Deception (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 3) (4 page)

~ Chapter Five ~

As we headed into fall, or autumn as my Australian friends would say, life went back to a pattern again. Not an exciting one, but a predictable one. I enrolled in two more classes up at the college so I’d be at school two nights a week. It was a slow way to get a degree, but at least I was making some progress, and it kept my mind occupied for several hours a week.

David’s visits were now well and truly a thing of the past. And even though in some ways I was relieved, it was also a bit of a letdown. I guess I’d been flattered by his attention, or maybe it was more than that. Maybe, on some level, I’d needed to feel like I was still desirable. But it seemed that Susan was now getting all his attention, and he hers. In fact, I hadn’t heard from either of them for months.

But David and Susan weren’t the only ones who had stopped contacting me. Although I continued to send weekly emails to both Sam and Crystal, I hadn’t had a response from either of them for ages. Australia, and the life that I had thought I’d be living, felt further away than ever.

Ceylona was the one constant in my life. And I had to admit I was thankful that she was becoming so demanding of my attention—it didn’t leave me a lot of time to dwell on things that might have been. Approaching two and half, she’d gotten way too big to push in the stroller. But because I had to run, I joined a local gym that had a childcare area. It wasn’t the same as running in the park, but I’d get on the treadmill for an hour while Ceylona played with the variety of toys and the occasional child of another member. This was fine, so long as she was allowed to bring Archie. She seemed to be able to sit and chat with him for hours. Of course he didn’t answer back, but she would have these long conversations in a very soft little voice. And even though I couldn’t quite hear her clearly, I did get the sense that the words were more than just toddler gibberish.

Yes, Archie had turned out to be a complete success. Not only did he come to the gym with us, but he was also with us for every trip to the beach and the park. And most nights Ceylona held him tightly as she drifted off to sleep. There’d been no more talk about wanting a dog. Archie seemed to have filled that role completely.

~~***~~

As Christmas came around again I thought about asking Sam if he could come, but in the end I decided it was best for everyone if I didn’t. But we did have one man at our table on Christmas Eve. Raye invited a new boyfriend, Luke, and decided to turn on all her culinary skills to impress him. Indeed, dinner was extraordinary. The table was set beautifully, and the meal was without a doubt the most elaborate and delicious Christmas dinner we’d ever had.

It was easy to see the strong bond between Raye and Luke, and I was happy for her, definitely. But watching them together also sent pangs of longing through me. I hated the jealousy that overcame me, knowing she and Luke might have something that Sam and I could never have—a normal family life. It was awful, having these conflicted feelings, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I put on the bravest face I could, and tried to remind myself that I really was happy for Raye. I struggled through the evening with polite but sparse conversation.

Luckily, I slept well and when I woke, Ceylona was already up and out of bed. I found her sitting on the floor in the living room, legs and arms crossed as she stared at the Christmas tree and all the presents that had appeared overnight. Seeing how happy she was diminished the jealousy I’d felt the night before, and I reminded myself how lucky I was to have her in my life.

When the others finally got up, we began to open the presents, and each time Ceylona was given one to open, she drew in her breath and opened her eyes wider than the last time. She carefully opened each one, and made all the appropriate sounds as she admired each gift.

Amongst them was a huge box sent up by Claire that held a set of brightly coloured plastic shovels, buckets and moulds for the beach. Ceylona started playing with them straight away, pretending to be shovelling things into the little buckets. Finally she looked up at me and smiled, and asked when we could go to the beach.

I felt a slight pang of sadness that Sam wasn’t here with us, but then I sighed and remembered to feel grateful for all that I did have. What did I have to complain about anyway? I had a wonderful family. Mom, Ceylona, Raye—they were my family. And in actual fact, I had two families. Sam, Ben and Henry, Crystal and Michael, Debs and Ian—they were still my family, even if I couldn’t be with them right now. I was the lucky one. I just had to keep reminding myself of that.

~~***~~

Winter pressed on, and the cold wet days made it harder for me to get outdoors with Ceylona. We still made it to the park and beach now and then, but mostly we stayed indoors. And on the bleak days, my mood became sullen, and I found it hard to take my mind off Sam. I hadn’t heard from him for ages, and it was obvious that even though I constantly thought of him, he was getting on without me.

