Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (23 page)

I watched for maybe half an
hour, until I figured nearly fifty people had emerged from the
Clock Tower’s upper room. Some looked very young, others slightly
older, but none of them appeared to be above mid-thirties, and I
knew without doubt these were the same people that I’d seen in the
ballroom looking frail and old.

Now they were rejuvenated,
heading back downstairs to have the kind of party I’d expected to
see when I first looked in. Some I recognised, famous movies stars,
models and moguls; others I didn’t know, but could tell by their
demeanour, they were powerful, dynamic people, exuding the charisma
and vitality of youth and beauty. Whenever I had the opportunity, I
took photos, my hands shaking, my mind unable to process what I was
seeing, but knowing I needed proof that I hadn’t imagined any of
this.

Finally, the last few
stragglers filed past the doorway, their laughter and gaiety
filling the corridor. Then my hand froze and my heart felt as if it
had stopped. There, coming down the spiral stairway, was Violet and
Joseph, each looking as if they’d been through a fabulous makeover.
They glistened, they glowed and they glittered with a blinding
radiance, their skin so perfect I wanted to reach out and touch it,
their beauty so mesmerising it literally took my breath away.
Violet was wearing a stunning purple off-the-shoulder, slinky
chiffon gown that showed her amazing physique off to perfection,
Joseph looking impossibly handsome in his dark dinner jacket and
white starched shirt.

Viyesha and Leon followed,
holding hands, more beautiful and more attractive than I’d ever
seen them, their blond hair immaculate, their faces tranquil and
serene, Viyesha sublime in shimmering royal blue silk. With horror,
I realised it was the same blue gown I’d seen the old woman wearing
who had handed out the cloaks. I stared, transfixed, as they passed
by, not understanding what I was seeing before me. This couldn’t be
happening, surely? And yet the proof was there in front of my
eyes.

One person remained that I
longed to see.

Where was Theo?

Surely, I hadn’t missed him
amidst the earlier throng of guests that had passed down the
corridor. I looked again, but the spiral stairway was empty, a
faint blue glow still just about visible. Was he still up there?
Dare I go and have a look?

As I was considering my
choices, the light suddenly became stronger, and there he was, my
Theo, bathed in blue, walking down the stairs, the most beautiful
creature of all, so exquisite I had to fight back the tears. I
gazed at him enraptured. Never had he looked so amazing, so
alluring or quite simply divine. The attraction I felt for him
possessed my whole body and I knew I had to be with him, whatever
the consequences.

Quickly, I opened the door and
stepped into the corridor, pulling back the hood from my face. As
he saw me, an expression of joy then horror passed over his
face.

“Emily!” he whispered. “What
are you doing here? Don’t you know how dangerous this is for you?
If they find you, they’ll kill you.”

He pushed me back into the room
that had been my hiding place, closing the door silently and
quickly behind us.

“Theo, I’m sorry,” I started to
say, but his lips were upon mine, kissing me with a passion and
ferocity that touched my soul.

I responded with equal passion,
feeling his energy and radiance fill my being, consuming me,
possessing me. I was lost in his kiss, lost in the strange
existence of Theo’s world, love and desire burning within me. The
moth had reached the flame and I didn’t care if it destroyed
me.

Suddenly, he broke away.

“Emily, no,” he spoke
breathlessly. “We can’t do this. You have no idea what you’re
getting into, how high the stakes are…”

His piercing blue eyes stared
into mine and I saw an eternity of suffering, torment and pain
within him.

“I can’t let this happen…” he
began to say, when voices outside the door stopped him.

We listened in horror as
Aquila’s rasping voice spoke, “Pantera, I heard voices, I tell
you…”

“It was probably our guests,”
came Pantera’s reply.

“May be,” answered Aquila, “but
we can’t leave anything to chance.”

Theo indicated the wardrobe at
the side of the room and silently pulled open one of its heavy
wooden doors. Just in time, we concealed ourselves within, pulling
the door shut, as Aquila flung open the door to the room. For a few
seconds, time stood still as he looked around and I held my breath,
praying he wouldn’t detect our presence or hear my heart beating
with the ferocity of an express train. Eventually, he went out and
we could hear him moving down the corridor, opening other doors and
looking into rooms.

