Chapter Four - A New Terror Emerges
Faint footsteps echo from down the hall. Squeezing Emma’s hand, Damian disappears as one of the boys whispers “sh.”
The quickening footsteps pass the doorway, as a blood-curdling scream sends adrenaline coursing through Kayla. “Who was that, do you think the person that just passed us was the one who screamed?”
“I don’t think so. The scream came from that window.” All eyes turn to the window as another screams jolts her erratic heart.
“Why are so many people screaming all of a sudden?” Nicholas’ voice is fraught with fear.
Nichole’s strangled voice is barely audible. “You don’t think they could be chasing people, do you?”
Jacob’s response reminds me of Andrew when he is trying to keep me calm, strained but monotone and authoritative. “I don’t think that they are like the vampires we know and love. I think they are the ones we were warned about. We are going to have to be very careful about what we say and do around them, we don’t want to get them upset or give them a reason to go after us. I don’t think that they brought us here for that. I think we are here for a different reason, so let’s not panic, but we really need to be careful and hopefully they can get to us or get something to help us before anything bad happens.”
“I don’t think that we can just hope that they will find us in time, I think that we have to keep our eyes open for an opportunity to get out of here. These guys are dangerous and they seem a little crazy.” Nicholas’ rising voice sends a new wave of panic through Kayla.
“I am not saying that we shouldn’t take an opportunity if we can, but I don’t think that we want to be out there now. If they are doing what we all fear, we don’t want to get mixed up in that. If it were their intention to do that to us right now, they would have released us and we would be running for our lives. All I’m saying is before we even consider doing anything, we should wait until they finish their...business.” As Jacob speaks, I hear traces of Andrew’s voice resonating in his words. His train of thought and diplomacy, especially for his age, stuns me.
I can feel their increased anxiety with each passing scream and echoing footstep thrashing through the deadened brush as I shift between them. Reaching Jacob, he is rigid, and stiff. I can feel him shutting himself down and everything out.
“David told you when you are done with a body to throw it in the pit.” The woman from the car is screaming at someone.
“Stop nagging all the time. I’ll clean up after I am satisfied and there is no one left to hunt. I won’t lose out on a well-deserved meal because I’m too busy cleaning up. We won’t get scavengers this late in the evening so close to the estate.”
“If I were you, I would be more worried about David than scavengers. You know how he is when he thinks that he has someone else and then realizes that they have already been drained. Alexander is still angry that he was only able to find his hand and three fingers.”
“That was over a thousand years ago, his temper has gotten better. Besides, I always fully drain them so that there’s no chance of a mistake.”
“Well it’s your limbs if you are wrong. Good luck, I smell another one.” The screams are now distant.
After a few moments, quickening footsteps are once again approaching and a man’s pleading voice is near the window. “Please spare the lives of my remaining children, let them leave. You must be satisfied by now. We have done nothing to you.”
The children’s pounding hearts in my ears almost drown out the woman’s cold-hearted response. “This is not personal. It was just your time. You have enjoyed our hospitality these many years and served us well, but we are hungry and it was time to clear your house. Thank you for being so plentiful.”
A loud, unearthly roar and the snapping of bones overwhelm Kayla’s senses as she vomits from unadulterated fear.
Another woman’s anxious and loud voice screams to the others as her hastening footsteps retreat. “Be careful hunting, the family has been infected by a werewolf. The father just killed Alexandra!”
The roaring continues as Kayla’s eyes dart past the bars, I see the onslaught of night. Nicholas and Nicole’s features are also frightened, but Jacob appears impassive or frozen as Kayla’s vision is clouded by tears. The roars and woman’s screams become fainter.
Nicholas’ anxiety rips through his hurried words. “Jacob we need to get out of here. Could that really be a werewolf?”
“She has to be wrong, I can see the moon and it is not full. I thought that they could only come out on full moons.” From his monotone and detached manner, he is struggling to shut down to keep the others calm.
Kayla’s voice sounds strangled. “Do they really exist?”
“Why can’t they exit, we do.” Nicole replies, the tension in her voice apparent.
“What do we do if it comes down here? From the sounds of what it did to that vampire, we have no way to protect ourselves while chained to the floor!”
I’m torn, I don’t want to leave them, but I have to alert the others. There must to be something that we can tell them, something that the children could do if that thing heads toward the dungeon. Opening my eyes, Emma is next to Andrew and Reginald. Jumping to my feet, the words fly from my mouth. “The vampires are hunting a family and ran into a werewolf! It attacked one of them right outside the dungeon, the kids are terrified!” Andrew places his arms around my shaking and collapsing body. “It was right outside of their window, what if it goes back for them!”
