Endless Winter (Guardians of The Light)

by J Armitage

  “Why is everyone in such a hurry?” Anais speared a piece of bacon with her fork and placed it into her mouth.

  “Eat your breakfast first. It’s good to see you eating. I thought you would refuse to eat.”

  “It’s Winnie’s Sunday Breakfast!” She replied.

  “I know. You were the only one who got that. The rest of us had to fend for ourselves. I’ve only had porridge.” She stole a sausage and bit into it before Anais could stop her.

  Anais was so relieved that they could both be so light-hearted in the circumstances. She knew that she had a lot of sadness and grief ahead of her but this morning she just wanted to feel normal. Having Aethelu by her side helped.

  “Cheeky! And you still haven’t answered my question. Look I am eating.” She popped some beans into her mouth as if to prove her point.

  Aethelu looked as if she didn’t want to answer but she began to speak.

  “Father has called a family meeting.”

  “What about?”

  “Well, obviously now that making the antidote has now become a lot harder, impossible maybe, we need to come up with another solution.”

  Anais noticed that Aethelu had purposely worded it to avoid mentioning babies.

  She had been so caught up with the loss of her children that she’d failed to look closely at the bigger picture last night.

  The massive, if not complete loss of life to everyone on the planet.

  Suddenly breakfast had become a lot less appealing. She pushed it to one side and made to get out of bed.

  Aethelu stopped her.

  “Where do you think you are going?”

  “The meeting, I can’t miss it.”

  “Get back into bed right now. Do you think they would hold a meeting this important without us there? They are just setting up the library with enough chairs for us all and making sure everybody is up and knows what’s going on.”

  “Why the library?” It was a stupid point to focus on but it all Anais could think to say.

  “It’s the biggest room apart from the dining room and Winnie thought it would be a bit more informal without us all sitting around a huge table. Now get back into bed. I told Winnie that I wouldn’t let you up until you’ve finished your breakfast.”

  Anais got back into bed and drank her juice quickly. Aethelu helped her with the breakfast which Anais was grateful for. She didn’t think she’d be able to manage the mountain of food by herself.

  As soon as breakfast was over, Aethelu helped Anais out of bed and get dressed. She felt fine and was quite capable of dressing herself but it was comforting to have Aethelu so close to her and helping her with the mundane task. She also suspected it made Aethelu feel better just doing something to help.

  They made their way slowly across the courtyard, Baker yapping and running around their heels as they walked. Aethelu had a tight hold on Anais arm in case she fainted again. They left Baker in the kitchen and made their way to the library.

  In the library, the four big leather chairs had been pulled back and were now occupied by Rafe, Ava, Arcadia and Winnie. The rest of the family were sat on a mix of chairs taken from the parlour and dining room, which were set out in a messy circle. The only noticeable absences were Audsley and Judith.

  “Right, now we are all here, we should begin.” Although there was no table between them, Aldric was sat in a dining chair at what would be the head of the table if there was one.

  Anais and Aethelu sat in the two empty chairs. To Anais right was Andrew. He whispered to across to her.

  “Aldric has demanded that I not tell Judith about our little problem. Audsley volunteered to take her out shopping.” He didn’t seem very happy about it.

  Aldric gave Andrew a look to quiet him and then he began to speak.

  “As you all know, our experiment has come to a premature end.”

  Eyes flicked towards Anais. She was not to blame but it was undeniable that she had failed them all. Aethelu grabbed her hand and held it tight. Not even a hint of a buzz was felt through her hand, a telling tale of how miserable Aethelu was feeling.

  Aldric continued “I, of course, will carry on with trying to find an antidote. I’m not very hopeful due to the complexity of the virus but I refuse to give up. I have gathered you all here in the hope that we can come up with some more ideas. We have already lost two months of our twelve month time limit.”

  “You still have an embryo left,” said Rafe “There is still time to repeat the experiment”

  Anais held her breath with shock.