We heard Pantera call out,
“Aquila, did you find anything?” and from down the corridor, his
answer, “No, I think you were right. It must have been guests.”

Then we heard her say, “Come
Aquila, we need to secure the casket and the room. Then I’ll take a
look outside.” There was a muffled sound of another door closing
and then it was quiet.

“Quickly,” said Theo, opening
the door of the wardrobe. “We don’t have much time. I have to get
you out of here.”

“I’m sorry, Theo,” I started to
say, but he cut me short.

“Not now, Emily, I need to
think.”

He walked over to the doorway,
opened it cautiously and peered out.

“Okay,” he whispered to me,
“come quickly before they return.”

I followed him out, and the
next minute we were walking rapidly along the corridor, our feet
sinking into the plush dark blue carpet, down the old servants’
stairway and onto the main landing. My blue cloak billowed behind
me and I gathered it close, pulling the hood down over my face.
Theo led the way past the top of the main stairway and onto the
other corridor that lead to the right. He indicated a doorway.

“In here, Emily, you’ll be safe
for a while. This is just a store room.”

Looking around to make sure we
were alone, he quickly opened the door and we crept in, breathless
and tense. Theo closed the door and turned towards me.

“Now perhaps you’ll tell me
what you are doing here, despite my warnings?”

I threw back the hood. “I’m
sorry, Theo,” I whispered, “I had to find out what was going
on.”

“And what did you see?” he
asked urgently.

I bit my lip.

“I saw a lot of old people, all
stooped and grey. I saw them going up the old servants’ stairway
and along the corridor, up the spiral stairway that I assume leads
to the Clock Tower. I saw a bright blue light shining down and then
I saw the old folk emerging, rejuvenated. They were glowing, Theo.
How did that happen?”

He thought for a second, then
asked me, “What do you think? Do you have any idea?”

“Well, I don’t think you’re
vampires…” I began.

“Vampires?” He laughed
dismissively. “Who wants to be a vampire and drink blood for
eternity? What we have discovered is far more seductive and a great
deal more dangerous.”

“Then what is it, Theo? What
have you discovered? You have to tell me ….”

He put both hands around my
face and looked into my eyes. “Not tonight, Emily,” he said. “I
will tell you, I promise, but not tonight. There’s no time. I have
to get you out of here, before you’re discovered.”

He looked so beautiful and so
vulnerable, it was all I could do not to kiss him again.

“Keep the cloak on,” he
advised, “but keep your head down and don’t speak to anyone. I’ll
let you out of one of the side doors. Don’t go down the main
driveway. Go past the Clock Tower to the circular fountain. There,
you’ll find the newly cleared pathway to the church. Take that
pathway. If you feel anyone is following you, get to the church and
stay there until daylight comes. You’ll be safe in there.”

“Theo, you’re frightening me,”
I said. “Can’t you come with me?”

“Emily, I want to come with
you,” he took my hands in his, “but I can’t. I’d be missed. And
it’s not safe for you to stay. You cannot be discovered. It would
mean certain death.”

I swallowed. “Okay, I’ll
go.”

I drew the thick velvet cloak
around me, and Theo carefully pulled up the hood. For a second, he
gazed into my eyes, then his lips were upon mine kissing me
hungrily and passionately. Despite, or because of, the danger, I
responded with an intensity I had never known before, and as our
lips fused together, I felt our souls touch and unite. If I didn’t
make it, this might be my last encounter with Theo, the love of my
life, my reason for being, and my future, if destiny allowed. I
could feel Theo’s energy, his life force, filling my body with a
spiritual consummation that possessed every fibre of my being.

But time was against us and he
broke away, pain and anxiety etched across his beautiful face.

“You must go, Emily, before
it’s too late.”

Silently, he arranged the hood
so that it hung over my face, concealing my features.

“Say nothing to anyone,” he
cautioned. “Walk slowly and purposefully. Don’t draw attention to
yourself.”

He opened the door and looked
out.

“All clear,” he said. “Let’s
go.”