Andrew’s voice breaks. “You need to calm down.” Turning to Emma, “Is there anything that you can walk Mia and Damian through to help the children to protect themselves while Reginald sees if he can find any indication of Jonathan’s energy so that we can find the children?”
A look passes between Reginald, Andrew and Emma as Emma grabs my hand leading me back to the circle with Damian. Joining hands, I hear her instructing Damian in a spell that the children could use to try and hide their scent from the werewolf.
I interject. “Isn’t there a shield that they could use to ward off the werewolf?”
“Mia start to concentrate on the children to get Damian through quickly, I will walk him through this spell first and instruct him how to draw upon the energy around them to repel it. This spell will act similar to electrical jolts and will keep the werewolf away if it breaks through the other spell, but we need to do this quickly and they need to understand that the jolts are a short term solution and must be thrown consistently to keep it away.”
Fighting through the utter fear overwhelming my senses as this new threat unfolds; I finally feel a beating heart. From the rigid muscles locking me stiffly in place, I know I’m with Jacob. The howls are becoming louder, closer. Damian’s quick words are trying to assure the children that we are tracing them as he begins instructing them in Emma’s spell. They quickly chant the words, repeating them like a mantra.
Despite the hurried footsteps around them, Damian remains instructing them regarding the use of the energy around them. I only hope no one hears him. He cannot get caught, if he does, there will be no way of communicating with the children. Hearing the jostling of the handle, I grab Emma’s hand as hard as I can and am relieved as Damian disappears but am unsure if he finished his instructions.
Jacob mutters anxiously. “Whoever, it is, keep chanting the repellant spell quietly, but if they come in and we have to use the other one, let me do it. We don’t want them to know we all have powers. The less they know about us, the better we will be.”
“What makes you think that?” Nicole’s replies quietly.
His response is a mere whisper. “It’s just a strange feeling that keeps coming over me, but I don’t think that they are the threat that we think they are.” I’m shocked that his feeling is similar to Emma’s.
“You do realize that we are locked up and mom and dad can’t find us right?” She retorts harshly.
“I do rea
lize that! I know that I am asking a lot, but something inside me keeps screaming that if we reveal too much we will be facing an even bigger threat, one that mom and dad can’t combat.”
Kayla interrupts. “Jacob, if they know you have powers though, won’t it be dangerous for you and won’t they suspect that we have them too?”
“They can suspect anything that they want, but probably wouldn’t do anything without making sure. I can handle myself so don’t worry about that.”
Despite his young age, Jacob is just like his father, ready to take charge and do all he can to protect those around him. I am so proud of him and very scared for him. The opening door crashes against the wall and the children’s quickened heart beats become sonic booms.
A familiar man’s voice beckons to someone. “Tell David, that the children are still here. Can I release them and make them food for the werewolf, it would be poetic justice, don’t you think, if it destroyed them, besides, they would make four more targets that it could be going after, giving each of us time to gather our weapons.”
Jacob’s exceptional hearing registers the distant response. “Just grab your weapon and put the proper chain around the door to try and stop the werewolf from getting to them, David wants to torture their father first, maybe even have him listen to their screams. Once we catch the wolf, maybe your plan will be David’s implement of torture.”
“Fine!” He retorts disgruntled.
The door slams, chains jostle, and a shot rings through the cavernous dungeon. Did the vampire shoot the werewolf? Contemplating this, I realize I’m not even sure which side I hope is victorious because I do not know which side is more dangerous. Knowing Jacob will not reveal what only he heard, I’m relieved when I hear a distant howl, for the time being, the vampires are preoccupied with the werewolf, hopefully giving us time to trace their captures. When the shots continue to get fainter, I disconnect to the children, hoping that I will be met with good news. We have to find the children before the werewolf dies and they refocus their efforts.
Opening my eyes, the look on Andrew’s face turns my blood cold. I can’t find the strength to get up off of the floor. He rushes to my side.
“Andrew they are going to kill the children and let us hear their screams!” I sob.
He embraces me tighter. “Mia, it won’t come to that, but I need you to stay calm about what I am going to tell you.” He’s straining harder to speak calmly than I have ever seen him.
“You can’t find Jonathan, can you?” My deadened voice whispers through my quieting sobs. I know this and somehow Jacob did too. My body begins shutting down. We are back to ground zero with no hope of finding them.
Reginald joins us. “Mia, Jonathan is not on this plane.”
“He has to be, who else would want to kill our children to torture us? Maybe you just can’t trace him!”
Reginald takes my hands. “Mia, it is not that the trace would act as a locator beacon to hone in on. It was a spell to tell me if he ever entered this plane again so we would be on alert and would then know to activate another spell which would help us if he were to ever get close to you again, but I assure you, that I would have known immediately when he entered this plane and he has not. I even did the location spell to ensure that there was no chance I was wrong.”
