The Ambrose Clique - now published on Amazon

16 - Dreaming of Vampires

- updated -

The recreation room had been set up for a party. Strobe lights gently pulsed blue and purple and the melancholic crooning of a mystical male singer filled my ears. But the room was empty.

And then Aurel arrived. She slipped in through a side door and smiled at me, a secret smile as if we were both in on some great mystery. She wore a long black dress that elegantly clung to her curves.

It was mesmerising to watch her dance to the slow music, twisting her hips and bouncing her curly, raven hair as she threw her head back. She turned back to me and smiled, the smile that would always pull me closer to her. Sensing that, Aurel lifted up a hand and beckoned me closer with her index finger.

Helpless, I stumbled towards her, captivated by her grace. Once I got closer, I noticed that her deep red lipstick had been smeared around her lips and onto her chin and that her eyes glowed peridot – a colour far brighter than their usual darkness. Her smile widened until it exposed long, sharply tipped canines.

Aurel stepped to the side and laughed, a melodic laugh that my ears missed as soon as it stopped. I forced myself to pull my gaze away from her and to the object on the ground.

It was a girl, crumpled and broken as if she had been thrown aside like a doll. The same shade of red as Aurel's lipstick was smeared on the girl's neck. A black scarf covered her face.

Aurel stepped closer, her smile still as inviting. She grinned at me again, before leaning closer and closer to my neck.

* * *

I shot up, gasping. A surge of anger washed over me for turning Aurel into a nightmare, completely replacing my fear.

I prayed that this was just a nightmare, not another vision. From what Thea said last night, my dreams seemed more accurate than most.

Oh god, last night. I couldn't be the clique's next feast. There had to be a way out of this.

The door opened, yanking me from my panic. Daisy walked in, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a pink sweater. She smiled brightly at me and sipped her coffee.

"You're up!"

"What time is it?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Around ten, you're not too late. I was gonna wake you, but you looked exhausted. But, I did bring you breakfast!" She threw a brown paper bag at me. It was full of warm hash browns and buttery toast. No soggy cereal today.

"Thank you. Have you got any plans today?"

Her eyes flitted to the window, out into the forest, for a millisecond before she answered. "No, not really. Have you?"

"I was thinking of going to the forest with Felix and Clover, but I wasn't sure. I haven't really been in there much since I've arrived. I wanna see if I can find anything." I wanted to catch her out, but I knew I had to be careful. Daisy was kind and I didn't want to hurt her. Still, they were planning my death.

Daisy smiled in confusion. "Oh, I do have another thing for you."

"What?" A small, silly part of me hoped that Aurel would just walk through the door.

"A message."

"Message?"

"From Aurel." She sounded cautious, as if she knew that I knew more than either of us were admitting to. There was every possibility she did know.

"What did she want?" I tried to quell the excitement growing in my chest; it couldn't be a good message.

"She wants you to stay out of the forest, and to stay out of meetings you weren't invited to." I knew Daisy wasn't telling me this maliciously, which made it worse. Her innocent voice gave the message more of a sting; it enraged me. A storm erupted in my chest and poured out my throat.

"Where is she?" I hissed. Daisy's eyes turned into saucers, but I couldn't let myself feel too bad. If she had told me what was going on, none of this would've happened. If she was really my friend, she would've told me. She wasn't my friend.

She kept her mouth shut, shaking her head at me.

"Where is she?" I demanded at the same time the bookshelf crashed to the floor. Books spilled out, clattering louder than they should have.

"Calm down, May." She tried to put her hands on my shoulders and comfort me; I twisted out of her grasp, violently shaking her off.

"Look, I heard everything last night. I know I'm going to die, so you may as well just let me see her. Her father will kill me soon enough and you won't be burdened with me."

"We won't fail this year, we'll protect you!"

I didn't reply, I just glared at her and her empty promises. Made by a group that didn't care about me at all. She glanced out of the window again, and looked shiftily down at the floor.

"We had to make an oath last night that we wouldn't take you to her. You're not supposed to know anything, and she's trying to reform herself. All I can tell you is that you should retrace your steps." She raised her eyebrows at me as she sipped her coffee.

Without another word, I stormed out. The door flew open before I reached it, although there was no wind or a draft in the building. My mind was a whirl of anger as I was consumed with the betrayal of my friends. I could barely wrap my head around the fact that I was going to die. I was trying to push it out of my mind and focus on something that I could do right now – find Aurel. Something told me that I'd feel better when I saw her.

I tore myself out of this mood to blink at my surroundings. I was at the pond, where I spent my first night. I was glad to be here; I needed some time to think and calm down. And work up an apology for Daisy.

I heard a sigh from somewhere close by; there was someone else here. A figure sat by the pond, on the ground in front of the log. She was sat on her coat, used as a makeshift blanket, leaning closer to inspect the water. Her pale shoulder blades stuck out of her back like wings about to rip through her skin. She was so translucent that I feared there was every possibility of it happening.

I walked closer to her, and sat down on the coat.

"So, do you come here often?"