Half Blood

    "What happened here? Are they what I think they are?"

    "Probably." Daniel assisted her into a standing position. "Come on. Talk later. Move faster. They are still hungry." He urged Katarina to move as Stefan began to stir with a shake of his shaven head and blink of his bleary, bloodshot eyes.

    "I can't go any faster," Katarina replied, out of breath, her mind still fuddled with the fog of Niko's tricks.

    "Then hold on to me. Tightly."

    Daniel had no idea how flight would affect Katarina as his passenger. He focused on the swirling, dense cloud cover that twisted at the edge of the midnight sky. His coat blurred, as if the fabric dissolved into separate particles and hovered around him like murky steam until it melted with the midnight clouds. This undulating miasma coiled and coated them in the spectral mist.

    Stefan looked on with a perplexed expression not too different from his usual confused appearance.

    * * * *

    Wrapped in the hazy coverlet of vapour, Katarina gripped tight to Daniel. Her fingernails dug into the fabric of his coat as her heart dug into his. His thin, muscular arms wrapped around her like a lifebelt holding her safe. She nestled her hands into the cool crease of his elbows. She laid her face, against the firm slab of his chest. No warmth was available to comfort her, but without it she was still secure, even when her feet were no longer upon the ground. They whirled together in the blurred ribbons of fog, spiralled away on the mysterious zephyrs to the furthest edge of the park, away from danger. Giddy, light as a feather, but not nauseous, Katarina would have believed anything, even that time had stopped. Beneath them was the blackness of the whirling cloud. His gaze, vivid and sparkling, held her steady. It pierced her core. The reality of a nearby housing estate seemed to them to be part of a different world while they searched one another's souls in the spinning colours of their eyes.

    Once more their feet touched ground. Under the safety of an ancient yew tree, Katarina looked at the pale face before her, a princely shade of white. "How did you do that? No, don't answer. Just, thank you for saving me." She glanced around to ensure Niko hadn't followed and turned back to him, too bashful to hold the gaze of his vivid irises.

    "We are safe here," Daniel spoke with tenderness.

    "How do you know?"

    "I just know."

    "Niko, is he…a vampire?"

    "He wasn't always. But yes, he is now."

    "What was he before?" She realised they were very close and had their hands upon one another's forearms.

    "He was my cousin," Daniel answered.

    "And you?" Katarina sighed, fearful of his reply. "What are you? You can't be a vampire, can you? I'm not afraid of you. But you feel cold." She released his arms.

    "I'm a dhampir, a half vampire. I mean you no harm."

    "I know that," she answered and lifted his hands. "Somehow."

    Ever felt like you don’t fit in? Try being only half human. Daniel Otovic is a loner. A misfit. Discovering his father is a vampire doesn’t increase his popularity at school. Dhampirs don’t fit in anywhere. His cousin, Niko, is a jock. Nobody realises he is a dhampir, too. Except Niko feeds on humans. During detention, Daniel discovers the school talent show is imminent. Captivated by the enchanting singing of Katarina, he is persuaded to take part. His mind is not really on task. He has fallen in love and it’s not a good time, having just discovered his paranormal heritage. He has new skills. He can fly. He can run like the wind. He can shape shift. Premonitions haunt him. Most of them are about Katarina and she is in danger. Growing up on the Bosnian border, Daniel could do nothing without Niko. In England, it is no different. Only Niko is hungry and Katarina seems like a tasty meal for him and his newly fashioned jock vampire friends. Can Daniel handle being a dhampir when for years he considered himself a normal guy? He has to handle it. Katarina’s life depends upon it.