The Hunted (Blood Series Book 0)

by T. Lynne Tolles

Chapter 10

 

  Darby woke up on the grass. Every thing was terribly bright and there was Blake over her, saying something, but she couldn’t understand. Suddenly, she could hear Devon’s voice clear as a bell.

  “Darby,” he said. He sounded like he was in a small room, his voice echoing all around. “Darby, it’s me. Can you hear me? Darby, it’s me, Devon. Wake up, Darby!”

  “Devon, Devon, hold me!” she said and then everything came into focus. She could see his face and Blake’s too. Blake looked worried and overwhelmed with horrible guilt and shock. Darby looked at Blake and raised her hand to his face. “It’s okay, Blake. I’m all right. You didn’t do anything wrong. I guess I just got kind of wiped out.”

  She knew Devon was distraught. She didn’t even have to see him; she could feel it. She looked up at him and said, “Truly, it’s not his fault. Everything is fine. I’ve just never exercised my mind like that. Can you help me up now?” Darby asked.

  “Are you sure you are okay?” Devon pushed.

  “Yes, yes, I’m okay.”

  “Let me help you,” Blake said.

  “No, I’ll do it,” Devon said sternly and Blake shrank at his tone.

  “Now you just stop that right now. You apologize to your brother, right now. I mean it,” Darby demanded.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry, Blake,” Devon said. “I just…”

  “No problem – I’m not sure what I would do if it had been Rowan – I get it.”

  “All right now!” Darby said as they sat down on the couch in the living room. She latched on to Devon and kissed him, “Thank you!” Then she whispered, “I love you!”

  “What happened?” Rowan asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess it was just like maybe using a muscle you don’t normally use. I just overdid it - just not used to it.”

  “Do you feel okay right now?” Rowan asked.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” she said. She also sent out a thought to Devon. I’m okay, but please stay close to me; I feel stronger when you are touching me.

  I’m not leaving you – ever – I promise, he said to her with his mind.

  Blake said as he sat down, “She’s amazing…she put up a wall I don’t think an elephant could have charged through. I asked her to try to extend it, to make her bubble bigger to include more than just herself, but I think it just was just too much, too soon. I’m so sorry, Darby.”

  “Please, Blake. Don’t be sorry. We need to know where we stand – what I’m capable of, and it worked. I feel now, that if I have to, I can protect all of you.”

  “But at what cost?” Devon argued.

  “Oh, come on, Devon. If I can keep all four of us out of harm’s way for a few minutes and all that it costs is that I pass out for a couple of minutes? Well, I think it’s worth it. I was in no danger, just a little exhausted. With practice, it will get better.”

  “I guess, as long as you were in no danger,” said Devon.

  “That’s right…okay, Rowan, you are up! Are we ready?” Darby said.

  “I think so. The sun has gone down, so I think now would be a good time to start. I think we should try for the summoning first,” Rowan said.

  Rowan handed the pink candle to Blake along with a small pocketknife. “I need you to carve your father’s name into the candle for me.”

  “Okay,” Blake replied.

  Rowan handed the other three white candles and two small pocketknives to Darby and Devon. “I need you two to carve ‘spiritual realm’ into the white candles.”

  “No problem,” Darby said, handing one candle and a knife to Devon.

  Harry decided too much fun was being had without him, plus those candles looked like they might be fun to roll off the table. He settled in on the couch next to Darby and watched everyone working together.

  After that, Rowan anointed all the candlesticks in sandalwood oil and rolled them in lavender. She lit a piece of charcoal and placed it in a bowl with some rosemary incense. The four candles were placed in a circle on the coffee table.

  Rowan asked, “Do you have the personal object or picture of your father?”

  Devon pulled a picture out of his back pocket and handed it to Rowan who set it in the middle of the table and lit the pink candle.

  She said, “Here shines Nathaniel Bloomington before me, in divine glory bathed in an aura of love. I request your presence in the here and now for we seek to communicate with you.”

  Then she lit the three white candles around the pink candle in the form of a triangle, with one on top and two below. She continued:

 

  “Power of witches’ rise

  Course unseen across the skies

  Come to us, who call you near

  Come to us and settle here

  Blood to blood, I summon thee

  Blood to blood, return to me

  Nathaniel Bloomington, your sons do seek

  To stop the havoc Terrence Paine now wreaks.”

