Ageless

by Cege Smith

  The barn was entombed in darkness except for a large circle of candles in the middle of the room. The ground was drenched with red liquid and she could see that it was dripping into the circle in almost continuous streams from above. As her eyes followed those streams back up to their source, she gasped. Jeremiah hung upside down, being held in place by thick black metal chains. His whole body appeared to be a mass of red. She couldn’t see an inch of his skin that hadn’t been flayed open. His eyes were closed. She had no idea if he still conscious.

  “The cool thing is, vampires heal rather quickly, so as long as I give him a little bit of time, I’ll be able to start my fun all over again.” Elysa’s voice seemed to be everywhere at once and Violet covered her ears with her hands. “But now I have a new toy to play with. Welcome, Violet.”

  “Show yourself,” Violet said, trying to locate the source of Elysa’s voice. Laughter was the only response. She was afraid to close her eyes to use her magic X-ray vision, but Elysa was leaving her with little choice. “So you got dumped. So what? Don’t you think taking things to this extreme is a bit pathetic?”

  The laughter stopped. “What do you know about love? You’re an infant. Surely you don’t think that you’d be able to keep the attention of a man who has lived for centuries, do you?” the voice mocked. “And if you think that you can possibly control that little bit of power that you’ve managed to wield, you are going to have a rude awakening.”

  Elysa’s words stung. It was like the vampire knew that the easiest way to dig at her would be to poke at Violet’s self-esteem.

  “I may only be eighteen years old, but I know more about life than you ever could,” Violet retorted. “I don’t wallow in the past and try to change things that can’t be changed. You tricked Jonah into turning you into a vampire just so you could go after Jeremiah. It’s girls like you that have always given women a bad name.”

  Elysa appeared in front of her and swiped at Violet’s face. Even though Violet’s body had been coiled like a spring ready for an attack, she still wasn’t ready. She felt Elysa’s nails dig into the soft, meaty part of her cheek. Violet cried out and brought her arm up just barely in time to deflect the follow-up blow. The impact though on her forearm caused her to wince and stumble backwards. Elysa advanced on her, murder in her eyes.

  “No smart words now, eh?” Elysa said.

  “How did you cast the spells?” Violet asked. She had to find out the source of Elysa’s newfound skills. “There’s no chance you did this by yourself.”

  “Easier than you think when you have the right friends,” Elysa said with a shrug.

  “Are your friends here with you now?” Violet asked, dreading the answer.

  “You’ll find out soon enough. But Jeremiah? He will never leave me again.” Elysa shot a glare up at Jeremiah. “Not over my dead body.”

  Violet put her hand over the symbol by her collarbone, the one that Rose had pointed out to her, and she sent all the energy she could into pushing it to Jeremiah. It felt like a slight ripping sensation as it fell away from her, and she stumbled backwards before she could catch herself. Then she whipped her head up and focused on unraveling the chains that held him suspended in the air.

  She heard the chains clatter and give way and then a crash. She knew that even though she had managed to protect him from any further harm at Elysa’s hands, she wasn’t able to save him from the fall when she released the chains. She couldn’t slam a protection spell into place around herself before she felt tendrils of energy wrap themselves around her and yank her onto her tiptoes.

  “My friend is very interested in the energy that you are able to wrangle up, sweetie,” Elysa said with a small amount of respect in her eyes. “Ya know, I thought I was the vampire in the relationship, but I think she’s going to suck you dry.”

  Violet’s eyes widened. When she had absorbed the energy from the traps outside, she never considered the possibility that someone else would be able to do the same to her. She tried to struggle against the magical bonds holding her, but they were so tight that she could feel them starting to cut off the circulation in her arms and legs.

  “I would rather die first,” she spit out.

  “Oh, you’ll die anyway,” Elysa said with a small smile. “But it will be very, very painful, I’m afraid...” Her voice was cut off as her eyes bulged out of her head in surprise. Violet watched in horror as blood slid from Elysa’s mouth.

