An Eternity of Glass E-Book

Laura Chouette

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

In a fateful December night in the year 1626, Vincent Bates' life changes forever. To save his sister's life, he turns to the mysterious Jaronas Asbury, unaware that the curse of this pact will haunt him for centuries.

Leseprobe

Laura Chouette

An Eternity of Glass

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

To the reader....

Dear reader,

this is the first book I've ever written in English.

Sometimes my words fall into place easily, sometimes it takes weeks... or even forever.

This is just an idea, not a fantasy (novel).

If you have any comments or thoughts, please leave them in the review so I can grow on your criticism.

PROLOGUE

London, Present

"And none of it is a lie?" "No", answered the young man. His narrow lips were slightly parted as if he were just waiting to begin.

He turned to the window.

Motionless, he stood by it for a while, gazing down at Trafalgar Square. The summer night was clear, and a pleasant breeze carried the laughter and voices up to them.

"It happened in 1626 here in London," he finally began. "I can still vividly recall that day. It was one of the coldest December days I've ever experienced."

1

England in the year 1626.

I stepped through the door into the cold. With trembling fingers, I tightened my scarf around my neck and pulled my hat lower over my face. It was going to be a harsh and long winter.

An empty horse cart rushed past me, making me step back in surprise and nearly lose my balance. Irritated by the coachman's carelessness, I buried my hands in my pockets. Nevertheless, I felt the cold all over my body like tiny needle pricks. My breath left a white cloud that hung briefly in the air. To keep warm, I stomped my feet on the ground a few times. Annoyed, I turned around.

My sister, a seven-year-old brunette girl, appeared in the doorway. Clumsily, she draped a warming woolen shawl over her shoulder. "I'm ready," she grumbled, not particularly thrilled about going out in this cold. Eleonora's gaze shifted from the tattered basket covered with a shawl in her hands to my face. "Vincent, you know very well that I hate it when you call me that!" "But you only have this one name. How else am I supposed to call you? Sister dear, perhaps?" I grinned lopsidedly from behind the scarf. However, my sister didn't find it amusing at all and lightly nudged me in the side with her elbow. 

"That's not funny. How about..." She tapped her right index finger on her lower lip, a sign that she was thinking hard. After a short while, a warm smile appeared on her lips, and her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Elly," she whispered the name along with a little cloud. I nodded in agreement. "Alright, then you're Elly Bates from now on. Or do you not like your last name anymore?" Elly didn't respond to that. "Come on!" I urged her friendly, and we disappeared into the shadow of a dark alley. The smell was unbearable, and the squeaking of the rats was painful to the ears. Elly clung shivering to me. 

"Are you still afraid of rats?" I teased and kicked one forward with my foot. With bated breath, Elly watched as the rat sailed through the air in a high arc and landed in the middle of a half-frozen puddle. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I'm not afraid of them," she bravely defended herself. "I just can't stand them because they're so disgusting." I pulled my right hand out of my pocket. "What are you doing?" Elly asked me with a shaky undertone in her voice. 

With my fingertips, I picked up a rat by the tail and let it dangle in front of Elly's face. The gray creature squeaked loudly and tried to bite my finger. "Vincent! Stop that!" Elly screamed hysterically and instinctively took a step back. In doing so, she stepped on another rat that squeaked loudly and bit into the right ankle of my sister in shock. Disgusted, Elly tried to shake off the creature. When she finally succeeded, the rodent crawled into a pile of garbage. The girl screamed shrilly. "This thing bit me!" she hissed angrily. However, her anger-distorted face quickly turned into one streaming with tears. She repeated it more quietly than before, "It bit me." 

I had by now let the rat fall and patted her reassuringly on the shoulder with my right hand. "It's not that bad," I reassured her. "You're not going to turn into vermin just because it bit you." I took the basket from her. "Or do you also believe in those silly legends from Southeast Europe?" Elly looked up at me with teary eyes, as a little sister would at her big brother. "What legends?" she asked in a whimpering voice. I knew that if I told her a few of them, she would momentarily forget her fear of the rats. 