“Then who has the children because whoever it is has a definite grudge against Andrew and thought that it would be ironic to let the werewolf kill the children, some sort of poetic type of justice.”
“Did they say anything else that could give us a clue as to where they have the children or why they have a grudge against me?” Andrew rasps.
I repeat everything I heard and tell Andrew about the weapons and my assumption that they must be on some type of compound because the woman was speaking about how this family enjoyed the hospitality of the hunting family and that it was now time to clear their house.
“They must be on an estate.” Reginald jumps up returning to the map.
Andrew helps me to my feet and over to the table.
“What road did you see the car on?” Reginald inquires.
Andrew points to the spot.
Reginald hand glides north over the map. “There are a lot of estates scattered throughout this area. Let the others know that we will divide up the area.” He flips open his computer and types something in.
As it’s computing, he looks up. “Andrew, were you ever in this area and did you ever have encounters with a family of vampires or trouble with werewolves? That might help us narrow down the search even more. From what Mia is saying, it had to be someone that you once came across and has a score to settle. From the sounds of it, they will contact you, but we should try to find the children before that. Once they contact you, it may be rather late in their game.”
“Reginald, are you sure that it is not Jonathan, because truthfully, I have never been in this area. We were traveling when we were fighting, people got hurt and we have killed other vampires and demons, but no place even close to here, nor have we ever fought a family of vampires or a pack of wolves!”
“Andrew, we would be wasting precious time looking for Jonathan. I assure you that at this moment, he is not on this plane, nor has he been since that night. I would have told you, believe me!”
The door opens and Gabriel, Martina, Eva and Jackson rush in. “I hear we have a lead and some places to check out,” Jackson notes walking over to the map.
Looking at Gabriel, I remember how helpful he was in helping me decipher things that I had observed in the past. I grab his hand, leading him over to the couch. “I am ready when you are.” He replies to my unspoken thoughts.
After running through everything that I observed and heard, I feel him rise. Opening my eyes, he’s at the map. “Reginald, it has to be a fairly vast estate. They are very cunning and cold. They are using the people that they house as their food source. The estate is large enough for them to give the families’ time to have large families and spread out enough for the others to be unaware of what is going on, that’s why one of them was sent to get the entire family. It is a family of vampires and from the sounds of it, the way they hunt is brutal and terrifying for their victims. It is sport for them.” His tone is absolutely livid.
Worried looks flash between them before their eyes move to the computer. I join them. “There are only five estates in that area large enough to meet that criterion.”
“Get the information to the others, we need to split up and cover the territory quickly.” Even Reginald’s voice is now strained.
Moving me back into the circle, Reginald seems to be taking charge of the situation. “Mia, I need you and Damian to get another message to the children.” From the change in his features, something has struck him.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so worried?”
“They are hunters who have had their food source compromised. They are going to be very agitated and are probably still be hungry. From the sounds of Gabriel’s description, they live for the hunt and the fear that they instill in their prey. Their preoccupation and Nicholas and Kayla’s proximity to Nicole and Jacob may have masked that they are human, but if they begin to focus on the children ...”
My hand thrusts forward, inadvertently punching his mouth in my rush to stop his words. The images bombarding my mind overwhelm my senses, my body shakes violently considering what they could now face. Shaking me, he locks me into place. “Mia, you need to concentrate on connecting with the children as I am instructing Damian, we can’t let them detect that Nicholas and Kayla are not part vampires.”
Andrew’s hands replace his on my shoulder; his voice is at my ear. “Mia, focus on the children and how much you love them and want to connect with them! Don’t let your fear interfere with what you need to do!” He can’t hide the utter fear in his voice, compelling me to move past my own. Grasping their picture, I place it in the middle and stare at their faces as I grab Emma and Damian’s hand. Reginald is
instructing Damian, but I tune them out. I must reach the children quickly. As their angelic faces float through my mind, I soon hear the pounding of an overactive heart and feel the heat consuming my body as fear overtakes my mind.
The words I hear alert me that we are too late to send instructions. I drop Damian’s hand hoping to alert the others that we are too late and concentrate on what is happening in the dungeon.
The man’s voice is rough and fast. “Let me take them now. You had your fill. I only got one before having to run off after the werewolf.”
“Brother, you are as good as dead. You made the fatal mistake of allowing the werewolf close to you and now you will pay with your life.” He replies coldly. “It will not take long. Go upstairs and have a drink off of Sarah.”
“She will not taste as good as these young, untouched morsels. Obviously they are not his and cannot be used in your plan to torture him. Would you deny me this one last treat before my impending demise?”
