Darkness Dominates - Chapter 12

During lunch, Leola thought some more about what she’d unearthed regarding Rosie. She’d decided her first move would be to tell Jennifer first. This matter was highly delicate. Leola couldn’t just steam in and confront Pippa with this. She was still bound by the bureaucracy of ‘The Guild’. It dictated the wisdom of sharing this revelation with a vampire beforehand. Because this situation was new territory for her, she’d opted for the careful handling route. She was thinking over what to say, when Nigel Raymond approached her table. Leola had been the only one seated there. It was the table that had the fewest number of pupils occupying it. She surmised it was one for new students like her and the kids that weren’t popular or socially savvy. Leola glanced to her left and saw where Rosie, Alicia and Katy were seated. To her right, Nigel was sitting down, placing his tray directly in front of him.

He took his leather satchel off the floor and removed a paperback. Nigel placed it on the left side of his lunch tray. The satchel was deposited against the legs of the chair. He took his sandwich from its outer packaging before starting to read the novel. Leola briefly caught sight of the book’s cover. It was ‘Sense & Sensibility’. She was in a position unique to those who attended and taught at this school. Leola had bought it after the novel was first published.

“How long have you had that, err...?”

Her question trailed off when she realised she didn’t know who she was talking to.

“Nigel Raymond” he said, cautiously. “You’re that new girl, aren’t you?”

“Fairly new – so how long have you had this copy of the novel?”

“Bought it last week...so, what’s your name?”

“Skye Linton”

“I heard about you from Katy. You’re bunking up at Rosie’s house.”

“For the time being: I’m hoping to pursue the student accommodation path, if I get into university.”

“Good luck with that – college and university lodging comes with heavy debt.”

“Are you friendly with Katy?”

“Kind of – her mate Alicia doesn’t approve. I heard her ribbing Katy about it. She used the term “cardigan couture”. Footballers are her thing, even though the boys that play it keep letting her down. She broke up with one a few days ago.”

Nigel glanced over at the table where Katy was seated.

“Katy’s the only girl who talks to me”

There was no self-pity in his voice. The direction of this glance suddenly changed. He was now watching the teachers’ table.

“Ms Bryant’s back. She’s coming over here.”

Nigel noted her expression.

“I think you may be in trouble on your first day” he said. “She’s got that look she gives to students whose homework gets a ‘D’ or worse”

“You can tell all that from one look?”

“I’ve seen it loads, Skye”

“You didn’t pick up your copy of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ when you were in my class this morning. I put them on my desk first thing when I arrived.”

Understanding this was for Nigel’s benefit, Leola slipped into the part of the pupil getting told off.

“I got distracted by what Rosie saying to Katy.”

“You may live with her, but you’re not joined at the hip. You’re to come to the music & drama room and collect it from there.”

“I was about to get my lunch”

“You can do that when you’ve gotten it.”

Leola got up and followed Evelyn all the way to where her lessons were held. She took a copy of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy from one of her desk’s drawers, as a line of six students walked by. Evelyn watched them through the classroom’s window, until they were gone. When she was certain they had, Ms Brooke put it back in the drawer she’d got it from.

“Julian’s told me the Trennell family faces two choices if they find out vampires exist – being turned or being killed.”

“I expected that he’d issue that ultimatum. Unfortunately, I’ve recently learned it’s more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“She saw my gold ring, and Alicia told her about the ‘Red Moon’, when she showed her the photo of it she took with her phone’s camera.”

“Didn’t you hypnotise her?”

“That’s just it – I couldn’t!”

“That’s not possible, Leola. It’s the only ability we have in the daytime as well as the night”

“My bad, Evelyn – I should’ve told you about this sooner”

“Told me what, exactly”

“Male vampires have impregnated mortal women in the past.”

“Doug Trennell’s a mortal, so he can’t...”

Evelyn broke off from what she was saying, when she realised where Leola was going with this. She instantly went against her own rule about swearing in class. It was just the two of them in there, so it wasn’t really applicable.