And that would be of great use since we had many more such alleys to traverse. I quickly checked the position of my knife, which I had concealed at my belt for defense. You never knew who you might encounter in such areas. "I'll tell you as we walk," I said. Elly quickly wiped away the last tears with the back of her hand and walked beside me. In a hushed voice, I began, "So, there they believe that some people come back after they die." "And what does that have to do with the rat bite?" Elly interrupted me impatiently. 

"I'll get to that," I explained to her. "These immortal beings have different names. The locals call them revenants or vampires." The fear reflected in Elly's eyes was hard to overlook. "They rise from their graves at night and look for a victim. And when they find one, they bite them on the neck and suck their blood until the last drop." Elly, unsettled, glanced briefly over her shoulder. She was so captivated by my story that she started imagining things. 

When my sister looked forward again, she said, "But the rat only bit me briefly, and besides, it didn't get a single drop of blood from me." I whispered back, "But it only takes a very quick bite to..." I made an artful pause to put Elly on edge a bit. "To what?" she whined impatiently. I abruptly stopped and leaned down to her. "To become one of those creatures," I whispered. Elly's eyes widened like marbles. Apparently, she was playing out this scenario in her thoughts and didn't want to believe that something like that was possible.

"I couldn't help but smile. She really believed in it," she replied irritably as she noticed my grin. She just left me standing there and continued on her way. Effortlessly, I caught up with her after a few steps and positioned myself in her path.

Solemnly, I placed my right hand on my chest and said, "I swear I didn't make it up." Elly looked at me incredulously and retorted, "You know a Christian shouldn't swear. Especially not to lie," reminding me of our mother's words.

"I know," I replied, a little annoyed, as she always took everything our mother said so seriously. We continued on our way. "But how else am I supposed to convince you?" I didn't let up. She walked beside me with folded arms. "Where did you hear about this anyway?" she inquired. "I overheard a conversation between two traveling merchants a few days ago. One of them had been in this part of Europe," I explained. Elly nodded and seemed less skeptical now.

Eventually, we arrived at London's most popular gathering place, the main aisle of the partially decayed Saint Paul's Cathedral. "He must be somewhere around here," I muttered, looking for our father. In the side aisles, traders conducted various businesses. Customers had to pay for their purchases at the baptismal font of the former cathedral. Lawyers gathered with their clients at the columns, and the unemployed looked for employment.

Among them was our father. However, Elly had a different goal in mind: the churchyard. It was the center of the book trade in London. My sister, although, like many others, she couldn't read, was fascinated by the countless books offered for sale there. "I'd rather be somewhere else. But where am I supposed to get the money for that?" I sighed in my thoughts. Before my curious sister could set off, I held her by the wrist. "First, we find father, then you can go to your books." Offended, she freed herself from my grip, holding her aching wrist.

"All right," she muttered meekly and followed me without saying another word. So we pushed through the countless people. Suddenly, Elly whispered, "Vincent," and discreetly nodded her head to the right. I felt a mix of heat and cold. It was too late to escape; she had already seen us and smiled in my direction.

A girl with hip-length raven-black hair, worn loose on one side, confidently made her way towards us. It was Grace Holmwood. She had had her eye on me for a long time. We had known each other since childhood, and she was firmly convinced she had found her true love in me.Her dark brown eyes sparkled like diamonds when our gazes met. As she reached me, she seductively tossed her hair back. "How are you, Vincent? We haven't seen each other for a few days. I was worried," she began immediately. "I'm fine, I was busy helping my mother," I replied gruffly.

"Can't your sister handle it on her own?" she teased. For this remark, Elly gave her a look that even scared me. Grace's confident smile, however, did not disappear from her lips. Anxiously, I looked around. Hopefully, no one who knew us saw us.

I could still vividly remember the conversation between her father and me. I still felt the bruises all over my body because Grace belonged to one of the most respected and wealthy families in London. I, on the other hand, came from humble circumstances. Besides, unbeknownst to her, she was already promised to another man.

