I chuckle at Corrine’s amusement and give Kieron a pleading glance. “Help us, Obi-Wan Kenobi… You’re our only hope.”
Kieron makes a face at us. “Yeah, yeah, yuck it up. Wonder why our hostess didn’t put us on the list?” He glances down at the paper and makes another left turn.
“Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding. Maybe she thinks we’re coming tomorrow, not tonight. Or maybe Tattie just didn’t have a chance to call her yet.”
Still, I can’t help but feel uneasy about this whole situation.
“Okay, this is it,” Kieron says a few minutes later as the car comes to a stop at the end of the street. He isn’t smiling. “Don’t exactly see myself Jedi mind-tricking our way through that.”
The narrow drive is blocked by a high, black gate, and a fence that seems to go on forever. There are no handles, no call box, no guard, no nothing.
“What do we do now?” Corrine whispers.
We sit there in silence for several long moments, while Corrine fidgets nervously in the back seat. I can feel Kieron silently questioning me as he glances around us, but I don’t say anything. I just sit there, perfectly still.
She is watching us.
I had felt her eyes on us from the moment we pulled up to the guard shack. She is watching, and feeling. And I’m pretty sure she can even hear us right now. If I’ve learned anything from being raised by Tatiana it is never to underestimate the extraordinary, and often unexpected, powers of a witch.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. “Please… we come in peace and we mean you no harm. We are your friends… your family. We’ve come a long way and you are the only one who can help us. We need your protection. Please, please let us in,” I silently beg. “You know we’re not evil. I know you can feel our intentions… our humanity…”
“Look!” Corrine gasps. “The gates are opening!”
I open my eyes and see that indeed the mammoth iron bars have slowly begun to part. When there is enough space, Kieron eases the car through. At first it seems almost like driving through a golf course, with gentle hills of perfectly manicured grass as far as the eye can see. The winding driveway is lined with more palm trees and cherry bushes, and after another few moments a majestic, brightly-lit mansion rises into view, set against the cerulean backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.
This time I’m the one gasping. It’s a breathtaking sight, and I’m having a hard time imagining someone related to Tatiana living in such unbridled luxury. I guess deep down I’d been hoping her sister would be exactly like her. But so far she couldn’t be more different.
“Wow,” Kieron mutters. “What are we in for?”
As we continue our slow descent down the long driveway, a voice in my head whispers, “Tread lightly. Or I will end you.”
I suck in my breath. I don’t hear the words so much as I feel them, and the power behind them. I know that whatever we’re about to face is very formidable… maybe more so even than my dear guardian.
“Holy cannoli, are you kidding me?” Corrine squeaks. “Who lives like this? I mean, this isn’t even a mansion. This is like a castle!”
I don’t answer her. Truth is, I have no idea who this woman is.
And I’m suddenly terrified.
Chapter 2. Liora
We pull around the circular driveway and stop in front of the house. Standing on the front porch is a woman I immediately recognize as Tatiana’s twin sister, only because they have the exact same diminutive build, as if a strong breeze could pick them up and carry them away. But I know all too well how deceptive that frail appearance is, and the warning to ‘tread lightly’ still rings in my head.
“Is that her?” Corrine whispers, leaning forward again.
I nod with a gulp and turn to her and Kieron. “You two stay here. Let me go first.”
Kieron peeks around me to look at her again. “Are you sure? Maybe I should go with you just in case—”
“No, you stay here. I’ll be fine.” I give his hand a squeeze and force a small smile. “If she didn’t want us here she wouldn’t have opened the gates.”
He lets out a deep breath and shakes his head slightly, then casts another wary gaze across the grounds. “I dunno. Something feels really off about this place.” I can’t blame him for his concern. This whole area is beyond surreal. Even I can feel its intense mystical energy, and I can only imagine what he’s picking up.
“It’s Tatiana’s sister. I’ll be fine.” I take a deep breath and try to steady my shaky hand as I open the car door. So much is riding on this woman. If she refuses to help, I truly have no idea what will become of us.
