Of Light and Darkness (9 page)

“Listen, someday I’ll tell you about it, but right now we need to talk about something else.” His bright features faded into seriousness.

Charlotte’s eyebrows mashed together. She had never seen Aiden act this way. She watched him adjust his position so he sat on his knees, his tawny hair feathering a little over his eyes.

The room was completely dark, except for the small amount of moonlight washing in through the foggy windowpane. An apple tree outside cast a veiny shadow on the floor and across her friend’s face.

Aiden apprehensively took Charlotte’s hand again. It made her blush.

She grinned. Her stomach flipped. “What are you doing?”

“I-I wanted to….” He struggled to get the words out. Now she could see his face was turning red. “I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, gazing at her from underneath his ruddy-colored bangs.

She giggled quietly, nervously. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, Evangeline told me about Valek….”

“It’s fine. Really. I think it was just one of those things that happens when you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time…with the wrong person.” She met his gaze on the last word, but they both looked down immediately.

Aiden gently put his warm hand on her cheek—again, much different than the feeling of Valek’s. Her heart jump-started in her chest.

“Almost getting killed isn’t just ‘
one of those things
’,” he said.

She wanted so badly to argue with him. She wanted to fight him away and tell him he and his mother were wrong about Valek, but she couldn’t, because this time he was right.

Valek had scared her within an inch of her life. She understood he had instincts he couldn’t control, but maybe that was exactly what made him impossible to be around now.

“Is your shoulder okay?” he asked, his face inching closer to hers. She could feel his breath on her lips. The hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up.

“Y-yes.”

He kissed her so gently she barely felt it. Her toes curled in her shoes. He pulled away, a question in his eyes. When he saw she was smiling, he kissed her again a little deeper, moving his lips steadily against hers. Her mouth trembled under his, not entirely sure of what she was doing, but knowing it felt good enough to keep going.

She was so lost in what was happening it surprised her when she felt him pull away again, though, keeping his hand around hers. She looked at him.

“That wasn’t really what I wanted to talk to you about either.” He chuckled.

She laughed a little, too.

“I mean, it was something I wanted to do, but there’s something else…” Aiden reached under the couch and pulled out several pieces of slightly crumpled parchment as Charlotte reeled back to coherency.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“This is a list of all the guards and officers employed directly by the Regime. Every one of them has to go through extensive training, background tests—all that stuff.” Aiden fingered through the different pages, searching.

“So? What does that have to do with anything?” Charlotte wrinkled her nose. It made her uncomfortable Aiden never mentioned that his family was part of the Regime. What else didn’t she know about him? Her thoughts flickered back to Valek, probably waiting sadly at home for her, and began to feel like maybe she had just betrayed him in some odd way—the same way he betrayed her. Suddenly, she found herself wanting to leave.

“You remember the Lycan that attacked us the other day?” he asked, studying the papers.

“Yes, how could I forget? It was the same one that attacked Evangeline and me this evening.”

Aiden froze. “Is it?”

“Yes. He had the same unusual scar across his left eye. Do you remember?” Aiden nodded and Charlotte continued. “And it was hard to tell, but it looked like there was an indent left in his head from when I hit him with my bag,” she explained as Aiden nodded again.

“Interesting.” He pointed to a name on the list. Charlotte leaned over his shoulder. “This guy, Alois Vlcek. Look at the picture.”

“The scar….” She traced the pink line down the strange man’s face. “So, what is this Alois employed to do?”

“He was a guard,” Aiden explained. “He was hired to guard this Occult. He’s trained to smell magic blood, which is why you only get attacked when you leave with one of us. Did you ever notice that?”

“That’s true,” Charlotte realized, rocking back on her knees. “When I left to go to my pond that day, I left by myself. And then it was only when you and I returned together that he was there.”

“Exactly. And then you left with Evangeline tonight.”

“Yes.”

“So that’s it.” He folded the list back up. “
That’s
what Father’s plan is,” Aiden mused quietly.

“But why didn’t he attack you when you originally left to come find me? When you were alone?”

Aiden cleared his throat. “I don't know.”

“What are you trying to figure out?” Charlotte pried further. “Wouldn’t your father tell you everything you wanted to know, anyway?”

