Tainted Blood (14 page)

Oliver ended his call and pulled something out of his front pocket. I watched as he unfolded a hinged piece of metal that turned into a long, thin key. He looked around, checking the buildings overhead and the street in the distance; he then got down on one knee beside the manhole in the center of the road. He stuck the key into a very thin hole.

“What is he doing?” Kiera questioned.

No one answered. Oliver pounded on the cover a couple of times and I heard the same pattern being pounded from the underside of the manhole. He turned the key, and I heard two loud clicks. He removed the key, folded it back to pocket size and stuffed it back into his front pocket. The lid slowly slid to the side, and a hole to the underground tunnels was revealed.

“Carter,” Oliver began, “I want you to go in first and help get the girls in safely as I keep watch out here.”

“Sure thing,” Carter agreed and hopped into the hole like it was something he did every day.

Kiera, looking rather stunned, shouted, “Wait!” But Carter was already gone.

“Zoey, you’re next,” Oliver said, and she nodded at him. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and whispered in my ear, “Stay right beside me down there, okay?” I nodded and became even more uneasy.

Was there something dangerous down there?
I wondered as I watched Zoey sit down on the edge of the hole and scoot off the rim, dropping inside.

“I am not getting in that hole!” Kiera protested. “What are we doing down there anyways? We’re going to get in trouble.”

That is when I realized we’d forgotten a very important detail; Kiera still didn’t know Oliver was a vampire or that our little tree filled town was crawling with them. Oliver realized our mistake at about the same moment, and it showed across his face, as I’m sure it showed on mine when our eyes met.

He told her not to worry about it and ushered her little body over to the opening, helping her inside. She protested the entire time but he lifted her little frame and dropped her down the hole, and she screamed.

Once she was out of sight I said, “How could we forget that she doesn’t know?”

“I don’t know.” He ran his hands down his face and let out a frustrated growl.

“What are we going to do?”

He shook his head and exhaled. “I don’t know, but we need to hurry up before they close the tunnel.”

He guided me to the edge then very gently dropped me down into the arms of my friend. I tried not to scream but it was hard not to when you were being dropped into a deep, dark hole.

Carter caught me easily, and I was impressed by his increased strength. He smiled at me proudly, like he was impressed by himself, then he set me on my feet beside Zoey and a wide-eyed Kiera.

Carter stepped aside, and Oliver landed, in a crouch, gracefully in front of us. The cover to the manhole began to slide closed then it clicked into place, and I heard it lock. It was an ominous sound.

The tunnel was well lit, and there was a vampire in a windowed booth just beside us. He gave Oliver a small wave, and Oliver returned it. Oliver took my hand in his, but before we could make our way through the tunnels, Kiera asked again, “What are we doing down here? And why do you have some sort of key?” she directed that second question right to Oliver.

Oliver, Zoey, Carter, and I exchanged panicked glances, and then Zoey pulled a lie out of nowhere which put Kiera at ease. “Oh, didn’t Laney tell you?” she said with all the conviction she could.

“Tell me what?” Kiera’s eyes narrowed on me. I stepped closer to Oliver and wrapped myself around his arm.

“Oliver got a job with the city. They use these old tunnels to get around town more quickly.” Zoey’s smile never faltered, and had I not known better, I would have believed her.

Kiera eyed Oliver and me, and I smiled and nodded like it was totally true. I was pretty sure that Kiera only partially believed this story. But she accepted it and even told Oliver, “Congrats on your new job.”

He thanked her then called out, “Civilians coming through!”

My head still felt strange, and my body was beginning to ache from all of the walking. It didn’t help that I only had one shoe. Thankfully, the tunnels had smooth walkways, not all dirt and gravel like I’d pictured. I imagine I would’ve paid more attention to my surroundings had I not been so incredibly tired.

My friends were silent as we made our way under the town. At one point we were able to hear muffled sounds of the festivities going on overhead.

There were quite a few vampires stationed throughout the tunnels. I saw several booths like the one back where we had entered the tunnel system, and each one contained one or two vampires. They’d each give Oliver a quick wave or a nod of acknowledgement then go back to their business. It made me wonder if trafficking “civilians” was a regular occurrence through the tunnels.

Oliver asked me why I’d taken off, and I told him. “It’s those damn witches,” he muttered, and I squeezed his hand to keep him from saying something he shouldn’t in front of Kiera. He flashed me an apologetic smile.

I noticed that the tunnels went off in every direction, and it was cold and smelled kind of funny. But they were dry and well lit. I also noticed lots of closed doors and asked about them. Oliver told me that they, the Brookehaven Vampires, had living quarters in the tunnels and that several of the vampires resided there. That did not sound appealing to me at all. But, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for a paycheck.

For some reason it seemed like it took longer to get home in the uncrowded underground tunnel system than it usually did above ground. It was probably because I was so exhausted and cold. I made a mental note to make sure that whatever costumes Kiera picked out for us the following year were going to have some warmth to them. I thought maybe I’d suggest Pooh Bear and his friends. I could see Kiera as Piglet. That thought really made me smile.

Chapter
6 - My Mother’s Ghost

Once I was snuggled in my nice warm jammies and had my fleece blanket wrapped tightly around me, I cuddled next to Oliver on the couch in his apartment. Zoey had headed home as soon as we’d gotten back to the complex and Kiera and Carter were in the kitchen making something to eat.

In quiet whispers Oliver asked me what had happened, and again, why I’d wandered off. When I told him, he explained that he was pretty sure witches were messing with me and that he was almost certain Madam Habitha had a hand in it.

“But why would she do that?” I asked very quietly.

“I truly do not know, Laney.” He kissed the top of my aching head then wrapped his arms around me.

