He tore himself away from the log before he became lost to his memories. Placing Genny's body tenderly upon the ground near the river, he scooped up handfuls of water and slowly began to wash the soot, blood and dirt from her face. He couldn't explain it, and certainly didn't understand it, but he couldn't bring himself to place her into the earth without washing away some of the damage from this night.
When he'd finished cleansing her cream skin he rose to his feet, took the shovel from a silently weeping Camille and rapidly began to dig Genny's grave. When he was done, he tossed the shovel aside and pulled himself from the deep hole. He could barely bring himself to look at her body as he walked by her and into the water. Just as he couldn't bring himself to put her into the earth while dirty, he also couldn't bring himself to touch her again with the blood of so many others on him. As he scrubbed at his skin, the water turned red from the blood of all those he'd slaughtered this night in retribution for Genny's death. He watched the blood flowing swiftly downstream until the water finally ran clear again.
Striding from the river, water dripped off of him as he knelt at her side. His hand shook as he pulled the blue ribbon he'd bought for her free of her hair and carefully undid the long braid. Her silken hair slid through his fingers and fell around her in a beautiful black cloud. Bending low, he placed a kiss against her forehead before tenderly kissing her lips.
"Forever my soul," he whispered against her mouth before slipping the ribbon into his pocket. He went to pick her up but Camille stopped him.
"Wait." She knelt beside Genny and kissed her forehead. "I love you."
She sat back and folded Genny's hands demurely upon her belly. A flash of the moonlight against the gold band encircling Genny's finger drew his attention to the symbol of promises unfulfilled and his failure. His thumb brushed against the matching ring on his finger. He'd do everything he could to make sure that he, and countless others, were made to pay for that failure.
Camille stepped away and Atticus lifted Genny once more. Carrying her to the hole, he jumped inside and settled her body carefully into the grave. It took everything he had to release her and climb out of the grave again. Sweat beaded across his brow, the muscles in his arms shook but he finally forced himself to lift the shovel and throw the first scoop of dirt onto her still form. Tears and fury burned his throat as Genny disappeared beneath the dirt. When the last shovelful fell on top of her, he tapped it down with the broad side of the shovel then snapped the tool in half and heaved the pieces into the river.
The choking sorrow left him as he stood staring down at the freshly turned earth. Madness whispered through his mind, beckoning to him to murder, to kill, to destroy everyone and everything he came across. As much as it called to him he knew he couldn't give into it, not yet. There was a long road to absolution ahead of him. In order to travel it he was going to have to tread carefully, to appear as sane as possible if he was ever going to succeed in making them all suffer.
He'd been infuriated enough and stuffed enough on blood and death to take down all those humans and his father tonight, but that wouldn't be enough to carry him through the rest of the humans on this planet and the aristocrats. No, he would have to bide his time, make allies, and gain strength. With age and friendships would come more power than any vampire had ever dreamed of possessing.
There were going to be countless, heinous things that he wasn't going to want to do over the coming years but he would do them. He would do everything he could to destroy the world that had taken Genny from him.
"She told me to tell you something," Camille whispered. Atticus threw back his shoulders and turned toward her. Her blond hair appeared silver in the moonlight; the tears on her face had a star-like glow to them. She was so unlike her sister yet she was the only connection he had left to Genny. "She said, 'you tell Atticus he's my heart.' Those were her exact words for you."
Words failed him as he stared at her for a long moment. Not knowing what to say to her, he slipped Genny's ribbon from his pocket. His gaze was riveted to it as he ran it over his fingers.
"Now what?" she asked tremulously.
"Follow me." He turned away from her and walked back through the woods. They walked parallel to the snapping flames consuming the village. It would take some time but the fire would eventually burn itself out.
***
Camille slumped into a chair at the table. Her hand went to the lopsided blanket folded on top of it, the one that Genny had recently finished. Atticus refused to allow himself to give into the sadness that the memory of Genny working diligently on that blanket provoked. He remained standing in the doorway, away from Camille and the blanket.
"No one can ever know what I did tonight," he said bluntly.
Camille's head turned toward him. "They never will."
"I mean it Camille."
Her hand slid away from the blanket as she turned toward him. "They killed my sister, Atticus. Genny loved me, she loved you, and she cared for others but she was the only one that I loved and they took her from me," she said vehemently. "No one will ever know what I saw tonight."
Atticus stared at her before walking into the room and settling into the chair across from her. "I understand."
Her sky blue eyes pinned his. "Yes, you do. So what do you plan to do now?"
"I plan to make them all pay, every single last one of them. Humans have kept us hidden in the shadows for too long. Vampires have created this world of constant infighting and seclusion that has put us at the mercy of a species that is far inferior to us. I don't care how many years it takes, or what I have to do, but the human species will learn their inferior place in this world and I will destroy any vampire that gets in my way of making that happen. They'll pay for what was done here tonight, they'll all pay."
"Good."
He lifted his eyes to meet her steely gaze. "I'd expected a, 'that isn't what Genny would want', from you."
