Blood and Snow 11: Resolved to Rule (2 page)

When they finished, my mother addressed them.

“Better?”

“Yes,” Cindy said, giving me a sidelong look.

“Good.” She rose, and eyed her bodyguards. They’d been standing against a wall, out of the way. “Will the two of you escort these children to their… rooms. They should get some rest.”

The bodyguards moved forward.

Gabe, Dorian, Cindy, and I began to follow. I wasn’t tired and had no desire to relax. I wanted to stay with my mom. There was a lot I wanted to discuss. But, I didn’t know how to voice my wishes. I was still shocked that she was alive, and standing feet away.

My mother grasped me by the elbow. “Can we talk? Just the two of us?” Her voice was light, soft.

Dorian, and the others turned back, waiting for my answer. I shrugged. “Sure,” I said, my shaky words betraying my nervousness.

Cindy shot me a look, one that said, “If you need me, I’ll stay, or change her into a leprechaun.”

At the idea, I smirked. “I’ll catch up with you guys in a while.”

Cindy nodded, and they followed the guards from the room. After several moments, my mother said, “Let’s go somewhere with a bit more privacy.” She walked to the living room, and made her way over to the fireplace. At the touch of a button, it sprang to life. She crossed her arms.

It was a strange feeling—watching her, being near her. I wanted her to hug me, but I was scared to have her hug me.

She was focused on the flames when she began talking. “I knew as soon as you were Marked, as soon as you showed me the spot on your shoulder, that our lives would never be the same. From the day you were born you were special. Even as a baby you were this little black-haired, blue-eyed force to be reckoned with.” She paused. And I waited, watching her in awe.

My mother was alive.

When she spoke again, her voice shook with emotion. “Every day, every second, of every minute, I thought about you. Wondered how you were growing, if you were happy.” She sniffed, and suddenly turned. “Are you happy?”

I winced, hesitant to reply. A part of me wanted to comfort her, ease the agony evident in her eyes. But memories flooded through my mind. Of all the times I needed her. From knee scrapes, to birthday parties, to the time I got my period, and Vivianne laughed, telling me to suck it up.

Then there was everything else. I was bitten, and transformed into something new, irreverent, and wholly fantastical. First a revenant—not quite human, not quite vampire—to what I was now. A vampire given the task to restore balance to all magical creatures.

In the past thirteen years I experienced moments of happiness. I’d laughed, enjoyed time with friends. Fallen in love.

But there’d been plenty of miserable times as well. Most of them normal teenage girl problems. Human problems. Like, whether or not I’d trip up the stairs. Would I ever get a first kiss, pass Biology, or go to college? I still didn’t know how to drive—not really. And what about when I needed to talk to her about my craving for boys, and blood… and kissing…

Or just needed my mom because I was having a horrible day. It was one thing when I thought she died. Something else entirely that she’d
chosen
to stay away. 

Living in this… place. Hiding. When I needed a mother. She’d run.

Was I happy?

My mother reached out a tentative hand, but I pulled away.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Snow.” She turned back to the flames. “If I could have stayed, I would have. I swear. I know what I’ve missed.”

Finally, I found my voice. “Do you? Really?” I shook my head, swallowing back my sadness. “How did leaving, pretending to be dead, help me in any way?” The words tumbled out, filled with aching sadness. “I-I needed you. In so many ways. You leaving didn’t stop Chris—my Hunter from biting me. It didn’t stop my need for human blood. All your absence did was tear a hole in my heart. All you did was leave me alone, afraid all the time. I didn’t have anyone. Dad and Vivianne started leaving me alone when I was thirteen, and not just for a few days, but for weeks. If it hadn’t been for Professor Pops… I mean Mr. Henry and his sons, I would’ve died from loneliness. So, tell me how it helped? Tell me why leaving was so noble. Because I don’t buy it.” I breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling rapidly. Tears were streaming down my face, and I let them. My mother was wrong to leave. I knew it. And I wanted her to know it.  

Chapter 4

“I get that, Snow. I do. You’re loneliness has weighed heavily on my heart since the day I left. But look at you?” Her eyes sparkled with awe. “You’re magnificent. A leader. A creature destined to save us all.”

