Columbine

Of all the places that I could have been led to, I’d never expected the Morgan Mansion. My final memories of the place were packing my bags and letting the bloodhounds go. They weren’t fond memories, and I hadn’t missed the dilapidated old mansion at all. It really was a mystery why Valentin would want to revisit it.

I continued to follow him, my curiosity mounting to an unhealthy level. Maybe he’d left something behind? I’d never looked into his room, so I wouldn’t know either way. I hid behind a tree as he pushed the front door open and walked in. I waited a minute before following him inside.

I came into the huge, once-luxurious living room just in time to see him round a corner into the kitchen. I heard him lift open the cellar door and the descending footsteps that followed. What did he want with the cellar? I bit my lip, suddenly aware of the many sharp, pointy surfaces that were in my midst. I’d have to dodge each and every one of them if I wanted to find out why he was in the cellar.

In the year that I’d lived in the Morgan Mansion, I hadn’t exactly gotten to know every splinter that poked out of the floor. If I made one wrong move, I was dead meat. I’d be as exposed as I’d be if searchlights were pointed at me. It had been a terrible idea not to wear a sweater. At least with a sweater no nails poking out of the walls would immediately create a gash in my skin.

I followed the echoes of Valentin’s footsteps down into the cellar, where we’d made records together. Every time we went down there, it felt like some absurd game of Seven Minutes in Heaven. I’d hold out my wrist. He’d make a neat little incision. I’d hold my wrist steady over the vial that he held out for my blood. When the song was done he’d take my arm and press cotton over the cut. It had been the most intimate thing we’d ever done, and it had been the only thing I wasn’t afraid of. Talk about being screwed up in the head.

I was careful not to get too close. I stayed on the steps and forced my eyes to adjust to the darkness. His preference of light-colored clothes was to my advantage. I saw him bend down to the floor and run his hand over the cement. I squinted harder, trying to make out what exactly he was looking for.

He stood back up and was just turning my way when I ducked back into the stairwell and quietly began to make my way back up the stairs. My heart was beating harder, making it difficult to concentrate. I’ve found that when your pulse is pounding in your head you tend to make rash movements that eventually lead to unpleasant consequences.

“Whose there?” Valentin called.

I froze. Then I remembered to breathe and continue to go back up the stairs. This was no time to lose my head. If there was ever a good time to stay calm and collected, now was definitely it.

“I know you’re there!” He called again. “So stop wasting my time and show yourself!”

Before I knew it, I was running as fast as my legs would carry me. I was no longer worried about being found. I just wanted to hide somewhere and wait for him to go away. Some deeply hidden instinct told me that it would be the last straw if he found me. I’d treated him like shit, shot down every friendly advance he’d ever made, and now I was snooping around after him. If someone had done that to me, I’d have kicked their ass long ago. He had to practically be a saint to deal with me on a regular basis.

I didn’t hear any footsteps following me. I was finally at the back door – the door that led to the yard where the dogs had been kept. I quietly closed it behind myself and took off into the night.

The barking came out of nowhere. I didn’t stop. I could already tell that the bloodhounds had come back to do their duty, which was to protect the house. Shit. Those mutts had always hated me. I fought to run faster. I didn’t bother looking back – I could already hear the barking getting closer. The hounds were gaining on me.

I closed my eyes, preparing for the teeth to tear into my legs and rip me to shreds. I surrendered myself in advance, flooding myself with the realization that it was all over. Tonight would be the end of me. The bloodhounds would eat me, Valentin would hate me, and I’d never get a chance to explain myself.

Oh, hell, it hadn’t even been worth it! What had been so damn important for me to risk my life for? To get a chance to hate Valentin even more than I already did? What had I been thinking!

Suddenly the barking stopped and melted into a series of canine squeals. The sound of their running vanished and I stopped, whirling around to see what had happened. I was shocked to see that the dogs were all on the ground, motionless. My heart continued to pound in my chest, and I contemplated checking on the dogs to see if they were dead. I shook my head, reminded that I wasn’t that stupid.

I heard a rustle in the darkness. It was quiet and distant, but I heard it with all the clarity of a bomb going off. With adrenaline rushing through my veins at breakneck speed, the slightest shift in the atmosphere felt like an earthquake. I heard the rustle again. This time I wasn’t taking chances. I picked up a rock, clenching it tightly in my fist. If anything came at me, I was not letting it kill me.

I felt something touch my shoulder and screamed, wildly dodging invisible things from all directions.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” A voice spoke out in the darkness. “We’re calming down, we’re calming down…” A face popped into my range of vision. “And now we’re calm.” The face said, grinning.

It took a moment for me to form a coherent thought. The blood was pounding in my head hard enough to make me dizzy. I forced myself to breathe and look at the person who was in front of me. When I got a clear look at his face, the rock fell from my hand.

I stood utterly still, gaping at the person before me. I couldn’t believe I was seeing him. The last time I’d seen that pale, sharp-featured face had been at Sister Mary’s Hospital for the Insane. How was he standing before me now, one hundred times more animated than I’d ever imagined he could be?