“No.” Aiden huffed under his breath. “Does Valek ever leave the Occult?”

It sounded then like he was almost accusing Valek of something. “
No
. Valek knows the law, Aiden,” Charlotte fought defensively.

“It doesn’t
seem
he knows the law to me, Charlotte. He brought
you
into the Occult, didn’t he?”

Now, Charlotte was
sure
Aiden meant to accuse Valek of something. It hit her like a ton of bricks and she immediately got to her feet, glaring angrily at him.

“What exactly are you trying to do, Aiden?”

“My father and I spoke about it, and he agrees Valek is in breach of the magic law.”

“That is why that Lycan kept attacking whenever I was with a half-blood, because he isn’t just hunting magic! He’s hunting me with magic! He’s waiting for
Valek!
” Fury rolled from her chest, burning in her throat. Panic set in then. Her heart thudded hard against her sternum. “Why would you talk to your father about us? I am mortal, Aiden! I thought you were my friend! You’ve put us in danger! That’s why we have someone attacking us now! They are making sure Valek doesn’t get away because your father is part of the Regime and, because of you, now they know!” Charlotte suddenly found it too hard to breathe. She shut her eyes as she struggled to control her quivering. Her stomach turned over and over as her mind raced about how she was going to get Valek out of this.

“Charlotte—”

“Trust me, this is not going to do you any good! You’re not taking him away from me!” she yelled, not caring anymore about her volume.

“Charlotte, listen,” he pleaded. “Valek is dangerous!”

Charlotte stared at him, her mouth gaping. “Why are you doing this?” Her voice dropped several decibels, becoming soft and pleading.

Aiden stood in front of her, his massive shadow eclipsing her face. “Come on, Charlotte. You can stay with us. I promise it will be better for you than if you return to Valek.”

“I thought you were my friend.” Without waiting for a response, she pushed past him and started back out into the early morning. She’d made it to the living room when she saw Aiden’s sister, Molly, blocking her exit. “Excuse me.” Charlotte warbled.

“Not until you apologize to my brother.” The little Elf stamped her foot.

Charlotte turned back around to see Aiden leaning sadly against the wall, watching her darkly. She looked back to his sister. “Maybe later, Molly. I really have to go.” She smiled, though the action felt plastic.

The little girl frowned.

Aiden walked over to where his sister stood. The sound of his heavy footsteps thumping on the hardwood seemed more overpowering than normal.

“Come on, Molly.” He hoisted her up in his arms.

“But Aiden!” Molly whined.

He grinned at his sister.

Charlotte’s face burned. “Goodbye, Aiden,” she said definitively, and walked out into the night.

She jumped off Aiden’s porch and onto the path toward home. The bleeding hearts that normally grew a vibrant red and orange along the white fence turned brown suddenly before Charlotte's eyes and shriveled to a gray dust. She gasped and glanced over her shoulder to see Aiden peering at her through a window before disappearing back inside his dingy cottage.

She hugged her wounded shoulders tightly and walked briskly, once in a while jogging for some added speed. The angular eyes of the jack-o-lanterns that had been placed on street corners for the holiday seemed to have begun following her movements as she swept past them. Witches were beginning to decorate. All Hallows Eve was the Witches’ favorite, Charlotte recalled, trying to distract herself from her paranoia. Suddenly, she became painfully aware of just how human and alone she was. She glanced around for followers, when she caught the eye of a particularly wicked looking pumpkin grin.

“Charlotte. Charlotte,” the enchanted thing called after her musically. “We know why you are running, Charlotte. Run faster. Run faster. Until you are safely at home.”

Charlotte let out a soft yelp. The Witch community only enchanted jack-o-lanterns for entertainment. Just a mere prank. Charlotte had to remind herself they weren't actually intelligent.

The rest of the pumpkins that lined the other side of the street repeated like the first one had. “Run faster. Run faster. Until you are safely at home.”

Charlotte crinkled her forehead, and did exactly that. She broke into a fast run. It seemed as though the things were following her. She passed dozens of them in a haze of orange as she ran out of the residential district and finally into the town square.

“Charlotte!”

