AT YOUR MERCY

42. Understanding The Past

I pulled the deep green fabric up to my nose and inhaled Davids intoxicating scent. As I closed my eyes I felt his gaze on me.

I looked over my shoulder as he buttoned up his pants. He gave me a smirk as he walked over to me. His gaze was warm, but his walk was intimidatingly powerful. He grabbed my hand with a tenderness that seemed impossible for a man his size. He pulled my hand to his lips and gently gave it a small kiss. He turned towards the door, ready to leave when I stopped him.

"Wait David..." He halted immediately and looked back at me. "I have so many questions." I said as I looked him in the eyes. His expression softened as he nodded at me.

"Ask away darling." He backed up and sat down on the bed behind us, pulling me down next to him.

"Who are they?" I gestured in the direction of the livingroom.

"Well you know Stefan, he is my cousin. Arne is his father, he is a great sorcerer and truly a great man. The rest is distant family of Arne's. Aake, who is the head of the family is a second cousin of his I believe. And then there is Aake's brother Taavi and Aake's sons Hari and Luka and the last one is his son Hari's mate, Eric. Besides them Aake and Taavi'd mother is also here. And this is their home." He explained with soft gestures.

I gave him a small smile. "And they just agreed to help me, despite never meeting me?"

David laughed wholeheartedly and shook his head. "Darling, I don't think you understand how important a mate is to a person. Should you have... Not survived this, I would have followed you to the afterlife within days. We are bound together by the soul. They are not just my family, they are your's too." He smiled at me as he placed a hand gingerly on my thigh and rubbed small circles.

"Family?" I said, mostly to myself. I had only ever had my mom. No grandparents, cousins or anything. A lone tear appeared in my eye. I felt David cup my cheek as his rough finger wiped under my eye catching it.

"I... I have never had anyone but my mom..." I said in a low voice.

"Well you have enough to last a lifetime now darling. Stefan and I, live with our family in a town to the far west in Denmark. Varde it's called. We live with my parents, Stefan's parents and now you." He said as he looked into my eyes.

I felt my heart swell at the thought of having  so many people I could call family. I was already proud beyond belief to know Stefan, and couldn't wait to meet the rest.

David's dad appeared in my mind. And I was suddenly asking the question before I could stop myself. "What did your father have to do with Anna?" I slapped my hand over my mouth as I profusely started to apologize.

"I'm so sorry you don't have to tell me. It's not my business." David sighed and looked down.

"You know what let's just join the others." I tried to cover up the slipup. I rose to my feet and took a stwp towards the door. As I was swearing myself to hell and back I suddenly lost my vision. I stopped dead in my tracks and held my hands out to keep steady. Everything got dark before a new picture appeared before me.

A man, who resembled David so much i had to look twice, was stood in front of the hut with the scew door. He knocked lightly and Anna, looking exactly like she did the day before yesterday opened it. Quickly he got inside.

The image changed and I was now in the middle of her livingroom and the man and Anna were talking. "För din frus skydd får jag hålla dig här i tjugofyra timmar." Anna said.

"For your wifes protection, I want to keep you here for twentyfour hours." Davids voice were right next to my ear, and I felt his hands grab my waist.

"Og det er det eneste?" And thats it? David's father said back.

"And that's it?" David translated. "I know." I whispered to him.

Anna looked the man in the eye. "Det är allt."

"That is all." David gently translated to me.

Anna got an excited look on her face as she roughly grabbed the mans hand and shook it with big movements.

Anna took a step back and started chanting in swedish before snapping her fingers. Not much seemed to happen, except Munim who appeared in the windowsill and watched the room.

The man let out a deep sigh and sunk into the same chair I had been stuck in for days. Anna smiled and bounced out of the room.

The picture got dark before the scene changed. It was dark outside now and the man still sat in the chair. Anna were nowhere to be seen. The embers in the fireplace lit up the room in a warm red light.

Suddenly the peace was disturbed, when the man flew up and screamed in agony as he clutched his neck. He fell to the ground while he screamed. A scared expression spread on his face. "No! Lisa!" He yelled as he tried feverishly to get up. He ran towards the door, but was stopped by Munin who aggressively bashed his wings at the man. He turned around and ran for a window but were stopped once again.

"En dag har inte gått ännu." Annas voice sounded.

"The day hasn't passed yet." David translated. As his thumb rubbed circles on my arm.

The man roared in agony as he cradled his neck.

"DU LOVEDE MIG HENDES BESKYTTELSE!" You promised me her protection.

"You promised me her protection." David said, and I realised that he didn't know I understood his danish.

Anna smiled sinisterly. "Men jag lovade inta att uppfylla mitt löfte först."

"But I didn't promise to fulfill my promise first." David whispered.

My vision came back and I blinked as I looked up ad David, his expression dark.

"Anna were in debt to a coven of vampires. And when vampires drink from an oracle they attain some of our powers for a limited time. She told them that my mom were all alone the next twentyfour hours and kept my dad from her. She was pregnant. It was a few years before I was born.
Dad wanted to protect her, she was the only oracle in the nordic countries, at least the only one anyone knew about. She was often a target for attacks and dad wanted to ensure her safety. He wanted to do so by making Anna cast a spell that hid her from vampires. And it did, the day after. She was so close to death when dad finally got home, no one else had been able to get through the coven to her. She had lost the baby." David told. He had a solemn expression and stared at my arm, refusing to look me in the eye.

"My mother is an oracle, as you now know. When I was four my dad made her use her powers on me the only time she had ever done that. She forbid me from ever making a deal with Anna." He now looked me in the eyes as I tilted my head. "I physically couldn't, even if i wanted to."

"It was Stefans idea to seek her out, when you were ill. He has had a vandetta against her his whole life. She made a deal with his mother that cost him his mate." David explained. "I know... Anna told me." I whispered. David looked at me surprised before he squeezed my arm and continued.

"I was angry with him for suggesting it, but also saw no other solution. Stefan insisted that he made the deal for you, desperate to prove that he could outsmart her. I think deep down he hoped to trick her into lifting his curse." David explained.

"When Anna slammed the door when we arrived Stefan heard her thoughts." I furrowed my brows deeply. "He what?" I asked.

"Darling his dad is a sorcerer, he too can predict the future and read peoples minds. Normally witches can keep sorcerers out of their mind, but Anna was so shocked to see you, that she let her guard down. The only reason we didn't bring you with us was that Malin for sure would have played us out against eachother."