The Violet Line (3 page)

The phone rang, causing me to jump nearly clean out of my skin. I scooped my mobile phone up from its position on the couch beside me; the caller id read ‘Mom’. I hadn’t spoken to her yet today and we never went a whole day without contacting each other.

Sliding the phone open it answered the call, “Hi mom, how’s things?”

“
Hmmm grand and you?” She didn’t sound too happy in the way she answered.

“
Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked,

“
Oh nothing; I just hadn’t heard from you today and I was concerned.”

It hit me then why she sounded so worried. “No, Mother, Sam isn’t here and I’m fine; he hasn’t tried to eat me yet before you ask!”

Mom was one of the old school parents. They had always known that vampires and other things existed, but they didn’t believe that people should have anything to do with them.

Mom knew about Sam; she knew that he was a vampire but she didn’t approve of me dating him. Every so often we would have the same argument. Why couldn’t I find a nice human boy to date; why did it have to be a vampire? Didn’t I realise how dangerous they were? Wasn’t I watching the news? I knew all her arguments and she had made very good points. The only problem in all of this was the small issue of my being completely head over heels in love with Sam. No matter how dangerous he was, I loved him and I wouldn’t give him up; I trusted him implicitly. Mom believed that trusting him was my greatest flaw, that it was only a matter of time before he betrayed that trust and attacked me.

“
Don’t take that tone of voice with me; I’m your mother and it’s my job to be worried and concerned for you, especially when you’re seeing that…- vampire.”

It nearly choked her to have to actually call him a vampire. In the beginning she had thought up some more choice names for him but it seemed we’d gotten past that point at least. I softened my voice, “I know you worry, but really there’s no need. Sam’s gone out, he’ll be back later and work was fine, boring as usual.”

We settled into a more relaxed conversation then, chatting about our respective days work and the fact that there was never anything on the telly worth watching. She didn’t mention Sam again until we were saying goodbye. “Tell Sam I said hi,” she said, her voice quiet.

“
Thanks mom, I’ll tell him.”

I couldn’t keep the happiness from my voice. This was a big step indeed; she had never wanted to include him in anyway.

“
Sweet dreams Jade.”

“
You too, Mom. Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Our conversations always ended on this note; it was a throw back to my childhood when she would tuck me up in bed and well some habits are comforting and you never really grow out of them.

Putting the phone down, I switched the TV off. Sam should be home soon; it was starting to get late. I wandered out into my kitchen area and spotted his jumper flung over the back of a kitchen chair. Picking it up, I held it close to my face and inhaled deeply; it was comforting, it smelled just like him: fresh, clean and something that was uniquely all Sam. I pulled it on over my head and switched off the lights as I made my way to bed.

Laying there in the dark I cuddled down deeper in his jumper, pretending he was beside me and that it was his arms that were wrapped around me and not just the sleeves of his jumper. I wanted to wait up for him but surrounded by the warm comforting smell of Sam I drifted off to sleep, still fully dressed and on top of the covers.

The sky was a crackling purple and blue mess. I was on my side in the water, the sea roared behind me. I couldn’t understand what I was doing here; it all felt strange.

Turning my head, I looked behind me. The sea boiled and raged and the waves crashed down among the rocks. Even though I was lying down in the water, the frothy foaming mess never touched me. The water lapped gently around my body as I continued to lie there.

Turning my head the other way, I could see a giant muck encrusted cliff face stretching up above me into the purple and blue mass that was the sky.

He called to me. Sam called me. I couldn’t see him but I could hear his voice; he sounded panicked. I tried to drag myself towards the sound of his voice but the water was so heavy and kept tugging me back. It soaked through my dress, making it weighty; I found it difficult to move forwards. I began dragging myself through the water towards the cliff face.

I could see Sam now. He was standing at the bottom of the cliff calling me, his arms outstretched waiting for me. I pulled myself through the water faster trying to reach him. I could see the top of the mucky cliff face beginning to crumble. I opened my mouth to scream for him to move, to be careful; couldn’t he hear it breaking off?

The sound of the cliff face breaking up roared in my ears; no sound left my mouth. I had no voice; I tried to scream again but still nothing. The tears ran down my face in hot scalding lines, mixing with the salt water of the sea. My arms ached from the effort of trying to drag the dead weight of my body through the water. I watched it falling towards Sam; I was helpless to stop it.

Sam disappeared in front of my eyes, buried beneath the weight of the rock and muck that had fallen from the cliff face. Even as it had fallen on him he had still called me until I couldn’t see him anymore. The dead weight of my body lightened and I pulled myself to my feet. Dragging the dress up out of the water, I splashed through the shallow water lapping around my feet and ran as fast as I could towards where I had last seen him. Reaching the edge of the debris, I noticed that if I hadn’t seen it fall on him, I would have simply thought this was all just a part of the cliff face.

I began calling Sam, my voice came out in a cracked hoarse whisper. I dug at the rock and muck, sliding this way and that trying to find him; it seemed an impossible feat. I was determined. I dug until my fingernails were nothing but a bloody mess and still I searched. My hand closed around his fingers. Through the gap in the dirt and the rock I could see him; his eyes didn’t open even though I called his name. The more I dug, the further he seemed to sink in the black dirt. His eyes opened slowly and he smiled when he saw me. “I love you, Jade, remember me.” I opened my mouth to tell him to hold on, to dig up – anything! – but he suddenly sunk into the black mire that had formed and was swallowed into the cliff face.