  A wooden tip was exposed in Elysa’s chest, poking out at Violet. As Elysa slid to the floor, Violet found herself staring into her grandmother’s eyes. She gasped.

  “Thank goodness we don’t have to listen to that drivel anymore, don’t you agree?” Riveka said. She moved closer, and Violet could see that her feet never touched the floor. Violet knew with certainty that her grandmother was possessed. But she didn’t know by who.

  “Astonishing, really, you look so similar to her. The bloodline must not be as diluted as I first suspected.”

  A horrible idea blossomed in her mind. “Bruckhart Ward,” she breathed.

  Her grandmother clapped her hands in delight before nodding. “Yes, my little granddaughter. You are clever, aren’t you? I never thought I’d see the day that my bloodline would produce another powerful witch like me. You are the one I have been waiting for. You are the one that is going to set me free.”

  “What are you talking about?” She kept trying to move but the bonds wouldn’t budge. Riveka moved closer and Violet could smell death in her breath. It was the breath of someone who had been dead for a thousand years.

  “You are the one, Violet. Anyone who feeds on your blood will have miraculous benefits. Humans will become immortal. Vampires will be saved from their bloodlust. And the dead will be able to walk again. You make the things you touch ageless. It is a wonderful and powerful gift.”

  Violet was stunned. If what Riveka had just said was true, Violet was the Fountain of Youth. “You can’t kill me then,” Violet said, trying to buy time. Riveka’s finger reached across the inches left between them, and Violet felt it stroke her injured cheek.

  “Who said anything about killing? I will take your power, and then you will be completely under my control and the key to my total domination over this whole new world. Humans and vampires alike will make me king in a bid to gain access to the ability to be healed and live forever. I will be like a god.”

  Violet was nauseated at hearing Bruckhart’s plans out loud. He was planning to turn her into a human blood bank. She couldn’t let that happen. She closed her eyes. She needed to gather her strength.

  “Oh no, little one, we’re done playing now,” Riveka said as she felt the magical energy from her grandmother’s body push at hers. It felt exactly the same as in her foray into the phantom world earlier, only this time the pressure was much stronger.

  She pushed back with all her might. Sweat broke out on her forehead. She grimaced, expecting to feel him rip her power out and gut her, but when it didn’t immediately happen, she dared to crack open an eye. The pressure hadn’t lessened, but Riveka was staring behind her.

  “You will not interfere,” she snarled.

  Then Violet smelled it. Roses. A rush of warmth enveloped her and then it pushed back with her. Riveka, and Bruckhart with her, was pushed back. Violet felt the push of his energy against hers again, but then again with Rose’s help, she was able to deflect it and push it back. Then the bonds holding her broke and she was free. In that moment, she let loose everything that she had in her mind, and she heard Riveka’s yell.

  Every light in the barn flew on, and when Violet saw the entire scene in the barn that had been hidden in the darkness, she screamed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Everywhere she looked, Violet saw bodies. All of them looked like their skin had been ripped to shreds. In the area just beyond the circle of candles, Violet saw an achingly familiar face tied to a post on the far side of the bar. It was her grandfather.

  “NO!” she yelled. The
fury of her pain pulled energy from the ground beneath her, and she felt more than just Rose’s power being added to hers. She gathered all of it into herself and struck out with everything she had.

  Riveka was picked up and thrown across the room. Her body connected with a wooden gate that had once been an animal’s stall and she disappeared from view. Violet stepped over Elysa’s body. She was angrier than she had ever been in her life, and she wasn’t going to be a victim any longer.

  She closed her eyes and sent out a mental signal to try to find Riveka. Then she saw a white mist rise from the stall and slam straight into her grandfather’s chest, immediately absorbed into his flesh. Violet cried out and went to dive toward him when strong arms wrapped around her. Even as she struggled she felt the once massive amount of energy seep from her body in a flood.

  Her grandfather’s eyes opened and he winked at her. He reached up and yanked on the ropes holding him in place and they fell to his feet. She was trying to find the energy to reach out to him but there was nothing left.