“Brother, Sarah is a tasty treat for the dying and you may drain her, but these young things must be used in the hunt. Although two of them are not his, I detect something special about them, I can see that their aura is strong, besides we still have the problem of the werewolf, I can allow Lucas to hear their screams as we use them for bate to capture and kill the creature. Now go, I have plans.”
“But what if the werewolf gets them first, then no one will have a tasty treat.”
“If the wolf gets them first, it will be poetic justice. The plague that came back to kill our sister infects our land once more and maybe I will let it kill the loved ones of that which protected it and nurtured it so that it could come back to harm us. Either way brother, I win. Maybe I will even throw the werewolf in the dungeon with his real children and let him hear as his children are being ripped apart by the descendant of the one he saved. We must capture the creature first and see his method of killing, if it is too quick, it will not serve my purpose, but this is not your concern, go and have your last meal.”
Jacob screams. “Take me! They can do nothing for you.” Then he quickly mouths the repellant spell.
“Enough! You think that your little spells will work on me? I have had stronger forces than you come after me and no one has been able to touch me for thousands of years. You are my prisoner young one; you will not escape and will not be used until I want you.” His menacing voice is right at Jacob’s ear. “Kristen take them and release them a half of mile from the estate, take Alex with you and stay close to them, as they run, I am sure the werewolf will catch their scent, capture him and after they have served their purpose, you may feast.”
Kayla and Nicholas scream and thrash about as Nicole and Jacob call for the vampires to take them instead.
I want to stay with the children, but have to let the others know what is happening. Opening my eyes, all the St. Clouds have returned. Gabriel is dragging Lucas to the map. “Lucas there is an estate where you must have visited or been...” Gabriel must have seen what I did.
I interrupt before he can finish. “Lucas where is the estate of the family that transformed you!”
His features turn stunned. “I don’t understand.”
“The ones who changed you have the children. They are hunting Nicholas and Kayla and using them as bait for a werewolf which they said you protected!” Hysteria laces my cracking voice as Lucas points to an area on the map. Andrew lifts me from the floor and I can feel his tension, he is going to snap and so am I. Gabriel moves to him, whispers something I cannot hear and Andrew begins rubbing my back, probably in hopes of calming my hysteria so that I can focus to tell them what is happening.
“I never protected a werewolf, though, are you sure it is them?”
I nod and see Gabriel and Andrew’s eyes shift to the map. We are running to the cars as Reginald has me reiterate what I heard, including the names that were mentioned. From the dead look engulfing Lucas’ frozen features, I am correct.
As I slide into the passenger seat, Andrew thrusts the keys into Lucas’ hands while speaking quickly in an authoritative and determined voice. “Get her out there.” Turning to me, “Mia, I can travel faster with Gabriel on foot and will start with some of the others searching for the children. Try to connect with Nicole and Jacob.” His features shift as if something hit him. “Damian get in the car with her! Instruct them on how to turn themselves into animals, preferably some type of bird, have them follow Nicholas and Kayla and circle the area to make it easier for us to find them. Tell them to fly high once they find them.” Returning his focus to me, “I love you. Concentrate and we will find them before it is too late! Get them the message.” He flashes across the lot before the car even departs from its spot.
Damian, Emma, Reginald, Victor and I are in the car with Lucas racing through the streets. We are being followed by some of the other witches Reginald contacted to help us. He is barking instructions for when we reach the estate, as the car travels faster than possible.
Throwing myself in the back seat to make it easier to channel with Damian, I make a connection to Kayla immediately. She is being dragged over the deadened hard ground, quickly passing large trees and shrubs, while Nicholas is being dragged by a burly vampire right behind her. Fear and despair envelop her as tears veil her vision. My heart aches knowing I can’t stay with her, but I have to reach Jacob and Nicole. If they can somehow hone in on their cousins, it would make it easier for the others to find them quicker and every second counts. If they take flight, they will also be out of the dungeon and may stand a better chance of surviving this ordeal!
Sobs echo in my ears as I connect to Nicole. Jacob is trying to calm her down as he struggles pulling at his chains. I struggle to keep my connection while trying to simultaneously communicate back what I see and hear. With every second counting, I do not want to break my connection, but they need to know what is going on and I am hoping that if we can do it like this, Damian can be alerted and give them any additional information they need. Hopefully, he is not limited to sending information through his apparition that is decided only before he channeled. Everything is happening too quickly and I realize that for as much as we have learned since the children were born, there is still so much we don’t understand.
