Awakening (7 page)

The
fact that I was back to being human annoyed me, especially when it came to
getting places. I was really getting used to transporting, now I had to walk
everywhere. It took me forever to get from Cornelius’s house to Maude’s store
downtown.

It
was almost three in the morning. I wasn’t surprised that the shop was closed. I
knew she had to be here. The last time I was here it looked like she lived in
the place. I knocked on the door hoping she would answer.

After
a few minutes she opened the door. She looked me over. “Can I help you?” she
asked sounding slightly annoyed. I was surprised she even answered. It was the
middle of the night after all.

“Yes,
I don’t know if you remember me, but you did a spell for me in the past. You
broke a bond between a vampire and me…” I started, but she cut me off.

“You
were a vampire,” she said confused. She could obviously tell I was human, and
not a vampire anymore.

“I
was, but then I died, and I came back human. I thought you might be able to
tell me how that is possible,” I said trying not to sound too hopeful.

She
looked like she was interested. “Come in,” she said, then turned and walked
off.

I
followed her into the little shop. I was glad she was at least interested in
helping me figure out what was going on. “How long were you dead?” she asked as
she went to one of her books.

“A
month, maybe a little more. It was like no time passed for me, but everyone
said I was dead,” I said as I glanced around nervously.

“And
you came back human?” she asked confused.

“Yes,
I died a vampire, and came back a human. Have you ever heard of it happening?”
I asked hoping she had.

She
shook her head. “I have never heard of it. Then again I never heard of anyone
dying and coming back, unless you count a vampire transformation or raising a
zombie.”

“I
have to figure out how this happened. I was beginning to accept what I was, now
everything has changed again. The man I love doesn’t believe I am the same
woman. He thinks it is some kind of trick,” I said impatiently.

She
shut her book, and watched me like she wasn’t sure what to say. “All I can do
is consult my coven. I am not sure if I can give you an answer. The best thing
you could do is go home and ask your family about any past history. Perhaps a
past dealing with witches. There could be something that could give you an
answer.”

She
didn’t sound as confident as I would have liked. There was also the problem
with the fact that most of my family was dead. “Here is my number,” I said as I
scribbled my number on a note pad. “Please call me if you find anything.”

She
nodded. “I will.”

I
walked out of the store without saying anything else. I was upset because I was
no closer to an answer. I knew it was ridiculous to think Maude could just give
me an answer. If this was a common problem, then everyone wouldn’t have been so
freaked out.

I
walked down the dark allies toward the hunter’s compound. Part of me wished
something would jump out at me so I had a reason to fight.

“It’s
a shame you aren’t a vampire anymore,” a male voice said from behind me.

I
spun around, and Julian stepped out of the shadows. I was slightly caught off
guard. I was told he was gone. He supposedly left with Damon once my uncle
died. I didn’t see why he was still hanging around.

“I
am pretty sure you aren’t welcome in Luca’s territory,” I said coldly.

He
laughed. “I am pretty sure I don’t care. A hunter turning into a vampire, then
dying, and coming back human is enough to peak my interest.”

I
scoffed. “Nothing peaks your interest unless it involves unnecessary death.”

He
smiled as he moved closer to me. I stayed on guard, but I forced myself to
remain in place. I didn’t want him thinking he scared me. “You are absolutely
right. Nothing does peak my interest except chaos. I think you have the ability
to bring plenty of that,” he said amused.

“What
do you mean?” I asked trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. He was
acting like he knew something I didn’t. I wanted to know what he knew.

“I
am talking about your little gift. The one where you can’t die. This isn’t the
first time this has happened, you just don’t remember,” he said amused.

“I
don’t know what you are talking about,” I snapped.

“You
died the night your parents did. You just didn’t stay dead. Carl was too much
of an idiot to realize it. They thought you were dead, then you miraculously
woke up. I doubt it was a miracle like they think,” he said watching me.

“What
is it then?” I asked curtly. He obviously had it all figured out. If he knew
what I was I wanted to know.

He
shrugged. “All I know is the things that go bump in the night are worried. Who
wants a hunter around that cannot die?”

“No
one said I cannot die. That would be impossible,” I said impatiently.

“How
can you say that when you proved the impossible?” he asked amused.

“There
is more to it, a spell or something caused this,” I said quietly.

“Or
you could have been born this way. Did you ever consider that?” he asked as he
began to circle me.

“What
does it matter to you? What do you have to gain?” I asked impatiently. I was
getting tired of his game, whatever it was.

“There
is a bounty on your head, a big one, and I intend to collect,” he said amused.
He drew a knife. The look in his eyes suggested he was prepared to use it if
necessary. He believed I could come back from the dead, so he figured it
wouldn’t hurt to kill me.

I
backed away from him and retrieved my own knife. “You know one of us is going
to end up dead.”

He
smiled like it was funny. “It wouldn’t be fun if it ended any other way.”

He
lunged at me and I immediately deflected him, and shoved him backwards. He
regained his balance and lunged again. He was being relentless. I was
deflecting his blows, but he was also deflecting mine. He knocked me backward
into a brick wall. I dropped my knife, and he pinned me. I held him at bay,
trying to keep him from driving the knife through my chest.

“Give
it up Lillian, there is nowhere to go from here,” he said amused.

“Go
to hell, Julian,” I hissed as I held him at bay. I was beginning to think he was
going to win, and I hated it. He would have never gotten me in this position if
I kept up on my training.

Julian
was suddenly yanked backwards, and thrown into the opposite wall. I fell to the
ground, startled by the suddenness of him being pulled away from me. A man in a
cloak stood not far from me. He had to be over six feet tall, and he was broad.
I wasn’t entirely sure I could take him on if I tried. He turned to go after
Julian. Julian was motionless on the ground across from me.

“Oliver,
leave him,” a female voice said making the man hesitate.

I
looked over at the woman. She was tall and slim. She had a cloak on like the
man, Oliver. She slipped the cloak off and I recognized her, but I couldn’t
figure out where from. She looked so familiar, and I felt like I should know
who she was, but I didn’t.

“Who
are you?” I asked as I got to my feet.

She
smiled faintly. “You don’t know?” she asked watching me.

I
opened my mouth to say something, but then I closed it again. To be honest I
had no clue, even though I felt like I knew her from somewhere. “You seem
familiar, but I don’t know who you are,” I said quietly.

“Lillian,
you are my daughter,” she said softly.

I
suddenly realized why she looked so familiar. It was because she looked just
like me, she was just older. She had the same black curly hair and blue eyes as
me, but she wasn’t the same woman I knew as my mother. I remembered what my
mother looked like, and she wasn’t her. Part of me wanted to argue and call her
a liar, but another part of me knew it was true, and that part scared me.

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