Secrets Of Sanctuary Hospital Nightmare Of The Dark Shadows (12 page)

“Grant you need to put me down, they are
following you because they can smell me. You do not need to lose
anyone else in your family!” I know what pain the thought of
anything happening to my children causes me. I cannot be the reason
for this creature to lose any more of his family.

“Please stop thinking such thoughts, we will
be in our territory momentarily, they will not dare to follow us
there, we are also plentiful and I do not think that they want a
war at this time.”

Traveling in his arms, I try to channel and
connect to the children, but my weakened state makes it impossible.
At least I hope that it is my condition and not that the
children... I immediately halt that thought as my heart rate
spikes.

“What are you trying to do?” He whispers
curiously.

“I’m trying to feel if my children are
alright.”

“How can you do that?”

“Sometimes, when I concentrate very hard, I
can feel their energy, but I can’t feel it now.”

“I don’t think that your children are dead.
Your spouse spoke confidently that they would be fine and there
seemed to be a lot of witches and vampires that belonged with you
in the woods as well. I’m sure that they got out. Once you’re
stronger, I’m sure that you can sense them again.”

“How do you know this?” I figure since he is
talking again and our pace seems less rushed, we must have crossed
some line.

“We could hear your friends trying to find
the children. We can easily smell vampires and I could hear the
spells trying to trace your children being cast. I wasn’t too
difficult to figure out what was going on. I am surprised that your
children were brought there to hunt, they were not part of any
family that was on the estate, we never had their scent before and
the story is that this family only goes after one household at a
time. I don’t understand why they would change their pattern after
so many centuries.”

Despite not knowing him or being able to see
him, my instincts tell me he is not bad, nor is he deceptive in
nature. “They didn’t capture my children to hunt them; they were
under a misapprehension as to my children’s identity. They have
never been on this estate before, nor did we even know of this
family.”

He interrupts. “That is not entirely true.
Someone knew them, one of my members heard them arguing over this
fact.”

“I’m sorry, I should clarify. My spouse and
my children never had any contact with this family, our only
knowledge of them is from my brother-in-law who was on this estate
centuries ago and had run away. The family blames him for saving a
child which they claim was one like you, but she was not and they
were seeking revenge against my children because they thought that
my children were his.”

As my words escape, I can’t understand why I
am telling him this or actually thinking this, but there is
something compelling me to reveal this information to him.

“This person who ran away, was he a witch
like you?”

“No he was a vampire. Actually, when he came
to their estate he was a human, but when he left, he was a
vampire.”

“Would you mind telling me what else you know
about this vampire?”

“I can tell you that his nature is good and
helping. He ran from here because he did not know when he became
involved with Andrea, what she and her family are capable of. When
he learned of what they were, and I don’t mean just vampires, I
mean the barbaric, hunting creatures that they are, he ran.”

“You said that they blamed him for taking
someone with him, do you know about the one he took with him?”

“He told me that it was a young girl,
Elizabeth, who was with the family that they were hunting that
night. He escaped with her. He said that they kept moving until
they reached France and a small estate that was owned by distant
relatives. They hid for the rest of the winter in a cabin until
Elizabeth began living with a woman they met. He hadn’t returned
here until recently and never heard from this family until my
children were taken and David contacted Lucas to let him know that
they were going to kill my children as revenge for some werewolf
plague that Lucas unleashed upon their estate by saving one of you,
but Lucas never saved anyone but the little girl.”

“You’re partially correct.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your Lucas did save someone that night, but
she was not just a girl. She was from a strong family of
werewolves.”

I gasp and feel blood gush from my neck.
“Lucas said that she was just a frightened, little girl, he
wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

“Lucas didn’t lie to you.”

Now I am really confused. “I don’t
understand, either he lied and she was a werewolf or he didn’t lie
and she was a little girl.”

“At the time that Lucas rescued her, he was
correct; Elizabeth was just a little girl. However, when she
reached the age of twenty-one her conversion began and she became a
very powerful werewolf because of this family.”

The more he speaks, the more confused I
become. “I don’t understand, how could she be a werewolf and Lucas
not know that and how could this family have made her more
powerful?”

“Each natural werewolf is born with the gene
to begin the transformation, but it remains dormant until we reach
our twenty-first birthday. Thereafter, on the first full moon, our
first transformation begins and we are forever frozen at that age.
However, whenever one of us dies, his or her powers get transferred
to the weakest in the family line. In the case of Elizabeth, her
entire family was murdered and she was the only survivor so all of
their power transferred to her even though it lay dormant until her
first transformation. Since she was too young to ever transform
when Lucas rescued her and when he left, he would have never been
able to detect what she would become. You can only detect us after
the first transformation. It is a good thing that he never bit her
because his bite would have killed her within days.”

“I don’t understand, I thought I heard that a
werewolf bite was deadly for a vampire, not the other way
around.”

“It works both ways, I guess it’s natures’
way of keeping the balance among its mythical creatures.” He
chuckles slightly.

“How do you know so much about
Elizabeth?”

“Her story is famous among our kind. She is
the descendant of a werewolf which is the ancestor to most of us
here. Not to mention a werewolf being rescued by a vampire, in our
region they are natural enemies. Although I hear in your country,
some have actually learned to work together. Elizabeth is the
reason that our kind knows about this family. We have spent
centuries trying to destroy them, but we can never seem to cut off
the head. Although we have gotten some of their family, they barely
leave the estate area and for each one we have managed to get over
the years, their sire makes ten more. They are one of the oldest,
most powerful vampire families in existence that we are aware and
also one of the most barbaric. I have even heard rumors that David,
the one who heads the family has been bitten before and was
unaffected. Other rumors say that he also has the power of the
witches, but I don’t see how that could be possible, we are sure
that he is a vampire.”

