Genevieve: A Witchblood Story (Witchblood Series) (2 page)

Genevieve looked at the man carefully. It was the same man she had run into earlier that morning. He seemed familiar then, and now as she looked at the smooth planes of his face she remembered who he was.

‘You used to wear that ridiculous wig,’ she said. ‘And only Alfred called me Evie. But you weren’t Alfred’s friend. You were Phillipe’s friend… Caspian?’

‘Sebastian,’ the man corrected. ‘
Unfortunately, the friendship with Phillipe was necessary and that ridiculous wig, as you so rightly describe it, was a necessary evil I no longer have to burden myself with.’

‘My mother… I don’t know how you got me away so easily. I don’t understand nor
do I want to think about it, but you have to help her,’ Genevieve pleaded, her eyes filling with tears.

‘Evie
, I can’t. It’s too late now. It would have caused too much disturbance to save her and for very little gain.’

‘What do you mean,
little gain
? How can you say that? She’s my mother!’

‘
And she used her last ounce of life fighting those peasants to protect you. Her heart stopped beating as I saved you. She had no strength left and will feel no more pain.’

‘How do you know that? Is your hearing so good you can hear a beating heart? We have to go back. I need to know,’ Genevieve said
.

‘No
.’

Ignoring him,
Genevieve was already pushing Sebastian away from her and looking back down the alleyway, her mind set.

‘As you please
then,’ he said, his face grim. ‘This way… and stick to the shadows.’

Genevieve followed
Sebastian to the end of the alleyway and paused when he turned back to speak to her.

‘Evie
, this will not be pleasant. I can assure you she is no longer alive and she wouldn’t want you to put yourself in further danger... nor would she want you to see her like this.’

‘I need to know,’ Genevieve
murmured, already hearing the shouts and calls coming from the peasants in the square.

With a
brief nod Sebastian took her hand, he led her round the corner and into a shadowed doorway, where they had a clear view of the village square.

Genevieve gasped and
clamped her eyes shut against the horrific vision in front of her. A sob rose and escaped as a strangled howl of pain. Sebastian’s arms encircled her, picking her up as effortlessly as a father picking up a toddler and carried her away; the images of her naked, dead mother fixed behind her eyelids.

Ͼ

‘I have nothing left,’ Genevieve said some hours later,
once her helpless sobbing had finally abated. She lay, exhausted, on a beautiful mahogany bed, somewhat like her childhood bed in Versailles.

‘You
still have me,’ Sebastian said, sitting in a chair beside her, stroking her hair softly.

‘I don’t
even know you,’ she said quietly. ‘You were Phillipe’s friend and he betrayed us all.’

‘I
only befriended him to get close to you. It was my suggestion that your marriage be postponed until after the troubles. I warned Alfred about Phillipe. I found him the peasant clothes for you. I told him where to lead you to. I am sorry he did not fully succeed,’ he said.

‘Then why did you pretend to be Philippe’s friend, if you were Alfred’s? How do you manage to keep this house and wear those clothes?
Why would you be bothered about my marriage to the Marquis?’ Genevieve asked, looking accusingly at the luxury surrounding her.

‘It
is complicated, but Phillipe was necessary. He was vain, easily flattered and had the power I needed to gain influence in the court.’

‘How do I know you aren’t still working with him? That you won’t hand me in?’

‘Then why would I have saved you? You know you can trust me, Evie. That’s the whole point.’

‘The only thing I know is that I can’t trust
anyone
,’ she answered quietly, turning her head away. ‘How can I trust you, when you have all this?’

‘The villagers don’t come here.
We are far enough out of town to avoid them, but we will have to move on soon enough,’ he said, a frown flashing across his features.

‘But I don’t understand how you stopped my marriage… why? You can’t have known this was going to happen four years ago,
at the engagement ball,’ Genevieve said, turning her face back, her eyes meeting his dark, brooding ones.

‘I didn’t,’ he shrugged defiantly. ‘I was selfish. I didn’t want you to be married and I knew you didn’t want to marry that pompous oaf.
The revolution was gaining momentum and it was an easy matter to suggest a postponement. You were a child then and you reminded me of another child I once knew. I failed her and I failed her mother, but I made it my ambition to protect you.’

‘Well then, you failed
in that too,’ Genevieve whispered, turning her head away, not noticing his gasp as she stared at the crack snaking down the plastered wall.

‘Evie, you are
alive
. I saved you!’ he growled.

‘Then you should have let me die. You should have forbid
den me from seeing my mother like that. I will remember her pain every time I close my eyes.’

‘Your imagination would have been worse. The mind can be crueller than any truth. You wanted to know she was dead. Evie, she felt nothing at the end,’ he said.  ‘And now
you
must live.’

‘There’s no point. I can’t have my old life back… even if I wanted it back
. I was tied in a corset and taught nothing but embroidery and how to look pretty. I don’t want
that
back. It didn’t teach me how to survive did it? It didn’t teach me how to make a fire or defend my family!’ Genevieve rolled onto her back, and after staring at the ceiling she found her eyes magnetically drawn to his.

They were so dark… almost red. They were mesmerising. She wondered why she had never noticed before, but then she was never supposed to look directly into a man’s eyes. She was taught to flutter her lashes, smile and avert her eyes if a man who was not family looked at her. She frowned.
A
whole lot of good that did her!

‘What is the matter?’ Sebastian muttered, his eyes roaming hungrily over her features, occasionally darting down to her bare neck.

