Chapter Nineteen

Diandra's face was set with concentration as she carefully carved intricate symbols into a tall white pillar candle. It was Saturday afternoon and she and Jess were sat on opposite sides of the workbench in her store room. 'Are you nearly done?' she asked Jess. Jess didn't answer. Instead she gazed off into space, half heartedly grinding up a mixture of herbs with a mortar and pestle.

Diandra looked up from the candle, took one glance at Jess and sighed. It was obvious that her niece was seriously upset about something. Diandra had questioned her about it when she'd arrived earlier, but Jess had quickly changed the subject by pointing out that they had more important things to be getting on with. They had decided to do ritual healing ceremonies for Laila until they could find a way to reverse the effects of Tally's spell.

'Jess?' Diandra said, reaching across the bench and giving her a nudge. 'Are you nearly done?'

'What?' Jess replied, sounding a little startled. 'Oh. Yeah.' She looked down at the powdery heap of herbs and nodded. 'I'm finished.'

'Good,' Diandra replied, reaching across and taking the mortar and pestle away from her. Jess tapped her fingers on the bench and looked up at the clock on the wall.

'Dora should be here soon,' she said trying her best to sound cheerful.

'Well as soon as she arrives,' Diandra began, 'we'll get started.' For the healing ceremony to work they needed to generate a substantial amount of magical energy and three witches would be better than two. Four would have been even better but Diandra and Jess had agreed that all those who took part in the ceremony had to have one hundred per cent pure and honest intentions towards the subject. For this reason inviting Tally to join in was out of the question. Her involvement would more than likely taint the magic and stop it from working the way they had desired.

This realization had been unsettling to Jess and Diandra, to say the least. To think of someone they were so close to, someone they loved so much as being a source of contamination saddened them deeply. Jess thought back to the anger that had burned in her sisters eyes the day before when she'd overheard what Jess had said about handing her over to the elders. What does she expect? Jess thought angrily. For us to turn a blind eye while she does as she pleases, no matter how terrible the consequences?

Diandra began to set the altar up, ready for Dora's arrival. Smoothing a green cloth across the bench she placed the pillar candle in the centre and anointed it with a few drops of oil from a bronze bowl. Jess opened her bag and pulled out a group photograph that had been taken on a school camping trip a year ago. She, Dora and Caleb were barely visable, huddled at the back on the edge of the group. In the centre was Laila, smiling radiantly at the camera. Carefully she cut Laila out of the picture and began to wrap her image up with a white ribbon.

Diandra looked over and saw what Jess was doing. 'Jess!' Diandra yelled. 'Not yet. We're haven't prepared everything.'

Confusion crossed Jess's face and Diandra pointed at the photograph and ribbon. Jess glanced down at what she was holding in her hands. 'Oh,' she said, suddenly seeming embarrased. 'Sorry D, I didn't even realize I was doing that.'

'What is wrong with you?' Diandra asked worriedly. 'Your head is really in the clouds today. Don't you realize how important this is? If we want to help Laila we have to be totally focused.'

Jess nodded. 'I know. And I'm sorry.'

'So are you going to tell me what's bugging you?' Diandra asked.

'Well I would, but I'm kind of sick of talking about it. And I'm sick of thinking about it. But I can't help it. It's like it's taking over my life.'

'What is?' Diandra pushed, growing more curious.

'Let's just forget it okay?' Jess said throwing the photograph and ribbon onto the altar. 'Like you said we need to be focusing on this, not on my problems.'

'Is this about that guy you were telling me about?' Diandra asked hand on hip.

'Yes and no,' Jess replied with a weary sigh. Diandra raised an eyebrow quizically. Jess took a deep breath before speaking again. 'I may as well tell you. You're going to find out sooner or later. Caleb and I broke up last night.'

'Oh Jess,' Diandra said sounding genuinely upset. 'I take it this has something to do with the other guy? You want to be with him now?'

'No!' Jess cried, practically screaming at the top of her lungs. 'That's not it at all! Why does everyone assume that!' The sound of the bell above the door jingling alerted them to Dora's arrival.

'We'll talk about this later,' Diandra said giving Jess a gentle pat on the shoulder. Jess took a deep breath and slumped into a chair in the corner of the room. A ritual healing ceremony was the last thing she felt like doing right now. If she had her way she would be locked away in her room moping.

A moment or two passed and Dora hadn't entered the storeroom. Diandra put the finishing touches to the altar then craned her towards the door. 'Come on through Dora!' No reply.

'Maybe it's a customer,' Jess suggested.

'Yeah maybe,' Diandra replied eyeing up a couple of incense sticks critically. 'Would you go through and take care of it.'

Jess pushed herself up onto her feet and nodded. 'Sure,' she said unenthusiastically, before trudging over to the door and walking into the front of the store. As she had suspected it wasn't Dora. It was two girls. They had their backs to her, examining a shelf of organic face masks and body scrubs. Jess could tell they were probably about her age.

'Can I help you?' Jess asked trying to sound friendly and professional. Something in the way they turned alerted Jess immediately. They each had the predatory grace of a cat, almost lazy, yet so sure of themselves. Vampires, Jess realized. Definitely vampires. Both girls had dark hair and were dressed casually in black jeans and dark shirts, but apart from the air of danger that rolled off them like an invisible fog, that was where their similarities ended.

