The Awakening (14 page)

“Um…. I’m not sure I had a weird dream and I think….I’m just confused.” I said feeling unsure. 

“What was the dream about?”

“Um it was in the old days and I was running from someone. I can’t really remember much. Don’t worry go back to sleep.” I said and gave him a brief kiss.

“You sure you are ok?” He said wrapping an arm around me again

“Yep I’m fine.” I felt his body relax around mine and he fell back to sleep instantly whilst I lay awake in the dark wondering who I was better off without.

In the morning, we both rushed about getting ready for work but at least it was finally Friday. I had a busy day and then a chilled out evening which was just what I needed after such a sleepless night. I had tried not to think about the previous night’s events but I found myself dwelling on it, as night grew closer. Thankfully, I slept peacefully and woke looking forward to the day ahead. I was meeting Sophie at the hairdressers and then we were meeting Vicky and Charlotte for a late lunch before meeting everyone else at the pub. I couldn’t wait so whizzed around the flat before rushing into town. At the hairdressers, I sat happily chatting to Sophie as my highlights were transformed and when we both left two hours later we were starving so were pleased to see Vicky and Charlotte when we entered the restaurant, as they are both well known for their lateness. The next few hours passed in a happy blur of gossiping and laughing and we eventually meet the rest of the gang n our favourite pub a little further out of town. “Hey Lauren. Over here.” I heard Gavin shout and glanced round to find him tucked into a table half hidden by the TV screen. I could have guessed the boys would have managed to get a table near the TV and laughed as I made my way over followed by the girls.

“Hiya.” I said and gave him a kiss.

“I’m just going to the bar. I’ll get your drink.”

“Oh thanks Gav.” I said and made myself comfortable and briefly said hi to Steve and Chris.

“Your hair looks nice.” Daniel said smiling as he sat down next to me.

“Oh um thanks.” I replied feeling myself blush.

“I thought you were a natural blonde but you obviously cheat.” He continued with a playful grin. “Well it’s almost natural but gets so dull in the winter. It’s an early Christmas present to me.” I replied. He slid a little closer and whispered.

“Maybe you could save yourself some money now and just use some witchcraft.”

“Um…Wow I’d never thought of that.” I laughed and then in a lower voice said,

“I’m a pretty useless witch really. I forget my own abilities.”

“It’s still new and you don’t really practice. I could help you if you like.”

“Oh um that would be great.”

“Hey, what you two whispering about?” Gavin had reappeared with the drinks and was smiling at us. I knew he loved that we were finally genuinely getting along.

“I was complimenting Lauren on her hair.” Daniel said.

“Oh right. Um Lauren your hair looks nice.” Gavin said handing me my drink and laughing I slapped him playfully on the arm

“You didn’t even notice did you?”

“What can I say? I’m a man and the footballs on.”

“It’s a good job I love you.” I replied laughing and we all settled into an enjoyable evening.

That night I stayed at the flat alone and quite enjoyed the peace and quiet as I’d been spending a lot of time at Gavin’s parents’ house recently. Gavin was picking me up when he’d finished football and we were having one of Alice’s now legendary Sunday roasts. Just after midday, Gavin arrived “Did you win?”

“No it was a draw today. Was bloody rubbish the ref was so biased it was ridiculous.” He replied grumpily and I couldn’t help laugh, “It’s not funny.” He said but a smile was forming at the corner of his lips.

“Shall I put a spell on the ref?” I said kissing him “That could be today’s lesson.” I continued grinning.

“Now that’s not a bad idea. You don’t know one for cleaning football boots do you?”

“Um… not yet but I could have an experiment.” Gavin laughed and we left the flat. Once at Gavin’s he rushed upstairs for a shower and I ventured into the kitchen to chat with Alice but Daniel appeared.

“Wanna do some spell practice?” he smiled.

“Oh ok. I was gonna see Alice, but I’ll catch up with her later. I just need to go upstairs and get my Latin dictionary and amber stone. I’ll meet you in the garden.” I found the items I needed and carried Gavin’s football boots into the garden.

“What are you gonna do with those?” Daniel laughed “I’m gonna try and clean them.” I flicked through the Latin dictionary until a found the word Mundus, which translated into, clean. “Right let’s see if this works. Mundus, I call on thee spirits, water, earth, fire and air to aid me in this cleaning.” To my utter amazement the boots were clean. “Oh my god!” I said smiling

“That was pretty good. Gavin will love you for that.” Daniel said picking one of the boots up and inspecting it. We spent the next half hour trying various spells with differing results. Any spells where the Latin word was difficult to pronounce tended not to work and Daniel on more than one occasion laughed at my poor Latin accent. Gavin eventually joined us and I managed to change his hair colour
from blonde to brown and back again once I’d finally mastered the words.

