Lilah (37 page)

With this she turned like a snake about to strike.
‘You harm one hair on his head…’

‘All I am asking is that you recogise your
daughter.’

For the first time Tomasina turned to Lilah. Just
for a moment her stern furrowed bow relaxed before again returning to aversion.

‘Very well,’ she said. ‘If I agree to talk, you
must promise me that you will not harm my son and that this will be the last
and only time we discuss this.’

I nodded and she led us through a narrow laneway
towards a private residence. We entered by a side door up narrow stairs and
into a small foyer.

Two servants attended to her coat and we sat on
sofas. The room was opulent with stained glass sheet windows, high backed plush
chairs and vases from the east. There were no refreshments requested, which
suggested she was not planning to host a lengthy discussion.

‘Talk,’ she commanded and I looked to Lilah who
had requested this audience.

Lilah pulled at her fingers in her lap nervously,
a trait she had owned since childhood. She had always been bold and for the
first time I saw her vulnerability.

‘Tomasina,’ she began. ‘Until recently I did not
know of my parents. I have recently learnt that my father is dead, and though
you do not regard me as your daughter, I would very much like it if we were to
be friends.’

‘Mother?’ said Andrew questioningly.

‘Be quiet,’ she scolded and Andrew pouted. He had
been swaddled by his protective mother since birth. Then Tomasina did something
unexpected. She rubbed her eyes and sighed with an almost defeated resignation.
With some of the anger gone, I could see clearly the pain of her decisions
etched across her face. Andrew sat on the edge of the chair bewildered and she
gently touched her son’s leg to calm: ‘This girl is your twin sister but that
is all you need to know right now.’

‘My sister?’

‘She was sent to a convent by your father as a
child.’

‘Why?’

‘It does not matter why,’ she said, swatting the
question away with her hand. ‘That decision is dead and buried with him.’

The boy had been kept from the knowledge of his
witch ancestry.

Andrew turned to Lilah. ‘What is your name?’

‘Lilah…’

‘That was not always your name,’ his mother
interrupted.
 
‘That is the dreadful name
your grandmother wanted. Stephen named you Marissa but perhaps it is best you
leave that in the past also.’

‘We must have some sort of celebration,’ said
Andrew, with an excited edge to his voice.

‘No,’ said Tomasina firmly. ‘Please sit down
Andrew. I am pleased that you are looking well…Lilah, but you must know that
this meeting is quite a shock, and that we can never have the relationship you
are seeking. It is too late to turn back the clock and it is best that you live
your life the way you know it.’

I could see that tears were building in Lilah’s
eyes. I had seen her distraught before but the sight of heartache from
rejection made me wish we had never come.

‘Tomasina, you will have your wish but you must
remember that this is your own blood, your daughter. Circumstances should not
have allowed a child to be discarded no matter how good the intentions. You have
the chance to mend a bridge.’

‘No, Gabriel. You made a promise and you have
broken it. I do not need to mend a bridge. Stephen would be saddened by your
betrayal. I will be loyal to him till the end even if you can’t.’

She was right of course…there was no turning back.
But, I would always fight for Lilah. Even leaving the castle with Arianne was
for Lilah and I had to mend the regretful past that had come between us.

‘Can you tell me about my father?’ Lilah asked

Tomasina visibly weakened at the mention of him, a
man she had truly loved. Her shoulders slumped and her hair loosened from their
clasps. It was as if all the years in upholding the secret had kept her severe
and controlled. Finally, she could find some release from her conscience.

‘Stephen was a good man but with a tortured soul.
He turned his back on his strigoi family and such knowledge of himself killed
his spirit. If there are any regrets it is that we could have run away from
everything and brought up our two children in another place where birthrights
did not count for anything, not for the crown and not for your kind.’ She
looked to me.

Andrew sat confused gazing upon his mother as if
he had never heard such loving words coming form her mouth.

‘He loved you beyond anything, which was why you
were left. You can never know that giving you up eventually killed him. Not a
day went by when he did not think of you. His spirit finally broke along with
his heart. I had him buried far away where he will rest in peace, away from
your grandmother who might have had other ideas for his body. And not even you
should know the whereabouts in case you are tempted.’

Lilah did not flinch from such a remark; witches
could be brought back with magic. I did not know the methods. Lewis held such
secrets, guarded somewhere in his vast library, and I wondered then how much
Lilah knew of such. I also knew that Tomasina would keep her husband’s burial a
secret for eternity.

She stood then and walked towards her daughter
taking both her hands in each of her own and bringing her to her feet. She
embraced Lilah who cried softly into her shoulder like a small child.

Tomasina’s own eyes were now filled with tears.
‘You must go my dear. There are other paths for you than here and it is important
for Andrew’s future that you do not enter into any correspondence with him. I
owe it to my husband to do as he asked. You must stay out of sight and safe
wherever you are. If you were to suddenly appear now, people would talk. I have
Andrew’s reputation to think of.’

‘I have a child…’ but then Lilah broke off.
Tomasina would be shattered to learn who and what her husband was. ‘And what of
Andrew? How do you explain to him?’

‘I will tell him what he needs to know.’

‘When he is used to the idea, perhaps he can come
and see me.’

‘Perhaps.’

But even I knew that this was a false promise,
even as to how much she would really tell Andrew.

‘Gabriel, you have clearly taken care of her, and
she has a good heart. Please make sure she does not have
the change
for
the sake of her soul and for the sake of your promise.’

