Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles

by Audra Hart

  “From Airendell? My best friend Rinda?” she asks with a funny look on her face.

  “One and the same. She is living in East Texas, not too far from here. Last time I spoke to her she was really missing our kind. I think she would like to join us. I know she would love to see you. She is a therapist too. She would probably be willing to help you with your staffing issues at The Bridge too. What would you think about that?” he asks.

  “Sounds good. Rinda would be good for those girls.” Morna is quiet for a bit as she tries to get a handle on her memories of Rinda. Finally, she gives up, those memories are just as fuzzy and out of reach as her memories associated with the ancient oak tree. Morna sighs, feeling frustrated because she knows she just isn’t remembering something. Something important.

  Luca is looking at her with an odd look on her face and it’s making her uncomfortable. “What?” she asks feeling uncertain what that look means.

  “I’m just wondering what’s going on with your memory… how much you remember…”

  “Oh baby, I feel like there are a lot of things I don’t remember. That wood carving in the bedroom back at house, that ancient oak… I know it’s important, but not why.” She rubs her face in frustration. And when you talked about Brigid, I can see her face, I know she’s dear friend. But that’s it. And when you mentioned Rinda… I don’t know, it’s almost a blank slate.” Morna leans across the console of the Camry and puts her head on his shoulder. “Oh baby, feel adrift because I can’t remember everything.”

  Luca strokes the back of her head. “It’s okay, Morna, it will come. Just relax, sweetheart.” He kisses the top of her head and breathes deeply of her scent.

  “But I don’t always get it back…”

  Luca straightens up. He had hoped she wouldn’t worry about this yet; “Baby, during Rosa and Audrey you got it all back, and more. You seemed to be getting stronger. Just relax, sweetheart. Please just relax.”

  Morna decides to change the subject; “How many of our kind are here, in the States I mean?” she asks.

  Luca starts the car. He looks at his mate closely before he answers, and then begins to drive the short distance from Morna‘s run down little house to The Shack; “Several of your generation of the Second Order, and all of the First Orders of your generation. Most of them left Ireland after you died. They were outraged at the way the Elders treated us, especially you. So they pretty much all broke away from the Guild, and virtually severed ties with Airendell, all but the most basic obligations to the Clan and to kin. Fionn is in California, Brigid in Chicago, Callum is in Ontario…”

  “Those names really don’t mean anything to me. Well, except for Brigid. I really have so many gaps in my memory. I know what you mean when you say the Guild, my generation, Second Order, etc. but I have no real memory of these things, just knowledge of them. Does that make any sense?” asks Morna.

  “What exactly do you remember?” he asks quietly.

  “Not much. I remember finding you in the glen. You must have been in a trance, otherwise that ancient vampire couldn’t have gotten the upper hand. Even a trance doesn’t fully explain how he overpowered you. He had nearly killed you when I got there. If I had been any later, I can’t bear to think of it. I remember disposing of him. And trying to keep you alive long enough for the venom to finish the change.

  Then I remember Kyera and her curse. It seems like we were unconscious for a long time, or at least I was. Later, I remember you insisting that I hold you in a binding spell for a short time until you got your blood thirst under control. I hunted animals for you. That‘s about it… then nothing until you found me in Verona. I remember bits and pieces of eight different lives, and all of this one. A total of nine lives. Gee, I hope I am not a cat,” she smirks.

  “So you don’t remember our life before the attack in the glen, nor anything after?” he asks, his voice heavy with something Morna can’t identify.

  “No Luca, not really. Just bits and pieces, they come to me in flashbacks, like a stupid movie. I just know you are my mate, and we love each other wholeheartedly. I know you have been chasing me through time for nearly 600 years. But I am very, very light on details. Like I said, there are things that I know, but don’t recall how I know them. It is so very, very strange and disconcerting,” she admits.

