I’d been running to my bus stop when I noticed the bus nearing my stop. Then I saw this shadow of a man, well I thought it was a man, but as I got a better look, it appeared monstrous. I was scared out of my mind. The thing lunged at me, and that’s when the crackling lightning bolts emerged out of my eyes, ears, fingers, chest, and hair. The shadow thing disappeared as soon as it saw the light. So, you knew what happened to me all along, didn’t you?”
“I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure.” Bethany admitted, in a solemn tone.
“It would’ve been nice to have had someone to talk to about it, Bethany. I suffered for two whole weeks with that truth.”
“I’m sorry Delia, but I couldn’t tell you the truth.”
“Was it the Apolluon?”
“Yes, and somehow you sensed the danger you were in, and you reacted. I’m not surprised. I’m thankful.”
“Me too, I guess.” I sighed deeply, and so did she.
“Goodnight, Delia.”
“’Night, Beth.”
Just as Bethany smiled and left the room, Evan walked in. I was surprised by his presence, his beauty and his… everything. With his eyes never leaving mine, his hands behind his back, and his back against the doors, he shut them both. My right hand instantaneously flew up to my medallion and it seemed to calm me with its iciness. Evan smiled slightly and appeared nervous. I couldn't get past how incredibly gorgeous this boy was. He was still fully dressed in his suit. I became aware of myself right then. I quickly looked down at myself, and realized that I was only wearing my sheer petticoat.
To my chagrin, the slip was practically transparent. He was doing his best to keep his eyes on my face. All I wanted to do was disappear. Then unexpectedly, a ripple of laughter filled the room.
“Well, I see that some of your powers have returned.” Evan chuckled some more, nodding with an ear to ear smile on his face. His voice was deep, but just above a whisper. “I suppose I can speak to you without seeing you.” He continued chuckling lightly.
“What?” I asked, totally bemused.
“You've rendered yourself invisible, sweetheart.”
I looked down at hands, and they were visible, sort of see through, like a thin transparent veil. Even the necklace and medallion were as clear as a piece of crystal. This was amazing!
“Am I really invisible?” I asked, astonished. I quivered as I let out a nervous giggle. The thought of disappearing had just occurred to me in my mind, and now I was invisible. I’d been so embarrassed with the thought of Evan seeing me in this transparent slip that I willed myself invisible? But now I felt like I was being rude.
My hands were fleshed out again. Evan looked away as I reappeared. A true gentleman, I thought. I wondered if he’d ever seen me naked before.
I didn’t want to know the answer. I hoped that my innocence was preserved in this time as it had been in the future. I wasn’t ready or planning on changing that anytime soon. I quickly darted behind the dressing screen and threw on my silk robe. All the while, he spoke with his back to me while looking at the painting on my wall, which was a few inches from the double doors.
“I'm so sorry. I ... uh. It’s late, and I shouldn't have come at this time. I promise not to take up much more of your time. I would like to speak with you for a moment if I may?” He asked in the softest, sweetest voice.
“It's ok. You can turn around” I whispered, as I came out from behind the screen. He seemed to hesitate for a moment then slowly turned to face me, and then gazed into my eyes. Suddenly, I felt the strange desire to touch him, to feel his flawless tanned skin beneath my fingertips, but I dared not, still uncertain of what I felt or how I felt for him. I had to admit, although puzzled, I knew that I was emotionally connected to him. I wondered if he was aware of the emotional tie I felt for him, right now. He could probably detect my nervousness and sense my attraction to him. His powers had to give him that advantage. He took one step closer then stopped. We were still at least two feet apart.
“Please forgive me for what you watched tonight, what you saw Nikolas and I do. Without your memory restored, I know that you can’t comprehend what we are faced with, and how we choose to handle it. It was wrong to allow you to see any of it. I – I’m not a monster,” he said, and then paused and cleared his throat.
“You’re a protector,” I said. After talking with Bethany, I wanted to put him at ease.
