Deadly Ends (Book #4)

Chapter Six

(Picture of Edgar Payne and Jemina Valencia)

- Also, I'm aware I said I'd post a chapter every Tuesday and Friday, but the first chapter I posted today was a little short, so I thought I'd do a double chapter. Let me know what you think.

A whole day had passed since Isadora's body had been found and buried, leaving a somber feeling throughout the halls of the manor.

There was once a light-hearted energy from everyone and now there was an uncomfortable silence, as everyone realized that this threat they ran away from had finally made itself known.

I decided that if I was going to be around silence, it would be near the gardens, so that I could at least be around something beautiful.

As I walked outside, I saw a man with curly blonde locks, sitting on the porcelain bench and sketching away in a drawing book.

I approached him, seeing that he was a very talented artist and was drawing a woman, in great detail.

"I do not mean to intrude on your personal space, but you are extremely talented" I said.

He looked at me, giving me a warm smile "Thank you, it is of my wife"

"Who is your wife, perhaps I have already met her in the manor" I said, smiling back.

His smile dropped "She was killed in when my coalition burned to the ground" he flipped through his drawing book, revealing only drawings of his wife "Since her death, she is all I can draw and it is because I am so terrified of forgetting what she looked like"

I saw down beside me "I am deeply sorry for your loss"

"Thank you, Cordelia" he said.

"I am also apologetic, because I cannot say that I know your name"

He gave a small smile "With as many new faces in this manor, I do not blame you for not knowing me yet. I am Edgar, Edgar Payne"

"Who have you traveled here with?" I asked.

"Augustus Wilde, we were the only ones to walk away from the fire" he said.

I nodded "I have met Augustus and he is very kind" I looked at his sketch of his book "She was incredibly beautiful, how long were you married to her?"

He smiled as he stared at her picture "two hundred and three years"

I was shocked by that answer "You must be an old vampire then"

"Yes, my appearance does not match my vampire age at all. I was turned in the final years of The Black Death"

"That long ago?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded "I was dying from the plague"

"Please, tell me your story, for I am incredibly intrigued now, because you may be one of the oldest vampires I have ever met" I said.

He chuckled "If you insist. I was in my twenty-fourth year, when I became incredibly ill. I begged a priest to release me of my pain, thinking he would bless me and I would find my way to heaven, but instead he turned me into a vampire"

"A priest?" I asked, completely appalled.

"Yes, it does sound rather odd, does it not?" he said "After accepting my fate, I began to travel the world, seeing as much as I could and eventually, I ended up in the thirteen colonies, before America had established itself, in a town called Salem"

"Is that where you met your wife?" I asked.

He smiled, as he described it "Margery was such a beautiful woman. She was seventeen when I met her and she was to be wed to a horrid drunk and when she refused him, he accused her of witchcraft and she was sent to the jail cells"

"That is awful" I commented.

"Indeed, but when the sun fell, I killed the man watching guard and helped her escape. I turned her, then we traveled together, before setting sail on a boat, back to England and we eventually discovered a coalition in Cornwall, run by the eminent, Lucius Mayweather"

"Was he a kind eminent?" I asked.

He nodded "Yes, he welcomed us with open arms and when Margery wanted to properly take my name as her own, he married us himself"

"How nice of him"

"After her death, I swore such a violent end to those responsible for her death and the death of others in my coalition" he looked at me "I know that there is a great chance that I will not walk out of this alive, but I will accept death with open arms if it means ended their reign and getting to see my beloved wife again"

I put my hand on his shoulder "You will get your chance to defeat them and fight for Margery, I promise you"

He smiled "Thank you, Cordelia"

"I will leave you to continue your beautiful artwork. I am glad to have gotten to know you" I said, leaving him to his drawing, walking towards the same spot where I had struggled to control my gifts, seeing Killian now doing the same.

Killian quickly turned, frowning at me "Please, do not come near me. I can feel your emotions and it is far too painful"

"I can help you, if you would like" I offered.

He shook his head "Never. Why would you even offer such a thing?"

"Because your constant whining over feeling so many new things is annoyin our many guests and I cannot help but feel for them"

He scoffed "There are plenty of other things to be annoyed by; I am hardly anything to put their annoyance towards"

I watched him struggled, as he tried to take control over his gift, ending in him slumping to the ground and letting out a groan.

"I was expecting to have my old powers back and I am extremely disappointed by this new development. However, if a god does exist, I guarantee you that he is having a good laugh at my pain" he complained.

I shook my head "If there is a god, I guarantee you he is not focused on you at all. He has more important things to look upon"

He looked at me "Why are you even out here?"

"I was looking for silence to distract myself from everything going on inside, but unfortunately, I have found you" I answered.

He looked down "Well, sorry to intrude your highness"

I rolled my eyes "If you will not accept my help or anyone else's, at least make sure you drink plenty of blood, because it will help"

"Thanks" he said, softly.

I watched him walk away, sulking back inside.

Laughter was heard and I looked over, seeing Maisie and Langston playing with the only other child in the house, Rowan.

I walked over to them, hoping to hear good news regarding Tinsley's spell.

"Hello, Cordelia" Tinsley said.

The woman beside her was a bit shocked to see me and stepped back.

"I do not mean to appear disrespectful, it is just I have never seen a vampire before coming here, let alone been so close to so many so often" she spoke.

"Cordelia, this is Jemina Valencia. She is Rowan's older sister" Tinsley said.

I smiled at Jemina "It is nice to meet you" I looked at Rowan, playing with the other kids "Did you and your sister lose anyone?"

She shook her head "No, it has always been me and my sister" she frowned "Not that I didn't care deeply for my fallen sisters"

I gave a small nod.

"Cordelia, I want to let you know that as ar as I am aware, the spell worked and the known P'yushchego Vampirov will not be able to step even a foot near the manor" Tinsley said.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll leave you all now, so you can get back to what you were doing" I looked at Jemina "It was very nice to meet you"

She nodded "You too"

I walked back into the house, knowing that the only place I would find comfortable silence would be in my room.