Surviving a Vampire Love Story, page 6
"You are healed," Eisa says, and steps back.
No wound can heal so quickly, but it doesn't hurt. She moves her hair behind her ears and faces him. "How is that possible?"
"I've got a special ointment," he says with a smirk.
"And it can heal people within a day?"
Wordless, he points at her legs.
"Like magic?" She raises her brows.
"Something like magic," he agrees, and gestures towards the teacup near the bed. "It will help you feel better."
Waking up in fear, Zhuri has forgotten about her injury, but she has been walking around just fine. She doesn't need any more treatment; however, if the tea has some magic properties, then she doesn't mind taking a look. She rushes towards the cup and peeks at the liquid inside.
A light steam is still rising up the black concoction. It seems ordinary, nothing special. "It looks like regular tea," she says, and spins around.
Eisa steps towards her. "It is a regular tea."
Her brows furrow. "Then how is it going to make me feel better?"
He chuckles. "Because that's what tea does."
That's a good point. Putting her palms in her pockets, Zhuri rocks back and forth. It doesn't seem Eisa is in a mood to let her meet his family, but she can still try to get some information out of him. "When did you bring me here?"
"Last night. After you fainted," he answers.
"And your parents were okay with you bringing an unknown girl late at night?"
He picks the teacup and brings it near her lips. "They didn't know you were here?"
Bingo! They are here. Taking the cup from him, she grins. "Do you often do it?" she asks, and takes a sip. "Sneak highschool girls in your room?"
For a second, he keeps staring at her. "You are the first one in years."
Years? Zhuri raises her brows. Yes, Eisa is a vampire. He's been alive for a long time. "How old are you?"
"Hundred and eighteen," he answers, as if it's a normal age.
"That's older than my grandfather," she says, cringing a bit.
Despite her reaction, Eisa smiles.
Maybe it's funny in the story, but in the real world, Eisa will be in jail for hitting on a highschooler. Though that's not her concern at the moment. She needs to know more about him and his family. Being in this world for so long, they must know something about the outer world. "Have you ever had visitors?" she asks, trying to drag the conversation.
"Rarely."
She takes another sip of tea. Despite the strangeness of this universe, the tea tastes the same. "When was the last time someone visited your house?"
"Several years ago." He shrugs. "I don't remember the exact date."
Gulping the last few drops, Zhuri passes the cup to him. She glances at the white walls of the room. There's nothing unusual about them. "Have you ever had someone different in your house?"
Eisa moves back and places the cup on the table and faces her. "I'm different from the others," he says in the dullest tone possible.
These vampire and werewolf types of people always want to act as though they are unique. Zhuri controls the urge to roll her eyes. He isn't catching the hint. She steps closer to him. "No, I mean someone who is not from here."
"I've a few relatives who live outside Townsville."
"No." Dropping her head, she rubs the back of her neck. Maybe she'll have to ask him directly. "I mean someone who doesn't belong here." She lifts her chin and looks at him. "Someone from the outside world."
"Like aliens?" he asks, squinting.
In a way, she's alien to this world. She bobs her head. "Yes."
He scoffs. "Do you believe in that?"
In a world filled with vampires and werewolves, he thinks aliens are bizarre. "Yes."
"Maybe you hit your head last night." He looks at her forehead. "If you want, you can rest some more before I drop you home."
Cara's parents must be worried sick about her. Eisa is not giving her answers anyway. There's no point in staying here. "No. I want to go now."
Without further argument, he slides the window door up. "As you wish."
She darts near him and stares down at the ground a floor below. "We are leaving from here?"
"Yes." He grabs her by the waist and jumps down.
Chapter 14
Eisa drops Zhuri in her room, and without a word, jumps out of the window.
"Who is it?" Sara calls from below.
Ignoring her, Zhuri stares out of the window, trying to find Eisa, but he has disappeared. If he doesn't believe in the outer world, he can't help her. His parents might know something he doesn't, and they might help her, but she'll have to meet them first.
