by Maya DeLeina
“How does it do that?”
“I don’t know. It is years of rainwater and snow that melted from the mountain that seep through rock fractures, penetrating deep into the earth. It becomes mineralized in the limestone cavern. I mean, it’s totally free of any type of contamination, man-made or atmospheric. When you think about its origin, it’s the purest consumption of nature there is.” Chariana paused and leaned toward Steffan. “You moved us to a very special place. Thank you.”
“I moved you? Look, you have to start giving me some answers here. I don’t understand much of what’s going on. What is our connection?”
“I’ve been with your family ever since Vienna. It all started when we met.”
“Where? I don’t remember you.”
“I was an exchange student at the University, studying music. At nights, I would join other students and we’d perform as street musicians for money. I was out late one evening. All the other musicians already left. I didn’t want to leave until I made enough to pay for food for the next day. I didn’t even see you coming down the street, but there you were, watching me. You told me I played like an angel. You asked me how much I made a week. When I told you, you said you would double that amount if I promised to stay off the streets. When I agreed, you paid me and told me to visit the manager of the hotel the next evening, and—”
“You were hired as their lobby musician. I remember.” Steffan smiled and nodded, recalling the young woman he’d watched that night, mesmerized by her eloquence and grace on the violin. But that wasn’t the first time he’d laid eyes on her. For many nights, he traveled down from his castle in the mountains and took to the cobblestone streets. And there she stood, on the corner, lacing the cold night with the sweet beauty of her music.
He also remembered the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction he had with the slight enthrallment he had placed on the hotel manager, convincing him that he was in immediate need of a musician to entertain guests. He had a pleasing taste as well, not bad for a late-night snack.
They glided through the labyrinth of passages, Chariana directing the boat through with relative ease. The last tunnel was dark and narrow, the boat barely making it through. The darkened path led to a spacious clearing, a pocket in the earth, deep underground that extended high and wide. The walls looked like melted wax dripping from the sides of a pillar candle. The air was noticeably warmer. Chariana guided the boat to the rock formations and tethered it.
“We’re going to go up past these rocks here, the aquifer sits right beyond the opening,” Chariana said as they exited the boat.
Steffan carried Anya in his arms as they climbed the natural grade of the cavern, slipped through a fissure in the wall, and came upon the pool of water. Chariana had cups already situated on a rock that served as a table. Around the table sat flat-topped boulders, perfect seating for the table. Steffan sat Anya down on one of the rocks as she continued to lean her head against his chest. Chariana leaned over the edge and pulled up a rope that held a bucket at the end. She dipped the cup in the bucket and collected the spring water for Anya.
“Force yourself to sit up and drink this slowly,” Chariana said to Anya, handing her the cup.
Anya sat up and took a small sip, testing the taste as it hit her lips. “This is good,” Anya said in a weak voice,
“What do you think it tastes like? I hear everyone describe it differently,” Chariana inquired.
“It has a mild sweetness. Hints of carbonation.” Anya paused and took another sip and swallowed. “There is a metallic finesse, but it is refreshing. And my nausea is subsiding.”
“Better then?” Chariana asked.
“Getting there. Thank you.”
“I still can’t believe it is you,” Steffan said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I met you thirty-two years ago, when you were in your twenties. By all accounts, you should be in your early fifties now.”
“But I look much older, decrepit, and deformed right? Remember, it’s only my shell, from the curse. Anya restored my cells, and once I revert for the last time, you’ll see my true self.”
Steffan stammered, frustration closing in on him. “I still don’t get all of this. Just start at the beginning. Tell us everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
“Like I said, I was an exchange student at the university. I left my hometown in Montreal to study abroad. I was awarded a music scholarship. But honestly, the scholarship was just the means. I needed to get away—away from my parents, away from everyone in that town who looked at me they way they did because of my abilities.”
“What abilities?” Anya asked.
* * * *
“I have…” Chariana paused and looked at Steffan and Anya, their gaze burning on her.
Forty years ago, when she’d revealed this, she’d been met with cynicism and indignation. Her parents had admitted her to a barrage of clinics, hoping to cure her mental disorder. But her audience was now with vampires. They had to understand. They had to believe.
She chose her words carefully.
This was the key to maintain their divine path.
“…knowings of the future.” Chariana continued. “I can pick up a thought and transform it immediately into energy, sensing a past, present, or future. I can channel energy, focus on a life path to tell you what you need to know to get you to where you need to be. Sometimes, this isn’t always what you expect to hear or want to hear.”
“What exactly are you?” Anya asked.
“An intuitionist, an HSP,” Chariana responded.
Steffan shook his head. “HSP?”
“Highly sensitive person. That was how the doctors categorized my behavior traits.”
“So, you are in fact, human, but with heightened senses, awareness, and abilities?” Anya asked.
