“So you trust her? You can honestly say nothing will change tonight, or tomorrow, or next year?”
Gwenael turns and looks at him.
“I can tell you this. Her and Yasmine are not the same. What Yasmine did isn’t what Aileen is doing, and Aileen is very much herself right now. I’m hoping someone will send me some information later, but honestly, I think we need a witch.” Cayson looks at him shocked, Aileen sitting bolt upright. They turn to look at her.
“A witch for what?” She looks at him, waiting.
“To see what’s going on with you. Werewolves can search high and low for answers but if you’re the first like you there won’t be any. A witch would see everything: the truth, whether you crave blood or not, stuff like that. It will mean opening yourself up to a truth and clarity spell, Aileen,” Gwenael says.
“Let’s do it.” She has nothing to lose right now.
“Aileen, that means showing them everything. Every feeling you ever had for everyone. Every thought, everything! If they want to see it they can.” Gwenael looks at her. “That means everything, Aileen, if there’s anything in your head you wouldn’t want people to know, then well you’d better come to terms with people finding out anyway.” She at least needs to know what she’s getting herself into.
“Which is fine, I mean it. Find a witch who will agree, if we get one witch to see the truth then other witches will follow. I have nothing to hide, and this is the only way I know that will help prove that.”
“I’ll do it.” Everyone turns to look at Azalea.
“No! The amount of power, the risks involved, there’s no way we’re letting you do it.” Aileen looks at her, she knows everything it entails and she can’t have that risk.
“I agree with her, Azalea, maybe Zander would be good. You’re too young and if any of the bad vampire stuff from her slips through it could go into you.”
Aileen turns and looks at Cayson. “Bad? You know what, just forget it. Azalea, the answer is no. Regardless, the answer will always be no.”
“Fine, shall I talk to Zander for you then?” Azalea looks at them.
“No!” Cayson and Gwenael shout the word at the same time. “Sorry, Azalea, but it needs to be me and Cayson. We can’t just let you go in there and tell him. He needs to see it through us, and then he’ll agree.” Azalea nods.
“Right, I guess we’ll get sorted and go. Aileen, you stay here hidden away, we’ll take Azalea home and speak to Zander. If all goes well we’ll be back in a few hours.” Gwenael smiles at her, making his drink. They sit together and have breakfast, silence surrounding the noises of spoons against bowls and teeth against toast. When they finish, Gwenael, Cayson and Azalea leave. Aileen sits in the suddenly empty house, her eyes glancing around, unsure of what to do except wait for the others to get back.
Cayson glances to Gwenael. “This alone is going to start a war.”
Gwenael laughs. “Were you expecting anything else? You married a witch; she was taken because of you. Of course the witches are going to try and cause a war, Cayson.” His head shakes as Azalea walks into the witches’ house, Cayson going to follow but Gwenael’s hand stopping him.
“We lost all rights to walk in there without permission.” He looks at Cayson. “Azalea, get Zander please.” Azalea nods and walks off, a few minutes later the door opens and Zander stands looking at them.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says.
“Can we come in? We need to talk about Aileen, somewhere private.”
Zander glances between them. “She’s alive? Have you found her?”
Cayson glances to Gwenael, unsure of how to answer.
“I guess you could say that. Look, Zander, give us a chance. If afterwards you hate what we say then you can do with the information as you wish.” Zander looks at them, considering it.
“Camille should be here, without Aileen there is no-one in charge, and now everyone’s turning to me like I’m supposed to know what to do! The witches are demanding answers that I can’t give them. So right now, I don’t have time for games.” Zander walks in, going to shut the door behind him but stopped by Cayson’s hand.
“What if the reason we’re here gives you those answers? Zander, you have nothing to lose by listening to us. I’ve told the werewolves that despite everything, we still stick to our end! No werewolf will hurt a witch, even if you decide to attack us.” Cayson looks at him waiting, he has to try, try anything at all.
“Fine, come in.”