Damian’s commanding voice halts Jacob’s struggles. “Jacob, stop and listen to me. I need you and Nicole to concentrate. I need you to close your eyes and picture a small little field mouse like the ones that you saw running through the fields at Sanctuary. Picture their small frame, their soft brown hair, little ears, their eyes, and their long tail. Picture yourself as the small mouse. You need to picture each detail of the mouse over and over again and have a strong desire to be that mouse, to run like that mouse, to squeak like the mouse to have each cell in your being become that mouse. Concentrate very hard on becoming the mouse. Concentrate harder, if you become the mouse you can escape, but you have to want to be that mouse, that little tiny, furry creature that can run fast and scurry through the smallest of cracks. You want to be that mouse; you want to run like a little field mouse out of the dungeon.”
After what seems like an eternity with Damian describing and coaxing the children, I hear a shackle hit the ground with a thud and Kayla screams. “Watch out!” A high pitched squeak responds and I feel Kayla’s elation. Jacob turned. Damian’s voice beckons to Kayla and I feel the change just before her shackle thuds.
Damian continues directing them. “Smell Nicholas and Kayla’s shackles and then use your sense of smell to find them, follow them. When you get close or hear them, concentrate on a hawk or eagle and take flight over your cousins. Circle around them, but do not attack their captures. We know the estate that you are on and are almost there. Remember, circle around them but do not attack, you will not be strong enough, especially in this state. No matter what, just keep circling them. Your father will be there shortly and so will we.”
My connection to them is severed as Damian shakes me violently.
“Mia, I’m sorry, but you can’t stay with them. They are too new to this that is why I had them concentrate on becoming field mice first. It is an easier state to transform to and maintain because they have less functions and less brain activity than when they are and animal in flight.
“How do you know this and why would my staying with them be dangerous?”
“When we first learned what we could change to, we all found that it was easier to become the least complicated animal. As they run and become more comfortable within the field mouse, it will make them more accepting and then they can work on becoming the bird. However, as far as you staying with them, you need to understand that in this state, they are more aware or their surroundings and what is with them because they are using strictly animal instincts, your channeling with them may interfere with their concentration and they may involuntarily transform back into their human form somewhere they shouldn’t if they become distracted by feeling your presence. It’s just too dangerous.”
Although I didn’t think they could feel me, he’s right, we can’t take the risk. Calling Andrew, I hear the wind whipping in the background. “Nicole and Jacob are field mice and are chasing Nicolas and Kayla, they will circle over them if they can become birds, but you have to get to them quickly, I could see Nicholas being dragged and I could smell their surroundings, it reeks of death and decay!”
“We are hitting the perimeter now. We will get to them Mia and bring them home!” The telephone goes dead and I stare out at the quick moving road before us.
As Lucas races through the countryside, pushing the needle beyond its limits and forcing the engine beyond its capabilities, Reginald chants probably ensuring that the vehicle moves beyond capacity. Lucas interrupts my reverie. “Mia, I don’t know what to say. I never thought that when we came here there could be any danger to you or the children. I haven’t been back here since that day. I never imagined that they could have held this type of grudge because I left Andrea. I don’t even know how they knew that I was back here. They hardly ever left the estate. Besides, it doesn’t make sense, why hurt your children to get back at me?”
“Lucas, I don’t know how they found you, but they think that the children are yours and they are not seeking revenge because you left Andrea. I heard one of them say that you unleashed a werewolf plague upon them by saving someone and that the werewolf killed her.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I was only involved with one hunt, the one where I hid Elizabeth and ran. I didn’t save any werewolf. I only saved her. She was only a frightened little girl.” He inhales and errantly, I wonder if he remembers her scent to this day. “I didn’t unleash anything upon them. All I wanted to do was escape with Elizabeth and make sure that we were never found.”
“Well the one who spoke blames you for a werewolf attack which killed Andrea and for whatever reason, this David thinks that our children are your children and is seeking revenge...”
Before I finish, Catherine’s ring tone fills the car. She went with Andrew, how did we get her phone? Lucas brings the telephone next to his ear.
“David, yes it has been a very long time.”
Reginald’s face freezes as he draws nearer to the telephone, probably wanting to catch every word uttered on the other end of the line.
“David please leave the children out of this, I’m sorry that Andrea got attacked by a werewolf, but I assure you that when I left that day I did not rescue a werewolf. I just couldn’t live the lifestyle that you had chosen.” Despite straining to speak diplomatically, his desperation rings through his tone. He is silent.
“I am not passing judgment on your hunting habits, it just wasn’t for me, but I assure you that when I left, I never meant you any harm, nor did I rescue anything that would come back and hunt her down.”
He inhales deeply, probably fighting to calm himself. “David, yes I will admit that I took a child with me, but I assure you that she was no werewolf. She was just a frightened little girl who didn’t want to die and I couldn’t feed upon her. Please David, let the children go, they are not...”
