Eternally Loved

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Mornin'." I greeted my family, sitting down at the table next to Tony and grabbing a plate full of sausages and bacon. I leaned over and looked at the book of crests Tony was flipping through. "Stags are deer with horns, right?" My brother asked, looking at dad. "Male deer. Yeah. Lots of Scottish crests have those." Dad said, taking a bite of his food. My shoulders dropped. "Lots?" I repeated, sharing a look with Tony. "It means they descended from hunters." Dad added, smiling at us.

"So, why so interested in crests all of the sudden?" Mom asked, leaning over the table and looking at the book. "It's a school project. We're assigned a crest and we have to do research on it. I just can't find my crest anywhere, so Tony wanted to help." I sighed out, pouting slightly. Dad raised a brow and frowned. "Well, what's the crest look like?" He asked. I smiled at him, before pulling out a drawing I had done last night of the crest from the vision and showing it to him. His brows were raised in surprise, and he handed the picture back to me with a smile. "That's Lord McAshton's crest!" He spoke. Tony and I grinned. "Really?" I asked him, excitement filling me. "Yea." Dad stated, handing me a piece of paper from McAshton. Sure enough at the top of the paper was the crest from our vision. My heart leapt to my throat.

"Hey, dad. Can we come to work with you tomorrow?" I questioned. "Well, it's Saturday, so I don't see why not." He said, shrugging and sharing a glance with Mom. "Will McAshton be there?" Tony asked, still clutching the paper. "Yea, but don't let that stop you guys from going." Dad chuckled. I let out a squeal, and in a second, Tony and I were running up the stairs to get ready for school.

*****

My eyes shot open, and I sat up from my bed. A horrible feeling was wrenching its way into my gut. Rudolph's in trouble.

The thought spurred my actions and I found myself leaping from bed and rushing into Tony's room after getting dressed. I shook my little brother awake, watching as he blinked his eyes open and put on his glasses. "What's wrong?" He asked tiredly. "Rudolph's in trouble." I said breathlessly. Tony immediately jumped out of bed and began changing out of pjs. I went back into my room and quickly did the same.

A few minutes later, Tony and I snuck downstairs, cringing when we saw our parents. "We'll never get past them." Tony whispered. I pursed my lips, before an idea struck me. "Okay. C'mon." I muttered, quietly backing up the stairs and heading into Tony's room and out onto the balcony. "Hop on." I said, gesturing to my back. Tony's eyes lit up and he jumped onto my back, wrapping his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck. I held onto him tightly as I vaulted over the railing.

Tony screamed in my ears as we fell down the two stories. The air rushed past me, and I felt adrenaline pulse through my system.

We landed on the ground and my legs took the impact easily. I briefly heard Tony gasp behind me, but paid it no mind as I darted off, trying to get to our friends as fast as possible.

It took a few minutes to get to the cemetery, but I easily found the way down into the catacombs and let Tony drop down from my back. My little brother ran around to face me, his eyes alight with joy. "That was awesome! Can we do it again sometime?" He asked. I chuckled, ruffling his hair and nodding.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose and I froze. Tony began to say something, but I hushed him, straining my ears to listen.

Screaming. They're screaming.

With the release of a panicked breath, I rushed down into their home, only to flinch at the bright light. A glance to my right and I saw the vampire family. Frederick was standing in front of them, smoke rising from his burning flesh. The others were all screaming behind him, small injuries of their own. To my left was a large, four-sided lamp.

With a vicious snarl, I darted forward and came to a stop in front of the lamp. This guy is pissing me off now. I grabbed hold of the chain that held the lamp aloft, before pulling as hard as I could with two hands. The metal groaned in protest, but with a chink the thin chain broke apart, and with a roar of fury, I threw the lamp to the ground shattering it to pieces and causing all the bulbs to break. I sighed in relief as darkness once again took over the catacombs.

Rudolph came rushing over immediately, although as he was within a couple feet of me, he stopped, peering closely at me. He blinked a couple times, then shook his head, closing the rest of the distance and checking me over. "Are you alright, Pepper?" He asked. My nose twitched as I caught the scent of his singed hair. Pouting slightly, I gently touched his already healing cheek. "I'm fine, what about you?" I questioned. He gave me a small smile, but my attention was soon on the others who were huddled over Frederick. "We found out about the coat of arms." Tony said, looking down at the vampire. I gently placed a hand on my brother's shoulder. "It's Lord McAshton's." Tony finished.

"Are you alright, sir?" I asked worriedly. "He's very weak." Freda sighed out. "I know exactly what you need." I said, grinning.

*****

I waited on a nearby hay bale as the family all drank from cows. After a couple minutes, they all stepped away, heading towards Tony and me. "Now I must find a place to hide you children." Frederick said. "You can stay at our place." Tony suggested, a bright grin on his face. "We need darkness, dampness, and decay." Frederick stated. "Then you'll need our cellar." I said, smiling.

*****

We all stood in the cellar, Tony and I watching as the vampires looked around the slightly cluttered place. "Sorry it's so--" Freda cut me off. "It's perfect, darling." She said, making my shoulders slump in relief. Rudolph came over to me, a smile on his face. "Thank you, for everything." He said, his blue eyes trailing over my face. I flushed slightly, smiling up at him. "It's no problem, Rudolph. What are friends for?" I said, managing to keep a stutter out of my voice. I heard loud sniffing, and we both turned to see Frederick sniffing the air, a look of slight disgust on his face. "It smells of wet dog in here." He observed, looking around with a glare. "Well, I think that a hunter used to live here, and they may have used this place to dispose of the werewolf carcasses after they finished torturing them." I said, keeping a growl out of my tone. "Ah. Well, good. Worthless creatures werewolves are. Mindless beasts with no control over their actions. I'm glad that Rookery dealt with them all." Frederick huffed out.

My eyes narrowed and I dug my nails into my skin, biting my tongue so harshly that I tasted blood. "Pepper...?" Tony whispered, gently tugging on my shirt. With a low snarl, I whip around, heading back up the cellar stairs and towards the main house before I blew up on the vampire.

I made it to my room, rage still broiling inside me. With a roar of anger, I started punching at the walls, over and over again. I was so blinded by rage I didn't notice blood dripping from my knuckles until I felt hands grab mine, pulling me away from the walls. I looked up to see concerned blue eyes with a hint of crimson shining in them. "Pepper? What's wrong? Why would you do this?" He asked. I took in a breath, looking up into his enchanting gaze. I felt my eyes water. Don't tell him. You'll die.

"Rudolph...there's something you need to know." I sighed, moving to pull my hands from his grasp. Rudolph wouldn't let go, instead he walked us over to my bed and we both sat down. He still kept hold of my hands, his thumb gently rubbing circles into my skin.

"I know Rookery from before. He...he...he killed my parents."