Bloodlines (2 page)

We looked at a few more graves then headed into town.

We stopped off for coffee in a little café just before lunch. To my surprise the guy from the cemetery was in there with another guy. The pull felt even stronger now and as soon as I walked in they both turned to look at me. I pretended not to notice and went to the counter to buy our drinks. Lily got us a table, and leave it to her to get one just a few back from where they were sitting. She also contrived it so I had to sit facing them. When I got to the table I glared at her; she smirked at me then sipped her drink. It was killing me not to look over at them, especially since I could feel them looking at us. It felt like their eyes were burning holes in my head. Lily saw how uncomfortable I was and it made her giggle. Ten minutes later they were standing next to our table.

“Did you get what you needed at the cemetery?” the guy we saw earlier asked.

“I think so,” Lily replied.

“Good, I’m Lucian by the way,” he smiled, “And this is my friend Jake.”

“I’m Lily and this is Keira.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Jake said. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“No,” I answered after a split second of hesitation. “We just came here to help us with our studies.”

“Where are you from?” Lucian asked.

“West Chester.”

“Well, we hope to see you around again before you leave,” Jake said, looking at Lily.

“We’re here all week,” she told them.

“Great.”

They smiled and then left.

“Why did you tell them that? I haven’t got time to be messing around with guys.”

“Oh I’m sure you could spare them a couple of minutes. Besides I think Lucian is just your type. Long dark hair, beautiful big blue eyes, nice smile, white teeth, olive skin, well-defined features. Need I carry on?” she said, looking upwards as though she was basking in his beauty.

“No. I do have eyes, thank you; I can see all that for myself. You can do whatever you want, but I’m here for one reason and one reason only.”

I grabbed my bag and walked out of the café. I could see Lucian and Jake across the road; they were both staring at me. I pulled my notepad out of my bag with the directions written on it to the last place John Putnam lived. According to the little map I’d drawn, we weren’t too far from it now. As far as I knew he was the first member of our family to have the power. I was hoping and praying I would find some kind of answers there. We didn’t need the car; we could easily walk there in no time at all, plus, it was nice to be able to stroll around the place. A moment later, Lily was standing next to me.

“Don’t just leave me like that! I was only messing with you.”

“We’re being watched,” I told her.

“By who?” she asked, looking around.

But when I looked again, there was no one there. I looked up the street but there was no sign of them anywhere. Where had they gone?

“Forget it,” I told her. “Come on, we’re not far from our next stop now.”

Chapter 2

The Old Book

We walked for twenty minutes, turning down little side streets every couple of minutes, and then on to an old dirt path. Luckily for us it hadn’t rained; otherwise we would have been up to our waists in mud and clay. Finally I saw the house and to my amazement it was still intact. I don’t think it would have been safe to live in but the shell still remained.

It was a large four-story house and it reminded me of the English manor houses you see in the films. Only this one had clearly been untouched for decades. The windows on the ground floor were boarded up – well, in a fashion; there were simply two pieces of dark wood in an X shape across each one. Some of the shutters were still intact, but others were either hanging off or in pieces on the ground. The garden was overgrown and full of dead brown leaves.

Lily started to feel uneasy and wanted to leave, but when I said I would go on my own she wouldn’t have it. As we stepped slowly on to the porch, a massive gust of wind rushed by us, causing some of the dead leaves to brush past us.

“Keira, I don’t like this,” she said, grabbing my arm.

“You’ll be safe.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

We heard a long creaking noise and the front door slowly opened.

“Hello,” Lily said loudly but there was no one there.

“Stay here,” I told her seriously. “I’ll be out in a few minutes. If you need me, shout.”

The look on my face told her not to argue with me. I walked in slowly. The air inside was thick and musty; the place smelled as old as it was. I’d walked about five yards in when the door slammed shut behind me, yet I wasn’t scared at all. Lily was screaming for me and banging on the door. I shouted to her that I was OK, but she was clearly scared to death. I walked into a large room; everything was inches thick in dust and it was very dark. I held my hand out and an orb of light appeared and floated just above my palm. Now I could see. Thick cobwebs were hanging from each corner of the room and there were scraps of ancient-looking paper all over the floor. I bent down to look through the pile in front of me but none of it was readable.

Just as I was about to rummage through another pile I heard tapping coming from another room. I raced into the hallway; the tapping was coming from one of the back rooms, yet when I walked in, there was nothing there. I turned to walk out, but as I got to the doorway there was a noise that reminded me of sticks breaking. When I turned again, I saw a crack appearing in the floor. I walked over and kicked at it; it was as though I knew what I had to do. When the hole was a couple of inches wide I was sure I saw something and decided to get to it the easy way. I stood a foot away and threw an energy ball at the floor; it ripped through the wood like it was tracing paper.

I pulled a cloth bag out of the hole. I think originally it must have been white but now it was covered in dirt. I knelt on the floor and opened it carefully, inside was a very old book, handwritten in navy-blue ink. On the front page were five names – John Putnam, William Cutler, Edward Tudor, Arthur Richards and Harry Goodie. I put the book under my arm and headed towards the front door. It opened itself then closed again behind me.

“Where did you find that?” Lily asked me.

“Under the floor.”

“How did you know it was there?”

“I was shown the way.”

“By who?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

“I don’t know. Come on, let’s get this back to the motel.”

All the way back to the car I felt someone was watching us. I kept turning around but there was no one there. Lily felt it too but didn’t see anyone either. We both picked up our pace. As soon as we got to the car we locked ourselves in and I put my foot down.

