Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition)) (23 page)

She was woeful for displeasing him. It
was the oddest feeling, she already adored this man and yet she had
only met him earlier that day. She wanted nothing but for him to be
pleased with her. She couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving her
behind and being without him. “Why do I feel so drawn to you?” She
whined, putting her head in her hands.

“
Because I am your maker,
it is a natural feeling. I will explain more when we have more
time. But, right now you must make a decision on what you want to
do.”

“
I want to stay, but
please promise me you won’t leave me, not now at least. Please
promise.” She practically begged him.

Exasperated, he obliged. “Very well…”
He folded his arms and shook his head, not believing he had agreed
to this. “First, we must kill George. Then, we’ll bury the bodies
in the woods. I will then tell your parents that they ran away
together and I can assure you, they’ll believe me.”

“
How can you be
sure?”

“
It’s a gift we all have,
it is called charming. We’ll talk about that later. I will also
tell your parents what you are, but will charm them into believing
that it is completely normal…I still think this is a bad idea. But,
if it’s what you want…"

“
You’ll have to do it to
my brother and the servants as well,” she added, realizing that
there were a lot of people who lived at the Manor.

Aidan thought about it for a moment
let out a huff of air. “Alright, I’ll do it. I will stay for just
one year to teach you the ways of being a vampire. Just one year,
do you understand? And you do understand that by staying with your
family that you will eventually outlive all of them?”

“
I do, and I will deal
with that when the time comes. Thank you, Aidan. We will talk more
later, for now we must take care of George.”

“
I will do it. I am neater
and frankly, a bit thirsty.” Aidan replied as he took off in a
sprint to find George on the pathway.

Emma heard a man’s startled scream,
which was no doubt George. Aidan returned a few minutes later
carrying George’s lifeless body and she found it so peculiar that
she did not feel the least bit remorseful. She thought of her
mother, who had just lost her youngest daughter and would never
know it. She mourned her sister’s death inside her heart and would
for the rest of her immortal life. But, oddly, George being killed
didn’t affect her one bit.

Emma knelt down next to her sister’s
body and gently brushed a few strands of hair off of her forehead.
She shook her head at herself, disgusted for what she had done.
Aidan was still holding George and motioned with his head towards
Elizabeth for Emma to pick her up. He began walking off into the
woods without waiting for her to follow him.

She gently picked up her sister, who
dangled limply in her arms, but seemed to weigh nothing. For a
moment, Emma marveled at her new strength since there was no
possible way she could have done this before. She followed Aidan’s
scent into the woods where he had already begun frantically digging
a hole with his hands.

“
Put her down and help me
dig, it doesn’t have to be very deep, just big enough to fit both
of them.” He said without looking up.

Emma winced at the idea of burying her
sister like this, so cold-hearted and undignified. She deserved
better than this, but she knew this would be the only way if she
were to remain with her family. She carefully set Elizabeth down on
the dirt floor of the woods and began to help Aidan dig. When the
hole was big enough for the two bodies, Aidan nonchalantly plopped
George into it while Emma softly placed Elizabeth next to him. She
looked at her sister apologetically one last time before they
covered them with soil, packed it down, and covered it with rocks,
twigs, and small branches. They returned to the cottage and
dampened cloths to clean off their faces and hands.

“
Are you ready?” Aidan
asked once they were done.

“
Yes…and you’re sure
you’ll be able to convince them to let me stay?” Emma
replied.

He looked at her and nodded his head,
baffled by her doubt of his abilities. They took off running back
down the path that led to the Manor. Disregarding the horrific
events that had just taken place, Emma was overwhelmed with
exhilaration while running at a speed she had never imagined. They
approached the front door of the house and entered with Aidan
following directly behind her.

“
Mother? Father?” She
called.

“
We’re in here, darling,”
her mother replied from the parlor.

They were sitting in their chairs near
the fireplace and have a leisurely chat about their day when they
looked up and saw Emma walking in with this strange man.

Aidan immediately began to charm them
before they could ask any questions. “I am Aidan O’Shea,” he began
and Emma noticed her parents were immediately and unnaturally fixed
onto him. “Your daughter, Emma is a new vampire; you will never
tell anyone her secret and you will accept her for who she is. I
will stay here for one year to teach her the ways.”

William and Victoria nodded in
unison.

He spoke slowly and clearly while
charming them to believe what he wanted them to believe. “Your
other daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, George ran away
together. Do not search for them as they do not want to be
found.”

Understanding his words, they nodded
again and he allowed them to snap out of their vampire-induced
trance.

“
You’re a new vampire, my
dear?” William asked. “What does this mean? How do you
feel?”

“
I feel…well, actually, I
have no pain anywhere in my body. I dare say I have never felt this
good,” she started, looking toward her parents who were watching
her very closely. “My vision is astounding, I see in so much detail
now. My hearing…why I can hear Christopher in his room upstairs and
down the hallway!”

William and Victoria looked on in
amazement without an ounce of fear. It pained Emma because it was a
lie, it wasn’t real. But, it was the only way she would be able to
stay in her home and be accepted by her family.

“
Mother, Father…I never
want you to be afraid of me. Please know I will always protect our
family and our home.
Always
.”

