by Jenny Frame
But what to come clean about first? That she loved her or that she almost tried to forcibly turn her into a vampire? Both could destroy any kind of new friendship or feelings they shared.
They crossed over a little bridge with a stream flowing underneath. “It’s so pretty here. Yes, pretty and…”
“What?” Alexis asked.
Katie guided them over to a bench made out of tree stumps. “Let me catch my breath. I can’t wait till I’m fully fit again. I’ve usually got so much energy.”
“You’ll be back full of vim and vigour in no time. What were you saying before? It’s pretty here and—?”
Katie didn’t know to explain it exactly. “Um…it has a feeling of something more ancient, something otherworldly, close to the spirits, I suppose.”
“It is. A witch once told me that the veil between our world and the next is very thin here. Like a portal where the two worlds intersect. That’s why the cunning folk based themselves here.”
“The cunning folk?” Katie asked.
“The witch coven who lived here. They were called the cunning folk. An ancient coven of witches, very powerful ones at that.”
“And that old woman Amelia met. She’s one of them?”
Alexis nodded. “Sybil, yes she’s one of the few left.”
Katie rubbed her neck.
“Are you okay?” Alexis said. Alexis felt bad. Maybe she could offer some of her blood to help Katie heal more quickly. Vampire blood was rich and could ease all manner of physical harms, but she couldn’t offer her blood without telling Katie the truth. Maybe it was now or never.
“Shall we keep walking, or do you want to go back?” Alexis asked.
“No, I’d like to go a little further.” Katie took her arm again and they walked onward.
Alexis closed her eyes and took a breath. She was going to do it. “Katie, I’d like to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the night Josie attacked you.”
Katie sighed. “Do we have to relive it again? I’m trying to forget it.”
“Yes, I have to tell you what happened,” Alexis said.
“Okay then, tell me.”
This was it. She would relive her shame and lose any chance she had with Katie.
“When I found you that night, you were—” Alexis stopped dead. She could hear something. She had tuned out all of the usual forest noises, but this was different. There were lots of voices coming from all around.
“What is it?” Katie asked.
Alexis held her finger to her lips, then guided Katie into the bushes to keep out of sight.
* * *
Amelia held Byron’s hand tightly as they walked up the path to her parents’ front door. Behind them, Bhal and Wilder followed, leaving the rest of the guards at the cars. The nerves in Amelia’s stomach doubled as they got near the door.
What would she say, would she manage to keep it together? Her parents always managed to make her doubt herself. She looked down at the Grand Duchess’s ring on her wedding finger.
You’re strong now. They can’t hurt you.
Suddenly Byron stopped and pushed Amelia’s hand away from the door.
“What are you doing?” Byron pointed to the broken lock on the front door. “Oh no.”
“Wilder? Stay here with the Principessa. Bhal, you’re with me.”
“Yes, Principe,” Wilder said.
“But Byron—” Amelia tried to stop her.
Byron gave her a serious look. “Please, Amelia. We need to check that it’s safe first.”
Amelia finally relented and walked back to the car with Wilder. Byron could smell the unmistakable odour of fresh blood and heard a low moaning noise.
“Blood, inside,” Byron whispered to Bhal.
Bhal nodded and drew the large Celtic sword from her back. “Let me go in first, Principe.”
Byron nodded and watched as Bhal pushed open the front door slowly. She followed Bhal in and pointed her in the direction of the blood. When they got to what looked like the drawing room door, Bhal held up three fingers and counted down.
On one, Bhal kicked open the door, and what they found shocked even Byron. Two people, who she presumed were Amelia’s adoptive parents. The male had his entire throat ripped out and was as still as the grave, but she could see and hear the woman’s shallow breathing, despite her injuries.
Byron sped over and dropped to her knees beside her. “Mrs. Honey?”
Byron’s eyes must have turned red, as she had been expecting a fight, because Amelia’s mother looked absolutely terrified.
“Vampire?” She wheezed.
“I am, but I’m a friend of Amelia’s. She wanted to come and visit you. What happened?”
“Vampires, witches, they came looking for us. What’s your name, vampire?”
“Byron Debrek.”
Mrs. Honey grabbed her arm. “Don’t let them get her. The witch said you would come one day, that you would protect…”
Byron was starting to get even more fearful now. She had to know who they were. “Bhal? Check on Amelia and Wilder at the car.”
“Yes, Principe,” Bhal replied.
Byron turned her attention back to Amelia’s mother. “Who are they? Why do they want Amelia?”
“She’s…descendent,” Mrs. Honey rasped.
“Descendent? What does that mean?”
“Safe…” Mrs. Honey said.
“I will, but what does descendent mean?” Byron asked.
“Tell her we always loved her, and find Sybil…”
Then she went limp. Mrs. Honey was gone. It was then that Amelia rushed into the room and screamed at the sight.
* * *
“What the hell is going on?” Katie said softly. They were crouched in the undergrowth since Alexis said she heard something.
Alexis again shushed her. “Please, let me listen.”
Katie wanted to say something snappy back, but she kept quiet. Alexis had her captain-of-the-guard voice on again.
After a few minutes Alexis turned to her and said, “They’ve passed now.”
