A Darkening of Magic: Chosen Saga Book 0.5

by J. L. Clayton

  I looked at my Brother Eirnen and caught a malicious smirk on his face just before he masked his expression. Damn him! He knew about this and didn’t tell me. I could have protected Elise if I had only had some warning. I looked at my Father and gulped. He was not happy and this never boded well.

  “Where are they taking her?” I asked my heart in my mouth. Making any rash moves now would be fruitless. I needed to know her destination so that I could get her back in time.

  “She is leaving Ireland for America and once there she is to be married to a cousin of mine.” He smiled smugly.

  “No!!!” I shouted and rushed to follow my love, all caution now gone to the wind. Big hands grabbed me and held me back. “Why?” I cried as I fell to my knees.

  My Father looked down on me. “You are my first born and therefore you will inherit our family legacy.”

  I frowned. “What legacy?” I knew we were from a long line of Vampire Leprechauns and the only Vampire Clan not gifted with Eternal life, something which was complained about on a daily basis by all and sundry. Whilst knowing that the right thing to do would be to fight for my true love to the death, there was that dark part of my soul that yearned for something more. Maybe, I reasoned with myself, I could have the best of both worlds. My Fathers voice broke through my day dreaming.

  “You, my Son, have the chance to gain your Eternal Life. I failed at mine and lost my Witch Bride.”

  Okay, now this was getting confusing. What the hell was good old Dad banging on about? Witch bride? Talk about dropping surprises out of the blue. My skin crackled with expectancy, even whilst my heart yearned to ignore him and run after Elise.

  “I don’t get it. What about Mother?” My parents had married late and my Father had only lived with us for a few years. I didn’t know the details of why they stayed separate for so long but my brother and I had often wondered, well before my brother and I had become so competitive, that is.

  “She had already given birth to you, thinking it would trap me. I then made the mistake of spending a drunken night with her a year later resulting in your brother. She always knew there was no chance with me but didn’t want to believe it. When eventually I failed in my quest I had no reason not to marry her and therefore make you my legitimate heir. My one consolation is that I have you to succeed where I failed.”

  I was torn between chasing after my true love and staying to find out what this big secret was. The idea of obtaining Eternal Life was intriguing. I had always wondered why my Father didn’t live with us when we were growing up and it had been a surprise when they married and we moved in with him. The reason for this though was far beyond anything I had imagined. To be honest good old Dad was not the easiest person to love and he had never been very demonstrative in that area. I wondered at his generosity now in passing on this quest. He had admitted failure and was essentially gifting me an amazing chance. I was a little taken aback at his selfless gesture.

  “I still don’t understand why you had to send Elise away” I bemoaned.

  “Because she will just distract you. You cannot set your sights on anyone other than the Tannyre heiress. If I hadn’t dallied so long before claiming my inheritance then it would have been a different story.” He stated.

  “Who is she, this witch?” I asked, curious now to find out more. I promise you I did try to hold the face of Elise in my mind. My heart was truly breaking at her loss but that little devil in me would not let me ignore my Father’s tantalising proposiition.

  “She is but a child at present but if you are to win her heart and soul you must begin your quest now. You will be attending lessons with Maester Gryffin to learn your magic so that you can connect with the girl.” My Father paced up and down, his left leg dragging slightly from an old injury. “You cannot afford to leave anything to chance. I waited too long and this is the result.” He kicked out his left leg in disgust.

  “So what is it about this girl that makes her so special?” It better be good, I thought, if she was still a child. I could be waiting years before I could claim her.

  “When she ascends to her full powers at the age of 21 years, her blood will gift powers to whomever she mates. If she mates with you then that gift will be Eternal life.”

  “How do you know about this?”

  “One of our ancestors discovered it in a stolen book and our family line has been trying to bond with their line ever since. The resulting children from such a pairing could change our clan and enable us to rise up to claim some of the power that is always denied us.”

  “So our bloodlines are connected in some way?” I asked, wondering why it was just our family that had this chance.

  “Any Vampire that mates with her will be endowed with some kind of gift. Ours however is the only mortal clan and therefore it is Eternal life that we gain. Any other Vampire that drinks her blood will become human and mortal again instantly. So you see we have two advantages with this girl, long life and an instant weapon against all other Vampires!” He stamped his foot as if to underline his statement. “Failure is not an option my Son.”

  I tried to comprehend all that he was saying. My life as I knew it had changed irrevocably in the space of ten minutes. The girl that I had only recently proposed to had been wrenched from my arms and now I was the heir to some strange quest for Eternal life. I needed a drink.

  I’d like to say that I ignored my Father and set off to rescue my fair maiden but that is not the case. Instead I began my lessons with Maester Gryffin, learning how to dream walk and connect with others as they slept. It was an extension of the vampire compulsion that we all had in varying degrees, a necessary ability over humans that aided us in our feeding, only this time I could actually supplant myself into their heads whilst they slept.

  At the end of two weeks I could enter the dreams of many in my clan but travelling any distance was still impossible for me. I could not seem to maintain any solidity if I pushed my conscience out too far. The Maester continued to encourage me and assure me that it would come in time.

