A strange sound drifted up from downstairs. It was so whisper quiet that it took Eren a moment to realize it was the sound of the front door sliding to rest in its hinges. Very faintly, she felt the pulse of two energy signatures. Whoever they were, they were trying to suppress their power so they wouldn’t be noticed. One felt like it was still outside. Knowing the strangers would feel it, she worked very hard at suppressing her own energy. It was crazy to think he’d be foolish enough to come into her home, but Eren couldn’t help but fear it might be Luke.
When she stood up she swayed on her feet and would have fallen on her face if Fane hadn’t caught her. Giving her a stern look, he steadied her and held tight to her arm as they both inched toward the bedroom door. The room spun with every step but Fane managed to keep her upright.
There was the sound of a scuffle and someone slammed to the floor, hard. Grunts and curses broke the stillness. The world spun faster as Fane hurried out to the loft, pulling her with him. It made it hard to focus on the sounds coming from below. It made it hard to focus on anything. Fane guided her hands to the railing and she clung to it for dear life.
Slowly, the living room came into focus and Eren was horrified to see that it wasn’t Luke, it was Virgil. He lay face down on the floor with Alin kneeling upon his back. Alin had one of Virgil’s arms tweaked back at a very painful looking angle.
“You fool! You didn’t really think you could break into my house and threaten my family did you?” Alin asked in a cold tone.
“What do you mean, your family?” Virgil snarled.
Alin laughed, it was a scary sound that Eren had never imagined he was capable of, full of resentment and anger.
“You mean you haven’t figured it out, Brother? Sylvia is my wife and Eren is my niece,” Alin took great pleasure in saying.
There was a long moment of silence and then Virgil roared so loudly that Eren was forced to let go of the railing and cover her ears. There was power in his voice. His body thrashed and bucked but Alin’s hold on him was too good. Finally, his screams became coherent words.
“You traitor! How could you betray our ancestors like that? How could you turn against your own people?”
“I didn’t turn against anyone, Virgil. I knew you wouldn’t understand and I knew you’d hate me for it. That’s why I never told you,” Alin said.
He sounded tired and sad and it made Eren think of her and Aiden. Many of their kind would never accept them being together either. But at least her family would, and there wasn’t much that was more important than that. Poor Alin.
A shape hurtled through the front door and slammed into Alin, sending him flying. Virgil was on his feet and leaping after him less than a heartbeat later. Eren couldn’t see them anymore. They had tumbled beneath the overhang of the loft. Fane started for the staircase and she edged along the railing after him.
A cry of surprise was followed by a figure flying back into the living room and crashing into the couch. It stood up slowly as if in pain and when it lifted its head and its mess of black hair fell back, Eren saw it was Camilia. She had never seen her look so…so feral. That’s the only way she could describe it. Her eyes were too wide and there was nothing left in them but fury, no intelligence, no personality, just pure animalistic rage.
Sylvia stalked into the room after her. Gone was Eren’s fun-loving, light-hearted aunt. In her place was an impressive predator that moved with deadly intent and focus. It was so completely polar from the aunt Eren knew that she could only stare in shock.
“How did you get free? You better not have hurt Stefan,” Sylvia warned.
Camilia laughed—a horrible, maniacal sound that gave Eren chills. As the chills raised bumps all over her, a searing pain followed and she gasped. Aunt Sylvia’s gaze shot in their direction but Camilia didn’t notice.
“My son doesn’t agree with the Council’s decree. He is loyal to his father and me,” Camilia said.
So this was Luke’s fault. Eren wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t actually expected him to accept things so easily. She had hoped, but she hadn’t expected him to.
Grinning, Camilia reached behind her back and drew a dagger. Sylvia’s eyes widened but she didn’t look afraid. Eren was scared enough for both of them though. She didn’t know if she could ever be that fearless in a fight. She was both impressed and humbled.
There was no circling or sizing up. Camilia just shot at Sylvia. Sylvia dodged, shooting her right foot out to catch Camilia with a round house kick in the stomach. Doubling over from the impact, Camilia tried to grab Sylvia’s leg, but she was too slow. Sylvia’s foot shot out again, this time aiming for Camilia’s head. Camilia ducked and slashed out at the leg Sylvia was standing on. Just before the blade reached her, Sylvia thrust her foot out of the way and pushed off the floor with her energy, throwing herself almost behind Camilia. Before Camilia could recover, she threw her energy at her, right for her kidneys. Crying out, Sylvia drew back, blood dripping down her arm. Eren had never even seen the dagger move.
“Mother!” Fane screamed.
Sylvia’s gaze shot in his direction and it almost cost her life. Taking advantage of her distraction, Camilia thrust toward Sylvia’s stomach with the dagger. But Sylvia’s eyes snapped back in time to see it coming. Green energy shot from her fingers and hit Camilia’s arm, sending the dagger spinning across the floor. Making a fist, she whipped her arm around like a pendulum to catch Camilia across the face with her knuckles. Camilia’s head snapped back hard and she fell to the ground.