“Why does it all have to be in Latin?” I moaned as we re-entered the house.

“Because it is an ancient skill and the witches probably don’t want it to end up being in chavvy slang.” Daniel replied.

“Are you saying I’m chavvy?” I replied feeling annoyed.

“No. No not you. But you know it’s just steeped in tradition and they probably want it to remain authentic.” Gavin laughed “How come you sound so knowledgeable all of a sudden?”

“I’ve done a bit of research before that’s all.” Daniel replied looking awkward. As he brushed past me a shiver went down my spine and my heart beat increased and I heard a faint whisper.

“Lauren you are better off without him”. But before I could think about it Alice arrived and told us dinner was ready.

That night I had a dream about Gavin, we were on holiday in Italy he’d told me lots about it as him and his family and been there on holidays several times and I almost felt like I’d visited it myself. We were strolling down the cobbled streets in Rome hand in hand and stopped at the lovely Piazza Navona, which was full of cafés and fountains. We stopped near the famous fountain of four rivers, took some pictures, and tossed a coin into the water making a wish, as was the local tradition. We spent the rest of the day sat in the sun enjoying a drink, listening to the chat and laughter of the crowds, and watching the artists dotted around the square and other street performers. Eventually we strolled back to our hotel going via the Spanish Steps where Gavin bought me a rose from a street vendor and asked him to take a picture of the two of us. As we weaved our way through the streets, we stopped every now and then to look at something in a shop window or share a kiss. It was perfect and I felt so happy I could feel my chest bursting. Once back at the hotel we relaxed into the air-conditioned room, lay on the bed, and wrapped our arms round each other. A little while later I decided to look through the photos we’d taken that day and to my alarm in each photo instead of Gavin beside me smiling it was Daniel. The photo by the Spanish Steps showed me in Daniels arms laughing with a rose between my teeth. I flicked through the photos with increasing speed and in all of them where Gavin should have been Daniel stood. I threw the camera down with great force and jumped up from the bed, it was only at this point I realised I was in the room alone. A voice from the bathroom said, “What’s up Lauren?” and instead of Gavin appearing at the bathroom door it was Daniel smiling at me. “Hey you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Come here.” and he wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, then my shoulder and eventually my lips. What was happening? I felt so confused but happy and my heartbeat sped up and my skin tingled. I wasn’t sure whether to break away or continue. Suddenly a noise interrupted my thoughts and with a mixture of relief and confusion I realised it was my alarm clock and I was in my own flat by myself and none of it was real.

I feared the dream was Elizabeth punishing me for ignoring her and getting to know Daniel better. Eventually I decided that enough was enough and I needed to tell Gavin about Elizabeth’s warning, the new dreams, and my previous visit to Annalise. I hoped he’d understand I didn’t tell him because I knew how close he and Daniel were and I didn’t want to ruin their relationship without having something concrete to go on. I had thought things were settling down and recently I’d been able to get to know Daniel better and I actually was starting too really like him. The previous few weeks had been so positive I felt angry that the newest dream had confused me again. I wished Elizabeth’s ghostly visit had never happened as rather than protect me she had just caused me to become confused and agitated. I thought Elizabeth was supposed to be a kind and helpful spirit but I just felt like I’d been tricked. Was she really there to help me, or was she jealous I was alive and enjoying my life with a vampire? Did she think her skills, which were so precious, had been passed onto me and were now being shared with a vampire family? I knew I had to speak to Annalise about Elizabeth’s spirit and finally find out her true intentions and then have a very long chat with Gavin.

I called Annalise who answered the phone immediately “Lauren I had a feeling you would call,” she said before I had a chance to say hello.

“I’ve been thinking a lot recently and I wondered if you could give me some more information on Elizabeth. Ever since she appeared rather than feeling her spirit as a help I’ve felt jumpy and anxious all the time. Is she really there to help me? I’ve been wondering if she really has my best interests at heart.” I garbled breathlessly.

“Lauren come on over and I’ll see what I can do.” Annalise replied. I made my way over to her shop and found Annalise chatting to an elderly woman who smiled at me and touched my hand.

“Don’t worry child. You’ll find your own way,” she said as she walked past.

“What did she mean?” I asked Annalise once the elderly woman had left the shop.

“She can sense your Wiccan strength and also your worry. She’s physic and has an ability to heal both the body and mind. She’s in her eighties, but is in top tip condition with perfect hearing and vision. Both things are very rare for someone her age, now come with me.” Annalise gestured towards the little room at the back of the shop.

“I’ve been thinking maybe we should do a séance and try to contact Elizabeth. I don’t believe she is there to cause you harm or to upset you but maybe she has not communicated clearly. I believe she may have trouble getting through to you as your skills are new and you have also had a lot of stress recently.” Annalise explained. “But Lauren you must be prepared for perhaps hearing things you don’t want to know. You can never tell what may arise during a séance and it may also leave you feeling very tired as it can drain a lot of your Wiccan energy.” Annalise continued and took my hand. “It’s been quite a few months for you hasn’t it? Are you sure you want to do this?” she said and gave me a hug.