The door opens with a thud. "When did you come back?" Sara asks.
Zhuri faces her.
"What did you do last night?" she asks.
It's odd how calm Sara is, given her daughter has been missing. Dave darts in from behind. "Cara, you have returned," he says, huffing. "How was your night out with Esha?"
Zhuri doesn't remember anything about staying at her friend's house. She cocks her head.
Walking between her and Sara, Dave places his hands on his waist. "I told your mother about your plans and also about your dead phone battery."
Sara stands next to him. "It's not nice sharing things only with your father. I was worried when you didn't come home..."
Her eyes widen as she steps close to Zhuri. Grabbing Zhuri's shoulders, she looks down. "What happened to your clothes?"
Up until now, Zhuri herself hasn't noticed the mud stains on her jeans. Dave has covered up for her disappearance last night, but looking at her dirty clothes, he stands wordlessly.
"I fell while running back home." It's probably the dumbest excuse in the whole world, yet the first thing to enter her mind.
"Why were you running?" Sara gasps. "Did Esha refuse to drop you home?"
"No, no." Zhuri steps back. "I insisted on walking back. I was trying to get my steps, and I fell near the woods while running, but I'm not hurt."
Shaking her head, Sara purses her lips. "Why aren't you more careful?"
Despite the rise in her voice, her expression changes the next minute. She smiles and spins around, walking towards the door. "Clean up and come down. I've baked your favourite pumpkin cake."
Pumpkin cake. Zhuri's lips turn down in disgust. Thankfully, Sara trudges down the stairs without looking at her reaction.
Dave strides near her. "What happened?" he whispers. "Where were you?"
She narrates the entire incident of attack and rescue, and tells him Eisa doesn't believe in the outer world.
"Does it matter what he thinks?" Dave points at her. "You are here, and my daughter... is not."
"But I can't tell him that, can I?" She raises her arms in the air and drops them, slapping her thighs. "I need to meet the rest of his family."
"How many vampires are there?" he asks. "I mean in his family."
Despite sharing Dave's curiosity, Zhuri needs to get out of these clothes. She can smell herself and that's never a good sign. "All of them," she says, and darts near the bed, removing her jacket.
"And what about Jay?" His eyes follow her as she moves.
"Just him." She plops on the mattress.
"Do they know something?"
Zhuri is more eager to return home than Dave can ever imagine. Being stuck in this loop of searching for the answers everyday but returning only with disappointment is frustrating for her. Dave's endless questions are not giving her any hope. Her cheeks turn warm as she shakes her head. "I don't know. Did you find something, or are you just relying on me for everything?"
Without answering her, he trudges out of the room. Zhuri stares at the door, waiting for him to say something on his way, but he doesn't utter a word.
Thinking he's gone, she pulls her boots and throws them at the wall.
Footsteps petter behind her again. She spins around and sees Dave walk in with an open black-covered book. It's big enough to cover his forearms.
Closing the door behind, he places it on the bed. "Yesterday I went to the oldest library in the town," he says, turning a few pages. "Hoping to find answers."
Zhuri crosses her legs and peers at the muddy white pages of the book. Most of its written words are in English, but there are some foreign letters she can't read.
Dave stops turning papers and points at the picture of the moon on a tomb. "You told me your friend wished something to the moon, right?" He faces her.
"Yes." She nods.
"Look." He moves his finger over the writing, and starts reading, "The moon god has the ability to transfer the ownership of any living body to change the fate of the person in question. On completion of the quest, everyone will return to their respective bodies."
Zhuri's brows furrow. "Change the fate? What does that mean?"
"The moon god wants you to change Cara's fate," Dave says. "When it's done, you'll return to your own world, and I'll get my daughter back."
"But what am I supposed to change?" She shrugs.
"I've given it a thought." Dave scratches his chin. "Maybe Cara was going to make a grave mistake. Something that will get her in trouble she can't handle. That can be the reason the moon god sent you here. To save her."
