“Don’t get me wrong, but if you’re going to assign a Protector
to an orphaned child, wouldn’t you want this person to be younger, perhaps more
capable?”
“The older you get, the stronger your magical abilities get,
Leah,” Brandon said.
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Is he the only male Enchanter you could detect?” Brandon
asked Leon.
“Yes.”
“So, aside from this elder, I’m the only one left?”
“Why does that surprise you, my friend?” Dmitri walked
toward Brandon and placed on pale hand over his left shoulder. “You knew this
was a very real possibility.”
“I know, but I hadn’t given up that my kind had some hope
yet,” Brandon replied regretfully. “I fear what the soul devourers will do if I
fail my people.”
“You won’t. This girl will accept you, she has to. Besides,
you’re not alone in this battle,” Dmitri reassured him. “My lot may not be
helpful, and truth of the matter is that most vampires lose their humanity
after a while, which is why some turn into murderous creatures. But I know who
I am and you know who you are, and together we can beat these fiends.”
It sounded to me like Dmitri had a personal interest when it
came to this Enchanter situation, which forced me to wonder what his real
motives were. Though he did not appear threatening, I was somewhat skeptical
about him.
“Thank you, Dmitri.” Brandon rose swiftly from the couch.
“But first things is first. I have to go talk to Nelson Porter because he knows
something I ought to know to. My parents were on their way to speak to him when
they suffered the accident that took their lives, and I have to find out what
he was going to say to them.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks, I feel like I’m going to need it.”
****
Brandon and I made it to the address on the list Dmitri had provided
us with, about twenty minutes after we left The Blue Flame restaurant. As it
turns out, the house this mysterious man was living in was not as close by as I
had originally thought, and we ended up traveling to the next town in order to
pay him a visit.
Within moments of entering the nearby town, we came upon a
typical small white house, with blue shutters, a white picket fence, a well-maintained
lawn, and a cement driveway.
“Well, at least it’s not some creepy, rundown house in the
middle of nowhere.” I had thought that as soon as we got out of the car a group
of soul devourers were going to come running and jump us. I knew it was silly
for me to have that notion, but I was still mildly freaked out by the thought.
What did make me feel better was the fact that Brandon could
protect me if some creature from hell decided to pop up, and I was still
wearing the charm he had given me the day before.
“So far, so good,” Brandon replied as he parked the car
across the street from the house.
The neighborhood was an urban community filled with
Victorian-style houses of all sizes and colors, spread out evenly throughout
the area. The quietness and cleanliness of the place gave me the impression
that it was a middle class district.
After turning off the ignition, Brandon unlocked the car. But
before I could open the passenger side door, he reached out for my wrist and
said, “Stay right next to me at all times, and don’t touch anything unless I’m
sure he’s not some type of demon or something.”
That threw me off because weren’t we going to see one of the
‘good guys?’
“Dmitri would send us to a place that isn’t safe?” I could
not help but feel apprehensive when it came to Dmitri. Sure, he was nice,
handsome, and seemed honest enough, but he was also a
vampire
. And
vampires were not exactly creatures I was willing to trust completely, or right
away. For all I knew, he was sending us to our death or worse, so I did not want
to automatically assume that he was one hundred percent truthful unless I got
to know him better. Brandon might confide in Mr. Salvatore, but I could not picture
him without imagining what was inside those bottles of wine he kept around. Just
thinking about the contents within being blood caused me to shiver.
“No. Dmitri is my friend and I trust him, but the man we
came here to see is an expert at cloaking his appearance, so Dmitri might’ve
not been able to see through his ruse.”
“Can you?”
“If he’s really an Enchanter, I’ll be able to tell right
away.”
“Good.”
