The Scent Of Vampires (Book 1)

Chapter 22: Message In A Bottle

Zephora looked around at the place she used to call home. What she now saw now, were empty rooms and ghostly halls. Even as she called out for Pixie and the others she knew no one would respond. They were gone.
Fear gripped her heart. Something awful must have happened, or her friends feared something greatly, for them to leave without a trace.

Zephora ran to her room, on the way noticing the state of the rest of house. All of Pixie's magic was gone. Leaving behind an abandoned home. In her room was much the same. All the furniture was there, but the bed was now an empty frame and there were no curtains or other furnishings. She did notice her dresser was still in the corner. Stepping over loose boards and rusty nails, Zephora made her way over to the dresser. She picked up her pack that sat on the floor next to it. Looking through her drawers, she saw that all her belongings were still there. For some reason, that made her feel slightly better. Even though the others had to abandon the place and in a hurry, Pixie made sure to leave her belongings for her to collect. Hopefully, Pixie left her a clue as to where everyone went as well.

After packing what she thought she would need, Zephora roamed the rest of the house. She stepped in Pixie's room and saw that it was as bare as hers. The only differences were some of Pixie's personal touches, such as empty potion bottles, old texts and parchment on the floor. Everywhere in the house was the same condition.

A minute later, she found herself in the kitchen. She had a foolish hope that Pixie might have left some kind of food. Once again, Zephora had not had anything to eat for hours. Spending so much time around neck biters was really messing with her schedule.

Looking around at everything, she remembered with fondness all that had transpired there. Since her parents deaths, living there with her friends, was the first time Zephora felt like she had a real home. Until that moment, she hadn't really realized how much that meant to her.

With a final glance around, Zephora saw that the bowl of fruit was still on the table. The sight was a strange one, as the rest of the kitchen looked as if no one had entered it for many years. She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips. Pixie always planned for everything, even the off chance that Zephora might have been hungry when she returned to find her friends missing.

Picking up a mango, Zephora took a bite of the juicy fruit and at the same time noticed that among the other contents of the bowl was a small vial. The vial had a label with the initial 'Z' written in Pixie's handwriting. She recognized the potion as a message in a bottle, at least that is what Pixie called it. Unlike her other potions, this kind was not in a liquid form. Rather, the potion was more like a sparkling mist.

As Zephora pulled the cork top out of the bottle, the mist floated out into a small cloud. Then she heard Pixie's voice. 

'Zephora there isn't time to explain. Sorry to leave before you got back. Considering all that has happened the last few days, you most likely will have  guessed our reasons for leaving so suddenly. We are all in danger! Go to the place where we first met. I'll meet you there as soon as I can.'

When the message ended the cloud shimmered into nothing. Zephora knew where she had to go. She only hoped Pixie would be there when she are arrived.

*******

The first time Zephora had been to Darby's Second Hand Finds, she had been there to trade an old clock. Darby, the owner, was a spell caster, of an undetermined age. She was short with her back slightly hunched. Her gray frizzy hair, made you think of a grandmotherly figure. But Zephora quickly discovered she was a shrewd and somewhat conivieng shop keeper. When Zephora had first showed her the clock, she had offered a minimal amount. Apparently, it had been worth three times her offer. Zephora found this out when girl around her age, who was looking at a row of books a few feet away, took interest their conversation. The girl, she would later come to know as Pixie, informed Zephora that the clock was worth a lot more. Pixie helped her bargain for a better price, much to Darby's dismay.