Blizzard Page 20

  I snatched the folded letter from the table and placed it within my powder blue gown, pressing down upon the silken pocket in assurance. Regardless of whether Eliza had seen the exchange, I felt the deepest desire to hide the letter as though it held some sordid evidence she might use against us all.

  Apprehension had fully encompassed me. The morning had been the most awkward state of affairs, and I was left grasping as to how it all fell apart so quickly. Not even an hour before, Thedryk had been kind and patient, yet he left breakfast as riled as an angered hornet. Eliza had entered in an almost solemn reverence, and though she left in a most dignified manner, she emanated a volatile energy.

  As the doors closed behind the troupe, I found myself finally alone. For the first time since everything had happened, I was alone. One hour was more than enough to open the letter and read the intricate truths that only Jonah and Piper would reveal.

  Neva,

  We must speak, urgent matters. Just before dawn at door to garden.

  Piper

  I stared at the note for a moment. Piper, the most forthright of anyone I had met, had left me with the briefest of communications. With no explanation or background details to what the “urgent” matters pertained to, my mind leapt into action imagining all the possibilities. All of them centered on my missing niece, and none of those imaginings were subtle in their presentation. I stood from the table, causing the chair to stutter back from my sudden upheaval and felt light shudders shaking me from my core, a nervous sweat breaking out over my body. The buttoned jacket, matching powder blue with floral design in cream, was tested as I pulled in a deep breath between my clenched teeth and held it firmly within my lungs.

  Innocent, scared, hurt. Lucy’s sweet face, which was just beginning its inevitable change from a youthful child to a young lady, formed in my mind. I could see her and her sister in the bakery playing with their dolls, a set of cups and plates set out meticulously before the girls as they held their tea time and practiced proper etiquette. I marveled a moment realizing the girls would have soon outgrown such sacred childhood rights, had they been allowed to live. My heart missed a beat, then another. One for each in their loss that pressed a pain across my sternum and feathered out across my chest in either direction.

  Lucy, with her long auburn hair pulled back with a ribbon of green, to match her eyes, and that pale skin kissed by freckles across her cheeks and nose provided a soft contrast to her petal-pink lips. She was to be a beautiful woman in her maturity, undoubtedly. Perhaps I had been biased, as I knew I doted on the children, but I always believed anyone could see it clearly. The girl’s laughter, light and sweet, carrying throughout the entirety of the bakery and living quarters above could warm the soul. Remembering only served to pinch the nerve endings surrounding my heart. The muscles across my chest recoiled the feathering and tightened at the memories and it hurt; it hurt to live.

  Eliza’s private study was the only place in the castle that was truly a reflection of her tastes. Piper knew if Eliza had applied her own, personal touch throughout, the entire sanctuary would have a completely different effect on visitors. The deep blue walls seemed to deafen the otherwise light room, but it was only one point that gave any indication to the depth of Eliza’s inner desires. Everything within was meticulous, perfect in its placement, and spotless.

  The night sky mural above was decorated with silver and gold stars that reflected the light of the fire burning in its hearth. Piper knew this provided insight to her secret desire. She recalled a conversation in her first few meetings, all those centuries ago, when Eliza had opened up about desiring to travel the stars. She had wished to be one of those guiding lights, part of their family where she could watch over everyone but be afforded the silence and distance.

  In the center of the room, a white suede settee and matching winged chairs were divided by a coffee table with a mirrored top and white, ornate legs with a scrolling design that sustained the weight of a heavy vase filled with red roses. Piper couldn’t help but wonder where Eliza had been able to get such a perfect bouquet during the fall. Yet Piper knew Eliza had somehow always managed to procure the floral arrangements she so desired regardless of season. This was where Eliza would use her gift, after all. Her sanctuary.

  Against the wall opposite the one they had entered, between a set of white doors with golden knobs, sat a white distressed wood desk and chair that matched the other materials. The desk held paper and neatly organized writing utensils, everything displayed as though prepared for tours. Piper knew this was where Eliza worked through days, tirelessly, deciding how to address all issues within their world. This was where her heart would break and she would create innumerable plans and solutions, always praying to follow the path to save any-and-all.

  A chandelier extended from the center of the star-speckled ceiling, the light fully glowing. Piper and Jonah sat themselves down upon the white settee; the rug beneath the furniture was as pristinely white washed as the furniture. Only glass cut knobs provided contrast from the table’s sides to rug and desk.

  Eliza sat down in the chair opposite the couple, closest to the fireplace. Beneath the long burgundy skirt of her gown, she crossed her legs as she sat upright in proper form. Jonah took Piper’s hand, a gentle squeeze of reassurance. They had discussed this possibility, the required meeting with Eliza, but had hoped they would be able to avoid the inevitability just a bit longer.

  “I have a task set before me that cannot be entrusted to any other.” Eliza pulled her hands up from where she had been cupping her knees primly, pressing them together in a prayer style. “But you two I know are trustworthy. Above all else, I know this is something I can rely on you both to assist me with.”

  Piper and Jonah exchanged somewhat confused glances, recognizing this was not as they had anticipated.