“
Mr. and Mrs. Davenport,
look at me…” Aidan spoke up while they gazed at their daughter.
They both turned to face him and he lightly grinned, his voice
becoming monotone, “You will tell the townsfolk that Elizabeth and
George have moved back to Boston. You will leave your entire
estate, the town, and all of your earnings to Emma, not your son.
With each passing generation, everything will belong to her. You
will both leave us to speak now.”

After disconnecting his eye contact
with them, they snapped out of their hypnotic trance once again and
got up from their chairs to leave the room.

“
Everything will be fine,
my darling,” Victoria said as she put her hand on Emma’s cheek as
she walked past.

William closed the parlor door behind
him to ensure a private conversation for Emma and Aidan. She looked
him in the eye with her brow furrowed with hurt. “I have never lied
to my parents in my life.”

“
It has to be done if you
plan to stay, which is unheard of for our kind.”

Our
kind
; Emma came to the realization that
she was no longer the same person she was when she woke up that
morning. It was staggering to her to know that she was permanently
twenty-five years old.

“
You must tell me what I
can expect. I don’t know much about
our
kind
. I know that sunlight will kill us,
where am I to go during the day?”

Aidan smirked and shook his head, “A
myth we made up to throw humans off our path. Fact is, with can
walk in the night and day…we never sleep. Last night was the last
time you will ever shut your eyes and dream.”

That statement took her aback; such
small things that normal people take for granted had been ripped
away from her in just one bite. Sleeping and dreaming, things she
would never do again. Never would she sip a glass of cool water or
eat a fresh pie her mother made. Never would she walk arm-in-arm
with her sister through the courtyard and have giggling
conversations. She felt very alone, even with Aidan, her maker and
now mentor, next to her.

“
Was what you did to my
parents that charming thing you told me about?” She
asked.

“
Yes. I will teach you how
to do that in time, right now you’re still too young and it is a
very powerful tool we have. You can make humans think, say, do, and
believe whatever you want them to. It comes in handy while trying
to protect our secret,” Aidan replied.

Emma nodded, but felt deceitful for
having such power over someone else.

“
You will always charm
someone before drinking from them, that is the most important rule
to remember,” Aidan continued, stressing his words.
“
Never
drink from
someone that you cannot charm, do you understand me? It is a matter
of life and death.”

“
I understand,” she
replied, curious as to why someone may not be able to be charmed
and why she shouldn’t drink from them. “Why is it a matter of life
and death?”

“
I’ll explain that to you
in time, we have plenty of it. You have a lot to learn and I have
big plans for you, my dear.”

“
How old are you, Aidan?”
She couldn’t help but ask.

“
I was born around 600 BC
in Scotland…however my father was Irish. I cannot be sure of my
exact age anymore, but I am over 2,000 years old.”

Dumbfounded, Emma gaped at him with
her mouth open. “You’re ancient…”

“
I am. I have seen the
world change so much through the years, however I have not
forgotten my human life. I will tell you more about it in the
future, we have eternity after all.”

Eternity, she was still
trying to wrap her head around the idea of being around forever.
She couldn’t imagine all that Aidan had seen after being on the
Earth for over 2,000 years. She shuttered at the thought that that
would be her one day; that
she
would be considered ancient. Like most people,
she never welcomed the thought of dying one day, but she didn’t
realize how much she looked forward to it now that it had been
taken away from her. She would never get old and gray, she would
never get sick, and she would never spend eternity in Heaven with
the rest of her family. She had actually looked forward to meeting
Jesus one day.

She also thought about the fact that
she would never have children. Up to this point in her life, she
had never planned on it or even desired becoming a mother. But, now
that she had no choice, she wondered what it would have been like.
She had always been a free spirit growing up and lived outside the
box. One might have even called her a wild child, never adapting to
what was considered the norm. Her family had accepted her for who
she was, not how society thought she should live her life. While
most girls her age were married with at least a couple of children,
she happily lived at home and tried to learn a bit about her
father’s business. She enjoyed reading and writing her own stories,
and dreamt of visiting countries that she had never been to. She
especially wanted to visit England, where her heritage was
from.

She did try to look at the bright side
of things; now she had all the time in the world to visit those
faraway places she dreamed of. Her face would stay young and lovely
forever; never having a wrinkle or gray hair. She could run faster
than anyone she knew and most of all, she had the strength to guard
her family if she ever had to. At that moment she decided that
would be her main job in her eternal life: guard her family, defend
her family, and stay on the property that she called home for as
long as she lived. She would make sure each generation would be
taken care of and protected from anyone who tried to do them harm.
That became her purpose for her life as a vampire.

Emma’s mind returned from the past and
brought her back to the parlor where everyone was listening
intently.

“
So, that’s that,” she
said, addressing the crowd. “I’m the one who killed my sister. I
didn’t mean to, but as the rest of the vampires in here know, that
first craving for blood is the strongest and you have little
control over yourself.”

“
How come you never told
me?” Zachariah asked.

“
I was ashamed. I had been
lying about it for so long, I began to believe my own untruths.”
Emma turned to Todd, “Is she still here, Todd?”

He replied softly, “Yes, she is
standing to your right with a smile on her face.”

Emma looked to her right, absent of
any trace of Elizabeth, but truly believed she was there. “I’m so
sorry, dear sister. I would have never hurt you if I had control
over myself,” she cried.

“
She understands and
forgives you,” Todd said, being the mediator between the dead and
the undead. “However,” he continued as he repeated the words
Elizabeth spoke to him, “you need to make it right and bury her in
the family crypt.”