When we got back to the motel it looked as though everyone who’d been staying there had left. There wasn’t a soul or a car in sight; it was very eerie. Even the office was shut up and the whole building was shrouded in darkness. Lily held on to my arm as we walked warily to our room. We closed the curtains and locked all the windows and the door. I pulled the book out and started to read. I only got halfway through the first few sentences when the door began shaking violently. I slammed the book shut instantly, wondering if it was causing it. Seconds later the windows started shaking too. The noise was so loud, it sounded like a hundred fists were being slammed repeatedly against the walls.

“What’s going on?” Lily said in a shaky voice, not knowing whether to watch the door or the windows.

“I don’t know,” I grabbed the book and the bag with all my research in it. “Come on, we’re getting out of here!”

“I’m not going outside.”

“Yes, you are!” I grabbed her and dragged her out the door.

We ran as fast as we could to the car. The doors were open and ready for us before we got within ten feet of it. I kept the book on my knee while I raced down the road.

“Keira, there are four people blocking the road,” she said, leaning forward in her seat to get a better look. “They’re wearing funny robes and hoods, like druids.”

“Well, if they don’t move they’ll die,” I said, speeding up.

They didn’t move until I was almost on top of them. They all levitated and I drove under them.

“Did you do that?” she asked me.

“No. Are they behind us?”

“They’re just watching us in the road, staring. Who are they, Keira? They scare me.”

“I don’t know, but at least we’ve gotten away from them. It’s all OK.”

We came to a stop fifteen miles out of town on a country lane. We were surrounded by darkness; the only light was from the full moon and the headlights of the car.

“OK, that was creepy,” Lily said, getting out of the car for some air.

“Well, it’s over now, so relax,” I said, getting out after her.

I shouldn’t have spoken so soon. The four figures appeared again, standing around us but at a slight distance. It was as though they were the four corners of a square. Lily started shaking so I put my arm around her shoulders.

“What do you want?” she asked, almost sobbing. None of them spoke or moved. “Answer me!” she demanded, but still they remained silent.

I looked down at the ground; whenever I used my power my eyes changed color. If it was something simple like making something float to me, they would glow bronze for a second then return to normal. But if it was a big task the whole of my eyes turned white, my pupils completely disappearing. The car engine started and I reversed it so it was about two feet away.

“Get in the car.” I told Lily, then, lowering my voice, added, “Don’t lose the book.”

I let go of her and she dived in the car. She locked all the doors and I moved it back to where it was originally parked. I looked up and stared at each of them in turn, my eyes were back to normal. They were still standing completely still.

“What do you want?” I asked plainly.

“How did you get into that house?” one of them asked.

“None of your business.”

“Where did you get that book?”

“Again, none of your business”

“Get the book!” he ordered the tallest one.

He started walking over to the car. I started after him but almost immediately one of them launched an energy ball straight at me. I felt my eyes turn as it hurtled towards me. I sent one back. They met in mid-air, fizzling then fading as they cancelled each other out. Then I instantly threw another at the guy heading for the car. He didn’t have time to react and it sent him flying backwards.

“If you wanted a fight you should have just said,” I told them, and then threw them continuously from each hand at them all. They blocked some but in the end they had all been knocked off their feet. Every time one of them tried to move I would hit them with a ball. I was getting carried away with it all until Lily blew the horn. I ran to the car and we shot off again.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Back to the motel.”

“WHAT?!”

“You just saw me take all four of them on. They are no match for me; we’ll be perfectly safe.”

Lily was silent all the way back and didn’t look impressed at all. When we got inside she locked and double-checked the door and the windows. Then she dragged me to the sofa and sat me down.

“OK, look,” she started, “I think I’ve been a damn good friend through all this. I mean how many people do you know who would stand by someone who can do what you can? You never tell me anything and I think I deserve an answer to a few questions, don’t you?”

“Fair enough, you can have two questions tonight.”

“TWO!!” she yelled, banging her fists on her knees.

“Take it or leave it.”

“Fine, how do you control it? You know, how do you get things to do what you want?”

“That’s actually really hard to explain. OK, umm… it’s like when you’re walking, you don’t have to think to yourself, OK left foot forward, now right foot forward, do you? You just start to walk and your legs move.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s kinda like that, it’s just instinct. I know what I want and I just…make it happen. I can’t explain it any other way. The truth is I don’t really know how it works, I just use it.”

“So if you wanted me dead, you could just make it happen.”

“No, it doesn’t work like that. I would have to do something like throw you off a cliff, or throw a knife into you or something.”

“So you don’t have to call on the power from somewhere?” she quizzed.

“Lily, the power is in my blood; it runs through me all day every day. It never leaves me.”

“So why do your eyes go white?” she said, circling her own with a finger.

“That’s far more than two questions.”

“I don’t care.”

“They change when I let the power run freely through me.”

“I thought you said it does that anyway.”

“It’s always in me, however to use it, I set it free. But I’m still in control. When I’m not using it, it lies dormant; I suppose it’s just a side effect. Think of it like a volcano. One minute just like any old mountain, but the next all that smoke and lava.”

“I think I understand.”

“I told you it was hard to explain. To me it’s just a natural thing; to you obviously it’s not.”

“Well, thanks for trying.”

I smiled at her, then put the kettle on.

“What do you think they wanted?” she asked me

“The book. One of them asked how I got it and how I got in the house.”

“What did you say?”

“I told them it was none of their business.”

“Who do you think they are? Do you think they could be who you’re looking for?”

“I don’t know, but if that’s the sort of people they are then I don’t want to know them.”

“They must have known you had power.”

“What makes you say that?” I said, putting down the mugs.

“They didn’t speak to me, or attack me in anyway.”

“I don’t know, maybe, but why attack me? Why not just talk to me if they know I’m the same as them.”

“I wish I had all the answers for you, I really do.”

“I think we should both get some sleep. We’ll be safe so you don’t have to worry about anything, I promise.”