“Yep I need to get things sorted out. It’s driving me mad and I think it’s affecting my relationship with Gavin, as I’m being so moody. Let’s try and get some answers.” I said feeling a sense of purpose and strength.

“Ok if you are sure. First a cup of tea and then you tell me exactly what you want to try and find out from Elizabeth.” Annalise bustled around the little room and eventually sat down with a pot of tea, two cute little china cups with mismatched saucers, a pad and pen and an assortment of candles and ribbons. She poured the tea and pushed the pad and pen to me “Write down what you want me to ask Elizabeth and then we’ll try and contact her.” Annalise said taking a sip of her tea.

“Well the most important thing is does she think Daniel is bad? Moreover, is she guessing or does she actually know? I guess I wondered if she was actually happy that her skills have been passed on to me. I’ve been thinking as she banished magic from her own life and had nothing to do with witches or vampires so perhaps she’s disappointed in me, as recently I’ve been spending most of my time with vampires. Does she wish her skills had remained dormant forever? Perhaps she thinks I don’t deserve her skills and trust.” I said and shook my head.

“Lauren witches are kind hearted by nature and I’m sure Elizabeth is pleased you have received her skills. She is probably just nervous as in her day things were not so positive for witches and certainly not those that had connections to vampires. She is probably very badly affected by what happened to her coven and poor Bethany and thought she was helping you not realising quite how much times have changed or what a strong person you are.” Annalise explained. “So fundamentally you want to see what she actually knows about Daniel and if she is happy you have received her skills?” Annalise asked.

“Yeah, I guess they are the two most important things and is she happy I’m with Gavin. I mean in the beginning she was warning me to beware but since everything came into the open, she has never warned me off Gavin again and she only actually appeared in real form when Daniel came on the scene before it was just voices and dreams. Does she trust Gavin but not Daniel?”

“Ok let’s see if we can sort some of this out” Annalise said and cleared a large space on the table.

Annalise arranged the candles in a circle and lit them and placed the pad and pen in front of her “Spirits of the past, move among us. Be guided by the light of this world and visit upon us,” “Lauren join me and repeat those words,” and she gently took my hand we repeated the chant and then Annalise continued. “Elizabeth if you are able please join us. Lauren would like to speak to you, use our strength and the light to come forward.” The candle flames flickered and I felt an odd feeling in the room the temperature seemed to dip and Annalise began to speak again. “Elizabeth is that you. Please be guided by the light and join us we are friends and mean no harm. We are your sisters please talk to us,” again the flames flickered and an icy feeling seemed to past over my shoulders “Elizabeth please Lauren needs some help and reassurance it has been quite an ordeal for her the past few months and she wants to ask you for some information.” Annalise continued in a calm and reassuring voice. The icy feeling seemed to withdraw, the flames grew larger and swayed as if in a breeze, and then a face seemed to appear in the burning light. I stared transfixed and then the flames returned to normal and sat in an empty chair was the woman I had seen all those weeks ago whilst at Gavin’s parents’ house when Daniel was arriving.

“Hello Lauren,” the ghostly woman said, “You are correct I am Elizabeth and it would appear your anxiety has stopped me being able to communicate with you properly. I apologise for any confusion or upset I have caused. I have been trying to converse with you for many months but there seemed to be a barrier between us and I could only get through on some occasions.” She leant forward and smiled. I looked at Annalise who was also staring seemingly transfixed on the ghostly image before us. “Firstly, I wanted you to know that I am proud my Wiccan skills have been transferred to someone in the living modern world and you seem like a much grounded girl with a solid family. I know you will only use your newfound skills for good. I saw you during the motorway accident; I was in the background giving you extra strength. Lauren please do not be afraid of the strength you possess, I understand you feel isolated, but there is help and a Wiccan community out there if you want to find it. Annalise can guide you but there are others too.” She smiled at Annalise and sat back in her chair resting her hands delicately in front of her. “Secondly, I think Daniel is fundamentally a kind soul but he has a devilish side and craves danger and excitement. I wanted to warn you away as I was worried he may lead you astray and cause your stable relationship with Gavin to end. However, I appreciate that I actually just made you suspicious and perhaps have been a hindrance rather than help to you. You see my communication was not strong enough, I was unable to come through to you and reassure you, and I am sorry for this. Lauren I have a strong feeling you and Daniel’s paths have crossed in the past and I think if you cross the line with him you may not be able to return.” I stared at her with a million questions racing through my brain, but I felt unable to get a single question into a proper sentence, my mouth felt numb and I felt paralyzed. It was Annalise whom seemed to break my trance like state, squeezed my hand, and coughed gently.

