by Kylie Price
I don’t know why I did it, but I had gotten in Lachlan’s car and sat there quietly while he drove. We had been on the road for at least an hour and I had not said one word. We were driving down a country highway, which seemed like it was never going to end. Farms and bush land were the main sights from the window, but the air was so clean and crisp coming from the open sunroof. Was I supposed to be scared? You are not supposed to get in a car with strangers, especially ones that have been stalking you. The first time I had met Lachlan I felt an attraction to him, that was now long gone and had been replaced with confusion and fear. Yet, now for some reason I felt safe. Well the safest I had felt in that last few weeks.
After another thirty minutes we pulled into a driveway that was lined with forestry. We travelled along this driveway until tiny lights came into view. Lachlan drove up to the house, turned the car off and then got out. I sat for a moment longer, sucked in a deep breath, and then hopped out as well.
A middle-aged woman opened the door as we approached. I don’t know who she was expecting, but she seemed shocked to see us.
“Trinity,” she said breathlessly. She walked up to me and put her hands on my cheeks. “You came. I did not think you would. Come, I have hot coffee brewing.”
She had long, wavy brown hair and her attire was nothing short of pagan. Her face had a gentle and sweet look to it but her eyes had a knowing look about them. I felt I could trust her and so I did and followed her inside her house.
Smells exploded in my nose. I squinted my eyes.
“Just take a deep breath. Try and distinguish between the smells to find one that you want to stick to,” Lachlan said behind me.
I mentally rolled my eyes but did as he said. I tried sifting through what I could smell. A hint of rose, some lavender and sandalwood. Pine, camomile, sage, coffee. I stopped there. Coffee. I inhaled deep and smiled. We followed her through the lounge room and into the kitchen. Her house was nice with pine furniture and bright red curtains and cushions. Pictures hung along the walls and ornaments. There were statues, or should I say relics, stationed around the rooms we saw.
“Sit please,” she spoke pointing to the kitchen table. “I am Maria. I am a Pagan of the light. You know what this is?” she asked. I shook my head.
Maria gave Lachlan a pointed look and then looked to me with a kind face. “Well light being a symbol of good and me being Pagan speaks for itself. I am a good Pagan,” she said with a smile while bringing a tray over to the table and sitting down. She made me and Lachlan a cup of coffee. I took a large mouth full and sighed. I think it was the best one I had ever had.
“So are there Pagans of the Dark,” I asked. Not quite sure why, but I figured I might as well humour them so I come out of the situation alive.
“Of course my dear. Good and bad. Dark and light. It is the balance the earth needs,” she said.
“Why does it need it? Why couldn’t everything just be light?” I asked.
She laughed then said, “Good question. One which I will find it hard to explain. Would the world be boring if there was only ever good? No battles to push past. No pain to understand and learn from.”
“It might be boring but at least it would be simple,” I replied.
“Yes, but the world is not simple. Far from it. Many things are still unknown. You come to me with an open heart, yet you are not letting go enough to believe,” she pointed out.
“I came here because I felt I had no choice,” I said honestly.
“You always have a choice Trinity but it is that choice that could have either good or bad consequences.”
“So me coming here is bad,” I asked.
“No, it is good. You want to know but you are choosing not to believe,” she said.
“I’m confused,” I admitted.
“You should be. This will all seem so strange and hard to wrap your head around. Just try to have an open mind.”
I gave her a nod in acknowledgement.
“I am a Pagan of the light. The Light has taught me many things. I can now see small glimpses into the future. Only glimpses.”
“Did you see me?” I asked.
“No. I did not see your arrival either. This is a good thing,” she pointed out.
“Good how?”
“Well if I couldn’t see you, neither could the dark,” she said with a smile.
“Ok, so I will humour you. I am a vampire now,” I said plainly.
Maria chuckled. “Oh she is a stubborn one Lachlan,” she said to him.
“Tell me about it,” was all he replied.
“You are much more than that my dear. There is a Prophecy that foretells of your birth and purpose.”
“O….kay,” I replied with confusion.
“The prophecy says, “A time will come when the final descendent will rise above and you will be forced out of hiding. On the first hour of her 18th birthday she will be scratched by the beast and on the final hour bitten by the monster. Her rise will avenge us all and begin the war that will see your end. She will be unstoppable, a force unlike anything any of us have ever seen. Heed my warning with my final breath…you will all suffer for your betrayal...”
“But I wasn’t scratched by a…”
My mind spun. It was trying to process everything that I had just been told. This could not be real, it could not be happening. My body started to shake and then I felt hands upon my own. Both different warmth’s. One was Lachlan’s and one Maria’s.
“It is hard to process what the mind has chosen not to believe. Take a deep breath,” Maria said.
I inhaled with a shake. I did not want to understand, I just wanted to go back to being me. Trinity.
“I don’t want this. I don’t want this to be real,” I half sobbed as tears started to form. I was scared and confused. I felt alone and defeated.
“So I am a Vampire and a Beast,” I asked in a quiet voice.
“No my child, you are the descendant of the ancient immortals that now has the power of both enemies.”