  “No!” shouted Aethelu next to her “I will not allow Anais to be put through that again.”

  “I agree,” said Aldric

  Anais breathed out with relief.

  “It would not be wise to subject Anais to such an ordeal. She needs time to heal both emotionally and physically and unfortunately it is time we do not have. We need to explore different avenues of action.”

  “You could just give him what he wants” Andrew spoke so quietly that Anais was surprised that Aldric had heard him at all.

  “That is not an option. The elixir was complicated to the extreme and I do not remember the recipe.”

  “But you must remember some of it. Surely it would be easier to brew an elixir you remember some of rather than an antidote you know nothing of.”

  “Possibly, you are correct, both potions would take me all of my time and effort and neither is guaranteed to be a success, however I have made my decision. I refuse to put the elixir in the dangerous hands of Jago. I will work on the antidote as much as I can and hope I can find a way to crack it without Anais help.”

  “We could go looking for him. If he found us, then there is a possibility we could find him” Arcadia spoke up.

  “I want you all here, safe.”

  “Daddy. We are all adults. We can take care of ourselves.”

  “Alistair was an adult, Jago still managed to track him down and kill him.”

  “But Alistair didn’t know he was in danger. He wasn’t looking out for Jago. We all now know to be careful. I say we go out into the world and find him.”

  “And then what will you do Arcadia, once you’ve found him?” Winnie asked her daughter.

  “I’ll kill him. For what he did to Alistair, to Anais, to all of us. It’s the only option.”

  “I agree.” Alex stood up and walked over to his eldest sister “I’ll go with you Arcadia.”

  “Me too.” Anais desperately wanted to find the man who had killed her parents. It felt like something she had to do.

  “I’m in!” Aethelu smiled. Anais wouldn’t have asked her but she was glad that she had jumped in. It would have been hard to leave Aethelu.

  Aldric looked defeated.

  “I do not like it but it seems that I have few options left to me. Arcadia, Alex. You can go. Anais, I’m afraid I cannot let you go yet.”

  Anais made to shout but Aldric cut her off.

  “Your body needs time to recuperate. I must insist you stay with us and rest for just two weeks. After that I will not stop you. You can join Arcadia and Alex then. Aethelu, You, of course have no such restrictions but I assume you will want to stay with Anais?”

  “Yes father. We will wait the two weeks. I can try and find Jago through the internet and help Cadie and Alex that way. Andrew can help me.”

  “Do you wish to go with your brother and sister?” Aldric looked over at Rafe.

  He looked as though he’d rather do anything rather than travel the world looking for an evil mad man but with everyone looking at him he reluctantly agreed to go.

  “Ok” said Aldric “It looks as though that is settled. August I would appreciate if you would stay behind and assist me, Ava, Alfred, What are your wishes?”

  Ava replied in her high pitched sing song voice.

  “Well. Freddy and I have been discussing it and, if you don’t mind, we would like to stay for a while. It’s been a long time since we have seen everybody and we have no desire
to leave so quickly. Right Freddie love?”

  “Yes Dear.”

  “Audsley said she will stay for a while too. We can help around the house. I’m sure we will find something useful to do.”

  Aldric continued “That is fine. We would be delighted to have you stay as long as you like. Andrew, you can help Aethelu and Anais with an internet search. It might be wise to send Judith home soon. She is not safe here and I do not wish her to know our secret. The less people that know the better.”

  “Yes Aldric.” Andrew looked downcast as he got up to leave the room.

  One by one they followed him out leaving August to clear the chairs away.

  Anais was forbidden to do anything but rest on both Aethelu and Winnie’s orders but after a couple of hours reading in the now empty library she began to get restless. Aethelu had gone straight to the basement room with Andrew after the meeting. There was internet access down there and the small kitchen was handy for making cups of coffee without them having to come up to the main house. Winnie was probably in the kitchen so Anais decided to break her promise and go and help Arcadia pack.

