by Aria Sparke
I looked at Flynn with narrowed eyes. ‘What did you just do?’
He grinned at me mischievously. ‘See, we’re not all about darkness and death. We have our interesting side.’
* * *
CHAPTER 22
Jealousy
We climbed into Flynn’s car under the shade of an elm tree in the Anubis College parking lot. After Flynn inserted the key in the ignition, I turned to face him. Distracted by his striking profile, his black hair falling around his strong jaw and the straight line of his nose, I whipped out my phone and snapped a photo of him.
He groaned.
‘I haven’t enough pictures of you,’ I said as I examined the photo. ‘Perfect.’
‘I have to tell you something.’
‘More?’
‘No, this is different.’
A flutter of anxiety rose in my belly.
He fidgeted with the seat belt buckle and stared ahead. ‘Years ago, I fell in love with someone.’
A fly crawled across the windscreen and I focused on it while steeling myself for what was to come.
‘Her name is Emma.’
The air left the car. ‘Is?’
Flynn nodded.
‘So what does this mean for us?’ My voice sounded weak and croaky.
‘No, it won’t change anything, but I want you to meet her.’
‘You want me to meet your ex?’ This was too weird.
Flynn scratched at his hair. ‘It’s more complicated. You’ll see. Will you come and meet her?’
I sighed. ‘I guess.’ I preferred to face the truth no matter how bitter.
Flynn drove us to Wicklow, through the city center in the direction of the gray churches. Nestled among the leafy trees and immaculate gardens was a red brick building set on a large block. A sign with the title, Rosewood in curly letters hung over the drive and swung delicately in the spring breeze.
Flynn parked alongside a handful of cars. ‘Just play along with whatever I say. You’ll understand.’ After reaching into the trunk of the car he brought out a bouquet of yellow daffodils making my stomach churn.
My heart fluttered as we walked up a winding path with scented roses alive with droning bees either side. Any other time I would have commented on the beautiful garden, but all I focused on were the flowers in Flynn’s hand as he led the way.
He held the front door of the building open and we entered a comfortable looking waiting room with a sofa, a few chairs and a low table littered with magazines.
A bright young girl reading a book sat behind a desk. ‘Hello, Flynn. Back again so soon?’
‘Hi Jess. How is she today?’
‘The usual. You’ll find her in the television room.’
‘Thanks.’ Once again Flynn opened a door and ushered me in to a large room with more chairs, sofas, card tables and a large television. Several people glanced at us as Flynn guided me across the room. A small, pale-haired woman sat alone on the far side facing the garden.
‘Hello, Emma dear,’ Flynn said as he handed her the flowers, which she laid in her lap.
‘You came. I saw you on the path. I’ve been waiting here since breakfast,’ she said, her delicate features lighting up with a warm smile.
‘This is my cousin, Lily, I told you about.’
‘Lily, I’ve heard so much about you—everything wonderful, I promise.’
‘Hello, Emma, pleased to meet you.’ I said, flabbergasted as I stuck my hand out awkwardly to shake hers. Realizing what I’d done, I tried to withdraw my hand, but she grabbed it and kissed it in a flash. ‘Will you be coming?’
Vacantly, I searched Flynn’s face for a clue.
‘Of course she’s coming,’ Flynn said quickly.
She clapped her hands. ‘I’d invite you to be a bridesmaid, but I have three sisters. You know how it is.’
Speechless, I nodded.
She touched the petals of the daffodils. ‘What lovely flowers. You’re always spoiling me, Flynn.’ She grinned at me. ‘Mother said he’s such a catch.’
I nodded again not knowing what to say.
She turned to Flynn. ‘Have you picked up the invitations from the printery?’
I raised an eyebrow at Flynn, who was blushing.
‘I’ll go this afternoon,’ Flynn said.
‘Where are you staying, Lily?’
‘I’m at Anubis College.’
Emma frowned. ‘I’ve never heard of it.’
‘It’s on the way to my home,’ Flynn said. ‘It’s new.’
