by Lana Melyan
“Hanna.” Amanda looked at her. “How long have you known this?”
“Always,” said Hanna, bravely looking back.
“You said you’re protecting me? You all lied to me?” Amanda’s eyes shone with tears, and she stood up. Turning her back to them, she took a few steps away.
“Amanda.” Craig stood up, too.
“Don’t,” snapped Amanda.
“We didn’t lie to you,” Hanna said. “We just didn’t tell you the whole truth.”
Amanda turned back. Her eyes were dry again.
“What is it you need from me?”
Craig took a deep breath.
“We need your help.”
“What are you waiting for?” She gazed at Craig. “Tell me what it is, and I’ll do it.”
“It’s not that easy. To do it, we need one very important thing, and we don’t know where it is.”
“And those guys, do they know?” asked Amanda.
“Yes,” said Craig.
“Then why are you keeping me away from them?”
“Because they don’t care about you, and when you do what they want, they might hurt you.”
Amanda stepped toward Craig.
“You mean they might kill me.”
Craig looked down.
“Is that what they did to—did they kill Eleanor?”
Craig’s eyes flew up at her.
“Amanda,” said Hanna, slowly rising.
“How did she die?” Amanda asked with trembling lips. “Is that what happened?”
“We won’t let anything happen to you. We will protect you,” said Hanna.
“Like you protected her?”
Craig’s eyes dimmed, and he looked away. Ruben stood up.
“No. That was different,” he said. “They were the reason she died, but they didn’t kill her.”
“I knew it,” whispered Amanda. “I could feel that there was a connection.” She paused for a second, then said, “And I don’t think it’s the only one. I have one last question.”
Craig knew that it was the one he feared the most, and his heart throbbed.
“Why do I look like her?” Amanda asked carefully, like she was afraid to hear the answer.
“It’s just a coincidence,” said Craig.
He was lying. He had to. The answer to that question was very complicated, and if he told her, he would have to tell her everything. But right now it was impossible.
Amanda didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t say anything. She turned around and headed to the front door.
Craig, Ruben, and Hanna exchanged anxious looks, then Ruben started toward the door too. But Craig stopped him.
“No. I’ll do it.”
The whole way back to her house they didn’t exchange a word. Craig didn’t dare look at Amanda, but he could feel that she was still angry. He knew this conversation answered some of her questions, but it also sowed the seeds of new ones, which would grow very soon and torment her even more, and all he could do to help her was find the house.
When he stopped the car, Amanda looked at him.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Those questions about Eleanor were . . . I know how painful it must be for you, for all of you. But this stir suddenly started around me, and I have no idea what’s going on. It freaks me out.”
“It’s all right,” said Craig, keeping his eyes on the windshield.
She pulled out something from her pocket, and when she opened her hand, he saw the bracelet laying in her palm.
“I had a dream today,” said Amanda.
“What dream?” Craig asked, turning to her. “What did you see?”
“I saw the ring.”
Craig’s mouth went dry. He swallowed.
“I saw Eleanor’s hands. She wore the bracelet and the ring.” Amanda handed him the bracelet. “Take it.”
“No.”
“I look like her.” Amanda’s voice broke. “That’s why you gave it to me, right?”
“No.” He closed her palm. “I gave it to you because it belongs to you.”
Craig regretted what he’d just said, but it was too late to take it back.
Amanda stared at him.
“I don’t understand.”
He looked into her eyes, which he missed so much.
“You will,” he said quietly. “When this is all over, you will.”
18
Year 1852, June
Samson and Fray stood in one of the castle bedrooms. The man lying on the bed was in transition.
“I have rights too,” yelled Fray. “I am just as old and immortal as you are. We’ve been in this together for centuries, but you never let me do this. Every time I choose somebody, you stop the transformation.”
“I have to. You know the rules. Four days have passed, and he is still in transition. I can’t wait any longer. I did the same when I chose the wrong person.”
“Give him a chance.”
“A chance to do what? Steal the dagger and kill my family in their sleep? It’s not just my rules. The golden text describes the person the moment his blood drips into the pentacle. Do you know what it said about him? It said that he is unstable, aggressive, and has killed people.” With those words, Samson pulled out his dagger and stuck it into the man’s chest.
Fray growled like an animal.
“I could have done it right away,” said Samson. “I waited this long because I wanted you to see it yourself. I can’t bring someone like that into our family. It will put them in danger.”
“Our family?” Fray cried out in fury. “They are not my family, I didn’t choose them—you did.”
“Then make the right choice. Bring someone good, and I’ll turn him for you. Why do you always pick someone like this?”
“Because they’re fun, because they don’t have rules and they do what they want. They don’t have a mission to protect the world forever!”
“Killing people is not fun.”
“If I were able to turn people, I would have an army by now, take over country after country. If you would listen to me, we could be kings of the world. And all we have is your family.”
