Legacy of Secrets 01-Cursed Secrets (22 page)

I lay there drifting in and out of sleep, trying to piece together all of the information I’d been given. I knew I was a freak before, but my skepticism was confirmed without a doubt. Not only was I doomed to become a werewolf, but I was also some type of Shaman who could talk to dead people. On one side, parts of the situation weren’t entirely bad like learning how to control myself and figuring out what else I could do. But that didn’t outweigh the drama and utterly screwed up parts of the whole ordeal. I no longer knew who I was or where I came from. I had a father who killed my mother and I was some type of powerful being that hadn’t existed in centuries. Fantastic.

Christian

We approached the door and I was about to knock when it flew open. Lia’s grandfather eyed us carefully before motioning to come in. Austin stepped ahead of me and the door shut firmly behind us. Her grandmother came in, handing me a bag. She kissed her husband and murmured something before heading up the stairs. We all stared after her and the tension rose to a steady hum. He turned with such a knowing look I almost squirmed.

“We have much to discuss. Let’s sit, this may take a while,” he crossed to the living room. Austin shot me a nervous look. I shrugged and followed.

“I’m sorry to sound rude, but what are we supposed to be discussing?” I asked.

“Why a vampire and a sorcerer have my granddaughter hold up in a remote location claiming to be working on some type of project. It’s been almost a two weeks, no project takes that long. I need to know what you know and in exchange I will tell you what you
need
to know,” he answered nonchalantly. I was speechless.

“How did you know?” Austin asked, just as shocked as I was.

“First, tell me what you know, and then I will explain. Don’t try to lie or leave information out, I will know,” he motioned for us to sit, but he just stood waiting for us to begin.

We explained everything we knew already, including the new speculations. We also added in a few possibilities since there wasn’t a whole lot of information available. He paced the room, asked a few questions, but otherwise remained silent. Austin showed him the journal and printouts of information which sprouted more questions. My mind kept fluttering back to Lia at the house alone. I desperately hoped she
was
alone.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid I don’t know your name. Lia only refers to you as Pops and I wouldn’t want to disrespect you,” Austin asked kindly which got a snicker from him.
             

“Emerson, and I appreciate you not calling me Pops,” he chuckled and paced some more, filling the room with silence as he deliberated.

“There’s more to this story than either of you know. If we are to take Josiah down, she cannot know about anything I’m about to tell you, are we understood?” Emerson stood in the doorway. He looked tired and worn.

“Yes, sir we do. But you know she will find out eventually. We have to meet with The Council,” Austin answer matter of factly.
             

“I will cross that bridge when you get to it. For now, she needs not know everything. There is a reason the Shamans went into hiding; why I’m now an old man. Are you prepared for the whole story? Can I trust that this information will stay only within this room?” his eyes danced between us, looking for any sign of doubt. We sat there, staring wide eyed at the old man like he was about to tell us the secret to life.

“May I take notes? I will be sure to charm the pages so no one else can read them,” Austin asked hesitantly. Emerson nodded and settled into the armchair across from us.

“I was hoping this day would have come along much earlier in life, but I suppose now’s as good a time as any,” he smiled weakly and cleared his throat, “It began during the wars, when the hybrids were made.”

“I thought this was just about Josiah?” I interjected and he nodded curtly. I mumbled an apology and he went on.

“Much of what you already know is true, but there were certain happenings that weren’t recorded. The hybrids were created by the order of the vampire general. It was supposed to be a quick way to end the wars, but it turned out to be worse for all parties involved, including the Shamans. Most of our tribes were lost, with the exception of the most powerful healers, warriors, and seers. There was a compound created on an island to which we retreated to figure out a way to end the violence. To say those were dark times would be too light a phrase.

”In total there were about forty of us, all charged with different duties. Our healers traveled, without notice, to and from the battlefields assessing the dead and retrieving those who were lucky enough to survive. Our warriors were sent to special brigades cloaked as soldiers from either side, trying to gain intel. All the while our seers struggled to determine the outcome.”

“I thought that seers could determine an outcome inevitably? The future is certain,” Austin remarked confused.

“No, that job is left to The Fates, son. The Shaman seers used different methods. Think of it as following a path with a compass, if one is heading north than they will end up staying toward that path indefinitely. However, if suddenly that path changed to east than all previous outcomes are void unless they correct their course. It’s a matter of charting. Not quite as complicated as it sounds, but with so many people to watch it became exhausting.”

“So where did you fit into all of this?” I asked.

“I was among the seers. The things I saw,” he shook his head, “I haven’t and won’t speak of. I was disgusted at the inhumanity. It was clear to me that peace was far off,” he stared into space a few moments, recalling the chaos. Austin cleared his throat and Emerson continued.

“Our intel was making headway and our healers continued to bring refugees, but the outcomes were changing so rapidly there was no way to tell the ending. No ‘ah ha!’ moment, if you will. That’s when the council was formed. I contacted Cerdic and Raisie first and explained what we’d discovered. Once they teleported to the island and were sworn in, Nolyn, Saina, and a reluctant Kalonice were summoned.”

“So she was always difficult?” I smiled, but the look on Emerson’s face was grave.

“Her reluctance came from the fact that her father was the general who implemented the hybrid movement. She felt with a little more time they could win. It took a lot of convincing for her to realize no outcome was certain. Eventually, she also swore in and we began planning how to stop the rest of our people’s blood from being shed.”

“Wait, wait, wait, do you mean to tell me that you were also on The Council? You’re an Elder?” Austin’s eyes were wide in disbelief and I had to remember to close my mouth.

“Yes, I am or rather
was
an Elder. That part of the story is what Lia must not know. At least not yet. There are forces at work here that require great care to defeat. I will ask the two of you one last question and you must be honest with me,” we nodded, “will you do whatever it takes, no matter the circumstances, to make sure Lia is safe and completes what I ask?”

