'A vampire?' Caleb didn't sound surprised. He was the kind of guy who took everything in his stride. He and Jess were sat on the couch at his house watching TV. Jess snuggled up to him.
'Yeah,' she said matter of factly. 'At least it's all out in the open now. We know what he is and he knows what we are.'
'Is he lamia?' Caleb asked.
'I guess so,' Jess replied. 'If he was a made vampire he'd probably be too old to be in school.'
Caleb rested his head on top of Jess's and took hold of her hand. Jess kissed his neck and closed her eyes. The time she got to spend with Caleb really meant a lot to Jess. Sometimes she couldn't believe how incredibly lucky she was to have gotten together with him.
Dora's words from earlier that day suddenly entered her mind. Luke! He's totally hung up on you! You like him too, I can tell.
Dora doesn't know what she's talking about, Jess though angrily. Yes, she'd admit it, Luke was cute, and yes she had contemplated the idea that maybe, just maybe, she may have been developing the tiniest of crushes on him. But so what? That didn't mean anything.
But deep down Jess felt guilty. As if somehow her dismissing Luke the way she had was in someway cruel. He'd only ever been nice to her and she was always short and abrupt in return. You know why that is, whispered a voice in her head. You don't want to face the truth. You don't want to contemplate the words 'what if…..'
Jess tried to ignore the voice, but she couldn't. She thought back to the first time she'd seen him. As he'd stood in the doorway to Mr Logan's science class a feeling had been ignited in Jess. It wasn't like any of the feelings she had for Caleb, and she couldn't put a name to it. But it was there, and it got a little stronger every time she saw him.
'Are you okay?' Caleb asked interrupting her thoughts.
'Fine,' Jess replied opening her eyes.
'You sure?' he asked. 'You've gotten kind of tense.'
Jess bit her lip nervously. She sure hoped he didn't know what she'd been thinking. 'It's just been a long day,' she said looking up at him.
Suddenly the sound of shattering glass filled the room, accompanied by a gust of cold air. Caleb and Jess leapt to their feet. The window had been smashed and a large brick lay on the floor a few feet away from the couch. Caleb ran over to the window just in time to see Tyler and his friends driving away. Caleb turned to face Jess.
'Tyler,' he said, his face hard as stone.
'Why would he do that?' Jess asked shaking.
'Because he's an idiot. And because he hates us.'
Jess knew that Tyler hated them, but he'd never done anything like this before. It was kind of unnerving.
'You know,' Caleb began, 'Sometimes I think Tally has the right idea.'
'In what way?' Jess asked
'They shouldn't be able to treat us the way they do,' he told her. 'Would it really be so bad if we did something to put them in their place?'
'You can't mean that,' Jess said uncertainly.
'Well I do,' Caleb replied firmly. 'The way he spoke to you the other day made me so mad. I should have laid him out flat. But why resort to violence when we have magic?'
Jess couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'We're above that Caleb,' she said in exasperation. 'We always agreed that we'd never retaliate. We're strong enough to take whatever they throw at us.'
'And we're strong enough to teach them a lesson they won't ever forget.' Caleb replied.
Jess shook her head in disbelief. 'You need to listen to yourself.'
'Jess!' Caleb yelled, 'They just threw a brick through my window! How do you expect me to react?!'
Hot tears sprung to her eyes. Caleb never shouted at her. 'Don't yell at me,' she whispered.
Caleb sighed before walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. 'I'm sorry. Please don't cry. Please. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's not you I'm mad at, it's them.'
'This is what they want,' Jess sniffed, resting her head against his chest. 'They want to get to us. We shouldn't let them.'
'I know,' Caleb said gently. 'But it's kind of difficult.'
'Let's get this mess cleared up,' Jess replied. Caleb nodded. The two of them never fought, and although most people wouldn't have classed the exchange they'd just had as a fight it was enough to shake Jess. Was that how Caleb really felt? Did he believe magical revenge was justified? Jess hoped not.
It was two am. Petra was giggling uncontrollably.
'Shut up!' Tally hissed, elbowing her friend in the ribs.