  “Stay still.” Jeremiah’s words in her ear were urgent.

  Her chest was heaving. She watched as Nicholas straightened the collar of his shirt and then reached out as if testing the length of his arms. He stood tall and a wicked grin crossed his face.

  “Jeremiah,” he said. “How not so pleasant to see you again. I’d rather hoped someone would have staked you by now.”

  Violet felt Jeremiah’s arms around her tremble. She didn’t know how he was managing to stand up, much less fight to keep her in place. She felt a war raging inside of her. She wanted to protect him but it was her grandfather in front of her; or at least her grandfather’s body being worn by someone else. She had no idea if her grandfather was still inside or if he could be saved, but she felt like she had to try. But now, each time she reached for that mysterious core of energy, she found nothing there.

  “Your time is over, Bruckhart. It has been for a long time,” Jeremiah said. “You have no power here.”

  “Au contraire, Mr. Montrose,” Nicholas said. “My time is just beginning.”

  Violet was suddenly glad that she had Jeremiah’s arms wrapped around her. Her grandfather’s eyes danced with madness. Then they settled again on the space behind her, and Violet felt her presence. A ghostly form stepped next to them, and for the first time Nicholas’s face showed fear.

  “I told you that you are not to interfere,” he snapped.

  “You will do no harm here,” Rose’s voice whispered. “I will not allow it. I will not allow you to harm our own blood.”

  “I wasn’t planning on harming her, per se,” Nicholas said with a salacious grin in Violet’s direction. Jeremiah’s arms tightened around her.

  “Leave,” Jeremiah growled.

  “You killed me once, vampire. I have gotten much craftier over the years as I bided my time on the other side; you won’t be so lucky this time,” Nicholas said with narrowed eyes.

  Violet felt a small hum within again. Her powers were returning. “Release my grandfather!” she cried out.

  Nicholas’s eyes settled on her. “No,” he said.

  Violet closed her eyes to strike, and then she felt Jeremiah push her behind him. It interrupted her train of thought and she started to yell as she saw Jeremiah leap into the air. Rose had already lifted a hand and then Jeremiah landed where Nicholas had just stood. Laughter echoed through the barn.

  “You amuse me, Jeremiah. Until we meet again, granddaughter.” Then a loud explosion rocked the barn and there was silence.

  Violet found Rose studying her. “He’s gone,” Rose said.

  A deep-rooted anguish filled her chest.

  “You are strong, but you aren’t strong enough yet to take on my father. The only reason you were able to land a blow tonight is because I stepped in to help you. Don’t be foolish,” Rose said. “Consider it a gift we were able to drive him away at all.”

  “My power was returning,” Violet said weakly. “I could have saved him.”

  Jeremiah tried to pull her into his arms as tears fell down her face. “I’m sorry, Violet.”

  Violet pushed him away and made her way across the barn floor, avoiding looking at the bodies hanging all around her. She crept slowly up to the stall and then dashed inside, kneeling next to Riveka’s prone body. She put her finger on Riveka’s neck, but there was no pulse. She pushed down the sobs that threatened to bubble up her throat.

  She looked up and found Jeremiah watching her. His face was streaked in blood. His shirt had been ripped to shreds, but underneath all of the tattered pieces she could see that his skin was healing. She reached down and gently pushed Riveka’s eyes closed.

  “We should go find Jonah and Margo,” Jeremiah said. “I will make sure that she is well taken care of, Violet.”

  Violet stood and nodded. There was nothing she could do. She had the power to save them within her reach, but she had failed them. There was no one to blame but herself.

  Jeremiah took her hand and pulled her with him toward the entrance. Violet kept her eyes cast downward.

  “I think Elysa helped your grandmother cast what was supposed to be a protective spell, and Bruckhart took advantage of the situation. What Riveka did to call him forward was very dark, very powerful magic, Violet. You are lucky you weren’t killed,” Jeremiah said softly.

