Sisters In Blood (Blood Series Book 6)
Page 6
“No. I would be able to see a cloak. It distorts the area around a person. She’s standing there staring at me. It’s unnerving,” Sally said.
“What if the three of us confront her—try to talk to her,” Darby suggested.
“Are you crazy? You’ll give her a clear shot at killing us,” Sally said.
“Look, she’s not going to take on two witches in a crowd like this, let’s go over and speak with her,” Darby proposed.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Sally admitted.
“Maybe she just wants to talk to you,” Melanie said.
“Fine if both of you are so hell-bent on having a little chat, by all means let’s do it, but if you get killed or hurt don’t come whining or haunting me because I warned you,” Sally said.
“Good then let’s see what she has to say,” Melanie said glancing at Darby for support since this ‘somebody’ they were heading towards she couldn’t see.
Sally took a deep breath and let it out as if it gave her added courage in doing so. “Okay. Let’s do this,” she said grabbing Melanie and Darby’s hands, she moved in the direction of the man in the green shirt.
Three steps into the crowd, she stopped. “Where did she go?” Sally said, looking around confused.
“Maybe we scared her with our united front,” Melanie said.
“No. She was just there and then she disappeared. I don’t understand,” Sally said.
“The point is she’s gone. If she comes back we’ll be close at hand. Everything will be okay, Sally. I promise,” Darby tried convincing her.
“In the meantime the theatre doors are opening. Let’s see Alyssa do her stuff,” Melanie said.
“I guess, but don’t you find it weird she just vanished like that?”
“I do, but let’s not let Rachel ruin our last evening here, okay?” Darby suggested.
“Right,” Sally conceded. “Let’s have some fun.”
* * *
When all were seated the lights dimmed the theater to near darkness and a beam of light shown on a woman on the catwalk near the ceiling high above the orchestra and patrons. A long white scarf-like fabric attached to the ceiling flowed down and skimmed the floor below where acrobats tumbled as the music grew louder.
All were adorned in body suits that covered their hair making them completely devoid of any individualization. Their face paint matched their body suits and the only distinguishing characteristics that could be noted was whether the performer was male or female.
Katarina knew there would be no determining what performer might be Alyssa unless she waved and shouted to them; this seemed highly unlikely in a performance of this magnitude.
The woman on the ceiling dove for the cloth from her perch and slid down it with the ease and grace of a drop of dew dancing down the stem of a flower. The music swelled and the audience was entranced by the acts of unparalleled abilities each of the performers partook.
From the death defying leap of the woman and her lifeline of fabric to the back flip off a pyramid of humans ending with a clash of cymbals and darkness, it had been an evening of excitement and exhilaration.
* * *
After the performance the girls made plans to meet Alyssa at the hotel room. When they got there and the chatter of the performance started to die down, Katarina noted the light blinking on the telephone. She checked the front desk for message.
“Sally, Dean called. He needs you to call him right away. He’s been trying to get ahold of you all day—sounds important,” Katarina relayed.
“Oh. Okay.” She went into her bedroom and dialed the number home.
“Dean? It’s me,” Sally said.
“Hi, Pookie. Sorry to call you while you’re out having fun,” Dean said.
“That’s okay. It’s not all been fun.”
“I’m sorry. You’ll have to tell me all about it, but right now I need you to sit down,” Dean said.
“Okay. Why?” she said, though she was already sitting.
“I got a phone call from the prison…” he started.
“Oh my God, she escaped. I knew I saw her. I knew it was her. She’s here to kill us all isn’t she,” Sally said with panic rising within her.
“NO. No, nothing like that. It’s okay, Pookie. Sssshhhh. It’s okay. Why would you think Rachel escaped? You saw her?” Dean asked.
“I did. I’ve seen her a couple of times and I’ve been scared out of my mind.”
“Why didn’t you call me if you were so scared?” Dean asked.
“I broke my cell phone at the airport,” Sally cried.
“You could have called me on the land line. Don’t cry. You know I hate when you cry, especially when I can’t be there to hold you,” Dean tried to reassure her.
