Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition)) (22 page)

Zachariah and Daniel had shot out
ahead of them, vanishing from view around the curve of the hallway.
Todd heard Daniel let out a holler of glee that echoed off of the
walls. Emma began to roll forward at a normal pace, but quickly
picked up speed while still holding onto the tops of Todd’s hands
tightly, making sure he couldn’t slip away. She didn’t plan to
reach her top speed since this was his first time, but she didn’t
baby it either.

Todd’s leg muscles tightened and
slightly bent at the knees, straining to keep himself steady while
he felt the wheels spinning at an unnatural speed under his feet.
His person had never flown this fast before without being in a car
or an airplane; it was exhilarating and nerve-racking all in one.
He kept his head forward, afraid that if he turned to look at the
doors whizzing past them he would lose balance and wipe out. They
approached the staircase and he briefly saw that they had gained an
audience, but they flew by so fast he didn’t have a chance to see
who it was. It was just a blur of images from the corner of his
eye.

They quickly approached the end of the
hallway and Emma had slightly slowed down, but they were still
traveling at an inhuman speed.

“
Keep your knees bent, all
your muscles tight, and lean a little to the right; we’re going to
make the U-turn,” Emma shouted so Todd could hear her over the air
blowing past his ears.

He did as he was told as the end of
the hallway was rapidly nearing. He felt her body shift and she
tightened her hands onto his once more, keeping him securely linked
to her. She slightly squatted and leaned her body to the right,
causing them to whip around in the opposite direction. Todd had
braced himself for the turn, but wasn’t prepared for the momentum
and almost wiped out. Emma grasped his arm and used her body weight
to pull him back straight as she allowed the traction to naturally
slow them down. Once Todd regained his balance and was steady on
his feet again, she picked up the pace to fly down the hallway for
a second time.

They were going faster this time; the
portraits in the hallway whipped past him as if they were merely
colors smeared on the walls. They approached the staircase on the
way back and he saw that their audience was still there; he saw
Vivienne smiling at them before they blazed past. Emma ceased
pushing off and allowed them to coast down the remainder of the
hallway, occasionally leaning her heel back to apply the brake.
They began to slow at a more human speed and he saw Daniel and
Zachariah waiting at the end of the hallway. Emma let go of his
hands, freeing him to skate on his own now, but his legs felt like
Jell-O from the adrenaline that was rushing through his entire
body. He was shaking in both fear and excitement, much like going
on an insane rollercoaster ride.

They rolled to a stop and Emma,
Zachariah, and Daniel were all looking at Todd with anticipation,
waiting to see what his reaction would be.

Todd leaned his body against the wall
and panted, “That was bloody awesome!”

They continued racing through the
hallway for another hour; Emma and Zachariah raced each other and
Todd and Daniel doing the same. It clearly wouldn’t have been a
fair race between a vampire and a human. Emma took Todd for a few
more rides, going a little bit faster each time as he became more
comfortable with the sensation. He was less fearful each time
around and filled that void with exhilaration, anticipating Emma’s
quick, yet graceful moves.

Chapter 15

As dusk began to blanket the winter
sky, everyone began to converge in the parlor after the humans in
the house had their Christmas feast. Emma took a moment to go for a
walk by herself outside, the same journey she did every year. Those
who knew her well knew that this is what she did and to leave her
alone. It was her private time alone to reflect on her human life
and the memories that she had of Christmas past. No matter how many
centuries passed, she still missed them all the same.

She began down the path that led into
the woods, her usual route, making her way to her destination. She
sat down on the bench across from her family’s tomb, closed her
eyes, and listened to the cold, winter air quietly blowing.
Sometimes she would fantasize she would hear her mother’s
comforting whispers being carried in the wind, speaking to her
after two centuries in the grave. Emma pretended to hear the advice
she would give her when she faced a dilemma, much like the one she
was facing now.

It’s time to tell the
truth,
she imagined her mother saying.
With her eyes still closed, Emma nodded solemnly and openly
responded, “I know. I will, mother.”

Elizabeth needs to rest
with us.
She knew that and felt guilty for
so many years. Her dear sister deserved a proper burial, not just
placed into the ground and covered in dirt like an animal. She
feared what had to be done, knowing it was going to be gruesome and
perhaps traumatizing.

This is what she did every year on
Christmas—she visited her family’s crypt to sit quietly and
reflect. While growing up, her family didn’t celebrate Christmas
the way modern families do. The holiday didn’t become a federal
holiday in the United States until the late 1800’s, so her parents,
brother, and sister never had a chance to experience the warmth and
traditions that Christmas tends to bring. She knew that they would
have loved it, especially her mother, Victoria.

She sat in silence for quite some
time, reminiscing about conversations that were had over two
hundred years earlier, the laughter that she once shared with her
siblings. Their giggles as children growing up in Boston echoed in
her head and she recalled the games they used to play together. She
couldn’t help but smile when she thought about the tricks her
brother, Christopher used to play on his sisters; a typical boy
getting into mischief.

She was startled out of
her own daydream when she caught a familiar scent nearby. She
looked behind her and walking up the path was Zachariah, hands in
his pockets and hesitantly coming toward her. He knew that this
was
her
time and
never before had he bothered her. He approached her and motioned to
the bench, silently asking permission to sit down next to
her.

“
Hey there,” he said as he
took a seat and put his arm around her, staring straight ahead at
the crypt.

“
Is something wrong?” She
asked.

“
No, everything’s fine. I
just thought I would join you, hope you don’t mind.”

