by K. A. Poe
January 27, 1515
The natives have welcomed me as a member of their settlement after bringing the healed child to them. One of them – whose name seems to be Bahamet - appears to be some sort of shaman for the tribe, capable of healing minor wounds with nothing but his words. After witnessing the powers of the fountain, it does not shock me as much as it might once have.
I opted to show him the spring, and to my surprise he tore a simple blade from within his robes and slid it across his palm. The vibrant blood mingled with the water and he was near instantly healed. Without warning he turned on me, embedding the blade into my shoulder.
Before I could defend myself, my attacker was smiling at me and gesturing to the wound he had just inflicted. At first I thought he wanted me to use the fountain, some sort of second test that it indeed worked. After more urging I realized that the shaman had inflicted the wound in order to try healing it himself. After lengthy, melodic words in a tongue I still did not understand, nothing happened. At first he looked shocked, but then relieved.
The water appears to wash away not only ailments or curses, but magic gifts as well. Why he wanted to rid himself of such a gift is beyond me. I will investigate further as I attempt to assimilate more and learn their language.
Ezra N. Chase
“Salem…if this is all true, would you…would you give up your ability to be normal again?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t respond right away. His eyes were distant and thoughtful. “The same could be asked of you, Alexis. Would you give up being a raven to be mortal again?”
“You think that it would take that away, too?”
“I don’t know, but according to this it seems to strip anything that is not ‘normal’.”
“Are you two serious?!” Hannah exclaimed, about to tug the book from me but I pulled it out of her reach. “You believe there is some magical fountain of youth?” She burst out in her now all too familiar child-like laughter.
“This book seems to suggest there is, Hannah,” Salem objected.
“You can’t just believe everything you read in a book,” she said with a shake of her head. “Next you’re going to tell me there’s an Oz out there, too.”
“This isn’t just some book. If you can’t see that, then you are blind.”
Hannah ignored her half-brother, grumbled and turned back toward the steering wheel. As she started the ignition, Salem and I continued reading.
February 13, 1515
It has been nearly a month since I joined these people. They are so giving and welcoming. The people back home could learn much from them. A member of the tribe, Gadin, has taken me under his wing and has been teaching me much. Through interactions with the others and countless hours of study, I am quite fluent in understanding their once foreign tongue. I can even speak a bit on my own now, though there are many words that seem to have no translation.
This morning Gadin offered to take me hunting and teach me the ways of finding food in this unfamiliar territory. The tribe had fed me heartily, but it was time I – like all members – pulled my weight.
Unlike hunting back home, we did not sit and wait on our prey. This was a game of skill, not luck. After what must have been two hours of tracking we discovered our quarry in a grassy clearing. Before I even had time to react Gadin’s bow was drawn and an arrow flew through the air, striking the deer precisely in the heart.
Unfortunately, the thrill of the hunt did not last. When we arrived back at the camp, we found the villagers were frantic and speaking of sighting a pack of wolves lurking nearby.
Ezra N. Chase
February 14, 1515
Several villagers were found torn to pieces this morning…my dear friend and mentor Gadin among them. There was no hope left for them after that, no amount of water from the fountain could bring the dead back to this world.
The tribe is preparing to leave this area, claiming it to be cursed. I can only hope my cursed soul was not the one to bring this among these peaceful people.
Ezra N. Chase
February 15, 1515
Even more villagers were found dead today, with several missing. I’ve never seen animals kill like this – seemingly for fun or some other mal intent. Is this truly the work of wolves? I do not know, I pray that I survive the night…for tomorrow we move.
Ezra N. Chase
I gasped as I flipped the page over and discovered the last entry. Old bloodied stains marked the page.
February 16, 1515
I can feel my life slipping away…the wolves are relentless. My limbs have been mangled; it is with one arm still of use that I manage to write this…
A seer among the natives spoke of coming days of darkness, when an intruder would invade these lands and leave death in its wake. There are many legends, tales, and prophecies among these people and I thought little of it. With regret, it appears these stories I took so lightly have come to be.
I found the seer today among the dying, and with her last words she told me this: From the North shall come a raven. From its line the Kaga will meet its equal, and will meet its end.
I do not know what this word Kaga means, and I fear now I may never. If you have found this then I implore you to heed whatever this may warn.
I’ve not the strength to write much more – with the last of my consciousness I can only pray that Eleanor knew I loved her.
“Raven,” I whispered as I re-read the words.
2. NO TURNING BACK
“Seriously,” Hannah said, “If this fountain was real, we would have heard about it by now. There’s, like, nowhere people haven’t been. It would’ve been found and plastered all over news and science books. It would’ve changed the world. ”
“That isn’t necessarily true,” Salem argued, “There are new scientific discoveries every day. In fact, just look at us. Vampires exist without any sort of empirical evidence.”
“I agree with Salem,” I said quietly, thinking over everything I had just read.
“Of course you do,” Hannah grumbled. “Even if it does exist, you would give up living forever and your abilities?”
“Assuming my fate wasn’t as unfortunate as Ezra’s, then yes,” Salem replied. “Ever since Raziel turned me, I have wanted nothing but a normal life. I want to grow old and experience the life of a mortal.”