Before he could finish, Reginald clamps his hand hard over Lucas’ mouth, frantically moving around searching for something. Emma rips a piece of paper out of her purse and hand it to him with a pen. Quickly scrawling something on it, I read it as he holds it before Lucas - Don’t tell him they are not yours. He will have no reason to keep them alive and will kill them immediately. As the words register, my body goes numb and my breathing turns to hyperventilating. Emma clamps her hand over my mouth, probably so David cannot hear my reaction.
“David, please don’t hurt the children, they have done nothing to you, if you want to take this out on someone, I will come to you, just tell me where you are and you can have your revenge upon me. Please David, I swear to you Elizabeth was not a werewolf and I did nothing to hurt your family, so I am begging you, please let the children go.”
Reginald and Lucas’ features harden in anger. Then Lucas’ tone turns cold. I had never heard his voice sound so devoid of life before. “Yes I can hear them scream. I’m sorry that your sister sounded like that when the wolf was ripping at her. I’m sorry that you had to hear and witness that, but David, it was not the little girl that I rescued that did that to her, she...was...human. I left her with her new human family and then I left so that she could try to piece together a normal existence. I did nothing to hurt your family. I mean you no harm, the children mean you no harm and I am willing to turn myself over to you if you will just please let the children go!”
I can’t stand not knowing what is happening to the children any longer. Knowing what Damian said about channeling with Jacob and Nicole, I instead focus on Nicholas and Kayla. Maybe if I can see their surroundings I can help Andrew find them even if Nicole and Jacob could not transform themselves into birds. Concentrating only on Nicholas and Kayla, I force myself to tune out the conversation between David and Lucas because the fear and anger that the conversation is evoking within every cell of my being is interfering with my connecting to the children. I am more aware at how quickly my body is moving and at first I am unsure of whether it is the car or the children, but then I see Kayla being thrown to the ground. Nicholas’ heart rate spikes as his panic at the situation unfolding around them overtakes him. The cold hard ground meets my falling body as pain radiates throughout my being. Choking on the dust caught in my throat, I hear a woman screaming. “I’m sure you can see that we are faster and much stronger than you. If you move from this spot, we will crack your spine and feast upon your dying corpse while the other one remains bate for the werewolf. Fear cripples his senses and as he shuts down, he casts me out. As my eyes flutter open, I see Reginald is driving. Lucas is gone.
“Where’s Lucas?”
For the first time since I’ve known him, Reginald’s voice is livid and strained as he forces the words past his taught lips. “He jumped out of the car. He is probably crossing the outer grounds now and we will be there momentarily. What did you see or hear?”
Unfettered sobs rip through my chest as my dejected and dead voice recounts the woman’s words. “They threatened to snap the children’s necks if they move and feed off of their bodies. We need to find them, they are terrified and in the hands of monsters, worse than any demon or creature that we have ever encountered. Reginald please you need to hurry, we have to get to them; they are running out of time, I can feel it!” My tone turns into a hysterical, pleading, squeal.
“Mia, I need you to calm down. Did you see anything that could help us? We are entering the forest surrounding the grounds now.”
“They were surrounded by trees and in the middle of cold ground, but there was nothing special about the area.”
“Mia, you need to reconnect with them and look around for anything that may give us a clue as to where they are. Give Emma your telephone so that she can call Andrew and see if he found anything. From the looks of the surrounding grounds, we are not going to be
able to drive much further, we may have to ditch the cars and begin traveling on foot. We don’t want them knowing we are here and hasten their plans. Try to connect with them one more time, see if there is anything at all that can give us a clue. See if Nicole and Jacob have been able to find them while Emma calls Andrew to see if Jacob and Nicole took flight.”
The thought of Nicole and Jacob getting close to these monsters that already have hold of Nicholas and Kayla cast unbridled terror throughout my very being. I desperately fight to grab hold of my free falling world to concentrate on connecting to Nicholas or Kayla. Fear rips through me as the minutes click by without a connection. As I drift between the car and a fleeting connection, I hear the faint echoes of Emma’s voice pleading with Andrew not to panic.
I hear the faint echoes of her voice as I forge forward. “Nicole and Jacob may not be flying high enough or maybe they have not transformed yet. See if you can get Nicholas or Kayla’s scent, but remember the wind is blowing west to east so if you do get the scent, stay focused...”
Her voice fades completely as the wolf’s howling surrounds me. As the howling gets closer, more menacing, their fear spikes, I focus on the hyperactive heart beating, praying I do not lose my connection.
Nicholas screams. “Kayla, watch out!” She is running.
A voice I recognize as Kristen’s is yelling for Alex to shoot him.
I’m falling and stunned to hear Jacob’s anguished voice. “Come after me, you don’t want her, I’m what you want.”
A crash echoes off the trees, followed by an anguished howling. Did someone shoot the wolf?
