The Key to Erebus (The French Vampire Legend. Book 1) Read online

  Chapter 4

  I woke late the next morning. My head felt like I should have had a really good time the night before but as I came to my senses the trauma of last night hit me once again and I shivered under the blankets.

  I sat up in bed pulling the covers up to my chin. As usual it was freezing.

  The room seemed unnaturally bright though, so I grabbed the dressing gown monstrosity and hauled myself out of bed. Pulling back the curtains I discovered the reason for the white light. Everything had been given a dusting of snow. It was beautiful and peaceful, sparkling in the sunlight. I decided I’d go for a walk later to try and sooth my nerves.

  I watched for a while as Gran’s chickens scratched around trying to find food under the glittery white carpet, then found my slippers and went downstairs to find her.

  The kitchen was a hive of activity as Gran had been cooking.

  “Enfin! I thought you would sleep all day!”

  I eyed her warily as she seemed unreasonably cheerful given the circumstances, and sat down at the table as she had pulled out a chair for me.

  I was handed a plate of crêpes with sugar and lemon. Then a plate filled with mini pain au chocolat, croissants, and pain aux raisin. A big bowl of fruit appeared next, along with a china bowl of natural yoghurt, a big pot of Gran’s own honey and some muesli.

  “Coffee or tea?” she asked, with a cheery smile.

  “Tea please. Gran - what’s going on?”

  She moved about the kitchen, not looking at me. “What do you mean?” she asked, sounding far too nonchalant. “I just thought you could do with a good breakfast this morning.”

  “After what happened last night you mean?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

  Gran hesitated a moment, glancing at me and quickly away again. “Mais oui, well that’s best forgotten now, we have so much to do. We have been entrusted with the task of finding the stone.”

  “What?” I demanded. “Did you actually say forget about last night? I won’t forget last night as long as I live!” I looked at her in astonishment. “What was all that about? Corvus thought I was someone else didn’t he? Why is that? What did he think you’d done?”

  Gran sighed and handed me a mug of tea, sitting down heavily in the chair opposite.

  “Oui, Jéhenne, you are right. I must explain, at least a little.” She picked up one of the little pain au raisins and started to pull all the raisins out one by one.

  “Jéhenne, how old do you think I am?”

  I was a little startled by the change in the conversation but I figured I’d humour her for the moment.

  “Er, I’m not sure eighty… maybe?” Gran snorted at this so I hastily amended my answer. “I meant seventy.”

  “Jéhenne, I am almost six hundred years old.” She looked at me, her sharp green eyes intense, trying to gauge my reaction. I didn’t know what to say. After last night, my understanding of how the world worked had been stood on its head. So I guessed this one had to be added to a growing list of bizarre discoveries. It was becoming one hell of a list. My brain seemed stuck in a fog and I wanted to laugh and say I didn’t believe her. The problem was that I did, I just didn’t know why.

  I had a sudden thought.

  “Gran, you’re not some sort of vampire are you?”

  “Certainly not! Merde! The idea, me a vampire? Jéhenne how could you suggest it?”

  “Sorry,” I said feeling flustered. “But normal people don’t live to be six hundred years old!”

  “Les Corbeaux are not normal people,” she replied with dignity.

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” I muttered.”OK, so I can talk to dead people and weird stuff tends to happen around me, but I’m not like you, Gran. What you did last night was incredible.” I paused. “Felix said you are a great witch.”

  “Oui, c’est vrai.” She nodded - not a modest one apparently.

  “But don’t you see I’m like Mum, maybe the gift skips a generation or two.”

  “Non!” She shook her head, looking furious at the idea. “Listen to me. Your power has not been used, so it is dormant at the moment, but if you call on it, it will come to you. You’ve kept it at bay for years, but it affected you, Jéhenne. Why do you think you were so thin and weak and then changed so suddenly? When you reached seventeen the power increased, you couldn’t hold it back any longer.”

  “That’s why I started seeing the ghosts again?”

  Gran nodded.

  “And that’s why I changed, I mean I got…” I waved my hands around awkwardly and she laughed.

  “Oui, that is why you became beautiful.” I opened my mouth to protest but Gran held up her hand.