They follow him inside, the witches in the hallway turning and looking at them curiously. “You lot give us some space,” says Zander, waving his hand at the witches, “I’ll catch you all up after.” Everyone walks off, Azalea standing and waiting next to the wolves. Zander looks at her expectantly.
“She’s fine to stay; she knows what is going to be said and such. Well, not said, but seen. We need to show you something, Zander and you have to keep an open mind. Don’t jump out of it too quickly because you’ll miss the point if you do.” Gwenael looks at him, there’s a risk Zander will watch but let go and refuse to continue as soon as he sees Aileen as a vampire. “No matter what you see, Zander, please watch everything. Stay connected, it is the only way to save all the witches and werewolves.” Cayson turns, looking at Gwenael confused.
“What do you want me to do?” Zander sits down.
“Look through either me or Cayson, we’re both totally unlocked. You need to see it to believe it and I know people will instantly jump to the wrong conclusion, but if they see then hopefully they won’t.” Gwenael looks at him waiting.
“Fine, sit down then, Cayson.” Cayson obeys. “I guess we’ll use you as you’ll have shared your memories while in wolf form anyway, so I’ll get both views.” Cayson stays still; while he would rather not have to do this after what he and Aileen did he has no choice. Zander’s hands grasp his, his eyes closing as he sees everything, starting to pull away when he sees Aileen, his body running cold and trembling. Cayson hangs on, not letting him go, and Zander slowly he watches everything, the confusion etched on his face. His head shakes as he keeps muttering ‘this isn’t possible’ to himself. Zander watches Aileen through Cayson, seeing the love she has for everyone, even Gwenael. Something inside her made her protective of him. No Monventla would feel that, no Monventla would care about killing or hurting. Yet for some reason, Aileen did.
He stays quiet, still watching, the thought of how it could be possible floating around his head as he lets go and sits back. No-one speaks, Zander trying to make sense of what he had seen. It wasn’t a trick, it wasn’t magic, he would have felt it if their minds had been compromised.
“Look, you can see what she is and what she isn’t, and how she’s different. We need you, Zander. We need you to do this with her, but with the truth and unbinding spells so she can’t possibly hide anything. If you see it, you can show other witches the truth as well, they’ll listen to you.” Gwenael looks at him waiting; he can see the doubt on his face.
“You’re sure this isn’t a trap?” He looks between them.
“Look, fine, if Cayson was the one saying it I could understand. No doubt as you saw he has reservations himself as to whether she’s safe or this is a trick. You saw her. When has a Monventla or even a Ceprimora stayed out in sunlight? Without that ring bound with a spell they can’t. You saw everything, Zander, and I myself am one who would be quick to say no, but even I can see that something’s different. I just don’t know what yet.”
“She could hear you two?” He looks between them.
“We don’t know how, but yes. She can somehow connect into a wolf’s mind as well. You saw what happened to the guy, no witch can take down a Monventla, the risk is too great, but she can somehow do that without getting pushed into being one.” Gwenael looks at him, hoping it works. They need something to stop the Monventla; other vampires are seeing how much they are succeeding and turning on purpose to survive.
“Let me discuss it with the other witches.”
Cayson looks at him shocked. “Not like that, I mean I’ll show them what I saw. Just those here, and if they’re in agreement then yes, I’ll agree to do it. If not, then you need another witch. This Coven has lost too many leaders too soon; right now we can’t risk losing another. So it is down to them, I’ll let you know.” Cayson and Gwenael nod and stand to leave.
“It is to be done there; while I will be able to draw more power from here I can’t have the other witches at risk.” Without answering they nod and walk out, Cayson looking at Gwenael.
“Look, she took down the vampire so easily. What if this was the plan, Cayson? Serliciaus, wanted to help restore the power and balance, if the witch has the power to draw magic out of one and into Aileen’s parents then into her, who knows what other strengths the witch has?” Cayson doesn’t answer. Walking into the house he sees Aileen sat eating, Gwenael shaking his head.
“That’s just weird.” He laughs slightly, Cayson and Aileen looking at him confused.
