Night Shadows

by Billiejo Priestley

  “No, I am saying you are a witch, Olivia. And from what I felt you’re a damn powerful one. I know it sounds crazy, but that could be why that guy is after you. The first time he bit you, there’s no doubt he would have felt it and knew. You’re a risk to them all, Olivia, you’re a threat they need to get rid of.”

  She chortles at his words, her eyes widening slightly in amusement.

  “If I was a witch I am sure I would have known by now,” she echoes her thought from earlier. Cayson nods. She isn’t wrong; even he is confused by that fact.

  “You should have, to be honest. It’s like something is there blocking it, Olivia, like something’s trying to hold it back until the right time. You know now though, which means you can at least start trying.” Only she can find out what is causing the block and remove it to unleash her powers.

  “So… what, I buy a few candles and witchy books and start speaking Latin?”

  “Not exactly,” Cayson laughs. “I know someone who can help but it can’t be done here. Maybe they can figure out what’s blocking you from getting in touch with your powers as well.”

  “Yeah, okay. Can I get showered and changed first though? I’ve been in these clothes for days.”

  “Sure. I’ll wait.” Cayson moves to sit down, watching as Olivia walks upstairs. She enters her bedroom and takes out some clothes from a dark, wooden chest of drawers before walking to the bathroom with the pile, setting them on the counter by the sink. Turning on the shower, she undresses while she waits for the water to heat up. There’s a mirror above the sink which covers the wall in the little alcove, and as her eyes skim down her body she sees purple marks invading her hips. Her hand moves down, her finger slowly tracing the scars. That was where his nails had dug into her skin and been drawn back, tearing her sides open. Her eyes close and she takes a deep breath before opening them again to step into the cloud of steam now enveloping the shower, and she welcomes the hot water as it runs down over her face.

  Surely being a witch is a good thing? It means she has a way to save herself from the vampires who have been trying to kill her so often lately. She thinks vaguely about it while she washes, lathering her scented shower gel over her skin and taking care not to press too hard over the bruises, and when she’s done she steps out, quickly drying and dressing herself before walking downstairs. Cayson smiles at her as they walk out together.

  “As much as I don’t want you near places like where we’re going, it is a must for what you need to achieve.”

  Olivia simply nods, she feels like when she gets to their destination the person will laugh and call Cayson crazy for even thinking she could be a witch. Twenty minutes later, he stops and smiles at her before turning to walk into the graveyard, Olivia laughing slightly.

  “Most of the Depraysie bloodline was buried here. That will help, so don’t look at me like I’m crazy. Come on.”

  She follows, her eyes darting between the weathered headstones. This isn’t a cemetery she had ever been in before.

  “You know you’re not welcome here.”

  Cayson laughs at the voice, nodding.

  “Need a favour,” he shrugs.

  A woman steps out from the shadows, clearly surprised that Cayson wants a favour.

  “We don’t do favours for your kind.”

  Cayson laughs again.

  “It’s not for me, it’s for her,” he nods towards Olivia. “Something is blocking her from feeling the power she has. She had no idea before I told her. She was adopted as a baby.”

  The woman steps forward, her eyes examining Olivia, suddenly stopping as her eyes widen.

  “It can’t be possible. All of the members of the Depraysie bloodline were killed.” She stares at Olivia, stern-faced at first, and then breaks into a smile. “Sorry, child. I’m Camille Darkmore. You can leave us now.” She directs the last sentence to Cayson, who snickers at her suggestion. “Not a chance, Camille. She’s a target and they seem to want her dead, so I’m staying.” After what feels like a lifetime of the two staring at each other, Cayson finally seems to admit defeat as he walks out of earshot so he won’t hear. His eyes stay fixed on the women and everything around them. Although he can’t hear exactly what’s being said he can still hear faint voices.

  “Right, so what is your name?” She kneels down at the stone table while Olivia’s eyes explore the area around her. Tall trees cast dark shadows over the mausoleums; she knows that’s what they are, although she has only ever seen them in films.

