Betrayed: Dark beginnings (10 page)

The woman from earlier was nowhere to be seen, but the blood from her head stained the road. Elizabeth walked through the woods taking her time, listening to everything. The birds tweeting to each other, the insects moving, the leaves swaying in the breeze, the twigs and dry leaves crackling under her feet. She did not think about anything but these sounds, she did not look at the lake, only to the ground. Snap, crunch, snap, she listened to the noises carefully, breathing slowly, distracting herself from reality.

She reached the house quicker than she had hoped, it still looked the same. For some reason she had expected everything to change. She did her best to not think of Jordan and how he would walk up this drive to see her every day, she could not think, it hurt too much.

There was no commotion, no shouting or screaming, nothing compared to earlier.

She walked through the door, not looking in front of her. Cecile was asleep. She could hear her snoring thought the walls. She looked around and saw that Lorcan was not in the house.

It took her by surprise; she expected him and Cecile to be here, waiting for her to come back. Lorcan was not by the entrance of the lake where she last saw him, had he gone after her?  She picked up her phone and called him but there was no answer.

She tried twice, three times, and then gave up. She wondered if she had hurt Lorcan, she knew he liked her but she had not realized he liked her enough to go after her. To be hurting this much from watching her with Jordan, did he love her? She waited by her phone for a call but nothing.

Hours passed and she felt exhausted. She watched the clock on the wall tick past slowly. Three hours since Jordan died, Four hours, Five hours. She looked up to the ceiling and thought of the last time they were together in her room.

She swallowed hard then thought of Lorcan. He still was not back and was not answering his phone either. She did not know what to do, she had no idea what was happening and she was not in control anymore, which she hated.

She walked into the living room and woke Cecile; she never slept in her room anymore and had taken a liking to the armchair.

“Cecile.” Elizabeth said poking her arm. She grunted but did not wake.

“CECILE!” She shouted loudly. Cecile woke with a small scream and jumped to her feet
.

“My god, are you trying to give me a heart attack.” She said gasping.

She stared at Elizabeth waiting for a reply but she did not know what to say so she just stared back at her.

“What’s the matter?” She lowered her voice, she could tell something was wrong and Elizabeth had to do her best to hold back tears. Elizabeth sat down and ran her nail along the interior in a trance.

“Jordan’s dead, Lorcans missing, we got a Limnade and I don’t know where he has taken it.” She could not give explanations; this is the best she could manage without breaking down again.

“I didn’t think you would actually kill him, you were so different when he was with you Elizabeth. I can’t say I’m not disappointed.” She sat down next to
Elizabeth. “And I said I do not want to live longer, you must listen to me. I do not want extra powers or to look young again. I have served you and done what you have asked, just let me die how I want to ok. Plus I never trusted that Lorcan anyway.”

Elizabeth buried her head in her hands. Great! Jordan died for nothing, this was all for nothing, she thought.

“We need to leave Cecile, now.” Elizabeth said quickly jumping to her feet.

“You can’t keep running away all the time, Elizabeth.”

She looked tired “I know, but we need to, please go pack your things and mine. I will go and get a car and food for you.” Elizabeth said as she walked out of the room; she did not want to hear any more about it.

She got to the porch and pulled out some money from the draw in the small cabinet. She did not plan on buying a car of course, she would just steal one. But she knew they would need money for fuel, and food for Cecile. Elizabeth walked out the door; it was starting to lighten up. She walked down the drive and saw Lorcan at the bottom of the hill. He looked different. He smiled at her and waved, she looked back at him angrily.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” She could not help it, all her rage that bubbled inside her; she was taking out on Lorcan.

“I was just on my way to see you, what a show that was earlier.” he said sarcastically. She looked to the floor, embarrassed.

“Yes, well there is no need for the Limnade now. I have decided to respect Cecile wishes, even if they are not right.” Elizabeth said coldly.

“Good, because I have already used her Limnade for myself, I am now immortal with great powers. I have come to request that you come with me back to Edinburgh.”

He did not look sweetly to her anymore but stared at her with a smug smile. He had already taken the Limnades power for his own, and he did not know she did not need them until just now. He had betrayed her!

“You used me.” She said with her mouth open and ran at him aiming for his throat. She was blown backwards by Lorcan; the air was knocked out of her lungs.

She wrestled to get herself to stand back up but it was as if she was glued to the ground, she felt weak.

“You can try and get away all you want but you will fail. I have always loved you Elizabeth, why can’t you see that? I want you. It’s all I have ever wanted. And now I am the most powerful warlock of all time, we can have whatever we want.” He looked at her excitedly.

Elizabeth could see he cared, she really could, but she did not want to go with him. Yes she found him attractive and loved spending time with him, but not enough to be with him in that way. She just wanted Jordan back.

“Please don’t make me force you Elizabeth. I don’t want to do that, but I will” He said looking hurt.

She stared at him, tears prickled at her eyes. She was to go with him willingly, or be forced to go with him. She thought maybe she should just play along; then she can gain his trust again and run.

“Ok Lorcan, I’ll go with you. You need to get Cecile as well, and then we can go.”

He did not look convinced but all the same he released the spell on her allowing her to get to her feet. Elizabeth brushed the dirt off her clothes and looked around; he put his arm around her waist and led her back to the house like a prized trophy.

They approached the door, pushing it inwards. Lorcan walked in with Elizabeth, not loosening his grip from her waist.

“CECILE!” He shouted up the stairs. Elizabeth could hear the sound of things falling on the floor and her hurrying to the top of the stairs.

