Burned (Book1) The White Rose Vampire Series

Chapter Twenty-Five

Paul was more reserved than Gilliam respecting that the women within the room were soulmates for the other vampires, whether the witches had claimed them or not. Even Dimitri seemed relaxed around him which made my initial stress fade away.

When Paul joined me, Bastian and Gilliam, he nodded at me politely, a smile sliding over his face as he glanced at Bastian's arm around my waist and raised his brow, a silent question passing between them.

Bastian smiled, pulling me closer and kissing my temple before turning back to Paul. "It's okay," he said, grinning, proudly. "Lanie claimed me so you can speak freely around her."

A sigh of relief fell from between his lips. "Thank goodness," Paul said as he glanced around the room. "I haven't known what I could say around anyone all night."

"I'm sure it's confusing," I said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "I'm Lanie, by the way."

"Paul...As I'm sure you've heard," He said, relaxing a bit but then, his face clouded with worry as he glanced around the room. "I suppose we are still searching for the other members of your coven."

"We are," I said, shifting because I realized one of the missing girls was his soulmate. "It's been a bit more difficult because the church has been so active in finding us."

"It would have probably been easier if someone wouldn't have burned the church to the ground," Bastian said, giving Gilliam a pointed look.

Paul groaned as he narrowed his eyes on Gilliam. "You didn't, Gill," he said, shaking his head as he covered his eyes with his hand. "You never learn."

"You know I did," Gilliam said, gritting his teeth as he glared at Paul. "And you know why.  It has nothing to do with me learning a lesson.  The lesson should be theirs."

"This has to do with Rachel," Paul breathed as he glanced at Gilliam, remorse clear in his eyes. "I understand your need for justice but you can't continue doing it this way without putting everyone in danger."

"Rachel?" I asked, catching on the name.

"The little girl they burned," Gilliam said, frowning. "The one I told you about."

"You knew her?" I asked, shocked that he didn't mention it before. "I thought you were simply angry because she was a child."

He nodded. "I knew her well. I met her in a store in town. She had bruises all over her," Gilliam said, shifting. "And I took on the job of watching over her.  Obviously, I failed."

"Gilliam is protective of children," Bastian said, frowning. "He has been since we were young. He used to watch over the children of the...Um...Ladies in the brothel."

"Someone needed to," Gilliam said his eyes flashing. "Just like someone needed to watch over Rachel.  When I found out her mother was the one who was hurting her, I threatened her and for a while Rachel was safe," Gilliam said, shifting. "Then, she disappeared, I found out her mother was a member of the church. She allowed them to burn her. It sickened me. She was her mother. She should have protected her child from the evil of that place, but she didn't. So, you see, Lanie, the things I do to that church are well deserved."

"So, Dimitri kicked you out because you punished them?" I asked, frowning because even after witnessing Dimitri feral, I never took him as someone who wouldn't understand retribution when it came to a child's death.

Gilliam shook his head. "No," he said, shifting. "He kicked me out because after I started draining members of the church, I was careless, and it cast suspicion on us especially when I killed her mother. Dimitri was right to kick me out. I was putting my brothers in danger. He feared if too much suspicion was cast toward us, we would have to move, and if we moved, our soulmates would be left defenseless. Though I don't regret the justice I enacted on the church, I do understand why Dimitri kicked me out."

"I don't understand how you knew the soulmates had been born?" I said, frowning. "There wasn't a set time for us to exist."

"We didn't," Bastian said, smiling. "But there was a possibility that was becoming greater as time passed. Only after Gilliam left and we were attacked, did we become positive."

"How?" I asked, raising my brows.

"We met your parents," Bastian said, his smile spreading across his face. "And while they were helping us, your mother told us who she was and what line she descended from before revealing to us that our soulmates had been born. When asked how she knew that, she told us she had given birth to one...You."

"My parents knew I was supposed to be with one of you?" I asked in shock.

"They knew and were going to help us meet but the church figured out who they were before they could," Bastian said, sadly. "And that ended in their deaths."

"I wonder what else they knew," I said, my heart clenching at the thought of my parent's death.

"I imagine a lot. They knew the names of the soulmates and where they were," he said, frowning. "Sadly, they never told us who those soulmates were and they took that knowledge with them to their graves and there is no way to get that back."

**********

I fell into bed beside Bastian exhausted with all the new information about my parents floating around in my mind. I missed them so much but they also had so many secrets they wanted to tell me, but their lives were cut short before they could.

Bastian's arms wrapped around me as he kissed the soft spot beneath my ear, comforting me instantly.

"Sleep, Beautiful," he whispered against my skin, pulling me closer to him. "You can think about all of the things moving around in your head tomorrow."

"I love you," I sighed, grateful for his presence as my eyes closed.

"I love you too," Bastian said as I tumbled into sleep.

The sweetness of being wrapped in Bastian's arms faded as soon as reality vanished to be replaced by a dream. The scent of smoke assaulted me, burning my nose. As I opened my eyes, orange light moved over me, and I raised my eyes to find myself standing beside the creek. Stakes had been nailed into the ground across the water. Torches lit a path to them. My parents stood in front of the stakes as well as my grandmother. They stared up at the dark sky,

"Use your gifts, my sweet girl," My grandmother whispered her gaze moving to me. "Save them all."

"But I don't know who all of them are," I cried, terrified.

My mother spoke, softly, but her words didn't make sense. "Blood for blood."

My father stepped forward, his eyes penetrating me. "Forsake death."

Then, I saw them...The members of the church with torches in their hands moving toward the stakes before pointing at me.

"Witch, witch, witch," they screamed as I gazed at the sky. The wind whipped around me as petrichor scented the air.

"Do you think your magic will save you?" Margaret asked, stepping from the crowd.

As the sky opened and rain fell down upon me, I whispered, "Yes," but as the dream faded and I woke, I found myself surrounded by smoke. Only this time it wasn't in a dream.