Memories: Volume 9 (The Lillian Rayne Series)

The Lillian Rayne Series

Volume 9: Memories

Ella Price

This book is a work of fiction, and does not
represent real events. Characters, names, places, and incidents are works of
the authors imagination and do not depict any real event, or person living or
dead.

Copyright © 2014 by Ella Price

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or
distributed in any printed or electronic form.

First Edition: October 2014

Cover by AEPBOOKCOVERS.COM

I
backed away from the man calling himself Luca. There was something familiar
about him just like the others, but I didn’t know what it was. Luca delaying me
gave Cornelius and Oliver time to catch up with me. They came out of the room
behind Luca.

“Lillian,
please stop trying to run,” Cornelius said trying to reason with me.

I
continued to back away from them. There was no reasoning with me. They were
talking about vampires and werewolves. They had to be crazy. I didn’t know who
I was, or how I ended up with Cornelius, but I wanted to get away. “Leave me
alone! I want to leave!” I said fearfully. I ran down the hall, but it dead
ended into a wall. There was no door.

“You
aren’t going to get out,” Oliver said as he approached me.

I
pressed my back to the wall and watched him cautiously. None of them had made a
move to hurt me, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. “Are you part of some
cult?” I asked nervously as the other two approached. I didn’t understand what
was going on; it made no sense, nothing did.

Oliver
smiled amused, but he didn’t answer. Luca glared at Cornelius. “What is wrong
with her? What have you done?” Luca asked angrily.

“Nothing
that hasn’t already been done with no issues,” Cornelius countered.

“He
killed her trying to turn her back into a vampire,” Oliver said dryly.

Luca
looked like he wanted to punch Cornelius. His fists were clenched at his sides
as he watched Cornelius. “How could you do that? No one knows what will happen
to her if she keeps dying, and now look!”

Cornelius
sighed impatiently. “We will figure out how to fix her. This is a coven full of
witches. There has to be one that can help get her memories back.”

“And
if they can’t, then what?” Oliver asked dryly.

Cornelius
scowled. “We will worry about that when it happens.”

“Excuse
me, I am right here,” I said testily as I crossed my arms. I was getting
annoyed quickly. They were discussing me like I wasn’t even here. I didn’t know
what was going on, but I knew I wanted to get away from these guys. They were
talking about vampires, werewolves, and now witches. They had to be insane
whether I remembered who I was or not.

“Yes
you are, and if you would quit being difficult we will put you in a room,”
Oliver said slightly amused.

“I
want to leave. It is kidnapping if you keep me here,” I countered.

Oliver’s
smile widened as he watched me. “Who exactly are you going to complain to?”

I
opened my mouth, then I closed it again. He was right; I couldn’t even get out
of the place, let alone complain.

“Oliver
stop it,” Luca said shooting Oliver a dirty look. Luca looked over at me and
smiled trying to reassure me. “Lillian, I watched you grow up. I know you are
confused, but you have to trust me. You cannot leave because you don’t even
know who you are.”

Something
about him made me relax a little. I didn’t know why, but I had the instant urge
to trust him. Maybe he did know me, and he had no intention on hurting me. “Fine,
can we just find someone to help me remember?” I asked grumpily.

“I
will go find someone,” Oliver said, then started walking back the way we had
come.

I
looked at Cornelius. He held my gaze with his beautiful turquoise eyes. I
wasn’t sure what to think of him. I woke up in his bed. We were together for
some reason. He claimed we loved each other. I wished I could remember him, but
I just couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried.

“Are
you ok Lillian?” Luca asked cautiously.

I
pulled my gaze from Cornelius’s and shook my head softly trying to clear it.
“Fine, I am just tired,” I said quietly.

“You
have a room here, somewhere. Maybe you can get some rest while Oliver finds a
witch that can help,” Luca suggested.

I
nodded. “That sounds good,” I said trying to keep the nervousness out of my
tone. The longer I was with them, the more confused I was getting. I needed
time alone, maybe without all the distractions I could figure out who I was.

