“Your father was the Wylt,” she had murmured when Rosa questioned her. “He never told me if he knew how it all began. It just always has been that way. I know you are feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from everything. Maybe you could ask Eli or Bal-”
“No, I’m not asking Balthasar a damn thing. In fact, until I get over the urge to throw things at the eldest Vane, I’m going to avoid him as much as possible.”
“Can I ask what happened between you two? Should I be worried?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” insisted Rosa. “I will get over it, don’t fret. I need some space that’s all.” And a fast car out of this crazy place. Or some brain bleach to stop thinking about him.
After leaving Balthasar on the doorstep three nights ago, she had taken all of his and Jane’s letters and portraits back to the trunk into the attic, determined that she would get Goode to take the chest out of there as soon as possible. The next day she hadn’t asked for the trunk to be removed. Every time she went into the attic, her eyes would find the chest under the window, and she would think of the words that were written inside it.
Rosa knew deep down that she was embarrassed for crushing on him and hurt by his anger toward her. The only way she knew how to react was with study. The letters had awoken something in her that she didn’t even know had existed. She was having a difficult time reconciling the Balthasar from the warm letters to the one who had yelled at her and then had maybe, almost kissed her.
Was he going to kiss you, Rosa? Or is that how your drunken mind is choosing to remember it? You remember the last letter…he went off to war. That has changed him. He isn’t the same person that you were crushing on. Rosa’s mind argued as she tried to concentrate on a putting a pile of Wylt letters in date order.
What if he is the same person and your anger is stopping you from finding out? Admit it. You like him. You are being stubborn because he shouted at you. Then he apologized, but that is beside the point.
The gate outside rattled and she stilled, her heart hammering. She hadn’t showered or changed out of her pajamas that day. Who could be coming to visit her at this hour? Why do you care?
She crept into the hallway and watched the shadow of someone standing on the front step. She peeped through the keyhole and watched Balthasar retreating. He cast one last glance at the house as if conflicted before the gate closed and he was gone. Rosa breathed a sigh of relief before opening the door a crack. She picked up a book that had been left on the step, quickly shutting the door again.
Back by the warmth of the fire she opened the heavy leather bound book and found a letter. Her name was now written in the gorgeous calligraphy that she had enjoyed reading so much. She touched it gently before turning the letter over and breaking the seal:
Rosa
I know you are still angry with the Vanes, the world, and me. I don’t blame you. We are not easy people to live with and I am certainly not easy to get to know. I have made it my mission in this life to isolate people, and yet I find it impossible to do so with you.
With Eli’s permission, I gift this book to you. It is an account of the Vanes that he told to a priest in the late seventh century and has been added to over the years. I hope that it will afford you the clarity that you need to put your mind at ease. If it is agreeable to you, I would like to tell you more at a time when you are best ready to hear it.
I don’t know if it means anything to you but I didn’t tell him about the protection against compulsion that your necklace affords you. I don’t trust Pearl or my sister with you and your mind deserves to be your own. I have ensured that Pearl will never hurt Cecily again. You have my word.
Once again, I apologize for my outburst. Making you afraid of me is the last thing I would ever want and being the object of my anger and frustration is the last thing you deserve.
Balthasar
Rosa took a deep breath and re-read the letter. “Why did you have to go and do this when I was so intent on hating you, Balthasar Vane,” she murmured.
She opened the book and the first page was a drawing of a man that had to have been a young Eli Vane, but his eyes were more slanted and his expression wild. There was something in his expression that had not changed. It was as intent and serious as ever. It was clear that this book was not one of the carefully copied texts of the time. It was written in Latin, but behind every sheet was an added page translated into modern English.
“Down the rabbit hole we go, Rosa,” she said as she turned a page and began to read.
***
The year of Our Lord 792 - Lindisfarne
A man has come to the monastery tonight asking for a scribe to recount his life. At first, the holy brothers took him for a beggar, but when invited in for a bowl of stew, we saw that his clothes were fine and he was of noble blood. The story that this stranger, who is calling himself Bleddyn, meaning the wolf, has told me sounded like the ravings of a madman. It was not until he showed me his miraculous transformation himself that I began to believe him. I am not afraid of him, though I know I should be. He has taken my fear away from me somehow.
This is what he told me:
I do not know what the human year was when I crossed over from the Aos Si to this land. The fae follow the seasons, one year blending into the other. Only humans with their short lives follow such things.
I know it was before the Romans that my two brothers and I found a way to escape from the Seelie court, where we had been held hostage since we were children, and into this land. The Seelie have their mansions under the earth, and for the first few seasons, we were fearful of the brightness of the Sun and the land around us. We found humans confusing, but over the seasons we found that, with a few adjustments to our appearance, we could move through their settlements unnoticed. We needed blood to keep ourselves strong, but they were more susceptible to mind control than any of the fae. It was a time of exploration for us.
When the Romans came, my brothers and I went our separate ways. We had centuries of being together, and they wished to explore the lands beyond. I hear rumors of them occasionally, but there has been no desire to join with them. We have been building our own families, an ability we learned early on.
