“Our business there has concluded,” said Leia, with a smirk.
“Then we should strike,” I shouted. “We should finish them off once and for all. Let my first act of loyalty be to follow you into battle against the haven that was once mine. Given my past, I know that there may still be some doubt as to my connection with the witches. This will show everyone here that I am committed to you and the world that you are trying to build for us. Let’s wipe them off the earth just like we’ve done with all the others.”
The First applauded openly now, seconding my suggestion to attack Brighton.
“Count us in,” spoke Leia.
The vampire’s excitement had reached a near frenzy. Daemon could only watch as they all shouted their approval down to him.
I put up my hand and the vampire’s hushed. “Only you are worthy to lead us in what will be the witches’ last stand. They should know that it was Daemon himself that triumphed over the witches— that it was a god that passed judgment onto them. However, it has been a very long time since you’ve been to war. I can understand it if you are fearful of your safety.”
Checkmate.
“I fear nothing!” Daemon screamed. “I am the one and only God, and if my followers wish me to personally set Brighton to ashes, then it shall be done!”
Daemon stormed off toward the exit, while the vampires of the First chanted his name.
Relief swept through me. Leia came over and tucked her arm into mine. Udric followed, a half-smile on his face. “Well done,” he said. He gestured to the others. “It appears that your time away hasn’t hurt your influence with them.” He put his arm over my shoulder and huddled up close. “Whatever it is you two are planning, I want in. Together, all this can be ours.”
Chapter Eighteen
Advice
*Ana*
In the entire safe haven of Brighton, Massachusetts, only two people believed that the vampires were coming back. Me and Darren. It was also precisely why Darren and I were sitting alone at lunch. It wasn’t like all of the kids at the “popular” table hated me; half of them were oblivious to the fact that witches and vampires were real things. But enough of those that did know, did hate me, and that was enough to convince all the others to sit elsewhere. Taylor had at least offered to sit with me, but it didn’t seem fair that she should have to suffer in exile when she had literally just become the queen of the school. Whenever our eyes met, she poked out her bottom lip in sympathy.
“Am I being paranoid?” I asked him. Being met with such across the board resistance was disheartening. I was starting to feel like maybe London meant that the vampires would attack in three months, or in three years. She hadn’t really given me a set time period like she had in the past.
“If you say that London warned you they were coming, then I believe you. Better safe than sorry, I say.” Darren took my hand shot me the “cheer up” version of his handsome smile.
I forced a smile in reply.
“You still up for the ride this afternoon?” he asked.
“I guess I’d better be,” I said.
**********
It wasn’t until I had sat down inside Darren’s car that I realized why I had been dreading this moment all afternoon. If by some chance Duncan told me to piss off, then Darren and I really would be alone in this—even my mom had asked me to reconsider. And not to be mean or anything, but Darren’s opinion didn’t count for very much in the grand scheme of things.
I stared out the window at the trees as we passed the bright green sign that read “Old Brighton.” If Darren continued without turning, the highway would eventually lead him past my house. Once we did turn, a sudden case of nerves wished that we were headed home.
The woods were thick back here, ending abruptly at the lake. We crossed a rusty metal bridge and the lake glistened in the sunlight to our right.
“Have you ever been to his house?” I asked out of the blue. I was ready to be out of my own head so I attempted to start a conversation.
“Once, never actually been inside though. He lives on the lake too, but outside city limits.”
I felt my eyes widen in surprise. “Duncan doesn’t live in the haven?”
Darren shook his head. “Not anymore. He moved out the day of your coronation.”
Great. That was just what I needed to hear.
Darren realized this a second after I did. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I sighed.
Duncan’s “house” was actually a single wide trailer. It sat right in the middle of a large green field, and there was a wide wooden dock where a small boat was parked in the water. As there was no driveway, Darren pulled the car right up onto the grass beside a black SUV.
I saw Nathan’s head peeking out of the screen door once we’d come to a stop and then quickly disappear. Darren and I looked at one another and then we stepped out of the car. For some reason I imagined that Nathan had gone to get a shotgun and that he was coming back to chase us off their land.
Or, perhaps it was vision of some kind because when Nathan returned seconds later, he did have a shotgun. And it was aimed directly at me.
Darren quickly stepped between us. “Hey! Put that thing away before you hurt someone.”
“What do you want?” Nathan asked. The gun was still aimed in our direction.
Probably against my best interests, I stepped out from behind Darren. “We need to talk with Duncan,” I said. “Can you tell him we’re here?”
He shook his head. “My grandpa doesn’t need any visitors right now. He hasn’t been feeling well since he came back from fighting those vampires. All he does is sit in his room now. What happened to him? What did you do?”
Darren answered for me. “We didn’t do anything. The vampires attacked us... It was bad. Sometimes I have nightmares about it.”
He glanced over at me. This was the first I’d heard of that.
Nathan lowered the gun. “Do you think you could talk him into coming out? He won’t listen to me.”
