by Devon Ashley
“But Noel brought you back?”
“Almost killed both us doing it,” she replied, as they continued their descent.
“How? He doesn’t seem strong enough to counteract you.”
Abby chuckled in amusement. “Don’t let Noel fool you. He’s capable of far more than he lets on.”
“Sounds like you’ve been through a lot together.”
“We have,” Abby smiled, but it quickly faded. “But the sun is setting on my day here.”
“You don’t know that.” She tried to make it sound comforting.
Abby stopped again to face her. “A holy man once told us that every soul is born with a purpose, but most never fulfill it. Noel and I have spent every day since then worrying about what happens if you do. You die, right? You have to.”
“Not when the gods themselves have put so much effort into you.”
“But I was created for this purpose. A witch and hunter from birth turned pure vampire. All this preparation so I could fulfill my destiny.”
“Doesn’t mean death awaits you.”
Abby huffed. “I’ve been straddling the fine line between life and death for so long that I have to fall. It makes sense it would happen once I’ve fulfilled my purpose.”
“All right, misery girl,” Valerie said drolly. “Don’t let Noel hear you talk like this.”
“I take it you’ve noticed then?”
“What?” Valerie asked sarcastically as she maneuvered around the large stones in the downward path and took the lead. “His obsessive rampage to find as much information on this confrontation as possible? Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
“I’ve long accepted my fate but he’s been in denial ever since we learned about it.”
“Just a heads up - he’s about to progress to the anger stage.”
“Great. That’s just what I need right now,” Abby said solemnly. “So many things have changed over the past two hundred years. We were constantly on the move and rarely worked with the same ally twice. The only stability we ever had was in each other. He just can’t bear to lose that.”
“And you can?” Valerie asked doubtfully.
“No, of course not. But I’m not the one that’ll be left behind.”
Valerie and Abby stepped out of the woods into town. Valerie’s face lightened at the sight. The spring festival was underway. The town was decorated top to bottom with banners and beads. Townsfolk ate, drank and danced happily to the music.
“Damn this town celebrates a lot. I always thought Mardi Gras was an American thing.”
“It’s Fasching,” explained Valerie.
“Gseundheidt.”
“Funny. Fasching is the season prior to Lent. The actual Karneval will start the week before Ash Wednesday, but they pretty much start celebrating in January. I believe our Shrove Tuesday is your country’s version of Fat Tuesday.”
“Well, aren’t you a little walking encyclopedia,” Abby teased.
“What else have I got to do in this place?”
Madam Melina needed only moments to collect the ingredients Abby requested, although some of the things she needed were not kept in the front part of the store. Valerie perused the shop while Abby spoke quietly to the gypsy by the herb and potion counter.
Valerie had never noticed Twindel’s before. Perhaps it was the intense fragrance of the incense that engulfed her the moment she stepped in, but she found the shop idyllic and alluring. There were jeweled jars, potion bottles, dream catchers, crystals, large candles, a wall case of scented incense and books galore. There were even crystal balls and tarot cards. She hated leaving so soon but didn’t dare leave Abby’s side during these troubled times.
“Did you wanna stop at the festival before returning?” Abby asked kindly as they entered the square. Valerie could tell she didn’t want to stay. Her body was already facing the opposite direction, towards the trail that led back to the manor.
“Call me crazy, but I’m not really in a party mood.”
“I hear ya.” She led them back into the darkness of the woods.
The trail was darker now, the moon not high enough in the night sky to light their way. Valerie occasionally stumbled on large rocks and tripped over protruding tree roots.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” asked Valerie, hesitantly.
“You can always ask. Whether or not I’ll answer, I can’t say.”
“Touching back on what we were discussing earlier - how can I say this?” Valerie asked, fading away. “There had to be some point in time, when you were trying to help your friend, that you realized what you were doing was wrong and that it would cost more than anticipated.”
“Yeah?”
“Why didn’t you stop?”
Abby slowed to a crawl, then a complete stop. She turned towards Valerie but kept her gaze elsewhere, as if recalling a past memory.
“The thing is, once you realize you’ve reached the point of no return…it’s already too late. Going backwards and admitting defeat is more difficult than continuing forward, no matter how pointless the journey. I was so determined, so stubborn, that the next thing I did was gonna work, that I refused to give up.”
“Maybe that’s the power of love.”
“It wasn’t love, it was pride,” she said bluntly. She continued upward again. “My love was with Noel, who was the only one feeling the negative aspects of my transformation. My pride is what screwed me. I refused to admit that I had limitations like everyone else. I just knew that it would be me that saved her, me that figured out the way to beat death.”
“But you’ve already done that.”
“True enough, but my way around death wasn’t going to help her. Back then we didn’t know a lot about illness or cancer. We didn’t have pharmacies full of antibiotics or chemotherapy. She was already sick. Vampirism isn’t a cure. If you were sick when you transformed, then you were sick afterwards. She would have suffered for eternity. That’s a fate worse than death.”
She wasn’t sure why it came out, but Valerie found herself quietly asking, “What’s it feel like? When you’re in that dark place?”
