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I shudder. “And the book?”
My mother chews on her lip for a long moment. I’m about to ask again when she finally says, “Valtu has the book.”
“What book?” Dylan asks. “Man, this iscrazy,” he adds, slapping his hands on his knees.
“The Book of Verimagiaa,” our father says. “It’s a book of spells made accessible to vampires, rumor has it that it was created by a vampire and a witch together. Very powerful if it’s in the wrong hands…” his words trail off and his tone deepens, as if insinuating Valtu is the wrong hands.
“So, it’s out of their hands,” I say. “And out of the guild’s hands, too. That’s good news. Valtu will protect it.”
My parents look at each other for a moment and something drops in my chest.
My mother clears her throat and looks at me. “A lot has changed since then, Rose,” she says. “Valtu isn’t exactly the same vampire that you…that he was.”
I swallow. “What do you mean? What happened to him?”
“Rose,” my father says gently, “you need to give us some time to come to terms with all of this. It’s one thing for us to tell you why we’re in hiding—”
“But you haven’treallytold us why,” Dylan interjects, raising his hand.
“It’s another thing,” he goes on, ignoring his son, “it’s another for you to tell us all about your ex-lives. I’m still not sure I believe it.”
“You think I’m lying?!” I exclaim, pushing my chair back with such force I nearly fall out of it.
“Honey, please,” my mom says, glaring at my dad for a second. “That’s not it. It’s just…maybe your wires got crossed. Maybe you were reading about Dracula, the real story, before the transition, and then all these hormones and chemical changes in your brain, maybe they—”
I get to my feet. “I’m not lying!” I yell just as a giant bolt of lightning hits the sundeck, frying the wood with an explosive bang.
“What the fuck?” Dylan yells, and now everyone is on their feet, staring at the fire as it smolders in the rain.
“Did you do that?” my dad asks me in a hushed voice.
I don’t know what to say. Even as Dahlia I never had the magic to make lightning strike. Now it feels like my emotions are connected to the weather. An elemental witch? Something more? Something…else?
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
“I think we better drop this subject,” my mom says nervously. “Before—”
“Hell no,” Dylan says, pivoting his attention back to them. “You never told us why you changed your names. You said that you went into hiding because of other vampires. Or witches,” he glances at me suspiciously. “Why would they care about you?”
“That’s a conversation for another time,” my father says.
“Another time? Why not now? It’s all coming out, from the fact that you changed your names, to mom not being born a vampire, to us being in hiding, to Rose being reincarnated. Might as well tell us everything.”
“Because of you!” my mother yells. “Because of you and Rose. Because I might have passed down the power that Lenore gave me. That maybeyoucan create vampires that don’t turn into monsters. That’s exactly what Saara and Enoch would want. A way to have vampires take over the earth. They could do tests on you, force you to create more, add more minions to their army. Not to mention what the witches might do…”
“And maybe they want your mother for the same reasons,” my dad says gruffly. “We couldn’t take any more chances…” His eyes get misty and he looks away. Clears his throat. “Anyway. We did the best we could to keep all of us safe.”
He goes over to my mother and puts his arm around her. “Now, if you kids don’t mind, I need to talk to your mother alone. This is a lot to bring up in one go. We thought we buried this part of our past behind us, but I guess not.”
He kisses her head gently and then guides her out of the kitchen.
Dylan watches them go and then shakes his head, going after them. “No way. I have too many questions.”
“Dylan,” I warn, wishing he would leave them alone, but he disappears down the hall.
I exhale, feeling weak and shaky, run my hand over my face as if it will clear the cobwebs. I stare out at the smoldering deck, the wooden boards charred. There’s no more thunder or lightning, just rain and low clouds turning the day into twilight. I don’t know if it’s my witch side or my vampire side, but everything seems so much more alive.
And so much more painful.
