The End....

As we've come to the end of Genesis, Book  One in our Creatures of the Night Series, I just want to take this time to thank everybody out there who has been reading with us from day 1 up to now. I really appreciate your efforts in finding time to read and follow this blog. This was my debut book I published on Smashwords.com and I hope, with your comments and reviews, that I can become an even better writer with my future works. Revelations, Book Two in this series, is currently on sale at the same website. Just click this link https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/razr and it will take you to my profile page where you may view my interview and also see the books I've published so far.

Remember for those who may have missed out, the first instalment in my new upcoming Dark Father Chronicles Trilogy will be out soon but I took time to give you a sample of the book before it went online: http://zachrobertsonjr.blogspot.com. Catch the prologue and the first chapter and get a taste of the World of Darkness and all it's secrets, danger, betrayal, blood, beauty, hate and love.

So, will Raven bid farewell to "life" as she knows it? Will Eric & Tristan finally get to know what they really are? Will the brothers be fine or will they have to choose sides?  And will the town of Sereneville ever be the same again? Find out in Creatures of the Night - Revelations at only $0.99!

Thank you and see you soon!


Ps: Here are some books I've found quite exhilarating. If you'd like a copy you know where to go! Cheers!


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Chapter Ten....Scene Seven

If Athena’s mind had a voice of its own, it would have told her she was overworking it. A thousand scenarios had popped up in front of her since Alistair had left. Athena was desperately trying to translate what his little “thank you” message had meant.

She had foolishly invited him inside the house and now, he could come and go as he pleased. But he had looked so innocent and honest! Athena thought that perhaps she was reading too much into it. She couldn’t have been fooled, not even by a vampire. Nonetheless, you could never be too cautious with these blood suckers. She would have to move her plans up drastically. They were leaving town tonight.

Athena’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her sons bundling down the stairs. She breathed deeply. Here goes.

“Good morning,” she said, busying herself by the stove. “I hope we’re all feeling better.”

“More or less,” Eric said.

“Yeah sure,” Tristan added.

“Well then pull up a chair and let’s get some food into you.” They obediently sat down at the kitchen counter and waited patiently as Athena put a plate of scrambled eggs and toast before each of them. “Bon Appetite!”

Nobody spoke for a few minutes, everybody pretending to concentrate on their plates. Athena was thinking of how best to broach the subject on her mind. Tristan and Eric were thinking of how best to confront her. Somebody was bound to speak up soon. It was Athena.

“I’ve got something very important to talk to you about,” she begun. “Now I know we’ve only been here a couple of weeks and you guys were just beginning to settle in.” She let out a deep breath. “Unfortunately we----”

“---are moving.” Tristan finished.

Athena looked at him in surprise. “Well that wasn’t what I was going to say next but yes. We are moving.”

“Do you know why?” Eric asked.

“Or would you like us to tell you?” Tristan said.

Athena looked from one to the other, a confused expression on her face. “What are you two talking about?”

Eric answered her. “We know about this town Mom.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Oh jeez,” Tristan said. “You can stop your pretending. We know you know about the vampires and werewolves in this town. That’s the whole reason you’re moving us isn’t it?”

Athena could have argued or even played dumb but she was just mentally exhausted. She’d been keeping these things a secret from them for eighteen years now and sooner or later, this would have happened. Perhaps them knowing was actually a blessing in disguise because now, they wouldn’t have any objections to leaving town. Besides, there was a silver lining to all this. They still weren’t aware of what she was and that she was determined to keep hidden.

“Yes it is,” she answered.

“So why all the lying?” Tristan asked.

“I was just trying to protect you,” she replied. “I thought that maybe if you didn’t know about it then you could just continue living a normal life without being afraid of your own shadow!” Worn-out, Athena came round and flopped down at the dining table.

Running a hand through her hair, she continued. “I know you’re both hurt because we’ve never kept secrets from each other but I swear it was for your own good.”

Eric slowly nodded. Just one more test to see if she was telling the truth. “Fair enough,” he said. “Just one more question. Who brought me home last night?”

Athena thought about lying for a second but the truth quickly tumbled out before she could stop it. “I did.”

