“Or lunch tomorrow?” he added quickly when Elizabeth’s smile started to fade. “You probably have some awesome college student plans tonight, right?”
“Tomorrow would be great,” Elizabeth replied. “Around 1ish?”
“I’ll be here.”
“And this time, I’ll pay,” Elizabeth said over her shoulder as she turned to go back up the stairs.
“That’s what you think,” Chase muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Elizabeth asked from the top of the stairs.
“Nothing,” Chase said with a wink. “See you tomorrow.”
Chapter 5
“How was it?” Michelle looked up expectantly from her computer.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than to wait for me to get home and interrogate me?” Elizabeth asked as she sat down on her bed and found that she could not stop smiling.
“HAHA!” Michelle pumped her fist in the air triumphantly and started to jabber away a mile a minute. “Obviously it went great! Aren’t you happy I made you answer the phone? Where’d you go? What did you do? What did you talk about? Did he ask you out again? Of course he did, right? Unless he’s a total loser which he couldn’t possibly be because then you wouldn’t like him, which you obviously do! When are you going out again? We should totally go on a double date! I’ll just grab some random guy and make him go out with me just so we can all go out! Is that totally desperate of me or what? Tell me everything before I go crazy!”
Elizabeth laughed while Michelle bounced impatiently in her seat.
“We’ve already established that you’re crazy, Michie. Now calm down and catch your breath.”
I’m just so excited to see you go out with a nice guy,” Michelle said. “And I’m sick of being cooped up in here.”
It’s actually weird seeing you home on a Saturday afternoon.” Elizabeth tried to steer the conversation away from her date. Unlike her roommate, she was not one to gush about her love life, or lack thereof. Michelle was just too talkative to be trusted. “Are you actually doing homework?”
Michelle frowned and sighed. “Unfortunately, yes,” she said. “I’m stuck here doing this stupid paper while you’re out gallivanting with some guy. When did we switch places?”
“Gallivanting? Really?” Elizabeth said with a snort. “What happened last night? Who are you trying to avoid this time?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michelle said as she look down at her computer and began to type slowly. Her calm tone did not fool Elizabeth in the slightest.
“Todd again?”
Michelle smashed her fingers against the keyboard angrily. “The bastard’s going out with Kim,” she said through gritted teeth.
Elizabeth had suspected this but wasn’t about to mention it. “You ran into them on your way to lunch?” she asked.
Michelle nodded; her eyes became watery as she stared at the computer screen. “We met up last night at the party, and I thought we were going to get back together.”
Elizabeth had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. She could never understand what Michelle saw in her ex, but she knew better than to express that thought. Michelle seemed to be constantly shifting her opinion of him. One minute he was a total jerk and the next she would go on and on about how much she loved him. Elizabeth had long since discovered that in this matter, as with so many, anything that she might say to console Michelle would just make matters worse. Michelle was perfectly capable of pulling herself out of her current mood.
“Anyways,” Michelle said after a few minutes. “It’s good that I’m working on this paper now because the Delta toga party is tonight, and I plan on drinking so much that I’ll have the world’s biggest hangover tomorrow.”
“I would say that’s responsible of you to get your homework done early,” Elizabeth said. “But you remember what happened at last year’s toga party, right?”
“No, and that’s the point,” Michelle said. “But I do remember the hangover the morning after.”
“So you’re planning on getting even drunker this year?”
“Naturally.” Michelle’s expression brightened as she spoke. “You should come with us! You could get drunk with us for once.”
“No thanks,” Elizabeth said with a grimace. “I do remember last year’s toga party.”
“Didn’t you sit in a puddle of coconut flavored rum and then someone threw up all over you?”
“That was you, Michie.”
“I sat in rum?”
“No, you threw up on me.”
“Oh, Sorry.”
Chapter 6
“You’ve met someone rather interesting, haven’t you?” Sir Marcus said with a slight frown as Elizabeth slipped into the grove a little after sunset.
“Good evening to you too,” Elizabeth said with a chuckle. “I’ve had a lovely day, thanks for asking, and I haven’t had any garlic, so I don’t know why you’re wrinkling your nose like that.”
A ghost of a smile flitted across the vampire’s sharp features. “What’s his name? And when would it be convenient for me to kill him? I don’t care for his smell.”
Elizabeth ignored him and leaned over to give Romulus a pat on the head. The big wolf whined in delight at her attention.
“Elizabeth,” Sir Marcus’ voice was sterner than his expression. “Who is he?”
Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile at his protectiveness. She winked at Romulus and then looked up at Sir Marcus.
“His name is Chase,” she said.
“And?” Sir Marcus’ pale eyes fixed her with a piercing look.
Two nights ago, she would have not been able to meet his gaze without at least a shiver of fear, but tonight she found that she was able to look into his eyes without a trace of apprehension.
“We had coffee yesterday and lunch today,” she said. “And, well, I don’t know. He’s sweet and intelligent and a great listener. And he’s totally cute too, but there’s something about him the just seems, well, I don’t know. Just off somehow.”
Marcus raised his eyebrows but did not reply.
