Ordained (7 page)

“Until next week then, Valerie. Thank you,” Moore said while recording the findings in the journal.

Jayden opened the door and Valerie left, glaring suspiciously at him. He closed the door behind her.

“Sir, if I may speak freely?” asked Jayden.

“Certainly, Jayden. What troubles you?” Moore answered, continuing to write in his journal.

“I’m not quite certain Valerie is being completely honest when she reports her findings. She’s behaving rather…odd, lately. Keeping more and more to herself.”

Pot calling the kettle black
, thought Moore. “Valerie has always been a loner. As for her reports, they have lessened, but they have proven correct nonetheless.”

“I find it disturbing that she’s seen nothing about Abigail. It is within her power to see future images of hunters. Why, during all these years, has she never seen anything on Abigail?” Jayden questioned.

Moore paused. This too had crossed his mind recently. Just as Abigail’s survival these many years perplexed him, so had Valerie’s inability to envision her. He had highly suspected that if Abigail could prolong her life, most likely she could keep her aura hidden as well. The most obvious solution to both questions was a magical one. However, this was not a theory he felt Jayden was privileged to. Lincoln perhaps, but certainly not his meager assistant.

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I do not fully understand Valerie’s ability. Maybe she did see Abigail and just didn’t realize who she was. I’m sure she has visions about people and events that have nothing to do with our organization.”

His expression gave him away. Obviously, he didn’t agree with Moore’s assumptions. “If you would like, I could keep a closer eye on her for you.”

Moore closed the journal. The front cover read
Valerie Whitney
in delicate calligraphy.

He was unsure of Jayden’s obsession with Valerie, particularly with Abigail sharing quarters within arm’s reach. She was clearly the hunter of concern for every other adult within the manor.

“Unnecessary. She’s hardly seen outside her room. It would be difficult to learn anything she doesn’t want anyone to know.”

Jayden was clearly disappointed with his decision.

“Besides, it’s more important for you to keep a close eye on Abigail while she’s here. But don’t crowd her! You’ve already proven she’s a liability. We don’t want to set her off and cause a repeat of what happened before.”

“No,” Jayden said reticently. “Of course we wouldn’t.”

Chapter Ten

Emily was lying down on a stone bench, staring up directly through the conservatory dome. The stars were particularly brilliant tonight, the moon shining brightly in the sky. She had been in here for several hours. Not necessarily thinking about anything in particular, but relaxing. Something she hadn’t done in a long time.

Four days had passed since she informed Abby and Noel that the Order had extended an invitation for them to come. She knew they wanted to seek information on Morphus, but Emily had already searched the manor high and low for a month and came up with nothing. And with what Noel had told her about Abby’s history at the school, this would be the last place he would ever want her to visit. Their coming here meant they were desperate for something.

Quiet as she was, she could sense Abby maneuvering the pebble and stone paths, seeking her out. After all these years, Abby was the only hunter she was ever able to sense. She had always thought it a bit odd, but it wasn’t until she learned of her age that she began to believe why this occurred.

“Sure it’s safe to meet here? It’s pretty easy for someone to hide about.” Abby pushed her way through the elephant ear plants.

“No one ever comes in here. The guys spend all their free time playing video games and the girls are off in their cliques gossiping about their lives outside the school.”

Emily too had once belonged to one of these cliques. Unfortunately, Emily knew more about what was going on and just wasn’t as carefree as the rest. She knew she couldn’t tell them yet and she just couldn’t pretend everything was hunky-dory either. Lately, she chose solitude. Darby and Mira let her be, knowing full well she would seek them out eventually.

“So does the Order suspect anything?”

“Well, they’re definitely freaked out by you for some reason or another.” Emily raised herself up off the bench and locked eyes with Abby. She didn’t hesitate, feeling abruptness was the best way to go for an honest reaction. “But they have yet to figure out you’re a vampire.”

Abby’s expression was exactly what Emily had expected. Flawless. No one could keep a straighter face than Abby.

“Vampire, huh? When did you come up with that theory?” she asked coolly, sitting down in a metal chair opposite Emily.

“Oddly enough, a few months after you started training me. I could never get you guys to do anything during daylight hours. Then I convinced myself you had been working the night shift for so long it was all you knew. But now that I know how old you are, there really doesn’t seem to be a more fitting piece to the puzzle.”

Abby huffed. Emily waited silently for her answer, gently swinging her feet underneath the bench, occasionally extending her feet to kick a few pebbles.

She raised her left eyebrow. “If you thought we were vampires then why did you stay with us for the past two years?”

“Because I trusted you. You saved my life. So I thought, how evil could they really be? How often do you meet a vampire willing to save the hunter? And I’ve learned more from you in the past two years than I did the entire eighteen years I spent here.” Emily paused, then asked the question she had been longing to know. “So tell me already. What are you?”

