Bloodlines (4 page)

“I wonder what your granddad meant by “Strongest and purest” and “Something extra?”

“I have no idea. What he said plays on my mind all the time. Maybe if the other families are here they can tell me.”

“Well, we know for a fact they exist if they’ve called out to you. You just need to have patience.”

“That’s harder than you think,” I sighed.

***

It was now four o’clock and hunger was starting to strike. We drove back into town and stopped at a local supermarket to pick a few things up. It was easier to cook at the motel than eat out all the time. But by the time we’d paid for everything our stomachs were rumbling and Lily was convinced she would pass out if she didn’t eat soon. So we still ate out. This time we went to a restaurant and sat in a little booth next to the window watching the townspeople passing by. We were chatting, just light-hearted conversation, when I saw a glow out of the corner of my eye. It was coming from a little ally across the road. I ignored it and carried on chatting. Then it happened again, and again.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked, before turning to face the direction I was staring.

“Nothing. Sorry, you were saying?”

As soon as she started talking, it happened again.

“What is that?” I interrupted.

“What’s what?” she asked, looking again.

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Keira!”

“Just wait here for me, OK.”

I walked out on to the street and headed for the alley. It was getting darker now and the street was empty apart from a few parked cars. When I got to the alley there was no one there. I walked down it for a few seconds. It was a little darker due to the tall buildings blocking out the light, and then they came into view. All four in their robes again, with their hoods up hiding their faces. They looked like four grim reapers but without the scythes.

“Oh, what now?” I asked impatiently.

“Who are you?” the tall one demanded.

“Cinderella. Who are you?”

“I expect the truth.”

“Oh really, well do you want to know what I expect!” I snapped, walking closer to him. “To be able to visit a town and not get harassed by four idiots who think it’s Halloween. To be able to enjoy a meal with my best friend and not be distracted. Oh yes, and to be spoken to with a bit of respect.” I was now about two feet away from him. “How about you do that for me, then maybe, just maybe, I will be a little friendlier and answer you honestly.”

“For your sake, I advise you to answer now,” he said, taking a step forward.

“Look, you tried to take me down last night and you failed. Miserably, may I add. If you want to attack me that’s fine, but I’m not fighting you. If it turns you on hurting a woman, then go ahead; I won’t even fight back. Now I’m going to finish my meal with my friend, then I’m going back to my motel, getting in the shower, maybe watch a little TV and then I’m going to bed, OK.”

I turned around and walked towards the street again. I’d got about fifteen feet away from him when an energy ball hit the wall beside me. I didn’t even flinch, I just carried on walking. He threw two more but must have realized he wasn’t going to get a reaction and left me alone. I went back into the restaurant and told Lily what had happened.

“I think they might be testing you,” she said.

“Why?”

“Hey, do I look like I’ve got all the answers?” she said, pulling a funny face.

“Sorry,” I laughed.

“Maybe they want to make sure you’re…you know.”

“Whatever. Let’s just get back to the motel; I’m craving a shower.”

Chapter 4

Temper

We were a mile from the motel when the car made a strange noise and slowly came to a stop. I turned the key but it wouldn’t start again.

“Oh great!” Lily moaned, throwing her hands up, “It’s dark, people are after you, we’re on a deserted side road and the car breaks down. You know if we were in a horror movie we would get slaughtered about now.”

“Nice to know my best friend has such a positive outlook on things,” I sniggered. “I’ll go take a look.”

“Can’t you just do your thing and get us moving.”

“Sometimes I do like to do things the normal way, you know.”

She sat back in her seat and folded her arms, huffing. I laughed and got out of the car. I popped the hood but I couldn’t see any reason why it had just given up. The car was virtually brand new so I couldn’t understand it. I closed the hood and looked at Lily but she was gone.

