Prophecy: Child of Light (8 page)

It felt odd.

He’d wanted her away but now that she was away, he almost missed the sensation of her against him.

He closed his eyes again and cursed himself.

He really needed to get to England.

* * * *

V
alentine took a deep breath of the night air as he walked. He listened to the sound of his boots on the pavement and concentrated on getting to their destination. The transfer in Paris had gone smoothly. It had been a close call at Gare Du Nord to catch the train to London, but in a way, he was thankful for it as it meant that he was now certain that no one had followed them. He’d stared out of the window in the train door for as long as it took to make sure of that.

Prophecy had insisted on remaining close to him the whole time. He had the feeling that it was more out of a need to restrain herself from killing than a need for reassurance. She hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours now. The Hunger would be pushing her into feeding and she obviously didn’t trust herself. He frowned. But she trusted him to stop her? Why? Was it because he was the only person there to stop her, or had he given her reason to believe that he cared about what she did? He’d stopped her a few times on the plane but that was out of common sense. If she killed one person, she’d have to kill them all and he didn’t think he could contain that kind of a situation. He wondered if she wanted to be given leave to feed or if she was waiting for him to guide her somehow. He tried to remember how it had been all those years ago when he’d been a victim of the Hunger.

Lucya had been there for him. His precious sire had guided his hand and helped him to get through the pain of the Hunger. She had taken him out to hunt, showing him how to successfully kill and feed.

Was that what Prophecy needed?

He didn’t have time to teach her such things.

He looked at her where she walking beside him and silently cursed her when a part of him wanted to.

Something about her made him want to teach her, made him want to look after her and reassure her that everything was going to be all right. He cursed himself this time. Wasn’t it enough that he’d risked everything in order to save her from death?

Death.

He reminded himself that there was a chance that he had condemned his entire species by helping her. He had no way of knowing for certain that she wouldn’t destroy them all. At least if she did, there would be no one around to point the finger at him. He smiled slightly, amused at his thoughts, but it quickly faded. What did he do if Mathias told him that what he had seen in her blood was wrong and she really was going to kill everyone? Would he find the strength to murder her then?

He realised she’d stopped walking and turned to look at her. She was rubbing her feet. Something glinted in the light and his head inclined while he stared at it, trying to make out what it was. When she walked towards him, it became clearer.

It was a silver star dangling from a chain around her neck. He couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed it before. He looked closer. It was intricately designed. The star was made up of five diamond shapes, all locked together, and was at least an inch across. It looked old.

“Where did you get that?” he said.

She lifted it up and frowned at it. “I’ve always had it.”

“Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know.” She let it drop again and shrugged. “I just remember having it and I never take it off. It feels wrong if I do, like I’m naked without it. Why all the questions?”

“No reason. It just caught my eye. I had not noticed it before,” he said and looked at it a moment longer before continuing along the road, heading towards the centre of the city.

It had been a long time since he’d been back to England and seen Mathias, but he was sure that he could trust him. His friend had never been one to worry about the laws that governed their species. He’d never been one to report to their lord. Mathias had always kept to himself and rarely left his home and his books.

He wondered if he would still be there after all these years. If he were, there would be questions about the things that had happened in their time apart. Sometimes he got the feeling that although Mathias was happy remaining with his books and his research, he liked to live adventures vicariously through himself. The old scribe always asked too many questions about the hunts he’d been on and whether he’d had any narrow escapes. He’d probably be thrilled that he was bringing adventure to his door.

Valentine looked up to see the building opposite him. It looked exactly as he remembered it. The imposing façade was just one of many along the broad road. Its honey-coloured sandstone was smooth and without the fancy carvings that adorned many of the other buildings in Oxford. The small turrets at the top of the building were the only extravagance. Their roofs were covered in deep brown tiles that blended with the warm stone. His eyes strayed to the sky above him and the clouds that were beginning to gather.

Stepping up to the arched wooden door, he knocked and then took a step back. He waited to see if anyone would answer.

He glanced at Prophecy where she was looking around her, taking in the new scenery. Everything here was lighter than Prague. This city didn’t have the same air of darkness as his. He’d always felt as though he was safer here than anywhere on the planet. Oxford had a low number of vampires and Mathias was the only one of them who belonged to a pure bloodline.

He knocked again and ignored the feeling of apprehension that began to settle in his stomach.

Mathias would answer. He was probably just reluctant to leave his books.

When Prophecy shifted from foot to foot and gave him a look that showed him that she was as worried as he felt, he went to knock again.

The door swung open.

V
alentine smiled when the door opened to reveal a dimly lit hall and then his friend. Mathias looked exactly as he remembered, his appearance that of a slim, dark-haired librarian in his late forties hiding what he really was. He supposed that Mathias spent so much time with books that he could easily qualify as a librarian, but his friend had always preferred the label of scribe. When Prophecy shifted behind him, he looked over his shoulder at her. She was standing with him directly between herself and Mathias, and was huddled up, her arms wrapped tightly around her and her hair partly obscuring her face. She looked pale. She’d need to eat something soon or the Hunger would drive her insane.

“It’s been a long time, Valentine.” The well-spoken voice of Mathias roused Valentine from his perusal of her and he returned his attention to his friend.

“Too long, and unfortunately the circumstances surrounding my visit are dire to say the very least.”

“You’d best come in then,” Mathias said and Valentine went to follow him into the house but the old scribe paused just inside the door. He didn’t look around as he spoke. “Tell her not to worry. I’m not going to hurt her.”

Valentine looked back at Prophecy who had remained standing in the same spot.

“He’s an Aurorea.” Her voice was quiet and he could hear the mistrust in it. The last thing he needed was her making a scene in front of his old friend. She should have known that Mathias would be one of his bloodline.