“So I’m immortal and a vampire plus a beast. Anything else?” I said with sarcasm.
“You are the only one of your kind and we do not know what will become of you,” Lachlan said.
“Oh great, so nothing to worry about then.”
Chapter Twelve
I was silent for the entire drive back home. I was confused, and stubbornly denying what Lachlan and Maria had told me, but at the same time I couldn’t help but feel that it was all true. She had been vague for the most part. I wondered if it was because she didn’t want to drop all the bombs on me at once. She had said that I needed to prepare myself and that I should go back and see her after the shock had settled down. Apparently my change is taking its time because of my blood, even though I have no idea what is so special about my blood and why a prophecy was made about me. My head was spinning, but at least I felt more alive.
“You cannot tell anyone about this Trinity,” Lachlan said snapping me out of my own thoughts.
“Yes I can,” I argued.
“No, you can’t. It’s for your own safety,” he said more sternly, like a father.
“Yes I CAN! And I will be telling my best friends. It’s my story to tell, so you don’t get to tell me who it is I tell it to,” I said with strength in my voice.
“NO! Non-mythical beings are supposed to stay out of our world,” he pressed.
“Our world. Hmmm, last time I checked we all lived in the ’World’. Just some people do not know about it,” I said with sarcasm.
“You shouldn’t. You could put them in danger Trinity, and yourself. It is our way. Our Law.”
I did not reply. He was not my boss or someone that I held dear to my heart. I did not have to do what he told me to. I was going to tell them and he was going to have to deal with it.
We pulled up in front of Nikkee’s house. I sat there for a moment and then turned to face him. He was cute, and yes the attraction I first felt for him was defiantly gone. I was too annoyed a
t how my life had been turned upside down because of his stupid belief in a prophecy.
“You would have changed anyway,” he said.
I opened my eyes in surprise. “What, can you read my thoughts?” I asked.
“No. However, because I am the one who created you I do have an emotional bond connected within you. I can feel your confusion and anger, and I can feel your resentment towards me, as if it is my fault,” he said in a kind voice.
“It is your fault.”
“You were already changing. Wouldn’t you rather be this, than just some hairy beast?” he asked.
“Why? You got something against puppies.”
He laughed loud. It echoed around his car like a boom box. “Let’s just say, we are the more elegant monster.”
“You’re being prejudiced. A monster is a monster, only I am two in one. In my eyes that is worse. And vampires and werewolves have been fighting against each other forever.”
“How would you know that?” he asked.
“Cause that’s what all the movies and books say,” I retorted. I opened the car door, hopped out, and started walking up the side of the yard towards the little house where Nikkee and I lived.
I heard the car idle for a few more seconds and then it drove off. I stopped and sighed to myself. What a mess. How could all of this be real, and yet it was all making sense at the same time?
“Oh my god! Trinity. Where the hell have you been?” came Nikkee’s voice from the gate.
I didn’t reply. As I opened the gate I was engulfed in the biggest hug I think I had ever endured.
“I have been worried sick. I’ve been home for hours, I couldn’t reach you on your phone, and the police told me you had to be missing for more than twenty-four hours! I even went to your foster monsters’ house to see if maybe you went there and then I just didn’t know where to look,” she said with a gentle sob at the end.
I squeezed her tight and then pulled her off me with ease. I felt strong, because I could feel she was clinging on tightly, but my gentle push unclenched her from me.
“Put the kettle on. I have lots to tell you and most of it you won’t believe any more than I do,” I said, steering her towards our home.
Nikkee had called Sky over. It was three in the morning. I hadn’t realised I had been gone so long, but then again the drive there took nearly an hour and a half, so the time frame made sense. The only problem was that my two best friends were still going out of their minds, crazy about where I had gone and what had happened. Nikkee even noticed how I looked much better and saw I no longer had the bandages on my arms.
I told them all I knew over one and a half coffees and some cold pizza. At first, they both laughed, but when they saw the two marks on my arms all the pieces fell together for them- and for me. It was as if saying it out loud to someone else made it true. Still crazy, but true.
“You do realize how ridiculous this all sounds don’t you?” Sky said.
“Yes I do, and believe me, I said the same thing to them,” I replied.
“They could just be some cult Trinity, trying to brain wash you,” Sky continued.
“Yes I had thought of that too. I know it sounds bizarre but it’s kind of making more sense than the leprosy thing,” I told them.
“Leprosy would have made more sense if it was still common,” Nikkee said.
I laughed. “I know. I know. Believe me this is way out there, but you have to promise not to say anything. Lachlan said all of us could be in danger if others found out,” I said more seriously.
“Who does this Lachlan think you are? I’ll give him a piece of my mind when I see him next,” Nikkee said standing up.
“Trinity, you don’t honestly believe any of this do you?” Sky asked.
I looked at her, and for the first time in my life, I felt that she was not on board with me. Could I blame her for being that way? No, I couldn’t.
“It doesn’t matter. Something is going on and this is the first part of any explanation we have for Trinity’s health decline, and all her more than usual weirdness,” Nikkee said defending me.