Behind her back, Elly made a face with a kissy expression. I, too, couldn't stand Grace's manner. Let alone feel anything for her. I took a few deep breaths. "Grace," I stammered to make it clear once and for all.

Her cheeks turned slightly red, and that was certainly not because of the freezing cold. "I don't think we both..." "Is it because of my father?" she interrupted, dismayed. Her smile quickly disappeared from her face. I looked behind me; the way was clear.I opened my mouth to say something like "We just don't fit together," but not a single sound came out of my throat. "I'm sorry," I managed to say somewhat confidently before I turned around and disappeared into the crowd. I never saw Grace again after that.

I reached the edge of the square and leaned relieved against a house wall. I put the basket down, buried both hands in my jacket pockets, and hoped that Grace would finally leave us alone. It didn't take long before my sister came running with a malicious smile.

Elly's braids flew through the air as she covered the last few meters toward me. I skillfully avoided her, and she landed just a few inches from the house wall on her feet. "I thought you were going to catch me," she pouted, offended.

I let my gaze sweep over the square. Grace hadn't followed me. "Her new perfume is killing me," I grumbled and took a deep breath. "Oh, come on," said Elly, standing next to me. "I think it smells good." As she spoke, she looked up at me and grinned, "I want one like that someday.""Keep dreaming, Elly," I burst her dream bubble with the sharp needle of reality. "You'll never be able to afford something like that in your life. If you really want a fragrance, go to the Thames; there's plenty of it there." Disgusted, she wrinkled her nose. "Ew," she cursed, "I might as well..." She stopped abruptly.

"Vincent, do you see that too?" I followed her gaze but couldn't spot anything unusual. "There's nothing there," I explained. Eventually, Elly pointed to a nearby alley. Only from our vantage point could the end of the alley be seen. Twilight had already set in, casting deep shadows within.

Excitedly, Elly murmured, "There, the man and the girl." I covered her eyes with my hand and scolded, "You're not supposed to see that; they're kissing in public!" Elly tried to forcefully remove my hand, protesting, "Vincent, stop it!" and stepped a bit away from me. "They're not kissing; he just bit her neck!" she corrected.

Impatiently, I pulled on her arm and explained, "Elly, stop this nonsense. There are no vampires. They're just silly legends. Come on!" Stubbornly, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No, Vincent," she said firmly. I knew her well enough to understand that she wouldn't take a step forward until I proved it to her. So, I countered, "Alright, I'll walk past them. If you're right, you get half of my food today. If not, you'll bring bread to Father alone for an entire week. Deal?"

Elly agreed, saying, "Deal." Determined, I handed her the basket and started walking. I had been so sure before, but with every step, my confidence dwindled. First, I saw the lifeless girl, then the blood on her right shoulder, and then... I swallowed hard as I looked directly into the ice-blue cold eyes of the man. Glassy and lifeless, they protruded from his pale eye sockets. I estimated the man to be in his mid-forties and slowed my pace. Could the legends really be true? But what irony it was to see it with my own eyes now, just after I had told Elly it was all a story. The air seemed even colder near this undead creature. I was about to turn back, but it was too late. The vampire had already noticed me. "Good evening," he greeted monotonously and carelessly pushed the girl against the house wall. I flinched at the dull sound of the impact.

"Likewise," I replied as calmly as possible, but my fear was evident in my trembling voice.

The vampire stepped out of the shadows. His clothing was dark, appeared refined and elegant, seeming expensive. His dark brown shoulder-length hair had streaks of gray resembling silver threads. I was trapped. I risked a glance at the lifeless girl. The vampire laughed mockingly. Suddenly, he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. Threateningly, he hissed in my left ear, "You shouldn't stick your nose in other people's business, boy." The vampire stepped back. The undead creature smiled crookedly and slowly merged with the darkness. Before he completely disappeared, I heard his final words, "Otherwise, you might regret it one day." All colour drained from my face. I stared fixedly ahead as if my gaze alone could dispel or fend off this demon. "Vincent!" It was Elly's voice trying to wake me from my trance. "What happened?" she tried to extract from me. I slowly shook my head. It must have been a nightmare. Sweat ran down my temples.