Abby stopped again and turned around. This time she looked directly into her eyes. “Quite honestly, you don’t feel anything. I suppose that’s why it’s so hard to turn back around. I remember annoyance, anger, frustration. I remember Noel pleading with me on an emotional level, then dealing with me on a physical level because I was completely oblivious to anything else.”
“You mean he hit you?”
“He did far more than hit me. He took a steel pipe to my backside when I was on my knees praying. Knocked me on my ass so fast. He drugged me and kept me comatose while he moved me half way across the world to have me detoxed by a group of wayward monks.”
Valerie was speechless. She had never envisioned anything like that about Noel. Abby had mad skills – she could have killed him easily if he missed.
“Who were you praying to for help?”
“Lord only knows. Probably the devil at that point, or some other random evil being with magical abilities I thought could help.”
“I take it your friend died once Noel took control,” Valerie said sympathetically.
“No. She was dead long before that happened. At that point, I was trying to bring her back.”
They remained silent the rest of the journey home. Just as well. The hike upward had winded her.
Outside her bedroom door, Abby offered one of the packages in her hands. “It’s a gift from Madam Melina. She said it would bring you peace.”
Slightly confused, Valerie took the package from Abby. “Peace from what?”
“Not sure. Clairvoyancy ain’t my department.”
Valerie entered her bedroom and emptied the package onto her bed. There were a few sticks of a strong, spicy floral incense and an old, worn journal. She flipped through the pages. Sleek, slanted handwriting filled the yellowed paper front to back. The memos dated back to the early eighteen hundreds.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Abby was crouched outside the Chancellor’s office peeking through the old-fashioned keyhole. She thought it odd the Chancellor didn’t have a more secure lock for his office. Theft must not have been an issue at the school.
“You don’t really think you can sneak up on me, do you?” she asked boldly.
Emily stopped her quiet tip-toeing and returned to normal steps. “Worth a shot. What are ya doing?”
“Breaking and entering.”
“Cool. Move over.” She pushed Abby to the side, kneeled down and examined the lock. Her push really wouldn’t have moved her but she went along with it anyway. She folded her arms and leaned back against the wall as Emily pulled two pins from her hair and worked the lock.
“The town is still celebrating Mardi Gras. You and your friends gonna go down?” Abby asked.
“Well, after your little stint with the grinloch, all hunters were placed on house arrest. Don’t see why really. We’re no safer here than anywhere else.”
“Sure you are. So long as the Order refreshes the magical boundary charm banning all evil within the manor every year. Only someone superior in the field of magic could overcome the spell and get in.”
“You mean someone like you?” Emily hinted slyly.
“I didn’t have to break the charm. The fools let me in willingly.” Abby tried to look past Emily to see the progress on the lock. “Are you done yet?” she asked impatiently.
“This lock is really old. It must be corroded or something cause it won’t turn.” She grunted as she tried to force the pins.
Abby pushed Emily aside with a little too much force, causing her to tumble sideways. She then waved her hand over the lock. The air whirled with her and the door clicked.
Frustrated, Emily asked, “Why didn’t you just say you could do that?”
Abby shrugged. “You seemed so excited to try.”
Emily gave Abby the evil eye as she pulled her off the floor. They entered the office and immediately began digging through the Chancellor’s belongings.
“If you’re looking for the journal he has on you, it’s locked away in his desk.”
Abby found the locked drawer, waved her hand over it and opened it. She pocketed the journal and continued rummaging through the desk.
Emily pulled a book on demons from the bookcase. “He won’t need this anymore.” She continued to browse the case. “Why doesn’t he leave these books in the library? I for one would like to know how to deal with what I may come across one day.”
“They seem to live in ignorance when it comes to demons. If they don’t see them then they don’t exist.”
Abby opened Valerie’s journal and flipped through it. “Wow. The Chancellor has recorded every vision Valerie has ever shared. Even the ones that don’t mean anything.”
“Am I in there?” There was a hint of anxiety in her voice.
Abby searched the dates prior to Emily’s twenty-fifth birthday. She shook her head yes as she found the entry on September seventeenth, three months before Emily’s birthday.
“What does it say?” she asked, hesitantly.
“Just your name and confirmation that you will fall. He didn’t write any details about the vision.” She flipped through the pages prior. “Seems he hadn’t written any details involving Eraticus for awhile.”
“Guess he got tired of writing the same thing over and over again,” Emily snapped.
“More likely Valerie got tired of saying it over and over again.”
Abby sensed Emily cursing Valerie in her thoughts but as she kept them quietly to herself, she didn’t bother to rebut them. Seeing nothing else interesting, Abby tossed the journal aside and began flipping through a third. This one really caught her attention.
“Seems the Order has more information on Morphus than they’ve been sharing. I think it’s about time I had a talk with them.”
Abby looked up in time to see Emily secretly pocket a book in her clothing.
