by Jenny Frame
She looked up from her desk and through the glass windows, watched her all-female cutting and sewing team busily working hard. Amelia knew how it felt to be the only woman working in a tailoring workshop. It was still a man’s world, except in this little corner of Savile Row.
Giving all these women the chance to work in a safe, uplifting environment was special, and as the demand for women’s tailoring grew, so would the opportunities for the women leaving design school.
It was a big undertaking running her own business for the first time, but Amelia also had the comfort of knowing that she had her Uncle Jaunty for support in the shop next door, if she needed him.
Amelia pulled her attention back to her design and smiled as she realized she’d drawn Byron as her model. She touched her finger to Byron’s face, represented in the drawing, and as she did the voices of the ancestors got louder. The background noise had been quiet since they returned from the New Forest, so this was a surprise. She tried to discern and differentiate the words, but they were too muffled.
The sound of the room door opening made Amelia look up. It was Daisy.
“Hey, how are things upstairs?’ Amelia asked.
“Fine. I just finished an appointment. Can I have a word with you?”
“Is there something wrong?”
In the week since they had been back, Amelia had noticed that Daisy had been quieter than normal. She was a larger-than-life character and generally lived loud, and so it was apparent something must be on her mind.
“I wondered if I could come and see you and Byron, talk to you about something.”
This was strange.
“Of course. It’s Saturday tomorrow. How about you come over in the afternoon. I can show you the work we’ve done to the house and have a cup of tea and a chat.”
“I’d like that.”
Daisy closed her eyes quickly and swayed, grabbing the edge of the desk for support.
Amelia got up quickly and put her arm around Daisy. As she did the voices of her ancestors got exponentially louder, but more garbled. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just tired. I’ll be okay,” Daisy said.
“You’ve been working too hard recently. You looked after this place all by yourself when I was away. Why don’t you take the afternoon off? Go home and rest. I’ll take care of everything here.”
“Are you sure?” Daisy said.
“Yes. On you go and relax. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Amelia.”
Once Daisy had gone, she sat down at her desk and rubbed her forehead. The noise of the ancestors was driving her crazy. Why had they gotten louder when she touched Daisy?
She picked up her pencil and tried to get back to the design she was working on. As time passed, the voices quietened down a lot, until they were hardly audible.
What would Daisy want to see them about? It was all very strange.
When she looked back to her design pad she had doodled the head of a woman and a circle with a geometric daisy wheel symbol underneath.
Strange.
* * *
Katie walked down the stairs just as Byron and her entourage came through the front door. Her heart skipped when she saw Alexis. Alexis looked up, and Katie smiled at her, but Alexis didn’t smile back. She looked worried.
Uh-oh.
She waited at the bottom of the stairs until Byron walked away to her office, and Alexis and Bhal had given their orders to the assembled vampires and warriors. As they dispersed, she skipped over to Alexis.
“Hi, Alex. I missed you.” She grasped at her hand and felt Alexis stiff as a board.
“Did you go shopping?”
“Yes, I was back ages ago,” Katie said.
Alexis nodded and gulped hard. “Can we talk later?”
Katie heard tension in Alexis’s voice. Okay, something was going on.
Alexis looked around her, presumably checking if they had privacy. “I need to talk about today, about every day. I’m struggling—”
Katie cupped her cheek. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Katie expected Alexis’s annoyance to subside, but it didn’t.
“I need to talk to you,” Alexis said softly.
Katie felt Alexis was retreating into her stoic self again. She thought they had gotten past this. “What’s wrong? Something’s changed,” Katie said.
Alexis had spent every night with her this week, but as each day passed, the open Alexis from their time away from London had started to slowly fade, each day becoming a little more distant. She had thought it was just because Alexis’s mind was back on her clan duties rather than spending all her time helping her feel better. But there was more to this.
“Later,” Alexis said.
“No, talk to me now. I’m worried, Alex.”
“I have duties I need to attend to. Later this evening.”
Then she walked off, leaving Katie wondering what was going on. Katie started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Was Alexis pulling away from her again?
* * *
Amelia’s car pulled up outside The Portal bookshop. Amelia was to have her first lesson with Magda after closing time.
Wilder opened the car door, and Amelia got out. She walked through the shop door and only saw Piper.
“Hi, Piper. Is Magda ready for me?”
Piper smiled. She seemed a lot warmer now that Byron wasn’t with her.
“She’s waiting for you downstairs, Amelia.” Piper pointed to a door in the corner, beside the till.
“Thanks.”
When Wilder tried to follow, Piper said, “No, not you.”
“I go where Amelia goes,” Wilder said firmly.
“Only witches are welcome in our most private space,” Piper replied.
Amelia noticed Piper didn’t seem to care much for anyone who wasn’t a witch. She said to Wilder, “I’ll be fine. You stay up here with Piper.”
Wilder looked torn. “If Byron finds out I—”
“I will take the blame. Don’t worry,” Amelia said.
“Just shout if you need me.”
Amelia smiled and went through the door and down the stairs. She arrived in a large open room. It was plain with little furniture, apart from what looked like a ritual table with incense and sacred statues and other items, where Magda was currently kneeling.
