Chapter 16

Vanir walked further again, following his sharp sense of smell and came across his shoes. Next was his trousers. He squeezed his fist in fury. Then he found his cell and dialed a number.

“When are you going to be in town?” he asked trying hard to keep his rage out of his voice. 

“Very soon, maybe tomorrow,”

“I need you here Aiden,” Vanir sounded dire and broken.

“We will work this out together, I promise you that-”

“I have no time, they got my kids, and one will be dead within twelve hours,” he raised his voice at twelve hours. Surly Aiden understood the importance of family?

Aiden kept mute; a good response was far from his reach.

“Keep calm, they wouldn’t kill her. It’s just a threat-”

“An empty threat from Blakclaw?” Vanir wasn’t convinced and had to hold in a few not so nice words that would surlily lose him the help of Aiden. 

“Am a bounty hunter, not superman and I-”

Vanir hanged up. He was getting no help from anyone. He thought of leaving the Lycan territory, but he didn’t care. He would get the witch and take her to the vamps as soon as possible. He raced west, following the smell as before. 

***




Divina woke up to see her mother and father staring at her with heavy smiles on their faces. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” They chorused.

First, Divina was happy to see her father. This was the first time she had seen him in two years. But what had happened yesterday? She could have sworn she saw a man turn into a half a wolf. His face had grown facial hair until only his eyes could be seen, yellow eyes. Then he opened his mouth to expose a set of sharp animal teeth.

“Thanks Mom, thanks Dad.” she smiled and shared a hug with them both. 

“Quickly, you need to clean up. We have a big day ahead full of surprises,” Amy gushed with excitement.

She got out of bed, made her way to the bathroom, and while she pulled off her clothes, a loud scream reverberated within the four walls of the house-a banshee’s cry. So loud that it made Amy and Aiden race to her room like it was on fire. 

When both parents got in, Amy knew it was coming from the bathroom. While Aiden maintained his position, a few meters, not too far from the door. Watching Amy go into the bathroom only increased his curiosity.

Was it girls’ stuff? Menstrual cramps?

Divina was like him a tough nugget. This was more than that.

Amy walked out looking like she had seen a ghost but remained at the bathroom entrance. She gave her husband a fretting look. Aiden got her message. They had some explanations to make. He left the room to the basement to get a book, stricken with age-having hoary edges and ancient hieroglyphics. Getting the book had taken him time, and he was sure they would be ready by then. 

“Can I come in?” he bellowed from behind the door. 

“Yes, Dad,”

Aiden could sense anxiety entwined in an outrage. 

I keep telling her, it’s our destiny-we have to face it. She needs to know that. Never knew it would come to this.

He walked in to meet his only daughter and the love of his life sitting on the bed, locked in a sympathetic side hug.

He placed the book on Divina’s table. 

“You knew this was going to happen right?” Divina started, directing her first question which sounded more like an accusation to her father.

“No, Divi. Trust me,” Aiden spoke calmly 

“Before I begin, I want you to know that we love you. And any decision we take is to protect you.” Aiden paused, expecting his wife to continue. Which she did.

“We’ve been through a lot and we’re still standing. We can work through this together,” 

“You guys keep scaring me,” Divina said with a weary voice.

“It’s okay. I know how you feel-”

“Cut the chase. Dad, tell me. Tell me why I got a moon and a star on my left shoulder?” Divina’s eyes were wide with shock. A tattoo didn’t just appear. 

“That would provide some explanations to that,” Aiden gestured to the book on the table. 

“Pumpkin, it happened that my great-grandmother was a sorcerer and from the Durkheim clan. We are descendants from that clan and for generations, we have carried that blood-”

“Does that mean I am a witch or something?” Divina asked excitedly, and then her dream resurfaced causing her blood to run cold. Did she really want to be a witch? Having magic would be cool. Yet Divina was confused and had mixed feelings about how she felt about the idea of being a magical being. 

“Yes, and before we continue. I apologize for telling you that the Lycan research you made then was false.” Amy continued.

“So, they are true? Vampires actually exist?”

“Yes, they do. And they are so bloody and vile-not those puppets on TV,” Aiden added with a tint of anger to his voice. Divina could tell he hated the creatures. 

“Are you really a witch Mom?”

“Yes, she is. And don’t get all excited. It’s more than what you think,” Aiden warned again.

“Show me some magic,” Divina said excitedly.

“Am sorry, she can’t do that. You both are the last of what is left,”

“Why?”

“Because, for every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction,” 

“Meaning?”

“There are consequences for doing magic,” Aiden answered.

“Then why don’t I feel powerful?” 

“I hid your powers when you were little,” Amy responded.

“Why, where? How can I get my powers back?” 

“That shouldn’t be your concern now,” Aiden replied.

“Vampires, I knew they were real. I see them in my dream,” Divina soliloquized silently.

“You see them?” Amy gasped. 

“Yes, in my dream,” Divina responded with a broad grin.

“What a twenty-first birthday this is,” Divina muttered. 

“She is Twenty-one!” Amy had hit the light.

She walked up to the table, opened the age-stricken book, and found a page. Divina was overly excited to get a glimpse of it. She was living the movie, the novels, and the adventure. There wasn’t any birthday as good as this.

“Look, it says the Bengale-ethnologie prophecy. This takes place once in every century, a witch falls in love with a Lycan, and she becomes the mother of all Lycans. Beneath the sixty-sixth moon, her blood brings war or peace. . .”

“I didn’t see all that. Just a load of gibberish,” Divina said pulling a face at the book. 

“You didn’t expect it to be written in English, did you?” Aiden’s voice sounded worried.

“This has never happened,” Amy commented, looking up from the book.

“They killed each witch before they clocked that age,” He responded slowly.

“What?” Divina asked. 

“The prophecy installed fear in many. One evil sociopath of a vampire Blackclaw had all witches killed. The Salem witch trials were only part of it. No one can ever know you are a witch,” Amy said in a worried voice. 

The tone of Amy’s voice and the worry written on her father’s face installed fear within her. Was she now in danger? She gulped at the thought.