She screamed and fell backward, slamming into a burlap figure. She let Edwin help her up, dusted herself off. She beamed seeing Edwin, sewn neatly back together, and immediately threw her arms around him.

“Edwin! I’m so happy to see you!”

“Jeez, why are you in such a hurry?” he asked, adjusting his glasses that had been knocked askew.

Charlotte cleared her throat. “I was just on my way back home.” She peered back toward where the jack-o-lanterns were. They were again lifeless and staring blankly forward.

The shiny, black eyes behind Edwin's bottle cap goggles, now repaired at the bridge with duct-tape, went blank. “N-no. I-I don’t th-think that is the b-best idea—” he began to warn again.

Charlotte sighed.
Not again
, she thought. “Edwin? What's the matter now? Is it Valek?”

“No! No! No!” He scratched his head feverishly back and forth. “No! It’s n-not! It's n-not Valek. V-valek. Tr-trouble!” Edwin's head shook violently from side to side like he was about to short circuit. “No!” he said again. His head quickly convulsed to the left once more. “N-no! No!”

Charlotte looked around for someone she possibly knew. Something was going seriously awry in her town. And according to Edwin’s half-baked warnings, it was about to get a lot worse.

No one in the square seemed to be paying attention. There was nowhere else to go but home.

“Valek is in trouble, Edwin,” she concluded. Clouds moved past the moon and thunder sounded somewhere miles away. She wrapped her arms around herself—not to keep warm, but rather to keep herself together. “I have to go.” She proceeded walking again in the direction toward home while Edwin continued to spew.

“N-no! No! No!”

Chapter Nine

Bronze Light

Charlotte burst through her front door, causing the surrounding walls to shake when she slammed it behind her. She glanced down at her trembling fists and held them tightly to her sides, trying to keep them still. She scanned the room for her Vampire, the skin on her arms and face tingling.

“Valek?” Her voice broke when she called him and couldn’t see him anywhere.

Valek poked his head out from the library, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Everything all right?” He took a step from the study to stand before her.

The awkwardness between them reappeared when their eyes met. She quickly looked away, however, relieved.

“No.” She breathed. “Just leave me alone, okay? And stay out of my head!” she ordered as she stomped past him into the kitchen.

Valek said nothing as he watched her go by.

Charlotte tore open the refrigerator door, scanned the shelves for something edible, overlooking the certain drawers Valek used to stash emergency medical supplies. Her stomach started talking to her, which was just part of the reason for her rage. She was always testier when she was hungry, another trait she picked up from Valek.

She pulled out a fistful of carrots, celery, and a chicken breast, and laid them each out on a cutting block. The silver butcher knife she pulled out of the wooden knife-holder glistened off the soft light above the old, gas stove. She feigned unawareness of Valek, who stood in the entryway watching her, concerned.

She started chopping the celery into small, green chunks and then pushed it into a heap on one side of the counter. She pulled out a lackluster pot from the cabinet above the stove, filled it halfway with water from the sink, and set it on the burner. Taking the celery chunks by the handful, she dropped them in the pot.
Miserable, ignorant Elf
. How could she have allowed herself to be so trusting? How was she going to escape the Occult with Valek now that the Regime was watching for him? She needed to devise a plan.

Next, the chicken. She cleaned the meat and dropped the breast in whole—the best way to flavor the stock. Steam lifted into her eyes as she stirred, and she could feel her pores opening. She closed her eyes and inhaled, attempting to calm herself, knowing ultimately, she had to tell Valek what happened.

Finally, she started chopping the carrots, her hands moving fast and furious as she thought about Aiden and the things he told his father. She saw the Wizards’ cogs turning from their high, holy place in the city, and the plans they were plotting against her now. It was only a matter of time. She had to get Valek out of the Occult very soon. She saw Aiden’s lips releasing the secret she had kept for nearly nineteen years. She saw them kissing her—

“Damn!” she blurted out as the silvery knife plummeted to the floor, splattered with blood. “Damn it!” she said again, clutching her wounded finger. She ran over to the brass sink and started rinsing it under warm water.