After Kiera and Carter’s snacks were ready, they joined us in the living room to watch TV. They’d made nachos and offered us some. Of course Oliver declined, but so did I. I still wasn't feeling well, so I just closed my eyes and listened to Kiera ask Oliver about his new (fake) job. He tried evading her questions but she was persistent, super persistent. Finally he made something up about what he did; it was something to do with meters and office work and she seemed to buy it.

The next thing I knew Oliver was carrying me to bed. I faintly recall him snuggling up behind me as I rolled onto my side and I remember him kissing my neck, but that was it. I was out.

It was dark in the bedroom when I woke and I was freezing. I tugged on my fleece but Oliver was on it and he was…asleep. But Oliver didn’t sleep. I was about to try to wake him when I heard the echoey voice of a woman say, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A chill ran up my spine and I slowly turned in the direction of the voice.

There, just beside the far side of the window, stood a glowing figure. But not bright glowing, more like shadowy, almost transparent, like a shimmer. Fear shot through me and I scrambled back until I was pressed against Oliver. The shimmering figure took a step toward me. She reached her hand out and smiled. “Oh, baby, don’t be frightened.”

I was dreaming. I just had to be. There was no way Oliver would be sleeping and definitely no way my mother’s ghost would be standing before me. There was just no freakin’ way!

“I’m dreaming,” I said in a rushed breath and the ghost of my mom dropped her hand. I continued to push myself against Oliver hoping he’d wake, or that I would. He didn’t budge.

“Delaney,” the ghost said, and her voice was all too familiar. It stirred up hidden memories. Memories I would’ve been too young to remember when they’d taken place, memories of my mother when she was alive.

There was a courtyard with a large, dark stone fountain in the center, and there were flowers, lots of flowers, everywhere. My mother—young, beautiful, and alive—was sitting with me in a grassy area near the courtyard. She was making a wreath of little white flowers. She placed the wreath on my head like a crown and with the warm smile that I’d seen in so many photos she said, “For my sweet princess.”

“You can’t be real,” I breathed. “You-you can’t be here.”

“But I am.” She smiled that same warm smile at me and crossed the small space between my side of the bed and the window. She was outlined in light blue, like she was wearing a flowing dress but I don’t think that was it. She sat on the edge of the bed, which didn’t move, and faced me.

Oliver stirred but didn’t wake.

“How are you here?” I whispered.

“It’s the veil.”

“The what?” I said ever so quietly, but I knew immediately what she was talking about.

“The veil between the living and the dead is at its weakest during Samhain.”

My brain was slowly processing this information. She was speaking of the veil Oliver had told me about and I remembered him saying that
word: Samhain
. Then I remembered what he’d said about the witches.

“You’re not just some witch playing tricks on me, are you?”

“No,” she smiled at me so lovingly. “It’s really me.”

I wanted to believe her but I imagined that a witch playing a trick on me would have said the same thing.

“Delaney, it’s really me.” She continued to smile.

I stared into the ghostly blue eyes of my mother for a long moment then decided that I would believe her, because more than anything, I wanted it to be her. That’s when the tears started to push their way to the surface. I wanted to say so much. I wanted to ask a million questions and I had no idea where to start. So I finally asked, “Can I touch you?”

Her head tilted to the side just slightly and her dark, ghostly hair slipped down her arm. Her smile continued as she lifted her hand toward me. I lifted my own hand and gingerly touched my fingers to hers. It was like static and it was cold. Really cold, like the way I’d been feeling all night.

“How long can you stay?” I asked.

“Not long, I’m afraid.” Her smiled faltered.

I sighed. My mind was reeling; I didn’t know what to say to her.

“I’ve already seen your father tonight,” she said. “He told me about the death of my sister and that you recently called him.” I just stared at her in response. There was no way a witch could have known about my conversation with my father. “He misses you terribly, as do I,” she continued, her ghostly blue eyes met mine with such intensity that the tears that had been threatening to fall spilled over and I wiped them away with my sleeve. “He did what he thought was right by letting my sister raise you. Please try to be understanding, Delaney. He means well, he always has…” she trailed off and her ghostly eyes glittered. “Please don’t cry, baby. It just makes me ache even more at the fact that I cannot make the pain go away.” She smiled but I saw the pain that she was trying to hide. “This may seem a bit selfish, but I need to know that you are alright, that you are happy. I need to know that my baby girl is okay.”

I smiled through the tears. “I’m happy,” I said softly. I wasn’t all that sure about being okay, yet.

Her gaze fixed on Oliver’s sleeping body for a moment. “You love him?” she asked quietly.

I nodded in response.

Her ghostly eyes were back on mine. “He is good to you?”

I nodded again.

She smiled slightly then turned her eyes away from me. She focused on her hands resting in her ghostly lap. “I wish I could have been there for you, be here for you now. I wish I could have watched you turn into the beautiful woman you have become.”

The tears continued to fall and my nose began to run. I wiped it all away on my sleeve again and nodded in agreement to everything she had just said in her echoey, ghostly voice.

“I need to be going, sweetheart,” she said, her eyes meeting mine again, a sad smile touching her lips. “I wish I could hug you.”

“Can we try?” My voice was choked with emotion.

Her smile brightened. “We can, it just won’t be the same.”

“It’s better than nothing,” I said through choked sobs.

She opened her arms to me and I crawled toward the ghost of my mom and tentatively leaned toward her, afraid I’d just fall right through her. I didn’t. It felt a little strange, but knowing that my actual mother was holding me in her arms made the weirdness fall away and all that was left was nothing but love. And cold. The coldness was still there. I sobbed in my ghost mother’s arms and felt the
staticy
feeling of her hand brushing my hair as she tried to comfort me.