Revelations (Bloodline Series) (11 page)

“I
don’t know,” I sighed. “I guess it’s a rather strong possibility.”

“Call
your parents; see if they felt anything and warn them,” Danny said before he
disappeared.

Lucian,
Tyler, and Jake walked out of the room, phones in hand. Lily turned the TV on
to see if the quake had made it onto the news, but there wasn’t a whisper about
it. I supposed it was rather soon, but normally when a disaster happened the
news teams were there straight away.

“What
do we do if there’s an attack?” Marley asked.

“We
fight,” I told her.

“We
can’t protect the whole town,” Olivia added.

“No,
we can’t,” Lily said. “But we can try and save as many as possible, and each other.”

“Without
sounding heartless,” Hecate interrupted, “you need to concentrate on saving
yourselves, not the townsfolk.
You’re
going to have to fight when all
this comes to a head, not them; you’re more important. I know you won’t be able
to see it like that, and there would be a tremendous loss of life, but please,
look after yourselves first.”

“I
know what you’re saying,” I told her. “If we die, there will be nobody to stand
against Ballantine, and a lot
more
people will die.”

“Exactly.”

“We
can’t just leave everyone though,” Beth cried.

“I’m
not saying leave them, I’m saying keep yourselves safe,” Hecate corrected.

“We
can’t get a signal, so we can’t call our parents,” Lucian said, worried as he
and the others walked into the room.

“One
each?” Eligos asked me.

“Yeah.”

“Back
soon,” he told Lily and the others.

Eligos
took Lucian, Hecate took Jake, and I held on to Tyler’s arm and took him to his
house. We arrived in the back garden. Nothing seemed out of place or damaged.
Five minutes later he came outside with Sofia. When she saw me, she gave me a
massive smile.

“Keira!”
she said, bouncing over to me. “How lovely to see you.”

“Hi,
how are you?”

“I’m
fine dear—a little confused over what Tyler has just told me, but other than
that, all is well.”

“Good,
I’m glad.”

“Are
you alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,
we were worried about you. I wanted to call and check on you, but I didn’t want
to bother you either.”

“Sofia,
you’re always welcome at my house, anytime, any day…you know that,” I smiled.

“You
know, if ever you want to talk, you can always come and speak to me. I know you
have your friends and family now, but I just wanted you to know.”

“Thank
you.”

“You
need to warn Dad, and renew the spells on the house. Keep
yourself
safe,”
Tyler interrupted.

“I
know son,” she nodded.

“Where
is he?” I asked her.

“He
is working today. He should be home about six.”

“Didn’t
you feel anything?”

“No,
not a thing; it’s very strange.”

“Well,
please be careful,” I told her. “I’m going to have to get back; I don’t want to
leave them all on their own without a demon in the house. Do you want to come
with us?”

“I
need to be here. I’ve things to do—I’m protected so don’t worry about me. The spells
on the house are strong.”

“I
know, that’s why I didn’t come in,” I laughed. “I didn’t fancy getting blasted
to kingdom come.”

“I
can’t wait until this is over. We can have you and your fiancé around, parties,
barbecues…it would be lovely if we could all be together. I mean, I can’t even
have Danny in here now, can I? That feels strange; he’s been coming in this
house since he was a baby.”

“Soon
Sofia, I promise,” I told her, trying to smile.

She
kissed my cheek and hugged Tyler before I took us both back to my house.

Chapter 11

The
Deal

Keira

We
had only been back at my house five minutes when the others arrived. None of
their parents had felt anything either. All of us were confused. Danny said he
had told his parents to put the protection spells back on their house. They had
removed some of them when Danny became a demon; they didn’t want their son
being blocked from entering his own home. Danny had told them he would stay at my
place for a few days or in Hell, and that if he was going to visit he would
call them first and talk with them outside if necessary.

