Between Darkness & Light

by Theresa Van Spankeren

  I wandered around, admiring the temple and other buildings, both intact and destroyed. The design and size amazed me. I had seen some beautiful palaces and churches back in England, but there was craftsmanship in the ruins that appeared more elegant than they. “What happened to this place? A lot of it is destroyed,” I asked, looking at Samuel.

  He smiled, but it was tinted with sadness. “Christianity, fire, and time happened, not necessarily in that order. Some of the buildings had been falling into disrepair when I had been human, but I see many of the places that used to be here no longer exist. It appears as if people are deliberately destroying the old buildings to reuse the materials,” he answered, nodding toward a neatly stacked pile of marble down a hill.

  “It still has a strange beauty to it.”

  Samuel nodded. “The Arch of Severus and the Temple of Saturn were here before I was born. The temple was much more intact back then. Now that time and active destruction has become prevalent, I wanted you to see what was left before it disappeared.” He sighed. “It seems the city is changing more than I thought.”

  “Change isn’t always bad, Samuel,” I said.

  “It isn’t always good either,” he replied and started back the way we came.

  When we were about halfway back to our villa, he stopped next to an old brick building and stared. “My God, I cannot believe this is still here.” His voice was no louder than a breath. Noting my confused look, he explained, “This Inn was here when I was a boy, under a different name, of course. Come on,” he said, pushing open the door. I followed him to an empty table near the back of the room.

  We ordered goblets of wine and sat quietly, taking in the surroundings. The room was cozy with six tables spaced a couple feet apart. Despite the late hour, there were several people eating and singing. Samuel watched them wistfully.

  “What are you thinking about?” I questioned as I saw a sad smile briefly light his face.

  He sipped his wine. “Oh, just remembering my visits here with my brothers. This used to be a favorite place for my brother Lucio and me.”

  “Why?”

  “There was always good food and wine and it was close to home.”

  I touched his hand and decided to change the subject. “I’m surprised you did not show me the Coliseum?”

  Samuel smiled. “That was a little farther than the Forum. I thought it would be nice to go another night.”

  I sipped my own wine and studied the humans in the building. Unlike Samuel, I was having no nostalgic thoughts as I did so. I was thirsty for something other than wine.

  I glanced back at Samuel, knowing he should feed as well. However, the memory of his unwillingness to hunt with me a few days ago made me pause. “I think I’m going to get some supper. Are you interested?”

  Samuel shook his head. “You go on ahead. I’ll stay here a little longer.”

  Frowning, I debated arguing the point with him. He seemed pretty adamant so it probably wasn’t worth quarreling about it and ruining the best evening we’ve had in years.

  Two of the tavern’s patrons headed for the door and I did the same. A few minutes later, I found myself in a narrow alley a block away from the tavern, with my dinner. As the taste of sweet blood hit my tongue, I concurred with my earlier theory. Italians really did seem to have richer blood than the English.

  After leaving the young man propped up against a building, I headed back to where Samuel was waiting for me. As I neared my destination, I heard something that made my pace slow to a wary crawl. Vampire. Find . . . kill them. The words were thoughts of a mortal close by. A Hunter. The clarity of the thoughts was cause for alarm. It meant they were within striking distance.

  The ability to read minds is inherent to all vampires, but like many of my kind, I tended to ignore humans’ mental chatter. It wasn’t because they are any less interesting than vampires, but the sheer number of minds could overwhelm you if you didn’t filter what you sensed. Recently though, I have tried to be more aware of the mortals around me because of the Hunters. Tonight, I had been fortunate enough to have tuned in at the right time.

  I started, but flinched as a wooden arrow shattered against a wall next to me.

 

  I questioned.

 

  I sighed as two Hunters emerged from a building in front of me. There were at least three behind me. Turning to get all of them in sight, I drew my dagger out of its sheath. As the group closed in on me, I suddenly heard voices, loud and joyous. Most of them were male, but a few were female as well. Looking to my left, about a dozen humans came out of the tavern I had tried to reach.

