"I never knew his name; he never gave us that information. He was a very disturbed man, probably even before he was turned. He had some grand idea of wanting a wife and a mother, so he stalked us in the dark and took us. Those two days were a nightmare. He tied us up and showed us what he was and what he wanted from us. I prayed every second that he would just end our lives."
“When he finally drained us, I held on to my mother’s hand and hoped that we would die, I had no desire to become a monster. When we woke up though, a few days later, he was gone. Mathias was waiting for us to awaken. After he had explained everything, we came here and started our new lives."
“What was Mathias doing there?" I asked, slightly sick to my stomach after hearing Serena’s story.
“In the last few hundred years, it’s been fairly uncommon for anyone to become a vampire against their will. Like Riah said, the Rau want people to be evil like them. To have someone turn into the Solas ultimately defeats their purpose and only helps the very cause they are trying to fight. Still, it does happen from time to time, so we all do little scouting expeditions around the world. Riah and I were lucky, we found out who we had become soon after being turned, and were given a chance at a decent life. Some aren’t so lucky though; they wander around, starving, trying to survive on the edges of society."
"I’m sorry Serena.” I said contrite.
“It’s ok. You’re curious, I would be too,” she replied with a gentle smile
“So what do you say we go in and celebrate? I’m starving." I pronounced
We made our way into the castle and up the stairs to the family room. Cupcake was immediately fawned over by everyone. Even Winifred gave him a pat on his large head.
If I had met Serena’s mom Kathleen on the street, I would have instantly known who she was. Although her curly brown hair was cut shorter and sprinkled with gray, she shared the same heart shape face, dimples, bright green eyes and tall, athletic body as her daughter.
“It’s nice finally to meet you Willa, I have heard so much about you. I’ve been anxious to make your acquaintance,” she said warmly
“Thank you, that’s so sweet, I’m happy to meet you as well. Serena’s been so great to me since I’ve been here. She truly has become a good friend.” I said honestly. “I’m glad that you both are here to celebrate the holiday with our family."
“Well, Winifred took us under her wing when we arrived, and she’s like a sister to me,” Kathleen said
“Really?” I asked, somewhat pissed. Apparently the ice queen is welcoming to everyone except to me.
“Yes,” Kathleen answered before lowering her voice and leaning in towards me. “I know she hasn’t been very warm to you but give her a chance Willa. She does have terrible regret about the way she reacted to you when you arrived."
“I’ll do my best." I said.
“I cannot believe you got a dog. Where on earth did you find such a delightful creature, Willa?" Rhoswen asked
“Mathias gave him to me." I replied
“Really?" asked Oliver. “That’s unexpected of him.”
“Not really. I find that Mathias always seems to want to annoy me on some level. Giving me a dog was probably more for his amusement than anything else.” I said ruefully
The room fell silent at my dig towards their knight in shining head of security.
“I’m sure Mathias thought that he would be a great companion for you.” Winifred said rushing to his defense.
“I’m sure he did," I agreed. “I’m also sure he probably installed hidden cameras so he could watch me try to take care of my new giant, clumsy, friend. I’m positive Cupcake, and I would make for some pretty funny reality TV."
Everyone chuckled, and I went over to the table sent up in the room with appetizers. I grabbed a piece of toasted bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes and munched away happily while Cupcake sat by my feet looking up at me hopefully.
“Hi sweetheart,” my father said as he came over to stand beside me.
“Hey dad,” I greeted and slipped my arm through his. I leaned my head on his shoulder while we surveyed the room quietly.
Out of all the rooms in the castle, the family room was my favorite, it was large but deceptively cozy from the groupings of furniture scattered around the room. Six floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the courtyard and the town beyond were bathed in gorgeous ivory drapes that complimented the dark floor and the ivory and green throw rugs that lay upon them.
“I have something for you,” Cormac said suddenly
“We said no gifts this year.” I reminded him. “Besides you already broke that rule last night with my housewarming gift." I fingered the large diamond hoop earrings in my ear that he and my mom presented me with last night.
“I didn’t spend any money on this present,” he said as he pressed something cold in my hand.
I glanced down and saw an old metal arrowhead. I smiled as I looked up at my dad. “Where did you find this?"
“When I was unpacking I found it in a small box. I remembered that Christmas after we had all stuffed ourselves from your mother’s fantastic brunch. We took a walk on the river, and you found that near some rocks. I think you were twelve or thirteen?" he reminisced
“Twelve.” I answered. “I was twelve. It was just before I became too cool for school and got excited about stuff like that."
“Ahh, the good old days, you should have it. After all, you found it. "
“Thanks Dad." I said
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Winifred said as she joined us.