  In the hall she bumped into Judith and Audsley who had obviously just returned from their shopping expedition. They were laden down with shopping bags, dripping wet from the rain and laughing like old friends.

  Audsley dropped her bags and ran up the stairs calling “Wait there, I’ll get you a towel to dry your hair.”

  Judith removed her coat and smiled at Anais.

  “How are you feeling? I heard you were unwell.”

  She had a beautiful rich voice and a lilting African accent. Anais had seen her around the house a lot but she realised this was the first time she’d heard her speak. She felt bad that she’d not spent the time to get to know this young woman who was just as new to the house as she was. She realised she had missed an opportunity to befriend Judith who must have felt as much as an outsider as she did to begin with. Mind you she’d had a lot to occupy her in the past couple of months.

  “I’m fine thank you. Feeling much better.” She didn’t know how much Judith knew about the situation so she was careful not to let slip too much

  “Did you have fun shopping?”

  “Oh yes. Audsley is very fun. We had a good time.”

  Audsley appeared at the top of the stairs with a towel wrapped around her head and another one which she passed to Judith.

  Anais asked them both if they’d like a coffee and when they both replied yes, the three of them headed down to the kitchen. It was surprisingly devoid of Winnie but the clue that she had recently been there was sitting cooling on the table. A huge coffee and walnut cake which would almost certainly be served after dinner. Anais wondered how the entire family stayed so slim with the amount they all ate. Probably something to do with The Light affecting their metabolism. The cake smelled delicious and it took all Anais willpower not to cut a slice right there and then.

  She made three cups of coffee and joined the others at the table.

  “So how did the meetin’ go?” Audsley asked in her curious American/Yorkshire accent.

  “Meeting?” Judith looked curious

  “I had a meeting with my erm... financial advisor” Anais improvised wildly, shooting Audsley a look that wasn’t missed by Judith.

  Audsley pulled a face which could have meant I’m sorry.

  “Oh” said Judith “And are your finances in order?”

  “Yeah” said Anais awkwardly.

  “Are all English families like this?”

  “In what way?”

  “Secrets. There are many secrets here. Andrew is a wonderful man but I feel like he will not open up to me. I feel that there are many things that are happening in this house that I do not know.”

  “I’m sorry Judith. I arrived not long before you did. I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Hell yeah. You are surrounded by the Americans here remember,” Audsley piped up.

  “But you are part of the family yes? You are British by birth?”

  “Yeah, but it’s been so long since I came home. I think all families are kooky, we are just weirder than most. So what’s the dealio with you and Handy Andy?”

  “I think he is in love with me.”

  “And are you in love with him?” Anais asked

  “I admire him a great deal. He is intelligent and compassionate but he too holds lots of secrets. I think he wants to marry me.”

  Anais noticed that Judith did not answer the question but as Judith was a relative stranger, she did not want to push it. They were a strange couple, beautiful stately Judith and Andrew the pale computer nerd but they somehow worked together. Anais wondered if she still saw Rafe at all or if the little talk he’d had with Alex had put a stop to it. Judith hadn’t mentioned Rafe at all so she supposed whatever had been going on was now over.

  “Wowee! I’d never of thought of Andy getting hitched!” Audsley was obviously not the tactful type.

  “Why ever not?”

  Anais responded before Audsley could put her foot in it. “Because he’s never met the right woman before you came along.”

  “I think Audsley meant because he’s a geek” She broke out laughing followed by Audsley and then Anais.

  “He’s my geek though,” she said between giggles.

  Anais remembered that she was going to help Arcadia pack and she bade farewell to the two women.

  She found Arcadia in her room folding her clothes perfectly before putting each item into a suitcase.

  “Hey,” she said when Anais poked her head around the door. “Come in, take a seat.”

  She pointed to the bed.

  Anais sat down. It looked like Arcadia had everything under control so instead of offering to help she asked about her plans.

  “Rafe thinks Rio is a good place to start. One of the last letters we got was postmarked from there and it’s as good a place as any.”