She’s wearing a long white dress, and standing next to an enormous marble statue of a lion that looks like it could turn its head and swallow her whole in one gulp. Her long, silvery-white hair is pulled off to the side and fastened with a lilac flower. She makes no move to greet me as I approach, and remains as still as the statue beside her.
I feel myself staring… she looks so much like Tatiana it’s shocking. But at the same time, she looks like her complete opposite. Totally blind, Tatiana’s eyes were a solid milky white, and while it was impossible to judge her age, she always had a haunted, wizened countenance.
But the woman standing here has brilliant, unnaturally sparkling turquoise eyes that are almost hypnotizing, and she radiates a youthful energy and vibrancy that is making me seriously question how old Tatiana really is.
I clear my throat and step closer, but not too close. “Hello, Mrs. Havish. I’m Liora…Liora Greyson.” I hold out my hand, but she still doesn’t move, and just looks at me. I gulp, and my stomach clenches even tighter.
“Tatiana sent me… us.” I turn and motion to the car where Kieron and Corrine are staring at us through the window. “I’m her… um, daughter—”
“You are not her daughter, you are a demon bastard she found in the forest one day,” she snaps, her face still passive.
I’m taken aback. “Oh. Um. I—well, yes, sort of technically, I suppose. But I’m not really a demon… not now anyways. It’s this whole long story—”
She holds up her hand. “Save it. I’m not interested. Tatiana took you in because of some misguided loyalty and obligation, and she was an utter fool to do so. Demons are dangerous and unpredictable and cannot be trusted. I’m not making the same mistake she did.”
Her eyes flash brightly, and suddenly a violent wave of nausea washes over me. I take several deep breaths and put my hands on the lion statue to steady myself.
She shakes her head in exasperation and takes me by the arm. “Here, come with me. There is a bench around the corner you may rest on. I may not want you here, but I don’t want you passing out on my front porch either.”
“I’m fine, I can stand.” My voice sounds hollow even to me. Another wave of dizziness nearly knocks me over, and she grips me tighter. “Okay. I’ll sit for a minute. But only until I don’t feel like I just flew off a roller coaster.”
Anastasia guides me down a stone path, around the side of the house and toward a rose garden. There a trio of ornately carved marble benches surround a birdbath, and she sits me down on one of them.
“Do you need something to drink? Some water perhaps?” Her voice is tight, as if she’d really prefer not to have to give me anything.
I shake my head again and focus on the pretty flowers. Anything to stop the world from spinning. “I’m fine. Just tired. We’ve been in the car a long time. It was an exhausting trip.” And one we apparently made for nothing.
She’s quiet for a while, and it’s obvious she doesn’t want me here. I know I should say something… beg, cry, plead for her help. But I can’t bring myself to do it. I feel her disgust, her disdain. I’d rather take my chances with the Light-angels than be at the mercy of someone who thinks I’m such trash.
The dizziness begins to ease, so I stand up. “Sorry we bothered you. It wasn’t our intention.”
Anastasia focuses on me intently. “The other one arrives at
sundown, correct?”
“Lucky? Yeah, she’ll be here soon. Don’t worry, we’ll be gone before she shows. Have a nice evening.” I turn to leave.
“Wait. Stay a moment more. I want you to tell me why you came. What you want.”
I shrug. “Does it matter? Obviously we don’t belong here. This is like a fantasy world. People like us… me, Lucky, Kieron, even Corrine… we belong in the shadows.”
She narrows her eyes even more. “Is that what you really believe? That you must live in darkness forever?”
I turn back and sit down again. I wasn’t kidding when I told her I was exhausted. Or maybe it’s because when I look at her out of the corner of my eye she looks just like Tattie.
“It’s a long story. We need help. We need a sanctuary. A powerful, enchanted place that can hide us from Light-angels. And Tatiana also thought that maybe you could help Lucky and me reunify. Somehow magically put us back to how we were before our curse split us.”
