“I feel so bad about what happened to Nikolas, when he was a boy.” I said watching Bethany's reaction closely, as I sat down on the bed.
“Yes, as do I.” Bethany said. “It was tragic. Your parents stepped in immediately, and raised him.” Bethany explained admiringly. I was happy to see her sit down on the bench at the edge of my bed because, I wanted to talk some more.
“Does Nikolas have any brothers or sisters?” I probed a bit.
“Yes and no.” Bethany said, and then quickly clarified once seeing my puzzled expression.
She stood up, and walked toward the balcony. “Nikolas is not the first born. He is the second in line after a still born brother was birthed. Nikolas possesses exceptional capabilities as I, but we are both not as powerful as you and my brother are. We are second in the bloodline, therefore Nikolas is my equal.” Bethany further explained. Her eyes were distracted as she turned away from me and gazed into the night sky through the French doors, leading out to the balcony.
“I’m happy that you and Nikolas are together.” I commented, and smiled when Bethany turned to look at me. She smiled too. Good, we were in a good place again.
“It was very difficult keeping it from you, but we had to. I wanted to tell you the truth about Nikolas and I, many times.” Bethany admitted.
“That's ok. Really, I get it.” I nodded.
“Would you like me to turn one or two out for you?” Bethany half yawned while motioning to the numerous lamps.
“Um...no, I like the light.” I said. She must have thought that I was afraid of the dark. My smile gave Bethany the indication that I would be alright for my first night sleeping in an unfamiliar bed, with demons lurking just outside my windows, waiting for the first opportunity that I be left alone. I’d better stop, or I’ll never get any sleep.
“Alright, sleep well.” Bethany said, and gave me a hug.
“Wait.” I had to ask one more. “Nikolas drinks so much. How is it that he doesn’t get drunk?”
“Nikolas is a child of Dionysus. Wine and alcohol, in general, have a different effect on him then it does on others. It doesn’t affect him the way it does satyrs. Those beasts stay drunk and go wild, becoming obnoxious and dancing around like fools. Drinking makes Nikolas wiser. He is as astute as his ancestor, Chiron, a teacher and a son of the Titan, Cronus.”
“Zeus’ father, right?”
“Correct.”
“That’s incredible,” I said.
“Indeed. Our ancestry is to be cherished and honored. We must do right by those who came before us.”
“My powers, they came back that night in the storm, didn’t they?” I needed to know the truth about that night. Surprisingly, Bethany didn’t look shocked by the change in direction of the conversation. She actually looked relieved.
“Yes, in a way it did. You are made up of immeasurable energy. It is the strongest kind. But I do wonder what provoked it.”
“There hadn’t been any lightning to go with the thunder that night. I noticed this because the sky stayed black, and never lit up with lightning as it usually would.
I’d been running to my bus stop when I noticed the bus nearing my stop. Then I saw this shadow of a man, well I thought it was a man, but as I got a better look, it appeared monstrous. I was scared out of my mind. The thing lunged at me, and that’s when the crackling lightning bolts emerged out of my eyes, ears, fingers, chest, and hair. The shadow thing disappeared as soon as it saw the light. So, you knew what happened to me all along, didn’t you?”
“I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure.” Bethany admitted, in a solemn tone.
“It would’ve been nice to have had someone to talk to about it, Bethany. I suffered for two whole weeks with that truth.”
“I’m sorry Delia, but I couldn’t tell you the truth.”
“Was it the Apolluon?”
“Yes, and somehow you sensed the danger you were in, and you reacted. I’m not surprised. I’m thankful.”
“Me too, I guess.” I sighed deeply, and so did she.
“Goodnight, Delia.”
“’Night, Beth.”
Just as Bethany smiled and left the room, Evan walked in. I was surprised by his presence, his beauty and his… everything. With his eyes never leaving mine, his hands behind his back, and his back against the doors, he shut them both. My right hand instantaneously flew up to my medallion and it seemed to calm me with its iciness. Evan smiled slightly and appeared nervous. I couldn't get past how incredibly gorgeous this boy was. He was still fully dressed in his suit. I became aware of myself right then. I quickly looked down at myself, and realized that I was only wearing my sheer petticoat.