Cecile had a suitcase in one hand and some of her underwear in the other; she looked at Lorcan confused and hid the underwear behind her back quickly.

She looked at Elizabeth puzzled

“Elizabeth?” she said confused, Elizabeth did not answer her; instead she looked to the floor.

“Are you ready? We are waiting to leave. We are going to Edinburgh, to my coven’s home.” He said sternly. She did not wait any longer and ran back into the room.

Elizabeth could hear Cecile gathering all the stuff from the floor “We are going to live like royalty, Elizabeth; I have waited for this moment for years.”

He looked at her sweetly and tilted her face up to his; he gazed into her eyes and caressed her cheek softly.

He moved his lips to hers, and she instinctively moved away. He looked at her confused. Then she remembered she needed to gain his trust. She kissed him back, his lips felt unfamiliar to her. It didn’t feel arousing or nice to her, just strange. He seemed to be enjoying himself however.

chapter eighteen

They stepped into Lorcans range rover; Cecile fastened her seatbelt as he sped off.

Elizabeth slumped into her seat and looked out of the window, watching the memories of Jordan fly past.  How did this happen? She thought. She had considered running, but where could she go, especially now that he has Cecile.

She hadn’t spoken to Cecile yet, mainly because she didn’t know what to say to her. She felt Cecile’s hand squeeze her shoulder in support. Elizabeth relaxed a little and looked to Lorcan as he concentrated on the road. Lorcan was silent throughout the journey, they all were.

They stopped a few times for toilet breaks and food. He put a spell on Elizabeth that prevented her from running. She could not go more than twenty foot from him. She thought about shouting to the humans at the service station for help, but what could they do? Lorcan would kill them all instantly.

There was no one who could save her. She felt so alone. She thought of Jordan and how he would have tried to save her, to protect her, if she had not killed him that is.

She sat quietly and smiled at Lorcan. She knew she needed to play her part better. She looked over to Cecile. Cecile had barely touched her food, but instead stared longingly to the people walking around the room, eating their food, drinking their coffee. They were both thinking it. They should have just run when they had a chance and left everything behind.

They climbed back into the range rover. Elizabeth rested her head against the window; the vibrations numbed her thoughts momentarily. Cecile did her best to keep her eyes open as she watched the trees whisk past. They drove for hours. Elizabeth was exhausted and kept dozing off, until a bump woke her up. They reached Edinburgh after dark. They pulled up to the gates of the mansion.

Elizabeth and Cecile sat up to get a close look. It was massive, and handsome. Elizabeth had heard of it before; it’s where Lorcan’s coven lives, they practice there. They were one of the more well-known covens. Most say they are the only coven in England, but everyone forgets about the one in Cornwall.

Lorcan was never high up in the coven, just another warlock. The iron gates opened and he drove to the front of the house, around the gold fountain. He stopped the range rover and opened the door for Elizabeth.

She stepped out on to the gravel and helped Cecile out. They left their bags behind and followed Lorcan as he strode through the front door. Elizabeth looked to Cecile nervously as she bit at her nails. The men and women stared at them as they followed Lorcan up the marble staircase. They had reached a gigantic hall; the walls were stone, and the ceilings were abnormally high.

There were two chairs at the back of the hall with four steps leading up to them. On them sat a man and a woman, easily in their sixty’s.

They stood up when they entered and stared at Elizabeth and Cecile anxiously.

“Lorcan, what is this?” The man gestured to Elizabeth and Cecile. Lorcan smiled cunningly.

“I’m going to have to ask you to step down Tokala. I am the ruler of all the creatures now.” The old couple laughed and sat back down.

“And what makes you think you can do that?” They looked amused. Lorcan raised his hands, and they rose off the ground. They attempted to cast spells, but they couldn’t. They were frightened.

“WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?” The old man shouted.

“I will break both of your necks unless you agree. I have more power than you have ever known, and a vampire for a fiancée. Step down, or I will kill you both.” He stared at them venomously.

Fiancée, since when? I had never agreed to this, Elizabeth thought. She looked frantically to Cecile who shrugged. This had happened so suddenly, that Elizabeth felt fear cut into her, something she had not felt for
centuries.

She couldn’t ignore the sickness in her stomach as she watched Lorcan. Cecile stared at the floor, her head felt numb. As bad as it sounds, she wished she had never stayed with Elizabeth. She wanted to leave years ago, but had looked at Elizabeth as a sister, she couldn’t leave her behind.

“NO!” The old man shouted. Lorcan twisted his hands. Their bodies twisted with them, their bones snapped, and they screamed in agony but they did not give in. Lorcan clenched his fists and the sound of their bones crunching filled Elizabeth’s and Cecile’s ears. Lorcan looked at Tokala and Rosina disappointed and snapped their necks.

They dropped to the ground, and he threw them to one side. No one had ever seen powers like this. He dragged Elizabeth to the chair in which the old woman was sitting. She sat down obediently as he sat in his. Cecile stood by her side, not saying a word, her face expressionless.

He looked to the small group of warlocks in the corner of the hall.

“Gather everyone; tell them to come here immediately. If anyone chooses not to, then they will end up the same way as Tokala and Rosina.” He gestured to their dead bodies.

They scrambled out the door quickly and ran down the staircase. The sound of sobbing disappeared with them.

“See Elizabeth, I told you we will live like royalty. You have no idea what I have planned for us.” He said brightly.

He put his hand on hers. She went to pull away but his grip was firm. He disgusted her, which was a difficult task, as it was rare for her to be surprised or disgusted anymore.