Safety is Relative

Chapter Thirty One- Silver Dreams, Cold Blue Reality

Silver collides with blue, in one foaming, rushing moment. And in that moment, I feel a strange twist in my stomach, like I’m going to be sick. The dark forbidding forest on either side of me seems to dissolve, and strangely all I can seem to think of is that silvery colour, like liquid steel, melted mirror, a shiny coin, a lonely moon.

‘Rue!’ he yells, and the moment shatters, my thoughts scattered like petals on the wind.

I blink, and his outline blurs. Suddenly he’s in front of me, his arms outstretched to grab me, and I panic. My hand moves without me even thinking, shoving the stake up. He pulls back, gasping in pain. His eyes are dark as they look at me, and thankfully then he looks down, down to where my make-shift stake is sticking out from his side.

There is an outburst of laughter from behind him, and I can see the original three people finding this very funny.

I just stare at the stake. I just staked someone, a vampire. My first stake. I can’t quite believe it. This whole situation is so ridiculous, so surreal, that it could quite honestly be a dream. I will wake up in my bed, and I will never have shoved a stake into a vampire, never have felt the jarring as the wood splits, the skin parts, and the blood wells up.

‘Rue?’ He says softly, gently, but there is something else in his voice. Something hoarse at the back of his throat. ‘Rue, why did you do that? I’m not going to hurt you.’

‘Stay away from me,’ I say shakily, trying to keep in control. I feel like crying myself.

He frowns. ‘Rue, it’s me. It’s Nate. Don’t you remember me?’ He sounds so anguished that I feel even more confused.

‘I’m sorry for staking you, but please leave me alone! Let me go back to my home, and I promise I won’t say anything!’

He pulls the stake out, wincing.

‘I’m sorry!’ I blurt again, suddenly imagining the stake hitting me, my own skin parting beneath it. And I don’t think a vampire would be so soft-hearted as to stab my side.

The laughter behind us grows louder. In one swift turn, Nate turns and throws the stake at them, his movement so quick and precise that I have a flashback to the javelin. I don’t see the stake flying over, but the lean man, Dudley, ducks suddenly, his grin fading from his face as he rises back up. ‘You’re trying to stake me now, nephew?’ he hisses, stalking forwards. ‘That’s against the law, and you know it. So calm down, because a second time I won’t forgive.’

Nate bends down, and sweeps up a whole load of sticks. He throws these, one after the other, like a hail of bullets, in his uncle’s direction. Dudley and the other two scatter, throwing themselves to the ground.

Nate turns back to me, his voice low and urgent. ‘Rue, it’s me. It’s Nate. You have to remember who I am.’

I shake my head, too past any words.

He grabs my hand, even though I try to pull it free. His other hand touches my jaw, pulling my head to his level. I try to look away, but eventually my eyes flick to his, and they are caught there. His eyes are glowing gold, and they are so mesmerising I can’t look away. He’s so beautiful, and their golden depths are so warm and comforting. They draw me away from the dark cold forest, to a place where we are alone, surrounded by mist.

‘Rue, you have to try and remember, okay? I cannot do this on my own,’ His golden eyes search mine, looking for something, anything, to give him hope.

I nod, too sleepy from his soft voice to talk.

‘Think about me, you know who I am. You can remember me.’ His hand strokes my cheek. ‘You know me, remember? You know who I am. Come on, Rue. You know me, you know Nate. Really fit, annoying, about this high?’ His laugh is strained. ‘You know me, don’t you?’