Stolen Night (21 page)

Almost simultaneously, Vicken and placed our palms against the door. His knuckles whitened and then his hand dropped, hitting his thigh.

‘Hot,’ he said, and his tone was grave. ‘They must have just tried.’

My fingertips zinged as I also dropped my hand from the door. The energy of the spell sent shocks of electricity up my arms. Vicken clenched and unclenched his hands. I grabbed on to him to help
me stand. He stood up too. I hesitated, holding the key before the door. Then I slid the key in the lock, turned it and the doorknob, and the latch clicked.

‘
Hunc locum bonis ominibus prosequi
,’ I said,
Bless this space
in Latin. My hands still tingled as though they had fallen asleep. I kept squeezing them into fists.

‘Let’s go in,’ Vicken said. The door creaked open slowly. We stood there a moment – waiting. A weird white noise echoed, as though hundreds of people were screaming from
the end of a long tunnel. These were the reverberations of the vampire’s screams.

Tiny specks of grey ash now lined the perimeter of the living room where the herbs had been.

In the centre of the room was a collection of sooty grey ash.

I walked towards it but something caught my eye. The door to the balcony was open. Someone was moving out there. It took me a moment to recognize her. Odette rolled on to her side so her blonde
curls fell over her face. She appeared to be struggling to her feet.

I jumped over the pile of ash to the balcony door, but Odette was already standing. Vicken pushed past me and shoved Odette so she fell. She sat down abruptly, and I saw she was hurt. Her arm
was covered in blood, her fingers raw and nails cracked. Perfect – she was injured. Perhaps we could beat her while her guard was down. Vicken reached into his boot for a dagger, but Odette
rocked on to her back and kicked out, sending him backwards.

Why, now of all times, had Rhode taken the sword?

Odette ran to the edge of my balcony.

‘Go!’ I yelled, and pushed Vicken towards her.

But she was much too fast. Like her strength, Odette’s speed outmatched that of any normal vampire. I made it to the stone ledge of the balcony, threw out my hands and tried to grasp on to
a leg of her trousers. The fabric grazed my fingers as she shot into the air.

She landed on the roof of the building next to mine. I expected her to fall cat-like, on her feet, as I had seen her do every other time. But she stumbled, her arms windmilling to keep her
balance until she dropped to her knees.

Vicken lifted a leg to step on to the ledge of the balcony. He was going to try to jump!

As a human, there was no way Vicken would make it without serious injury. I grasped on to his arm, heaving him back on to the balcony. We fell together on to the tiles.

‘No,’ I said breathlessly. Our eyes met. ‘I will not lose you again.’

He held my gaze for a moment, and the fight in his eyes softened. He sighed and pulled me up. We stood together by the ledge for a moment.

‘Let’s go down,’ I said, pulling Vicken by his shirtsleeve. I intended to meet Odette at ground level. Two against one, we maybe had a chance. If she didn’t outrun us
first.

‘Wait . . .’ said Vicken darkly.

Odette pressed herself up from the roof, but her arms gave out and her elbows hit the ground.

‘What the . . . ?’ Vicken said. ‘Look!’

She heaved again and this time got upright. She went over to the edge of the building and raised her arms above her head. I gripped Vicken’s forearm in anticipation as Odette jumped off
the roof and ran away into the darkness.

‘Wow! How the hell did she do that?’ asked Vicken.

‘And her arms,’ I whispered. ‘She healed instantly. Did you see them when she lifted them above her head? They weren’t bloody any more.’

‘I’m more concerned that she can get on campus,’ Vicken replied. ‘She did it before October too. The protection of the ritual is over.’

The ash of the vampire who did not make it out of my apartment sat in a small pile, directly in the centre of the room.

But, for Odette, her cracked and bloody wounds had healed in minutes. No vampire I had ever known could heal that quickly. But, then again, everything I knew about vampires was being tested by
Odette.

We went back inside my apartment and Vicken bent over the ash of the dead vampire. He squatted down and pulled out a thick silver watch from the centre of the pile. It dangled on the end of his
finger.

‘A man’s watch,’ Vicken said. ‘Odette’s ruthless,’ he continued. ‘She sacrificed a member of her coven. She knew you would raise a barrier.’