“What kind of idiot would want to grow old? And besides, what if the water is cursed or something? That Ezra guy and the Indians used it and look what happened to them.”
“I highly doubt the water is cursed.”
“Yeah, but you can’t know that it isn’t,” Hannah replied. I glanced upward for a moment and saw that we were passing through Ouray. It occurred to me then that this would be my first trip outside of Colorado, assuming we went out of state…and I was pretty positive we would.
“Anything is possible,” Salem said. “What really matters to me, however, is how Alex feels about it.”
I thought about it for a moment. I had just learned almost a year ago that my relatives were vampire hunters, that the love of my life was a vampire, and that I could turn into a raven. Then Hannah nearly killed me and in order to save me from death, Salem turned me into a vampire. Before all of this, my life was dull and ordinary. I spent the majority of my time with my best friends Jason and Karen, or attempting to study for school. What would I do if I could reverse all of this and be an ordinary human again? In a few short months I would be a nineteen year old drop out with nothing impressive about myself, and the lack of immortality wasn’t ideal. But never having to worry about hunting vampires – unless I absolutely wanted to hunt them still – and giving Salem the opportunity he always wanted…wouldn’t that be worth it?
“I…I don’t know, really,” I said. “One downfall is we can’t go back if we decide we don’t like it.”
“Why would we want to go back?”
“You’d no longer be able to summon things, we’d get sick, and we’d have to get jobs…”
; “Trust me, Alex, it would be worth it,” he replied with a smile.
“Jobs?” Hannah muttered. “Just get Salem here to summon up millions of dollars before he uses that water and you’re set.”
“I never thought of that,” I said and glanced at Salem. He looked uneasy about it. “Even if it was just enough to last until we were able to find a job…Hannah has a point.”
He shook his head. “Summoning money is impossible, I have tried.”
“Well, then just summon something valuable and sell it. Do it enough that we don’t have to work and can just enjoy life doing whatever we want.”
“I suppose,” he said glumly, “but that seems nearly as wrong. It almost defeats the purpose of even being mortal.”
“Just think on it, we’ve got plenty of time,” I said reassuringly. “I mean, we don’t even know if this fountain exists anymore, or if it ever did. I’m not even sure how we’d even figure out where to start looking.”
“If it is the real fountain of youth from history, the one Ponce De Leon searched for, then it is in Florida,” Salem replied.
“That’s just a myth, Salem,” Hannah commented.
“So are vampires,” he shot back.
After that remark, Hannah kept quiet. I stifled a chuckle and returned to skimming through Ezra’s journal. I leaned my head against Salem’s shoulder and almost wished that I could doze off. We had no set destination in mind when we began this trip, just to get away from Willowshire long enough for my father to set his mind straight. But maybe Florida would be our destination. I shut my eyes and imagined life with Salem without the burden of hunting and being undead. While the idea of getting sick, hurt or even dying left a huge impact on me, I couldn’t help but imagine the good parts of an ordinary life. I could see Karen and Jason without worrying that they might suspect something was off about me. Salem and I could get married and even have children if we decided to. The idea of growing old and brittle like my grandfather made me uneasy, but it would be worth it with Salem by my side, right?
Directly after deciding to leave Willowshire, I had left a message on Jason’s phone and shut my cell off so that if anyone called me they wouldn’t try to convince me to come back. I could feel the weight of the phone in my hoodie pocket; it almost seemed to beg for me to turn it on, even just for a glimpse to see if someone attempted to contact me. Part of me wished that we could just turn back and somehow convince Paul that he was wrong, but I knew that was unlikely, if not impossible. Besides, getting away for a while might be just what we need. I had been cooped up in the same little town my entire life without a single vacation, no one was going to change my mind.
Reluctantly, I plucked the phone out of my pocket. Salem glanced down at it curiously but didn’t question me. I turned it on and it played the same old jingle it had when it was first turned on, then it buzzed numerous times informing me that I had several texts, missed calls and voice mail.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Salem finally asked, looking more than a little concerned.
“I’m just checking it, it’s fine.”
I skimmed through my text messages but found that most of it was useless junk that didn’t matter at all. There was a brief text from Karen saying that she hopes Salem and I have a good time on our trip and a picture from Mitchell of his car, which was his new pride and joy. I was surprised not to have any messages from Jason, until I checked my voice mail:
“Hey Alex, I hope you have a good time. We’ll all miss you and worry about you! Don’t forget that you have your laptop and can send us e-mails whenever you have a chance. But don’t worry about it if you’re too busy enjoying the vacation,” his voice played through my phone and I felt suddenly overcome with sadness. “Eila says hi and hopes to get to know you better when you get back! I also noticed that Paul shut down the Auto Shop, what’s up with that? Haven’t seen him around town, either, is he okay? But anyway, keep in touch as much as you can!”
This was bad news…
Was there a chance that Paul was following us? Surely he wasn’t that eager to kill Salem for what wasn’t his fault at all…
“You haven’t seen a yellow Jeep Wrangler following us by chance, have you, Hannah?” I asked.
“No, but I haven’t really been looking out for one either…why?”
