Flittermouse

By EJ Scarlett

Twelve year old Pip is snatched from a caravan park by Sava, an old and unhinged vampire.

Six months later and now a vampire, Pip is sent to Sundown Academy to learn how to exist with other communities. Secrets are uncovered by Pip and his friends as they embark on a mission to discover the truth about Sava, the academy and its pupils.

Pip’s mother Anna, cannot come to terms with her loss and returns to the area to search for her son. She soon discovers the truth, but can she accept that Pip is a vampire? Can she let him go?

Meanwhile, Gabriel, a young wolf, uncovers a magical secret that leads him to Sundown Academy, where he joins Pip and his friends for the biggest fight of their lives. But can Gabriel forgive his father for lying to him about Emily, his birth mother?

A storm is brewing between the wolves, vampires and witches of Bishopswood, over the land that Sundown Academy stands on and Sava’s insane plan. Can Gabriel, Pip and their friends stop Sava and his secret weapon? And, who will pay with their lives?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Apr 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9781805148449

EJ Scarlett

EJ Scarlett is based in Berkshire, works full time and is mother to three sons.  Writing is an outlet for her darker side and wicked sense of humour. Being her first book, Flittermouse was born from a lifelong love of vampire films, a fertile imagination and dogged determination.

Book preview

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Copyright © 2024 EJ Scarlett

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Troubador Publishing Ltd

Unit E2 Airfield Business Park,

Harrison Road, Market Harborough,

Leicestershire LE16 7UL

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Web: www.troubador.co.uk

ISBN 978 1805148 449

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

For Caimin, my future husband. Your support means the world. Thank you.

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Foreword

Some of us are lucky enough to discover later in life that we have a talent when we are less self-critical. At fifty-two years old, after a life full of vivid and crazy dreams that were fed from a rather ‘out-there’ imagination, I decided to continue a project I had begun during lockdown. Although lacking confidence and not considering myself as intelligent or creative, I have since learned that if you have a fertile imagination and a wicked sense of humour, you do not need to be clever or articulate. Picture my delight when the words flowed and Flittermouse came to life, giving me a belief in myself that I’d never experienced. And now I cannot stop. I have finally found my ‘thing’ and it feels great.

Acknowledgements

I am forever grateful for my three sons, Ash, Sam and Alfie, who keep my mind and heart young.

Thank you, Mum and Dad, and other family members past and present, for putting up with my weirdness.

And to my constant, Sherrie Persaud, for forty-one years of friendship, giggles, and encouragement.

Big love to you all.

The grass was wet and cold. As he awkwardly flip-flopped across the field, Pip hoped he wouldn’t trip over tent pegs or step in any hot embers left from family campfires or barbecues or, worse still, dog poo. He didn’t have a torch with him, as he couldn’t find it in the dark of the caravan and had to make do with wearing his sister’s daisy-patterned flip-flops, which happened to be left by the door and just about visible in the moonlight. His parents, Steve and Anna, had been drinking the local scrumpy, so were out for the count and had forgotten to leave the night light on in the caravan for their children. Pip was not going to risk waking his narky sister at 2am by turning on the light, so he crept around carefully in the dark.

There was an eerie purple mist floating around near the edge of the campsite, but the toilet light was just about visible in the distance. Pip had no choice but to go. The spicy burger eaten at dinner clearly had not agreed with his delicate stomach. His skin was tingling with goosebumps and his mind was screaming that danger was close, but the stomach cramps were getting unbearable.

The toilets were damp and smelly, with a gritty, cold concrete floor and stains up the walls. Pip flip-flopped into the nearest cubicle and relieved his stomach cramps. After a while, he finished, flushed and washed his hands with the nasty smelling soap that spat sideways out of the dispenser, then rubbed his wet hands on his red-checked pyjama top. He looked down at the daisy flip-flops on his feet and thought his mum would find the sight hilarious. He took a deep breath and reluctantly opened the door that took him back outside into the darkness.

As he stepped down into the wet grass, Pip heard a muffled heavy breathing from nearby. He couldn’t decide if it was a human sound or that of an animal. He stopped, his heart pounding in his chest, his head spinning with thoughts of Should I look, or should I run… in flip-flops? A rustling sound and, again, the breathing came from the thicket behind the small building that housed the toilets. Pip slowly turned around, the goosebumps on the back of his neck tightening with immense tension. Through the mist and dark, he could see the outline of a figure, a person – a man?

It all happened so quickly. The figure moved with such speed and snatched little Pip away within the blink of an eye. The pain in his neck was so sharp, so agonising, that before he had time to fully absorb it, an all-encompassing darkness took him.

Chapter One

Come on, Pip. Concentrate! mumbled Dr Varney, teacher of shape-shifting and most other subjects. His bony hands were clasped behind his head as he sat back in his smooth leather chair, which didn’t suit the huge ornate marble desk it had been paired with. Varney was a tall and thin vampire with wiry white whiskers poking out of his pale and pointy chin. The years were etched on his tired, yet kind, face.

Creek… creek… the leather chair groaned as Varney leaned back further. Pip was getting flustered and stressed and was beginning to really dislike this class. Shape-shifting was not easy, especially while wearing an uncomfortable school uniform and standing in front of an expectant class. It was nearly dawn and the bell would ring in less than ten minutes, to give pupils time to retire to their dorms before lockdown.

