Chapter 14 We are just friends... and don´t make out with vampires
She was too far away to see anything clearly but, for a second, Izabella thought she recognized Reeba, as one of the dancing women. The girl was of similar build and her red
hair down to her shoulders was easy to pick up on. Izabella was sure that she hadn’t seen any other red haired girls at the school but she had to get closer to be sure.
She dared not risk it. She had no idea who these women were or what they were capable of. What if that wasn’t really Reeba, but some completely different girl with nasty intentions towards intruders? Were they vampires or witches, or maybe both? Izabella had never fought a witch. There was never a reason to do so. Witches had gone into hiding ages ago and very rarely decided to live in places where there were more humans than witches. Instead, they opted to stay in little villages in the mountains, or in some uninhabited islands, where they were free to practice their magic. Humans weren’t really all that eager to be neighbors with someone who could curse them over a possible disagreement. Izabella could totally understand that. So, she decided against getting closer. Instead, she remained where she was, hiding and closely following what was happening.
The fire seemed to dance along to the movement of the women that surrounded it. Suddenly, one of them fell to the ground, as if she was struck by lightning. She appeared to be having a seizure of some sort, her body twitching and bending in most unusual ways but, strangely enough, there was no sound coming from the girl. Izabella’s first instinct was to rush over and help but she had to keep herself calm and composed. The others rushed over, but instead of helping her, they were spilling flowery water over the girl’s face. She was still convulsing but much less fervently now. A few seconds later, she was lying motionless on the ground, her hair spread all around her face, with flower blossoms in it. The fire had died down a little. It wasn’t licking the skies any longer. Now, it was small and contained, blazing red in the darkness, pleasantly.
The woman on the ground stirred a little. She lifted her head up first, resting her
open palms against the ground. She sat up, holding her head. Izabella noticed that the earth was scorched to the ground where she’d placed her palms, as if someone burned all the grass and greenery from that spot with open fire.
The others surrounded her. They were talking to her, but Izabella was too far away to hear anything. When they all dispersed, she finally recognized her friend. It was Reeba. They all picked up their clothes and got dressed in silence. Izabella made sure not to make a single sound. Suddenly, she heard something behind her, a twig snapping. She quickly turned around but there was nothing. All she could see was darkness. Even the moon seemed to hide away. When Izabella turned around again, she realized the women were gone. The fire was the size of a golf ball now. It was dying out on its own. Izabella had never seen anything like it.
Before she could get up and see it for herself, she felt someone’s hand grab her elbow.
“What are you doing here!?” someone hissed at her, as quietly as they could.
Izabella almost died of fright. She pulled away from the hand that reached out to her from the darkness and managed to fall into the bushes. The hand helped her get up and, only then, did Izabella see that it belonged to Reeba.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Izabella hissed back.
“You’re not supposed to be here!”
“And you are!?”
Izabella realized how difficult it was to whisper while trying to shout at someone.
“We need to get back before anyone notices we’re gone,” Reeba pulled her again and Izabella found herself running after her.
She had no idea which way they were going. She doubted she’d be able to find it in this darkness anyway, so all she could do was trust Reeba. About half an hour later, they were sitting safely inside Reeba’s dorm room. As Reeba was washing her hands in the bathroom, Izabella realized that Reeba had a roommate. The other bed was nicely made. There were photos in the frames of a girl who obviously wasn’t Reeba. Several pairs of shoes lay by the door.
“Where’s your roommate?” Izabella asked, as Reeba got back from the bathroom, with a towel still in her hands.
“She’s at her boyfriend’s room,” Reeba explained, “but, you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Of course not.”
Reeba threw the towel on her roommate’s bed, then sat down on it. Izabella herself was sitting on Reeba’s bed and the two girls were facing each other now, neither of them willing to start first, even though both were burning up with curiosity.
“So, are you gonna tell me what you were doing in the forest in the middle of the night?” Reeba started first.
“You were there first,” Izabella snapped back, feeling attacked.
“I’ll tell you what you want to know, just ask.”
“Really?” Izabella was surprised to hear that. She expected that she’d have to beat the answer out of her, as she usually had to do, as a slayer.
“Of course. We’re friends, right?”
The look on Reeba’s face was one of childish naiveté and faith. She trusted Izabella. She didn’t believe that by telling her what she wanted to know, anything bad could happen. Izabella almost envied her this state of mind. She never managed to obtain it herself.
“Sure,” that was all Izabella managed to say. “I couldn’t sleep, so I looked out the window and saw the fire.”
“I told the girls it wasn’t a good place. We should have gone further into the woods,” Reeba shook her head.
“I doubt anyone but me saw you.”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Reeba told her. “You can’t be sure of anything around here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, they say we’re safe and all here, but this place mostly looks out for real vampires.”