Chapter 9

"You're an Original aren't you?" Lisette asked, he nodded. "You've been moonlighting as a priest? Not a bad cover I suppose." It was actually pretty brilliant as he explained that he could use the excuse of helping a new church when the time came for him to move on. He was automatically accepted by the community as a man of the cloth, it was a really good plan that had obviously been working for quite some time.

"I've waited for you a long time, you know," he said raising an eyebrow at her as he leaned against the back of a pew.

"How's that?"

"It came to me in a vision, many years ago, before you were created and probably before you were even born. 'Only she with hair like hell's fire shall save our race from destruction.' You look exactly as I remember."

"Save the race from destruction?" Lisette was having trouble wrapping her head around what she was hearing.

"You are our salvation, the one who will save our race from the wrath of the Sovereign. Only one may seek forgiveness for the sins of the many."

"You're making me sound like Jesus and it's freaking me out a little."

"You were just willing to sacrifice yourself for an angry mob to satisfy the demands of a bloodthirsty vampire," he reminded her with a smirk.

"That was bullshit and you know it," Lisette replied, smiling a little herself. "I would have never offered myself up if I hadn't killed him already. And by the way I cleared up his campsite, so nobody will stumble across it and either think someone else has gone missing or think that he's still around." The Priest nodded and then looked up at her suddenly as though he'd just remembered something.

"Goodness where are my manners? I suppose I should introduce myself properly, my name is Father Thomas, uh, Michael Thomas."

"That's quite a modern name for someone your age," she teased.

He smiled at her, "It's changed a bit over the centuries, my given name is Mikhael Tomas," he replied, pronouncing his name "mick-hy-al toe-moss"

Lisette reached out to shake Father Thomas's hand, "I'm Lisette Duvall, created a little over two hundred years ago."

"Oh my dear, I know all about you. I knew when you would be changed, why, and that you would immediately destroy your maker. I knew that you'd become a slayer as a result and that you hold the human life in very high regard. I even know that you prefer the company of women over that of men." He raised an eyebrow slightly as a smile tugged at his lips once again"

"The only thing I don't know about you is how you're going to save us all from the wrath of the Sovereign or why you were chosen to do so."

"I guess we're both stuck there because I don't even know how to find the Sovereign, much less how to save a race from them. And if the Sovereign hates half breeds so much, why would it be one who saves us all? "

"Those are questions that you will need to find answers to yourself."

Lisette glanced out of a nearby window, lost in thought for a moment as she watched the last of the bodies being brought out into ambulances. She had always been on a mission to save humans from evil, but even she could never have guessed that this was her true path in life.

"It's funny that I never set out to save vampires, only humans, and now, somehow I'm going to end up saving us all?" Father Thomas gave her a wan smile.

"Life rarely works out the way we expect it to, dear."

"Clearly."

"Did you want to go down to the morgue and survey the bodies?" Lisette nodded.

"I should also let the police know where to find him I suppose. Seeing him dead may put people more at ease and maybe help them get over their idea of sacrificing me to save themselves. Its times like this when I wonder why I would even bother trying to save people when they can be so horrible to their fellow man."

"Then why do you fight so hard for their survival?"

"Because I think about the ones I love and how I'd feel if anything bad were to happen to them or others that they love." She would have blushed if she could and Father Thomas silently nodded his understanding. Lisette had just opened her mouth to speak again when an earsplitting scream pierced the air. In a flash the two of them had the front doors open and were standing on the front steps. A woman was in hysterics over a body that the sheet seemed to have slipped off of. Her golden brown hair looked very familiar and Lisette's jaw fell open. Of course he'd been at the town hall meeting.

"Oh Christ," she said without thinking as she watched Elizabeth McKinnon go into hysterics over the body of her husband, Ronald. She clutched him to her, refusing to let them take him away. It was as though she hadn't even noticed the bloody gash on his neck as she buried her face against him.

"I assume you'll be taking your leave now," Father Thomas said quietly, Lisette just nodded silently. When she turned to him he was holding out a business card.

