.

Jae fell to his knees beside me, somewhat panicked over the events occurring. My eyes started tearing as I felt the more impact from invisible hands. Gasping and crying, I tried to look around at my surroundings. There was no one. We were at the boundary line of the markets, only a few stores within easy reach.

My stomach bloomed once again with pain, and instinctively I knew I was bleeding. I pressed my palms into the ragged gash, mouth stretched open in a silent scream. Hot, sticky blood poured between my fingers, Jae yelled beside me, and me and the storeowners. I felt the beating of my heart in my ears, and then, there was silence.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Could the sound of beeping be any more annoying?

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Why yes, yes it could.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Oh shut it off already! I made the effort to open my eyelids, to wake, solely for this infernal hell of beep, beep ringing in my ears, hoping desperately it would stop. It didn’t take a genius to guess where I was, I did recall what had happened, the ripping open of my skin and invisible punches.

My eyelids fluttered open, and immediately I wished I had left them closed. Fluorescent light lit the room and the hallways, turned the white surroundings and even brighter shade of white, stinging my eyes.

“Adrienne, Adrienne” the voice sung, but not any voice, no, I wasn’t to be that lucky, but the voice of the oracle. I opened my eyes again, unaware that they had closed, and looked to my right, where I felt a hand clasping mine, to see my mother, small and frail. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but she suddenly seemed frailer.

Knowing the voice of the oracle had to come from somewhere, I looked to my left, a mighty effort that left the muscles of my neck sore. There stood the oracle and Francesca, and pair as different as they come. The oracle, tall with brown skin and hair, full of warmth and life, and Francesca, small, and cold. So, so cold.

Francesca smiled that toothy grin at me. I shrunk back slightly.

“Hello Adrienne, anamchara of Jae Purswell” Francesca’s voice was chilly, something I had expected, but infinitely warmer than what I had experienced at her store. “I have heard what happened, I came bearing gifts”. In her arms she pulled out my chiton, and another, one in a flowing turquoise colour that I instantly loved.

“Thank you Francesca”

“I’ve also come bearing gifts” the oracle shifted for a second, his eyes squinting before smiling brightly at me “which is the knowledge of what happened on anthesteria”.

He seemed to flatten me with a very, very level stare that made me so uncomfortable that I didn’t want to move, nor breathe. I looked him in the eye and waited for the news.

“On Anthesteria, an incubus completed his dark ritual on you, one on going for several months. Your dreams of sex were not just that, but were reality, signalling the arrival of your incubus. In completing his ritual on anthesteria, when the veil between the two worlds are lowest, he used two things, magic and himself to complete a spell which will link you two for the rest of eternity. You are, in a sense, married to him, and fulfil all the marriage requirements of that of an incubus, and therefore, you are linked.” The oracle didn’t blink, and no one moved in the knowledge that we had just gained, that I now knew I would never be the same. Something I knew would be the same. The oracle soon began talking again, resting his hands on my ribcage like he did at the reading.

“To understand if you were completely linked, a female bears pain when prodded here by another male, much as you would if you were a werewolves anamchara, but on your neck” he shrugged, moving away.

“Well, how do I get rid of it?”

“Kill the one you’re linked to” Francesca seemed to mimic the oracle, shrugging in a manner that reminded me very much of the tall, dark man that stood next to her. “That way the link will disappear, but everything will probably stay behind”. Confused, I looked between the oracle and Francesca. The oracle made a disapproving sound.

“We’re not allowed to tell you. Remember, one, three and eight”

“Right, one, thee and eight”

“Those numbers will tell you exactly when you’ll find out” Francesca’s eyes seemed to widen, like she had spilled some great, forbidden secret. Which I guess, she kind of did.

A knock on the door made everyone look over, and within seconds, Trinnean rushed through the door, walking cane in hand. He looked momentarily confused, and seemed to gather his bearings after a few moments. I glanced over at my side, noting that the oracle had seemed to disappear, and Francesca was sitting at my side.

Trinnean seemed to be being as careful as he possible could to be quiet. He wondered over to my bed, before placing a hand on my arm. His hand seemed to be clammy, as though he had been waiting anxiously. I laid silent for a few seconds.

“You’re awake aren’t you?” Trinnean murmured the words softly, as though if I were sleeping he couldn’t bare to wake me. I nodded, then, stupidly realising that he would be unable to see me doing so. I made a motion to clear my throat, noticing with a wince how much my entire body ached with the simple movement.

“Yes, I’m awake” I silently mused to myself, contemplating whether I wanted to be awake or not. Surely, I could easily fall back to sleep, and surely I physically needed it.

Bloody oracles and vampires. I can never get any rest around here.

I almost seemed to have an epiphany, one that swept over me so quickly I was left slightly cross eyed. Why was I in a human hospital? On planet Earth? Even on my most dim-witted days would I not imagine that my mother or Trinnean be allowed on Asethia, or even Erellale, no matter how benevolent they claim to be.

“We were starting to get worried” Trinneans gaze, normally so abnormally focused for a blind man, seemed to be unfocused as he talked to me, but rather gazing in the general direction of my face, was instead focused on the headboard behind me.

“How long have I been here?”

“About two days. You were rushed into surgery to stitch up the wound and they’ve got you on a round of antibiotics at the moment. At least, that’s what I believe. They discovered that you’re hypersensitive to sedatives though”

“How did I get here?”

“I don’t know. Your mother does. I think it has something to do with that faerie” Trinnean spat the word faerie in disgust, as though Jae was somehow responsible for the phantom attacker. “If I see that creature anywhere near you, I’m going to kill him”

“But Trinnean, you can’t see” The thoughts of Jae being able to hurt me made my insides twist, even though I knew it wasn’t true. I watched as Trinnean’s normally pale face flushed, in embarrassment or anger I was unsure. I sighed wearily, already eager to fall back to sleep. “How long do you think I’m going to be here?”

“I wouldn’t know. From previous experience –“

“Previous experience?” my eyebrows lifted in surprise, though I knew he wouldn’t see it. That however, didn’t stop the incredulousness from creeping into my voice. He looked over me, unknowingly imitating my expression almost perfectly.

“Yes, previous experience. Anyways, like I was saying, from previous experiences they generally keep you in the hospital for about a week, and then it takes about a month to three to cover. I peg you for about a month”
“Of course you would know” Francesca chose that moment to speak up. Trinneans face twisted into a snarl.

“What are you doing here vampire?” my expression, slightly shocked, spun from Trinnean to Francesca. They knew each other, that much was clear in the tense stance that Trinnean held, ready for a fight. I recognized it from training in the gym with him.

“Adrienne is my cousin” Francesca winked at me, completely at odds with her perceived personality. Trinnean looked down at me, well, as much as a blind man could, before attempting to grab my chin, only succeeding in grabbing my nose. I glanced over at my mother, still sleeping besides me. My eyebrows crunched together. She would totally be hopeless if someone decided to attack her. Suddenly, Trinnean stuck his fingers in my mouth, probing at my teeth. A weird snorting sound escaped my mouth.

“Hey! No fingers in the injured girls mouth!” He withdrew his fingers, somewhat satisfied with his discovery. I glared at him, feeling a total invasion of privacy.

“Just making sure”

“Well, I’m no vampire” Trinnean seemed to roll his eyes before grinning.

“Well I can feel that!” I just harrumphed in response.