Tristan came and sat down beside his mother. “What were you doing out there in the woods on your own?” He asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Eric said, walking to the refrigerator and getting a carton of juice. Coming back, he almost jumped out of his skin at the bloody figure standing just outside the glass door on the porch. The open carton of juice dropped out his hand, spilling its contents onto the floor.

“Oh shit!” Eric exclaimed.

Athena and Tristan quickly looked behind them to see what was going on. It was Raven. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday; black jeans and a blue tank top and her chin was covered in blood. She had a chaotic look in her eyes as she grinned at him.

“Hello Eric,” she said softly and rushed at him.

It was the fastest Athena had ever moved in her human form, managing to push Raven as she rushed past. Raven crushed into a display cabinet in a corner of the room, sending glass shattering everywhere. Unperturbed, she recovered but Athena, without any hesitation, was already halfway through her shift.

The past twenty four hours flashed before Eric and Tristan. First Ramona and Raven, Jade and Bryce and now their own mother! Now this certainly must be a dream!

Raven rushed at Eric again but now in her werewolf form, Athena was ready for her. She charged at Raven, trying to sink her teeth into the vampire but Raven twisted around at the last moment. They flew into the kitchen, sliding across the floor into the cupboards.

Raven quickly scrambled up and again went for Eric. Her sole attention was focused on him. She had no regard for the werewolf behind her. Athena caught Raven’s leg and tripped her. She pounced on her, snapping and snarling viciously.

“Mom don’t!” Eric shouted.

Athena momentarily lost her concentration and Raven used the distraction to throw her off. This time though, she couldn’t go for Eric as strong hands got a hold off her and whisked her out of the house.

Athena roared her frustration and turned to the two people staring fearfully at her. Eric and Tristan could hardly believe this monster before them had been their sweet loving mother not five minutes ago. After eighteen long years, it seemed they still knew nothing about her at all!

Athena eyed them cautiously, careful not to make any sudden movements that would frighten them. Finally the cat---or dog in this case---had been let out of the bag. She suddenly regretted all those years of lying to them. They hardly seemed worth it now.

As he looked at her, Tristan remembered Jade with Bryce the previous night and decided to try it out. He whispered in a voice he barely recognized as his own, “Mom? Is that you?”

“Can she hear you?” Eric asked.

Neither of them had known what to expect but the voice that echoed in their minds calmed them down. It was certainly their mother’s voice.

“Yes it’s me. Don’t be afraid, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Athena relaxed and sat on her hind legs, her actions very much like a dog’s. “You finally know about me and I think it’s time you knew about something else. It’s time you knew the truth about who you really are.”

###

Chapter Ten....Scene Four, Five & Six

The first thing that Bryce felt when he woke up that morning was fear. Fear of his old man finding out what he’d done. He hadn’t been himself last night. He’d been hurt and angered by Jade’s rejection and he’d known that wasn’t the best night to shift but running always cleared his mind and so, he’d done it anyway.

Lying in his bed now, he quickly regretted that decision. With his anger clouding his better judgment, he’d killed the young couple he’d found making out in the woods. He’d just slaughtered them without a moment’s hesitation.

The police would just pronounce it as a wild animal attack and the investigation would soon blow over. But that was just the beginning for Bryce. He knew his father would know better than to take the police’s word for it and so would the vampires.

There would obviously be an inquest into this and if the vampires found out who was responsible, then all hell would break loose. The treaty between them and the werewolves centered on each species being strictly forbidden to either hunt or kill in Sereneville. Bryce had just pissed on that treaty and the vampires would not readily let that one go.

Bryce wasn’t afraid of a vampire. He was extremely strong, quick and had a knack for winning; just like his father and it was that man he was afraid of. Ulric could be a very harsh man on his day, which could probably be attributed to the fact that he was a werewolf. As the alpha male in town, he was responsible for the safety and actions of his kind. If he were ever to find out his son had been responsible for this attack, there was no telling what he might do.

Perhaps I can convince him to blame it on the vampires, Bryce thought. He never wanted them in town in the first place and would surely jump at any excuse to run them out. He decided it would be to his advantage if he spilled his guts to his mother first.

She had a solid head on her shoulders and was much more patient than her husband. She also adored her son and would definitely protect him at all costs and Bryce figured he really needed that protection now.

