Addie
I sit on Racquel’s bed, panting from dragging her butt up the stairs. I shake my head as I watch her lean out the window. “Will you get in here?”
Her gaze stays fixed on the boys below. “I have to make sure they don’t tear each other apart.”
I roll my eyes; the girl is going absolutely crazy. “They’re not going to do that, they just need to vent.”
“Oh crap.” Racquel puts her foot up on the ledge like she’s going to jump out the window. I lunge like a crazy woman, grab her by her hair, and pull her back inside.
“Ow! Addie let go.”
“You promise to stay inside?” I love treating her like a kid sometimes. She hates it.
“You don’t understand, Micah hit Coy.” Racquel grabs at my hands, desperate for me to let go.
When Racquel explained to me about the bond her and Micah now share, I knew trouble would follow. Getting Coy to come home with us had been a feat. He didn’t want anything to do with Micah or Racquel. But I convinced him anyway, hoping that time would heal his pain and any betrayal he felt. I feel partially responsible for the mess Coy and Racquel are in now. I knew about the open feelings Vampires could share with anyone they bit, but I never shared that knowledge with Racquel. She never needed much blood, and when she did, it was from blood bags. I should have been a better teacher to her after our grandmother died.
“They’re brothers, Racquel, pissed off brothers at that and you’re one of the causes of it, so leave them alone. They need to vent their frustration a little bit. Just give them some space. Promise?” I pull her head back so she can look at me.
She narrows her eyes. “Promise.”
I let go of her hair and jump back. I expected her to lunge at me but she just goes back to the window to watch the boys below. I sit there with a pleased smile, watching her watch the boys. I’ve always wondered when this day would come—Racquel anxiously sitting at the window as she watched the guy she likes in the lawn below. Even though said boy was fighting with his brother.
I think about all those lonely nights Racquel sat up here and watched everyone play in the street below. The nights she sat up here watching me leave with Braden Moss, a boy I dated for a short time my senior year. I always turned to wave at her but she would just give me a small smirk and turn away.
Racquel’s life hasn’t been fair and I’m glad to see some things changing for her. “Would you give them some privacy, they need to talk.”
“I will in a minute. I’m not listening anyway, just watching.” I make my way over to the window to have a peek myself. Racquel jerks, “You better not grab my hair again. I’ll go all wingy wolf on you.”
I start laughing. “Wingy wolf, that the best you can come up with?”
“First thing that came to mind.” Racquel turns her attention back to the boys below.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work, but we do need to come up with something.”
Racquel looks back at me puzzled. “Come up with what?”
“Your species name. I’m thinking WiLyShiftPire.” I try sounding out the odd word. It was the only one I could think of with all four origins combined.
“A what?” Racquel asks.
I try forming the words on my lips again but it’s not happening. I shake my head, “I don’t think I can say it again.”
Racquel starts laughing, “If you can’t even say it, then you can’t call it a new word.”
I roll my eyes, “Whatever. We are going to have to come up with something though.”
“Why?” I look past Racquel to see what the boys are doing below. Micah’s sitting next to Coy, who has his head in his hands.
“You need a name. Those as stunning and majestic as you two deserve a name.”
Racquel lowers her gaze to her hands with sadness. “Do you think he will ever be able to transform like I did?”
I shrug my shoulders, “I don’t know. You’ll have to try and help him.”
Racquel nods her head but stays silent for a moment. I know this is all hard on her. Heck, it’s hard on all of us. Cerelia may be dead, trapped in the Tellurian that was now guarded by the Elders, but she left so many scars behind that her reign will never be forgotten.
“I hate her for what she’s done to him.” Racquel says, still looking at her hands.
I wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her to me. “Honey, he will be okay. With your help, he’ll make it through.”
“He didn’t want this life, Addie. He just wanted to be free. Now he’s bound to me, a being he despised his whole life. What if he eventually hates me and despises this stupid bond.” The fear in Racquel’s voice is overwhelming. I always hated seeing my sister in pain, even as we grew up. I had wanted to lash out at all the horrible kids who were mean to her. Instead, I had just offered my comfort and support, and encouraged her to stay positive.
“The way Micah looked at you when he saw you in the battlefield was enough to earn my respect. He cares for you, Racquel. I don’t think that will ever change.” At least I couldn’t imagine it would. Micah was going to be good for Racquel. They could lean on each other as they struggled with their new powers together. Much like I needed Reed.
“I need to talk to you about something.” Racquel swivels around when she hears my serious tone. With one last glance out the window, she nods and walks over to the bed.
She pats the space beside her, “Spill it, mama bear.”
Rolling my eyes, I sit beside her. This was going to be a tough conversation. “You know that I love you, right?”
With a worried expression, Racquel nods.
Taking a deep breath, I continue. “But I’m going to have to leave soon. I need to go to the Covenant to finish my last semester of training with Laveda. After these past few months, I know that there are things I still need to learn. I just don’t want to leave you again.”
“Why?” Racquel asks with a hint of confusion.