“Who’s passed now?” Katie asked with annoyance.
“You still need to be quiet—a vampire could hear us. I heard a lot of voices approaching. They were talking about finding someone quickly and eliminating them.”
“Killing them?” Katie said with shock.
Alexis nodded, and then her phone rang. She grabbed it quickly to stop the loud ringtone.
Katie worried more and more as she listened to Alexis’s side of the conversation.
“But the Principessa is unharmed?…Yes, yes, of course. Katie is with me…No, I won’t let her out of my sight…Yes, Principe.” Alexis ended the call.
“What’s happening?” Katie asked.
“When they arrived to see the Principessa’s parents, they had been viciously attacked by vampires. Byron has a suspicion that they may go to Sybil next, and after what I heard, I think that’s a safe bet.”
“Don’t think you’re going to leave me behind while you deal with this,” Katie warned.
“I can’t. As much as I’d like to, you wouldn’t be safe.”
“So what do we do?”
“Bhal has ordered any of our vampires left in the village to meet us here, and then we’ll go to Sybil’s cottage. Then you will just need to keep behind me with no arguments.” Katie did open her mouth to argue, but Alexis said firmly, “No, I don’t care what you say. You mean too much to me to risk you getting hurt.”
That did shut Katie up.
* * *
Amelia sat on the couch gazing at her adoptive parents’ bodies covered with a sheet. She wasn’t crying, she couldn’t. Amelia felt numb and cold.
Byron finished talking to Bhal and joined her on the couch. “How are you feeling?”
“Numb. I want to cry, but I can’t. I know they were harsh to me, and I couldn’t wait to get away from them, but they were still my parents. They g
ave me a roof over my head, and I never wanted for anything materially. Emotionally, yes, but—”
Byron put her arm around her. “I understand. They were a big part of your life, and they didn’t deserve this ending. You are right to grieve them.”
“I know. We’ll make sure they have a decent funeral?” Amelia said.
“Of course we will. The police will be here soon, and we’ll head back.”
“What about Sybil?”
“I’ve let Alexis know, and there are vampires on their way to her.”
“This is a mess, Byron. Not long ago I was opening my first business, enjoying the start of married life, and now—everything’s unravelling.”
Byron pulled Amelia to her. “All of those good things will be waiting for us when we have sorted out this situation. We have an immortal life to look forward to, and I promise you will be safe to enjoy it. We will grieve your parents and deal with whatever comes to us.”
Amelia grasped Byron’s lapels and hugged her tightly. “There’s no way I could cope with this without you.”
Byron kissed her head. “You’ll never have to.”
* * *
Alexis edged closer to the perimeter around Sybil’s house, with Katie close behind her. They heard bangs and shouts as they got closer, and when they could finally see what was going on, they saw Sybil at the door of the cottage trying to hold back a group of attackers.
“Who are they?” Katie whispered.
“Vampires and witches together, I sense,” Alexis said.
“Why are witches helping vampires?”
“I’ve no idea. Look.”
Alexis pointed to Sybil when they were close enough to the cottage. Sybil was pouring her power into a dome of protection around her cottage, which wasn’t allowing the vampires through. Some of the witches helping the vampires were casting spells to try to break through Sybil’s spell.
“You can’t hold us out forever, witch!” one of the vampires shouted.
Alexis turned to Katie and put her hands on either side of her face, then stared directly into her eyes. She used her telepathy skills to speak directly to Katie’s mind.
Can you hear me? Nod if you can.
Katie nodded.
Good. I don’t want the vampires to hear my voice. I’m going to help Sybil, but I want you to promise that you’ll stay hidden here, no matter what you see out there.
Katie started to protest but Alexis stopped her, out of the blue, with a kiss.
I can’t help Sybil if I’m worrying about the woman I deeply care about being in danger.
Katie was taken aback at both the kiss and the admission that Alexis cared about her. Instead of protesting and because she couldn’t speak, she placed her hand on her heart to show her feelings. Alexis smiled and returned the gesture exactly as Katie had done and smiled.
Katie could hardly watch as Alexis headed out into the fray in a flash. Alexis dispatched the witches quickly, with them not even knowing she was there. Alexis then began hand-to-hand combat with the other vampires. Katie was mesmerized by Alexis. Watching her fight was something to behold. She was so quick, a master of unarmed combat. She could picture her on the battlefield in the days before she was a vampire, serving in the army.
When Alexis disabled all but two of the vampires, the Debrek vampires burst onto the scene. The two remaining vampires ran, leaving the injured ones on the ground. Alexis was breathing heavily and shouted to her people, “Get these vampires out of here before they heal.”
Then Alexis turned her head to Katie and, with blood-red eyes, winked at her. There was such passion and heat in that look that if there had been no one else about, Katie would have run out from the trees and leapt on Alexis. She wanted her.
It was the first time since being attacked that she had felt such aching need, such hunger and passion for someone—okay, Alexis. It had always been Alexis.
* * *
“Why didn’t you tell me what I wanted to know? Instead of letting me find my parents like that?” Amelia paced up and down inside Sybil’s cabin.
Byron and Amelia had come straight to Sybil on their return.