To my chagrin, the slip was practically transparent. He was doing his best to keep his eyes on my face. All I wanted to do was disappear. Then unexpectedly, a ripple of laughter filled the room.
“Well, I see that some of your powers have returned.” Evan chuckled some more, nodding with an ear to ear smile on his face. His voice was deep, but just above a whisper. “I suppose I can speak to you without seeing you.” He continued chuckling lightly.
“What?” I asked, totally bemused.
“You've rendered yourself invisible, sweetheart.”
I looked down at hands, and they were visible, sort of see through, like a thin transparent veil. Even the necklace and medallion were as clear as a piece of crystal. This was amazing!
“Am I really invisible?” I asked, astonished. I quivered as I let out a nervous giggle. The thought of disappearing had just occurred to me in my mind, and now I was invisible. I’d been so embarrassed with the thought of Evan seeing me in this transparent slip that I willed myself invisible? But now I felt like I was being rude.
My hands were fleshed out again. Evan looked away as I reappeared. A true gentleman, I thought. I wondered if he’d ever seen me naked before.
I didn’t want to know the answer. I hoped that my innocence was preserved in this time as it had been in the future. I wasn’t ready or planning on changing that anytime soon. I quickly darted behind the dressing screen and threw on my silk robe. All the while, he spoke with his back to me while looking at the painting on my wall, which was a few inches from the double doors.
“I'm so sorry. I ... uh. It’s late, and I shouldn't have come at this time. I promise not to take up much more of your time. I would like to speak with you for a moment if I may?” He asked in the softest, sweetest voice.
“It's ok. You can turn around” I whispered, as I came out from behind the screen. He seemed to hesitate for a moment then slowly turned to face me, and then gazed into my eyes. Suddenly, I felt the strange desire to touch him, to feel his flawless tanned skin beneath my fingertips, but I dared not, still uncertain of what I felt or how I felt for him. I had to admit, although puzzled, I knew that I was emotionally connected to him. I wondered if he was aware of the emotional tie I felt for him, right now. He could probably detect my nervousness and sense my attraction to him. His powers had to give him that advantage. He took one step closer then stopped. We were still at least two feet apart.
“Please forgive me for what you watched tonight, what you saw Nikolas and I do. Without your memory restored, I know that you can’t comprehend what we are faced with, and how we choose to handle it. It was wrong to allow you to see any of it. I – I’m not a monster,” he said, and then paused and cleared his throat.
“You’re a protector,” I said. After talking with Bethany, I wanted to put him at ease.
“Cordelia, I would never hurt anyone or anything unless my safety or the safety of others was compromised.” He spoke softly, and terribly honest as he stared into my eyes. The whole time he spoke he never took his eyes off of my face. He was beginning to have a strange effect on me.
“I understand.” I said, nodding.
“I owe you an apology for my behavior tonight, after dinner. It was a tantrum and it was childish and unfair to you; actually to everyone at the table. I was angry with my father. I’m sorry. I truly hope that you can find a way to forgive me.” Evan paused. His concern for my feelings for him, and how I perceived him, struck me to my core. He then said in a whisper, “I want you to remember who I am, so badly.”
I felt sorry for him and myself. No teenager should have the weight of defending the world of evil on his or her shoulders. It was an incredulous situation to fathom, and quickly becoming my reality. I thought about Victor’s visit earlier, his threatening words, and what Evan had done to avenge me.
He was a protector, mine.
“Evan.” I spoke his name, and he seemed to hold his breath as he waited to hear what I might have to say. “I don't understand everything. I mean everything that is expected of me, and you, and us, but I do know that you are trying, and doing your best to safeguard me; to defend us all. For that, I thank you.” Phew. My voice was a little shaky, but I got it all out.
Evan held my gaze, and took another step closer. The space between us could easily be erased, but Evan was a gentleman, and kept his eyes on mine the entire time. He took my hand in his and raised it to his lips. He closed his eyes as a kiss as soft as a breeze touched the skin on the back of my hand. He opened his eyes and looked into mine again, then his eyes moved from mine to my lips, back to my eyes, and then back to my lips again but he didn't kiss me.
