She watched as he circled her, preparing herself for when he attacked. The vampire was young, only about eighteen years old and by the look on his face, Lilly assumed he was a new-born with a thirst for her blood that was so intense he was bound to do something stupid.
He would be an easy prey, she thought, as he came to a standstill, watching her with those piercing glowing red eyes and fangs at the ready. When he jumped towards her, he was easy to dodge and before he knew it, Lilly had him on the ground. He tried to lift her off, but his hands made contact with the silver locket and he howled in pain.
This was it, this was the moment when she would break his neck and call for Carmelo.
Taking a deep breath, Lilly leaned in but the boy's face changed suddenly. His fangs withdrew back into his gums and his red eyes returned to their natural shade of brown. Flummoxed, Lilly knew she wouldn't be able to do it. She couldn't hurt him. His hands and his head flopped to his side, as if the contact with the silver had made him pass out. She pushed his head with her nose but he was still.
Climbing off of him, Lilly didn't know what to do and she turned when she heard someone approaching.
"Lilly... look out!" yelled Carmelo as the young vamp suddenly regained consciousness and grabbed her from behind. Seconds before he would have sunk his fangs into her back, Carmelo was on top of him. There was a loud crack and Lilly was released, dropping to the ground. She quickly regained her footing and turned to see just as the vamp's neck was broken in a loud crack, before his head was ripped from his body and thrown aside. Had she been in human form, Lilly felt she would surely have thrown up.
Looking up at Carmelo's face, she saw him like she had never seen him before. His eyes glowed red and his pale skin seemed to gleam in the dark. The expression was one she couldn't quite pinpoint but his hands were covered in blood. He breathed deeply and turned to her, shaking his head.
"Lilly, don't ever take your eyes of off a vampire like that. The silver slowed him only temporarily. He could have killed you... or he could have changed you. Did he draw blood?"
Lilly shook her head as Carmelo walked over to her to see if any damage had been done but he was satisfied the vampire had been killed before his fangs had reached Lilly's skin.
Sammy flew down and gracefully landed to their side.
"There's more... at least one over by the water and two more searching for you through the trees."
"Thank you, Sammy. Lilly remember what I said. Do not take your eyes off of them."
She nodded as he headed in another direction to find himself some more vampires to kill.
"Lilly, are you all right?" asked Sammy with deep concern.
She nodded at him before quickly running back into the trees. She heard Sammy sigh behind her as he lifted off the ground and back up to try and keep an eye on them from above.
Within seconds, she found another vampire. Another new-born. Lilly knew because the woman wasn't being cautious. It gave Lilly the confidence she needed and she jumped on her back. The vamp thrashed from one side to the other but to no avail. Lilly's claws were well and truly stuck in.
Now knowing she had no choice, she had to kill or be killed, she opened her jaws and bit down on the neck of this vampire, who was once just an innocent middle aged woman. There was another loud crack and the woman suddenly stopped moving. Lilly had done it. She'd broken her neck. All she needed now was Carmelo to finish her off.
She howled, knowing she was attracting attention to herself, but there was no other way of getting him to come back to her. The vampire wasn't dead yet and there was no way she was going to leave her body alone.
Sammy flew down from above. "You okay?" he asked again and she nodded.
They were joined by Carmelo who rushed straight to the blond-haired woman. He knelt, grabbed her head and twisted it from her body before she could even come to.
"There's two more in here somewhere," whispered Sammy as he once again lifted himself up into the air. "Look out!" he yelled as he spotted them both coming at them from opposite directions.
"Sammy, go! Fly upwards. You're safer up there," yelled Carmelo as Lilly watched her close friend do as he said.
These two were clearly not new-borns. They were working together, a planned attack.
Carmelo and Lilly stood back to back, facing away from each other, ready to pounce but the vampires were keeping themselves well hidden.