“Yes, you are, but I’ll let you do it regardless,” my father said grinning
“Cormac, why don’t you go fix yourself a drink? That is if you can stomach it after last night’s whiskey consumption that you men indulged in until the wee hours."
“You got drunk and didn’t invite me?" I asked feigning hurt.
“I was not drunk. I was pleasantly warm and only slightly fuzzy,” he answered
“Hmm, really?" Winifred asked. “Then that means you were of sound mind when you crashed one of the castle’s golf carts into the bushes and tipped it over."
“The steering was going in that already I believe,” he mused
“I will have to make sure the Guardians are aware of that and check the others." Winifred replied tightly
“Splendid idea, wouldn’t want any more accidents to occur, now would we?" Cormac said. “That reminds me; I never asked if I was in the lead before the unfortunate demise of the golf cart. If you will excuse me, I must confer with Jeremiah."
I chuckled as he walked up to Jeremiah, and they started laughing. Turning, I faced Winifred. Unsure of what to say, I quietly waited for her to start a conversation.
“Willa,” she started. “I want to apologize to you. I realize that my initial meeting with you was not entirely pleasant. I wanted you to be aware that I am trying to make amends for that."
“Thank you. I suppose we both could use a do-over.” I said surprised at this turn of events
“I’m still not entirely comfortable with you. I think we need to explore your gifts more thoroughly, the power you have already shown, quite frankly, scares me a little.” she admitted
“It scares you? You should try shooting freaky fire out of your hands." I replied
“Yes, well I’m sure that is a little frightening and confusing. There’s also the small matter of your inappropriate relationship with a particular vampire that we need to discuss."
Oh crap, I thought of Mathias.
“I adore Riah and realize he’s quite handsome and charming. You must understand though any indiscretion between a vampire and clan member is strictly frowned upon.” she said sternly
“Riah? Riah and I are just friends.” I replied perplexed
“You were seen having dinner with him in town. I’m also aware that you were spending a lot of time together over the last week. On top of his expensive gift last night, I’m concerned about the d
irection of your friendship,” she said
“Riah and I are friends. He was kind enough to invite me to dinner, which I enjoyed tremendously." I chuckled. “I spent time with both Serena and Riah all last week and Riah did not give me an expensive gift on his own, they both did. The three of us have become good friends, and I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
Winifred looked slightly more mollified. “I’m glad to hear that and I apologize again to you."
"No problem. So can I call you Granny or do you prefer Nana?"
“Grandmother will be fine,” she replied stiffly
“I don’t know. You look more like a Granny to me, Granny Winnie."
She did not look amused but just as she rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, I caught a smile.
Soon after, dinner was served in the adjacent dining room, and we all settled in our chairs for a feast. The main course consisted of roasted turkey, leg of lamb, and succulent lobster tails all accompanied by several delicious sides. My mother had made for dessert a luscious gingerbread trifle and her famous five layer chocolate cake.
A few hours later I was just getting ready to leave and to say my goodbyes when Uncle Cuddy came over to me.
“Willa, I just remembered, I forgot to give you the photo album,” he said
“What photo album?” I asked
“As well as all those cookbooks I also have a photo album of pictures taken of the bakery over the years. Maybe we could frame a few and hang them up in your new shop. Ties along with that vintage feel we talked about doing."
“Yes, that sounds great, I would love that.” I replied excited
“Come on up to the apartment and I’ll dig it out before I forget.” he said
“Sure, just let me roundup Cupcake and I’ll follow you there.”
I finished saying my goodbyes and herded Cupcake out the door. He looked tired and sluggish from all the treats and table scraps he had been given. When we reached the stairs to the third floor, he refused to budge from the bottom step.
“Oh for goodness sakes, fine stay there, I’ll be right back.” I admonished him.
I followed Cuddy up the stairs to his apartment and was surprised by the neat, feminine space. The main living room walls were painted light lavender, and the white couches had pale pink flowered pillows. Watercolors done in pastels were artfully arranged on the walls, and small little trinkets dotted the tables and fireplace mantel.
“It’s either in my study or my storage room,” he said scratching his chin
“Take your time. Do you mind if I use your powder room?" I asked
“Yes, of course, it’s down that hall." he said distracted, pointing to the corridor to the right of the living room. Then he was disappearing down another hall to the left of the fireplace.
I walked down the hall and chuckled to myself at the thought of my eccentric uncle. I opened the first door on my right, flicked on the light switch, and stopped dead.
The room I walked into had a faint, musty smell, like it hadn’t been used in a while. It was decorated in a grown up version for a Disney princess. Pale pink walls, pink silk curtains, a large cherry four poster bed, swathed in pink silk and lace bed covers. Even a brilliant chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling dripped with rose colored crystals.