As I surveyed the charred herbs around the perimeter of the room, I could sense that the energy in that room had changed. Any supernatural creature who entered would know that the barrier spell
had protected me. That was why Odette had been injured. The first vampire had probably been incinerated by walking into the space. Only Odette’s fingers and forearm had made it into my
apartment before she’d realized what was happening.

Either way, it was now my space, sacred and holy. Just like Rhode always said . . . energy leaves an indelible mark. With the smell of the campfire in my hair, and the pulsating images of Rhode
smashing his room, I knew what I must do. We needed help. We needed protection. I couldn’t let Odette and her minions dominate us any more.

I turned from the doorway.

‘I’m going to perform a summoning spell,’ I said to Vicken. ‘I’m not going to wait and let her control me.’

‘Oh,
really
,’ he said, his tone laced with sarcasm.

‘Despite what you may think, Rhode is losing his mind and I need your help. Especially now that Odette can come on campus.’

‘Do you want me to bow, or will an
all right
suffice?’ He lifted an eyebrow and leaned a shoulder on the wall.

‘We’re calling Suleen, and we’re doing it at sunrise.’

Vicken didn’t respond, but he kept looking at me with that same smug expression: one eyebrow raised and an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.

‘You’re not going to fight me on this?’ I said, disbelieving.

‘I’m not going to win, am I? You did the barrier spell. I didn’t think
that
would work and it did.’

‘Let’s try it at sunrise. When the moon and the sun share the same sky. It’s the most spiritual time of the day.’

‘Should I call you
ma’am
?’

‘Stop it,’ I said.

‘How about
mistress
? Or
goddess
?’

‘She’s lost a member of her coven; there are only four now,’ I said. ‘And we know she heals quickly. At least we know those things.’

‘That’s not all we know, love,’ Vicken added, and lit the cigarette. He inhaled deeply then on his exhale said, ‘We uncovered something else of the utmost importance this
morning.’

‘What’s that?’ I asked.

‘She fell when she hit that roof. She’s weakened when she bleeds.’

If Odette was weakened when she bled, then we would have to bleed her to fight her, eventually stabbing her in the heart. It would be the only way to kill her. In the meantime,
we needed help.

We wasted no time.

Before dawn the next morning, I was resting my head against the passenger seat of my tiny blue car, my eyes closed, my hair whipping back and forth from the breeze. If it wasn’t for the
sound of the motor, we could have been in a fast-moving carriage – but we weren’t. Vicken was driving, and with a sharp turn and another rev I was thrown against the door. I clutched on
to the armrest and opened my eyes. When we pulled on to Lovers Bay beach, the moon hung over the harbour, creating wavy lines of grey-blue light. Soon the sun would rise. I could feel it in my
heart, in my bones. Perhaps, like a sixth sense, I would always be able to perceive the sun and its power. Its danger.

We sat in the quiet and looked out at the water.

‘She’s getting her strength from somewhere,’ I said, staring out at the ocean. ‘A spell or something. That’s the only way her skin can regenerate so
fast.’

‘Let’s not worry about that,’ Vicken said. ‘Just focus on the spell.’

‘We need all four elements represented.’ Even as I said it, the Aeris came to my mind. Especially Fire and her crackling hair.

I reached into the back seat for our supplies and the spell book, which were all in my special spell bag. We got out of the car, and when I stepped on to the small beach, my boots sunk into the
soft sand. Stars twinkled above us in the hazy light. This time of the morning was called
the Line
. Vampires consider it holy. A time for spells, when the world is unsure of itself; no
longer night, not quite morning . . .

I checked the area immediately in front of the parking lot.

‘Let’s go down there, out of sight,’ I said, wanting to be far away from any common human’s eye. ‘We need that driftwood over there. We can stack it by the
shore.’ I pointed to a stand of three trees at whose base was stacked a pile old wood, weathered from the seasons.

‘You sure are bossy for someone who’s most likely going to kill us both with this spell,’ muttered Vicken.

As I walked to the shore to acquire what else we would need, Vicken got some of the wood. I stood at the water’s edge and watched the tiny ripples lap on to the rocky sand. This spell
would act as a beacon – a calling. A vampire as powerful as Suleen, if he did not want to be contacted, could avoid it. But if this wasn’t a time of need, then I didn’t know what
was. I reached into the warmth of my spell bag and unearthed a small empty jar. I scooped up some of the bay water and walked back to Vicken, standing above the driftwood pile.

