by Alina Banks
“We’ve been working together since this all started. I’m not going to keep what I’ve done from you.” I smiled, pushing my notebook along the table. “If you have any suggestions, let me know. The more help you give me, the better off I’m going to be.”
“Yes, we have been, and yet you’re still calling me Miss Cane.” She looked at me again. “I have told you before that you’re welcome to call me Rebecca.”
“I know. I just…it feels wrong. You’ve been Miss Cane since the beginning. Mom’s the one who uses your name because she knew you from before, so I think you’re always going to be Miss Cane to me now.”
“Well, that is something I understand. I still remember having to learn how to call certain people by their first name after I left school, because I started working with them, and it took me a long time to get to the point where I could. If that ever happens, let me know.” She turned her attention back to my notes. “This looks like a good mix of herbs for something like this. I see why you’re having so much trouble with your final choice.”
“From the work I’ve done, it’s obvious I have a couple of good options, and I want to use what will work best, but the problem is not knowing what will work best until we go to the party. If I make a mistake…”
“Everything is going to be fine.”
Getting out of the house was the only thing I could do when Mom was home all the time, so Sasha and I went out for another walk. It was quiet. Then again, it was late, so there was only a small chance someone else would be out. Mom didn’t like me going out after sunset, but there was nothing she could do to stop me, and even if there was, I probably would have just climbed out of the window. As I walked down the street, I wondered if it would be too late for her if we waited until after the party. How were we supposed to know what the next step should be? The vampires had done everything they could to make sure we weren’t prepared, and they’d managed it. We were making things up as we went along, thanks to their abilities.
Like before, when I’d turned a corner, I nearly walked into Jessie. Unlike that time, there was a little something in the corner of her mouth. I knew what she was doing out so late. A little feeding to make sure she had her strength for the next day, which meant I needed to be paying more attention. If they were out feeding on people, they were going to be getting stronger. If they were stronger, it was possible they might be able to nudge my thoughts, although I had a feeling Damien didn’t know he hadn’t managed to make me think what he wanted me to. I always gave him the right answer to make it seem like it had worked, and the more I could do that, the better it would be. If he thought he was getting closer to making me his girlfriend, then…I studied Jessie for a little longer, seeing how different she was than Damien, and there was really no reason for anyone to believe the two of them were actually siblings.
Jessie smiled. “I know. We are very different. Damien takes more after our dad than I do, while I’m more like our mom.”
“He never mentioned your psychic abilities.”
Laughing, she nodded. “I could tell from the way you were looking at me, Ana.” Her eyes met mine for a moment. “You’re not the first person to look at me that way, and you certainly won’t be the last. Damien and I are used to people not believing we are siblings, but that is actually the case.”
“Do you ever wish you had another sibling?”
“Sometimes. Mom and Dad did try after Damien was born, but no luck. They said it just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe they were right about that.” She shrugged. “Do you ever wish you had a sibling?”
“Yes, and no. It would be nice, at times, to have someone else there to help deal with Mom, but I also know things would be very different for them. I suppose it would be okay if they’d had a boy, but two girls…” I shook my head. “Sorry, it’s just how inheritance works. Everything goes to the eldest daughter. I know Mom and her sister used to argue about that when they were younger. In the end, it didn’t matter to them. If I had a sister, I’m sure it would have caused the same kinds of problems.”
“The house?”
“Passed from one generation to the next since the first Conway. Normally, when we marry, we don’t take our husband’s name. Mom made a different choice because of the accident, and that’s why I’m a Price. I have been thinking about changing my name, though. It just feels like something I should do.”
“Very interesting. You want to change your name just like I did.” She nodded, slowly. “I can see how it would cause problems if the siblings were close.”
“With Mom, it was more because she didn’t want to inherit the house. She wanted a chance to live a different life, so she wanted her sister to have everything, but that wasn’t the way things were ever going to work. It was always meant to go from her, to me, and then on to my daughter, if I should have one.”
“What happens if there isn’t a daughter?”
“Things become complicated.” I laughed. “So far, it hasn’t actually happened. There has always been at least one Conway daughter, which is unusual, but also very interesting. I’ve thought about seeing if there’s some genetic reason for that or if it was just really good luck on the part of my family.”
Chapter Ten
Acting normal in the days running up to the party wasn’t the easiest thing. I knew I needed to keep up the charade so Damien wouldn’t suspect anything. So none of the Easons would suspect anything. Being around Mom so much wasn’t helping the situation, because the more I talked to her, the harder it became to not say something that might contradict whatever Madeline had done to her, especially since it was hurting Dad. Every time he said something to her, it made things worse. The two of them were slowly falling apart as a couple, and there was nothing I could do about it. At least, not until after the party. Once the party happened, I could try to fix the damage that was done, although I had no idea how Mom was going to react when she found out what had been done to her.
On the day before the party, Dad drew me to one side. “Please tell me this is going to be over soon.”
