“Well, it looks like you already know all of it,” says Anne, “someone has done their research quite well.”“I just know all of this as a story,” says Esther, “not for sure. That’s why I wanted to ask you if it is true.”“As far as I know, it is.”“Did anyone ever try to replicate what Valkyrie did?” Brent asks.“I am sure they must have,” Anne replies, “although why someone would do that is beyond me. There is a much easier way to become a vampire.”“But the other vampires are not as strong and fast as the original ones and the original ones are truly immortal," says Esther.“Yeah,” Anne sighs, “but would you really want that? True immortality? I don’t think I would.”Esther knows that she probably wouldn’t want that too, neither would Brent, and from the looks of it, nor does Evarius, anymore. But this topic has brought them closer to what they are here to discuss.“So, there is no way for the original vampires to die,” Esther asks, “like none at all.”“None that I know of,” says Ann
Evarius is looking at Tasha’s text. If she can’t meet today, he doesn’t see the point of going anywhere. He will stay home and Tasha is probably gonna come home for the weekend. However, he wants to tell her about Carl. It would be good to keep her and the rest of the group informed so they can be more careful until Carl hands over the stone.Evarius has been worried about Sabina and even though nothing out of the ordinary has happened yet, he is getting this little sick feeling in his stomach that something is going to go wrong. Maybe he should talk to her one more time, about everything.He walks up the stairs to Sabina’s room and knocks.“Come in,” she says.He enters and notices her sitting in bed reading.“What are you reading?”“Hemingway.”*Evarius pauses for a bit and then grabs a chair near the bed and sits down saying, “I think we should talk.”“About what?”Sabina’s first thought is that Evarius knows Tyrus had seen him with Carl and he has come here to blame her for it. I
Tyrus’s phone rings and he informs everyone, “Sabina is calling me. What should I do?”“Don’t pick up!”All of them speak at the same time. So, he lets the phone ring. When the bell stops, he sees the notification of a voicemail.“Let’s see what she has got to say for herself,” Tyrus says as he plays the voicemail for everyone to listen to.“Tyrus,” they hear Sabina’s voice, “please pick up. It’s not what you think. I am not working with Carl or Evarius. Please give me a chance to explain.”When the recording stops, Tyrus says, “Is it just me or does it sound like she is crying?”“It does,” Lilia says.“Yeah,” says Damion, “either she is actually distressed because a hot hybrid does not believe her, or she is a damn good actor ‘cause that sounded genuine.”“It sure did,” says Adeline.Just then, Tasha’s phone pings with a text message.“It’s from Evarius,” she says.“Of course,” says Damion.“He is saying that he is not working with Carl and I should hear him out and he could travel t
Esther looks around the room at everyone. No one is talking. Probably, no one knows what to say, just like her. But then she realizes that she doesn’t know why Tasha, Lilia, and Damion are home a day early. So, she asks them and Tyrus explains what he saw. This confirms Esther’s resolve that Evarius is up to no good, but it brings up another issue in her mind and she says, “Ty, is there any chance that Sabina took you to the meeting place on purpose.”It is clear from the look on Tyrus’ face that he had not thought of it this way.“I cannot say for sure that she did not,” says Tyrus slowly, “she acted like she didn’t know where she was headed, but it could have been on purpose.”“So,” Esther says, “based on this information, either Sabina has a death wish too or she doesn’t know what might happen if Evarius dies or she is telling the truth and is not working with him or maybe she is working against him. Now, my optimistic self wants the last option to be true, but we don’t know... so,
When Tasha walks down to the kitchen the next morning, everyone is already there. They are continuing yesterday’s discussion.“How did you sleep?” Lilia asks when she sees Tasha.“Not well.”“Yeah, you don’t look very well rested. Come, have some breakfast, you’ll feel better.”When Tasha takes a seat at the dining table, Tyrus asks, “Did Evarius try and contact you?”“Yeah,” she responds, “Woke up to half a dozen texts from him.”“Do you think I should meet Sabina?” Tyrus asks everyone in the group.“Yes,” all of them say at the same time.“Woah, did everyone have the same idea?”“We,” says Brent, indicating himself and Esther, “just think you need to find out exactly what Sabina knows and if she is not working with Evarius, will she help us to go against him.”“We think the same,” Damion says, indicating himself and Lilia.“Okay then,” Tyrus says, “I am texting her for a meet-up.”“And Tasha,” says Esther, “you stay here until we know Sabina’s stand. I think it would be safer here.”
