by Martha Woods
“Just use it if you have any trouble and tell me where you are. I will come as fast as I can.”
“OK, Grandma.”
When Sara walked outside, the ocean breeze was shrieking through the hills. It was unsettling the way it roared the past, cutting into Sara's cheek. “Caleb?”
“I'm here.” He was sitting cross-legged outside the perimeter.
“What are you doing waiting so close?”
“I don't want you to leave without me knowing. You could get hurt, so I've been staying outside the house.”
“How long have you been doing that?”
“Since the first time you got attacked. Stuart's here too I'm sure. I've been trying to find him, but he won't let me.”
“Is there someplace safe we can talk?”
“Yeah.” Caleb ducked down and pecked her on the lips then took her to his house. He had a formal parlor with antique purple horsehair couches and a marble coffee table. He seemed to have maintained the room really well.
“Have you got any idea what you'd like to do to take care of him, Caleb?” Sara sat down on the couch, and he sat down next to her.
“I need to talk to him. I haven't seen him in almost a century. Even then it was just a whisper. He's going through some sort of mental turmoil. We vampires hold onto things longer.”
“You feel things more than witches do.”
“Yes. I think that he's been doing this a long time, but it wasn't until I came back here and saw you that I realized what was going on.”
“Do you have any idea why he followed me around the country. Am I special?”
“No. I think that he is going after you because you're a witch. He's angry at the entire species, not just you. If that were the case, he'd have killed you a long time ago before I met you.”
“Caleb,” Sara said, “I can't wait for you to try to hunt him down. It's not going to work. He'll just keep leaving. You're going to have to accept the fact that to ensure my safety I need to have him killed.”
“We need to think of every alternative first. I'm not going to let you do that until I know that there's no other choice.”
“What if I get killed in the meantime?”
He shook his head. Sara was infuriated by his stubbornness. “I will stay close me to make sure that you don't get hurt.”
“It's not enough, Caleb. My grandmother agrees. She's ready to kill him, and she's willing to allow you to help. We need you. I need you. You can't deny the truth. He's got to die.”
“He's my brother. Just give me some time first.” Caleb got up and pulled away.
“Think of how many people he's killed.”
“When a vampire dies, they don't get to live in the spiritual world. They just cease to exist. The death of a vampire is an atrocity. It's something that we try to avoid at all costs. I can't let you do it, Sara. I'll think of a way.”
“And if he gets too close, what do I do? Let him kill me?”
“You just can't allow yourself to get into that situation.”
“I can't live like this. I need my freedom.”
“And you'll have it?”
“That could take decades. You have seen him in more than a hundred years. Vampires don't see time the way humans do. To you, a year is like a day. To me, it's an eternity. I'd have to live this entire time stuck in that house unless I have an escort that may or may not be able to save my life.”
“I can't allow it!”
“My grandmother is going to do it with or without you. You have to find a solution soon because I can't stop her.”
“Let me take you home.” Caleb picked her up without responding to what she was saying. Then dropped her off at the barrier perimeter.
“Caleb.” Margaret strode out of the house with a straight-lipped look on her face.
“Margaret.” He nodded his head in respect and held out his hand for her to shake it.
She ignored the gesture stayed within the barrier's protection.
“You're wrong about what happened Margaret. I know that you blame me for Priscilla's death.”
She scoffed. “You assaulted her. You had no claim on her. Yet you did it anyway. I will not let you walk away without taking some of the blame.”
“I never tried to kill her. I wasn't stalking her decades waiting for my chance. How do you come up with this shit? You've known me for years.”
“That's what you did. Vampires can't be trusted. Killing is a part of your nature.”
“And what about yours?” His voice got louder. “Your sister tried to kill me. Now you're trying to kill my brother.”
Margaret's hair started blowing in a psychic wind and the clouds gathered above them. She was exploding with static energy that flew off her body. “The second one of you touches my own, I will cut you down, and you cannot say one word about it.” She turned to Sara. “Get inside.”
Sara tried kiss Caleb but when she turned around to face him he was gone.
Chapter 17
“We need his help and you thoroughly disrespected him.” Sara stormed inside and sat down on the couch in the living room. Everything in the house was antiquated just like Margaret's ideals.
“He needs to know not to mess with a Bishop witch, and you should not be running off to have adolescent affairs with him.”
“It's not an adolescent affair. The love of a vampire is not given freely.”
“I thought you were better than that, Sara. He's not in love with you. He just met you. You've got to know that or else you might not be able to do what it takes to save your own life.” Margaret walked into the kitchen.
Sara got up to follow her. “He told me that when it comes down to it, he's willing to allow us to kill his brother. That's fucking love. I don't care what you say and you can be upset with me for it, or you can support me. I don't care either way because it's not going to change how I feel.”
“What is it about him?”
“There's something about looking into the eyes of somebody so old. He's thrilling, robust and sensitive. He knows what it's like to live in a different world and contemplate eternity.”