 

There were many things in life Ramona wasn’t remorseful for. As a vampire, she didn’t feel remorse—at least not like humans did. Vampire emotions revolved around two passions—love and hate. There were seldom any gray areas around those points.

But after last night, if you had asked her, Ramona would have admitted she did feel a little guilt at the danger she’d put Eric in. She had never meant to harm him. If everything had gone to plan, she would have just tasted him, nothing more.

Then that stupid dog had to go and ruin everything. It was lucky Raven had been with them. There was no telling what could have happened if she’d been alone with Eric.

She’d agreed to meet with Raven at The Arena to discuss impending issues. Eric had obviously seen her in vampire mode and so had his brother Tristan, never mind the giant dog snarling at them. Ramona wondered how they’d take it. Most humans she’d seen discover her true nature had gone wild, ecstatic.

The morons actually thought being a vampire was great! Sure you had immense strength, you were invincible, you could go anywhere you wanted to but to Ramona, the only thing that was “great” about being a vampire was that she was at the top of the food chain. But if she could turn back time, she definitely would.

She hadn’t chosen to become what she was. It had all been forced on her. Twenty years ago she’d been travelling with her parents and kid brother on the highway just outside Sereneville. They had been heading for a fishing trip, just a nice normal family. All that had changed when approaching a narrow bend, a car that had been trying to overtake another in the opposite direction hadn’t quite gotten back into its lane yet and in trying to avoid the inevitable crash, her father swerved sharply.

Their car skidded and lost its grip on the road, rolling over two or three times before finally settling at the side of the road upside down. The guilty bastards hadn’t even bothered to help, probably thinking the family was already dead.

Ramona had woken up after a while, feeling someone dragging her painfully outside the car. In her foggy state, she tried to see who it was and a young handsome face looked into hers. Ramona couldn’t make out what he was saying but suddenly, his handsome face changed horrifically and he bit her in the neck. She’d been too weak to cry and just lay there as he drank her blood to the point of death.

Again, he said something and Ramona thought it sounded like “…..second chance,” before he ruthlessly snapped her neck. The paramedics pronounced everyone they found on the scene dead. But later that very night, Ramona awoke in a hospital mortuary. She did not know where she was or what she was doing here. All that she knew was that she was in such excruciating pain.

Her heart was beating slowly and it felt as if her body was drying up from the inside out. Her throat was crying out for a drop of water. Someone had chosen that moment to walk into the mortuary and presented Ramona with her first vampire meal. Without understanding why she did it, Ramona attacked him, fixing her fangs nice and deep inside his neck. The rest as they say was history.

Looking at her watch, Ramona cursed silently. Where the hell was Raven?

 

Tabitha Savage nodded helplessly as her daughter mumbled for the umpteenth time that morning that the sand felt so nice and warm. The poison from the werewolf bite had rapidly advanced and she now had little, if any, time left.

Tabitha could not bear to watch her fade before her eyes. Her little baby hadn’t even begun to really “live” yet. There were so many things she still had to learn. So many places she still had to go. It was fate that had smiled upon her to have Raven in the first place but it wasn’t fate that had taken her away. It was that filthy dog! And Tabitha vowed she would not rest until her little puppies suffered the same fate as Raven. She did not care what Alistair or indeed Raven said. She had a bone to pick with Athena and not even the devil himself could stop her.

She started as the doorbell rang. Who could that be? Giving Raven a soft kiss on her forehead, she left her to her ramblings and went to answer the door. An annoyed but smiling Ramona greeted her.

“Hi Mrs. Savage. Sorry to bother you but is Raven home?”

She had no idea. “I think you better come in Ramona,” Tabitha said softly.

Immediately, Ramona’s countenance fell. “Is there something wrong Mrs. Savage? You don’t look so good.”

“Would you like a cup of tea?” Tabitha asked instead, already trying to busy herself in the kitchen.

Ramona followed her and said, “No thank you, I’m fine.” She again assessed the older woman. “But you’re definitely not.”

Tabitha sighed, her shoulders slumping. She turned around, her eyes full of tears and stammered, “Raven was—was—bit—bitten by a werewolf last night.”

“What!” Ramona was absolutely dazed. How could Raven have been bitten by a werewolf? She was the one who had been in danger of that. “How is that possible? I thought there was only one werewolf in those woods!”