“Lily!” I shouted, but there was no reply. “Answer me, Lily, it’s not funny!” She was gone. I tried calling her mobile but the ring came from in the car; it was on the floor. “LILY!” I shouted again and again – still nothing. “SHIT!” I shouted even louder while kicking one of the wheels on the car. “Show yourselves, you bastards. I know you’re here. I swear if you touch her, I’ll kill you!”

“I thought you weren’t going to fight,” the male voice from before said sarcastically.

I turned to face him. “Where is she?” I asked sternly

“She’s safe…for now.”

“Where?”

He pointed towards the trees. She was floating vertically between two of them.

“You put a spell on an innocent human being to get to me?”

“There are questions you need to answer.”

“Let her go!”

“I will once you answer the questions.”

“Piss off!” I started to walk towards Lily.

“You can’t break my spell,” he laughed. “Not without finding the right one.”

When I got close to her I saw the other three standing close by. I was hoping and praying I could free her.

“Time to go home,” I said, looking up at her.

She slowly came back down to earth, and when I touched her forehead she opened her eyes as if leaving a trance.

“What happened?” she asked, a look of fear and confusion creeping over her face as she realized she was no longer in the car.

“I’ll explain later.”

“How did…?” the leader asked as I walked past him.

“I’ve told you, you won’t beat me.”

I got Lily into the car and shut her in. The four figures stood in front of the car to block my path.

“Look, I don’t know what the hell I’ve done to piss you off, if anything. I don’t know who you are and I don’t think I want to after all this. Now if you want to start with me that’s up to you, but don’t start with her; she isn’t like you or me. She’s just a normal kind-hearted girl, so leave her alone,” I said calmly. “She’s no threat to you.” I opened my door but one of them made it slam shut again. “Why do you want me to fight you?” I asked

“We don’t want to fight you; we just want to know who you are.”

“I’m Keira Jameson. There, happy now?”

“I didn’t ask your name. I asked who you were.”

“What?” I asked confused.

“Why did you come here?”

“I’m a student, I study History and I’m doing a paper on the Salem witch-hunt. So I came here hoping to get some info...”

“Bullshit!”

“Look you asked your question and I answered it; I can’t do more than that.”

The bronze shine went across my eyes and the car was fixed. I went to open the door but he slammed it again. This time I lost my temper.

“Fine,” I said, my eyes going white. “If this is how it has to be!”

I sent three shockwaves at them one after another; they all dodged it last time so I took out insurance by sending more than one. It was the final one that hit them all and sent them flying backwards. I jumped in the car and sped off.

When we got back to the motel I was fuming. So much so my eyes wouldn’t return to normal and I was interfering with the electricity. The lights were flickering on and off, along with the TV and the radio. Lily stayed out of my way but you could see she was worried about me.

“I’m going out,” I told her.

“Where?”

“To find them.”

She knew by my tone that I wouldn’t be persuaded to stay put. I grabbed the book from under the bed.

“No doubt they will be watching, so if they see me take this they will have no reason to come here,” I told her.

“What about you?”

“Do I look like I’m in the mood to take shit?”

The door flew open and I walked out, then it slammed itself shut behind me. I got in the car and sped off back to where I’d just left them. I’d never been so angry in my life. When I pulled up I got out of the car with the book in my hand, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“Come on then, this is what you want, isn’t it?” I shouted, holding the book in the air. “What are you waiting for?”

Still there was no sign of them. Instead of gradually calming down I seemed to get more and more annoyed. I could hardly control myself. The ground started trembling beneath my feet; I threw the book back in the car then looked up at the clouds. A sudden bolt of lightning struck the ground and a stand of trees burst into flames. Deafening thunder roared through the skies. Then I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around quickly catching a reflection of myself in the car window. My eyes were shining brighter than they ever had before. I saw the four of them standing there.

“You need to stop,” the tall one said.

I turned my attention to him. He rose up and was thrown against one of the trees. He hit the ground again hard.

“Keira!” a familiar voice said. “You have to stop. You will expose us all.”

For some reason his voice made me start to relax and the ground stopped shaking. That was the first time this one had spoken.

