Chapter 20
Sarah's room for the night was one of the oddest she'd ever seen. There were no curtains at the window, the walls were honey-wood in colour, the bed was almost just a box-shaped piece of wood topped with a thick mattress and quilt, low enough not to even reach the windowsill, which was wide enough to sit upon and revealing an ugly view of the bleak moors and swamps, the river not even visible through a fringe of black trees.
As well as that, there was absolutely no furniture apart from the bed, except for a strange, tall bookcase that was perfectly out of place in this plain room. A pair of black-brown, furry bats crooned sleepily from the corner of the ceiling, hanging upside down from the ceiling which appeared to be rough wood, perhaps deliberately rough enough to let the bats have good enough grip to stay there and not fall.
Certainly, a bookcase wouldn't be unusual. But it had absolutely no books in it: when she pushed lightly at it, she could easily tell that it was far too heavy a type of wood to be moved by one human, or even two vampires. So, she presumed, it must be a trap-door sort of bookcase. She'd seen bookcases hiding secret passageways, but it was stupid in her view to leave the thing so empty and obvious and she'd not put any of her own stuff in it, because she was keeping her bag as fully packed as possible, ready to leave at very short notice.
At least the bed was comfortable. Her tired mind stressed over Kierlan and his mother and Hunter Redfern for one moment before her eyes fluttered shut and awarded her worries with a dream scented with violet; Kierlan smiled gently at her though his eyes were worried. He kept silent, as though determined to say nothing of where he was or how he was. She kept trying to speak but her voice was silent and her words non-existent, desperation creeping into her eyes as she pleaded with her hands to him to let her speak. He shook his head and she woke up.
Sitting up bolt-straight in the bed, she blinked painfully and could tell why there were no curtains at the window: moonlight poured like a waterfall of molten gold through the glass. It was raw and beautiful, a magic in itself like being loved by the goddess and when she rested her hand in the depths of its gold, it was warm like sunlight.
"You look like a young goddess," Laurence said humorously, "with the moonlight in your hair and shining down your cheek. Like a Greek goddess, dedicated to a melancholy, lonely devotion. Love."
"Love isn't lonely," Sarah answered.
"It is, when I look at you," Laurence said with an element of charm.
"I'm claimed," Sarah replied stiffly. "Please don't flirt with me."
"I'd only stop short of flirting if the young lady has their Soulmate," Laurence said humorously.
"My Soulmate is Kierlan Harman," Sarah replied boldly, eyes gleaming with sadness.
"Then what shall happen if Hunter kills him? Or worse, his mother? What if she should turn Kierlan into a vampire?" Laurence queried, his own eyes sharp and bright in the moonlight. "Will you turn away from him if he becomes a vampire and seems changed from who he was?"
"I doubt it," Sarah answered. "It's not as simple as that. I can't just stop loving him."
"Oh, the Soulmate connection," Laurence said dismissively, his hand making a sweeping gesture.
"Please can you leave me alone or change the subject?" Sarah demanded, annoyed.
"I'll change the subject then," Laurence said comfortably. "How can you hang around with that horrible, malicious little Susannah?"
"Susie is perfectly fine," Sarah scowled. "You just have a problem with how she doesn't want to make out with you. You're a sexist, needy little brat!"
He smiled and stuck out his hand, grasping hers and shook it firmly. "How wonderful. We shall be great friends, Sarah! Many a wonderful conversation could we have. Shall we go to the library?"
He didn't wait for her answer, pulling her up by the hand and going to the empty bookcase. He didn't push it aside. Instead he walked through it. The air shimmered with illusion and he firmly told her to follow: it wouldn't hurt. Fascinated, she followed: she'd never seen an illusion that thorough: she'd never even thought of touching it…a repulsion spell? She wondered. A spell to stop someone wanting to investigate it further. Cool.
The illusion held a dark corridor, lights flicking on as Laurence walked. The lights were modern desk lamp-style lights, bright and glaring though they left plenty of shadows.
Above them, the corridor teemed with more black bats that chattered sleepily and excitedly as the two walked down the corridor, Laurence's path brisk and purposeful, Sarah's uncertain and curious.
Finally the journey ended. Laurence passed through what looked like a wall; she followed and then they were back in the library. Jack was there, still lounging on one of the maroon couches though not bothering to hide that he wasn't reading, was just gazing into space. Then his green eyes snapped into focus and looked over at Sarah. "Hello."