He walked back down the steps to her.

“It’s safe. Mathias may be my kin, but he has no interest in reporting to Kalinor.”

She looked up at him through her hair and kept her eyes fixed on his for a brief moment before moving past him towards the door.

Turning on the spot, he followed her up the steps and into the building. He looked out into the street as he closed the heavy door, checking that no one had seen them enter, and then went to find Mathias.

He didn’t need to look behind him to know that Prophecy was following. He could feel her. All he had to do was reach out with his senses the tiniest amount and she was there. He kept them locked on her as he walked, leading her deeper into the house. All of the corridors were dimly lit by low burning lamps on the walls and on tables around the rooms.

“You really should start using this modern invention called electricity,” he remarked as he found Mathias pawing over a stack of books.

Mathias removed his glasses and looked around him.

The room was lit more brightly than the others they had passed through, but the walls were so dark it appeared gloomy. There were books everywhere, stacked in haphazard piles, some of them open but most of them closed. They lined the walls, covered the tables and even took up some of the chairs.

Valentine cleared one of them off and intimated for Prophecy to sit in it. He removed the books from the other chair by the fire and carried them over to Mathias where he had remained at the table, his fingers skimming down a page of a tome that looked as old as he was.

“It hurts my eyes,” Mathias answered him and then closed the book and began searching for another.

“A thousand years and you’ve spent every one of them with your nose in a book, old man. Surely you’ve read them all by now?” He picked up the book Mathias had been reading and raised a brow. “The lights would not hurt your eyes if you did not spend all your time in the darkness. I cannot see why you insist on wearing those glasses. You would not have a problem with reading if you changed.”

“I can’t. Emily may see.”

Valentine nearly dropped the book. “Emily?”

“My housekeeper.”

Valentine looked around at the messy room again and then back at his friend. “You have a housekeeper? I have to say she is not doing a very good job. I would find a new one.”

“And do what with Emily? She has no family to go to,” Mathias said and turned his back.

Valentine frowned as he realised why.

“She is human?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The whole world had gone insane. It wasn’t just him. “You have a human housekeeper?”

Mathias glanced at him and then went back to rearranging the books. “Don’t give me that look.”

“Get rid of her. She will find out what you are one day and then you shall have the Law Keepers coming for you. It is a sin to reveal our existence to them. You know it is.”

“Valentine, do not tell me what to do. You have come to my house with a Caelestis.”

He leaned against the table and looked at Prophecy. She was sitting in the old high backed leather armchair idly flicking through one of the books he’d cleared off the chair.

Mathias was right. He had committed a worse sin than keeping a human. At least Mathias could say that he intended to kill her or turn her. What excuse did he have if the Law Keepers found him?

“What are you doing, Valentine, aligning yourself with a Caelestis? Is this what you’ve worked your way towards all of your life?”

“Do not remind me.” He looked away from her and toyed with the corner of a book. He stared at it while he picked at the frayed edge of the thick cover. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Mathias. He didn’t want to see the look in his eyes. “I need your help.”

“With her?” Mathias said and he nodded in confirmation. “Why?”

“She is... it’s hard... I had to bring her here, you understand. There was nowhere else to take her. I knew that she would be safe here.” He continued to pick at the book, keeping his eyes downcast while he waited for the inevitable question. He told himself again that this was the right decision. Prophecy would be safest here.

“Safe from what?”

“Everyone and everything.” He raised his eyes to meet Mathias’. “She is the child of the prophecy.”

Mathias didn’t say anything. He just stared across the room at her.

Valentine waited to see what his friend’s reaction would be. Mathias was always researching one thing or another, and he loved to look into prophecies more than anything. Surely, he knew something that could help. Valentine knew there had to be a reason he’d seen those things in her blood. There had to be something about the prophecy that he hadn’t been told.

“She’s young,” Mathias said. “So very small. I always thought it would be a male.”

Valentine smiled faintly.

“What is she doing?” Mathias frowned and nodded towards her.

Valentine looked across to see her sucking on the back of her hand while she read the book. He frowned too.

“She does not realise that she is doing it. She had her first kill the other night. You know...” He didn’t need to say anything more in order for Mathias to understand.

“It’s been a millennia since my Hunger, but I can’t forget it. There is fresh blood in the refrigerator. She’s welcome to it.”

Valentine looked thankful for his offer and then let his eyes stray back to Prophecy. “She wanted my blood when we were travelling here.”

“I presume you refused. She isn’t strong enough.”

“Of course I refused, but I think she’s stronger than she looks. She threw me across a room in Prague. I underestimated her.” His hand moved to his stomach and he remembered what it had felt like to be flung against the wall like a rag doll. Everything about her seemed to be strong, including her blood.

Mathias smiled broadly. “An easy mistake to make when they look so frail. Feed her. She’ll need to be strong if she’s to cope with everything that is happening. The Hunger will only make things worse.”

He gave Mathias another smile of gratitude and then walked over to Prophecy. She looked up at him as he approached, her hand leaving her mouth and her eyes wide. He extended his hand to her and intimated the door with his other one. When she placed hers into his, he tensed his jaw and steeled himself against his desire to take his away. Her fingers were soft against his palm and it felt strange to have her hand in his.

He closed his eyes and cursed himself when her hand slipped from his and she walked past him towards the door. He shouldn’t have helped her stand. He should have kept his distance and just told her where to go to get blood to feed her Hunger. Why did he feel the need to help her? Why did he want to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be fine whenever he saw her struggling to come to terms with her new life?

Glancing across at Mathias, he found his friend was watching them, or more specifically him, with a look of curiosity. He gave Mathias a warning look and walked past him. It was bad enough that he felt like this inside without someone picking him up on it.