The shock on her face was all he needed to know that what he had seen was real. He was pretty sure the events had come to pass and that the dreams weren’t just dreams, but it wasn’t until he saw her face that he knew it was real. He shook his head again.
“Josh, too, had seen you when Melanie was abducted by Dimitri. He has this amazing ability to leave his body behind, but travel over great distances to be with the one he loves - Melanie. You…the Dark Angel, were part of that nightmare. You were Dimitri’s puppeteer. You gave him the Bloodstone Heart so that he could put together his army of super vamps. Did you know Dimitri tried to drown Melanie? Did you order it?
“Are you the reason my cousin Blake is lying in a coma in San Francisco after having ingested Deadman’s Blood? What about Josh’s parents? Were you the one that blew up the plane in hopes my newly found brother was on his way back to Minnesota with his folks and Melanie? Are you going to kill my father when you catch up with him to get the artifact back? Is that what this is all about, or do you just have some vendetta against the Larsens in general? Is that why you went out with me? To get close to me so you would have a convenient way to kill us all? What has my family ever done to you?” Anton exclaimed.
“The Larsens have done plenty to me, but that’s not…” Julianna started.
“The Larsens have done plenty to you?” Anton interrupted. “What? What has my family ever done to you?”
“The story I told you about how I became a vampire,” she said angrily. “It never sounded the least bit familiar to you? How convenient for you noble blooded bastards.”
“How is that related to this?” Anton asked.
“Your great uncle Owen. He was the man that never showed in the barn that night. Your great uncle Edward was the one that turned me and left me for dead. Then when I came to, I reached out to Owen’s family to find out why Owen never came, and find out what was wrong with me. Why was I brought back from the dead? My family disowned me and the Larsens slammed the door in my face!”
“My great Uncle Owen is the one you’ve been so angry with all these years for abandoning you? It never dawned on me when you told me the story, but I guess I should have noted the similarities in the story to the ones my father told me. Well, have I got a surprise for you, Julianna. Let me tell you what really happened that night.
“Owen was KILLED by his own brother, Edward, for a stupid family diamond his father had given to him. Edward had always been jealous of his older brother and it wasn’t until much later that Owen’s journal was found, in which he talked of an undying secret love he had for a local girl. He had a ring made out of the family diamond and was going to propose to the girl that night. He knew his family, being blue bloods, would never permit the marriage, so he had planned to run off with her and marry her. He left the journal for his father to find, in hopes that at some future date when he came back with his wife that the family would eventually accept his marriage.
“Edward had seen Owen packing and knew he had been seeing the village girl on the sly. He admitted to his father in a horrid violent argument that he’d met Owen in the barn before the girl showed up and beheaded his brother. He searched his brother for the diamond, but didn’t find it on him. He then tossed his body behind some hay bales and waited in the shadows for the girl in hopes that she would have the diamond on her person.
“Surprising her when she arrived in the barn, he drained her, thinking he would leave her for dead, but when she wasn’t wearing the ring, he had to come up with an alternative to cover his deadly dead, so he turned the girl, then framed her for Owen’s murder,” Anton relayed to her from his father’s research and dreams.
“So the family thought I killed Owen?” Julianna asked.
“Yes. I guess. That’s probably why they turned you away,” Anton said.
“So Owen had come that night?” Julianna asked.
“Yes. Some of it is recorded in Owen’s journal that my father has pieced together. You can ask him if you don’t believe me,” Anton insisted.
“I believe you, I just….” Julianna started.
“Just what, Jules?” Anton said.
She knew she couldn’t say anything that would make up for what Anton knew she had done. Part of her had been so mad for so long, she didn’t know who she was. The anger had been such a big part of her and who she had become - who was she now that the secrets had been told? It had never even dawned on her that Owen could have been murdered. She had been blinded by so much anger and resentment that she couldn’t see the truth. For four hundred years she’d been holding a grudge - now to find out that everything she thought she knew was wrong.
“I’m sorry, Anton. I was wrong. I’m not trying to kill your family. I never was.”
“Really? What about Dimitri? The airplane? What about the ‘Deadman’s Blood’?” Anton demanded.
“Dimitri acted on his own, and I will admit that I did not advise him against torturing the girl, but I didn’t know he planned to kill her. The airplane I know NOTHING about except that I heard of it on the television. The ‘Deadman’s Blood’, well, I…I did kill that man and I did drain him, but after that I gave it to someone. I didn’t poison your cousin,” she explained.
“Right. I’m supposed to believe a killer for hire? The most infamous vampire ever. Why would you tell me the truth? I’m nothing to you but a mark!” Anton shouted.
“That’s not true, Anton. You are something to me,” Julianna tried to explain.
“Don’t make me laugh. I really know how to pick them, don’t I? The only two women I’ve ever cared about and both of them only wanted a foot in the door to my family. It never had anything to do with me. Darby should have never saved me after Libby tried to kill me. Now I guess I’ll just have to watch you kill off my family one by one, but don’t think you won’t be in for a fight. I’m not as strong or as old as you, but I will fight for what family I have,” Anton said.
