Chapter - Two

‘What the hell have you done, Fifi?'

I groaned as my eyelashes fluttered. My body ached with bruises that blossomed over my skin. As I peeled back my eyelids I saw the smooth, dark interior of a vehicle. The voice had come from the front seats, where two men were bickering.

‘I don't know what you're talking about,' answered the driver. I saw him run a hand through his brown curls.

‘Who's the girl in the backseat?' said the passenger.

‘Who?'

‘Fifi!'

‘I'm not answering you.'

‘Are we kidnapping a girl right now? Oh God, I'm an accomplice. Does it count as being an accomplice if you technically didn't want to do it in the first place, but went along with it because your brother is a madman?'

‘Don't blame me, we can fix this.'

‘Fix it? Fifi, that sounds awfully like homicide.'

‘Would you shut up? Stop calling me that; you're distracting me.'

‘You know what's more distracting? Being involved in a criminal activity because someone couldn't stop snacking. I told you it was a bad idea to eat when you're moody and now look where we are. Emotional eating always has consequences.'

‘Just shut up, Calum!'

I moaned as we flew over a speedbump at incredible speed. The feeling made my head pound. Sit up, Tabitha. Now. Fighting the urge to continue lying down, I gently pulled myself up, leaning heavily on my shoulders that were forced up against the car door. Weariness washed over me as I opened my eyes and I gave a small sigh as I caught sight of the two people in the front seats. I barely recognised them.

A young man was staring back at me from the passenger seat, his head craned around the seat. The chocolate colour of his eyes deepened with interest as he glanced over me. His shaved head and tropical shirt were all too familiar, but I couldn't place how I knew him. I pushed myself as far away from him as possible, sensing danger. Something twisted sharp in my gut, the taste of terror flooding my mouth.

He narrowed his eyes though his expression was friendly. ‘Feeling alright, darling?'

‘Where am I? Who are you?' I said in a croaky voice.

‘I'm Calum. And you're in a car. I put the seat warmer on for you, is that helping?'

I frowned and glanced groggily over the interior of the car, acknowledging the fact that my bum was incredibly warm. ‘What's going on? Where are we going?'

He turned away and reappeared with a water bottle that was dripping with condensation. I eyed it off as he held it out towards me. ‘Here, drink this, it'll help. And I guess you're sort of being kidnapped. That's not a problem is it? We don't usually kidnap humans. Actually, we've never kidnapped anyone, but you're very special so we made an exception, right Fifi?'

‘Fifi', or the brunette driving the car, growled back at Calum. ‘Quit talking to the hostage, stupid.'

I could make out suburban streets as we whizzed past houses and traffic lights. My neck felt awful as I turned back to the chocolate eyed man. Tugging on the collar of my bodysuit, I saw the puncture wounds on my neck in the rear-view mirror. I noticed the brunette's collar, stained with blood. My blood. Memories rushed over me of a man pushing me down, pain blossoming over my throat, the pulling sensation of my skin through teeth and lips. I screamed and pushed myself further back into the seat, ignoring the sting of the wound on my neck.

‘V-v-vampire!' I said, staring at him. I smacked the bottle out of the passenger's hands.

‘There it is,' Calum said and sighed as the brunette glared at him.

‘Vampires aren't real!' I cried out.

‘Too bad, because you're looking at two right now,' the brunette said.

I inhaled sharply and smashed my hands into the window. ‘Let me out!' I screamed, startling both of them. Calum jumped with fright in his seat as I started shaking the door handle. ‘I want to get out, let me out!'

‘Child lock is on,' said the brunette. ‘Sit down.'

‘Someone help me!' I pummelled my fists against the glass while tears fell from my eyelashes.

‘She's frightened, Fifi.' Calum's voice was warm with sympathy.

‘She can stay frightened for all I care.'

Calum ran a hand over his buzzed haircut. He glanced at me, his canine teeth jutting from beneath his top lip. I shuddered again and clutched at the jacket around my shoulders. I searched my pockets for my phone but I only felt empty space. Damn, they must have taken it.