Tabitha vigorously shook her head. “Athena was there too.”

“Eric’s mother?”

“She’s the one that bit Raven.”

What a fucking disaster! And it had all stemmed from her own foolish selfishness, insisting on Eric’s blood when she could have had any she wanted. Now, Raven was going to pay the ultimate price.

“May I see her?” Ramona asked.

“Sure,” Tabitha nodded and led the way upstairs to Raven’s room. On the bed where she’d left Raven, Tabitha only found an empty space, a small breeze coming in from the open window that had been closed before.

Chapter Ten....Scene One, Two & Three

Alistair smiled his appreciation as he walked into the living room. “Nice place you have here.”

“Thank you,” Athena replied. She offered him a seat on one of the large leather sofas. “I know this may not sound like it but I want you to know that I didn’t mean to bite her.”

“I know that. Raven told us everything. She actually asked us not to retaliate and I agreed with her one hundred percent although Tabitha understandably thinks otherwise.”

Athena was loath to admit it but she was fast becoming an admirer of the vampire. He looked to be very in control of his emotions, a calm quietness about him. Most of the vampires she had encountered would have been banging and throwing stuff in her house by now trying to get her to come out, Tabitha included.

“So is it her you’ve come to warn me about?” She asked.

“Not really. We’re actually leaving town at the end of this week. We just couldn’t remain here when Raven—” He struggled to find the right words but only a tired sigh came out. “Anyway I just dropped by only because she begged me to come and check on Eric for her. She just wanted to make sure he was safe.”

Athena had never felt any sympathy for a vampire in her entire life but now, looking at the oddly quiet vampire before her and hearing what he’d just said, she did feel a little pang of sadness. But it was regret. Regret of the danger she’d exposed her sons to. Alistair had said they were moving and he might not believe in vengeance but what about Tabitha? After all, she literally had eternity to plot her revenge.

“If you don’t mind me asking, do your sons know what you are?” Alistair asked.

Shaking her head, Athena said, “No, they don’t. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Of course,” he smiled. “Well since you’re all calm and everything I’ll take it that Eric’s okay?”

“Yes he is.”

“Well then I guess I better be going. Tabitha is an emotional mess at the moment.” At the door, he turned and offered her his hand, a perfectionist’s smile on his face and said, “Thank you for inviting me in”

That sentence sent alarm bells ringing in Athena’s mind.

***

Raven was shivering as her mother covered her with another blanket. Athena’s bite wound had now spread. Her entire forearm was rotting slowly, the skin a repugnant red. She was having memory flashes from when she was a kid, long before she’d been turned.

It was kind of funny actually. She was a vampire, she wasn’t supposed to get sick but here she was. She had a fever, the flu and couldn’t stop that damn shivering. Her parents had thought some blood would help and had even gone to the hospital for the human kind but she had just recently begun coughing it up.

Her mother was distraught, not knowing what to do. She just couldn’t watch her baby die could she? But what else was there to do? There was no known cure for a werewolf bite. Where would she even begin to search? It was all the fault of that werewolf bitch! She wished she had torn her head while she’d had the chance last night instead of telling her where her son was. Raven would still be alive and looking ahead to eternity.

Childhood memories flashed once again in Raven’s mind. She was fast becoming delirious, calling out to her mother in a little child-like voice and talking to her about things that happened ten years ago like they had only occurred yesterday. She coughed up some more blood.

Raven knew she was going to die soon and the only regret she had was that she would never get to feel Eric’s lips on hers.

 ***

Sheriff Charlie Cromwell was not a happy man that morning. As a member of one of the founding families, he took pride in the fact that Sereneville had steadily grown and blossomed over the years. The town’s population was steadily rising and there was an influx of small but eager investors.

Sheriff Cromwell was thirty six years old and just starting to go bald on the top of his square-shaped head. He was a big bulk of a man, but too many of the chocolate covered doughnuts his wife made had him slightly overweight. He was a very cheerful person and always had a kind word for everyone even when writing them up a ticket.

As the sheriff, Cromwell’s satisfaction lay in the fact that crime was almost non-existent in town. There was the very odd break –in, occasional shop lifting—usually done by overzealous teenagers trying to get someone’s attention—but his work mainly consisted of breaking up bar fights and handing out speeding tickets. That was about as dangerous as it got.

