Beware the Violet Read online

  I was still angry about what happened between us, but right now, I had more worrisome things to deal with than this. All the way home, Diane talked about silly things, but I was more concerned with finding an answer on why she couldn’t see him.

  “Let’s hurry up, it’s going to pour any minute.” Diane pointed at the gray clouds and we ran the remaining distance to our house where we found our mom sitting on the sofa knitting.

  “Hello girls,” she called without raising her head. “Wipe your boots on the mat and there’s food in the kitchen.”

  After following her orders, I went to the kitchen and from the corner of my eye, I saw something strange out the window. Getting a better look, I noticed the clouds had turned purple and not only that, but one of them looked like a rabbit. Shaking my head, I looked again, but it had disappeared. Was it my imagination?

  Thoughtful, I warmed the food and as I watched the microwave carousel turn, the answer still evaded me. Jacques was a supernatural, but Diane could see Kristy just fine, so why couldn’t she see him? I thought of the wary look the passerby sent my way. He must have thought I was yelling at nobody! I was so going to kill him next time I saw him.

  ◆◆◆

  “She couldn’t see him?” Kristy said when I told her about the incident and she shrugged. “I don’t know. Only fairies, witches, and creatures with magic have the power to mask themselves from humans. Jacques couldn’t possibly make himself disappear.”

  “But Diane didn’t see him, nor the passerby who probably thought I was acting like a lunatic, yelling at thin air.”

  Kristy opened her mouth, but then the bell rang. “We’ll talk later.” She got up and walked into the building, leaving me with thousands of questions. Why was she acting like that? The new vampire was not here now, so why was she so silent?

  When we were walking in the forest—we always took that road so nobody could follow us—I stopped. “So, spill it.”

  Kristy stopped as well and looked at me with a quizzical expression in her eyes. “Spill what?”

  “Well, everything. Why are you acting so mysterious? Why are you so silent? Why don’t you talk anymore? I know things are making everyone moody, but there’s no need for you to be! You’re a fairy for heaven’s sake! You’re outgoing and spread love and kindness,” I said, my frustration growing.

  Kristy grinned, and it was like I saw a rainbow after days of gloomy weather. “You’ve grown so perceptive.” She clapped and then her hands fell at her sides. “It’s true. The situation with the new vampire has changed things. Everyone has folded inside themselves and we’re more vigilant than ever.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Even the vampires don’t trust him and he’s their own kin. He’s different. Him being from the Farest End is upsetting enough because there is a rumor the last realm is where all the dark and insidious things lurk.”

  “Well, whatever the case, you don’t need to be gloomy because of that. We’ll face it just like the last time,” I said even though I knew it would be nothing like the last time. It would be very different. “If you smile, it might puzzle him.”

  A laugh that reminded me of a birdsong came out of her and relief washed over me. It had been a long time since I’ve heard her laugh like that. I had missed it. “If anyone told me you’d be the one cheering me up, I wouldn’t have believed them.” She inhaled and then her smile became broader. “You know, I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject since you have been so mad about it.”

  My curiosity was piqued, and I waited for Kristy to share the news, but I wasn’t sure which subject she was referring to.

  “Jacques—”

  “No,” I cut her off. “We’re not discussing this subject,” I said and crossed my arms.

  “Violet, I know you’re mad, but please listen. I just have to share it because it’s so…oh!” Her face was glowing like a red orb, so sighing, I nodded, certain I would come to regret asking.

  “Well, it was before the vampire’s arrival obviously, but he asked for my help with you.” I raised my eyebrow. “It appears that shapeshifters…” she stopped and chuckled.

  “Spit it out already!” I exclaimed, having enough of her stalling. She inhaled and took a serious expression.

  “Okay. Well, it appears that Jacques doesn’t have any experience with humans nor how to treat them. Apparently, shapeshifters don’t need words to communicate since their animal self does that. So, if they like someone, the animal expresses their interest. I’m sure you’ve watched plenty of documentaries on animals.”

