Chapter 27: Twenty Seven

“Is the rest of your kind like your family?”

“No.” his eyes darkened. “We are at our strongest when we drain a human off its life essence.”

“Don’t you get tempted?”

“Only when I’m with you...” He mumbled. “Everyone has a favourite. I’ve never really found other people appealing more than others until recently.”

“Oh.”

“You see back in the day, before dad met mom, he preferred the sweet essence of infants, my sister Rebecca has always been the soft one in the family. She thinks humans smell horrible. She’s never ventured in that direction, Victor preferred virgins, and he says their essence is empowering and youthful.”

I cringed.

“Do I scare you now?”

“No, I’m just wondering what kind of people you prefer.”

“Person,” He corrected. “The rest of the human race I find repulsive. They smell of moulder.”

I sniffed myself.

“Don’t worry princess, you smell heavenly” He mumbled.

I was almost worried about smelling to Bradley like brownies smell to me. I couldn't avoid eating them. Could Bradley be strong enough to control himself from killing me? I gulped.

“What’s the time?” he asked.

I pulled the sleeve of my jacket up and glanced at my wrist watch.

“Half past seven.”

He was silent for a long moment. I glanced up, apprehensive; he was staring at my wrist, a smile tagging at his lips.

“What?”

“You really missed your dad last Saturday didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“This must’ve been your dad’s favourite watch.”

I nodded. “How did you know?”

“At the party you wore sparkling new clothes but only the watch was old, what could that mean?”

I smiled. “He’d given it to me the first day of grade school.”

“You must’ve been close to your father.”

“Yes.” I agreed. “We could sit and talk all day long, about anything. It was like I was talking to myself, but to a part of me that was wiser, older and understanding.”

“You can’t do that with your mom?”

I shook my head. “My mother and I are not exactly friends, it’s like there’s this unreachable distance between us.”

He was still staring at me. “You don’t think she loves you.” Again it was a statement not a question.

“How could anybody possibly love me?” I asked, irritated with myself.

“Never say that.” He boomed harshly. “I’m sure she loves you in her own way.”

“There’s nothing to love about me. I embarrass her.”

“You don’t embarrass me.”

I stared at his glorious perfect face, startled.

He turned to stare at the school entrance. “If we don’t get out of the car Rebecca is going to make a scene.”

“She doesn’t like me?”

“She’s just worried.” He grumbled.

“Oh.”

“You have less than five seconds to make your escape.”

I gathered my things and opened the door.

“Beth.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him.

“Be careful okay?” he frowned. “Try not to get hurt.”

“That’s inevitable. It’s raining.” I reminded him. And with my two left feet I was bound to fall. “And the road is slimy.”

“Just try okay?”

I nodded.

“Should I get you something for lunch?”

I couldn’t find my voice.

He winked.

I felt my cheeks blaze. “See you at lunch then.”

“You have less than a second.” He mumbled, humour colouring his voice. I followed his gaze to the outline of the forest and sure enough Rebecca was walking too fast for my human eyes to follow her steps accordingly. She was practically gliding over the slippery road. I looked around us, good thing the school grounds were deserted.

I scuffled to class. I tripped more than once. When I made it to English class I was out of breath. I fell, exhausted, in my chair and tried to breathe normally.

“A penny for your thoughts?” I didn’t have to look at the door to know it was Benjamin who had spoken.

“I can assure you my thoughts are not that expensive.”

He laughed.

“So you’re a witch.” I whispered.

“Ah.” He groaned. “I see you’ve unravelled the dark mysteries of this town.”

“I wish.”

“Still don’t know what Bradley is.” He guessed.

I nodded. “But I realised, I don’t care.”

“You don’t?” he was staring at me with an unreadable expression.

“It doesn’t matter what he is.” I felt uncomfortable talking about Bradley with Benjamin.

“You don’t care that he’s a demon?” He spat accidentally. His eyes widened at the realisation of what he’d done.

I gulped; I hoped he didn’t notice the shiver that travelled down my spine and the sudden change in my breathing. Bradley was a demon. I was in love with a demon.

That’s what he’d been trying to tell me all along. But it was too late now.

“Can I ask you something?” I pleaded as Benjamin stared out of the window at the sheeting rain. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to me.

He moaned.

“Just one question,” I promised.

“Okay.” He agreed his lips set in a straight line.

“I saw your face change.” I said.

“That was not a question.” He pointed out.

I stared at him waiting.

“People’s faces don’t change Beth.” He made me sound like I was mentally disturbed.

“Except you are not human,” I argued.

He sighed. “What are you asking me?”

“Show me what you look like.”

“I don’t want to scare you.” He almost laughed.

“I don’t scare easily.” At saying this I realised how wrong it was. I shouldn't be so calm. I shouldn't be accepting all this. Any normal human wouldn't accept this so calmly – just another proof that I was not normal. That something was missing, that spark that could make me normal, an everyday person, the typical teenager who enjoyed watching movies, reading, who had friends. But I wasn't normal, I had none of those, enjoyed my own company, and didn’t get along with the woman who gave birth to me.

He was quiet for a long moment. I sat, waiting impatiently.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded.

He walked over to where I sat.

“Okay.” He stared at me in condemnation, willing me to back out.

I stared back, my gaze unwavering. I blinked and Benjamin had transferred; his electric blue eyes were red, his now rugby shaped head was bald, his elf-like ears were pinned back, his face was too pale with green veins visible on his temples, his skin looked like it would peel any second, his lips were thin lines that showed sharp teeth.

I took a step back.

“You don’t scare easily?” when he spoke he breathed forth a cloud of rotten flesh and spoilt mushrooms.

I tried not to wrinkle my nose in disgust.

“I’m not scared.” I told him honestly. “I’m surprised that creatures like you live among us, undetected.”

“Right,”

Benjamin in his true form stood over seven feet tall. He was bony and had hands that ended in dagger-like talons.

“I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“Thank you.” I said.

His lips twitched to what could have been a smile.

“I’m still waiting for you to scream.”

“Good luck.” I said. “Were you born looking like this?”

“Witches are born looking like this. That’s why most of us live underground.”

“Only grand masters can turn a human to something inhuman.” He continued. “Converted witches are hard to control. They kill mindlessly. And they aren’t exactly witches.”

“Hybrid?”

“No.” he sighed. “When a human is converted, they die spiritually and are reborn. Although they still inhabit the same body…” he glanced at me deliberating. “They become another species.”

I frowned.

“It’s very difficult to kill a master witch.” He paused thoroughly. “It’s either you’re human, a witch or a demon. There’s nothing in-between.”

“Can converted witches change forms?” I held up my hand. "That means if you change a human it becomes a demon not a witch."

“They remain as they were in human form but senses enhance and some attain peculiar gifts.”

“Oh.”