6. Puzzle Pieces

 

Nothing special happened during dinner.  We practically just ate everything off of our plates and everybody preferred to remain quiet.  Sophia was the only one who said a word or two every now and then, just to break the ice.  Eliot and Haidee, on the other hand, kept meeting up with my gaze and smiling.  It seemed to me that I was really close to the two of them at the time that I could still remember, well, them.  I can’t help but feel guilty for even forgetting…

I stoop up from the table when Stanley did.  He was long before done eating but he stayed beside me until I finished.  I couldn’t help but get the impression that he was waiting for me.  Either way, I appreciated the gesture.  ‘Cause the truth was, he was the only person I was actually familiar with.

“Did you like the food?” he whispered as we walked back into the same hallway from where we entered.

“They weren’t kidding when they said you were stinking rich.”  To say that I liked the food would be an understatement. I had the impression that they had some well-renowned chef for a cook with the way each dish was prepared with such elegance and precision.  I would’ve eaten a whole lot more if his family wasn’t there with us.

“They?”

I shrugged, noting that ‘they’ actually referred to nearly everybody.  “Never mind.”

We walked through the maze of hallways of their rest house.  I kept myself busy with the variety of paintings that hang on the walls.  I recognized a few to be the work of either his mother or his father because of the beautiful, cursive signature written at the bottom.  They were a talented family, to say the least.  Even Stanley was known as the best violin player at school.

“Grandpa wants to talk to you.”  He suddenly said, breaking the silence.

“…”

“Raymond Rayver, Sr.” He turned to me and grinned.  “He’s a little grouchy but you’ll like him.”

Just then, we reached the end of the third hallway we walked through and he pushed the heavy-looking doors open.  My mouth fell before I could lock them in place.  There were tall shelves jam-packed with books lining the wall.  Everything looked ancient.  And with books, it meant that all in all, I was staring at a million-or-so collection.

A large, brown, single couch had its back on us, a tall lamp turned on beside it.  Its high backrest prevented me from seeing if there was anyone occupying it, probably reading a stack of carefully chosen books.  But I had a feeling there was.

Stanley walked straight towards the couch, inexplicably in a happy mood.  “Hey Gramps, Cameron’s here.”

Gramps.  I was kinda shocked to hear the word coming out of his mouth.  I always thought anybody old coming from a family this well-off would demand a kind of respect that would be so many levels high.

The man on the couch was, well, old like any normal grandfathers.  I was a little surprised not to see him wearing any glasses.  His hair was still thick but was almost completely white.  He had the same, long face as Stanley’s father, and also the same, green eyes.  He had bushy eyebrows which made his piercing gaze more effective.  ‘Grouchy, old man’ would apply perfectly.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me with that disrespectful nickname you came up with?!”  His voice was booming that it bounced off the shelves like they were smooth, flat walls.

Stanley chuckled.  “Don’t be like that Gramps.  Look, Camey’s here to see you.  You should try and be friendlier for once.”

The old man who I assumed was Raymond Rayver, Sr. didn’t even bother to look at me.  He simply snorted and resumed his reading.  “I can’t just restore her memories you know.  I can take them away but I can’t give them back.”

He took away my memories?

Stanley sat on the equally-large arm of the couch and placed a casual arm around Grandfather Raymond.  “All I was going to ask was for you to explain to her a bit of…”  He hesitated for a moment.  “…what we are.”

I turned to him with I was sure to be curiosity written all over my face.  I knew I was finally getting the answers I wanted and basically begged for.  Oh please let this image of a perfectly grouchy, old man be rational enough to take on the job of explaining everything to my feeble mind!  (I didn’t even know I was capable of such a long prayer.)

Grandfather Raymond sighed – a good sign.  This means he’s preparing himself for the long, long speech he was about to give.

“Sit her down,” he told Stanley who assisted me like an incapacitated person towards a chair that I hadn’t noticed standing in front of the couch.

I was excited but I did my best to hide it.  Getting all enthusiastic just seemed so lame in my head.  I gulped in preparation for whatever impact the information might do to me.

 

It was warm a second, and then cold the next.  The feeling came and went that it became almost impossible to notice the transitions.  Where I was, I had no idea.  But then I knew I wasn’t really there.  It was confusing in a way that I wasn’t really confused.

At first, everything was white.  It was the kind of white that was so clean and brilliant that it was supposed to hurt to be staring at it.  But I felt no pain – not even a slight twinge.

Somehow I knew that I was slowly starting to make out figures, shapes and shadows.  It took a while but I was finally able to see everything clearly.

I was in a sort of underground meeting place with high, stone, cold walls and damp, uncarpeted floor.  Huge, iron chandeliers hang from the ceiling.  About a hundred candles were attached to them, providing light for the gathering below. 

It was among the black iron skeleton of the chandeliers that I hovered (yes, hovered) and watched the scene below.

There was neither furniture nor decorations.  No extravagant works of art, no ancient tapestries, no tables, no chairs, not even a small foot stool.  The room was bare.

Somehow, my brain knew exactly what I was looking at.

In the middle of the room, there was a “coven”.  It was a coven of different species from pureblooded vampires, werewolves, demons, witches and warlocks, ghosts and ghouls and even creatures from the “Blessed” bloodline to half-breeds of every kind – even human.  Each had a single person to represent their line.  It was because of some sort of treaty that the coven was created.

All these creatures exist without the knowledge of most mortals, a voice inside my head said.  It was grumpy and deep.  Grandfather Raymond…

From which one did you and your family came from? I asked back.

What caught my eye next was a tall, blonde woman in a deep, elegant green cloak.  She looked perfectly human but was beautiful beyond words.  Her hair was long, straight, and shiny.  Her eyes were a lighter color of her cloak and her skin was smooth and pale.  She had a body so slender that moved gracefully with each little action she made.  When she walked, her feet didn’t even seem to touch the ground.  She had a certain kind of air that demanded a different kind of respect.