"Well, well, well... if it isn't Carmelo. The now mighty vampire from the Mountains," said a husky female voice, "here in Tofino with his little pet cat, Lilly. Isn't that nice? You taking your cat for a walk, Carmelo?" she laughed, the sound echoing through the wooded gardens.
Recognising the voice, Carmelo answered, "Dharma?"
Laughing, she began to sing,
"A ring, a ring o' roses,
A pocket full o’ posies,
Atishoo atishoo YOU all fall down"
"I thought you were dead?"
"No, Carmelo... you simply left me for dead. Lying there, in a pool of my own blood and vomit, my body slowly decaying while I was still alive."
"Dharma, they told me you were dead... I had no idea."
Suddenly, a beautiful young woman appeared from beneath a huge leaf that hung from a wide wonky tree. Her pale skin gleamed in the moonlight, just as Carmelo's had previously. Her eyes were pale blue and her shoulder length curly hair was silky and blond. She was wearing low slung brown suede jeans with a tight cropped cream T-shirt. Lilly thought she looked like a modern day Marilyn Monroe, all sweet and innocent, but with extreme danger lurking beneath.
"Well, they were wrong. I was dying. I was in agony. And YOU left me there. If it wasn't for Duran, I'd be dead right now," she spat, "Duran saved me and so I will do anything for him. Including taking your little kitty cat to him," she pouted.
"No, Dharma, I don't think so," was all he said before he lunged for her, but she too was quick. Within seconds, she was sitting high in the tree above them.
"Tut, tut, tut, Carmelo. After all this time, I thought you'd be much faster. You clearly haven't been working out."
As Carmelo tried to catch Dharma, the other vamp had been stalking Lilly. They circled each other, neither of them quite ready to pounce. Lilly watched his every move carefully, fully aware that he wouldn't be anywhere near as easy as the others.
Although he looked in his mid-twenties, Lilly knew he'd been a vampire for many years. He knew what he was doing, and it worried her.
He too had curly blond hair, but he was scruffier than Dharma, wearing ripped jeans and an old greying T-shirt. Unlike Dharma, he didn't speak a word. He just watched her with his piercing dark eyes. She knew when he was ready to attack, they would change colour and become red and glowing.
So she would bide her time and not attempt an attack of her own until Carmelo was able to help.
But Sammy was watching from above and he had other ideas. There was no way he was going to sit back and watch Lilly get attacked so he swooped down and grabbed him from behind, pushing him to the ground. But before Sammy knew it, the vampire had turned round and was back on his feet. His fangs were on full display and his gleaming red eyes glowing in the dark.
He grabbed Sammy and flung him into the nearest tree trunk with a thud. Lilly listened as Sammy's heart rate slowed dramatically. She had to do something and so she reacted.
Running as fast as she could, she threw herself onto the blond-haired vampire and bit him hard on the back of his neck, he yelped but he was strong. Stronger than she could have anticipated and he grabbed her and flung her around to face him. He smiled before throwing her full force away from the others. As she flew through the air, she braced herself for impact. She was a cat, after all, and cats always landed on their feet.
But she was unaware of the force in which he had thrown her and she splashed hard into the nearby water of Clayoquot Sound.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Lilly held her breath, but she needn't have. The strangest thing was happe
ning. Even though she was in the water, she hadn't gotten wet and she hadn't hit the bottom. In fact, she appeared to be inside some sort of bubble.
Confused, Lilly suddenly heard a soft, familiar gentle voice.
'Lilly, if you can hear me, it's December. I could sense there was something wrong so I tried a spell... I hope it worked. I hope you're safe.'
Smiling inwardly, Lilly remembered the dream December had described to her before and she knew she had used that idea to help protect her best friend. As the bubble rose to the surface of the water, Lilly stepped out onto the dirt and ran quickly back towards Carmelo and Sammy.