  “Neva is not progressing in the manner I had hoped with our training of her gift. I believe this has to do with the trauma she has sustained from losing her family, Lucy being abducted, and her deceased husband. I cannot afford to leave her during this tumultuous time, let alone those who have remained. Her gift is running rampant and is a danger to everyone here, myself included.” A thin line formed across Eliza’s beautiful, visibly tired face as she stopped her thoughts completely where they stood. She gazed as if entranced by the fire burning in the hearth, a slight quiver shaking her gentle frame.

  “What…” Piper leaned forward a bit, trying to garner Eliza’s focus. “What is it you would have us do?”

  Eliza flicked her eyes to Piper’s, revealing the strain beneath for a moment. “In reviewing Zachariah’s personal journals, I came across information that he was indeed working with others, though that we expected.”

  Piper felt awe as she stared into Eliza’s gaze, the intensity of what was to come shaking Piper’s fear awake in a new manner.

  “But there is one particular vampire who could utterly destroy Neva. She must be found, and Neva must not know we are seeking this vampire.” Eliza pulled her hands together into a tight ball, knuckles white and nails embedding themselves in the soft skin.

  “A woman…do you know who this vampire is? Is she one created without approval?” Jonah leaned forward, supporting his upper body with his forearms atop his legs, intense eyes searching Eliza’s.

  “No, I am afraid I do not know her or recognize who she might be. I do not believe she is a vampire created from our own. Now, what I am about to reveal to you two only a very few of our own know. You must first swear to me you will not tell Neva. Do you swear, give me your solemn oath of blood to keep this information within these walls?”

  Piper and Jonah exchanged nervous glances, knowing an oath of blood, should they break this bond, meant a jaunt in the sunlight.

  “May I inquire as to why Neva must not know?” Piper nervously asked.

  Eliza pursed her lips, thinking on the matter for a few seconds. “Because this woman has her niece.”

  Piper could not hide her slack-jawed
surprise as Jonah sat forward, straightening all the more from his spot on the settee.

  Jonah pressed, “You do not want her going after this individual?” More a statement than a question and Eliza only nodded before he pressed on. “What about Helsing and his group?”

  “I have sent them word, but I am not certain when it will reach them. He had other matters he was researching as it stands. In either case—and knowing Helsing—he may already have an inkling. The last known location was to the north of the halfway cabin.”

  “This vampire is that dangerous or what?” Piper was processing the small expulsion of facts.

  “First, you must swear the oath of blood.”

  “Piper?” Jonah had taken her hands in his. “Dear, I think we should accept this oath of blood, don’t you?” He pulled her hands to his mouth, kissing the back of each of them gently, steadying her shaken disposition.

  She gulped, a loud sound in her dry throat, a lump that would not go down. “Yes,” she responded timidly, so very unlike herself.

  “This vampire is the greatest threat to us, and our kind, that will ever be, I believe. Neva is her target, as I have gathered from the journals. Even Zachariah could not find the answers as to why this woman was so obsessed with Neva, only that her fanaticism was a tool Zachariah had hoped to utilize in only the direst of situations. And here we are, in what he had seen as just that, so he sent Lucy to this vampire, but that’s not the most disturbing part.” Eliza paused, giving the couple a chance to prepare themselves. “As far as Zachariah could tell, she was full vampire.”

  Both Piper and Jonah jolted from where they sat as though electricity had been wired into the cushions of the settee and the voltage tested without warning. “What do you mean full vampire?” Piper shifted herself forward, leaning in towards Eliza, her sapphire-colored gown grating upon itself in the movement.

  “Just as it sounds, I’m afraid. It seems Zachariah knew very little of her himself, but he was able to test her blood and utilize it for the…virus, is the best way I can describe it, that has warped Alana and Benjamin. It’s what created those creatures. Based on the results, he found she was never human. This woman was born a vampire, and based on his exchanges with her, those I have had the few chances to review, she was a monster.”

  The couple had been shocked to silence; only the initial sounds of gasps taken in from each in different measures exhibited their responses.

  “But how can this be? None of the vampires we know have had children. It is forbidden!” Piper looked back and forth between Eliza and Jonah, as though the answer to her question would materialize.

  “Again, I do not have the answer to that. It is entirely possible there are others out there, in the world that we do not know of, have not yet encountered.” Eliza paused in brief consideration. “Well, at least not until recently, it seems.”

  “You’re certain this full-born vampire is as we feared they may be? Did Zachariah clearly identify a lack of humanity?” Jonah’s face was a dark, brooding mask as he questioned Eliza.

  “Yes.” Eliza took measure of his expression and Piper’s nervous mannerisms that had surfaced: clenching her hands, wringing, subtle tremors that exposed the unraveling nerves beneath, her own suspicions thus confirmed. “There is still much more for me to review, of course, but this is what I have gathered.” She cast her eyes aside a moment, back to the fire, taking in its warmth and considering the unbridled power it could summon, before looking back to the unsettled couple.

