Chapter Forty One: The Sins of My Family

*Birmingham, England
1847*

It had been a year and seven month since Cedric had turned him into the being he had become. He was high on his newfound power; the heightened senses and the strength gave him a strange euphoria. At first, he tried to resume his vain lifestyle and he indulged in women, alcohol and blood. The days had blurred into each other, until Cedric decided that enough was enough. Bates thought that he was the strongest that no one could match him anymore. However, Cedric put him in his place. “I don’t mind you having fun, but I would rather your fun be more calculated. You want to be a worthless little thing then go ahead, but don’t expect me to encourage this.”

It was after their little talk that Bates decided to give living with Cedric a chance, and they had stayed together since then. On that day, Cedric had been acting strange after a visit from a woman who was supposedly a witch. “What has she said that had you so nettled?”

Cedric paced in front of the fireplace with an unreadable expression on his face, but anger was radiating off of him. Bates was bewildered, flabbergasted to say the least, because throughout the time he had known Cedric the man didn’t seem to get angry at all. He didn’t show any kind of emotion. It tickled his curiosity what could possibly be the thing that aroused such a reaction from him. He tried to coax him into talking, and after a long time, Cedric seemed ready to talk. “It’s a hundred years thing, longer than you could possibly imagine.” He let out a sigh and sat down grabbing his discarded glass of whiskey. Despite the silence, Bates knew better than to speak. He knew if he urged Cedric to talk, the man might just shut him out.

“It does not feel as long as it actually is, but I had given my heart to a woman a century ago. She was the most beautiful, unlike anyone I had ever laid eyes on. She was strong, playful, and her mind was one to worship. I had been alive long before I had met her, however I’ve never felt as alive as I had in the time I spent with her.” Cedric had a wistful look on his face, before he took a sip of his drink. “Then I lost her.”

Bates hesitantly walked closer, “How?”

“She was killed by a being far stronger than myself. He plotted her death in a way that even myself wouldn’t have predicted. Darla had warned me, but I was way too arrogant, full of myself.” Cedric continued and his grip on the glass tightened. Bates waited patiently, hoping that Cedric would continue the story. “He used a witch, one that was so powerful. Her trickery was beyond us all, she befriended Darla, pledged her loyalty, but it was all a lie. She led her straight to her demise.”

Bates was beyond confused, “How is that related to the witch who had visited you? Was she the one who tricked your lover?”

Cedric gave a humorless laugh, “That witch is long dead.” For the first time his eyes met Bates, “And I have promised death to every Vancsura who dares make her presence known.” It was the first time Bates had heard about the Vancsura witch bloodline, and since then he had seen Cedric actively haunt them, which was the main reason he left.

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Lorraine looked up at Bates with furrowed eyebrows, “So, my ancestor killed Dalra who was the love of his life.” The name left her mouth with a bitter taste. She knew she had no right, but Cedric loving someone that much made a bile rise in her stomach. Despite the emotions being foreign to her, Lorraine understood that she was jealous. “That’s why he wanted to kill me.”

Bates only nodded his head then let out a breath, “Cedric is complicated. I still don’t know what happened for him to change his mind about you. But there’s one thing I’m sure of…” His eyes trailed to Aiden with sympathy then back to Lorraine. “He cares for you, even if he says differently, he really does.” No sooner had the words left his mouth than Aiden dashed out of the room leaving them behind.

Lorraine only shook her head sadly. *“If he did then why did he leave yesterday?”* She sighed sadly, “I don’t think the warning is just about killing Darla. There must be more to it.”

“I’m not absolutely sure, but the Vancsura line is known for using darker forms of magic. They dabbled into kinds of magic not even the strongest beings dare to approach, let alone use. That’s why they’re either haunted and killed, or used by others. It depends on how strong they are.” She wasn’t sure how to react but she only gave him a small nod, and decided to focus on the matter at hand, which is trying to figure out how to use magic. *“If I could at all.”* With that thought, she turned the page.

*“Fire has been our best friend, the first spell to learn is how to ignite a fire. Start with a small flame then learn how to wield it. Remember, the fire you start is yours to control.”* Lorraine read the lines at the top of the page, then she noticed the page being divided into two sections. The first explained what she would need, which in this spell would be the power of her mind and apparently a lot of concentration. The other part was written in a different language, symbols that she couldn’t understand. Bates took a seat next to her, this is written in Hungarian runes, which is an alphabetic writing system used for writing the Hungarian language.” She nodded her head, but she wasn’t sure how she would perform a spell she couldn't understand. As if reading her mind, Bates pointed at one line, “This is the spell, it’s in a latin”

“I don’t know Latine nor old Hungarian, what am I supposed to do now?” Lorraine asked frustrated.

“We’ll take it slow, I’ll help you with what I can.” Then his eyes drifted toward the direction of his study, “I’m sure Mr. Jonas would be more than glad to help as well.”

It was a couple of hours later that Lorraine stood up with a loud excited scream. “Oh my God! Bates, look at that!” She pointed at the candle that she had managed to light up. He could see it quite clearly, as he had been sitting with her, teaching her how to pronounce the spell correctly. Although saying “satus ignem” shouldn’t be all that hard, Lorraine had been doubting herself and what she could do.

Bates chuckled and nodded his head, “Yes, I can see it.”

Her excitement died out quickly, her eyes drifted between the candle and Bates. “I really am a witch.” Bates only nodded his head, taking note of how the truth dawned on her again. She sat down, “What am I going to do now?”