The Heart of Arima. Read online

“Merry Christmas, baby!” squealed Amelia and almost knocked Rodney flat by jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist

  “Ooooff! Merry Christmas, Milly.”

  Corvus took my hand and drew me silently out of the kitchen, not that Amelia or Rodney would have noticed if a herd of elephants had thundered through. Once outside he wished me a Merry Christmas so thoroughly that I almost said sod the dinner and hauled him back up the stairs. Eventually I decided that we couldn’t leave everyone else to sort out the food, and I made him let me go.

  “Are you going to help with the cooking then?”

  He looked startled. “Cook?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Jéhenne, I have never cooked.”

  “Well no time like the present then,” I said briskly, smothering a laugh.

  I sat him down at the table in front of a large bowl of brussel sprouts. He looked at the bowl suspiciously, like it contained a dangerous animal.

  I put a knife in his hand. “It’s alright, they won’t put up a fight.”

  He scowled and looked at the knife. “Jéhenne, I have done many things for you but here is where I draw the line.”

  I stopped him speaking by planting a big kiss on his lips. “Quit trying to get out of it and peel.”

  At that moment Cyd walked in and took one look at Corvus sitting with a knife and a bemused expression before snatching both the knife and the bowl. Surprisingly he didn’t put up a fight.

  “Jéhenne!" she snapped, in disgust, glaring at me. I suddenly remembered I hadn't seen her since the whole thing with Corin blew up. I looked at her nervously and saw her jaw tighten for a moment, but Corvus had obviously had words with her. She contented herself with removing the bowl and the knife.

  Corvus gave me a told you so look and I snorted. “Oh fine,” I muttered. I watched Cyd putting the bowl carefully down on the opposite side of the kitchen and smothered a grin. I grabbed a frilly pink apron that I’d found in a drawer with the tea towels and put it over her head. “You do it," I said sweetly.

  For once Cyd was speechless so I took advantage of the situation by going and checking on the turkey. Amelia was doing a fine job of stuffing it, if you discounted the ‘eews’ and ‘ughs’ we were subjected to during the process.

  Several hours later the kitchen looked like the scene of a crime. I pitied the cleaners who would have to clear up after us. Rodney and I had consumed far too much eggnog but none the less an impressive Christmas dinner was finally laid out in the apartment.

  Although he had refused to cook, Corvus made himself useful by getting a big table and enough chairs arranged in the apartment. That’s to say he delegated the work so that other people brought the table and chairs. Cyd escaped before I could get her to peel the parsnips but she did arrange the table so beautifully it could have graced the cover of House and Garden, well until the food went on. To be fair, neither Rodney nor I had ever cooked a Christmas dinner. Obviously the vamps were pretty hopeless, so all considered, it was a marvel.

  Cain arrived and he and Corvus managed to be civil to each other. Mainly by staying out of each other’s way. Cyd thawed towards me as she got steadily drunk and we all sat down to eat.

  One big, bizarre family.

  Too much wine was drunk, along with whatever lethal brew it was the vamps preferred. Those of us who could, ate until we couldn’t move. We even pulled crackers and told the stupid jokes. I didn’t think I had ever been so happy in my whole life.

  Later we collapsed on the sofas to watch TV and for a moment I thought Corvus and Cain were going to row over the remote but Corvus decided to be a generous host and handed it to Cain who promptly turned on a war film. Everyone yelled at him until he relented and, with a smirk, turned it over to The Sound of Music; everyone yelled again and bashed him with the cushions until he relinquished the remote.

  In the end no one could agree so we played Trivial Pursuit instead. This turned out to be a pointless exercise for everyone but Corvus and Cain. What’s the point of competing with people who not only knew the answers to all the history questions but were actually there at the time?

  The clock struck midnight and we popped the Champagne and Corvus decreed it was time to open the presents. I gave Cyd hers first. She had bought me some beautiful and, obviously horrifyingly expensive red silky undies which had made me blush and hurriedly put the lid back on the box before anyone else saw them and could comment. “They’re kind of a joint present, for you ...and Corvus,” she had sniggered, enjoying my embarrassment as usual.