  “It is a part of what we are, Jéhenne. Our families have always been hunters, and looking that way makes it easier to attract our prey.”

  “Prey?” I repeated aghast. “You mean we’re some sort of honey trap? What on earth for?”

  Gran sighed and ran her hands wearily through her thick white hair.

  “Never mind that now, Jéhenne. Suffice to say we fight the evil of this world. What’s more to the point is the problem you now have is that you do not know how to use your powers, how to control them, and this could make you dangerous.”

  I sipped my tea for a moment, trying anxiously to digest this latest information.

  “Is that why Corvus was so angry, he thinks I’m a danger?” The idea that I could pose any threat to him seemed ridiculous.

  Gran glanced at me and began arranging her collection of raisins into a small pile. She shrugged and avoided my gaze.

  “Maybe.”

  I knew that she was hiding something from me but decided I couldn’t face anymore revelations for the moment. I’d tackle that later. For now I returned to the question that was bugging me.

  “How can you be that old, Gran? How could you have stayed here all that time without anyone noticing?”

  Gran smiled. “Ah, Jéhenne, now that is the greatest part of the gift. Our kind inhabits a body that is basically human, indeed mortal, but our spirits are incredibly strong. We can allow the body to age at the rate normally expected but at any time we can regenerate and the body will return to its youthful state.”

  “No shit!” I breathed in awe.

  “Oui!” Gran’s eyes glittered with excitement. “It’s wonderful, non?”

  “Amazing,” I agreed. “Just like Dr Who!”

  “Dr who?”

  “Oh, never mind. Can I do it? I mean not that I want to yet of course.” I’d just got past the stage of having to show ID, no way did I want to go backwards just yet.

  Gran smiled. “Not yet, chérie. You will have that decision to make when you reach twenty one. We will have a ceremony to celebrate this special event and you must decide whether to remain mortal and live just one lifetime or to fulfil your destiny and live many.”

  “So you're immortal then?” I said, feeling suddenly rather over awed by the woman in front of me.

  “It is not that simple, Jéhenne. These bodies are as fragile as any human's. We can be killed and if it is sudden with no time to start the regeneration process … then we will die, but otherwise yes we are immortal. You will remain mortal until your twenty first birthday, and then you must choose.”

  I looked at her, a sudden thought in my head.

  “What about Mum? What did she choose?”

  Gran sighed and looked sadly at me. “She loves your father, Jéhenne, and she chose a mortal life.”

  I nodded, I had known that would be the answer and it obviously didn’t change anything. In the normal way of things people get old and die, but I felt depressed just the same.

  “So how do you change back to being twenty one again without anyone noticing?”

  “Ah ha.” She grinned, tapping the side of her nose. “I make sure once a year I take a little holiday with my niece in Bordeaux and I tell everyone what a lovely girl she is and how I’m leaving her everything in my will. Then on one of my visi
ts, I succumb to a sudden illness and the lovely niece returns and takes my place, voilà!”

  I grinned at her.”Cool.”

  “Bien sûr, very cool.” She nodded, looking smug.

  “But why not change sooner? Why get old at all if you don’t have to?”

  “At first I would not let myself get older than about twenty six.” She grinned. “I am terribly vain, to be honest. But now with all the advances in medical care, the death of a young woman would cause too many questions, but an old lady can pass unnoticed.  I have never waited this long before, but I decided it would be an experience and I was afraid if I became a young woman, you would not accept me as being your Grandmother. I knew you would return to me one day.”

  “That would have been a bit of a stretch.” I smiled and finished my tea, my mind alive with the possibilities of the life that had now been opened to me. “I think I might go for a walk in the snow, I need to clear my head. I seem to have a lot to think about.”

  “But, Jéhenne, you’ve hardly eaten a thing,” she protested, looking at the groaning table top with dismay.

  I shrugged and acknowledged just how rattled I must be to have lost my appetite. “I’m just not very hungry, I’m sorry.”

  “D’accord,” she said with a sigh. “But tomorrow we must begin the search for the ring. We may be away a few days, so you’ll need to pack and help me get ready to leave.”