“I don’t want you to feel abandoned again.” This is mostly true. I wanted Racquel to know that I wasn’t going anywhere and I didn’t want her to feel like I didn’t care. But I was also worried about her leaving again. Last time she left, I was afraid I would never see her again. I constantly worried about her, so much that I couldn’t sleep. That’s when I decided to leave the Covenant to find her. Funny, how she was the one that had to come find me. I don’t think I could handle that worry and fear again.
Racquel seems to pick up on this somehow. She’s always been good at doing that. “Addie, you know I won’t think that. And I’m not going anywhere. There’s nothing left for me to solve. After what happened with Cerelia and our grandfather, things have changed. There’s nothing I want more than to stay home, help Micah, and discover things about myself and our family’s history.”
Relief floods through me at her reassurance. This is what I was hoping to hear. Racquel needs to discover her new powers and who she is, while also finding out about our family history. I knew Meira would have a part in that and I was grateful for the turn of events in their relationship.
Racquel shoulder bumps me, “Plus, there’s Reed. How are you going to get close to your new man if you’re twelve hours away from him?”
A smile spreads across my face as I think about Reed. I was lucky to have him. Most female Witches go their whole lives without finding love. I’m not saying that I was in love with him but I hoped one day it would lead to that. He was a smart, fierce guy that could make me laugh, even in the toughest of situations. “That is hard. He’s planning on coming down some until I move back to the Covenant.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you.” Racquel places her hand on mine. Her radiant silver eyes gleam as the sun shines through the window. The sun is close to setting and its golden light filters through the window to light up the room.
“By the way, did you see Danika last night? I wanted to ask her something but I couldn’t find her.”
I shake my head, “I didn’t see her
all night. I went to find her this morning but she wasn’t in her room. I thought she’d woken up early.”
“Huh, that’s weird.”
“What was the question, maybe I can help.” Granted I didn’t know everything about spells or magic that Danika did, but I did know a lot.
“Before we left for Mykonos, Coy told me why that Vampire girl let him go. She said something like he’d been tainted because of me. I wanted to know if that’s normal and if not, will it fade?”
“I’ve never heard anything like that before. We have to learn a lot about Vampires and the often mishaps they get into. I never heard anything about tainted blood.” I shove her shoulder playfully. “But of course with you nothing’s normal.”
Racquel chuckles, “I know. I’m hoping that it’s something that will fade and not add another obstacle we will have to face.”
“I know. Maybe it has something to do with your saliva. It’s different from other Shadow beings. No other Shadow can heal a wound like you can. Maybe your saliva has some lingering effect on leaving an imprint in the blood.”
“Yeah but how long will it last?” I wish I had answer for her. One way or another, I will find the answer to save my sister anymore hurt and pain.
Racquel turns serious. Her tone holds caution. “How are the dreams?”
I cringe as I think about the nightmares that have been panging me for the past few weeks. The terror of the screams that echo through my mind are like that of other Shadows screaming for mercy deep in the Sermitsiaq Mountain, not so long ago. The fear of being killed without knowing where Racquel was or what was happening to her had gripped me. Those dreams haunt me every night with a relentless force.
“I’m coping.” I try being evasive but I give myself away when I tug on my shirt sleeves, feeling self-conscious about the new wounds I inflicted on my skin last night. My dream had been the same as always, screams, fears, and threats from the Chimera. But it became entangled with new scenes from the battle. Racquel doesn’t know it but I watched in fear as Cerelia dangled her in the air like a ragged doll. That scene mingled with my dreams along with the screams of the Shadows.
Racquel notices my fidgeting with my sleeve and sighs. “Addie, don’t down-play this. If you don’t feel like you can talk to me, then talk to Reed, talk to anyone you need to but let this go, Addie.”
“Is that what you think? You think I don’t want to confide in you?” Racquel was not only my sister but my best friend. If I needed to confide in someone about something, she would be the one I would talk to. She wasn’t the problem, I was. I didn’t want to talk about the nightmares. It was hard enough to have them haunting my thoughts and dreams. The hardest thing in life besides living out fears was facing them.
I scoot closer to her and wrap my arms around her shoulders. “Racquel, you are my best friend. I don’t want you to think I don’t feel like I can’t talk to you. I just don’t want to talk about it at all.”
“I understand you don’t want to. I really do but Addie, no matter how hard it is to talk about something; if it’s eating you up then you have to let it go.” Racquel has a sad look on her face. “Trust me, Addie. You don’t want to keep something like this bottled up. Because one day it will explode and the pain will be even worse than it would have if you would have just let it go.”
I know what Racquel is saying is true. And I should listen to her. I know that she’s got her own demons that chase her through her thoughts and dreams but she’s learned to let some of that go, and for that she’s stronger.
I drop my hands in my lap, “I just can’t get their screams out of my head. All I see and hear are the fears of the Shadows and humans who were taken by Cerelia. I don’t know how to shake them.”
Racquel scoots around on the bed and faces me. “I know it’s hard. When we face something that traumatic, it takes time for those wounds to heal.” Racquel places her hand on my leg. “But you have to know that we did everything we could. We stopped her, Addie. We stopped her from hurting anyone else.”
“That still doesn’t bring back those who lost their lives.” I whisper softly.