  I thanked her and handed over the little box with her present in. I could tell as soon as she opened it that I’d done well. She was enchanted. It was a real white camelia that I had made into a brooch. Inés and I had spelled it so that, not only would it open at night but it would last forever and never die. It had seemed apt.

  “Oh,” was all she said before throwing her arms around me, nearly breaking my neck.

  “You like it then?”

  She sniffed and wiped her eyes, nodding. “It’s beautiful, really, perfect.”

  Rodney was next. I gave him a big tin wrapped up with ribbon and when he opened it he roared with laughter. I had made an assortment of gingerbread men and iced them in a variety of styles, including punks, vampires, mummies and some of their victims with their heads and arms snapped off and a good smattering of red icing blood.

  “I’m sorry I did buy you a really cool leather belt. It had chains and everything but it went with your car.”

  “Forget it, luv,” he said as he bit the head off a vampire. “These are amazin’. ’Sides it’s the only time I’ll get the better of a bleedin’ vamp aint it?”

  Amelia cuddled up to him and batted her eyelashes. “Oh ... I don’t know about that, lover.

  Rodney blushed and handed me my present to cover his embarrassment.

  The present giving continued until the floor was littered with shiny paper. Everyone was laughing, comparing gifts and I looked up to see Corvus smiling at me. I climbed into his lap and put my arms around his neck. “You are going to have to wait a little bit longer for your present, I’m afraid. You can’t have it until later.”

  He squeezed my waist, making me squeal. “I am perfectly content with the red underwear thank you, my heart.”

  “Fine, you wear it!” I giggled.

  “I don’t think red is my colour,” he said gravely. “Besides it’s time for your gift.”

  “Ooh, where is it, where is it?” I tried, unsuccessfully, to tickle him but he just smirked and picked me up, putting me down again on the sofa.

  “If I could ask everyone to be quiet for a moment,” he instructed. Everyone looked at him quizzically but naturally did as they were told. He went out of the room and suddenly, Cyd grinned.

  "Close your eyes, Jéhenne."

  I frowned, wondering what was coming but did as I was told and I felt a heavy weight being slid onto my lap.

  “Open your eyes," I heard Corvus say quietly. Once again I did as instructed - and gasped.

  It was a kitten ...sort of. It was already bigger than your average sized moggie but bore a striking resemblance to a large tabby panther. Cain was looking at it in astonishment.

  “Is that ... Is that a chordewa?”

  Corvus nodded.

  The big cat raised its head and yawned sleepily, showing a pink sandpapery tongue and ...fangs. I yelped and almost decanted the whole bundle onto the floor.

  “It’s alright, Jéhenne, it won’t hurt you.”

  “Is ... Is that a vampire cat?”

  Corvus retrieved the cat from me and cuddled it, rubbing it behind the ears. The purr that rumbled from it was quite astonishing.

  “It is," he grinned. "But it’s very well trained and knows not to feed from humans.”

  I got up and walked over to him, looking at the cat suspiciously. “You’re sure?”

  “Do you really think I would risk bringing anything in here that could harm you?”

 
; I shook my head. “Of course not, it was a just a bit of a shock.” I put my hand up and rubbed under the cat’s chin, and the purring got louder.

  Cain looked over my shoulder. “Where on earth did you find it? I mean I’ve heard the stories of course. Vamps have experimented with turning animals for millennia but I thought it was just talk; I’ve never seen one.”

  Corvus looked at the cat fondly. “There is only one man, a vampire, who breeds them. I had one many, many years ago. They are very hard to breed as they are not truly vampire, they are born and grow and yet they live for centuries and feed like we do. This one is just a kitten really. They are wonderful creatures, very rare and incredibly loyal. It will protect you with its life, Jéhenne.”