One was short, the other comparitively tall. The shorter of the two had dark eyes that burned like black fire, while the other had frosty grey eyes that chilled to the bone like ice. A dark smile curled at the corners of the short girls lips. 'We're just browsing,' she said in a low husky voice. 'Taking a look around. Sizing things up.'

Jess nodded stiffly, all traces of her friendly and professional demeanour gone. While the short girl smiled at Jess sinisterly, the taller girl stared intently. Her ice cold eyes roamed over Jess from top to bottom, as if she was slowly cataloguing every aspect of Jess, storing it all away in her memory.

'Well don't take too long,' Jess told them, refusing to be intimidated. 'We're closing up early today.' For a moment Jess wondered if they had been sent by Malachi. Perhaps he'd decided he was too nice a guy to beat up a girl and had sent two of his fanged female friends instead. Jess couldn't be sure though, she had never laid eyes on them before.

Finally the taller girl spoke. 'You work here?" she asked, her voice cold.

'No,' Jess replied shortly. She did not want to get involved in a conversation with these girls. The way they were looking at her made her feel like a bug under a microscope, a bug that was about to have all it's legs pulled off one by one. 'My aunt owns this place,' she added, hoping that the girls would hurry up and leave.

'So where do you keep the good stuff?' the dark eyed girl asked, walking across the store, her finger tracing along the length of the shelf beside her.

'This is all good stuff,' Jess replied coldly - she was liking this girl less and less by the second. The girl chuckled huskily and picked up a pink perfume bottle, turning in her slender hands a couple of times before setting it back and down and turning to Jess with a knowing stare.

'I have it on good authority that this place is more than a cosmetics store.'

Jess folded her arms defensively. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'If you say so,' the girl said, suddenly seeming bored. She looked around the store for a couple of seconds before allowing her gaze to return to Jess, a reknewed interest gleaming in the depths of her dark eyes. 'But maybe there is something you do know that's of interest to us - or should I say someone.

Great. Jess thought to herself. They are a couple of henchwomen sent by Malachi.

'Luke Maguire,' the dark eyed girl said boldly.

Jess couldn't hide the tremor of shock that rolled through her body and the two vampires exchanged a long glance, the shorter girl raising an eyebrow at the taller one as if to say I told you so.

'Yeah I know him,' Jess said, proud at how steady her voice was as she spoke. 'Not that well though. He goes to my school.'

The girl with the chilling eyes made a small snorting sound and smirked slightly. There was no humor in the smirk - it was cold and angry.

'So you're not friends with him?' the shorter girl asked.

Jess was stumped. What was she supposed to say? Ever since Luke had arrived she'd made it clear time and again that she did not want Luke as a friend, nor did she consider him to be one. Now she had the overwhelming urge to say that yes, he was a friend - which was ridiculous in light of the fact that now he no longer wanted to be friends with her anyway. So why did she want to tell these girls that they were friends. Was it jealousy? Possesiveness? Did she see these two girls as rivals? Jess pushed the thoughts away angrily as she squirmed silently under the probing stares of the two vampires.

'Well?' the girl prompted. 'Are you friends with him or not?'

'Not really,' Jess said finally. 'No.'

The sound of the jingling bell above the door made them all look towards the entrance of the store. Dora skipped in, her long blonde hair whipping around behind her, a bright smile on her face. The smile faded when she saw the way the two girls were looking at her.

'Hi Dora,' Jess said quickly. 'Go on through to the back. Diandra's waiting.' Dora nodded, before walking between the two girls towards the storeroom, eyeing each one suspicously as she did so. When Dora was safely inside the storeroom, Jess walked to the front door and held it open. 'You'll have to leave now. We're closing for the day.'

The two vampires stared at one another. Jess knew they were communicating telepathically and let out an angry sigh. How rude! she thought to herself. Finally the two girls broke eye contact and strode over to the door gracefully. The taller one stepped outside first, her cold eyes meeting Jess's for the briefest moment as she passed by her. The shorter one stopped inches away from Jess and stared at her intensely.

'What is your name by the way?' she asked curiously.

'Jessica,' she replied coldly. She did not want this girl to know any personal details about her - and that included her name, but she could hardly lie.

'Well, Jessica,' the girl said, spitting her name out as if it tasted bad. 'Will you be seeing Luke anytime soon?'

Jess nodded. 'At school probably.'

The dark eyed girls face lit up in a mocking grin. 'Oh of course, school,' she said sarcastically. 'Well if you do see him at school tell him Starla say's hi.'

'And Lavinia,' the cold eyed girl added flatly.

'If I speak to him,' Jess replied shuting the door on them, 'then I will.' Quickly she slammed the door and slid the dead bolt across, flipping the sign from open to close. Before heading into the storeroom Jess allowed herself one last glance at the two dark haired vampires as they glided smoothly down the street. Were they really friends of Luke, she wondered. Girlfriends even? The stab of jealousy she had felt earlier flaired back up and Jess let out a harsh sigh. This was ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous. She was supposed to be moping over the sudden spilt from the love of her life, not getting jealous and possesive over Luke.

Diandra stuck her head around the storeroom door. 'Jess come on,' she sadi quickly. 'We have work to do.' Vowing to put all thoughts of Luke, Caleb, and the unnerving Starla and Lavinia to the back of her mind Jess walked over to the storeroom. It was time to make some magic.