The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (4 page)

The sign of the Omni.

It can’t be, she panicked. The sign wasn't due until her eighteenth birthday!

She carefully laid Elizabeth on the sofa and touched her face. She was deathly pale and cold. Her breathing had turned shallow and she could tell her condition had worsened in a matter of minutes. Alarmed at her quick det
erioration, Mom hurried to her room to retrieve the only cure she knew—
the
Black Pearl
.

She snatched the small box hidden in her dresser and ran to her daug
hter's side.

“Elizabeth!” She shook her gently. “Elizabeth! I want you to swallow this!” She patted her cheeks repea
tedly to rouse her.

“Hmmm ... it hurts
...” Elizabeth moaned, her eyes glazed and heavy lidded.

   “You'll feel better after you take this.” Mom nudged the black pearl against her lips.

Elizabeth opened her mouth slightly, allowing her to thrust the pearl inside. Then, she slipped into a comatose state.

Mom watched her frail figure reposing on the couch. Elizabeth was a mirror image of her father. The straight nose, high cheekbones, and full lips could all be attributed to the only man she had ever loved. The only thing she had in common with her daughter was the flame colored hair. Though their eyes were similar to some extent, hers were blue while Eliz
abeth’s were a rare shade of indigo. Magnificent—but also a dreaded curse.  

Mom rubbed her temples. It wouldn't be easy to convince her. They should have never stayed so long in one place.

But what was she supposed to do?
Elizabeth was turning into a sad, lonely, withdrawn child. She thought giving her time to get to know kids her age would raise her spirits. And it did—but her decision to remain in Mansfield longer than planned was a b
ig mistake
.
Elizabeth not only formed an attachment to the house, but she also became too fond of her human friends. She had blossomed into a happy, normal teenager.
How could she bring herself to tell her they couldn't stay?

A low moan sounded from the couch. She stood up and placed a hand on her daughter's forehead.

Cold as ice.

It won't be long now, she thought, and hoped that by giving her the black pearl, she did the right thing.

Elizabeth opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows looking around the living room still li
ttered with paper plates and cups. “How long have I been sleeping?” she asked her mom who was sitting on the chair across from her.

“Two hours. How do you feel?”

“Fine.” She stretched. “What was that pill you gave me?”

“Something to make your neck feel better.”

“It worked.” Elizabeth touched the spot at the back of her neck that was no longer painful.

“Listen,” Mom said in a somber tone. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah, I know, Mom.” Elizabeth yawned. “I'll wake up early and clean up before school.”

“That's not it.” Mom glanced dow
nward and sighed, before lifting her eyes to gaze at her. “You will undergo
Conversion
soon and we need to make some adjustments.”

Elizabeth stifled another yawn. “What conversion?”

“Changes within yourself.” Mom took her hand and squeezed it gently.

“Mom.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about puberty again. I promise—I’m not going to have sex with some boy and get pregnant! ”

“I’m not talking about that. I meant something else. We
are
different.
You
are not like your friends.”

Elizabeth tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“We don't have the same genes as humans do.” Mom paused for a second, and then gave her a serious look. “We are immortals—
Deimons
.”

Her brows flew upwards. “I'm sorry—say that again?”

Mom cleared her throat. “Half deity, half fiend. Humans commonly call us Vampires, though we are far different from that particular species.”

Elizabeth abruptly pulled her hand back and stared at her mother as if she grew feathers overnight. She tried to think of something to say, but all she could muster was a shrill
“What?”

“I feel terrible about this, but you’ll need to transfer to another school,” Mom said, unfazed by her r
eaction.

Elizabeth clenched her teeth with a sudden surge of anger.
So—that's what it was! She wanted to move again. As if she hadn't heard all sorts of bizarre excuses before!
Like the time when they had to move because the doors were not sturdy enough, or the house had too many windows, or the neighbors were nosy. The list goes on and on! Now, they have to move again because—
hello?
What on Earth possessed her to think that they were Vampires?

“No!” she cried. “I'm
not
moving. You go if you have to, but I’m staying. I’ll live with Sue or Anne or—”

“You must!” Mom said sternly. “It's not safe!”

“You can't make me move!” She shook her head.

Mom's eyes narrowed. “I can—and you will!”

Elizabeth felt everything crumbling around her. Just when her world was almost perfect, her mother wanted to destroy it. “Why are you making me leave my friends—our home? I’m happy here! Why do you always—?”

“It is not safe for you to be around humans while you undergo
Conversion,
”
her mother said sharply. “You do not know how to control your instincts! This is not where you belong!”  

“And just
where
do I belong? With you? You don't even belong anywhere!”

Mom’s eyes held no emotion. “I do what's best for us—for you.”

“By dragging me all over the country on a whim?” Elizabeth's eyes burned with tears. “I have no memories, do you know that?”

“Memories?” Mom raised her voice. “What are you talking about?”

“You don't even have a clue, do you?” She clenched her hands into fists. “You're so wrapped up in your little imaginary world! Did you even notice that this is the first time I had pictures on my wall and friends on my birthday?”

Mom's expression darkened, but she didn't say an
ything.

“I'm not invisible anymore!” she sputtered between sobs. “I finally b
elong! Doesn't that matter to you?”

Mom remained silent, her mouth compressing into a thin line.

