by Candy Crum
Sayen stepped forward. “Kailah, I didn’t see anything. We rushed home to check on you because I got a call from Khanae. There was another attack today, one that she never saw coming either.”
“Is it Khia?” I asked.
“It has to be!” Amanda said. “This is the kind of thing that happened before. Because of that barrier she had around Jeff and Casi. It prevented you guys from locating them. It has to be her.”
“Honestly, I don’t think it is,” Sayen said, earning everyone’s attention. “Khia has kept her promise about dropping all barriers around herself. Wendy and I have been able to feel her presence at all times, and she has had no ill intentions. This isn’t her—but it is an Immortal.”
“Other than yourself and Miss Cain, who could have this much power?” Jacques asked.
Sayen’s face fell as she stared off, thinking. “It’s the Mothers. It has to be.”
“The Mothers?” I asked. “I thought you and Wendy were the next in line for power besides Khia.”
Sayen nodded. “We are, but together, the Mothers are far more powerful than Wendy and I put together. Almost as powerful as Khia. They are incredibly dangerous, and if I’m right and they are the ones involved, that means they are trying to fulfill the prophecy that they saw nearly two thousand years ago, when I was born.”
Amanda and I exchanged glances. “What prophecy is that?” Amanda asked.
Sayen shook her head. “We have no more time to talk. We need to pack and get back to the house. Without our power of foresight, we have no chance of escaping a battle before it comes.”
“But going back to the house is ridiculous considering it keeps getting attacked, too,” Amanda said.
“We have a safe house in place. Everyone has agreed to meet there in four hours.”
“What about having a witch spell the residence?” Jacques asked.
“What are you talking about?” Brett asked. “Spell it how? Besides, real witches are kind of hard to find.”
“The old myth about a Vampire not being able to enter a home unless invited in. It’s not a myth. If a witch is powerful enough, she can spell the house to ward off any supernatural creature from entering without being invited by the one the house belongs to.”
I nearly laughed when I saw Sayen’s jaw nearly touch the ground. “I seriously thought that was another myth put in place by Khia. She started nearly all of them.”
“No. It’s real,” Jacques said. “And it works. I’ve seen it. Before I was turned, I had a daughter. Her mother passed away from illness, and I was left to raise her alone. One night, our village was being torn apart by Vampires. A strange man came into our home. He was obviously a wealthy aristocrat as evident by his clothing and demeanor. He brought a young woman with him, about the age my wife had been. He promised that he would save us and make it so nothing could touch my daughter if I would agree to become what he was, to end senseless violence like what was happening that night.
“I agreed and quickly signed the tiny bit of land and the cottage that we had over to my daughter. Once the agreement was made, the witch spelled the house, making it so no supernatural creature could enter without an invitation. For weeks I stayed, waiting for the aristocrat to come and take me with him, or waiting for the day that the spell failed. Night after night, Vampires tried to enter, and it was impossible. They would become violently ill and almost immediately weaken.
“After three and a half weeks of tried and failed attempts, we had a week of peace before the aristocrat came for me. I came to visit my daughter often after I was turned. She invited me in with no question, but I remember how ill I became when approaching the house. Because of that witch, my daughter was able to live out her life and even have children of her own. If we can find a witch, we can hold off another attack.” Jacques’ story warmed my heart. He’d turned himself over to save his daughter, and in doing so, he learned the gentler side of being a Vampire.
I was saddened as I remembered back to the night Jeff took me. It was said that Jacques’ maker was one not many generations from Khanae, and as such, he was gifted with the power of telekinesis. Unfortunately, he was dead. Khia had killed him to absorb his power. Immortals are able to gain a Vampire’s power by killing them and absorbing the remnants of their soul. That is how Khia gained the power of telekenisis and telepathy.
Sayen had limited telepathy, but it was gifted to her by Khanae allowing her to syphon a small amount of her soul. She wanted them all to be able to stay in contact at all times. Jacques’ sire must have been a good man to have chosen a man like Jacques and keep him kind.
