Legacy of Secrets 01-Cursed Secrets (16 page)

“What about Josiah? He said he wasn’t leaving and now he knows I’m with you. What are we going to do about him?”

“There will be protections placed. Austin will take care of that when he gets here. Until then, we need to stay put. I can find him if I need to, but I have no plans on leaving you alone.”

“What about Nana and Pops? I can’t just leave them. I’m sure he knows where I live. Can Austin protect them?”

“I’m sure he will. We don’t want anyone getting hurt, Lia.”

“I know,” a few tears escaped and I cursed.

“I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to take in. I wish there was a better way. I hoped for a different outcome.”

“I’m sure. You’ve known a whole lot more about this than I did. I knew you were too good to be true.
Now
I feel like an idiot,” I stamped off to the kitchen, trying to breathe.

“That’s not what I meant. Everything I’ve ever said to you was the truth. I only omitted a few details until I could fit the pieces together. I’ve never been against you, Lia. When I found out about Josiah, I was devastated.”

“Yeah, because of what I’ll turn into,” I whirled to face him, cutting his words short.

“No,” he whispered with troubled eyes.

“Then what is it? A few days ago we’re making out on my bed, now
you can’t
? Either you’re being incredibly hypocritical or you realized what I’d been trying to tell you from the beginning,” the lights were flickering as my control wavered.

“I can’t be responsible for something happening to you. I won’t. If The Council thinks we’re together it could mean your death. Can’t you understand that?”

“Oh, I understand. Don’t worry I won’t get in your way,” I tore myself away from the kitchen and ran upstairs. I tried every door until I found the room for me. I cried, very hard, for hours.

I lay in bed for days, letting everything sink in. Christian avoided me and every ounce of happiness I had left was wiped away. Josiah was lurking, waiting to catch me alone. I was forced to remain inside while we awaited Austin, my sorcerer mentor.

I was too afraid to sleep, too afraid to leave my room, and even more afraid to seek any comfort from Christian. He made it clear my indefinite transformation was too much for him to bear. Apparently manipulating energy was where he drew the line at weird.

The knock on the door startled me and I scrambled from the bed. I threw it open in a huff to find Christian's sullen face. I rolled my eyes and drudged back to the bed. Being around him was hard for me. I couldn't get too close, look at him for any length of time, or allow any contact to keep the temperature in the room neutral.

"Do you need anything? You've not left this room for nearly two days. Are you hungry?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine, thank you. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. I should probably just go home," I sat up and started gathering my things.

"Lia, please don't do this. If I didn't want you here you wouldn't be staying.”

“Right, so avoiding me means you want me here? I’ll come back when Austin gets here, just text me.”

“Stop. Please. Will you at least look at me?” he appeared in front of me and I gasped, stumbling backwards.

“Don’t do that! No, I won’t look at you. I can’t!” I tried to put distance between us, but he followed.

“Lia, just stop. Why are you acting this way?”

“
I
haven’t done anything. Why don’t you ask yourself that question?!” I scrambled to the other side of the bed and he materialized, blocking my escape.

“I don’t want you to go. I can’t stop him from taking you away if you leave. Please, I will try. Just…just don’t go,” he pleaded softly. 

I started shaking my head, but his fingertips brushing my arm rendered me still. He grabbed my wrist and pressed my body against his, wrapping his arms around me. I tried to hold myself rigid, but once again, my body defied orders. I curled around him, sobbing into his shirt. It would be over too soon, but the damage was already done. Nothing but more tears would follow when he decided I was disgusting again.

I pulled away and sat heavily, trying to catch my breath. I felt his eyes on me, but I couldn’t bear the look on his face. If he was tender it would hurt that much more and if he was remorseful it would cut deeper. What I wouldn’t have given to be able to shut everything off.

“I’m sorry. I know this is not what you expected to happen. I don’t like seeing you upset or hurt, despite how I’m acting. I still care about you, no matter what may or may not happen. Isn’t that enough?”

“It will have to be. I was stupid to want more, which I’ve known from the beginning. It might take some time to get used to all of this, but just because I’m upset doesn’t mean you can do that. You’re bouncing back and forth so fast it’s hard for me to keep up. If you don’t want to be
connected
to me than you have to stop pretending.”

“I’ve never pretended. Everything I’ve done since we met was for your benefit, not mine,” he snapped. I shook my head slowly, laughing sadly.

“I’ve gathered that. I’d like to get ready for meeting this new friend of mine. Please leave me alone,” I looked up with swollen eyes. He hung his head as he disappeared, slamming the door.

Get it together!
I yelled at myself and went to shower and change. I figured I might as well look like I was put together. I dressed in fitted jeans, ankle high boots, a white beater and my favorite bomber jacket. I took the time to brush and fluff my hair, adding extra curls and clipped part of it up in a barrette. I splashed some perfume on and appraised myself in the mirror.
Not bad, girlie, not bad at all
.

I heard voices downstairs and figured Austin had arrived. Of course Christian was going to keep his distance, so I decided to keep my attention directed at Austin as much as possible. I desperately hoped it would work, or I would never be able to concentrate on anything during whatever type of training I was to do.

“Ah, you must be Lia. My, you are beautiful. I don’t believe anything he’s told me has done you justice. I’m Austin, but I’m sure you know that already,” he smiled wide and winked.

“Well, I would say all good things I hope, but in light of recent events I would find that hard to believe,” I retorted with a crooked grin.

“Shall we go into the sitting room?” Christian glared at me and lead the way.