“Cordelia, I would never hurt anyone or anything unless my safety or the safety of others was compromised.” He spoke softly, and terribly honest as he stared into my eyes. The whole time he spoke he never took his eyes off of my face. He was beginning to have a strange effect on me.
“I understand.” I said, nodding.
“I owe you an apology for my behavior tonight, after dinner. It was a tantrum and it was childish and unfair to you; actually to everyone at the table. I was angry with my father. I’m sorry. I truly hope that you can find a way to forgive me.” Evan paused. His concern for my feelings for him, and how I perceived him, struck me to my core. He then said in a whisper, “I want you to remember who I am, so badly.”
I felt sorry for him and myself. No teenager should have the weight of defending the world of evil on his or her shoulders. It was an incredulous situation to fathom, and quickly becoming my reality. I thought about Victor’s visit earlier, his threatening words, and what Evan had done to avenge me.
He was a protector, mine.
“Evan.” I spoke his name, and he seemed to hold his breath as he waited to hear what I might have to say. “I don't understand everything. I mean everything that is expected of me, and you, and us, but I do know that you are trying, and doing your best to safeguard me; to defend us all. For that, I thank you.” Phew. My voice was a little shaky, but I got it all out.
Evan held my gaze, and took another step closer. The space between us could easily be erased, but Evan was a gentleman, and kept his eyes on mine the entire time. He took my hand in his and raised it to his lips. He closed his eyes as a kiss as soft as a breeze touched the skin on the back of my hand. He opened his eyes and looked into mine again, then his eyes moved from mine to my lips, back to my eyes, and then back to my lips again but he didn't kiss me.
I knew that he wanted to – desperately. I couldn't believe how much I wanted him too. Where were these emotions stemming from? I barely knew this boy, and I didn’t want to feel this way for him, not now, not this soon, but I couldn’t stop it. The feelings were stirring up from somewhere deep within me. I didn’t want them to surface, and I think he realized what was going on. Was it part of my memory returning? It had to be. Feeling didn’t just materialize that quickly.
“Sweet dreams.” Evan whispered, letting go of my hand. Then he spun around, hastily, and walked out of my room, shutting the doors behind him, without ever looking back.
It was as if he knew something might’ve happened if he had stayed in here any longer – something that he was aware that I wasn’t prepared for, but something he desired from the depths of his soul to initiate. The way I felt just now with him, I’d never felt with anyone before in my life. It had to be the memory, and all the emotions surfacing from within me had to be the feelings that had been cached. I was just not a believer I the whole ‘love at first sight’ theory.
I walked over to my double doors, and listened to his footsteps descend down the wide hallway. Then I heard the doors to his bedroom snap shut.
I stood there with my back glued to the double doors, dazed by his touch. I stood there like that for a while rubbing the back of my hand where his lips had graced.
Thirteen
Hiding Places
Through the French doors leading out to the balcony, the full moon gleamed like a luminous beacon calling to all that was wild and ravenous tonight. The howls seemed to originate from the forest. What lurked in the dark unlit corners of the night clouded my mind. Although this night seemed calm and peaceful, creatures with sharp fangs that had a taste for blood, probably the same
ones from my dream or memory – as Evan said, and the ones who were shadows by day, needed to feed.
The air was dry, but stifling as usual with barely any humidity. The illuminating moonlight streamed across the ridged and vast mountains, and made its way over to the garden. The road beyond the garden was pitch–black. I could barely make out any light from the gaslights in town below.
Nonetheless, I decided to stick to my plan. In haste, I grabbed my dress, which Bethany had flung over the top of the dressing screen, and struggled back into it. I thought it best to skip the corset and bustle all together, I decided; getting into them would only slow me down.