But before she reached them, the same blond-haired vampire stood in her way. Again she tried to pounce on him but he easily shoved her to one side, plunging her into the rugged side of an ancient tree. It knocked the wind out of her, but she was still determined so she turned to face him once more. She tried to think of ways to weaken him and the only thing she could think of was the silver necklace.
Lilly knew she'd have to change back to human form to be able to place the silver on his skin. She looked over to where Sammy lay still. He was breathing but his heart rate was still very slow. He was bleeding. She could smell his blood... and so could the vampire.
In a flash she decided she had to try. He certainly wouldn't be expecting it. She began to run towards him and as she lunged forward, she willed herself to change. At the same time, she pulled the necklace from her neck and just as she was about to crash into him, she saw his expression change to one of complete surprise. Holding her hand out, she slammed the silver locket into his chest and he cried out in pain, falling to the floor.
As she landed on top of him, she immediately changed back to feline form and bit as hard as she could into his neck, until she heard that familiar snap. He was temporarily out of action but not dead. She needed Carmelo to finish him off but he was busy fighting Dharma.
She listened for them but couldn't quite figure out where they were, the sounds echoing through the trees. Carmelo was alive, and that was all that mattered.
Lilly rushed over to Sammy who was lying face down. She gently pushed him over and nudged him with her nose and licked his face. Slowly he began to come to. As he tried to sit up, he let out a low cry of pain. Looking down, he saw a piece of wood sticking out of his side and he gulped. He was weak and sweating profusely. The large, sharp piece of wood needed to be removed. Lilly knew he needed help and she had to get help quickly.
She needed to at least get him back to the apartment, but how?
Suddenly, there was a flash of movement behind her and she smelt the vampire. He was right behind her, closing in on her. Closing her eyes, she turned back to human form in a flash. It was her only way out. With her eyes now open wide, she placed her hands around the piece of wood stuck in Sammy's flesh and yanked it out of his side. Turning, she plunged it deep into the heart of the vampire whose look of shock turned to one of peace as he fell to the ground.
He was dead.
Blood poured out of Sammy's wound as she ripped the T-shirt off of the vampire's torso and carefully wrapped it around Sammy's blood-soaked body.
"Don't worry, Sammy. You're going to be okay," she said unconvincingly.
With a half-smile, Sammy managed to lift a hand to her face.
"You did it, Lilly. You killed him... in... human... form..." he said before passing out completely.
Lilly needed the help of the others to be able to get Sammy back to the safety of the apartment but she had no way of contacting them. She would have to leave him and go and find them.
Realising she was still in human form, and very naked, she began to run, changing as she went.
Following the dulcet tones of Dharma, Lilly soon came upon the blond bombshell who had continued to evade Carmelo's capture. Perhaps he didn't want to be the one who killed her, Lilly thought. After all, there appeared to be some kind of history there.
As she was so busy taunting Carmelo, Dharma hadn't noticed Lilly's sudden appearance. With stealth and silence, the mountain lion crawled along the ground, watching her prey's every move, waiting for the perfect time to attack.
When the moment came, Lilly watched as Dharma's eyes turned from baby blue to deep red as she managed to push her to the ground, but the female vampire was even stronger than the last one and she lifted Lilly off of her with ease.
"Hey kitty, kitty," she said. "Are you trying to play with me? Because to me you're nothing but a weak little kitten," she laughed, "you can't hurt me, kitty, kitty."
"No, but I can," said a voice from above them as Carmelo appeared from nowhere and grabbed the beauty's head.
"Carmelo? No... please!" she suddenly yelled.
Carmelo stopped just for a second and then shook his head.
"Dharma, you're already dead to me. You died in 1575," he said as he closed his eyes and twisted and turned her head as quickly as possible until there was that familiar crack.
"Lilly, please disappear for a moment. I really don't wish you to see this again."
She nodded and ran away, hiding behind a tree as Carmelo put the final nail in her coffin.
Seconds later, Carmelo was by her side.
"Where is the other one?" he questioned, but realised she couldn't answer him.