“It’s difficult to explain,” Elizabeth struggled to find the right words. “He’s-different, but not in a bad way.” She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to organize her thoughts. She could feel Romulus’ unease as he nudged her thigh with his nose.
“I don’t know,” she said at last. “Sometimes I can feel this weird tension between us and then it’s gone just like that. I don’t understand it. It’s like one minute, I feel perfectly comfortable with him and the next I feel confused and a little-I don’t know-uncomfortable.”
A line appeared between Marcus’ eyebrows as his frown deepened.
A growl issued from Romulus’ chest. Elizabeth could feel him pressing against her mind like he was trying to tell him something. She didn’t know how she was doing it, but somehow she was able to keep him out.
“Romulus, no,” she said through gritted teeth. “I can’t have you in there right now.” Her head began to throb ever so slightly.
Sir Marcus laid a gentle hand on her small of her back as she took several deep breaths. The pain and pressure eased. Romulus turned and disappeared into the grove. Elizabeth tried desperately to rid herself of the sinking feeling that she felt in the pit of her stomach.
“He means well,” said Sir Marcus.
“I know,” Elizabeth said looking in the direction that Romulus had gone. “I just wish he wouldn’t push so hard. I hope I haven’t offended him. It’s just that after the last couple nights and with this weird thing with Chase, I feel like my mind isn’t entirely my own anymore.”
“Makes sense,” Sir Marcus said. “Your mind has been stretched and pushed in all directions lately. Most mortals would not be able to bear the amount of tampering that we’ve done to i
t.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
Marcus patted her back affectionately and said, “Let’s not keep father waiting. You can tell me all about this Chase fellow while we walk.”
Chapter 7
Lord Reginald met them before they reached the storeroom. His hair glistened in the moonlight as he walked with Romulus at his side.
“Romulus told you,” Sir Marcus said with a scowl.
“He didn’t have to,” Lord Reginald replied. There was something that seemed distinctly different about the vampire lord tonight. There was more color in his cheeks, and his eyes seemed to shine with an inner light.
“Hello, young Elizabeth,” he said as he took her hand and kissed it. “I trust you are well.”
“I am sir, thank you.” Elizabeth said with slight bow. “You seem younger tonight.” She felt foolish the moment the words passed her lips, but Lord Reginald smiled.
“It is all thanks to you, of course,” he said warmly.
“As a master vampire, Lord Reginald can feed exclusively on the life force of those within his clan,” Sir Marcus explained, seeing Elizabeth’s puzzled expression.
“It is true,” Lord Reginald said. “You have an especially strong life force because the blood of Anya flows in your veins. Your mere presence makes me feel stronger than I have in centuries.”
“Glad to be of assistance,” Elizabeth said, not exactly sure how she should respond.
Sir Marcus suppressed a chuckle, but Lord Reginald nodded regally.
“It is a beautiful night,” Lord Reginald said. “I thought we might walk through this charming grove rather than sit in the confines of that musty storeroom.”
Before Elizabeth could blink, she was walking arm and arm with Lord Reginald on her right and Marcus on her left. She smiled at the sight of Romulus trotting ahead of them like an excited dog going for a walk. He kept flitting in and out of the shadows before them. He seemed to have the need to scratch and sniff everything in his path.
Elizabeth breathed in, enjoying the aromas of juicy oranges and old trees.
“I quite like it here,” Lord Reginald commented as he also took a deep breath. “There is a freshness and youth to the air. Though I suppose that it would smell old to one of your age.”
“It does smell old to me,” Elizabeth replied. “I used to come here all the time because it made me feel like I was stepping into an older world that time forgot. I guess that’s still the reason I’ve been coming here.”
“Indeed,” Lord Reginald said. “We do come from an older world, an older time, but you too belong to that world. One day, you will come to the ancient home of the Wolf Clan; then you will see how young this grove is.”
“I’d like that,” Elizabeth said. “But this grove will never seem young to me.”
“Everything is old to a child,” Sir Marcus said with a wry smile.
Elizabeth shot him an annoyed look.
“It’s true,” he protested.
Lord Reginald chuckled. “It is true enough,” he said. “But our young Elizabeth does not consider herself a child.”
“No, I don’t,” Elizabeth said. “But I guess I am aren’t I? I feel so ignorant and foolish around you. There are so many things that I need to learn, and I still have trouble getting over the fact that I’m related to the two of you.”
“But isn’t it obvious that you are indeed a part of the Wolf Clan?” Lord Reginald asked. “How else would you be able to endure my presence? And not be driven insane by all that we have shown you? And sustain us with your life force without being weakened.”
“I know, I know,” Elizabeth said throwing her hands up in surrender. “I don’t doubt it; it’s just a lot to swallow. Suddenly, I can see perfectly at night and somehow have some weird physic connection with Romulus. I feel more alive than I ever have, but it’s just strange knowing that so many things that I thought were true aren’t and that there are so many people who would think I was totally crazy.” She took a deep breath; it felt good to get that off her chest.
“It may take awhile,” Lord Reginald said. “But in time, I think that it will not seem so strange to you.”
“In the meantime,” Sir Marcus said. “You have a few centuries of clan lore to catch up on.”