Lucian
thought it was best if everyone stayed at my house for the time being. He was
worried that if they were at home their parents could get hurt. It made sense since
up to now all the attacks had been aimed at us. Maybe staying away would keep
them safe. Jake said he would start doing some of the spare rooms, and Jared
and Marshal said they would help. That would keep them busy for the rest of the
day.

I
sat outside and called Steve; luckily the phone lines were now up and running
again. He said he was back at his motel and that it seemed to be untouched. He
sounded freaked out…he couldn’t understand how the town was in a mess but not
the motel. I tried my best to calm him down, and by the end of the conversation
he did sound a little better, but I could tell he was still shaken.

Once
I had finished on the phone, Elizabeth joined me. She looked worried.

“What’s
the matter?” I asked her.

“Keira,
we need to talk, in private.”

“We
can talk here.”

“No,
we need to be alone. No interruptions.”

“Well,
we could go for a walk,” I suggested.

“No.
I’ve told the guys I need to speak with you and that we’re going out for a
while.” She held my hand, and the next minute we were in a field in the middle
of nowhere.

“What’s
all this about?” I asked, rather concerned.

“I
fear that once I’ve told you this you will never speak to me again.”

“What
could be so bad?”

“You
asked me about the deal I made with Lilith.”

“Yes.”

“Well,
I’m going to tell you,” she said, getting rather emotional. “I carry a
tremendous amount of guilt around with me every day and—”

“Elizabeth,
just tell me…it’s okay,” I assured her, taking hold of her hand. “I already
know you had to leave home, I know your father was a priest—”

“Yes
he was. How could I stay there with a man of God when the person I was
summoning was from Hell?”

“I
understand that; now, what’s the rest?”

“When
I first started communicating with Lilith—this was before I had some of her
powers given to me—she told me that I would have to make a deal with her and
stick to it. I asked her what she wanted from me, and she explained to me that
once I died I would reside in Hell. She told me I would keep my physical body
and be able to come back to earth and be visible to everyone. I was to watch
over every member of our family, especially the females born into it. Well, my
granddaughter, Ann, didn’t want to know. It frightened her, and she tried to
reject it—”

“Yeah,
I know about Ann.”

“Well
then, you should know that after Ann, no other females were born until you.”

“Yes,”
I nodded.

“But
I still had to watch the families. If any of the males died…the eldest ones…then
the bloodline would end. My task included watching over...your father.” She
looked at me with sad eyes, and I felt a lump in my throat. “Keira, it’s my fault
your father died,” she sobbed.

I
stood up and walked a few feet away from her. I couldn’t look at her.

“If
I had been watching him like I was supposed to, I would have known Marimay was
haunting him. I could have tried to stop her, or let Lilith know, and she could
have sent someone after her,” she continued, still sobbing. “Keira, there wasn’t
so much as a whisper of an attack; nobody had tried to hurt any of the
families. I didn’t know he was in danger.”

“Why
weren’t you watching him?”

“There
wasn’t a particular reason. I just didn’t see any threats, and so I didn’t
watch as much as I should have. He was just living his life happily with his
wife and daughter.”

“If
you had done your job he would still be here,” I scolded, turning to face her. “He
would be here with me. I wouldn’t have been raised by a woman who hated me, or
dumped on my granddad. He would have lived a full life.”

“I
know...Keira, I’m so sorry.”

I
couldn’t talk to her anymore, and I certainly didn’t want to look at her. I
teleported myself back to my house.

I
appeared in the hallway and walked straight into the smaller living room. A
moment later Eligos walked in. He could see I was upset, so he shut the door
behind him before sitting next to me.

“What
is it Keira?”

“Did
you know about the deal Elizabeth made with Lilith when she first got her
power?”

“I
knew she had to protect the females born into the family.”

“She
had to protect
everyone
with power, male or female.”

“Oh,
I guess I wasn’t aware...oh!” he said, as he realized what I was going to say.

“That
included my dad.”