She shrugged, “It’s fine. I just come
here to talk with my family.” She cozied into him, not wanting him
to feel unwelcome. In fact, his presence was actually comforting in
a familiar way. She had never spent more years with anyone except
for him, he knew every aspect about her, aside from the secret she
had buried along with her sister eons ago. However, he did know
when she was hiding something and his radar was blasting right
now.

“
You know why Elizabeth is
tormenting Todd, don’t you?” He asked, still gazing ahead,
mindlessly examining the names on the crypt of her family that he
never knew except for Christopher.

She slowly nodded, deep in
thought.

“
Do you think she’s going
to want you to spill
everything
?”

“
I hope not…he’ll never
forgive us,” she replied, the thought had crossed her mind as well.
Not only did she bear a secret of her own, but she and Zachariah
shared one as well. They both feared that if the truth was exposed,
their lives at home would never be the same.

After they returned to the
Manor, they heard music coming from the parlor. Vivienne was
playing the piano and everyone was singing along to the Christmas
songs she played, even Aidan which was an amusing surprise. She
couldn’t help but giggle internally when she saw him attempting to
look bored while belting out
Rudolph the
Red Nose Reindeer
.

Zachariah looked at Todd and saw that
he had stopped singing and was looking at a void space in the
parlor. He nudged Emma with his elbow and motioned in Todd’s
direction with a questionable look on his face. As if he was told
to, Todd looked in their direction with a solemn stare, piquing
their curiosity.

He sauntered over to them, leaned in,
and said, “Elizabeth is here, she said the time is now.”

“
Now?” Emma
exclaimed.

Todd paused for a moment and looked to
his side as Elizabeth answered him. He turned back to Emma and
replied, “Yes, she wants you to do it now since everyone is
gathered here.”

Emma hesitated for a moment, but was
filled with a burst of courage as she wanted to just get it over
with. She realized that anyone who would have really judged her for
hiding the truth about her sister’s death were all long gone. Not a
single person in the room had met her, except for Aidan, even
though their meeting in 1815 was brief.

“
Everyone,” Emma called,
causing the piano music and singing to cease, all eyes on her. “I
can tell you why my sister, Elizabeth is haunting Todd, I should
have done it a long time ago. I was going to wait until tomorrow so
I didn’t ruin Christmas, but apparently she wants me to do this
now.”

Everyone began to scatter about,
taking seats on the couches to face her. She felt as though she was
on trial, speaking to the jury. Aidan was carelessly sprawled on
the couch, still not understanding what the big deal was. Emma
searched for a way to begin her story.

She told them the story of the night
she was turned by Aidan, which they all knew. Her mind removed her
from the present as she began to recollect that fateful night,
placing her back on the pathway in the woods, and the heavenly
scent that filled her nose. She remembered thinking Aidan was a
threat, not to her anymore, but that he would get to enjoy the
fruit of the scent instead of her. She would have attacked him if
he had attempted to get there before her. She took off in a sprint
faster than she had ever run before with reflexes that could rival
a cat’s.

The scent grew stronger as she got
closer and she ran faster so he wouldn’t get there first, even
though he wasn’t trying to. She reached the cottage that she had
been walking to before all this had happened, and outside gathering
fire wood was Elizabeth. However, at that moment, Emma’s primal
extinct was stronger than her emotional connection to her sister.
Without thinking about anything except satisfying her crave, she
attacked. She grabbed her sister by the hair, twisted her neck to
the side, and bit her.

Elizabeth screamed and tried to fight
off her attacker, her dearest sister. She wrestled against her as
Emma frantically drank from her neck. Her struggling was no match
for Emma’s strength however, and she gradually became limp in
Emma’s grasp. Aidan stood nearby, allowing his offspring to drink
for the first time without interference. Elizabeth’s eyes were wide
with fear and shock as she looked over Emma’s shoulder at Aidan,
the last face she would ever see and wondering why he didn’t help
her. Emma heard her victim’s heartbeat cease and continued to gulp
down every last drop of blood, which she needed to use more effort
since the heart was no longer pushing blood out for her. With her
craving satisfied to the very last drop, she laid Elizabeth down on
the ground directly in front of the cottage door.

“
Oh my, what have I done?”
Emma said softly as she looked down at her sister’s face. A wave of
sadness ran through her.

“
You are a predator now,
Emma. Humans are our prey. It is our natural instinct to drink,
however you do not have to kill them to satisfy your thirst.” Aidan
calmly responded.

“
Why didn’t you stop me
then? She was my sister!” Emma screamed. She began to weep
uncontrollably, fell to her knees, and held Elizabeth’s lifeless
body. Blood tears ran from her eyes, streaking her cheeks and
dripping onto Elizabeth’s dress. “My sister, my sister…” she
sobbed.

They heard the sound of someone
walking far in the distance, her weeping immediately ceased and she
instinctively sniffed the air. It was the same exquisite smell of
blood, but the yearning did not hit her as hard this time since she
was already fulfilled. It could only be one person, Elizabeth’s
husband, George.

“
That must be George,
Elizabeth’s husband! What are we to do?” She asked
Aidan.

“
We must leave, you can no
longer remain with your family now that you are immortal.” Aidan
replied.

Emma thought about that for a moment
and couldn’t bear to leave her family and never see them again. She
had to think fast since George’s footsteps were less than a quarter
of a mile away. “If I stay with my family, George will find
Elizabeth and they will know I did this and cast me
out.”

“
How could you stay with
your family as an immortal anyway?” Aidan asked, almost mocking
her.

“
They may accept it, we
are very close. And now, after losing Elizabeth,” she choked back
more tears, “I cannot allow them to lose two daughters in one
night.”

“
If you remain here that
means I will have to stay nearby to guide you as you learn about
being vampire. I don’t relish that idea.” Aidan sternly
said.