  THE BROTHER

  They were in the parking lot behind The Shack by this time. Luca puts the car in park and turns off the ignition. He turns to hold her face in his hands. “I can only imagine what this is like for you sweetheart,” he whispers. “Maybe we should gather some of our old friends maybe that would help you remember? And perhaps we could get some ideas from them about how to break the curse. I don‘t know, I really can’t put my finger on it, but something is very different this time. You are very different. You are stronger, you are suddenly healing very fast and you are doing magic without remembering the spells. Baby, that has never happened before in any of your previous incarnations.” He kisses her lightly, and smiles reassuringly. “It’s something to think about anyway. Let’s go in.”

  Morna unlocks the back door to the bar and pushes it open, the scent hits her immediately and she backs up. Luca caught the scent at the same time she does and pushes her behind him. “Stay here!” he hisses, and then disappears into the bar. He’s gone about three minutes when he calls out to her, “Morna, it’s okay. Come on in.”

  Morna comes into the dark bar, as her eyes adjust she sees Luca standing there with a young man who appears to be about 18 or 19 years old. Morna knows he is a vampire. She could smell him as soon as she opened the door. She reaches for the light switch. “Sorry fellas, I know you don’t need the light to get a good look at each other, but I do.”

  Morna looks at Luca, “So who’s the teenaged vamp?”

  The boy chuckles, and steps forward, extending his hand. “Ma’am, I am Damian Summers. I am Mac’s big brother.”

  Morna shakes his hand confidently, then says, “Okay, I guess that answers one burning question that I have about Mac. So why don’t you have a seat here, Damian, and visit with me.” She motions to a chair at a small round table.

  “I guess you are not afraid of me with your friend here, huh?” He asks shyly.

  Morna laughs heartily, “Kiddo, I can see you are a ‘civilized’ vamp, but even if you weren’t I would not be afraid of you. I have destroyed plenty of your kind with my own two little hands.” She smiles at his sharp intake of breath. “And as to my friend as you called him, Lucian is my mate. You are not stupid, so you can tell he isn’t any ordinary vampire, he wields the power of Airendell. He’s a spell-weaver of the Second Order and a very dangerous warrior of the First Order of Airendell.”

  Damian is obviously stunned and more than a little alarmed. “You mean the stories I heard about Airendell are true?” he whispers.

  Morna chuckles and says, “Airendell is real. But I have no idea what stories you may have heard.”

  “Well, at least I understand why you reek of our kind, Mrs. Montfort. I could smell your mate around you, but never could locate him. Damian suddenly looks at Luca disdainfully, “Why do you say in the background and let this mortal female speak for you?”

  Luca laughs quietly, “Because boy, my mate is the most powerful being in this room, actually on the entire continent. She is Morna Glynn Michaels, Spell Weaver of the First Order of Airendell, First Warrior of Airendell and all of Ireland and Wales. You will give her the respect she is due or I will take you out before you can blink.” This last was spoken so quietly, Morna could barely hear it.

  “Easy gentlemen,” Morna soothes.

  “I am sorry, I didn’t mean any offense ma’am. I am grateful enough to you for just taking in my sister. I am in awe to discover who you actually are. Forgive me please. My manners suck,” Damian quickly apologizes. “I am a little overwhelmed to learn who and what you two are. I almost didn’t leave my sister with you because I could smell the faintest hint of my kind on you… but I really didn‘t
have a choice.”

  “No offense taken, Son,” Morna assures him. “Now tell me how Mac came to be in my care, for that matter, how she came to be in the care of a young vampire. I am guessing you are only two or three years into your new life. Where are your parents?”

  “Our parents are probably in jail or dead. I don’t really care either way.” Damian hisses. “Look, I took Mac with me to live on streets four years ago when one of our mom’s boyfriends tried to rape her. We were living in Tulsa then. I had just turned 17, and Mac was 15.”

  “We were doing okay for about a year, and then a vampire named Marshall turned me. I lost track of my sister for a long time, you know what it’s like…” He looks at Luca for understanding. Luca nods grimly and the young vamp continues; “Marshall wanted to create an army of newborns. He was planning to take over some coven in Mexico. One night this group of foreign vampires wiped out Marshall and most of his army that was probably two and half years ago. I was out hunting, I came back but overheard what was going on and ran off. So I wasn’t killed with the rest of my coven.”

