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It was the most heart-wrenching goodbye I’ve ever been a part of. Adrien dressed in his inconspicuous black hoodie and dark jeans, ready to go out into the night to do battle with his demons. He took away my phone and gave me a brand new iPhone, in-case whoever is behind this is tracing my number. He’s even gone as far as to buy this old blue Mercedes I’m now sitting in, with tinted windows. I didn’t want to let him go and he had to prize my hands away.
Sara shuffles forward and back in the driver’s seat as I fiddle with the iPhone, wondering if it works. I want to tell her to turn back, but I know she’ll only refuse. I turn to the window so she can’t see me blinking out a tear, lifting the phone up to my face to turn on the backlight. Perhaps it’s on mute or the sim card needs to be registered. There must be some reason why I haven’t heard anything yet.
“He will call you,” Sara finally speaks. “You’re making me nervous. Stop with the snivelling.”
I should have sat in the back. Cold-hearted bitch wouldn’t know love if it hit her like a freight train. I watch her, wondering why she’s not one bit concerned about Adrien. She’s always done everything he’s asked of a PA. And from what I can see, she gets paid very well for it. She’s a part of his coven, so I don’t understand where she gets this indifferent attitude from.
“What?” she snaps.
I turn back to the window. I’ve got all kinds of awful scenarios going on in my head, and the last thing I need is a bitch fight with selfish Sara.
The screen above the stereo suddenly illuminates, and a ringtone sounds through the speakers. I know that number. It’s Adrien. Why is he calling her and not me?
Instead of answering through the Bluetooth, she picks up her phone to take the call. I rotate in my seat and gape at her with impatient eyes. She hums as Adrien’s low muffled voice comes from the receiver. I angle closer, but it’s useless, I can’t hear a damn word he’s saying.
“Sara, give me the phone.” She ignores me, letting out an uneasy sigh.
“You’re sure it’s him,” she asks, visibly gulping down.
Whatever he’s saying, it’s created a manifestation across her face I’ve never seen in her before. Pure fear.
Suddenly Nathan is at the forefront of my mind. Has he been found; has he hurt someone; is he still alive? My hands begin to shake, which sets off a wave of distress throughout my body.
“Give me the phone, now!” I snap at Sara.
“Shit, Adrien, what do I do if he finds us?” she says, ignoring me. “He’s killed Connor! He’s a fuckin psychopath.”
Oh my god. Connor is dead. I can’t believe it. Adrien is out there; will he be next? I struggle to breathe, my chest is so damn tight.
“Sara, what the hell is happening?” I scream. “Nathan, is he there; is Adrien okay? Shit, will you just tell me!”
She screws up her face and gives me the dagger eyes. “Shut the hell up!” She continues to listen silently for a few seconds. “Please Adrien, hurry.” She chokes up. “A shotgun won’t be enough.”
“A shotgun, what the hell do we need with a shotgun?” I hiss at her.
She hands the phone to me and pulls up onto the verge of the country lane. I swiftly press it against my ear, noticing her fraught emotions coming to the surface.
“Adrien, what’s going on?” I pant in and out for air. “Have you found Nathan? Tell me he’s safe, please.” The line remains quiet, apart from a deep hoarse breath. “Adrien, speak to me!”
“Liz.”
“Oh my god... Nathan,” I cry.
“I’m with Adrien.” He groans in a laboured breath.
“Nathan, I’m so sorry.”
He heaves in oxygen and sighs out heavily. He’s extremely ill. I can tell without even looking at him.
“So am I Liz.” He splutters then catches his breath. “When this is over. You stay away from here, and these twisted fucks. You don’t come back.” I can’t say a word, my throat has narrowed and I’m clogged up with tears. “Liz.” He waits for me to answer, but still I can’t. “Please be careful. Don’t trust anything or anyone. Just... just run.”
“Nathan?”
He’s gone and now Adrien has taken his place. He calls my name but I don’t reply. I move the phone down from my ear and onto my lap, biting my lips together hard. Sara stays frozen in shock, her hands gripping the wheel as she gazes at the rain.
“Elizabeth!” Adrien’s voice echoes in my hand.
I bring the phone back up to my ear. “Adrien.”
“Elizabeth, is Sara still there?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t she be?”
“Listen to me, you need to calm her down.”
I watch as she clamps the wheel even tighter. Okay, I already know that’s impossible. You can’t calm the un-calmable.
“Why? You’ve found Nathan now. We’ll just turn around and come back.”
“No! You need to stay away. I’m on my way to you now,” he says directly.
“Who’s coming Adrien?” My heart pounds in my throat. “Laurie?”
“Yes.” He goes quiet for a few seconds. “But he doesn’t know where you are. That’s why I’m coming to you, Elizabeth. Stay with Sara. She will protect you.”