The town had never experienced a death before. Not even on the nights the fabled Melissa was rumored to be seen lurking on the lake, supposedly waiting for her next victim. It seemed her “curse” had been lifted, if it had been there at all.

But when he woke up this morning, Sheriff Cromwell had received a very disturbing call. Sereneville had just witnessed its first loss of life in more than a decade. The party at the lake last night had culminated in a gruesome death for two teens that had recklessly gone off alone into the woods. His deputy told him it looked like they had been mauled to death by some kind of wild animal.

Sheriff Cromwell was perplexed. The woods had been clear of any dangerous animals all these years and if they were there, they certainly wouldn’t come so close to town. Where had this “wild animal” come from?

He picked up his hat and dumping the rest of a chocolate doughnut he’d been eating into the trash, headed out to the woods to join his deputy. No sir, he was not a happy man.

Chapter Nine....Scene Three

Upstairs, Eric was in Tristan’s bedroom, waiting for him to come out of the shower. He now knew something was wrong. His mother was acting very strange. He knew she had been about to tell him that they were probably moving again but why the sudden decision, especially after what happened last night?

Eric suddenly had a niggling feeling that his mother was hiding something. No scratch that. He’d known she was hiding something ever since she’d told them about their real parents. Tristan and he had just never pinned her down before. But this time was different, he had to know.

“Ladies and gentlemen, he lives!” Tristan said dramatically as he came out of the shower. His blond mane was stuck to his forehead and water was still dripping down his body. “You had us worried for a minute there cowboy.”

“You mean I had mom worried. You’d sooner celebrate being the only child she could pamper to death than mourn me.”

“I’ll let that slide….simply because it’s true.”

Eric turned serious. “Listen there’s something I gotta talk to you about.”

“Would that something have anything to do with what happened in the woods last night?”

Eric was dumbstruck. “You know about that?”

Tristan guffawed. “Do I know about that? Dude I was right there.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “What the hell was that thing?”

Eric could only shake his head. “I have no idea.”

“Well I do.” Checking to make sure that his door was locked, he came back and sat down, clicking the computer into life. “I did a little search last night and this is what turned up.”

Eric looked at the screen. On it was an image of the same wolf-like creature that had attacked them. The caption under the image read “werewolf on a full moon”.

“That’s right my friend. That thing was a werewolf, or what is sometimes referred to as a lycan. It says here that in Greek mythology, Lycaon displeased the deity Zeus, who turned him into a wolf. That’s where the term lycanthropy originates from.”

Eric sat down slowly, a blank look on his face. “No fucking way! You’re telling me those things actually exist?”

“There’s more where that came from. Did you notice anything strange about Ramona last night?”

“You mean beside the blinding speed?”

“Check it out.”

This time there was an image of an astonishingly beautiful woman but her entire chin was covered in blood dripping from her mouth, two sharp fangs protruding from it.

He should have known. The surprising strength, the death looks Ramona always gave him that he mistook for seduction, Raven’s pale flawless skin.

The signs had all been there and yet he’d needed to almost die to see them. Just what would have happened if that scream hadn’t disturbed them? Would he even be here right now?

“Wait. You said you were in the woods. How did you get there?”

“Jade and I were coming over for the party. When we heard a scream, we rushed over to investigate.”

“We heard it too but Ramona and Raven decided to head back to the beach for help. That’s when we saw that—the werewolf.”

“But how did you manage to get away?”

“Ramona distracted it. She ran off and it followed her. Then I was left with Raven, she wanted to get out of there, I refused and the next thing I see is her knocking me out and me waking up in my bed this morning.”

“Wow. She actually knocked you out? Can’t say I’m surprised though. You always see them in the movies hurling things and uprooting tree trunks like they were nothing.”

“So what happened to you?”

“We came upon Ramona and the werewolf when they were just about to tear each other to pieces. And get this, Jade actually communicated with it. She kept calling it Bryce.”

“Wait. Bryce? Like her boyfriend Bryce?”

“Well I can only assume. I mean he didn’t really look like Bryce now did he?”