Our blood is not like that of humans. It has the abilities to heal and create. It was when my younger brother accidentally killed a friend in a fight that we learned the secret of transformation. He tried to feed him his blood, but when life was restored, he now had the need to drink the blood of others to survive. He did not have all of our abilities; rather he was a copy, a bastardization in many ways. He was strong and fast, long-lived and had the ability to sway human’s minds.
Our experiments went further. We found that our progeny could turn others to this life, but they were different again. They could not stand the sunlight, and they could not eat normal food. These were creatures of the night, wild children that needed to be governed to ensure that they did not expose their existence to humans. We named them the Gwaed Gam, the Blood Deformed.
Over time our kind in all their forms has spread over the world. We do our best to govern them. Many do not know our true origins, so other myths arise. We have become cautious about revealing who we are. We have never returned to the fae lands. We rule as unseen kings here.
The Seelie delight in making war on us. They see us as abominations, and I cannot deny it. My brothers and I spent our early years as hostages in the Seelie courts, and we have not forgotten the cruelty we suffered at their hands. One of the Seelie princes, Ryn, hates us above all. He sends his raiding parties through the crossings and into the human world to harass us, killing many before they disappear once more. The Autumn Queen wants her pets to return home to her. It is only our brute strength and the Seelies’ intolerance to iron that evens out the battlefield.
***
Rosa tore her eyes from the page, her mind trying to rapidly process all that she was reading. She ran up the stairs and picked up the fairy tale she had borrowed from the library. “
Holy hell, Eli is Bleddyn. The Bleddyn. Eli is a faerie,” she said aloud and tried not to laugh. This place is crazy. Rosa shut the book and went back downstairs.
Rosa flicked through the Vane book, the pages and writing changing with each account. She read of how Eli’s queen Deryn had been murdered by Ryn in a horrific battle with the Seelie, but there was no account of how he met her or the life they had. During the blank stretch of time, Eli had acquired the first of the Wylts, but that story had not been recounted.
After Deryn’s death, there was a long stretch of time before he wrote about finding Lily during the Crusades and bringing her back to England, a frightened and damaged creature. He had worried about turning her because of the psychological scars that she carried with her. In the end, changing her had calmed her but didn’t heal all the hurts in her mind.
Rosa put the book down when the script changed again, and Eli began to write of finding Balthasar. She didn’t want to find out from a book. She realized with some surprise that she wanted him to tell her the rest of the story. In the back few pages, she found a note about when the three exiled brothers met up again centuries later.
1749
We finally decided to meet once more. It has been five hundred years and the time has moved swiftly. We have all taken new names again. I have selected Eli, and the other two are now calling themselves Zalan and Vincenzo. We talked much of our families. Vincenzo seems very pleased with the fact I claimed Cosimo Medici’s bastard and has left him an open invitation to return to Florence when he chooses.
Zalan has been spending many years alone in the wilds of Russia, and his tumultuous nature seems to have finally settled. Zalan worries about the Seelie returning in numbers. He has sensed them growing inpatient again. Last time he foretold them I lost Deryn, so I have sent orders through Albion to keep watch over the stone rings.
I made my suggestion to them once again about trying to broker peace with the Autumn Queen, and they laughed long at me. They aren’t interested in peace with those that tormented them for so long. I will not give up. How many centuries must this go on? Balthasar is willing to help keep everyone calm. He has a cunning mind but a good heart. One day, if I, like Zalan, feel the need to retire from the world, I know that he would take care of Albion as I would. For many years, I thought Lily would be the one to succeed me, but she is still too haunted, too willing to trust those who would abuse her. I love her, but her heart is too gentle. She will advise Balthasar and together I know they would do the job admirably.
***
Rosa slept until midday. She had stumbled upstairs in the early morning hours, collapsing into bed exhausted. Her dreams had been strange and wild, filled with fae, blood, magic, wolves and Balthasar. She had not been able to fall into a proper sleep until the sun had risen.
Downstairs, Cecily had left a fresh loaf of bread and eggs, so for the first time in days, she made herself a proper breakfast. She washed her clothes and hung them on a clothes rack near the still warm fireplace to dry.
It was a clear afternoon, and she had an urge to see the lake. She had to get out of the cottage and away from the stories that were now twisting about inside of her. The lake had been her favorite place to go as a child, and she wondered how much it had changed.
Taking her coat in case the weather changed, she walked down to the stables to see Roger. He was with the farrier who was busy re-shoeing Caesar.
“She emerges! I was starting to worry about you, lass,” he said with a smile as she walked in.
“I thought it was time to get some fresh air,” Rosa said with a shy smile. “Would you mind if I took Dunstan out?”
“Not at all, he could use the exercise, and I’m held up here today,” Roger said brightly. “I will get him saddled for you. He’s lazy and won’t give you any problems. You will be okay on him?”
“I’m sure it’ll come back to me,” Rosa said with only a flicker of uncertainty. Harold had taken her riding nearly every day before he died, but it had been three years since she had been anywhere near a horse.