  “I wandered around for a while, hunting humans, hiding during the day. I don’t know exactly how long I lived like that. It was really a miserable existence. I have always been consumed with guilt at taking human life. Then I started day dreaming about Mac and this red-haired goddess... Anyway, I finally remembered who my sister was, and who I am. Well, I started feeding off of animals then instead of humans. Worked on my self-control so that I could go find her. By the time I caught up with her, she had made her way to this little burg. She had been on her own for over a year by then, she didn’t have any idea what happened to me. I don’t know how she survived. She’s not really much of talker, you know what I mean, right?’

  “Yes,” Morna agrees. She’s wondering how Mac remained safe from her brother and the vamp who turned him. Surely she wasn’t too far away when Marshall selected Damian to turn him.

  “Anyway, we have been in this area for a while now. Living off the streets, staying out of sight of the citizens, but doing okay. Then about a month ago, a vamp that I had gotten into a beef with one time over who would drain some homeless guy, started poking around town, hanging around this bar. He didn’t see me with Mac, so I slipped away and took her to your halfway house, and dumped her there with the note. I thought it was the safest place for her. I led that vamp back to Tulsa and took him out two nights ago, so I am back to get my sister.”

  “Did you burn him? Are you sure he is dead?” Damian nods. “Okay Damian, here is a bit of free advice. Don’t ever tell anyone, ever again that you were created as part of an army in a plan to take over a rival coven. Those foreign vampires will come back for you if they learn of you. They aren’t the forgiving kind. Do you understand?” When he nods, Morna continues more gently, “Good. Now, I need some more information from you.”

  Just then they hear the delivery truck backing up to the back door. “Luca, can you handle that for me? The order is on Mike’s desk.” Luca looks at Damian and then back to Morna with a question in his eyes. She nods and smiles her reassurances. He turns and goes to the back of the bar to see to the delivery.

  Morna turns her attention back to Damian. He looks very surprised, “You really aren’t afraid of me?” he asks.

  “Damian, stand up,” Morna says quietly.

  Damian is absolutely still. After a few seconds there is a look of wild fear in his eyes. Morna speaks to him softly, “Damian, even if you wanted to hurt me, you can’t. What you are experiencing is called a binding spell. You can’t move until I release you. I am in no danger whatsoever from you or any vampire.” She waves her hand slowly from left to right, and Damian springs up so quickly he falls over onto the table. “Easy kiddo, I have released you. No one is trying to harm you. That’s just a tiny taste of my defenses, not to mention my offenses. Do you understand who you are dealing with now?”

  Damian stands up quickly, trying unsuccessfully to look nonchalant about the whole incident. “I am sorry Ma’am. This isn’t going at all how I had planned.”

  “Okay, so tell me what you had planned Damian.” Morna indicates that he should sit down again.

  “Ma’am, I was hoping to get my sister back. I could break in and steal her away, but she seems pretty happy there. She needs a good place, a real home. I was gonna ask you to help me make a home for her.”

  Morna chuckles, “So you planned to break in here and demand my help?”

  “Not exactly, I was planning on hiding in here to watch you, to make sure that you are the real thing, what you appear to be.”

  Morna nods at that answer, she would have done a little recon in his position as well. “How do you plan to take care of your sister?” Morna asks softly.

  “I can find a job, you know somewhere at night. Maybe find a house for us,” he offers meekly, sounding very uncertain.

  “Do you realize that Mac has autism?” When he nods, she says, “Her life can be much richer with the right support and education. How do you plan to provide the support she needs?”

  “Ma’am, I really don’t know. I was hoping you could help me with that. I miss my sister. I feel like I let her down, you know, by becoming what I am,” he whispers and looks away.

  “Damian, a normal human cannot stop a vampire. You know that. You said you have hunted humans, you know how defenseless a human truly is. You know you didn’t have a choice in the matter. I guess you should just be glad Marshall changed you instead of feeding on you, like you did on other helpless humans.”