  The reaction from the Hunters was instantaneous. The one on my right with the crossbow lowered and holstered the weapon. They may be attempting to protect other mortals, but apparently they did not want undue attention from them either.

  I quickly scanned the crowd, looking for Samuel. Although I did not see him, I could sense him close by. Was it my imagination or was the number of people growing?

  One of the Hunters in front of me walked closer to me as some of the people leaving the business started passing us. He bore a striking resemblance to my dead husband; particularly the contours of his face and his eye color. Stefan Saladino smiled at me. “You look well, Juliana.”

  Holding my dagger close to my body, I replied, “I know your name as well, Stefan.”

  I had hoped to startle him the way he had done to me a few weeks ago, but the strange Hunter only seemed amused by my statement. “I’m flattered that you have saved me the need for introductions, since you surely know my sister’s name as well.”

  I frowned, but before I could reply, one of the women shrieked and grabbed her left foot a couple feet from me. The young man with her looked concerned as he bent down to examine it. She had apparently stepped on the shards of the broken arrow that had been aimed at me. A second later, she spotted the Hunter with the sheathed crossbow and shouted “Perché si dovrebbe sparare quella cosa su una strada trafficata?”

  “No, nessuno, non sono stato io,” he protested. Her companion pushed his way into the man’s face, apparently not happy with his answer. The sudden ruckus on the street drew more people out of other buildings, no doubt worried that there was a fire.

  Soon I was surrounded, not only by the five Hunters who had attempted to attack me, but by nearly two dozen normal humans. I also sensed Samuel, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off my would-be attackers to look for him.

  Stefan frowned at the growing crowd. “Very clever, Juliana. I would be a fool to attempt to hurt you now. All of these people would naïvely come to your aid, not knowing what kind of monster you are.”

  “I am not a monster,” I retorted. “Your English is almost impeccable. Is that how you figured out my name after spying on me?”

  A sneer twisted his mouth. “Why would I spy on you?” He leaned forward and whispered, “I already know you are a whore and a horrible wife and mother.”

  I flinched at the words. How could this stranger know so much about me? He even sounded like Gregory. “This can’t be. This is not possible.”

  Stefan laughed. The sound was unsettling. “Your vampire friends cannot protect you now. You’re mine, Juliana,” he said.

  For a second, I felt paralyzed and unable to breathe. When I managed to draw in a breath, I realized my hands were also shaking. Blinded by anger and fear, I swung my knife.

  Almost instantaneously, I was rocked backward as my hand was caught and pinned so the dagger in it was difficult to see. “Not now!” Samuel hissed close to my ear.

  “You don’t understand. He –”

  “There are too many people. I emptied the tavern to give you a chance to escape. I did not expect other people to come out. This situation is too volatile.”

  “Damn you!” Stefan
growled. More people had started arguing with members of his group and my attempted stabbing went unnoticed. “I was looking forward to seeing what a mob of humans could do to a vampire.”

  Samuel’s hand remained firmly on mine as he stared at the Hunter. “We are leaving.”

  Stefan shook his head, but before he could say anything, the verbal confrontation between his fellow Hunter and the other human turned into a physical scuffle. He turned toward them as the violence started to spread.

  Samuel swiftly wove between people, pulling me along with him. I allowed him to lead me, trusting in his knowledge of the area, and too dumbfounded to be an active participant in our escape.

  Matthew caught up to us a short distance from the villa. “Are either of you hurt? What happened?” he questioned, as he cast a wary look around. His hand hovered near the hilt of his sword.

  Samuel released my arm and said, “I created a diversion so we could get away. We’re fine. At least physically.” He glanced at me in concern.

  I trembled and said, “You should not have stopped me.”