“Charlie?” I sputtered, squinting through the darkness to make sure that I wasn’t mistaken.
Unlike the last time I’d seen him, he was not in a ratty hospital gown. He’d cleaned up considerably – put on some real clothes and combed his hair into a style that feigned messiness. He looked almost like a real human, except I knew that he did not even come close.

“Long time, no see.” He said cheerfully. “I’d hoped to find you in a more welcoming mood, but I guess my timing leaves something to desired.”

I could hardly speak. The purple underneath his eyes was gone. He wasn’t crouching down in the fetal position or whimpering. He was perfectly healthy. Had he actually recovered in that crazy asylum?

“No kidding.” I said, my voice still shaking.

If I was in any way still having a heart attack, my voice didn’t show it.

He was the vampire I’d forced to bite me in the insane asylum when all my sharp objects had been taken away. He was the guy I’d shared a room with – the one everyone told me was harmless. He had been harmless until I’d shoved my throat in his mouth. The tooth marks he’d left were almost invisible unless you were looking for them. Now that he was so close, I could feel them tingle.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to kill you.” He said, putting his hands up in an ‘I surrender’ gesture. He’d probably heard my heartbeat from miles away.

“I never thought you were.” I said defensively. He shrugged.

“I’m just here to talk.” He said. “About what happened back at the hospital.”

I swallowed. What happened back at the hospital was something I was both fond and disgusted of. Looking back at it, it had probably been a wasted effort. Even a Beatles song blasting out of nowhere had not been enough to draw attention at that point.

What was more important than what had happened at the hospital was that he was standing in front of me. This shouldn’t be happening – couldn’t be happening. He was supposed to have stayed in his world, far away from mine. Why were people popping into my life like weeds?

“And from the look on your face, I can tell you don’t want to talk about it.” He said. He didn’t sound surprised. In fact he sounded downright smug. Was this how he was when he wasn’t in a conscious coma?

“No, it’s not that.” I said, wincing. I could see Valentin coming out of the house.

“I should hope not.” Charlie grinned and crossed his arms. “Considering I got rid of your pests for you.” He tossed his hand to indicate the dead dogs.

I swallowed, remembering that they’d all died in practically an instant. That’s how fast Charlie was. He could snap my neck and it would look like I’d just fallen on my own. He wouldn’t do it, but that didn't change the fact that he could. That thought alone made me nervous.

Valentin was close now, walking briskly, the anger evident in the way he moved. His jaw was clenched like he was keeping back swears. I swallowed and prepared for what was going to be a very awkward situation.

“Who’se your friend?” Charlie asked teasingly.

He could see how angry Valentin was, too. Any normal person would have felt sorry for me, but Charlie wasn't exactly what you'd think of when you thought of normal.

“That’s Valentin.” I said uneasily. “I’d take cover, if I were you.”

Valentin finally came up to me, his hands clenched into fists. He took no time to catch his breath.

“Who’s this?” He asked immediately, giving me an almost accusing glare.

“I’m Charles.” Charlie announced smugly before I could explain. “And very pleased to meet you.” He held out his hand for the shaking.

Valentin shook it, much to my surprise.

“He’s, uh…a friend.” I elaborated.

Valentin tried to keep the anger from his face as he gave Charlie a smile, but he only managed a grimace. Charlie fought from snickering at Valentin’s expression. I couldn’t have found a shred of humor in the situation if I’d tried.

“We need to talk.” Valentin said through clenched teeth.

“Now?” I asked, looking for a wormhole out of what was sure to become a very awkward discussion.

“Yes, now.” He growled, damn near yelling it. Charlie gave a detached whistle of appreciation. Part of me almost believed that he was trying to distract Valentin from me, but even so, it didn’t work.

“Fine.” I said nervously.

Valentin led me away from Charlie. I fought the urge to run away, which was hard enough. Forcing myself to go forward was even harder.

Finally we stopped.

“What in the hell were you thinking!” Valentin all but roared. “You should know better than to go outside!”

“I could say the same to you!” My own voice seemed quiet compared to his scream of anger. My confidence instantly took a blow.

“You know perfectly well that you’re a wolf’s head. You know that the Demataxt is looking for you. So how could you be so damn stupid and go outside!”

For a second I could have sworn that I saw his eyes change color. The brown color flashed flaming, golden yellow for a small, terrifying second.He took advantage of my speechlessness and continued to chastise me.

“For all your defensiveness, you’re not too worried about your own life.” He sneered.
I still couldn’t answer. My chest was shaking and beads of cold sweat were forming on my forehead. I swallowed a huge lump that had formed in my throat.

“You can’t exactly blame me.” I said shakily. “If you’re lying to me, I’m not going to sit by and let you get away with whatever you want.”

I felt my confidence returning.

“Why would you come back here, anyway?” I growled. “It’s just as dangerous for you as it is for me.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. His fists clenched tighter and I knew I was onto something.

“Well?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Explain it to me.”

He forced the anger from his face and relaxed his fists. That seemed to take more effort than maintaining his violent stance. He exhaled and looked at me.

“You’re right.” He said, but it looked like the words felt wrong in his mouth.

