Riding Rifts (Vampire's Elixir Series Book 2) Read online

  “Ohhh,” Katie said, drawing the word out as long as she could, her mouth making a perfect, kissable circle.

  “What?” I asked, still waiting to be let in on the secret.

  “I think Famil is trying to say that the other method is sexual transmission, Jevyn, but she’s too polite to say so in such exalted company as you.” Katie stared at me with an expression of barely disguised pity. I just looked at her open-mouthed. I had no clue that was what they were mind-messaging about.

  Famil had her hand over her mouth, trying to suppress the laughter that was shaking her shoulders.

  “Have I got that right, Famil?” Katie asked when nobody else spoke.

  Famil nodded, still laughing.

  “So, no drinking human blood and no f—”

  “Yes, yes. Thank you, Katie,” I interrupted. “I think we all get the idea now.”

  Famil managed to control her laughter, and once she’d wiped the tears from her eyes, she turned serious.

  “What it does mean is that those dragons on Earth are still in danger. When humans and dragons start to mix, we all know that nature will take its course. Until we can rule it out completely, they need to be quarantined, in my opinion.”

  I thought back to Nindock’s town. It was too late for that. There were already humans there.

  “How soon can you rule it out?”

  “As soon as we can find a human and a dragon who are willing to have sex.” Famil’s comment made me go very quiet. It made Katie go every quiet. It made Famil look at us both suspiciously.

  “You two haven’t—”

  “No!” Katie said loudly.

  “No!” I added, trying to sound offended, as if the idea had never occurred to me.

  A very uncomfortable silence fell on the room as Famil scrutinized both of us.

  “Okay, okay,” she said eventually. “I believe you.”

  “I should think so. Look, Famil, back on Earth, in Nindock’s town, humans and dragons are already living together. Given how long they’ve been there, I would say the chances are that at least some of them have been—” I stopped talking and raised my brows.

  “I think what Jevyn is trying to say is that there are sure to have been humans and dragons having sex there already, Famil. I didn’t hear of any dragons coming down with the virus there, but next time we go there, I’ll pass all of this on to Nindock and ask him to do his best to find out.” She looked over at me with a sly grin. “Hopefully, he won’t get as tongue-tied as you, Jevyn.”

  What could I say? She had me on that one. “No,” I said. “Hopefully not. And while we’re there, we’ll warn him about not ingesting vamp blood too.”

  “So, what happens next?” Katie asked

  “We go back to Earth and get over to Nindock’s,” I said, wanting to get that task out of the way as soon as possible.

  “Hold your rush, Jevyn,” Famil said. “I’ve got another five bottles of the spray that I managed to get enough blood for. It’s going to take me until the end of the day to have them ready, and by that time, Nova will be up and about too. I know it probably would make sense for him to go back, but he’s a very able assistant and not likely to go blabbing about what we’re doing all over town, so I’m going to ask him to stay here for a little longer, at least until we finish testing everything. I’m sure he would be glad to see you though, Katie. He never stops talking about you.”

  “Really!” Katie said with a grin. “We’ve been friends for a long time. I think about him too in the rare quiet times. So, what do you suggest?”

  “Jevyn, why don’t you take Katie and show her around Eastborne for a few hours.” Famil checked the clock ticking on the wall. “Actually, make it five or six. That should give me time to get the sprays ready. The beach is nice this time of day.”

  I looked up at Famil. She flicked a glance at Katie and then back at me, and as we held each other’s eyes, she gave an almost imperceptible nod and slowly closed and then opened her eyes.

  I had no idea what she was trying to say, so I turned to Katie and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk.

  “I guess it’ll be better than hanging around here with nothing to do. Thanks, Famil, I’m really grateful, and if there’s ever anything I can do for you—”

  “I’ll be sure to let you know,” Famil said and then accepted the hug Katie was offering.

  “Let’s go,” I said, wanting to leave before things got too emotional.

  Chapter Five

  Jevyn

  Eastborne, Dracos

  THE WALK TO get to the beach involved us moving through the center of Eastborne. Although much of the outer suburbs were ultra-modern, the most interesting part of the town was the old center.

  “Originally, this place was little more than a fishing village,” I said as we got closer to the center. “Then, it was chosen as the site for the science parks, and the homes and schools for all the people who work here were built too. It’s a shame, I guess, because it’s pretty soulless out there in the suburbs. I remember this place from when I was a kid. I used to come over to see Famil, and we’d spend hours just watching the boats going backward and forward into the harbor.”

  “Show me,” Katie said, turning her head to look over at me.

  “Are you sure? There’s more exciting stuff to do here now than sitting on the side of a harbor.”

  “You know, Jevyn, after the last few days, I’ve just about had my fill of excitement. I would like nothing more than to spend some time just sitting, watching the sea, and listening to the birds while sipping a nice cup of hot chocolate.” She pointed at a sign for a café farther down the street.

  “Okay, sounds great, but I’ve got someone special to show you if you want a drink. If he’s still around.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her down a side street that led to the harborside, a street I hadn’t walked down for so many years, and yet, apart from a lick of fresh paint here and there, it looked exactly the same, even down to the rows of small shops and workshops.