Valek, who had been lost in thought looming against the threshold, tensed. His pupils engulfed his pretty, blue eyes—gone black as pitch and cold as death. He silently stalked up right behind Charlotte and quickly punched down on the faucet handle, stopping the flow of water.

She spun around, surprised to meet his chest at her eye level. She cautiously looked up into his sable gaze; the blood feeling like it was draining out of her face. She gulped. But his glare wasn’t hungry or scary like she expected. This time it was different somehow.

“You mustn’t curse in this house, Lottie.” One corner of his mouth stretched upward in an agonizingly sweet smile that sent a ripple through her body.

The bronze light created a dull flame in the shiny black behind his lashes, as his fingers began to slide down her arm, searching for her wounded finger. Stuttering incoherently, she meant to protest, but couldn’t find any of the words she wanted to say. He pulled her hand up to his cool lips. She could feel them part under her skin. He smiled down at her again, forcing her to drop her gaze.

He pressed the cut to his mouth and gently sucked.

The pressure sent a new ripple down her spine, causing her to look up at him again. She watched his pleasure with wide, innocent eyes. The inside of his mouth was warm and tantalizing, and she instantly missed the feeling of it when he softly pushed her hand away.

She looked down at her palm that still lingered in his. The cut had completely disappeared. He smiled down at her again.

“I-I…uh—” She stammered to articulate something—anything, but once again came up empty.

He hushed her, putting a finger to her lips. Her heart fluttered as the muscles in her stomach clenched. He lowered his face, so close to hers that she could see her reflections in his black irises. The word “danger” rang out in her mind, but her lips began to ache for his anyway. The effect he had on her was unfair.
Be careful what you wish for.

“I would like to speak with you,” he whispered into her mystified face.

Suddenly, a pounding slammed against the front door, interrupting Charlotte mid-thought.

A foreign voice rumbled from the other side. “Open up!”

Both Charlotte and Valek’s heads snapped toward the foyer. A fist met the door once again, more aggressive than before.

“This is the Regime Guard Force! We demand you open this door!”

A different voice sounded. “We have this house completely surrounded!”

Valek turned his eyes on Charlotte, and she could tell he was tuning in. Chagrin rushed to her face, burning her cheeks. He was going to hear everything; from the kiss, to the argument, to the “goodbye,” to Edwin’s warning. The blackness quickly dissipated, and his eyes turned back to their hard and icy azure.

“Quickly, go to my office. Hide in the freezer. Do not come out under any circumstance. No matter what you hear,” he hissed, clutching her shoulders.

The freezer was where Valek kept his “leftover meals” until he could find a different way of disposing of them.

Charlotte’s arms prickled as the light above the stove flickered out. She tried to think of any other place she could hide that didn’t contain dead bodies.

The first voice boomed again. “We know you are in there!”

“Hurry,” Valek whispered. “Everything is going to be all right. Remember—do not come out. Go!”

Charlotte quickly ran into the other room.

She found her way into the large freezer. She shivered in the coldest, darkest corner, farthest away from the door, surrounded by lumpy, black, body bags. They sat like grave markers clumped too close together. The stench was light, but even freezing could not stop the rotting decay. She shivered again.

All her thoughts writhed and spun in her mind as she sat, clutching her head in her hands, imaging Valek being taken away. Her heart slowed down. It felt like it might just stop, frozen to death with fear. She buried her face in her knees and swallowed her scream. She began to quiet her mind and tune in to what was happening outside, trying desperately to hear the muffled voices.

***

Valek waited until he heard the office lock click before he started toward the front entrance. He made an attempt to relax his shoulders and then gracefully slinked to open the front door. He met five burly guards on his doorstep.

“Good evening, gentlemen. How may I help you?” He flashed a grin.

“The Vampire Ruzik?” One of the guards from the threshold of the house questioned.

Valek grinned. “Who’s asking?”

“We are under the impression you are hiding a human child in this home. Would you consider that statement truthful?” The guard—a tall fire Elf with a waxed head and slanted eyes—spoke officially.

“As is plain before your eyes, there is no one here but me.” Valek gestured to the inside of his house.

“You did not answer my question,” the officer grumbled. “Mr. Ruzik, are you aware it is against the Regime Code of Magic to keep human pets?”

