by J Armitage
Anais followed him down the main stairs and then into the kitchen that had temporarily been vacated by both August and Winnie although she could see Baker snoring away in the corner. She assumed they would stay there but Aldric made his way to the back door of the house. She followed him outside through the courtyard, where she had to hold her new dress up around her ankles to stop it getting wet in the snow. Her beautiful new shoes were difficult to walk in but Aldric seemed not to notice her difficulty. Anais wished she’d thought to take them off and put some wellies on. Aldric came to the middle door in the outhouses. The only door she had not yet been through. To her right was the garage and to her left Aethelu’s studio. She grinned at the memory of her one night there.
Stepping into the building she found herself in a large room which looked half like a modern doctor’s surgery and half like an apothecary from the past. A desk, which would not have looked out of place in a stately home housed a computer and had a matching chair which is where Aldric now seated himself. A bed lay to the wall on the right hand side of the type she had only ever seen at a hospital and various utensils filled the space. To the left however, shelves and shelves of glass jars filled the walls, hundreds of them, each neatly labelled. She looked at the nearest one:
Lavender
Picked 14th July
Manor Gardens,
3.30am Full moon
It was so very specific, she wondered why it mattered when it was picked. The next one read:
Moss
Growing on a large sycamore tree
Lincolnshire
27th May
Misty night, No moon
“Ahem.”
Anais looked over and found Aldric waiting for her. She sat on the only other seat in the room opposite his desk and waited to see what he needed her for.
“Am I correct in thinking that Aethelu has told you our story?”
Anais briefly recounted what Aethelu had told her, leaving out the part where Rafe had slit his own throat.
“Mmmm, I see.” Aldric sat back and appeared deep in thought.
Anais didn’t know what else she could say so she sat there waiting patiently for him to speak again.
“In essence, what you have been told is the truth, however there are things that my children, including Aethelu do not know. Only myself and Winifred know the full story. I am telling you now in the hope that you can remain discreet.”
“I don’t think I can keep a secret from Aethelu sir, if that’s what you mean.”
“Very well, if that is the only way we can do this then I permit you to tell Aethelu, but you must not, in any circumstances repeat what I am about to tell you to anyone else.”
“Ok,” said Anais
“Do I have your word?”
“Yes, I promise. I’ll tell no one but Aethelu.”
He regarded her for a minute but seemed satisfied that she was telling the truth.
“You know that your father was murdered.”
“And my mother.”
“Yes, quite,” said Aldric “Your father was murdered, your mother was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I had not heard from Jago in over six centuries. I had assumed he had drunk the potion and found a way to get on with his life, much like the rest of us. Unfortunately for him he did not have what the rest of us had. We had each other. Jago only took enough elixir for himself.
Imagine if you will, living forever whilst those around you grow old and die. Constantly having to move on so people don’t discover your secret. It can be an extremely lonely existence. We have found our own ways to cope. I have Winifred. My sister Ava has her husband Alfred for company. The others have coped in their own way. Arcadia and her cousin both enjoy the company of others but are happy to move on when the time comes. Indeed there always seems to be a waiting line of admirers for Arcadia’s affections. She has fun, plays with them and then when she gets bored, moves on to the next suitor. Andrew is happy with his own company and that of computers and technology. He has never actively sought out a partner as far as I’m aware and that works very well for him.”
Anais guessed he was in for a shock when Judith arrived. Andrew must have forgotten to tell him she was coming.
“Alexander and Raphael seem to fall in love every other day usually with the same girl. It’s Aethelu that has troubled me more than the others. She has become rather reclusive. She and your father were very close, much like a brother and sister. For many years that was enough for both of them but as you know, your father eventually met Sarah and fell in love with her. He left this house to make his own life, leaving Aethelu pretty much on her own... until you came along. Funny, I never expected her to fall in love with another girl much less Alistair’s daughter. It is funny how things turn out sometimes. Perhaps fate provided a helping hand.”
Anais suddenly understood why Aldric wanted to talk to her. He was going to warn her off Aethelu, tell her that a relationship was impossible. She was surprised when he continued.
“Still the heart wants what the heart wants and I am happy that Aethelu is no longer alone. Jago, on the other hand had no one. I believe that for a long time he didn’t know about us. As you remember he left us in the first place because I refused to drink the elixir. He must have assumed that we never took it and died of the plague like so many others. Of course with us moving around and changing our names, we would have been difficult to track down even if he was searching for us.
I don’t know how, but last year he found out about us. He must have been livid to find that I had also drunk the elixir when I had expressly forbidden him from doing so, and for me to give it to the others. Well to say he was angry was an understatement.
He started sending me letters, just to let me know that he was still alive and to express his anger at what I had done.
They came postmarked from all over the world so it was impossible to know where he was living.