I took my usual seat on the sofa, Austin sat in the arm chair opposite me, and Christian sat on the opposite end of the sofa. Austin looked back and forth between us and seemed to decide against bringing up the obvious tension. Setting out several things from his messenger bag, I waited patiently, not sure what to expect. I focused on Austin, ignoring Christian as best as possible, and hoped he got the picture.

“Well then, when did you start manifesting your powers?” Austin asked.

“Shortly after my parents died; I was admitted to a mental institution because the police thought I’d killed them.”

“Did anyone know what you could do?”

“No, but I did scare the hell out of most of the people there. At the time they assumed I was hallucinating or something. Obviously, we know that wasn’t the case.”

“Many times, these things surface after some type of trauma. There are those who show abilities when they come of age, but they aren’t nearly as interesting,” he chuckled and I smiled wide in return. Christian cleared his throat and I rolled my eyes.

“Did you find out anything about where her powers might have come from?” Christian looked at me strangely.

“We know it’s on the mother’s side, but I haven’t been able to find anything about the family name. I might have to try different variations of Klein. Do you remember anything strange happening when you were little?” he wrote some more.

“No, we were pretty average. No weirdness until afterward. So, why did you agree to help? You don’t even know me.”

“I’ve known Christian for a long time. I knew that if he felt it was important to help, you must be pretty special. He usually doesn’t take an interest in this type of thing.”

“Charity cases?” I mused.

“Um, actually I was talking about humans. You’re far from charity. I can tell that without knowing you,” Austin shifted uncomfortably.

“So you work for The Council?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Not exactly, I am a liaison between my people and the Elders. I am the human equivalent to a Senator. I represent the subjects with the same abilities I have, and work as an advisor to the council in matters pertaining to us. It’s quite an intricate system.”

“Are they mean?” I asked. He and Christian exchanged glances.

“The Elders themselves are firm, but they elect others to carry out sentencing. Their purpose is to keep the balance in our world. The advisors delegate the responsibility of the punishments as he or she sees fit and the council deliberates,” Austin answered somberly.

“So let me get this straight. Each race has an advisor who presides on The Council that acts as a sort of government with the Elders like a group of presidents, is that right?”

“Yes. They also vote on laws and keep up with the activities of the human government. The number one priority is keeping humans in the dark so we can coexist.”

“Okay, so what happened with the hybrids?” Austin flinched and cleared his throat.

“Well, um, there is a history behind hybrids but no one is entirely sure of the actual details. I can tell you what I know, but it is limited. Most of the stories are viewed as legends now; very few actually believe them,” I nodded.

“Centuries ago, werewolves and vampires were mortal enemies. Many stories and movies have been made reflecting that, but for those who lived through it, the fiction will never come close to the real thing. Humans knew of our existence back then and were wise to stay indoors at night. That was when the monsters came out,” he winked.

“Anyway, many people believed two things about weres: either they passed a gene from a were-parent or they were bitten by another were. Both are true. In times of war, they were made to increase numbers, but it was better to breed due to natural selection. When you’re pressed for time you do what you must.

“So in the midst of battle, a vampire general concocted a plan to help the vamps get the upper hand. He decided to take a prisoner, one of the strongest soldiers from the enemy, and experiment. At the end of their bloodiest battle he captured one. The silver tipped arrow they used caused him to immediately revert to his human form. They carried him back to their coven, strapped him to a table, and waited for the general.

“Since werewolves heal quickly, a liquid silver IV was used to keep him weak. Finally the general came and offered a deal. If he worked for the vampires, the general would grant immortality and wealth. He was chosen for his cunning and strength, ultimately catching the general’s eye. But the gifts the general offered would come at a price.

“The general explained that the venom in his bite could kill a werewolf in his wolf form, but not as a human. The venom reacted as if he wasn’t a werewolf at all. The prisoner would live, but only as long as he agreed to work for the vampires.

“He considered the offer and reluctantly accepted. He hadn’t chosen to be a werewolf, but if he declined the vamps would kill him. The general bit him and waited for the change to be completed. They trained and honed his skills as a key member of the army. The vamps instructed him to choose weres from his old pack to join him. In the end, the hybrids helped the vampires drive the remaining werewolves out of the country, and almost to extinction. Whoever remained gathered their families and moved to remote locations among the humans.

“The vampires eventually became overrun with hybrids and killed the most volatile. Several thousand more vampires were murdered by their hybrid creations. The Elders were formed and ordered all of them to be eliminated immediately.”

“So why is Josiah still alive?”

“Josiah is a master of manipulation, but he is tame compared to the others. It’s possible he’s the soldier who started it all. It’s almost impossible to know for sure unless he admits it, but most survivors of the wars don’t speak about it. So if he is, in fact, the original hybrid, he is very old and was trained to be exceptionally resourceful.”

“In other words, the only choice we have is to go to The Council and prove what he’s done. With any luck, they will sentence him to the same fate as the others. Our main goal is to keep you alive. They may know a way to prevent you from ever shifting,” Christian seemed hopeful, but I wasn’t giving in that easily.

“What if they decide to kill me? I know I’m not a hybrid, but we know they’ll be afraid I’ve been compromised. What’s the plan then? I’m sentenced to death and there won’t be anything either of you could do about that, is there?” I felt sick. Christian and Austin stared at me. Once The Council made its decision, I would be at their mercy. No amount of pleading would sway them.

“Don’t worry, Lia. Austin knows the procedures and expectations thoroughly. By the time you’re summoned, you’ll be trained. I’m going to keep looking for answers about your abilities. You will be ready, I promise,” Christian pledged.