Emily

by Storm Jk

  Lying down, Eric nestled his head in Emily’s lap. They often sat like this at night, Emily sitting in Vladimir’s arms and Eric’s head on her lap. She played with his hair, which was untameable; she loved how it felt in her hands.

  ‘Have I shown you a picture of my mother?’ Eric suddenly asked.

  ‘No my love, you haven’t.’ Emily was surprised, neither of the men had ever spoken about their past.

  Eric pulled out an old pocket watch from his jeans. It was tarnished and quite ugly, yet she knew that Eric carried it on him at all times. Opening it up, he pulled out a lock of hair the same colour as his and passed the watch to Emily. Inside were two pictures. The first picture was of a young girl who looked no older than sixteen; Eric had her soft mouth and sensual lips. Her face was beautiful and had a youthful roundness, and even though she was smiling, her face held a sadness that touched Emily. The other picture was of a woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun, a stray curl had broken loose and it hung down her neck. She was very beautiful yet there was no joy in her face; life was hard for this woman.

  Eric shut his eyes and spoke softly. ‘My mother’s name was Dusana; she died when I was born. I always imagine that she would have been a kind person but I don’t really know. The other woman is Valeskia, she is Vladimir’s mother and she raised me after my mother’s death. She was an extraordinary women you would have liked her.’

  Emily responded by kissing his forehead. She had opened a connection to him and found that he was focused far away. Not wanting to break his mood, Emily remained silent, caressing his neck and shoulders with her hands.

  What were they afraid of, she wondered to herself. Kissing Eric’s head Emily posed the question. But Eric wouldn’t say, simply saying, ‘It is for Vladimir to tell you.’

  An hour later Eric’s mobile rang with Vladimir instructing Eric to return immediately. Eric’s heart sank as he gathered the blankets and cushions. From the tone of Vladimir’s voice he knew the past had caught up with them. Living with Emily the last few years had been liberating for his spirit and as they sped back he knew that their life on the farm was over.

  As they drove back in silence, Emily decided she would tell Vladimir and Eric the truth. Surely once they knew who had attacked her they would calm down.

  She was surprised to see four men at the gate of the farm, and they did not look very friendly. As Emily got out of the car Rumour loped over to her, thrusting her nose into Emily’s hand. The strange men had unnerved the dog so Emily sent her soothing thoughts, ‘I won’t let you go back to that man’, but the thought was more to reassure herself.

  Vladimir was waiting for her in the doorway and gave her a warm hug, and then he hugged Eric for a long moment, whispering into his ear. As they pulled apart, Eric slowly nodded his consent to Vladimir and they all went inside to the lounge room.

  Inside, Vladimir had made fresh coffee in a silver pot that was centuries old. Applejacks’ head was through his special window and Vladimir had moved the lounge and a chair to face him.

  ‘One lump or two?’ Eric joked, trying to lighten the mood. Applejacks was fond of sugar, which Emily disapproved of, but that didn’t stop Eric from giving Applejacks a few lumps every now and then.

  Emily finally broke her silence. ‘I’ll tell you what happened to me. I feel bad that you are both so upset.’ The men sat together on the lounge while Emily stood, she was not ready to sit down and her heart was pounding. ‘I was attacked by Rumour’s owner, he said that he wanted to take her back but I couldn’t bear for her to go back to such a cruel life,’ Emily’s voice was trembling. ‘I thought I could buy her from him but he didn’t want money, he wanted…’

  Emily broke down and tears flowed down her face as she remembered the attack. The thought of Roy’s hands on her breasts made her shudder with revulsion.

  Vladimir’s voice was gentle but inside he was raging. ‘Who is this man?’

  ‘He said his name was Roy Cartier,’ Emily responded.

  Vladimir was instantly on his phone to Vince, instructing him to find out what he could about Roy.

  ‘No,’ Emily pleaded once Vladimir was off the phone, ‘I don’t want this to go any further. This man can hurt us,’ and she recounted the story that David had told her about his friend.

