A Sanguinary Rose

Storm of Petals and Thorns: Part 1

MY AUNT AND UNCLE hauled their bags onto their car while the kids waved at us from inside it. Covered up from head to toe, he took shotgun seat and waved us all goodbye. I watched them go from the front porch, squinting through the blinding dawn. The last thing he said to me was: "Be thankful for what you have. You must love yourself as you are."

That was the main thought dwelling in my mind throughout the rest of trip back to Farpoint. It came back to me even as I sat down with Mr. Royce to bring me up to speed on his findings regarding the Starlit Almanac.

"What you've got for me?" We took seats on the lavish, cushioned chairs in one of the few extensive living rooms in the castle. A great spider chandelier hung on top of us, reflecting off the polish of the mahogany table. A grandfather clock by the great ebony wardrobe struck to ring in the evening in this region of Hell. Next door sat Anja and Oliver huddled together in whispers over textbooks and notebooks so he could help her study for the quickly approaching midterms.

"Here." Mr. Royce unclasped his briefcase and set it down on the table. "What you need to enter that vault is a scrying device..." At my raised eyebrows, he added. "Bear with me." He took out a printed sheet of paper and pointed to a gizmo that could better be described as a pair of lenses resembling the tapered, long-tubed eyestalks of a snail.

"Um, what's that?"

"What you need to avoid the overload of knowledge that would addle your mind and cripple your sanity. You put it over your eyes, secure it around your head, and you're ready to go," he said, highlighting with hand gestures the simple act of putting on the headgear. "The drawback is that what you're looking for must be very specific, down to your choice of words and precise syntax. The lenses are incredibly narrow, like gazing through a microscope, and they cannot be adjusted to either zoom in or zoom out. Its extent is intended to be limited like that. As I understand it, looking for answers in that vault will be as similar as asking a wish from a deceitful genie."

"So, once I get one of these bad boys in my hands, I'm ready to go?"

"If they somehow allow you to go in, then sure, break a leg."

I shook my head. "There's no way I'm slipping in unnoticed."

Mr. Royce laid back on the velvet cushion of the chair. "Would you be ready for it, though? It'll be dangerous, and illegal more than anything."

"I think I am." The last words Uncle Frank said to me echoed in my head. "I found out last week that my uncle is also a vampire. Has been for years and no one's found out. Only I know now. I'd never really been too close to him, but we found enough ground to relate, at least."

"Oh, my." He leaned forward. "That is surprising, indeed. How's he dealing with life and his family?"

"He fears for his future. Dreads the day he may have to abandon his family. He's still in the Vestal stage. So he says."

That made him blink. "Vestal? And you say he's been one for years? That's some impressive form of self-control."

"Anyway, that's not what the kicker is. In a few years' time, my younger brother, Marcus, will be noticeably older than me. Suffice to say, it'll raise my dad's suspicion, enough to lose my entire family. That is, if he doesn't realize it before."

"And you didn't already realize that would eventually happen?"

"I'm sorry, I was busy dealing with three lunatics and worrying if I might see the beginning of the new year." I swallowed. "My uncle opened my eyes to that. It makes me scared for the future. I don't want to see everyone around me grow old and disappear from my life. I don't want to be separated from my children while they outgrow me and pass on while I'm eternally reliving my teens."