With that, we exited the car and held hands as we ambled
toward the house’s front wooden door. As we made our way up the three wooden
stairs that led to the porch, we immediately noticed the eerie silence
surrounding us, which caused me my steps to falter. I was not getting any bad
vibes from the place, but I was still slightly nervous about who or what might
make a sudden appearance. Up until three days ago, I did not believe in the
boogey man. Now I knew there were worse things out there than just a fabled
character my mother used to tell me about in order to keep me from wondering
off when I was six.
Brandon, however, did not seem as unnerved as I was and he continued
on without missing a beat. Once we reached the entrance, he pulled me in closer
to him and lifted his left hand to knock, when the door flew open and an older
man with pale blue eyes and long white hair glared at us from the doorway. Brandon
did not say a thing, but he tensed up immediately and the hand that held mine
tightened its grip.
“Who are you?” the man asked, although I was pretty sure
that he recognized Brandon.
“I’m Brandon, and I’m here to talk to Nelson Porter.”
The man then turned his attention to me and pointed with one
shaking finger before saying, “Who’s she?”
“A friend of mine,” Brandon replied.
“Why is she here?”
“She’s with me.”
It was the only explanation Brandon was going to provide for
him, but that did not seem to satisfy the man at all.
“How do I know she’s not some kind of demon wearing a
disguise?” the old man practically spat.
Brandon turned to me and lifted his left hand again so that
he could pull on the black leather tong around my neck until the black charm
hiding under my top was revealed and in full view for the man to see.
“Surely you recognize this?”
The man called Nelson looked on in astonishment. After a few
seconds of staring in silence, he nodded and said, “A protection spell? Why
would you cast such a powerful spell over her?”
“Soul devourers. They attacked us the other night and
they’ll—”
“Target her now,” the old man finished Brandon’s sentence.
“That’s right.”
Although it was obvious Nelson was not entirely convinced
that we – or, more specifically, I – meant him no harm, he still moved aside
and gestured with one frail-looking hand for us to step inside.
“Come on in, then.”
“Thank you.” Brandon’s hold on my hand lessened and I took that
as a sign that Mr. Porter was a real Enchanter and not a soul-drinking demon.
The living room was clean and looked like Ikea threw up half
its furniture all over the place. Brandon and I walked in and waited for the
man to join us after he shut the front door and locked it.
“Well, you’re genuine all right,” the old man said as he strolled
into the living room. “You wouldn’t have been able to make it past the protection
spell I casted on the entrance if you were anything other than human—” He
pointed to Brandon as he finished his sentence, “—or Enchanter.”
“How long have you been waiting for me?”
“Twenty-two years.” Nelson pointed to the couch and gestured
for us to take a seat, which we did. “I heard about you a long time ago.”
“Did you know my parents?”
“Not personally, but I heard about them a while back.”
“How? Did you keep in constant communication with them?”
“Not exactly. I kept in communication with your grandfather,
and he told me how to find your father.” Nelson shifted in his seat before
continuing. “A while ago some of the elder Enchanters held a meeting. The
purpose of this conference was to determine how many families or singles were
left intact so that they could be better protected by those who had no
families.”
“What was the outcome?” Brandon’s curiosity was visible.
“Is it safe to talk with her around?” Nelson gestured toward
me.
Is he for real? He’s practically confessed all his crimes
and right after he does he asks if it’s safe to talk with me around? Who the
hell am I going to blabber all this magical knowledge to? The tooth fairy?
Cinderella? Snow white? Even if I did open my mouth to say something, who’s
going to believe me? People will accuse me of being severely messed up, crazy,
or something else,
I wanted to shout at the bitter looking enchanter elder but
opted for keeping my trap shut.
“I trust her.”
The old man snorted, but nodded his approval after a few
seconds.
“We were able to sum up about a dozen elders who still had
all of their abilities and two young couples. One of which had recently given
birth to a baby boy, that being you, and the other was expecting their first
child.”
“The Giver of Life?”
“Yes. The couple was blessed with such a child.”
“What happened after the meeting?”
