Bloodlines

by Lindsay Anne Kendal

  “My house,” Lucian said. “It’s the biggest.”

  I told Jake and Danny to get their fathers and take them to Lucian’s. Lily went with Jake. Lucian went home to sort the room out, while Tyler, his mother and I got his father into Tyler’s car. He was so ill that we couldn’t wake him up, so Tyler had to carry him downstairs and put him inside the car. I drove behind them to Lucian’s house. Evelyn showed everyone to the room and within ten minutes all four fathers were lying a few feet apart. The room looked as though it hadn’t been used in a while. It was very clean but there was no furniture other than three old chairs, a small table and the mattresses that had been laid out on the floor. It was brightly lit with the same-style chandeliers as in the reception room.

  “I need everyone to stand as far back as you can,” I told them.

  “What are you doing?” Tyler’s mother asked panic-stricken.

  “You all need to trust me…and stay clear!” I told them sternly.

  They all went and stood against the walls around the room. I stood in front of the men and closed my eyes. The others watched in silence. A few minutes later the lights started flickering on and off, faster and faster. The furniture in the room started shaking, then the room itself. I opened my now-white eyes quickly, and as soon as I did the windows shattered, sending shards of glass flying into the room. I put my hand out in front of me and the glass stopped in mid-air, then I lowered it all gently to the floor so that nobody got hurt.

  Now the purple hazes I’d seen in my vision became visible to everyone, one over each of the men. I raised both my arms and reached out in front of me, stretching my fingers. What I can describe only as a form of white static electricity shot from my fingertips straight into the four hazes. The room was filled with the sound of screams and cries. Lily and the guys’ mothers crouched down and covered their ears. I could feel the power running down my arms and through the tips of each of my fingers.

  One by one the hazes started to fight back. Purple energy started to travel up the lines of electricity I was throwing at them. I pushed myself harder and harder – harder than I had ever done before. Slowly the white charge took over, surrounding the hazes. Within a minute they disappeared, seeming to swallow themselves up. The lights in the room stopped flickering and stayed on. The room and furniture stopped shaking and the men began to wake up. Their wives ran over to them throwing their arms around them.

  I fixed the windows then walked out of the room, down the stairs and outside. The guys and Lily came after me. Tyler grabbed me just as I got to my car and spun me around to look at him. My eyes were still white but he didn’t care; he kept a firm hold on the tops of my arms.

  “How did you know…how did you know what to do?” he asked, amazed.

  “Get off me!” I ordered him. “I can’t come out of it, so let go! I don’t want to end up hurting you.”

  He let go of me but stayed close. None of them spoke to me for about five minutes, until I had calmed down again. Then I turned to face them and told them all about the vision.

  “But how did you know what to do?” Lucian insisted.

  “I don’t know,” I said with a blank expression. “I just knew.”

  “Do you know what they were?” Lily asked.

  “They were demons of some sort.”

  “And you know that how?”

  “How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t know,” I said, getting frustrated. “If I knew I would tell you.”

  “How come you could see them and we couldn’t until you blasted them?” Jake asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You must know,” Lily stressed.

  “Not necessarily,” a man’s voice said.

  I looked up to see Tyler’s father walking towards me.

  “Sometimes you just know things,” he continued. “It’s the power inside you that has the knowledge and that is how you know what to do. We know her power is stronger than ours and maybe that’s why she could see them. But even if that wasn’t the reason you knew, I personally wouldn’t care how you knew. You saved my life…you saved all our lives. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” I half smiled. “It’s nice to see you well.”

  “You need to stop giving this young girl a hard time and questioning her on everything,” he said, putting his arm around my shoulders and looking at each of the guys in turn. “She is very powerful and you are lucky to have her as an ally. Don’t piss her off so much.”

  None of them spoke. Tyler’s mother then joined us. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tight.

  “Thank you so much,” she cried.

  “It’s OK,” I told her as she pulled back.

  Next Jake’s and Danny’s parents came over to me and hugged and thanked me, repeatedly, and told me how nice it was to meet me and have me there.

  “Just out of interest,” Danny’s mother said, “Will you be staying close by us now? It would be nice to have everyone here and even nicer to finally get to know you.”

  “I’ll get back to you on that one,” I told her.

  They all thanked me again, then Jake and Danny drove them all home while Lucian and Tyler stayed behind. We all walked inside and into the reception room where Evelyn and Michael were waiting for us.

  “You, Miss,” Michael said, looking at me, “Are my guardian angel. You saved my life and I will forever be in your debt.”

  “No, you won’t. As long as you are well, that’s all that matters,” I told him.

  “Do you know what they were?”

  “I think they were a form of demon. I think someone somewhere doesn’t like your families very much.”

  “Why do you say that?” Lucian asked.

  “Because someone obviously summoned them to attack you. Why else would they have been here?”

  “Maybe this is the start of it, boys,” Michael said. “Maybe this was what your grandfathers were talking about before they died.”

  “Can I ask why they thought I was the strongest, why they thought you needed me so much?”