“It's an illusion, Sara. He's too old to give a shit about you and if you don't understand that you've got a long way to go before you have any business falling in love.” Margaret flew a shot glass out of the cupboard and filled with golden liquid. She took it quickly and slammed the glass back down on the table. “We've got to kill Caleb.”
“He wants us to wait to make sure there's no other alternative.”
“There are ways to get inside the barrier surrounding the house. He could easily find a witch to do it. I'm not fucking waiting. There's a psychopathic vampire trying to kill us all, and you're talking about waiting.”
“I'm talking about a week or two until Caleb has decided what to do.” Sara sat down at the table. “Let's set a time span, get him to agree and stick to it.”
“You just want to make sure he stays with you.”
“I care about him, but I know he'll stay with me no matter what.”
“You know; most witches are a lot more mature at your age. They don't start talking about love until 30. You're rushing into a childish venture, and it's going to get you killed. You need to start thinking straight.”
“You're just hurt. You lost your sister and your daughter. Now you want revenge. You're the one who's not thinking straight. Respect the sanctity of life and only take it if you absolutely have to. That's a pretty simple principle. We are safe, right now. Nothing is going to hurt us.”
“At any second it could happen.”
“Do you see a witch dismantling our barrier outside? Stuart hasn't let town. He's waiting out there for us. That means we have time, and I'm going to make sure we use it rather than rushing into some reckless battle. You could easily get yourself killed.”
“I'm willing to risk it.”
“So am I, but I think he deserves time to try and save his brother. Ignorant prejudice aside, I think that's a pretty reasonable r
equest.”
“One week.”
“Two.”
“Fine.”
Sara ran outside to stand on the porch. “Stuart in two week’s time we're going to start hunting you, and so help me God, we will do whatever it fucking takes to kill you. If you want to live, find your brother and listen to what he has to say.”
“He's not going to listen.” Margaret walked up behind her. “They're stubborn creatures, that much I know for certain.”
“I have to see Caleb.” Sara stepped off the porch.
Chapter 18
Decay was the only constant in Caleb's world. Immortality was a lonely, hateful existence filled with heartbreak and sadness. The people he'd met over the years stuck with him. Every few decades he found a woman that he simply couldn't look away from. He tried so hard to avoid love, but it always had a way of creeping up on him. Then, when it inevitably ended, it smashed him to pieces. That was the curse of the Vampire.
He couldn't live his life with the woman of his dreams or have one home that he could call his own. His possessions never lasted more than a few decades. He owned nothing. He had no lifelong friends, and the few vampires he'd met were vicious beasts that he could never allow himself to be around.
He was a man stuck in a vampire’s body, longing for the life of a human. He would've given anything to live out his life, grow old and die, but that had been robbed from him. Instead, he was forced to reminisce, and find enjoyment wherever he could.
There wasn't much left to do. He'd been to every landmass, every country and all of the major modern cities. He'd traveled through the catacombs or Paris and climbed through the tunnels inside the great pyramid. The only thing he found was decay, people living their lives the way he should've been.
There was one thing that kept him going. Every few decades he'd hear a familiar whisper. There would be a body or a human that knew Stuart's name and it reminded him that there was somebody out there he could connect with. Somebody knew him, who was, what he was and what he used to be. Stuart grounded Caleb and reminded him that he wasn't completely alone.
The most frustrating part about it was that Stuart was always running. Caleb hadn't seen him since the nineteenth century when Emily told him that she wanted to be with Caleb instead. Caleb didn't blame Stuart for hiding. He was upset, and he would be for a long time, but this killing spree had to stop, and Caleb needed his brother back.
Sara was an extraordinary woman. Caleb was more than two hundred years old. He had seen the rise and fall of nations, the onset of the industrial revolution and he watched as computers and electricity overtook the world. But when he was around her, he was in awe, because he knew that he was in the presence of true greatness and that is an elusive quality, one that even vampires rarely come across.
Sara had no idea who she was or what she was capable of. He saw the blue fire in her eyes, and he couldn't look away. Magic was not an easy craft. It took control, self-discipline discipline and enormous amounts of willpower. She had all of those things. They were her greatest assets, and she had no idea how extraordinary that was.
Margaret wouldn't know. She was too blind to see the good in others. Caleb knew her well enough to know that she was probably short tempered with Sara, and considered the girl to be a stunted beginner, but Caleb knew differently. He wanted to help foster her gifts and show her real potential. But their relationship was already being threatened.
He needed his brother to live. If Stuart died nothing in his life would last forever. Sara would eventually die. She'd turn into dust, and he'd be left with nothing. He was being forced to choose between Sara and Stuart and that wasn't fair. He loved them both.
If Caleb wanted to save his brother's life, he was going to have to take a gamble. He got up, walked outside, and ran through the hills until he reached the edge of cliffs where he knew his brother would be sitting watching the house.
“Stuart, I need to talk to you. I love her. You can't kill her. Please. I just want this one girl, one lifetime of peace. Then you can go on and kill off her entire line I don't care. Just let her live.”
