I sat, in the laundrette, watching my clothes go round the dryer, the same as I did every Saturday. The warmth and whirring of the machines was comforting after the night I’d had and my thoughts soon turned to Nik. He hadn’t come to see me again before I’d been released from the hospital and I wondered if I’d ever see him again. Had he been serious when he’d suggested meeting up for coffee? It wasn’t just that he was smoking hot. He’d been so kind to me. Listening to my story and believing me - even the parts that sounded really crazy. He hadn’t once laughed or dismissed what I was saying. But more than that he’d treated me as an equal, as if he understood my struggles and wanted to help. A ripple of desire coursed through me as I thought of the way the light had hit his eyes, through the hospital room blinds, as he smiled. I remembered the way his hands had moved through his hair. He’d looked at me with curiosity and a hint of flirtatiousness which I found irresistible. It was as if he was unaware of the devastating effect he had on women. Why did he want to know so much about me? Was he really just doing his job, like he said? Or was he interested in me? Towards the end of our chat, I thought I’d picked up a vibe of attraction but then he’d abruptly got up and left. Now, I wondered if was just wishful thinking.
I was brought out of my reverie by the beeping of the dryer, ending its cycle. I looked up, and at the same time, two women entered. One of them was as short as a child, with bobbed brown hair. The other was an older, black lady, with grey-flecked hair, cut in a short back and sides. Perhaps they were a couple. They sat down near the door and watched me. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something about this felt wrong. Why didn’t they have any dirty clothes with them? There was only one dryer that had been going - mine. So they weren’t here to collect clothes. I shook the suspicion from my head. I was being paranoid. It was probably mild PTSD from my skirmish, the night before - perhaps even the effects of the pain medication. There were plenty of reasons why they could be in here. Maybe they worked here, or knew someone who did. Or maybe they were just sheltering from the wind for a bit. Anyway, why should I care? Saturday was my get-shit-done day and I wasn’t going to let a bit of residual trauma, from a delivery night gone wrong, get in the way of doing my chores.
I stood up and walked towards the machine. With a tug, the machine door opened and I started bundling my clothes into my laundry bag. Mixed in with my stuff, was a long-past-white pair of men’s underpants, containing multiple holes that had been left in there by the last person. Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I picked them up between my thumb and forefinger and tossed them aside.
Great! Some stranger’s grundies went round an entire cycle with my stuff.
I reminded myself to check the machine more carefully before using it next time. As I lifted my bag, I noticed that the women were still watching me. Their gaze followed me as I walked past them and left. After walking a few metres, down the windswept main road, I looked back. I wasn’t surprised to see they were following me. Was it just a coincidence? I quickened my pace. They quickened their pace. Then it occurred to me that we were on a main road. There was no reason why I should be cowed by them. I stopped dead in my tracks and whirled around.
“Are you following me?”
The women looked at each other in surprise. They hadn’t been expecting me to confront them. The shorter woman closed the distance between us, in the blink of an eye. I heard a whoosh and felt hard metal snap onto my hands. When I looked down I saw that I had dropped my laundry bag and was wearing handcuffs.
“What the?..”
“Don’t worry, Bree, we’re not here to hurt you,” she said.
“How did you do that?”
The women exchanged a glance I couldn’t interpret. The older woman smiled at me and hitched up her trousers. “We need you to come with us and this is the quickest way.” She had a Jamaican accent.
“Come with you? Who are you?”
“We’ll explain when we get there” She bent down and picked up my laundry bag.
“When we get where?”
The shorter woman moved her hands and I saw orange lights coming out of them. They were the same lights I regularly saw around me. Was I having another episode? But then I looked at her face and my mouth dropped open. Her eyes were focussing on the lights.
She can see them too!
She muttered softly, her lips barely moving. A feeling of oppressive heaviness took over my limbs, as if I was being dragged into quick sand. It spread from my feet, through my legs and belly, into my torso and finally reached my face and eyes. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. The drowsiness was deeper than any I’d ever experienced and it was impossible to resist. I wanted to run away, to scream for help, but I was both mute and paralysed. My leg and back muscles suddenly felt as if they’d turned to liquid. I slid down to the floor, my eyes drifting closed as the darkness of a deep and dreamless sleep overcame me.