“Um Elizabeth it is nice to be able to speak to you properly, I’ve been struggling a bit recently. I was very happy with Gavin and somehow your warning about Daniel, rather than keep me away, just made me think about him more and become intrigued by him. What do you mean our paths may have crossed before?” I asked.

“I was afraid my warning may have made you more interested. He is a very charismatic man and comes from some very influential men. Lauren he will not harm you physically, but he may harm you mentally. I’m not saying he is evil but he just may take you down a more dangerous path. Gavin is stable and kind, Daniel is adventurous and exciting, but ultimately I worry he will use your Wiccan skills to his advantage.” Elizabeth explained.

“But how? They all know witches, he has access to witchcraft, and I’m sure he would never do anything to hurt Gavin. I think you may have misunderstood him.” I stated.

“Maybe but I’ve met people like him before, full of strength, character, luck and charm, he is used to getting what he wants and you pose a challenge. There aren’t many modern, young, feisty witches around Lauren.” Elizabeth said staring intently at me through the flame of the candle.

“Do you just think he is the same as Alec? Times have changed, he couldn't cause that harm or get that power even if he wanted too.” I said suddenly feeling angry and tired.

“Lauren, he has some of Alec’s characteristics but I know he cannot do that harm again but I worry for you. You are a new witch; you are confused and isolated as you are unable to talk to your friends or family. I know you aren’t sure whether to trust me but believe me I only have your best interest at heart. You are after all related to me in a very distant manner. Daniel is a nice person, but the connection I feel between you could unsettle your whole life. He would take you further and further into the world of vampires and witches and you would end up leaving your normal friends and family behind. I can see it happening in a parallel life. Lauren you will find it exciting, but ultimately you will fall into a dark life.” Elizabeth continued in her calming voice.

“What do you mean? You can see us together?” I said feeling a nervous and excited feeling in my stomach.

“Yes I can see you together, but Lauren you are not content and secure but you have that with Gavin.” 

“I still do not really understand why you are warning me from Daniel so much. I know he likes living on the edge a bit more than Gavin but it’s not illegal or wrong. Both Gavin and Daniel explained about the nightclubs. I don’t really understand why you dislike Daniel so much?”

“Because Lauren I do not want you to suffer, I want you to be happy. I want you to have a long and successful life with children and family. Daniel will not give you that he will give you excitement, but an unstable and sometimes lonely life. I feel your lives have crossed before and there was not a happy ending.” Elizabeth said in a calm voice.

“But if you hadn’t said anything, I’m sure I wouldn’t have even been that bothered about Daniel. We would have just got on as normal and me and Gavin would have carried on in our happy relationship.” I said in an exasperated voice.

“Maybe, but I felt I needed to warn you. You are a new witch and your instincts and strength are not yet fully developed but you are strong and I felt it was my duty to help guide you along. I think my communication may have caused you upset though and this was not my intention and I truly have your best interests at heart. Lauren you have many things to learn about vampire and the Wiccan families but most importantly, you need to be a normal girl and have a normal and happy life. I fear that Daniel may take you away from this and that is the main reason I wanted you to stay away from him. I want you to be happy Lauren and I do wish things could be different and you could forget all you have learnt but it is not possible.” Elizabeth explained.

I could feel her presence slipping and felt extremely tired and calm. I felt happier with her explanation and I did believe she had been trying to protect me but it had just made me feel paranoid and isolated. I had a strong belief that Daniel was not going to drag me from my normal life as my friends and family were extremely important to me and I felt that Elizabeth had underestimated my desire for a normal existence and to make sure my friends and family never learned the vampire secret. I understood a bit more about Elizabeth’s intentions and I was pleased she was happy I had received her skills. I was still concerned about her belief that my life may have crossed with Daniels before. I didn’t really understand, but I did feel calmer than I had in weeks so was glad some good had come from the séance. I was slowly coming to the realisation that I needed some time away from Gavin, Daniel, and their whole family. I needed to just be me for a while and not have to worry about secrets, witch skills, century old family trees, and connections. I decided I needed to break up with Gavin and just be a normal 20-year-old girl again. However, I knew telling Gavin would be very hard and I just hoped he would understand. My heart wanted to stay with Gavin and just get on with things, but my head was telling me enough was enough and I needed a break. In the last few months, so much had happened to me and really, I’d had little time to adjust to it all and very few people to confide in. I decided it was time to put my own feelings first and just live a normal life for a while. I knew it would be tough and I already knew I’d miss Gavin terribly. I loved him and he made me happy, but I needed some normality and was worried our relationship would end up strained and uncomfortable if I didn’t make the break now. I needed to sort my head out, put some of this vampire, and witch stuff out of my mind for a while.