by G. K. DeRosa
“I don’t know that there is much we can do,” admitted Stellan. “I’ve been trying to track Alek down for months, and there isn’t the slightest sign of him anywhere.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as his mind raced to formulate some sort of plan. Alek with access to Fabian’s spell book, full of the darkest of magic, was the absolute worst-case scenario. There was no telling what sorts of evil he could conjure up with it along with the power of the Albsurori ring.
“How about Dani? Can’t you try searching for her?” she asked.
“I tried that before I called all of you. I had hoped I could locate her, but she’s vanished right along with him,” replied Stellan with a scowl.
“Do you think he killed her?” interjected Nico.
“No!” shouted Celeste. “He couldn’t have!”
The three men looked at each other dejectedly. No one wanted to admit it, but Alek had them backed into a corner. They were out of leads, and they still didn’t have the faintest idea as to what he was up to.
“It looks like we are going to have to wait and see if Dalla comes back with anything,” said Stellan.
“So we are just going to sit around and do nothing?” asked Roman, shooting up from the couch.
“Running off half-cocked is not always the best course of action,” snapped Stellan. “Dalla and the Albsurori may provide us with insight that we simply do not have. Be patient, Roman.”
“I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines while our fate is left in the hands of some witch coven and the Council,” barked Roman as he took a step toward Stellan’s transparent figure. Nico was on his feet in an instant and laid a calming hand on his brother’s shoulder. Celeste remained seated on the couch, silently watching the heated exchange. For once she was relieved that Stellan was not actually here in his human form: Roman’s fury was out of control, and there was no telling at whom he would lash out.
“Why can’t you just trust me?” asked Stellan, his patience diminishing.
“I do trust you. It’s everyone else that I don’t trust,” said Roman running his hands through his hair in an attempt to rein in his temper. “And maybe if you didn’t keep secrets from us, it would make everything easier.”
Celeste’s eyes shot up toward Roman’s. Stellan glared. “What are you saying Roman?”
“Why didn’t you tell us about you and Dalla in the first place? What’s the point of hiding it?”
“Wait, what about him and Dalla?” interjected Celeste.
Nico cut in before Roman could continue. “They were close in the past,” he said diplomatically.
“So what does that matter?” she asked.
“It’s blinding him from being rational. He’s not looking at this clearly,” responded Roman. He was pacing like a caged lion, and his fists were clenched tensely at his side. “You might be willing to gamble with Celeste’s life, but I’m not.”
Celeste’s mouth grew dry, and she was finding it hard to swallow. Nico stepped over to her side and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
Stellan’s eyes went wide with anger. “Celeste’s life means more to me than you will ever know. You’re not the only one that has made sacrifices. And you are the irrational one, Roman. Your theory that the Albsurori had something to do with this is entirely unfounded. Alek is behind this without question,” shouted Stellan. “My history with Dalla has nothing to do with this.”
“I find it hard to believe he didn’t have any help,” retorted Roman.
“Enough!” cried Celeste as she sprang up from the couch. “We aren’t getting anywhere with this. I know you’re both frustrated, but taking it out on each other isn’t going to help anything.” She turned to Roman and took his hands in hers. “You know that Stellan would never put my life in danger. If Stellan trusts Dalla, we should too.”
Roman grunted and pulled away from her, stalking to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a drink. Celeste’s cheeks burned from his rebuff, but she took a deep breath and tried to shake it off.
“Celeste is right. Both of you need to remember that we are all on the same side. We need to work with the Council and the Albsurori if we want to defeat Alek. Even though no one wants to admit it, we can’t do this alone,” said Nico. He walked over to join his brother and poured himself a glass of the good whiskey.
“It’s late. Let’s just all go home and get a good night’s sleep. We can talk about it again in the morning when we all have clearer heads,” finished Celeste.
Stellan nodded, and his ghostly figure disappeared without a word.
Celeste turned toward Roman, but his eyes had that vacant stare they had acquired as of late. She turned to walk out the door, but Nico caught her arm.
“I’ll go with you,” he said. “Until we know what Alek is up to, we would feel better if you were protected.” He shot Roman a glare, and the pair walked out into the chilly night.
Dani Lynn ambled through the drafty old house, admiring the textured walls covered in fine fabrics and the elegant chandeliers hanging from the lofty ceilings. She had thought Stellan’s home felt stuffy until she saw this place.
“So where are we anyway?” she asked as she turned the corner and found herself in Alek’s study. One minute she had been in Oak Bluffs, and the next she was in the middle of nowhere. Glancing out the window, all she could make out were snow-covered fields in front of snow-peaked mountains as far as the eye could see.
“That is none of your concern,” he responded coldly. He was studying an almanac that detailed the phases of the moon, and he was clearly bothered by her interruption.
“I thought you said I was going to see what it was like to be a real vampire. I don’t even see a single human being anywhere. What am I supposed to eat?” she asked.
Alek was already beginning to regret his rash decision. He wasn’t even sure why he had brought her with him. A part of him simply wanted to take something away from Stellan, but still, there was something else. Was it his own loneliness that incited him to snatch away this irritating young vampire? He immediately shook off the strange feeling and responded icily, “You’ll eat when I say.”