Anastasia keeps staring at me, and I squirm under her penetrating gaze. “Look, I’m sorry we bothered you by coming here. It was Tattie’s idea. But I know when I’m not wanted, and Lucky will be here any moment so I really should go before things get worse—”
“You genuinely cared for Tatiana?” she asks, her voice soft.
I frown. “Well, of course. I love her more than anything. She’s the only mother I’ve ever known, and the one friend I’ve had my whole life. She means everything to me.”
Anastasia nods slowly. Her mouth pulls down at the corners, and her eyes suddenly dim. She looks away and takes a deep breath.
“So it would sadden you then to learn that she died last night?”
Everything goes eerily quiet. As if time has stopped and the air has frozen.
“What?”
She turns back and fixates her hard gaze on me. “Last night. She was attacked and killed by Light-angels who were looking for you. I felt everything as it happened to her, as we have a very powerful connection. Or rather we did. It has now been permanently severed, thanks to you!”
My head spins as the dizziness crashes over me.
“No. No. It’s not true… she can’t be…!”
“They tortured her. They hurt her. Her dying act was to protect you,” Anastasia says hotly, her eyes blazing now.
“No! I don’t believe you!” I can’t catch my breath, and my heart is pounding.
“You got my sister killed! Her blood is on your hands. And now you come here asking for my help? For sanctuary? I should send your body out to the middle of the ocean right now and let the sharks fight over you!”
I grip the edge of the bench, but my arms give out, and I collapse in sobs and tumble to the grass below. “No… no… it can’t be! Please don’t let it be true. Please let Tattie be okay! Please, no—”
“Oh, it’s true. And you will suffer the consequences.”
The familiar fire pricks at my skin, a welcome escape from the agony seizing my chest, stealing my breath and shredding my soul.
As I fade into darkness, I have one final thought.
If Tatiana really is dead because of me, I don’t want to ever wake up.
Chapter 3. Lucky
I feel like someone has kicked me in the chest with a steel-tipped boot and there’s a poison arrow lodged in my gut. I suck in some air and sit up, disoriented. All I see is a luscious landscape of grass and colorful flowers, and lanterns lighting a cobblestone walk, all next to an enormous mansion overlooking the ocean. It’s a beautiful scene… like a picture. And strangely at odds with the overwhelmingly horrific way I feel.
I turn my head and see a petite woman sitting on a marble bench a few feet behind me. I gasp, and for a moment I can’t even catch my breath. Nothing could have prepared me for this. I knew they were twins. But this is just too surreal.
“You… it’s you. You’re her, Anastasia… Tattie’s sister.”
“And you are her,” the woman replies flatly. She stares at me without emotion as I struggle to stand. But I’m weak, and I feel like I’m moving in slow motion.
And like my heart has quite literally been ripped from my chest.
“What happened? What have you done to me?” I moan, looking around. “Where’s Kieron? Corrine?”
The woman’s intense blue eyes bore into mine. I can’t get over how much she looks like Tattie… and at the same time is nothing like her.
“Your friends are around the corner waiting in the car for you so you can leave at once.”
“What happened…what did you do to me?”
“You are an evil, filthy thing, and you are not welcome here!” she snaps.
I turn back and glare at the little woman. “Fine by me. I have better things to do than hang out with rejects from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Tattie’s twin or not, she obviously doesn’t share her sister’s appreciation for the darker side of life. Why were we sent here in the first place?
I try to walk, but my legs are rubbery and weak. I stagger to another marble bench and sit.
“What did you do to me?” I ask again. “And what did you do to Liora?” I search Anastasia’s face but I see no compassion there, no kindness. I only see an empty, cold, and hard version of her gentler twin.
Anastasia’s eyes narrow. “Why would you ask that about Liora?”
“Why? Because I think… I think she is suffering terribly right now,” I huff out between breaths. “Like she’s screaming inside. And I feel like I’m about to die or pass out, or both.”
“You have no idea what’s going on?”