“You would have an army of killers. We are not killers, and we are not invaders. We are Hunters. We have been given this power to protect people from supernatural evil, not enslave them. You need to calm down before you say more stupid things, things you’ll regret tomorrow,” said Samson.
He returned to his study. He knew Fray wasn’t going to regret what he’d said, that it was Fray’s true desire to create an army of immortals. And that made Samson anxious.
He was cleaning the blood from his dagger when Gabriella entered the room.
“How did he take it?” she asked.
“This time it was much worse,” Samson answered.
He stuck the dagger in the sheath and put it in his table drawer.
“Don’t worry, he’ll come around.”
“Will he?” said Samson, irritated. “He says things that shouldn’t cross his mind in the first place.”
“People say things when they’re angry. He doesn’t mean them.”
Samson walked to her and sighed. “No, I think, deep down, he does.”
“Every family has its trouble maker. We’ll deal with it.”
Samson hugged her.
“Thank you, my love, I feel better.”
“Liar,” laughed Gabriella.
“You always make me feel better,” said Samson, but his voice was sad.
“No, not this time.” Gabriella became serious again. She pulled back and looked at him. “You’re still deeply concerned.”
“You’re right, I am,” said Samson, letting go of her. “I can’t do what he asks me because it’s wrong, and he knows it.”
“It’s just his temper. I’ll go to him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“He’s hurt. Maybe he wants to talk to somebody. He has to let his pain out.” Gabriella walked to the door, then looked back. “O
r he’ll just run away again to look for comfort somewhere else, and God knows how that will turn out.”
Fray was in a fury. Samson didn’t want Gabriella to be alone with him. Now that he knew how Fray felt about the family, Samson didn’t trust him. Just in case, he decided to keep his ear on the conversation.
Gabriella knocked on the door.
“Leave me alone,” Fray yelled.
She opened the door and walked in.
“It’s you. I said leave me alone,” he said harshly.
“I’m not going anywhere until I talk to you.”
“And say what? How sorry you are? That’s what you said last time, isn’t it?”
“I was sorry last time, yes, because last time I thought your choice was just a mistake, that you found a friend and you didn’t know he was bad. But right now I feel sorry for you because I can see how lost you are. You knew that he was bad, and you brought him anyway. Why did you do that, Fray?”
“Maybe he is bad for you, but to me, he was exactly what I needed.”
“He was a killer.”
“How do you know? Because Samson said?”
“Because the Book said.”
“I don’t know what the Book said—I can’t read those golden pages, and I don’t see the reason why I should believe Samson?”
“The transition took too long. . . .”
“Oh, the rule,” said Fray ironically. “It’s his rule, and I don’t believe in it, either.”
“Why do you think he would lie to you?”
A note of frustration entered her voice.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Fray laughed viciously. “He wants me to know who’s the king in this castle.” He raised his voice. “He and I have been in this boat from the beginning. For two hundred years we made our decisions together, and we chose Riley together. But then he came up with those rules, and he never asked me when he turned Ruben, or you, or Craig, or Eleanor.”
“Because that small boat became a ship, and every ship needs a captain. He had to take the responsibility.”
“Yeah, but I don’t like his code. I am a First One, too, and I’m sure there are some things in that Book about the First. There has to be, and he just doesn’t want to tell me. Maybe he is the Keeper of the Book, but Higher Powers made me as strong and as immortal as him, and I have the right to choose my people, to have my own ship, to build my own kingdom.”
“So that’s what this is all about—power.” Gabriella took a deep breath. “Sorry, but we are all you’ve got. Samson was chosen by Higher Powers. they didn’t make him the Book Keeper by accident.”
“No. They made him a Book Keeper because he woke up first.”
“I don’t think that was a coincidence, either,” said Gabriella sharply.
Fray hissed. Samson could only imagine the expression on his face.
“Listen,” said Gabriella. “I didn’t come here to fight. I wanted to talk and I’m glad you expressed your feelings. Maybe not today, but I hope tomorrow you feel better.”
She left the room.
Samson began pacing. Everybody in the castle knew how impulsive and tough Fray was, but he was the only one who knew how dangerous Fray was becoming. Those aggressive thoughts weren’t something new; they had been in his head for centuries, and if before he presented them to Samson in small portions, with time he was becoming more open about his ideas, what the two most powerful men in the world could do to change it. They all lead to destruction on the way to build their own empire.
“Sorry it didn’t go as I hoped,” said Gabriella as she returned.
“I know. I was listening,” said Samson.
“But he let out some steam. Maybe that will help?” she said in an uncertain voice.
“Don’t feel bad. That’s how he is, you know that.”
“Maybe when Riley and Craig come back, they can talk to him.”
“Gabriella, you heard him. There’s nothing we can do. He’s six hundred years old. We can’t change him. Besides, he hates Craig. He thinks that everything changed after I brought him into our family, that I trust him more. And that’s true, I don’t deny it.”
“I can’t blame you.”
“I heard a noise. Was he packing?”
“He was looking for something.”
“Did he find it? What was it?” asked Samson.