  Damian looks like she punched him in gut when she says that. “Ma’am you have no idea how badly I regret what I did, I don’t know if I will ever stop hating myself for that.” Morna thinks he truly looks tortured. “All those lives I took! It’s a terrible thing to live with!”

  Morna looks at him thoughtfully, and asks; “How committed are you to never feeding on a human again?”

  “Totally Ma’am. I don’t want to be a monster. You don’t know how heavy this burden is, how much I hate being what I am.” Damian says vehemently.

  A smooth voice from behind him says, “Boy, she knows better than most humans can. She has stood by me for nearly 600 years, she is aware of my struggles.” Morna looks up from Damian’s face and meets her mate’s eyes. They come to an immediate and wordless agreement about what needs to be done.

  Morna looks back to Damian. “Okay Damian. All of this depends on what Mac wants to do, but here’s what we are thinking. We can help you get a job, we have a house nearby where you can stay, and I can help you get the support Mac needs. But, first I need your solemn oath that you will continue to feed only on animals. Can you honestly swear that? I mean really mean it and stick with it!”

  Damian gets down on his knees and takes her hand. “Yes Ma’am. I can honestly swear not to ever feed on humans again.” Morna looks up at Luca, he nods his assent.

  “We won’t hesitate to take you out if you stray from the path you are choosing right now,” Morna warns.

  “I am committed,” Damian says quietly. “I want to take care of my sister. I can’t do that and be what I was after the change.”

  Morna looks at Luca who nods his approval. She looks back to the boy kneeling before her. “Welcome to the family Damian.” He jumps up and hugs her, and then let’s go of her very quickly, and backs away looking shocked, and very, very shaken. Luca chuckles, at Morna’s confused look. “Damian, she honestly has no idea how delicious she smells. She really can‘t imagine that she can be that appealing.”

  Morna scoffs and shakes her head, looking doubtful. But Damian looks at Luca, his admiration for the older vampire apparent. “You have lived with her as your mate and never lost control? Never tried to feed on her?”

  Morna speaks up, “Damian, Luca has never feed on a human, ever, in nearly 600 years. He too, refuses to be a monster.”

  “Ma’am, no offense. I am not trying to make light of what you just said, but you have no idea how much your husband must
love you. You smell really, really mouthwatering up close.” A violent shudder racks Damian’s body and Morna is forced to realize the hell her own mate goes through being around her so intimately.

  Luca laughs at Damian’s reaction. He knows it all too well. Morna stands up and goes to her mate and he takes her into his arms and kisses her soundly. “Boy, I think she might a little bit of an idea,” he whispers sadly, thinking about how he treated her earlier today after tasting her blood. Morna guesses what he’s thinking about and smiles gently at him before kisses his lips tenderly. “He has never hurt me and will never hurt me in the future.”

  Luca looks lovingly at his mate for few more seconds, then looks back to the boy. “Meet us at the halfway house after dark. We can talk to Mac, and if she’s agreeable, we will take you to your new home. Okay?” says Luca.

  The Damian looks confused, “You aren’t wearing a hoodie or anything. How do you go around in broad daylight? I thought our kind always look freakishly pale and kind of glow in direct sunlight.”

  “Boy, did you forget what the lady told you? I am spell-weaver of the Second Order of Airendell. That’s probably why my eyes are so different too. A vampire who feeds on humans has red eyes, one who feeds on animals, like you do has yellow eyes. I feed on animals, but I also get sustenance from moonlight, and my eyes are this odd shade of blue, most likely because of the magic in my body at the time I was changed. To the best of our knowledge, I am the only spell-weaver who has ever been changed into a vampire. I guess you could say that I am a bit of a unique case.”

  “Okay, we will have time for all of this later, Damian,” says Morna. “Monica will be here soon to open up. You can wait for darkness in the shed out back. I need to take care of some stuff in the office.” She walks over to Damian and takes his face into her hands, “How long has it been since you hunted, child? Your eyes are a little dark.” He pulls away with a horrified look on his face, “Sorry,” Morna says backing up quickly. “I will try to remember to keep my distance. No sense straining your control any more than necessary.”