  Eliza watched the two return their gazes to her, the severity of the moment a deep impression upon them all. “Now, what I need from you both is secrecy in this matter and to attend to a matter that I, personally, cannot. This will require travel, mind you, as Xavier used his own gift and has exhausted himself into slumber once more. He is not expected to wake for a few months, at the very least. From Zachariah’s notes I gather she is in the ruined lands, at the castle we once claimed our home. I need you to go there, verify my suspicions, and report back immediately. Find out whatever you may, safely, but do not risk being caught. Whoever this woman is, she is conniving and has no capacity for mercy.” Pursed lips could not conceal the disappointed sigh that absconded from Piper, pulling Eliza’s direct attention. “I know this is not ideal, not in your condition, at least.”

  The upright bolt of Piper’s head exposed her, leaving her to feel the knowing eyes of Eliza upon her body. Specifically, her lower abdomen. She could have been stripped nude before Jonah and Eliza and she still would have felt the inner revelation take any remaining modesty, as though her body had been positioned to have every feminine line revealed. She stumbled upon her own words. “Wha…whatever do you mean?” It was too late; she knew and Jonah knew. The two had joined hands tightly, fearfully as they looked to one another.

  “Worry not, my love.” Jonah moved himself so his thighs were pressed against hers, closing the unbearable gap each felt had been waiting.

  “You both know what this means.” Offering a sympathetic expression, Eliza stood and went to her desk immediately, pulling the chair out halfway before placing herself down while swiftly taking pen to paper. “Here are my instructions for you regarding the unborn.”

  The sound of each stroke of the pen chafed upon Piper’s senses, each line and curve a knife cutting into her desperation to save their child.

  “Do not fail in abiding by these instructions. Should I have to intervene…” Eliza paused with a light sigh. “Do not make me do as such.” She folded the paper, opened a drawer to retrieve an envelope, and proceeded to store the directions in its folds. As she stood, pushing in the drawer with her hip, she made her way to the nervous couple waiting anxiously. Fear of the known could not have been more plainly written across their faces.

  “There’s no certainty about this, we know. This one woman is not representative for all.” Piper teared up, fighting back the emotions quickly becoming a hurricane seeking to destroy her entirely.

  Raising her hand, Eliza stopped Piper’s mounting rebuttal. “These rules, which we have all provided our oath of blood to, were created amongst all of our kind, thoroughly vetted and agreed to. You know this, Piper; the risk is too great. The outcome to allowing anyone to bear a child to vampire parents leaves too many uncertainties. I have also written down the request I intended to make, initially, written below these instructions.” Making it clear that was the end of the discussion, Eliza held the envelope before her, waiting for either to take the murderous instructions.

  “But I—”

  Jonah stood abruptly, snatching the unsealed envelope from Eliza’s hands and subsequently silencing Piper. “We will follow your instructions to the letter, Eliza.” His voice was hard, cold. This was a man Piper did not recognize, and she felt dread enter her heart. “Piper.” He turned back, his face unreadable but his voice firm and unyielding. “We knew what this would be if discovered. We should leave now, before this becomes any more difficult for either of us.”

  Minutes passed, though each second within was weighted more heavily than their predecessors, and it seemed no one dared breathe. Piper was not even allowed the option to breathe as the truth buried her alive.

  A knowing passed over Piper, the realization that their options had only ever been two. Simple, straightforward, and either way meant death in one manner or another. Jonah looked at her violet eyes, his own heart disintegrating with the wrath that had begun burning his morals and dreams, and she stared at her fractured visage in his brown eyes that held the fire from the hearth. Slowly, she lifted her weak, right hand and placed it into his expecting, reassuring left hand that guided her up from the settee. He pulled her in close enough to guide her arm to loop within his own.

  Before they left, Jonah turned his hard stare upon Eliza, and for the first time Eliza felt the danger of Jonah, of the couple. For all the apologies she wanted to plead for their forgiveness, she knew none would be of value or acceptance.

  PATIENTLY I SAT within the library of
the great castle, awaiting Eliza’s presence to begin the lessons that would enlighten me to the world that had been built during my unplanned absence. I had originally anticipated another day of focusing on my dreams, especially after the nightmarish future revelations, but the meeting in the library identified other plans. The table before me was carved from maple with a dark cherry stain accompanied by eight chairs surrounding its given sides with one to each end, and books already laid out where I sat. Rows of shelves had been erected, ceiling to floor, filled top to bottom and end to end. I took in a deep breath, reveling in the scent that filled the entirety of the room. The scent spoke of foreign knowledge, other-worldly knowledge, possible answers and more mysteries yet to be discovered. Upon the far wall, opposite the entry door, a large stained-glass mural depicted a garden filled with flowers of all types to either side of a walkway, the sky above with the moon silently watching, and the sea beyond the pathway’s end illuminated. It stretched from ceiling to floor for fourteen feet and was ten feet wide. I did not recognize several flowers, but I had memorized their purported shapes and colors. There was so much to learn in our world that I had not yet seen, things that tickled the edges of my distant memories, past lives, no doubt, that teased and whispered to me of what I knew of them, had seen and held, smelled and possibly even tasted, but they alluded me.