Jasmine was crucial for the success of a summoning spell. From the bag I took out a tiny box of amber resin, some jasmine and matches, then handed the jar of bay water to Vicken. As his
fingertips touched mine, I smiled slightly, looking at my old friend. Our love, the one between Vicken and me, whatever it had been a hundred and sixty years ago, was over now, replaced by the love
of friendship.

‘Let’s just do this before Odette decides to show up,’ Vicken said with a sigh. ‘I’m all itchy. I hate anticipation – it’s thoroughly human.’

‘You should begin the spell. You were the last one connected to the supernatural world,’ I said to Vicken. I meant that he was the last to be turned human by the ritual.

I reached into the bag and pulled out the heavy leather-covered book of spells. My boots sank deeper into the sand as I stepped forward and handed it to Vicken. The gold print of its title,
Incantato
, glinted as the morning sunrise crested the horizon, out at sea. He opened the book to the page marked with a small red ribbon, looked from the spell to me and said,
‘Ready?’

Draw a door in the sand . . .
said a voice from my memory.
I had almost forgotten
. Once, long ago, Rhode told me he had performed a summoning spell. I surveyed the stack of
driftwood and the area around it. When I stepped back from the pile, I placed my finger in the cool sand and drew the distinct outline of a door around the firewood. I met Vicken’s gaze for
reassurance and said what Rhode told me all those years ago.

‘As long as there have been doors, there have been summoning spells – entryways, passages,’ I said, backing away from the door.

‘So we summon Suleen and he helps us with these vampires?’ Vicken said.

And Rhode.

‘That’s the plan,’ I said, and lit a match so it flared between my fingers.

I flicked the match and it flew in a wide arc through the air and on to the driftwood pile. Sparked by the flame and the supernatural ingredients, the wood hissed and smoke rose up to the sky. I
opened the resin box and took a pinch of amber between my thumb and index finger and sprinkled it over the fire. Tiny orange flames flickered and hissed.

‘Begin,’ I commanded gently.

Vicken looked down at the book.

In Latin he announced,
I call on you, Suleen. I summon you to appear before me in this sacred space
.

I bent down, took the jar and unscrewed the top. I sprinkled the saltwater so the fire hissed and crackled. The water slid over my hands, dropping in tiny pearls to the flames. There was an
unnatural crackle and the flames burst up. I pulled back in surprise.

‘Wow,’ I said. ‘That was powerful.’

Were the flames meant to jump in the air like that?

I knelt down and with my arm fully extended took a handful of sand in my fist. I sprinkled the sand over the burning driftwood.

Vicken didn’t need to hand me the book. I remembered this spell.

‘I give you the earth and the water. I call to you, Suleen.’

‘Lenah . . .’ Vicken started to say in a warning tone. He too had noticed the growing flames. I ignored him, keeping my energy and my intentions constant.

‘I summon you, Suleen, to come to us in a time of need.’ I dropped the jasmine flowers into the orange flames. The outline of the door I drew in the sand glowed a bright blue like
the morning sky. Was it working? I needed to help Rhode. Needed to stop him smashing mirrors and performing ceremonial rituals of the Order of the Garter at my best friend’s grave. I wanted
to stop him feeling the pain of seeing me with Justin. I felt a surge of need – someone
had
to come and help us.

‘I summon you!’ I screamed. ‘I call on you, Suleen!’

A blast of orange flames!

The driftwood exploded with a surge of energy like an inferno. It threw me into the air and I flew back, landing on the sand. And then . . .

My arm.

Red-hot flames crawled up to my elbow.

‘Damn it,’ Vicken cried, and scooped handfuls of sand on to the flames. I rolled on to my back and sat up just as the flames extinguished. Swaying back and forth, only then did I
realize that my wrist was badly burned and I was screaming. I hadn’t heard my own terror. I drew in a deep breath. Those flames had come from nowhere. They shouldn’t have grown to that
height. Vicken grabbed the spell book, then dragged me up the slope towards the car, though my feet kept slipping in the sand. I glanced back at the door that I had drawn in the sand and at the now
barely smoking driftwood.