I let out a noise somewhere between a snort and a sob. I wiped at my tears, wishing they’d stop. “How can you say that? I’m a wreck.” But I had to admit her words made me feel better.

My mother wiped my cheek with the back of her hand. “Maybe you are a bit of a wreck, but aren’t we all? Isn’t that what life is about? The mess.”

My hands trembled. I listened to her words, heard the gentleness of her voice, and all it did was anger me more. How could she console, or tell me anything? She didn’t have the right.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

She rolled her shoulders. “Do you want to sit?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Fine.” She crossed her arms. “Abernathy told you the name of this city, correct?”

“Yes,” I answered, and cleared my throat.

“Did he tell you what the city’s purpose is? Why we’re here. Under a million tons of water, in a totally different realm.”

“No,” I said, gently. I dreaded something big was coming, something I didn’t want to hear, but couldn’t stop.

My mother nodded. “It’s here so Sharra—the Vampire Queen can’t find us. It was built to protect those who stand against her.” In a lower voice, she went on. “It’s also here to protect you.”

My hands shook. I didn’t know what to say. I knew what I wanted to
do
. Yell. Tell her she was mistaken. A liar. A coward.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit?” She indicated a couch.

I got the feeling she carried a whole lot more than the strange-looking gun on her back, so I agreed.

Once we sat, she continued, “When Silindra died Abernathy knew right away because Ryden brought him the necklace, the Seal of Gabriel. The others found out rather quickly. Titan. Oberon. But they believed in Sharra’s words, intrigued by her attitudes for a new world, one where we were all the same. That the lion and the lamb could lie down together, and be friends.” She shook her head, disgusted. “The problem with that thinking is that a lion is a lion—a predator who must hunt to survive. And the lamb is a lamb—the hunted. Can the lamb eat the lion?” she asked, and immediately answered herself. “Of course not. But Sharra spoke of growth, of progress. Saying that a unicorn could be a unicorn, but he could also be a horse. A fairy could be a fairy, but she could also be a butterfly. And so on. Evolutionary advancement was the term she used often.

“It wasn’t until many of the magical creatures were nearly extinct, and became void of magic, that they began to realize Sharra’s plan wasn’t one of peace and friendship, but of power. Total domination. She didn’t want any of the other creatures to have any. She wanted it all.”

“I get it,” I said. Silindra talked to Abernathy and Devoran about such things. That she believed Sharra wanted all the power. She’d been right.

My mother continued, “Devoran understood her plans long before anyone else. He kept his people as far away from her as possible. But when her lies and deceit started to seep into his kingdom, he was frantic, and with the help of Abernathy, they built the realm of Mizu, and this city.”

My eyes grew big, and I realized Abernathy wasn’t lazy at all. His words came back to me…
“The answer is the same for all questions. Magic. I have it and I know how to use it.”
I was beginning to realize magic was a whole lot more than words and spells. And I wondered how witches were created. They didn’t exist during Sharra and Silindra’s time. At least they hadn’t possessed one of the seven magics. Witches used Abernathy’s magic. Obviously. Cindy had his spell book. But how did that all come to be? How was the first witch created? Random questions that I would have to save for another day. I wondered if Cindy knew the answers. I hoped so.

“Snow,” Arial prodded, her hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it away. “So what does this place have to do with me? Or you, for that matter?”

She licked her lips, a very human thing to do, and I caught myself staring at her, checking to see if she had any hint of elf in her. Her frame was thin, willowy, like the elves, but that’s where the similarities ended. Her skin was the wrong color, as was her hair. The way she spoke did remind me of someone. It’d been while I spent time with Silindra.

“What’s wrong,” she asked, studying me intently.

And I remembered the mannerisms, the particular way she had of speaking. “You’re Devoran’s daughter.”

“Yes,” she breathed, a look of amazement splayed across her features. “Which means you are his granddaughter.” My mother gazed at me in earnest. “Do you know what Sharra would give to have your lineage as her own?”

I shrugged. “I guess. Which is why I don’t get what you mean about this city being built to protect me. If what you say is true, why didn’t you bring me with you?” I didn’t bother to tell her that Sharra had selected another as her Chosen, and that Sharra had in fact tried to kill me, but the Seal wouldn’t allow it. Instead, images of what life would’ve been like living here with my mother pummeled my mind. I could’ve helped her. At least spent my life with her.