Chapter Eleven

Abby knew this day would come. It always did. Through the years she had made many acquaintances but kept them that way on purpose. Secrets were hard for everyone to share, particularly Abby, because her secrets were…well, unusual to say the least. Her associates knew some things, but only Noel truly knew all the things that made Abby who she was. After all, he was responsible for one of her many secrets.

Through the past two hundred or so years, she had successfully kept her identity to herself, allowing others to see only the part of her they needed. Emily, for instance, always saw the huntress in Abby. It was what she knew and could understand, but it was only one part. Aside from her healing power, Emily had yet to witness the other attributes that were the complexity of Abby.

Abby pondered as Emily watched her, seeking answers. The question wasn’t what to tell Emily about herself, but whether or not to tell her.

“I don’t wanna come off as over-dramatic, but there really isn’t any other way of saying this that can get you to understand. What you’re asking to know about me could actually get you hurt.”

Emily looked confounded. “I don’t understand.”

“When you’ve been around as long as I have, special abilities begin to get noticed. I’ve tried to minimize the witnesses, the allies, the enemies, but the count gets higher with each passing day. People begin figuring things out. My coming here has informed the Order that I’ve been alive for two hundred years. From this point on, they’re gonna try their damnest to figure out the source of my longevity because it’s something that would benefit their cause.”

“They could never hurt you. They’re afraid to even be in the same room with you.”

“And that’s what makes them dangerous. You’re right; they won’t be coming to me for answers. They’re gonna go elsewhere for them. They’ll ask questions to other people, who will in turn become curious as well. Eventually, someone desperate enough for this answer will go after those they suspect to know these secrets. And before they’ll come for me or Noel, they’re gonna come for you.”

“Because I’m your friend,” Emily finished.

“No. Because you’re vulnerable. You’ll be the easiest one to break.”

Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn’t thought about that.

“Noel and I would die for each other, without hesitation. We would do anything to keep the other safe. Are you really gonna allow yourself to suffer torture should it ever come to that? We’re not naïve. We would never expect that from anyone. It’s why so few people know anything about us.”

“I would never rat you out, especially to some piece of scum looking to capitalize on your-”

“Misfortunes?” Abby interrupted. “Cause you’d actually be right.”

Emily responded quietly, “I was going to say gifts.”

Abby sighed. She was tired from both her journey and her non-productive meeting earlier that day. Even on a good day this was a hard conversation to have. “It’s easy to say that now. But given the worst circumstance, you’ll wanna give in.”

Emily shook her head in disagreement. “I’d never do that to you.”

“Why? Because you’re my friend?” asked Abby sarcastically.

“No,” Emily said flatly. “Because I owe you my life. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you. And no, I don’t wanna die. But let’s face facts. I’m already vulnerable. People are already aware that I’ve spent two years with you. So if I’m in danger of going out like that, I wanna know what my death would be protecting.”

Abby had given this speech reluctantly a few times before. Each time she told herself it would be the last time and she wouldn’t involve any more people, but it never seemed to work out that way. She didn’t bother telling herself that this time.

After a long hesitation, Abby reluctantly said, “Noel and I descend from the original line of pure vampires, not the mutated versions you hunt today. There are only a handful of us in the world, possibly less than twenty.”

Emily’s breath was forced out. She didn’t even realize she was holding it. Concerned, she asked, “You’re dying out?”

“No. We’ve always been few in numbers, by choice. Although the vampires you seek today originated from our line, they’re nothing like us.”

“What happened to them?”

“Mutation. Today’s vampirism was caused by one single vampire that happened to have lived a mortal life as a cannibal. Unfortunately, immortality did nothing to curb his appetite for bloody meat. His urge led him to bite people in the fatty areas of the body. Those that didn’t bleed to death turned. His thirst was transferred to those he infected, and so on, and so on. With time, they craved the blood more than the meat. More and more people were recklessly infected until their numbers were as great as those today.”

Emily’s body tensed, her eyes became glassy. Abby was distracted by a white blur in the corner of her eye. She turned to see a flower softly unfolding before her. Its stem began moving toward the moonlight. Several more flowers followed suit. A sweet perfume filled the air around her.

“So the line of vampires existing today originally came from someone like you?” It wasn’t really a question, more a thought spoken out loud.

“They don’t know that. My kind wiped out their elders a long time ago, including the cannibal. With their deaths died the truth about their beginnings. They have no idea pure vampires exist and that we actually hunt their kind.”

“And here I thought you hunted cause you were a huntress,” huffed Emily.

“No. I get away with it because I was once a huntress.” Abby rose and slowly paced before Emily, her arms crossed. “A hunter is all they see. They have no idea what I truly am.”

“So what exactly do you and Noel do?”