Night Shadows

by Billiejo Priestley

  “Not all the memories will be yours, Aileen. Your parents put some images in your mind from their own memories so you would be able to understand. Some will be unintentional, but make sure you hold onto them all as these are your connections to them. Some of them can only be unlocked by you; I won’t get them all this way.”

  Aileen simply nods. The man – her father – looks like death, and not just in a vampire way or like someone who has taken their last breath. It’s more like someone who has just realised he has lost everything and no longer has a life. The pain on his face breaks Aileen’s heart. The image fades away into the darkness again.

  Aileen hears screams, she tries to cover her ears but the women grip her hands tighter, stopping her. The visions burn brighter in her mind, her body shuddering from the interior as crimson blood seeps through the cracks in the walls. She hears screams again – her own screams, she realises – and as much as she fights to stop the images and to shield herself from them, they remain vivid. Cayson watches her from afar, using all his strength to force himself to say seated while in his own mind his soul flies forward to save her from the pain.

  He’s no fool. She has to be living the memories of her parents; those last memories where they had turned themselves and killed her family. His eyes close as her cries for a saviour invade his heart, begging him to come and help, to do anything to stop the feeling.

  Aileen is watching as her parents embark on a remorseless massacre of her family, salty tears falling from her eyes and finding their way down her cheek as she continues to cry. The image shifts and changes again, returning to her parents as they looked before, as they should have always looked.

  “A war is coming, Celestia, we were told this by Serliciaus. We either all fall down or we keep her alive and hidden, and one day the worlds will unite once more.” Her father Elwin’s voice is the sound of a ruptured man fighting to live.

  “Why us, Elwin?” Her mother responds. “There are far stronger in our bloodline, why us and our baby girl?”

  “If it wasn’t her, she would be dead when the time came. It would be someone else's baby being saved. This is the only way.”

  Nearly an hour passes, Cayson watching on as Aileen and her emotions change continuously. Happiness seems to be an emotion that hardly shows. There’s just pain and sorrow and uncertainty. He wants to protect her mind from whatever is upsetting her so much but he knows better, although he wishes he didn’t.

  Aileen’s body is slumped forward slightly, feeling depleted as the handcuffs of the two women loosen on her wrists. Her eyes remain fastened tight, the girl too fearful to open them.

  “Aileen.” The soft voice of Camille runs through her ears as she keeps her eyes squeezed shut, mind focused on Olivia, her adoptive mum and sister, real memories of her own trying to shield her from the truth. Camille turns to Cayson, and motions for him to come closer. As much as she dislikes having them so close she needs Aileen to accept this and open her eyes. Cayson nods and stands, taking the few short strides to join them, his body moving to kneel next to Aileen’s. He wraps his arms around her body, pressing his mouth gently to her ear before he speaks.

  “Come on, Aileen. It’s time to go home, I think you’ve had enough for today.” He doesn’t care that Camille is staring daggers into his back, or that he himself would like more answers. Aileen’s head leans back against him; soundless cries still escaping her lips. Her eyes open and she looks around blinking, hate building within her.

  “They were monsters,” she spits. Camille starts to talk but Aileen cuts her off before she can say a word. “They killed everyone to save me! All those children, the babies, everyone they knew.” Her voice is broken as she fights to breathe around the lump in her throat that threatens to make her cry out loud.

  “No, Aileen, they weren’t monsters,” Camille explains. “If they didn’t do what they had done then there would be no Depraysie bloodline line left and you would have died as well. There would be no Darkmore, no Serliciaus or any other bloodlines left in a few years, either. I married into the Darkmore bloodline, and it’s wonderful, just as the Depraysies used to be and as they will be again someday with your help. All the witches and werewolves would be gone. Your parents saved us all.”

  Aileen shakes her head, unable to see how that is a good enough reason to kill people, innocent people.

  “Do you want to leave, Aileen? We can go back to yours.” Cayson asks, his suggestion quickly beaten down by a sharp glare from Camille.