Symbols were carved into the stone on the otherwise bare walls, and in the middle of the floor was a large circle. Symbols similar to the ones on the wall were all around the circle.
“Welcome, Amelia,” Magda said without turning around.
“Hi, I’m not late, am I?”
Magda bowed her head and stood. She walked over to Amelia with her hands outstretched. “Not at all. Welcome, sister.”
Amelia took the offered hug and felt a warmth from her new teacher. Magda took her jacket and hung it on the back of the door.
“Did you find out about yourself in the New Forest?”
“Yes,” Amelia said, “it was hard to hear, but I’m glad I know something about my mother and what happened the night she had to give me up.”
“I knew Sybil would help you. Apart from Sybil, after the attack, the cunning folk that were left fled to London and joined my coven. Did you find anything else?” Magda asked.
Amelia wasn’t sure what she meant at first, but then it came to her. “Oh, the voices?”
“The voices of our ancestors, yes. What did you hear?” Magda guided her over to just outside the circle.
“Voices all at once, loud and confusing, then…” How to explain the very private lovemaking that opened her heart and mind to the powers beyond?
“Your vampire helped you let go?” Magda smiled and Amelia felt heat in her cheeks.
“Um…”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Magda said.
“After that, the voices started to become less clear.”
“Come in the circle and let me explain.”
Amelia
followed her and sat on the ground. The circle had the same burr or buzz on her nerves and skin as the one in the forest. “This feels like the circle the cunning folk made in the forest.”
“Yes, and I will teach you the basics of our craft and how to cast a circle, but for now I want you to concentrate on hearing our ancestors. Get comfortable,” Magda said.
Amelia shifted around until she was in a meditative pose and tried to relax as best she could.
“Our ancestors, their spirits, their voices are where our power comes from. Every witch who has lived is a part of how and why we can use magic and manipulate reality. For now we are on this side, but one day we will be on the other.”
“The Grand Duchess and my mother?” Amelia asked.
“Yes, both powerful witches, and they are with us always.”
“Why did my mind open when I was, you know, with Byron?” Amelia felt heat building in her cheeks.
“That celebration of love, of passion, leaves you as open and vulnerable as you can possibly be. You let go of worldly concerns, worries, problems, and the voices of our ancestors are tuned in and turned up, like a radio. Every witch has a different method of tuning in, whatever they most identify with or find important. So how do you think you can get in tune with that experience?”
Amelia knew immediately. “I didn’t know who I truly was until I met Byron. She gave me the freedom and security to become the Amelia I always wanted to be.”
Magda smiled. “Then you focus on Byron and your love. Take my hands and close your eyes.”
Amelia held Magda’s hands and closed her eyes as directed. She heard Magda gasp at her touch, and she opened her eyes quickly. “What’s wrong?”
Magda stared at her silently. “Do you feel quite well?”
“Yes, why? In fact I’ve been full of more energy since we came home,” Amelia said.
“Good, good. Now close your eyes.”
Amelia did as she was asked. There was something Magda was keeping from her, she knew it. It was a strange question to ask out of nowhere.
Magda continued, “Now think about Byron, picture her, and feel the love filling up your body.”
She started to feel the love and warmth spread around her body, then envelop it.
“Take deep breaths and concentrate on the garbled voices,” Magda said.
The voices were loud, shouting over each other, but with each breath they quietened, slowed, and started to become an individual voice.
We will help you, Amelia. You are the descendent, the voice said.
“I can hear it.” Amelia was amazed. She’d done it.
“Good, now thank the ancestors.”
“Thank you.” Amelia did feel a bit strange thanking something she couldn’t see.
“Now open your eyes, but keep that channel open. Breathe and stay calm.”
Amelia did that and stayed focused. “It’s hard work.”
“Magic is hard—that’s why not everyone is capable of it. You must practise every morning in quiet meditation,” Magda said.
“Will I be able to call for the Grand Duchess or my mother?” Amelia asked.
“If you practise, you have the capacity to do anything, Amelia.”
* * *
Katie finally finished for the day. She made her way upstairs and made a beeline to Alexis’s room. They needed to talk after earlier today—plus Alexis hadn’t fed from her since this morning. Before they left the New Forest they’d agreed that Alexis would only feed from her, so Katie assumed Alexis had drunk bottled, and she’d be hungry.
Bottled Debrek Special Reserve and blood bags did the job in a pinch but were never as satisfying. Katie always got a little thrill at the thought of feeding Alexis. It was something that meant so much to her. To be the one providing what Alexis needed fulfilled a need she didn’t know she had, plus it turned her on.
She approached Alexis’s door and shivered at the thought of Alexis’s teeth in her. Katie knocked at the door and Alexis soon opened it.
Katie smiled. “Hi.”
Alexis was tense. “Come in.”
At the beginning of the week, they were jumping on each other after being apart for the day, but now the old stiff Alexis was creeping back in. Whatever was causing this, Katie had to fix it.
She walked in and looked around Alexis’s old-fashioned room. They had been staying in Katie’s room, so this was her first time seeing Alexis’s space. It hadn’t been refurbished in years and was cold and unwelcoming with no family pictures or artwork.