But then spring arrived. The weather improved, and the days got longer. Flower gardens started showing signs of new growth, and the beach and park beckoned more regularly. We spent more and more time outdoors, and both Ceylona and I seemed happier for the fresh air. Each day my spirits seemed to lift, and I once again found I could sometimes go a whole day without thinking about Sam and the life we would never have.

Then in the first week of May, three weeks before Ceylona’s third birthday, we had one of those rare windless days where the cloud cover is so thick that the sun doesn’t have a chance of even casting a shadow. These were my favourite days to go to the beach because even though it wasn’t cold, there were never many people around. Generally, on days like this, I could let Ceylona run around without fear of her getting in people’s way. I decided we would bring a picnic lunch and make a day of it.

Sure enough, as we pulled into the parking lot there were only two other cars there. The beach was deserted, and the kayaks and windsurfers hadn’t even been put out for hire. Crowds were not expected on a day like this.

I laid our blanket on the sand in our usual spot, and plunked our basket in the middle. I sat on the edge furthest from the water facing toward it. Archie sat in the middle of the blanket leaning up against the basket, and Ceylona camped on the corner to my right so she could sit on the blanket and still play in the sand. Slowly, and with great determination, she started taking her plastic shovels and moulds out of their bag, and organised her buckets according to size, in preparation to start making sand castles. I knew she’d want to go to the water’s edge to fill the buckets with water, and I also knew I could trust her not to get too wet. She’d learned how to stand to keep her feet just out of reach of the water.

Once she had her water, she sat down to start making shapes. Still keeping one eye on her, I gazed over toward the hill at the far end of the little beach. I hadn’t ventured that far with Ceylona yet, given that she mostly wanted to play in the sand, but the way she was growing, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she’d be capable of much longer walks. Some of the paths weren’t overly steep, meandering back and forth up to the top of the hill and down the other side. In summer the hill was covered with cool shady spots under the canopies of the beautiful old eucalyptus trees that also acted as windbreaks. There were picnic areas, and even a playground. It would be a nice change on a hot day. That was something to look forward to over the coming months.

When I turned my focus back to Ceylona I saw that she was staring at a jogger who was coming toward us with two big Labradors—one yellow and one black. Ceylona was quite intent on the trio and for a moment I wondered if it might be the same lady we sometimes saw at the park near home. I stared too, trying to work out if I recognised her, but in the end I decided it wasn’t her.

She was jogging at a nice slow pace, and wore a set of those little earphones, no doubt listening to music as she focused on the path in front of her. She glanced in our direction as she passed, but didn’t slow, and didn’t acknowledge our presence.

As the dogs passed right beside us, Ceylona stood up and took one tentative step toward them. They slowed and looked at her, but the woman must have noticed they were no longer with her, as she turned and whistled and they looked up toward her and trotted to catch up. I figured she was probably heading for the top of the hill, up one of those lovely paths I’d just been remembering.

Ceylona’s disappointment was written all over her face. I could tell she’d wanted to pet those friendly looking dogs. She stood watching them until it was obvious they weren’t coming back.

Eventually she gave up, and turned her attention back to her buckets and shovel. But after just a few minutes she stopped. Her head came up suddenly, as though she’d heard something, and she turned and looked back behind me, in the direction of the parking lot. I hadn’t heard any cars pull up, but perhaps one had. I turned to follow her gaze, expecting to see a car, but there were no cars; just a man.

He was tall, and dressed in a long dark coat covering what appeared to be a dark business suit. He didn’t look like he was ready to spend a day at the beach, but perhaps he was just taking his lunch break at a picturesque spot. Yet if that was the case, I wondered how he’d gotten here.

As he walked toward us, or rather toward the sidewalk that ran alongside the beach, I looked back toward Ceylona. Her little body had stiffened, and she’d gone quite pale.

She looked at me, and in a very soft voice like the one she used when chatting to Archie, she said, ‘Bad man, Mommy.’

