Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer
This chapter is dedicated to Noble, Fadewind, Bibika94, BellaNessieCullen, Justandsimplyme, Alphabloodwolf, Lsb123, Alexsandra and Skys the Limit 7507
"Will you tell me about your dream now?" I asked Mal as we sat on the grass eating our ice cream in the midmorning sun.
Our laundry had been done and I thought I had left it long enough for him to think about what he was willing to tell me.
"It's nothing really." He said. "It's just a memory twisted into a nightmare."
"What memory?" I asked, curious to know, but not wishing to push him.
Mal was silent for a minuet, and I continued to eat my ice cream as I watched him quietly. There was a slight breeze that moved his hair and the gold highlights danced. He was quiet, but he was thinking, that was clear from the set of his face. I hoped I wasn't hurting him more by making him relive it. Would it be better to let him bury it?
I was beginning to think that perhaps he would not speak; I would not blame him if he chose not to since there were things I was unwilling to discuss with him. Then he took a breath and spoke in a low voice that had I not been dhampir I would not have heard him.
"I'm three years old and I'm taken in front of the Volturi, they're about to kill my parents and I know that if I'm powerful enough I can get us all out of there safely. But no matter how hard I try my telekinesis won't work and I have to watch as they kill my parents again, and again and then it's Essie and Tobias and Brandon and Maggie, and now…and now you."
"Me?" I asked with a frown.
"Yes. You were in trouble too last night and I couldn't protect you." He growled, sounding disgusted that he had failed me in his dream.
But he had not truly failed me; in real life he had more than proven his worth.
"It was only a dream." I said softly, placing my hand to his cheek. "You have protected me when it matters." I added and placed a kiss to his cheek. "And if we ever find ourselves in such a perilous situation then we will work together and protect each other."
"I know that." He said with a smile. "But tell that to my subconscious."
"Hold this a moment." I said, placing my cone into his hands.
Mal took the cone and looked a little uncertain as I knelt between his legs and put both hands to his cheeks and leaned as close to him as I could before his eyes blurred into one.
"I am speaking to the subconscious of Malachite Llewellyn, there is no need to fear for my safety. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself and if you still cause my good friend trouble then perhaps a demonstration is in order." I said with a scowl.
Mal laughed and handed my ice cream back to me.
"Well if that don't work I don't know what will." He stated as I sat back beside him.
The rest of Sunday seemed to fly by and it was strange to return to the room I shared with Dove. It would be strange to be in the company of humans once more and have to return to censoring my words. As Mal had remarked it was a little tiresome, especially when she questioned me on what happened.
The story I weaved was one of my best I must say. It was tempered with enough excitement, or at least excitement I found from the experience, but would seem most boring to a third party. I made no mention of the kiss or the fact that Mal had allowed me to snuggle up with Loki, although I was unsure if I kept the latter secret lest Mal and I sound like children. She conceded that she preferred Mal to Malcolm and if I ever got over the grad student then I couldn't go wrong with Mal. Silly, Mal had no interest in me, I was a child compared to him. Of course I could make no argument of this since Mal was claiming to be sixteen years younger than he is.
Finally I had managed to satisfy Dove's curiosity and I was able to go to bed by ten and I arose for lessons the next morning feeling refreshed. Dove was running late again and so I had to ride the bus alone, or so I thought.
Gobbo and Trick waited until I had sat down, then Gobbo sat next to me while Trick took the seat in front, turning to look at me. I was trapped unless I wished to risk exposure. I turned instead to look out the window and I saw Mal on the sidewalk waiting to come on the bus. I begged that he would hurry and tried to think of some way to extricate myself from the seat before he arrived.
"Where's Mal?" Gobbo demanded.
"Out by there." I said without thinking.
Both Gobbo and Trick peered out the window and they both snorted in derision.
"We're not talking about your new boy toy." Gobbo retorted.
I felt rather angered by this, when had I ever given the impression that I was playing Malcolm? Was it not the other way around?
"If you are referring to Malcolm I have not seen him since he assaulted me." I said.
"He wouldn't do that." Trick said defiantly and I looked into his eyes and realised that he believed it.
"Then you know very little of your friend." I said sadly, and then I heard the guilty stutter of Gobbo's heart beside me. "But you on the other hand know all too well what Malcolm is capable of."
Gobbo looked at me in shock.
"Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen." I said, and managed to squeeze out of the seat past Gobbo just as Mal reached us.
He looked angry but I took his hand and led him further up the bus before he could say anything.
"Were they bugging you?" He asked.
"For some reason they thought I'd know of Malcolm's whereabouts. They are his friends, should they not keep better tabs on him?" I grouched.
"Whatever, they shouldn't bug you about it after what he did." Mal said firmly.
"Forget them Mal." I said and tapped his hand. "If they prove more of a bother then I will report them too."
"Yeah." Mal agreed then moved so that his mouth was close to my ear before he whispered. "But it would be so good to teach them a lesson about messing with dhampir."
I giggled.
"I think that might get us into trouble." I stated.
"Too bad." Mal stated. "I'd give anything to levitate them on to the clock tower."
"Perhaps they would get in trouble for climbing it." I mused.
"Maybe we should ambush them next time they're drunk." He suggested in a dark, conspiratorial voice.
"As tempting as that thought is, it would be very wrong." I said sternly, although my lips twitched as I fought the smile that threatened at the thought of those two louts waking up somewhere unexpected.
"Yeah." Mal agreed said in despondent tones. "Sometimes being good sucks."
I laughed and shook my head.
"Very amusing my friend." I said and kissed his cheek since his face was still next to me. I frowned as something occurred to me. "What lesson do you have this morning? I have never seen you on the bus on a Monday before."
"I haven't got any lessons, but when I saw Gobbo and Trick tailing you I decided to ride in too." He stated and he was suddenly serious, all hints of his playful musings of moments before having vanished.
"There was no need to." I said, feeling touched that he would do it for me.
"You would have done the same for me." Mal said in sure tones, I had not realised he thought that of me. That he trusted me in that way, it was most uplifting indeed.
"Yes." I agreed, for it was the truth and I could think of nothing else to say that would not betray the sudden rush of warmth I felt toward Mal for holding me in such regard.