  I covered my eyes. “Yes, but I don’t like to make that connection. How am I going to erase that image from my mind?” I complained.

  “Well, it’s the truth, so that’s why the ‘it’ backfired.” She giggled. “He didn’t know how to express his interest to a human being. But that isn’t an excuse. He could have asked.”

  I bit my lip as I pondered on that. He didn’t know and acted recklessly, but still…Kristy was right. He could have asked and not…I shook my head. “No, I’m still mad about that.” Narrowing my eyes as a sudden thought occurred to me, I said, “Did he put you up to this?”

  “Nope. He asked my help about the best way to ask your forgiveness.”

  “And he told you to share this?” Confusion spread as I thought about it, but things didn’t add up. It didn’t make any sense but whatever Jacques did, didn’t have any logic either. Maybe in his animal brain, it did.

  “I said I would help him. I never said I wouldn’t share any of this with my best friend.” She winked, and I chuckled.

  “You’re sly as a fox!”

  “I am no fox!” she said with dignity. “Wait, there’s more!”

  She’s more into gossip than Diane, I thought and restrained myself from smiling, but I enjoyed hearing information since it was about me. But I had never been a gossiper.

  “Ever since the vampire came, he’s been on edge and always disappears during the night. He hasn’t shared anything but I think he’s jealous,” she whispered, chuckling and I looked at her in disbelief.

  “Jealous? Of what?” Ever since I met him, he had acted sarcastic and didn’t care about anything.

  “Well, of the new vampire of course.” Seeing my confused look she exhaled in expiration. “Really, Violet. You don’t see what’s going on here?”

  Shaking my head, I felt like Diane was chastising me rather than Kristy. They were so much alike in some aspects.

  “Jacques likes you and I think the new vampire likes you too and that’s why Jacques hates him even more. He sees him as a rival and since he’s fallen from your favor now…”

  “Come on.” I laughed. “That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

  Kristy headed to the gate, and I followed her. On the way, she sang, “The Believer will save us all, the Believer will crush hearts.”

  I slapped her arm, and she laughed. “Shut up! That doesn’t even rhyme.”

  “No, but it’s funny.”

  All the way to the Blessed Realm, Kristy was in a fairy mood, but when we reached the gate, she adopted a blank expression and when Khalid showed up, waiting at the gate as usual, she bade me goodbye.

  I shot her a look, confused by the sudden change of her behavior and she gave me an imperceptible smile before flying away. As soon as she was out of earshot, Khalid started to talk about himself like the other times and I listened, thinking there might be some useful information I could use someday but half of my mind was on what Kristy shared with me. Could Jacques really be jealous of Khalid? Why? Because of Khalid’s flirtatious nature? They couldn’t both like me. We didn’t know each other well enough! What was up with these relationships with supernatural creatures who didn’t even know you?

  Chapter 5: Dancing with the Devil

  As the days wore by, I noticed Kristy was right.

  Khalid after telling me everything about his life, he started asking a myriad of questions about me. Feeling uncomfortable with all the quest
ions and given my distaste about vampires, I steered the conversation towards him and it worked. Every time. How could someone be so full of himself was beyond me, but I guess if you knew you couldn’t easily die, you took risks and did outstanding feats. The things he had done were amazing—climbed Everest, explored volcanoes and read all Alexandria’s books—but I was wondering if he wasn’t omitting bad stuff for the purpose of manipulating me. He seemed too good to be true and if it wasn’t for my dislike of vampires and him personally, I might have fallen for his tricks.

  Having laid my plan carefully, I pretended to listen carefully and at the appropriate moments; I gave him a smile, or I laughed and he grinned back, unsuspecting of my motives.

  Meanwhile, I noticed Jacques had vanished once again and only showed up occasionally. When he did, he would give me a smile that made his eyes light with mirth and then leave without a word. It confused me but I was more concerned about the fact he had dark rings around his eyes like he was not sleeping well.