“No.” Valek clenched his jaw at the notion anyone would refer to Charlotte as a
pet
. “A human child does not reside here. If one did, I can assure you it would not be in their best interest.” Valek flashed his pearly fangs.

“I do not find you charming, Mr. Ruzik.”

“Nor I, you,” Valek said.

“May we have a look around? As a formality?” The officer asked with erroneous politeness.

Valek tensed slightly but the guards didn’t wait for a response, shoving their way inside.

The squad bypassed the library, with only a few quick glances, and made their way into the kitchen, one of them parting from the group to stomp up the stairway.

Valek searched frantically through his mind for a solution. The evidence of Charlotte was everywhere.

The officer in command bent to pick up the bloody knife from the kitchen floor as he eyed the mess of food. “Making dinner this evening, Mr. Ruzik?” he asked, lighting the stove with the power from his hand. It created a dingy light against the dull sheen of the pots and pans. He sauntered over to Valek. “Funny. I didn’t think
your
kind ate carrots.” He brought the bloody end of the knife so close to Valek’s nose that the pupils of his eyes bled out the white like spilled ink. The muscles in the back of his throat tensed as the familiar burning flared again.

“I would advise you to keep your distance, Mr.…”

“My name is of no concern to you.” The officer ran his index finger across the bloodstain on the shiny blade and rubbed the gore between his index and thumb.

The guard who had gone to search upstairs ran into the kitchen clutching the sleek, white arm of Evangeline, yanking her behind it. “Look what I found.” The guard’s voice was rough like gravel. He shoved the Witch forward, causing her to stumble into Valek’s arms.

She looked up at Valek, who quickly tuned in to her thoughts.

“A Witch?” the first guard asked.

“Yes.” Valek wrapped his arm affectionately around her shoulders. “This is Evangeline.”

“I thought you said no one was at home with you, Mr. Ruzik.”

“I
thought
no one was at home.” He looked to Evangeline. “My love, when did you get back?” Valek suppressed a gag over those words and forced another smile.

Evangeline blinked at him, and then to the guards. “Uh...I um...just a little while ago. I was upstairs, obviously.”

“I don’t need to hear an explanation. I think this evidence will be enough for the Regime.” He held up the bloody knife. “But just in case—” He snapped his fingers, sending some of the other guards off in different directions of the house. “We’ll take the child, too.”

“You will not find what you seek,
Elf
. ” Valek ground his jaws together.

The officer started to pace. “I saw the sign out front. You are a doctor, Vampire?” he asked, coolly, the hint of laughter forming tauntingly around his words.

Valek hissed.

“Well, who knew a leach could be so intelligent? I’m sure this town is really going to miss you.” The officer smiled.

Valek said nothing.

“You know,” the Elf started again, “we are cleaning your kind out for good.”

***

Upon hearing their footsteps from the freezer, Charlotte shut her eyes tight. She remembered the drawers of clothes she left open in her room. The kitchen was a mess. She brought her hand to her chest to feel for the whistle that normally hung there, remembering the last time she saw it was just outside the Occult border.

If she and Valek were going to make it through this, if they were able to escape, she vowed to mend the falter in the relationship that divided them. She vowed it to herself
and
to him. She didn’t care what kind of creature he was, or what instincts he struggled with. He was the most important thing in her entire world, and nothing was worth doubting that.

Charlotte heard voices draw nearer and pressed her ear hard up against the icy door.

***

“What do you mean?” Valek asked through his gritted teeth.

“You…
people
, for lack of a better word, have been contaminating our air for too long. It’s Vladislov’s orders.” The officer leaned in close to Valek’s face. “Don’t you think it’s time you crawled back into your crypt and stayed there?”

Valek wanted so badly to rip out the Elf's jugular with his fangs but he quickly concealed them under his lips. He tried to cool the stolen blood that was now a river of fire under the ice in his face.

***

Charlotte heard the heavy footsteps getting closer to the freezer door and quickly scurried to the back corner again, trying to find the very deepest shadow to hide in.
This was it. This was the end
. She wrapped her arms tight around her knees in an effort to disappear completely.

A thin stream of sickly sterile office light filtered in as the door slid slowly open.