“I never expected them to be attacked, Amelia. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
There was a short silence, and then Sybil said, “I’ll make some tea.”
Sybil stood up slowly with the aid of her walking stick and Amelia said, “Why always tea? I don’t want any bloody tea.”
Byron tried to comfort her, but she pushed her hand away.
Sybil didn’t bat an eyelid and walked over to her cooker to put on her kettle.
Amelia immediately felt guilty and covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry—it’s just been too much. I don’t know what to think, to feel, to say. I ran away from Mum and Dad at my first opportunity. Their religion and beliefs were suffocating, but compared to the lives some people have, I was privileged. I never worried about money or where my next meal was coming from. Everything I needed, they gave me. They didn’t deserve their fate.”
“People seldom do, my dear. They might not have been the perfect parents emotionally, but they were the parents you needed. Religiously we might have differed violently, but when it came to you, we were in wholehearted agreement.”
“Why do you say that?” Amelia asked.
Sybil poured out the tea and asked Amelia to carry it over to the table. When they sat down, Sybil said, “We needed you away from this paranormal world, away from those who would wish you harm.”
“Who would wish me harm? I’m just an ordinary woman,” Amelia said.
“Sometimes the most ordinary people do extraordinary things, my dear. The Honey family has a long history with the witches here.”
“I know they used to take a group from the church to witch hunt and break up any meetings of new women here in the forest. They made me terrified of what they called the evil occult,” Amelia said.
Sybil laughed softly. “David Honey and his father before him were certainly pains in the neck. They tried to break up our meetings, our ceremonies, worshipping the devil as they thought we were, but in the end David and Joy Honey were our saviours.”
Amelia was trying hard to keep a clear head and take all this information in, but after a day like today, it was hard.
“Tell me everything.”
“First thing you have to know is the history. There was a time long ago when spirits and gods of nature were revered by the human race, and creatures, magic folk, and all manner of paranormals lived alongside them. We were part of their tribes, their ancient rites, births, marriages, deaths, and we sent them to the underworld.”
“Like the Celtic tribes?” Amelia asked.
“Exactly. As mystics, we witches helped the humans navigate their lives, helped them honour nature and the gods. Don’t get me wrong, there were those in our community who wished to use our advantages over the human world and did. Two groups formed, one that sought disorder and chaos and power over the earth, and one—including ours and Byron’s great-great-grandmother’s coven—who tried to protect humankind.
“As human society and achievement moved on, the old natural religions began to be forgotten. Gods and spirits who were worshipped were demonized, as all paranormals were. We weren’t trusted any more, even those who were trying to help. We were persecuted by humans and driven into the shadows. Some of us believed that the shadows gave us safety, while some longed for a return to controlling and influencing the world to their ends. Power, it’s all about power.”
“So where do I come into this?”
“We were given a vision that a darkness would come, a darkness brought by a witch who had once been human, that would devastate the land. A witch named Anka.”
“Anka?” Byron replied.
Amelia turned to Byron. “You’ve heard of her?”
“Only in legends over the years. People tell stories of an ancient human woman who coveted the power of the witches and sold her soul to gain power.”
&nb
sp; Sybil nodded. “You are right. A long, long time ago our ancestors managed to trap her, but somehow she got free again. As each decade passes, she gets stronger. Left unchecked, the darkest of paranormals will rule, with war and hate feeding her, until the day comes when she is unstoppable.”
“What did the vision say about me?” Amelia asked.
“That two descendants of those of us on the side of good would bring together the paranormal world. One witch, and one from a family of vampire slayers. Both would bring together witches and vampires and humans to defeat the darkness, because only with everyone pulling together can we even hope to beat her. She has some evil backers, ancient evil.”
Amelia was silent for a few seconds then said, “Who is the other descendant?”
“I don’t know, but you will find them.”
“But wait, witches and vampires attacked you tonight. Aren’t they already united?”
“Not all covens fought for good, my dear. Some witches have an incredible lust for power.”
“What happened to my birth mother, and why did you give me to David and Joy Honey?” Amelia asked.
Sybil got up and went to a drawer. She brought out a photo album and walked back over. Sybil opened the first page, and Amelia saw a picture of a dark-haired woman, who looked very like her, cradling a new baby in her arms.
“That’s your mother, Bronte. She came to us when she was nineteen. On the run from something, she wouldn’t talk about it. I became a sort of grandmother figure for her.”
Byron watched Amelia flick through the photo album with tears starting to run down her face. She sat closer and put her arm around Amelia.
“Who was Amelia’s father, Sybil?” Byron asked.
“I don’t know. Bronte realized she was pregnant not long after she joined us, and she wouldn’t talk about the father. She was so happy when she had you, Amelia. Bronte said you gave her life meaning.”
Byron gave Amelia her handkerchief as she began to cry more.
“What happened to her?” Amelia asked.
“I and a few of the elder witches had a vison the night you were born, that you were one of the descendants. We prepared ourselves for a special birthing ceremony, and the night of it, David and Joy Honey and their friends were protesting and singing hymns nearby.” Sybil put her head down. “Anka and her people attacked us. They wanted to kill you.”