“I hope it will be. I can’t make any promises, but once this party is over, I’ll do what I can to help Mom. The problem I have is that I don’t have a lot of information on how to help her. All I can do is hope one of my own ideas works.”
Nodding, he raked a hand through his hair. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you told me about them being vampires, and for a while, it didn’t make any sense. But the more I thought about it, the more logical it became. I’ve seen vampires with that kind of power in fiction. Though not to the same extent.”
“Can I give you something for the party? I can’t be certain it will work, but I want to believe it will, because I’ve got to walk into that house with three of my closest friends. Knowing what I do…” I shook my head. “It’s not what I want. I wasn’t sure you’d be going, so I haven’t mentioned this before, but I have a potion I’ve created, a mix of herbs and a spell, that I hope will be able to protect you from them being able to do anything to your mind.”
“Do you really think they would?”
“Unfortunately, I absolutely think they would. Changing the two of you would make my life much more complicated than it already is. Just look at the toll it’s taken on us with Mom acting this way. I need to keep you working with me, rather than against me. She doesn’t remember anything about what we went through before. It’s hard. Harder than I thought something like this could be.” I shrugged. “Until this happened, I thought I would be okay with Mom not being around, but I’m not. Or maybe I would be, if she wasn’t here without her memories, because I can’t talk to her about anything she should know, because it’s all been taken from her.”
“That’s why things have been so hard for me. I love her, Ana, but she’s not the woman I fell in love with, and it’s hard. When I talk to her, it’s like talking to a husk. She exists and she has memories, but she doesn’t have the memories we shared, and it’s obvious to me that Madeline has taken so many of her
beliefs from her that she’s so different than before. She doesn’t even remember what happened to her family. I hate that. I hate that Madeline took all that from her, and I can’t say anything to bring it back yet. I just feel so helpless.”
“If we can restore her memories, we will. I promise. I do have to say I’m not certain if Mom does regain her memories, that it’s going to work out the way we hope it will. I don’t know how she’s going to react, and the vampires are so much stronger than us. Especially since there are only three of us.”
“If they can’t take your memories, they kill you?”
“Possibly.” I ran my tongue over my bottom lip. “I don’t know how this is going to work out, as much as I wish I did. What I’ve read doesn’t give me a lot of hope. That’s not going to stop me from trying to do what needs to be done. I hope I’m going to be able to find a way to save us, even though it might be the hardest thing I’ve done so far, especially since I can’t rely on having Mom working with us.”
Mom looked at me. I looked back at her. “Just say whatever you want to say, and get it over with.” I knew I sounded exasperated. I was. Every day, she’d brought up her belief that I should be spending more time with Damien because our family connecting with the Easons would be such a good thing, and it was all I could do not to argue with her every time. “If it has something to do with Damien…”
“What do you have against him?”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I have nothing against him, Mom. I have something against you bringing him up every day when I’ve made it obvious that I'm not interested in hearing what you have to say.”
“He’s a really good person. Maddy and I have had coffee a couple of times, and he’s been there both times to help out.” Mom smiled. “I think he’d be really good for you. He might stop you from spending so much time out wandering with that weird cat of yours and actually start doing something more useful.”
For a moment, I stared at her. “You were the one who gave me Sasha, and she’s not weird.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe you said that about her.”
“She’s the one who keeps going with you for walks, Ana.” Mom shrugged. “That is weird for a cat. It doesn’t mean I don’t like her. You really need to stop overreacting to everything I’m saying.”
“Overreacting? How is talking to you overreacting?”
“You really aren’t who you were before. I’m sure it’s that Alex boy you insist on seeing. I think it would be so much better if you-”
“I’m not doing this. If you can’t drop the subject, then I’m not willing to talk to you.” Biting down hard on my lip to stop myself from saying anything else, I tried not to let the tears overflow. “I want to be able to talk to you, but when you’re like this, you make it impossible. You aren’t willing to listen to me when I say I don’t want to talk about Damien, and that…please stop. I get it. You don’t like Alex. I don’t care. He’s not the reason I’ve been out walking so much. You’re the reason I’ve been out walking so much. That might change if you actually start dropping things when I ask you to.”
“All I’m doing is trying to help you. You’ve never been good at accepting help. You and I both know you’ve changed a lot since we moved to Clermont, and all I want is to help you through this.”
Breathing deeply, trying to stay calm, I studied her. “You were helping me before all of this, but ever since you started spending time with Madeline, you’ve changed, and that is the problem. Not me. Not Dad. If you aren’t willing to take a bit of time to see what you’re doing, then you’re the one with the problem.”
Stepping into the sanctuary, I felt at home right away. I didn’t feel like home was home any longer. Sighing, I slumped into one of the comfy chairs I had set up all around the room, feeling like my life was never going to be the same. Madeline affecting Mom’s memories like that had changed things for all of us. If I couldn’t fix that…I shook my head. I had to fix it. I didn’t have any other options. Mom needed to be a part of what was to come. There were some ideas I’d been working on for dealing with the vampires.