‘This is Felix, by the way. I apologise that we startled you. Fifi has a tendency to get rude when he messes up. Used to be a law student; it's not in their nature to make mistakes.'

‘Calum, can you not tell her everything?' Felix snapped. ‘What is it about a low profile and you that don't mix?'

‘I was a drama student in high school,' Calum said. ‘Theatrics is in my nature. Besides, you're just upset you can't erase her memory.'

‘Works on everyone else,' Felix said. ‘Why not her?'

My heart was pounding in my chest. Felix glanced at me in the rear-view mirror as Calum explained to me. ‘When we drink from someone, we wipe their minds so people forget the interaction. Keeps our kind a secret. But it seems memory removal doesn't work on you when Fifi here tries it. Shall I give it a go?'

‘This is just getting worse, let me out!' I cried, throwing myself at the window again, hoping someone would see the car driving past. A woman jogging on the street glanced our way but we were going too fast. Her face was gone in a blur. ‘Let me go, you monsters! You aren't real.'

Calum laughed as Felix roared faster down the street, clearly agitated. Calum then climbed into the back and slid behind the driver's seat. He pulled on my elbow. I couldn't resist his strength. A whimper left my mouth as Calum took a spot beside me. ‘I hate to break it to you darling, but we're living proof that vampires exist. Well, technically not living proof…'

‘I want to go home! Please!' I cried out again.

Felix shot me a glare in the rear-view mirror. ‘Look girl, shut up. You're not going home until you don't remember anything.'

I quivered in my outfit. ‘My name's not girl.'

‘Then what is it?' he asked. ‘Mortal annoyance?'

‘Tabitha,' I shot back, finding my backbone for a smidgen of a second. ‘Heck of a lot better than Fifi. What are you, a poodle?'

His eyes went wild with rage. ‘I'll kill you.'

‘Don't be rude, Fifi.' Calum grabbed my temples and shoved his face close to mine. My breathing was laboured as he concentrated hard. I stared into his eyes, trembling in every limb. He let go suddenly, grinning ear to ear. ‘She's exciting, isn't she?'

Felix growled again. ‘Did you try?'

‘Of course I did. But alas, the girl is a mastermind. Perhaps we kidnapped a genius.'

‘In that outfit?' Felix said. ‘Hardly.'

His scoffing made me frown. Disgusted with his attitude, confidence suddenly surged through me. ‘Asshole,' I shot at him.

He glared back at me in the rear-view mirror. The silver of his eyes made me almost flinch. ‘Don't call me that and shut up.'

‘Don't tell me to shut up, asshole.'

A sneer curled his top lip. ‘You'll be a dead teenage girl at this rate.'

‘Please play nice,' Calum said. His eyes twinkled with humour.

I peered out the window but we were moving so fast, everything was a big blur. I hoped a rogue cop on patrol would see the crazed car drive past, pull us over and inevitably save my life. But nothing happened. I had probably been unconscious for a little while and nobody had seen me.

‘Where are you taking me?' I asked.

‘To the cemetery,' Felix said. ‘We're burying you alive.'

I opened my mouth to scream but Calum quickly said, ‘He's joking! I promise. We're taking you to our house. It's quite nice, really. I'll text Florence and have her set up a bed for you. We really should change the sheets in the guest house more often, but nobody ever wants to sleep near the dead. Also, Fifi doesn't have many friends, but we try not to mention that. He's very sensitive.'

Felix straightened in his seat. ‘She isn't staying,' he said, voice clipped. ‘If worse comes to worst and our mothers can't fix her stupid mind, we'll tie a stone to her and drop her into the bottom of the lake. I distinctly remember a coil of rope sitting in the garage. It's about time we used it for a proper reason and not just for your idiotic plan to make a tire swing in the front yard, right Calum?'

‘See what I mean? Sensitive.' Calum rolled his eyes.

I ignored Calum. My heart was pounding so hard it left me breathless. ‘You wouldn't kill me, right?' I looked to Calum. ‘Right?'