  “John Putnam was the one who read from the book when they were conjuring. He was always more powerful than the others because he was the one who called on the power we all have inside us.”

  “Oh.” I said, collapsing into a chair.

  “Well,” Michael announced, “I’m very tired. I think I need a good night’s sleep. Hopefully I will see you soon, Keira,” he smiled.

  He took Evelyn’s hand and they left the room.

  “Are you still going to leave us?” Lucian asked.

  “What’s the point, if I try I bet I’ll only have to come back again,” I said. “Besides, I do actually like you all and I feel like I belong here. It just frightened me when you all told me the messages you had been given.”

  “That’s understandable, but we wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” Tyler told me “Never in a million years!”

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “Four,” Tyler said, glancing at his watch. “You must be exhausted.”

  “Very. It’s been a strange night; it took a lot out of me. I’ve never used the power to that extent before,” I explained. “I’m going to head back to the motel.”

  “Why don’t you stay here? You have all your things with you,” Lucian said.

  “Lily hasn’t. Besides, I’m not being horrible but I just need some time to myself.”

  “Promise us you’re not going to disappear into the night,” Tyler said.

  “I promise.” I smiled.

  They saw us to the door and waited until we had driven off.

  ***

  Lily didn’t speak a word to me until we got back to the motel. When I walked in I flopped on to the sofa and went into a world of my own. The next thing I knew Lily was handing me a cup of tea.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “What were you thinking about?” she asked.

  “Absolutely nothing, my mind was completely blank”

  “It was
nice to see you and Danny make up.”

  “Yeah,” I smiled.

  Danny seemed really nice now, not the jerk I originally though he was. I was glad because it wouldn’t have suited him to be like that. He was a good-looking guy, pale with short spiky brown hair, big brown eyes and a contagious smile, now that he actually used it instead of frowning. He was so tall, easily over six foot, and athletic, too.

  “You know Tyler was really worried about you,” she told me. “When you left, he thought you would never come back.”

  “I didn’t want to.”

  “Not even a little?” she asked sadly.

  “I didn’t want to leave you guys. Like I said before I really like them, and obviously you’re my best friend. But I was so frightened, Lily – all these people I’d never met saying I was needed, that I was the one who would have to be there to make sure that whatever they were talking about was defeated. I mean, surely they couldn’t know that, right? I mean not for certain anyway. Especially when they didn’t know if the bloodline had even survived. Nobody can see the future so clearly.”

  “You did tonight,” she pointed out.

  “That was a vision, and it wasn’t of the future, it was what was happening there and then.”

  “Maybe that’s what they had, a vision, but of the future.”

  “I don’t know, maybe, or maybe they knew I did exist but decided to say nothing.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “I don’t know, Lily, I wish I did. I wish I could travel back in time and actually see what happened.”

  “I think you all wish that,” she said, taking my hand. “Don’t leave them, Keira – not just for their sakes but for yours too. You’ve finally found others like you; you’re all in this together. How would you feel if you left and then something happened to them that you could have stopped?”

  “I would never forgive myself.”

  “Exactly.”

  “This just seems to be happening so fast. I haven’t even been here a week,” I said, dragging my fingers through my hair.

  “Maybe it was meant to happen now and that’s why it happened so quickly and easily. Michael said sometimes the power inside you makes you know things. Maybe it’s the same sort of thing…It brought you all together.”

  “Sometimes this power can be so hard to understand, and just when you think you have mastered everything it can offer you, it does something else.”

  “I think you might have to deal with the fact that you will never truly understand it. All you can do for now is learn as much as you can and get to know these families.”

  “I know,” I nodded.

  “On a lighter note it will mean that you can get to know Tyler and Lucian better,” she said, grinning. “Oh you should have seen Tyler’s face when you called. He was so happy, even though he was in the room with a dying man; you could see how happy he was to hear your voice. When he said your name, Lucian’s face lit up too.”

  “I like them both; I think Lucian needs to lighten up a bit though, with the whole don’t-use-the-magic thing. Anyway I’m going to bed now; it’s been a long day.”

  “OK, I’m going to turn the TV on for a while,” she said, grabbing the remote. “Are you still going to see Evelyn tomorrow?”

  “Yes,” I said, walking towards the bedroom. “I’m going around about elevenish. Are you coming?”

  “Err, no, Jake and I are going out for breakfast together tomorrow, so I’ll be leaving around ten,” she blushed.

  “Oh really?” I said in a teasing voice. “Well, will you make sure I’m up before you leave, please?”

  “Of course,” she replied with a final broad grin.

  Chapter 9

  Evelyn

  Lily woke me at ten the next morning, just before she left with Jake. I knew she had left me in bed until the last minute in case I embarrassed her. It was my sixth day in Salem and yet I felt as though it was my hundred and sixth. I dragged myself out of bed and hit the shower before grabbing some toast for breakfast. Then I got in the car, turned my music up to full volume and headed to Lucian’s.