I do not belong in here was my first thought but something made me trespass deeper in the room. I stopped at the dresser against the wall by the door and saw the name Julia written in cursive on top of a pink jewelry box.
This was my cousin’s room, the cousin who was captured while trying to save her mother from the Rau, the cousin who I would never meet. Even though, by the decor of the room made me think we didn’t have the same taste in design, I still felt a pang of sadness that I would never know her.
I picked up a picture frame and found myself looking at a family photo of Cuddy, Jeremiah, and who I assumed was Gussie and Julia. Aunt Augusta looked a lot like my mother, except with blonde hair and a taller body. Julia had the same blonde hair, only it fell slightly longer past her shoulders. Her blue eyes, which she got from Cuddy, twinkled brightly.
I set down the picture and sighed. I turned to leave when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. Just underneath the dresser the corner of a book stuck out. I reached down and pulled it out to look at it curiously.
The pale pink cover was blank, and I guessed that it was some journal. I felt like a nosy trespasser and set it down on the dresser but stopped. I picked the book up again and noticed why it looked wrong to me. The book pages were all stuck together, and I rubbed the cover thoughtfully. Then I sensed it.
Magic, this book was bound together by a spell. I ran my hands up and down the cover and racked my brain to think of a spell to open and unstuck the pages. I gathered the elements and simply whispered, “Open.”
I heard the book almost let out a sigh and the pages, which were once stuck together, fluttered apart. I held it for a minute before plucking up the courage to open it. My heart raced, and my hands were sweaty. I knew I should put it back where I found it. It's wrong to read someone's private thoughts but for some reason I couldn’t let it go.
I opened up the book and flipped through the first few blank pages. I almost dropped it when I saw my name.
Dear Willa,
“Willa?" Cuddy voice shouted. “Did you fall in the toilet?"
“I’m coming.” I yelled back. I shoved the book into the waist of the back of my skirt and hoped liked hell that my sweater would cover any lumps.
I walked quickly out into the living room with my heart beating out of my chest. I plastered on a smile and tried to look reasonable normal.
“I think I have it down at the shop." Cuddy said thoughtfully. “Do you want to run over there now or wait until tomorrow?"
“Tomorrow’s good, in fact, much better. I’m feeling a little beat, you know too much holiday indulging, so I think I’m going to...go home and...Go to bed." I stammered
“Are you ok?" he asked
“Never better,” I shrilled, “Merry Christmas to you Uncle Cuddy."
“You too." he returned.
I casually walked to the door and gave him one last wave before I left. I sprinted down the stairs and woke Cupcake up from his dead sleep. I almost had to drag him the rest of the way. Climbing into my golf cart, I took off out of the courtyard and sped as fast as I could home.
When we finally made it inside the house, I pulled out the book and sank down on my couch.
With trembling hands, I opened it up and started reading.
Chapter Eighteen
Dear Willa,
I’m afraid I don’t even know how to start. I imagine you are freaking out right now. I have seen you coming for quite some time, so I feel as though I already know you.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Julia Cecelia. I’m your cousin, and yes we share the same middle name, cool huh? By now you have heard of me and that of my fate as well as my mother’s. I’m sure you are also aware that I am a sightseer. I'm rather accurate at predicting the future, except for one time.
That one time will haunt me for the rest of my life. When we heard my mother had been taken I was shocked, how could I miss this? How could I have not seen this? I know, better than anyone that one small decision can alter the future but even I was blindsided by the kidnapping of my mother.
For the first few weeks, I searched for answers but none came. I was devastated and racked with guilt. The first time a vision of you came to me, I immediately wanted to run to our grandmother with the news that Aunt Cecily and Uncle Cormac were alive and well, and they had a daughter but something held me back.
I saw you being told of the news, your plight here to the island, you destroying the Rau with your most peculiar fire. It was wonderful and perplexing at the same time. I had prayed for visions to help me with my mother so why was I being shown you?
A few nights later I had my answer. You are the only one who can help me. I have
foreseen what is to come, and you are an integral part. I've gathered quite a bit of information and wrote everything down in this book. I know the address where my mother is being held, I know what her room looks like and I know what my room will look like there.
The one constant in all my visions is you. I realize you just arrived here, and you are as unsure about your gifts as our grandmother is, but I believe in you Willa. This is not just about rescuing my mother, Leona and me; it’s also about a very real threat which will come about if we stay here any longer.
I am aware that some would say, ‘Well why did she go if she knew she was going to be captured? Why didn’t she tell us all of this and we could have acted promptly?’ The reason is, every vision, every dream, has me there. I would sacrifice my life in a heartbeat for that of my mother and the people on the island.
The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* Page 24