Chariana smiled at Anya’s obvious acceptance of what she’d just revealed. “Yes, I’m human by all accounts. But my body doesn’t age through daily processes like everyone else. It is all due to this spell. Aging only becomes a natural process on my body when I revert to my true form. And I only remain that way for less than twenty-four hours once a month.” Chariana’s look turned somber as she spoke quietly, “This curse, I’d never wish it upon anyone. In its origin, it is crafted to slowly devour the victim’s sanity, even causing many to take their own lives. This was only meant to be cast as a justifiable form of punishment. I never deserved this.” Chariana sighed and rubbed the length of her elongated face.
“Who did this to you?” Steffan asked sternly.
“My roommate. She was an exchange student from Montreal, too. That’s why the school paired us in the dorm assignments. I soon realized that she and her family were Wiccans and practiced witchcraft. Her family was white magic sorcerers, and I was intrigued by their healing spells. I dabbled a little with it, and she taught me a lot. When she realized I had the ability to sense the future, she begged and pleaded with me to teach her how to harness that ability. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know how. She was frustrated with me and ended up practicing dark witchcraft. Black magic. It went against everything her family taught her.” Chariana shook her head as she recalled the incidents. “Things got really bad between us when I met Aleksanteri. I picked up on her energy shift almost immediately. I started to see nothing but darkness and destruction in her future. When Aleksanteri and I tried to confront her about it, she kicked me out, and I went to live with him.”
“Who is Aleksanteri?” Steffan inquired softly.
“Aleksanteri was my life. We had this instant attraction to one another that was so strong. I had dreams about him before we even met. It was you, Steffan, who brought us together.”
“Me? I don’t even know who this Aleksanteri is,” Steffan said.
“On my first night working at the hotel, I reported to Aleksanteri. He was the night manager. He honestly thought I had made a serious mistake about being employed at the hotel. He tried to tell me that not only was the manager tight with money, he would never hire staf
f without consulting with him first. He made a brief phone call to the manager, confirmed my employment and I sank into my role as the hotel musician. From that night on, we also sank into each other as well.” Chariana paused, relishing in the memory of Aleksanteri. “As I was packing up for the evening, you drifted past the doors and I screamed at Aleksanteri, That’s him! That is the guy who got me the job! Aleksanteri took one glance at you, and he turned white as a ghost.”
Chariana shook her head, reaching back into her memory. “He was intent on catching up with you, obsessed in fact. We followed you through the streets. You moved so swiftly. Some of your movements seemed unnatural. I shook it off, thinking I was just overly tired that evening. Suddenly, you darted up toward the mountains, and I couldn’t see anything in the thickness of the forest. I was giving up the chase, but Aleksanteri insisted that we find out about you. He picked me up, put me on his back and carried me up the mountain as he traced your steps methodically, in the darkness. I had no idea how he was doing it. Through the thick bushes and trees, Aleksanteri moved hastily and pushed through the forest. All of a sudden, we were in a clearing.”
“Then what?”
“We came upon your castle. It appeared out of nowhere, just plopped down in the middle of the forest. The moonlight cast shadows through the trees that surrounded your home, and the fog suspended right above the steeple. It was so frightening. Despite the creepiness of the place, Aleksanteri insisted that we sit and watch you from the cover of a low rock wall that surrounded the perimeter of the castle. All of sudden, he somehow knew you were about to sense us so he shielded us. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but as soon as he did it, I picked up on your energy and Aleksanteri’s energy. That energy told me you both were vampires.”
Anya turned to Steffan. “Did you know Aleksanteri?”
“No.” Steffan shook his head. “I thought I knew of all the vampires in the town. I can’t believe I couldn’t sense you two watching me. I thought my shield detection abilities were much stronger than this!”
“Once everything was revealed up on the mountain that night, Aleksanteri took me back to the hotel so we could talk. I was hysterical. I had no idea he was a vampire. Somehow, I sensed it with you, Steffan, but nothing ever registered in me with Aleksanteri. Anyway, he wanted to know more about you. He said that he had a good sense about you and was even thinking about introducing himself as one of the resident vampires. He was intrigued with the family unit you brought to the area and was especially curious about your generous nature. I told him what I sensed of your future for you and your family, and he was captivated.”
“What did you sense?”
“At that point, I sensed that you were going to be very powerful among your kind. Within the next minute, your future altered right before my eyes.”
“How? Why would it alter?
“She was there. Aleksanteri and I were so deep in our discussion that we didn’t even realize she was there. She heard our entire conversation.”
“Who? Who was your roommate?” Steffan demanded.
“Madeline,” whispered Chariana
“M.J. was your roommate! What? When I met her after moving to Manitou, she told me she was a newborn vampire who was turned when her daughter was in infant. In fact, Lisa’s no more than sixteen years old now.”
“God help whomever she’s trying to pass off as her daughter! All I know is she is vampire all right. But a newborn, not exactly. That night, after she heard our conversation, she insisted that Aleksanteri turn her into a vampire. By this time, she was obsessed. She wanted power and control in any form she could find it. Even if it meant becoming a vampire, she’d do it. To her, immortality was the ultimate power. When Aleksanteri refused to turn her, she cast one of her dark magic spell on us, making us witnesses to the Immortalritual.”
“What in the hell is Immortalritual?” asked Steffan.