Damian’s hurried voice shocks me, almost causing me to lose my connection. I wasn’t aware he channeled with me or that I was telling the others what was happening, but his warning voice is loud and clear. “Jacob, run and turn into the mouse or bird! If the wolf bites you, you will die because you are part vampire. Leave now and do what I instructed you earlier, go!”
Kayla is in my view and I realize I unknowingly shifted from her to Nicholas. She rises, shouting. “Jacob, watch out he is right behind you.” I’m moving and thrusting myself in the air. All of a sudden, something clamps my shoulder, intense pain shoots throughout my system, breaking contact with Nicholas.
Opening my eyes, Damian is gripping my hands. “Mia, what happened, did the wolf bite Jacob?” His voice reflects his utter terror.
Struggling to force the words beyond my constricted airway, they are barely a whisper. “No, Nicholas threw himself at Jacob knocking him out of the way. It bit Nicholas on the shoulder! What’s going to happen to him? Is he going to die? I heard your warning to Jacob.” Tears veil my eyes, streaming down my face as Damian grabs my arms, shaking me.
“Mia, you need to get back to the children, now! I need to tell Jacob how to save him!”
“Is that possible?”
“Yes, but you need to get me back there now!” He shouts.
I close my eyes, focusing only on Jacob and hoping he hasn’t transformed yet. Feeling the tears streaming down my face and utter desolation as he mutters blaming himself, I know I am with him.
Nicole’s arms are wrapped around him, “Jacob they were trying to protect you, but we need to go back to them and do what we can.”
“They are both laying there dying because of me! I didn’t listen and now ...” A shot and angry howl becoming fainter by the second interrupts him.
“This is our chance,” Nicole states quickly, “we have to get them and run! We can drag them, but we have to get them away from the others, I saw the wolf knock down the two vampires, they are laying there, I don’t think that they are dead, but maybe we can outrun them, let’s go.”
Nicholas and Kayla’s moaning becomes clearer as Jacob and Nicole reach them. The children struggle as they drag their cousins through the thick brush. “Nicholas why did you do that, you should have just let the wolf take me. I’m so sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt.”
Nicholas gasps through his agonizing moans and his voice sounds strained. “It would have killed you, I couldn’t let that...”
Before he can finish, Kristen is yelling to Alex to get up. “They are getting away.”
My senses are shifting uncontrollably as excruciating pain pierces through me along with the struggling, I can’t tell who I am connected to as growls and yells seem to be coming from every direction. Never have I experienced such turbulence.
As the sounds become more distinguishable, I realize that there is more than one wolf howling! My own terror turning my blood to shards of ice threatens to break my connection and I can feel Damian and Emma gripping my hands in hopes that I can hold on. Someone gasps as the crunching of bones echoes off the trees, but I do not feel any additional pain.
Kayla’s anguished scream makes whomever I’m connected to jump as I grip my connection tighter. “Move faster, the wolves just killed the vampires! They turned to dust and disappeared, they are probably coming after us next! Run!”
A second later, Nicholas’ weakened voice offers some hope. “They’re retreating, they are not following us.”
I didn’t realize that I was conveying back what was happening, until Damian’s commanding voice rings out. “Jacob, stop running, you have to cure the wolf bites.”
All movement stops as Jacob’s impassioned plea reaches me. “How can I cure the bite, is there a spell?”
“He can’t hear you remember.” Nicole says winded.
“Then how does he know what’s going on?”
Nicholas whispers, “Mom must be telling him, remember he said she could feel us, maybe she can hear us as well.”
Jacob’s desperate plea tears at my heart. “Mom, please tell me how to cure this, it’s all my fault, they can’t die because of me! Help me please! Mom!”
I so desperately want to tell him that I am with him. I’m surprised that Damian even knows how Andrew cures people to instruct them. Damian instructs the children in a calm and authoritative voice, speaking very slowly, deliberately.
“Jacob, Nicole, put your hands on their bites and concentrate as hard as you possibly can on the energy that flows in you to cure those around you. You must be careful, the ailments that you cure, make you weak and because this is a bite from a wolf which could kill you, the minute you see the wounds around them closing and healing, you must cast aside what is flowing through you so it does not become a part of you and impair you. Go slowly and concentrate on only the wounds. Nicholas, Kayla when you feel their touch change from cold to the heat passing through you in the infected area, tell them, so that they can get ready to release the hold. Once the healing energy is flowing through you, it can work on its own in conjunction with this spell.”
Then he repeats the words Emma told me once about how to help heal wounds which I incurred.