“Stay there! Protect Eren!” Sylvia yelled to Fane.
With one foot on the stairs, Fane stopped. By the way he shook and the desperate look on his face, it was obvious it took a lot of effort for him not to run to his mom’s side. Eren wanted him to go. She didn’t want to be a crutch that cost anyone their lives. But she also knew that part of Sylvia’s plan in saying that had been to keep Fane out of harm’s way.
Below them, the fight raged on. The sound of it made Eren recall there was a second fight taking place just out of their sight. Furniture crashed somewhere beneath her, most likely in the dining room. Eren wasn’t sure which fight worried her more, the one she could see, or the one she couldn’t. She couldn’t stop shaking.
The sound of Fane’s feet flying down the steps drew Eren’s attention. She started after him. She had to know what happened, had to be with her family. The railing helped but once she got to the stairs it started to look impossible. For one thing, she didn’t remember them being this steep. The first step felt too far away when she tried to go down it, and she had to clutch the railing tight as gravity threatened to pull her the rest of the way down. It took all of her focus and remaining strength to get safely to the bottom.
Using the wall for support, she inched her way closer to the couch. When she stepped toward it she fell.
The floor rushed to her in slow motion. Fane came out of nowhere and caught her before she hit it. When they touched, his energy leaped into her, filling her up as if she was an empty bucket. Her power reacted by surging and washing her exhaustion away, leaving her feeling charged and strong.
A loud crash in the living room drew Eren’s attention back in that direction. Camilia was scrambling off the floor, the dagger in hand again. Aunt Sylvia was sprawled across the massive coffee table, clutching her head. Both of them glowed with power. Snarling, Camilia lunged for Sylvia.
“No!” Eren screamed.
Eren thrust her hand toward Camilia, throwing her power out like a bolt of lightning. Her power slammed into Camilia and danced across her body like one of those electricity balls her science teacher had. Screams tore from Camilia as she convulsed. Wasting no time, Sylvia grabbed Camilia’s arm, spun, and threw her on the table, landing on top of her. When Sylvia stood, the handle of the dagger was sticking out of Camilia’s chest.
Camilia started twitching and Eren looked away. Even though the woman had killed her mom and probably Aiden’s, she still didn’t want to watch her die. T
here had been so much death lately, it was just overwhelmingly sad that there had to be more.
The front door crashed open and Stefan stormed in, looking every bit the furious Romanian warrior from centuries ago. Energy the color of fire surrounded him and burned in his eyes. His gaze flicked to the dining room where the ruckus of a fight still continued. Pain and disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he hefted the big spear in his hand and sent it hurtling toward the dining room like a lightning strike, his energy going with it. From the horrible, tearing sound it made, it must have hit something solid and fleshy. Something heavy fell to the ground with a terrible moan.
The Romanian strangers Eren had seen with Stefan at the meeting walked through the open door. They nodded to Sylvia and then turned to Camilia’s body as if they expected to find it there. Picking it up, they carried it outside without saying a word.
Eren couldn’t take her eyes off the pool of blood on the coffee table. It was so dark. She’d never imagined blood would be so dark. Even more frightening was the scent. It smelled coppery and tangy yes, but it also smelled like victory and justice. This disturbed Eren deeply because she wasn’t ready for such feelings, not at the expense of someone else’s life.
“Alin,” Sylvia mumbled as she stood from the couch.
He was at her side before she could take a step, clutching her to his chest. A moment later he pulled back and checked her for injuries. Satisfied that the slice on her arm was the only one, he took her face in his hands and kissed her so long that Eren looked away.
As Eren’s heart slowly returned to a normal rhythm the exhaustion set back in. Fane was at her side helping her to the couch before she could even start to sway on her feet.
Sylvia sank back down onto the couch and Alin knelt in front of her. He somehow managed to reach his arms around all three of them. Though this squished Eren between Fane and Aunt Sylvia, and sent flames of pain shooting up her back, she didn’t care. Her family was okay and they were safe, finally safe. That was all that mattered. The horrible nightmare that has seized her life was finally over.
Chapter 41
Much to Eren’s delight, Fane and Uncle Alin decided to stay in Spruce Knoll. At first, she had felt bad. She didn’t want Fane to be uprooted from his school and friends just because of her. But he was so excited to experience American culture that she was quickly reassured. Besides, they would only be staying a year and half until Eren graduated and went off to college.
Since Aunt Sylvia had kept her home for a few weeks to allow her cuts to heal, November flew by. It turned out there was only so much healing Aiden could do. He visited her every day after school and hung around all weekend. They spent a lot of time painting, playing games, and talking to Fane about Romania. It was great to finally feel normal again.