Dunstan’s russet fur gleamed in the sunlight as Rosa walked him steadily out of the yard. Roger stood watching her do a few laps of the stable yards before he was satisfied she wasn’t going to fall off and break her neck.
“Do you remember the way down?” he asked.
“I remember the pathway, and I’ve seen Mr. Vane heading through that way enough. I’m sure I will find it again.”
“Mr. Vane huh? I can see you’re still pissed off with the lad. Does he deserve it?”
“Yes,” she replied confidently, though inside she squirmed.
“Well, then that’s fair enough. Try not to get lost.”
“I won’t go far, and I won’t stray from the main path,” Rosa promised.
The gravel road was like a white scar through a land of green. The leaves of the trees had turned, and Rosa felt like she was walking under a gold and red roof. The path wove through the well-tended parklands before turning off through the wilder forests. She saw the flickering lights through the trees before the lake came into view, the sun making it look deceptively inviting. The main beach now had a pergola and a jetty to get past the tangle of weeds. She kept riding, following the well-tended path, determined to go the full circuit of the lake.
It was refreshing to be away from the house and the ever-looming presence of the Vanes. Out amongst the trees, the world seemed simpler and safer. Is it any wonder that Balthasar escapes out here every night? Rosa shook the thought away. She hated that he was constantly invading her mind. She needed a break from it all and especially him. There was so much she still didn’t know, and despite the good intentions of giving her the book it had raised more questions than given answers.
The fact they were the royal family made their arrogance more understandable. It also explained the constant stream of visitors and made her uneasy about the conversation she had accidentally overheard in the servant passage. Recalling Eli’s threats made her realize how literal he had been.
Eli, the Unseelie royal heir that had used his powers of seduction to escape from the Autumn Queen. Rosa was still having problems processing that. Eli who had told her stories as a girl and who had comforted after her father had died. Eli who had let her take the book from the library.
“Look who has decided to come out of hiding at last,” a snide voice said as Lily and Pearl appeared at the crossroads ahead of her. Pearl rode a gray mare and Lily a black. They looked ridiculously proper in their matching equestrian gear. “I didn’t think you would know how to ride a horse.”
“I’m full of surprises. It’s a pleasant day for it,” Rosa replied, doing her best to be neutral and polite. “Although if those clouds come over it won’t last much longer.”
“Lily and I feel awful about sending you up to the attic. Our brother is so secretive we couldn’t help but wonder what he was keeping up there,” Pearl laughed cheerfully. “What was up there, Rosa?”
“Paintings,” she answered vaguely.
“Typical,” Lily said with a sigh. “I thought he would have changed his habits over the years, but he would retreat into a painting if he could.”
“Paintings! How boring of him. The way he carries on about his privacy, I thought there would be at least a body or a slave girl up there,” Pearl exclaimed. “We knew he would be lenient on you if you were caught. You seem to be a favorite kind of pet for the boys. Saul hasn’t stopped talking about your drunken escapades in the cellar. I thought Balthasar was going to stab him at breakfast this morning.” Rosa didn’t reply, hoping her silence would make them go away.
“Have you seen the faerie ring yet?” Lily asked hesitantly. “I haven’t been up there in years, and Pearl is making me show it to her. Would you like to join us?”
“I don’t think I should. I promised Roger that…”
“I wouldn’t worry about Roger. I’m positive he won’t mind, and it isn’t much further to go. Come along,” Lily rode ahead of them. Rosa follo
wed reluctantly. She had nearly forgotten about the circle of stones that Harold had shown her. He had told her that no one knew who had put them up and told her stories of fairies that came to dance at the lake. Maybe he had been trying to warn her.
They rode up a small mound to where the circle of stones stood, and Rosa froze in the saddle. She had dreamt of them the night before she had been summoned back. There were misshapen, smooth black rocks sticking out of the grass like broken teeth. The hair on her arms stood on end as she drew nearer. Witchy-woo, she thought, looking around her. It was as if the world was holding its breath around them.
“Rosa?” Pearl turned in her saddle.
“Ah, sorry what did you say?”
“I asked what is going on with you and Balthasar. He has been even moodier than usual since your spat.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Rosa said honestly.
“Don’t lie to me,” Pearl hissed, her horse flicked its head back as she jerked the reins.
“I’m not lying to you,” Rosa replied. “If you want to know what is wrong with Balthasar, why don’t you ask him? Or are you just annoyed and jealous that he won’t talk to you?”
Pearl’s pretty face twisted and she hissed angrily, her mouth filled with fangs. Dunstan reared, and Rosa cried out as she was bucked off. She hit the ground with a sickening crack and pain flared up her leg like a hot wire. Dunstan took off in fear, his hooves only narrowly missing her. Pearl slid off her horse and started to walk slowly towards her.
“Pearl!” Lily said angrily, but she was ignored. Rosa crawled backward, her broken leg dragging through the grass. She felt a snap of static as she crossed the stones. They stopped Pearl in her tracks.
“You think you are safe in there, Rosa?” she growled.
“Pearl, leave her. You can’t cross the stones,” Lily insisted. “Rosa, I will send someone back for you.”
Wylt: Book One The Blood Lake Chronicles Page 11