  Matthew looked confused as Samuel replied, “I did what needed to be done. There were dozens of witnesses by then, Julia. The humans would have turned on you if they had seen you attack him for no obvious reason. They were already upset with the Hunters. Why risk it?”

  “Because he had done it again!”

  “Who had done what?” Matthew questioned.

  “Stefan Saladino. He told me information he should not know about me!”

  Both men stared at me. “What did he say?” Samuel asked.

  “Besides calling me a harlot? He said I was a horrible wife and mother.”

  “Julia, you know that isn’t true. You were a wonderful mother, and Gregory did not deserve a wife as good as you were,” Matthew said.

  “How could he have possibly known I had been married and had a child?! That was almost a century ago!” I shouted, throwing my arms in the air.

  Samuel ducked my right arm which still held my dagger. “Julia!”

  “Sorry! I forgot I still had it out!” Quickly, I put it back in the sheath before I accidently hurt myself or one of them. I took a deep breath, trying to quell my shaking. “How could he possibly have known that?” I repeated, softer this time.

  Matthew looked puzzled. Samuel contemplated my question, and said, “There’s a logical explanation for this.” As we both frowned at him, he continued, “Both of you told me you suspect he and his twin are direct descendants. Gregory could have written a document describing how you disappeared that was passed down through an illegitimate child’s family line. Perhaps there was enough detail for those Hunters to figure out what happened to you and know details of your life.”

  “When he said that, I could have sworn it was Gregory talking,” I whispered. I looked at Matthew for his opinion.

  “It’s possible,” he said. “If these Hunters are descendants of his, it would explain why they look and even sound like him.”

  “You must be right. It’s just unsettling,” I said. But I wondered. Stefan’s words seemed to come too easily, too naturally. As we continued home, I walked a little apart from the other two and wrapped my arms around myself. It was a logical explanation, but something just didn’t seem right.

  “Julia?” Samuel said quietly. “Julia!”

  I lifted my head in confusion and realized I had walked twenty steps past our villa. They looked worried. “Are you all right?” Matthew asked.

  “Yes, merely deep in thought.”

  Samuel walked closer to me, not seeming to believe my words. He frowned when I flinched at his touch on my arm. “Julia. . . Sun–” Samuel abruptly cut himself off but I already heard the start of what he was about to say. I gazed at him as if coming out of a dream. Amazement engulfed me; he had almost called me Sunshine. He hadn’t called me by that nickname for years.

  “Samuel?” I whispered but stayed where I was.

  “Julia, despite our problems, I do not like seeing you distressed about this.” His voice was filled with sorrow as well as gentleness. His eyes reflected pain and something close to bitterness.

  “Samuel . . . what’s happening doesn’t make any sense. I’m scared.”

  He reached out toward me again and this time I hesitantly took his hand. He pulled me to him. “It’ll be all right. We’ll figure it out.” He stroked my hair as I hid my face in his shoulder. I nodded. Samuel held me a moment longer, then pulled away. He looked embarrassed, almost as if he couldn’t figure out how to react to me. “Get some rest,” he urged.

  I didn’t bother arguing. He sounded upset, as if he had realized he was caring too much about me and wasn’t ready for it. I turned and shakily made my way inside. It took a long while before sleep came.

  Chapter 9

  A few days later, Mary Anne and the other three arrived at the villa. Samuel would leave for a few hours most of those nights, but I preferred to stay home. I didn’t trust my ability to go unnoticed in the city even while cloaked. Matthew stayed with me most of the time, helping me with meditation exercises and reading in his journal. He would question whether I had any dreams or visions, but I had none that were any help. My dreams seemed centered around my dead daughter and the night she died. Some nights were better than others.

  It was Matthew who opened the door for them. Samuel and I were sitting in silence by the fire. I looked up when I sensed Mary Anne step into the doorway. “It’s nice to see you up, Samuel. How are you feeling?” she asked in concern.

  “A little better.”