Tasha, Lilia, and Esther are sitting in Tasha’s room. They had received an update from the boys that Sabina had arrived and Tyrus and her were talking. Tasha is feeling jittery. Evarius has been trying to contact her continuously. By now, he must know that she has come home, even if he didn’t know it yesterday.“What if he tries to go after mom and dad,” Tasha says, “he can use them to get to me. Thank God I wasn’t foolish enough to invite him inside my house.”“Relax, T,” says Esther, “we cannot afford to lose our heads like this. If you want, I can go and keep a watch at your place. You can invite me in.”“I don’t know,” says Tasha, “what if you get in some trouble because of me? I don’t want that.”"I don't think anything will happen to me and it'll help you keep your peace of mind.""Let's wait for another update from the boys and then decide...""Okay," says Esther, "I just want you to know that I am here to help in any way I can. Don't hesitate to ask for it because a lot of thi
“Hi,” Tasha says, “What do you want to say?”She wants to get to the point, hear what he has to say, and get away from him as soon as possible. Not because she doesn’t like being here in his company but because of how much she likes it. After everything, she hates that a part of her is happy to see him standing in front of her.She looks into his black eyes and then looks away as she greets him. He says, “So, you can’t even look at me now?”Tasha looks back into his eyes and says, “I can,” then she averts her eyes again and says, “but I am sure that’s not why you are here...”Evarius steps a little closer saying, “Not entirely,” and Tasha’s heart almost skips a beat.“What is it, Evarius?” She asks in the most composed voice she can muster.“I am not working with Carl,” he says firmly.“So, he is working for you?”“No, we are neither working with nor for each other.”“Then, why were you meeting him, and why did you let him off on the island when you could have easily killed him and sa
Tasha stands with her back against the door. There are so many emotions inside her that she does not know how to feel. She looks at Lilia and Esther and is about to say something, but Esther stops her by raising her hand. She waits for about five more seconds and then says, “Yeah, he has left. I heard a car start and leave.”“How did I do?” Tasha asks anxiously. “Did I ask and say the right things?”“You were great,” says Lilia.“Yes,” Esther agrees. “Come, let’s sit in the living room and wait for the others to arrive. I have texted them.”*Esther leads Tasha and Lilia into the living room.“I’ll get us some drinks,” she says as the other two sit down.She walks to the kitchen, thinking about all she had heard and witnessed between Tasha and Evarius. She is amazed and impressed by how straightforward and honest Tasha is with Evarius. Not only this but she is also intrigued by how gentle, respectful and sweet Evarius is with Tasha. Somehow, she had expected him to be a bit more cocky
Six years later.“Tasha! Where are you?”Lilia is standing at the bottom of the stairs in a sea-glass green colored off-shoulder gown and looking up. She sees Esther stepping down the stairs in a halter neck gown of the same shade as hers.“Have you seen Tasha?” Lilia asks her.“She was with me like five minutes ago, and then she went downstairs.”Lilia groans.“I can’t see her anywhere.”“She’ll turn up,” Esther says, now climbing downstairs, “she is very excited for the day after all.”Lilia smiles, “Yeah, she is. I’ll check with the men. Maybe she is there. Does Sabina need anything else?”“Not for now. I just gave her her perfume of demand. She wants everything to be perfect! Honestly, I don’t blame her.”“Mumma.”A voice comes from their right, and they see a small blonde-haired girl in a light green frilled frock running towards them from the hall.“There you are!” Lilia exclaims. “I was looking for you everywhere. Where did you go?”“I was with Uncle Ty. He said he wanted to se
He is hoping that she will feel him and realize what he is trying to say. Should he close his eyes? But he doesn’t want to. He wants to keep looking at Tasha if things go the way he thinks they will.Just as he is looking at Tash, he sees a trickle of blood flow out from her nose. She is having a nosebleed.“Tasha!” He says.Sabina hears his voice and looks up to see what the matter is.“Are they doing something to her?” She asks in a horrified voice.“I don’t know,” Evarius says, panicking. “Hey, Tasha!”He shakes her, but it’s no use. It looks like she and the eight Junta witches that are still standing are having a battle inside this trance that they are in and it’s hurting Tasha. Evarius has no idea what to do. He places his hand again on Tasha’s and closes his eyes this time.*Tasha feels rather than sees Evarius enter this realm. She uses her other hand to force him out. She can do this without him. She knows what he is trying to do. She won’t allow it.“No,” she says in her mi
Relief courses through Tasha as she sees Lilia standing near the fire looking absolutely fine. She rushes over to her followed by Evarius.“Let’s leave,” Tasha says to Lilia.“I have been trying, but I can’t,” Lilia says pointing to the Head’s grip on her wrist. “It’s like she has an iron grip.“It's magic,” Tasha says and places her hand over the Junta lady’s.At first, Tasha can’t feel anything, but then it’s like she is being sucked into a different world and now she knows why the Junta can’t hear anything from outside because she can’t hear anything anymore either. But now she can see. She can see hundreds and hundreds of people lying on the floor slowly turning gray and Tasha realizes with a jolt that these are all the vampires that are dying. The younger ones first.Tasha focuses harder and now it’s like she is flipping through a book and in the next few pages, she finds a lot of other people of different ages clutching their chests. Dying. Among those people, she also sees hers
