“Where is my grandmother?”
“She gave you all she had left,” The Dream Teller explained. “She has moved on from here, satisfied she has corrected what she considered to be her gravest mistake. Now it is up to you to honor her gift and use it well. You have been given a second chance at life, Seta. Do not abuse it or the power you have been trusted with.”
Seta opened her eyes to find the blue sky replaced with the dark ceiling, the light of the moon replaced with the soft golden hue emitted from the oil lamp burning on the nearby table.
She sat up, the cold chill of the dream realm falling away from her body, to find herself being watched over by a man sitting in his own soft gold shadow, his aura she had not noticed earlier.
“Christian?”
“Good evening, Seta.”
“Did you sit there watching over me the entire time I slept?” She didn’t bother hiding the irritation in her tone.
“Of course not. I needed sleep as well. Eron and I took shifts, making sure no danger came upon us, particularly you.”
“How chivalrous.”
“You will be weaker in the day and when the deep mending stage of sleep has you, you can not defend yourself. It takes time for a new vampire to build up the ability to wake during the day. The deep sleep is also longer for you. It is best that we watch over you as you transition into this new way of life.”
“Best for you to keep danger out or to keep it in?”
“I will not lie,” he answered. “We watch for enemies outside and we watch you to ensure you do not do anything dangerous out of desperation. I do not like doing so. I do however, prefer it to losing you. You are with friends, Seta, not dungeon guards.”
Hooves pounded the ground outside the cabin, growing louder as they neared. Christian crossed over to one of the windows and pulled back the covering.
“Eron has arrived with the horses. We will see how they react to you. They have accepted us. You are new. They may resist at first.”
Alarm settled in to Seta’s chest. “How far will we be traveling that we need horses? We walked to the next village last night and returned before dawn.”
“We can not continue to seek nourishment in the same village, and we do not own this cabin. We have no idea when the owner will return to it. We have to keep moving.”
Seta stood, the newfound magic inside her growing, threatening to burst. “You mean to move me farther from my son. It is not enough I have been told to relinquish him to a woman who could not possibly love him as much as I, now you want me to leave him behind?”
Christian stood, eyes cautious as they studied her. “In order to care for him you must care for yourself. We will be hunted here if we continue to feed.”
The door opened, allowing Eron entrance.
“Her power has increased,” Christian warned.
“I felt it as I neared,” Eron advised, removing his gloves to place in the pockets of his long coat. “You have visited The Dream Teller, Seta?”
She looked between the two men, noting the wariness in their eyes, the apprehensiveness in the set of their jaws. The difference in auras. Where Christian’s was a soft gold with splotches of blues and grays, Eron’s was dark shades of gray and blue with hints of pale yellow snaking through.
“Was this something else you were forewarned about? Is there any part of my life I can expect to be private?”
“I knew you were a witch,” Eron advised. “After meeting you it was fairly obvious you had not been trained. Now it is obvious you have. A witch can not be trained to the degree of power I feel from you in one night without equally powerful means. It is not a stretch for me to question The Dream Teller’s involvement, particularly when she was the witch to send me to save you.” He stepped closer, careful to still retain a safe distance, his eyes focusing on her hands, where she felt the static electricity of magic crackling through her fingertips. “Do you feel better after meeting with her? Has she alleviated your mind?”
“Do you really think anyone could alleviate my mind? I am a mother without a son. That pain does not just go away.”
“No, I imagine it does not. There are ways to survive it, to strengthen from it rather than suffer each day you are apart.”
“What do you know of it? Have you a child?”
“I had one.” Pain flitted through his eyes before they warmed with anger. That too drifted away on a sigh as his aura flashed a stormy sea of blues. “Be thankful your son is alive and you have a future with him. Some of us do not have such gifts. We will be outside with the horses when you have finished dressing.”
The angry magic pulsating in her fingertips subsided as she caught the slump of Eron’s shoulders as he collected all but one dress box and left the cabin. Christian barely glanced her way as he followed suit, leaving her alone in the small cabin with her regret.
She’d spent so much time focusing on what she’d had and lost, she’d never once thought of the men caring for her. They weren’t born vampires. They’d had lives before as normal men. They’d had families. They’d had loss. Or had they? The image of Roberto tossing her off the cliff taunted her as she changed her damaged dress for one of the new ones Eron had bought her, a simple pale, yellow Empire style dress. Simple, yet finer than anything she had worn in years. Oh what a fool she had been to believe he had loved her. She was just a poor servant and he had simply used her services to provide him with a child, knowing all along he would be taking her child from her. Did men feel anything at all? Did they care about anyone as long as they got what they wanted?
She looked in disdain at the old dress as she walked out of the cabin with it held tightly in her fist. Each rip, each blood stain seemed to laugh at her.
“Seta?”
She glanced over to see Eron feeding a carrot to one of the large horses tethered to a small carriage. His eyes registered concern. She had been wrong about what she’d seen in a man’s eyes before.