  “Oh.” I said disappointed. “But I’d thought I’d go out with some friends tonight.” After all the drama of the past twenty four hours I felt the need to hide in what I still considered the real world for a while until I felt a little less adrift.

  “Oh, well,” she said, giving me an indulgent smile. “You can pack in the morning, as long as we leave before lunchtime, it’s a long way.”

  She reached over and patted my hand, looking every inch a normal loving granny. I smiled back with a peculiar feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realised that - although I had no doubt she loved me - she was anything but normal.

  I grabbed boots, a scarf and gloves and a warm coat and trudged out into the snow. It wasn’t that thick, and most of it would probably be gone by tonight but for now it gave the impression that the world had been cleaned.

  The quiet was the most noticeable thing. Not that it was ever really noisy out here, just birds and the occasional rumble of a tractor, but now all I could hear was the scrunch of my boots and my own breathing.

  I walked over the fields in the opposite direction from the cave, which was a place I had no wish to revisit in the near future. As the landscape around here was heavily wooded it wasn’t too long before I reached the trees.

  I wouldn’t have dared to have gone into the woods at the weekend at this time of year, for fear of getting shot by the chasse. The local men generally got together after a few Ricards and headed to the woods to shoot something, more often than not, each other. However, on a Friday morning I figured I should be pretty safe so carried on into the tree line.

  I soon found what I was looking for - a big fallen tree. I brushed the snow off with my gloved hand, sat down and sighed, closing my eyes for a moment and just enjoying the peace.

  I had sat like that for maybe ten minutes, just thinking about everything Gran had said and wondering what it would mean to stay young forever, when I was startled by a loud cawing and squawking coming from the edge of the field. I got up and ran to investigate. It sounded like something was being attacked.

  Sure enough, when I emerged from the woods five massive black crows rose up, their glossy wings beating indignantly. They seemed to be yelling at me for interrupting them. They flew up into the trees and settled, watching me and opening their massive black beaks to caw in annoyance.

  I searched the ground and for a moment couldn’t see what the fuss had been about, when my eye was taken by a little splash of red on the snow.

  There, lying on its side twitching was a white crow. I gasped as I had never seen such a thing before. I knew you could get albino animals and birds of any sort and that they were often attacked for their difference, but I had never seen one.

  “Oh you poor thing.” The big bird watched me balefully with one pink eye. “Don’t worry, sweetie, I won’t let them get you,” I crooned.

  I bent down slowly so as not to frighten him too much and gently picked him up. He squawked a bit but it was half-hearted and he didn’t struggle. He had feathers missing in places and the top of his head was bloody, but I couldn’t see anything broken so maybe it was just shock more than anything else.

  I went to tuck him inside my coat to keep him warm but then thought better of it as he might be crawling with fleas. Instead I wrapped him up in my scarf. He suffered this indignity with very good grace and we set off for home.

  “Don’t worry, I’m a freak of nature too, we’ll get along just fine,” I said, hoping I sounded reassuring.

  When I got back to Gran’s I went straight into the barn and hunted around until I found an old metal rabbit hutch and pushed a couple of sticks through the bars to make perches. I showed it to the crow.

  “There you go, you can stay in there until you’re strong again, OK?”

  “What have you got there, Jéhenne?” said a voice behind me.

  “Oh, Gran, you made me jump! Look it’s an albino crow. The poor thing was being attacked but I rescued it.”

  The colour drained from Gran's face and she shook her head. She looked sick.

  “You should have left it to its fate, Jéhenne. Give it here, I’ll kill it for you.”

  She stepped forward to take it from me, but I moved hurriedly away.

  “No! What do you mean? It’s going to be fine.” I frowned at her, wondering what on earth she could have against the poor injured bird.

  “It’s a bad omen. I don’t want it in the house.” She was angry now and I looked at her in astonishment.

  “No, I’m going to look after him until he’s better, then I’ll let him go.” I felt a strange itch in my fingers and palms and clenched my fists against it.

  “Jéhenne--” she began, but I cut her off.

  “If you don’t like it I can go and stay somewhere else!” I shouted, suddenly furious. I didn’t know why I felt so strongly about the bird and I had no idea where I would go, but I knew I would never let Gran kill it, no matter what.