“I just have this bad feeling that Paul might be trying to follow us. I’m probably just over-reacting,” I said more to myself than to her. “I’m going to give Karen a quick call to let her know that I’m safe and that I’m sorry for not telling her that we were leaving. She’s had to figure stuff out from Jason so much lately, I feel so bad about it.”
The sound of the dial tone buzzed in my ear as I waited for my childhood best friend to answer her phone. It felt like forever since I had seen or spoken to her. What kind of a friend had I become?
“Alex?” The sound of her voice made me smile instantly. She sounded chipper and excited to hear from me.
“Karen!” I exclaimed, my mouth forming into an even wider smile. “How are you?”
“Great! I was actually planning to call you soon,” she began, and then moments later practically yelled into the phone, “I got accepted at Aveda Institute for cosmetology!”
“Wow! That’s awesome!”
“I’ll be moving to Denver in a few months for the fall semester,” she explained, “I‘m sooo excited!”
I laughed. “I can tell. Have you told Jason yet?”
She didn’t reply for a few minutes. “No…we haven’t really talked much since…she…came into the picture,” she grumbled.
“Oh, right…Eila,” I muttered. “I’m really sorry…maybe you’ll meet someone at school though!”
“Oh right, just what I need…a boy who is in beauty school,” she laughed. “Maybe I’ll meet someone outside of school though, Denver is pretty huge.”
“Anything’s possible.”
“I guess. Where are you and Salem off to, anyway? Is this some sort of romantic getaway? Ooh la la?”
“Umm…not exactly,” I laughed. “We’re going to Florida; at least I think that’s where we’re going. He hasn’t really given me a straight answer yet.”
“Oh my god! Are you guys going to Disneyworld!?”
Another laugh flowed from my lips. “Maybe, I really don’t know yet.”
“Well, let me know and send me pictures if you take any, okay? I really miss you! I wish I was there!”
“Me too, and I miss you too, Karen,” I said with a subtle sigh. “We’ll be back before you know it, and then you can give us a tour of Denver.”
“Sounds like a plan. Maybe you’ll be back in time for your birthday and we can celebrate!”
“Maybe…” The idea of birthdays had no effect on me. I hated the idea of aging, but now that I was a vampire it no longer mattered…but that might all change within the next few weeks. It was odd considering that Salem was technically over one hundred years old and I was only eighteen. A thought popped into my head and I gasped.
“Alex, are you still there? Are you okay?” Karen asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine…just, you know, not very big on the idea of birthdays and all,” I said quickly. “Look, I have to go – but I will definitely call you again soon!”
“Okay, you promise?”
“Promise,” I said and we both hung up after a simple ‘bye’.
3. SAN JUAN
Setting the phone down on the backseat, I glanced at Salem with an inquisitive look pasted on my face. He was staring out the window, oblivious to my eyes boring into the back of his shiny black hair. The question that was coursing through my thoughts was unpleasant and perhaps something of a private matter that should wait until Salem and I were alone, so I kept my mouth shut for the time being.
The sun sunk low behind a thick mass of graying clouds and soon night fell upon us. I wasn’t sure what was occupying his thoughts, but Salem hadn’t spoken or turned away from the window in several hours. I spotted a sign up ahead th
at told me we were entering Silverton. Hannah glanced back at us briefly, giving her half-brother a curious stare before turning back to the road ahead.
I grew tired of glancing at the scenery; it wasn’t that much different from what I saw back in Willowshire. I wasn’t sure how Salem could tolerate staring out at it for so long, but maybe he wasn’t even seeing it at all, stuck in some unknown thoughts. I collected Ezra’s journal from beside me and began glancing through it when out of nowhere I caught sight of something: a large black raven was sketched across the page.
“Salem,” I said, finally breaking the silence. He didn’t turn to look at me. “Salem!”
“Yes?” he said and looked at me at last with a slight withdrawn appearance to him.
“There’s something I don’t get. If this book is so old, and so important…how exactly did it get to Janet? Out of all the people that could have found it, what are the odds that someone from my family would? And how did she even know to give it to me…it was just a blank book…”
“Perhaps it is just coincidence,” he shrugged. “For all we know, she picked it up at a random book store and thought you might find some use in it.”
“Oh, come on, Salem. You’re the one that’s always saying how there are no coincidences.” I frowned. “We’ve been over this before – she knew I didn’t care for writing, she would have never got something like this for me.”
He shrugged. “I wish I had an answer for you, Alex, but there is no way to know without asking her.”
“Yeah and now that’s impossible,” I sighed.
It wasn’t easy to push away the thoughts of my foster mother. She had been the only one to truly care for me (aside from my best friends) before Salem came into my life. We weren’t incredibly close, but I viewed her as more of a friend than a mother – long before I knew she was in fact not my mom. She had a strong love for animals and attended a college for zoology and animal biology before becoming a full time zoologist. It was amazing growing up with her and getting to experience all of the different animals. The zoo in Willowshire was very small and closed down not long before Janet was offered a job by her boyfriend Mark (a vampire that wound up murdering her) at the zoo in Denver. That was the day she abandoned me, and not much later she was killed.