I suddenly felt very guilty for coming here today. Duncan had gone through a traumatic experience that night in that field. Not only had he met his daughter for the first time since she’d become a vampire, but she had tried to kill him. He clearly hadn’t gotten over his last encounter with vampires and here I was hoping he’d lead us into another one.
Darren took a hold of my hand. “It might be better if I have a talk with him by myself.”
I nodded.
Nathan laid the gun down in the grass beside the door and led Darren inside. Moments later he came back for me and we sat down in their living room. It was sparse, just as the cabin back in South Carolina had been, with only two plain brown sofas, a floor model television and a long wooden sofa inhabiting the space.
We sat in silence for a long time, listening to the muffled sounds of Darren and Duncan conversing in the next room. From the corner of my eye, I would catch Nathan looking up at me from time to time. But whenever I turned to face him, he’d drop his head and pretend to be playing with his fingers. Finally, I decided to address the elephant in the room.
“I don’t hate you for what happened to London,” I said.
He looked up at me suddenly, his face tomato red. “I didn’t know… honest. I didn’t know that conjurers are really just angels sent here to help us. My grandpa always said that they were evil. Everyone did. You… really don’t hate me?”
I shook my head. “I’ve made mistakes much worse than yours, believe me. I think that all we can do is to try our best to make it right in the future. You can’t change the past.”
Nathan jumped out of his chair and wrapped his arms around me. I too felt an enormous weight lift from my conscience. It’s funny how wise you can be when consoling someone else—how words meant for their benefit can so often be to yours as well.
I repeated the words in my head. “I can only do my best to make things right in the future.” No more feeling guilty. The past is in the past and from now on, I wo
uld only look to the future.
Darren stepped out of the room, followed by Duncan. Nathan turned around and ran to his grandfather, putting his arms around him now.
“You’ll come?” I asked tentatively. If I was looking to the future, then Duncan’s leadership would play a big part in that.
“I’m afraid the last battle has taken all the fight I had in me,” he said.
My heart sank.
“But you don’t need me,” he followed. “Seems like you’re doing just fine. Darren updated me on the situation.”
“They won’t follow me,” I said. “They hate me for forcing them to prepare for a war—
Duncan’s laughter interrupted my words. “That’s because you’re making them deal with the reality of the situation. You think they want to deal with the fact that what happened to those other havens could just as easily happen here? They’d much rather live in a fantasy world where a piece paper guarantees their safety.”
I sighed. “They would believe me if they’d been there. If I had some kind of proof…”
Duncan sat down beside me on the sofa. “I want you to listen to me. When I thought that running away was the wrong idea, did I ask what you thought? Did I run around looking for “proof” that I was right? No. I acted. I told you and everyone else how things were going to go, and I made damn sure that was how they went. You’re their leader, Ana. You don’t need their approval, only their respect. And you only have to be right once to gain that. Understand?”
“I think so.”
**********
On the ride back home, the irony of having Duncan— of all the people in the world— give me a pep talk wasn’t lost on me. You just never know what curveballs life will throw at you.
I stared at Darren as he drove, he was too far into his thoughts to notice me. With all of my drama, I hadn’t bothered to think of what he might going through. He’d been through a lot too.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were having a hard time with what happened?”
I saw the “macho man” vibe come over Darren and he attempted to shake it off. “It’s nothing, really. I mostly just said it to get in there with Duncan. Nothing to worry about.”
“But it is. You can talk to me about things that bother you, Darren. I mean, I was there, I was in your mind. I know the kind of fear you were dealing with— the thoughts that were going through your mind.”
Sadness crept into his face. “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been through. And part of me is with everybody else, I’d much rather pretend that we’re all safe than admit to myself that something like that could happen to me again. I still have that feeling, Ana, like death is looking for me. Like it’s only a matter of time.”
“Darren I can give you an assignment that will keep you out of harm’s way. You don’t have to fight if you’re not ready—“
“Yes I do!” he nearly shouted. “No matter how scared I am, I’ll die before I let anything happen this haven. I’ll die before I let something happen to you.”
There was a hardness to face as he continued to drive. I wasn’t sure what to say to him because I fully believed that the vampires were coming. I wanted so badly to tell him that he would never have to face down death again, but with him intent on fighting, there was no way I could.
I put my hand on his, and he pulled it in close to his body. “I meant what I said, Ana.”
“I know,” I replied. “I know.”
Chapter Nineteen
United
*Ana*
Over the next seven days, more than one thousand witches and warlocks descended upon Brighton. Many were vampire hunters, but many more were just ordinary witchfolk that had lived around or near the recently destroyed havens. In both cases, they showed up much more eager to fight than the residents of Brighton currently were. They felt it their duty to exact some measure of revenge on the monsters responsible for such an evil act.