  “Olivia, or at least that’s the name I was given when I was adopted.”

  Camille smiles at her, nodding.

  “We can find your real name, and everything else, too. Firstly we need to find out what is blocking you. I don’t quite know what it is yet, although I can certainly sense it.” Remaining in her kneeling position she points to the opposite side of the table, Olivia glancing back to Cayson before kneeling down, watching as Camille puts some strange-looking objects on the table. At the woman’s command Olivia reaches her hands out and Camille takes them gently, closing her calloused hands around the younger woman’s in a tight grip.

  Camille closes her eyes and begins speaking. Olivia has to bite her lip to stop laughter escaping as she considers just how crazy this whole thing is. She doesn’t understand a single word coming out of Camille’s mouth.

  “Your mother was named Celestia, and your father Elwin. They saw that the Depraysie bloodline was close to being wiped out. The vampires were attacking them more and more, and they wanted to save you.” Her eyes open suddenly as she looks at Olivia, startlingly gold. “And you, Aileen… you were barely two months old. Your parents sensed it coming and fought to save you. They found a spell, a spell that hid your powers and the scent of the bloodline until you were ready and needed to feel it. There's more, they have it blocked from others, but there is more.” Camille closes her eyes once more as she concentrates harder. Olivia glances to Cayson. She knows he’s far away, too far away for a human to hear, but he is a werewolf, so maybe he can?

  “You’re destined for something, something to bring the three worlds together, to stop the bloodshed. Your parents knew they had to make a choice: either the whole bloodline died, or they sacrificed themselves to provide hope. The spell would only work if everyone truly believed the Depraysies no longer existed, and so you would have to be forced to live as a mortal human until the right time, or you would have been lost years ago.” Camille shakes her head, there are so many voices trying to whisper to her.

  “It feels like your parents gave you their memories, their thoughts and insights, and locked them away. They wanted you to be ready before you saw them. Are you ready, Aileen?”

  A slight laugh escapes Olivia’s mouth at the words.

  “Good luck,” calls Cayson from the rock he’s found to lounge on, “she clearly finds the whole thing amusing, Camille. I think until she does something that makes her realise she has magic in her, the whole thing will just be a game,”

  “Okay, I’m sorry for laughing,” Olivia excuses herself, “but can you stick with Olivia, please? Don’t call me Aileen.”

  Camille smiles at her gently. Something gleams in her eyes, something mysterious and all-powerful, but Olivia doesn’t know what she could be holding back.

  “With the name comes your power, Aileen, not accepting where you are from or your real identity. When you finally accept that your name is Aileen Depraysie, then you will feel your true power and be able to unlock everything that your parents kept hidden to save you.”

  Olivia nods. It makes her uncomfortable but she supposes she’ll let Camille call her Aileen for now, although that doesn’t mean she’s ready to accept that that’s her identity. She is Olivia, she always has been.

  “There’s nothing more I can do,” Camille doesn’t move her gaze from Olivia but her raised voice makes it clear she’s talking to Cayson. “Until she accepts who she is and accepts the magic within her, there is nothing I can do. There is something else t
here, something impossible to reveal. She must unlock it herself.”

  Cayson walks over and glances down at them both, confused.

  “Isn’t there a spell or something you can do to force her to accept who she is?” Cayson knows that the longer she goes on believing this is just a fantasy, the more at risk she is.

  “No, I’m afraid I can’t. Using magic to tamper with someone's mind in that way is forbidden, and there is no guarantee it will work. She has to believe it; she has to feel it.”

  He nods, offering Olivia a hand and pulling her up from the floor.

  “Come on, Aileen,” he smirks. A chuckle escapes his mouth, watching her expression as they walk out together. “Until this is fixed I’ll be staying at yours. You’re a target, Olivia, whether you want to believe it or not.”