They both sat in silence for a while. Each one was contemplating their unfortunate discovery or fortunate depending on how you saw it. They had both been hanging out with supernatural entities, evil and deadly to the very core. How much longer would they have survived? Vampires survived on blood of which Eric had plenty and werewolves were uncontrollable and destroyed everything in their paths and Tristan had been firmly on one of those paths.

“I always wondered how Bella felt that way when she discovered Edward was a vampire,” Eric said.

“Yeah but dude that was a movie based on a book and great though it was, she was supposed to feel that way. This shit is as real as it gets. I mean I almost wet myself last night. That’s not really something you see every day.”

“But what strikes me odd is that nobody in this town really seems to care.” Then it dawned on him. “It’s because they don’t know.”

“Either that or everybody in this whole bloody town is werewolf or vampire.”

“I sincerely hope you’re joking because I’m getting goose bumps about how I’m gonna sleep tonight.”

“But just think about it for a minute. Werewolves are just like ordinary humans when they’re not changed and vampires are likewise. You couldn’t know who was who even if you were looking! Case in point!” He indicated them both.

They heard muffled voices downstairs and Eric remembered.

“How does mom fit into all this?” he asked.

Tristan was surprised. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you find it strange she wants us to leave town immediately following last night’s events?”

“Maybe she’s just trying to protect us. Wait we’re leaving town?” Evidently his mouth was way ahead of his brain.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! She’s not one to make rash decisions and she’s never made a decision about moving before talking it over with us. This time, it seems she’s already packed our bags.”

Tristan was silent for a minute, a frown written on his face. “But why would you think Mom has anything to do with this? Last time we checked, she was neither a vampire nor werewolf. All she did was bring you home.”

“She brought me home?” Eric asked incredulously. “I can’t believe she lied to my face like that! She told me I came home with that guy Eddie from our class!”

“No mate. Raven told me she met Mom out in the woods and she brought you here.”

“I’m I really that light? How are women finding it so easy to carry me?”

“She has a car dude. There are a couple of wide paths where a car could pass.”

“I don’t know Tristan. Something sure smells fishy around here.”

“So what if she really does want to move? Are we gonna do it?”

Eric flopped back onto the bed. “Well it’s not like we have much choice do we? Go with the woman who’s our mother, who has a job, who pays for the bills and most importantly is human. Or remain here and work tables at The Arena so we can pay the bills while our neighbors lay out glasses on their dinner tables so we can drop by and offer them a vein to tap. Now let me see…..”

Tristan clicked his tongue and said, “Sarcasm was never your strong suit Eric.”

 

 

Chapter Nine...Scene One & Two

Eric opened his eyes slowly, squinting from the sunlight coming into his room. He groaned as he slowly sat up. He was aching all over and his nose hurt. He looked over at his computer. The images were changing every six seconds and when an image of Ramona came up, the events of last night started flooding back to Eric.

Ramona racing through the woods, that big wolf-like creature following her, Raven knocking him out with an elbow. It all came rushing back to him. But was it all really true? I mean he had just woken up with another hangover and he remembered drinking again last night. Couldn’t he have dreamt it all? But then how would you explain the pain in his nose?

Eric decided he needed to see the two R’s in his life as soon as possible. He needed to clear up some things and finally get to the bottom of what was happening in this town.

There was a knock on the door and his mom called out. “Eric? Honey are you awake?”

Ah, the ever present Athena Xavier. After what had happened to him last night, it was a wonder he hadn’t woken up to find her beside his bed. She was so fiercely protective of Tristan and him. At times, Eric felt like she was protecting them from themselves, as if they would discover something deep inside them that could potentially spell disaster.

His mom poked her head in after asking if he was decent to which he had sarcastically replied no.

“So, how are you feeling?” she asked coming to sit beside him.

“I feel dead but alive, almost like a vampire.” He laughed at his own joke, only to see a look of apprehension on her face. “It’s a joke mom. Jeez, what’s gotten into your sense of humour lately?”

She tried to relax her face into a smile. “I knew that silly. I was just…..you know.” She quickly changed the subject. “So I see you made some new friends at that party last night. I really like that Eddie character. He looks a handful but he’s nice.”

Eric had only been half listening but his ears pricked up at the mention of the name. “Who?”

“Eddie. The guy you came home with? He lives just down the street.”