“Fucking hell!” she blurted out.

“I know” replied Leola, appreciating the emotion behind Evelyn’s outburst. “I need to let Jennifer know about this”

“Listen, I summoned you in here for a different reason”

“I thought it was to discuss the options facing the Trennell family”

Leola found it hard to hide her abhorrence at the two fates Julian had lain before them. She sensed that Evelyn shared it too. However, Leola also guessed that she’d something far more crucial to tell her.

“Emily and Lynette are free – Jennifer phoned me with the news just as I arrived back at school”

“What?”

Leola’s senses bristled with fresh anxiety. Of all the ways Diane’s assistance had messed things up, this was the ultimate.

“How”

“They were in this halfway house manageress’ car. She’d driven to Canroth General. The sisters had been drugged with Pennington’s Brew, but she’d administered an insufficient dose. They came round and made off in a stolen car.”

“Where’s Diane now?”

“She’s dead.”

“Dead – how”

“Her car swerved to avoid another vehicle, but it careered into the side of one that was parked.”

“Was Darcy in the vehicle?”

“Not when it crashed, no. Yes, I know Jennifer made her immortal. That was a smart move she made. I knew I was justified in turning her.”

“Was I right to turn you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You no longer talk to me like I’m your maker – Julian gets that honour more than I do”

“That’s not true!”

“It is, Evelyn. I made you a vampire, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to secure your loyalty”

“Don’t make this about your bruised ego. Now, what’s to be done about the Eddington sisters being on the loose? They don’t hunt in the shadows like we do – their mental instability has made their existence dangerous!”

“Once I find the two remaining Henford daggers, I’ll kill them!”

“When you do, I hope you’ll remember to take more care who you next turn into a vampire”

Evelyn waited for a response. She was baffled by Leola’s sudden dip into silence.

“What is it?”

“And then there were two” said Leola, breaking the silence.

It didn’t take Evelyn more than a minute to realise what the meaning of the cryptic comment was. By then, Leola was already stood facing Rosie Trennell. Her curiosity over why Ms Bryant had summoned Skye in here had gotten the better of her. Four minutes elapsed before Rosie found her voice again.

“This is way mental!” she said, her eyes moving left and right. “No way can vampires exist – they’re like totally fictional!”

“Like mother, like daughter” thought Leola.

Doug didn’t need to work at the checkouts again. Nobody was off sick today. There were plenty of staff members to deal with customers ready to pay for their shopping. He was, however, needed on the shop floor several times. The eighth occasion was to do with a problem concerning stock levels. One of the employees filling shelves noticed a discrepancy. The number of loaves in boxes didn’t match up with the number on the invoice. There were over twenty less than were meant to be delivered.

“When did this order come in, Bob?”

“After nine this morning, Mr Trennell”

“That was four-and-a-half hours ago. Who received the delivery?”

“Matthew Burt”

“This is the second time in a week he’s screwed up!”

“Should I phone the suppliers, Mr Trennell?”

“Yes...no, Bob. I’ll take care of that. Are there any other discrepancies I should know about?”

“No, the rest of the delivery tallies up, Mr Trennell”

“Good”

Bob noticed the manager’s frown.

“Are you okay, Mr Trennell?”

Doug hovered between two answers, before saying no.

“What’s the matter?”

“A friend’s personal tragedy, which I’d rather not discuss publicly”

He didn’t like being rude to his staff, so he gave a diplomatic but firm reply to what Bob had asked.

Another member of staff – Liz Hanley – rushed up to them.

“What’s the matter?” Doug asked her, seeing her flustered look.

“Two teenage girls – both blonde, Mr Trennell”

“What are they doing?”