Chapter Thirty
Noel frantically searched the room, emptying bags, tossing mattresses and banging drawers. His dreams and his thoughts had been haunting him for weeks now and he just couldn’t take it anymore. He was certain Abby had been keeping something secret from him. He finally found the journal written by Abby’s former self underneath the bottom drawer in the chest. Like mother, like daughter. He flipped through the pages, confirming the unreadable contents.
Within minutes he was in the media office sitting at the computer searching dead languages for hieroglyphics on the internet. Egyptian Cartouche, Mayan, Persian, Syriac, Qumran - nothing seemed similar to any of the depictions in Abby’s journal. Several frustrating hours later, Noel still hadn’t found one that matched even in the slightest.
Sighing with heavy frustration and weary eyes, he opened his instant messenger and clicked on the name Sergei.
Have time to talk? he typed. He waited patiently for a few minutes, using the time to rub the pain from his forehead and neck, allowing himself to slip into relaxation.
A musical note pulled him back to reality. Sergei had responded with a simple yes.
Noel clicked on the call button. A harmony of tones, then three rings played through the speakers.
“Noel?”
“Sergei, hey. I need some help identifying a really old dead language. I’ve searched every site possible but I can’t find a match.”
“Hello to you, too,” a man with a Latin accent said.
Noel sighed heavily. “Sorry man. Life’s a little stressful right now.”
“Yes, I sensed that. Are you sure you have a dead language? It may very well be an extinct language.”
Noel threw his hands up in the air in frustration. “Is there really a difference?”
“The difference lies in whether or not I can help you. A dead language is no longer used as a main dialect but is still used in science and literature. An extinct language literally has no more speakers around to understand it.”
“I have no idea what I have then.”
“All right. Send me a copy and I’ll see what I can figure out.”
“Hold on. I’ve got a scanner right here.” Noel placed the book on the scanner and ran the image.
“So where are you guys now?” asked Sergei.
“In the belly of the beast,” Noel answered exhaustedly.
“What the hell?” Sergei replied with annoyance. “I thought they agreed it was best for all parties that she not return.”
“Her way or the highway, Serg. They knew that when they inducted her.”
“Yes, and they agreed to it with the hopes that her husband would be able to win a few rounds eventually.”
“I choose my battles a little more wisely these days. Besides, I didn’t completely disagree with coming here. And we did end up finding this journal.”
“Which you can’t read.”
The scan was complete. Noel sat back down at the computer and opened the file. It was blank. “That’s weird,” he said.
“What?” Sergei asked.
“I guess the scanner’s broken.”
“Got your satellite phone on you?”
“Yep, hold on.” Noel activated the camera, zoomed in and snapped a photo of the book. He was confused by the result. The picture showed the book but none of the words.
“Crap,” he whined.
“Bad resolution?”
“Well, if the words were actually there I’d be able to answer that for you.”
“Is your camera broken or will it literally not take a photo of the written words?”
“I see the book, just no words. Should I even bother searching for a copier?”
“No,” replied Sergei. “I don’t know what you’ve found but someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to protect it.”
“Sergei, this book is a thousand years old. How the hell could it be protected from technology that didn’t even exist then?” Noel asked, waving the book about.
“It’s protected fro
m all types of copying. You probably can’t even hand write the information without the ink performing a disappearing act.”
Noel’s forehead creased. His eyes glared heavily. “Did you already know this?” he asked loudly.
Confused, Sergei, responded, “How could I pos–”
“Not you, Sergei,” interrupted Noel. He spun his chair around to face Abby, who was leaning against the doorway. It was difficult to determine who was more annoyed at that point.
“What do you think?” she asked coldly. “And what the hell do you think you’re doing going behind my back and dragging Sergei into this?”
Noel met her in the center of the room. “Trying to figure out what the hell is written in this book!”
“Uh, guys?” Sergei asked uncomfortably.
“I already told you!” yelled Abby.
“Bullcrap. After all these years, you think I can’t tell when you’re lying to me?”
Abby drew in her breath, readying herself for a forceful comeback, but was cut off abruptly by Sergei yelling, “Guys!” They both turned to the computer. “Is it absolutely vital for me to be present for this argument? Quite frankly, I’ve heard some version of it before.”
Abby folded her arms and leered at Noel. “Don’t worry Sergei. I’m sure Noel will call you back the moment my back is turned.”
“Okay,” Sergei whispered.
“I’ll send you a copy. Even if I have to write it by hand.” A steady dial tone filled the air. “I will find out what’s written in this book,” Noel said forcefully.
“Think so? Well, only a few weeks till spring. Better hop to it.”
Noel swiped the pen and paper Abby was waving in the air. As soon as he finished the first sentence the ink disappeared from the paper.
Chapter Thirty-One
Abby watched as Noel tried over and over again to copy the words in the book. He even tried tracing. Finally accepting defeat, he sat down and buried his head in his hands.
He sighed. Abby followed suit and retrieved her book from the table. “Why do you think this book is still in the Order’s possession?” After a moment of silence, she continued. “Protecting it was the only way my past self could ensure it would be returned to me. She knew the Order would never let the book out of their sight once they realized it could never be copied. See the spine here?”