The Childe (40 page)

Stroking his beard in deep thought Aldon said, “I agree with Harold, and in regard to telling her the rest, well, I would not advise anyone divulge that to her at this time. I know she is not in the right frame of mind to handle all of this at once. Finding out she is a
Childe
, would be detrimental right now. But, when the time is right you will have to tell her.”

“I don’t think my heart could handle telling her that. After seeing her reaction to this, I just don’t think I could do it,” Rachel replied.

“Rachel, we all must do things in this life that are difficult. You knew that one day you would have to break this news to Cat, and it must either be you or Sam that tells her,” Aldon stated. Sam squeezed Rachel’s hand as she tensed up.

“Aldon, please do this one favor for us. We need your help,” Rachel pleaded. Sam silently agreed looking at Aldon with worried eyes. Aldon went into deep thought, looking sternly at Sam and Rachel.

“Okay, I will do this for you, even though it is against my better judgment. I will tell her when the time is right,” he replied.

“Thank you Aldon,” Sam said patting Rachel’s hand while looking at the relief on his wife’s face.

“I think it’s time you saw something,” Rachel said standing and leaving the room. She returned with an old book clutched in her arms and placed it in Aldon’s lap. I found this some time ago in Cat’s room. I don’t know how much of it she has read and I have no idea where she got it from. It’s a journal of a young girl, a
Childe
, during the Cleansing.”

“Why have you waited so long to show me this?” Aldon asked looking pointedly at Sam and Rachel.

“Because I thought we would have more time. I guess I wasn’t ready to change things yet,” Sam replied.

Aldon adjusted his glasses and sat quietly scanning the journal. “Where could she have acquired this, I wonder?” he asked, the worry lines on his forehead deepening. “Wait, what’s this?” Everyone leaned forward trying to see what had caught his eye. He thumbed over the first page, which was stuck to the inside front cover of the book. Gently peeling it back he revealed a purple colored stamp. “It’s as if someone was trying to hide this,” he said pointing to it.

THE PURPLE DOOR
Gretchen Halloway
(503) 332-0001

“The Purple Door. That’s where Cat went with her teacher,” Rachel stated.

“I know of this place, it is in Wedgewick Village,” Aldon replied as he stroked his beard. “Well I will have to research further into this. This is definitely a breakthrough. Maybe this Gretchen will have some answers for us,” he said standing up and hugging Rachel. “We will meet after my trip to this establishment.”

“Thank you Aldon, for everything,” Rachel said hugging him.

“We are all in this together. Druanna and I will take our leave now. If you need us, all you need to do is pick up the phone. Just know that you two have done a wonderful job raising her. And with our help, she will be able to face anything that shall arise.” Sam nodded and readily accepted Druanna’s attempt at her version of a bear hug and kissed her on the cheek. He walked them all outside and watched from the porch as they drove away. Sam leaned against the front door, closing it, and raised his eyes toward the kitchen. Sighing, he slowly made his way over to Rachel, hoping that Aldon was right.
He has to be right. He just has to be,
he thought.

Isaac stormed through the front door and was brought up short by the sight of his father dressed, shaven, and hair combed, appearing sober.

“Hello son, what is the matter?”

“Nothing, none of your business,” he replied stomping up the stairs.

“Hannah, what is wrong with your brother?” Lucien watched as Hannah stood with her mouth open at the sight of him.

“Oh dad, you’re awake,” she said smiling happily.

“Yes, my sweet, and I plan to stay that way. I have been neglecting my duties for far too long. Now, about Isaac.”

“Well, he and Ryan kind of had a blowout today after school. You see, Ryan’s dating this girl, Cat Colvin, and it’s caused some problems to say the least.”

Lucien’s mind began to wander. Visions came to him. Fragments of them from the past.
Red hair. Female. A Childe.
He rubbed his head.
Catherine,
the name rang in his ears.

“Dad are you okay?” Hannah’s worried voice penetrated his thoughts.

“Yes, my sweet just a little headache is all. Back to the girl Isaac and Ryan are squabbling about. This Cat, is her full name Catherine?” Hannah nodded. “Does she, by any chance, have bright red hair?” he asked hesitantly.

“She has the most beautiful red hair I have ever seen, and it’s long and curly too.”

“Right, right. I must go to the Beckford’s. Tell your mom when she returns that I will be back shortly.” He bent down and kissed her forehead and walked out the front door.

Hannah stood there confused.
What was all that about?
She thought.

Ryan pulled into his driveway and turned off the engine. He sat there feeling his chest where the ring had laid. Smirking, he opened the door and made his way to the front porch. The front door was unlocked and slightly ajar. Pushing it open, he was surprised to hear his mom’s voice coming from the living room, followed by a familiar man’s voice that was not his father’s. Turning the corner he was shocked to see Lucien sitting on the yellow couch and his mom sitting in the chair beside him.

“Ryan thank goodness you’re home. Come in, Lucien wishes to speak with you.”

“Hello son. Good to see you. You must have grown a foot since I saw you last,” Lucien said standing and moving forward to shake Ryan’s hand.