“And when do I get to day walk? You promised that I could if I came with you,” she continued, oblivious to his tone.
Alek was astonished by her brazen attitude. She was truly unafraid of him. Either she was the stupidest vampire he’d ever met or the boldest. “Please stop talking, Dani. I am a man of my word, and you will be able to day walk as promised, but only when I say.”
Dani Lynn skulked back up the stairs to her room without another word. As soon as she was out of sight, Alek placed the enormous book on his desk. The black leather cover was dark and worn, but a trace of a golden image was still discernible. Alek ran his finger over the familiar symbol, the icon of the Albsurori coven intertwined with Fabian’s own sorcerer’s crest. A wicked grin crossed his face. He now had everything he needed; it was only a matter of time.
Chapter 13
Knock. Knock.
“Aunt Maddie, are you in there?”
“Yeah, sure, come on in,” came her voice through the door.
Celeste opened the door and gasped. A large suitcase was on the bed and clothes and shoes were piled in it haphazardly, while more were strewn about the room. Aunt Maddie stood by the closet looking guiltily at Celeste.
“You’re leaving?” Celeste asked as she hovered by the doorway.
Her aunt cast her eyes down, unable to meet Celeste’s. “I’m sorry, I was going to tell you. I’m just not good at goodbyes.”
Celeste stormed into the room and began pulling clothes out of the suitcase and throwing them on the floor. “You can’t just leave!”
Aunt Maddie rushed over and began picking up the scattered garments. “I’m sorry Celeste, but I have to.”
“You were going to leave without saying anything? How can you do that after everything we’ve been through?” she asked desperately. Hot tears were welling in her eyes, and she was doing everything in her power to keep
them at bay.
“I got a lead – on Maks,” she said. Celeste looked into her aunt’s frantic eyes and recognized the look of hope mingled with despair. It reminded her again of how similar she and her aunt truly were.
Celeste stopped throwing the clothes about the room and paused. “Where is he?” she asked, her voice softening.
“In Warsaw,” she smiled ruefully. “It figures.”
“So you’re just going to blindly run after him?”
“I have to! This is the first solid lead I’ve had in over a year. I have to find him,” she said.
“And what are you going to do when you do?”
Aunt Maddie sighed and slumped down on the bed. “I don’t know yet.”
Celeste sat down beside her and rubbed her back in a soothing circular motion, like her mother used to do when she was little. Aunt Maddie leaned her head into Celeste, wiping away the stray tears. Seeing her aunt like this was gut wrenching. The woman sitting before her was not the tough guardian Celeste had met only a few weeks ago; in her place sat a girl, just like her—with an impossible love and a broken heart. “I’ll help you pack,” Celeste relented.
They stood up and began collecting the mess of clothes on the floor. As Celeste neatly folded a pair of slacks and placed them in the suitcase, a faded Polaroid caught her eye. She pulled it out from under the stack of clothes and stared.
“That’s me and Maks back in Warsaw in 2000. Wasn’t he cute?” she said as she ran her finger over the picture fondly.
“That’s Maks?” asked Celeste as her face paled.
“Yeah, why?”
“I’ve seen him before,” she said, her voice trembling as she took short ragged breaths. “He was in my vision from the past, the one with Roman!” Her world began to spin, and she reached out for her aunt’s arm to steady her. The terrible gory scene she had watched flashed through her mind’s eye once more, and yes she was certain of it; Maks was there. She immediately recognized the bow and arrow tattoo on his blood-spattered neck.
“Celeste, what are you talking about? What vision?”
For a moment, Celeste had forgotten that she hadn’t told her aunt or anyone other than Stellan about those horrific images. She hadn’t wanted her aunt to see Roman as a monster. But now she had no choice; she had to tell her. Roman had killed her fiancé and turned him into a vampire.
“I have to go see Roman right away. I’ll be back soon and explain everything. Please don’t go anywhere until I come back, and I need to take this,” she said as she grabbed the picture and shot out of the room.
“Okay, I won’t,” she promised but Celeste was already half way down the stairs.
This can’t be happening. The thought that Roman could have killed Maks and turned him into a vampire was too much for Celeste to bear. This has to be a mistake, some sort of terrible mistake. Storming into the brothers’ apartment, she found Nico spread out across the couch watching I Love Lucy re-runs. If she hadn’t been so upset, she would have teased him about one of his favorite shows.
“Where’s Roman?” she shouted, her hair a wild mess from the damp wintry weather.
“I’m here,” he responded, suddenly appearing in front of her. She jumped back, startled. “What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing the panic in her eyes.
Celeste pulled the old photograph out of her purse and shoved it in front of his face. “Do you recognize this man?”
Roman took the Polaroid and examined it more closely. “He doesn’t look familiar,” he said. Nico, too, got up from the couch to glance at it.
“So there’s been that many, huh?” asked Celeste, her voice bordering on hysterics. “You killed this man and you turned him! And you don’t even recognize his face?”
“What?” asked Roman, his blue eyes wide with shock. He picked up the photo again for a second look, but nothing triggered in his memory.