“She summoned spirits with her dark magic. They are believed to be the direct servants of the devil. They taught her that if a dark witch committed suicide during the full moon phase, the spirit could not pass into the next world, be it a heaven or hell. Instead, the witch would be bound to earth, in the only immortal form imaginable. A vampire.”
Steffan looked overwhelmed with the shock. “I never knew this existed! In all of my years, I have never heard of this ever being documented!”
“Well, document this, because I have witnessed it. It was horrible. The dark spirits commanded her to drain her body of her blood. She stood, cutting herself, screaming in pain, collecting her blood in buckets, pots, anything she could grab from the hotel’s kitchen. She followed every sick and twisted command they gave her.” Chariana paused, her stomach churning in pain with the recollection. “I remember her eyes. They were black as night. They were bloodcurdling. That’s how I knew she was no longer human. Once she turned, the spell she cast on us was complete. I turned into this, and Aleksanteri’s image was altered and he was brainwashed to serve as her companion instead of mine.”
“So she is pure evil,” concluded Anya.
“She was born from evil. Steffan, when she found out what I sensed of your future, she was obsessed. Her plan was to allow you to go on with your destined path in life, plant herself within your family, and steal the power from you when the time was right. I believe that time has come. She’s executed her plan to destroy you, correct?” Chariana asked.
“Funny you say executed…that’s exactly what she’s trying to have done to me. But what the hell are you implying? What’s Madeline going to do after my death? This is not simply revenge because I used her?” Steffan’s breath was ragged and fear etched in the lines of his face.
“You never used her Steffan. She enthralled you. But, you were strong and broke through her cast. It ruined her original plan. So she went back to work, crafting another way.”
“What is her plan?” Steffan demanded.
“Think about it. Vampires are the strongest beings to roam the earth. Ruling vampires would mean overtaking the human race. And therein lays the true, ultimate power. Control all that inhabits the earth.”
“Cacha! Is that what she wants? Why didn’t you tell me in Vienna?”
“I couldn’t. Steffan, the future is predestined paths woven with the influence force of the relationships that touch your life. Each time I wanted to tell you, I never sensed the future with a different outcome. You see, certain events, incidents, influences needed to occur so I could introduce myself at the exact time where I could sense a different outcome.” Chariana reached for Steffan’s hand. “I’m sorry, Steffan. It had to be this way so I could save the future as it was originally planned for you and everyone around you. Of course I wanted nothing more than to run to you and tell you in Vienna. It festered inside me. But I’ve been watching over you and your family ever since.”
“And how does Griffin fall into place in all of this? I mean, it’s Griffin after all, that you held audiences with, instead of me.”
“Once she cast her spell on me, I realized that I could no longer sense energy directly from you. I needed a medium, someone who could channel your thoughts and energy to me. This is when I met Griffin. This is why I set him on the course to join your family so he could serve as my mirror to you.”
“I guess the influence force plays a strong role in our ultimate destiny.”
“Yes. Influences are a key role, they’re what cause you to stay or stray from your life’s path. Take our influence sharing for example. I knew your fated mate was in Colorado. I needed to influence you to move here to Manitou in order to cross paths with her. I am the one who transferred this to you through Griffin. Once I moved here to be close to the family, my path crossed with Ryan. I sensed a strong connection to you and your family in him, but I couldn’t determine what the exact link was. So I studied him for a few years and figured out the path. I influenced him with an enticement. I enticed him with Ambrose Heights.”
Chariana turned to Anya. “This man, his
heart has never belonged to you. He belonged to no one. Material possession, status, money—this is his main focus in life. There is no deviation in his future. No matter what influences come into his life, it’s always the same outcome. More this, more that. It will be his eventual downfall.”
Anya nodded.
“With my necessary influences in place, I allowed Ryan’s path lead as predetermined. It was Anise that I had to put most influence on.”
“You knew Anise?” Anya gasped.
“Yes, she came down here in search of me. She found out about me from Dominic.”
Steffan took in a deep breath. “Dominic! So he turned Anise!”
“Michelle’s Dominic was involved with Anise? Oh my god, this is just too much!” Anya said, shaking her head.
Chariana sat next to Anya and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Anya, when Anise came to see me, she had already left Dominic and entered back into a relationship with Ryan. She was pushing for him to leave you and was frustrated by his indecision.”
“What did she want from you?”
“She wanted to know her future. She was so unsure about her choices. I tried altering different events in my head for her, to see if I could steer her in a direction with a happier ending, but they all had the same outcome. Death. I had to tell her about Dominic, that he would find her and destroy her. Then I told her about Ryan, all the other women and his eventual plans to funnel the money from her, just as he did to you. But with you, I told her about your true heart and the love you still held for her even though you were apart. That’s when she devised her plan. She would make a will and name you as beneficiary so you could inherit all that Ryan took from you. She hoped this would help ease the pain of what she did to you and get even with Ryan.”
Anya cried, “Anise!”
Steffan and Chariana sat on either side of Anya, embracing and comforting her in light of the discovery.