  Now I knew why he’d bought it. I stroked the cat’s head and it stretched luxuriously in Corvus’ arms. I had to admit it was a handsome creature. “Just how big will it get?” I asked.

  “It will be the size of a large panther and will lose the stripes when it’s fully grown. It will be steel grey.”

  Corvus handed the cat back to me. It snuggled into my neck, sticking it’s cold nose against my skin, which made me squirm. “So what happened to yours then?”

  I immediately wished I hadn't asked as his face darkened. “It died protecting me.”

  I would have left it there but Cain, being Cain, had to ask.

  “What from?”

  Corvus looked at him and frowned. “From humans.”

  “Oh? What happened?” Cain pressed.

  Corvus scowled harder. “It was many centuries ago when mortals still believed in, and hunted, vampires. The inhabitants of a town in northern France believed me responsible for killing many of their kin. They found my resting place. I was very young then and could not wake in the day. It would have been the end for me but the chordewa protected me. I awoke to find the humans dead and ...the cat with them.” He smiled suddenly but I could tell it was forced. “Well then, more champagne I think.” And he was gone.

  Rodney, obviously picking up on the tension, announced he was starving and went with Amelia to make sandwiches. Cyd went too as she wanted to change her outfit for something she felt went better with the camelia, so suddenly it was just me and Cain. I put the sleeping cat down on the sofa and started picking the discarded wrapping paper up and putting it on the fire but I could feel his eyes on me.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “Why didn’t you ask him?”

  I gritted my teeth and refused to understand what he meant. “Ask him what?”

  “You know what, Jéhenne. You wanted to ask, I could tell.”

  I threw some more paper on the fire irritably before turning to him. “I don’t know what you’re on about.”

  He shook his head and got up. “Don't lie, Jéhenne, you are really no good at it. You wanted to ask him if the villagers were right,” he said softly, before leaning forward, kissing my cheek.

  “Merry Christmas,” he said.

  He left the room and I was left on my own, furious with him for spoiling things, and not least because he was right.

  Chapter 40

  I was snuggled up in bed with Corvus’ arms around me, watching the flames make shadows dance on the bedroom wall and wondering what the hell I’d done to get so lucky. We’d said goodbye to Amelia and Rodney, and Cyd had left ages ago, dressed to kill as she’d been invited to a party.

  I still hadn’t asked him.

  Corvus had always told me the truth about his past when I had asked and I knew he wouldn’t hide anything from me but I didn’t want anything to spoil tonight and to be honest, I didn’t really want to know. He had already intimated that his behaviour in the past was not something he was proud of and besides it was literally centuries ago-another lifetime. All I knew was the man he was now, and that was enough.

  I turned in his arms and kissed his chin. He cracked one eye open and smiled at me. Dawn was fast approaching and I knew he wanted to sleep.

  “Time to get up, sleepy head.”

  Both eyes opened this time and he raised his eyebrows. “The sun will rise soon, my heart.”

  “I know but I want to give you your Christmas present.”

  He eyed the red undies discarded on the floor with a smirk. “Oh? I thought I’d already had that.”

  “Ha ha very funny, no you haven’t, so get up quickly before I change mind.”

  Of course, his version of quickly meant he was suddenly standing there fully dressed and had to wait while I pulled on jeans and a jumper. I took him downstairs to the front door and he looked at me quizzically.

  “Jéhenne, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but you do realise the sun is about to come up?”

  I laughed and handed him a small box. He took it from me and opened it and his confusion deepened. “Why are you giving me the moonstone ring? It’s yours, to protect you. I cannot take it from you.”

  “I’m not giving it to you, just lending it for a little while.”

  “Why?”

  “Open the door and find out.”

  I could feel the excitement in him but he was tamping it down. He didn’t believe it was possible.

  “There were rumours that--that the ring could allow a vampire to walk in the daylight but they were just rumours, Jéhenne. It has never been tested.”

  “Um, actually it has and the rumours were certainly exaggerated but I’ve been working on it for weeks now with Cyd and Inés.”