Calum didn't answer, staring at Felix, who only shrugged. Felix turned down a street and parked crookedly beside a gutter, clanging a hubcap in the process. ‘Believe what you want, mortal annoyance. I'm definitely in a mind to test out that theory.'

A shiver rolled down my back at his cut-throat tone. He got out of the car at incredible speed, opened the back door and heaved me out of the backseat and onto the pathway. The dizzying effects of having my blood drunk and then falling unconscious, on top of high levels of alcohol consumption, left me woozy. My feet bent suddenly under my weight and he huffed as I stumbled. Felix yanked me up by my arm so I didn't fall completely.

We stood in front of a three-storey, modern home painted porcelain white. It was made of a mix of stone and timber and the front door was in heavy wood. Located next to the house and on my left, was a cottage. It was a large lot and in the dark, I could see small tufts of grass and flower beds. I heard the sound of the ocean not too far away. The sun was a smudge on the horizon, staining the sky a peachy orange. We must have been driving for a long time.

Felix pushed me towards the front door. Calum unclasped the latch on the gate and grinned at me as Felix snatched up my wrist. He all but dragged me towards the house.

‘If you wouldn't handle her so rudely she might not be so afraid of you,' Calum said as he led us to the front door.

‘I don't care, Calum.' Felix tightened his grip on my wrist, making me gasp at the pain.

‘You may not, but our parents will. Gentle, Fifi.'

Felix groaned but lessened his grip. ‘Come along then, mortal annoyance.'

I blinked up at him, finding his eyes already on my face. ‘My name is Tabitha,' I answered, trying to keep up with their fast pace.

‘Still don't care.'

Felix stormed through the house, pulling me behind him and up a flight of stairs. His grip was rock-hard. My skin began to turn purple from the aching tightness. Calum strode along in front, his figure submerged in darkness. Without any lights on, I could barely see where I was being lead to. Finally we reached a door at the top of the steps and switched an overhead light on, the umber glow showing me two figures tucked in bed beneath the covers.

I tried desperately to free my swelling arm from Felix's grip, but he squeezed harder. My arm bone creaked and I whimpered, dropping to my knees from the agony. A figure leapt from the bed and knelt beside me, wrenching Felix's fingers off my wrist like they were nothing.

She was youthfully young, her eyes shining as she asked, ‘What is the meaning of this? Are you alright, my dear?'

Tears pricked at my eyes. ‘No.' I sniffed and rubbed my arm where Felix had been holding it. ‘It hurts.'

She frowned and glared up at Felix. I followed her look, finding Felix rocking on his heels. ‘Do not harm another – is that not a rule in this household?' she asked him.

Felix exhaled heavily. ‘Yes.'

‘Then why must I hear of this poor young girl's hurt?'

‘I lost my temper.'

She nearly breathed fire. ‘Then find it!'

Almost immediately, her anger withered away. Her sweet, honeysuckle-brown eyes softened as she turned to me.

‘What is your name, dear?'

‘Tabitha,' I whispered.

‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tabitha dear. I am Blanche. I see you are in the company of my sons. My sincerest apologies that we are being introduced at dawn. Might I ask why you are here? Your scent is incredibly … mundane.'

‘Are you a vampire too?' I asked.

She drew back, her smile revealing two gleaming canines. My eyes watered at the sight and Blanche quickly covered her mouth. ‘You seem unfamiliar with our kind. What happened?'

‘He drank from me.'

Her brow darkened. ‘Who did?'

‘Felix.'

Her wide eyes gazed upon my wounded neck, the damp blood on my collar. She blinked, then turned to Felix. ‘You drank?'

‘We were out searching for a meal and we caught her scent. She smelt nice. I bit and drank, and then she remembered everything, even after both Cal and I tried to wipe her mind. She can't be altered by either of us.'