Tasha and her group move forward. They do not find any more werewolves in their way. Maybe they are fighting on the other side. When the very edge and can clearly see the cloaked witches standing in a circle Tasha says, “Okay, I need to break into the innermost circle. That’s where the real stuff is happening. The rest of the circles are for elevating the effectiveness of the spell.”“I think we should spread out and take on as many witches as we can without causing too much chaos,” says Evarius. “Otherwise, they will try to push us back like last time and it will complicate things. Although this time we have witches which is much better.”“Okay then,” let’s spread out. “We won’t be able to see each other. So, once you and your neighbors are in position, wait for ten seconds and then attack. This will ensure that we do it at the same time.”Everyone agrees with this idea and spreads it out. Evarius stands right beside Tasha. They wait for ten seconds and then Tasha places her hand on
Evarius is clenching his chest and breathing heavily. It feels like someone is stabbing him in the heart continuously.“What is happening? I don’t understand,” he can hear Tasha say, as if from a long distanceHe cannot speak for the pain that he is feeling and just as he feels that he is going to pass out from the pain, it starts reducing in intensity, and soon it is gone. He massages his chest, but it feels absolutely normal now. What the fuck was that?“Evarius,” Tasha says, on the verge of tears.“I am fine Tasha.”“What? No -““Yes. The pain is gone.”“But why did it come in the first place, that’s the question,” says one of the witches.“Exactly. What did it feel like?”Evarius explains it to them. The more he talks the more confused Tasha looks.“Nothing like this happened the last time,” she says, “Did it?”“No.”“Then why now? They are targeting my bloodline, but I don’t feel anything. This is just weird.”“But the Serafina line is related to vampires,” a witch suggests.“Yea
The sun has gone down the horizon and because it's a new moon, the night is very dark. Lilia has been brought out of the house and she sees that it’s not a small house, it’s actually a huge mansion. The junta has cleared the space for the ritual and other than cloaked figures, Lilia can spot some other people. This makes her wonder. Who are these people? All the time she has been with the Junta, she has only seen them in cloaks.She walks to stand in front of the fire beside the Head who gives her a little smile. The smile makes her otherwise rigid face softer and calms Lilia’s nerves.“How long will it take?” Lilia asks.“A few hours. It’s a long process. We will be done before dawn, I hope you have rested during the day.”Lilia nods.“Then, you’ll be fine,” the Head says.Lilia glances around the scene. There are a lot of people here. Much more than there were before. There is a lot more commotion and people are talking continuously and moving in and out of the house. It almost seem
The junta is gathered on the first floor of the mansion. This entire floor Carl has given to them for the time being. It is in the backroom on this floor that they have kept the binder. They don’t want Carl to get close to her before they have no choice.“I have given her the food,” Chiara tells Amyra.“How is she?”“She is fine. I told her she will be going home today and she looked happy with the prospect.”“Good. Now, we just need to make sure to get her out of this place before Carl lays his hands on her. Make sure that no matter what happens he can’t get to her. Once she is back home, we will place the spell that keeps Carl and his people away from her back and she will be safe.”“I will make sure that everything goes as planned,” Chiara says.“It should because if it does we will be able to correct the grave historical blunder that our ancestors had committed. We will finally be able to wash our hands off it.”Amyra turns around to look out of the window thinking about all the g
Carl, Luther, and Garrit and sitting with the Junta head. Her name is Amyra. They are discussing the arrangements that Carl has provided the Junta with and something else that he has found out recently.“Are your plans for the new moon set then?” Carl asks her.“We are almost done. We’ll be ready by then, don’t worry. We’ll be off your hands after that. You’ll get what you want.”“Which is the binder?”“The binder, yes.”“Good. But there is something else that I think you should take notice of.”“And what is that?”“The binder’s friends are in town again. Does this mean that they know she and you are here?”“How can I tell you that? This type of thing should be your concern. Anyway, I have no idea how they can possibly know that we are associating with you. We never associate with werewolves and vampires, or at least that’s what everyone believes.”“Right,” says Luther, “but let’s say they do know and they try to sabotage our plans. Will you help us fight them?”“Of course, we will. H
Everyone looks from Evarius to Sabina to Tasha in shock, but Tasha smiles because she knows that Sabina’s fainting means that it has worked.“What happened to her?” Tyrus asks, kneeling down beside her, looking scared.“She’ll be okay Ty and so will Evarius,” says Tasha. “Can you guys please carry them inside? Their bodies are going through a change and they might be down for some time.”Tyrus carries Sabina in and Damion and Brent carry Evarius. They place them on the two sofas and Tasha asks, “Did you guys feel something when Evarius fainted.”“Yes,” five of them say.“No,” says Damion.“Of course, you didn’t feel anything, D. You are a werewolf. The rest of you, what was it?”“A swooping gust of wind inside,” Esther says.“Yeah, like a blood rush,” says Nadia.“Does that mean it worked?” Brent asks.“In my humble opinion. It does.”“Is there any way to check?” Tyrus asks“Not really,” says Tasha, “at least nothing that I know of. But I am sure we will find something out once Sabina