In theory it sounds fantastic, but in reality nonsensical. "And what danger is she in?"
"Didn't you say, you have read this story? You must know everything that will happen to Cara." He leans towards her. "Tell me, what was my daughter's fate?"
Though she understands his concern, he's worrisome for no reason. "Nothing special. She lived happily ever after. I don't know why anyone would want to change that."
"With whom?" Dave asks. "Whom did my daughter marry?"
"She..." Words dissolve in Zhuri's mouth. It's tough telling a father, her little girl will marry a monster and become a monster herself. She crawls back in her bed.
"What happened?" he asks. "Whom will Cara marry?"
Staring at the book, Zhuri turns it towards her. She has to divert the topic. "Are you sure that's what all of this is about?"
Dave slams the book shut and moves it to the side. "Why are you trying to avoid my question? You know it. Tell me."
"You won't like the answer." She uncrosses her legs and stands on the other side of bed.
"It's okay." He gulps. "I can hear it."
No matter what he says, he'll never be ready to hear it, yet she has to tell me. "Eisa."
"What?" His face turns red. "The vampire?"
She has expected that reaction. "Yes, the vampire."
"Why would she marry that monster?"
That's something even Zhuri has pondered about, but she doesn't understand. However, she has read what will happen next, and Now that Dave knows about the marriage, it won't hurt to tell him the entire truth. "She'll marry against you and your wife's will. Leave you both for Eisa, and I didn't read about Cara ever meeting you two again."
Dave stares at her with wide eyes.
Looking at his terrified face, Zhuri realises she's talking to the father of a sixteen-year-old girl. Telling him everything is a bad idea. She raises her hands dismissively. "But I stopped reading after the first book. I don't know what happened in the next part. Maybe she reconciled with her parents. You."
"Reconcile," he mutters, and stares at the book.
She follows his gaze and looks at the words. The moon god will change bodies to change the fate of the person in question, but Aditi has prayed to the moon.
Zhuri's brows knit. "One thing doesn't make sense."
"What?" Dave asks, without looking away from the book.
"If my roommate prayed to the moon, and it got me here, that would mean the moon god listened to her prayers." She rubs her brows. "This means Aditi wanted to change my fate. If that's the case, then only Cara should have taken my place. Why am I here?"
Tears glint in Dave's eyes as he looks at her. "She wasn't the only one who prayed that night."
Chapter 15
Zhuri's cheeks flush as she sits across the table, glaring at Dave on the other side. His wish to the moon god of saving his daughter has landed Zhuri in this place. Somehow, he and Aditi have wished for the same thing on the same night. Talk about bad luck.
Avoiding Zhuri's gaze, Dave takes the last bite of the cake. The fork clangs against the steel as he drops it on the plate and gets up. He carries his plate behind towards the sink. Having no appetite, Zhuri follows.
"Are you done already?" Sara asks, dabbing her thin lips with a paper towel. She points at the cake in the centre of the table. "Have some more."
Though it's a sweet gesture, Zhuri is not Cara. Gulping down the first piece has been a challenge enough. Besides, she has better things to do than choking on some nasty cake. "I'm not hungry."
She trudges next to Dave, doing dishes, and slams her plate on the counter. He faces her.
"What happened?" Sara asks.
"Nothing," Zhuri answers, without taking her eyes away from Dave. "The plate slipped from Dad's hand," she mocks.
"Be careful, Dave," Sara says.
He glances back at his wife and back at Zhuri. "You dropped the plate, not me."
"Really, is that your concern?" She crosses her arms. "A dropped plate and not your missing daughter."
"Quite," he mutters, and checks on Sara still enjoying her meal.
Zhuri's nostrils flare. "Are you scared of your wife? You were scared of your daughter's decisions as well. Isn't that the reason you got me here? Do you even have a spine?"
Putting the scrubber in its case, he twists in her direction. "I didn't know it would work. I just prayed for my daughter's safety, like any other father would."