“I
know where your room is,” Cornelius said softly. He turned without saying
anything else, and walked down the hall.

I
quickly followed, and Luca followed me. “Where are we?” I asked looking around.
Now that I wasn’t worried about running I had time to look at the place. It was
actually extremely nice. Some of the walls looked carved.

“Your
mother’s coven,” Cornelius said softly.

“My
mother? Is she here?” I asked wondering if I would recognize her.

Cornelius
glanced at Luca but didn’t speak.

“Lillian
it is all very complicated. Maybe once everything settles down we can discuss
everything,” Luca said softly.

Before
I could reply, Cornelius opened the door to a room, and ushered me inside the
room. The room was huge. The furniture all looked like it was from a different
era. The white vanity caught my attention. I walked over to the vanity and
touched one of the wood lilies carved into it. “This is beautiful,” I said
softly.

“We
should go see what Oliver has found,” Cornelius said looking at Luca.

Luca
looked at him for a second; then he turned his attention back to me. “Will you
be ok on your own?”

I
nodded and forced a smiled. “I’m fine. I am just going to rest.”

“Ok,”
he said and smiled, then he walked out of the room.

Cornelius’s
eyes locked with mine again. Every time it happened I got the urge to run to
him, but I couldn’t make myself move. He suddenly turned and walked out without
saying anything. The door shut making me jump a little.

I
looked around the room. It didn’t feel like my room. I just didn’t see myself
staying in a place like this and not remembering. I debated whether I should
stay or try to make an escape. There were no windows, and in the hall I never
saw a door that looked like it led outside. It almost seemed like trying to get
away was impossible. I found it hard to believe everything they were saying;
then again I had no clue who I was. I couldn’t honestly say they were lying
because I didn’t know if they were or not. I looked around the room a little
more. I felt odd, almost like I had been here before. Maybe I really did belong
here. The more I looked at everything; the more I began to wonder if they were
all telling the truth.

A
brisk knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. Before I could even give
permission; Oliver walked in followed by an older woman. I had a feeling this
was the witch he went to retrieve. I was a little hesitant. What if she was a
witch? I didn’t know what they were planning to do to me. I wasn’t entirely
sure I could trust them. Part of me wanted to trust them, but I was having a
hard time trusting myself. I couldn’t remember anything. How would I know if I
was making the right decisions?

“Mistress
Lillian?” the woman said hesitantly as she watched me.

“Do
I know you?” I asked wondering if I knew her too. I didn’t recognize her. I
didn’t even have a feeling I might know her like I did with the others. I
didn’t really understand why she was addressing me like she was. She was acting
like I was a leader of some kind; maybe I was.

“No,
not personally. Oliver tells me you do not remember anything,” she said cautiously
as she approached me.

I
watched her much like she was watching me. She knew I didn’t trust her, and she
was wary. Oliver moved further into the room. The door was closed, and I was
getting slightly nervous. “I suppose I don’t,” I said trying to relax. It
seemed impossible for me to relax. I didn’t like the idea of people claiming to
be witches touching me.

The
woman glanced at Oliver. “I can’t help her,” she said softly.

“What
do you mean? You haven’t even tried,” Oliver growled testily.

The
woman glared at him. “She is radiating power. She has no control, and she is
scared. If I touch her, she will more than likely kill me. She doesn’t
understand what is going on, and she doesn’t trust you either.”

“She
never trusted me; not even when she knew me,” he said dryly.

“She
has to trust us, or we will only get hurt,” the woman said curtly, then she
marched out of the room.

Oliver
sighed in annoyance and muttered something under his breath.

“Why
didn’t I trust you?” I asked curiously. He seemed a little coarser than the
other two, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy. Unless he was, and I just didn’t
remember.

He
glared at me. “Because I didn’t let you get your way, and treat you like a princess
like all the other men in your life,” he said sharply.