  Olivia nods, she isn’t going to argue. Cayson seems to have saved her over and over from this guy who clearly wants her dead, and if he’s done it before he’ll be able to do it again. It’s not long before they reach her house together and as they walk through the door Olivia looks around. She is absolutely worn out. The past weeks have been challenging and the last forty-eight hours have been frankly insane. No matter how much she tries to ignore this and tell herself that everyone around her is crazy, just how mad are they really? Surely that would mean she’s crazy too because she’s here with Cayson, she’s been indulging him and she’s believed in the whole conspiracy that he has given to her.

  Sitting down on the sofa, she feels her eyes flutter shut almost immediately as sleep sweeps her away into nothing but darkness. Cayson watches her. Maybe- it probably won’t work, but- maybe he could try and give her the images he’d seen during their kiss? Walking over to her, his hands grasp her head just like Gwenael had done and he tries forcing those images from that brief kiss into her mind. She could maybe see her parents, or spot something else that he might have missed.

  He feels her body start to shake under his touch and he lets go of her, worried she’s not strong enough yet. He sits down across the room to wait until she wakes. Maybe she’ll come to see by herself? An hour passes as he watches her sleep, her body jerking slightly every now and again but nothing serious enough for him to worry.

  Meanwhile, while Olivia sleeps, her mind screams at her as she tries to fight back the images and hide them. Her mind is not yet ready to accept the truth, though for some reason something is forcing the pictures into her mind. A cry escapes from inside her as she sees a woman looking down at her, tears falling from the woman’s bright blue eyes.

  “Aileen, beautiful Aileen. One day you will see that this was to save you; to save the whole world.”

  Olivia’s body is shaken to the core at the words, her heart breaking for longing to hear them again, something about the voice connecting deep within her soul. The vision shifts suddenly.

  “Now, Celestia, if we wait any longer everyone will know. They will come for her, either we do this and save her or we lose everything.” The words seem to comfort her, a vision of a man in her mind as she tries working out what the dream is about.

  “Aileen, our princess. You’re the one who will bring the three worlds together, stop them fighting against and causing a war. Remember, Aileen. When the time is right, remember everything.”

  Her body jumps up as she feels herself sweating and panicking, her eyes glancing around and seeing Cayson asleep on the chair. Surely it isn’t real? Her head shakes as she fights back the images, but they won’t hide.

  Why won’t they go back? Her words quiet to herself in her mind, why won’t the images, the voices, and everything else just go back and leave her in that world of the unknown?

  “Because, Aileen; now is the time. Soon you will change in a way that will scare everyone, including yourself, but you won’t change to be bad.”

  Her head turns, unable to see the person who is speaking to her. Is she still dreaming? Cayson’s face appears in front of hers, looking at her shocked. She remembered? He kneels before her, a gentle yet charming smile on his face.

  “You remember? What did you see, Olivia? What did you feel?” Her eyes stay wide as she stares at him, surging forward to press her lips against his. His body tries to pull back as her hands grasp him and he feels himself pulled into her more; moans escaping both of their lips as the visions once contained only to Olivia’s mind spread around the room, lighting up with passion and reality. Olivia’s hands move, caressing his body slowly as a small cry escapes her mouth. Her heart feels like it’s breaking even more than before as she grabs at his shirt, the buttons falling to the floor, clattering like a drumbeat as he pushes her back against the sofa, their bodies moulded perfectly together as they continue to kiss. Another small moan escapes her mouth as her hands lovingly skim across his body, the noise disappearing down Cayson’s throat.

  Cayson pulls away suddenly; his head shaking as he stares at her shocked. His mind tries to work out just what happened and how he came to give in and let it, but he has no answer for himself. He’s still leaning over her, propped up on his elbows with firm arms, his eyes on her face as he tries to work out exactly what happened. He felt like he’d had no control.

  “Sorry.” Olivia’s voice is quiet as she looks at him stunned. She doesn’t know what happened, something just pulled her into him and it still is. Her eyes move to glance to his chest, roaming the artwork inked across the canvas of his skin. She lets her hands trace the dark lines as she bites down on her lip, confusion swarming in her mind.