“Exactly.” I confirmed. “So spit it out. Why are you sneaking around in the middle of the night?”

“There’s something I should have told you sooner.” He admitted.

But no matter how I might have relished his surrender, there was no way that I could have been ready for the words that came out of his mouth next.

“The Demataxt recruited me after I’d finished school. I quit just before I came to Egypt.” He said.

For a moment I thought I’d heard him wrong. There was just no way that I could have heard what I thought I’d heard. It wasn’t possible. There was no way. I was hallucinating. He’d said something that sounded dangerously like joining the Demataxt. Something – anything – but this!

"I'm here because I wanted to make sure they hadn't been looking for me." He explained.

“What?” I stammered, fear welling up inside my body like a huge, nauseating bubble that would burst at any moment.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” Valentin apologized, adopting a look of pure, unfiltered guilt.

As soon as that look crossed his face, I knew that I hadn’t heard him wrong. I’d heard exactly what I’d wanted to hear the least. Was this my punishment for looking for an excuse to hate him? To have the worst possible truth revealed to me? A sickening chill crept down my spine and I almost screamed.

“You’d better be suicidal that you didn’t tell me sooner!” I managed to yell.

My voice was much less shaky than I had expected.

“I knew you’d react like this.” Valentin sighed.

“Like what? Like a normal person?” I snapped. “How could you keep this from me?”

“It was none of your business.” He snarled.

Anger flared inside me stronger than I had ever known. I wanted more than anything to bash Valentin’s pretty face in, and to pull his eyes out of his head so he could watch me do it. The unfairness of it all was that I couldn’t actually act on these impulses.

“How is it none of my business when I’m a wolf’s head!” I screamed. “The Demataxt wants to execute me, and you didn’t even think to tell me that you're in the Demataxt?”

“I told you already, I quit before I came to Egypt!” He yelled.

“Awfully convenient, wouldn’t you say?” I sneered.

“What are you implying?” He frowned.

“That you’ve been spying on me for the Demataxt -- that’s what!” I yelled.

He stopped and blinked.

“You'd really believe that, wouldn’t you?” He asked.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore!” I said, throwing my arms up. “I guess it only makes sense.”

“Why?” He snarled. “Because I’m half-demon? Is that it?”

“Give the guy a cigar.” I said.

“So you admit it.” He crossed his arms.

“Admit what?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“That you’re prejudiced against non-humans.”

I stopped. Suddenly I didn’t feel too good. The words I’d been ready to spit at him evaporated on my tongue, leaving me speechless.

“You’re wrong.” I snapped.

“Oh? Then what is it?” He asked, but I could tell that it was a rhetorical question.

“What I am is afraid of you and everyone like you!” I yelled. “I moved here to get away from demons, and look what happened! The Demataxt is here and it wants me dead!”

Valentin didn’t answer -- at least not at once. I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face, but I could tell that he was at least a little shocked.

“Tell me, Columbine,” He said, “Why are you afraid of non-humans?”

Suddenly that whole thing Sarah had told me about names having power seemed all the more true.

“Because any one of them can easily kill me.” I swallowed. “And they wouldn’t even get punished.”

“So you naturally conclude that we’re all just killing machines?” He leered. I turned to face him, my anger sparking again.

“Demons have killed far more humans than the other way around.” I growled.

“Is that so?” Valentin sneered. "And do you know what people like you used to do to people like me?"

“For god’s sake, don’t go into ancient history.” I begged. “Sorry to break it to you, but these aren’t the middle ages anymore.”

“Do you know what they used to do to people like Sarah and Charles?” he continued.

“Yes -- they killed them, okay? Are you happy now?” I asked.

"They were willing to kill innocent people to protect themselves, and you are clearly a few centuries late. I can just see you picking up a torch and joining a mob.” He said mockingly.

“I know my own weaknesses, alright?” I said through gritted teeth. “I know them way too well. I, for one, am not bursting with resolution to single-handedly take down the Demataxt!”

Valentin gave a humorless chuckle and clapped his hands over my shoulders. He towered over me by a good foot, and I hated him for it. He must have realized that, because his smile grew.

“You know, I’m glad we had this discussion.” He told me. “I finally got to see what kind of person you are.”

“Oh, yeah? And what kind of person am I?” I asked, my hands twitching to collide with his face.

“You’re weak, afraid, and you’re the worst case of denial I’ve ever seen.” He announced.

“Don’t you dare say that!” I warned.

“Why not? Because it’s the truth?” He said.

“Because it’s none of your business!” I snapped.

“If I’m going to be helping you record your damn music, I think it should be my business.” He said.

“I never asked for your help! You can get the hell out of Egypt, for all I care!” I yelled.

“Maybe I will!” He said.

“Maybe you should.”

“So for once we agree.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest. “If that’s what you really want, I’ll be gone by tomorrow morning. Don’t be expecting breakfast.”

And with that he stalked off in the direction of Scarlett’s lab. It didn’t take long for me to lose sight of him in the darkness. As soon as I did, I realized that I may have made an enormous mistake in making him go. If he told the Demataxt about me, it was all over.

“Wow.” Charlie whispered behind me. “That sure was romantic.”