"This really wasn't some macho, I need to save a damsel in distress type of thing. I just didn't want to let you alone with those idiots, especially if Malcolm was here as well." Mal declared with a frown as if he had suddenly realised how it could be perceived, but the thought never crossed my mind for Mal is my friend and friends look out for each other.
"I know." I said with a reassuring smile. "There is much wisdom in the adage 'there is safety in numbers'. It's something I came to realise years ago and have never forgot it. Thank you for standing by me today so that those two seemed less intimidating."
"No problamo." Mal said with a small salute.
"What will you do now?" I asked for although he could walk back to the dorms within a few minuets, I would hate for him to have a wasted bus trip.
"I'll spend the morning in town. How about you meet me in the coffee shop at lunch?"
"That would be nice." I replied. "And I can buy you that coffee I owe you this time."
"Oh no, I think I owe you coffee now." Mal said in sure tones.
I laughed, and then said, "How about I buy my own coffee and we drink together?"
"What's so funny about that?" Mal asked.
"That's what Grace always used to say to Tony when he offered to buy her food." I stated, and then I felt saddened. "She'll never say it to him again."
"Any news?"
"Not yet." I said, looking at the new phone, there were no messages or missed calls since the ones I'd deleted. "Although I suppose it could be any time today."
I watched as the screen went dark, and then I pressed a button again before dialling in the landline of Tregarran.
It rang three times before it was answered.
"Hello?" Those tinkling tones were unmistakable.
"Is there any news yet Aunt Alice?" I asked.
"Not yet." Alice said. "But it shouldn't be long. I think."
"You think?" I asked with a frown for Alice was always certain about these things, or so I had heard from family legend since there had been no vampires created in our family in my lifetime.
"I can't see her and I don't know if Tony's getting in the way, or cause Nessie's here or because…" She tailed off deliberately, her meaning clear in her pause and the words that followed. "Well you don't want to know that bit of news so I won't tell you that. But we're just waiting now."
"Very well." I said, ignoring the words she had deliberately not spoken. "Will you phone me as soon as there is news?"
"Will you answer this time?" Alice asked bluntly.
"Provided the news is about Tony and Grace." I said firmly.
"I really don't know why you're being so stubborn, but then you are Edward's great-granddaughter." Alice mused. "Ok, I'll phone you."
"And I have a lecture this morning, but I have someone to answer the phone. One of us so you can talk to him freely." I stated.
There was a pause.
"You mean one of you." Alice said. "A dhampir."
"Yes."
"Ok. I'll ring once Grace is awake. Maybe once her and Tony have gone out hunting. Although it might be best I keep an eye on them for that." Alice reasoned with herself allowed. "Someone will phone."
"Yes. And remember that if I don't answer…"
"Your friend will." Alice said and there was a thoughtful tinge in her voice that made me wonder if perhaps it had been a bad idea to have Alice look. She could sometimes recognise the hybrids by the absence they created in her visions.
"I have to go now, the bus has arrived at the college." I said quickly.
"Ok. I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Goodbye." I said and hung up as the bus drew to a halt.
Mal and I alighted and I turned to him on the sidewalk outside.
"Take this. They will phone if there is news and they will talk to you. You can tell them it's you if like, but if you would rather remain anonymous I did not tell them it was you." I explained as I handed the phone to him.
"Ok. I'll take the call for you and I'll see you in four hours." Mal said brightly, although there was a slight apprehension about him. If he truly desired to remain anonymous I had to hope that it would be one of m family members who would not immediately recognise his voice.
I nodded in response to his words, and we parted.
My history lecture went by swiftly and I soon found myself entering that little coffee shop once more. Mal was on the phone when I entered and he did not register my presence, so caught up in the conversation was he.
"She's not stubborn. She's just… just gets a little obsessive. Not unlike someone else I know." He said and I frowned slightly as I stopped next to him, straining to hear what was being said, but it was almost impossible in the clamour of the shop.
"Don't patronise me!" Mal snapped, his voice low and harsh.
I watched Mal's face as it went from a scowl to a look of concern then shifted back to anger.
"I don't like being asked to betray my friend's trust." He stated and I wondered what was being said on the other side, if only the people in this place would be silent but a moment.
"Yeah. But from what I hear, all you decided to side with Essie and nobody cared about listening to Liza's point of view."
I gasped, still wondering whom he was talking to, but almost delirious with joy that he was fighting my corner.
"Yes." Was Mal's firm reply to whatever question was posed and I was so elated I could have kissed him.
"No. But she'll tell me when she's ready. So don't say anything."
I felt panic take me at those words, knowing how persistent my family could be. I had to act.
"I don't want to know." Mal said firmly and I took the phone from him in that moment and brought it to my ear.
"The reason that…" Father began.
Oh god, it was Father!
"Matters not." I said firmly. "How dare you do this Father?"
"I am trying to help Liza. Help you mostly, you are being most unreasonable, can you not see that?" Father replied.
"I am not being unreasonable in the slightest. You were being unreasonable to expect me to accept this new development without a bye or leave and now you go to poison my friend against me? I have no one in this world; you even took my twin from me. Now you seek to steal my only friend when all I wish is to know how my brother and his girlfriend fare?" I demanded.
"Liza, please be calm." Father chided.
"No." I said stubbornly.
"Vela! You will see reason." Father said, hoping that the name he wished me to own would work, the name that had belonged to his mother millennia ago.
"You see reason Father." I countered.
"I am losing patience with you Vela. Mother cries most nights to think of you so far away and not in contact." He said softly and I felt a moment of weakness until I realised why she might be more teary-eyed than usual.
"Then she should have thought about that before. Perhaps she would not be so…" I broke off, if I used that argument it would confirm my worst fear. "She should have thought…"
"We want you to be part of this, can you not see? You were the first one Mother wished to tell, but you hung up on her the other day and ignored all her other attempts to contact you. Are you really going to let this unfounded anger stop you from being there when…."
I hung up quickly and turned off the phone before Father could finish. I sank into the chair next to Mal feeling my heart pound in my chest. Tears covered my face, I was distraught, and I had an audience.
