Lilah (32 page)

I regretted eventual separation from my witch
friends and before the time came to depart for good, I would have persuaded
Lewis to allow those ones who wished it, the choice to leave.

Lewis and our nights together were spent more
and more apart. I had less fear of him, and accepted that his state of being
had not been his choice either. He was neither affectionate nor distant with me
but there was a mutual respect for our differences. Oleander had unknowingly
encouraged more congenial behaviour between us while we showered her with
attention.

With me she sought solace from an injury or the
company of another female who could appreciate her pretty Byzantium silks. But
with Lewis it was something different. Her eyes lit up when he entered her
chamber each evening, and she would try hard to contain her excitement. At her
age this was impossible and so often she would rush into his arms and listen
intently to his ancient stories of the world, told from his own perspective.

I was a little envious of this desire to be
near her father and while the thought of separating them made me sad I knew in
my heart that this was the only way I could truly make Oleander free. Sometimes
I thought perhaps my plans were wrong but always my thoughts would return to
the killing that night in the front of the castle and knew that it was not the
life I wished her to have.

I continued to study at night, learning spells
that could make plants grow quickly and mixing herbs to cure diseases that some
of the servants had endured for years, cruelly unaided by the strigoi. Lewis’s
library was a fount of information as I uncovered other books written centuries
ago. When witches were in danger of becoming extinct they dabbled in their own
art of immortality to become stronger and often to escape their persecutors and
their past, making potions to sleep and preserve their bodies in shallow
graves, so that they might awaken their spirits in future, long after their
betrayers were old or in their own graves.

Late one night, when I had finished my
teachings, I returned to my room to find that Lewis was not asleep but sitting
by the window absently staring at the stars.

I questioned why he was up so late and he
rubbed his eyes wearily.

‘It will soon be time for me to sleep,’ he
said. He was keen to go in the earth. Such time would allow him the strength to
return as young again. The longer a strigoi sleeps the more youthful is the
awakening. This rejuvenation was called the one hundred year sleep but rarely
did a strigoi sleep for this length of time, leaving instructions for their
sleep guardians to wake them earlier. These sleep durations became shorter over
time as strigoi numbers lessened and there were fewer guardians to watch over
their graves and awaken them.

After each period of sleep, strigoi powers also
increased and the need for feeding becomes less.

‘Who will you leave in charge? Gabriel?’

With Gabriel running the coven our chances for
escape were high.

‘Not Gabriel.
His heart will not be in it. I am
not sure he will go the distance.’

I felt a pang of disappointment.

‘Then who?’ I was very afraid for the answer.

‘I would like to bequeath the title to one of
the elders but many are older than me and overdue for their own period of rest,
and nor do they desire it for few hold ambition. While those elders newly
rejuvenated lack the enthusiasm to leadership; they have all served at one time
or another and sadly no longer care for the responsibility. I fear that without
enthusiasm they would see this coven fall to ruin. So you see, there are few
candidates with which to bestow such an honour. It must ultimately be Oleander
but what to do in the meantime...’

Never, I thought and looked away so he could
not see my eyes.

‘She is strong. I believe her to have many
powers already that she does not yet know how to use.’

‘I did not have full powers for years.’

‘But she has my blood too.’

And this I couldn’t argue.

‘Then perhaps me.’

He laughed softly and I was having conflicting
thoughts. He grew less and less the ogre I thought him to be.

‘I can’t ask that of you,’ he said. ‘Already I
hear the whispers down the hallways of the castle. They do not want a witch
taking over the coven. It has been the demise of others.’

‘Then perhaps it is Gabriel after all. Better
to risk it on someone you know, despite his shortcomings.’

‘Perhaps,’ he said. And I was shocked. Never
had he agreed with me on any such matter. Then more seriously: ‘
There
is something I need to talk to you about. Some of the
strigoi are not happy with your teachings of witches. They are frightened that
you are changing the order of things. Lack of hierarchy has led to problems in
the past – petty rivalries and division.’

‘It does them no harm to have something else to
worry about.’

‘They believe that you are undermining them by
teaching that the strigoi ways are not worthy. In part, I have to agree.’

‘You cannot go back on your word. You promised
me this in return for my support.’

‘I will honour that but you must promote
loyalty from the witches. You and they are safe as long as you are my wife.’

Was this perhaps a warning?

He blew out the candlelight and lay next to me.

‘And, I want no harm to come to you,’ he said
in the dark. I did not feel the same towards him but in a rare display of affection
I rested against him. It was an attempt to allay doubt of my loyalty as well as
relieve the sudden guilt.

It was only one more month before I left, in
the company of Gabriel, to find my father. I had grown fond of him once again,
although keeping a wary distance. And while I was sad to leave Oleander, even
for a short time, I was also excited by the prospect of travelling. It would
give me an opportunity to convince Gabriel to accept the leadership role.

Yet, while I lay there in the dark, contemplating
my escape, I wondered whether Oleander’s path was predetermined, and if my
calculated efforts would be for nothing.

Gabriel

From the moment I suggested
chaperoning his wife to see her family, little else had occupied my mind but
thoughts of travelling with her. I doubted my own motivation these past months
and could see the hesitation on Lewis’s part. If he did not let her go she
would try to run away. With that he could lose her altogether and she could be
killed along with their daughter. He could imprison her but she would hate him
more, and perhaps Oleander also. He had no choice but to release her for this
quest.