Every muscle was tense and ready to defend.

Elly panickedly grabbed my right arm. "Vincent! What's wrong? Talk to me! Please!" she pleaded. For a brief moment, I closed my tired eyes to collect myself. "Vincent?" her voice was now just a fearful whisper. "I'm fine, Elly," I mumbled, took her arm, and dragged her out of the alley. I didn't want to be associated with the dead girl, but what could I tell the watchmen? My sister visibly sighed with relief. "I was afraid something happened to you. You disappeared suddenly. Promise me you'll never leave me alone again. Do you hear, Vincent? Never, you're my big brother," she urged me.

"Yes, Elly. I promise you," but I had only said it to finally have some peace. Peace from all the noise and clamour. Eventually, we found our father and handed him the basket. Gratefully, he accepted it and sent his two children home again.The question of whether it was a real vampire burned on Elly's tongue on the way home.

But she didn't dare to ask. Since the incident, I had become unusually quiet. On the way home, I didn't joke with Elly as usual about trivial things, didn't play pranks on the baker's dog, and I didn't speak to the old beggar woman, as I usually did. I seemed to be no longer the same. To Elly, I appeared closed off, unapproachable, and distant.

Quite different from the brother she knew. It felt like the more she pondered on it, the less aware she was of her surroundings. Only after a while, she startled, realizing that she didn't know this part of London at all. It was as unfamiliar to her as a soft bed, and I just continued walking as if in a trance. To be honest, I still don't know what was going on with me back then. Perhaps it was a kind of hypnosis or just a common shock.

Slowly, fear crept over Elly. Fear of the unknown, the evil. Somewhere on the rooftops, it lurked, staring down at her with empty eyes. Its sharp claws were sharpened and ready to strike. She cautiously looked up. Fear hit her like a punch in the face. She jerked suddenly against a stone wall. Had she seen something?

Surprised, I turned to her, still in my trance-like state, and asked slowly, "Elly? What's wrong?" With a trembling finger, she pointed upward. Her lips formed the words: Hide. Suspiciously, I looked up to the sky. Apart from the evening dusk, which hung like a dark veil over London, I noticed nothing unsettling. "There's nothing up there," I said in a tone as if I were explaining to a mad person that their imaginary voices weren't real. "Vincent, I swear to you," she pleaded and flinched. "Please, Elly, come now," I urged and continued my walk into the unknown.

"Wait!" Elly called and caught up with me. "Where are we anyway?" "This is a shortcut," I explained dryly. A bit intimidated by my cold tone, she decided it was better not to say or ask anything more.

As we turned a corner and walked a few steps, Elly felt a chill down her back. It crawled through her woollen fabric and all other clothing down to her bare skin. Panic-stricken, she whispered repeatedly, so that I couldn't possibly ignore it, "Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around..." "Eleonora," a gust of wind whispered in her ear. She thought she imagined it. But there it was again. "Eleonora. Come to me." She shook her head almost imperceptibly. "No," she whispered back. "Eleonora." She was going mad. "Vincent," she whispered, intimidated. "Do you hear that too? My name." As the last letter escaped her dry throat, she felt the heavy black cloak of darkness on her shoulders. It pressed her down. Made her legs heavy as lead. Exhausted, she sank to her knees. It was a hopeless struggle.

She couldn't turn around. There was something behind her. She felt it as clearly as the cold, dirty ground beneath her knees. She laboriously reached out her hand to me but immediately let it drop again. All strength seemed to be lost. She was alone. She could have screamed long ago if her throat weren't tightened, as if strangled. A small tear rolled down her hot cheeks.

The deafening silence and terrible loneliness surrounded her. Although, she wasn't entirely alone. By now, she couldn't even move anymore. A living statue of flesh and blood. A faint squeaking sounded behind her. Then louder and louder. Rats. A whole horde of dirty rats had been stirred up by something and was coming towards her. Her nightmare became a reality. The gray four-legged creatures would overrun her and maybe even gnaw the flesh from her bones, while she was still alive. You could hear the tiny countless paws on the stone ground. They were getting closer.