  All four of them concentrated on the picture of Nathaniel Bloomington. After a few minutes the candles flickered and there in front of them, above the four candles on the coffee table, they saw a distortion that quickly grew stronger and brighter. After a second or two, a face appeared amongst the fog that hovered above them.

  Rowan nodded at Devon.

  “Dad? It’s Devon. Blake is here too. Can you hear us?”

  The face in the fog seemed to get clearer and nodded towards Devon.

  “Dad? Terrence Paine is,” Devon paused, “is trying to kill us.”

  Blake interrupted, ”Dad, he nearly killed Devon two nights ago.”

  The fog stirred and seemed agitated.

  “Dad,” Devon said, “Can you tell us why he is trying to kill us? Why he killed you and mom?”

  “Is there some way we can stop him?” Blake added.

  The apparition hovered and stirred. Then it seemed to become more distinct. Slowly, a very handsome man with his sons’ smile appeared from the fog. He looked at Devon and then turned to Blake. The pride in his eyes was endless.

  “My boys - such strong men you have become. Your mother and I have missed you both so much. We are so proud of you both.”

  “Dad, I don’t know how much time we have. We need to talk to you about Terrence Paine. Why is he trying to kill us? Is there anything we can do? Is there anything you can tell us?” Devon said.

  “Terrence Paine was an aristocrat I had worked with in Maine in the 1950s. He and his wife had a son who was born with a congenital heart defect. He was told the boy would die before his thirteenth birthday. At the time, medically, there was nothing much that could be done. He somehow came to know that I was a vampire – I’m not sure how? He came to me and begged me to turn his son, but I explained to him that given his son’s declining health, that the transformation itself would most definitely kill the boy. Not to mention that turning a human was not an exact science – many things could go wrong. There was the added difficulty that I had never turned a human and wasn’t sure exactly how to do it. I also explained to him that the boy he knew would not necessarily be the boy he would become. I knew Terrence could not handle a young made-vampire. I felt I would be dooming him to his own death. I had to refuse him and he did not take it well.

  “He went mad with a fury I’ve never seen among men. A year later his son died and the night after they lay him in his grave, Terrence Paine showed up on our doorstep once more. You and your brother were, thankfully, away visiting your Uncle Dominic in Connecticut when he came. Catching us off guard, he staked me in the chest, leaving me paralyzed from the wood, and he whispered in my ear that he would find and kill you boys, as I had surely killed his, then beheaded me before I was able to warn your mother. Terrence Paine found her in bed and beheaded her in her sleep.

  “Now you say he has attempted to kill Devon? I’m so sorry, boys. I always had hoped after killing your mother and me, that his revenge would ha
ve been quenched. Apparently, I underestimated the man’s capacity for vengeance.”

  “It’s not your fault, Dad. You had no way of knowing what he would do! Can you think of any way we can defeat him? A weakness? Information? Something we can use against him? Anything you can remember that might help?” Devon said.

  “I’m sorry, boys, I barely knew the man. I wish I could help more,” he said with great disappointment.

  “It’s all right,” Devon said. “You’ve told us a lot more than we knew this morning. We do have some assets in these two beautiful sister witches. I can’t speak for Blake, but I would like you to meet someone who has become my whole life in just a matter of days and I hope to be lucky enough to spend the rest of my life with her. Dad, this is Darby O’Rielly.” He bent down to take Darby’s hand to stand her beside him.

  Nathaniel bowed towards Darby and smiled.

  Blake stood up at that and said, “And Dad, this is Rowan O’Rielly. She’s become very important to me. They’re very powerful witches, both in their own special ways and we hope that with their powers and our strength, we can overthrow Terrence Paine and his thugs.”

  Nathaniel turned towards Rowan and bowed a greeting to her. “I’m honored to meet you, Darby and Rowan. I can sense that you both care for my boys almost as much as their mother and I do. They are lucky indeed. I wish, though, that you hadn’t been drawn into this mess with Mr. Paine.”

  Darby spoke, “The honor is ours, sir!” She looked at Rowan and back at Mr. Bloomington. “I think I speak for my sister as well, in saying we feel truly blessed to have found these two gentle and kind souls in your sons. Both are very different from the other, but both are loving and honorable, just the same. It reflects a great compliment to you and your wife, in who you both are and how you raised your sons. They are gifts we both treasure and thanks can only be given to you, their parents, so thank you, Mr. Bloomington and please extend our thanks to your wife!” She bowed her head to him and Rowan did the same.