  Vladimir lifted her hands to his chest and gently pushed her to the sofa. ‘I think this has to do with our past Emily, not just Rumour.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Emily responded ‘how can that be?’ And then she remembered the odd comment that Roy had made about Vladimir. ‘He said you looked like a man he knows in Europe, he said he was looking for special people and had heard about my gift.’

  Emily now realised her silence had put the men in danger. Feeling sick to her stomach, Emily moaned, ‘Oh God, what have I done?’

  Eric moved closer to her and spoke softly. ‘Em, this is not your fault. We should have been truthful to you from the start, it is for you to forgive us.’ He looked up at Vladimir. ‘Vlad, I think it’s time to tell Emily about our lives in Czech Republic’ He took out his pocket watch and handed it to Vladimir. Vladimir opened the old pocket watch and saw the picture of Dusana and then his mother. Seeing Valeskia’s face again upset him. He missed his mother, she was often in his thoughts, and while he knew that Eric had the watch, Vladimir had never asked to see it. The memories of his mother were not happy, their life together had been so hard. But she had taught him how to be strong and how to protect himself and Eric. The need for security and power had come from her and was the motivation behind his law firm.

  Money was the ultimate protector, or so he had thought. He had made millions to try and protect Eric and then Emily. Looking at Eric, his life mate, Vladimir remembered the first time he had met Eric. In a way they had been brought up as brothers, but the bond was stronger than that. Vladimir had loved Eric from the first moment he laid eyes on him as a child. As his mother had wanted to protect Dusana Eric Mother, so Vladimir had felt about Eric. When Emily came into their lives Vladimir had been grateful when Eric and Emily had finally become lovers. Emily gave Eric the affection that Vladimir could not and while Vladimir had worshipped his mother, she hadn’t been able to show him or Eric affection. He knew that she loved them; he saw her work day and night to ensure that they were safe. Whenever Valeskia sensed they were in danger, they would grab the packs that were always ready and leave, never looking back.

  Eric had started doing carvings at the age of seven and would pack away his favourite pieces until his pack was so heavy he couldn’t carry it. Valeskia scolded him until Vladimir had swapped his lighter pack with Eric. As a teenager, Vladimir was strong; Eric’s pack didn’t slow him down. He knew how important Eric’s carvings were to him and Vladimir went to great lengths to make Eric’s life as good as it could be, living the way that they had to.

  Returning his thoughts to the present, Vladimir, standing besides Applejacks said, ‘I will tell you the story of how my mother met my father, how Eric and I came to be and finally, how we became the monsters that we are now. Then you will understand the danger that we bring to you and we will need to make some hard decisions.’ He whispered, ‘I will start with my mother,’ then more loudly he said, ‘this is the story she told me.’

  Chapter 11

  It was a spring day and Valeskia lifted her face up to the sun, shutting her eyes against the glare as the warmth spread through her body. She lived in a small village with her father, who owned the local laundry. Most of the work came from a large manor close to the village, which was owned by the Lord Von Weller.

  At fifteen Valeskia was tall, she looked older than her years but that was mostly due to the seriousness in which she carried herself. Valeskia’s mother had died when Valeskia was six but her father had insisted on providing her with the very best education he could. While there were no formal schools in the little village, Valeskia’s father would buy or borrow books for her to read. His hope was for her to become a teacher, as it would
be an easier life than cleaning clothes in a hot laundry.

  Valeskia had proved to have an ear for languages, and from time to time the wealthy families would hire a specialist tutor who Valeskia’s father would then approach to hire them with the money he saved. From a young age, Valeskia helped her father in the laundry and had taken over the deliveries after he fell and broke his leg the previous summer.

  On this particular day she arrived at the Von Weller manor and had presented herself at the staff entrance around the back. Valeskia didn’t like going to the manor at all as the staff were always unpleasant. They looked unhappy and there were rumours of Lord Von Weller being an agent of the Nazi regime. After pulling the rope that would ring the bell in the kitchen, Valeskia patiently waited. As it was the staff entrance it could take up to half an hour for someone to come.

  ‘You girl, what’s your name?’ a man’s voice commanded in a most arrogant tone.

  Turning to face the voice, Valeskia saw a man on a horse. He was handsome and for a brief moment she felt an attraction to the man.