“Amy,” Amanda said, looking to me. It was like a light bulb went off in my head.
“Yes! Amy!” Everyone looked at us questioningly. “It’s our aunt. She’s a witch.”
“A real one?” Jacques asked. “I mean no offense in asking, but this witch must be a true blood-born witch; one with true power.”
“Something tells me that coming from this family—she’s the real deal,” Brett said. “Now can we please get our shit and get a move on? Before we are attacked again would be nice. That was not fun… at all.”
Without another word, everyone piled in and began packing. Jacques stayed outside and kept watch for us. A bad feeling settled into my stomach, and I hated it. I quickly identified it as Aeric related. I didn’t want to be near him yet, and I didn’t want to worry about the Analynn situation with everything else going on. Taking a deep breath, trying to push away the negative thoughts that were trying to consume me, I closed my bags and headed out to the living room.
Jacques had already carried Amanda’s things to her car, and he had moved on to taking my things to the Avalanche, refusing to allow “the goddess” to carry her own bags. I shook my head and smiled at his chivalry. While it was very sweet that he called me that, a big part of me hated it because I didn’t deserve it. Sayen? Yes, Sayen deserved it, but not me. I’d asked him to stop, but he refused, though he agreed to call me by my real name more.
Once we got on the road, it took about forty-five minutes to get to our destination. I was pleasantly surprised to see the house was located in Brownstown, Indiana. It was out in the country and secluded—like my house. It would be good if something did happen. It wouldn’t involve many innocents at least.
By the time we got there, my aunt had already arrived and placed the protection spell. Khanae, Aeric, Rachel and Wendy had already been there for a while and were able to give her directions. When we pulled into the driveway, I saw that everyone was inside. The house was in Khanae’s name and so she was able to enter and invite everyone else in. Since I am still technically human, I should have been able to enter without an invite.
As I got out of the truck, I felt strange. There was something off about the area, but I couldn’t quite place it. It didn’t feel dangerous per se, just… off. Walking up to the house I felt weak—something I wasn’t expecting since I hadn’t yet made the change. I walked up to the door and nearly vomited when touching the door, immediately dropping to my knees. Amanda quickly made her way to my side, kneeling next to me.
“Sis, are you okay?” she asked.
Khanae opened the door and saw me on the ground. “Kailah? How are you repelled by the barrier?”
She shook her head and promptly invited all of us inside. As soon as she spoke the words, I felt the heavy feeling on my body lift, though there was still something disturbing in the air. Khanae led me inside and sat me down on the couch, Rachel quickly bringing me a glass of water.
“My Queen,” Jacques said as he bowed before Khanae.
“Jacques, it’s so lovely to see you again. Thank you for protecting Kailah.”
She smiled at him, and I could tell he felt proud for having gotten the compliment. He placed her on the pedestal that all Vampires should, and it made me happy. After their catching up, I noticed that everyone was doing their best to keep from looking at me. Jacques acted normal, so did Amanda. But Khanae, Brett, Wendy, and espe
cially Rachel were all acting strange. I looked around and didn’t see Aeric, but I let it go.
“Why did I drop with the barrier? I’m still human aren’t I?” I asked.
Khanae nodded without looking me in the eye. “Your scent is slightly different. I’ve noticed since you’ve been here. But I don’t sense any Immortal changes blood within you. So, I’m unsure.”
“It was more than likely the fact that you have an increased connection with the spiritual world now,” Sayen said—also not meeting my eyes. I looked around, studying everyone.
“Would anyone like to tell me what’s going on? Why is everyone refusing to look at me?”
“Kailah,” Rachel said softly, placing her hand on mine. “It happened so suddenly, we had no idea what to do, so…”
My eyes widened. “What happened? What’s wrong?” I said frantically.