“It doesn’t. But look at it this way, if they made it through the binding, they were under Cerelia’s power. They would have destroyed lives and you know that’s not what any of them wanted.”
A tear slips down my face as I think about that possible outcome. “I feel like I should have done more.”
Racquel pulls me into a fierce hug. “You did everything you could and don’t you ever doubt that. Everything we’ve accomplished in the past few days has saved so many lives. Don’t let what she did make you forget that. We won, Addie, and we reunited the Shadows the way they should be.” Racquel sits there holding me while I grieve. It was going to take some time but I knew with her help I could overcome this. I just hoped I could keep from going insane until that happened.
I pull back from Racquel’s embrace. “Thank you.”
“I’m always here for you, Addie. Always.”
We both look at the door as someone—who I’m sure is Micah—softly knocks on the door. Smiling at Racquel, I get up to leave. “I think that’s my cue to give you some privacy.” Racquel nods then places her hand over her stomach with a nauseated grimace. “Hey, you okay?”
“Just a little nervous,” she says.
I laugh at her jitters and walk to the door. Sure enough, Micah is waiting on the other side.
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah, I was just leaving.” As I walk by him, I softly whisper. “You better take care of her. You hurt her and you’ll be wishing you were still under Cerelia’s protection.”
Micah gives me a surprised look. I guess he didn’t think I had it in me. He nods his head. “Noted.”
I leave Racquel’s room, feeling better about so many things. I had been concerned about her being hurt because I was leaving soon but she understood. I should have known she would have. I also have new inspiration and support to help me deal with my dreams. With all that worry and fear set aside, I set out on a new mission. Now, how does one go about creating a classification for a new race?
Racquel
As Micah walks through the door, my stomach dances as the heat in my body rises. I almost want to yell at Addie to come back but I don’t.
“Will you quit being so nervous, I’m not going kill you or anything.” Micah laughs at me as he sits down beside me.
With an irritated sigh, I say. “We are going to have to fix this. I can’t have you listening in on every little thought or emotion I have.”
With a sly smile Micah says, “Scared I might hear you fantasizing about me.”
I try keeping the blush off my face as I roll my eyes. “You’re kind of full of yourself, aren’t you?”
“Only when it comes to you.” Well, there’s no hiding the blush now.
I avert his gaze and glance toward the window. “How’s he doing?”
“He’s handling it. It’s going to take some time but I think he realizes the truth of things.” Micah places his hand on mine, sending shivers down my spine.
“I feel horrible. It’s my fault.” I avert my gaze in shame at the pain I caused Coy. If it wasn’t for me, he would be happily rejoicing with his brother. I slay one dragon just to bring a new one to life.
“Racquel, you had no control over what happened.” Micah’s voice is soothing but it doesn’t temper the anger I’ve built up for myself.
I stand up with frustration and start pacing my room. My wings tug on my shirt as I move around. I wonder if I will ever get used to them. Thankfully, they nestle tightly against my back. I’ll just have to buy bigger shirts to give them some room. “That’s where you’re wrong. I could have prevented this, Micah. But I didn’t care. I didn’t care to learn about the pros and cons of being a mixed Shadow. I was too selfish and hung up on the way I was being treated, to think. And look where that got me, got Coy. He’s suffering because of my ignorance.”
Micah stands and reaches o
ut his arms to stop me from pacing. Grabbing me by the shoulders, he turns me to face him. “Stop it, you did nothing wrong. You had every right to be angry. I’ve heard things, Racquel, hell I’ve seen how the Shadows treated you, remember? I was there. The torture and humiliation they put you through in Brazil was enough to make anybody angry. I know I was.”
I cringe, remembering the whips, the objects that were chucked at my head. That had been painful to my body and had upped my hatred for the Shadows a notch. But that pain was nothing compared to the pain of hurting someone I cared about. “I’m not seeking his forgiveness. I just want to help him.”
“Just like with everything else, we have to give him time.” Micah pulls me into a hug that’s reassuring and warm. His arms encircle around my newly added feature but with care. Once he feels my anger start to subside, he sits me back down on the bed.
Sitting beside me, he has an amused expression on his face. “So. You’re really planning on going after the council over the anti-mixing of races laws?”
“Yes. I have to.” Was I afraid to go against the council? Yes. But someone had to do it.
“I think you do too, but I want you to be careful. From what I’ve seen in your thoughts, Witten seems threatened and ready to fight you pretty hard against this.”
“He will, but I’m going to prove to him that the laws are wrong. And I’m not only going to challenge the mixed race law, I’m also going after a few other laws that are ridiculous.” No mother should be taken away from her child because of some century-old law that says she makes her child weak. How would Witten and the rest of the council, minus Jobe and Zaire, feel if they didn’t have their mother’s support growing up?
“For what it’s worth I’m here to support you, but I don’t think I will be welcome at the hearings. Did you see the way everyone looked at me when we got to the Covenant last night?” I had noticed. All the Witches and few lingering Shadows who came to rejoice the victory with us, had looked Micah the same way they had looked at me my whole life, with fear and distrust.
Blood Burdens (The Shadow World) Page 26