Emma stared vacantly out the window for a few moments and then looked at me. ‘Did you hear, Flynn and I are getting married?’
‘Yes.’
Emma yawned. ‘I’m feeling tired.’
‘It’s time for your nap, Emma,’ Flynn said quietly. ‘When I come back I’ll show you the invitations.’
‘Isn’t he a treasure?’ Emma murmured.
I folded my arms and raised my eyebrows at Flynn. ‘An absolute gem.’
‘Lovely to meet you, Lily. I hope you’ll come and visit soon.’
‘I’d be delighted.’
Once Flynn and I left Rosewood, we drove through Wicklow.
‘I know that was weird.’
I blew air out between my lips. ‘Understatement.’
‘She’s a very old friend.’ Flynn shifted in his seat before slowing and pulling the car to a stop near a small lake.
‘Mmm, she looked fifty.’
‘A long time ago Emma and I were close.’
‘Very close by the sounds of it.’
‘We almost married.’
‘So, she wasn’t delusional,’ I said trying to keep an even tone. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I’m a dhampir.’
‘You’re not making sense. How does Emma fit in?’
‘I’ve lived a long time, Lily.’ He looked at me with pleading eyes. ‘I’m sorry, but I loved her—not enough to marry her though.’
‘She still loves you, doesn’t she? Did you break it off?’
‘Of course I did. I’ve told her many times, but she doesn’t hear or forgets.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘She has early onset dementia. I could tell her we’ve separated every day until she dies, but she’d forget, so now I just play along to keep her happy.’
‘But doesn’t she expect more?’
Flynn shook his head. ‘In her head, she’s nineteen and we’re living apart until her wedding day. There isn’t much I can do about it. It was so long ago.’
Stupid. Of course, why hadn’t I thought to ask him? ‘How long ago did this happen?’
‘Close to forty-five years ago.’
‘So that makes you?’
Flynn sighed. ‘I’ve lived around fifty mortal years.’
He was older than my Dad. ‘Hang on that means you met her when you were five.’
‘We’re not like mortals. After birth it took only two or three years to reach my present form. While my experiences have spanned fifty years, my body and mind are young.’
‘So, I’m going with an older man,’ I said and smirked. ‘I’m going to have to think about that.’
‘Ask me anything.’
‘Where were you born?’
‘Here in Wicklow. Most dhampirs are sent overseas to be educated, but Tarek is different to most vampires. He insisted Mirela teach us. Once we matured, we moved around ... a spell near Salem, a decade in Alaska, another in New Hampshire and stints in Europe. Always on the move, following cloudy climates and evading other clans.’
‘And Emma?’
‘We lost contact, and I only discovered she was in Rosewood a few years ago. By then she was already ill.’
‘That’s sad. Poor Emma. Did she know about ... your background?’
‘Being a dhampir? No. Rosewood staff told me she was a school teacher but never married.’
Part of me respected Flynn for the way he still cared for Emma.
Flynn gripped the steering
wheel and gazed at the lake. ‘Does the age thing bother or repulse you?’
I honestly hadn’t given it much thought. ‘I suppose it’s dhampiric baggage. There isn’t much we can do about it.’
‘Most dhampirs avoid relationships with mortals. It’s tricky. Either you end up keeping secrets or risking full disclosure and not every mortal takes that news gently.’
‘Hmm, so you would’ve been around when men landed on the moon?’
‘That happened a few years after I was born in the time of black and white TV and pre-computers.’
‘Crazy.’
‘Can you live with it?’
I smiled at him. ‘Let me know and I’ll come with you next time to visit Emma.’
I could see the relief in his face.
‘You know I love you, old man.’
Flynn grinned and squeezed my hand.
* * *
CHAPTER 23
Preparing for the Dark
I approached the spring semester with a vengeance. Learning more about my mother’s death threw a massive switch in my head. My urge for revenge awakened energy and motivation for other areas in my life and deepened my desire to become a doctor although how it would fit in with my role as a Ruberio witch was unknown. I’d even embraced the term, witch because it seemed more powerful than the word, seer. If I was going to help destroy Vincent Berisha, I needed all the mental conviction and belief in myself I could muster.