As she spoke, I could feel all the hairs on the back of my neck, my arms and my legs stand straight up. A cold shiver ran down my spine. I looked at her, and in the calmest voice I could muster I said, ‘Ceylona, honey, what’s the matter?’

‘Bad man, Mommy. Man has eyes like Ah-chee. Bad man,’ she repeated, in a voice that was barely audible.

Ceylona was clearly upset, and my instincts were telling me it was time to go, but I couldn’t move or take my eyes away from the man. He was walking directly toward us, but when he reached the sidewalk, he turned to his right to walk in the same direction as the jogger had gone. I let out the breath I’d obviously been holding, then looked past him to where I could still just see the jogger, further along the sidewalk. His attention was clearly focused on her, and thankfully, he didn’t even seem to notice we were there.

My first thought was of David, stalking me in Burlingame Avenue that day—waiting for me outside the children’s shop. Could this man be a jilted boyfriend of the jogger’s? Was he following her? If so, he’d have to be careful—her dogs were big, and no doubt protective.

I sighed with relief as I watched him continue to get further and further away from us. But when I turned back to look at Ceylona, she looked far from relieved. In fact, she was still as pale as if she’d seen a ghost; and not a nice one like Elizabeth either.

I stood and walked over next to her. Then, reaching down to take her tiny little hands in mine I said, ‘Ceylona, it’s okay, the man is gone. Shall we go home now, sweetheart?’

But she shook her head, and looked in the direction he’d gone, and said, ‘Bad man, Mommy. Must stop him. Bad man.’

And then for some reason I turned my attention to Archie, sitting there in middle of the blanket. His little face was looking right at me, with his shiny black nose, and his bright eyes that looked quite red in the natural daylight.

And suddenly I felt lightheaded, and I had to fight to remain upright as a dizzy spell tried to engulf me. Ceylona had said the man had eyes like Archie. Archie had red eyes.

I looked at Ceylona, and as calmly as possible asked, ‘Sweetheart, did the man have strange eyes?’

Her face was still as pale as before, but she was frowning, and it even looked as though her teeth were clenched.

‘Yes, Mommy. Bad man. Eyes like Ah-chee. Very bad man.’

A shiver ran down my spine again, and I could feel the hairs on my whole body standing upright as the confirmation of what she’d seen hit home. She’d seen through his illusion. Ceylona had spotted her first vampire.

~ Chapter Six ~

I stood there as if in a dream, still holding her hands, knowing my mouth was wide open but powerless to shut it. I felt as though a cloud of heavy fog was smothering my brain, preventing me from thinking clearly; preventing me from taking any action.

Then I felt Ceylona tugging at my hands. I forced myself to look down at her and saw the look of determination on her tiny little face.

‘Must stop him, Mommy,’ she said, staring at me with such intensity that it seemed to cut through the fog.

I don’t know why I did it; in fact, I don’t even know that I was thinking so much as just doing. I bent down, and grabbing Ceylona by the arms I slung her around behind me, pulling her arms down around my neck. I grabbed her legs and started to run as fast as I could in the direction of the jogger, calling back to her, ‘Hang on tight, sweetie.’

The woman had just started to go up the hill, and the man was not far behind her. I imagined he was letting her get up toward the trees, rather than confronting her, or attacking her, in the open.

I made a wide berth around him as I passed, and caught up to the woman within a few more strides. Then I ran past her and turned, stopping directly in front of her. She had no choice but to stop as well.

‘What the?’ the woman said, pulling the earphones away from her face, and glowering at me for interrupting her run.

I had no idea what to say to her, and wasn’t even sure what to do next, but then I heard Ceylona’s soft voice whispering in my ear, asking me to put her down. I obeyed, without even questioning the action.

As soon as I put her down, Ceylona stepped between me and the jogger, then turned her face toward the man, who was now coming up directly beside the jogger.

‘Stop!’ she shouted at him, her voice stronger and clearer than I’d ever heard it.

He stopped, looking almost startled. Then he threw his head back, laughing; it was the most sinister laugh I’d ever heard.

‘You’ve got to be kidding, right? You think I’m afraid of two women and a kid?’ His voice was low and guttural, and it was almost as if he were growling the words rather than speaking them.