"Liza? Are you ok?" Mal asked softly.
"I think perhaps we should go somewhere else." I observed, looking around at the gawping people who surrounded us.
Mal nodded and we rose and left the coffee shop. We walked a while in silence until we came to a café, one that also sold food. We went in and ordered our food before Mal asked.
"How are you feeling?"
"Angry that Father would do that." I said. "But I'm not interested in that. All I wish to know is what happened with Grace."
"It's real weird and I can't tell you here, apart from it's not what you expected." Mal said in a low voice.
I frowned.
"Very well. We will adjourn to your room once we are finished here?" I suggested.
"Yes." Mal replied.
We fell into a silence for a moment as I contemplated his words that whatever had transpired in Tregarran was beyond expectation. Had they been mistaken and Grace had merely had a fever and now she had pulled through? I was on tenterhooks to know, but Mal was right, we could not discuss such things here.
Then something else occurred to me, my thought of earlier. Father had spoken to Mal, had he recognised the voice? He must have known it was Mal for even though I only heard one half of the conversation Mal's words were too informal to be used on someone he had only just met, and on the phone at that. Father must have known it was him, and Mal had stated his reservations of contacting my parents once more. I felt guilty for having put him in such a position and I had to know how he fared.
"Was it hard to speak to Father?" I asked carefully once our food was placed before us.
"Yeah. I can't believe he figured out it was me." Mal said, rolling his eyes and it was hard to fathom whether he was truly angered, or if there was the slightest hint that he was impressed by such a feat.
"Father is good at such things." I said in an annoyed voice.
"Yeah. I kind of knew he'd guess the moment I realised it was him. He said that Essie's been trying to get in contact, I should have done before, but like I said, it's hard getting back in touch when you've been quiet for so long. It was hard before, but it'll be even harder now I know that him and Essie are gonna be pissed because I won't just drag you home." He said despondently.
"They asked you to do that?" I asked in outrage.
"Not in so many words, but they want me to try and convince you." Mal said carefully, and he looked at me for a moment, as if he were considering the likelihood of this.
I shook my head.
"So what did they do to you?" He asked instead.
"Betrayed me." I said firmly.
"You'll tell me in your own time." He said firmly.
I nodded.
My phone buzzed. My real phone, not the one bought to contact home. I pulled it from my pocket and frowned at the number.
"What's wrong?" Mal asked.
"It is Tony's number." I said. "But I never gave him this number."
"You didn't give him your number but you have his stored?" Mal asked with a frown.
"I recognise it." I said absently as I tired to fathom how he had my new number, I slapped my forehead when it occurred to me. "I sent an e-mail to Grace containing this number."
"See what he has to say." Mal advised.
I rolled my eyes and clicked to read the message.
Liza I need you right now Sis. Do you think we can talk? Maybe on MSN? Tony x
I read over his message and considered. Mal wished to read the message and I allowed him since there was nothing compromising.
"Would talking to him hurt?" Mal asked.
I shook my head. It would not hurt and I had hoped to be in contact with Tony again. This was my opportunity.
Give me half an hour and I will be on line xx
I replied.
Half an hour later I was sat at my desk. I wished to do this alone and Mal said that he had things to do. I knew he was being polite so I didn't inquire about what the things were, and it was none of my business if truth be told.
I felt nervous as I loaded up my laptop. My hands were shaking so much that I had to type my password twice. Finally I was able to log on and it had been so long that I had logged into this particular account that my unread e-mail numbered in the hundreds. I ignored them since it was instant messaging that I required.
Tony was already on and he was prompt in contacting me.
Tony says:
-Hey Sis, heard you were worried about me
Liza says:
-Yes, on Saturday morning I felt your distress
-It was but a moment of deduction for me to know that it was Grace in trouble
-How are you both?
Tony says:
-Good
-A little confused about what's happened
Liza says:
-What has happened?
Tony says:
-I thought Dad told your friend?
Liza says:
-He did, but I forgot to ask in my rush to talk to you
-What has happened?
Tony says:
-Well I guess you know the first part
Liza says:
-That a woman shot Grace and you had to make a life or death decision
Tony says:
-Yeah
Liza says:
-Then Grace is a vampire?
Tony says:
-Well this is where it gets weird Sis
-None of us can even begin to explain but here, here's a picture of Grace taken this very minuet, she wants you to see it
Liza says:
-Very well
I waited for the prompt to say I had received a picture message. As soon as it appeared I pressed the button to display it. There was Grace in all her vampire glory, the venom having worked to enhance the beauty already present. It was part of the perfect hunter's package, to make the vampire most alluring indeed that humans would find them hard to resist. Vampires were attractive, but there was one trait in carnivores and newborns alike that indicated there was something strange about them. It was the colour of their eyes, red like blood.
I frowned at the picture.
Liza says:
-This was taken now?
Tony says:
-Yep
Liza says:
-Have you enhanced it in any way?
Tony says:
-No
Liza says:
-Then surely I am seeing things because Grace's eyes appear to be blue
Tony says:
-That's because they are :D
I could think of nothing to say to that.
Liza says:
-Explain!
Tony says:
-Like I said, we really don't know how it happened, but Grace didn't turn all the way into a vampire. Somehow she's a half vampire
-Do you think it's cause of me?
Liza says:
-If those bit became dhampir themselves then that is what Huilen would be
-But she is a vampire, despite the fact she was bitten by her new born dhampir nephew
Tony says:
-Maybe it's cause I'm matured. Maybe the venom changes.
Liza says:
-I can not see that as a factor myself
Tony says:
-Then maybe it's the wolf in me?
Liza says:
-More likely, but still highly doubtful
Tony says:
-Then what do you suggest?
Liza says:
-I do not know the full circumstances
Tony says:
-Well I know the rest of them are planning to go away for a few days, give Grace and me some private time.
-Why don't you come home and we can talk about this
-I could really use your advice right now Sis, and I know Grace would like the company
-I can tell her most things about this life, but then I'm a guy, so I can't tell her everything she might want to know
-And you always thought of her as a sister, ever since you found out she was my imprint
-Can you be a sister to her now?