"When things calm down, give me a call and we'll go down to the morgue, it's not like the bodies are going anywhere." Lisette tried to force a wry smile at his lame joke as she took the card from him and put it in her pocket. They exchanged a final hand shake before Lisette stealthily took off into the woods to avoid being seen. At the same moment, Elizabeth raised her head from her husband's corpse and looked behind her as though she expected to still see someone in the spot where Lisette had been standing just seconds ago.

Lisette rushed up the steps to Aurelia's house and before she could even knock, the door flew open and Aurelia was in her arms. As she folded the other girl into her embrace, a lump rose in her throat and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell her about her father.

"I'm so glad you're safe, was it awful? Did they try to hurt you?" Aurelia was nearly in hysterics herself from all the time she'd spent alone, waiting for Lisette to come back. It was obvious that no one had contacted her about her father yet. Lisette pulled away, taking Aurelia's hands in her own and drawing in a deep breath.

"Sweetheart you need to sit down, I have something I have to tell you," Lisette said, for some reason hoping that she sounded motherly rather than ominous. She led Aurelia over to the couch and sat down beside her, still holding tightly to her hands.

"While I was in town I saw your mother..." she started and Aurelia's eyes were immediately the size of saucers and her lip began to quiver.

Lisette was quick to shake her head, "No she's fine, she's fine." She took another deep breath and tried to start again, "What I mean is that I saw your parents out in front of the town hall..." She'd never had to tell anyone that their loved one had died before and was doing a terrible job now. She decided to just come out and say it.

"Your father was at that meeting last night, sweetie I'm so sorry."

"No he wasn't, I talked to him last night, he came in after I came home, I was so afraid he'd be angry with me for sneaking in late, but he didn't even seem to have noticed. He just told me that he loved me and how proud he was of me..." she trailed off as a different scenario now dawned on her. "He came back to say goodbye didn't he?"

Lisette swallowed hard and nodded as Aurelia's eyes filled up with the tears that Lisette so badly wished she could cry right then. For hours she held Aurelia while she cried, gently rocking her back and forth. When Cadence came home, Lisette would have preferred to stake herself than to repeat the heartbreaking news. It wasn't until Elizabeth came quietly into the house when reality seemed to settle over the household. Her face was drawn, ashen and her eyes were puffy from crying, she registered no surprise to see Lisette comforting her children and handing them tissues.

She noted that Lisette's face showed no sign of tears, though she looked properly heartbroken.

"Cadence, will you go upstairs for a moment please dear? I need to speak to your sister and her friend alone." Much to all of their surprise, she did what she was asked with no argument and slowly made her way up the stairs. Elizabeth remained standing and silent until they all heard the upstairs door close.

Her voice was very quiet when she finally opened her mouth to speak. "So it's true then?" She was looking at Lisette who stared back at her, confused.

"What exactly is true ma'am?"

"You're a vampire," she stated simply.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Lisette was fully prepared to lie at all costs. Elizabeth sat down in her husband's chair facing the two girls.

"You may have had a couple centuries to work on it, but your lying isn't quite convincing my dear." Lisette's eyebrows drew together as she continued to look at the woman with the same confused expression.

"Mother what are you talking about? Lisette is no less human that you or me."

"If she was human, she wouldn't be sitting here comforting my children about the death of their father with dry eyes. No human could do that unless they were truly evil. She's a vampire, therefore she can't cry although everything about her says that she desperately wishes she could." Lisette had to admit that Elizabeth was an incredibly observant and logical woman.

Sensing no immediate threat from this woman, Lisette proceeded with caution to extract more information.

"So let's say that I am a vampire then, what good does it do you to know, and what do you plan to do with the information?"

Elizabeth looked slightly offended, "I want your word that you'll protect my daughter," was her simple reply. Lisette and Aurelia were both taken by surprise as they sat back in their seats without realizing it.

"There is nothing to protect you from ma'am, he is gone...I, uh, took care of him myself, he won't be a problem again." Elizabeth nodded.

"Good, however, I imagine that if you plan to maintain your residence here then there will be more after you. Father Thomas told me that you were very special and that I should put my faith in you no matter how I may feel about what people say you are. He also said that when all is said and done, the world will be a better place because of you. If a man of God believes that you are here for a special purpose, then who am I to argue with that?" She cleared her throat, giving the other two women the opportunity to speak before she continued.