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to do. I was too scared to think, I guess,” Sally said, wiping her tears away.
“I wish I was there to make you feel better, but since you said you saw Rachel, maybe I should explain,” Dean added.
“Explain what?” Sally said.
“I think what you’ve been seeing is your sister’s ghost, Sal. That’s what I was trying to tell you. There was an accident at the prison. Some girls got into a fight. According to the guards, Rachel tried to break it up and got stabbed with some makeshift weapon. She’s dead, Sally. I think maybe she’s been trying to say goodbye to you.”
“What? She’s dead? Rachel’s…dead?” Sally sobbed. Melanie heard her crying from the other room and popped her head into the room to find her rocking herself on the bed with the telephone to her ear.
“Sally… What’s happened? Are you okay?” Melanie asked. Sally dropped the phone and grabbed onto Melanie and held her tightly as she wept. She held the phone to her ear as she held Sally and said, “Dean?”
“Lanie? Is that you? Thank God. Is she all right?”
“Well. No she isn’t. What happened?”
In just a few words Dean explained everything to Melanie. She told Dean she’d do her best to comfort Sally and if need be she’d fly home with her.
Sally cried for a long time. Katarina stuck her head into the room when Alyssa arrived to see if they would be going out with them for drinks.
Melanie explained the circumstances and Katarina relayed her sympathies to Sally, who was appreciative but unable to verbalize her sentiment.
Once alone Melanie laid Sally’s head on her chest and pulled covers over her. In between crying periods she would sleep a bit, all the while Melanie comforting her, though few words were exchanged.
Sometime in the middle of the night Melanie woke to Sally’s voice. Sal sat at the end of the bed having what sounded like the end of a conversation.
When the word, “Goodbye,” was spoken, Sally crawled back into bed and Melanie again offered her shoulder to cry on and arms to hold her. Sally spoke of the conversation she just had with Rachel and how all this time she had been afraid Rachel had come to kill them, but she had really come to make peace with Sally. She asked Sally’s forgiveness in forcing her to be a part of the Blood Moon incident and how sorry she was that she had attempted to hurt so many.
It was a closure not a lot of people get and Melanie told Sally how lucky she was to have these words with her sister. Melanie remembered when Sally first started seeing the dead and how she felt she had been cursed with the ability for her involvement with Rachel’s power obsession. Melanie took this opportunity to point out that her ability was not a curse but a blessing allowing her to say goodbye and clear the air between the sisters.
Sally agreed. It was something to be cherished.
* * *
Alyssa assembled her family members from the cast and they met up with the girls at Señor Frog for margaritas. Katarina and the rest had a blast with the Sarducci clan, learning about circus life and some of the fun jargon used among them.
There was a long discussion about all the wild superstitions circus performers have, like not whistling before a performance or entering the
big top on your right foot. The list went on and on, making for a very entertaining and humorous conversation.
Before the evening was done, even Melanie and Sally joined in for a few drinks and a farewell salute to Rachel Keaton.
Katarina noted all the girls seemed to have a good time. Julianna had a long phone conversation with Anton and she was quite pleased with the end results. She finally understood what it was that Anton wanted and with a little soul searching and another conversation with Katarina, she found she wanted the same thing Anton wanted.
Rowan got over her sniffles about the time they sat on the plane, and Melanie and Josh seemed closer than ever after their talk.
All was good with the girls. They had become sisters with all their adventures together—Sisters in Blood.
The End.
Author Note
This novella takes place at the end of the Blood Series and should be considered book 6. Below is a list of the Blood Series in its proper order.
Blood Series
The Hunted: Prequel Novella – Book 0
Blood of a Werewolf – Book 1
Blood Moon – Book 2
Blood Lust – Book 3
Bloodstone Heart – Book 4
Deadman’s Blood – Book 5
Sisters In Blood (Novella) – Book 6
Other books by T. Lynne Tolles
Somber Island
Mirror of Shadows
Finding Midnight: A Hellhound Tail