Callie - An Enchantress Novel - Book 1

Chapter 5

As soon as Sam left, Callie dialled her sister's number to finish the conversation they couldn't have earlier in case she was overheard. "He's gone out for a while," she said by way of greeting. "Do you think you could come get me? This guy is seriously whacked. He's telling me weird shit, like how I died and he made me a vampire. Honestly Adie, he is delusional, like a total nut job."

"Has he hurt you?"

"I don't think so," Called replied after thinking about it. "But I really need to get out of here. Please say you can come get me?"

Adie pondered this for a moment, thinking of how she felt, or rather hadn't felt, Callie the last three days. "Cal, honey, I hate to say this but," she drew a deep breath in preparation for her argument. "I've a bad feeling he might be telling the truth." Silence met her confession. "I felt you die the morning you left for work. You know the way we've always known what the other was feeling, our emotions, pain and stuff like that? Well, that morning you just disappeared. I got this excruciating pain in my stomach and passed out. When I woke up you were gone. I didn't feel you anymore. About an hour ago was the first I felt anything from you."

"But a vampire? Come on, you're as delusional as he is. Or are you honestly trying to tell me you believe the crap in those books you're always reading?"

"You could test the theory and go stand in the sun - see if you burn," Adie suggested. "Just a hand or something though, I don't want to lose you again."

Callie uncurled herself from the sofa and crossed the room. Sam's warning rang clear in her memory as she gingerly moved the curtain aside a few centimetres. The beam of early morning light caught her wrist for a mere second, blistering her skin. She screamed in agony as searing pain surged through her arm with the briefest touch of sunlight scorching her to what felt like the bone. Pain so intense she thought her hand had been cut off at the wrist. Stupefied, she stood staring at the wisps of smoke rising from the welt.

"Ouch! Shit Cal! That really hurt!" Adie rubbed the same spot on her own wrist where Callie had been burned. "Whatever you did, don't do it again! Okay? I think we can safely say that unless you've developed a severe case of Erythropathingy - that sun allergy disease those kids had on the documentary we watched on Discovery channel last week - you are a vampire. Do you crave blood? Have pointy teeth?"

Experimentally, Callie ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth. "Nope, no teeth."

"Maybe they're retractable..." Adie mused, sounding almost disappointed. "What about the blood? Any cravings?"

"The only thing I sort of crave is more of this juice Sam gave me. I think it's some sort of energy protein drink." She sauntered over to the fridge to refill her beaker. It contained one bag with a little red liquid in it and a bottle of water in the door, nothing else. No food. No milk. Nothing. Picking up the bag of red juice, she turned it over to read the label. "Use by 18 JAN... B negative..." She squealed and slumped down on the floor, staring at the bag in her hand. Until it sink in. "Bloody hell. I'm a vampire Adie!"

Adie let the silence go on for a minute more before she interrupted Callie's thoughts. "I think you're gonna have to do what Sam says and stay there for a bit."

"I guess so," she reluctantly agreed. "Not that it'll be a hardship - you really have to see this guy, H.O.T. He's sending Gill over later for some of my things. Would you mind packing some clothes up before you head out to work? I don't like the idea of a stranger going through my knicker drawer. My make-up bag too, shampoo, shower gel - you know the usual stuff."

"No probs, Sis, I'll leave it by the front door and ring you later. Look after yourself in the meantime." Adie hung up, making mental plans to forget something in the bag and have to call round with it. She had to meet the guy who was causing sexual frustration to bombard her through the bond she shared with her sister. How she was going to make it through her shift at work, she had no idea.

Callie closed her phone and got up from the cold floor, poured herself some juice, and headed back to the sitting room. "Shit, I'm a vampire," she muttered to herself as she crossed the room. She picked up the TV remote and started flicking through the channels. Resuming her curled position on the sofa, the adverts ended signalling the start of her favourite show. I wonder what Jerry Springer would make of that?