Chapter 2

First day back

"Keira...Keira," Allie's voice whispered. Keira's head swirled and she reluctantly opened her eyes. Allie was leaning over her, holding a mug to her mouth.

"More blood?" Keira enquired her face contracting into a smile.

"Oh, Keira, thank god," Allie sighed.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Keira asked.

"A day," Allie said. "You must have got up in the night and it was all too much, with the fever and you just crashed to the floor."

"Mmhmm," Keira murmured slurping every last bit of the drink. Memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. The ghostly face. The mauve eyes. The grin that appeared on the women's face.

"I found you and had to lift you into bed, how do you feel?" Allie questioned sweetly.

"Fine," Keira said smiling.

"Does your head hurt?"

"No, honestly Allie, I feel really good actually." Keira said. It wasn't exactly true, her stomach was bubbling nervously and questions were buzzing in her mind. Keira turned her head to the clock. It was 4:00pm, Wednesday 3rd September. She'd missed the first day at school.

"How come you're not at school?" Keira asked.

"I took the day off to look after you." Allie replied

"Thanks Allie, that was sweet of you,"

"No problem, we were all so worried about you, they wanted you to have this." She said holding another mug of blood to her Keira's lips.

"You didn't need to be." Keira muttered. She stifled a yawn and gulped down the blood thirstily. "I should take a shower."

"Sure," replied Allie as she left Keira's side and exited the room. Keira pulled down the covers and climbed off the bed. Her body swayed as her blood rushed to her head and dizziness overwhelmed her. She gripped the bed post and let the spell pass. It didn't take long and she walked across to the bathroom door. She stared back at her face in the mirror. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles and her hair lay limp over her shoulders. After removing her pyjamas she climbed into the lukewarm running water. The moisture dripping over her bare body felt comforting and she gently massaged some shampoo into her hair. A scent of honeycomb and sweet vanilla wafted up her nose, revitalising her scenes with necterous confectionary. Keira sighed as she was brought back to the real world and the questions returned. Who was that women? Why was she there and most of all, what did she want? Keira decided to let it pass. Stepping out of the bath tub, she wrapped a large white towel around her body. She looked better in the mirror now, fresher. She rubbed her body dry and changed into a pair of fresh pyjamas. A rumbling in her stomach started as she realized she was hungry. She walked into the kitchen and popped a grape into her mouth. The fruit burst in her mouth, releasing bitter juices. Keira savoured the taste and headed towords her bedroom. She'd wait till breakfast to have some proper food. She lay down on the soft duvet and closed her eyes.

***

Keira awoke at 7:00am, bang on, her alarm clock chiming in her ear. She groaned and rolled over, hitting the sleep button. School. Fabulous. Unwillingly she stumbled out of bed and changed into a pair of jeans, a white top and a light blue cardigan which she let flow around her waist. She wandered into the kitchen and sat down on a stool at the island counter. Allie was already there, ready for school, a pleasurable smile spread across her face. A cappuccino was nestled in her hands and a newspaper spread out on her lap. The table was covered in a yellow and white chequered cloth and a vase of saffron coloured dahlias were set in the middle.

"Morning," Allie said cheerfully. Keira mumbled an inaudible reply.

"Cheer up sleepy," Allie said a huge smile on her face. Standing up and walking over to the cupboard Keira grabbed a cereal bar and started to unravel it.

"You look nice," Allie said putting her mug in the sink and humming as she did so.

"Thanks," Keira answered, smiling now, she looked and the clock and grimaced. "I'd better go." She said grabbing her bag and slinging it over one shoulder.

"Have a good day," Allie remarked.

"You to Allie," Keira responded as she slipped on her navy ballerina shoes. Grabbing her coat off a peg she walked out of the flat and down the street. The icy wind blew her hair madly about and a flurry of leaves fell over her head. She evanesced into a flurry of silver glitter. It was how her coven could travel. It was risky in broad daylight, but Keira couldn't risk getting weary and needing more blood at school. She emerged back to human form on a silent corner near the school and walked the rest of the way. A mass of children swarmed around the school gates. She avoided them and walked down the path to the English block, stopping on a grass verge scattered with daisies. She opened up her bag and sat up against a tree opening her book.