A Vampire's Life Book 4

Chapter 14 - Ethan

Stella arrived about ten minutes after Montana took Josie into town, luckily she had an appointment that would get her away from the house while I discussed the mark, the blood. Stella paced back and forth in the formal lounge, thinking about the revelation. She was going to wear a line into the carpet very soon. Back and forth, mumbling about it, asking me over and over again about what happened. It wasn't what I had in mind for today, regaling everyone of what I had been up to. Once was bad enough but Stella kept pouring over the events like there was some new piece of information that might arise. Of course my parents were so very happy to have to repeatedly hear about my night time activities. My father just rolled his eyes and I think if my mother could blush, she would have. Not something that they wanted to hear about their son. And Claude, well he just grinned at me. My parents were accustomed to the habits of their second born son, the tart who screwed any woman, human or dark being.

'This isn't right.' Stella mutters, kneeling in front of the coffee table.

From the bag that was beside the table she pulled out one very large leather bound book, thumping it to the table with a huff. On the cover was a snake biting its own tail, the name on the book had once been embossed with gold. Now it was faded from time, barely showing a scrape of its former glory. She turned through the first few pages, running her finger down the lines of cursive writing. Someone had painstakingly written the entire book. Page after page of stunning script, flowing freely in perfect lines. Another page was flicked over, Stella frowned harder. Her delicate eyebrows pressed into what looked like one long line. Those strange copper eyes squinted as they darted back and forth over the text, searching for the clue.

'Could you make the marking out?'

'Sort of.' I shrug.

I was a little distracted.

'Circle split into quarters, markings within the quarters.'

She continues to flick through the pages. Muttering and mumbling as she scratches her nails into that head of hair. Hair is probably not the right word to use for Stella's mess. Today she looked more like her former self, the ratty blonde hair was a mass of tight unkempt curls. She was wearing her glasses, still with one arm broken, taped together with sticky tape. I didn't understand why she just didn't wave her fingers at them and fix them. Her eyes peered over them at me, like two highly polished copper coins.

'Did I tell you that I ran into Kendall?'

I shake my head.

'Quite by chance actually. I was in town searching for the potions master. Such a pain he is.' she shakes her head as she squints her eyes 'Never sits still for one second, always worrying about the humans finding out what he really sells. Instead of just...'

'Stella, what about Kendall?'

'Oh, sorry.' she grinned 'So I was on Central Avenue, that's where he had set up his most recent shop. I was about to leave but then I remembered about your little friend's problem and that I needed a particular herb that he carries. He of course had it out the back.' she did little air quotes.

My father looks at me with the look of boredom. Stella frequently gets off the track, needing to be brought back in on a regular basis.

'So I was waiting and waiting, thinking he had gone to plant the bloody seeds for this damned herb to grow me a fresh batch when the always delightful Kendall walked into the little makeshift shop. She tried to pretend I wasn't there, scooting off along one of the aisles.'

Stella pursed her lips with a squint. There was an end to this little tale somewhere in the not too distant future. I was hoping for one.

'Anyway, long story short, I rounded the end of the aisle and waited for her to realise that I was waiting for her. Too busy looking through the shelves to notice that I had moved. Such a fool.' she rolled her eyes 'So I bailed her up over it and she said that she did no such thing, she hasn't cursed a human in at least a year, been too busy with the council chasing her about the Clovis Market attacks.'

'So what is with the death mark then?' Claude questions her.

'Why did the doctors tell her she has cancer?' I add in.

She sighs as she rubs the side of her head, narrowly avoiding the broken arm of the glasses.

'Maybe she does have cancer.' she shrugs.

Gasping as she flicks the page, turning her head to the side slightly as she looked at the picture. Her frown deepens as she reads the text, her muttering getting louder. Then she stops like some kind of revelation had hit her. Her mouth was agape as her head rose from the book, looking at me.

'Is this it?'

She turns the book around, a more defined picture than the mark on her back, but it looks very similar.

'Possibly. It was rather feint.'

Stella claws the book back across the table and closes it before I could read any more about the mark.

'I will return tonight after dark. Make sure you are all fed and ready for my return.'

I watch with utter confusion as she packs the book away, her glasses and the other little books that had been sprawled across the coffee table. With one mighty huff she stands from the floor and lifts the back to her shoulder.

'Prepare a meal so that she expects me for dinner. Do not feed her, empty stomach will be beneficial.'

'Stella? What's going on?'

She stops by the door, looking back at me, smiling a little.

'May not be as bad as what I first thought, I will return and I will have company.'