Craved (33 page)

“What are we doing in a graveyard?” I
asked Kye. It had been a stressful week. Fiona and I received a
summons to come to Moon. The NAWC (Northern American Witches
Council) was not happy to learn that vampires had learned that by
drinking our blood, they could harvest the magic within it. It
wasn’t natural for vampires to produce magic, or safe. As witches
we have to answer to the NAWC for our actions. If we were to use
our magic for negative deeds then the NAWC would take care of us.
The vampires though, could use our magic for whatever they wanted
and wouldn’t have to answer to the NAWC for it. Every otherworldly
species governs their own and since the vampire council wasn’t
taking action, the NAWC was.

“Practicing,” Kye answered. As soon as
Fiona and I had arrived in Moon the council had paired me with Kye.
They were vague on why I needed to follow and train with him. I
knew the council was gearing up to strike back at the vampires but
I still didn’t know what part I played in their plan. It didn’t
help my situation that I was dating a vampire. Aiden was back in
Flora, our hometown. He wasn’t happy that I was leaving for Moon
without him. But I didn’t think it’d be safe for him to visit a
town full of witches and warlocks, our two species weren’t on good
terms at the moment.

“For what?” I asked. I was tired of
being in the dark. If they had plans for me then I deserved to know
what they were. I wasn’t going to be a pawn in their game against
the vampires.

“Anyone ever tell you that you ask too
many questions?” Kye said

“Anyone ever tell you
that
you
dodge
too many questions?” I retorted. Kye turned to look at me and
grinned. He was good looking, but not gorgeous. Spiky sandy brown
hair framed his square face. His eyes were a rich brown that
reminded me of mud. He stood around five-foot-eleven and had a no
nonsense attitude. He rubbed his hands together like he was cold
and the held them out over a grave like it was a fire that would
warm him.

“Come here,” he said. I eyed him
warily but stepped forward and closer to the weathered tombstone.
The words were eroded and hard to read but I could just make out
the date that said 1924. I knew that whoever was buried beneath my
feet had to of been a witch or warlock, Moon had their own
cemetery.

Kye knelt down and I mimicked him. It
was a crappy way to spend a Friday night but complaining wouldn’t
change that so I was quiet as I waited for Kye to explain what he
was doing. “Do you feel that?” he asked. I concentrated on our
surroundings and tried to figure out exactly what I was supposed to
be feeling. Crickets chirped in the distance and a slight breeze
blew against my face. It was the middle of November but inside of
Moon the temperature was magically altered to be more like
spring.

“What?” I asked.

“Here,” Kye said grabbing my hand and
placing it on the ground. The grass tickled my palm. I arched my
eyebrows, still clueless about what I was supposed to be feeling.
The ground began to vibrate slowly and then my hand fell through
the earth. I shrieked and pulled my hand away. “What…what was that?
What happened?” I stammered. My witchy talents didn’t include an
affinity for nature. I couldn’t manipulate the elements like some
could. I held a combination of magic but the rarest talent I had
was being able to read the memories of the dead. Ms. Ozland had
told me that I was a spirit walker but I had a hard time accepting
that. Spirit walkers were witches or warlocks who could pass
between our world and the ghostly realm. Almost every spirit walker
I’d ever heard of had either gone insane or had been killed. The
bad guys didn’t like when someone could speak to their
victims.

“There’s a spirit hovering just
beneath the ground. As a spirit walker you were able to connect
with them and if you wanted, you could have pulled them from their
grave.” Kye explained. My mouth hung open as I gaped at him. I’d
been able to read the memories of the dead since I received my
magic at sixteen but I still refused to believe I was a full fledge
spirit walker.

“Why the hell would I want to do
that?” I shrieked. I had had a couple encounters with Bridget’s
ghost, a girl who was murdered for her blood a couple weeks ago. It
had been scary and confusing. I had no plans to run amok in
graveyards and pull spirits from their graves, whether Kye wanted
me to or not.