  My Brother took great pleasure in flaunting the fact that he could date any girl he wanted and made a big show of ensuring I could see exactly what I was missing. I decided eventually to have some fun of my own, taking my pleasure with any girl that looked my way. I made it quite clear that there was no future to be had with me but they still flung themselves at me believing they had a chance at something more. Memories of Elise and her sweet rosebud kisses soon faded away as I discovered a liking for debauchery. Using a girl’s body without the worry of the wooing and cooing was a complete liberation.

  My Father actually seemed to approve of my actions and so I packed away any moral concerns I had, hardening myself to any further hurt. One broken heart was more than enough for me. After all, there was so much I could do with an eternity at my feet.

  It was a couple of months later that I had my first breakthrough. I had sent my spirit soaring across the sea to England and at last I lighted upon my prey. I opened my dreaming eyes to see a cute young girl lying on her bed. So this was Kora Tanner or ‘Tannyre’ in the old spelling, a Witch in the making. I moved close to observe her as she slept.

  Her hair was of spun silver, long down her back. Her lips were pale pink and full and there was a slight blush to her cheeks. Her eyes were closed and so I could not see the colour. I studied her closely and decided that I liked what I saw. She must have been about thirteen years of age and showed the promise of great beauty. I was 19 and would have many years to wait. I smiled thinking of all the girls back at home and decided that it would not be such a hardship.

  When I returned to my body Maester Gryffin was laughing. “You did it, didn’t you?” he said.

  “I did. I saw the girl.”

  “Now you must learn to reach into her dreams so that she is aware of you. That way you will seem familiar to her when you eventually meet.” He chuffed his satisfaction with me. “If you do this right Galen then she will feel lik
e you are her soul mate and won’t be able to resist you.” I smiled, thinking of all the fun I could have with her in her dreams. Hardening my heart to love was probably not the best thing my Father could have done. Unbeknown to him, this very fact would put my whole quest in danger.

  Kora

  I sat up with a start sensing the dark presence in my room. It had been plaguing me for some months now. At first there had just been a slight awareness in my dream world. Now it was still there in the corner of my room when I woke in the dead of night. I peered into the corner from whence the sensation came and could see nothing but a black void.

  “I know you’re there.” I said as boldly as I could muster. I refused to show it how terrified I was. I am not sure what it was that scared me. The presence had never harmed me or even come too close. It just seemed to stay there, unmoving, as if waiting for something. I shivered in apprehension. Deep down I felt that it was not there to actually hurt me but I knew that it enjoyed making me wary. It was like I had a mischievous imp in my head.

  I had almost gotten used to it appearing without warning in the midst of a lovely dream. The dream always changed direction as soon as he arrived within it; I felt that it was a him, although I had nothing concrete to base this feeling on. The dream meadow I was running in suddenly lost its colour and the flowers faded away to grey ominous storm clouds. It was this change that terrified me more than its presence. My dream world lost its colour, as though the love was snatched away from the scene.

  What worried me the most was that I was getting used to him being there. My fear was beginning to wane and as my sense of him grew so did my vision. I could see an outline of a man, always at the edge of my sight. He was not tall, maybe 5”8’, but his eyes pierced the darkness as if they could see right through me. Bright emerald green jewels of eyes. I tried to see his face more clearly but it always eluded me. I had a sense that he was not bad to look at.

  ********

  A visitor came to our home today. My Father called me from my room.

  “Kora!” I hurried to see what the fuss was about. My Father rarely raised his voice, especially in the years since my Mother died.

  A strange looking woman was standing in our lounge holding a large woollen bag and wearing a multi-coloured shawl. She looked a little eccentric but had a warm smile which I liked.

  “Hi” I said.

  “Kora, this is Moira, a friend of your Mother.” My Father looked a little uncomfortable.

  “Hello Kora. I am very pleased to meet you at last” the lady said holding out her hand towards me.

  I took it warily and we shook hands.

  I looked at my Father and raised my eyebrows at him “How come I have never met you before?” they both looked at each other and Father indicated that we all sit down.

  “Your Mother and I chose to live away from our friends when you were born. Now that you are thirteen there are some things that you need to know.” He sighed.

  They then went on to tell me about my family history. Hey ho, apparently my Mother was a witch and I was one too! My normal childhood began its decent into my very abnormal young adulthood and the promise of magical abilities beyond my wildest dreams. The only snag with this was that I would not come into them until I reached the age of 21. I sighed, with all good news there was always a catch. My initial teenage thoughts of changing my hairstyle every day died a quick death.

  My new ‘Aunt’ Moira would become my new beacon of knowledge and learning as I began my studies into the many herbs, flowers and medicinal compounds that would one day make up the basis of many spells. Eight long years of impatience was ahead of me as I was not to be taught the actual spells until my ascension.

  “A lot of it will come to you automatically when you ascend” my Aunt Moira explained “A powerful spell is more of an instinct than a recipe.”

  And so I waited, learning what I could and keeping my dark dream man a secret from the two most important people in my life.

  One day the keeping of that secret would turn out to be the biggest mistake I ever made.