I awoke to find myself handcuffed and tied to a chair, in an abandoned warehouse. The two women were sitting in front of me. I bucked at my restraints, knowing it would probably be pointless: I was proved right. The older woman sat back, with her right ankle rested on her left knee. She had the easy, confident body language of someone without a shred of guilt. I scowled at her. The younger woman leaned forward, with her arms crossed. Her expression was intense and determined. She radiated a passionate fervour and I frowned, wondering what her cause was.
“Who are you and what do you want?”
The younger woman stood up. “I am Morgana and this is Evelyn.” She had a strong German accent.
Evelyn did a fake theatrical bow in her chair.
“We apologise for taking you captive. If there was any other way, we would’ve done it. But we’ve found this to be the easiest method in cases like this.”
“In cases like what?”
She took a deep breath. “We call you the ignoranti - you haven’t been taught of your birth right and have no idea what you are or how to harness your powers.”
Okay, now I knew they were crazy. Perhaps members of an enlightenment cult. I looked around for signs of religious ritual. I couldn’t see any but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. My gaze searched the large space, before resting upon a fire door, at the back. They probably had a load of candles and crystals in a room back there. New agers, that was what my money was on. Whackjob new agers, intent on evangelising me to their cause. My mind whirled as I assessed my options for escape. Which one of these nutters was carrying the keys to my handcuffs? Neither of them looked like they trained regularly. I could probably take them both down, at the same time, if they got close enough.
Evelyn’s eyes sparkled. She chuckled softly before speaking. “You’re sitting there planning your escape right now, aren’t you?”
My cheeks heated, as my eyes darted from side to side.
“Don’t waste your mental energy. Even if you could get away, we would quickly put you to sleep again, like we did back there.”
I blinked at her and frowned. “Yeah, about that. How did you do that, anyway?”
Morgana answered. “That’s part of what we have to tell you.” She leant forward and clasped her hands in front of her. “You see, you’ve lived your whole life believing that you are a normal girl. From a normal family.”
Inside I bristled. If my family was ‘normal’ I was a parrot’s uncle.
She continued. “But that’s not true. You’re something far more precious and valuable. You are one of us. You are an arcane witch.” Her eyes flashed with excitement as she said the last words.
My face slackened. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”
“We’re an elite race of witches. We use runes, incantations and spells to draw powers from the world around us and from the beings around us. We can take on the powers of other creatures.”
Ah so they’re wicca nutjobs. I was close with the new agers.
The wannabe witch walked closer to me and looked me dead in the eyes. “Do I look familiar to you?”
I narrowed my eyes as I studied her face, searching my memories. She did kind of look like I’d seen her somewhere before, but where?…
Of course!
How could I have forgotten. She had been standing on the rooftop, watching, the previous night, when I’d stopped the rapist. “You were there, on the rooftop last night.”
She nodded. “Did you not wonder, at the time, how it was that you were able to make out my face, at night, from such a distance?”
I thought back to the incident. In the back of my mind, I had thought it was strange but it had all happened so fast. Then I got injured and went to hospital, where I got distracted by the dishy doctor… But as she spelled it out to me, the impossibility of my super-advanced vision slapped me in the face.
She continued. “Yes, you’re beginning to awaken to the truth. I see it in your eyes. I’ll pose another question for you. Did you not think it was strange that a grown man, twice your size, ran away from you and soon after, the woman you’d saved did the same?”
Now, the strangeness of it was all too obvious. I nodded slowly, my voice coming out as a whisper, almost as if I was in a trance. “I assumed he was scared by my confidence… I thought she’d been drinking. I…”
She shook her head. “You were rationalising, you still are. It’s what the human world teaches us to do, to explain that which we cannot. Anyone else would’ve done the same in your position. But we’re here to tell you that there is another explanation - one that makes far more sense.” She paused, gauging my reaction before continuing. “That man was a vampire.”
My mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish. “Wasn’t he just wearing a Halloween costume?”
Her expression was deadly serious. “No.”
Evelyn took over. “He was a vampire. He’d probably glamoured the woman he was with into going with him.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Glamoured?”
“Vampire mind control - it doesn’t work on witches but regular humans are very susceptible to it.”
Morgana clenched her fists. “Bree, vampires are real and deadly. As arcane witches, it is our sacred duty to seek out and kill the foul creatures, wherever we find them. They are a scourge upon the earth. They can’t and won’t ever live peacefully with humans. If we don’t kill all of them now, they’ll takeover the planet and soon we’ll just be livestock - bred to feed them.”
I looked from Morgana to Evelyn and back to Morgana. “How do you know my name?”