When they remained silent, she proceeded with her speech. "It's also come to my attention that your relationship with my daughter may be more than friendly." Aurelia felt the color drain from her face as she stared at her mother and Lisette, very discreetly, squeezed her hand.

"While it's not what her father or I would have ever chosen for her, given the situation, you're probably the most capable of keeping my daughter safe. If you care enough about her to do that, then I'll just have to accept that things aren't going to turn out the way I expected." Elizabeth nodded with an air of satisfaction while Lisette and Aurelia both stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Well don't just sit there, are you going to take care of my daughter or not?"

Lisette stammered, "I, uh, of course I will, I love your daughter more than I value my own life and I will do all I can to prevent anything from happening to her or your family." Very few people had ever taken her by surprise, and this was the shock of a lifetime. Aurelia looked up at her with all the love she felt in her eyes, but Lisette didn't take her eyes off of Elizabeth for one second. She couldn't help expecting the next shoe to drop.

"I just wish you'd known what was coming so that their father would still be here with us." She spoke with the air of someone exhausted by the day, and was clearly all cried out, putting her focus, instead, on protecting the remaining members of her family.

"I came here as part of a personal mission that I've been on for many years. My life's work has been to destroy vampires like the one who-" she stopped to swallow before continuing, "slaughtered our neighbors. It has only recently been brought to my attention that I have a greater purpose and that I may serve both humans and vampires, allowing both races to finally live peacefully together without fear." She didn't mention that the priest was the one who had enlightened her, if nobody knew he was a vampire then he clearly didn't want them to know.

"My greatest wish is that you accomplish your task successfully," Elizabeth said kindly. "However, if either of my children is harmed in any way due to your negligence, I will kill you myself, do I make myself clear?" Lisette nodded, shock showing clearly on her face, while Elizabeth remained cool and unruffled. She was certainly full of surprises.

"If you girls wouldn't mind getting dinner started, I think I'd like to go lie down for a while. It's been a very long and emotionally draining day." The two of them nodded silently and watched as Elizabeth rose and ascended the stairs. Neither of them dared so much as to breathe until they heard her bedroom door close softly behind her.

"She's in shock," Aurelia said in disbelief. "My mother doesn't' act like this," Lisette patted her hand.

"Death changes people my love," she assured her and then stood to head for the kitchen. "If you want to just relax I'd be happy to cook dinner, just tell me what you want."

Aurelia looked up at her in surprise, "You can cook?"

"You forget, sweet girl,that I come from a time where girls were married off at fourteen. They were considered to be women by that age and had been instructed in everything they could possibly need to know to prepare them for their nuptials. The equipment has changed a bit since then, but I'm sure the basics are still quite the same." Aurelia smiled over at the vampire she was so hopelessly in love with.

"You never fail to surprise me," she said, standing to come over and wrap her arms around Lisette.

"I can't give away all my secrets right away, how else will I keep you on your toes?" Lisette smiled as their lips came together.

"Somehow I think that staying on my toes will be the least of my worries." Aurelia said against Lisette's lips.

"You're probably right," Lisette agreed, wrapping her arms around Aurelia and picking her up before carrying her back over to the couch. "You relax, you've had a long day too," after kissing Aurelia on the forehead, she headed back into the kitchen.

After raiding their fridge, she decided to make a simple stew that she'd always found comforting as a child. Moments later, everything was chopped and in the pot, while she waited for it to boil. She was cleaning the knife in the sink when she heard someone coming down the back stairs. Not giving it any thought, she didn't bother looking to see who it was.

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour," she wasn't sure that she could look Aurelia's remaining family in the eye yet, knowing that their future depended on her now. She set the knife on the counter and began to clean the blood from the beef off of the cutting board. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a hand reaching out to grab the knife. Assuming that someone was helping by putting it away, she turned to smile and say thank you. At first she didn't even realize what had happened when she felt the sharp pain in her chest. It wasn't until Aurelia gasped and came running over, screaming, that she finally understood what had happened as she looked down at the blade penetrating her chest so deeply that only the handle was still visible.