“Anton, I’m not…”
“Save it, Jules,” Anton said as he pulled out a pocket knife from his jacket pocket. He cut her feet loose and then her hands.
As she stood up, she massaged her wrists where the twine had cut into her and given her a terrible rash. “Why are you releasing me?” she asked.
“I was falling in love with Jules. I didn’t think I ever would after what Libby did, but I was. I just…” He couldn’t say anymore. He couldn’t find the words. She walked to his side, and with both hands she lifted a silver chain from around her neck beneath the black hoodie she wore. She lifted it over her head, tugging at her long auburn locks and revealing a large black diamond ring hanging from the chain. Images of past moments with the Dark Angel when they had first met ran through Anton’s mind as he remembered her playing with something just under her shirt. Then another moment when he and Jules drank the blood wine and she first told him of the story about her turning and how she played with something under her shirt. How had he not put the two incidences together before? Had he known that Jules was the Dark Angel subconsciously and just didn’t want to admit it? He couldn’t even go there as she put the chain and the ring into Anton’s hand. Anton stared at the ring. It was stunning. The stone itself was rectangular in shape but faceted masterfully. The stone was black at first sight with reflections and undertones of red.
“This should stay with your family,” she admitted.
“I don’t want it, Jules. Owen gave it to you with all the love he had in his heart. It’s yours, not ours,” Anton said.
“No, Anton. Out of respect for Owen and your family, I’m giving it back. I’ve done a lot of awful things in my life, Anton. Let me at least do this one unselfish thing,” she said.
He reluctantly nodded. She reached up and kissed his cheek and released her hand over his as she said, “I truly am sorry, Anton.” With that she was gone. He stood leaning against the cold stone of the altar feeling empty and cold within as well.
He was done with love for good. No more. It was too damn hard and painfu
l.
*****
After a few minutes, Mark sauntered into the altar room to find Anton standing against the bloodstone altar staring at the hearth.
“Dude…where’s our prisoner?” Mark asked.
Anton didn’t turn to face Mark; in fact he didn’t move at all, he simply said, “I guess the twine wasn’t as strong as you had hoped.”
“But how could the Dark Angel break the twine around its feet and hands without you noticing?”
“I don’t know, Mark, it just happened. The Dark Angel is gone,” Anton said bluntly.
“Did you at least get a chance to pull the hood off and see who it was?” Mark asked.
“No.”
“Well, what the heck were you doing down here?” Mark asked in frustration.
“Nothing. Talking, I guess,” Anton said.
“Did you get any useful info?” Mark asked.
“Nothing we didn’t already know.”
“Well, that stinks,” Mark said, disappointed. Anton didn’t say anything. “I guess one good thing came out of this.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” Anton asked.
“I know where the key goes,” Mark said.
Anton finally moved his head to look at Mark with some vague interest. Mark pointed at the mosaic.
“What about it?” Anton wondered.
“See…here…in the middle where the anther cap is at the top of the column?” Mark pointed out.
Anton looked to where Mark’s finger pointed at the center of the mosaic flower, and then he looked at Mark with puzzled excitement.
“What? So I know the parts of an orchid…my mom likes orchids, so shoot me!” Mark said defensively.
“Fine. Sorry, didn’t mean to insult you,” Anton said.
“Sheesh. Anyways, this indentation here fits the description you told me Dominic had said the key turns in to,” Mark explained.
“When did you see it?” Anton asked.
“I was sitting on the hearth over there and the sun hit the picture differently from that angle and I saw what I thought might be an indentation for the key when the Dark Angel flashed in the room.”
“Great. Dominic will be thrilled,” Anton said.
“Maybe, but I think he would have been a lot more thrilled if we had the Dark Angel to show him,” Mark said.
Again, Anton didn’t say anything; he just ran his hands over the indentation of what looked like a sunflower.
“So maybe we should get out of here. I don’t want any more visits from vampires,” Mark said.
“Yeah. By the way…thanks…the dragon thing was awesome,” Anton admitted.
“It was kind of, wasn’t it?” Mark said proudly.
“Very.”
Chapter Eighteen
Darby and Nuala worked intensely on scrying for a day and a half, when Darby seemed to be starting to get the hang of it with a consistent reading. Nuala taught her how to make scrying more accurate with spells and potions, but because this process usually required something or someone who had recently touched the object or person, the spells likely wouldn’t work for finding the bottle.
After the first day, Nuala started hiding things here and there - in the garden, down the lane, even in the sand of the beach nearby. When Darby was able to find them most often on the first try, Nuala knew she had taught her all she could on the subject. One of the setbacks, however, was Darby could carry the scrying stone with her when she got to a location and then scry again to hone in on the item, but Nuala had never done any scrying under water and wasn’t sure how the water would affect the crystal’s swaying and how to read that correctly. Another issue was, how would she be able to breathe under water? Scuba gear was still on the table and seemed to be the most plausible.