Disgust, fear, anxiety, and countless other feelings overwhelmed her. Elly felt nauseous. One touch would be enough to haunt her for the rest of her days. Every night, she would feel the tiny claws, the naked tails, and the greasy fur on her skin. "Eleonora, come to me," it whispered again. Her thoughts raced; maybe a simple "Yes" was enough to free her from this predicament. Regardless of whoever might be behind that voice, a brief thought of agreement was enough, and she would be free from the invisible shackles. Immediately, she ran. Without thinking about her silent promise that granted her freedom. Unaware that she would soon have to pay for it.

Weeks passed. Elly and I tried as best as we could to block out our experiences, hoping that normalcy would return. Once I had finally overcome the shock, something terrible happened again. Elly fell ill; the plague had entered our home. It was horrifying to witness how the disease consumed her strength. I knew that I only had a few days left with her. Although this thought was unbearably painful, I cared for my sister day and night without sleep. I clung with all my strength to the naive hope that she would survive.

So, like every evening, I entered the dimly lit room and placed a brimming bucket of murky water on the floor, causing some of its contents to spill over the edge.My sister lay on her straw bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. A putrid smell of pus hung heavily in the air. Her entire body was covered in black boils. "Mother said I should make compresses for you," I spoke to the almost unconscious Elly. "Hot or cold?" I heard my sister whisper. "What?" I asked, confused, as I placed a kettle on the hearth and poured the water into it. Then I lit the sparse wood underneath. Finally, she regained consciousness, and I heard her weak voice again, "Should you make me hot or cold compresses?"

"I should make you hot compresses, but I don't think that's the right thing. After all, Mother is not a doctor," I replied. Elly closed her eyes. "I don't want to die," she whispered, exhausted, and was surprised when I answered, "You won't." I placed a stool next to her sleeping place and sat down beside her. "Aren't you afraid of getting infected?" Elly murmured softly. "No," I replied. "I'm more afraid of losing you." My sister turned her head in my direction. This small, natural movement seemed to demand a lot of strength from her already fragile child's body. "Vincent?" she asked shyly.

"Yes, Elly?" "Was the man in the alley a vampire or not?" A wave of cold rolled over my body. "I think it's better if you..." "Vincent!" she interrupted me with a weak, trembling voice. Exhausted, she closed her eyes again. Thoughtfully, I ran my hand through my hair. "Alright," I finally agreed. The water behind us was simmering by now. I stood up, took a tattered cloth, and dipped it into the kettle. "So," Elly impatiently asked as I placed the compress on her forehead, "what is the truth?" "He was a vampire," I sighed. Elly chuckled, "I knew it." I renewed the compresses regularly into the late night.

Carefully, I listened to Elly's breathing sounds. She had fallen asleep, but her time was running out. I had a plan. A rather crazy plan. Sneakily, I slipped away into the dark night. A wall of ice whistled through the alleys, making me half-freeze. I had to find the vampire, no matter the cost. The way to Saint Paul's Cathedral was so familiar to me that I could find it blindly. Since I was six years old, I had been walking it every day, in all weather. So, with gritted teeth and frozen feet, I fought through the biting cold toward Saint Paul's Cathedral. My only motivation was my sister. I did all this for Elly.

With gritted teeth and frozen feet, I finally reached my destination.

There were hardly any people in sight, partly due to the low temperature and partly because it was night. Where had the alley been? Desperately, I searched for it until I finally found it. Hurriedly, I approached. The darkness allowed me to see almost nothing. "Is someone there?" I asked with a firm voice into the blackness. No answer, but there were muffled steps steadily coming towards me. Determinedly, I stared ahead until I thought I could make out ice-blue eyes. "What brings you here?" the vampire's voice echoed off the walls. A trick to intimidate me. "I... I need your help," I pleaded.

A chuckle echoed from the darkness. "My help?" he asked amused. I took a step further into the darkness. "I beg you. My sister is dying, and I know the legends from Southeast Europe. I implore you. Make her into..." "Immortal," the vampire finished my sentence. "What illness does she have?" the voice inquired. "The plague." "Then I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do for her." I lost all hope and determination.