We left then but Lilah turned to speak once more.
‘One thing I must say to you. You should not return to Hungary. No good will
come of it.

Tomasina frowned. ‘It is his royal birthright and
it is where we belong. Eventually he must claim his royal throne.’

Once we were in the streets we walked in silence
towards the canal. It was several minutes before she spoke

‘I had another vision back there. Neither will
live long if they return to the kingdom of Hungary. And there will be an
illegitimate daughter named after me, who will never know the use of her skill
or who she is.’

‘There would be many hundreds of those in royal
lines, unaware of what blood they carried.’

We returned to the piazza and approached the
water. Gabriel paid another oarsman to take us back to the bridge. We sat there
under a full moon, my skills and strength and desires heightened under its
brilliance. The boat was well paid for and superior to others we had travelled
with cushions on the seats and a canopy. We sat close to protect her from the
breeze, while the oarsman behind us whistled softly over gently lapping water.
I put my arms around her to kiss the top of her head and her hair smelt like
roses.

When Lilah’s tears had finally dried, she
whispered: ‘Thank you.’ Her warm breath touched my cheek and when I turned to
respond I found that our mouths were touching. My heart began to pound and in
time with hers. Something had changed between us in the moment. We were taken
back in time to that first kiss I had stolen in the castle and suddenly it felt
as it should. I could not control the urge to kiss her and she relaxed into my
arms.

When I finally found the strength to end the
embrace I instructed the boatman to go to Antonio’s house, and Lilah did not
object. Neither of us wished to return to the carnival.

At the house our hosts were not yet home and
possibly would not arrive until daylight. We retreated to our bedroom and lit a
candle.

Lilah stood there, and I undressed her for the
second night. Her face glowed under candlelight and her eyes shone. Was it my
imagination, I thought? Could she still be in love with me?

We lay in bed, experiencing the hours that we had
missed together. I did not expect the intensity with which she could love me
and, for the first time, my own love surpassed desire.

Chapter 16

Lewis

I sensed something had changed. The
reborn were restless at our meeting. It was unusual for the reborn to sit
around the large oak meeting table where strigoi had sat and discussed
centuries of controversy and conspiracy. Such seating was usually reserved for
the elders. Georgio was somewhere in the middle. He was not an elder nor was he
so new, but because he had shown discretion and loyalty he had recently earned
a place at our elders meetings. He had requested this interview on a subject
unknown and I was intrigued.

We began by discussing the witches who had all
asked for a pardon from
the change
. More and more were choosing this and
I had obliged. Georgio asked that I rethink the position. I was at first taken
aback by his suggestion; that they should think they had any sway on decisions
made only by myself from counsel by the elders. In earlier years, I would have
had him banished to the dungeon for such insolence. But I wished the meeting
over quickly and informed him that the decision was final. I was keen to
prepare for my wife’s return; to instruct new linen in our chamber and the
cooks to prepare a feast.

Earlier that day I sensed that Gabriel was near to
returning to the castle and as there was no word to the contrary, Lilah would
safely be with him. Gabriel was like a restless puppy always in need of new
adventures but he was still loyal and I trusted him like no other. I had
already announced to an elders meeting several days earlier that I would go to
ground in less than a decade, and that my daughter would take over as ruler
when she came of age. However, in the years before Oleander’s ultimate rule,
Lilah would have my authority within the castle. I had not made this decision
lightly nor the fact that I did not choose a member from our circle. Another
strigoi may not hold my daughter’s interests as firmly as my wife, and the
possibility they could postpone Oleander’s reign when the time came. Oleander’s
conversion and Lilah’s commitment to her well-being ensured her role as Master.

There was some minor disagreement on this
decision, particularly by an elder, Pietro, who said that a witch in control,
for any period, would make our castle vulnerable to seizures by other covens
across the world seeking to expand their own. But as master, my decision on
this was final, and the elders and the reborn must obey.

I could rest peacefully knowing that before I went
to ground my daughter would also have effected
the change
. It was good
to finally have an heir and one with abilities like Oleander. And I hoped that
when I returned from my slumber, my wife would still be living and we would be
of similar age so that we could continue together until her death. I was not
completely without hope that during those years she may have reconsidered the
gift of immortality that I could bestow.

I also decreed, though not yet announced to any,
that the fate of the witches, would be decided by Lilah until Oleander turned twenty,
then the decision would rest solely with our daughter. I could no longer vouch
for their safety as Oleander had already shown signs of independent thought and
potential for power. In her training she would be taught that all decisions
must be made for the good and strength of the coven above all else. If she
deemed that new blood was required then witches would once again be offered the
choice of eternity or to take our secrets to their early graves. Lilah would
not know of this decision until I was some time in the ground, and perhaps
thirty years would be long enough for her to grow accustomed to the idea; at
which time, I have requested to be awakened.

Towards the conclusion of the meeting, Nökeg
advised that during a hunt earlier that day he had seen – though he could
not be certain – several Brodnici grouped together in a town far away. I
did not feel that Nökeg was very astute but could not ignore such a claim.

‘You should have brought this up sooner,’ I
scolded.

I concluded the meeting and asked all those in
attendance to leave the castle immediately to survey the town in question. A
short time afterwards, I was surprised when Georgio and a number of the reborn
returned to the library.

‘Why are you still here?’ I asked. ‘You should be
out with the elders searching for the Brodnici.’