The exams went well, and I was on track to get the college grades necessary for medical school. Today I had an appointment with Alexis to discuss the finer detail of my new semester courses.
I knocked on his office door, and when he didn’t answer, I opened the door a crack to see if he was inside. Sitting at his desk with his back to me, he faced the enclosed garden where rain was falling on the flowering daffodils, bluebells and jonquils. I wondered if he longed to walk in the sunlight under blue skies or did he find darkness and cloud more appealing.
Alexis swung his chair around and drew his fingers through his dark hair. ‘Good morning, Lily. You look healthier than when I saw you last. Take a seat, please.’
Now I knew why the Ruberios looked so handsome yet so similar. They all shared the height and dark hair and deep blue eyes, but Alexis varied from Flynn and Martin with his maturity. He had a handful of gray hairs sprinkled through his wavy hair and faint lines around his eyes. He was also more muscular and powerful looking than both Flynn and Martin and his jawline more solid and square. As I sat on one of the leather chairs opposite his desk, I tried to read his expression. Was it sadness?
‘Flynn tells me you’re thinking about joining us.’
‘Well, I’m ready to discuss it. For instance, who are us?’
‘Fair question.’ He leaned back in his chair. ‘Most students attending Anubis College are descendants of the Ruberio line apart from the seers and a smattering of dhampirs from other aligned covens.’
Down the rabbit hole again, I felt my head spin. ‘Everyone’s related?’ Suddenly I realized why I often felt out of place.
‘My father’s the last of the pure Ruberios. He had siblings, three brothers and a sister, who were killed by the Berisha coven in the last decade.’
‘His brothers and sisters were vampires too?’
‘The family was turned in Albania hundreds of years ago.’ Alexis shifted in his seat. ‘Most dhampirs prefer to stay college age. They see aging as a human frailty to be avoided. With age comes decline, however staying young also has its drawbacks. Many are reckless and focus on, um, having a good time. Although their bodies appear fully grown, their brains remain in an immature state. In fact, it would be beneficial for them to age maybe five or six years to allow their brains to reach maturity and their bodies to develop further—but try convincing a young dhampir.’ Alexis’ manner and accent at times seemed old-fashioned, yet it gave him an appealing charm.
‘So why did you, you know, age?’
‘I had my reasons like Mrs. Hasham.’
I raised my eyebrows. Mrs. Hasham had obviously let herself go because she looked well over sixty.
‘But they’re private.’
Instantly intrigued, I would need to do some digging with Flynn. ‘You want me to be a seer or witch, but I’ve no idea what that really means.’
‘If you’re willing to accept the challenge, I can help you.’
‘Okay, I’m up for it.’
‘Thank you, Lily. Cecilia will guide you and we will provide protection and continue the self-defense classes your father began.’
‘You knew about them?’ It was obvious that even from Florida we had been watched for years.
‘Of course. Your parents started your training when you were an infant.’
I tried to claw back from the overload. How much had my parents kept from me? Did my father know about my mother’s heritage? The longer and deeper I thought about it, the uglier the questions became. What about my father’s death? Had it been an accident? I tried not to hyperventilate.
‘It must be difficult—you’ve had so much to contend with.’
I was unable to speak for a few moments. ‘What about my medical studies?’
‘We understand and will support your dreams. I promise, Lily.’
‘Regardless, I’m going to a new college at the end of the semester to ensure my results are competitive when I apply for medical school.’
‘We’ll talk about that when the time comes.’
I relaxed and attempted to meet him halfway. ‘Okay, what’s this training all about?’
‘Ces has agreed to take care of it.’
Ces? Somehow the nickname didn’t fit my picture of her.
‘You’ll be studying witchcraft alongside your science program.’
I felt anxiety rising. ‘How do I keep up with my college studies and learn to be a witch?’
Alexis grinned. ‘Don’t worry about that. I suspect it will come naturally to you. In any case, there will be no exams and we won’t reject you if you fail to learn.’