-To both of us
Liza says:
-The others will be gone?
Tony says:
-Yeah
Liza says:
-Even Mother?
-And Father
Tony says:
-They count as part of everyone Eliza
Liza says:
-I had to check
-I will look into flights
-Could Mal accompany me?
Tony says:
-I guess that's up to him, but he's dhampir and seen a bit of the world, any insight he could offer would be great
Liza says:
-Then I will come in your hour of need dear brother.
Tony says:
-I knew I could count on you Sis
-There's no better sister in the world
-You're my favourite sister, you know that?
Liza says:
-Yes :L
-But there is hardly competition since I am your only sister
Then Tony typed something that made me retract my statement for I had been led blindly into agreeing to go home. It was all a ploy, and I was angered that Tony would use such methods. Why had I allowed him to sway me so? I was so stupid to allow people to talk me into things only for them to break my heart.
I closed down the window and shut down the laptop as I felt the first sobs take me. The news had been worse than I thought, and from the mouth of my own twin. I had been replaced, and that was evident now. Tony only wanted me to figure out his conundrum with Grace and then I'd be assigned to the scrap heap, no longer his favourite sister.
I had a text through; it was from Tony. I set the phone to silent and slammed it onto my bedside cabinet. I longed to switch the phone off, but I was unable to do so in case the college tried to contact me. I fell onto the bed and became lost in my grief, it felt worse than I had imagined it would to learn of the news.
I had been replaced.
I was no longer needed.
My exile was complete.
Who was there in this world to reach out to me now?
"Liza, I don't know what's happened but you've been crying for like five hours now. I would leave you to it, but I want to sleep and your phone is so bright and someone keeps ringing you." Dove said in a soft voice, fearful to disturb me, but knowing that he had to.
I sat up and looked bleary eyed at Dove.
"Oh god! Did someone die?" She exclaimed.
"No." I said. "It is much worse than that."
"What?"
"It matters not." I said, picking up the phone that was indeed all aglow. "I will leave you to sleep."
I left the room with both phones in hand, my main one was constantly ringing, and as soon as it stopped it would start once more. When would they leave me alone? Well there was a way to rectify that. A way that became apparent when I found myself upon the bridge.
I grinned, feeling slightly maniacal as I dropped both phones into the water. The splash was somewhat disappointing, but it still eased my mind and I felt as if a weight had been lifted.
My family had replaced me, now I would cut all ties. I would never contact them again.
"Liza?" Mal asked tentatively. "Did you just throw your phones in the water?"
"It had to be done." I said simply.
"I can get them back." He said firmly.
I looked at him for a moment, and then shook my head.
"Good riddance I say. I will buy a new phone and they will never contact me again." I declared.
"You could have just bought a new SIM." He stated.
I paused a moment, that was a good point, but I had not been thinking rationally at the time.
"I need a new phone." I said firmly.
"Ok. But I still need to get your phones out of the water. What if someone finds them and manages to get into the memory? Is there anything compromising on there?" He asked carefully, and I knew what he was referring to as compromising.
"Depends what my family have sent me." I stated since I had no idea what the content of any text message or voice mail might be.
"Then let's get them back." Mal said firmly, taking my hand and leading me to the end of the bridge.
"But you'll get wet." I protested.
Mal snorted.
"I only have to touch the water." He stated as he led me down to a spot just under the bridge where we were shaded from view.
Mal squatted down and I squatted beside him since he still held my hand. He placed his right hand to the surface of the water and closed his eyes. I felt a strange shiver, for a moment I could almost feel the water lapping at me. I gasped as something broke the surface, no, two small things that started whizzing toward us like miniature speed boats. They bobbed against the shore and Mal plucked both phones from the water easily with one hand. I had been hard pressed to hold just one in my dainty little things.
"Oh dear." Mal sighed as he fell onto his bottom, it seemed all the energy had drained from him. "Moving stuff through water is surprisingly hard." He said as he handed the phones to me. "I hope you think of that next time you go to throw something in the pond."
"Sorry." I said, placing the phones into the pockets of my jeans. "If I could I would give you all my energy to repay you." I said and hugged him.
"I'm ok, honestly Liza bach, it'll just take a moment for me to feel up to walking again." Mal said as he tapped my back with his left hand.
"But I mean it when I say that I would give you energy if I could." I said firmly, wishing in that moment I had Auntie Ebony's gift.
"Oh but this is almost as good." He whispered. "I feel ten times better all ready. Like having a magic mam hug. Hey." He said, sitting back and grinning at me. "Maybe that's your power."
"What?" I asked with a frown.
"Healing hugs." He stated, a grin still wide on his face.
I giggled.
"I don't know about healing hugs, but you know how to heal my aching soul my friend." I said and hugged him once more. "It is good to know at least one person in this world still cares for me."
"They do care about you." Mal said. "You've just had a disagreement. I'm sure they'll come around to your way of thinking in the end."
"Oh no, it is much too late for that. Tony confirmed the worst and I am truly replaced." I said mournfully, allowing more than I had intended to slip out in that moment.
"Replaced?" Mal questioned.
"Yes. I can never go back." I stated, since there was no way to cover my choice of word now.
"Don't you think maybe you should sleep on it before you write your family off completely?" He asked.
"I…" I paused and thought for a moment. "I should take a step back and think on this properly. Perhaps I should sleep, then I can think more clearly about this."
"Because as far as I'm concerned no one could ever replace you Liza. There's only one of you." He stated.
"Thanks for your words of comfort Mal." I whispered, hugging him one last time. "Do you think you can walk now?"
"Yeah, I'm rebooted." He said with a laugh as he made to stand and I made room for him.
"Do not straighten up completely." I warned him and he stopped short of banging his head on the bridge.
"That was lucky." He observed and took my hand so that I could guide him from beneath the bridge where he was able to straighten and he did so with a stretch that made wonderful lines of his body. I found myself wondering if he was a dancer or if he'd ever consider it.
"Liza!" A voice gasped from the bridge and a torch was shone in my eyes.
"Dove?" I asked, blinking into the light.