Sasha jumped onto my lap, probably coming out of one of her favorite spots in the sanctuary, since she no longer liked being in the house with Mom either. Instead, she spent almost all her time in the sanctuary or wandering around. A couple of times, she’d even visited me at school, which was something Damien had probably passed on to Madeline, who passed it on to Mom.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” I stroked my fingers down her back. “I’m sorry things have been so complicated recently. I wish I could do something about it now, but we have to wait, and that’s something I hate. I don’t want to wait. I want to fix this now, so I can have Mom back, but I don’t know if anything I do is actually going to work.”
I heard a faint rustle in the corner and turned to look.
“Finally!” Nan stood in the corner with a triumphant look on her face. “You have no idea how hard it’s been to get through to you.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to stay, either, but I wanted to help you if I could.”
“You know about the vampires?”
“I’ve been watching you work ever since they first changed Lilah’s memories. I’ve been trying to get through this entire time. This is something they did. The demon was never able to stop me from coming through, even though I’m pretty sure it wanted to, but I don’t entirely understand how they’re managing to do it. Logically, there’s no reason they should be able to do that.”
“Everything I’ve read makes me think they’re relatively close to being witches, but they’re immortal and they have to drink blood. As there were only four of them, I think the demon managed to give them more power than he did the greater number of witches. Or maybe it wanted to give them more power, since it took their normal life away from them and tried to use the gift of mortality as a reason for them to try to open a door.”
“Violet, the story she wrote wasn’t entirely true, but I don’t think she had any way of knowing it wasn’t true.” Nan’s eyes met with mine. “She didn’t know they had been working on opening a door, because they’d barely opened it. Unlike the other minions of the demon, they’re willing to play the long game. They think it’s the best plan they have in order to actually open a door for the demon. In fact, the door the minions used when I died was created by the vampires originally. I believe it was closed in a way that meant it couldn’t be opened again, but you’re going to have to check in with Rebecca because she was the one who would have closed it.”
“When I get a chance, I’ll ask her.” I studied Nan. “You’re fading already.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, sadly. They have the kind of power I could never have imagined them having, which is worrying because it’s just going to be you and Rebecca for a little while. At least, until you have a chance to fix Lilah’s memories. I don’t know how easy that will be. I know they couldn’t in the past, but that’s no reason to think you won’t be able to. You’re one of the strongest witches I’ve ever known. If anyone can break through it, that’s going to be you.”
“Hopefully.” I sighed. “Thank you for trying so hard to get through. I’m glad you’re there, even if we can’t talk much longer, and I’ll do what I can to deal with the vampires. I don’t doubt this means it’s entirely possible we’re going to be dealing with the demon again in the not too distant future.”
“It’s possible. Be ready for whatever might happen, Ana, and I’ll do my best to get through again.”
Chapter Eleven
“You’re wearing that?” Mom raised an eyebrow. “I know you have nicer clothes than that, Ana, and you need to make a good impression on them.”
“No, I don’t. I’m wearing what I’m comfortable in. I’m not willing to wear the kind of thing you believe I should wear, because the reason you think I should wear it is because you want me to end up with Damien.” I shook my head. “It’s not going to happen, Mom. I’m with Alex. I’m not goi
ng to find someone else, no matter how hard you push me, because I’m happy with Alex.”
“I’m not happy with you being with Alex.”
“Lilah, you don’t get a say.” Dad studied Mom. “That’s Ana’s choice to make, and the harder you push her, the worse you’re going to make your relationship with her, which is something you should know from your own relationship with your mom.”
Mom looked between the two of us. “You keep saying things like that, but my relationship with my mother really wasn’t that bad.” She sighed. “I know we had some arguments over me moving away and the fact that she was going to try to force the house on me, but it was never so bad that I disliked her.”
Dad and I shared a look. I was the one who’d seen the memories of their arguments, which made it obvious the two of them had gotten to the point where they openly disliked each other, and had things not worked out that way, everything would have been very different. Sighing, I studied her. “You might not have, but you are going to make me dislike you because you aren’t listening to me. Still. I’ve told you before not to bring up your belief that I should end up with Damien, because it’s not going to happen. I want to be with Alex. You aren’t going to be able to change that by nagging me.”
“Ana, I’m not nagging.”
“You are the only person who thinks that right now. Both Dad and I believe you are nagging, so the best thing you can do is stop, and then I can keep doing what I think is best, rather than arguing with you all the time.” I did my best not to rake a hand through my hair, as I’d put it up for the first time in a long time. “I know you think you’re doing what’s best for me, but you aren’t. Not when you won’t listen.”
She studied me. “How about we have a look at what you have, and then we can see what you can wear that actually looks good on you, because right now, you’re wearing everyday clothes. We’re going to a party. It’s a good excuse to dress up, do your make up, and make the most of who you are. You aren’t wearing makeup, are you?”