Eric fixed her with a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”

“See I told you getting sauced up is bad for your memory. Now you can’t even remember who you came home with.”

Eric was confused. Why would his mom say he came home with some guy called Eddie? Had Raven somehow convinced someone else to bring him home after what had happened?

He asked, “Did this Eddie say anything to you?”

Athena calculated her answer. She had to be tactful if he was going to believe her. “Is this one of those jokes I don’t get? You really don’t remember?”

Eric shrugged. “I guess I must have been pretty out of it.”

“Well Eddie didn’t say much to me. Only that you’d been together at the party and you’d drunk a little more beers than was your limit and he’d had to help you home. You’re absolutely sure you don’t remember?”

I do remember, just not that. Eric’s mind was in turmoil. It was impossible that he could have dreamt all that. But here was his mom, telling him he’d come home with someone entirely unknown to him. Eddie was in his class but he’d only exchanged like one whole sentence with him. The rest were just nods and a quick “wha’sup”. Nothing to suggest what he’d just heard.

If Eric was being totally honest, he wouldn’t put it past his mom to make this whole story up just to protect him but that was even more impossible because she’d been right here at home. So what was the truth then—dream or reality? The only people who could answer that were Raven and Ramona and the sooner he talked to them, the better.

“You know now that you mention it, I think it’s all coming back to me now,” he lied. “Yeah, I definitely remember.” He chuckled. “Yeah we had a pretty wild time at that party.”

Athena was not fooled. She knew Eric like she knew The Notebook; every reaction, every movement, every word. He did not believe her for one moment. She was going to have to move her plans forward.

“Well I’m glad you remember,” she said. “You gave me a little scare for a minute there.”

They heard a muffled sound from the bathroom and the shower running.

Eric looked at the alarm clock beside his bed. “Is that Tristan? If he’s going to school, you better tell him to go back in time.”

Athena laughed but it was nervous laugh. “Actually I’m the one who asked him not to go to school”

“Why would you do that?”

Athena let out a deep sigh. “Eric, you and your brother won’t be going to school for a while, at least not this school.” Eric knew what was coming. “I’ve----” She was disturbed by the shrill ringing of the doorbell. “I’ll be right back.”

She went downstairs, leaving Eric with a suspicious look on his face. Athena’s mind was busy polishing up the story she’d constructed the previous night and she was not ready for the person standing on her doorstep. It was Alistair Savage.

“What are you doing here?” Athena asked savagely. Her eyes had already turned yellow and she was starting to tremble slightly.

Alistair held up a hand. Dressed in as dark grey suit and matching shirt, he was calmness personified as he said, “Ms. Xavier, I’m not here to fight. I just wanna talk to you.”

“Well I don’t,” she replied and was about to slam the door on him.

“Wait! I know that after what you did to my daughter you have every reason not to trust me but I’m begging you just hear me out.”

“What are you talking about?”

Alistair looked surprised. “You—you didn’t know?”

Athena was completely at a loss. “Know what?’

“Ms. Xavier you bit my daughter last night.”

No she hadn’t! She had tried to bite her but Raven had managed to fend her off. Athena had actually been relieved that she had. She had been furious because of Eric and her foolish mistake might have cost this town and now it probably would given what Alistair had just told her.

“I bit her?” she asked, disbelief in her voice.

“I’m afraid so.” He looked uncomfortably up and down the street. “Look may we talk about this inside? You can change into something more comfortable if that makes you feel better.”

He was referring to her werewolf form but Athena knew she could not risk it.

“There won’t be any need for that—will there?”

Alistair shook his head. “I’ve never believed in vengeance. Besides, you look like you can handle yourself pretty well.”

Athena still hesitated, calculating the pros and cons. Finally she opened the door wide for him. “Come on in”

 

 

Chapter Eight.....Scene Five

Ramona managed a quick peek behind her. The damn thing was still charging after her! She guessed the others must be far away by now and decided to stop running and take the damn “dog” on. A single werewolf did not scare her. She came to a sharp stop and so did the werewolf, the bright yellow eyes almost boring into her. Ramona hissed and the werewolf growled back. They circled each other, each one calculating their best way to attack.

Ramona knew she had to be extremely careful. One bite from those gnashing teeth and she would be history.