  “She doesn’t need an audience, Cayson, so why do you insist on following her like a lost puppy?” Her eyes glance to the younger girl as a laugh of shock bursts from Aileen’s mouth. “You’ll get her killed, just like you did with Yasmine. Werewolves and witches don’t date, Aileen, not if they know what’s good for them. You need to decide which side you’re on.”

  Aileen glances to Cayson. She still doesn’t know anything about this Yasmine girl and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious. She wants to know the truth about Cayson and Yasmine, but she isn’t willing to stay here to find out. It can wait.

  “Take me home, please,” she says tiredly, looking up at Cayson. He extends his arms, pulling her up from the concrete, her knees covered in tiny imprints of the gravel she had been kneeling on. He wraps an arm around her and guides her out of the graveyard.

  “You will end up dead,” warns Camille behind them. “How could you, Cayson? This is Yasmine all over again. It’s wrong, you know it’s wrong.”

  Cayson ignores her, continuing to walk out with Aileen. He recognises the urgency for her to get this sorted, and yet she clearly needs a break to be able to keep going.

  When they arrive back at home, it’s Cayson who takes the keys from Aileen’s bag and unlocks the door. They walk into the house together, Cayson smiling at her gently.

  “I’ll get you some water, and then you need to relax for a while,” he says. “You can’t look this unhinged when you meet your sister.” He watches her as she takes a seat then goes to the kitchen, letting the water run cold before he uses it to fill a tall glass which he takes to Aileen.

  “I must have looked so crazy and cruel,” Aileen’s eyes flick up towards him as she gratefully takes the drink.

  “Don’t be silly, she will have understood. You just watched over an hour of memories that your parents gave to you. That sort of thing is never going to be easy. You need a break, so let tonight be a break. Be Olivia tonight, not Aileen the witch. Just be human for a bit.”

  “How am I supposed to just forget things? Part of me wishes I had never figured this out; never met Dan, because if I hadn’t I would never have discovered all of this.” She looks around at the house she once shared with Dan. It doesn’t even feel like home anymore. “It’s weird, Cayson, part of me always longed to know the truth, but now? It’s like the truth was just waiting there to destroy me. No good can come from knowing the truth. Just over a month ago I was Olivia, no-one special, and now? Now I’m Aileen Depraysie, and everyone is looking at me like I have the answers for why I survived this long when the rest of my bloodline was wiped out.”

  “No-one’s looking at you for answers, Aileen; they’re just waiting for you to remember the stories you were given.” The corner of his mouth quirks up in a slight smile. She shouldn’t feel this much pressure, it’s not her fault.

  “I’m going crazy, I am so sure I am in a coma because the alternative is sickening. The whole story: Dan a vampire, you a werewolf and me a witch is crazy. Not as crazy as hearing that I’m a Depraysie witch and the last of my bloodline because my parents slaughtered the whole family when I was a baby, all to what, help me pull the three worlds together? Help me save the entire world?” She looks at him with tears in her eyes; how did things change so quickly? “I don’t know what would be better, Cayson, me waking up from a coma to find this was all just a dream or this actually being real. Both options have things I hate and love but right now, I wish neither was true. Why isn’t there a third o
ption where everything’s okay?”

  Cayson wraps an arm around her consolingly.

  “I think what your parents wanted to do when they gave those memories to you was to show you why, Aileen. Tell me some of what you saw and heard; I doubt I can ease your thoughts, but I can try.” That is all he can do right now.

  “I saw everyone they killed- no, that’s wrong.” Her head shakes. “I saw and felt it, over and over again. The old people, the adults, the parents, even the children. It was like I absorbed every bit of pain, every bit of terror they had inside them. The light that burned inside them dimmed down, and it was like it flowed into me.” She had watched it, each murder a new bright soul for her parents and now she had felt it, for her.

  “My father was saying it had to be done and there was no choice, my mother asked why me, why her baby girl. My father told her because if it wasn’t, it would have been someone else's baby and that I would be dying instead. It was Serliciaus who instructed them it must be done, they said a war was coming.” She feels the blood run through her veins as she sees the faces of those who lost their lives. How can she ever scrub their faces from her memory? How can she drain their blood from her veins, their souls from her own?