Rachel opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, unsure of how to approach it. It didn’t matter. She didn’t get a chance to break the God awful, soul-crushing, mind-shattering news. As I heard it, as I heard her voice flowing into the room in that fake, Georgia peach accent she uses to speak to Aeric, my mind exploded with fear and my heart exploded with sadness.
She’d done it.
She came back for him just as she promised him that she would. And she planned to crush me, knowing that I can’t do anything to stop her unless I want to murder the woman her spirit was occupying.
“Hello, Kailah,” she said, walking into the room. A knowing smile on her face and satisfaction in her eyes.
“Hello, Analynn. It’s so lovely to see you again,” I said through gritted teeth.
Chapter 6
Analynn made her way into the room, my stomach clenching and heart pounding like a racehorse’s when I saw Aeric close behind her. She wore a knee-length yellow sundress with white wedged sandals, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail that hung in a single, loose blonde curl, and just a touch of makeup. Having a better grasp on the spiritual world around me, I could feel the true owner’s soul inside her own body painfully struggling against the hold that Analynn had.
I smiled to myself knowing that Wendy and Sayen would see that. At the very least, they would see it. Looking back, though, held no salvation. Across Sayen’s face was a look of pure happiness and shock. She was actually happy to see Ana, and it made me sick. Why couldn’t she see this? Why couldn’t she understand what was happening?
Though I was terrified to, I dared to look into Wendy’s eyes. Though her face wore an expression of neutrality, it was her eyes that gave her away. Wendy and I were a lot alike, so it was easy for me to read her anger and disgust when present… and it was in full swing right now. Wendy, like me, knew exactly what Ana was and what she’d done. But the illusionary fog surrounding Ana was compelling Sayen to see whatever she wanted to see—the lie.
“Kailah, I just wanted to thank you for everything you did to allow me to speak to Aeric that night. You have no idea what it meant to me.” She looked sweetly up to Aeric then, giving an exaggerated and seemingly awed sigh. She then gripped one of his hands in both of her tiny ones. “What it meant to us.”
I didn’t dare look into Aeric’s face. I was petrified of what I’d find. While I could force myself to ignore looking into his face, even though the desire to do so was burning me alive, I could not ignore his aura. His aura called to me always when we were near. It crackled with intensity and always drew me in. Now, it was a mess. Confusion, happiness, sadness, guilt, anger, disappointment; a myriad of emotions were coming through his aura, tinting the light red into a strange muddy brown. I didn’t like it on him, and I desperately tried to avoid it.
“It was what he wanted,” I said through gritted teeth. “I was happy to do it—for him.”
Something inside me was begging me not to call her out right then. There was something going on, and if I started teetering to the wrong side, toying with her patience, I might not like what I get. Something about it felt big, much bigger than a simple plot to steal Aeric away from me. If I pissed her off right then, in the very beginning, when everyone’s emotions were still so raw about her being there for the first time in decades, I would lose.
Either they would all become enraged with me, or they would see my logic, and it would enrage her, setting off whatever plan it is that she has. I couldn’t risk it, though my heart and stomach were both screaming at me to scratch her eyes out.
“Kailah, I would like for us to get better acquainted without everyone else. Would you mind taking a walk with me?” she asked in a sing-song voice.
God, she made me sick. I wasn’t at all in the mood for her crap. Not right then. Not so soon.
“Analynn, forgive me, but I just got here, and I’d very much like to unpack my things. It has been a very trying day.”
Her eyes narrowed a bit, and her smile grew. “Oh, I understand,” she said softly. “But sometimes a walk is just the thing needed to calm you. In this case,” she paused, letting her words hang in the air. “In this case, I think it’s exactly what you need.”
I knew what she meant, and I wanted to punch her in the face. Whoever was inside that body could deal with a broken nose, I thought, and she’d probably cheer me on since Analynn is the dominant soul in that situation and would feel most of the pain.
“Kailah, I think it would be good for you,” Rachel said.
My eyes involuntarily widened in her direction. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. I expected her to remain quiet through all that.
“I think so, too.” As soon as his voice filtered through my ears, I wanted to puke.