  Gran looked at me steadily, her green eyes narrowed. “Jéhenne, you are too tender hearted, you must be careful, it will get you into trouble.”

  “Gran, it’s only a bird.” I laughed, hoping to break the tension and she gave a huff of annoyance.

  “We’ll see.”

  She turned abruptly and walked back to the cottage.

  I shrugged, putting the whole thing down to her usual eccentricity and put the crow into the cage and took it into the house. Gran went into her herb room, muttering under her breath and so I took the crow up to my room and out of her way. I figured I'd better try and cheer Gran up so I hauled out my suitcase and started to pack for our trip so we could get an early start in the morning.

  The rest of the afternoon was spent looking at a map, finding the best route to a little village in Normandy. Apparently she had dowsed for the stone using a crystal and was sure the stone was in the general area.

  How we were supposed to find one stone, no matter how special, in the middle of all that was beyond me, but I figured Gran must have a plan.

  Later I phoned Claudette and found she was going to the cinema with her brother Jean-Pierre and his friend Phil. She was quick to invite me along, and so it was arranged that they’d pick me up later.

  I’d met Claudette soon after I’d arrived last autumn. She was a year younger than me and thrilled to discover an English friend. She'd made me swear to keep in touch.

  I’d kept my promise and we organised a day out about a week after our first meeting. She’d brought along her brother Jean-Pierre, who was pretty hot, not that I was looking, and his friends Phil and Annabelle and we’d b
egun hanging around together. So I’d made some friends, which was a relief.

  Phil and Annabelle were eighteen and seventeen and Annabelle obviously had a thing for Jean-Pierre. She was a pretty blonde, but he didn’t seem to notice her. Phil was something of a clown and didn’t mind being the butt of his own jokes. He made me laugh and I liked him instantly.

  The cinema was pokey and old fashioned and I felt a stab of longing for the plush cinemas I was used to at home.

  We took our seats with Annabelle at the end, then Jean-Pierre, then me in the middle, and then Phil and Claudette. Claudette smiled at me across Phil and tried out her English.

  “What are you doing for the rest of this week, Jéhenne?” she said with her pretty accent.

  “I’m going away with Gran for a few days.”

  “Anywhere nice?”

  I frowned, remembering what we were supposed to be doing. “I don’t think so, no.”

  I must have looked depressed, because Phil grinned at me and asked if I found it boring here after living in London for so long.

  “Oh no!” I protested. “I love it here. It’s beautiful, and the people are really friendly compared to London. It’s just a bit… “ I hesitated, I could hardly say ‘peaceful’ after everything that had been going on, could I? “Er, more rural.”

  Phil laughed and I breathed out, relieved I hadn’t offended him.

  I was so engrossed in the film that I didn’t notice the arm around my shoulder until Phil shifted in his seat. I looked sideways to see him smirking at me. His arms were by his side. So that meant… I turned my head to the left. Jean-Pierre was staring fixedly at the screen, and his right arm was placed around my shoulders. I quickly twisted my head back to look at the screen, pretending not to have seen the deadly glare Annabelle was shooting in my direction.

  I’d figured beforehand she fancied Jean-Pierre, and I had no intention of getting in the middle of it. I decided there was nothing I could do without embarrassing both of us so I steadfastly ignored him and tried to concentrate on the film.

  The second it ended, I jumped out of my seat and followed Claudette and Phil out of the cinema and into the blinding light glaring off the snow outside.

  Jean-Pierre and Annabelle were right behind us.

  As we walked back up the high street in Nontron, which was much higher than the village, I looked over the wall at the higgledy-piggeldy roof tops which looked like they’d been dusted with icing sugar. Annabelle suddenly faltered in a long discussion about the finer points of one of the actors in the film, and I looked up to see what made her stop.

  Felix was strolling towards us, hands pushed nonchalantly into his pockets, grinning broadly at me. I felt my mouth go dry. I wasn’t even really sure what the protocol was for meeting him in front of other people. Was I supposed to pretend I didn’t know him?

