by Dave Ferraro
Shanna scoffed. “You’re not wrong. That picture proves it.” And the visions.
“There’s nothing to be...ashamed of. You’re perfectly fine. Everyone comes from somewhere. I’m sure everyone has done bad things in past lives. You were just...particularly ambitious.”
Shanna sent him a dirty look, but smiled when she saw that he was smiling down at her. She even found herself chuckling. “You’re right. I need to just put it behind me. It means nothing.”
“Not at all.”
“I should just...leave what happens up to fate.”
“Exactly.”
I need to focus on other things right now, Shanna realized. I have to get to the bottom of my visions, but for now…there are more pressing matters. At least…I can talk to Hunter about this when we return to New York. He can help…perhaps.
Shrugging, Shanna stood up. “All right. Time to make things up for my past life and kick some evil butt, I guess.”
Hunter looked at her sideways. “It really doesn’t mean anything, you know. It was a clue to who you are. The prophecy led to this moment, when I recognized you. It pointed me in the right direction and the prophecy has no more meaning beyond the strength of you hunters as a team.”
“Yeah, well, just keep an eye out for any more ‘she’ references while you’re looking up monsters with a grudge against lighthouses.”
Nodding, Hunter turned toward the door as Krystal entered the room with Jordan. “I will see you later then, after your hunt.”
“Yes. After the hunt.”
***
“And this is Ligeia and Serene,” Shanna introduced the girls with a flourish of her hands.
“Ligeia…” Brett murmured almost to himself, but obviously loud enough for the girl to hear. “What a beautiful name…for a beautiful girl.”
Ligeia blushed and looked away for a moment before turning her gaze back on Brett, eyes wide beneath her thick lashes. “I’m amazed you still notice other girls beyond your present company.”
Grinning, Brett looked at Rachel sideways before replying. “I think you’re in a league of your own, Ligeia.”
Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to Saul, who she suddenly realized was hovering very close to Serene, the two of them eyeing each other with open adoration. “Great,” she muttered. “I was hoping to play fifth wheel.”
Shanna did her best to stifle a smile, before patting Rachel on the shoulder. “Play nice now.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, I’m going to go see to my other friends,” Shanna announced loudly. “I’m sure you guys will meet them later.”
Serene looked up. “Yes, where are they?”
“They’re nearby. We’re just going to look around the tower. The very dangerous tower, for any clues. You guys just enjoy the sights and company and we’ll report anything we find.”
“It’s funny that you bumped into your friends that you were going to meet here and they are also in the same…situation as us.”
Rachel looked at Shanna. “Yes, well, that’s fate for you, I suppose.”
Serene nodded and turned her attention back to Saul.
“Keep up the ruse for as long as you can,” Shanna whispered to Rachel. “We’ll try to have this mess fixed before too long.”
“Just hurry, okay?” Rachel said with a frown and a slight shake of her head. “This is going to be awkward enough as it is.”
***
Cameron seemed much more affectionate than Shanna would have imagined. He wouldn’t stop holding her hand as they walked through the forest to the ruins, like she was his life preserver and he was barely keeping his head above water. It unnerved Shanna a little bit. She wondered if he was alright. He seemed somewhat distracted, leading her to wonder if the drugs were keeping him more out of it than he was willing to admit. Maybe she should have insisted he stay back with Hunter and Jordan.
She trudged along beside him slowly, happy to feel his warm hand in hers, but also nervous about the impending talk that they would have to have soon. How would he feel about her after she explained how she'd sent him up the river like she had because she couldn’t recognize him? How could she not recognize her own boyfriend? It was ridiculous!
“Here we are,” Amelia announced as they stepped into the clearing that Shanna had crossed on the way to the scholars’ tower earlier. As before, she saw decrepit slabs of stone and half-shelters kept in pristine condition by the townspeople, except for the stray vine climbing up a column here and there, adding a touch of elegance, making the whole that much more distinguished. After walking a few yards, they came to the same temple that Shanna had noticed before, reminding her once again of the mansion back in Lime Bay, with its regal columns and wide staircase. It was truly awe-inspiring.