  When I pulled up I noticed only his car, a silver Aston Martin DB7. It was a gorgeous car and you could tell he loved it, but I preferred my black and chrome Hummer. I’d always wanted a big beast of a car, so as soon as I turned eighteen and I got my inheritance from my father I went straight out and bought one. I parked next to his and got out. He was standing at the door waiting for me.

  “Good morning,” I said as I walked up the steps towards him.

  “Hey, I bet you’re not popular this morning,” he replied, laughing.

  “Why?”

  “You’ll have woken everyone up with that music. It is Saturday, don’t forget.”

  “Whoops!”

  “Oh well, never mind,” he said, still laughing.

  “Is your mother up?”

  “She is. She was hoping you’d still come today,” he said, letting me in. “She’s in the main living room. I’ll take you to her.”

  I followed him down the long hallway into the end room. It was twice as big as the reception room we had been in previously; the walls were painted cream with a beautiful red-and-gold floral trim. There was another large fireplace in there which was lit and four large red velvet sofas. There were pictures on the walls again but not of people this time; they were landscape paintings with big golden frames around them. My eyes were wandering everywhere, over every ornament, the large carriage clock on the mantelpiece, the beautiful oak coffee table.

  “Good morning, my dear,” Evelyn said, snapping me out of my admiration and walking over to me.

  “Hello, I’m not too early, am I?” I asked.

  “Not at all, please come and sit down,” she said, taking my hand and leading me to one of the sofas. “Lucian, would you make Keira and me some coffee, please,” she asked.

  “No problem,” he smiled and left the room.

  “I want to start by thanking you for last night,” she said.

  I’m just glad they’re all OK.”

  “They are, thanks to you; I know the other boys’ mothers are dying to spend time with you now. They have all called me this morning and, to be honest, they sounded a little upset that you were coming to see me today and not them.”

  “I will go and see them, but I did meet you first, after all,” I told her.

  “Well, I don’t really know where to start. I take it you’ve had a lot of questions thrown at you over the last few days.”

  “I have, but I don’t mind, as long as they don’t mind answering mine if they can.”

  “I’m sure they will – they know a lot of the family’s history.”

  “I know – they’ve told me quite a bit up to now.”

  “Good, I hope you found it helpful.”

  “Thanks. So I take it there are things you want to know about me then?” I said, smiling.

  “Yes, but only because I’m nosey.”

  We were both laughing when Lucian walked into the room. He put our drinks on the table in front of us and told me to shout when we were finished.

  “So has Lucian been nice to you?” she inquired.

  “Yes he has; they all have – at least since they found out who I was.”

  “I believe you and Danny are OK too?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine now.”

  “Good, I’m glad. It is so nice to have everyone together; we have always felt as though part of us was missing. Then as soon as you came along we felt complete. That must sound strange coming from me; after all I’m not blood-related to Michael, but, with everything he’s told me, it just felt like I was missing something too. Michael said he knew as soon as you came to town but he couldn’t tell us. He was so poorly he couldn’t talk, but last night he decided to tell me – he said he could feel your power. He said he knew the lads were attacking you too, but he could do nothing to stop it. He felt really guilty…” she said sadly.

  “Well, tell him not too. It’s not hi
s fault and the guys were just protecting their families. It was annoying at first, because I didn’t know who they were but now, it’s understandable. I would have done the same thing.”

  “You’re very grown up.”

  “I can be sometimes, but sometimes I’m a big kid too.”

  “I think everyone needs to be able to let go. You’re so young, you need to be enjoying yourself,” she said before taking a sip of her tea. “So what do you do with yourself back home?”

  “I spend most of my time working. Believe it or not I actually enjoy it.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m into interior design. I have a degree in it so I was a self-employed interior designer,” I told her.

  “Wow, I bet your house is nice.”

  “It probably isn’t to everyone’s taste. I’m very gothic so it’s quite dark and spooky, but it’s a fun house.”

  “Lucian has a gothic side.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that. Danny has too.”

  “And yet your friend doesn’t seem that way.”

  “Lily? She can be, but she has her own style. It all depends how she feels on the day. She dresses to her mood. It’s like today, she’s gone for breakfast with Jake, so she’s gone out casual but girly.”

  “Oh how sweet. Jake is a nice guy and he deserves a good girl.”

  “She is the best. I love her to death and she deserves some happiness,” I said sincerely.

  “Have you been friends a long time?”

  “Just over eight years.”

  “Lovely. It’s nice to be able to have someone you can be close to. The guys are lucky in that respect – they have always had each other to talk to about their powers and more.”

  “It must have been nice,” I said, turning away from her to hide a rush of emotion.

  “But you have all of us now,” she said, rubbing my shoulder. “I just wish we could have found you earlier.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So will you be moving up here?”

  “I don’t know. I believe they were told to find me so it sounds like I need to be here for something.”

  “I wish I knew what.”

  “So do I, but what I don’t understand is – Lucian and the guys said everyone thought the bloodline died with Edward. So how did their grandfathers know I was alive?”