"No father would want to replace his daughter."
"In your room now," he orders, thinking Zhuri will listen.
"I'm. Not. Your. Daughter." Her eyes grow wider. "You can't tell me what to do."
"I'm asking you, not telling you." He glances at Sara walking in with a plate. "No in front of her," he murmurs, and trudges outside the kitchen.
"What were you two discussing?" Sara asks.
"Nothing." Zhuri darts towards the door.
"You two have been keeping a lot of secrets from me."
Zhuri stops and takes a deep breath. Despite the urge to tell her the truth, she can't do it. It will be foolish. Forcing a smile, she pivots. "Your husband is keeping things from you."
Before Sara replies, Zhuri strides ahead, up the stairs, and into her room.
Dave springs out of bed.
"What is it?" Zhuri's face turns warm as she asks.
"I'm just as troubled as you are," he says, and strides towards her. "But keep Sara out of it."
How silly of him to assume they can do it? She cocks her head. "If you can tell I'm not your daughter, then so can your wife. I can't keep pretending to be someone I'm not."
He nods. "I know. I'm aware of what my wish has done, but I don't want my wife to suffer from it."
"What you want doesn't matter." Zhuri spreads her arms. "You'll have to face what you have done, and because of you, I'll have to face it as well."
"It wasn't just me."
Yes, Aditi has played a big role in this mess, but Zhuri can't deal with her from this world. She throws her head back and spins around, grunting. "I know." Facing him again, she slaps her thighs. "I don't care. I want to go back home, where I belong."
"Believe me I want it more than you." Dave twists and picks up the book sitting on the bed. "But you promise to keep Sara out of it."
It's not like Zhuri wants to involve her. After all, Sara hasn't done anything wrong. "Fine."
Though it might happen and she won't have any control over it. They will have to prepare for the worse, but Dave seems too afraid of the possibility. Zhuri squints. "Are you scared that she'll leave you if she finds out what you did to her daughter?"
Slamming the book shut, he purses his lips. "She's my daughter as well."
"Of course she is." Zhuri tilts her head. "But I didn't ask that."
Wordlessly he opens the book and points at a picture of the tomb. "Ancient witches used to worship the moon god in graveyards."
She shrugs. "So."
"Maybe they'll answer our prayers there."
What Dave is saying doesn't sound like a good plan. Be it reality or fiction, getting close to dead people is not something one should do. She shudders. "And you want to go to a graveyard?"
"We," he corrects her. "Tonight after Sara goes to sleep, we'll leave."
Anything is possible in this world. If vampires and werewolves can be real, then so can be ghosts. Zhuri's jaw drops. "No."
"Why not?" Dave throws the book on the bed. "Don't you want to go home?"
"Yes, I want to," she spats, "but it doesn't mean I want to be possessed by some evil spirit."
Dave's forehead wrinkles. "Ghosts aren't real."
"Neither are vampires," she mocks, "yet I met one this morning."
"That's different."
"Why? Because you are saying it?" She shakes her head and trudges near the bed. "There has to be some other way."
"There isn't," Dave yells.
Spinning around, she glares at him. He's not her father to raise his voice. "Then you go alone. I'm not coming with you." She raises her brows. "Alright? And if you meet the moon god, let me know."
"What will you do?" he asks. Etches of rage crawl over his face. "You haven't done anything yet to find a solution."
Since the first day Zhuri has been trying to escape this place. It's outrageous for him to accuse her of doing nothing. "I've been chasing vampires and werewolves in search of answers." She points at her feet. "Last night I even got bit by one of them."
His face softens. "What?" He crouches, checking her feet. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"
She pulls her leg back. "Eisa fixed it. Don't worry about it."
Dave stands up. "How did he fix it?"
"I don't know. He had some special ointment."
Looking around the room, Dave sighs. "It's okay if you don't want to come. I'll go check the graveyards myself."