Blanche's words faltered a little as she said to me, ‘You remember him drinking from you? As in the actual memory of it, not because you've been informed of a bite?' At my nod, she continued. ‘That is most strange. Felix is not one for being impulsive.' Blanche glanced to my temples. ‘Can you think what you were doing before that?'

I nodded, fumbling over the memory of the party.

‘Perfect. Think of your previous activity. May I touch your forehead? I'm going to remove the memory of tonight's incident from you.'

Gladly, I pushed my forehead into her awaiting hands, gazing at the skin over her knees which were alabaster in colour. Blanche's fingers pressed both temples and my mind swam hazily with glimpses of the party, alcohol, costumes and laughter. I felt nothing more than a pinch. Blanche removed her hands and frowned in concern at me.

‘What's wrong?' I asked her. My hands twisted in my lap.

‘I'm afraid you're unable to be altered, dear. I cannot erase your memory of the bite.'

‘I'll get the rope,' Felix said and my veins froze over.

I sensed Felix reach for my shoulder, so I twisted around and slammed a fist into his arm, halting his movement. He stumbled back as I struggled to my feet and scurried out the door. Blanche called my name, but Calum was already at the top of the stairs, blocking my escape. Felix wrapped his arms around me from behind and I cried out for him to let me go. He took me back into the bedroom and locked the door, setting me down on the floor. Calum guarded the door with a miserable look.

Blanche reached for me but I flung her away. She sighed. ‘This will not help anything,' she said to me.

‘Can you calm down?' Felix snapped. ‘We're just as annoyed as you. Now we've got you to deal with.'

‘How about we reconvene at breakfast, hmm?' Blanche said. ‘I'll have Florence cook up a feast.'

‘Why can't I just go home? How can I be sure none of you will kill me in my sleep? Or…' I swallowed the words, unable to go on.

‘We won't drink from you,' Felix said.

‘I don't trust a thing coming from your mouth, Fifi,' I said.

His face darkened in anger. ‘Don't call me that!'

‘I knew the nickname would take off one day,' Calum said with a cheeky smile.

Blanche squeezed the bridge of her nose. ‘My patience is running thin. Seeing as it's dawn, why don't you get some rest and we'll eat a hearty breakfast together when my wife awakens. I will answer all your queries then.'

I glanced around her and saw a figure still encased in blankets on the bed, undisturbed by the commotion in the room.

Blanche smiled at me and brushed my hair behind my ear. ‘Farewell till then, dear Tabitha.'

I succumbed to my fate, knowing I was outnumbered and would be easily overtaken.

Felix guided me out of the room and out of the house, one hand back around my wrist, encasing it like a bear trap. I barely saw the inside of the house as I was too busy being dragged along behind him. Calum led the three-person parade out the back door, across the lawn and into the cottage I'd seen earlier. He switched on the lights and declared he would make a snack for us to ease the tension, then disappeared into the kitchen.

The guest cottage contained a kitchen and living room on the ground floor with a staircase behind the couch. Felix guided me up the stairs to a small bedroom on the right. There were two more doors down the hallway.

Felix gestured to the bed and watched as I sank onto the soft mattress. I glared at him. I could feel the crackle of dried blood on my neck when I moved my head. Tears still dripped from between my eyelashes.

‘Do you need anything?' he asked gruffly.

‘Tissues please.'

He stalked out of the room, reappearing in seconds with a tissue box. I took them, blowing my nose and drying my cheeks.

Felix continued to watch me, hands in his pockets. Finally, he asked, ‘Do I scare you?'

‘So far, you've drunk my blood, kidnapped me, told me you're a mythical being, and are now holding me against my will. So yeah, I'd say so.'

‘It's your fault for being kidnapped. If you could be wiped like any other human, we wouldn't have had to take you.'

‘You!' Calum yelled from downstairs. ‘You wouldn't have had to take her! I am merely the accomplice, but not by choice, you bastard. I want no blame in this.'

‘How'd he hear that?' I asked Felix.

‘Part of the death perks,' he answered. ‘Super senses.' Felix rolled his eyes. ‘And fine. It's my fault you've been kidnapped. Calum was just doing what I asked.'