"But why?" The vampire stepped out of the shadows. "Because my blood is too weak to heal diseases. The only thing it can do is keep me alive and prevent diseases from attacking my own body." Completely powerless, I stared at the ground. "Isn't there any way..." I sobbed. "Yes," the vampire interrupted me, tapping my chest. His long fingernails sent a cold shiver down my spine. "You yourself." "And what can I do?" Hope began to blossom within me. "If I transform you, you can also transform her and save her. Your blood is still young and can heal the advanced disease. So, do you want to, or do you not?" My sister was running out of time. I had to act now.

"I want to," I whispered. "Are you absolutely sure?" The vampire raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Yes, I've never been more sure than now," I whispered. The icy hands of the undead grabbed me and pushed me against a wall. "This might hurt a bit now," the vampire said sarcastically and sank his teeth into my neck. All the pain I had felt before was nothing compared to the pain of the venom.

Wheezing, I fell to the ground after a few strong pulls from the vampire. The surroundings suddenly spun in circles. I started coughing, and vast amounts of blood stained my clothes. Then a vision, a dream. Elly, in a garden full of red roses. She wore a dark blue cloak and seemed to be playing hide-and-seek. Her smiling face peeked out from behind a hedge again and again. When she spoke, her voice sounded muffled and distant.

"Come, Vincent," she reached out her hand. Now I saw the ice-blue eyes and the sharp fangs. She laughed. She was having fun. A wave of pain shot through my body; I screamed. After that, it was silent. The vampire pulled me up with a jerk. "Now go and transform Eleonora and bring her here. Meanwhile, I'll wait here." "But why?" I asked hoarsely.

"What you are now is no child's play, boy. You possess powers of which you have no idea. You need a teacher, or else you'll remain a danger to your kind. And now go already." I nodded and ran. My throat was so dry that even breathing hurt. At that moment, I only sensed this thirst. This burning thirst that robbed me of all my senses.

I felt my heart pounding wildly, as if it were still fighting for my survival. It beat like a drum incessantly at the same rapid pace. Hurriedly, I continued walking and finally arrived home. Soft sobbing emanated from inside as I approached the door. Was he too late? Mindful to be as quiet as possible, I entered the stuffy room and saw, first of all, my mother kneeling beside Elly, sobbing.

Behind her, my father embraced her comfortingly. They didn't seem to notice me. Before saying anything, I hid the bloodstains on my garment behind my crossed arms. Elly lay motionless, paler than usual. But thanks to my enhanced hearing, I could hear that she was still breathing. I had to hurry.

"Mother? Father? Can I have a moment alone with her?" I asked calmly. With lowered eyes, they walked past me. As soon as they closed the door, I rushed to Elly, feeling her pulse. Very, very weak but still there. Carefully, I freed her neck from her dark brown hair. Then I took her into my arms and did what I had to do. I saved Elly's life that night. Without saying goodbye to our parents, I sneaked away that night with my sister.

Elly's sweet young blood pulsed in my veins. With every step I took, I consumed it. My sister's blood, it echoed in my head, her blood. I felt her flinch repeatedly, and her little fingers clawed into my neck. The pain must have been unbearable for her as a small child. Her body was so light that I thought I was holding only a pale doll with Elly's delicate features. She whimpered into my scarf. That sound was heart-wrenching. She kept whispering our parents' names and, in the midst of it, mine repeatedly.

I felt one of her tears on my skin. She let out a final muffled scream before hanging cold and limp in my arms. Her body temperature cooled rapidly; not even the clothes she wore could retain any warmth. I don't know how long it took until she opened her eyes and looked at me questioningly. I also don't know where she would have found the strength to even lift her head. Everything seemed so unreal and dreamlike.

Her long, thick eyelashes fluttered in confusion. I was about to open my lips to say something, but she beat me to it. "Am I dead?" were her first words as a vampire. I can't forget them to this day. Neither how she said it nor how she looked at me. It is etched into my memory, a continuous loop that cannot be broken. And whenever she looked at me questioningly, the memories of it all came flooding back.