"Oh my god! Here you are." She said, running down from the bridge and almost slipping on the banking to hug me. "I was so worried. I had to drag Dermot out of bed to come look for you."
"You did?" I asked, feeling touched.
"She did." Dermot called from the top of the banking.
"Thank you my friend." I gasped as I hugged her back. "I was having a crisis of confidence and it does me good to know that there's people who care about me."
"Of course there's people who care about you." Dove stated. "Who told you there wasn't?" And she glared over my head at Mal.
"Not Mal!" I exclaimed stepping away from her and taking his hand. "He has been trying to talk me out of my melancholy. It is my family that make me feel unwanted, but here in college I have found you three. You are such great friends."
"Yeah. Do you think we can do this indoors?" Dove asked. "I'm getting the heebie-jeebies out here."
I shared a look with Mal for as Dove said that I felt the hairs on my arms stand on end and the shiver down my spine.
"I think it's best we go indoors." Mal stated, and so agitated was he that his natural accent broke through and Dove frowned beside me.
"Come. We should return indoors." I said, leaving go of Mal's hand and taking Dove's instead to help her up the banking.
She immediately went to Dermot's arm once we were on the path. Mal and I followed the couple and I took Mal's hand in this sudden air of unease. I was certain I felt a vampire presence and it was best not to be out if that were so. Mal and I would draw the attention of curious vampires and that would most likely mean that Dove and Dermot would pay with their lives despite the fact the law stated otherwise.
I cannot tell you the sense of relief I felt once we reached the common room. I wished to stay and talk with Mal longer, but it was clear Dove would not leave me alone this night. I did contemplate suggesting she spend the night with Dermot, but I realised she would infer that I wished to spend the night with Mal for the 'obvious' reason. One that was further from my mind caught as it was in the fear of the predator in the dark.
I think Mal sensed that I wished to talk with him further and he lingered in the hope that we could converse for a moment or two once Dove and Dermot had separated, but it was clear this was not to be. They were busy kissing farewell in a manner that was somewhat nauseating to witness. Not that I was opposed to people kissing in public, but there had to be a certain level of decorum.
I shared an uneasy look with Mal before I rolled my eyes and I gave a small wave. He waved back and I wished that I did have telepathy to promise him we would talk tomorrow. He seemed to glean this however and he said goodnight before heading into his corridor. I would have left too, but it seemed rude to walk away from Dove when she had gone out of her way to come find me.
Finally she pulled away from Dermot and after saying goodnight, linked her arm through mine. We walked along the corridor in silence, but I knew she would have a thousand and one questions for me when all I wished to do was shower, change into clean clothes and climb into bed.
"I need to shower." I informed her as soon as we were in the room and I picked up my things for the shower and my pyjamas.
"I'll come with you." She said.
"Are you sure?" I asked, hoping she would decide to turn in for the night instead.
"I don't wanna have to go looking for you again." Dove said firmly and I had the impression she thought I was suicidal.
"Very well." I said with a sigh, knowing that I would have a long talk this night, but not with the one I wished.
I left for the bathroom feeling as if I were being chaperoned and I wondered how it would look should anyone else be using the bathroom. This was all highly unnecessary, but then I realised that I had given Dove cause for concern. She had no idea why I was acting as I was. I should have been more careful in my grief, but I had not and the price was to be chaperoned by Dove while I showered and changed for bed.
I made my shower as brief as possible, knowing that our conversation could go on for some time and the quicker I was with my ablutions, the earlier I could go to sleep. I wished this day to end and would give anything not to have to talk to Dove. If I were completely honest I was worried that something of my true nature would slip out and she would learn of a world no human should know of.
I did hope that Dove might change her mind and go back to our room before I was done, but she was waiting for me when I emerged. I sighed and walked back to the room with her following close behind. I felt like a child awaiting a scolding as I entered the room, put my things away neatly, and then sat down on my bed.
"Are you feeling better now?" Dove asked, sitting down on her own bed opposite me.
"Yes." I said firmly.
"Good. So what were you and Mal doing under the bridge?" She asked, and I could draw nothing from her tone of what she suspected. I decided to stick as close to the truth as possible.
"I dropped my phones in the water and he retrieved them for me. Luckily it was only in the shallows." I stated.
"How did you drop them?" She asked, and I considered inventing something, but maybe more of the truth would serve me better.
"Ok, I threw them." I said, inserting an amount of embarrassment into my voice.
"Why?"
"Because I was annoyed with people at home thinking one phone call is all that it takes to make up for the hurt they have caused me." I stated, skating as close to the truth as I dared go with a human who knew nothing of our world.
"What did they do to you?" Dove asked with concern.
"They do not understand me or why I would be adverse to their decision." I said, having to be very evasive now we were up against the rock face of truth.
"What decision?"
"It matters not. They have wronged me and I am not ready to forgive." I said firmly, wishing the matter to be closed now.
"I guess all families have their dramas." Dove observed.
I nodded sadly.
"I was real worried about you tonight, I didn't know what had happened to you. I mean you went out the door and I was right behind you, but I couldn't see you in the hall. You move pretty quick." Dove stated, showing her unerring skill for observation once more.
"When the mood takes me." I said despondently. I felt the conversation was heading to places where I had no answers, could not answer, or didn't wish to answer and I was feeling much too exhausted to do the mental gymnastics needed to avoid any life threatening revelations.
"Ever consider trying out for the Olympics?" She joked, trying to lighten the sudden atmosphere in the room.
"Dove, I appreciate that you are trying to cheer me up but all I wish to do right now is sleep." I stated with a sigh.
Dove looked as if she had a lot more questions to ask, but she let her breath go before saying, "Ok. But it's no good bottling things up."
"I have my outlets." I stated. "Now I bid you goodnight."
"Night." Dove murmured as I climbed under my covers and turned off my bedside light.
Dove did not turn in immediately, she didn't appear to be doing much either, so I concluded that she was watching me. Possibly waiting for me to fall asleep in case I decided to sneak out. Why would I do that? Where would I go this time of the night?
I allowed my breathing to steady and I gave a good impression that I was sleeping. Only supernatural beings would be able to tell that I was not. Finally I heard Dove give a sigh of relief and she turned off all the lights before there were the sounds of her settling into bed, then finally the sound of her drifting to sleep.