“How could I? I just woke up. Last thing I remember I was driving through Arizona. What happened?”
“You are the demon girl.”
I stare at her blankly. This is news?
“But you are separate from Liora,” she continues.
Too exhausted to speak, I just nod.
“You are the creature they call Lucky.”
Is this a Stating Stupid Facts Party? I nod again. “I would say nice to meet you but clearly that’s not the case, is it.”
“If you and Liora are separate personalities, then why would you feel her suffering?”
I let out a small groan. Obviously this woman wants me gone, and I’m outta here just as soon as I can catch my breath enough to stand and walk away. Why the hell does she need to play Twenty Questions now?
I’m tempted to ignore her and focus on gathering my strength. But as I glance up and see Tattie’s face staring back at me, I relent.
“I don’t know what hurt her, but lately I’ve been able to feel her more. We have a link, but it’s tenuous. Something hurt her. Something big. And I don’t care how much you look like Tattie, if it was you who hurt her—us—then you will pay. Dearly.”
Anastasia’s tinkling laugh startles me. “Oh, silly creature. Do you really think I’d let a demon cross onto my land and not take the proper precautions? There are so many enchantments protecting me from you right now, you are as weak as a kitten. Or have you not noticed?”
A dull fire starts to build inside me, but is quickly doused. I realize I’m too tired to even get mad at this hateful witch. “You did this to us. But why? Why did you hurt Liora?”
“The magic only works on you. Humans are unaffected, of course. But perhaps she was bothered by something else. Some tragic news I shared with her right before you arrived.”
My heart thuds dully, and a heavy sense of foreboding creeps along my spine.
“What?” I whisper. But I don’t have to ask. I know. It’s the worst of the worst. In my heart and in my gut, I know.
“Tatiana is dead. She was killed last night by some Light-angels. They tortured her mercilessly for information about you. Her pain and suffering was so great, I felt it all the way over here on the other side of the country. I quickly found her on my Looking Stone and saw what was happening. But by the time I was able to send help, it was already too late. They snapped her neck and burned her body.”
The woman�
��s eyes blaze like blue diamonds, and she rises to her feet. “And you… it was your fault! You left her alone and unprotected. You left her to die!”
“NO! NO! Stop talking… you’re lying!” I cry out, but my voice is weak and hoarse. I try to stand, but fall over in a heap on the ground. It’s true. This is the source of Liora’s anguish. Nothing but losing our beloved Tatiana would hurt this much.
“Why did you leave her?” Anastasia screeches. “Didn’t you care about her at all? After all she’s done for you?”
I can’t even see her anymore… my eyes have flooded with tears. My hands and lips tremble uncontrollably as a rage builds inside.
“No… don’t say that,” I choke out. “I love her! I love her more than anyone. I would have died to protect her and keep her safe… that’s why we left! She said it was for the best…” I can’t process Anastasia’s devastating words. They can’t be true.
Tortured… Snapped her neck… Burned her body.
Something inside me explodes. “I will kill them! I will kill every last one of them!” I scream. Then I collapse to the ground and weep, exhausted. “No, Tattie, I’m so sorry… It should’ve been me… it should’ve been me… I should’ve been there to protect you… Oh, Tattie, I’m so sorry!”
I wrap my hands over my head and sob harder. Everything is over. How can I live with myself knowing that I caused Tatiana harm? Suffering? Why did I listen to her and leave? Why didn’t I stay? I could’ve protected her. It should’ve been me who died…
“Tattie,” I moan. “I’m so, so sorry… I will kill them all, I swear! I’ll hunt them all down and destroy—”
I feel a gentle kicking on my back. “Okay, stop it. She’s fine. You can stop your crying. I just needed to feel your real feelings… see how you really felt.”
I catch my breath and freeze. What did she just say?
Not daring to hope, I lift my head from my arms and turn to stare at the woman, my mouth open. Her face is softer now, but still wary.
The Complete Demonblood Saga Page 48