Chapter 19

Elizabeth felt as if life in the airport had all stopped when she faced Danae. With her long red hair billowing around her by an invisible wind, she couldn't help but feel a bit...terrified.

Here was the woman who had single-handedly ruined the ancient's coven, the woman who had bewitched dozens of men to do her bidding, the woman whose powers if gone into the wrong hands would probably cause the Third World War.

And Elizabeth was about to duel with her, right in public. She began to realise how incredibly stupid accepting Danae's challenge was, and losing control of her powers made her feel weak and tired. Right at that moment, Elizabeth suddenly felt unusually dizzy. Staggering slightly, she pressed the tip of her fingers to her temple.

' Elizabeth!' Stefan rushed forward, concerned. Elena was about to step forward but hung back when Danae turned her glare onto her.

' The old 'i'm-getting-weak-please-help-me' game is getting kind of old, Elizabeth,' mocked Danae, inspecting her long French manicured nails.

' She really is weak,' Elena spoke up, defending Elizabeth. ' She almost used up all her energy back at home, when she lost control of her power.'

Danae raised one perfectly curved eyebrow and looked up, her eyes flashing momentarily at Elena, causing her to shrink back again. Then, she turned her attention back to Elizabeth, whose face was getting paler with each passing second.

Sighing, Danae straightened up and fluffed her hair casually. ' Since I don't fight weak and helpless enemies, I guess our little date will have to be postponed. It's a shame, really. I was quite looking forward to this.' Slowly, she turned around and headed for the crowd who seemed to be ignoring them. Then, just as she was walking away, she muttered under her breath.

' Amateurs. You can never depend on them for a decent fight every now and then.'



Back at the main headquarters of the Vampire Council, Charlie sat with his head in his hands, feeling as if the weight of the whole world was on him. Centuries ago, he had failed his coven in trying to protect them. Today, he was going to fail them again if Elizabeth wasn't found immediately.

The heavy, deep red curtains in his office were drawn, making the spacious room eerie. The large grandfather clock at the far end of the room ticked by noisily and the only light in the room came from the digital clock on his desk.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door and Charlie raised his head up. The door was pushed open hesitantly and Poesy, his adopted daughter poked her head in. He smiled at her and told her to come in. Judging by the red tint that had taken place on her usually pale pink cheeks and how windswept her chestnut coloured hair looked, he guessed that she was probably back from her riding lessons.

' Back from horse riding?' he asked her, snapping his fingers twice. The room was instantly flooded with bright light.

Poesy quickly made herself comfortable with the plump armchair in front of him and started lifting up the various files on Charlie's table and flipping through them aimlessly. Then, she started turning the miniature globe on the desk, spinning it loudly.

' Why are you here, Poesy?' he asked her, slowly rearranging the files back into their usual stacks.

Poesy stopped spinning the globe and leaned back into the armchair. ' I just wanted to ask you....for your permission because our school is having a trip to Cabo San Lucas and I have to be there, dad. If I don't show up, Rin is going to have a blast ordering people around. Not to mention that not showing up is equals to social suicide.'

Charlie just stared at the frame he kept in his secret drawer while his daughter babbled away. It showed a very tall and beautiful woman, with golden hair waving gently down her back. In that picture, Danae was sitting on a large rock, her chin resting on her hands. Braided around her head was a crown made of tiny leaves and she wore a goddess dress.

He remembered that day. The vampires had a get together day when this picture was taken. Everyone was required to arrive wearing a costume and Danae had arrived wearing that. Of course, the rest of the female vampires had thought her costume too much but to Charlie, she was just perfect.

He also remembered the day after that day. The day when Danae led an army of vampires into town. The memory brought with it great pain.

' Dad?' Poesy whispered uncertainly. She was leaning forwards nervously, eyeing her father with concern.

Without looking up, he spoke slowly. ' Who sent you here?'

' I told you. Cabo San Lucas.'

Looking up, he fixed her with his most penetrating stare. Poesy froze, gulped and looked down.

' Poesy.'

Still looking down, she fingered with the buttons on her riding jacket. ' Meredith thought you might go crazy in here,' she whispered. ' She said you've been in here for almost nineteen hours.'

Charlie exhaled quietly and looked down. Neither one of them said anything.

' You must know about Elizabeth Davenport,' he said out of the blue. Poesy nodded slowly.

There was another long moment of awkward silence.

' I just need to be alone for now, Poesy. You should probably go home. Tell Compton if you want to go anywhere.' He didn't look up when she slowly exited the room.