  “I’ve noticed it as well,” Kristy said when I mentioned it at school, “but I don’t know anything about it. The witch would send us on missions when the darkness appeared, but she hasn’t summoned a council in quite some time now. It’s as safe as it can be.”

  I had my doubts about that, but didn’t say anything.

  “But I thought you hadn’t forgiven him.” Her words caused me to bite my tongue while a secret smile spread on her face.

  “I have not! I am just concerned.” She laughed at my grimace. I didn’t understand why she made such a fuss or why she assumed everyone was in love with each other. It was human nature to be concerned for another’s well-being.

  “Right.” She rolled her eyes, and I slapped her arm.

  “I am!”

  As the end of the year came to a close, our little town wore its fancy clothes. People decorated their homes and gardens with Christmas trees, wreaths, ornaments, and festive garlands. Volunteers had helped to decorate the Town Hall as well and it resembled to the Enchanted Forest in a magical, yet human way. The snow had fallen some weeks ago and the cold veil of winter had finally settled over our little town. Children made snowmen and when you walked down the street, you had to pay attention or a flying snowball would hit you. Sadly, Diane had outgrown this celebration too fast and was only interested in Christmas shopping. I loved Christmas and the entire spirit of the season filled my heart with joy. Walking down the streets, I stopped to admire what people had put up on their houses.

  Encased candles were placed on every street, lighting our way during nighttime and even the lampposts were decorated. Garlands and ribbons adorned their sturdy body, and I imagined they would be grateful for once to change their lackluster appearance.

  While the human world was preparing for Christmas, the Blessed Realm remained as it was or rather, it was embroiled in the darkness that raged in the name of Khalid. A silent war had begun between Khalid and the residents, but none of the Eulogimenoi had the nerve to speak aloud in fear they would get into another war. I didn’t know Khalid’s motives, but I intended to find out even if that landed me in the line of fire.

  “So, what are you doing for Christmas, Violet?” Khalid said one day when he walked me from the gate. I exchanged a strange look with Kristy and then said, “I didn’t know you knew about human celebrations.”

  He had done some great things in the human world, but I didn’t think he ever lived among humans. A vampire living among humans was a disturbing thought.

  “Well, of course. How else can I blend in if I don’t know their traditions?”

  “I didn’t think a vampire needed to blend in.”

  “Despite what you might believe about vampires, some of us are good and feed only off the dead rather than alive humans.”

  My heart hammered in my chest at his words and I took some calming breaths. “Good to know.”

  “So are you doing anything?” he repeated when we stopped in front of Madelena’s house.

  “Family stuff,” I said vaguely since I wanted to know where he was going with the current line of questioning. Kristy observed him intently, flapping her wings from time to time—a thing she did when she was nervous.

  “We can do something together…say tomorrow,” he proposed.

  Talk about bold. I pretended to be surprised in order to consider my next move. “Tomorrow? I…am not sure.”

  “It’s Saturday.” He flashed his vampire teeth at me and I wondered if he thought this was appealing or if he simply wanted to scare me. “You can study your lessons in the afternoon. We’ll meet up in the morning.”

  “I thought the sun burned vampires,” I said even more confused. Did he think the human world carried the same protection the Blessed Realm did? He was severely mistaken if that were the case!

  “Oh, don’t you worry about that. I’ve got a talisman that protects me from this silliness.” He waved his hand dismissively and pulled a chain from around his neck.

  I noticed it was the same symbol as his tattoo. A snake engulfed in flames with a sword penetrating its head. I didn’t know its meaning, but it certainly was powerful and dangerous. A dark cloud surrounded the talisman and whenever I looked at it, I got a feeling of drowning. Whatever it was, it meant nothing good.

  Kristy opened and closed her fingers, which meant she would look into this. Since we could only communicate at school, we had invented our own secret language for strange situations and it came in handy. Especially if Khalid was there.

  “I see. Well, I will think about that and let you know,” I said and waved.

  “Have a great lesson, Violet,” Kristy said in a loud voice and I smiled, thankful she saved me.