"I think we both know that revenge isn't what Genny would want, but she's not here anymore and that's what I want," Camille said fervently. "It's their fault and they deserve to pay. I'm not my sister, I'm not forgiving."
"No," he said. "You're not."
She was nonplussed by his words. "I'll do whatever I can to help you, just let me know where to start."
"You'll start by leaving, for good."
"What?" she blurted. "But I can help you!"
"The best way for you to help me is for you to leave. After the events tonight, The Council is going to make all vampires leave England for at least fifty years so we will all be leaving anyway. But I can't have you around me."
"Why? I can be useful…"
"No, you can't," he interrupted brusquely. "You're the only weakness I still have."
"What of Merle?" she demanded.
His teeth ground together as he thought of his cousin. Merle was his best friend, his confidante, the one who had always stood by his side, but… "I would walk over his body to burn the world," he told her honestly. "You however, Genny died to save you and I won't let her sacrifice be in vain. If you are near me, I'll worry about you and you'll be a distraction to me. There are things I am going to have to do that neither of us want to see."
Her eyes searched his; her shoulders slumped as she leaned forward and took hold of his hands. Revulsion slid through him, he stiffened instantly at the feel of her skin against his. Her eyes widened upon his and she abruptly released his hands.
"That night with Felix, when I came to get you, you already knew she was in trouble," she said.
It hadn't been a question but Atticus answered her anyway, "Yes."
"What was between you, it was something deeper, something most of us don't feel, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
More tears filled her eyes. "I never thought of it until tonight but you were already halfway through the woods when I came across you. Tonight you were already on your way again, weren't you?"
"I was too late."
"This wasn't your fault."
He wanted to believe that but he knew the truth. "In many ways it was."
Camille shook her head. "You gave her more happiness than she had ever hoped to have, even on your darkest days you must remember that." He remained silent, uncertain of how to respond to her. "You're going to marry that woman aren't you?"
He was relieved when the conversation drifted back to easier waters to navigate. "Yes. Allies are what I will need to accomplish what must be done. That is another reason why I cannot have you around. Your presence will only bring questions that I won't be able to answer."
"I understand." Her lower lip trembled; she began to cry again as her eyes drifted to the blanket. She gently laid her hand upon it. "Genny would want you to be happy."
"There will be no happiness for me Camille, ever again. There can be for you though, and I will make sure that happens."
"Can there?" she asked tremulously.
"One day, yes. For you."
"You're not completely dead inside yet Atticus, you wouldn't be talking to me now if you were."
"And that is why you must be as far from me as possible. I'll make sure that you're taken care of and that you stay safe, but I never want to see you again."
She closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I understand. But how do you plan to marry the woman when you can't even stand to be touched by another anymore?"
Atticus shuddered at the thought of having to lie with Anna, his stomach turned over but then his fingers slid over the gold band on his finger and he spoke the simple truth. "I can do anything for her."
Camille's gaze was unwavering upon him. "Yes, you can."
The front door burst open with a loud bang that drove them both to their feet. "Atticus!" Merle bellowed.
"Not a word," he whispered to Camille.
Camille nodded as Merle appeared in the doorway. Merle's eyes were frantic as they flew back and forth between the two of them. "You're here and you're uninjured!" he blurted and his shoulders slumped. "There was a raid on the village." He was speaking as he walked toward them but he stopped when he spotted Atticus's wet and ruined clothing and Camille's tear streaked face and soot covered clothes. His mouth opened and closed, his eyes shot around the room as a strange look flickered over his face. "Where's Genny?"
Atticus's fingers played over the ribbon in his pocket while he stared at his cousin. He realized he hadn't been wrong; he would step over Merle's body to get what he hungered for. The friendship and love he had felt for him just hours ago seemed to have turned to ash as effectively as his father's manor had.
"Dead," he replied flatly.
Merle's eyes shot to him, he took an abrupt step forward and then another. "Atticus," he breathed. "What happened?"
"The humans raided the village, we were caught in the crossfire," Camille answered when he kept his mouth firmly closed. He couldn't begin to explain what had happened today.
Merle's hand clasped hold of his arm, there were actually tears in his eyes. Atticus forced himself to meet and hold his gaze and to keep the disgust slithering through him from Merle's touch hidden. To keep the hatred and madness securely locked away. "I'm so sorry, I know how much you loved her; what can I do? What do you need me to do?" he inquired fervently.
Atticus squeezed his wrist and stepped away from him. Relief filled him when Merle's touch finally fell away. "There is much that we must do," he answered. "Number one is getting out of England as soon as we can."
"My ship is ready to go. We'll get your father and mine and leave shortly."
"Yes," Atticus agreed, unwilling to reveal that his father was already dead. They would all discover it soon enough. He turned toward Camille. "I'll have my ship readied to take you wherever you wish to go."
Camille nodded and hugged Genny's blanket to her chest before slumping into the chair again.
- CHAPTER 24 -
"I'd like to keep those."
