Bloodlines (8 page)

I shook my head and looked around the little church. It wasn’t very big and the walls were just painted cream. It didn’t even have the stained-glass windows you expected to see in a church either, only a few small square ones with wooden shutters. There were about ten double rows of seats, each with Bibles on them ready for prayers. There was no decoration of any sort apart from one statue of Jesus, which looked new.

Tyler sat down at the back while I walked towards the altar. When I got about six feet from it the temperature dropped dramatically. So much so that when I was breathing I could see steam coming from my mouth. I stopped walking and looked around but I couldn’t see anything or anyone other than Tyler, who was now on his feet also looking around. I started walking forward again but this time a gust of wind came at me. It was so strong I stumbled backwards a few feet. Tyler came behind me.

“What’s going on?” I asked him.

“I have no idea.”

He took my hand and we both tried to walk forward, but again the wind came and stopped us.

“Maybe it’s me,” I told him. “You try without me.”

I stepped back a bit and Tyler walked up to the altar without difficulty.

“Now come to me,” he said, holding his hands out, not understanding what was happening.

I took a deep breath and walked forward again, but I got no further than last time. This time the wind blew me so hard I fell into the seats and smacked my shoulder on the wooden backrest. It hurt like hell and I got really annoyed so my eyes changed and I got ready for a fight. I turned around quickly but was thrown against the wall near the entrance, and then I hit the floor hard. Tyler’s eyes turned as he ran over to me. I was livid. I jumped up and Tyler grabbed my arm, I shrugged him off and walked towards the altar again. When I felt the wind come at me again I threw wind back at it and continued walking forward.

“Keira, look,” Tyler shouted, pointing to the statue. “The eyes are bleeding.”

“What?” I asked in shock. I turned to look at them and he was right. I stopped for a moment then started to walk backwards, towards him. The further I got from the altar the more the wind died down. Once I was near the entrance the statue ceased to cry.

“I think we need to leave,” he said, grabbing my hand again.

“I think you’re right,” I agreed, letting him drag me out.

When we got outside the others knew by our faces that something had happened. Tyler sat me down on the wall and checked me over to make sure I wasn’t hurt from the collision with the pews and wall. The others crowded around but he told them to back off until he was one hundred percent happy that I was OK.

“What the hell happened?” Lucian finally got to ask.

“I don’t know.” I told him, clueless.

Tyler filled them in on the events while I sat staring at the church.

“And you’re sure there was nothing there?” Jake said.

“We’re sure,” I told them.

“I don’t understand why the statue was bleeding,” Tyler said, sitting next to me.

“No, neither do I,” Lucian and Jake said at the same time.

“Maybe I’m evil,” I said. “Maybe that’s why my eyes go white and yours go black; maybe there’s more to me than just this power.”

“Evil!” Lily shot. “Don’t be so stupid, Keira, you’ve never been an evil person. All you have ever done is help people, so get that thought out of your head now.”

“I don’t want to be thrown out of a church or be shunned,” I said sadly. “I’ve not done anything to any church or religion and I never would. So why am I not allowed in there?”

“It might not be all churches; maybe it’s just this one,” Jake added. “Are you a religious person?”

“No, I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I want to be shunned.”

“We’ll go to the other one soon and see what happens there, OK?” Lucian said to me.

“OK,” I nodded.

“Come on, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry,” Tyler said, standing me up and putting his arm around my shoulders.

Everyone was getting hungry and by the time we got back to the village center it would be about five o’clock. This time we all walked together and Tyler kept his arm around me all the way back. None of us really spoke; when anyone did it was to check that I was OK. To cut out half an hour’s extra walking we went back the way we came, which really didn’t please Lily, but I just wanted to get back to the motel, get something to eat and get in the shower. When we got back to the village we all swapped phone numbers. Later we would be driving to Lucian’s.

When we got back to the motel I just flopped on the bed.

“Are you OK?” Lily asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just think this place is getting to me.”

“You’ve had a lot to take in.”

“I wish I hadn’t been so ignorant growing up and actually asked questions. Maybe everything would be different; I might have known the guys for years.”

“Things happen for a reason, Keira; it wasn’t time for you to meet them until now otherwise you would have.”

“I don’t know what to make of anything and what happened in the church…”

“Scared you?” she interrupted.

“No, upset me.”

“Does anything scare you?”

“Not really…spiders, but they don’t scare me; I just don’t like ‘em,” I said, laughing and going shivery.

“I’m being serious,” she said, though she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

“So am I. I mean, why the hell do they need eight legs? I’m bigger than them and manage perfectly fine on two, thank you. They are just greedy, horrible, hairy, eight-legged freaks,” I said matter-of-factly. “I swear they look at you out of their God-knows-how-many eyes and plot your demise.”

“Sometimes you worry me,” she laughed.

“Listen, I’m going to get in the shower. Do you feel like throwing something in the oven, then let me finish it off while you get showered?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I got in the shower while Lily started dinner. I closed my eyes and let the water run over my face while I tried to clear my head. Then I got dressed and swapped places with Lily. Once we had eaten I rang Lucian to check we were OK to go over. He told me everyone was there waiting for us, I grabbed the book and we set off.

Chapter 7

Messages

We got to Lucian’s just after seven. Danny was there now and Evelyn was sitting with them.

“Hello, girls,” she smiled.

“Hello. How is your husband?” I asked.

“There’s no change I’m afraid,” she said sadly. “Thank you for asking.”

“Do you know what it is?” Lily asked.

“Not for certain. He started with signs of a cold but now it’s like a very bad case of flu.”

“He’ll be OK,” I reassured her.

“I’m sure he will; he just needs to rest,” she said, standing. “Now, I’ll leave you to it, but, Keira, I would like you to come and see me tomorrow morning. If you would like to, of course – it would be nice to get to know you.”