“Adrien,” I yell, but he’s already hung-up on me. “God!”
This is a nightmare. My pupils glaze and burn as erratic thoughts grow louder in my mind. I can’t take any more of this. I have to go back. I don’t care about the dangers. I have to do something instead of being a sitting duck. Even if it means we meet Adrien half-way. At least I’ll be with him, and able to help Nathan.
“Turn around,” I shout as Sara lingers in a distant state. “I said turn around!” I whip out my right hand and take hold of the wheel.
She snaps up my wrist and thrusts it down. Her grip is abnormally strong. I rub the red mark she’s left on my skin, scowling at her.
“You do that again, and it will be more than your wrist that gets hurt,” she warns, and I believe her.
“Laurie is looking for us. I’m not going to just sit back while you have my life in your hands.” She starts up the engine, ignoring me completely. “Sara?”
“We do as Adrien said.” She sets off at speed while obsessively checking the mirrors. “You want to live, then we don’t go back. Do you understand that!”
I growl in frustration and turn to the door. I have no chance of winning this argument with her.
We turn left onto a dirt track just outside St Albans, and come to a stop outside a relatively normal size property. It’s a detached farmhouse, two stories high, with a thatched roof. I’d describe it as an oversized cottage in the middle of nowhere. Totally out of character for one of Adrien’s properties.
Sara has not said a word to me since that phone call, and I’m too tired to carry on digging because it’s getting me nowhere. So I get out of the car, and plod behind her.
She opens the oak door and switches on the lights. As I move inside, I’m immediately surrounded by a cloud of dust. It’s so old and filthy with cracked plaster falling from the white uneven walls, and there’s a strong smell of damp that hits the back of my throat. There’s a tatty green tartan couch in front of an open stone fireplace, and a wonky coffee table with only three legs holding it upright.
Sara goes through a squeaky door and I follow.
I enter a rustic country kitchen. In the centre there’s a large pine table and chairs next to a wood-burner. The cupboards are mismatched and all have different handles. And there’s an old Belfast sink with brass taps before a small window.
I linger by the door, looking down at the phone which is fused to my hand, as Sara pops the cork out from a bottle of red wine. She swishes it around in a glass then downs it in one, like it’s a medicine that will lighten the shitty hell we’re in. She pours another, and again it’s gone within a second. She slams down her glass.
“What happen to Connor?” I ask.
“You want one?” She taps her fingernails on the wine bottle. “You’ll need it.”
I nod a yes and approach the worktop. She takes a large brown chipped coffee mug out from the cupboard next to her. She pours another glass for herself, and I get the mug. I drink it down in one. It’s very sour and vinegary, cheap crap that tastes awful.
“Connor has met the same fate I once did, but he hasn’t got through it.” Her eyes sadden. “He crossed paths with evil.”
“Laurie?”
She blows out, annoyed. “Look, I really don’t want to discuss him,” she says coldly. “Adrien knows what he’s doing. This has been on the cards for a long time.”
Yes, your words of reassurance are a great help to me Sara. My best friend has been changed into, well, a damn vampire with psychic tendencies. And the vampire I’m in love with is at war with one of his own. A devil who could and would kill us all.
“He wasn’t chosen by the order for no reason. He’ll deal with Laurie, and hopefully we’ll never see the sick shit again,” she says in vain.
“What happened with you two?” I’m unsure bringing up the whole red thing will help the situation, but it might shed some light on where things went wrong.
As predicted the conversation has come to an abrupt stop, and she’s gone all tightly wound again. She takes her half-full glass and walks by me.
“Let’s find a room for you to sleep in.”
“You honestly think I’m going to sleep!” My nostrils flare out a breath, watching her walk away. “Sara.” She ignores me and heads up the stairs.
There are four bedrooms and one bathroom in this property. So I picked the first one because I needed a time-out from Sara. It has a rusty metal frame bed which is corroded, squeaky, and damp. There are deep purple heavy drapes, which barely hang on a wooden rail. And the roof beams above are visible, revealing the whole cobwebbed coated ceiling space.
I plonk myself down onto the thin mattress, rotating the iPhone in my hands. I’m going to call him again, and keep calling until I know he’s safe.
It rings and rings, but there’s no answer. It’s so frustrating. Why give me the damn thing if he won’t take my calls?
I push on the message tab and begin to type: Adrien, please will you just call me, text me, anything will do. I need to know what’s going on.
I fling my body width ways across the bed, and a dust plume rises around me. The swarm of particles soar high, glinting in the moonlight like fireflies. I should move off this grubby thing, but my body is so fatigued. I’ll just take five minutes breathing deeply, waiting for contact.