  “He’s been sober for six days now,” Matthew answered cheerfully from the hall.

  Samuel scowled, Mary Anne sighed. “That’s good to hear,” she answered. She looked back at us. “And I see he and Julia can sit in the same room without screaming at each other,” she called back.

  “That’s fairly recent. I think the past four or five days now.”

  Kali appeared in the doorway next, wearing a dress that was a shade lighter than Mary Anne’s black one. She wore her hair in a simple braid. Spotting me, she slipped past her to give me a hug. “I see you took my advice,” she said in a whisper.

  “It wasn’t easy, but we finally talked,” I replied.

  The young woman pulled back and smiled. “I never said it would be easy.”

  “Fair enough,” I replied as she sat down beside me.

  Jeffrey and Stephen appeared behind Mary Anne. “What’s going on?”

  “There have been a number of strange things!” Matthew said, as he followed them into the sitting room and stood next to Stephen.

  Jeffrey and Mary Anne shared a look as they sat down across from Samuel and me. “What kind of ‘strange things’ would that be?” she asked.

  “Julia’s made a new acquaintance,” Samuel said.

  “Who?” Mary Anne asked, sounding puzzled.

  “Lane.”

  “Lane . . . as in the rogue?”

  Samuel nodded. “The one and only.”

  She looked at me. “How the hell did you manage to do that and live?”

  I shrugged. “Easily. I didn’t attack him, he didn’t attack me . . . then he saved my life.”

  Mary Anne shook her head. “Anything else we should know about?” Her voice held a hint of exasperation.

  “Yes. Rome’s group has two of Valentino’s Council members leading it. They’re not too happy with us right now because of Julia’s contact with Lane. Those Hunters are still around. We think two of them might be descendants of Gregory . . . they knew things about Julia they shouldn’t know,” Matthew replied.

  Kali shifted and looked away. I leaned over. “Do you know something?”

  She glanced at me. “I do not think you’re ready to hear that answer.”

  I rolled my eyes at her response. I guess some things never change. Kali was still as elusive as ever – and was still fond of answering questions with riddles. “Excuse us for a moment,” I said and got up. I motioned for Kali to follow and s
tepped into my bedroom. She followed me inside. I turned to her “What the hell did you mean by that?”

  “Exactly what I said. I could tell you the answer now but you’ll refuse to believe me. You’ll only accept what’s happening when you’re ready to.”

  I scowled. “Did I ever tell you that you are the most frustrating, mysterious human I have ever met?”

  The girl smiled. “Remind me to tell you about reincarnation and possession soon, Julia.”

  “What is that?”

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “What exactly are your powers, Kali? I’ve wondered for years. Sometimes, it seems your abilities rival ours. I know you are telepathic and you can see the future . . . but I think there’s more.”

  Kali shrugged. “You have part of the gift too. You’ve seen into the future before.”

  “Yes, but not with the clarity you have. I only get an image or two in a dream. You seem to see a lot in your visions.”

  She nodded. “That’s because our powers aren’t exactly the same. You glimpse into the future, but I see more. Everyone has a destiny you know. Well, most do.”

  “Samuel and the others have mentioned destiny before. They call it ka, though. They spoke of it when explaining the ka-tet. What do you mean ‘most’ people have destinies? Are you saying there are ones who don’t?”

  “Some people don’t have a predestined future. They create their own and because of that, people’s destinies can change just by being in contact with the person. They are kind of like . . .” She fumbled for words. “What gamblers would call a wild card,” she finished. “A few of these souls also have an ability to see destiny itself by seeing through the maya, the illusions that are part of life.”

  I stared at her in bewilderment. I’ve never heard of this, never heard of reincarnation, or knew much about destiny or possession. And who would think a fifteen-year-old human was telling me this?

  “Where do you come from? What religion is that?”

  “Some of it is similar to Hinduism. However, most of what I am saying isn’t from a specific religion. My mother was from India.”