“Roman’s never turned anyone,” retorted Nico. “Have you?” he asked turning to his brother.
“No, of course not. Celeste, I’ve told you before, I did some terrible things in my lifetime, but I’ve never made another vampire.”
“Then how do you explain my vision? I saw this man, his name is Maks by the way. Oh, and he was my aunt’s fiancé!”
“No, it can’t be,” interrupted Roman as he ran his hands through his ruffled hair. A multitude of faces flashed through his mind – all the innocent people he had killed when he lost control. He tried so hard to block those memories, but here they were, bubbling up to the surface.
“It was him and he was there with you, and there was blood, so much blood…” she couldn’t finish the sentence. Her head was reeling again.
“There must be some mistake,” said Nico protectively. “Roman didn’t do this.”
“My visions have never been wrong so far,” said Celeste grimly. “I wish it was wrong this time.” The fire in her voice had vanished. Now she only felt completely numb.
Roman turned to look at Celeste. “What if I did do this? I used to black out sometimes when the rage was uncontrollable. I could have easily killed him. Maybe I turned him too.” He collapsed down on the couch and threw his head in his hands.
“No, Roman. I know you, and you didn’t do this. I refuse to believe it. No matter how out of control you might have been, you wouldn’t condemn someone to this life,” said Nico, sitting down beside him.
Roman threw his brother a grateful smile. “I wish I had as much faith in myself as you do.”
“When was this Maks turned?” asked Nico, turning to Celeste.
She had been silent, reliving the vision in her head. She snapped back to the present when she realized he was speaking to her. “My aunt said she was twenty-four when he disappeared, so I guess around ten years ago.”
Roman shot Nico a knowing glance. “That makes sense.”
Nico grimaced. “The end of the ravaging of Eastern Europe…”
“What are you talking about?” asked Celeste.
“There’s no need for gruesome details, but let’s just say that was one of Roman’s dark periods.” Celeste wondered how many dark periods Roman had had in his lifetime and how many people had died because of it. How could she have not known about any of this? How could I be in love with someone I don’t even know?
“I’m so sorry,” said Roman. “I don’t remember a lot during those years.”
“So is your aunt going to try to kill him now?” asked Nico, getting right down to business. “I know she didn’t like him much to begin with.”
“She doesn’t know yet.” Celeste really did not want to be the one to tell her, but now that Roman had pretty much confirmed it, she knew she had no other choice.
“Are you going to tell her?” asked Nico.
“I have to! She’s running off to Poland to continue her search for him. She’s been trying to find him for ten years,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Maybe I should apologize,” said Roman, his voice hollow.
“No!” shouted Celeste. “She may just try to kill you if you go near her, and I don’t know if I could stop her this time. I think I know what I have to do.”
As Celeste pulled onto her street, she let out a breath of relief. Her aunt’s rental car was still in the driveway. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Brian sitting on her front steps.
This is so not a good time.
Celeste hurried up the walkway as Brian flashed a bright smile as she approached.
“Hey stranger, where have you been?” As she got closer, he could see the worried expression on her face, and his smile quickly faded. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t get into it right now. I have to talk to my aunt before she takes off on me,” she said as she blew right past him. She unlocked the door and before she disappeared inside, she turned back to Brian. “I’ll tell you all about it later. Sorry!”
Walking into her house, she found the packed suitcase at the door and Aunt Maddie pacing in the living
room. She was having a heated phone conversation with someone, and Celeste’s curiosity got the best of her as she stood in the hallway listening. She couldn’t make out what was being said on the other side of the line, but whatever it was had her aunt raging mad.
Finally, she hung up the phone and having noticed Celeste’s presence she attempted a smile. “Good, you’re back,” she said.
“What was that about?” asked Celeste.
“Nothing, just my useless informant. He was tailing Maks and lost him,” she said as she let out a frustrated sigh. “Are you going to tell me about Roman and this cryptic vision you were talking about before you raced off? I’m kind of in a hurry.”
Celeste gulped. “Aunt Maddie, you have to promise me that no matter what I say, you won’t go off and kill Roman.”
“What?” she asked. “I don’t think I like where this is going.”
“Promise?”
“Okay, okay.”
“Please sit down,” said Celeste as she steered her toward the sofa.
Aunt Maddie lowered herself onto the couch, but sat just at the edge, which made Celeste nervous that she could spring up at any time. She hastily recounted the story of the vision she had a few weeks back, and her recent visit with Roman and Nico.
When she finished her aunt gaped at her, mouth hanging open. “That monster killed my Maks! I told you Celeste, all vampires are evil! How could you be with him?” She attempted to stand, but Celeste pushed her back down. She couldn’t let her aunt go off on a rampage no matter what Roman may have done.
“Aunt Maddie, you promised. And I haven’t been with him, not since the vision. But that’s beside the point,” she said. “We don’t know for sure what happened. I’ve never had a vision from the past before, so it’s possible that it’s not exactly as it seems.”
“It sure sounds accurate to me. He must have been there in the alley that night attacking that girl. When I left, he must have come back for Maks and taken him,” her eyes began tearing up at the memory.