I take in every detail of Ethan’s form, it seems like it’s been decades since I last laid eyes on him. His tall, lean frame, and his olive toned skin. The music is loud in my ears, and there’s the tiniest moment of silence as one song ends and leads into the next. It’s within this moment that Ethan’s gaze shifts away from the man he’s speaking to, his eyes flit to the side and then down, as if he’s sensing something. Or someone. I gulp.
Then his eyes flash to mine, and the moment seems to last for an eternity. Confusion and disbelief colour his expression, then something else takes shape. Determination. He says something to the man he’d been speaking with and then he begins to descend the stairs, down and away from the VIP section and directly towards me. I stand utterly still in the centre of the crowded dance floor, not able to move an inch.
The next song begins to play, People Are Strange by The Doors. Jim Morrison’s deep voice fills my ears as Ethan gets closer and closer, closing the distance spread out between the two of us as if it were an endless ocean. I listen to the spooky melody of the song, and the lyrics float over my brain. Then the beat of the song picks up and Ethan is standing before me, the people around us don’t move into our space, as though sensing that Ethan is not someone you would want to brush up against.
His eyes lock on mine, he is less than a foot away from me, and I stand transfixed by him. He visibly takes in a long, deep breath and then lets it out. There is no expression on his face, and I don’t know whether to stay or to run and hide. I can’t tell if he’s glad to see me or not, and it’s agonising. He steps closer, and places his cool hand on my bare arm, his blue grey eyes study me closely, taking in every single detail, just like I had been with him. He bends down and leans into me, s
o that his lips are right above my ear. He reaches up and takes a lock of my short, black hair in his fingers.
I can feel his soft breath drift over my skin when he speaks right into my ear, so that I can hear him over the music. Funnily enough, his proximity has caused me to forget everything else around me, the sounds, the people, right in this moment there is only him.
“I remember the start of the First World War, when women began wearing their hair like this,” he says, still smoothing the strand between his fingers. “In the beginning it was for practicality, then it became a social statement. I always admired how it showcases the neck.” His fingers let go of my hair to softly stroke down my skin, from my ear to my shoulder blade, then around to cup the back of my neck.
I swallow, and it takes me a minute to find my voice. “It m-must have made things less messy when it came to feeding time.”
Well there I go, ruining the moment. Ethan doesn’t seem bothered by what I’ve said. He looks at me and smiles deeply, and the expression makes him even more beautiful that it’s almost hard to look directly at him.
“I had hoped you would return someday, though I never imagined it would actually come to pass,” he says, speaking close to my ear again.
The song ends and November Rain by Guns ‘n’ Roses comes on. I almost grin, what an opportune moment for a slow set. Ethan’s arms slip around my waist and pull me in close to him, our bodies flush against one another. I rest my head on his chest as we sway to the music. His fingers move back and forth over my lower back. I tremble. Ethan must notice, because he holds me tighter against him then. I can almost hear him humming the tune to himself. The song ends too soon, and we part still looking at each other.
Someone appears beside Ethan, a tall, slim woman. She’s got long, silky honey blond hair, and her eyes are almost the same colour. Her skin is bronze and flawless. A vampire, definitely a vampire. She puts her hand delicately on Ethan’s arm, all the while her eyes remain focused on me, like I’m some sort of intriguing mystery.
“Ethan darling, who is this precious girl you’ve been dancing with?” she asks, her voice sweet and delicate, but I can sense a strength behind it.
Ethan turns to the woman, and it appears that he hadn’t realised she was there until she’d started speaking.
“Eliza,” he says, “this is Tegan, she’s an old friend.” I smile at how he introduces me, since it’s exactly the same thing Finn said about me to his neighbour Maria.
“Tegan,” says Eliza, trying out the sound of my name. “Is she a witch? She doesn’t smell quite like a human.”
Uh oh. Ethan’s eyes meet mine for the barest fraction of a second. “No, not a witch, a human, but a very distant descendant of the magic users.” Okay, I’ll take that excuse. At least Ethan’s keeping my secret and not telling this Eliza lady about me. Surely that’s a good sign. For my own survival if nothing else.
“Ah, so that explains why she smells different,” says Eliza, her gaze wandering over me curiously. “Why don’t you come and join us upstairs, Tegan?” She’s smiling now, but there’s no warmth in it whatsoever.
I look to Ethan, but his face is indecipherable. I guess going up to the VIP section will allow me a better chance to listen in to the vampires’ conversations.
“All right then,” I answer. Ethan holds out his arm to me, and I link mine through it. I think I catch Eliza scowl briefly before a smile replaces it milliseconds later. I squeeze Ethan’s arm and look up at him as we leave the dance floor. I try to ask a question with my eyes, is it safe for me to go up here? His nod is almost imperceptible, but it puts my mind at ease somewhat.
Once we get up the stairs I peer about, taking in my new surroundings. I don’t think I’ve ever been among this many vampires before. It causes my temperature to run a little cold. They glance at me as I walk by with Ethan, Eliza leading the way ahead of us. I hadn’t realised how large this section was when I’d viewed it from downstairs. There’s a main area and a bar where most of the vampires are partying, I even notice a few humans among them. Blood donors perhaps. Then there’s a long hallway that leads to various secluded areas for private groups. We enter one of them.
I recognise Lucas and Delilah instantly. Lucas is sitting on a chair with a human girl on his lap, I don’t realise it’s Amanda until she turns around and I can see her face. Her hair is no longer blue, now it’s bright pink. Delilah is sitting beside them, chatting with an older woman with short dark hair. There’s a table in the centre of the room with lots of vampires sitting around it, and at the head of it sits a vampire who seems to demand attention simply from his very presence. He looks around forty, with hair and eyes the same colour as Eliza’s, they must be related in some way.
Lucas sees me then, and his eyes gleam in amusement, he whispers something in Amanda’s ear and then she looks at me too.
“Tegan!” she exclaims, jumping up from Lucas’ lap. I let go of Ethan’s arm and go to her, giving her a big hug. But when I look at her eyes it seems like there’s something missing, something not quite right. Then I see the bite marks on her neck and arms, some of the scars are older than others. Oh God, he really has turned her into his blood whore. The problem is, she seems so unbelievably happy about it. I look over Amanda’s shoulder to see Delilah watching our exchange, her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest.
“You came home,” says Amanda, dragging me over to sit with her on a couch close to Lucas.
I stroke some of her pink hair out of her face and look at her straight on, trying to figure out how this could have happened. I know she’d been smitten with Lucas’ attentions, but I never thought she was the kind of girl to allow herself to be used. To become no better than a fridge full of blood. She seems so out of it that I have to wonder if she even realises that Lucas is a vampire. Perhaps he’s been wiping her memory every time he feeds from her. I glance over at him and he stares right back at me, satisfied. Like he’s happy to have broken my poor fragile friend.
I try to put enough hate into my eyes, to communicate with him silently that he’s not going to get away with this. For a second he actually looks startled by my aggression, but he shrugs it off quickly and glances away, starting up a conversation with Delilah.
I focus my attention back on Amanda, my hands cupping her face now, she grins back at me, quite obviously clueless as to the fact that she’s in a room full of vampires. Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to make Lucas pay for this. I caused Antonia to kill herself when it seemed like there was no way on earth for me to exact my revenge on such a powerful vampire. Next to her, Lucas should be a piece of cake.
“Amanda, are you okay?” I ask, despite it being obvious that she is definitely not anywhere near okay.
She continues to grin and answers, “Of course I’m okay, in fact, I’ve never felt better.”