“Once you repeat this spell several times and you can see the change in the wound, Jacob and Nicole, you must concentrate on dispelling the energy flowing through you immediately, you cannot let it grab hold of you or flow through you, it must stay contained in your healing hands, you must act quickly. Think of it as a ball and throw it out as if you’re pitching. It will weaken you. Remember what I said, I’m on my way, I need to break the connection, I can smell you.
I hear a lot of activity around the children and know that this is going to be very dangerous for all of them. I want to stay with them, but if I do, I will not be able to move and if Damian smells them, we must be close. Maybe if I can reach them too, I can be more helpful. Everyone is leaping from the stopped vehicle as my eyes flutter open.
Running through the trees, I hear Emma yelling to Reginald.
“Yes, I still feel his essence; we can follow him this way. Let’s go!”
Knowing that Reginald is tracing Damian, I focus on he and Emma. The continuous channeling has made me slower so I concentrate on their voices hoping they will continue yelling, instead of calling for them to wait, they need to reach the children
as quickly as possible.
Lucas runs across me. Grabbing my hand, I shake it off. “No, you need to go and get Andrew, Nicholas and Kayla have been bitten by the werewolf and Jacob and Nicole are trying to cure them, but they can all be lost if they do something wrong! You need to find Andrew and get him to them, please. I’m fine.”
“Mia, it’s dangerous for you to be out here alone, we don’t know if they have stopped hunting and there is more than one wolf.”
“Please, I’m fine, you need to get Andrew, everyone else is going towards the kids, but he needs to be with them now.” I grab Lucas’ arms. “If they don’t do this right, I could lose them all, go!”
Giving me one last look, he pulls out his telephone and speeds off. Forging through the underbrush, I pray the others have reached the children and that Lucas leads Andrew to them quickly.
I hear familiar voices ahead. Quickening my pace, I am stopped dead in my tracks as two blood, thirty vampires emerge from the nearby trees.
Backing up, I struggle to gather the energy around me to repel them. Flicking my hands forward, I’m shocked that in my weakened state, they are thrust back. Knowing that each time I flick my wrists, I feel weaker, I focus on sending them back as far as I can as Reginald’s voice cuts through the trees. Taking a step forward, I am about to yell out to him but something grabs me from behind, dragging me backwards quickly. It covers my mouth so I cannot scream. Struggling to get my hands free in hopes of repelling the two vampires running toward me, their eyes turn fiercer and I know I’m in trouble. In another moment, I’ll be too far away for anyone to hear me. Thrusting my head into my capture, it stumbles and I scream for help, unsure whether anyone hears me. As we fall toward the ground, I cast the repellant spell hoping for time to get my shield around me.
This time, only one of the vampires, the woman is repelled. Continuing forward, the man flicks his hand and I’m careening across the grass, my body slamming into a tree is the only thing that stops me. Pain radiates from my head throughout my entire being as the world becomes a long blackening tunnel.
As darkness surrounds me like rolling fog surrounding the shore, the male’s voice pierces my waning consciousness. “She is covered in his stench. This must be his wife. You have lost the children, do you think that you can do something right with her or must I do everything myself?”
The woman’s urethral voice drifts through the mist clouding my every thought. “I can do this, walk me through it and I guarantee you that I will fool them all, get to the children we lost here, and whatever ones he has at home, I will get to his family and then ensure as he lay dying that he knows it is our family that brought about the demise of his for the plague that he unleashed upon us. I will not fail you.”
“You had better not. If you do, I will kill you myself and I promise you it will be slow and special.” The menace in his voice makes it perfectly clear that he is not only the leader, but the fiercest and most dangerous of the group. I smell the pool of my blood forming from the gash in my head and feel the sticky substance dripping down my ear and cheek. Someone grabs me by the shoulders, lifting them off the ground. Suddenly, sharp teeth pierce my clavicle, pushing me through the fog and I scream.
The man’s voice bellows to the woman. “Bite her now, she is a delectable untouched morsel and you will have her scent and then I can transform you to look like her. Do not fail me Marlena.”
“You know I have never failed you.”
Excruciating pain rips through me as her teeth sink deep into my neck. I can feel my life force draining with each passing moment that her lips are upon me. Despite the immortality spell, Andrew’s warning so many years ago rings in my ears warning me that if my head and heart are injured beyond repair, my physical body will fail and I know that this, along with my head injury could forever stop my heart, releasing my essence into the atmosphere. As the darkening tunnel enshrouds me once more, at least its walls are filled with the wondrous images of my children, Andrew and all the special moments that we were blessed to share. As I drift, I feel the love that Andrew’s light and gentle touch brought to my existence cocoon me. I only hope that he is in time to ensure that the best part of me, our children, goes on. As my heart beats slow and my conscious takes it final dip before descending into the darkened abyss, I send out one fleeting hope that he and the children will always feel my life force surrounding them, then my world becomes silent and black.