  When we reached the end of the street, I guided Katie around to the right, toward the harbor proper, but I held on to her hand to stop her from going any farther. Along the street, where a building’s second floor jutted out, making a substantial shelter, an old man had a small stand set up.

  I could see steam rising from pots on a range set up behind him while he handed drinks and food over the counter to his customers.

  “You know he’s been trading from that same spot for more years than I’ve been around. My mom used to bring me here sometimes when I was a kid and we were visiting Famil and her folks. Mind you, he didn’t have so much gray hair back then, and he looks like he’s put on a few pounds.” Katie smiled. “This was the highlight of our day. Hot chocolate to drink. One of his crabmeat sandwiches to eat. I can still taste it now. The chocolate was the best I ever tasted, and I used to badger him to tell me how he did it so I could make it at home.”

  Katie looked over at me. “You sound as though you enjoyed those times?”

  “I did. I didn’t have all the responsibilities of being part of the ruling family to worry about back then.” I stopped myself from going off on a rant about how hard my life was, remembering the market back in Pathya. The people so desperate to get out of Dracos altogether that they were willing to risk life and limb using one of Nindock’s unreliable rifts to jump over to Earth. A place where they knew no one and had nothing, because even that was better than their lives here. By comparison, my life was a breeze.

  “Well, for the next few hours you can get away from all that by showing me what Eastborne is all about,” Katie said, eyeing the stand.

  “Now, that I can do,” I said and grabbed her by the hand again. I kept doing it because it felt great—and right. Katie didn’t try to pull away, so I assumed she was good with it too.

  We had to wait for two other people to get served before us, and then it was our turn to place our order. Two hot chocolates and two crab sandwiches.

  “E
xcuse me, errm . . .” Katie said.

  “Ernesto, ma’am.”

  “Excuse me, Ernesto. Do you remember my friend here?”

  The old man wheezed slightly as he regarded Jevyn with old rheumy eyes.

  “He looks like the kid who tried to get me to sell him my recipe a few long years ago. You’ve grown into a fine-looking young man for such an ugly-looking boy.”

  Ernesto fixed my eyes with his and glared. Then, after a few seconds, his face brightened, and he burst out into a deep, rumbling belly laugh at my discomfort. Nobody had said I was an ugly kid before.

  “I’m just playing with you, kid. You were a handsome boy, and an even more handsome man.” He handed over two cups of chocolate and two foil-wrapped sandwiches. “But don’t ask for my recipe again, or I’ll give you the same answer I gave you back then when you were with your mom.”

  “You remember her, Ernesto? My mother.”

  “Yeah, of course. A beautiful young woman with a smiling, happy face.”

  Strange how memories of the same person can be so different. I always remembered my mother as cold, distant, and humorless, but perhaps she hadn’t been that way all the time.

  “You want to sit on the harbor wall?” Katie asked, pointing away to where she was looking.

  “Sure. Don’t expect to see too many boats though.”

  “I have an imagination, thank you.”

  “You’ll need it. Last time I was here,” I said as I marched over and stopped, my mouth agape, “there was talk of turning the harbor into a marina.” I managed to finish the sentence.

  “Wow. That’s awesome,” Katie said.

  “It’s hideous,” I said.

  The harbor had been turned into a marina. There were hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes, bobbing in the gently rippling water of the harbor. Sails of all different hues were tied up tight against all manner of bright-white masts with ropes hanging loose, tapping onto the boats, and the restless sound of the bumps and bores of hull on berth made it sound like the harbor was singing. The last time I’d been there, bar one or two boats at anchor, the harbor was silent but for the gentle lap of tiny waves on the harbor wall.

  “It’s cool, Jevyn. Look at all those boats.”

  “None of that was there the last time I was. It’s progress, I suppose, but it’s not how I remember it at all.”

  “Look over there.” Katie pointed past me to a woman walking hand in hand with a small child who was straining his neck trying to see over the wall. In the end, she picked the child up and held him so he could see, and the little boy clapped his hands, laughing with the pleasure of seeing the scene.

  “In twenty years’ time, that child will come back here as an adult and will probably be underwhelmed by what he sees. Just the same as you are now. Things don’t stay the same. The world changes, just like it has on Earth.”

  I sat down on the wall, staring out into the distance. “I guess so. I’m not sure I want it to though. Dragon life is centered around progress, but I have my doubts that progress is the thing we should be aiming for, especially since every time we progress, somebody else seems to get left behind.”

  “Very deep. But honestly, right now my brain is switched off, and I just want to eat, drink, and enjoy the moment. Times like these don’t come along too often. We should make the most of them.”

  I handed over one of the cups, and she handed back one of the sandwiches.

  I couldn’t help but watch as she took the first sip of her chocolate and a look of sheer pleasure spread across her face.

  “That is incredible,” she said. “Your memory wasn’t playing tricks on you about the chocolate at least. Let’s see how the sandwich fares.” She peeled back the foil and bit into the sandwich. A couple of seconds later, she closed her eyes while she chewed and the flavors hit her.

  She turned to me with a thumb up, unable to speak with her mouth full of crab sandwich.