“Monventla don’t eat food, their body rejects it. Every time I see you, you look more and more like Monventla but you act so damn different.” Aileen nods as he shrugs his shoulders.
“How did it go?” She wants to go out somewhere, this house is boring.
“Well, he isn’t running and telling everyone you’re a vampire and that you need to be taken down, so that’s a good sign. We’re giving him time to sort it with the witches and then hopefully he agrees.” Gwenael grabs a drink and sits down, Cayson stood awkwardly.
“You can sit on the same sofa as me, Cayson, I assumed yesterday what we did would be enough to prove to you I’m not about to try and kill you.” Aileen moves all the way over, Cayson sitting down.
“Look, this shit won’t be easy. The way I see it, Cayson, is you can keep your distance. Act like she is a monster and your baby will be, and then when she has the baby just go from there. You have that baby to think of, so while you want to push her away and hurt her to see how she reacts, just remember she’s pregnant.” Gwenael looks at Cayson.
“I don’t act like she’s a monster. Or the baby, either.” Cayson’s words are quiet.
“You do, you complained because I went to sleep and wasn’t watching her. For now, can we please just pretend she’s Aileen? No doubt Zander will be round soon and then you will know everything you need to. I’m hungry, I’m gonna grab some food.” Gwenael walks through to the kitchen, looking for food and finally deciding on a family-size packet of tortilla chips, crunching loudly. It’s a stark contrast to Cayson and Aileen who sit quietly, neither of them talking. The day seems to pass by quickly, with barely any sound except Gwenael as he moves around the apartment. It would be odd, except they’re kind of used to it by now.
Cayson knows that if he talks to Aileen he’ll get drawn in, which will end badly. He needs to distance himself now before he gets hurt more. He’s so lost in thought that he doesn’t hear the knock, so it’s Gwenael who walks to the door and answers it, Zander stood waiting outside.
“Right, I hope you don’t mind but I brought a witch. They agreed they wanted more than just my side. Two witches are easier to believe, than one, and then we can work out the way forward.”
Gwenael nods. “She understands, right? She isn’t going to freak out and run when she sees Aileen?” He looks at the witch concerned, the last thing they need is her running around the streets screaming about pregnant vampires and God knows what else.
“Yes she knows, she saw and was one of the first to agree. So… can we come in and see her?”
Cayson nods and moves out the way; Zander looking to Aileen as he enters, his eyes widening.
“I swear if you make a comment about me being able to drink coffee I will scream, I had it from Gwenael when I was eating. I’m not a damn exhibition!” She laughs slightly as she places the cup down, Gwenael closing and locking the door behind them.
“Okay, so first we need to do the spell to ensure you can’t hide or change anything. While I will be seeing everything, Emma will be asking you the questions. You will be forced to answer these questions with the truth because of the spell. Doing them both together is better; your defence will be weakened and you’ll be less likely to fight if you want to hide things.” Zander looks at her in awe. She looks just like her but somehow not at the same time.
“Fine by me, let’s get started.”
Emma walks over, placing everything on the table, her hands clearly shaking as she does. “I’ll set it up,” she explains, taking the items and laying them out under the watchful eyes of the others. Aileen sits quietly and waits, Zander looking at her.
“You’re sure you want to do this? I’ll see everything Aileen, every feeling you had about people, even the bad.”
Cayson looks at her; he doesn’t want to be told that stuff.
“Totally, let’s do it,” she says, her mouth quirking into a smile. Zander nods in response to her and walks over as Emma sits on a chair next to Aileen. Zander’s hands grasp Aileen’s as he and Emma chant the spell together, slowly unlocking her mind and revealing the truth. Afterwards they look at her. Gwenael nods to Zander, who moves and grasps her again, everything flooding through his mind, her thoughts, actions and feelings, from the moment she was changed onwards. Emma looks at her.
“Did you speak to Dan or the other guy after you were turned?”
“Yes.” Aileen answers quietly.
“What about? What was said?”