I began to stand up but a woman’s
voice stopped me. “Gwen, you are more powerful then you realize.” I
turned around to find that Holly, one of the council members, was
approaching. I dusted off my jeans and then crossed my arms. I
wasn’t interested in finding out just how powerful I supposedly
was, all I wanted to do was head back to Flora and snuggle up with
Aiden.

“And the council is interested in my
powers, why?” I asked.

Holly smiled. “You are going to be our
secret weapon.” I considered her words and when the meaning dawned
on me, I was shocked speechless. When I found out about why
vampires were killing witches and what they could do by drinking
our blood, I knew this would cause a war to erupt between our two
species. The council had announced that a meeting would take place
tonight, a meeting that would announce the looming war.

“I would like to decline the offer,
thanks anyways.” I said nervously.

“I wasn’t aware I gave you
an option,” Holly said icily. “You
will
fight with us.” I stared
wide-eyed at her and the coldness of her attitude. I had only met
her one other time, when I was sixteen. She had given me Aura, my
cat and familiar. I had always wondered if she knew what I could do
and by giving me Aura, who could feed me energy so that I could
read the dead, she made me comfortable with my rare
talent.

“And if I don’t?” I bit
out.

“You’ll be an outcast, stripped of our
protection and knowledge,” Holly paused. “Your own kind are being
killed by demonic creatures, will you really stand against us
simply because you’re sleeping with one of them?”

That was a low blow but deep down I
wondered if I wasn’t dating Aiden, would I be gun-ho to stomp into
the middle of a war? The answer was simple, no I wouldn’t. I
understood the severity of our situation and wanted nothing more
than to end the fast acting addiction of brew amongst the vampires.
A war though unsettled me, as it should have any other normal
person. It wasn’t like we were planning to go to war with puppies.
Our enemies would be vampires for goodness sakes.

I hated that Holly referred to the
vampires as demonic creatures. Vampires originated from the devil,
true. When he was cast out of heaven for not loving God’s children,
he made children of his own, vampires. The original vampires were
demon like with fleshy wings, talon claws, ashy gray skin. They
were created to feed off of the humans that God loved so much, but
with the free will God had bestowed them, and evolution, the
vampires had evolved into what he had today. The virus that made
them allergic to the sun and hungry for lifeblood was the only
thing demonic about them now.

“Well?” Holly asked. I glared at her
while I thought about whether I wanted to go against my heritage.
Without the NAWC backing me I would be a pariah amongst my kind. I
wanted to tell her that was fine with me, but I’d be lying. When I
had received my powers at sixteen, I had hated them. I had lost my
family because the magic had chosen me. My parents were religious
and thought me evil, therefore kicking me out and sending me to
Moon. I met Fiona here and it was with her friendship that I
learned to embrace my magic. Everything I was today was associated
with my magical roots, it wouldn’t be an easy thing to give up, and
Holly knew it. She gave the illusion of giving me the choice to
accept her offer, or back down and lose my magical association. She
knew I wouldn’t choose to be ostracized.

“What can I do?” I asked angrily. I
didn’t understand how my power for reading the dead could come in
handy in a war against vampires. Sure there would be a lot of
deaths; did the NAWC expect met to read my fellow witches and
warlocks who’d fallen in the middle of battle?

“You can do more than you realize,”
Holly smiled victoriously. “Kye is the best teacher we have; he’ll
teach you how to harvest your potential. You two can pick up
tomorrow, right now we must head to the meeting, there is much
planning to do.” Holly turned to walk back down the path while I
glared at her retreat. When I had first met her I thought she was
nice and friendly, I guess first impressions meant nothing after
all.

*****************

Everyone filed into the ball room of
the castle that served as the NAWC headquarters. After talking to
Holly I had a permanent scowl on my face. I didn’t care to
appreciate the beauty or the rarity of the old world castle that
sat in the middle of a forest in Washington. I wondered what
everyone’s reaction would be to the coming news; I couldn’t be the
only one against it.