  I was still debating over this when he reached us and pulled me firmly into an embrace, leaning down and kissing me twice on both cheeks. He was still smiling, and I opened my mouth to say something but only managed a weak, “Hello.”

  Felix didn’t seem bothered by this at all and just started talking in perfectly accented, fluent French. Smooth bastard.

  “Jéhenne, how are you? It’s been far too long since I last saw you!”

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see Claudette gazing at him. She was practically drooling. Honestly, did she have to give Felix anymore reason to be full of himself? I pulled myself together and introduced Jean-Pierre and then Annabelle, who was trying to look cool and unimpressed and failing miserably.

  “Would you mind much if I stole Jéhenne from you? I have something to discuss with her?” His eyes glittered with mischief though he was very polite, but there was a slightly forceful tone to his voice. Jean-Pierre opened his mouth in what I think might have been a “no”, but Annabelle got there before him.

  “But of course you can! We are both going home anyway and I’m sure Jéhenne wants to talk to you.” She looked up at him with obvious admiration. Felix gave her a slow, approving smile and she flushed pink. At least it didn’t clash with her hair like it did with mine I thought bitterly.

  “Merci beaucoup - Annabelle was it? Such a beautiful name, it suits you very well.”

  I sighed in irritation and noticed that he hadn’t bothered asking me if I wanted to come. I wondered if he had a book: “How to be charming, witty, and gorgeous all at the same time.” If he had, he’d certainly been taking notes and it was clearly working on Annabelle, who giggled and tossed her blonde hair around a bit.

  Jean-Pierre looked mutinous and although I was still a bit annoyed, I wasn’t keen on sticking around. The arm over my shoulder in the cinema had made me feel uncomfortable and I had no intention of making an enemy of Annabelle if I could help it. I smiled apologetically and said a hasty goodbye to everyone before turning to Felix, who took my arm and linked it with his. To be honest, despite his presumptuous behaviour, it seemed much easier being with him than it had been with Jean-Pierre around and Annabelle staring daggers at me.

  I was just wondering what it was he wanted to talk to me about when he veered suddenly to the right down a small lane, towards a gleaming, cherry red sports car. I stared at Felix in amazement while he walked ahead and opened the passenger door. He grinned at my expression.

  “Are you going to stand there all day, or do you want a ride home?”

  I nodded wordlessly, then edged forwards, sitting down gingerly on the spotless black leather seat. Felix slipped elegantly into the driver’s seat and looked sideways at me, his eyes amused and full of warmth.

  “What?” I asked, flustered by his attention.

  “That colour suits you.” He said, smiling at me.

  “What one?” I asked, confused.

  “Red. You match the car.” He laughed at my embarrassment and started the engine, opening up the convertible roof so we could see the stars appearing in the darkening sky.

  “Isn’t it a bit cold for that?” I pulled my coat tighter.

  “Wimp.” He chuckled, but pulled a cashmere throw from behind my seat and arranged it over my knees gently like I was an elderly relative. But then the look he gave me and the time he took tucking it in was definitely not the sort of behaviour he’d display with his granny. At least I hoped not.

  The car growled to life and he began to negotiate the narrow streets. We finally pulled out onto the main road and he glanced at me with a smile.

  “Hold on,” he said, and hit the accelerator.

  The car leapt forwards, the noise echoing around the town at a deafening level and I prayed to whoever might be listening that I’d make it home alive.

  We drove around for a while until I saw the time. Gran would worry if I wasn’t back soon and I had to be up early, so I asked Felix to start driving home. He agreed, if a little reluctantly. He pulled over just before the path leading up to the cottage which was too rutted for his pretty car to attempt in the slushy mud and climbed out.

  I got out too and looked out across the fields towards the cottage. The lights were on and it looked very welcoming from here.

  “Do you miss it?”

  Startled by the sudden sound of his voice, I looked over to see Felix staring at me inquisitively.

  “Miss what?”

  He raised an eyebrow like it was an obvious question.

  “London,” he replied, “your family and friends.”

  “Well there isn’t much family to miss,” I admitted, hoping I didn't sound too pathetic. “Just my mum and dad.”

  “Friends then, did you have a boyfriend when you lived over there?”