  Violet didn’t feel so lucky. As they reached the door opening of the barn, Violet could tell that the spell around the barn was gone. She couldn’t sense any other magic. As they stepped outside, they found Jonah and Margo waiting for them. Margo had a gash across her face. Jonah had no outward signs of harm, and he looked relieved to see them.

  “What the hell happened to you?” he asked Jeremiah.

  “Elysa got her pound of flesh,” Jeremiah said.

  “Is she gone?” Jonah asked, looking behind them.

  Jeremiah nodded with a sigh.

  Violet stepped away from him and went to Margo. “You don’t look much worse for wear.”

  “Too bad you can’t drink vamp blood, Vi. Those scratches are probably going to leave a mark,” Margo said, glancing at Violet's cheek.

  “Bruckhart Ward possessed my grandmother and killed Elysa,” Violet said. “When Rose and I fought her, he killed Riveka. All very neat. Then he possessed my grandfather and disappeared.” Even though she had just lived it, saying the words out loud made the whole thing seem like a horrible fairy tale.

  “I’m so sorry,” Margo said with a stricken look on her face.

  “Nicholas was the catalyst in the spell your grandmother used. There’s no way to know if she knew what would happen or if she did it on purpose,” Jeremiah said. “I’m sorry, Violet. Blood calls blood. He won’t be able to occupy your grandfather’s body for long, however. He’ll be looking for a way to become fully corporeal again soon.”

  Violet smiled weakly. “Guess that means that I should be expecting a visit again soon from dear old granddad, huh?”

  “We’ll stop him, Violet,” Jonah said, looking menacing. “Now that we know what we’re up against, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

  Violet wasn’t so sure.

  “We need to burn this place,” Jeremiah said. “We can’t let anyone discover the atrocities that have happened here.”

  Jonah nodded, and the three of them set to work. Violet sat on the fountain and watched them. As the fire began to burn, she wondered if she was ever going to be the same again.

  EPILOGUE

  A week later, Violet sat in front of the mirror in the bathroom of her room in Ganterwood Hall. Margo was fussing with Violet’s hair, trying to make every strand perfect. Violet appreciated her friend’s effort, but she felt empty inside. After burning the barn at Cove Point, Jeremiah deposited her back in his house in North Carolina and left her in Jonah and Margo’s care as he went out to try to find out where Nicholas had gone.

  She knew that she had things to clear up with both Margo and Jonah, but all of that was eclipsed
by the fact that she was trying to come to grips with the fact that she physically carried the cure to basically all of the world’s ailments. Rose had been right; she had a lot to learn about what she could do. She didn't want to admit it, but she would have to wait until she knew what she was doing so that she didn't lose anyone else.

  She had no idea what to do next. She missed Jeremiah. She wanted to talk to him and find out what else he knew. He called every evening and spoke to Jonah, but had not asked to speak with her. She tried not to take it personally. Cleaning up after a mass murder was a lot of work.

  The only time he had spoken to her since the incident at Cove Point was when he called to tell her that he had arranged for her grandmother’s funeral. They agreed to keep it small and announce it only after the fact. Her grandfather’s absence would be conspicuous, and Jeremiah’s other concern was that Nicholas would actually show up to cause trouble. He was certain that Rose’s influence wouldn’t extend beyond Cove Point, so Violet’s first prerogative was simply to gather her strength.

  She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the knocking on the door at first. Margo patted her shoulder and went to check. Looking at her watch Violet saw that it was close to dinnertime. Jonah was probably checking in on her.

  Violet stared at the mirror. She hadn’t been sleeping well, and her eyes looked sunken in her face. Instead of looking eighteen, she thought that she looked like she was forty.

  “Violet, you have a visitor,” Margo called from the other room.

  Margo hadn’t announced Jonah before, and Violet wondered who it could be. Heart pounding, Violet smoothed her hair and then quickly moved to the doorway to see if her wish may be right. Jeremiah stood there and a slow smile crossed his face as he spied her.

  “I’ll just leave you two to catch up,” Margo said with a wry smile as she stepped quickly out into the hall and closed the door behind her.