I pressed my ear to my bedroom doors. Not a sound. I cracked them ever so slowly, and peered out, like a sneaky mouse sniffing for cheese, into the desolate hallway. The light from my room was the only light casting my shadow on the second landing. After a short prayer and a deep breath, I stepped out into the hallway, along with an unlit oil lamp, and closed my doors behind me, as softly as I possibly could. My attempt to silently tip toe down the hall was abruptly interrupted by a sharp creaky cry from a spot on the wood floor that I had yet to be familiar with. I made a mental note of the spot, and crept forward. I was three – quarters of the way down the lengthy staircase when I heard voices.
Crap!
It sounded like Thaddeus and a man with a heavy Paiute accent. I was annoyed with the fact that Thaddeus was still up and entertaining after he had said he was turning in, over an hour ago. He was old, hundreds of years old according to my calculations, and should be resting, and not up all night – chatting. I had to make a decision at that very moment. It was a do or die moment.
I crept down the stairs to the foyer, and cursed to myself as the voices grew louder. There was a faint light streaming out from the parlor into the foyer, so I walked close to the opposite wall where it was shadowy. I cracked the front door just a few inches wide enough to squeeze my slim frame through the opening. Had I been wearing that awkwardly shaped bustle, I would’ve had to open the door a lot wider. That would have allowed the full moon’s light to spill further into the foyer, which may have caught someone’s attention, and I would’ve been busted.
I held my breath and quietly closed the front door behind me. The street was a bit of a distance away from the front doors due to the large front grounds. I would have to cross the dusty dirt path where the horse and buggy was parked, and then cross the front garden to get to the towering, ornate entrance gates. Once I was across the garden, I surveyed the street while still within the property. The street was barren. I tried to look past the Bergnum estate, the huge Victorian styled mansion next door, if you could consider nearly half a block away being next door. It was hard to make out very much because it had become darker since I had stood on my veranda just minutes ago.
The Bergnum property stood directly across the street from the mansion I had supposedly grown up, which was my destination. I slipped out the gates and quickly headed in the direction of the Bergnum mansion, constantly checking over my shoulder to see if anyone or anything was following me.
I saw nothing. Several oak trees were scattered along the sidewalk so I prayed nothing was lurking behind them or within them. I quivered with fear, but proceeded.
Once I was halfway to the Bergnum’s house, I noticed that the lights were on in the front of the house, I’m guessing the parlor. Its front gates were tall and foreboding. Healthy vines that looked more like spider webs crept along the right side of the large manor and ran all the way up to the roof. As I stood in front of the mansion I stared at the grim mansion across the street and was now petrified with the thought of going in. The fact that I had supposedly grown up in it didn’t comfort me at all.
Suddenly a familiar bone chilling sound halted me dead cold, and almost sent me sprinting back to the Capius’ mansion.
Howling werewolves.
They seemed a little closer now that I was of off the Capius’ property. The vision of demonic red eyes and drool, hanging from ferocious, sharp teeth, paralyzed me where I stood. As suddenly as the howling had started, it stopped, and then started again. I tried to block out my fear, and tried to focus on why I was out here in the dark, at this dangerous hour in the first place. I took another deep breath to calm my raging nerves. It was now or never, so don’t be a punk, I thought.
I stared at the huge mansion before me and finally crossed the narrow dirt road. The Tieron estate was enormous, appearing somewhat larger than the Capius mansion, with grounds that took up a little more than half the block. The landscaping was neglected, and in need of immediate attention. Even though it was quite dark, I could see that the flowers had long died, and there was nothing left but some dried weeds and sun burnt shrubs.
Besides the dismal outlook of the front garden, the house itself was gloomy and deserted, yet mysterious. Anyone seeing the house this way would guess that it was uninhabited and threatening. It was a ghost of a house which was once a home. I seemed even darker on the inside, since all of the curtains were drawn shut. I had figured that the house would be poorly lit, if at all, which was the need for the oil lamp in the first place.
Once more, I looked up and down the barren and murky street. I boldly stepped up to the intimidating gates, and was fixed where I stood. The tall gates were virtually covered with dried and tangled vines. I pushed open the gates, and they instantly gave way as some of the dried and twisted vines snapped and tore free. I closed the gates behind me, and began the dreaded walk up the wide path to the wraparound porch. Up close, the mansion looked even more daunting. The black solid oak doors stood out like a gaping black hole that could swallow a person up.