“And the rest,” he said, pointing to the sky.

A couple of seconds later, the skies were calm again, but my eyes wouldn’t go back to normal. The tall guy was back on his feet and started walking towards us. Again the ground started to shake.

“Stay away from her!” another familiar voice told him. “It’s you that’s making her angry.”

He stopped dead in his tracks and the ground returned to normal once more.

“Leave me and my friend alone,” I told them.

“Leave this town,” the one who had said “Get the book!” he said. “We don’t want your kind here. You’re not welcome!”

“My kind?”

“Return to whichever coven you’re from and do not return. You’re reckless and you risk exposing those with real power,” he said, now almost shouting his words.

“I’m not in a coven,” I said confused.

“I suppose you’re going to try and tell us you’ve had these powers since you were born.”

“Since I was ten actually.”

“How did you get them? What did you mess with?” he demanded to know.

“Hey hang on, I didn’t mess with anything. I didn’t ask for these powers. I wish I had made the decision to have this thing inside me, but I wasn’t so lucky. I have never exposed my power and I never would. Maybe if you had taken the time to get to know me, instead of attacking me and just assuming things, you would have realized that.”

None of them spoke.

“Now just leave us alone!” I told them, my eyes returning to normal.

I opened the car door and got in. I looked at the book for a moment and decided not to pass it over. Why should I give them something that I was obviously meant to have? Instead I just drove back to the motel.

When I walked in I found Lily sitting in the chair waiting for me. I put the book down and told her everything that was said and about the spell that had been put on her.

“If we meet them again I want revenge,” she seethed, pacing up and down. “I mean it, Keira. I don’t ask you for much. Who the hell do they think they are? I haven’t done anything to them, neither have you, but you can defend yourself against them, what chance do I have?”

I laughed at her earnestness. “OK, I promise we’ll get revenge. Looks like I don’t have the choice.”

Lily grinned. “Good. But how did you find the right spell so quickly?”

“I didn’t.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I,” I said, shaking my head. “I wanted you down and awake and that’s what happened.”

“Is that normal?” she frowned

“No. Look, I don’t know how it happened but I’m glad it did.”

“So am I.”

“Lily, I swear it was Lucian’s voice I heard. He only said two sentences, probably because he knew I would recognize him. I could have sworn I heard Jake’s voice too.”

That got her attention a little more.

“But we know they’re not the ones you’re looking for,” she said.

“Maybe they know them though; Lucian said their families had always lived in Massachusetts. And he knew about Edward Putnam.”

“I don’t know what to say to you.”

“Is your laptop charged up?” I asked, getting an idea.

“Yes.”

“Good, you go on yours and look up Jake and the Culver family; I’ll look up Lucian and the Turners on mine.”

We were up most of the night looking through old records and tracing their family trees. I lost count of how many cups of coffee we both drank to keep us awake.

“Lily, I think I’ve got something,” I said, taking the laptop over to her. “Look, it says their families took over the original homes of the Cutler, Tudor, Richards and Goodie families twenty years after the witch-hunts were over.”

“Yes, so…?”

“Well, don’t you think that’s a little strange?”

“No, not really,” she said, shaking her head.

“Argh, look, it says here that for the twenty years the houses were empty. No one tried to sell them and then suddenly all these families moved in within the space of two weeks.”

“Right.”

“So houses like them wouldn’t just be left to rot.”

“So what do you think happened?”

“I…I don’t know,” I admitted, defeated.

“I think you need to get some sleep; it’s past four.”

“So do you.”

“No I’m OK. You get your head down and let me carry on for a while. Would you mind if I used the book?”

“Feel free if you think it will help. Thanks, Lily.”

“No problem I’m actually enjoying this.”

I lay down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

***

I was woken abruptly about 9 a.m. by Lily shaking me.

“I’ve found something.” she kept saying. “Come on, wake up.”

She dragged me over to the sofa and put a cup of coffee into my hands.