The Voodoo Bell

Part 14: Chapter 30

           

Chapter 30

Game Changer

          The next two weeks went smoothly as Thorn Manor made its way back to the sickening routine that went with running a large house. Each day, the maids completed their daily chores. The cooks made us dinner each night and though I attended and sat among the family, I didn't really interact with anyone. Reed hadn't spoken to me since that day when he thought that he had taken my memory. I had let him continue to believe that he had been successful, even though it hurt each time he passed without so much as a word. It felt like I had become a ghost, wandering through the halls, like a long forgotten memory. Most days, Derrick spent his time meeting with advisors and ambassadors sent by the witches council. Every day, the butler would hurry to the door to great a new man or woman, anxious to come into the manor and start whispering into Derrick's ear.

          One Thursday night, our family dinner broke the monotony of the daily pattern. I had been sitting in my usual chair, sipping soup and watching Derrick and Reed, heads bent together in deep discussion, when the dinning room door swung open and a smiling Larron breezed right in.

          "Ah, my family", he cooed, holding out his arms in welcome.

I was revolted, his lying smile plastered on his face. Derrick, face plastered with the same surprise as everyone else's, rose to his feet and strode with purpose to his father. I let the spoon fall into the bowl of onion soup with a loud "clink" and focused all of my attention on the fight that was about to ensue. To my complete and utter dismay, Derrick didn't reach out and punch Larron, or tackle him to the ground. Instead, he embraced the returning king with a tender hug and said "Father, you're home".

          "But of course, my son", Larron said in mock surprise. "Did you expect me to remain absent from my kingdom for long?"

          "No, of course not", Derrick said in response.

I felt Reed's eyes resting upon me, waiting for my response to this nightmare unfolding before me, but I refused to acknowledge his gaze. Instead, I just folded my hands into a fist and let my fingernails push into my palms to hide my outrage.

          Derrick knew that this man tried to kill me on the night of our wedding and yet, here he was just hugging him, like nothing ever happened. What?!

          Without a word, I watch the other Thorn siblings begin to stand and step to greet their father, asking questions about where he had been and how he had been doing.

          "I gather that you have been acting in my place, Derrick. You have done a fine job". Larron said to his eldest son.

          A beaming Derrick nodded at his father's approval, obviously pleased with himself.

          Slowly and without my permission, I felt my body begin to rise from its seat. My cheeks were burning with the blood that had rushed up and pooled into my cheeks. If I had been a cartoon, I am certain that steam would have come out of my ears. I had been through so much during my time here. I had accepted the impossible, seen things that I couldn't explain and grown close to this family. How could they just pretend that this man was anything less than a monster?

          "Of course", my brain thought. "Because he is first and foremost, their king".

          They couldn't go against him, without risking their lives and starting an outright war. And with heat coming from both the human government and the witches council, they couldn't risk it. And at the end of the day, he was still their father. I had only known these people for a few months, but they had known each other for centuries.

          As I turned and began to walk towards the door, I let my gaze trail over a still frozen Reed, the only one who hadn't gone to his father. His hand was gripping his spoon so tightly in mid air, that his knuckles were even whiter than their normal pale shade. I made sure not to meet his eyes, but even across the table, I could feel their emerald presence locked on me as I moved.

          I walked to the door with my head held high and with every attempt to make my breathing remain calm. When I reached forward to open the door, I realized that my hands were stinging. I looked down and saw small crescent shaped cuts in my palms, where my nails had dug down into my skin. I gritted my teeth and gripped the knob anyway, pulling it open as quietly as I could. I had almost made it through when I heard a sing-song voice.

          "Blair, my dear. Leaving so soon? I just got here." He said.

I froze, feeling every nerve in my body buzzing with electricity. I turned, with murder on my mind and walked back with determination to give Larron a piece of my mind.

          I was stopped, however, when a tall figure stepped into my way, blocking my path. I looked up into the pleading eyes of Derrick.

          "Blair, don't", he barked out at me, the traitor.

Without a thought, my hand shot out from my side and a blast of force, invisible to my eyes, shot out of me, throwing Derrick backwards and out the nearest window. The sound of glass shattering echoed through the room as everyone went silent. His body disappeared into the darkness as he fell and I had a slight out of body experience. It was like my soul knew what to do, even if my mind didn't. I felt the power surge in me again and I waved my hand in the air in a circular motion. To my astonishment, the shattered pieces of glass floated back up from the ground below and pieced their way back together in complete silence. I watched each one find its way back to its place and merge in with its brothers to form one solid glass window.

          Larron giggled like a mad hatter, bouncing on his heels and tapping his fingertips together. Rachel had rushed forward, leaning into the window and searching the darkness for her brother.

          I raised my hand once more, feeling all my power surge into my fingertips as I focused all my anger on the vampire king before me, but before I could do anything else, a large form pushed into me, forcing me to take a few steps backwards.

          Reed pushed me gently out the door and pulled it closed behind us. I have no idea why I let him move me without a fight, but I did. Once out into the hall, he took my hand and pulled me toward the main entrance. The only visible sign of stress was when he took his open hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose, tensing up his eyes, but never breaking stride. I let him tow me along until we got to the front door.

          "What are you doing?", I asked him as he jerked open the small coat closet near the door.

          He took out a small, but warm jacket and flung it at me.

          "Here", he said. "Put this on."

          "Where are we going?", I asked him as I tugged on the obviously male jacket and tried to pull the too long sleeves up on my wrist to allow me use of my hands.

          "Out." Was all he said. "I think it's time we got some air.

I didn't argue. At the moment, I would have preferred anywhere that wasn't here. I followed him out the front door and down the drive to the garage where we found his little blacked out car. He opened the door for me and I slipped down into the passenger seat. He shut the door and before I could even reach around for my seatbelt, he was in the driver's seat, cranking the engine. Without a word, he shoved the car into drive and we sped off down the drive way at unheard of speeds. I gripped the door handle and the console with a tight and nervous grip. As we topped the hill and headed toward the gates, I looked to my right in the passenger mirror and caught one last glimpse at the lights of Thorn Manor, quickly disappearing into the darkness.

          As we passed through the gates and onto the main road, I slowly let go and relaxed into my seat. I took a long breath of fresh air. Even if it was only temporary, right now, at this moment, I was safe and that was all that mattered.