“He can be both.”

Grant stumbles and halts. “That can’t
be!”

“It is possible for a vampire to be both, I
know this first hand. If David first embraced the gifts of wizardry
and mastered his talents before being transformed into a vampire,
he can have the gifts and powers of both realms.”

“Do you know someone like this and how to
stop someone that powerful?”

“I do know someone who is both, but he
strives to help others and bring those who fight against dark
forces together so that they can be stronger, we have never
considered trying to stop him.”

We still aren’t moving. “Are we at our
destination?”

“No, your revelation surprised me and I just
got word that some of my pack who fell behind in the escape are on
their way with information, they should be here momentarily and
then we can get started again.”

“When we reach there, can you help me contact
my family so I can let them know where I am?”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

After several moments, even though no words
are spoken, I feel Grant’s muscles tightening and his posture turns
rigid, reminding me of when Andrew becomes nervous or tries to
control his anger. After what feels like an eternity, we are moving
faster than ever before. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to get back to the others.”

For the first time, I can hear their
quickened footsteps along with several grunts and growls. Although
I plead with Grant to tell me what’s wrong, his only response seems
evasive. He’s holding something back, but without my sight and
without my family, I am in no position to push.

“We need to get back and meet up with the
others. We can arrive much faster, if I only concentrate on
running.”

After running hard for I don’t know how long,
he stops and places me upon something soft.

“Who is she and what happened?” A female
voice inquires.

“She was on the estate looking for her
children when David and Marlena attacked her.” He drops his voice
to a whisper and I’m surprised I can still hear him. “She is a very
powerful witch, she knocked David down and she has information.”
His voice returns to normal. “Marlena bit her and now she looks
like her and is returning with her family.”

The woman’s boisterous response makes me
jump. “They have never done that before are you telling me that
they have transformation powers now! That can’t be! Do you know
what that means! How did this happen! Did she change her?”

“No it wasn’t her; Amelia you are not
thinking. Why would she change that monster and send her back with
her family?”

“Maybe she is a plant, maybe they knew she
would be rescued and they sent her here to destroy us!”

“Amelia, she is not here because she is a
plant. After she threw David down in an attempt to get away from
him and get to her children, he threw her against a tree and then
he and Marlena bit her because they have some sort of score to
settle against her family. They captured her children, tried to use
them as bate to trap us and then tried to kill them because they
thought that her children belonged to her brother-in-law. Her
brother-in-law is the one who saved Elizabeth.”

I hear Amelia’s gasp.

Straightening myself, I interrupt. “Please,
can I call my family?”

Grant softens his voice and is now near me.
“I’m sorry, please try not to speak, let us get you bandaged and
cleaned up first.”

I could feel a very warm set of hands on my
neck. “You are still bleeding pretty bad when you talk. I’m sorry
about Amelia. She is my sister and has always been suspicious about
strangers. She is also distraught over what happened.”

“How does she know?”

“Some of ours ran ahead to inform the others
that we were on our way and what had happened.” A warm cloth is
being pressed gently against my neck washing the wound and then my
head. “This may sting slightly, but it will help.” I pierce my lips
as the solution burns against the open skin before feeling bandages
being placed over the areas. His hands are warm but I no longer
detect the fur.

I didn’t realize that I was thinking that
until he responded. “I changed back when we entered the house.”

“You can do that? I thought that you were
ruled by the full moon and didn’t change back until the morning. Is
it already morning?”

“No not yet.”

“Then how can you...I thought that you
transforming back required the sunlight.”

“For most werewolves you are correct,
however, last century I came across a witch who was very
knowledgeable about our kind and knew of an ancient spell that
allows our kind to transform at will. Everyone thought that she was
delusional, but there was just something about what she said that
made me think that this was possible and if it was, that meant that
we would no longer be tied to an involuntary transformation, we
would no longer be vulnerable in our human form and only powerful
when the full moon was out. I allowed her to try the spell on me.
She promised that she would return in a few years and that if the
others trusted her then, she would help our pack. She hated the
darkness that surrounded this area, she had come across Elizabeth
who had told her of the family and this witch too had a score to
settle with them. I believe that someone related to her had been
touched by their evil doings making her all too happy to see that
others who wanted to take them out.” He pauses momentarily and then
continues.

At first, my transformations were not at my
will, but had occurred at random. After a while, however, I was
able to master the transformations, but I was the only one of my
kind who could. I thought that because I mastered her teachings on
what to do, I could teach the others, but then realized it was
because of the spell and charm that she had provided to me. I
thought I would be alone in this and worried that she would not
return as promised, but years later, she returned and gave this
gift to my entire pack, she returns ever few years to continue to
bestow the gift on our children.”

”That’s remarkable, but if you don’t mind my
asking, how did all of this come about. I understand that you said
that her family was also touched by this family, but how did you
meet up?”

“She crossed into our territory one evening
during a full moon and I nearly took her out. She had just escaped
from them and so their scent was all over her. I thought that she
was one of them and was about to attack when she threw herself onto
the ground and begged me to listen before I attacked. Leaping at
her with my mouth open, something told me not to bite her. It was
only about thirty minutes to sunrise so we stayed in the woods and
then she showed me that she was not a vampire at all or tied to
that family. She also confirmed all of the stories that Elizabeth
had told us about this family hunting families and she said that
she could teach us how to mask our existence and control our
transformations.”