"Elizabeth Taylor", Clare Maguire

It was open mic night at The Pearl and I tried to focus on what was happening at the club instead of thinking about James or the Council. I had talked things through with Aidan and explained to him that we should not be in the same room at the moment to avoid triggering the magical curse the Council had launched on me.

He was very worried about James too and I knew he spent his days searching for him. James was always on the move and the locator spells we knew had been quite inefficient until then. Anna asked if she could try again with the spell anyway because she wanted to help. I thought it would be in vain but I told her to try. She went upstairs to my office to work on it.

The singers at the open mic night were quite good: from indie rock to folk or blues, the musicians were inspired. A young singer finished her cover of a Lana Del Rey song when I saw Anna rushing towards me.

"James," she said. "He is..."

I heard the piano and turned my head.

"... here."

The moment I heard Anna, I saw him on stage, with his hair tied up, wearing a dark red suit, his wrists covered in numerous silver bracelets. His eyes were wide open but he was not looking at the crowd in the audience. He sang the lyrics of Clare Maguire's song with a subtle mix of irony and melancholy. It broke my heart and I could see that Anna was also moved.

After the song, he did not come to me but he talked to a man who had admired his musical talent from the first row and led him to the back door exit. I followed them quickly to the street and I witnessed what I was afraid of: James drinking from the poor guy.

I was going to stop him when I saw Aidan taking James by the shoulders and pushing him on the ground. Aidan then healed the man and I used my pendant to make him forget about what just happened.

I wanted to intervene but I knew that I should let the two friends deal with this together. I stepped away, my back against the door and I stayed silent. Blood was dripping from James' mouth. His breathing was frantic. Both vampires stared at each other.

They had a lot to talk about but, at first, they did not say a word. Finally, Aidan lowered his head for an instant and when he lifted it up again, there were tears in his eyes.

He walked towards James and took him in his arms. His best friend froze, his arms alongside his body, in shock. "I'm sorry," Aidan whispered. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

James started to cry, wrapped his arms around Aidan and put his head on his shoulder. "I missed you," he said.

"I know!" Aidan answered, and they laughed.

After a moment, they moved away from each other. 

"Let me help you," Aidan said. "Let me be there for you as you were there for me back then." James nodded. "You can stay at my place if you want."

I smiled watching them both when, suddenly, my head started to ache and I felt dizzy. I had another vision. This time the pain was so intense that I put my hand on my neck and I saw blood on my fingers. "Aidan," I whispered.

He turned his head towards me. The visions continued as new flashes appeared in my mind and with each one of them a wound manifested on my body. I screamed.

James and Aidan ran and grabbed me. "Is it the visions?" Aidan said.

"It is not just visions now. Not just sensations. It affects me. It is as if you were biting me."

"Do you need an antidote?" James asked.

"No, the wounds are healing. But I cannot stay near you, Aidan. It is getting worse."

"What can I do?"

"Nothing. Listen, I am going to meet the Council tomorrow. They want to see me. I am going to talk some sense into them to end this moronic joke.""

"Do you want me to come with you?" James asked.

"No, you have to take care of yourself. Stay with Aidan."

Another image and another bite mark on my arm. "Go now. Please."

Aidan hesitated but James took his arm and led him to the corner of the street. The tension in my mind lifted and I wiped off the blood on my body. I took a deep breath and came back to the Pearl.