  ‘I have come with the laundry, Lord. My name is Valeskia.’

  ‘Turn around girl, I want to see you,’ he ordered. Putting the basket down, Valeskia slowly turned around, flushing red at the command. ‘How old are you?’ he ordered again. He liked what he saw – the girl was stunning.

  ‘Fifteen, Sir,’ she replied. Valeskia didn’t like the questions.

  ‘Are you married?’ he demanded.

  ‘No, Sir, I am unwed.’

  The door opened and the old butler came out of the manor.

  ‘Oh, my Lord, Varrick. I didn’t know you were here.’ The man bowed, waiting for a command.

  ‘See to the girl,’ Varrick ordered, ‘and send her to me in the library afterwards.’ Turning the horse towards the stable, Varrick trotted off. He had issued his command and expected compliance.

  ‘Come child, we should see about the payment for this week’s laundry.’ The butler placed his hand firmly on her arm.

  Knowing that she was in danger, Valeskia pulled her arm from the old butler and said, ‘I’ll get the payment next week, my father is expecting me home now.’ Valeskia turned and ran down the laneway, away from the manor. She was no fool, there were plenty of men in the village who looked at her the way that Varrick just did and it meant only one thing.

  Pushing open the door to their small home, Valeskia went straight to the kitchen and began dinner. Cooking was something she loved to do and her father had given her an old notebook that had belonged to a cook who had been a friend of his. In it were all sorts of recipes, which Valeskia would try from time to time. She added her own creations to the notebook as well – it was her favourite possession. On hearing her return, Valeskia’s father joined her in the kitchen.

  ‘I didn’t get this week’s payment from the manor,’ Valeskia confessed to her father.

  ‘Were they too busy to give it to you this morning?’ he asked. It wasn’t odd, it happened occasionally.

  Not sure how to express what she was feeling, Valeskia turned back to preparing the food and said, ‘I think you should make the delivery to the Von Weller mansion next week.’

  ‘I see,’ her father replied. He could see she was upset and guessed why – his daughter was beautiful. As he rested his hand on her shoulder, he said ‘We need to find you a husband, I cannot protect you as I should.’

  Turning to face her father, Valeskia’s voice took on a scolding tone.

  ‘We shouldn’t think of such things, we’re a family and I’m staying with you.’

  He smiled at her, breaking the mood. While he wanted more than anything to stay forever as a family, he knew it wouldn’t happen.

  ‘After dinner I have a new book for you.’

  ‘What’s it about?’ Valeskia was excited and smiled at her father, forgetting the afternoon.

  ‘You’ll see. It’s a surprise, something new.’ He was pleased with himself, the book was on the old Roman civilisation and why it had fallen. He knew that after she had read the book they would have many wonderful discussions. He loved her mind and was so proud of her intellect, more than her beauty. But, he thought despondently to himself, I can’t protect her any longer, and putting his mind to the problem, went back to the laundry room to continue working until supper.

  Valeskia stayed up late that night, reading the book her father had given her; it was wonderful. The candle besides her bed had almost burned down and Valeskia knew that she should sleep, but the book was so interesting it made her keep turning the pages. A noise caught her attention and she got out of bed, putting on her dressing gown and slippers. Not hearing anything else, she almost got back into bed but decided to go to the kitchen to get another candle. Tiptoeing quietly down the stairs so she wouldn’t disturb her father, Valeskia went to a small cupboard by the fireplace. Opening the small door, she reached in for one of the candles that she had made the previous winter. Holding it to her nose she took a deep breath in, it smelled of the lemongrass that she had cut up into small pieces to infuse with the beeswax. It was her favourite scent. She had also put it into a soap that she used on her body and hair, so the smell lingered on her all day.

  Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled back by strong hands.

  A voice said quickly, ‘If you make any noise, I will kill your father.’ Valeskia froze. It was Lord Varrick! ‘Will you keep quiet?’ he asked again, his tone was cold.