“I
take it this is why she wanted to go out, just the two of you—”

“So
she could tell me everything, yes.”

“Keira,
you can’t blame her for what happened.”

“What?”

“If
there were no threats, no rumors of a war, nobody attacking families, how could
she have known? How was she to know your father would be the first?”

“If
she had been watching she would have known!”

“Not
necessarily. Keira, only your grandfather, knew what was happening. If she hadn’t
been watching him at the exact right time—as in when your dad and grandfather
were together, or when an attack actually took place—how could she have known?”

“There’s
no—”

“Think
about the night Argyle attacked the guys. What would have happened if Lilith
and I hadn’t been in the room with the viewing pool? Would we have known what
was happening?”

“I
guess not,” I whispered.

“Keira,
sweetheart, I can understand why you’re upset, I really can. But, try and
imagine how hard it must have been for her to tell you. She loves you very much,
and she must have known she risked losing you if she told you. But she
respected you enough to be honest with you. She knew she couldn’t be close to
you until you knew the truth. She must have carried a tremendous amount of
guilt around with her—”

“I
know,” I interrupted. “I know what you’re saying, I just…I know it’s not her
fault. She didn’t kill him.”

“Then
forgive her, Keira; don’t lose another member of your family. You’ve lost
enough, and I don’t think your dad would want you to lose anyone else.”

“Neither
do I.”

He
held me close to him for a few minutes before we heard the front door open and
close, and Lily shouted hello to Elizabeth.

“Keira,
I’m going to send her in to you; she must be very upset, just as you are. You
need to talk and get past this.”

He
walked out of the room, and a moment later Elizabeth walked in. She looked
heartbroken. She closed the door behind her and sat next to me on the sofa.

“Keira—”

“I
don’t blame you,” I told her. “It wasn’t your fault. Marimay killed him, not you.
It’s
her
I hate; it’s her I want to kill...not you.”

“If
I’d watched like I was supposed to—”

“You
watched the families for a long time; you made sure everyone was okay. Like you
said, there were no threats, no attacks on others, no rumors of a war starting.
You couldn’t have known.
If my dad was here, he wouldn’t blame you.
You
can only do so much, and like Eligos just said to me, even if you had been
watching, it doesn’t mean you would have watched at the right times. You still might
never have known what was going on the couple of weeks leading up to his death.
So, if its forgiveness you want…,” I said, taking her hands and turning to face
her. “Then I forgive you. You just need to learn to forgive yourself.”

She
nodded and burst into tears. I hugged her for ages, in tears myself.

“What
happened after he was killed?” I asked once we had finally calmed down. “To you,
I mean?”

“Lilith
lost her temper. Back then none of us knew why
Marimay
had killed him.
We assumed he had made a deal with her and not stuck to it. She blamed me for
not watching and stopping him from summoning her. It was years later that we
found she had joined the one starting the war—”

“Ballantine.”

“Yes,
that’s when we—”

“Found
out she had done it to prove her worth.”

“Yes.”

“How
did you find that out? Who told you?”

“Lilith
watched your family after I failed. Years later, as you approached your
eighteenth birthday, she sent spirits to your grandfather’s house, listening to
all, and reporting back. They saw him looking at a photograph of you and your
father; he was talking to himself, saying, ‘Why did the demon tell you that you
would be the first to die? Why you? What does this demon want? Why can’t I find
out who it is?’ That’s when we knew something was wrong. Everyone I know was
trying to find Marimay, but everyone failed. Eligos went hunting for her,
Hecate and Unsere too, but she just seemed to have vanished. But, still, even
then we didn’t know a war was going to start; we just thought she was rebelling
and killing people.”

“I
understand properly now.”

“I’m
so sorry, Keira.”

“I
know you are. Thank you for being honest and telling me.”

She
nodded and tried to smile, but she was still very upset.