“Hi Mr. Bancroft, it’s good to see you too sir, and looking so-”

“Ryan!” Christine exclaimed nervously.

“It is quite all right Christine, Ryan’s right. I look sober. I admit that I have been a very poor leader for many years now, and for this I truly apologize,” he said as he sat back down. “Please, take a seat.” Lucien motioned to them. “We need to talk. When my offspring arrived home today, Isaac, of course, was in his normal foul mood. But Hannah divulged some very interesting news that proves quite important to you and I, Ryan. She told me that you are dating a young lady by the name of Catherine. Is this correct?” He watched as Ryan nodded.

“Just a little romance, nothing serious, right Ryan?” Christine piped up, her eyes nervously watching for Lucien’s reaction.

“It is fine, really,” Lucien said reaching out and patting Christine’s leg, trying to reassure her. “But Ryan, there is something you need to know. Something that cannot leave this room. If the Parliament were to find out that Catherine is the one that they are so actively seeking, well let’s just say it will have dire consequences.”

“Why? What would the Parliament want with Cat?” Ryan asked, confusion written all over his face.

“I believe Catherine to be a…Childe. Part human and part vampire.”

“How can she be a Childe? They were all wiped out in the cleansing! And no one would be foolish enough to break a law of the Parliament now!” Christine interjected her eyes wide with shock. Lucien sighed heavily.

“We assumed no one would. But once Lisbeth began having visions of a Childe, Andrei was dispatched to inquire if I too had any such vision. During my self-inflicted illness, I indeed had fragmented visions, of which I purposely failed to divulge to Andrei. I realize now, that they were of Catherine. And after my conversation with Hannah, I believe that what I am telling you is true.” He paused and waited. “And because of this fact, Catherine could be in grave danger,” he said looking pointedly at Ryan. “What I am asking of you Ryan will not be easy, but I sense that you are very close to her. She does not know what she is, and I have a feeling soon she will be confronted with the truth. She will need you. Someone she trusts. Someone she loves. I know I am asking a lot of you, but you have the chance to right a wrong we were not able to.”

Ryan stood up and began to pace. “It all makes sense now. I’ve felt a connection to her since the first day I met her. I couldn’t read her, but I knew that she was special…and…I gave her my ring.”

“Your ring? You gave her your-”

Ryan put up his hand as his mom began to protest, “yes mom, my ring. I told you, Cat is special to me.”

“Special enough that you would protect her with your life?” Lucien asked.

“Yes.”

“But what about our secret, your secret?” Christine asked, fear and anger visible in her eyes.

“Both shall be protected Christine! We must tread softly and be more vigilant than ever. We have no choice in this matter, things have already begun that we have no control over and we must brace ourselves for what is to come,” Lucien stated firmly.

“I promise you, both of you, I will be careful. And as long as we protect her secret, we’ll all be safe,” Ryan voiced strongly even though a shiver of fear ran through him.

“Christine, you have raised a fine young man here. Yes, truly fine. You should be very proud,” Lucien said as a strained smile came across Christine’s face.

Epilogue

What Can’t Be Undone

They heard the trap door open and watched as a figure came down the tunnel. The three girls emerged from the shadows, their clothes torn and stained with blood. “Ah, my little ones, have you missed me?” Andrei chuckled. Their pale faces looked wary as he moved forward to stand in front of them. “I have some news for you. I will be leaving for Romania tonight and will be gone for a while. Due to my actions as of late, conditions above ground have become somewhat troublesome. So I have decided I want to lull the residents of Astoria into a false sense of security. By my leaving, hopefully the area will return to normal.” He paused and attempted a kind smile. “You must promise me you will lie low until my return.” The three girls nodded. “No one can know you are here, not even your fellow brethren! Am I clear?”

“Crystal clear,” Amy replied.

“Amy you are in charge. Linda still needs your help with her transition, being just newly turned and all.” Scanning back and forth, he looked the three girls sternly in the eyes, “Oh, and if you wish to not end up like the first girl, then you will adhere to all that I am telling you. You know the rules! You also know I see everything you do, and hear everything you say! Nothing gets past me! I am in your head, Understood?”
Oh, that was a good lie there Andrei, they will definitely obey you now,
he thought. “And another thing, keep an eye out for this Catherine Colvin girl! There is something odd about her. Now, let us feed!” Andrei announced, leading them further down into the tunnel system beneath Astoria. Nobody noticed Linda’s change in facial expression upon hearing Cat’s name.

Julie sat at the kitchen table with her mother. Her head was in her hands. Her mom’s face reflected the worry she felt.

“I think I made a mistake at school today. I slipped and revealed how I felt about Ryan. I noticed it in Cat’s eyes, she saw me glare at him. We still don’t know how he will play out in all of this. And soon Cat will know everything, and my
focus
will truly be tested. I only hope that I am up to it. This will be no easy task. No, it won’t. And I can’t fail, I just can’t. Not like I failed Linda,” Julie bellowed looking up, as tears filled her eyes. Claire pulled Julie close and hugged her tightly.