“You’d better see for yourself”

When he and Liz had reached that aisle, they found the floor was covered in dairy products and partially-eaten meat snacks. Chewed segments of pork pies and pasties lay amidst large pools of milk and yoghurt. Emily and Lynette were stood at the far end of the aisle, both munching on sausage rolls, when Doug caught sight of them. They’d changed clothes again. The sisters were wearing what they’d gotten from Hurlington’s – Alven’s main clothing store. They hadn’t paid for them, thanks to their sole daytime vampire ability. Lynette smiled at Mr Trennell, and then opened another plastic 2-pint bottle of milk. Right in front of him and Liz, she poured its entire contents onto one of the widening pools that graced the floor.

“Whoops!” exclaimed Lynette with sinister glee. “Daddy is sure to punish me with the carpet beater now.”

This was all that Doug could stand. He felt his capacity to be reasonable vanish speedily.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he roared.

This was the only time he’d ever gone ballistic. Even when he had shown his temper, it was never this fierce.

“Playing with our food” said Emily. “Isn’t it fun?”

“Right, you two – my office now!” he yelled, his tone still thunderous.

Accompanied by Liz, Doug escorted them there. Miss Hanley went back to the shop floor straight afterwards. An in-store announcement made it clear she was needed to man one of the checkouts. The door to his office was slammed and Doug strode over to his desk. Sitting down, he cupped his right hand inside his left.

“Your anti-social criminal damage escapade is going to cost you twenty quid – that’s a tenner from each of you! Here’s the choice I’m giving you – either you cough up that amount this instant or I call the police!”

“I don’t much care for those options” said Emily.

“Well, tough! They’re the only ones you’re going to get! Now, what are your names?”

“Why so keen to know?” asked Lynette.

“Because if you don’t pay up, I’ll be giving your names to the police”

The sisters introduced themselves as Emma and Sophie Walsh. Doug didn’t have to think hard about where he’d heard those names before. The memory came to him immediately.

“You’re the girls who bullied Skye for years! Well, consider the options facing you two as payback for making her youth a miserable one! I’ve known girls like the pair of you.”

“I sincerely doubt that” Lynette said to herself, but she hadn’t said it quietly enough. Doug pounced on her unguarded remark.

“Okay! If that’s how you want to play it – I’m going to give you ten seconds to pay up! If you don’t, I’m calling the police!”

“Seventeen lashes with the cane will suffice, daddy!” the sisters said, rather creepily, in unison.

“I’m not your bloody dad!”

Doug had reached the end of his tether was the sisters.

“Ten” he said, starting his countdown.

Emily and Lynette spent the next three seconds keeping quiet and remaining still.

“Six! Five! Four!”

Emily hurriedly said “Three-two-one!” She plonked her hands on his desk and her eyes changed colour to dark scarlet.

“We’re here to leave a message for Leola”

Firmly in a hypnotic state, Doug said “You’re here to leave a message for Leola”.

Delving into the blue leather handbag she had with her, Emily fished out a meat cleaver.

“And you’re going to help you deliver it to her” she continued.

“And I’m going to help you deliver it to her”

Over 45 minutes later, the Eddington sisters were in the ground floor ladies’ toilets. Blood mingled with water seeping down the sink’s plughole as they washed their hands. After keeping them under a pair of hand dryers for about a minute, they left the toilets and the building itself. The car they’d stolen from Canroth General was amongst the first row of parked vehicles. Within thirty seconds of starting the engine, Emily drove it out of Sterling’s car park.

It was while Liz was mopping up the floor that Bob came and asked her where Mr Trennell was.

“I don’t know, Bob. When I headed off to one of the checkouts, he’d just gotten those two teenage girls into his office. I thought he’d gone to the cafe to cool off.”

“I’ve just been there – no sign of him!”

“He’s probably still in his office – do you want me to...?”

“No, Liz, you finish cleaning this mess those girls made. I’ll see if he’s still in there.”

Bob had barely knocked once when he realised it had been left ajar. The impact of his knuckles against the wood had very slightly pushed it open. He opened it wider with his left hand, and looked inside. He’d only glanced within the office for a few seconds, when he staggered back out, his hand clasped firmly over his mouth. Whilst running from his employer’s office, Bob got out his mobile and called the police.