I hoped that once I crossed the threshold of the mansion, I would learn all of the secrets to my existence on the other side. No matter how horrible, frightening or devastating the secrets may be, I had to know the truth. I needed to know if there was more to what Thaddeus explained. I wouldn’t exactly go as far as refuting it. I’d seen enough in a day to know that I was amongst very powerful beings, and that I may very well be one myself. But, I had to know why I wasn’t allowed to go to the house I had grown up in; my parents’ final home. There also had to be more to the passing of my parents, besides the fact that they were dead. I was convinced that the answers were within the walls of this house.
Then it hit me. How am I going to go about getting within the walls of this house? I didn’t have a key. I took a couple steps back, and surveyed the front door again. The dead silence was deafening. I thought that maybe a key may be hidden somewhere around the entrance. I reached up and swept my hand across the top of the frame. There was nothing there and now my hand was covered in two years’ worth of dust and dirt.
Perhaps a key was concealed underneath a flower pot the way my mom used to keep one for me for all the times I would lose my keys. I looked around the porch for a moment. It was completely bare of any flower pots, planters, or anything at all.
I reached for the huge brass door knob, and realized my hand was shaking. I wasn’t exactly afraid, just anxious. As my hand was about to make contact with the doorknob, something let out a low sigh. I instantly jerked my hand back, and stepped about a foot away from the double doors. It sounded as if the exhalation or moan had come from the house itself; as if it could actually breathe. All of a sudden the doors cracked open about halfway without my ever touching them. Did the door really just open on its own? Oh Christ, what am I doing here? Was there someone in there?
I stood at the entrance still a foot away from the doors. I was deathly afraid to take a step further as I looked into the darkness of the house.
“Is there someone there?” I said, just above a whisper.
Dead silence, just as before. The wolves had stopped howling, and there was no breeze. The air was as still as the Sierras in the distance. I surveyed the porch, the front walk, as well as the dirt road once more. I saw no one, and heard nothing. The last thing I needed was someone going by, and witnessing me lurking around my o
wn house, and not going in. I seriously had to work myself up to enter the house.
I stepped in slowly, and the darkness enveloped me immediately. I quickly shut the front doors. I fought off the urge to run back out, and waited a few seconds so that my vision could adjust to the abyss of blackness. The house smelled musty, and needed to be aired out. Finally, I could make out the spacious foyer. I could barely make out some type of desk or dresser placed against the wall on my right. I walked toward the bulky object, and set down my lamp. Once I had it lit the spacious foyer was instantly flooded with the dim light.
My eyes darted around quickly as I tried to take in all that surrounded me. I could see that the lamp was actually resting on a sidebar. The sidebar was empty besides a chunky layer of dust and thick cobwebs. Unlike the Capius’ estate, the walls were bare of any paintings or photographs. The mahogany molding gave the cream colored walls the appearance of an empty picture frame.
The tap of the sole of my shoes echoed on the marble floor and throughout the house as I walked down the foyer. I went through the first archway on my left. I was in what I guessed to be the parlor. The huge room was void of any furniture except for the long and darkly hued drapes that hung against the five floortoceiling windows. Luckily the drapes were drawn shut, or my lamp would be easy to detect tonight by anyone passing by the house or anyone looking out of the huge windows of the Bergnum mansion, across the way.
I tiptoed throughout the first floor, through the dining room where a chandelier hung covered in a fur made out of dust and cobwebs, the study where there were still shelves up against the walls, the enormous sunroom where shadows from beyond the windows scared me right out of the room, and then into several small rooms that I had no idea how they had been used. I stopped once I reached the kitchen. Every room was the same; vacant and extremely dusty. I fought the urge to sneeze several times, and lost the battle as I exited the kitchen.
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