“No.” Caleb turned around to see his brother with his distinctive blond curls pasted to his head. He was posed in a fighting stance, ready to rip Caleb's head off his shoulders.
“And why not?”
Caleb barely it until it was over, and he was laying on the ground with a rock sticking into the back of his head. Then he saw Stuart looking down at him.
“You're my brother. I love you. Just stop this.”
“No.” He nearly kicked in Caleb's face. “She loves you.” He slammed into Caleb again. “She always loved you more.” He kicked Caleb in the ribs, and they collapsed instantly. “I did everything for her, everything and she didn't care. I hate you!”
Caleb stared straight up and watched the sky. He was no stranger to mortal pain. His ribs had been crushed before. His face had been smashed in, and his skull had been shattered into a million pieces, but his body knew how to put itself back together again. He was aware that he'd be okay. He just had to live out the excruciating pain.
When Stuart was done, hunched over and staring at Caleb with a satisfied look on his face. “I wish you were human I would torture you for years then kill you slowly.”
“What about the witches? Why should all witches die because of the mistakes of one?”
“Because it's the only way I can find peace.” Stuart pulled out a syringe from his back pocket and shoved it into Caleb's arm.
“What is that?” A very human feeling began to pass over Caleb's mind, blocking out the world until it was a dulled, fading experience and he passed out.
Chapter 19
“Every food can be summoned using an image of the food itself and the energy you associate it. Generally, witches stick to simple ingredients. Sophisticated dishes are hard; some are nearly impossible. Pumpkin pie is a good example of that. You can probably summon up the feel and the taste, but there are some many spices in there that a single variance can ruin the whole dish.” Margaret was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through what she called her recipe grimoire, a compendium of all of her notes about the energy used to summon specific foods.
“The energy is different for everyone, isn't it?”
“Oh, yes. You're going to need your own journal. My grimoire won't work for you. Here we are.” She stopped at a yellowed page fill with scribbles. “Stuffed Cornish game hen.”
“You want me to make that?”
“I want you to summon the ingredients. Then I want you to make it.”
“Are you kidding?”
“It should come naturally to you, especially since you love cooking.”
Sara sighed. “Fine.” She got up to look over her grandmother's shoulder. “So Cornish game hen. I'm supposed to focus on the feeling of biting into cartilage, thin strips of meat and bone.”
“Yep.”
“That's disgusting. I don't think I can eat it after that.”
“Just try.”’
“Alright.” Sara pulled out a baking pan and held her hands over it, imagining a piece of roasted, white flesh, and how if she bought into it, she would have to be careful not to chomp of any of the bones. Then there would be the tough cartilage wrapped around the end of the drumsticks. She nearly puked at the thought of the red juice oozing out of the bottom. She added a burst energy, channeled it up through her body and jumped back the raw flesh plopped down on the baking pan.
“Sara!”
Margaret jumped out of her chair and ran to the door, her hair flowing behind her.
“Stop!” Sara went to see Stuart standing at the edge of the perimeter.
“I have Caleb. Do you want him to live?”
“We'll find him.” Margaret closed her eyes and raised her hands, summoning a burst of chilled air. “Malleus...”
“Stop!” Sara tackled her to the ground and held her squirming hands down.
“Where is he?”
“You have to come
with me.” The monster's tone was cold and comfortable. He was the opposite of his brother. Caleb felt everything. Stuart had found a way to completely detach from his emotions and dull them. It allowed him to do whatever he wanted to do.
“NO!” Margaret shot up off the ground with surprising force, throwing Sara to the ground started summoning the scythe once again.
“I'm leaving.” Sara got up and walked outside the barrier.
“No! No!” Margaret was sobbing.
“I will allow you to live, old witch so long as you stay within your perimeter.
“I'll kill you,” Sara heard her hiss right before Stuart threw her over his shoulder and started running.
Chapter 20
Stuart didn't bother to shield her from the wind. Instead, he allowed the tiny grains of sand and dust to sink into the back of her skull where they stayed embedded while she screamed wildly. These vampires travel a hundred times faster than Caleb, jumping over obstacles, tearing through the city streets so fast nobody would've noticed him. He jumped over something tall, a building maybe. Then entered a dark place where he threw her onto a concrete floor, smiling at the sound of her arm cracking.
“Fuck!” her breath was pounding in time with her heart, a pagan beat that overtook everything in the nearly complete darkness that surrounded her. She had no idea where she was, or what she was doing there, but she could see Stuart standing just a few feet away.
“Stuart no!” Caleb was behind her screaming.
Stuart was on her in an instant with his hand wrapped around her neck. “You're going to watch!”
“He can't move,” Stuart said to her quietly, almost playfully. “He's tied up.”
“How is that even possible?”
“A compound I developed that puts vampires out and weakens their bodies. It's one of a kind, actually.” He sounded rather proud of himself while he tightened his grip on Sara's throat. He was crushing her lymph node glands, and slowly tearing the skin off. She could feel the sharp pang of it tearing on the back of her neck. “You like that?”