The two super naturals both rushed at each other at the same time. Quick as a cat, Ramona ducked under the werewolves advancing arms and grabbed it in a choke hold from behind. She tried to locate its spine. If she could break it, she might stand a chance of getting away.

She didn’t want to kill it for she knew the repercussions would be too extreme. The werewolf on the other hand seemed quite intent on ripping her head off. Well you couldn’t blame it. These base animals couldn’t think for shit.

The werewolf was strong and it kept twisting and turning, its arms flailing about until finally it caught a handful of Ramona’s short cropped hair and hauled her off its back, throwing her into a nearby tree. The blow knocked some wind out of Ramona. She got up slower than normal for her just as the werewolf advanced again.

“Bryce!” It was a shriek and it came from Jade. She and Tristan had followed behind the two and had suddenly come upon them when they were engrossed in trying to kill each other.

Tristan, just like his brother, couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There was this huge black wolf-like creature in front of him and Jade had just called it Bryce. Then there was Ramona on the other side looking very much a different person from the one this morning. Her eyes were stark red and she had fangs protruding out of her mouth!

Jade saw his reaction and took pity on him. It was horrible that he’d had to find out this way about some of the residents of Sereneville. She didn’t know what he thought about all this but she had a decision to make right away. Of all the idiotic things Bryce could have done, why did it have to be hunting a vampire? This could only end in disaster, especially for the humans that would be caught in the cross fire between the two species.

“Stay here,” she told Tristan firmly. She doubted if he would have followed anyway, he was practically rooted to the ground. Jade quickly went across to Ramona and Bryce, getting in between them.

“What the hell do you think you two are doing?” She burst out.

“He started it,” Ramona answered.

Bryce countered with a menacing low growl.

Jade communicated with him telepathically. “Is that true Bryce?”

There was silence for a minute. “No it’s not. I caught her about to drain your boyfriend’s brother. Get out of the way Jade.”

“Bryce get a grip on yourself. We both know what will happen if you kill her. Don’t be foolish!”

“I will gladly accept the consequences! It’s time we ran these vampires out of our town anyway.”

Jade put her hands on her hips. “I’m not moving from here. If you want to fight her, you will have to go through me.”

For a second, Jade actually thought Bryce would really go through her but at the last minute, he changed his mind. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me when these blood suckers drain your little boyfriend dry over there.” Bryce howled once into the moon and charged off again into the woods.

Tristan was mesmerized by the things unfolding before him. If he’d had a knife, he’d have stuck himself just to see if he was dreaming. Had Jade been talking to that wolf-like creature? But he hadn’t heard her or even seen her lips move. What she could talk to animals now? This town was getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

Ramona was about to convey her thanks to Jade when Raven suddenly appeared from nowhere.

“I just saw the werewolf heading back towards town and thought you were a goner.” She said.

Ramona shrugged. “I’ve got nine lives. Where’s Eric?”

At the mention of his brother’s name, Tristan found his voice and movement. “Eric was with you when this thing attacked?”

Raven replied, “Don’t worry. He’s fine. Your mom just took him home.”

“Wait a minute, my mom was here too?”

“No. She came after the attack. I think someone must have told her we were here.”

Tristan nodded solemnly. “Can anyone tell me what the hell that thing was back there? Or better yet just what the fuck is going on in this town?”

The questions had started and although Jade had been sure they would come one day; she still would have liked them to be on her terms, not like this. She eyed the vampires, suddenly feeling very alone since Bryce had left.

“Let’s go Tristan. I’m sure your mom is worried about you.”

 

It had been a very long day and Raven was grateful for the comfort of her own home. After a brief overview to her parents about what had happened, she went upstairs and ran herself a scalding hot bath. She was happy that Eric was okay and she was sure that this little ordeal would put Ramona off of his blood for a while.

No one had been hurt from either species and perhaps things could even go back to normal, well at least as normal as they were twenty four hours ago. Raven took her shirt off and stared at the dark patch on her forearm. When she realized what it was, she screamed.

Her parents were in her bedroom within seconds.

Her mother asked anxiously. “What is it Raven? Are you okay?”

Raven came out of the bathroom, tears falling down her face. “Mom, she bit me. Athena Xavier bit me.”