“This place feels powerful,” Amelia commented. “Perhaps residual energy from its hay days when the Greeks still made sacrifices to the gods and practiced blood magick.”
They all stopped and stared up at the inviting entrance of the temple as a light breeze whipped over the clearing and tousled their hair, sending a spray of sand onto their clothing. It did feel magical in that warm air. Like there was a palpable charge in the wind. A current of power.
“We have a lot of exploring ahead of us,” Natalia barked, stepping forward and moving silently up the staircase, effectively breaking the spell.
At the top of the staircase, the group cautiously stared into the shadows of the building before proceeding among the pillars and stone benches. An altar at the head of the room was roped off with a display of artifacts upon it, including a dagger, a cloth of sorts, and a ceramic bowl. The touch of modernism further dispelled the illusion of stepping back in time to a magical era of gods, and no longer consumed Shanna’s thoughts, letting her mind wander to Diana and the dark places that she didn’t want to think about.
Those daydreams I had back in New York, when I saw through Diana’s eyes…I knew I had a connection to her. I realized that when I saw the portrait… But to have confirmation that I was Diana in a past life, and that she was an evil…vampire…that changes things. It makes them more real and…scarier. Shanna shook her head lightly and frowned. It still didn’t mean anything. It was some psychic thing. And Diana didn’t exist anymore. There was only Shanna Hunt. Diana was a thing of the past, another creature entirely. She hadn’t felt akin to the woman whose eyes she’d seen through. She had merely experienced what she’d experienced.
“You okay?” Cameron asked her suddenly.
Shanna looked up at Cameron’s concerned face and smiled. “Yeah, just a little distracted…by all the weirdness, I guess. But you shouldn’t be worrying about me…you’re the one who was…” She let her voice trail off and the smile dropped from her face.
Cameron stared at her for a moment until Amelia called out from across the room.
“Hey, you guys have got to see this!”
Shanna looked away from Cameron and hurried ahead, her face flushed from embarrassment, her heart pounding. What if…he hated her after she talked to him? It was a reasonable reaction. She hated herself, after all… She closed her eyes and took a breath as she stepped past the altar and came out of a doorway into a stone courtyard where Amelia and Natalia were gazing around, taking it all in.
Literally gasping, Shanna stepped out into the courtyard and felt herself transported into the past…figuratively, this time. Small hedges and benches framed the courtyard in which a dry fountain stood in the center, and which ended with another wide staircase that led down toward more ruins, ruins that went on for as far as the eye could see. Some structures were in better shape than others, but full buildings seemed to be intact and gave the illusion of the fair city that had once stood where they stood now. It was positively breathtaking.
“Wow,” Cameron understated. “Who’d have thought?”
“You were right, Natalia,” Amelia murmured. “We do have our work cut out for us
.”
Natalia sighed. “This could take days. An unfortunate development.”
“It would be faster if we had help.”
Cocking her head, Natalia looked over at Amelia.
“Everyone’s busy with other tasks, though,” Shanna reminded them. “The research is important, and obviously fixing the machine. Then there’s…oh.”
“Ligeia and Serene don’t even have to know what we’re looking for,” Amelia suggested. “But keeping them occupied by…keeping them away from the ruins is silly. Brett and Rachel and Saul…they could be helping us just as much with those girls in tow.”
“But it could mean them getting hurt,” Shanna reasoned. “They didn’t ask for that.”
“Well, they’re involved whether they want to be or not.”
Shanna sighed and looked over at Natalia, who she knew was in agreement with Amelia.
Amelia glanced at Natalia and shrugged. “I’ll go get them. I’ll be quickest with the wind guiding me.”
Natalia nodded and the sorceress swiftly disappeared.
“I don’t think it’s right,” Shanna grumbled.
Cameron sat down on the fountain and leaned back against the column in the middle that had been carved into the figure of a woman.
