The man

The scream was so loud that I woke up, clutching my throat. The bedsheets were twisted round my lower body. It was then that I realised that I had been the one screaming.

The connecting door opened and Dave came in running, his hair dishevelled. He was wearing only pyjama bottoms, I saw, when he switched on the lights. Seeing me unharmed in bed, he understood that I had had a nightmare. Smoothing my hair back from my face, he asked me,

'Bad dream?' and I nodded. 'Wanna talk about it?'

I nodded once again and he lifted the bedsheet and sat on the bed. I scooted over to make some space for him and he covered us both with the sheet. He then pulled me close to him so that my head was resting on his chest and my nose was in his chest hair. I inhaled his comforting scent and immediately felt secure.

'I dreamt about that man whom we saw at the viewpoint,' I began and peeked at Dave who was listening to me attentively. 'I know where I saw him,' I added and, 'in my dream he recognized me too and was running after me. In trying to escape, I tripped and fell down the cliff.'

'Where did you meet him? he asked and I couldn't miss his tone of excitement even though he tried to appear cool.

'At the Khoon Academy. He's one of the trustees,' I said, visualizing the last time I had seen him for the annual school reunion. He had been surrounded by the other board members and I had barely seen his face. 'Now that I think of it, he's the one who helped Gati get my prize money.' Then with a look of horror, I asked him, 'You don't think that he could be the Vetala who transformed her into a vampire, do you?'

Dave looked pensive for some time. 'I did have the feeling that there was something off about the Academy, but I had nothing to go on.' Pulling the bedsheet more firmly around us, he announced, 'Tomorrow morning, I'l have Ilhas do some snooping. But for now, sleep.' And with these last words he switched off the bedside lamp, plunging the entire room in darkness. Did that mean he was going to sleep with me? Apparently he was and I felt all warm and snug in his arms. The nightmare had been awful, but at least it had a good ending.

The next morning, when I woke up, I was alone in bed. I didn't mind as I was still basking in the aftermath of sleeping next to Dave. However, I quickly sobered up when I thought of what I had learnt the previous night. Lucas would know his name and the other details, but could I call him from Bhuvar? That I could only find out after getting up from bed.

As I pushed aside the bedsheets and stood up, there was a knock at the door and Dave came in, already dressed in his work pants and formal shirt.

'Nice shirt,' he said, looking at me appraisingly. I recalled that I had borrowed one of his and could only smile sheepishly. Under his gaze, I started feeling warm again and I felt my nipples tighten under his scrutiny. He noticed the way my body was reacting to him and his eyes darkened with an unidentifiable emotion. Then I remembered the question I had in mind.

'Can I contact Lucas? He would have information on the trustee,' I told Dave, crossing my arms over my chest. However, instead of hiding the way my nipples poked through the shirt from him, it drew his attention even more to it.

'I've talked to Ilhas, but yeah, more information is welcomed.' He then pulled his eyes from my chest and said, 'Get ready, we'll have breakfast, then I'll take you to the office to make the call.'

I rushed through the shower this time, feeling a bit lonely in the big shower cubicle that was large enough to host a party. I wore the jeans with another shirt, and thought that I would soon run out of clothes if I didn't do some laundry.

Breakfast was already on the table in the dining room when I came down. Scones and muffins with butter and jam along with tea and freshly pressed orange juice was served.

'How do you want your eggs, Ash?' Martha asked me on her way back to the kitchen.

'Cooked,' I joked.

She laughed at my joke and I followed her to the kitchen where I saw she had already started the works for an omelette for Dave. 'I'll have the same,' I said. Then I asked her about laundry facilities.

'Oh, Miss Ash, just leave it in the laundry basket in the bathroom. I'll pick it up.'

'Martha, my Nani would have my skin if I let someone else do my laundry. No one apart from me touches my underwear,' I claimed proudly.

'Not even, Mr Dawn?' she joked and then she immediately clapped her hand over her mouth. 'Oh, I'm so sorry Miss. I didn't mean to.' She seemed so contrite at the thought that she might have hurt me that I smiled and gave her a light hug.

'Relax Martha, I won't tell him that you want to touch my underwear,' I joked back and she smiled.

'There is a washing machine behind the kitchen. I'll show you later,' she said and I went back to the dining room.

'You seem to be getting along fine with Martha,' Dave remarked with a smile, lifting his eyes from his phone at my entrance.

'She's very nice, that's why.'

'And yet Estena does not seem to like her,' he noted. Wait, did that mean that Estena had stayed over as well? I felt a wave of jealousy brush over me, but I felt glad that she did not get along fine with Martha.

We went to Dave's office and this time I felt more at ease.

'So you have the entire house covered by cameras?' I asked him with interest.

'I have to, especially with the growing threat from the Vetalas.'

'Anyone knows about it?'

'Apart from you, you mean?'

'Yes.'

'There's the team which placed the cameras, but they can be trusted and then you,' he said.

'Not even Martha?'

'She wouldn't have let me. For her, there's no threat and I don't want to be the one to tell her that the world has changed.' He then gave me a phone, 'I've dialled Claudia's number. You have less than one minute. It could be dangerous to talk more than that as calls are then monitored.'

I listened carefully to his instructions and as soon as Claudia picked the phone, I delivered my message in a hurry.

'Hi, it's me, Ash. No, don't talk, just listen. Can you ask Lucas to provide information about the trustee who was linked to Gati? The young one with the French beard. Yes, that one. Thanks. I'll call you in a few hours for the info. Miss you too.'

'Well, that was short.'

Dave was looking at me in admiration. He seemed to have been in contact with very talkative women if he was impressed by something like that, I thought.

'We just have to wait then,' he said.