“It’s just too extreme for words. How can you expect me to believe it? Why are you both believing it?” Sky asked with underlying anger in her tone.
“I believe it because Trinity believes it,” Nikkee said with force.
“Well I’m not sure I do entirely, but something inside me wants to believe. The more logical part wants to run and hide under a rock,” I sucked in a deep breath then added, “and I am supposed to be the link between some feud, and I don’t even know what it is that I’m supposed to do.”
“Just be yourself, Trinity,” Nikkee said as she got up and cleared off the coffee table.
“You don’t have to do anything, because this is all just crazy talk from some seriously deranged people, hoping to get your inheritance or something.” Sky said with a slight sneer.
“What inheritance? I live off my sugar momma,” I said and winked at Nikkee.
“Sugar momma! Please, I’m only six months older than you,” she defended with a grin.
“Old is old,” I said laughing.
“How can you two be joking at a time like this. You believe her,” she said pointing to Nikkee and then stood up and added, “and you believe it. This is going too far. It must be some kind of side effect from you being attacked.”
I raised one eyebrow. “That’s what I am trying to convince you of.”
“No, it is like some kind of traumatic experience. You’re making this up in your head so you don’t have to face what really happened,” she pressed then turned towards the door. “I am going home. You two can think up more crazy stories and fill me in on Monday.” Then the door was opened and she was gone.
I looked at Nikkee and then the door and back to my bestie. It felt like Sky had just turned her back on me. I hoped it was not for long.
Chapter Thirteen
I was sitting at the table eating some cereal. I didn’t get much sleep the night before, and from the look of the bags under her eyes, Nikkee didn’t either.
“So do you believe me?” I asked in a quiet voice.
She looked up from her bowl with a kind face. “I will admit, it is crazy, but if you believe it then I will too. We just need to have some proof to make it solid.”
I smiled at her and went back to eating when the door burst open and in came Jason. I dropped my spoon and jumped up. Nikkee did the same.
“Oh crap,” Nikkee said.
“What?” I asked looking between her and Jason.
“Nikkee called me last night to tell me you were missing,” Jason said with a hint of anger.
“I would have called the Army if I had their number,” Nikkee smirked.
He looked at me and then at Nikkee then walked back through the door, slamming it behind him.
“I called him last night when I couldn’t get a hold of you. I didn’t think he would drive down. I’ll go and talk to him,” she said. She left the table then walked out the front door.
I heard hushed angry whispers from both of them. I squinted my eyes and forced myself not to hear.
Jason had looked relieved and mad at the same time, but also surprised to see me. A flutter started as the image of his relieved face played across my thoughts. Then came Sky’s and Lachlan’s. I had sent Sky a text when I had woken up asking if she was mad at me, but I had not received a reply. I tried not to panic. She could have still been sleeping. I felt like something was wrong. Sky had been different ever since my Birthday when I moved into Nikkee’s. I was sure there was some jealousy, but only because I was not with her. Nikkee and I had asked her to move in too, but she had declined. Was there something else I was missing? Something that could have been right in my face the whole time?
My phone chimed and made me jump again. I quickly unlocked the screen to see a message from a number that I did not know.
“We will need to meet 2nite. Lachlan.”
I really didn’t want to but I
replied anyway.
“Why?”
“You will need 2 feed again.”
My mind slowly took in what his message meant.
“I’m eating now,” I sent back.
“A real feed. Meet at Jala’s at 9.”
“OK” was all I sent. What else was I supposed to say? “Who’s on the menu?”
The rest of the day Nikkee and I spent lounging around watching movies. I told her what Lachlan had sent and in no way, shape or form was she going to let me go alone. I was cool with that. I would feel safer with someone else there to back me up if I needed them. It had been silly of me to go off with Lachlan the night before, but my need for answers overrode the rational thinking part of my brain.
Jason stood at the back door as he watched us walk to the garage and hop in Nikkee’s car. At first glance I couldn’t really see his face, but I opened my mind and made my eyes look closer and then it came into view. He looked worried. A fast thumping sound was in my ears. My body responded to the noise, and then it was gone and I looked away. I was actually surprised he would let us go out on a Saturday night after everything else that had happened. Whether he had a crush on me or not he was still a protective brother.
We were waiting outside of Jala’s. It was closed, which we knew it would be. Nikkee stuck close to my side and scanned up and down the street when we saw a car approach. Nikkee grabbed my hand and held it tight. I was not sure if it was for my comfort or for hers. Maybe both, because I was scared too. The car pulled up in front of us, a window came down, and Lachlan’s face came into view.
“Should I have said ‘Alone’ in the message?” he said with a hint of anger.
“I wouldn’t have listened anyway,” I replied with a smile.
He put his hand up to his face. “So I guess you have told her?”
I didn’t reply I just pulled Nikkee to the car and hopped in the back seat with her.
“So where are we going on our first date? McDonalds?” Nikkee asked with sarcasm.
“For you maybe, but Trinity and I will be going to Huss it Out!” Lachlan said as he started driving.