“I will,” we said in unison glancing at each other.

“She isn’t merely a Shaman; she’s a healer and a very powerful one. She’s a direct descendant of my blood. My daughter was never gifted with my abilities. Since Libby is completely human it was diluted. But Lia’s father is Josiah, who we all know is hybrid, which already gives way to her having other abilities. I think this is why she was able to inherit the power.”

I cleared my throat, trying to think of a way to ask my question delicately. Emerson looked at me, puzzled, and I sighed and shook my head. There was no nice way to ask what she would turn into, “Is she going to change? Is she going to be like
him
?”

“She will shift, but her Shaman abilities would have yielded the same results. It stems from the spirit. Her shifted form may look similar to a werewolf, but it should vary in color and size. She may also use her powers while shifted, whereas Josiah is just a beast. She will be able to use all of her human abilities along with the ones she inherits from Josiah.”

“How do you know this for sure?” Austin scribbled furiously in his notebook.

“Because she is more Shaman than wolf. Josiah wasn’t born a werewolf, he was created and then he was also created into the hybrid. He’s a walking infection. While in his human form he’s vampire and when he shifts he possesses the same abilities, just on an enhanced scale. Incredibly hard to kill. That’s part of the reason he’s alive. We didn’t know how to kill him so he’d stay dead,” we looked at him dumbfounded and he chuckled.

“We couldn’t merely sever his head. He was with constant guard because of the vampire general. We couldn’t imprison him because the only thing we knew for sure was he recruited the weres that were changed. We could never prove he actually killed anyone. Lastly there was no way to track him. He has no real scent. Eventually he fell off the radar.”

“So, back to forming The Council and ending the wars. How’d you do it?” I asked not sure I really wanted to know.

“We met with each of our generals, explained what we wanted. We set out specific territories, equal land on all sides. Each people got their own space, their own freedom, the only exchange was that we ruled as a whole and no longer separate from one another. As you know we appointed liaisons that would commune with us and we worked well together…for a while,” his eyes darkened. I could hear Austin’s heart beating a mile a minute and my hunger burned in my chest. Emerson looked at me curiously, but didn’t say anything. I chugged some elixir and slipped it back into my coat pocket.

“You do know that drink won’t curb your thirst forever. The more you drink the more you need. I may have something to help with that, but we’ll talk about it later,” he pointed to the bottle and I tensed. He shrugged and continued on.

“I had a particularly threatening vision not long before I left. I wasn’t sure which, but one of my fellow Elders conspired against our oath. They wanted to eliminate any threats to their plan and take over The Council. I couldn’t trust any of them. It saddened me. I went to my people and told them what I’d discovered. I feigned ill for several weeks, before word finally spread that I had passed on. The Shamans went into hiding as we’d planned, but we’ve been watching.”

“How didn’t you know which one it was? Wouldn’t you have seen it in the vision?” Austin remarked sarcastically. I nudged him with my knee, giving him a ‘what the hell’ look, but he ignored me.

“I saw the events unfold as the one taking over, not as an on looker. No one ever spoke the name of their new leader and my vision didn’t allow faces to be seen. I could feel their thoughts and saw the plan unravel in their mind. I saw myself and my people dead. It could be any of them or all of them. I attempted contacting The Fates, but they weren’t yet in alliance with us. That followed much later. I’m assuming also part of the plan.”

“So what was the plan?” I looked at him curiously. Surely he wouldn’t be telling us any of this unless it had something to do with Lia. My stomach churned.

“The plan was to secretly grow an army, attack the weaker races first, and eventually overthrow the rest of the kingdoms. With all the power on his or her side, there would no longer be anyone to answer to.”

“Where does Lia come in?” Austin asked quietly.

“She has to stop it,” he said so simply I almost laughed.

“She doesn’t even know how to deal with what she can do now, how do you expect her to stop it?” I retorted.

“She will know, in time. We still have alliances and the element of surprise. No one knows we still exist. But it will be dangerous when they find out what she is. It won’t be easy to keep her alive, but she’s the only one powerful enough to save us all. Now then, anymore questions?”

“Yeah, how the hell are we supposed to keep this from her?” I asked incredulously.

“I’m sure you can think of something. Just train her as best as you can, prepare her mind before you prepare her physically. She will need to know how to protect herself and others as well as healing. It’s important that we showcase some of what she can do. The rest of her training will come once the council meeting is over.”

“What if they want to kill her? How are we supposed to save her?” Austin breathed, clearly shocked.

“That will be up to me, but as I said before we’ll cross that bridge when it comes. In a few days I’m going to have a package delivered to your house. It will contain some items she will need to wear, as well as some journals you’ll be able to use for training. Her information must be limited. She can’t know I was on The Council or anything of our plans. It’s important she knows where she came from, but nothing about where she’s headed. There are preparations being made that need to be kept secret. If anything is leaked we’re all dead. If you so much as utter a word about this plan I’ll kill you myself. Is that understood?” his gaze was soul shattering. We nodded again.

He rose from the chair, as did we, and headed toward the foyer. He turned to Austin as he opened the door and clapped him on the back with a knowing look. He sprinted toward the car and I waited patiently until Emerson turned to me.

“What are your intentions, Christian?”

“To keep her alive,” he eyed me carefully and reached into his pocket.

“These tablets will help with the thirst. It won’t fade completely, but you’ll notice a difference. You probably won’t have to drink for days, but I warn you it will not have the same magical effects of that elixir. I will try to have something sent for you as well. I don’t know him,” he nodded toward the car, “but I know you. You keep your word. Don’t fail her. She’s very fragile after all she’s been through.”