  He looked alarmed. “Inés had a hand in this?”

  I laughed. “Only under strict supervision, I promise.”

  “It worked?” I could hear the awe in his voice and suddenly appreciated what this really meant to him. To be able to see the sun for the first time in almost two thousand years - how would that feel? I suddenly began to feel panicky and hoped to God it did work.

  “For Cyd it only worked for a few minutes, five was the longest we managed but ... But we figured with you being so much older it should last longer.”

  He was staring at the ring in disbelief.

  “Do you really trust me, Corvus?”

  He smiled. “With my life.”

  “Then put it on.”

  For a moment I thought the whole thing was going to be for nothing as the ring was obviously too small but he managed to fit it onto his little finger and stood staring at the front door. I took his hand in mine and squeezed.

  “Hurry up or we’ll miss the sunrise.”

  We walked through the meadow, down to a bench on the far side of the lake. From here we could see across the lake to the chateau and behind it the first rays of light had begun to climb in the sky. He sat, completely still, and I knew he was afraid. He had told me once that all new vampires have the same nightmare over and over again, nightmares of being caught outside in the sun with nowhere to hide. He had said that mortals are afraid of the dark, afraid of what they cannot see. Their instincts scream at them to run from the things that wait in hidden corners. Our imaginations create monsters with every creak and snapped twig but sometimes the monsters are real and every bit as terrible as our imaginations believed them to be. For the vampires the dark was safety and the sun brought terror, it illuminated every dark corner, leaving no place left to hide, and yet they longed to see it again.

  He was gripping my hand so tightly I thought my fingers would go numb. I watched his face as the sun rose higher, painting the sky with great streaks of pink and orange.

  I had a memory, Jéhnina’s memory, of seeing Corvus in the daylight, but then he had been human, young and tanned and laughing in the sunshine. I had never seen his face like this in anything but electric or candle light and it mesmerised me just as the sun was doing for him.

  He stood up and suddenly I was worried. “Are you OK, is it burning?”

  “No. No, it’s fine. It’s wonderful. I just want to walk.” He smiled. “In the light.”

  We walked slowly around the lake and he gazed at the light sparkling on the water and at his own image reflected back at
him. A white heron glided silently down to the edge of the lake and stepped elegantly through the water until he found a position that pleased him. It stood immobile, head on one side, watching the fish dart about in the shallows and Corvus watched, entranced. Other than owls, I guessed he would never have seen birds in the night time.

  I felt my heart swell with happiness that I could give him this gift, something that was truly precious to him. He had banned every member of the family from spending more than ten euros each on him this year as he said it became ridiculous, with everyone vying to give him the most extravagant gift. As it was, in typical vampire fashion, they had put all the money together and bought a Bugatti Veyron. I’d toyed with the idea of working out how many people actually counted him as Master with this information but had decided not to bother; it would only freak me out. Looking at his face now, I knew without a shadow of doubt that no amount of fancy cars would ever measure up to this. I realised now that Cyd had known this, known just what it would mean to him, which is why she’d persevered. She worshiped Corvus with a devotion that could be a little disturbing, but I was so grateful to her now. She had allowed herself to be burned by the sun over and again, until we got our experiment right. I knew she would agree that it had been worth it.

  I took my hand from his and slipped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest and feeling his arms pulling me close. He tilted my chin up and I smiled at the joy on his face.

  “I never dreamed I would see your face again in the sunlight, Jéhenne. Thank you ...so much, my heart.” He kissed me and I knew that this perfect moment would be etched on my heart for all eternity.

  In all, the spell lasted for almost an hour. We walked every inch of the grounds and at every step something new caught his attention. Things that I would have taken for granted had a new and extraordinary beauty in his eyes. The way the light streamed through the pine boughs in the woodland and cast shadows on the forest floor, to the dew on a spider web. Every tiny detail was savoured and I knew it would never be forgotten.

  We were heading back to the chateau when I took hold of his hand and saw him wince. The spell was fading and I could sense his regret.