From the “Blessed” bloodline, I noted.  Although I wasn’t quite sure how I knew what she was.

A teenage girl who was smaller of about a foot walked beside her quietly.  The night-blue cloak she wore seemed a little too large for her.

The girl had short, dark hair that framed her heart-shaped face and eyes so round that they looked like glittering emeralds from afar.  She had a look of innocence that contrasted the expression of the tall, picturesque woman.

Another Blessed creature…  But I sensed something different in her – something that wasn’t entirely the same with the woman.

She’s half…  I could sense the hesitation in Grandfather Raymond’s voice.  It didn’t quite fit the natural tone of demand in his voice.  …”evil”.

Evil?  How could someone with such an angelic face be evil?  I could only guess what he was referring to.  …half demon…

No.

I cocked my head in confusion.

Our ancestor is half of something a lot worse.  I even heard the sigh that came afterwards.  She’s the daughter of the devil himself.

She’s literally half evil.  I almost didn’t recognize Stanley’s voice when he interjected.  He sounded… ashamed of what they were revealing to me.

But she’s half Blessed right?  Wouldn’t that make her the same with humans?  You know, neutral?

It doesn’t.  It was Grandfather Raymond’s voice again who answered me.  It doesn’t make her neutral but far from it.

I don’t understand.  Honestly, I didn’t.  To me it seemed like simple Mathematics that a positive and a negative cancel out each other.

It just makes her powerful.  It was Stanley again.  It surprised me how hearing his voice comforted me in such a weird way…

But how she would that power would be entirely up to her.

I nodded.  Wow…  Who ever thought the Rayvers would be this kind of family?  Apparently, they were the descendants of a very powerful being.  It was common sense that told me that that made them powerful as well.  Amazing…

That explains a lot – especially how Sophia healed me.  I just thought at the moment that it was weird.

There was silence as I watch the creature busy themselves with talking with each other.  Their voices were so soft I only perceived them as murmurs.

I kept my eye on the woman and the teenager as they walked towards a trio of creatures at the far back.  They seemed to be discussing something.  All their hoods were pulled up, covering their faces.

The tall one in a blood-red cloak hushed his companions when the woman was near enough to hear them.  A vampire… They turned to her one by one, almost like they were sneering.

“Why did you bring that wretched creature with you?”  The big guy rumbled in a low, growling voice.  His body was so bulky that it still showed through his big, brown cloak.  Werewolf…

The woman’s expression did not change.  She didn’t seem to be affected by the resentment of the group.  “You hang out with a vampire.”

“So?”  The creature scratched what I assumed was his beard.

“You’re a werewolf.”

The creature snarled in response.

“That’s not the same thing.”  The remaining guy in a dark blue cloak removed his hood, revealing a long, black hair and piercing amethyst eyes.  His eyes were unlike anything I have ever seen.  His face was exquisitely beautiful as well – his face was long, his jaw eminent, his skin a perfect tan.  A shape-shifter…

“We are all members of one coven that is why they worked to make a compromise.”  He gestured towards his two companions.  And then his gaze fell on the teenage girl.  “She doesn’t even belong here.”

The young girl took a step back, almost hiding herself behind the tall woman.  I could tell that she was scared.

The vampire also removed his hood, revealing a pale skin, hay-like silver hair, and blood-red eyes.  He grinned, revealing his pointed fangs.  “But I do like the smell of her blood.”  He took a step towards the girl.  “And knowing that you’re not allowed to lift a finger to protect her is making it harder to refuse the temptation.  I want to drink her dry…”  He had the look of intoxication.

The woman glared.

Is it true? I asked Grandfather Raymond and Stanley who I knew were still in my head.

Yes, Stanley replied.  We still don’t know the reason behind such an arrangement.  Only that it was true.

I shook my head.  This is all so unfair!  I could see fear reflecting in the powerful being’s eyes.  For her…

The werewolf charged at the girl so fast that all I saw was a blur.  The next thing that registered in my mind was his big hand around the girl’s neck.

My own breath was caught in my throat as I watched him lift the girl’s petite body off of the floor.  She gripped his wrist in futile attempt to stop him. 

No!  I looked around.  Can’t we do something?!  Why isn’t anyone doing anything?!

Calm down, girl.  It was Grandfather Raymond’s voice that broke through my hysterics.  This is just a flashback.  You can’t do anything.  You’re not even really there.

That’s right.  The painful reality hit me.  I can’t do anything.  I forgot for a second that I was in some kind of spell Grandfather Raymond conjured to help me understand better what he was going to talk about – their bloodline.

I sighed.  I was stuck to watching whatever was going to happen.  I hated being useless…

“Alisha!”  The woman’s voice went up a notch.  It snapped me out of my own thoughts.  I focused on the scene below once again.

The young girl’s eyes were now changing color – from deep green to blue, from blue to black, from black to blood-red, and then finally to a mercury-like silver.  The look of innocence that was once on her face was gone.  She now had an expression of pure coldness – a hint of evil.

Her hold on the werewolf’s wrist was tightening.  Her nails dug into his skin.

I gulped.  For some reason, I knew she would kill the werewolf, the vampire… even the Blessed woman with her…

Stop!  Stanley’s voice was firm when it rang in my head.  She doesn’t need to see this!

What came next was the feeling that I was being pulled away from the vision.  Slowly, the shadows disappeared and then shapes became contorted.

The half Blessed, half evil girl’s glimmering, silver eyes were the last thing I saw.  She was grinning, a look of bloodlust overshadowing her angelic features.

How could someone with that kind of innocent face be evil?

I think my question had just been answered…

And then everything went black.