  “My wife, Abby, would have adored you two. Boys, take heed. Don’t ever take these two for granted. You don’t find beautiful girls as these just anywhere. Cherish them. A wonderful woman by your side for all eternity is all a man can ever hope for, and these two are beyond extraordinary. Take care of each other and be good to each other and don’t let these girls slip through your hands.”

  And with that, the handsome man with the sunshine smile that matched those of his boys, started to disappear and as he did, the four candles blew out. They all sat there quiet for a moment. Blake and Devon, with their arms around their beautiful witches, thought hard on the words their departed father had sent them. They felt sad to see him go, almost mourning him again in his absence, but knowing that without these two lovely girls, they would not have had these treasured words with their father. What a gift they had received. With all their strength, speed, and ability to heal, none of these gifts offered them this most priceless of gifts, the wisdom and presence of their father. Their father was right; these two enchanting women should always be treasured.

  Devon turned to Rowan and said, “Thank you so much, Rowan. Speaking to him after all this time was the greatest gift, I think, you could have ever given us.”

  Blake, too, turned to her and kissed her hard and said, “Really and truly, thank you. You are amazing!”

  She blushed for just a second and said, “The pleasure was mine. I now see where you both get your good looks and that devilish smile.”

  Darby laughed and looked at her sister as she hugged Devon. She mouthed to her sister thank you.

  Rowan nodded and mouthed love you.

  Darby focused and thought hard towards her sister and thought, Love you too, Rowan!

  By the look on her sister’s face, Darby could tell Rowan had heard it. Rowan smiled and said, “That is cool. Blake, you’ve got to teach me that!”

  The guys looked at her, confused for a moment, and then laughed.

  “Well, I guess there is no need to go to Ireland. I can’t imagine there’s anything there that your father hasn’t already conveyed to us,” Darby said.

  “Definitely, but aside from knowing why, we still don’t know what’s the best way to stop all of this,” Devon said.

  Rowan said, “Well, I hate to say it, but someone that angry and so far over the deep end is probably not going to be up for a little sit down to talk this through.”

  “I suppose not, which means that the only way to stop him is to do it permanently,” Devon said.

  They all grimaced at that thought. “But we don’t know if there is anyone else involved,” Darby said.

  “What do you mean?” Blake asked.

  “Is there anyone else that Paine is working with? I mean, is Paine the top of the ladder, so to speak, or is there someone higher?” she said.

  “For as personal as this is, I would expect it is confined to just Paine and his thugs. The only reason Paine would tell anyone about this is if he had a different agenda, say fame, for catching a vampire. If that had been the case, then why wouldn’t he and his acquired army have found us years ago? No, I think he has limited resources in his thugs’ ability to track us. We’ve traveled quite a bit since our parents died and I think now that we have settled, he is just catching up,” Devon said.

  “That makes sense to me,” Rowan said. “If this was a bigger plan, with more people involved, it would be more organized and they would have caught up with you quicker.”

  “Well, I guess that is a good thing,” Devon said.

  “Sure it is. I think if we take out Paine, this will all go away. The thugs have no beef against you and your brother. If their paycheck goes away, then they just move on to the next crazy guy,” said Rowan.

  “Then I think the best way to take care of Paine is to go to him. He’d never expect us to go to him. He just thinks we’ll continue to run from his thugs,” Devon said.

  “Right, and while his thugs are here looking for us, we will be in Maine taking care of Paine,” Blake chimed in.

  “So is there any way we do this without taking him out, so to speak?” asked Darby.

  “I doubt it would do any good, but it couldn’t hurt could it? If we trapped him somehow, tied him up, and explained what would have happened to his son if your father had changed him, maybe he would understand. At least that way we could say that we tried to reason with him before we took him out. Having lost our parents and you yours, it’s just, well, life is precious, no matter who or what you are,” Rowan said.

  “I think it’s worth a shot,” Blake answered.

  “I agree,” Darby replied.

  “I don’t think it could hurt anything to try,” Rowan said.

  “Okay, then we’re agreed,” Darby concluded.