I must admit I was a little concerned as they did get more threatening in time. I asked Andrew to put his computing abilities to good use and try to track him but by and large the letters went straight in the bin. After all, what could he really do to us? Then when we had the call from Alistair, I knew. Andrew was the only one home when the call came and set out straight away to help him. He called me as soon as he found your parents but by then it was too late. Your mother was already dead and your father had little time left. By the time I got to him he was already unconscious. I did everything I could but it was too late. He died minutes after I arrived, despite my best efforts. Of course as soon as they died my biggest concern was your welfare. I had only met you briefly as a baby but you were like family and I suspected you were Jago’s next target. Andrew had brilliantly made this place into a fortress although you’d never know it, so it was just you that was vulnerable on the outside. Your...erm...lifestyle choice made you even more vulnerable...”
“Which is when Winnie picked me up,” interrupted Anais, eager to get to the point and get back to the house where it was warm.
“Yes. I hated to have her leave the confines of this place and I confess to missing her terribly but someone had to look after you and she was the right person for the job.”
“That was six months ago. What’s changed? Why did you bring me here now?”
“Partly because I missed Winifred, the house felt empty without her. We were planning to let you in on our secret soon enough anyway, but it was this letter that prompted our actions. It arrived a few weeks ago, postmarked from Rio de Janeiro.”
He held a letter in his hand that he now passed to Anais. She took the letter and unfolded it. It was typed on A4 paper and looked like the kind of letter a bank might send you.
Aldric,
I see that my threats are of no consequence to you. I have politely asked you on a number of occasions to brew me some more of the elixir to no avail. I thought the little ‘accident’ of your friend might have persuaded you to reconsider but it seems I was wrong. I am in
no doubt that you have made me entering your manor, if not impossible, then extremely difficult so I have decided that another plan is in order, a little nudge if you will to put you on the right path. If you remember I was a capable alchemist myself, after all I learnt from the best. Unfortunately because you added some ingredients whilst I wasn’t looking I have not been able to replicate the elixir. Many fruitless years I have tried, alas to no avail. So I wondered what I could do to make you give me more of the elixir. I have created my own potion now, Aldric. One to rival yours, this one, however is not a traditional potion. It is not really a potion at all. It is a virus. A highly contagious virus which will kill a person a few days after contracting it. I predict that it will wipe out most of the world within a few months. I know your elixir, no sorry, OUR, elixir takes a long time to brew so I’m giving you a full year to get the elixir to me. On Christmas Day next year I will unleash the Jagovirus (catchy name don’t you think?) onto the world unless you give me what I want.
Jago
“Why does he want the elixir so badly? He has already had some. The fact that he’s still alive proves that.”
“I suspect he’s lonely. Funnily enough if he’d just asked to join us rather than threaten us, that would have solved his problem in a second, however he obviously didn’t consider that an option. Pity.”
“So he’s going to kill everyone just because he’s lonely? Surely that’s only going to make him lonelier.”
“I believe the phrase is cutting ones nose off to spite the face.”
“So are you going to make the elixir for him?”
“It was an extremely complicated solution to make. Each of its many ingredients was picked at a specific time or place. I confess it was more luck than judgement that we managed it at all. Six centuries have passed since then. I cannot remember the exact ingredients. I would be lucky in the extreme to chance upon the right formula a second time. Besides, Jago is obviously unhinged, it would be extremely unwise to give him more eternal life potion, goodness only knows what he would do with it. An eternal army springs to mind.
No, I will not give in to his demands.”
“So what will you do?”
“That, my dear, is where you come in.”
“Me? What can I do? I don’t know anything about potion making.”
“Jago was nice enough to include a vial of his Jagovirus as he calls it, in with his letter. I suspect he wanted to prove his point. After examining it in great detail I concluded all he said was true. There is no cure I know of. I do however believe that there is a possibility that a cure can be made. At first I thought that by somehow using the blood or DNA of one of our own I could devise some sort of cure. As you know, The Guardians are immune to all disease. I tried to make a cure containing my own blood but my research found that The Light was too much for a normal human body and instead of repairing the cells and fighting the virus; it instead attacked the body and killed the person. Well mouse in this case but you get the drift.
“I believe the only way for me to develop a cure for this virus is to use your blood.”
“How will my blood help you?”
“I’m not sure it will to be honest but I do not see any other way forward. You have half your DNA from a Light Guardian, Your father, and half from a normal human being, your mother, Sarah. I do not know how this will affect your blood type. There are four different blood types: A, B, O and AB. Your blood type is determined by your parents. Of course when we drank The Light Elixir, our very DNA was changed and a new blood group was formed. I did not know this at the time as blood groups were only discovered in 1901 but I have tested us all extensively since then and all of the Custor Lux now have the same blood group. Let’s call it ‘L positive’ for the sake of giving it a name.
“You are the product of a Guardian and a normal human being and in that respect you are unique. Now it is possible that you have inherited a normal blood type of the four I mentioned earlier. It is also a possibility that The Light is much stronger than normal blood and you have inherited L positive blood from your father. If either of these scenarios is true then all hope is lost. Our only chance is that your parent’s blood type has somehow mixed forming a whole new blood type. One that is strong enough for the cure but not so strong that it will kill a normal human being. If it doesn’t work I could perhaps work with your DNA also.”