  “Serliciaus was the original witch, Aileen; they live in all witches. Serliciaus had the power to bring down an army in one quick spell. I don’t know for sure, you’ll have to ask Camille, but your parents drew in the magic of all the witches they killed and I’m pretty sure that isn’t normal. It had to have been Serliciaus behind it. The visions and everything, the fact you feel that light going into you; that tells me you now hold all their magic within you.” If his assumptions are true, she will be just as strong as Serliciaus if not stronger. “Look, as I said, for now just try and forget you’re Aileen. Your sister knows you as Olivia, so be Olivia tonight. Forget about this world. You can’t tell anyone anything; it will only put them in danger too.” Aileen nods slightly. Surely she can do that, right? A night pretending everything’s still okay and none of this is real?

  “So what’s the plan for tonight?” She asks, drawing up her legs and turning to face Cayson on the sofa, cross-legged.

  “I need to go see Azriel and Gwenael about someone watching over you inside the clubs, I will stay around the border and listen.” If he stays shifted outside of the town in the line of the trees, he will hear far more than if he stays human and closer. At least then if there’s an issue he’ll know. “I won’t be long, keep the door locked.” She nods, watching as he leaves. She should really get ready for her night out, so that’s what she does for the next couple of hours while Cayson and Gwenael discuss their own plans for the night. Until they know just how important she is they need to make sure she stays as safe as possible. The witches wouldn’t be much help and would likely refuse anyway with the werewolves being involved, so they don’t even bother to ask.

  Aileen finds herself ready early, so she sits on the sofa waiting. Cayson is taking far longer than he said he would, but she knows he wanted to walk her there at least. The fact she has to cross the field and go through a small dirt track in the trees isn’t safe. She watches as the clock’s hands turn, and after a while the door opens, Cayson giving her a wary smile.

  “Okay, so Gwenael is here and he’ll walk to the club with you, or at a distance behind, really. I’ll see you once you get home after. If I’m the one following you it could cause trouble; there is a chance they will follow me knowing I’m leading them to you.”

  Aileen simply nods and smiles, yet on the inside the pit of her stomach is churning at the thought. Gwenael seems to hate her. She walks out reluctantly, Gwenael stood leaning against the wall.

  “Just walk,” he says. “I’ll follow behind; I don’t want your sister asking questions.”

  “My sister wouldn’t, she said she’s waiting inside for me.” She begins walking but after a few minutes she stops and turns to face him.

  “This is creeping me out; can you not just walk next to me?” She feels like she’s paranoid, continually checking behind her to ensure it’s Gwenael’s footsteps she can hear in the distance and not someone else's. Gwenael nods and walks forwards, happier obeying her now he knows her sister won’t see him. The first few minutes pass by in silence as neither of them talks.

  “You don’t like me much, do you?” Aileen’s voice is quiet as her gaze stays fixed forward, the pair still moving.

  “You have me wrong, dear Aileen. It’s not that I don’t like you; it’s that I don’t like what you and Cayson are doing. We’ve learnt from experience that werewolves mixing with witches can only end badly.” He looks to her as he considers his next words. “You though, because of who you are and your parents were, you’re even more of a risk. There could be a reason your parents turned and became monsters, but the possibility that you may follow them is on all of our minds.”

  Aileen feels her head shake fiercely as she disagrees. “After today I could never do that I felt and heard everything. The images were sickening.” Her eyes close briefly. So much for forgetting and just being Olivia.

  “You know; if this is just to get over Dan, then walk away now. Cayson won’t survive this. He barely survived losing Yasmine, so don’t drag this out any longer than it needs to be.”

  “I’m not. Everyone tells me this is wrong, but then two minutes later they tell me I’m the one who’ll bring the three worlds together. What if me and Cayson are the way to do that? Everyone is so set that Cayson and I being together will end up in a doomsday apocalypse. Why does everyone keep bringing Yasmine into this?” It’s crazy but she feels like it has something to do with Cayson, she just isn’t sure why.

