Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter

hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up.

“Y-yes.”

He kissed her so gently she barely felt it. Her toes curled in her shoes. He pulled away, a question in his eyes. When he saw she was smiling, he kissed her again a little deeper, moving his lips steadily against hers. Her mouth trembled under his, not entirely sure of what she was doing, but knowing it felt good enough to keep going.

She was so lost in what was happening it surprised her when she felt him pull away again, though, keeping his hand around hers. She looked at him.

“That wasn’t really what I wanted to talk to you about either.” He chuckled.

She laughed a little, too.

“I mean, it was something I wanted to do, but there’s something else…” Aiden reached under the couch and pulled out several pieces of slightly crumpled parchment as Charlotte reeled back to coherency.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“This is a list of all the guards and officers employed directly by the Regime. Every one of them has to go through extensive training, background tests — all that stuff.” Aiden fingered through the different pages, searching.

“So? What does that have to do with anything?” Charlotte wrinkled her nose. It made her uncomfortable Aiden never mentioned that his family was part of the Regime. What else didn’t she know about him? Her thoughts flickered back to Valek, probably waiting sadly at home for her, and began to feel like maybe she had just betrayed him in some odd way — the same way he betrayed her. Suddenly, she found herself wanting to leave.

“You remember the Lycan that attacked us the other day?” he asked, studying the papers.

“Yes, how could I forget? It was the same one that attacked Evangeline and me this evening.”

Aiden froze. “Is it?”

“Yes. He had the same unusual scar across his left eye. Do you remember?” Aiden nodded and Charlotte continued. “And it was hard to tell, but it looked like there was an indent left in his head from when I hit him with my bag,” she explained as Aiden nodded again.

“Interesting.” He pointed to a name on the list. Charlotte leaned over his shoulder. “This guy, Alois Vlcek. Look at the picture.”

“The scar….” She traced the pink line down the strange man’s face. “So, what is this Alois employed to do?”

“He was a guard,” Aiden explained. “He was hired to guard this Occult. He’s trained to smell magic blood, which is why you only get attacked when you leave with one of us. Did you ever notice that?”

“That’s true,” Charlotte realized, rocking back on her knees. “When I left to go to my pond that day, I left by myself. And then it was only when you and I returned together that he was there.”

“Exactly. And then you left with Evangeline tonight.”

“Yes.”

“So that’s it.” He folded the list back up. “That’s what Father’s plan is,” Aiden mused quietly.

“But why didn’t he attack you when you originally left to come find me? When you were alone?”

Aiden cleared his throat. “I don't know.”

“What are you trying to figure out?” Charlotte pried further. “Wouldn’t your father tell you everything you wanted to know, anyway?”

“No.” Aiden huffed under his breath. “Does Valek ever leave the Occult?”

It sounded then like he was almost accusing Valek of something. “No. Valek knows the law, Aiden,” Charlotte fought defensively.

“It doesn’t seem he knows the law to me, Charlotte. He brought you into the Occult, didn’t he?”

Now, Charlotte was sure Aiden meant to accuse Valek of something. It hit her like a ton of bricks and she immediately got to her feet, glaring angrily at him.

“What exactly are you trying to do, Aiden?”

“My father and I spoke about it, and he agrees Valek is in breach of the magic law.”

“That is why that Lycan kept attacking whenever I was with a half-blood, because he isn’t just hunting magic! He’s hunting me with magic! He’s waiting for Valek! ” Fury rolled from her chest, burning in her throat. Panic set in then. Her heart thudded hard against her sternum. “Why would you talk to your father about us? I am mortal, Aiden! I thought you were my friend! You’ve put us in danger! That’s why we have someone attacking us now! They are making sure Valek doesn’t get away because your father is part of the Regime and, because of you, now they know!” Charlotte suddenly found it too hard to breathe. She shut her eyes as she struggled to control her quivering. Her stomach turned over and over as her mind raced about how she was going to get Valek out of this.

“Charlotte—”

“Trust me, this is not going to do you any good! You’re not taking him away from me!” she yelled, not caring anymore about her volume.

“Charlotte, listen,” he pleaded. “Valek is dangerous!”

Charlotte stared at him, her mouth gaping. “Why are you doing this?” Her voice dropped several decibels, becoming soft and pleading.

Aiden stood in front of her, his massive shadow eclipsing her face. “Come on, Charlotte. You can stay with us. I promise it will be better for you than if you return to Valek.”

“I thought you were my friend.” Without waiting for a response, she pushed past him and started back out into the early morning. She’d made it to the living room when she saw Aiden’s sister, Molly, blocking her exit. “Excuse me.” Charlotte warbled.

“Not until you apologize to my brother.” The little Elf stamped her foot.

Charlotte turned back around to see Aiden leaning sadly against the wall, watching her darkly. She looked back to his sister. “Maybe later, Molly. I really have to go.” She smiled, though the action felt plastic.

The little girl frowned.

Aiden walked over to where his sister stood. The sound of his heavy footsteps thumping on the hardwood seemed more overpowering than normal.

“Come on, Molly.” He hoisted her up in his arms.

“But Aiden!” Molly whined.

He grinned at his sister.

Charlotte’s face burned. “Goodbye, Aiden,” she said definitively, and walked out into the night.

She jumped off Aiden’s porch and onto the path toward home. The bleeding hearts that normally grew a vibrant red and orange along the white fence turned brown suddenly before Charlotte's eyes and shriveled to a gray dust. She gasped and glanced over her shoulder to see Aiden peering at her through a window before disappearing back inside his dingy cottage.

She hugged her wounded shoulders tightly and walked briskly, once in a while jogging for some added speed. The angular eyes of the jack-o-lanterns that had been placed on street corners for the holiday seemed to have begun following her movements as she swept past them. Witches were beginning to decorate. All Hallows Eve was the Witches’ favorite, Charlotte recalled, trying to distract herself from her paranoia. Suddenly, she became painfully aware of just how human and alone she was. She glanced around for followers, when she caught the eye of a particularly wicked looking pumpkin grin.

“Charlotte. Charlotte,” the enchanted thing called after her musically. “We know why you are running, Charlotte. Run faster. Run faster. Until you are safely at home.”

Charlotte let out a soft yelp. The Witch community only enchanted jack-o-lanterns for entertainment. Just a mere prank. Charlotte had to remind herself they weren't actually intelligent.

The rest of the pumpkins that lined the other side of the street repeated like the first one had. “Run faster. Run faster. Until you are safely at home.”

Charlotte crinkled her forehead, and did exactly that. She broke into a fast run. It seemed as though the things were following her. She passed dozens of them in a haze of orange as she ran out of the residential district and finally into the town square.

“Charlotte!”