I did contemplate going to speak with Mal, but then I realised the hour was late and he had morning lectures, I should allow him to get the rest he required. I had caused him enough hassle as was, he did not require me to pour more at his feet. Therefore I drifted to sleep trying not to think of my family back home, but that proved impossible and inevitably the bad dreams came…
…I was so warm and content. Indescribably so. I had not felt this way since the time before. It was the Time Before, the time before I was born that is, and I floated in the warmth of contented protection. I was safe in a world where only three people existed, me, the mother and the other.
Mother was a constant steady beat somewhere above my head and a reassuring voice in my mind. The other was son, as mother stated. I was daughter, the other was son. We could share our thoughts even then and it was a nice world, just the three of us. Four if you counted the times that Mother brought Father into the dream place and we all existed together.
Then the tone changed, Mother was distant, and in the midst of my dream I feared what was to come next. The panic, the pressure released and the cold, cold world.
I tried not to cry, staying as still as possible as the first panic I ever felt set in. I was alone in the world, where were the minds that were part of me? Where had they gone? I was alone.
A distant part, the part that was dreaming this memory knew that I would soon feel the mind of my brother again. But time stretched on and I felt no mind. I was truly alone in the world, lost and cold.
I began to search frantically, trying to find my family, but they were lost to me.
I was lost to them.
The ground fell from beneath my feet and I was falling through an endless void where all things want when they were forgotten.
I was forgotten…
I awoke with a start and found myself lying on the floor leaning awkwardly against the bedside cabinet. The lamp above Dove's bed flicked on and she was looking down at me a little groggily, but then she looked on in concern.
"Liza? Oh god!" She gasped, jumping out of her bed and helping me to my feet and to sit on the edge of my bed. "What are you doing on the floor?"
"I was having a bad dream." I murmured. "I must have fallen out of bed. I didn't even feel it." I added distantly as I rubbed at the back of my head, which was aching slightly.
"You're bleeding." Dove gasped, and she grabbed a wad of tissue and held it to my head.
"It's not that bad I assure you." I said.
"Really Liza?" She demanded and she showed me the tissue now dripping wet and red.
I felt slightly dazed, I was losing blood, but there was blood before me, beating in those blue veins beneath translucent skin.
"That's because you're using tissue." I growled, pushing it out of my sight as I tried to fight back the urge to bite Dove and replace that which I had lost. "It's absorbent. I need my first aid kit." I declared, rising to my feet and staggering slightly over to the closet.
I pulled it open and slumped to my knees, reaching into the darkness to pull out the hard plastic box.
"I don't think that's gonna do the trick." Dove stated. "I think you need stitches."
"No." I said, pulling myself to my feet and managing to walk to the door. "Head wounds bleed more, but it will soon heal."
"Are you sure?" She asked, sounding uncertain.
"I merely need to clean the area and dress it." I said, resisting the urge to growl at her and show her exactly what I required in an emergency such as this.
"Can you do that to yourself?" Dove persisted, and she thought I was suicidal!
"Yes." I said firmly and left the room before she could delay me further and increase the risk to her life.
I made it to the bathroom without falling again and when I regarded myself in the mirror I had to concede that I didn't look too bad. Some blood had run down onto my neck, but most of it was caught in my hair. It was beginning to dry and I knew the wound had closed. I took some blue towel from the dispenser and damped it to wash away as much of the blood as I could from the area of the wound. I dried it with some more towels, and then observed the area by reflecting a hand mirror into the bathroom mirror. The wound was closed and looked almost old, Dove had panicked for nothing, but I could hardly tell her why.
I opened the first aid kit and pulled out some butterfly strips. I placed them onto my scalp so that it would look as if I had dressed the wound. Even to myself it looked unconvincing and I knew Dove well enough to know that she would wish to see the evidence.
I tapped the sink wondering what I should do, and then I espied the scissors in my first aid kit. They were small, but sharp, perfect for cutting adhesive strips. They also had a keen edge on them and my actions suddenly seemed inevitable.
There was a lock on the inside of the bathroom door for the cleaning staff to use when they were in here. I turned the clasp lest someone come in here and think I self-harm. I then took the stool to the mirror so I'd have a better view. I positioned the scissors roughly where my wound had been, so healed was it now it was hard to be certain.
I took and deep breath, and buckled. I could not do it myself. I quickly gathered everything together, wiped down the counter for there was blood present, then I left the bathroom and made my way swiftly along the corridor, through the common room and up the next corridor to Mal's room.
I knocked on the door and he answered only after a moment and without the need to check. I pushed my way into his room as I felt my heart pound in my chest.
"Liza? What's wrong?" He asked.
"I fell out of bed and cut my head open. Dove was witness." I said in a quick whisper.
"Oh." Mal said.
"There was a lot of blood. I insisted that I clean it myself, but the wound has healed!" I exclaimed.
"That's a good thing." Mal stated.
"No it is not. I have nothing to show Dove of my wound. It is completely healed." I stated, trying to convey the significance of my situation.
"What do you want me to do about it?" He asked, his expression suddenly suspicious.
"I need you to wound me again." I stated as I held up the scissors.
"Are you crazy?" Mal demanded.
"I'm being practical." I stated, and was surprised by how calm I sounded. "And I would have done it myself, but I was too chicken."
"You think I can wound you?" Mal demanded in disgust.
"I'm hoping you will see the sense of doing so." I said, my voice trembling somewhat and I hoped it would not put him off; I needed a wound for Dove would want to see.
Mal shook his head.
"Liza, I can't hurt you. It would be like…" He trailed off and I looked into his eyes hoping to convince him. "Even if I did cut you it would heal again. What you gonna do? Keep opening the cut and hope people will see it at the right stage of healing?"
He had a point.
"I got a better idea." He said, before dropping to the floor and reaching under his bed. He pulled out a steel box. "When I was working the farm, well you're bound to get the odd bump and if someone was there to witness, it had to show. I got quite good at creating wounds." He explained as he opened the box to display an array of make up. "So just sit down and I'll make you up a wound without having to hurt you."
