frail woman; her cheekbones hollow, her breathing ragged. I climbed onto the hospital bed and curled into her side, as I had done every day for the past couple of weeks and the feelings of despair began to suffocate me. Tears easily filled my eyes and trickled in a steady stream down my cheekbones.
‘Hey, it won’t be long now Jessie. I’m here and I promise you I’ll never leave. I’ll be here whatever, okay? Whenever you need me, I’ll be here.’ Luke’s voice calmed me, as he stroked my cheek and held my mother’s hand.
‘Jessie, Jessie, my sweet girl. You have so much ahead of you and I’ll watch you every day, honey. Don’t cry.’ My mum’s voice whispered in my ear, and her hand shook slightly as she stroked my hair briefly, before letting it rest across my body.
‘Mum…’ My voice caught in my throat and I couldn’t say anymore.
‘Honey, go and fetch you father for me please. I think he went to the cafeteria. I want you all with me, okay?’ she said.
‘Can’t Luke go?’ I asked.
‘No, I need a word with him. You go. It won’t take a minute.’
Luke nodded and smiled and I reluctantly climbed off the bed. Why was he taking up time with my mum? Precious time. Old feelings of bitterness began to creep into my head, mixing with the feelings of despair and anguish, curling and broiling in my gut. Something niggled, a recent memory, something Luke had told me, but I couldn’t quite hold onto it and I frowned as I turned away from him.
‘Ooh! Cancer will always produce some dark feelings, feelings of despair and anger, but I’m not sure we’ve seen it all yet, have we Jessie?’ The witch suddenly appeared in the doorway and I looked back at the bed, startled to see both Luke and my mother gradually turning to dust and blowing away. In fact everything began crumbling around us and I soon found myself standing in a wasteland with nothing but the witch.
‘Jessie, Jessie,’ the witch jeered at me smiling. ‘Now that’s a name I recognise. Let’s see if you are who I suspect you might be,’ she added.
I frowned, trying to shake the dark feelings which were still clinging to me and frantically thinking through all the spells I had learnt over the last week, to see if there was anything that might get me back to Brittany, or Luke. But as I had no idea where I was, or indeed where Brittany was, I didn’t really have any clue what to do. And then for some inexplicable reason, she released me.
The wasteland was gone, she was gone and I was sitting on a beautiful Victorian four-poster bed. The room was dark and chilly, illuminated only by the filtered glare of the yellow streetlights outside. A movement on the other side of the room startled me and I looked towards it. Sebastian strode towards me, his expression thoughtful.
‘So Jessica, I’m giving you the choice. You can choose their fate. It is they who changed your fate, so it seems only right that you get to choose theirs…’ he said, perching on the side of the bed.
Oh no! The girl gang! The girl gang who had stabbed me and left me paralysed and dying in the street. The girl gang I had chosen to save. I’d only wanted to scare them, frighten them off and teach them a lesson, but Sebastian had found out and made me choose between their deaths or wiping their memory and letting them carry on… they couldn’t be allowed to know of the vampires in Manchester, and our secrecy came first. Had I made the right decision? I’d set them free. I was haunted by every crime they committed since which went unpunished. Some weeks after my decision, a local girl was attacked with a glass bottle. Her life had been saved, but she had lost the sight in one eye and had permanent scarring down her cheek. The police had no evidence and there were no witnesses. The girl was too scared to prosecute. I knew who was responsible and I had set them free. The emotions bubbled over once again. The total fear from the night they attacked me, the raw hate
‘Hey, it won’t be long now Jessie. I’m here and I promise you I’ll never leave. I’ll be here whatever, okay? Whenever you need me, I’ll be here.’ Luke’s voice calmed me, as he stroked my cheek and held my mother’s hand.
‘Jessie, Jessie, my sweet girl. You have so much ahead of you and I’ll watch you every day, honey. Don’t cry.’ My mum’s voice whispered in my ear, and her hand shook slightly as she stroked my hair briefly, before letting it rest across my body.
‘Mum…’ My voice caught in my throat and I couldn’t say anymore.
‘Honey, go and fetch you father for me please. I think he went to the cafeteria. I want you all with me, okay?’ she said.
‘Can’t Luke go?’ I asked.
‘No, I need a word with him. You go. It won’t take a minute.’
Luke nodded and smiled and I reluctantly climbed off the bed. Why was he taking up time with my mum? Precious time. Old feelings of bitterness began to creep into my head, mixing with the feelings of despair and anguish, curling and broiling in my gut. Something niggled, a recent memory, something Luke had told me, but I couldn’t quite hold onto it and I frowned as I turned away from him.
‘Ooh! Cancer will always produce some dark feelings, feelings of despair and anger, but I’m not sure we’ve seen it all yet, have we Jessie?’ The witch suddenly appeared in the doorway and I looked back at the bed, startled to see both Luke and my mother gradually turning to dust and blowing away. In fact everything began crumbling around us and I soon found myself standing in a wasteland with nothing but the witch.
‘Jessie, Jessie,’ the witch jeered at me smiling. ‘Now that’s a name I recognise. Let’s see if you are who I suspect you might be,’ she added.
I frowned, trying to shake the dark feelings which were still clinging to me and frantically thinking through all the spells I had learnt over the last week, to see if there was anything that might get me back to Brittany, or Luke. But as I had no idea where I was, or indeed where Brittany was, I didn’t really have any clue what to do. And then for some inexplicable reason, she released me.
The wasteland was gone, she was gone and I was sitting on a beautiful Victorian four-poster bed. The room was dark and chilly, illuminated only by the filtered glare of the yellow streetlights outside. A movement on the other side of the room startled me and I looked towards it. Sebastian strode towards me, his expression thoughtful.
‘So Jessica, I’m giving you the choice. You can choose their fate. It is they who changed your fate, so it seems only right that you get to choose theirs…’ he said, perching on the side of the bed.
Oh no! The girl gang! The girl gang who had stabbed me and left me paralysed and dying in the street. The girl gang I had chosen to save. I’d only wanted to scare them, frighten them off and teach them a lesson, but Sebastian had found out and made me choose between their deaths or wiping their memory and letting them carry on… they couldn’t be allowed to know of the vampires in Manchester, and our secrecy came first. Had I made the right decision? I’d set them free. I was haunted by every crime they committed since which went unpunished. Some weeks after my decision, a local girl was attacked with a glass bottle. Her life had been saved, but she had lost the sight in one eye and had permanent scarring down her cheek. The police had no evidence and there were no witnesses. The girl was too scared to prosecute. I knew who was responsible and I had set them free. The emotions bubbled over once again. The total fear from the night they attacked me, the raw hate
Similar Books