He led the way along the
corridor to the head of the main stairway and slowly, we started to
walk down. Fortunately, there was some kind of commotion going on
in the reception area that was claiming the attention of all
present. A male guest appeared to have collapsed on the floor and
others were tending to him. I could see a figure in a black dinner
suit lying on the black and white tiles, his legs splayed out
awkwardly, with others leaning over him.

I saw a beautiful woman in a
red ballgown, with blond hair piled high and long red gloves, say
tearfully to Viyesha, “He arrived too late. There was a delay in
his travel arrangements and he arrived too late. This is our worst
nightmare. Is there nothing we can do for him?”

Viyesha put a protective arm
around her shoulders and I heard her saying softy, “No. I’m sorry.
The power of the Blue Moon has passed. There is nothing more that
can be done.”

The red gowned woman stifled a
sob, and there was a collective gasp from all those who attended
the man. I felt Theo’s hand on my waist, guiding me past the
assembled guests and projecting me forward. As I walked around the
edge of the crowd, a sudden gap presented itself between the guests
and I was able to see the man.

It was all I could do not to
cry out in horror.

I saw a wizened, shrunken face,
surrounded by wispy white hair. His mouth was open as if gasping
for air, his claw-like hands were up round his throat as if he’d
been trying to open his shirt. That he was dead was bad enough, but
in the brief glimpse I had of him, I saw him decay before my eyes.
I saw the flesh disintegrate on his face, falling into his
cheekbones, I saw his eyeballs dry out and shrink, leaving two
cavernous eye sockets, and I saw his lips draw back to reveal
yellowed, blackened teeth in a hideous grin. The man was turning
into a skeleton before my eyes.

For a second I was frozen with
fear, unable to move another step, then once again I felt Theo’s
firm hand behind me, guiding me forward. I moved on autopilot,
incapable of rational thought. The next thing I knew we were in a
small passageway and Theo was opening a door.

I felt the cold night air on my
face and heard Theo say, “Go left past the Clock Tower, keep going
until you reach the fountain, then take the pathway through the
woods to the church. Go quickly.”

The door closed behind me and I
was on my own.

Instinctively, I kept close to
the walls of Hartswell Hall, bearing to the left until I reached
the Clock Tower. The mist had lifted and a magnificent full moon
filled the night sky, providing all the illumination I could ask
for. Looking up at the turreted upper windows of the Tower, I could
see a faint blue light and I knew that was where the guests had
been. There was no time to linger and I ran on, reaching the
circular feature in just a few minutes. Amazingly, it had been
transformed into a beautiful fountain, the water spraying upwards
to a height of about two metres, glinting seductively in the
moonlight before falling back into the dark waters below, where I
saw the silver moon clearly reflected, shimmering in the rippling
water.

Fleetingly aware that it was
impossible to have renovated the fountain in such a short time, I
kept moving.

Behind the fountain was the
pathway, leading through the woodland, the undergrowth cleared away
and fresh bark laid down to create a good walking surface. I knew
it wasn’t far to the church, no more than a few hundred metres, but
it seemed to take an eternity, my breath shallow and harsh, my
heart beating fast, the blood rushing in my ears. The woodland was
alive around me, every rustle, every sound making me jump.

Then the church was in front of
me and I ran as if possessed through the graveyard, along the
ancient path that led past the vestry, until I reached its main
doors, praying silently that they would be open. I turned the old
metal door ring and thanked all the angels in heaven when the huge
old studded door opened before me.

Quickly, I pushed it wide and
fell into the church.

As I turned to close the door,
I glanced into the graveyard, where the gravestones glinted
spookily in the moonlight. There, in the undergrowth, I saw two
huge yellow eyes watching me. With a cry, I slammed the church door
shut, dropped the latch and fell sobbing to the floor.

PART THREE – KNOWLEDGE

22.
Kimberley
Chartreuse

In her Leicestershire mansion,
Kimberley Chartreuse (aka Wendy Tubbs) lay back amidst her white
silk sheets on her monster-sized waterbed and looked contemptuously
at husband number four. He was obedient and biddable, but boring as
hell, as she’d found out too late, just after they’d got
married.