Devon had started looking into renting equipment in between dealing with the electrician and the plumber. Darby was starting to worry about him a bit. He seemed pale and tired, not at all the handsome, strong prince of a vampire she had known for some time. Devon didn’t seem to be worried about it, but she wasn’t sure if he was telling her everything. Once she got this Summer Queen thing taken care of she could devote all her attention to him and maybe head back to the states to have him checked out by Dr. Rowe.
Yanna checked in here and again to see how Darby’s training was going, but offered no help when Darby voiced her concerns about the water. It wasn’t until Nuala came across something in one of her books about a mermaid legend that Darby started to think this whole thing might work. Apparently, Mer-Legend had it that the Mermaid Queen could change a pearl into a breathing device for a brief time, when the pearl is placed inside the mouth of the air breather. It’s said that this has been used by those who have fallen in love with the earthbound, giving the Mer’s lover a chance to experience and see the beauty of the Mer world. But how do you call on a mermaid, and if one could be contacted, why would she do Darby any favors?
This dilemma was brought to Yanna’s attention on her next visit, but she only spoke in rhymes and riddles of an ancient time and name that Darby couldn’t decipher. It was Nuala who recognized the name and put two and two together. She went straight to a dusty old tome that was buried in an ancient trunk and wrapped lovingly in fine linen. Nuala placed the book gently on the table, pointing a finger to a page.
Darby followed her finger to a beautifully hand-drawn picture of a crowned mermaid high on a rock, her outstretched hand holding a pearl, was pointed towards a small dinghy in the sea below her as she sang a song to the tired old man in the boat. Darby could only conclude that the mermaid was the Queen and she was offering the pearl to the poor, dying sailor. The only problem was that though the handwriting below the picture was beautiful, it was in no language Darby could read, but it looked as if it was a poem.
Nuala explained that Mara WAS the Queen of Mermaids. Once she had fallen in love with an old captain and he had written a song for her. Mermaids were known for singing to sailors to lure them to the deep, but this old captain had sung to her and won her heart.
“So. I don’t understand what that has to do with trying to find the Mermaid Queen,” Darby said.
“My child, you need only go to the cliffs and sing the song to her and she will come to you,” Nuala answered.
“What cliff? Can we go now?” Darby asked.
“No. It must be dark, preferably a full moon, but I don’t know if that is necessary,” Nuala explained.
“I don’t have a very good singing voice and I don’t know the tune,” Darby admitted.
“It’s not about the tune or the voice. She comes because she recognizes the song her love wrote her. If your Devon wrote you a song, and he sang it to you, would you care if he couldn’t sing?” Nuala asked.
“NO. I wouldn’t. I see your point. So why can’t I just have the Queen go get the bottle?”
“You don’t ask the Queen for favors,” Nuala answered.
“Then why would she give me the pearl?” Darby asked.
“She won’t. You must offer her something in exchange,” Nuala said.
“But what? What would a mermaid queen want?” Darby asked.
“That’s for you to figure out,” Nuala said.
“Swell.”
*****
Josh woke up to the sound of talking in the kitchen. After a stretch and a yawn, he got up off of the couch and sleepily headed down the hall. He found Dominic in the kitchen with Lanie, talking over a cup of coffee.
“Good Morning, Dominic,” Josh said yawning and patting him on the back as he made his way to Lanie. He kissed her head, then got a cup of coffee and plopped down in the chair next to her.
“Josh,” Melanie started, “I was talking to Dominic and I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I think we should head to MN and take care of your parents’ funeral and all the arrangements that go with it.”
“I really don’t want to deal with that,” Josh said gruffly.
“I know you don’t, Son, and considering all that’s going on, i
t makes the timing even worse, but out of respect for your parents, you really should. You were their only son; the responsibility, I’m sorry to say, falls to you,” Dominic said.
“I know, Dominic, but I’m not ready to confront that they are really gone,” Josh admitted.
“And I understand that, but you’re going to have to,” Dominic said.
“But what about Blake?” Josh asked.
“Josh, Sweetie,” Melanie said, “There’s nothing you can do for him right now, but you can give yourself and your family some closure in this horrible situation. I really think you need to do this for you. You’d never forgive yourself if you weren’t involved. I’m sure your aunts and uncles will do most of it, but you really need to be there.”
“I guess,” Josh relented.
“I’ll stay here and keep you apprised of any changes with Blake’s condition, and when you’re done you can fly back out, okay?” Dominic assured him.
“Yes. You’re right. I guess I should just man-up and take care of things,” Josh said somberly.
“Sweetie,” Melanie said, “this has nothing to do with being a man. It just has to be done. It’s going to be hard, but I’ll be with you every step of the way, and the rest of the Brenners will help. Plus, you know you always have the support of Dominic.”
“She’s right. Anything you need, Son, just give me a call,” Dominic said.
“Thanks, Dominic. I guess I’ll give Uncle Russell a call and make some flight arrangements,” Josh said.
“Good,” Dominic said, “Think I’ll go take a shower and head to the hospital. See if there is any change with the patient. I sure hope this dialysis will be able to filter out the toxins in his blood, but we will know more tomorrow.”
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