  Note from the Author

  I hope you enjoyed the first part of my book. It is an honour to follow such a great author as J L Clayton and I hope I made the grade. You can find the whole story of Shadows in the Moonlight on Amazon and I am also writing Book 2 in the Moonlight & Magic series – Blood under the Moon as we speak.

  Pick up Kora’s story in Shadows in the Moonlight – just go to the links find her

  Email: rdm_author@outlook.com

  Twitter - @RitaAmesAuthor

  Website - http://rdmauthor.wix.com/ritaames

  FB - www.facebook.com/RitaAmesAuthor

  Find my other books on Amazon

  USA - https://www.amazon.com/Rita-Ames/e/B00NQA3LY8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1471613185&sr=1-1

  UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rita-Ames/e/B00NQA3LY8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1471614804&sr=8-1

  A poem by Kristina Ball: Are hearts expendable?

  Are hearts expendable?

  Is this my reward?

  For being kind? For being naive?

  For being brave enough to trust?

  We say we love, yet we love not.

  What has become of our humanity?

  Unbridled, unchecked, and left to maim,

  Your tongue-the lies it shared.

  Spewing into my ears that once leapt at the sound of your voice.

  Crumbled into a chasm of volcanic poison my heart rots.

  Your silence now trespasses upon my soul as the plagency of your

  Voice-gone! Gone from me, marches louder than any hostile band of

  Riotous interlopers ever could.

  I cannot let the jackal win.

  Why should we, dear sweet friend?

  How could we have known?

  Our hearts shall live, the jackal ravaged by his own confusion.

  This is my hope for him.

  He took away our breath, stampeded across our hearts

  Without concern, a histrionic narcissist.

  The jackal can only hide; may he never find peace.

  Like what you read and want to know more? Here are the links to find her -

  @hoimeksb FB.com/maxbearrules

  http://maxbearrules.wordpress.com/

  maxbearrules.weebly.com

  Kristina Ball

  A poem by Everly Jules: Dark

  If Ba’al loomed over my head,

  Smothering, slow and deep;

  Would I struggle to live a life of pain,

  Or dance at my murderer’s feet?

  His powerful thighs plug my ears,

  He breathes Cumulus into my throat.

  Cotton candy, sweet elixir, until...

  Nimbus-grey croons its dead-hoary note.

  Into my lungs, a musical organ,

  Dark punishment reaches inside.

  Clashes and roars rattle my brain,

  One last breath,

  I'm doomed,

  The martyr’s gone and die

  Like what you read and want to know more? Here are the links to find her -

  TWITTER: @everlyjules

  http://facebook.com/everlyjulesauthor

  BLOG: everlyjules.wordpress.com

  Claudette Nicole Melanson: Riptide

  A persistent tapping at my window woke me shortly after 3:00 AM. I stumbled over in a half-awakened state to find Millicent peering in at me. I slid the window open and watched as she vaulted gracefully through the opening, growing sad when I remembered I might never be blessed now with that level of grace and agility.

  “Hello, Maura!” she exploded with exaggerated cheerfulness. I must have been worse off than I’d previously thought. “So very sorry for the indecent hour; your father insisted. He has been puzzling over Tik’s news all night.” So that was why she hadn’t shown up to visit.

  “Tik…he went to see Dad?” My brain was clearly operating at half steam. Needed coffee.

 
“Yes…with Val. That didn’t sit well with your father. Luckily, he was too distracted by their news to do him any harm,” she said with a satisfied smile

  That jolted me fully awake. “My god, why would he risk such…”

  “For you, My Dear.” Her smile softened considerably. “While your friend, Val, is a troublemaker, an instigator, a pompous fool, impulsive idiot…”

  I interrupted her. “I get the point.”

  “I, personally, can see he cares for you beyond measure.” Her smile softened considerably. Then, her full crimson lips popped apart audibly, and she shook her head as if to clear it. “But I did not come here to discuss Valdamir Demirci. Your father needs to run some tests.” She held up a blood-collection needle and a couple of glass tubes.

  I cringed away despite my fondness for her. Instinctively, we vampires sought to keep our blood inside our bodies. “Ummm, yeah… Can I make some coffee first?”

  “No.” She yanked me toward the bed…and nearly off my sleep-slackened feet.

  “Do you even know how to do that?” I felt a touch of nausea creep over me.

  “Really? I’ve punctured the veins of thousands in order to acquire my dinner.”

  “With your teeth!”

  “Oh, sit down now, Maura. I promise not to hurt you…much.” She laughed raucously at the size my eyes grew to. “I joke! I joke!” she insisted, rolling up the arm of my red-and-white Hello Kitty pajamas.

  Over the course of the next half hour, my enigmatically-beautiful friend filled the vacutubes, and completed a slew of other tests with kits from the insulated bag in her pack. She swiped the inside of my mouth with a long swab and scraped skin cells from my arm and fingertip, affixing them to glass slides. Her long, delicate fingers plucked out a few strands of my hair, and she apologized for the inflicted pain, insisting she must include the roots. Trimmings from my fingernails were collected, and she gave me a clear cup with a twist-off orange lid.

  I eyed her disinterestedly. “You know, I might be able to go if I’d been able to make some coffee.”