After
we had composed ourselves, we went into the living room to join the others.
Everyone was still confused and flicking through the news channels to see if
there was any mention of the quake, but still there was nothing, only reports
on more people going missing and more towns being destroyed. I noticed Danny
and Hecate were missing. Tyler told me they had gone to see what damage had
been done to the town. Just as I sat down, they returned, both with concerned
looks on their faces.

“Well?”
Jake asked them. “Is it bad?”

“Erm...the
town is fine,” Hecate answered.

“What?”

“There’s
no sign of any damage. We asked a few of the people walking around and some of
the shop owners if they were okay after the quake….”

“They
all looked at us as if we had lost our minds,” Danny continued. “None of them
remembered a quake, and there is nothing to show it happened.”

“The
street was cracked, cars had crashed, buildings were damaged, signs had fallen
down,” I almost shouted.

“Keira,
the town is in perfect condition,” Hecate told me. “Are you sure you didn’t
imagine it?”

“What?”
I shouted. “Of course I’m sure…how the hell would I imagine something like
that?”

“You
have been under a lot of stress lately and—”

“Oh,
shut up! Don’t give me that crap…I know what happened. I was dragged under a
table, I heard people screaming. I watched everything fall off the walls in the
cafe.”

“Keira,
calm down,” Lily pleaded.

I
stood up and pulled my phone out of my pocket to call Steve. He was there…he
pulled me under the table.
He
would confirm what happened.

“Hello,”
he answered.

“Hey,
it’s Keira.”

“Oh
hi…where did you go before?”

“When?”

“I
went to the bathroom, but when I came out you had gone.”

“I
didn’t go anywhere, I—”

“If
you had to run off you could have left me a note or something…that would have
been polite. I asked the waitress if she had seen you, and she said you ran
out.”

“There
was an earthquake,” I struggled to say.

“When?
I didn’t feel anything.”

“You
know what, it doesn’t matter,” I told him before hanging up. The guys were
looking at me with blank expressions. “He doesn’t remember it.”

“Keira,
maybe you should get some rest,” Beth suggested.

“None
of you believe me, do you?”

“I
do,” Eligos assured me.

“It’s
just...nobody else knows about it,” Danny added.

“Then
something is messing with her,” Elizabeth said. “It’s trying to make her feel
as though she’s losing her mind.”

“It
would have to be powerful then, whatever or whoever it is. To be able to fool a
whole town, to destroy part of it and rebuild it,” Lucian commented. “That
would take some serious power.”

“I’m
sick of this!” I shouted as I stormed out of the room.

Eligos
and Tyler chased after me.

“Where
are you going?” they both asked me.

“Out,
on my own.”

Chapter 12

Voice

Keira

I
teleported myself to the field Tyler and I went to the day I experimented with
my power, then lay in the grass staring up at the clouds. Was I losing my mind?
Was there really an earthquake? Could I be imagining things? Surely not. But
then why else would the town be in perfect condition? Why wouldn’t people
remember it? Could it be something was playing tricks on me?

“Keira,”
I heard a male voice say.

I
sat up quickly and looked around me. There was nobody there.

“Keira,
I know you can hear me,” the voice said.

“Who
are you?”

“Someone
who wants to talk to you.”

“Where
are you?” I asked, standing and looking around again.

“Around.”

“Show
yourself.”

“Not
yet,” the voice said. “Don’t panic Keira; I don’t want to hurt you. Sit down,
relax—I just want to talk.”

“Who
are you? Tell me your name,” I demanded.

“If
I do that, you will not listen to what I have to say.”

“Show
yourself or I’m leaving.”

“Then
leave…I’ll wait until you’re alone again.”

“Piss
off.”

A
second later I was back in my living room.

“That
was quick,” Beth and Jake said.

“Eligos,
Elizabeth, I need to speak to you in private, please,” I told them.

They
followed me upstairs and into the games room. I told them what had just
happened.

“And
you didn’t see anyone?” Eligos asked me.

“No,
nobody; I could just hear his voice.”