Charlie turned his chair away from the desk and faced the dark curtain in front of him, not actually seeing anything. Again and again, he saw that horrible bloody night, how the spotless white hall turned red in just moments.

He couldn't let that happen again. He wouldn't let that happen again. Elizabeth Davenport is to be caught and he didn't care if she was caught dead or alive.





Elizabeth inhaled in the aromatic scent of croissants and turned her head to the right. The scent was coming from the various trendy little cafes and eateries littering the Parisian street. Once, she saw a brief flash of fiery red hair and Elizabeth felt her heart beat faster, but the car was moving too fast for her to make sure if it really was Danae. Or Heather. Or Danae-Heather.

' Where are we going?' she turned around and asked Stefan, who was clutching the steering wheel tightly that his knuckles went white.

Stefan suddenly looked up, as if she had interrupted him from a long train of thought and quickly looked back at the road. ' We're going to find a place to live while we're here, and I prefer it be somewhere public, where Danae wouldn't attack unless she isn't afraid of being revealed for what she is.'

Suddenly, the car skidded to a stop and Elizabeth looked out automatically. The building outside was quaint and very old-fashioned. It was as if it was designed by a British rather than a French architect. An old woman in a bright yellow sundress looked up from her mail at them curiously.

' Wait here,' he instructed both Elizabeth and Elena in a low murmur and got out of the car. He and the woman exchanged a few words, which involved a lot of gesturing at Elizabeth. Then, the woman smiled at him and Stefan made a hand gesture at them to follow him. The old woman led the way into the bed and breakfast, the skirt of her flowery yellow dress swishing behind her.

They entered a small hallway, with brightly coloured patterned wallpapers and dull red carpeting. Flowers of every type were arranged all around the hall, some in crystal vases others in elegantly painted ceramic or porcelain vases.

' If you could please follow me,' said the old woman and Elizabeth was surprised to hear a soft English accent.

They followed her up the wooden carpeted stairs that creaked under their weight. The old woman was talking as they walked along another hallway, this time narrower and clad in darker wallpaper.

' Breakfast is served at 7.30 until 9.00 every morning, lunch from 12.00 to 1.00 and tea from 3.00 to 4.00. Dinner will be served at7.30 sharp. The kitchen is closed at 9.00. No alcohol, no parties, no night-visitors, lights out at 10.00.' The woman stopped in front of two doors and turned around to face them.

' These are your rooms and payment is highly appreciated in cash.'

They were quiet for a long time.

' Highly appreciated in cash,' the woman repeated, looking at them meaningfully and Elena nudged Stefan with her elbow.

Stefan started and immediately reached into the pocket of his long coat, pulling out a wad of cash. ' Here you go. You can keep the change.'

The woman smiled at them. ' I'm Thelia and enjoy your stay at Bonnie's Bed and Breakfast.' With that, she left them with their keys, counting the money under her breath.

Elena snorted and muttered,' Bonnie's Bed and Breakfast,' in disbelief. ' How corny can she get?'

Stefan ignored her and tested the door, finding it unlocked. ' Elena, you can share a room with Elizabeth. It's got connecting doors, so I'll just be next door.'

Elena fluffed her hair and started for the door to the right. ' Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty tired myself.'

Stefan and Elizabeth were left outside at the hallway, an awkward silence hanging between them.

' I guess...I should..go in..too,' Elizabeth said slowly and walked towards the door when Stefan finally spoke up.

' No, wait. You haven't had anything to...eat yet,' he said, grabbing her arm. Quickly, he released it.

' Eat?' Elizabeth echoed, nervous. ' You mean..eat for me?'

Stefan nodded.

' How?' she asked him. ' I don't want you to volunteer,' she added quickly when he opened his mouth to reply.

Stefan smiled despite himself and answered,' I found someone suitable to feed you.'

' Who?' Her voice came out as a whisper. A terrified whisper.

' Well,' he continued, sounding braver than her,' I might have lied to this..particular person so that he'll meet us.' He hastily added,' Don't worry. He's okay. Come with me.'

Elizabeth cautiously followed him out of the bed and breakfast and didn't say a single word throughout the journey. They passed the row of cafes again but this time, the scent of baked bread didn't entice her. All she saw was herself, sinking her teeth into a stranger's neck and feeling the quick pulse of his veins and the sweet taste of the warm red liquid-

' Elizabeth. Elizabeth. Elizabeth!' Stefan shook her. Her eyes had a glazed and faraway look.

She suddenly blinked. ' What?'