I was pleased that our friendship was restored.
This had been a burden on my conscience. I arrived at Lilah’s room to escort
her but she sent me away preferring to meet me beside the underground canal
where the horses were tethered.

She arrived wearing a plain grey dress for
travel and a scarf around her hair. Her face was blotched and eyes swollen from
tears. Irene carried Oleander and it was clear that this separation from her
mother was painful for her too. She whimpered and reached for Lilah.

‘Watch over her, Irene.’

‘I will.’ And the two women hugged. In the
years I was away, Lilah and her human servant had grown closer.

We commenced the ride and it took all of
Lilah’s willpower to not look back. I did it for her, waving at the child
– the image of her mother – rubbing away tears with her small
fists. There was a sense of defiance about her and I did not think she would worry
about her mother’s absence for long.

We rode slowly, in silence at first. I was
impressed by her skill with the horse and queried her on this. Giorgio had
taught her to ride well and I was pleased that he had given her some company,
so that she could see that not all strigoi were against her kind, and most
would be pleased to have her friendship.

I did not venture to talk to her since she was
in no mood for conversation. She was still not over the separation from her
daughter and needed some time to pass to clear her mind. By the end of the day
we arrived at an inn. I would have travelled much longer but Lilah needed to
rest.

There was only one room available and while we
waited for it to be vacated, we sat at a table in the drinking hall to order
some food. Lilah seemed uncomfortable, perhaps wondering whether these patrons
might become my victims. She had no need of worry. I did not sense any
disreputable persons here and joined her for a meal, which I did not need, to
stay close to her and put her mind at rest.

There was a jug of wine on our table and
generous portions of hog in a broth. We ate in silence. Since my return we had
become friends once more but there was still some mistrust on her side.

I had also grown fond of Oleander. She had a
strong spirit and a mature head on such young shoulders. She seemed to know
much beyond her years. The other day I had taken her for a walk in the
courtyard to search for squirrels. She wore a heavily quilted coat and I
laughed at such motherly folly; so warmly clad for fine weather, her face
flushed with exertion and heat. I helped her from her coat so she could skip
unencumbered. Sometimes, she could be quite solemn, her lips pursed together
tightly in an expression not unlike her father. But this day she seemed particularly
spirited.

‘Is it true?’ she asked. ‘Are you really going
away with Mama?’

‘Yes,’ I said. And something in the way she
scrutinised me, her gaze unwavering, made me feel uncomfortable. Could she
perhaps read my thoughts? I had never stopped fantasising about Lilah as my
partner.

‘What will your wife say?’ she asked.

‘What do you know of her?’

‘I hear people talk of her. They say she would
be mad if she knew.’

‘I think, little madam, that you should stop
eavesdropping on other conversations,’ and I tickled her tummy, which had the
distracting effect I hoped. I did not like these comments that left me feeling
that perhaps this trip was not such a good idea after all. Who was it I
wondered, so hard and judgmental; casual comments by strigoi in passing
perhaps, or had Oleander picked up their thoughts unwittingly.

The look on Oleander’s face had suggested that
she knew I would react to the comments. I decided not to mention this to Lilah
and hoped that Oleander did not discuss things too openly with her father. I
could not read the little one’s thoughts, already adept at masking them.

I asked Lilah what her plans were for Oleander.

‘To take her away.
She does not need that sort of
life.’

I was not really surprised. I had seen that the
relationship, though comfortable, was unloving with a marriage based on
tolerance and negotiation.

‘Lewis will never let her go.’

‘If you agree to become the master in his
absence,’ she said carefully, ‘Lewis will go to the ground sooner and Oleander
will be too young to make
the change
. I will persuade him not to convert
her until after he awakens.’

‘And when he wakes?’ I asked. ‘You know he will
find you both.’

‘Hopefully, I will not be living and Oleander
will be married to a human with eight children. Perhaps that will put him off.’
And though there was humour in the comment, I did not detect any in her speech.

‘Lewis is not foolish,’ I said. ‘He will
organise spies before he goes underground to keep watch and wake him in the
event of such.’

Lilah put her head in her hands. I touched her
hand but she pulled away. She did not like these truths.

‘Then I will find a way to hide. Perhaps my
family will help.’

I did not take away the illusion; there were
things she would find out about her family that only they should reveal. It was
why I wanted to accompany her. I owed it to her father. I had not honoured her
father’s wishes to save her from herself.

The innkeeper guided us to our room and lit a
fire. The cot had room enough for one, which was offered exclusively to Lilah.
I pulled a chair close to the
window
as I did not like
the warmth of the room. I ached for the cold but dared not leave her alone in
this inn. Neither of us slept well, aware of the movements of one another.

Lilah

I fell asleep several hours before
daybreak only to be woken by the rolling of beer casks along the cobbled
streets and the shouts from the men with their delivery carts. Gabriel was
still sitting by the window, awake and examining events outside. It was as if
he never slept at all and I wondered if he had watched me sleeping. While I
felt tired and drained of colour, he looked tall and handsome, his silken brown
hair shining in the early morning sun.

He left the room while I prepared for travel
and we met at the front of the inn. A young stable boy brought our horses to
the entrance. It would be two full days of riding and I was grateful at least
for a cool and cloudy day with breezes.