And I wouldn’t have been bitten.

Would that be a good thing? If you hadn’t been bitten, you never would’ve met Christopher, my inner voice quipped.

Maybe not. And I’d fallen in love with my Hunter.

If I could go back in time, which would I choose? My mother, or a life with the seven amazing brothers and Professor Pops? A life without Cindy?

An eerie tension coursed through my body.

I shouldn’t have to choose, I thought angrily.

My mother sighed, her shoulders turned in. “The city isn’t to protect you from those out in the world, but to keep those who would kill you, in.”

It was as though a light bulb clicked on in my head. Bright rays of light ignited my unanswered questions and memories. The day I ran Track with Christopher. It’d been raining. And I was trying to catch up with Christopher. Then I’d felt a prick in the back of my legs, and they’d gone numb. Christopher said I was poisoned. And he told me there were those who wanted me dead. Did he know about Mizu?

Of course he does, I thought.

She must’ve read the confused expression on my face. She elaborated. “Specifically, my father swore he would kill you if I didn’t leave you and return.” She sniffled, and I watched her eyes fill with tears. “He said he would kill you to punish me.”

I clasped my hands together, hoping to alleviate some of my irritation. So Devoran was behind the attack. “He tried to have me killed anyway,” I said through clenched teeth.

She shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t.” But her words didn’t sound very convincing. They sounded hollow, and I sensed she knew as well as I did that she was lying to herself.

And why would Devoran be honest with her? I thought of the stories Abernathy shared, about my mother’s parents rejecting her. If they treated her badly before, why would they change now?

They wouldn’t, my inner voiced huffed.

In a whisper, I asked, “Abernathy helped you escape your family. Why would he build a city meant to imprison you, and keep us apart?” The dragon seemed much to good for that.

Really though, what do I know about anything, I thought, irritated.

“Abernathy believed the city was built as a safe haven for magical creatures—those who didn’t want to remain under Sharra’s rule. He didn’t know Devoran threatened me, or intended to kill you, until much, much later. Well, thirteen years ago.”

I remembered the way Devoran was with Envy. How upset he was at how poorly her family treated her. I couldn’t imagine that elf was Ariel’s father. It didn’t seem possible. “There was this unicorn. Her name was Envy. Devoran was so kind to her,” I said slowly.

She nodded. “He brings up that story all the time, about how he’s so empathetic, but the truth is, he’s only accepting with other people’s problems. If anything in his own life is imperfect, then he wants nothing to do with it.”

“Why did he want you to come back then?” Her eyes were hooded, like she didn’t want me to see something in them. “Mom?” I asked.

In a voice I barely heard, she said, “I’m bait.”

“Bait?”

“Yes.” She brushed her hands down the front of her pants, wiping away at something nonexistent. “Snow. I’m so sorry, but the truth is my father wants you here so he can use you to help him destroy the Vampire Queen. He wants to rule all magical creatures. He craves power just as badly, if not more, than Sharra. And he knew someday you’d come… for me.”

I gulped down my fury. What was it about individuals and power? Once they’re given a little, they crave more. A lot more. Some is never enough. I exhaled heavily. “It seems that if you live long enough, you become evil. Right?” I stood, and walked over to the fire. Did Abernathy want me killed? Is that why he brought me here? Obviously my mother was afraid, and wouldn’t be any help. “I’ve had enough. I’m tired.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll take you to your room.”

“Oh, I’m not staying. I’m getting my friends, and we’re leaving.” I went to the door. But my mother grabbed my arm.

“He won’t let you. Now you’re here, my father will stop at nothing to make you do what he wants.”

I twisted out of her grasp. “Devoran has no say in the matter. I’ll leave when I want. I’m not a pawn. I won’t be doing his bidding any more than I intend to do Sharra’s.” The door released, and I strode in. “I’m disappointed in you, mother. You’re as big a coward as dad.”

I wondered what that made me. If I was the product of my parents, and my upbringing, then did that mean I was a coward too? My thoughts turned to my stepmother. The way she’d always been such a bitch. In her way it seemed she might’ve helped me more than I realized.