"Is he still alive?"
She shook her head.
"Dead?"
She nodded.
"You killed him?" he said in shock.
She nodded again and he grinned with pride.
"And Sammy?"
She turned, clearly suggesting he follow her.
They were soon by Sammy's side. Carmelo's preoccupied face worried Lilly as he picked him up and began to run as fast as he could back towards the beach.
Lilly followed behind, as they both tried to keep as much out of sight as possible.
Ben, Oliver and December were waiting patiently for their return. They all looked pale, frightened and tired but completely relieved to see Lilly safe.
After she had changed back to her human form and put on her clothes, she walked back into the lounge to see Ben and December treating Sammy's wounds.
"He's going to be fine. I called my mother and she told me what to do. Don't worry... I promise you that he's going to be okay," she reiterated.
Relief flooded through her as she then turned her attention to Carmelo. "What about the others? We need to get back out there and help them," she said.
He nodded, "but you need a rest, Lilly, you're injured yourself," he said.
"I'm fine," she replied but winced suddenly as she went to sit down.
"Lilly, what's wrong?" asked Oliver worriedly.
Ben rushed to her side and lifted the T-shirt she was wearing to reveal a huge black and red bruise appearing on her side.
"It's nothing," she said.
"Oh My God Lilly, that's not nothing. Look at the state of you," said Oliver who now sat by her side, holding her hand.
She smiled at him, before her eyes closed and she lost consciousness.
A few minutes later after Ben had investigated Lilly's wound, he said, "It's okay, I think she passed out in shock more than anything else. It is a pretty nasty bruise but she's going to be all right. But she can't go out again tonight. She really does need some rest."
Carmelo nodded, "I'll go and see if I can find the others. I'll go while she's still out."
"Carmelo, be careful," said December just before he closed the door behind him.
#
When Lilly awoke a couple of hours later, she found herself tucked into bed with December sleeping soundly beside her.
Although she tried not to wake her best friend, December's eyes flew open and she turned to look at her.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey yourself," replied Lilly, "what's going on?" she yawned and winced at the same time.
"Easy, Lilly... that's quite a nasty bruise you've got there, so be careful. We've treated it as best we could under the circumstances."
"Oh... how about Sammy?"
"Sammy is going to be fine. He's lucky we just happened to have a great vet on hand," she laughed, "and a good witch," she added with a wink.
"What about the others, are they back yet?"
"I don't think so."
Lilly pulled back the covers and carefully climbed out of bed.
"I can't just stay here... I need to get out and help them."
"Oh no you don't," replied December. "You're in no fit state to go fighting again."
"You sound like my mother. I mean you sound like a mother should sound. You know what I mean!"
Smiling, December nodded and sighed.
"My Mom is trying to get down here but the ferry isn't operating until the morning, I've told her we're fine but she's seriously worrying... so yes, I do know what you mean!"
Opening the bedroom door, Lilly walked out into the living room and saw Sammy lying on the sofa bed. Ben and Oliver sat drinking coffee at the dining table.
"Hey," said Oliver, standing. "How are you feeling?"
Lilly smiled up at him, recalling how he had held her hand earlier. "I'm okay, I guess. At least I think so."
He took her hand once again and let her lean her head on his shoulder. Instinctively, he let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders and held her tight.
"I just made a pot of coffee. Would you girls like some?" asked Ben.
They both nodded as December sat down.
"How's Sammy doing?" Lilly asked Ben but Sammy answered her himself.
"I'm fine..." he said as he tried to lift himself up on the bed but the pain in his side prevented him.
She walked over to him and gave him an extra pillow and sat by his side. "Sammy, I'm so sorry I had to pull it out like that. It must have hurt like hell."
"Lilly, don't be sorry. You saved both our lives by doing what you did. I would never have thought of it myself. It was ingenious actually," he smiled.
The others looked over quizzically and Sammy explained what Lilly had done.