“Hello, I want to report the murder of Doug Trennell. Someone’s gone and...”

The image of what he’d seen was still in his mind. Trying to say it aloud caused a mild panic attack. He had to inhale and exhale four times in quick succession. When the sensation was gone, he continued talking to the voice on the other end of the line.

“Someone’s gone and cut out his heart!” he blurted out in a single breath.

Fourteen minutes later, the late Mr Trennell’s youngest daughter was beset by the same inner turmoil as her mum. Evelyn was hoping Rosie would keep still. The 17 year-old had been walking around Ms Brooke’s classroom for the past twelve minutes. A moment passed before the three of them were joined by Jennifer. Evelyn had phoned her shortly after Rosie had overhead the two of them describe themselves as vampires.

“Why did you call my mum’s BFF, Ms Bryant?”

“She said you had a panic attack – didn’t you?” replied Jennifer.

“They think they’re vampires” Rosie said to DCI Stoneham.

“Ms Bryant was probably involving Skye in some theatrical role play to ease her into her drama lessons.”

Both Evelyn and Leola closed their eyes momentarily and groaned a little. Opening her eyes again, the girl Rosie knew as Skye said to DCI Stoneham “That’s worse than one of Oliver Queen’s cover stories!”

“Who’s Oliver Queen?” enquired Evelyn.

Ms Brooke had only watched TV twice in the last 70 years. Once was Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and the other instance was the moon landing in 1969.

“The main character from the superhero show, ‘Arrow’; Ali thinks he’s a mega-hottie.”

It didn’t matter how well Jennifer had answered her query. Evelyn didn’t like films or TV. For her, performance had only one home – the stage.

Getting the message from Leola’s and Evelyn’s identical expression, she told them that she wanted to talk to Rosie alone. They went out into the corridor and Ms Brooke shut the door behind them.

“Hold on,” said Rosie, “Ms Bryant like so doesn’t ease pupils into her lessons!”

“I knew you’d figure that out”

“They weren’t doing role play, were they?”

“Listen Rosie, I need you to meet me at Wickham Road tonight.”

“Why”

“Because, like your mum, you stumbled onto the existence of....”

Jennifer’s mobile phone had sounded at just the wrong moment. She went into the corridor to answer it, but walked a foot in the opposite direction from where Leola and Evelyn were standing.

“I’m in the middle of something that needs...”

Jennifer stopped as soon as the caller on the other end mentioned Doug Trennell by name. As she listened, her face froze in one expression – that of sheer disbelief. Her mouth finally closed and she strode gradually back towards the teacher and the new female pupil.

“What is it?” asked Leola.

“Geena, you need to find Paula!”

“What for”

“You’re to tell her I’m taking Rosie to her mum’s office, right now!”

It was then that they both understood what the motivation for Jennifer’s request was.

“She’ll still be in the canteen. I’ll let her know what’s going on.”

“I need you to do something else for me, Evelyn – I want you to get Paula alone and hypnotise her”

“Hypnotise her into doing what?”

“Giving Skye permission to leave school grounds”

“Why is that necessary?”

“Because it’s more vital than ever I find the remaining Henford daggers” Leola answered, on Jennifer’s behalf.

The two of them headed back to where they’d come from. Jennifer went back into Evelyn’s classroom. Two pupils – a boy and a girl – were passing by its window when the female student spotted who was inside.

“Bryan, its Ali’s mum!”

He looked to the left of where the girl was gazing.

“Looks like she’s with Rosie Trennell”

The male and female pupils witnessed Jennifer speaking to her for over a minute. Then, they saw Rosie walk round the room again. Her fingers were twitching involuntarily. Suddenly, she rushed at one of the school desks and pushed it on its side with both hands. She followed this by picking up one of the chairs and trying to break it. After hitting one of the walls multiple times, her anger gave way to grief. She dropped the chair and then knelt down in a corner between two walls. Rosie put her hands on them both. Her face was hidden from view, as she started mourning her dad’s death.