"Thank you." I said, pulling his desk chair up to the bed and sitting down.
Mal repositioned my head and then he used a comb to move my hair aside before he began applying the make up to my head. He placed the butterfly strips over the top and by the time he had finished I had a convincing gash on my scalp. One that was severe enough to merit the blood, but not so bad as to have required medical assistance.
"I will say I came to you for I know you are a qualified first-aider." I stated as I admired his work in the small mirror.
"Ok. But you might not want Dove to get too close a look. Growing up around sets she might spot it's a fake." He warned.
"I'll act squeamish and say I do not want to think of it." I said, repositioning my hair in order to hide the wound. It is something I would have done had it been real. "This is fantastic, and I wish I could stay to lavish my praise upon you, but I must return to Dove now before she is suspicious."
"Ok. I'll see you in the morning." Mal said with a smile.
"You have morning lectures." I stated.
"Yes."
"Then I will ride the bus in with you since you rode with me today. Although it may not be wise for I have afternoon lessons." I said, frowning over what course of action to take.
"Liza, you can make it up to me again. Just get your rest tonight, and we'll talk tomorrow evening." He stated.
"Very well." I said, and I kissed his cheek before I left the room with my first aid box under my arm.
The corridor was silent and the common room eerie at this early hour whilst everyone slept. Everyone that was apart from Dove who was standing outside our door looking toward the bathroom. I contemplated creeping up behind her and scaring her, but that would be wrong so I made a noise to indicate my presence and she turned to face me.
"There you are." She gasped. "Where have you been?"
"You were right, I could not apply the dressing myself, but then I remembered that Mal is qualified in first aid. Truly qualified and not merely having done a three hour course that means you can give you mouth to mouth and place you in the recovery position but not much else until the paramedics arrive."
"You could have said you were heading there." Dove pointed out as we entered the room.
"I was in a rush." I stated.
"I guess. So it's all good now?"
"Yes. A few butterfly strips was all I needed. It had stopped bleeding by the time I had reached Mal's room." I explained as I put my first aid kit back in the closet then dug around in my trunk.
"What are you looking for?" Dove asked.
"This." I said, pulling out my shower cap. "I do not wish to reopen the wound while I sleep."
"Sleep? Are you kidding? You banged your head pretty hard. You could be concussed. You're not sleeping tonight." She stated in a no-nonsense manner.
"But…" I really was not concussed, but I had no way of arguing this with Dove since she had no idea how fast I healed.
"You're staying awake." She said firmly as she sat upon her bed and wrapped her quilt about her.
I sighed and picked my quilt up off the floor and that's when I saw all the blood.
"I should clean this up." I stated, and headed for the door.
"I'll come with you." Dove said. "You say what you need and I'll carry it."
"I will clean." I said firmly.
"I know, I could never do it as good as you anyway." Dove whispered as we made our way to the common room and I gathered together the cleaning products I would need along with a bowl of hot water.
I carried the bowl while Dove carried the rest and I was soon contenting myself with cleaning away all traces of blood while Dove watched me carefully. She was possibly waiting for me to faint or something similar, but she would remain disappointed. Finally the cabinet and floor were cleaned to my liking, but there was little I could do for my quilt, I would have to clean it in the morning.
Dove accompanied me to the common room once more where I emptied the bowl and washed and disinfected it. Not that I was worried of passing any illnesses on, my blood destroyed any pathogen you cared to mention. It was to ensure that the bowl was indeed clean and to take away any last traces of the scent of blood.
Of course there was nothing to do about the scent of blood in my hair and I realised I would be unable to wash it for at least a day if I wished to carry on the charade. This was going to be bothersome.
As Dove and I returned to the room I cursed the fact that I had managed to break my skin. I must have hit the cabinet with some force to achieve this. I was dhampir, it was rare that we suffered wounds; it was usually from things a lot more precarious than a cabinet. It must have been the angle and perhaps I should count myself lucky, had I been human I might have died.
Dove sat down on her bed and pulled the quilt around her once more. I went to sit on my bed.
"You can't sit there." She said. "And your quilt is covered in blood."
"Yes." I agreed.
"Come on." She said, holding out the edge of her quilt.
I paused for a moment as I determined her motive, then I sat beside her and pulled the quilt around me too.
"How do you propose we stay awake?" I asked.
"Let's discuss the Darktide books." She suggested. "I want to know if our ideas mesh."
"Very well." I stated. "Provided that you don't start singing the praises of Anson."
"That scumbag? As if! No, it's Brody all the way for me. He's such a compelling character once you get beyond the whole werewolf thing. It kinda makes you wonder where the guys like that are in the world." She mused happily.
"Yes." I said, failing to mention that I had a feeling I knew where one might be and it meant I could hold nothing but a sisterly affection toward Brody. It was something that I had decided on one night and it had made me realise why I found the scenes between Lady Anna and Brody so unsettling.
"I would love to meet Grace Pearson and ask her where her ideas come from." Dove stated and I felt a guilty start that I had given up on contact with any of my family so easily.
"It would be nice to know." I murmured. "What did you think of the end of Blood Ransome? Do you think Lady Anna and Brody will remain forever in exile?"
"Oh no, that just can't happen." Dove exclaimed, before she launched into a speech of what she would like to see transpire in the next book.
I settled into the conversation and was happy that it would carry us all the way to dawn.
Thank you for reading
Please review
Gemma x
PS for anyone who's interested, here's the Mal/Tobias phone convo in full :)
Mal
I'd just sat down in the café when I heard a buzzing from my pocket. It took me a moment longer to remember that I'd promised Liza I'd answer the phone for her. Well not so much promised as in I'd been given no choice. But she seemed to need a friend and right now she was the only friend I had in the world and I wasn't about to ruin that by not being there when she needed me.
"Hello?" I said, answering the phone and ensuring my voice was neutral, I mean I couldn't be the only Welsh dhampir in the world, but it probably wouldn't take them long to figure out it's me and then I'd have to face Essie and Tobias after I abandoned them in Volterra.
"Hello. Am I speaking to a friend of Liza?" The well-polished tones issued from the phone and I almost swore; it was Tobias.
