Page 16 of Fang Fiction

“Listen,” Tess said softly. “I’d love to help you, it’s just—wouldn’t that be pretty dangerous? To visit an island full of very thirsty vampires?”

“Oh god no, you wouldn’t actually be visiting the Isle,” Octavia clarified. “That’d be suicidal. I’ll just give you my scent vial so that Callum will smell me when you get to the crystal bridge that links the Isle to Bar Between. It’s the only way on or off the Isle, and it’s covered in sunlight—no vampire can touch you there. You’ll stay in the light, give him the message, and be on your way, no worse for wear. Sound all right?”

“Oh.” Tess felt relieved, but also strangely disappointed. “So you’re saying—I wouldn’t get to explore the Isle, see the places in Blood Feud? Like Nantale’s compound or the moonflower meadow or the milky jade pools or whatever.”

“You really do love those books, don’t you?” Octavia’s lips were thin.

“Yeah, guilty.” Tess dipped her head and tucked her hair behind her ears. “And I guess, speaking of the books…Callum.”

“What about him?”

“I don’t need to be, you know. Afraid of him?”

Tess’s heart beat faster—she thought of the disgusting best man in the stairwell, of Rick in the bathroom doorway, smiling affably, touching her arm. And those weren’t even deadly vampires. They were just fucking guys.

“Look at me,” Octavia instructed, and Tess obliged. “My brother is a good man. That’s the worst part of being here—it’s not about losing my powers, it’s about being apart from him. For a hundred and thirty years, he’s been my best friend, closer to me than my own skin, and now I can’t feel him at all. Have you ever felt anything like that? Like the closest person in the world to you was just…gone?”

Tess closed her eyes, wishing she could picture anything but Joni’s disappointed face. She nodded slowly.

“Then you know how it feels,” Octavia said. “And you know me. That’s why I picked you. Of all those people on your message boards, your—what do you call them? Friends?”

“Mutuals.” Tess smiled at the absurdity of teaching internet parlance to a vampire.

“That’s a stupid term, I’m not repeating it.” Octavia sniffed. “Anyway, out of all of them, you seemed to care less about me as a character, and more about me as a person. And I thought, okay. If I can find her, maybe she can help. If I can find her, maybe I won’t be so totally alone.”

Tess looked out at the wedding, which finally seemed to be winding down. Groups of friends were sitting at tables, drinking and laughing; the bride and groom twirled slowly in the middle of the mostly empty dance floor. Tess thought about her friends at the hotel, all of whom were fun company, but none of whom really knew her. She thought of her parents, how her relationship with them was really nothing more than an occasional phone call. And she thought of Joni, of everything they used to have. How all of it was gone now. Maybe forever.

Ever since leaving Columbia, Tess had felt like a stranger in her own life, working at someone else’s job, having someone else’s conversations. She had no idea how many times she’d read Blood Feud in the past three years—a dozen? A hundred? But it meant something real to her that Octavia Yoo, a woman who had brought her so much comfort, was now asking Tess to be part of her story. More than that, Tess had the distinct sense that saying yes to Octavia could change her own story.

“It’s funny,” Tess said, though it wasn’t at all. “For the past three years, I’ve been pretty much alone myself.”

“Well then.” Octavia lifted her glass. “It’s a good thing we found each other.”

Chapter 4

Email sent eleven years ago, following the creation of the Isle

——Forwarded Message——

From: Fern Castillo

BCC: [COVEN DISTRIBUTION LIST]

Sent: October 1, 7:53 AM

Subject: Project Isle is a success!

Hi all,

I write today with excellent news: After months of arduous preparation, Project Isle went into effect at midnight last night. Below, please find a summary of previous actions and next steps:

Three months ago, at our annual Summer Solstice Summit, our leaders proposed a motion to imprison earth’s vampires in a shadow dimension to prevent the violence and mayhem that’s been on the rise. The motion carried by a vote of 64–13, and work commenced to create such a dimension. That work was accelerated following last month’s vampire attack in Prague.

A group of highly advanced witches created the Isle, an island that shares roughly the same geography as Manhattan, though none of its infrastructure. The Isle exists in its own discrete dimension, and while there, vampires will have access to material magics (i.e., the ability to create their own homes and other objects, including food and drink). They will not retain access to these magics in any other dimension.

The only way on or off the Isle is the crystal bridge which connects it to Bar Between. That bridge will remain covered in sunlight 24 hours a day, ensuring no vampire can cross it.

Last night at midnight eastern time, representatives from thirty covens cast a successful global transport spell to send every living vampire to the Isle. No vampires will be able to leave the Isle until such time as a supplementary motion is passed by this body to permit their return.