Shanna stood where she was, unsure of whether Cameron would welcome her presence beside him or not. She dreaded a cold response. Turning to Natalia, she noticed her watching Cameron as well. But on closer inspection, she realized that the hunter was actually looking beyond Cameron at the figure he was leaning against. She gave the statue a brief once-over as well. The woman was beautiful, clothed loosely in a robe, one of her breasts poking out carelessly. She had a look on her face of sadness, but also of hope. It sent a shiver down Shanna’s spine to gaze upon her. It felt like waves of tragedy were radiating from a noble woman.
“It’s Demeter,” she found herself saying. “Greek goddess of fruitfulness and vegetation.”
“Oh?” Natalia glanced up at her. “How can you tell?”
Shanna gestured toward the woman. “She’s holding a bundle of corn.”
“Very astute. You’ve studied mythology?”
“Well…I mean, I must have. In school, I’m sure.” Shanna frowned, despite herself. She couldn’t recall ever taking a mythology course. Maybe it had been a unit in one of her English classes… She was surprised she would remember this particular fact so clearly though.
Natalia watched her for a moment, before nodding to herself. “I’m going to explore one of the nearby structures. I won’t be far.”
And then she was gone, leaving Shanna and Cameron alone together. They looked at each other for a minute before Cameron patted the seat beside him.
Shanna smiled gratefully and sank down next to him. “That Natalia…it’s like she can sense what needs to happen.”
“It’s pretty uncanny,” Cameron agreed.
“Yeah…”
Silence blanketed them, the sound of the nearby sea washing over them, the bright rays of the sun making their skin tingle.
Cameron smiled at her, just happy to be in her company. He looked over her face carefully as she was lost in the distance, examining every detail, committing it to memory. “You’re so beautiful. I was so crazy wondering what happened back there.”
Shanna froze for a moment, then closed her eyes and turned to him, opening her mouth, then closing it, searching for the right words. “And I…I felt so awful. I thought you-”
“Stop it,” Cameron cut her off, grabbing her hand roughly. “It’s not your fault. I probably would have done the same thing if I’d been you. I’m...I’m just so sorry you had to go through that. I’m so sorry.”
Shanna put a hand to his back and rubbed it gently. “You’re sorry? I was the one who practically had you committed. If anyone should feel remorse, it’s...” Her voice trailed off as she realized that Cameron was crying. He put his hands up to his face to hide it, but the teardrops fell quietly onto his pant leg. Tell-tale tears. Shanna didn’t know what to do, so she just sat with him in silence, slowly rubbing his back until he composed himself. He just seemed to cry harder, though. Soon his body was racked with sobs and Shanna felt her heart aching for him. She couldn’t stand to see him in such obvious pain. She couldn’t fathom what would make him cry like this. She gave up rubbing his back and just slid her arms around him, hugging him softly like a child and kissing the top of his head.
Cameron finally grew silent and ducked out of Shanna’s arms. He wiped at his eyes and stared up at the statue hovering over them, lost in thought, or perhaps, seeking the statue’s advice for a way to verbalize what he was feeling.
When Cameron did finally speak, the sound startled Shanna. But she quickly regained her wits and focused all of her attention on the man beside her.
“I was sixteen when I started hunting shape-shifters,” Cameron began. “I stumbled upon it by accident, you could say. I was out at this riverbank by my house where I liked to play my guitar and think about things. I was so bad at playing it, but I liked how it felt and the sound that seemed to vibrate from the strings. I would try to mimic refrains from songs I’d hear on the radio, sometimes daydream about being in a band, playing those same songs. I’d imagine videos for those songs and I’d be in the videos with the band. But anyway, you get the idea. I just went to calm myself, think about school, and fantasize about being famous.
“This guy stumbled upon me sitting on the bank one day and just stared at me, really creeped me out. It was like he appeared out of nowhere and didn’t know what to make of me. I didn’t know what he was doing there, but I know that I wanted to run. He gave off this vibe like he wanted to hurt me or something. I was so far from anyone though. What could I do? I just hoped he would go away, leave me alone.