  “Look, just consider it. Consider walking and living with one of your kind. You’re important, far more important than Yasmine. If you die, the war between the witches and werewolves will be deadly.”

  She stops and looks at Gwenael.

  “My kind? I’m sorry but from where I’m standing I’m a person just like you, just like my real mother, my fake mother and everyone else who breathes.” She turns on her heel, walking into the club while Gwenael rolls his eyes slightly at her outburst. Sitting outside, he watches Azriel walk into the club to watch over her.

  Aileen finds herself easily answering to Olivia, and acting exactly like she used to without a problem. Drinking more than she had ever consumed before, she tries her best to forget about the world that seems to be crumbling down around her. The night passes quickly as she walks from bar to bar and club to club with her sister and friends. After what seems like a hundred different places and twice as many drinks, her eyes glance to the clock. She wants to go home but telling Mel that will cause an argument and her sister will just insist she stays longer. It’s midnight; they’ve spent hours together. Aileen glances around, Mel’s arm interlinked with hers.

  “I’m going to the toilet,” Aileen lies, seeing an opportunity. Earlier on she had seen a back door next to the toilets, knowing she could go out that way just in case, and she can just text Mel later saying she’s gone home. Mel’s arm loosens from hers and Aileen walks off. Getting to the toilets, she walks straight past the door, turns the corner and opens the back door onto a dark alleyway. She begins walking home, her body relaxing realising that she’ll soon be in her bed, warm and asleep.

  “Olivia, honey,” a voice says, and she stops, her blood suddenly running cold as a hand snakes around her waist.

  “You disappeared, why did you never return?”

  She glances up, feeling Dan step in front of her. Is she supposed to act like she doesn’t know? Like he has been missing and this is the first time she’s seen him, or like she knew he was never dead?

  “Your silence isn’t an answer, baby.”

  She opens her mouth, but it feels like her throat has closed up, stopping any words from flowing.

  “I…” She looks at him. He looks fine, normal, almost; he isn’t at all what she remembers from the memories Gwenael had made surface. She shakes her head,
staring at him still.

  “I know, Olivia. Let me walk with you, I’ll explain it all.”

  She nods, unsure of why he has changed, or if he’s even changed at all. Is it possible for a vampire to turn back to a human? She begins to walk again as he falls into step next to her.

  “They lied to you, Olivia. I was hiding away; someone was after me. I don’t know why. Whatever ideas they fed to you were lies. I bumped into a werewolf and I threatened to uncover everything, and now he’s out to get me, Olivia. He wants revenge.”

  Aileen looks at him confused, still walking.

  “They can manipulate the mind, Olivia, make you see things that aren’t there. They’re liars.”

  She nods as she starts to cross the field.

  “You believe me, don’t you, honey?” He steps in front of her, cutting off her path and forcing her to stop.

  “I don’t know, Dan. I’ve seen so much; they swear my parents were witches, and that I’m a witch too. They told me that my name is really Aileen. I don’t know, Dan, I don’t know what to believe.” That’s all she can say.

  “Look, Olivia, can we just go home, go to bed, and forget the world for tonight? We will sort everything out tomorrow, honey, I promise.”

  She looks back at him, the truth dawning on her as her head falls. How could she even consider that what Cayson and Camille told her is a lie? Why is she listening to Dan, a man who tricked her into having sex with him so he could drink her blood and then making her forget it all?

  “Dan, how did you manage this?” She looks at him with tears in her eyes. “Why are you trying to hurt me?” She tries desperately to wake up her mind, to force her eyes to see the real picture. She knows they’re lies; she knows the memories she saw are the truth.

  “Honey, please open your eyes to what they’re trying to do to us. You’re Olivia, not a witch! Don’t be ridiculous, how can you be a witch? This is all because I threatened to bring down the werewolves and tell everyone locally, they’re trying to cause trouble. I’ve been running from them ever since, Olivia.”