'Oww!' Petra yelped. 'What was that for?'
The girls were creeping slowly through Laila Warner's backyard. Like a pair of burglars they were dressed from head to toe in black, but they weren't there to steal. Well not exactly, there was one item they were going to be taking, but in their opinions that bitch Laila didn't deserve it anyway.
'I can't believe she sleeps with her window open,' Petra whispered.
'Could she make it any easier for us?' Tally replied with a devilish grin. 'Let's do it!'
The two girls hurried towards the house. Up against the wall and directly below Laila's window was a trellis.
'Do you think it'll hold our weight?' Petra asked as they both began to climb up.
'Yeah,' Tally replied. 'But maybe we should play it safe and go up one at a time.'
A few minutes later Tally and Petra were inside Laila's room. Over in the bed Laila's figure lay beneath the pink sheets, rising and falling gently as she slept peacefully, unaware of the two intruders. The girls snuck up to the bed, walking on their tip toes.
Petra burst out in another fit of giggles. Tally glared at her menacingly.
'Shut the hell up!' she whispered viciously.
'I can't help it,' Petra said in between giggles. 'I laugh when I'm nervous.'
'Let's just get on with it,' Tally said turning her back on her friend. Carefully she pulled back the covers ever so slightly. There it was, hanging around her neck, just as they had expected. That damn amulet Jess had made. It was so powerful Laila didn't even want to take it off to go to sleep.
Tally reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pair of scissors before quickly snipping at the chain. Gently, she slid the amethyst off the chain and handed it to Petra.
'Now she's no longer protected,' Tally said with a sly grin. 'Let the fun begin.'
Luke couldn't sleep. Staring up at the ceiling he sighed deeply. He was so tired. Not just physically, but emotionally. And it wasn't just the events of the previous day that had made him weary, it was the events of all those years that had gone before. He was tired of searching, tired of hoping, tired of not being able to forget.
It wasn't so long ago that he'd made his mind up. He wouldn't torture himself anymore, she was gone, she had been gone for over three hundred years. It was high time he faced the truth, maybe she wasn't coming back. Maybe he was just destined not to find her. Or maybe he had….
Luke sighed again. Everything about her, the way she looked, the way she spoke – it was all so familiar. But he couldn't be sure. He had been so desperate to find her that maybe this was just wishful thinking….
He threw back the covers, swung his legs to the floor and sat up. The moment he had seen her it was like the clock had spun back to a time when everything had been so much simpler. She had been sat in the middle of the room, her head bowed down. He hadn't even been able to see her face properly, but that didn't matter. Then she looked up. Her eyes, the shape of her face. He hadn't seen them in centuries.
Luke closed his eyes and clenched his fists, trying to push away the pain of remembering. He had never forgiven himself for being so foolish all those years ago. He had only wanted to do what was best for his family. They didn't have much, he had wanted to change that.
What was he going to do now? He had always assumed that when they finally met in this life time that he would know, and she would know. He hadn't thought about what would happen if she was already in love with someone. He always knew the vampire thing was going to be an issue, but when he had found out she was now a witch, a fellow member of the night world, maybe, he thought, maybe she'll accept me for who I am.
But she hadn't. We have a rule. We don't hang out with vampires. Those had been her words. Maybe this is what he needed. Finally he had the chance to get some closure. He could move on with his life, give up fighting for something that was lost so long ago. Luke got up and walked over to the window. His face, reflected in the glass, was filled with sadness.
How could he give up on her? This was the girl he loved. The girl he'd always loved. In all the years since he'd lost her no one had ever come close to comparing to her. No one had ever made his heart soar the way she did. Until now. Until he had come to this stupid town. Until he met Jess.
Anger welled up inside of Luke. He punched the wall angrily. He was cursed, he always would be. There was no point in trying to regain the things he had possessed when he was human. But you have to try, he thought to himself sadly. You've been without her for so long. Don't give up on what may be your only chance for happiness.
He suddenly felt dizzy. Quickly he pulled on his jeans and a shirt before grabbing his car keys and heading for the door. He had to feed.