  I took my turn. I bit into the sandwich first and was immediately taken back to when I was a boy, my legs too short to reach the ground, eating my food while slowly tapping the backs of my shoes on the wall in a slow drum beat.

  The chocolate was just as I remembered, sweet and yet at the same time sharp, coating my taste buds with a happy combination that was the same as it had been back then. That much hadn’t changed, at least.

  We sat in a comfortable silence between us as we ate and watched the boats and the sun sparkling in the wavelets. Farther out past the ends of the harbor, the red-painted pole held the light that mariners would use to guide them into port when the weather was poor. I could just make out the white-tipped waves as they bobbed about.

  Occasionally, I would steal a glance over at Katie, her pale cheeks pinking up in the cool breeze that blew across the water, her hair being flicked around, her eyes closing at the pleasure she was experiencing.

  She was beguiling, and I had to admit to myself that I was captivated. I just wanted to be with her, wherever she was and whatever she was doing, and to hell with any problems that might cause.

  Katie wiped her hands down her jeans. My mother would never have allowed me to do that as a child, fussing around with cloths and wipes. I wish she had been less . . . uptight, more like Katie was.

  “What’s next then, Mr. Tour Guide? You gonna take me for that walk on the beach? It’s my favorite place to walk in the whole world.”

  Not mine. Too much grit getting where it shouldn’t, but if it made Katie happy, then I’d better learn to enjoy it.

  We walked for about twenty minutes along the side of the harbor until we finally got to where the wide beach began. There were families out there, children dipping their feet into the cold water and squealing as they ran backward away from the gentle breaking waves.

  Katie sat on the wall and untied her boots, slipping them off and tying the laces together so she could hook them over her shoulder to carry them.

  “Come on, Jevyn. Shoes off. You have to be barefoot in the sand when you walk a beach. It’s the rule.” Her hair was blowing in the breeze again, loose strands flicking into her face before she pushed them back in a losing battle to try to exert some control.

  Shrugging, I sat next to her and slipped off my shoes, copying what she did with the laces while she rolled up the bottom of her jean legs, showing off the pale skin of her calves. I copied that too but didn’t know why it was necessary.

  “Come on. Last one in is a wuss.” Katie yelled suddenly and then leapt up, ran to the gap in the wall where steps went down to the sand, and disappeared. I jumped up and ran after her. The steps felt rough on my feet, but as soon as I hit the soft sand, it was like running on molasses, the warmth of it spreading into my skin as I tried to get a good footing and catch Katie. She seemed almost to skip across the sand, kicking up soft plumes behind her as she went.

  When we hit the compacted sand where the tide had receded, my longer strides meant I soon started to catch up to her. I started to worry as she headed straight for the water.

  “Katie,” I yelled breathlessly after her. She laughed and threw back her head, her hair streaming wildly behind her as she kept on running.

  I caught up with her just as she was about to go into the water.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’m going to walk in the water. What were you planning on doing?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”

  “Never?”

  “No, never. We weren’t allowed on the beach when we were kids.”

  “Don’t tell me . . . since then you’ve been too busy.”

  I looked at her. “Don’t you believe me, Katie?”

  “I think, if you wanted to, you could make time, grab a moment to do what you love doing. Or at least experience a few things, even if it’s not something you really enjoy.”

  I thought about it for a while. She was probably right. I would have thought some more, but I stepped on a sharp stone and had to hop and then lim
p to keep up with her. It didn’t seem like it was much fun.

  “Come walk in the water. The sand is softer, and there aren’t as many pebbles.”

  I examined the water suspiciously. It looked cold and unwelcoming, but I was determined to let Katie have her moment. I’d had mine with he chocolate. It was her turn. She held out her hand, which I took, and slowly I started to walk into the water rather than alongside it. It was so cold! I wanted to go running out, squealing like the small children I’d seen earlier, but I didn’t want to appear like a complete weakling to Katie who seemed to be managing perfectly well.

  After a while, once my feet felt completely numb from the cold, I was able to ignore it and keep moving, all the time watching for more stones.

  “See how great this feels?” Katie said, having completely given up any pretense of trying to keep her hair under control. Her shirt and jacket were both flapping in the breeze, but as we walked away from the busy part of the beach, that soon grew to be the only sound I could hear over the lapping of the waves. I must admit it was very refreshing having the breeze blowing across me, actually feeling the cold on my feet, feeling the wind make tears in my eyes.

  It reminded me a lot of how I felt when I was flying, something I didn’t do nearly enough.

  I looked around, back the way we had walked. Nobody was following us, nobody was ahead of us.

  “When we were at Nindock’s town, you asked me something,” I said.

  “I did? I don’t remember. I’m trying not to think about home right now.”

  “When I changed into a dragon, you asked me something? Do you remember?”

  “No.” Katie looked puzzled for a few moments and then her face changed. “I asked if I could ride on your back. You said no but never told me why.”

  “That’s right.”

  “So why, then?”

  “Because it’s kind of intimate. I’ve never been so close to someone that I wanted them hanging around my neck while I flew around.”

  “Oh, right, okay. Well, I understand.”

  “No, you don’t.”