She began pacing up and down with her hands behind her back. She wore the same long coat that she’d worn the night before and as she turned, it whipped around her, making her look like a character from a graphic novel. “We’ve spent the time since yesterday using our resources to find out as much as we can about you. In addition to our arcane powers, we have an extensive network of useful connections. Last night, I was performing my regular, vampire-hunting duties when I spotted the creature attacking the woman. I was about to intervene when you appeared. I watched as you manifested your powers spontaneously. You took on his strength and speed. Perhaps you didn’t realise but you moved at least fifty metres in less than the blink of an eye. Then you fought him with inhuman strength- strength that you’d magically borrowed from him. The woman witnessed all this and assumed you were also a vampire.”
She turned back and looked at me, assessing my reaction. I looked up at the ceiling. I didn’t know what to think. This was all too much. It wasn’t just that it sounded bat-shit crazy, it was everything the last couple of days had taken out of me. The loss of my job, being attacked and almost dying, ending up in hospital. I needed time to process it all. I wished they would just go away and leave me alone. But I had to admit that some of what they were saying seemed to make sense. If this was some kind of con, it was one of the weirdest and most imaginative I’d ever come across. The fact that Morgana had played with lights that looked just like the lights I’d always seen, added weight to the whole thing. There was no way she could know about that. I’d never told anyone. But I still had doubts and these must’ve been written all over my face because Morgana leaned in closer and delivered the killing blow.
“We understand your struggles. We know that every time you walk past a vampire, you have a powerful urge to kill it. We know this because we experience that urge too.” She clenched her fist and her eyes flashed. “But instead of fighting against it, we embrace it.”
That floored me and she knew it.
She continued, in a tone of quiet confidence. “You’ve spent your life wondering why you have these impulses to harm others. Well rest assured, these impulses are not wrong. You don’t want to kill and hurt humans. Every time you’ve experienced these feelings, you’ve been in the presence of a vampire.”
Her words were compelling and I so wanted to believe her. I’d spent my whole life wishing there was some other explanation for my episodes. Any explanation other than the simplest and most rational one: that I was crazy, just like my Mam. Maybe that was the problem. I wanted this too much. Perhaps this entire encounter was a delusion - part of my escalating mental illness. But it all seemed so real.
I looked at her, allowing myself to indulge the fantasy a bit longer. “Even if I believe you - and I’m not saying I do, what do you want from me? Why bring me here? Why tie me up?”
Evelyn’s eyes went to half mast as she lifted her chin. “We’ll gladly untie you, if you promise not to use your powers against us. We’re on the same side, Bree.”
I guffawed. “Use my powers? I don’t even know how to use my powers”
Morgana lifted her index finger. “You do. You’re able to manifest them spontaneously, most likely in response to a perceived threat. But your abilities are unstable, untrained and unfocussed. We cannot allow you to continue walking around in the human world, using magic in such a way. You risk exposing not only yourself but all of us.”
Evelyn added, “many humans are as scared of witches as they are of vampires. ‘Witch hunt’ isn’t an idle expression, you know. If we get discovered, it could mean death.”
“But couldn’t you just magic your way out of trouble?” I made a rainbow shape in the air with fluttering fingers and then immediately felt embarrassed.
She chuckled at my reaction then her expression turned serious as she shook her head. “We are forbidden from using magic to harm humans.”
“What - even if they’re harming you?”
“Even then.”
If these women were completely nuts, they didn’t seem like they wanted to hurt me. Then there was also the distinct possibility that they weren’t even real - just figments of my diseased mind. “Okay, I promise.”
Evelyn walked over, unlocked my handcuffs and untied the rope. I rubbed my wrists and stayed seated. I had no idea where we were but that wouldn’t be too much of a problem. I’d just ask someone on the street where the nearest tube station was.
But it appeared Morgana wasn’t finished. “Now. Next steps. You are to come with us to the Arcane Realm where you will be trained in the subtle art of arcane magic.”
I shook my hands in front of my face. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whatever and wherever this ‘Arcane Realm’ is, I’m not going.”
She blinked at me. “Why not?”
This woman was completely mad. “I have a life here. I have a job….”
“You lost your job two days ago.”
Shit! They really do know everything about me. But then, they would do if they were hallucinations.
I played along. “Okay but still. I have rent to pay and a new job to find and a side hustle delivering takeaways.”