  She nodded and Varrick released his hand from over her mouth, turning her around to face him. The moon was full and the light shone into the kitchen, making the room quite bright. Valeskia’s hair was down and Varrick ran his fingers through it, pressing her curls to his nose and smelling the scent of lemongrass. God, she was so beautiful. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her the whole day – it confused him. Varrick had used many women for his pleasure before but he had never fancied one.

  ‘Why didn’t you come to the library when I asked you to?’ he demanded coldly. He was surprised at how cool the girl was, young girls usually trembled in his presence. But this one just stood calmly in front of him and he found that this excited him.

  ‘I didn’t think we were going to read,’ Valeskia replied directly.

  Varrick smiled thinking to himself, good answer. She was smart.

  ‘So, you can read?’ he asked, still playing with her hair. Valeskia decided to get to the point.

  ‘Are you going to hurt me?’ Her voice was calm; she knew she was in trouble. What was confusing was that a part of her was very attracted to Varrick but her sixth sense was telling her that she was in extreme danger.

  Pausing for a while, Varrick lifted Valeskia’s curls to his nose before answering.

  ‘Yes, I imagine I’ll hurt you.’ And so suddenly that Valeskia didn’t see it coming, he hit her on the side of the head, causing her to instantly become unconscious. He caught her before she hit the floor and threw her over his shoulder. Touching her body was so good that he had to pause for a moment to collect himself. The smell of her skin and her beauty confused him.

  Moving quietly out of the house, he gently placed Valeskia in front of him over his horse. He had hit her in a spot that would keep her out for a couple of hours but he didn’t want to damage her body. He would dispatch his men to kill her father and burn down the house. As far as the neighbours would be concerned, father and daughter would have both died in the fire.

  *

  Waking with her head pounding, Valeskia found herself in a bed. The room was large and luxurious with expensive furniture and drapes, and she guessed that she was in the manor. The fire was lit and as she got out of bed she realised that she was wearing a different gown to the one she’d had on in the house. Going quickly to the door, Valeskia tried the handle and was not surprised that it was locked. Checking the large windows, she saw that they had bars on the outside and she was on the second floor. It was dark outside and she searched the room for a clock, as she didn’t know what time
it was. Hearing a key turn in the lock of the door, Valeskia froze. The door opened and Varrick came in with a tray of food.

  ‘Good, you are up; I hit you harder than I thought. You have been out a full day.’

  Looking at the food on the tray, Valeskia instantly felt nauseous. Her head hurt and she was unsure of what to do. Softly she spoke to Varrick.

  ‘Please let me go, my father will be worried about me.’

  ‘Don’t worry about your father. I’ve spoken to him, he knows that you’re here.’

  This confused Valeskia. Surely if he knew where she was he would demand her release?

  ‘May I see him?’ she asked.

  ‘No.’ Varrick’s tone was firm and he put down the tray on the table adding, ‘That part of your life is over, you belong to me now. Your father understands.’

  Valeskia’s heart sank. She knew that her father wouldn’t give her up and in her heart she knew that he was dead.

  ‘What are you going to do with me?’ she asked, tears welling in her eyes.

  ‘I plan to breed with you. You look strong.’ He folded his arms and stood looking at her.

  ‘Breed? Oh God,’ Valeskia thought, Why would this man want that? She had hoped that he would use her and then let her go, but to have his baby!

  ‘I am low born, Lord Varrick. Surely you want to have a child from a noble lady?’ Valeskia tried to think of words to persuade Varrick to let her go.

  ‘I do not care for rank,’ he replied coldly. He moved closer to Valeskia and she took a step back. The look in her eyes caused Varrick to stop. She was not afraid of him, her whole demeanour was cool and he saw that she was weighing up her options. This pleased him – finally, a challenge. He paused, thinking for a moment about his plans for her. He would arrange for her to have the gene treatment that he had been given by the Continuum and then he would get her pregnant.

  The Continuum had approached Varrick two years earlier for his resources. The gene therapy had promised a long life but there had been side effects for some people. Varrick himself had taken the gene therapy but all it had done was to amplify his strength and he healed at a fast rate. What will happen to you? Varrick thought, looking at Valeskia. He quickly turned and left the room, before his desire for her became too much.