Nevermore, the Complete Series (30 page)

Once Paul was completely out of sight, I approached Hannah's slouched body. Delicately, I plucked each slender arrow from her skin; she flinched at each removal. Her eyes were beginning to open again, and I could tell that she was shocked to see me. Part of me knew I should be afraid, but I didn't feel even an ounce of fear.

“I'm surprised the venom didn’t kill you,” I commented as she lifted her head up to face mine. Her scent was stronger than ever before – hidden beneath the luscious vanilla was something foul. Salem had smelled so sweet in comparison, while her aroma reminded me of metal and burning wood. She looked bewildered and I smirked. “This isn't turning out at all how you had planned, is it?”

Her head shook. “You’re supposed to be dead! I killed you!” she barked.

“Salem saved me.”

“So, the hunter has become the hunted!” she laughed.

“Now, we have to figure out what to do with you,” I snarled, fighting the urge to tear her apart. “The only reason you’re not dead right now is because of your brother. I would kill you where you lie if it wasn’t for him.”

“What, you think I’m afraid of you?”

“You should be,” Salem said, approaching us quietly and crouching down beside me. “Hannah...I will never find it in me to forgive you for what you have done, but I will give you a second chance. Try to see my side of things, please.”

“You are such an insignificant coward, Salem. What part of 'I enjoy this' did you not understand the first time?”

“Who is to say you wouldn't enjoy living like I do?” he said flatly. “Think back to before any of this happened. Remember mom, Arthur, Daniel,” he spoke Raziel's true name with contempt, “remember how happy things were back then...”

I noticed a slight change in her expression – fondness. “Those times are gone, Salem.”

“Yes, they are,” he replied sadly, “however, there are families all around us that still have that. They still have each other; they still have the joy of life,” his voice was light and gentle, “think back to when that was taken from us, from you. Daniel may have elongated your time on earth, but look at everything he took away from you. Who are we to feed on these humans, to take away their lifetime of family and precious moments?”

“You did the same to your little raven,” she interjected, “you took everything she could ever have in life from her!”

“That's where you are mistaken, Hannah,” I said. “He gave me everything I could ever want in life. Had he not done this I would be dead.”

“Why would you of all people want this existence? You are a killer of our kind. Why would you even allow him to make you into that which you hate?”

“I don’t hate your kind, only the ones who kill people. Not all of your kind is evil, Hannah,” I replied. “Salem has shown me without a doubt that there can be good, even
in a vampire. As far as wanting to be like this, well…for the longest time I was haunted with the idea of growing old while Salem ceased to age, ceased to change. I nearly begged him to change me, but he told me nothing was worth such a life – including him.”

“What changed his mind?” she stared at me awkwardly.

“The fact that you nearly killed her!” Salem said angrily, “I couldn't bear to live without her, Hannah. I believe if Daniel had been given the chance, he would have done the same for mom...”

“But instead, he picked you, Hannah,” I said as the realization came over me. “He couldn't bear to be without you. He loved you.”

“The only downfall of that is he let you become corrupted by his ways,” Salem said with a frown. “If only I had known you were still alive...I spent years believing you were dead, when in fact I could have helped you long ago.”

Hannah appeared distracted, barely listening to what her half-brother was saying. She sniffed the air, and then lunged at me without warning. I pushed her back with a strength I hadn't previously possessed. My hands gripped tightly around her wrists as she fought to reach my throat.

“She isn't one of us, Salem!” she wailed, “Don't you smell it? Can't you hear it?”

As her words sunk in I nearly lost my grip on her. I tuned out all other noises but the rhythmic yet faint thumping in my chest. “Salem?” I eyed him pleadingly for an answer. He looked just as befuddled as I felt. “What does this mean? How is this possible?”

Hannah relaxed somewhat and I released her. She eyed me closely, suspiciously. “Something in her blood is stopping her from completely turning.”

“Does this mean I am going to die, or that I'm not a vampire, or...” I began rambling, my mind full of questions and concerns.

“I don't know what it means, Alex,” Salem said quietly, “all I know is you're alive, and for now that is all that matters.”

I couldn't agree to that. My questions needed answers, but I knew of no one that could help me. Even Paul, who knew so much about vampire and hunter history, had no idea because something like this was unheard of.

“Father would have known,” Hannah commented coldly, “it's such a shame that you killed him!”

“You would have done the same thing had you been in my position,” Salem argued harshly. “Now, are you going to take me up on my offer or am I going to have to kill you, too?”

Hannah's topaz eyes lingered on her half-brother's face for a moment. “I'm not making you any promises,” she replied.

“You don't have to. Just try it, and if you don't like it...” he paused, regret in his eyes, “we will let you go.”

“Right, you will just let me go?” she laughed. “I don't believe that for a second.”

“I promise, Hannah. What other choice do you have? Would you truly rather die than have to live off of animals?”

“Maybe,” she glowered.

Salem rolled his eyes, which I noticed had finally returned to their natural pale blue. “Try it, Hannah. You might find that you enjoy it, after all.”

“Fine,” she replied bitterly.

“Good. Now, let us go inside and you can tell me all about your abilities.”

I was shocked that he had found it so easy to forgive Hannah, so easy to give her that second chance. Had it been my sister, would I have done the same thing? I really wasn't sure. There were other, more important things on my mind as I followed slowly behind Salem and Hannah into the Victorian. As much faith as I had in Salem, I didn’t trust her, and wasn’t sure I ever could.

When we walked inside, Paul was strewn across the sectional, snoring loudly. We passed by him and entered the kitchen. I watched Hannah warily, noting her every move. She appeared surprisingly uninterested in the scent of Paul's blood – I wondered how long that would last.

