Chapter 26
Learning
My family had plans to go skiing today, but those plans change when Constance had a vision that we should stay home. She does not always share her visions, but we trust her to do what is in the best interests of the family. We learned early on not to question her or her motives. She always tells us what we need to know. It is best this way, and Constance has never done us wrong, so we trust her completely.
Instead of skiing, Ms. Edwina and the girls join us at our place today to work on their power control. We are the perfect candidates for them to practice on. Between the eleven of us, the skills and powers in the house are almost unfathomable.
“So what exactly are your powers?” Eliza asks.
“I can heal, Alexander is telepathic, Constance has premonitions, Matilda sees souls, and Florence controls memories. That is only the beginning. Isaac can control the elements, and Elijah can borrow powers of those around him,” I respond.
“What about Danika?” questions Ebony.
“Funny you ask that, as we don’t know yet. We’re hoping we can find out with your help,” Alexander suggests.
Eliza smiles, “So who has the strongest power?”
“Elijah’s power is truly amazing. We try to keep it hidden, because this is a power many would love to possess. When one vampire kills another vampire, they acquire the power of the destroyed vampire, so it would be very dangerous for other vampires to learn of Elijah’s power. They would want to destroy him for it. He is remarkable, and he only uses his power when doing so is necessary.” Florence beams with pride for her mate.
Now that we have disclosed our powers, we begin to discuss the powers of the witches. Ms. Edwina senses truth and lies, she has even acquired new powers, like teleportation and such over the years, but this is something we already knew. Ebony is telekinetic, so she can move things with her mind, as we saw at school. That leaves Eliza, and we have not yet seen what she can do.
“You must be wondering what I can do,” she says. “I know you have witnessed both Grams’ and Ebony’s powers.” Eliza raises her right hand.
We all look around to see what it is she can do, but we can’t figure it out. Then, one by one, we notice all three of our witch friends are in different places than they were when she first raised her hand.
“You can move people?” I assume.
“No. Rather, she can control time. She can freeze time, and once she learns to control it a little better, she will be able to slow time and travel through it as well,” Ms. Edwina explains.
“Why is it you were all in different places?” Danika inquires.
“Because her power does not affect Salem witches,” Ebony answers.
“Why don’t your powers affect Salem witches, but can still affect other witches?” Danika asks.
“Salem witches are the most powerful witches in the world, and because there’s some blood linage between Salem witches certain powers don’t affect others of our kind.”
“Is that all witches that live in Salem?”
“No they can live anywhere, but if their ancestors are from the original Salem witches that’s what matters. There are many witches living in Salem that are still affected by our powers. It all depends on linage.”
As we learn about each other’s powers, we also learn the major differences in our powers. Witches like Ebony and her sisters can learn new powers, and all the powers of their ancestors are somewhere within them. Vampires can only acquire new powers from the destruction of another vampire. They may also have powers brought over from their human lives, and of course normal vampire powers such as super strength, speed, increased senses, and so on.
Elijah tries to explain a little more to our witch friends. “Because of the lifestyle my family and I have chosen, we rarely destroy another vampire unless they directly threaten us, like the other night. During the last Cerberus war, we fought, but we left the final destruction to others. We believe in the fight, but we have made a vow not to kill anyone, including the immortal. If we absolutely need to destroy a vampire, we will, when cases like protecting our own or those we are close to warrant such actions in our minds. In all our years, it rarely comes to that, and we are grateful.”
“Will Isaac or Alexander receive any powers for the one they destroyed the other night?” Ebony asks.
“Actually, it appears as though he did not have any extra powers to gain. Not all vampires have extra powers. The Cerberus cult creates just for gaining numbers, whereas most vampires that follow Renata law only create if they can improve the clan with the addition of one and their power,” Isaac explains.
“Renata law and Cerberus cult? Wow. There is a lot more to vampire history than I ever thought,” Eliza admits.
“Yes. It is quite complex, and we will explain more as time goes on, but for now, let’s work on your powers.” Elijah diverts attention, and we all get to work.
Elijah starts working with us to teach us power protection, how to protect our powers so others like him can’t use our powers. He also explains the great emotional sense he received when around Nathanial. He believes Nathanial has a gift to extract emotional information from others, but because Nathanial is mortal, he does not understand this or how to use it. It just makes him easy to talk to, and that is why I have such a hard time keeping things from him.
S S S
Everyone is having fun. Eliza’s having fun surprising most of us, although she is getting frustrated that she can’t surprise Alexander and Constance. Ebony is doing really well too; she has been practicing moving items away from those who possess them. This may come in handy for extracting weapons from others. We continue working hard like this for a few days, and I lose track of time.
Out of nowhere, the phone rings. Constance and Alexander both turn and look at me, a telltale sign that the phone is for me.
“Good afternoon. This is the Pierce residence,” I answer.
“Sophia, I’ve missed having you around the past few days. I think the doctor has called for my daily dose of beautiful,” Nathanial says excitedly.
“I missed seeing you too. I just didn’t want to intrude, with Luke coming home and you just getting home from the hospital a few days ago,” I explain.
“Sweetie, Luke can’t wait to meet the girl I won’t stop talking about,” he confesses.
“So would I. I could pick her up on my way over,” I joke.
“Don’t you be coy? You know you’re the only girl for me.”
“How are you feeling? Better, I hope.”
“Yes, much, thank you. I get my stitches out in just a few days. That will be nice because they are feeling very tight and itching.” He grumbles a little and asks, “So are you coming over?”
“If it is okay with your family, I could be there shortly,” I offer.
“Of course it is. They are so excited that I finally found a girl I am interested in. I think they were starting to wonder if I’m gay,” he chuckles.
“Sorry, but I refuse to share you with anyone, guy or girl.”
“No worries there. You are the only person for me. See you soon. Drive safe, though, because the roads are getting slick,” he cautions.
“I always do,” I reply, leaving out that with my reflexes, nothing could ever happen.
The only person for him? But I am not a person–at least not anymore. I am a Vampire a monster. But I do know what he means and cannot analyze his comment as I always do. I really hate how analytical I am after so many years. You think I would learn let the chips fall where they may, but when it comes to this, I can’t. He believes I am human, and I want him to continue believing it. I just know I will lose him if he finds out the truth.
Immortal Embrace Page 26