“About how I was different, he and Marcel refused to believe it. They were discussing me; I told them I could feel everything, the magic, the change but at the same time I still felt all my emotions, every bit of love, everything.” Cayson sits looking at her as she speaks, Zander’s eyes still closed.
“How many people have you killed and why?” Emma’s words are flat.
“Two, Dan and Marcel: I killed Dan to save myself, and I killed Marcel to save Gwenael and Cayson.”
“Have you fed on anyone, Aileen? For their blood?”
“No, I haven’t had any blood.” Cayson looks at her confused, Gwenael shaking his head.
“Why are you still here, Aileen? Why didn’t you run?” Everyone looks at her; anyone else would have run to save themselves.
“I couldn’t, I couldn’t hurt Cayson like that. He lost Yasmine in the worst way; I couldn’t make him lose me and his baby like that again.” Aileen feels a tear run down her cheek as everything floods through her mind into Zander.
“Are you looking for revenge, Aileen, a way to get back at everyone?”
“No.”
“Then why not leave once you made Cayson see? Why are you still here if he knows you’re not like Yasmine?”
“Because I had no-one, and I would rather be here and have Cayson hate me and avoid me than be alone. I’ve been alone my whole life; I don’t want to be alone again.” Her head falls forward as more tears flow, Zander releasing her hands. Cayson and Gwenael look at him waiting.
“I felt everything, the emotions, the feelings, everything. Every time she has been hungry it was for food. There was no hunger for blood. I felt the panic and hurt from inside her when Gwenael was hurt on the field; the grief and sadness when she realised she had to kill herself to save Cayson from doing it; the pure happiness at the thought that when that sun came up she would be dead and everyone would be spared from the burden of killing her themselves.”
“So did you see anything else that can help?” Gwenael looks at him and nods.
“I saw the baby. The baby is like you Cayson, it’s a werewolf; somehow her changing drew some of that from the baby. Hence she can hear the packs thoughts. While that happened, the baby took in her magic as well. From what I can see and sense, the baby will be just like any other werewolf baby, or witch baby.” Cayson relaxes slightly; part of his worry was what the baby would be now she had turned.
“Anything else? Anything bad or anything that made you think we need to be cautious?”
“No, it feels like her emotions are height
ed. Love for people seems to be more powerful. I can sense which parts of her are from which type of vampire. Somehow, she doesn’t have the side that makes her need blood to live, or want blood to live, for that matter. She’s like a Ceprimora with her emotions, but far stronger and heightened, nothing like Monventla. She has the power and strength of Monventla, but the workings of Morgelantous, so she can eat, sleep and drink. Only she needs far less sleep, almost like a sort of power nap just to give her mind a break.” Zander smiles at Aileen, he can see it is her; just somehow them trying to change her had gone wrong.
“So now we need to find out why she didn’t change fully, or what made her change into this, instead of one of them, if that even makes sense,” says Gwenael.
“We already know, or almost. I got a sense of there being magic in her. A spell of some sort, I couldn’t figure out what or who from. The spell seemed to block the darkness as she was changed. I can’t get deep enough to see who or how, but it’s there and will unlock eventually. As for what now, well. Emma and I will talk to the witches; discuss what I saw and how she reacted to the questions. Then I will let you know, but for now, same deal, she stays here. While I know she won’t hurt the witches, I can’t guarantee the witches can protect her or that they won’t try and hurt her,” Zander explains as Gwenael laughs.
“You saw everything, she doesn’t need protection.”
“Okay, then to stop a war happening before I get chance to discuss with the few elders left. Most are dead due to the Monventla, but I need to discuss it with the remaining elders first.” Zander stands up, turning to look at Aileen with a smile. “Azalea has missed you. She’s a mess, Aileen, even now knowing you’re you she’s still not quite herself. I’ll send her round to you. She doesn’t feel comfortable at the house with us, and I can’t blame her.”
Zander says goodbye and leaves, Gwenael leaving soon after. Cayson sits quietly with Aileen.
Night Shadows Page 24