How could Aeric be so stupid, be so cruel as to say something to me right then in that moment?
My eyes slowly met his, rage pouring from them in his direction. He didn’t seem to flinch a bit, though I could tell he was very confused himself. Maybe he just wanted a moment to himself so he could think without her there. Whatever. If it would keep her from going bat-shit psycho on everyone, I’d do it.
“Very well then, Analynn. Let’s go.” She smiled and nearly bubbled over with that fake, peppy personality before lifting Aeric’s hand to her mouth and kissing it lightly.
I was surprised, yet uncaring when I felt the ground tremble lightly under the house from my rage. Jacques came to stand by my side, lightly placing his large hand on the small of my back and leaning down to whisper in my ear.
“Goddess, I’ll carry your things to your room for you. Is there anything else that I can do for you while your away?”
I could feel him smirking against my ear, and I knew what he was doing. He immediately caught the obvious tension between Aeric, Analynn, and I. That was his way of throwing some back at Aeric, knowing that his own presence was already pissing him off anyway.
Without backing away, I turned to look at Jacques, our faces only a breath away from one another. “No, Jacques, but thank you for your help.” I smiled and looked back to Analynn, whose face was slightly confused. “Ready?” I asked with a sarcastic smile.
She nodded, and we headed outside. She started toward the woods and I followed, not wanting anyone inside to hear us either. “Well that was certainly an interesting display,” she said once we were a good way out from the house. “Who is that? He is unbelievably hot. My God, the terrible things I’d do to that man. Mmm!”
My eyes widened, my left brow raised in an idiot-fog. “Are you serious?”
“Don’t you find him delicious?” she asked with a smirk.
At the sound of the word ‘delicious,’ I was automatically brought back to the room where I’d been held. The memory of Jacques biting me and drinking from me invading my thoughts… The memory of me drinking from him…
“I thought you were after Aeric,” I said. “Isn’t that why you brought me out here? To threaten me or something?”
She smiled. “Well, if you don’t want him, I’ll just have them both. Jacques is way too sexy to pass up, but I do have a plan. So, I need to stick
to it.”
Rage filled me when I thought about what she’d just said. “Do you want Aeric at all? Or is this just a game to you?”
She laughed. “I’ve evolved past the need for ridiculous human emotions. All I want is what is mine. Aeric is mine. So is the money, the immortality, the power, and the amazing sex. He is great, too. Mmm. I bet Jacques is incredible. How old is he? They only better with age, ya know.”
My jaw dropped. “You only want Aeric because he’s a Vampire? That is why you are doing all this? I won’t allow this! Analynn, Vampire or not Aeric has real feelings. And he uses those to love you. How could you do this to him?”
Her face turned serious. “Because I want what he owes me. He promised me eternity and then he let me die. Had he been there, instead of out hunting with Khanae, I may have survived. Khia wouldn’t have gotten to me. And the fact that he is fucking around with you, that bitch’s descendant, just pissed me off even more. I want what I was promised. He owes me, and I will collect. So, it’s in your best interest to stay clear of me.”
“And if I don’t?” Analynn laughed then. It was dark and hideous. It chilled me down to the bone, and I wanted to kill her right then and there.
My head began aching terribly, and I was about to scream for help, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, a Forsaken had me pinned by the throat to a tree that was behind me. He wasn’t one of the bigger ones, standing at about seven to eight feet tall. He was a silvery white color with crystal blue eyes. He looked like a Siberian Husky, his fur was even a bit longer, around an inch in some places like his arms, chest, and torso and three to four in others like his head and neck, like a mane.
He was actually very pretty, despite what he was. As this monster held me to the tree, my body shivering in icy fear, I realized that he wasn’t squeezing, I could breathe just fine. He wasn’t squeezing, and he wasn’t snarling, or growling, or doing anything at all to harm me… only pin me. As this occurred to me, I realized something else. Analynn was standing a few feet away from us, smiling.
