Choices of Fate (Fate Series) (15 page)

“To the campus in Bloomington now, miss?” The driver questioned.

“No actually, I’d like to make a stop at the public library first.”

“Very well, miss.”

Alexa spent the next few hours poring through old records looking for information about her parents. She looked at every newspaper article she could find involving fires the year that she entered the group home, but none matched what she had been told. She searched through birth records and obituaries and still came up empty. It was as if they had never existed. But if it had all been a lie and she had been abandoned, why the trust fund?

Leaving the library even more confused than when she entered, Alexa decided then and there that she wasn’t going to waste anymore of her life living in the past. For whatever reason, her parents hadn’t wanted her and there was nothing she could do about that. She was resolved to move on with her life. She was finally free to do as she pleased for the first time in her life and she was going to take advantage of the opportunity.
 

Like hell if I’ll use any of their money. They didn’t want me, I don’t want or need their money.

Strengthening in her resolve, Alexa sat up a little straighter. She had a couple of weeks before classes started to find a job. After scoring a nearly perfect score on her SATs, which she had of course taken at the compound, she had been awarded a full-ride scholarship to Indiana University, which included room and board living in the dorms. Due to her ability, she had declined to stay on campus since she would have to room with at least one other student and opted to pay for her own apartment nearby. The resident counselor at Beaumont had provided a report exempting her from the freshman requirement of living on campus.

Four years later she graduated with a 4.0 GPA, a business degree from the prestigious Kelley School of Business and a job offer in the tax department of one of the top accounting firms in the country.

✧

“So you never found any further information about your parents?” Ethan asked, pulling Alexa’s focus back to the present.

“No, I didn’t look for them after that day. I figured they didn’t want to know me, so what was the point of trying to find them. If I actually managed to locate them or learned that they had died after abandoning me, I would just have to relive the disappointment and rejection.”

Ethan stroked her arm reassuringly. “Amor, I do not believe your parents abandoned you.”

“I agree with Ethan,” Elijah stated.
 

Alexa looked back and forth between the two incredibly handsome men. “What are you talking about, are you saying my parents are alive?”
 

For whatever reason, even though she easily accepted everything that had been revealed to her so far, this information was the hardest to process. Not waiting for a reply she spoke her thoughts as they came to her. “Of course they are, if I’m really a vampire, so are they.” Alexa fought to contain the emotions that were welling up inside her.
 

“But, why, how could they just leave me all alone in that place?”

“To protect you, Alexa, from the war.” Elijah said gently.

CHAPTER 12 -
The War

“Many vampire couples, my wife and I included, have taken extreme steps to protect their children from this war. Some were placed with human families to hide until their powers emerged. Other families went into hiding, leaving the comfort and community of their vampire colonies to live in solitude. Some even enlisted the help of witches, at least those who could find a witch that was willing to consort with vampires.”

Ethan placed his hand on Alexa’s chin and gently turned her to face him. “I promise you, Amor, once you and Chloe are safe, we will find out what happened to your parents.” She nodded slowly.

After giving her a moment, Elijah continued. “There exists a very old and powerful vampire, known as Lucias. Nearly seven-hundred years ago he started a movement, demanding that members of our race rise up and take our rightful place as the dominant people of this world, with him as the ruler, naturally. He and his followers see humans as inferior beings, meant to be slaves to our kind. Of course, the majority of our people saw him as a fanatic and refused to support his cause. After all, we are all partly human and are such a small minority we fear complete annihilation if we were ever to be revealed to the humans. We are much stronger, but they outnumber us several thousand to one.”
 

“Still, despite the insurmountable odds, Lucias and his group went on a rampage, attacking and killing humans for sport and all the while searching for and capturing young vampire females to breed children that he could raise to follow him. One taste of the blood of a carrier reveals the presence of the gene. They would wipe out entire villages in a matter of hours.”

“It was during that same time that the black plague struck, wiping out millions of humans, which provided an excellent cover for the activities of Lucias’ group; however, our people were not completely immune to the disease. It was not lethal to those of our kind, but any member of our race that ingested the blood of an infected human began to change, becoming stronger and faster. However, the increased strength and speed came at a price. This is what birthed some of the myths about our kind. The infected were sensitive to sunlight and silver and required blood daily. Over time, infected members of the race developed nearly insatiable bloodlust, often attacking other members of the race in an attempt to quench their thirst. Those who were attacked also became infected.”

Alexa sat there, eyes wide as she leaned into Ethan, completely engrossed in Elijah’s recounting of the race’s history.

“It was during that time that the group now known as The Agency was formed to police our people and contain the infected. Unfortunately, despite exhaustive efforts to find a cure, it soon became obvious that the only timely solution was to terminate the diseased. Thus was born the Elite, a group of specially trained warriors brought together with the sole purpose of eliminating the infected before they destroyed us all. Nearly all of Lucias’ followers perished in those times and he remained quiet for many years. So long in fact that many seemed to forget or forgive his previous misdeeds, accepting him back into our society with open arms. So many had been lost in those dark times, it seemed we could not afford to cast any aside as we attempted to rebuild and move forward. Then close to three-hundred years ago the disappearances started.”

“Lucias?” Alexa asked as she now sat on the edge of her seat with Chloe playing happily on the floor beside her and Ethan gently stroking her back.

“Yes. Of course we did not know he was responsible in the beginning. It started off slowly, one or two at a time, spread out across the world. It took weeks to get news about the other colonies back then, so no one realized that the incidents were related. The missing were always teenagers who had recently undergone the transformation. In retrospect, it was very clever to target the newly changed who were easily influenced and whose disappearances would not raise too much suspicion.”