When December came, it was time for Eren to go back to school. Heavy snowfall made the walk challenging, but absolutely beautiful. It didn’t hurt that Aiden lived close enough now to walk with her. School was different with Luke and Elisabeth gone. While the other kids weren’t exactly welcoming to Eren, everyone was relaxed and no longer acted fearful around her. Kids stared when she and Aiden walked the halls hand in hand, but it seemed to be out of shock, not hostility. Mixed couples were rare in Spruce Knoll, even in school.
Since he barely knew the Murphy’s, it wasn’t hard for Aiden to convince them to let him spend the holiday at Eren’s house. After opening presents and consuming a huge meal, they went for a walk alone, having talked Fane into staying behind.
Ever since the fight with Luke and the other boys, Fane had gone out of his way to do whatever pleased Aiden, as long as it made Eren happy. Being an only child, Eren wasn’t used to having someone look up to her like he did. It was nice, but there was a lot of pressure that came along with it too. She grinned at him and caught him winking at Aiden as they walked out the door.
Over two feet of snow covered everything, creating a beautiful, dream-like, white landscape. New flakes fluttered all around, landing on Eren’s hair and eyelashes. The snow was so deep they had to stick to the plowed roads. At less than twenty degrees Eren had to put on a coat, though she hadn’t zipped it up. Aiden walked with his arm around her waist and the warmth of his body next to hers almost made her wish she hadn’t worn the coat.
They reached the bridge and sat down on the guardrail to look at the frozen river below. It was a mixture of blue and white shades all frozen in motion like someone had hit pause on a DVD player. It made Eren think of ice-skating. That was something she had always wanted to do but hadn’t gotten around to yet. The brush with death had gotten her thinking about all the things she wanted to do. At the top of that list was experiencing everything life had to offer with Aiden. Hey, she wasn’t one to have small goals.
There were probably a lot of people who would try to tell her that Aiden was just a crush, a phase she would grow out of. Adults never seemed to take anyone her age seriously, not even when they found something as precious as what she and Aiden had. Somehow she didn’t think Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Alin would be among the doubters though.
“What are you thinking about?” Aiden asked.
“You, and ice-skating,” she admitted with a smile.
She began tracing circles idly on the back of his hand. It made him shiver and she giggled.
“You want to go ice-skating? There’s a lake about fifteen miles out of town. I bet we could get your aunt to take us. That would be fun, you and I can crash into snow banks while Fane skates circles around us,” he laughed.
She loved that about him, how he almost always included Fane in their plans. It was touching how he enjoyed being with her and doing things with her family. On second thought, she loved everything about him.
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Eren said.
Aiden reached over and brushed away a snowflake that was clinging to her cheek. His hand lingered, stroking her cheekbone, down her jaw-line, and to her chin. When she turned into his hand he drew her in for a kiss. Her eyes were still closed in a state of bliss when he pulled away.
“I love you,” he murmured.
Eren’s heart skipped a beat and her eyes flew open. He was smiling at her, his eyes filled with intensity. There was no doubt and no hesitation on his face. Nothing about how he said it had sounded awkward or embarrassed. He had said it from the heart and had meant it.
“I love you too,” she said with a smile.
It should have been hard. All the movies she’d seen and books she’d read said it was, but it wasn’t. Maybe it should have scared her too, but it didn’t. Whether she had another year, or another four hundred and eighty years, she couldn’t imagine spending them with anyone but Aiden. Sure, there may or may not be a battle to end all battles coming, one that could save the earth and her kind with it, or destroy both. But, with Aiden at her side, she felt like maybe they had already won.
Acknowledgments:
There are so many people that have been a part of this journey. First I must thank my husband for being so amazingly supportive and patient. There are times I would have given up if it weren’t for him. I must send out a huge thank you to my wonderfully talented editor TS Tate for making this novel truly shine. Without the kick in the pants from my childhood friend Eldon Thompson I wouldn’t have had the courage to get back in the ring. I will be forever grateful to you Eldon for kicking my behind. To my mentor, William Bernhardt, I owe so much. You were the first to tell me my work was publishable and gave me the courage to pursue my dreams. My critique sisters, Karlene Petitt and Linda Gray, you ladies have been the trade winds upon which I fly. My author’s group, The Indelibles, you’ve been so patient and wonderful in regards to all my questions. Denise Grover Swank and Lisa Nowak, without you two I may have pulled all my hair out. My social network friends on Blogger, Twitter, and #WritersRoad cannot be forgotten. You peeps get me through each challenge and every day with your constant encouragement and support. Every one of you are preci
ous to me! I couldn’t have done any of this without such a safety net of amazing people.
About the author:
When she’s not writing Heather can be found on the slopes, the hiking trails, or on horseback. As a native Oregonian, she enjoys the outdoors nearly as much as the worlds she creates. No need to travel to the Great Northwest though, you can find Heather on her personal blog where she shares her author’s journey, or on her critique group’s blog. Currently Heather is working on the next novel in the channeler series, look for it in spring of 2012!
http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Title page
The Secret Of Spruce Knoll: A Channeler Novel Page 27