Page 18 of The Rising Dark
“I’m glad,” Michelle said, and tucked her legs onto the seat.“I’m sure it will turn out to be nothing.I’m just a nurse.”
Lavinia wasn’t one to cast runes or look for omens, but Michelle’s words sent a shiver up her spine.It felt like the words were tempting the gods—and they were vengeful if dared.
“Of course it will be fine,” she said.But for the first time since she’d met Michelle, she wasn’t so certain.
Chapter Ten
Michelle lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling.She had opened the blackout shutters, allowing some of the light from the moon and the stars to spill into the room around the curtains.The absolute blackness with the shutters closed had created a claustrophobic darkness that made her nervous.Her muscles ached, protesting every time she shifted, but it was a satisfying ache.It reminded her of her own strength, allowing her to claw back the tiniest bit of control on this weird rollercoaster of a day.
She’d called her mum earlier and had given a rather pathetic attempt at an excuse for why she wouldn’t be coming to her house for Sunday dinner this weekend.Mum, shrewd and an inveterate matchmaker, immediately asked, “Do you have a girlfriend?Can I meet her?”Unbidden, Michelle’s mind flicked to Lavinia, and her protests sounded half-hearted even to herself.But then again, she could hardly tell her mum, “Actually, I’m currently holed up with a beautiful vampire and her Sisters in a safe house somewhere in the north.And by the way, they think I’m a witch.Funny, huh?”She could easily imagine her down-to-earth mother immediately dialling the emergency hotline to report her missing, or to request some psychiatric help.If anything, it was probably best that she thought that Michelle had met some woman and had retreated into a love bubble.
She turned again, staring at the unfamiliar contours of the room.Strange, distant noises rose through the walls, the settling of the old house adding to her distraction.Mrs.Frost had made her a lovely dinner of risotto and a garden salad.She’d eaten by herself, apparently very much out of sync with the rhythms of the vampires.Her thoughts burst at the seams with questions about vampires, about witches, about demons, about anything and everything she didn’t know.She ran her hands through her hair, untangling some strands.She sat up, looked at her phone.Half past four in the morning.She let herself fall back, counted some of her breaths, then rotated through some other relaxation techniques.
Nothing was working.Her eyes sprang open again as if of their own accord.Her body was tired, her mind exhausted, but rest wasn’t forthcoming.Groaning and fighting sore muscles, she rose from the bed, her bare feet finding the soft carpet.She pulled on a pair of old leggings and pulled her jumper on over the T-shirt she’d worn to bed.She opened the door into the dark corridor.Nothing moved.No voices rose from downstairs to act as a beacon for her to hone in on.
She thought back to her first night here, and Lavinia’s explanation of the layout of the house.She’d said her room was on the same floor, but in the other wing.Michelle padded to the grand staircase.She squinted at the light spilling from the chandelier on the ceiling as she passed into an identical but mirrored corridor on the other side.Unsurprisingly, a row of doors met her, most of them closed.Lucretia’s warning about locked doors echoed in her mind.For a moment she cursed herself for her impulsive quest for company, then pressed on.
She wasn’t sure what she was looking for—it wasn’t like they had conveniently put little name tags on the doors.She continued, starting to feel rather silly.What was she doing, creeping around this house full of vampires in the middle of the night?She should just go back to her bedroom, try to fall asleep again.Surely, she’d succeed at some point.
Still, her feet carried her forward, following the bend of the corridor.Darkness encroached, and she wished she’d brought her phone to use as a torch.A click—a door opening?A shadow moved towards her.
“Ack!”Michelle jumped backwards, the image of a demon looming in her mind.
“Michelle?”A deep, smooth voice.Lavinia’s voice.Of course.Lavinia stood in the door opening of what Michelle assumed was her room.
Michelle willed her heartbeat to slow, but her whole body had tensed for a fight.That should teach her not to skulk around like a thief in the night.