  “Do you think you’ll find him?”

  “Honestly? No. We don’t know what name he goes by. We don’t know if he spent a lot of time in Rio or if he was just passing through. We have no idea what he looks like beyond white hair and black eyes, both of which can be disguised” She gestured towards her own hair which was now a flaming red colour as if that proved her point.”

  “Did Alex tell you our suspicions?”

  “That Jago had a partner? Yes. I’m not sure if it will make it harder or easier. It’s just another person to find. The last place we know for sure where Jago was, was this house on Boxing Day. Even then, with the multitude of security cameras we still managed to miss him. No, I think the chances of us catching him are pretty slim.”

  “So why are you going then?”

  “What other options do we have? You heard Daddy. It will take a miracle to stumble on the correct antidote and Daddy is a scientific genius. If he can’t do it then it can’t be done. Either Daddy finds a cure in time and we are all safe or he doesn’t and the world ends. Either way I don’t want to spend the last year of the world cooped up in this house.”

  “You sound very defeatist.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I really hope we do find him. I am going to do everything in my power to nail the bastard. I just know this is a slim chance. Still if anyone can find him, Andrew can. He will tell us where to look.

  “I believe we will get him. I really do,” Anais answered.

  “I hope you are right.” Arcadia smiled. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”

  “I’m hardly working hard. I’m just sitting on your bed.”

  “Mama will have my guts for garters, letting you up out of bed.”

  “I wasn’t in bed, I was laid on the sofa in the library and anyway I’m an adult, I can do what I want. Plus I feel fine.”

  Arcadia eyed her sceptically but she let her stay anyway.

  “I’m sorry about the babies. I was looking forward to being an auntie.”

  “Thanks, I knew the odds were against them surviving, I just hope
d...” She trailed off, tears threatening to come to her eyes.

  “We all did honey.” Arcadia gave her a quick hug.

  “Have you spoken to Alex since...you know?”

  “No. I haven’t had the courage. Is he ok?”

  “I think this has been a huge blow to him. He’s madly in love with you, you know.”

  “I know,” said Anais sadly.

  “I think that’s why he agreed to come to Rio, to get away from the situation. To get away from you.”

  “Poor Alex. I never thought. He must have been horrified when me and Aethelu said we were coming too.”

  “Yeah. I don’t think he was expecting you both to come along with us.”

  “Then we should stay behind.” It was the last thing Anais wanted to do. She felt helpless enough as it was but she knew she couldn’t hurt Alex any more than she had already done.

  “I think it might be for the best sweetie. At least for a little while. Just until he’s had a bit of time and distance to get over you.”

  “Living for such a long time must leave you with so many broken hearts,” mused Anais.

  “Not if you are the one who does the breaking. Alex has never fallen this hard before but then again neither has Aethelu. With Andrew also falling for Judith at the same time it all feels rather strange. I wonder how broken we will all feel when we are the only people left.”

  With that horrific thought in her head Anais left Arcadia and ran back down to the library.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  To her relief Aethelu was waiting for her. Ignoring Aethelu’s stern look she launched herself into Aethelu’s arms.

  “Hey lady, what’s up now?”

  “Nothing, I’m just pleased to see you.”

  “Oh, well in that case,” she finished her sentence with a kiss, “It looks to me that if I want you to rest I will have to babysit you.”

  “I can’t think of anything I’d like more, just lets go back to the studio, I want nothing more than being alone with you.”

  “Me too.” Aethelu picked up Anais hand which Anais was pleased to observe made her fingers feel the familiar tingle. They grabbed some food from the now deserted kitchen including a couple of slices of the cooled coffee cake and headed back to the studio. Anais locked the door behind her as she went in. She’d had enough of the household and didn’t want disturbing for the rest of the evening. The bed she had slept in when she had fainted was still at ground level and it was here that she sat now, laying out a picnic with the food they had taken from the kitchen.