“He didn’t leave me alone, though. He started to twitch. His eyes went blue, his body melted into another person’s form, then another’s, then mine. I freaked. I ran. I just got up and ran, left my guitar and screamed for help. When I looked back, he was following me, gaining on me. And he...he changed into this huge white polar bear.”
Shanna flinched, recalling the red bear that she’d seen at the club Styx, before she’d joined this group of hunters. The man, Redd, had changed into one. And Cameron…Cameron had killed him last month at The Crimson Rope’s party. He had been a real monster, killing for the pleasure it brought him. Utterly ferocious. She couldn’t help but graft his features and mannerisms onto the creature that Cameron spoke of now. She put those thoughts aside for the moment as Cameron continued, completely oblivious to Shanna’s reaction, for he went on without hesitation.
“I’d never been so scared in my life,” he choked out. “It seemed he chased me for hours but it could have only been minutes, right up to this rocky cliff over the river. I had nowhere else to go. All I could do was turn and confront this...this thing.
“There was a big branch nearby that I grabbed for a weapon, but I mean, I was facing a giant polar bear, you know? I swung at it and swung at it and...God, it just got angrier until it just charged me, shoved me to the ground and...”
Another tear slid down Cameron’s cheek as he turned to Shanna. “Oh, God, Shanna. He...it...it clawed my face. My whole face. One big claw dragged over my...my beautiful face. I was going to be famous, in a band, but...God, it all ended right there. That’s what I thought about in my confrontation with this thing. That I wouldn’t be famous. I mean, my life could have ended there. But that was my thought. It really didn’t hit me until it...it lowered its muzzle that I might actually die.”
Shanna felt tears forming in her own eyes as she put a hand to her mouth.
“It took a bite...a fucking bite out of my cheek,” Cameron said, his voice breaking. “It swallowed a piece of my cheek. I was...” He paused to keep from losing it and took a shuddering breath. “I was screwed. It was over for me. But there was a shot...some s
ort of noise, scared him off of me. I passed out and I woke up in this lady’s house. I was going in and out of it, but she was always in the room with me, all concerned for me. It was a few weeks before I really snapped out of my stupor. A sorceress, a hunter, kind of like Amelia, I guess, was after that shape-shifter. She’d come just in time and...she let him go to save me. It took nearly a month, but she nursed me back to health with some powerful herbs and magick.”
He was quiet for a few minutes, staring down at his hands.
Shanna assumed his tale was finished, so she took his arm in hers and leaned against his shoulder. “That must have been so horrible for you. I can’t imagine...” Shanna shuddered as she thought of her own face being torn apart, chewed upon.
Suddenly sitting up straight, Shanna let out a breath. “So that’s what happened. That’s why the magick detector picked up a reading on you, why you were giving off so much magickal residue. Even, what? Five years later, the magick she used to heal you was still in your system.”
Cameron looked over at her and sent her a weak smile. He hesitated and looked down for a moment before looking back up into her face. “No, Shanna. That magick detector read a glamour I was wearing.”
Shanna’s breath caught in her throat and she looked away, not really understanding, a little afraid to catch the meaning of the statement. “What do you mean, a glamour you were wearing?”
He took her hand in his and stroked it softly. “I mean, I’m wearing a glamour.”
Shanna looked up at him, looked over his arm, his face. “What glamour?”
Cameron lifted her slim hand to his lips and kissed it softly. He held her hand suspended in the air for a full minute before guiding it to his right cheek.
Shanna couldn’t believe what she felt. His cheek appeared smooth and flawless, but to the touch, she felt a ridged, fleshy bump. He let go of her hand, but she kept her hand where it was. She forced herself to keep it there, despite the chill it sent down her arm. Then, slowly, she traced the line of ridges up to his ear. Then, she brought her finger back down and about an inch and a half from his mouth, she felt nothing but air. A sob escaped her, despite her best efforts.
Cameron looked away and started to cry again.