  I snorted helplessly, remembering the disastrous dates I’d been on back in England. I didn’t really want to tell Felix about that.

  “Not really,” was all I could bring myself to say.

  “I find that very hard to believe.” His voice was low and seductive and I chuckled, he just couldn’t help himself. An icy breeze snatched at my clothes and
I shivered, suddenly realising how cold I was. I’d felt a little chilly when we’d been in the car but I hadn’t really been bothered by it, the drive had been so exhilarating. Felix moved closer, slipping his jacket from his slim frame and tugging it over my shoulders. I made a half-hearted noise of protest, but not for long, his jacket was warm and I felt a bit better once I had an extra layer on. He stayed close to me. I could see the light from the cottage reflecting in his eyes.

  “I should probably get inside.” I shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. Wondering and hoping if I was reading the signs correctly.

  “That’s a shame,” Felix murmured, gazing into my eyes.

  “Why?” I asked, mesmerized and finding it difficult to look away.

  He leaned closer and angled his head so that his mouth was right next to my ear. My heart began to pick up speed and I felt a little less chilled.

  “Because you fascinate me, I think about you all the time,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling the side of my neck.

  I shivered, though it definitely wasn't from cold now and Felix pulled back so that he was staring directly into my eyes again. His arm circled my waist, tugging me forwards, so that I was held tightly against his tall frame. He cupped one hand under my chin, tilting my face up towards his, and pressed his lips gently against mine.

  My eyes widened wondering if this was what I wanted after all, and I made to pull away but Felix wrapped both arms around my waist and pulled me even closer. His lips were warm and soft and I stopped resisting and closed my eyes, relaxing into his arms. When he finally broke away he looked down at me, smiling broadly. I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. Felix sighed, glancing at the silver watch that glittered on his wrist.

  “You need to get back I guess?”

  “Yes.” I said, wondering if he'd kiss me again before I left. I hoped my obvious regret wasn't too revealing.

  Felix grinned at my expression.

  “Don't look so anxious..”

  I breathed out. “I’m sorry, you just …”

  “Took you by surprise?” he finished.

  I nodded. He flashed his white teeth at me.

  “I couldn’t help myself. You’re irresistible.”

  I laughed and shook my head, he was so full of it. “Yeah right.”

  He burst out laughing. “You really have no idea do you? Querida, you were the most beautiful creature at the council meeting, no one could take their eyes off you.”

  I remembered my bin bag ensemble and snorted. “You’re a rubbish liar.”

  “I’m a very good liar actually, but that was the truth.” Felix smirked. “Can we focus on when I get to see you next though?”

  I couldn’t help smiling, he was irrepressible.

  “I'm going away for a bit, when I get back maybe?”

  He nodded as I handed him back his jacket. “Go home, beautiful, I’ll see you when I see you.”

  “Thanks, Felix.” I shouted over the noise of the engine starting.

  I sprinted up the path for the last couple of metres towards the cottage, hearing the faint roar of the car as it disappeared into the night.

  I was just walking along the little path through the garden when I felt a tremor in the air around me. I stopped dead for a moment and felt the tiny hairs on my arms and neck stand on end. Turning around I scanned the garden, trying not to panic though my heart was in my throat.

  “Who’s there?” I demanded, hoping I sounded braver than I felt.

  There was no answer of course and I told myself I was being ridiculous but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. I stood in the dark for a moment listening intently but hearing nothing but the harsh rasp of my own breathing until the feeling subsided. I turned back to the cottage and tried to convince myself it was just my over active imagination playing tricks on me.

  I gave the kitchen door a shove and stepped gratefully into the warmth, tugging my coat off and draping it over the arm of a chair. Gran was in front of the stove, stirring something in a saucepan. She looked over at me as I sat down.

  “Chérie, I was beginning to worry about you,” she scolded. “Do you want some hot chocolate?”

  My mouth watered.

  “Yes please, Gran.”

  She poured a generous serving into a large mug, handing it to me and I held the cup between my hands and enjoyed the warmth creeping back into my fingers. I took a sip and remembered with a smile the feel of soft lips on mine.