I
scowled as I crossed my arms. The tone of his voice annoyed me, and so did his
accusations. He was acting like I was a spoiled brat. If I was, I didn’t see
why they wanted me to stay so bad. “You can go now,” I said grumpily. I wanted
to be alone. I certainly didn’t want to be around someone who was going to be
rude to me.

He
did a mock bow. “Of course your majesty,” he said sarcastically; then he walked
out, slamming the door behind him.

I
found myself scowling at the door. It was no wonder I didn’t like him; he was
an ass. I walked over to the bed and sat down. My mind was racing, and as much
as I wanted to sleep; I doubted I could.

The
door opened, and Cornelius walked in the room. He shut the door behind him, but
he didn’t make a move to come to me. “Oliver seemed a little upset. I just
wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“I’m
fine. Apparently the witch can’t help me,” I said softly. Just saying the word ‘witch’
made me feel funny. I looked at Cornelius curiously. He claimed to be a
vampire. Other than the unexplained transportation thing he did earlier, I saw
no other evidence that he actually was a vampire. “Are you really a vampire?” I
asked after a minute.

He
smiled slightly. “I am,” he said softly as he moved toward me.

I
tensed a little as he came closer. He claimed to be my lover. I wasn’t entirely
sure I was ready to accept that even though I was in bed with him earlier. The
sound of loud male voices outside my door made me stand. It sounded like there
was some kind of fight.

Cornelius
muttered something and walked back toward the door. Before he made it to the
door, the door burst open, and two new men came in the room. The first man
looked similar to Cornelius. He had the same hair and eyes. The second man was
taller, and his hair was darker, and so were his eyes.

“What
the hell is going on? Why are you trying to keep us from Lillian?” the first
man snapped as he glared at Cornelius.

“I
was going to explain,” Cornelius said sounding slightly impatient.

The
second man moved toward me. I had no idea who he was. I had a feeling I knew
him, but his name didn’t come to mind. I fought the urge to run away from him
when he reached out and brushed my cheek with his fingers. His expression
darkened.  “She is human, and why is she acting like she doesn’t know who I am?”
he asked softly.

I
didn’t even get a chance to ask him who he was. He knew what I was thinking
without me saying anything. It was a little unnerving that he could do this.

“What?
What do you mean she doesn’t remember? Who changed her back to human? Did she
die?” the first man asked in disbelief as he moved up beside the second man.

“Aubrey,
Drake is right. She doesn’t know who anyone is,” Cornelius said softly.

“What?”
they both said in unison as they turned and glared at Cornelius. I slipped away
from them while they were both distracted. I didn’t like being so close to
them.

“I
can explain,” Cornelius said raising his hands trying to ease the tension.

“You
better explain,” Drake growled as he stepped forward with his hands clenched
into fists at his side.

Cornelius
stood a little straighter, taking obvious offense to Drake’s movement. “I would
watch what you do wolf.”

“Just
explain,” Aubrey snapped obviously annoyed with the whole situation.

“Lillian
wanted to be a vampire again; so I killed her to change her back into a human.
When she woke up, all her memories were gone,” Cornelius said softly.

“I
warned you about killing her again!” Drake yelled. He was furious. He clenched
his fists tighter as he stepped even closer to Cornelius.

Surprisingly
Cornelius stood his ground. Drake was much bigger, and he looked a lot stronger
than Cornelius, but Cornelius didn’t seem to care.

“Fighting
will solve nothing,” Aubrey snapped as he moved between them. “We need to
figure out how to get her memories back. Has anyone consulted the other
witches?”

“I
have,” Oliver said amused from the doorway. I didn’t even realize he was
standing there. “The witches said Lillian will kill them if they attempt to
touch her. Apparently she doesn’t trust any of us.”

Drake
turned back toward me. He moved quickly over to me. I watched him hesitantly as
he came to stand in front of me. He towered above me. I looked up at him
cautiously. His dark eyes were full of worry. He seemed like he cared about me.
“Lillian, you don’t remember me?” he asked watching me.