I snorted. ‘At least you own up to it.' Another tear ran down my cheek. ‘Am I going to die tonight? Are you going to eat me?'

‘What? Why would we eat you? Bones are crunchy and disgusting.'

I screwed up my face. ‘I'm going to die, aren't I?'

‘No, you won't. Blanche will answer everything in the morning over breakfast.' He eyed me off. ‘You eat breakfast, right?'

‘Of course.'

‘Good.'

I blew my nose again. ‘You know, you would scare me a bit more if I could believe you were real. It feels like I'm in a nightmare.'

‘Ouch,' he said. ‘I'm standing right here, thanks.'

My mouth twitched. ‘How old are you?'

‘Why do you care? I'm not real.'

‘Tell me something about you.'

He cocked an eyebrow. ‘No.'

‘Why not?'

‘Because you've insulted me. You shouldn't go around telling people they aren't real. It's quite rude.'

I closed my eyes, fed up with his sarcasm. ‘Please let me go home.'

‘Highly unlikely,' he said, leaning against the wall. ‘Calum finds you entertaining. You'll be our new jester. It might make him stop pestering me.'

My eyes welled for the fourth time in an hour. Drawing my knees to my chest, I leant my cheek on them and felt a few slippery tears dribble past my nose and mouth.

Felix frowned. ‘Are you alright?' he asked quietly, his harshness replaced with mild concern.

‘Did you kill her?' Calum yelled from downstairs.

‘No. She's crying,' Felix called back.

‘Oh shit. Give her a cuddle.'

I froze at Calum's words.

Felix scrunched his face up. ‘Um … Why?'

‘For once in your life use the advice I give you and display some empathy, Fifi.' Calum sounded gruff but finished his words with a giggle.

Felix drew a ragged breath and moved towards me, looking displeased. I bared my teeth at him and curled my mouth into a sneer. He stopped.

‘That isn't scary because you don't have canines,' he said.

‘Fifi, are you cuddling?' Calum cried from below.

‘Stop calling me that!'

‘Answer my question!'

‘No!' he cried back, rolling his eyes again. In spite of everything, I spluttered with laughter. ‘We're not cuddling.'

‘That's too bad. You like cuddles.'

My tears stopped at the sight of a flustered Felix, red blooming along his cheekbones. I giggled and he glared.

‘Don't laugh at me. You're the one whose head is problematic. Why can't I erase your damn memory?'

I shrugged. ‘How should I know?'

‘It is your memory we're discussing here.'

I wiped the last of my tears away, licking my lips clean of salt. ‘I don't know. Before tonight, vampires didn't exist, and now I've apparently got one standing in front of me and another one downstairs, wearing beach wear and cooking food.'

‘Apparently?' His brow hardened with annoyance. ‘Am I seriously still a myth to you?'

‘Until proven otherwise, yes.'

‘I could take another sip.' His voice was low and threatening. My shaking returned. He pulled back slightly, making me think he was not relishing in my genuine terror like I thought he would.

‘Come on, think. Do you know anything about your blood ancestors? Anyone who ever dabbled in the other beings of this world?'

A loud stream of curse words rose from the kitchen. The smoke alarm shrieked and a small cloud of grey smoke puffed into the hallway behind Felix.

I raised my voice over the noise. ‘No. I don't think my great-grandmother had any lovers with canine teeth like yours.'

He exhaled heavily. ‘Anyone with medical issues?'

‘My uncle has diabetes.'

‘I meant anything abnormal.'

I feigned innocence. ‘Diabetes is abnormal; he's vegan.'

Felix growled again and narrowed his eyes. ‘You're insufferable.'

‘Stuff it up your nostrils, asshole,' I muttered.

Felix frowned. He didn't get a chance to reply as Calum arrived wearing oven mitts and holding a tray of hardened dough and red sauce. He shoved Felix aside, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. ‘I made pizza rolls!'

Felix squeezed the bridge of his nose in response.