' We're here,' he said and pointed at a lone man sitting on a vacant park bench. They had arrived at and abandoned park. The trees were tall and the branches were gnarled. The hedges and flowers surrounding the park could have been pretty, if someone had tended to them regularly.

' Stefan!' yelled the man, raising a hand up as if greeting him.

' Sorry we're late, Phil,' Stefan said in return.

Phil glanced at Elizabeth curiously but made no comment. ' I hope you have it with you,' he said, leaning back against the bench.

' Yeah, I do.' Stefan moved to check his pockets and took out something hidden in his fist.

Phil smiled and whistled under his breath. Stefan held his hand out to Phil but he suddenly covered his mouth with his hand. Moments later, Phil slumped forward, unconscious.

Elizabeth looked at him, horrified. ' Was that really necessary?'

He shrugged off-handedly. ' If you want to feed, yes.' He than sat Phil up on the bench and motioned at Elizabeth.

' Now?' she whispered and Stefan just nodded in reply. Slowly, she walked forward, feeling very self-conscious with Stefan watching her every move. Then, she tilted Phil's head back and sank her teeth into his throat...




Elizabeth carefully arranged Phil in a more acceptable sitting position on the bench. The two dark wounds on his neck were quickly disappearing.

' Are you sure he wouldn't remember a thing?' she asked Stefan doubtfully.

' He won't,' he assured her. ' Humans tend to react differently when vampires feed on them. They all forget what they did and can never recover their memory.'

' What about the time when I fed on you?' She couldn't help but ask this.

Stefan grinned. ' Vampire Guardian, remember?'

Elizabeth smiled to herself and followed him to the car, feeling awake and stronger than before. Just as she passed a whole group of wild flowers, her eyes focused on one.

' Isn't that an oleander?' she said to Stefan.

He stopped and peered at the beautiful flower bathed in moonlight. ' Yeah. Don't go anywhere near it, they're dangerous.' He stared at it curiously for a while before heading off towards the car.

Elizabeth looked at the flower and to her shock, it suddenly burst into a full bloom. Shivering in the cold, she walked right past it and they drove off. If only Elizabeth had stayed longer, she should've seen that the unusual fiery shade of red beyond those trees wasn't from a flower.



Danae stepped out of the shadows of the trees and bent down to touch the oleander. The flower moved towards her, as if attracted by her very presence and when she set off to follow Elizabeth and Stefan, the flowers returned back to their usual wilt.



' Where are we going now?' Elizabeth asked Stefan, absorbed by the city lights flashing past them.

' For a little bit of sightseeing,' he answered and made a sharp turn to the left. ' Welcome to Paris,' he declared, exaggerating his French accent.

Elizabeth giggled. She felt oddly...high tonight. ' What's that over there?' she asked him, curiously. They had just passed the Arc de Triomphe.

' That's the Triumphal Arch a.k.a Arc de Triomphe, built in the 1800s. It is famous for its fast food franchise, the Burger of the Arc and is place to this years....pinball tournament!!!!!!'

Elizabeth playfully whacked his shoulder. ' That's not true.'

Srefan put on a knowing look and looked at her. ' Oh yeah? Let's see what you know about the Arc.'

Elizabeth cleared her throat but just as she did so, she saw herself standing inside the Arc. Unconsciously doing so, she started talking.

' There's a long and narrow hallway in front of me. It's made of stone walls and there is a smell...a smell of rotting flesh. It's so dark here but I can see everything. I can see the puddle of water at my feet. And it's cold..so cold.

' But, wait! Why am I suddenly in another place? It's a room in the dungeons of the Arc, I can see. There is a...tomb..in front of me. A plain gray coffin and there...there's something written on the coffin. Engraved. It says...Danae of the Vaughan Clan and nothing more. There is a door behind me. It's made of stone too, with heavy brass knobs. I have to leave.

' The door wouldn't open! It's..it's speaking to me. It demands blood. My blood.'

Elizabeth was suddenly jolted out of that bizarre...thought and found that the car had stopped. Stefan was staring at her, his mouth open and his gray eyes wide with horror.

Smiling suddenly, he forced a laugh. ' Okay. You win. Your description was better than my Burger of the Arc. We should go home now.'

They were silent for the rest of the ride and Elizabeth can't help but feel like someone was watching her.




Danae lowered her velvet hood and pursed her lips. Her body was mere metres away from her and all she needed was a little bit of blood. Elizabeth's blood.

Sighing, she stood up and fingered the tip of her dagger resting on her hips. Things are about t get interesting tonight, she thought.