  “Thank you. See you later.” I quickly slipped through the door before Khalid asked anything else.

  Sighing, I took a deep breath before advancing into the fiery room. I had advanced fairly quickly according to Madelena these past few months, but the fiery room still gave me difficulties. Fortunately, it was the last of the elements I had to master, but it presented a trial for me. I didn’t have a good relationship with fire, but I didn’t know why. I was deeply afraid of that element but the reason for the fear evaded me. Perhaps, it was buried along the kaleidoscope of the forgotten memories.

  “Violet,” Madelena greeted me. “How was your day?”

  “Good enough,” I responded as I watched the flames dance in front of my eyes.

  “Then, let’s start.”

  Hours later, I was heaving for breath and still haven’t been able to manipulate the fire element. Madelena tried different techniques, but I couldn’t produce smoke even if I tried.

  As she returned the room to its normal cozy appearance, she said, “Something is blocking you. A fear. Why are you afraid of fire?”

  “I can’t remember.” I shrugged. “I just know that I am.”

  She bit her lip, but then nodded. “Well, until you discover that reason and face your fear, you won’t be able to manipulate fire. Only defend yourself from it.”

  “That’s good enough for now.” Wiping my sweat from my forehead, I gathered my bag and left the building.

  Walking through the Blessed Realm, I cast glances around me to spot Kristy but when I couldn’t, I continued my way to the gate. Several steps before arriving, Khalid showed up out of nowhere.

  Shoot! I thought as I cursed myself for being so slow. With the fire’s incident, I had forgotten about his proposal, which wasn’t a proposal at all.

  “So, we’ll meet at the town’s center at ten,” he said and before I had the chance to speak, he vanished.

  “Chivalry is dead.” Shaking my head, I crossed the path between the worlds and the whole way to my house, I thought of a possible plan. Khalid didn’t seem stupid, but at the same time, he thought I was falling for him which made things easier for me. I smiled as I entered my home. This hybrid would not know what hit him!

  ◆◆◆

  I waited at 9:45 in the town’s center with cold biting into
my skin like a razor. Sighing, I prayed Khalid would show up early, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to show up at all. I had perfected my plan during my sleep, which wasn’t undisturbed since her Evilship once again took the stage in my dreams.

  When the sun was well high in the sky and the church bell sounded, Khalid crossed the street, sporting jeans and a tee with his leather jacket casually thrown over his shoulder.

  No bells, no sun. What kind of talisman was that which made him immune to most of the vampire weaknesses? Did he have a weakness at all? What kind of vampire was he? Was he even dead? He looks more alive than any human I have ever seen! Questions without answers circled in my head while I saw Khalid walking up to me with a dazzling smile.

  “Morning, chica!” he greeted, and I wanted to slap him, but instead, I retained a blank expression and gave him a silly smile.

  “Hi,” I pretended to be shy and awkwardly waved at him.

  “Shall we?” he said and taking my arm, he started walking in an unknown direction. All the way, he asked questions about me and I was careful with the answers and every time I responded, he laughed. Maybe he thought it was charming, but I found it deeply annoying.

  “Aren’t you concerned that it’s winter and you’re in summer clothes? People will notice,” I said, but he waved his hand dismissively.

  “Bah, humans. They will soon forget. It’s not like I stick around in one particular city for any length of time. I’m a nomad so whoever notices doesn’t have the time to get suspicious.”

  That was a strange thought, but being a vampire I suppose it alienated you from all things human. I wouldn’t want to be in his position. Lonely and alone with everyone else around me gone…He led such a solitary life despite the wonderful things he had seen.

  Walking in the park, I thought with a sudden start that this was my first date and I tried to push my thoughts of disgust away. Sure, he was charming, and I was fairly certain every girl would faint in his presence, but not me. I hated him for my own personal reasons, but even if I had nothing against him, I wouldn’t have liked him. He was not my type. Jacques was a lot of things—ranging from complicated to indifferent—but at least, I knew his feelings were real even if I didn’t want to admit it.