But this also meant a great deal of headaches for me. At every Council Meeting, I was bombarded with the complaints about the outsiders in Brighton. Either they were too rowdy or too secretive, too friendly with the girls or too rowdy around the house. So many times I had considered giving in, or at least a concession, but Darren’s words stuck with me. I had to stay strong. I had made that promise to myself.
On the eighth day, I got the call that ended their complaints. It would also break my spirits in half.
It was Helena that woke me, her voice piercing the night like a sharpened blade. “Ana! Wake up! Wake up!”
I sat up straight in the bed, my mind spinning and my heart racing.
Helena clapped her hands around my shoulders and said the words that sent shockwaves through my entire body. “We’ve been attacked!”
“Wha— But how?”
“I don’t know. I just know that two houses were hit. Ana, one of them was the Johnson estate.”
For a few seconds my heart stopped beating. That was Darren’s house.
My mother and I were catching a ride with one of the maids. Her sister worked at Darren’s house and neither of us could get there fast enough. My grandmother chose to wait for Guardian Dent to arrive with the other Elder Witches, but she had come by the car to express her sincere hope that nothing had happened to Darren. I just said thank you and then we pulled off.
It was a silent ride save for the loud, shaky breaths that seemed to echo inside the tiny sedan. It wasn’t until we were well into the trip that I realized that they were coming from me.
The car slowed as we passed the first estate that was attacked. A crowd of people stood around outside and for a moment I allowed myself to believe that no one had gotten hurt. Not seriously anyway.
And then I saw it.
A part in trees showed the open field. Bodies were laid out side by side and a group of women were going down the line, covering them all with sheets.
I felt nauseous. I wanted to vomit.
My mother pulled me into her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.”
Before I could get any comfort from those words, the car had pulled to a stop. The realization of what I might find here paralyzed me. I was frozen in my seat. Our driver had no such affliction. She was out of the car the instant we’d parked.
“Come on,” my said, rubbing my back. “Let’s see what’s happened.”
“He might be dead,” I said quietly.
“And he might not,” she replied. “Either way, the people need to see you.”
My mother’s mention of the people reminded me of the promise I made to myself. I would be strong. I took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
Different house, same scene. People were scattered around the lawns, eyes wide with shock. Some held others in their arms, others chose to stand off by themselves. Children cried loudly, and adults cried while consoling them. Constantly, I searched their faces for Darren.
I didn’t see him anywhere.
In one burst of courage I ran toward the spot where the row of bodies lay covered and still. There were so many of them. So many chances to be Darren.
I started down the row, gently pulling back the sheets from their faces. My mother had joined me, but stayed silent, following me along as I moved from person to person. I had made it about half-way when the loud whine of revving engines rang out in the distance. Two dozen sets of small headlights emerged from the trees on the opposite side of the house and quickly approached.
Somehow, I knew that he would be one of the riders. The thought that they might be vampires hadn’t even crossed my mind. It had probably crossed my mother’s as she called for me to come back, but I couldn’t. I knew that one them was Darren. One of them had to be.
He was alive.
In the center of the group, toward the back, I saw him. My heart threatened to beat right through the front of my chest.
I waited until the riders pulled their four wheelers to a stop and then I ran to him, closed my arms around his shoulders, and buried my head into chest.
I released him and then pulled my head back to look at him. His face was shivering, his blue eyes wet with tears.
“What is it?” I asked. “Did your grandmother…?”
“No,” he said. “Taylor.”
I ran back to the row. My mother stood there, dumbstruck. She pointed to the body on the very end. I approached slowly, leaning down to slip the sheet from her face. Taylor’s eyes were closed, as if she were only sleeping, as if this were all some kind misunderstanding. I shook her, fully expecting her eyes to open, for her to smile up at me.
When that didn’t happen, I laid my head onto her stomach and wept. I couldn’t do this anymore. It hurt too much to lose the people I cared about. How could I ever endure an entire war?
I was giving up.
**********
My giving up lasted exactly one night. That was how it took for me to decide that Taylor’s death not be in vain.
Again I called a Council Meeting, only this time I didn’t wait to be summoned. I sat quietly in the front while the room filled in. Once everyone was seated, I stood up to address them.
“Two attacks occurred last night because five guardians didn’t bother to show up to their surveillance posts. They had assumed, like most of you, that I was wrong about the vampires coming to attack. They didn’t think that there would be any consequence in skipping one shift of duty. Because of this assumption, seventy five people lost their lives, including my best friend in the whole world. She… she was best person I’ve ever known, and I’ll miss her forever.”
“I’m sure that you all came here today thinking that I would shout and scream at you for being skeptical. But that’s not why I’m here. I want to apologize for all of this. Many of know that I am angel, and that once upon a time that I was Merline. But I don’t think many of you really stopped to think about what that really means. The girl that is sitting in front of you is the reason that vampires exist. I’ve been on here long before any of you were born, and I knew what was happening to you all but I did absolutely nothing to stop it. Taylor McCoy is dead because I couldn’t be bothered to end this.”
Forever Trilogy 3: Angel Eyes Page 10