“The couple expecting the Giver of Life child took refuge
with some of the elders because they were being hunted by Lasher—”
“He’s still around?”
“It’s always been his mission to destroy us. Why should he
stop now that so little of us remain?”
Brandon shook his head in frustration. “Was this child
born?” he asked after a few seconds of silence.
“She was born.”
“Does she still live?”
“She does,” Nelson replied with a swift nod of his head.
“Do you know who—”
“Dad?” a soft, female voice interrupted, and the second I
heard it, I glanced to my right and found a tall, beautiful, blue-eyed, black-haired
girl about my age who had probably emerged from a hallway I’d paid no attention
to when I came into the house.
The second my gaze rested on her, I knew, without anyone confirming
it, that she was an Enchanter, and my heart immediately sunk. There she was in
all her glory, the woman born to become Brandon’s future wife, mate, companion,
partner in crime. I had thought I was strong enough to endure whatever happened,
but as I observed the girl standing there, I was no longer as confident.
“Natalie, come meet—”
“Brandon.” She ambled toward us, her deep blue eyes locked
on Brandon’s face as if she recognized him from somewhere. “I’ve heard about
you for many years.”
The way she gazed at him forced a sting of jealousy to
course through me.
“I’ve heard about you too.” Brandon stood then, his pale blue
orbs assessing the newcomer with slight interest.
The girl blushed under his scrutiny and looked away for a
moment before turning her attention back to Brandon and then me.
“Brandon, she’s—” Nelson started, but was interrupted by
Brandon.
“The last female Enchanter.”
I could not help but notice the hint of admiration in
Brandon’s voice as he spoke.
“Well, yes, but—”
“And I’m Leah, Brandon’s friend,” I butted in. Jealousy
haven taken over. Although I should have been angry over the fact that Brandon had
forgotten I was even there, I was more hurt that anything else.
“This is my friend, Leah.”
I never thought such simple words could cause so much
discomfort, but when Brandon introduced me as his
friend
, I nearly
flinched.
“You must be some friend, for him trust you with such a
secret.” Natalie smiled warmly in spite of the obvious hostility she could see
in my eyes.
Damn! Why does she have to be so nice when I practically
hate her already!
Technically, I had not known her for long enough to have
such strong feelings about her, but I was not stupid. The fact that I was
completely, utterly, devastatingly jealous of someone for the first time in my
life was eating at me. I was jealous of who she was, what she represented, and
what she meant to Brandon. Worst of all, I hated my heart for betraying me at a
time like this.
“I guess I am.”
“I have the feeling we’re going to be great friends too.”
Slap me, why don’t you!
“If I stick around long enough to… maybe we will.”
The second those words left my mouth, Brandon turned to look
at me and frowned. But I shrugged and turned my attention back to Nelson, who
was still sitting on the loveseat across from the couch.
The older man arched his eyebrows and stood, keeping his
eyes on me as he said, “I think
we
should leave you two alone so that
you can get acquainted.” Before I could form a protest, Nelson took a hold of
my arm and led me to the kitchen, but not before tossing over his shoulder,
“We’ll get some refreshments and bring them out.”
Once we were alone in the kitchen, he turned to me and
tossed a half smile my way before adding, “Well, if you’re not a jealous girl, then
I don’t know what one looks like.”
“Jealous? Me? Do I look like I have something to be jealous
about?”
“Yes.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but shut it when he folded two
thin arms over his chest and frowned deeply. “I know what Brandon’s future
holds,” I replied after a brief staring contest.
“Are you a Seer?”
“What? No?”
“Then how do you know what his future holds for him?”
“Your daughter, Natalie, is his future.”
“And you are certain of this?”
“Isn’t she the last female Enchanter?”
“Yes.”
“And he’s the last male Enchanter, so put two and two
together,” I snapped, irritated by his dissecting gaze.
“The future is never certain. Things happen.”
“Funny, I recall one of my friends saying something similar
this morning.”