LITMIR.BIZ

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on the small of my back. I pushed him off.

      ‘Since Michael Lee ascended to the position of shadow defence minister and then took up the role with his party’s election three years ago, the family has suffered unparalleled grief. Four years ago, at the age of just seventeen, the Lee’s eldest child, Greg Lee, died after taking a heroin overdose. In October of last year, Lillian Lee was diagnosed with leukaemia and is currently undergoing treatment.’ The reporter finished and I felt the blood drain from my head. Air stopped reaching my lungs as I forgot to breathe.

      ‘We now have a message from Lillian.’

      Lily – my beautiful sister, Lily – came up on the screen. She was lying in a hospital bed, all sorts of wires attached to her wrists. She was paler than the parasites beside me, her arms seeming to have a faint green tinge. Her eyes were sunken and bloodshot and she looked thin and frail, save for her cheeks, which were swollen from the steroids. She was bald, but it didn’t matter. She was my beautiful little sister, cancer or not. She looked so ill, but I knew that was from the treatment.

      A microphone was placed under her mouth, and she began to rasp her words. I could tell it took effort.

      ‘V-Violet. I know you’re out there. T-they’ll let you go and come home.’ She closed her eyes, a peaceful expression taking over her face.

      The screen changed back to the newsroom, and the anchor people, looking awkward, began explaining how to contact the police with information.

      Hours later, I was still numb. Numb and cold. I couldn’t feel anything: no pain and no hope, no happiness and no fear. Just nothing.

      Fabian was holding me and I let my head fall onto his frozen shoulder. His arm snaked around my waist and pulled me into him. I was beyond tears, which I knew he would be glad of: his T-shirt was damp. A thousand and one tissues lay in the bin nearby, and my nose was sore, my eyes red and puffy.

      ‘No more crying, okay? I won’t let you cry any more. Your family would want you to be strong, wouldn’t they?’ Concern etched his angular face, twisting it into beautiful contortions.

      I nodded and rubbed my nose; his face lost a little of the worry. I blinked and noticed that the others were surrounding me. The King, Lyla, Kaspar, Cain, Thyme, Charlie, Felix, Declan and two men I didn’t recognize. Two beautiful women clung to their sides, a baby in the arms of one, a child clinging to the other hand of the same woman. Both of the men and children all shared the same mesmerizing emerald eyes.

      Sky and Jag, I thought. They have to be, with those eyes.

      The one with the family looked older and I guessed he was Sky – Thyme had said he was the eldest. The beautiful women I could only assume were their partners. Not one of them looked a day older than twenty-five. Once I had taken in the newcomers I lowered my head to stare at my lap, feeling like a fish in a fishbowl.

      Kaspar cleared his throat and I looked up to see him holding a phone in his hand, which he offered to me. ‘Two minutes, no more.’

      I stared at it in disbelief.

      ‘Go on, knock yourself out,’ Fabian murmured, a small smile crossing his lips. ‘You need it.’

      I looked down at the phone, uncertain, not sure of whether I wanted to do this. What if it made me hurt more?

      Oh, but you want to, don’t you? my voice taunted and I knew it was right. I snatched the phone from his hand and hurried from the room, working the stiffness out of my hands as they gripped the phone like a newborn child.

      ‘Remember we can hear every word you say,’ Kaspar called as I closed the door of the living room behind me, settling on the staircase. I didn’t really listen and dialled my home number, listening to it ring with baited breath. My heart peaked and stayed there as two rings became three, and three became four. I was nervous. I didn’t know why.

      ‘Hello?’

      My heart fell through my gut and I made a whining sound, and choked out, ‘Dad?’

      ‘Violet?’ the all too familiar voice replied, astonished.

      ‘Yeah,’ I murmured in a feeble voice, words failing me.

      There was a crackling down the line as though he was covering the mouthpiece and I thought I heard voices at his end, talking heatedly. Then there was another crackle and he came back, speaking with an unnerving urgency.

      ‘I’m going to assume you’re being listened to, so I can’t tell you much. I know it’s the Varns who have you and I know what they are. It must be a shock to you to discover about all of this and I never intended for you to know about it at all. I know your situation must seem impossible, from what I’ve heard from these bloodsucker ambassadors.’ He spat out the last sentence with such venom, even I was shocked – and I had heard him angry. ‘But it’s really important you don’t give up. Don’t turn, whatever they say or do. Do you understand, Vi?’ When I didn’t answer because I was trying to absorb his hurried words, he pressed the question: ‘Do you? Promise me you won’t turn.’

      I stared at the marble floor. Do I understand?

      ‘I promise,’ I murmured. I heard the door open in front of me and glanced up to see Kaspar slipping through. Leaning against the wall, he folded his arms and eyed me. My two minutes were running out. Meanwhile, my father carried on.

      ‘We’ll get you out of there, Violet, but it’s going to take time and I need to know some things. Have they bitten you or taken any blood at all?’

      Kaspar’s eyes flickered up and met mine. I hesitated and stared. He stared back.

      ‘No,’ I lied. The tiniest crease of surprise appeared on his brow. Why did I lie?

      ‘Good,’ my father said. ‘Make sure they don’t try and give you any of their blood whilst taking your blood. That will turn you.’

      I shook my head and a few more tears pricked my eyes, which I wiped away, conscious of the fact Kaspar was still frowning at me. ‘You can’t leave me here, Dad. You can’t,’ I muttered, jumping as a small sob escaped. ‘They kill people!’

      I heard him sigh – it wasn’t much, but I clung onto it, savouring the sound. ‘I have to, Vi, for the moment, anyway. But we won’t give up, I have contacts and—’

      I cut him off as Kaspar started walking towards me. I clutched at the phone with two hands, as though that might stop him taking it and asked the most burning question I had, realizing it was my last.

      ‘How’s Lily? Quickly,’ I added, trying to put across the urgency.

      He picked up on my panic and didn’t hesitate. ‘Weak, but the doctors say she’s doing well and should make a recovery by—’

      Kaspar whipped the phone away from my ear, pressing it to his own. As if my hands were nailed to it I followed him, refusing to let go until I found I was clutching at thin air: he had flitted back into the living room and rejoined the rest of his family.

      The door was slammed in my face before I could follow him and when I tried the handle, it was locked. Falling against it I tried to listen, but heard nothing.

       I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye.

      TWELVE

       Kaspar

      ‘I think that’s enough time talking, don’t you, Lee?’ I spat, closing the door to the living room behind me and shutting Violet out.

      ‘Put her back on, Varn.’

      I chuckled, aware that my father was stood back, scrutinising my words. ‘I don’t think so. We have to talk business.’

      The sound of his breathing down the line stopped: I assumed he pulled the phone away from his mouth. In the background, I could hear him discussing what to say, presumably

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