"Why do you think that?" I trembled slightly. "Because I saw an angel," she said. Her first words as a vampire. I can't forget them to this day. Shivering, I continued until the half-decayed St. Paul's Cathedral loomed before me in the pitch-black, starless sky. Like a silent monster, it appeared to me every night.

My eyes, reddened by the cold, desperately scanned the deserted square. The empty stalls and the ominous silence of the December night surrounded me and my sister. Elly's breath became shallower and more irregular. Her eyelids were closed. Fear crept over me that her already weakened body, consumed by the plague or still being consumed, was now in danger of freezing. Her ice-cold hands, wrapped around my neck, intensified my worry. Panicking, I pressed her even closer to my body to warm her. A deep, muffled neigh echoed from the darkness.

Straining, I spotted a carriage with two dark brown horses harnessed to it. The two animals trotted leisurely towards us. The coachman, a young man with black, short hair and friendly but still cloudy gray eyes, jerked the reins abruptly, causing the horses to come to a stop with a frightened neigh. Not a word escaped his lips. The immortal's ice-blue eyes impatiently looked at me from the carriage window, in the faint glow of a small lantern.

"Get in, boy," he urged me. I complied and sat across from him in the next moment. My sister slept peacefully in my arms. The unknown man struck the carriage wall twice. In the next moment, the silent coachman cracked his whip, and the horses galloped. It took me some time to overcome my fear, and eventually, I said meekly over the rumbling of the carriage, "Thank you, Mr..." The immortal came to my aid, "Jaronas Asbury."

The bare, gnarled branches of the oaks clashed above the narrow dirt road, allowing the silvery moonlight to slide only in narrow strips to the ground. Through the moss-covered trunks, the dim light of the estate shimmered. A ghostly silence lay in the moors of Highgate all around. I spotted the two-meter-high wrought-iron gate from afar, its pointed end reaching towards the sky. It seemed to be the only way to get behind the ivy-covered, three-meter-high stone walls. The silent coachman signalled the horses to stop.

Their reluctant neighing broke the tense silence. Two men appeared at the gate, casting a suspicious glance at the carriage. Finally, the taller of the two grumbled something indistinct that I couldn't understand and opened the gate. The horses trotted onto the courtyard of the mansion. Linguistic light streamed out of the tall, church-like windows. Jaronas got out first and then helped me lift Elly. The silent coachman climbed down from his place and reached out for my sister, a sign that he wanted to take her from me.

I declined; she was not luggage. Protectively, she nestled her head against my shoulder. No one but me would come near Elly. I had made a silent promise to myself that I would bring my sister back home healthy. And I fervently hoped that this would happen soon.My gaze returned to the mansion. The rough stone walls of the masonry could only be seen in places where the ivy did not grow. Everything about it seemed incredibly old yet secure at the same time. It seemed to shut out the world outside but at the same time, never release its inhabitants. A creepy thought. Nevertheless, I stepped through the heavy, dark front door and found myself in the huge entrance hall.

The chandeliers on the walls flickered eerily as the silent coachman closed the door behind Jaronas. Initially, I had thought that the interior would be as old as the exterior suggested, but everything seemed perfectly flawless and new. I felt Elly's uneven breath on my skin. Jaronas gestured up a broad staircase. "We should get your sister to bed; she must be exhausted." After a brief pause, I nodded and followed him upstairs, through a gallery, to one of the bedrooms in the west wing. "I understand if you want your bedrooms close to each other," explained Jaronas, "so yours will be across from hers, Vincent."

It still puzzled me where he knew my name from, but I didn't rule out the possibility that he had overheard us that day Elly found me in the alley. His cold eyes literally glowed in the dim light of the few candles. Hurriedly, he picked up one of them and led us into the dark bedroom. Suspiciously, I hesitated; the bed seemed freshly made, and a fire burned in the fireplace, as if Jaronas had known he would host guests tonight. With a wary feeling, I laid my sister on the bed, which seemed way too big for her.