“Did you need something?”Lavinia asked.Her hand moved along the wall, and, with a soft click, illumination sprang to life around them.Lavinia looked as neat as always, her ponytail slicked back and hanging straight down between her shoulder blades.There were no marks of tiredness on her face whatsoever.Perhaps for vampires, half past four in the morning felt like one in the afternoon did for humans.
“Well,” Michelle said.Why did she suddenly feel bashful?“I couldn’t sleep.So I thought I’d come and see what you were up to.”It sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud, and she immediately wished she could take it all back, retrace her footsteps, and just hide in the bedroom.Lavinia had to think she was pathetic—she surely had more important things to do than try to assuage her insomnia.
“I was meditating,” Lavinia said.“I find it can provide some clarity sometimes.”
“Oh,” Michelle said.It wasn’t hard to picture Lavinia sitting in perfect stillness for hours; there was something incredibly self-contained about her.Had she interrupted her?There was no trace of irritation on Lavinia’s face.
“What do you usually do when you can’t sleep?”Lavinia asked.
Well, she usually dropped off the moment her head hit the pillow.Being on her feet all day at work was exhausting, and dealing with people doubly so.“I don’t know actually.It’s never really been an issue before,” she said honestly.
Lavinia contemplated that.It was odd how seriously she took everything.Warring emotions swirled within Michelle—on one hand, some embarrassment for making a big deal out of this.On the other, growing appreciation of Lavinia’s kindness.
“Maybe I can watch some TV?There isn’t one in my room, and I haven’t seen one downstairs yet either…” Her voice trailed off.Maybe vampires just didn’t watch TV?It was hard to picture them all relaxing.They always seemed to be either preparing to go somewhere or having mysterious meetings behind the closed doors of Lucretia’s study.For a moment, Michelle pictured the warrior Sisters crocheting together or visiting a theme park, and she suppressed a smile.
“Of course you can.Let me show you the TV room.”Lavinia immediately burst into action, clearly relieved to have something to do.She led Michelle deeper down the corridor.“There are actually two, but we rarely use the one on the second floor.”She opened a door on the left-hand side and revealed a cosy room with a large sofa curling around two sides of the room, angled towards what looked like a very expensive and very large TV.Lavinia stepped inside and turned on a table lamp that cast a warm yellow glow across the soft fabrics that covered the room.
“Have a seat,” Lavinia said, as she grabbed the remote control from the coffee table.Michelle planted herself on the sofa, tucking her bare feet underneath her.Before she could say anything, Lavinia had quietly placed a grey throw blanket beside her.Gratefully and feeling somewhat like a princess, Michelle spread the throw across her legs.
“Would you like anything to eat or drink?”Lavinia asked.
Would it be too much to ask for more?But then, Lavinia gave no indication of being annoyed or keen to get back to her meditation.“Maybe a cup of tea?”Michelle said.“Mint if you have it—anything without caffeine.”
“Sure, I’ll go get it for you.”She handed over the remote.“There should be some of those digital subscription services on there.If you can’t find anything you like, though, we also have a video and DVD library upstairs.”
“I’ll have a look, thank you,” Michelle said.Lavinia slipped back into the hallway, and Michelle turned on the TV.Lavinia’s words had been quite the understatement.The home menu showed all of the well-known subscriptions, and many she didn’t recognise, some of them in foreign languages.If she couldn’t find anything in here to watch, then she didn’t know where she would.Although the idea of a videotape library did sound fun.
She navigated towards a familiar logo and foundHarrogate Homicides.She hadn’t watched the latest episode yet; she had planned to, when she was walking home only a day ago.It suddenly felt like huge swathes of time had passed since then.There was an insurmountable rift between the Michelle she had been before, and the Michelle who carried all of this knowledge of demons and vampires within her.
Lavinia returned with Michelle’s tea, the liquid releasing steam with the refreshing scent of mint.Someone had placed a little biscuit next to the porcelain cup lined with delicate blue flowers.Mrs.Frost?Or had Lavinia done that herself?