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

“Great,” she smiled warmly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She left the room.

We all sat down while Lucian poured us a glass of wine.

“So where do you want to start tonight then?” Jake asked me.

“I don’t know.”

“OK, well let’s start from the beginning,” Lucian said, sitting down. “Our families were some of the first to settle in Salem Village. They were normal, everyday people back then, none of them had power. I bet they didn’t know it even existed. Anyway, they became farmers and prospered; they worked together to make sure none of their businesses would fail. Their eldest sons became best friends and were inseparable…”

“You mean John, William, Edward, Arthur and Harry?” I asked.

“Yes, they worked together, they went to church together, everything…” Tyler continued. “When the pastor was reading his sermons they all paid particular attention to what he said about demons. This was a good few years before the witch-hunts began. At first they all thought it was just they who were interested and didn’t mention it to the others. But when John happened to get his hands on a book about witchcraft and conjuring, the others got excited. That’s when they confessed.”

“Where did he get it from?” Lily asked.

“Nobody knows,” Jake said.

Whenever Lily asked a question he was nearly always the one who answered her.

“Anyway they did something a few times and then when they were eighteen something happened and they got this power. Sorry to be so vague but nobody really knows. They didn’t go into details with their wives once they were married; they just said it was something they had been given and that it would go to the first-born son in each generation. They said they would get them when they were ten and they would get stronger and stronger as they reached eighteen. Then when they turned eighteen they would be at full power, they would instantly know how to use it, and that was it. Then he told his daughter, Ann, so that she wouldn’t get scared if she saw her dad or brother doing magic.”

“The only reason they told their wives and children in the first place was because of the witch-hunts,” Lucian said. “They knew it was getting dangerous and that they might not survive it.”

“How did they know they wouldn’t survive?” I asked.

“It’s like we told you before – there was a lot of jealousy back then and our families were wealthy, so they knew there was a high risk of their being accused.”

“They weren’t psychic or anything,” Tyler said. “They just knew what people were like. So they made sure their wives would be able to warn their sons and tell them to keep it secret.”

“I’m going for a cig,” Danny said getting up. He was clearly agitated.

“I thought you quit,” Jake said.

“I did!” he replied and walked out the front door.

“I think I may have some answers for you guys now,” I told them. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

I grabbed my car keys and walked outside. Danny was sitting on the steps leading to the front door. I ignored him, went to the car and grabbed the book. I could see him out of the corner of my eye; he was watching me, but not with the normal nasty look on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something but kept stopping himself. When I turned around he looked down. I could see the others watching out the window, probably in case something kicked off. I walked back towards the house but stopped a couple of steps down from where he was sitting. He looked up at me, but there was no nastiness in his eyes.

“I’ve read some of this,” I said nicely, patting the book. “I think it might cure everyone’s curiosity about what happened on the night our ancestors got their power. Do you want me to wait until you have finished your cigarette so you can hear?”

“Do you smoke?” he asked.

“Occasionally.”

He held the pack out and offered me a cigarette. I took it, leaned forward while he lit it for me and then sat down next to him. He turned to look at me.

“I hope you’ve not poisoned this,” I smirked

“No,” he said, smiling and shaking his head.

“You know, Danny, if you actually gave me a chance you would see I wasn’t a bad person.”

“I know that, and I’m not as big of an ass as you think I am.”

“I don’t think you’re an ass…well, maybe a little bit of one…but I understand that you were protecting your friends. You didn’t know who I was or what I was…”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have been so cold with you.”

“Maybe we should just start again?” I suggested.

“I’d like that.”

I stood up and held my hand out in front of me.

“Hi, my name’s Keira and I’m the fifth bloodline,” I grinned.

“I’m Danny, one of the other four, but I could have sworn your name was Cinderella,” he said, grinning back and shaking my hand.

“God, no, who told you that?”

We both laughed. We finished our cigarettes and went inside.

“About time you two made up,” Jake said.

“Is that the book?” Tyler asked with wide eyes.

“The one and only,” I told him, sitting down and opening it. “Now it’s my turn to tell the story.”

They all got comfy and ready to hear what I had to say.

“OK, John and the others started the coven when they were seventeen. They would go out late at night into the countryside where nobody would see them. They took the book that John found and started to follow the instructions in it to conjure spirits. Nothing happened for months, even though they did everything the book said word for word. They started to get disheartened and were ready to give up. They arranged a meeting for one final go, but before they could try to conjure anything it found them…”

I was enjoying this, telling a story, watching the wonder and anticipation on the faces strained toward me. “They were standing around a small fire when they were surrounded by a glowing mist. It circled them, the glow getting brighter and brighter until it hurt their eyes to look at it. Then it started to sink into their skin. They described the pain they felt as though they were being whipped and burned mercilessly. They woke up the next morning in the same place they had seen the mist. They all felt different. They all knew they had a power inside them but they didn’t know who or what had given it to them. They also instantly knew how to use it, as though they had been given lessons. Yet they had no memory of anything other than the mist and the pain. They knew it would be in their blood as long as they lived and passed down through their families, yet they didn’t understand why they knew this…”

“So they never knew what gave them this power,” Lucian asked.

“As far as I know, but I’ve only read the first few pages.”

“Can I ask a question?” Lily said.

“Yes,” Jake answered.

“Just going back to something you said when we first came here. You said Ann Putnam made accusations about people being involved with witchcraft.”

“Yes.”

“But if her father had magic and power in him, why would she do that?”

“We think she did it to protect her family. Once the other girls in the village had shown signs of being affected by witchcraft, people quickly started to accuse people. We think she thought if she made out she was affected by it too, then her family would be safe.”