“... and you think it's best for me to leave it all behind—” Elizabeth looked her in the eyes, “because you expect me to believe that we're
Vampires?
” She jumped up from the couch and threw her hands in the air with exasperation, turning her back on her mom.

“I have no choice,” Mom said eve
nly.

“Well—neither do I!” Elizabeth abruptly swung around, tears spilling on her cheeks. “You don't know what it's like!” She stabbed a forefinger angr
ily towards her mom, then ran to her room and slammed the door.

The Conversion

       The dreary morning became grayer and colder as Elizabeth watched Sue park her pink VW by the curb from her bedroom window. In spite of her fatigue from spending the night tossing and turning, she was determined not to miss school. She grabbed her backpack and started down the stairs.

“You can't go to school!” her mom yelled from the bottom step.

Elizabeth pushed past her without a word and ran out the door towards the waiting car.

Mom raced after her and caught the passenger door before she had the chance to shut it.  

“I said—you can't go to school!” Mom snapped.

“I can't miss my test!” Elizabeth glowered.

Anger leapt from her mother's blue eyes. “Get out of the car,” she demanded.

“No!” Elizabeth met her narrowed eyes and they glared at each other.

A tension-filled silence ensued.

Sue noisily cleared her throat.

“You will regret this.” Mom shifted her gaze from her to Sue. “Wait here. Don't drive off.” She turned on her heel and stalked back to the house.

“What's up with you and your mom?” Sue asked.

“We had a fight last night.” Elizabeth closed the passenger door.

“After we left?” Sue grimaced. “No wonder you look like hell! What did you fight about?”

“Just something stupid.” She couldn't tell her friends the latest madness her mother had invented in her head.

“
Sshh
.” Sue’s eyes darted past her. “She's coming.”

“Here. Take these,” Mom bent by the window and shoved two aluminum cans at Elizabeth, “since you're too stubborn to listen!”

“What are these?” Elizabeth stared at the black cans embossed with an elegant crest of silver and blue.

“Diet drinks. You'll
need
them for your thirst!”

“But—,”

“Take them! Drink if you feel thirsty—do you understand me?”

Elizabeth nodded. She would agree to anything just to get away.

“Don't forget what I told you.” Mom gave her a harsh look before marching back to the house.

“Why didn't your mom want you to go to school?” Sue asked as they drove off.

“So she could ground me, what else?” Elizabeth lied.

“She made us so late.” Sue frowned. “Mrs. Brown is going to fry us!”

“Sorry,” Elizabeth mumbled. “I didn't know she would flip out on me.”

“Will you fix your hair?” Sue fished out a comb from her purse. “You look like Medusa.”

Elizabeth placed the cans on her lap and untangled her long tresses.

“Did your mom say those were diet drinks?” Sue glanced at the cans.

“Yeah.” Elizabeth held one up and read a small inscription that said
HRC Europe
below the crest. “I think it's imported.”

“Let me know if they work so I can get some too.” Sue parked the car and turned off the engine.

“Sure.” Elizabeth handed back the comb and slipped the cans inside her backpack. “We are definitely fried.” She pointed at the little clock on the dashboard. “Extra crispy.”

Mrs. Brown's class was already underway when they tried sneaking in. The short, stout teacher paused mid-sentence, peered over the glasses on her nose, and gave them a long, hard look in the doorway. Her painted ey
ebrows contorted in annoyance and her plump red lips curved into an inverted crescent.

“Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Miss Hamilton, Miss Reynolds!” she barked with hands on her hips.

All heads turned toward them.

“My car broke down,” Sue said r
ather convincingly.

“And your house was on fire?” Mrs. Brown retorted with a snort.

“That was last year,” Sue replied matter-of-factly.

Elizabeth elbowed her to shut up.

“Sit down, Miss Reynolds!” Mrs. Brown roared, and then turned to Elizabeth. “And what about you, Miss Hamilton? Did your car break down too?”

“No
, ma’am.”

“Your house burned to the ground?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Quit making excuses and sit down!”

Elizabeth scampered to the chair next to Sue.

Mrs. Brown resumed the lecture in her monotonous voice and the class dragged on. Elizabeth kept glancing up at the clock.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
The sound resonated louder by the second, until she couldn't stand it anymore. She jammed a finger in her ear and jiggled it. She was doing the same thing with her other ear when a strong scent hit her nostrils. Elizabeth crinkled her nose. Why was Mrs. Brown wearing so much perfume? It smelled like wilted flowers in a graveyard!

“Achoo!” Gina Flemings, who was sitting two rows ahead, wiped her nose and sniffled.

Elizabeth cringed. The spray of moisture from her sneeze spread like an umbrella, landing squarely on Joe Watson and Ronnie Sims. She stopped jiggling her ears and covered her nose instead.

“Hey!” Sue kicked her chair. “Does my breath stink?” She cupped her palm against her mouth and blew.

Elizabeth glanced sideways at her. “No—why?”

“Why are you covering your nose?” Sue sniffed her palm and grimaced.

“Oh—.” Elizabeth un-cupped her hands from her nose. “I thought I was about to sneeze.”

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

Elizabeth glowered at the wall clock ticking like a time bomb in her ear.

Tick-tock-tick--Wwweeeiiinnngg!

She bolted upright.

“You okay?” Sue looked up from her desk.

“Did you hear that?” She frantically looked around for the source of the screeching electric guitar.