‘Nothing… everything! Sebastian, I don’t
want
to remember. I just want to fall asleep and forget everything. I want to fly away and be free of all this…’ Her words tailed off as her hands slammed against the pillow in frustration.

‘That was not my intention. You were supposed to live
. I was going to save you, not turn you,’ he muttered, making Genevieve’s eyes dart back to his.

‘What did you say?’ she whispered.

He said nothing for a moment and they just stared at each other.

‘Evie
, how old are you now?’ he asked.

‘Nineteen.’

‘I thought so, but…’

‘Why?’ she asked.

‘You are three years younger than me… when I died.’

‘When you what?’

‘Evie, you know what I am. You must have realised that after I saved you. You even said you didn’t want to think about it…’

‘But they are just fairy stories. It can’t be true… can it?’ she whispered, watching him and pulling her tired body up into a crouching position, curling her knees up under her chin.

‘Fairy stories?’ he said, his dark eyebrows shooting up.

‘You’re an angel
... my
guardian
angel… you saved me…’ Genevieve trailed off as she caught the smirk lighting up his eyes. His loud laugh echoed round the room and Genevieve frowned as she felt a blush scurry across her cheeks.

‘I’m no angel
, lovely; but I can live just as long as one,’ he said, his eyes dancing wickedly, drawing her further into their dark depths.

‘Then what are you
? ’ Genevieve demanded, trying to conceal the rush of emotions that fought within her. Desire. Fear. Intrigue.

‘I can
extinguish your fears. I can take away your weaknesses. I can obliterate your memories. I can make you forget. Evie, if you truly don’t want to remember... if you want another life... I can offer you that and you will be mine,’ he said roughly, his eyes once again lingering on her neck, making a rush of heat flood her belly.

Genevieve swallowed the lump that had been growing in her throat and looked at the man
sitting next to her. She reached out her hand placing the palm on his cheek. His eyes widened slightly but he held still. He was cool to the touch, but not strangely so. His skin felt soft and yet there was an underlying impression of diamond hard strength. He was very handsome with his dark, almost black hair. His shoulders were broad and powerful-looking, his skin as pale as porcelain. If he wasn’t an angel, but lived as long as one, she had a good idea what he was. She had grown up in a world full of legends and superstitions, and that knowledge spiked an increasing fear within her, but also a new feeling; a feeling of excitement. She hadn’t really wanted to die, but equally she had no reason to live. She wanted to feel
alive,
and for the first time there was a feeling coiling tight in her belly which just hinted at the possibilities ahead. Her eyes darted to his mouth and were compelled by his full lips. She felt a blush rise and looked away.

‘Why d
id you say I will be
yours
, as if you are going to own me… just like any man I was going to marry. I thought you were different?’ she asked, looking back into his eyes, feeling bold.

‘You will be mine and for a while… until the bond wears off
, you will do everything I ask of you. But, Evie, I promise I will never ask anything of you that you would not wish to do. I will always remember my promise. I will always be your protector,’ he said.

‘And I won’t have a choice?’

Sebastian shook his head. ‘It is the only way. Otherwise you would have no control and it takes a long time for a vampire to learn control,’ he said, his eyes sparkling at her sharp intake of breath.

‘Will we be lovers?’ Genevieve whispered, already feeling her cheeks warm as she darted her eyes away from his dark, greedy ones, and immediately glanced back
, catching his smile.

‘Only if you wish it… but Evie you
will
want it. You will want me. Then when our bond breaks naturally, well then you will choose you own path. Some vampires stay together for centuries while some drift apart. C’est la vie,’ he added with a small shrug.

Genevieve swung her legs to the side of the bed and then walked over to the window.
The winter sun was already beginning to dip behind the horizon. She had been sobbing for hours. She rubbed her belly absentmindedly as it growled loudly, reminding her of her human plight.

‘Evie you need to eat
. Come, I have acquired some food for you,’ Sebastian said, motioning towards the dining room.

‘What if I don’t need to eat? What if we do this now?’ she asked, suddenly feeling brave and seeing nothing but the debris and squalor of the outskirts of town that made her want to remain human.

Sebastian turned and looked back at her, hunger and desire flashing through his features, before regaining his composure with a quick shake of his head.

‘No, Evie. You must eat first. You will need some strength
, whatever you decide.’

Ͼ

The sun had set and Genevieve felt full for the first time in weeks.
During the past two hours Sebastian had left her alone and she had thought of nothing other than her potential future. Her decision was made. It was a decision made easier with every waking moment, as each moment was filled with the memories of the past few horrific weeks. People screaming. People dying. Hunger, dirt and fear.

‘Sebastian
, if I am to have a new life with you, there are a couple of things I want you to promise me now, seeing as I may not remember after,’ she said.

Sebastian nodded.

‘A new life deserves a new name. When I wake up I don’t want to be Genevieve… or Evie any longer. I don’t want anything to do with this life. I want to be called Eva.’

‘As you wish, but I always liked Evie.’

‘No! I want to be Eva.’

Sebastian nodded, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. ‘And there was something else?’

‘I want to kill them. Kill them all,’ she added, watching as his eyebrows shot up.

‘Evie
, I cannot let you. We cannot kill humans. A hundred years ago the Council used to be more lenient, but recently things have become tighter. Vampires can feed from humans, but we cannot kill them. It draws too much attention,’ he said.

‘Then you will find me a pistol and I will kill them tonight
, whilst I’m still human. They deserve to die after what they did to my mother.’