She used the cache of magical knowledge her grandmother had passed on to her to ignite the dress and flung it to the ground.
“Seta! That is dangerous for our kind!” Eron rushed forward, genuine fear in his eyes. Behind him, the horses whinnied and rose up on their back legs, scared by the dancing flames suddenly appearing so close to them. Christian grabbed their reins and whispered soothing words, attempting to calm them.
Seta put the fire out with a simple wave of her hand before Eron could reach her. “I was in control of the fire.”
“Why did you burn it?”
“It needed to be burned.” She turned toward the horses and slowly approached, one hand raised, palm out.
“Careful, Seta. Animals can react negatively to us.”
“You do say?” She smiled smugly as the horses calmed, one lowering its head to nuzzle her hand as she ran her other hand through its silky mane.
“That was easier than we had thought it would be,” Christian commented.
“Much,” Eron agreed, his eyes narrow as he studied Seta.
She held her head high, refusing to squirm under his heavy judgment. “Where do you intend to take me?”
“Not across the country,” Eron answered. “We need space from here, at least for a while. This accommodation fit our needs to save and turn you. Now we must seek a more suitable shelter where we will not be easily found.”
“Everyone tells me I will be reunited with my son. Nobody tells me when, and you are telling me now I must leave the area.”
“I am not being deceitful with you, Seta, nor am I intending to talk in riddles. I was told you would be reunited. I was not told when. I do know, based on our lifestyle, it will not be immediately. I know long stretches of years for a mortal are but blips in time to us. It will take a little time, but you will adjust. You have to give it a chance.”
She looked toward the direction of the castle. Although miles away, she could see the cliff where she had lost her son, and lost one life to gain another. Beyond the cliff, sat the castle and within its s
tone walls, her precious son rested his small, innocent head. Or did he? Did he cry now, missing her? Did he feel abandoned? Would that pain stay with him or would he forget? Was it right for her to worry about him forgetting her when forgetting her might be the only way to give him peace? The tears she’d held inside since waking up childless broke free, her will no longer strong enough to dam them in. This was the second night without her son and it was the first time she’d thought about what he was feeling over her own need to be with him.
“I deserved this,” she said on a gasp for air as her knees gave out and she fell into a cocoon of arms.
“I will stay with her,” Christian advised as he lifted her into his arms and gathered her inside the carriage.
He placed her on the seat, one arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders as Eron closed them in. Shortly after, they were in motion. Seta burrowed into Christian’s side, absorbing the warmth that seemed to come from his aura.
“Why is a question that can lead to madness,” Christian said softly, using his fingertips to push a wet lock of her hair from her cheek before drying the wet skin with his thumb. “I have no knowledge of a life before I became what I am now. Eron lost everything and everyone he loved. If we allowed ourselves to dwell on the why of it all we would be entirely different people. We would have probably given in to the darkness of our nature a long time ago.”
“How do you not?” Seta asked, drawing some strength from his presence. “How do I let go of it?”
“The first thing you do is not blame yourself. That is far worse than dwelling on the why. When there is no clear answer we can not assume one.”
“I lay with a married man and gave birth to his illegitimate son. Am I not deserving of punishment?”
Christian sighed. “I will not say what you did was right. I know our God is a forgiving God. He would not take a child away as punishment. Furthermore, there is no mortal or immortal who has not sinned. I can tell your mistake haunts you. You need to ask forgiveness, which you already know, but you need to forgive yourself as well.”
“Will that make the pain go away?”
“No. It will give you the strength to survive it, which is all you can do. Pray for direction. Everything happens for a reason, part of a plan we may or may not know we are part of. I was once lost as you are now. Everything will be easier once you find your path.”
“My path is not with my child.” She wiped her eyes in effort to regain composure.
“Not yet. The thing about paths is they intertwine. You spent nineteen years on a separate path than Eron and I, yet here we are, as we were meant to be. Right now you are at a fork in the road. When the two loops come together again, you and your son will find each other once more.”
“Do you really believe that?” Seta searched his eyes, seeing only compassion.
“I do. I know with my heart and soul it is true.” He squeezed her hand. “Your son is safe, even if he is with a bad man.”
“Perhaps. I realized tonight I have spent this time obsessing over my pain, my need to be with him. I have been waiting for the opportunity to get to him, to retrieve him and keep him with me. Before tonight I did not think of what he is going through. If I can not be with him, he can not be with me. I should have thought of his pain, not my own. Perhaps I am not the—”
“Are they not the same?” He gave her hand another squeeze. “I will not pretend to know what it is like to be a mother, to carry a life inside me and have to release it to the world. The constant worry, the fear you feel every waking moment. I do not see how his pain is different than your own, or how desiring to have him is any different than having concern for what he is going through. It is an easy thing for Eron and I to tell you that he is safe and you need to be patient. I am not such a blind fool as to believe actually doing it is the least bit easy for you. Our intention is not to make you feel he is better off without you. Right now, he is safer behind the castle walls. When he becomes a man he will need his mother to ensure he is a better man than his father. Do not look at this as he being taken away because you are unworthy. I truly believe he was taken away now because you are a good mother, and this has all happened so you can save him when it matters most.”
