The Vampire's Crimson Kiss (Editing)

Chapter 50*/As thick as thieves

I sat with Ella, but she was too weak to eat. Despite Mary's attempts, I was not willing to leave Ella's side. The nurse had heard about the children we had ridden in with. Mary had explained that the children needed homes, but with the marks of Malphas and Uncle Jimmie, hiding them would be a dangerous task. If Malphas and his coven in exile turned up looking for ours than anybody found hiding the children would be flailed as an example. Her idea was to leave the weakest behind here, take the rest with us in the direction of the black tower, and distribute them along the way out of Malphas reach.

"We need to get to the Tower quickly." Mary said.

"I'm not leaving Ella and the others to the night" I said quietly.

Mary looked down at Ella then up at me "You don't want to leave her or you don't want to meet him?"

I was silent. I had been dreaming of the Dukes bride being shot again. I wasn't sure but he was too. I was worried that if I went there I would cause the shooting. Or perhaps if I got him to reject the duchess I was the bride I was being shot. I knew I was on the razor's edge of time. I could change the future, but I could never be sure which side of the choice I was seeing.

As I sat, gazing into the heavy lids covering Ella's eyes, I could feel Mary's tension. She desperately wanted to get moving; she had also willingly given the Defiance the greatest propaganda victory it could possibly wish for. "They have fed on you, now they want your children. It's so sickening, even their familiars help the children escape."

"A loyal familiar would have killed the children and burned the evidence," said Mary very quietly while Ella slept.

"Why didn't you then?" I asked.

Mary looked away and shrugged. "I guess you're having a bad effect on me, but as far as vampires go, compassion will get you... Did I ever tell you why I became a familiar?"

"I thought you had been captured?" I said softly, so as not to wake Ella.

Mary got up and went over to tend the fire herself.

"I had this friend, I had known her since before we could walk," Mary began, almost as if she wasn't speaking for my benefit. "We were as thick as thieves, as my mother said. We were always there for each other, you know. She had blonde hair, I was the smart one. Remember the music at the Feast of Fools? Its not the only time that music is played, find the right secret place you can hear it week. For a short time, you could get lost in the music and forget who you are, where you are. Liz and I had heard about them and we always wondered what it was like to celebrate the night like that."

Mary looked around

"Everyone told us not to go, so we went. It was my idea; my friend had seen this boy at a party, and we were looking for him. She was too shy to admit it, but she was really sweet on him. We thought he might be going to this club on the lake edge. It was dangerous; the only way there was by boat. Everyone had we shouldn't not to go, we thought if we promised to be back before sunset it would be OK. We had gone along; it was late. She was normally the sensible one, and I was the one who kept pulling us into trouble. The boy wasn't there she want to keep looking. I wasn't sure the Ferryman would strand us in the dark. We ended up having one of those stupid arguments you have. I remember when I ran out they played the song we used to sing."

"'Are you trying to convince me you're made out of gold and can't be sold?'" Mary half-sung. ". So I went to the ferry and left her behind. I shouldn't have done that. So I went home in a stink. She didn't come back that night. And in the morning, I discovered that the familiars had raided the party after curfew. It's really just a recruiting trick. If we pretend to only abduct criminals, when we they are short of new blood, well an unauthorised gathering is a blurred line. "

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"I was told she had been arrested and charged with being out after curfew," Mary said, not looking at me. "I felt terrible, so every night that week I went to every place they told us not to go. I stayed up, hanging around in places, trying to get captured, and eventually, for my sins, I was. I arrived hoping I could find her. Unfortunately, they had just started a coven war. Someone had managed to poison one of the feast maidens with silver in her bloodstream. I searched and searched; I met people who had met her. She was trained to be a feast maiden, and I guess she had been killed during the panic, the assassination. I thought if we were there together, perhaps she could go through it or escape. But I always felt I'd let her down. You know what that taught me?"

I looked over not wanting to disturb Ella.

"I'm toxic to everyone I know and love." Mary said. "I'm worse poison than venom or silver-blood I'm living hemlock. I should come with a warning sign."

"What was the name?" I asked. "The name of your friend?"

"My friend? That was such a long time ago, ten lifetimes or more. Her name was Elizabeth."

I pursed my lips and slowly shook my head.

Ella moved in my arms.

"I don't feel so good," Ella whispered. "Mama, I feel cold."

"You're going to be fine" I said "We escaped the bad man. You're safe now, You're safe in my arms. You always will be."

"I know" Ella said closing her eyes and holding on to me. Mary looked over with and look which could not be spoken. I wanted to use my voices to help her but couldn't think. Her skin was sallow. My eyes burned my tears were carbolic acid in my sockets. Her breathing was so shallow.

"Your going to be safe now." I promised.

Ella's tiny hand let loose its grip on my sleeve. Her skin took on a sallow tinge.

Mary reached over and felt the pulse on Ella's slender arm. She then placed her hand on Ella's head.

"Goodbye, Ella." Mary said softly.

I felt Ella's arm. She was gone. I put her down on the bed and got to my knees.

"No, No, No, No" I said weeping.

"You did what you could. There was nothing you could have done about it," said Mary, getting up. She had seen more than her fair share of death.

I looked up see to the tiny features before me.

"Fuck. Fuck them all." I said getting up. "Let's leave."

I felt if I had met him, see him, touch him, then I could know. I had to know one way or the other.