I looked at where my hand had held his only moments ago and howled in agony. It felt as though my heart and soul had been ripped completely from my body. I looked up through my tears at the sky as drops of blood red rain began to fall. They splashed around me and onto my face, the bloody rain coated everything in its ruby colour. I began trying to climb the cliff face, trying to find some way to follow Sam, but it seemed impossible. I howled and screamed my frustration. I had to get to him, to find him; I refused to believe he was gone. I tore at the rock face, scrabbling for foot holds, anything just to get to him.

The smell of death surrounded me, clinging to my hair, my clothes. It invaded my nostrils and made me gag. My foot slipped on the cliff only to be grabbed by something from below. I looked back as a revenant dug its claws into my ankle and began dragging me backwards.

I screamed and it smiled, showing me a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. I kicked out at it, trying to knock it off balance, anything to get away.

“
I enjoy it when my dinner fights back; I love a challenge.” It crawled up beside me still holding my leg. It smiled again, licking its lips before sinking its teeth into my side.

I woke up screaming Sam’s name, tangled in the bed covers. Sweat had plastered my hair to my forehead and I was trembling. I didn’t know what time it was. I got up and looked at my mobile; it read 9.30am I shook my head; that had to be impossible.

I padded out of the bedroom and into the sitting room. Sam was nowhere to be seen and there was no sign of him having returned. I shook my head thinking my phone time must be messed up and I opened the curtains only to be blinded by the dazzling cold but bright light from the morning sun as it flooded in around me. I stood there in the light, the cold fingers of dread clawing at my stomach as I looked at the light. It was daytime, sunny and Sam hadn’t returned home from his hunt. Sam always came back after a hunt, particularly last night when he knew I was so worried. So where was he?

I picked up my discarded phone and punched the number I knew by heart into the keypad. It rang and rang until the voice cut in to say the person I was calling couldn’t be reached. I sat down hard on the edge of the sofa, still staring at the bright light flooding in, calling his phone again but still to no avail. I repeated this action over and over, all the while as the panic built inside me. Sliding to the floor I felt numb all over. Sam was missing.

I knew the feeling I’d had yesterday was something important. I shouldn’t have ignored it and the dream I’d had terrified me. What had happened to him that he couldn’t answer the phone or even come home? I hugged my arms to myself as a shiver racked my body. I’d had a premonition that something awful would happen to Sam and now he was missing. Getting up off the floor, I slowly made my way into my room to get dressed. I needed to find him.

Chapter Three

Sam moved like a shadow. He knew nobody would see him and even if they did, they really didn’t stand a chance against the power of the gaze that he could command. He sat on his haunches like a cat coiled and ready but his was the unmoving variety. He watched and waited for his opportunity. He could stay like this for hours if need required it; being a vampire gave him the ability to become still, as still as the grave. Movement wasn’t necessary, just a welcome distraction most of the time.

While he waited, he thought back over his conversation with Jade. She had seemed so concerned. It was true she always worried when he went out on a hunt, but this time he had sensed something different in her concern. Somehow this time around, her power was connected to her worry. He had never seen that to happen before and it had surprised him. Of course, he hadn’t told Jade about what he had felt; that would have just concerned her more.

That wasn’t the only thing that was concerning him right now though. Lately as he travelled around the city, he had caught their scent hanging in the air like some sort of bad smell that he couldn’t shake. He had never noticed their presence here before. They never bothered with a place unless there was some sort of trouble brewing or a vampire had gone rogue or, and this was the part that was really worrying him, there was something in that place that they wanted for themselves.

Jade’s power had grown since he had first met her. She had much better control over it now and she could also control how much she wanted her victim to feel. Of course there was the odd time that she forgot to hold it in check, usually at the most inopportune moments, and he had found himself flat on his back. Looking back at it made him laugh; her face was always such a picture when things like that happened she never intended for it to escape her but heightened emotion tended to make it a bit unpredictable, and well he didn’t mind it happening. Sure it hurt like hell at the time, but once that passed everything was fine with no lingering side effects.

He frowned; their scent had become a lot stronger since he’d been crouched here. Peering around the wall of the building he was behind, he glanced up and down the road. Nothing; a few leaves blew across the empty street but that was it.

Letting his breath escape in a whoosh, he slid around to the back fire exit. Slipping his long fingers into the gap in the door, he gave it one sharp tug and the lock gave way, letting the heavy fire door swing outwards.

He used this same facility every time to collect blood. The workers here weren’t too particular and never seemed to notice a few packets of blood going missing. Either they were heedless or perhaps they too agreed it was better for vampires to get blood this way rather than attacking humans. He shuddered at the thought; if he slept anymore or could even dream, he was sure it would be haunted by the memories of those he had killed when he had been young and dismissive of the human race.

Raking his hand through his hair, he shook his head as though with just this simple action he could clear his mind of all the horrors that threatened to overwhelm him. Burying the thoughts and images down inside himself, he strode in through the now wide open door. He was feeling a bit reckless and knew deep down that he should be more cautious but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Walking down the well lit corridor to the metal double doors at the end, he heard footsteps hurrying towards him. He ducked back into a darkened doorway as a man in a smart suit rushed past him. Sam waited until he could hear the man talking to someone else in an office down the corridor. The other voice belonged to a woman and it sounded as though they were having some sort of argument. Sam didn’t waste any more time listening to them; he had business to attend to and Jade was waiting for him. Feeling satisfied that there was nobody inside the storage area, he ran to the double doors and pushed them open.

Slipping inside, his eyes immediately adjusted to the dark room; he could see just as clearly in the dark as in the light and he navigated the room without issue. Collecting the packets and putting them into his rucksack, he wondered what Jade was doing at that moment; was she thinking of him as much as he was thinking of her? Rushing he closed the bag and flew out the door. To a human he would appear as little more than a blur speeding past them, but luckily he met nobody in the hall.