I knew that he wanted to – desperately. I couldn't believe how much I wanted him too. Where were these emotions stemming from? I barely knew this boy, and I didn’t want to feel this way for him, not now, not this soon, but I couldn’t stop it. The feelings were stirring up from somewhere deep within me. I didn’t want them to surface, and I think he realized what was going on. Was it part of my memory returning? It had to be. Feeling didn’t just materialize that quickly.
“Sweet dreams.” Evan whispered, letting go of my hand. Then he spun around, hastily, and walked out of my room, shutting the doors behind him, without ever looking back.
It was as if he knew something might’ve happened if he had stayed in here any longer – something that he was aware that I wasn’t prepared for, but something he desired from the depths of his soul to initiate. The way I felt just now with him, I’d never felt with anyone before in my life. It had to be the memory, and all the emotions surfacing from within me had to be the feelings that had been cached. I was just not a believer I the whole ‘love at first sight’ theory.
I walked over to my double doors, and listened to his footsteps descend down the wide hallway. Then I heard the doors to his bedroom snap shut.
I stood there with my back glued to the double doors, dazed by his touch. I stood there like that for a while rubbing the back of my hand where his lips had graced.
Thirteen
Hiding Places
Through the French doors leading out to the balcony, the full moon gleamed like a luminous beacon calling to all that was wild and ravenous tonight. The howls seemed to originate from the forest. What lurked in the dark unlit corners of the night clouded my mind. Although this night seemed calm and peaceful, creatures with sharp fangs that had a taste for blood, probably the same ones from my dream or memory – as Evan said, and the ones who were shadows by day, needed to feed.
The air was dry, but stifling as usual with barely any humidity. The illuminating moonlight streamed across the ridged and vast mountains, and made its way over to the garden. The road beyond the garden was pitch–black. I could barely make out any light from the gaslights in town below.
Nonetheless, I decided to stick to my plan. In haste, I grabbed my dress, which Bethany had flung over the top of the dressing screen, and struggled back into it. I thought it best to skip the corset and bustle all together, I decided; getting into them would only slow me down.
I pressed my ear to my bedroom doors. Not a sound. I cracked them ever so slowly, and peered out, like a sneaky mouse sniffing for cheese, into the desolate hallway. The light from my room was the only light casting my shadow on the second landing. After a short prayer and a deep breath, I stepped out into the hallway, along with an unlit oil lamp, and closed my doors behind me, as softly as I possibly could. My attempt to silently tip toe down the hall was abruptly interrupted by a sharp creaky cry from a spot on the wood floor that I had yet to be familiar with. I made a mental note of the spot, and crept forward. I was three – quarters of the way down the lengthy staircase when I heard voices.
Crap!
It sounded like Thaddeus and a man with a heavy Paiute accent. I was annoyed with the fact that Thaddeus was still up and entertaining after he had said he was turning in, over an hour ago. He was old, hundreds of years old according to my calculations, and should be resting, and not up all night – chatting. I had to make a decision at that very moment. It was a do or die moment.
I crept down the stairs to the foyer, and cursed to myself as the voices grew louder. There was a faint light streaming out from the parlor into the foyer, so I walked close to the opposite wall where it was shadowy. I cracked the front door just a few inches wide enough to squeeze my slim frame through the opening. Had I been wearing that awkwardly shaped bustle, I would’ve had to open the door a lot wider. That would have allowed the full moon’s light to spill further into the foyer, which may have caught someone’s attention, and I would’ve been busted.
I held my breath and quietly closed the front door behind me. The street was a bit of a distance away from the front doors due to the large front grounds. I would have to cross the dusty dirt path where the horse and buggy was parked, and then cross the front garden to get to the towering, ornate entrance gates. Once I was across the garden, I surveyed the street while still within the property. The street was barren. I tried to look past the Bergnum estate, the huge Victorian styled mansion next door, if you could consider nearly half a block away being next door. It was hard to make out very much because it had become darker since I had stood on my veranda just minutes ago.
The Bergnum property stood directly across the street from the mansion I had supposedly grown up, which was my destination. I slipped out the gates and quickly headed in the direction of the Bergnum mansion, constantly checking over my shoulder to see if anyone or anything was following me.