A Vampire's Life Book 2

Chapter 18

I look at Patrick, peacefully sleeping as the effects of the poison wear off. It is strange to see him sleep, when we rest he normally has his eyes only half closed. Slowly his chest rises and falls, breathing normally and quietly. His eyebrows press together; the pain must still be filtering its way through his body. I wish that I could do more for him, but my only relief is that he is safe, he is alive. He may have a scar on his shoulder forever. Our bodies were quite good at repairing itself but there was something about the poison from the yew that permanently damaged the skin. His only hope would be if Alina was a good healer, if she did it right she could have removed all the poison and repaired the wound. One of the maids had brought in another shirt for him, offering to dispose of the one he was wearing. It was ripped, bloodied and dirty. My hand ran over the print on his shirt, sitting over his torso. It was the same shirt he was wearing the night we met, the patterned skull with two roses. I couldn't bear to see it disposed of so the maid offered to launder it and repair it, reassuring me that it would be ready before we leave. She was a sweet and timid young woman, her blonde hair pulled back into a bun, the maids outfit she wore was pristine and perfect. As she helped me put Patrick in a new shirt to keep him warm we chatted. Then she produced a blanket a few minutes later and covered him. He needed warmth but the day was far too warm to have the fire going. She fussed over him like a mother would and asked me what Elm'nyth was like. Her eyes were alive with excitement when I gave her a brief but hopefully an elaborate enough description of my world. Then she told me she was due for long service leave, having worked for the king for a very long time, she was thinking of going to Elm'nyth for a well-earned break. I could see that she wanted to sit and chat, she was desperate for information about her holiday destination. But in the end she dejectedly returned to her duties, unable to fuss over Patrick any more, she had no other alternative.

For an hour now I have sat and played games on my phone, otherwise useless in this realm, it serves the purpose for passing the time. That is until I lose the last of my remaining twenty percent battery life. I can't even plug it into a charger because this damned realm doesn't have electricity. I couldn't stand living here, no phones, no computers, no hair dryers or straight iron, no cars. Everything is by horse and carriage, or walking. Some people have bicycles but the majority of the people here use horses.

The door opens and a woman walks in, tall and thin, long blonde curly hair. Her eyes are amazing, a golden bronze colour, truly stunning. I haven't ever seen anything like them. I knew what this meant, I've heard of this woman. The whispers that people said about her, the woman with the stunning eyes. If she brought out the leather pouch, your life was about to change. This woman was the Phoenix, a vampire that was as old as time itself, unlike other vampires who were born by their parents, the Phoenix was created by our maker. To think that this woman who walked confidently into the room was as old as the land itself was unbelievable. She looked young. I knew that it was the way that most vampires lived, we all aged extremely slowly but she had some serious years clocked on her odometer and she looked no older than late twenties.

"Alina, Terrance would like to speak with you."

"Sure."

She walks over and sits in front of the lounge on the floor.

"I'm Miranda, Terrance's wife."

"Lilly."

She grins. "I know who you are."

"Really? How come?"

She pulls out a leather pouch with a deck of large cards in it. Uh-oh.

"I know lots of things."

She hands the cards to me, gesturing for me to kneel in front of the coffee table with her.

"Shuffle them."