"I'm the one she appointed her secretary for the morning." I said, trying not to let anything at all through in my voice.
"Then who are you finding information about?" Tobias asked carefully, unwilling to give anything away in case I was some impostor.
"Grace and Tony." I said. "And I can't be any more specific than that, I'm in the middle of a café."
"Hmmm…" Tobias sounded thoughtful. "Yes. You are a dhampir, like my daughter."
"Yes."
"Good. It makes passing on the message all the easier. Tell her that Grace awakened half an hour ago. Tony has taken her hunting, but there was…" Tobias trailed off. "Well there are some things peculiar to our family and it does not do to share them with people who do not already know the secret. Would you not agree Malachite?"
"Oh yeah, you got to be careful who you tell." I said then I did swear and I got a stinking look from the old woman sitting at the next table.
"Hello Malachite, it is good to know you are alive." Tobias said in pleasant tones.
"Well it's good to be alive." I said, realising there was no going back now.
"You could have let us know." Tobias said, and there was no chastisement, or even a hint of anger in his voice, just a sadness that I'd let Essie down.
"I didn't know you'd got out of Volterra." I said, "And I couldn't face the family knowing I'd left you there."
"I should not have asked you to bear such dire news." Tobias said lowly. "Although I know someone who will be most pleased to hear that you are alive and well. Essie has been trying to contact you for the last ten years."
"I've been keeping my head low." I stated, which was the truth without going into too much detail. The last ten years had been one long nightmare that I was only just now getting out of and I would rather not relive it if I could.
"And now you bump into our daughter." Tobias mused.
"Look Tobias, I was supposed to just take a message, not have a catch up." I said angrily to hide my agitation over having to reveal some things I didn't want to which might just happen if I talked to Tobias too long. He was the closest thing I had to a father after the Volturi took mine, and other than a brief stint where I hated him for having Essie's love, I confided in him. It was hard not to fall back into that pattern, but it was wrong to start over the phone.
"Very well." Tobias said brusquely, and I realised he knew I was being defensive, but would question my motives at another time, because we had more important things to discuss at the moment. "Grace is not a vampire." He added and I frowned.
"But I thought Tony had to change her." I said, dropping my voice not for the humans to here.
"Yes. However she has not turned into a vampire. Somehow she is a dhampir." Tobias said with the excited tone of a three thousand year old vampire who'd come across something new in his very long life.
"What? But…how?" I spluttered.
"Your guess is as good as ours. It is something we hope to discuss once Grace is more accustomed to her new state." Tobias said a little warily. "We hope to give them a few days before we start any serious discussion. A few days is all it would take for you and Liza to drive up from California."
"You know where she is?" I asked feeling a little shocked by this revelation.
"Yes." Tobias answered simply.
"Oh." I thought for a moment. "So you want me to talk Liza into coming home. You want me to go against the promise I made her as a friend to be understanding and not pressurise her where her family is concerned? Are you going to ask me to spy on her next?"
"I would do nothing of the sort, but Liza needs to be with her family." Tobias said gently, and I recognised his coaxing tones from when I was a kid and I wouldn't eat my dinner.
"Then come get her, you know where she is." I said stubbornly.
"And I have a feeling you already know how stubborn Liza can be at times." Tobias said, and I knew he was smiling a little over my reaction.
"She's not stubborn. She's just… just gets a little obsessive. Not unlike someone else I know." I stated darkly.
"Wow, that was a rather harsh blow." Tobias chuckled.
"Don't patronise me." I snapped.
"Forgive me Mal, that was not my intention, it is merely that I have never known such animosity from you since you were a child and infatuated with Essie." He stated, and I was sure there was something in his tone that suggested I was… Liza didn't want that from me and I was old enough now to know that casual flirting could sometimes be just that, there didn't have to be anything behind the words and actions or Liza would have brought the kiss up by now. I guess it was just the bear's blood that did it…
"I don't like being asked to betray my friend's trust." I stated since he hadn't accused me fully and I didn't want to confirm any suspicions he might have.
"But we are your friends too." Tobias pointed out.
"Yeah. But from what I hear, all you decided to side with Essie and nobody cared about listening to Liza's point of view." I said firmly.
"That is what she said?" Tobias asked, and now there was a hint of anger in his voice.
"Yes."
"Tell me Mal, has she told you why she is angry with us, or Essie in particular?" Tobias demanded.
"No. But she'll tell me when she's ready." I said firmly. "So don't say anything."
"But would you rather know now, for Liza will not tell you. Not anytime soon." Tobias said in a reasoning tone, and although I knew this was true there was something else I was more certain of, that I wouldn't betray Liza's trust like that, she will tell me when she's ready.
"I don't want to know." I said firmly and Liza took the phone from me and brought it to her ear.
"Matters not." She said angrily. "How dare you do this Father?"
Liza's brow knit together as she listened to her father.
"I am not being unreasonable in the slightest. You were being unreasonable to expect me to accept this new development without a bye or leave and now you go to poison my friend against me? I have no one in this world; you even took my twin from me. Now you seek to steal my only friend when all I wish is to know how my brother and his girlfriend fare?" She said, her voice rising in agitation.
"No." She hissed.
She winced slightly, but then her face set in determination.
"You see reason Father." She stated.
Her face looked pained for a moment
"Then she should have thought about that before. Perhaps she would not be so… She should have thought…" Liza stammered.
She listened to Tobias some more, then hung up and turned off her phone. She sank into the chair and I wanted to hug her, and wipe the tears from her face. I also wanted to know what they had done to her that was so bad, but I knew she wouldn't tell me. I wanted to be sure that she was ok.
"Liza? Are you ok?" I asked gently.
She blinked and looked around the café at the few patrons who were busy in their own conversation. They hadn't even noticed Liza's raised voice, or if they had they chose to ignore it.
"I think perhaps we should go somewhere else." She stated.
I nodded and followed her from the café. I wanted to talk over the whole conversation, but Liza was lost in her thoughts. I knew I had to wait until she was back with me before I could ask her anything. I just wanted to know that she was ok and if there was anything I could do. But in her moments of silence I had to let her think.