I’d rather turn into a bat, grumbled Pip, indignantly. They are far more interesting than a puff of smoke.

He smirked as he saw his best friend, Vlad, give him an awkward thumbs up of encouragement.

One thing at a time, boy, replied Varney. Now, concentrate!

He won’t do it, said a voice from the back row of the classroom.

Pip frowned. He had to get it right before this lesson ended. After all, he was the only one in his class who had not successfully shifted. Why they had to turn into a cloud of smoke was silly, he thought, as they were not permitted to shift outside of this classroom anyway. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and focused his mind. Come on, you twit, you’ve got this, he mumbled to himself.

Blocking out his surroundings, Pip imagined that his body was as light as air and as small as the tiniest speck. His mind entered an invisible tunnel, travelling slowly at first, then increasing to super speed and his body began to tingle. He felt an icy coolness envelop him and he held onto the sensation with all his might.

Suddenly, a pale-purple plume of wispy smoke floated around in a circular motion where Pip had once stood. Pip felt so light and so free – a heady sensation that was quite odd, yet absolutely thrilling.

At last! said Varney and from some of the other pupils came a few whooping shouts and claps for Pip’s success. Varney, who was now on his feet, started enthusiastically clapping without realising for the small vampire. At that moment, the bell rang, and the celebration soon turned into a kerfuffle of stools and little legs rushing out of the classroom.

Pip focused his mind again and shifted back to his boy form. Feeling light-headed, he gathered his belongings and headed for the door.

Well done, boy, called Varney, who rarely gave praise. But he felt sorry for Pip as he was the smallest and newest vampire in the group and had to work so much harder than the others. His entry form stated minimal information and he had been thrust into vampire school far too soon by his sire, Sava. Varney did not like Sava’s arrogance and self-righteousness, turning innocent children into vampires to satisfy his desire to control and manipulate.

With bright-blue watery eyes, fine jet-black hair and china-white skin, Pip was angelic in appearance. His small frame and innocent face made him appear so much younger than his mortal age of twelve and too fragile for his new existence. He had only been a vampire for six short months and had found the adjustment exceedingly difficult. His sensitivity was amplified, and the loss of his family seemed to affect him much more than the other young vampires.

His world had been turned upside down while visiting the campsite toilet during a family holiday last summer. The outbuilding had been too far from the caravan to attempt alone at night, and he had never made it back to the safety of his family. Missing posters were still dotted around the nearby seaside town of Redpath, as a painful reminder for his mortal family and friends.

*

Sundown Academy was an attractive, tall, white-brick building with minimal windows and a roof that had an ornate, black-steel balcony all around it. The black doors on each side were locked electronically and the door at the back was for daytime trade and food deliveries. The building had four floors with stairs and corridors. On the first floor was a reception area, a small office, a visitors’ room and a warehouse-style area with racking for books and supplies. On the second floor, five classrooms, Varney’s office, a food hall and small kitchen were situated. On the third floor, the girls’ dormitories and a washroom were neatly spaced out, and the fourth floor mirrored the same for the boys.

Each dorm housed four students, with four caskets laid out in a row at the back of the room. Across the other side of the room were metal lockers, each with a name engraved into the metal plate on the front. Inside were the belongings of the four vampire students, including their pyjamas, PE kits, trainers and spare black-and-blue Sundown uniforms. A round marble table and four stools sat in the centre of the room, which had no windows, just bare, grey walls and an out of place small white wash basin near the door.

Pip bounded into his dorm, still grinning from his shape-shifting achievement.

Well done, Flittermouse! said Vlad in his usual old-man voice. Vlad was Pip’s best friend – a bit of a loner, but he seemed wise for his mortal age of twelve years. His hair was shoulder-length and white-blonde, as were his bushy eyebrows. His eyes were the darkest brown and striking against his pale skin. He had been a vampire for much longer and had immediately taken Pip under his wing. Their bond was instant.

Thanks, mate, replied Pip. Hang on, a flitter-what?

Vlad laughed and said, A flittermouse is a bat. And that is what you wanted to be today, my friend. Now, get into your casket before the sun comes up or you will be crispier than old Varney’s toenails!

Pip giggled and imagined Varney’s gnarly toenails, which he hid in his huge, pointy shoes.

Vlad enjoyed making Pip smile, as it was not an easy task.

’Urry up, you two. You don’t want to miss lockdown! said a muffled London accent from inside the casket next to Pip’s.

All caskets were set on a timer and were simultaneously locked minutes before sunrise.

Pip shared his dorm with Vlad, Pete and Otto. The four boys were good friends, although Otto had been a vampire the longest and was boastful at times about his colourful adventures as one of the undead. He often regaled the small group with anecdotes of his bizarre life being a young vampire in Germany, feeding on army troops camping out in the forest at night, or sneaking into bedrooms for a little ‘snack’ from sleeping children. His appearance was odd, as his short, thick blonde hair and strong features made him look older than thirteen.

Pip quickly changed into his pyjamas and climbed into his casket with the help of an old and dented metal step that sat neatly at the side. He strained as he awkwardly lifted the lid to reveal the inside, which was neatly lined with ‘Sundown Academy’ thick blue cotton – the imprint of his small body permanently embedded in the soft material. As he closed the lid, Pip settled down and curled up in his usual foetal position. All caskets locked with a