She waved her hand in front of her face dismissively. “What you describe are trifles that must be abandoned immediately.” She strode over and crouched down in front of me, resting her elbows on her knees as she stared at me intensely. “I don’t know how else we can impress upon you, the seriousness of our task. If we don’t kill all vampires, the world, as we know it, will cease to exist. We need every arcane witch to join our ranks. You are squandering your gifts in the human world and you must stop, right now. Moreover, it’s not safe for you. You’ve already attacked one vampire, who you, regrettably, didn’t kill. He was close enough to get a good whiff of your signature scent. We’ve since learnt that he is a member of the ‘Draculs’ - a dangerous vampire gang. Make no mistake, this creature will track you down, together with his vampire kin, and exsanguinate you, at the earliest opportunity.”
I shuddered but held firm. “I can look after myself.”
She scoffed. “You think you can but really, you have no idea. You got lucky last night. You manifested your powers spontaneously but next time you may not. And I won’t be there to rescue you. Every day arcane witches go missing or get killed by vampires. Within the last few weeks, in your own district, a young witch, by the name of Rosa Knight, went missing - presumed dead.”
A chill went up my spine. “I thought you said you were keeping an eye on me?”
Evelyn stared at me. “If you decide to turn your back on us, on your own kind, and try to live your life as a regular human, we won’t try and stop you. We’ll leave you alone - we can even make you forget any of this ever happened. We can’t force you to join us. It has to be your decision. But remember - the vampires will still know you exist and they’ll still be after you.”
I looked down at my feet. There was something about the way that she looked at me. Something almost maternal and fierce, that made me think I might be making a mistake. But at the same time, I wasn’t about to give up on my life in London and skip off to mythical witch-land with these two crackpots.
I tried something else. “How do I know any of this is real? I had a head injury last night and I struggle with…”
Morgana finished my sentence for me. “…with what you think is mental illness but is actually your natural arcane witch instincts.”
I blushed. “Yes, whatever. With that.”
Evelyn sighed and exchanged a look with Morgana before looking back at me. Her dark brown eyes softened with kindness. “You’re a staunch materialist, huh? I can see we’re going to have our work cut out for us. “Without warning, she walked forward and rapidly swished her hands over my left hip.
I cried out in pain. “Aargh! What the..?” I undid the fly of my jeans and pulled them down slightly, at one side, to see she’d burnt a shape into my hip. It was a pentagram with the top triangle missing. “How did you do that?”
Her eyes glittered. “Magic. It’s the arcane symbol. It doesn’t mean anything to humans.”
Morgana tapped her foot, impatiently. “Now that you know this is real - will you come with us?”
“No!”
She furrowed her brow and huffed at Evelyn.
Evelyn’s reaction was more measured. “We can see you need time to think about this. It’s a lot to process. We’ll leave you with this.” She handed me a business card. I turned it over between my thumb and forefinger. It was so ordinary. I don’t know what I’d expected, perhaps more magic.
“Call us when you’ve made a decision. But in the meantime, be careful. Don’t let any strangers into your flat. We know you have a balcony. Keep an eye out for who is watching your home. We suspect that dracul vampires may already be making moves towards you. If that happens, consider it a confirmation that what we’ve said is true and that you’re better off with us.”
I took the card from her and nodded. Standing up, I slipped it in the back pocket of my jeans.
“I’ll also leave you with these.” She waved her hands and a set of three, identical, silver knives appeared in her hands. It was a cool trick but it could easily have been sleight of hand - no different to any other magician, plying their trade for tips, in Covent Garden market.
She handed the knives to me.
“Are they magic?”
“Not by themselves but they are useful. Vampires can only be killed with silver or wooden stakes or knives.” She paused, then looked at the ceiling, adding as an after thought. “Or silver bullets. Or decapitated.” She looked at me. “Keep these knives on you at all times. Then, if you do get attacked, while you’re out and about, you’ll be able to defend yourself.”
It seemed pretty crazy but I took the knives - at the very least, they’d come in handy as pretty steak knives… not that any of us could afford to buy steak, in our flat - but a girl can dream.
I tucked the knives into the inside pocket of my jacket. Was I foolish to even consider their proposal? They could be even more dangerous than the so-called vampires they claimed to fight against. I suddenly felt very alone and very far from Dunmoney. Two days ago, I’d thought my biggest problem was finding a job. But now I realised the world was a lot bigger and more mysterious than I’d ever realised. As I closed my eyes, I thought of the terror in the eyes of the woman I’d saved. She had seemed more scared of me than of the man I’d saved her from. I couldn’t help but wonder: who were the real monsters here, the vampires or the arcane witches?