I leaned against the interior brick
wall while everyone else took a seat amongst the row of chairs that
sat in front of a podium. I saw Fiona’s head pop up and swivel as
she searched the crowd for me. When her eyes found mine she waved
me forward but I shook my head, I needed to be alone at the moment.
I gave her a small smile and she shrugged her shoulders and turned
back around. Fiona was my best friend and my roommate. Her parents
were big timers in the magical community and therefore Fiona had
been raised as a witch. She loved everything about it and used
magic all the time. I, on the other hand, was still learning to
accept what I was. I’d had my powers for ten years, which seems
like a long time to most, but in the terms of a witch, I was still
a young grasshopper. Witches had a lifespan of at least
three-hundred years; I had a long way to go.

All seven council members took to the
stage and sat, all except Holly, who stood in front of the podium.
Half of her long auburn hair was drawn up with a vintage looking
barrette, giving a clear view of her high cheekbones and alabaster
skin. Her deep green eyes roamed over the crowd and finally settled
on mine. I gulped the lump that had formed in my throat. I knew
that Holly would make my life a living hell if I didn’t comply with
her demands. She smirked at me and then looked away.

“Welcome my fellow brethren,” Holly
said, her voice reverberating off the stone walls. The crowd
silenced and gave all of their attention to the council member in
front of them, while I made snide remarks about her in my head.
Government in any sense of the word is a pain in the ass, but when
my government tells me that I have to do something against my will
or I’ll be snubbed by my community, it’s ridiculous. I secretly
hoped that the community would be in an uproar once they heard what
Holly had to tell them.

“Dark times have fallen upon us and
it’s in these times that we must pull together and act as one. Many
speculations have surfaced about our trouble with the vampires but
tonight you will learn the truth. Tonight we will end the fear they
have bestowed in us and take action against them. The vampires have
learned a long lost secret, the secret of our blood. Our Goddess
has intertwined magic within us, meant as a loving, but powerful
gift. The vampires have tasted this gift and grown to crave what is
not theirs. Vampires are able to connect with the magic in our
blood because they hold a small portion of their own. It is magic
that allows them to hypnotize their prey and magic that binds them
from entering another’s home. Because of this, they can relate to
the magic in our blood and use it for their own selfish deeds. We
have lost many to their greed and that all ends tonight. A war is
upon us. We must take back what is rightfully ours or our kind will
grow extinct. We must act in the Goddesses name and protect the
gift she has given. Tonight the council asks that you stand with us
in our war.” Holly finished with a prideful smile. Cheers and claps
echoed in the cavernous space and beat against my head.

“Do not agree so eagerly my family,”
Holly said, causing the celebration to settle. “If you agree to
fight against the vampires this is binding. Anyone who is caught
cavorting with the enemy will be treated as such,” Holly’s eyes
found mine, a silent threat directed towards me. I gaped at her as
my heart beat sporadically. She was asking me to give up Aiden,
even after I had already agreed, against my better judgment, to aid
in the war. My chest heaved with my panicked breathing and the
familiar twinge of magic danced along my skin. My whole world was
slowly crashing down upon me, leaving me to suffocate on my
despair.

“Are there any questions?” Holly
asked. The crowd was hesitant at first but slowly a couple hands
popped into the air.

“My daughter is a vampire; does that
mean I can’t have contact with her because of the war? She hasn’t
drank witches blood, she’s an innocent in this,” A middle-aged
woman with curly red hair asked. I pursed my lips at her question.
Witches were chosen by the Goddess, not necessarily born, like
Fiona was. This woman’s daughter must not have been chosen and
decided to turn vampire instead. Some humans itched to become part
of the otherworldly.

“I understand your predicament but no
vampire is innocent in this war. Sooner or later they will all
crave our blood. This is a decision you must make, no matter how
difficult it may be,” Holly answered with a sad smile. I cursed her
heartless demeanor. The woman wiped a tear away, stood up, and
left. When she passed me I gave her a genuine smile and a head nod,
impressed she had the proverbial balls to stand against the council
and stand up with her daughter. If only I could find the same
courage.