‘Stop! I’m warning you,’ Ceylona repeated.

The two Labradors had been off the path to the left of the woman when we’d approached, but now they stood on either side of Ceylona, facing the man. Their hackles were raised and I could hear low growls emitting from their throats.

He laughed again, only this time it was less threatening—almost a nervous laugh. Somehow the sound calmed me a little; he was no longer so confident.

Ceylona stood her ground but nodded her head just slightly, and the dogs each took one step forward.

I saw the man look at the dogs, then back at Ceylona. He was obviously no longer so sure of himself. His nostrils flared and he squinted, and I thought he was about to attack. But then he growled out, ‘Oh, forget it.’

Maybe I blinked, slowly. Or maybe I closed my eyes. But either way, he was gone, and I didn’t see how it happened.

The jogger, who hadn’t said a word through the whole thing, sat down on the ground in what almost looked like a graceful move, but I knew she was struggling to keep from fainting. I knew the feeling.

Ceylona, however, was fine. When I looked down at her, she was in her element, with the two dogs still standing on each side of her, tails wagging and tongues licking her cheeks as she giggled.

The jogger soon regained her composure enough to say, ‘Wow, thank you. That was … something else.’

‘Did you know him?’ I asked, suspecting the answer would be no.

‘No, I’ve never seen him before.’

‘Well, I’m awfully glad we were here today.’

‘Yeah, you and me both,’ she replied. ‘Funny … I come here a lot … and up until now I always felt safe with the dogs. Not that I actually thought they’d do anything, but just that they might discourage this sort of thing.’

‘Yeah, well, he looked like he was up to no good. That’s why we followed you.’

‘I’m awfully glad you did; thanks again. You’re a very brave little girl,’ she said, speaking directly to Ceylona now.

‘Me not brave … doggies brave,’ Ceylona answered, not looking up but still petting the dogs, an arm around each one’s neck.

‘And they’ll be well rewarded tonight for their bravery, that’s for sure. I’m going straight to the grocery store and getting two giant steaks for them.’

‘Not that I want to tell you how to live your life,’ I began tentatively, not sure what to say to her, ‘but maybe it isn’t so safe running here. At least not on days like this … when there aren’t many people around.’

‘Yeah, you’re probably right. Anyway, I’m Kate. If I see you again, I’ll be sure to say hello. Thank you, again, really, thank you so very much.’

‘I’m Lili, and this is Ceylona, my daughter. And you’re very welcome.’

‘Thank you, Ceylona. Oh, and this is Ted and Alice. The black one is Ted.’

Ceylona looked up suddenly, and a little panic swept over her face as she turned to me and said, ‘Ah-chee, Mommy. Must go find Ah-chee.’

‘You’re okay then?’ I asked Kate, feeling anxious to get moving.

She stood up then, and brushed herself off. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Go on, I’ll be right behind you. I’ve had enough of a cardio workout for today, that’s for sure.’

‘Do you need a lift anywhere?’

‘No, my car’s in the parking lot, but thanks anyway.’

We quickly walked back to our spot on the beach, and as we got close I could see that everything was just as we’d left it. Archie still sat in the middle of the blanket, and the buckets and other toys were there too. Ceylona ran to Archie and picked him up, holding him close to her chest. Still looking around for signs of the dark stranger, I picked up her buckets and shovels and other toys, and rolled up the blanket and shoved it into the basket.

We were packed up in record time, and when we got to the car Ceylona climbed into her car seat without any hesitation. Once she was safely buckled in, I went around to the other side of the car and sat down behind the wheel, locking the doors with my elbow as soon as I sat. But it must have been several minutes before I could stop shaking enough to drive. And all that time, I kept watching in the rear-view mirror; first, as Ceylona sat humming and cuddling Archie, and then, as she dropped off to sleep, her little head nodding until she couldn’t fight it any longer.

My sweet little daughter, my little blonde-haired-blue-eyed angel, who never cried, and never got sick, had just had her first encounter with a vampire. And she was as cool and unaffected by it as a seasoned professional—just like my dear friend Crystal.