“Okay, what’s wrong? You’ve gone from sweet, loving, and hot Alexis to worrisome and tense in days. What’s going on?”
Alexis sat on her bed and clasped her hands tensely. “I don’t know how to cope with this.”
Katie was starting to worry now. Alexis appeared overwhelmed with emotion. She wasn’t going to run away from their love, was she?
She kneeled in front of Alexis. “What can’t you cope with?”
“You, loving you and worrying about you is paralyzing me. I was distracted today when I should have been guarding Byron, and she noticed.”
Katie sighed and took Alexis’s hands. This again. How was she supposed to get Alexis over this fear of losing her, like she had done the first time love had claimed her heart?
“I was only going shopping, not going for a night out at The Sanctuary,” Katie said.
“But I need to know you’re safe all the time. The stress is overwhelming. For all I knew you could have been dead, lying in a ditch somewhere.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, Alex,” Katie said. “I went to a few shops, then back home.”
“I’m not silly,” Alexis said with frustration. She pointed out the bedroom door. “Not long ago I found you nearly dead on the landing out there. I was so frightened today that my team and the Principe noticed how distracted I was, worrying about you.”
“I’m sorry, but love is frightening in any circumstance. I promise to always take care and not take chances. You have to be brave to take the love that I’m offering you,” Katie said softly.
She was scared about what Alexis’s answer might be.
Alexis shook her head. “I told myself never to get involved with a human again because of this. I’m immortal, you’re mortal. Byron is lucky—her blood bond and the Grand Duchess’s ring make Amelia immortal.” Alexis’s voice cracked. “I’m going to have to watch you die, and I can’t deal with that.”
Katie put her head on Alexis’s lap. What could she say? It felt like this could break them, and Katie loved Alexis too much to let her go. But Alexis was right—Amelia was lucky. She was now as immortal as Byron was.
Byron wouldn’t have to watch Amelia grow old and die, and Katie didn’t want Alexis to live with this fear. She would do anything to give Alexis that security. She thought of Alexis holding her first lover Anna as she died, and tears sprang to her eyes. Katie couldn’t let Alexis feel that pain again.
Katie looked up at Alexis and said, “I don’t want you to go through what you did with Anna. I want to transition, Alex.”
“What?” Alexis said with surprise.
“I want to become a vampire. I want to live by your side as long as you do.”
Alexis stood up immediately. “No way.”
“What do you mean no way?” Katie said.
“I mean no way are you giving up your mortality for me.”
Katie stood up and approached her. “Alex, it’s not just for you. I don’t want to live with the fact that I’m going to cause you so much pain,” Katie said.
“No,” Alexis said angrily.
“I consent. You have my consent. I mean, you were going to change me when Josie nearly killed me.”
“That was different,” Alexis said. “You were in immediate danger. I’m not doing it, Katie. You have no idea what you have to give up. It’s not a decision you should take lightly, on a whim.”
“But, Alex—”
“No.”
Katie was frustrated. �
�I’m not taking it lightly. You forget that I was torn back from the hands of death already. I know how it would feel.”
Alexis started to pace up and down. “You don’t know—you had a glimpse at best. Your parents would be horrified, and they’d blame me for influencing you.”
“Stop treating me like a child.” Katie stopped Alexis and put her hand on her chest. “I can make the decision for myself.”
Alexis looked her in the eye. “No, okay? No.”
Katie had enough. She grasped Alexis’s wrist and bit into it hard. Alexis pulled her wrist away, but Katie already swallowed her first gulp.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Alexis said angrily.
“Making the decision for you.”
“No, you’re not. You can’t complete the transition unless you die with my blood in your system, and I’m not going to kill you, and I doubt you’ll do it yourself.”
Katie said nothing. She knew she couldn’t take her own life.
Alexis looked furious. “I can’t believe you did that. Do my feelings mean nothing to you? Do you know how much guilt I would feel to turn you? There would be no going back, and you and everyone who cares for you would blame me. I can’t deal with this any more.”
“What do you mean deal with this?” Katie asked.
“This, us. I knew a relationship was a bad idea. It’s too much.”
Katie was getting angrier by the second. “If loving me is too much for you, then go! Go back to being the stoic, emotionless Duca, who has no joy in her life. Go.” Katie’s anger fuelled her words, and she immediately regretted them when she saw the look of hurt on Alexis’s face.
Alexis sped off out of the room in a flash and left Katie standing there regretting her angry words.
“Why did I say that?” Tears filled Katie’s eyes.
She should have chosen her words more carefully. Everyone thought Alexis was this tough, stoic soldier, but only Katie knew that she was in fact a sensitive soul underneath it all, especially in love.
She should have been talking Alexis through her fear and her confusion over their new relationship, and instead she’d been rash and hurtful. She wanted to go back to her bedroom quickly so no one would see her tears, but just as she was about to leave the room, something caught her eye sitting on Alexis’s desk. She walked over and found a small hand-painted picture of a beautiful dark-haired young woman. Below it was signed Anna.