Sitting across from Hannah at the dining table was awkward, not only because she was a blood-thirsty vampire but also because I had witnessed moments from her past and I felt almost as if I knew her. Not to mention the fact that she about killed me mere hours earlier. Salem sat beside me, his hand resting on my own. We were both tense, carefully observing the golden-haired girl.

“What do you want to know?” she asked, tapping her long nails against the table surface. I noticed the distinct British accent in her voice arising as she spoke, now that her true identity had been revealed. It caused me to wonder how long it took her to teach herself to speak without it.

“Everything,” Salem said somewhat enthusiastically, “from the moment Raz...Daniel...took you from the house.”

“I haven’t thought of any of this in a very long time…brace yourselves for a long story,” Hannah smirked. It was relieving to see her in a calm, friendly mood but I was still cautious, worrying that at any moment she could strike. “I can vaguely remember the fire. You were sleeping in my bedroom that night because I had a nightmare. Something woke me, and Daniel was standing in my room. Before I knew what was happening he stole me away from the house. As I looked back I could see the smoke, and the red glow. I was horrified, but he assured me that everything would be okay – that you would be okay.

“He took me to a small house far away – he was unbelievably fast! After tucking me away safely inside and insisting that I stay put, he said he would save you, too. I never saw you, but he swore you were safe. He told me that Arthur and Margaret perished in the fire, and he held me as I cried myself to sleep.

“The following morning, he told me that he would protect me, no matter what. He said it wasn't going to be easy for him, that part of him wanted to hurt me more than I could even imagine. What way is that to speak to a child? I was frightened, of course, but I stayed with him. What choice did I have, being only three at the time? He stayed with me as often as he could, only leaving when I was asleep or otherwise occupied with toys.

“Years had passed, and eventually I could fend for myself. Daniel would leave for hours, sometimes days, at a time – but he never failed to come back. I never saw or spoke to another person during the thirteen years he kept me there, but he took care of me. He treated me like the daughter he viewed me as. It wasn't until my sixteenth birthday that he finally told me who he really was,” she paused, appearing deep in thought, “he told me what happened between him and Mother, and how she refused to tell me that he was my true father. Instead, she made me believe I was imagining him. I will admit that for a long time I hated her for keeping the secret from me.

“He told me what he was, what he did, and how hard it was for him to be around me. He told me how delicious I smelled to him, how tempted he was to kill me every time he was near. It was my choice, I told him to turn me into a vampire so that we could be together forever, so that he would not have that temptation,” she smiled fondly at the memory. “Daniel was hesitant, much like Salem was about turning you, Alexis, but with time he agreed. After the process was over, he taught me the ways of being a vampire. I enjoyed every moment of the experience. We hunted together, and he was impressed by my strength and speed – more than even he was capable of. Then, he spoke of you...Salem.”

“I was long gone by then,” Salem said quietly.

“Yes,” Hannah agreed, “he told me how he kept you with him for a short period, hoping you would take to being a vampire as I had. You disgusted him, Salem. He expected so much of you...you were his first. He told me that you decided to kill yourself rather than 'commit to a lifestyle of murdering humans' – those were your exact words, he said. You were convinced that daylight would end it all, but it was only a story he had told you to keep you from leaving, while he worked on molding you to be like him,” her voice grew slightly less affectionate, “you never returned.”

I watched Salem nod his head, “if only I had known you were still alive then, you could have been mere miles away and I never knew...”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hannah said.

“And these abilities of yours?” he asked, “When did you discover those? What all are you capable of?”

She grinned. “I told you Father taught me many things. He had a gift to see into the mind of whomever he touched, or put his thoughts into theirs. With time, I was able to take it beyond this. For the most part, everything I can do relates to the mind. I can manipulate dreams, as you should have gathered by now. The affect is only temporary, sadly, and requires contact between myself and the...victim. Occasionally I can see into people's minds without even needing a touch...I haven't quite gotten the hang of that one yet, though. It worked on raven-girl's little friend Karen, that's how I knew about your relationship.” She spoke the last word with strong distaste. “Daniel told me you had relocated to Colorado in search of some girl he foresaw in your future...that's what brought us here. We had been traveling together.”

“Did you get separated?” I asked.

“He told me to stay behind one night, that he had something private to take care of,” she growled. “I followed his scent later that night, only to discover his remains in an unmarked grave.”

“I will not apologize for what I did,” Salem said, averting his eyes from her.

“Neither will I for what I did to your little birdy there.”

“Right,” he grumbled through gritted teeth.

“How did you manage to convince Karen you were her cousin?” I asked out of nowhere, partly to try and ease the tension.

“That was easy,” she laughed her melodic laugh, “she is far too gullible for her own good. I discovered her outside of the school and saw you in her thoughts, so I ran
up to her and introduced myself as Claire Davidson and stated I had just transferred from a school in Wyoming because my parents found jobs here and we had relatives in the area. I said I was looking for my cousin Karen Williams and that I heard rumor she was a senior this year, about to graduate. She was so excited.”

“How did you know she was one of my friends, how did you even know her name?” I asked suspiciously.

“As I said, I could see into her mind,” she explained, “if I have long enough to dig deep, I can see things that they are not even currently thinking about. Memories. Truths. I have to say, she was really easy to dig into, but anyway…that’s how I learned her name, and of you.”

“And you fooled Karen and me into thinking you were an average teenager by wearing makeup and heavy perfume?”

“Yep,” she smirked. “I should have known my dear brother here wouldn’t have been as easily tricked.”

As we were in the middle of our discussion, I heard a loud bang in the other room. I turned and saw that Paul had rolled off of the sectional. With a grunt, he clambered back onto it in a sitting position and glanced groggily in our direction. Within seconds, he was on his feet, crossbow in hand aimed directly at Hannah.