Camille looked up from where she sat amongst the parchments of Genny's writing to focus on him. "I can't even read them," she said with an abashed smile. "Genny offered to teach me but it seemed so useless to me. I wish I hadn't been so stubborn now. I just wanted to touch them now, to see if I could feel her presence here, amongst her writings."
Atticus stared at all of the parchments surrounding her; all he wanted was to touch them too. There was still a piece of Genny there, in those words, he was certain of it. Camille gathered everything carefully and placed them back into the false bottom of the trunk.
"Have you packed?" he inquired.
"Yes."
"Do you know where you would like to go?"
She shook her head as she carefully returned the dresses to the trunk and closed the lid. "Perhaps Greece. Genny always spoke of France because Marie would never go there, but I'd prefer not to be there right now."
"You will enjoy Greece."
"And you, where will you go?"
"I will be returning to Italy with Merle and my Uncle Nyles. That is where The Council has decided to call an emergency meeting. All vampires are to be out of England by the end of the month."
"I see." She rose and settled herself on the lid of the trunk. "Will they not question you sending me away on your ship?"
"Only Merle knows what Genny looked like. My uncle will assume I am only securing safe passage for my mistress or ex-mistress so that she may start her new life. It is not so uncommon, especially with my upcoming wedding looming, that we would go our separate ways right about now." Camille folded her hands before her and bowed her head. "Are you not taking any of her clothes with you?"
"If I may?"
"Take whatever you want," he said as he ran his fingers over the ribbons in his pocket. He'd never thrown away her old ribbon and had retrieved it from the manor before burning it down. "We leave for the docks in an hour."
***
Atticus placed the trunk down in the room that was normally his, but would be Camille's for her journey. Unlike most other ships, his and Merle's had rooms for them to sleep in. After their time spent amongst the Viking vampires, Merle had set about to design his own ship and had come up with a design that no one was using yet. Not only did the ships have sleeping quarters but they were also fast and wind powered.
Atticus turned to face Camille. She'd been so stoic, so driven by anger throughout the past week that he'd forgotten how young she was. He was reminded now as she stood in the doorway, pale and immobile, and looking immeasurably frightened by the looming unknown of her future. She hugged Genny's blanket to her chest as she gazed around the sparse room.
"I've never been alone before," she whispered and looked toward him.
"You'll be fine; you're stronger than you think."
"Do you really believe that?"
"I do. Plus I've hired trustworthy men and women to watch out for you. They'll make sure you get to where you're going safely and they'll keep you protected once you get there. I've placed money and jewels in your trunk. There should be more than enough to get you established somewhere and keep you comfortable for a few hundred years. You'll never have to live like Marie did."
"You didn't have to… I'll never be able to repay you."
"I'll never ask you to," he assured her. "If something should happen, and you ever require my help, please contact me. Do not come to see me."
"I won't," she promised though her lower lip began to tremble.
For a second there was a crack in him, for a second he felt the tears well up within him again as compassion reared to life. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."
She lifted her eyes to his and smiled at him. "I know you are. I know that both of us would have traded our lives for hers, but she never would have given either of us that choice."
"No, she wouldn't have." Closing his eyes, he forced himself to mend the crack in his wall and stay strong.
"No matter what happens from here on out, no matter what you have to do, just know that she loved you so much. She was never happier than these past few months with you.
Genny never knew love from anyone other than me and she never knew security in her life. You gave her both of those things, you gave her dreams she'd never imagined to have and the promise of a life that she wanted so badly. Always remember that she died having known love and peace and the reason for that is you."
He opened his eyes to stare at her as she hovered in the doorway. Without thinking he strode forward and wrapped his arms around her. Though the feel of her against him sickened him, he pulled her firmly against his chest and pressed a kiss to her head. "I will," he vowed. She had just slid her arms around his waist when he abruptly released her. "As long as you remember how much she loved you too."
"I could never forget," she promised. "Her love is the only reason I'm still standing here. You don't have to do this; you can still change your mind."
"I thought you wanted revenge too."
A single tear slid down her face. "I want my sister back but that can never be. Some of my rage has faded a little and I realize now that with time, the hatred will fade too. When that day comes I don't want you to look back and wish things had been different."
"I won't," he vowed.
"Atticus…"
"I have chosen my path Camille; I will never look back with regret. You will be able to move on with time but for me it is too late. The only thing for me to move on to is death and I will gladly accept that death once Genny has been avenged."
A sob escaped her; she grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it before releasing it just as quickly. She was the only one that had realized just how much he despised being touched now. "You will always be my brother."
"You are the only sister I've ever had, or ever will, no matter what else you hear," he told her honestly. "Stay safe Camille."
"You also Atticus."
Unwilling to touch her again, he slid past her and out the doorway. He hurried down the narrow hallway, up the stairs, and across the deck. Exiting the ship, his boots rang across the wooden dock as he walked to Merle's waiting ship. When Camille arrived at her destination, his ship would return to him in Italy, but until then it was hers to use as she saw fit.