“It was a picture. A picture of some woman, just her face. Do you think he has someone?”
“I don’t know. But if he does, why didn’t he ask me to turn her?”
“Maybe he doesn’t love her enough to spend eternity with her?” said Gabriella.
“Or maybe he is afraid of what the Book will tell me about her. Maybe he’s afraid the transition will take so long I’ll have to stop it.”
“Oh, God,” gasped Gabriella. “What if that’s the reason he’s so exasperated?”
“Not the major one, but it might be one of the reasons, yes.”
Gabriella walked to the sofa and sat down, visibly disturbed.
“Has he said all those things before?” she asked after a moment. “Those things about the kingdom?”
“Yes. But before he called it our kingdom, because he needed me, because Fray was sure I was the only one who could turn people.”
“But you are the only one.”
Samson looked down. He took a deep breath and stepped to the Book.
“Actually, that’s not true.”
“Samson,” whispered Gabriella. “No.”
“The Book doesn’t say that only the Keeper of the Book can turn people. It says that only the First One is strong enough to pull out the power and immortality from the Book.” Samson looked at Gabriella. “If Fray finds out, we are all doomed. We will end up fighting our own kind.”
“But it’s on the golden pages,” said Gabriella, terrified. “And nobody else knows about it. There’s no way he’ll find out.”
“No, nobody else knows. All this time I kept it a secret. But I’m telling you now because the situation is becoming very dangerous. Upset people can be unpredictable. You heard him. What if one day he becomes so desperate, wants to turn somebody so badly, that he tries to do it himself, hoping for a miracle? We have to be careful. From now on, we have to keep an eye on him and the Book.”
“Are you going to tell the others?”
“No. Not yet.” Samson started pacing again. “I trust all of them, but I’m afraid their behavior will attract his attention. If everybody starts watching him, he’ll notice it, and it will infuriate him even more. It will put all of you in danger.” He stopped. “He has the dagger, Gabriella.”
“He wouldn’t do that. Otherwise the Higher Powers wouldn’t have made him a First.”
“Everybody who is turned by Higher Powers is a First. Through the Book, they transfer a part of their own power. It’s irreversible. That’s why the dagger can’t kill us. They made me the Keeper of the Book and gave me a choice. They warned me, but I didn’t listen. They didn’t choose him—I did.”
“You couldn’t let your friend die. You did the right thing.”
“Yes, we were friends for six years, but I never really knew him. I didn’t know that he had so much anger in him. It’s not even anger—its violence. When he was killing those monsters, he wasn’t just fighting against evil, he was enjoying it. When he could just easily stake or knife them, he preferred to torture them and then rip their heads off. He never cared about victims. And then he became more and more impatient with us. Every time he and Riley are fighting, I expect him to take out his dagger.”
“No. Maybe he is irascible, but he is not a killer. He’d never do that to us.”
“You always believed he is better than he seems.” Samson looked at her fondly.
“I’ll watch him. I’m around him more than anybody else. He’s used to my attention.”
“If you notice something, don’t act, don’t say anything, just tell me.”
Gabriella stood up.
“Don’t worry, my love, I’l
l be careful.”
“He’ll probably leave for a while.” Samson walked to her and locked his arms around her. “We’ll see what happens when he gets back.”
“Everything will be fine,” said Gabriella quietly, laying her hands on his shoulders.
Samson’s hands crept up her back.
“My Gabriella,” he said, kissing her neck. “I love you so much,” he whispered into her ear.
“I love you more,” she said. Her lips touched his cheekbone and then moved to his lips.
Fray, who was standing behind the door, slipped down and sat on the floor. His heart was about to jump out of his chest, and he thought if somebody looked at him now, they’d see sparks shooting out of his eyes.
He came to throw the bracelet at Sampson and tell him not to call him and not to try to find him, that he was leaving, that he hated them all and didn’t want to stay with them under the same roof.
But he heard his name, he heard them talking about him. What he had just discovered changed everything. He wanted to burst in and yell that he had known Samson was hiding something from him, that he had known that, as a First, he had to have some privileges, that all this power wasn’t given to him just to make it easier to kill monsters; it had to have some other use.
But he stood up and disappeared as quietly as possible. In two seconds, he was in his room. He needed to think this through. If he told Samson he knew he could turn people, Samson would hide the Book. He’d lock it up somewhere and guard it day and night. Fray would not have a chance—he’d be alone against seven. He needed a plan. For now, he had to act like nothing had happened and do what Samson expected him to do.
He packed his valise and left.
Joanne stopped the horse at the outskirts of a small village.
“This one will do,” she said, looking at the farmhouse standing alongside the road, then turned to the five horsemen behind her, “Dinner time.”
She put spurs to the horse and galloped toward the big yard.
She dismounted in front of the porch and looked into the small panes of the window.
“Children.” Joanne took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I like children. I like their warm tender skin and fresh, delectable blood.” She opened her eyes again and went up the wooden staircase. “You four wait here. Gregor, come with me.”