“Like human teenagers, our kind can be, quite temperamental during that stage of life and it was almost a tradition for them to run off from their families in an attempt to assert their independence and explore their new powers. Ethan was particularly challenging during that time,” he smirked in his son’s direction. “However, they would always turn up after a few months, maybe a year of being on their own, but this was different and they were staying gone much longer without word.”

“A year on their own? I can’t fathom letting Chloe just leave like that. Why didn’t anyone search for them?”

“Ahh, yes, well parents of our race have a bit of an advantage in that department. We can sense our descendants through the blood bond that exists. The more closely related we are, the stronger the sense. So even though these children were gone, their parents always had a general idea of where they were and that they were safe. Then one day fifty children who had not yet undergone the transformation were all taken in what turned out to be a well-coordinated and patiently planned attack.”

“The bond does something else as well. Elder members of a family can strongly influence the actions of their descendants. In fact, the bond with a very old member of the race, like Lucias, or myself can be so powerful that any direct command given cannot be disobeyed. To do so would cause unbearable pain. As you can imagine, that kind of power is easily abused. Lucias has used that bond to enforce his will and build the most lethal and loyal army imaginable.”

✧

“For the last three-hundred years our people have lived in fear. Lucias has been far less conspicuous in his quest for power, no longer openly slaying humans and there has not been a disappearance in nearly twenty years. However, there have been rumors about a new kind of soldier under Lucias’ command. Those who claim to have seen them speak of enhanced abilities, movement so quick they are difficult even for vampire eyes to track. There are whispers that they are infected, that Lucias’ has discovered a way to control the virus that plagued our kind so long ago and use it to his advantage.”

“But our people have not been idle, the Elite have spent these many years recruiting and training new members to battle Lucias’ forces when the time comes. And the Agency has implemented training programs in all of the remaining vampire colonies around the world, teaching our people to fight, to protect themselves.”

“So where is Lucias now?” Alexa inquired.

“That we do not know, which makes him all the more dangerous. He has been lurking in the shadows, waiting patiently for his opportunity. You must understand, Ethan’s only desire in leaving was to keep you safe, to let you have a normal life.” Elijah looked at his son and Alexa saw so much love in his eyes. “His mother and I realize what a leap of faith it took for him to tell us about you and Chloe. We would have remained silent, but it seems fate has intervened. I was not certain when I met you that you were the girl Ethan described as his soul mate, but I had my suspicions because of Chloe.”

At that Alexa looked up at Ethan, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes yet again. She hadn’t imagined their connection, it was real. He was real and he was here with her again.

Elijah stood and walked to the window as he continued. “When I completed your blood work I knew it had to be you. And just a few minutes later I received word about Dr. James and his practice.”

Alexa’s gaze shot to Elijah. “Dr. James, Chloe’s dentist?

“Yes. He was killed two days ago, along with several members of his staff. His clinic was burned to the ground to cover it up, but not before the Elite intercepted his posts to a dental community website about his findings in Chloe’s x-rays. Did he discuss it with you?”

“No, he didn’t get the chance. An emergency patient come in before he could view Chloe’s x-rays, but he had done an initial exam of her teeth and gums and assured me that whatever was wrong, it did not appear to be related to her teeth. She was screaming the whole time we were there, so I decided to leave. I had already been referred to your practice, so I just thought I would reschedule with him if I didn’t find answers.”

“Based on what he posted, the x-rays revealed the fangs that you saw earlier tonight. As with all of our kind, they are only visible at certain times, usually when we feed, but they sometimes present themselves in response to intense emotions. Like us, we believe our enemy has been closely monitoring the internet looking for any activity that would reveal the coming of the child from the prophecy. We cannot be certain yet, but it is very unlikely that Dr. James’ death was an accident. We believe Lucias is getting close.”

“Wait, what prophecy?” Alexa questioned.

Ethan ran his hand down his face as he sighed. “I am not sure where to start.”

Elijah placed his hand on his son’s shoulder to offer reassurance. “Start at the beginning, my son, with your mother.”

CHAPTER 13 -
The Prophecy

He took Alexa’s hand in both of his as he began. “My mother is a seer. She has visions of things that have not yet come to pass.”

“So, what, you’re saying she can see the future?”
 

“Yes. It is an unpredictable talent that she cannot entirely control. Visions often come to her randomly, but with a great deal of concentration she can focus to see a specific person or event. Her ability is strongest in relation to people close to her, mainly family. Moments after I was born, a very powerful vision completely overcame her before she was even able to hold me in her arms. She saw the end of the war. I was to father a female child with a woman who bore a unique birthmark. This birthmark.” He lightly touched the spot behind Alexa’s ear where the mark laid hidden beneath her hair. The light touch sent a small tremor through Alexa’s body. “That child would grow to become more powerful than any member of our kind to come before and would control the fate of our people.”

“And you think Chloe is this child? This is why you left us?” Alexa asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she struggled to wrap her mind around the gravity of what was happening.

Ethan glanced at his father briefly. “Yes, I left because of the prophecy, to protect you and Chloe. We do not know the outcome of the war only that her coming signals the start of open war that also ends with her. She is what Lucias is after, what he has been searching for nearly two-hundred years. He believes that whoever possesses the child can control her powers. Above all things, he craves power, to rule our people and the humans alike. And trust me when I say, if he cannot have her, he will stop at nothing to keep her from fighting against him.” Ethan stood and began to pace as he proceeded.

“I still don’t understand why you left. Why couldn’t we have gone away with you?”

“While my mother’s talent is rare, she is not the only one of our kind who is able to see the future. Lucias has at least one equally powerful seer in his employ who saw my future, my child, and he has been waiting, watching, trying to find her every day since he first heard the prophecy.”