  “What did you see, Olivia?” He stands looking down at her, her head shaking as she tries to clear her mind.

  “I saw my parents. The reason they chose to become vampires. Hearing my name, Aileen, over and over, something inside me connected, almost clicked.” She stares at him shocked. “I’m apparently the one to bring the three worlds together, but how can I be when I’m just- I’m just me?”

  He senses the panic in her voice, his thumb stroking her cheek as he smiles at her.

  “You’re not just you, Aileen. They sacrificed themselves for you. Everything they had within them is now in you. You hold everything; your power is stronger than anyone would imagine.” She shouldn’t see herself as ‘just her’, he thinks, she is fantastic and powerful. Her arms move to wrap around his neck as she pulls him close to her again, her lips finding refuge against his as she moans. Cayson feels himself giving in to her, a puppet under her touch. His hands move to pull her top up and over her head before he throws it across the room, hitting the freshly-painted wall with a resounding slap. A low growl escapes his mouth as his hands grasp her, pulling her closer, the kiss becoming more forceful as her hands move down his chest, reaching his trousers. She pulls them open with deft fingers as his hands skim up her thighs, lifting her skirt which goes over her head too, joining the items of clothing haphazardly draped around the room. Now there’s just skin. Their bodies become one, wrapped around each other in a warming embrace, moans of pleasure filling around the room as they both let their souls succumb to the temptation. Olivia concealed beneath Cayson’s muscular figure, they move in unison, gasps escaping their kisses as the moment of pleasure passes by.

  Cayson stays quiet as his arms stay comforting her. His mind is questioning everything that had just become a reality.

  He shouldn’t have let this happen; his eyes close briefly as he feels her lips press against his once more, gently, barely-there. His heart shatters beneath her touch as he realises he is possibly the one thing that will could be the death of her. His body quakes as a vision flies into his mind, Aileen pulling back and glancing to him confused as his eyes stay squeezed shut. He shakes his head, trying to tell himself that it’s just a dream, that his mind is just reminding him how it had ended up last time.

  The vision is bright in his mind; Aileen standing with scarlet blood dripping from her sharp new fangs as she stands among the lifeless bodies she has devoured.

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” Her voice is quiet and broken as she rea
lises how much of a mistake it was to make.

  “It’s fine, let’s just pretend it never happened; this never happened,” he says, more to himself than to her. Cayson gets up, dressing hurriedly, avoiding Olivia’s gaze as she sits naked then stands to gather her clothes before putting them on. Sitting down, he glances up briefly seeing her now clothed, his body still shaking slightly. Yasmine was amazing, but being with her had made her a target, and she had ended up getting turned, and he had had no choice but to kill her. His eyes glance to Aileen, the vision still burning in his mind as it feels almost like the blood is seeping out into reality. She won’t become one of them, his head shakes slightly. He won’t let her.

  “How do you feel now that you know everything?” If she is ready to accept this, then maybe her fate won’t become what Yasmine’s was. He doesn’t understand, why now? They had kissed before and he’d seen nothing bad, so why now?

  “Confused, I guess, and overwhelmed. There’s so much there, some sort of energy that I can feel just-” Her head falls slightly. “I feel like screaming to try to get it all out. I don’t feel like Olivia, I don’t feel the connection I had with my mum and sister anymore. I feel a connection to my parents, even though they’re dead and I never knew them. I feel a connection to my name; Aileen, not Olivia.”

  Cayson smiles slightly. “So no more crazy eyes if I call you Aileen?”

  She shrugs her shoulders slightly. “I don’t know anymore. I feel connected, but I also feel lost.” She feels like she’s fighting to find her way back, but back where? She looks at Cayson; she slept with him, purely to try and drown the images and the feelings and everything else swimming around her mind.

  “Maybe eat and have an early night. Tomorrow we can go back and see Camille, she should be able to help and find a way to get your mind in an understandable place. We do need a name, though. Do we stick to Olivia or call you Aileen?” He can’t get through a day without saying her name, so he needs to know.