Fail to learn? Maybe that would be my way out if I didn’t enjoy being a witch. If I couldn’t learn witchy skills, I’d be of no use to anyone and I could safely head south away from this nightmare.
‘Okay when do I start?’
Alexis shook my hand. ‘Tomorrow in room six at the back of the clinic. You’ve got two weeks before normal classes resume after the break, so it’ll be an intensive introduction.’
I had a weird sense of excitement rising in my heart. ‘Thanks, Alexis.’
* * *
The next morning I made my way through the empty clinic and found a door that looked like a janitor’s cupboard with the figure six painted roughly on it. It was an inauspicious beginning to my training. After tapping on the door, a girl from my year welcomed me in.
‘Hi, I’m Bella. You’re Lily, aren’t you?’ she said with an English accent. Her blond hair hung loosely to her shoulders framing her neat face and almond-shaped eyes, and she moved gracefully as though she’d trained for years in ballet.
I nodded and returned her greeting before following her into the room. Yoga mats were arranged in rows on pale bamboo flooring. On the far side of the room, long windows reaching from floor to ceiling let natural light inside from the watercolor world outside where it was raining yet again.
‘We’re waiting for Cecilia,’ Bella explained before introducing me to two girls and two boys.
‘So how does all this work?’ I asked.
She smiled. ‘You’ll love it. Our group’s strength is visualization.’
‘There are other groups in the college?’
‘Yes, with various talents and specialties. Anyone who doesn’t look like the usual Ruberio is probably one of us—a witch.’
I made a mental note to start looking more closely at the Anubis students. ‘What about the older people?’
‘Most like Mrs. Hasham and the librarian are dhampirs while Leah’s a witch who concentrates on her specialty
, healing magic,’ Bella said.
‘But what do we have to do with the dhampirs?’ It felt strange including myself with them.
‘We’re training to help them. We try to see the future for them through our visions and a few of us have other skills.’
I raised my eyebrows.
‘For fighting.’
‘Physical abilities?’
She nodded. ‘That and weaving spells.’
Spells? My world descended another step into chaotic craziness.
‘We heard this was all new to you,’ said Liam, a lanky, sandy-haired boy with a toothy, lopsided grin.
‘Completely. I only learned recently that I was trained in self-defense from an early age for this purpose.’
The rest of the group looked at me with surprised expressions.
‘Is that unusual?’ I asked.
‘Just a little,’ said Max scornfully. He was a heavyset boy with a bushy head of hair, who seemed to be trying to intimidate me with his manner. ‘Is it true you went to a mortal school?’
‘Shut up, Max,’ Liam said.
I nodded. ‘Didn’t you?’ I asked tentatively.
‘We have special schools like this college for our kind,’ Liam explained.
My world was expanding and changing as we spoke.
‘It must have been weird for you going to a mortal school,’ Liam said.
‘Not really. My parents didn’t tell me I was a witch.’ I could see the group was shocked.
Bella smiled reassuringly. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
So I did. Her demeanor made me anxious as though she was withholding something.
‘Most witchcraft is inherent. The training only helps uncover your natural ability,’ Bella said. ‘We’ve heard you come from a long line of great witches, so you’re bound to be okay at it.’
Max rolled his eyes.
Now I understood his attitude because he was obviously competitive.
There was a knock at the door and Bella sprang to her feet to answer it.
‘Greetings fellow witches, warlocks,’ Cecilia said as she followed Bella back into the room. ‘Lily, you came! Have you been introduced to the group?’
‘Yes, thanks.’
She dropped a canvas bag strung over her shoulder to the floor before snapping her fingers at the blinds, which rolled to the floor at the same time several small downlights glowed with a soft luminescence. Although Cecilia looked physically like my mother, she was dressed in a style Mom would never have chosen. She wore a retro-hippy skirt and billowy blouse and her wavy, dark brown hair held by a headband flowed over her shoulders. In contrast, my mom had preferred modern styles without fuss.