“Wow! That’s a lot to put on my shoulders.”
“I am sorry to burden you with this but your part is actually quite small. All I require is a swab from your mouth and a small amount of your blood so I can use it to do some research. If my research proves conclusive I will, at a later date need some more. I will only take a little on both of these occasions. After that I will be able to synthesize it. Do you permit me?”
“How can I say no?” Anais held out her arm whilst Aldric stuck a needle into it and extracted a small vial full of blood. He held it up to the light for her to see.
“Do not worry Anais.” He could obviously see the anxiety in her eyes “I am a proficient scientist and I believe more than a match for my old partner, besides, I think we can assume that you did indeed inherit The Light.”
She looked closely at the vial. At first it looked like normal blood but as Aldric twisted it, light bounced off it in tiny flashes.
“I have to test this immediately, but you my dear are free to go. Please remember your promise not to tell the others, with the exception of Aethelu of course.”
“I will.” She turned to leave but then remembered her own query.
“I understand why I was brought here and obviously receiving the letter meant that you wanted me here in a hurry but why did you leave me locked in a room for so long?”
Aldric had the decency to look disgraced.
“The day we received the letter I called Winifred immediately telling her to get you here. I was afraid that telling you everything outright would scare you off and it was mandatory to get you here, for both your safety and the sake of mankind. The plan was to bring you here asleep and then Winifred would wake you up in the morning and tell you everything. Winifred knows how to brew my sleeping potion. Unfortunately as soon as we had got you into the manor we received a phone call from Jago. He told me there was something I needed to see at the airport and said I should bring Winifred with me. He instructed us to go to lost luggage. We picked up a suitcase in which we found clothes, fake passports and tickets to Rio. There was a letter telling us to meet him there. I felt that perhaps he was wanting to make peace or come up with a solution. I hoped that once we met face to face we could sort something out. I called the manor and it was Aethelu who answered. She’d been up late painting and so it was her that heard the phone. I asked her to look after you and keep you locked in the room for a few days. I told her not to tell you anything as I thought it would be best if Winifred told you everything. I asked her to look after you alone. The less people you saw the better, plus I thought you’d feel safer with another girl. I expected to meet Jago and be back in a few days. I knew Aethelu would look after you well and I thought that just a couple of days locked up wouldn’t hurt you. I couldn’t risk asking Aethelu to let you go just in case Jago and I couldn’t come to a beneficial conclusion. As it was, when we arrived in Rio we were handed another letter. We spent a week going from one part of Brazil to another. Eventually we gave up and tried to come home but the Brazilian authorities had had a tip off that our passports were fake. Of course they were so there was nothing we could do. We were thrown in separate cells for the night. My niece Audsley flew to us and managed to convince someone to hold us at a hotel while it was sorted out. It took three weeks for us to be released and allowed to fly home. If it hadn’t been for Audsley I think we would still be in the Brazilian prison system. The children do not know where we were and why we were gone for so long. An armed guard ensured we couldn’t slip out to make a phone call and there was no phone in the hotel. Audsley was not permitted to see us after the first day so we couldn’
t ask her to call home. She didn’t know about you so didn’t know to call home to let you out.” He seemed sincere as he looked at Anais “I’m sorry to ask you to keep so many secrets but I would appreciate it if you kept it that way.
Anais didn’t know what to say. She could hardly be mad now that she knew what they had gone through. She made up her mind to seek out Winnie and give her a huge hug as soon as possible.
She left the room and headed back to the main house via the courtyard, once again begrudging her lack of suitable footwear. It was still snowing heavily but she barely noticed, her head was so full of what she had just learnt. It scared her to think that her blood was the only thing able to stop the wiping out of every human being. Aldric didn’t even sound very certain that her blood was even up to the job. She didn’t want to think of the alternative if it wasn’t. Aldric was remaining positive on the subject though, which gave her a little relief. It helped no one to be so negative so she decided that there was no point worrying until she knew for sure the outcome of Aldric’s tests.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
As Anais climbed the spiral staircase from the kitchen she could hear a lot of noise coming from the parlour. Cheesy Christmas music was blaring out from the speakers and someone was laughing loudly. She opened the parlour door to see the family enjoying themselves. August and Winnie had outdone themselves with the buffet which now filled a long table at the side of the room. August was helping himself to a family sized pork pie which was clearly meant to be sliced but he was eating it whole. The furniture had been removed apart from a few chairs which had been moved to the edge of the room and Winnie and Rafe were now doing a very silly waltz around the room to a song that was clearly not for waltzing to.
As she walked in, a rather tipsy Alex grabbed her and twirled her around the room following Winnie and Rafe's lead. With a lot more human contact than Aethelu had been used to, he was able to hold her hand without the need for gloves much more quickly. It was only August and Andrew that really needed to wear them at all anymore, but as they never really had any reason to touch her, they elected not to wear them. August, after swallowing the pie almost whole was clapping along to the music and the dancing couples. When the song finished Alex thrust a glass of champagne in her hand.