Fresh tears slid down Seta’s cheeks. “I want to believe that.”
“Then believe. Have faith, Seta. Have faith in God’s plan for you and have faith in us. We were not sent to save you in vain. Lean on us in your times of doubt. No matter how heavy your burden is, Eron and I will not let you fall.
FIVE
Seta reflexively covered her stomach with her hand as it tightened painfully. It was the fifth pang in the last ten minutes they’d been traveling.
Christian glanced at her middle from where he sat on the other side of the seat. “With age, you will be able to go longer periods of time between feedings. Eron is aware of your hunger and he will see to it you have blood soon.”
“You are sure?” She rubbed her sore belly.
“He is your sire. He feels your hunger. He will stop when he finds something.”
“You mean someone.”
“If there is someone available, yes. We can also feed on animal blood if need be. It is not nearly as appealing, but it preserves our life which is the most important thing.”
Seta scrunched her nose at the thought of feeding from an animal, however the absurdity that she did not find human blood revolting was not lost on her.
A woman’s cries rent the air as their carriage picked up speed.
“What was that?” Seta asked as Christian pulled back the thick covering over the window and peeked outside.
“A woman is being attacked.” He looked back at her. “It would appear your dinner has arrived.”
The carriage came to a stop and Christian threw open the door, leaping out in one fluid motion before extending his hand to her.
Seta placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her free of the shelter the carriage provided. The night had grown darker but the full moon allowed clear visibility for the ten thieves to see the lone woman traveling by carriage. Seta saw Eron effortlessly toss one of the men into a tree before turning to punch another.
Seta locked eyes with the small, pale woman as she clutched the top of her dress together, as Christian left her side to assist Eron. Tears covered the woman’s face as she lay next to her carriage.
Seta quickly covered the distance to the woman’s side, swiping out with her arm as one of the attackers tried to stop her. He flew backward as if hit with a battering ram but Seta barely felt a thing.
“How did you do that?” the woman asked as Seta kneeled before her, eyes wide.
“It does not matter,” she answered, checking the woman for signs of injury. “You appear unhurt, except for your dress. Did they force themselves on you?”
“That one tried.” She pointed to a large, bearded man lying on his back, groaning. “Your driver pulled him away.”
“Get into your carriage and fix your dress,” Seta directed her as her blood heated. “Do not come out until I say it is safe.”
“You must join me!” The woman gripped her arm. “We must let the men protect us.”
“I will be fine,” Seta promised. “Now do as I said.”
She helped the woman into the carriage and closed the door, turning in time to see the bearded man approaching her, a lascivious smirk plastered across his oily face.
“You will find I am not as easily cornered as she,” she warned the man, smirking herself as she likened him to Count Roberto Garibaldi. “Come closer and you will not see another night.”
The man laughed. “You have fire. I like fire.”
“Truly?” Seta conjured a powerful green flame in her hand, succeeding in what she had failed while under Roberto’s attack, and launched it at the man’s face.
His screams filled the air as he swatted at his blazing beard.
Seta quickly took stock. Christian and Eron had defeated most of the men, leaving their broken bodie
s along the dirt road. They now each faced off with one opponent each, leaving her with only the burning man and a stomach growling for attention.
“I suppose you are it,” she murmured as she waved her arm forcefully, creating a magic wind to snuff out the fire she’d created.
The man fell to his knees, crying in agony as he continued to feel the burn along the blistered, red skin covering his face. “What are—”
“I am angry,” Seta answered, cutting him off as she grabbed a fistful of long hair and yanked his head back, exposing the wide column of his throat.
She felt her fangs descend from her gums as she lowered her head to sink them deep into the man’s neck. His rich, hearty blood slid over her tongue, its flavor intoxicating as it rolled down her throat, quieting the raging hunger within. As with the man in the alley, she saw images of this man’s life. She saw the innocent people he had cheated and stolen from for years, the women he had battered and violated, women just like her. He had left a trail of abused women in his wake, discarded as easily as she had been tossed off the cliff outside Roberto’s castle. The more she saw, the hungrier she became. She drank furiously until the man quit struggling, quit making sound, until he lost his spark.
She withdrew, allowing him to fall to the ground as sloppily as he had his own victims and looked up to see Eron standing before her.
“I will not apologize for not sparing his life. He has taken many.”
“I will not apologize for taking theirs,” Eron replied, casting a glance beyond her.
Seta turned her head to follow his line of sight to where Christian dragged a body from the road into the tree line. “You killed them all.”
“I did. I pulled this one off of the woman before he could rip off her pantaloons. The others were either cheering him on or rummaging through her carriage.” He kicked the man’s body aside to step closer and ran his thumb over the corner of her mouth. “We protect humans. In order to do that, some of them need to die.”
Seta's Fall Page 5