“Indeed you do,” Lord Reginald said. “But not tonight. There is something in the air that troubles me.”
They walked in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. It was not an unpleasant sort of silence but rather that warm, glowing sort of silence amongst close friends.
After a while, Elizabeth began to feel like there were a sort of watchful presence that followed behind them, hidden just out of sight. She tried to shake the feeling off. Surely she was just imagining things.
Chapter 8
“How did Anya die?” Elizabeth asked suddenly. She cringed the moment the question left her lips, but she felt an unusual sense of urgency. She had to learn the answer tonight.
All warmth went out of the night in an instant. Tidal waves of power, far beyond anything that Elizabeth had yet experienced crashed into her, knocking her to the ground. It was coming at her from all sides, driving into her with so much force that she was certain that she would be crushed. The world became dark and cold and silent.
And then she saw her. Anya. Older, yet more beautiful than she had been in her youth. Her blue eyes pierced into the core of Elizabeth’s being. Her face was the face of an angel, and yet more real than any vision that Elizabeth had ever seen. She struggled to her feet. She could feel the rocky earth of the grove beneath her feet, but she knew that she was somewhere far away. She stretched out her hand, and as her fingers brushed Anya’s smooth cheek, she realized that this was no vision, this was flesh and blood. Somehow she was there with her ancestor standing before her, bathed in glorious splendor and clothed in a gown of soft silk.
Elizabeth longed to speak, but what was there to say?
“Elizabeth,” Anya said. Her voice was rich and musical, but filled with endless sorrow. “Forgive me.”
Horrible gashes began to appear on Anya’s arms and legs and torso as if she was being flogged by an invisible whip. Pieces of her dress were torn away as the scraps that remained became stained red. Elizabeth could smell the blood that flowed down Anya’s pale skin. Anya’s face became twisted with agony, but she did not make a sound. Dark bruises formed around her eyes, and her head was knocked this way and that by some unknown force.
An ugly wooden stake seemed to grow out of her torso, just under her ribs.
Elizabeth gasped in pain and surprise. She looked down in absolute terror to see that the same hideous stake had been driven through her own belly. An almost inhuman howl of anguish and despair ripped out of Elizabeth’s throat. Anya at last cried out in pain, adding her voice to her descendant’s. Elizabeth could taste the sharp tang of blood and bile as it rose in her throat. The bittersweet reek of death filled her nostrils. She knew that she was going to die alongside Anya, and that there was no avoiding it.
She wrapped her trembling hands around the rough stake and pulled it out inch by agonizing inch. White hot spasms lanced through her belly again and again. At last, with her hands slick with her own blood, she pulled the stake free and fell to her knees at Anya’s feet. Her entire body was racked with pain. She reached into the hole left by the stake and pulled out a squalling blood covered baby.
“Please no!” Elizabeth cried out. She looked up pleadingly at Anya; her eyes burning with tears. “Anya, help me.”
Anya looked down at her. Her eyes were filled with pity, but she shook her head. The blood and bruises and horrible stake vanished. For an instant, she stood before Elizabeth as young and radiant as she had been when Elizabeth had first seen her. Then she faded without a word.
Elizabeth looked down at the baby cradled protectively in her arms.
It opened its eyes, and Elizabeth saw Anya’s pale blue eyes looking up at her, filled with innocence and love.
“Forgive me, mother,” the baby seemed to whisper.
The eyes turned black. No whites, just two bottomless pits that suddenly became ringed with flames.
Elizabeth opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. The baby turned to ash and crumbled to nothing. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear someone calling her name.
Chapter 9
Elizabeth’s eyes flew open as Lord Reginald called her name again. Her hands went immediately to her torso as if she expected to find a gory hole. There was no blood, no pain, only a lingering sense of horror at the memory of what she had just seen. She started to tremble and sob uncontrollably.
“It’s okay, young one,” Lord Reginald said as he rocked her gently. He was crouched beside her on the rocky ground.
Elizabeth buried her head in his chest and clung to him.
“What happened, father?” Marcus’ voice shook with barely restrained fury mingled with something that sounded oddly like fear. “What did we do?”
Lord Reginald shook his head but said nothing.
Elizabeth looked up at Marcus with her pale tearstained face. Romulus whined and tried to lick the tears from her cheek. She pushed him away weakly. His presence was not as comforting right now as it had been before.
“What does it mean?” She asked. Her voice quavered as she spoke.
“Perhaps nothing,” Lord Reginald said so softly that Elizabeth could hardly hear him. “Perhaps everything.”
If Marcus had heard his father, he gave no sign. He knelt beside Elizabeth and cupped his hands tenderly around her face.
“My mother was killed by a group of hunters who were under the influence of our enemies.” He said. “They tortured her for information about the Wolf Clan, but she wouldn’t say a word. They left her for dead staked to a tree in front of her own house and took Mallory away.” He sighed, his eyes blazing with blue fire. “Do you remember how I swore to destroy the families of those who killed her and stole Mallory?”
Elizabeth nodded. Sir Marcus’ anger was too thick and suffocating for her to speak.
“There were four of them,” Marcus’ voice was dripping with bitterness. “They were Anya’s three brothers and her sister’s husband.”