The Sons of Satrina: A Sons of Satrina Novel (15 page)

All she could do now was hope and pray that they wouldn’t take it all away from her. There was nothing more she could do.  Once the Warrior had made up his mind,
there would be no going back. No matter how much she wanted prove herself. This was it.

Abruptly, the door swung open again and Kayleigh leaned forward to pop her head out.  Ash couldn’t read anything at all from her face or the look in her eyes; she was a blank canvas.

Great.

“Will you come back in, please?”

Aisline got up from the chair and took a deep, centring breath.  Whatever was going to happen next was going to be life changing.

Was it going to be for the better or for the worse?

“Take a seat.”  Kelton said, not taking his eyes off of his laptop, tapping away on the keys with a ferocious intensity. Aisline sat back down on the chair on the opposite side of the desk and waited with edgy impatience. 

Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long to find out her fate.

“You’re going to train.”

Aisline stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief.  She didn’t think in a million years that Kayleigh would have been able to talk him around.  Believing that they would let her into combat was a shot in the dark. 
She’d been much more ready to fight her corner when she was told that she was being taken out of the possibility of an active role.  She was in total shock.  Sitting there with her mouth hanging wide open, she looked from Warrior Kelton to Kayleigh, who she now noticed was wearing a triumphant grin as she stood behind Kelton’s shoulder where he couldn’t see her beaming, were waiting to see what she had to say.   She was speechless.

“You must understand that this is not something that we have ever done before.  You are the first female warrior of our race.  Females have never been on the front line of our fight before.  We don’t know what you will be capable of, but we think that it would be a shame for you, and for us, to waste this opportunity.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as Aisline sat in stunned shock, nodding along with whatever Kelton said as he explained what was going to happen from here on out. She was ready to agree to any terms that he dared to lay down for her.  Anything so that she could pursue this new dream of hers.

“You will train with the rest of the recruits.  They haven’t got any advantage over you as of yet, except all of those years of preparation.” he raised a sarcastic eyebrow, but Ash didn’t care in the slightest what advan
tage the others had over her. She’d catch up to be their equal, hopefully better. “I don’t mean that to sound harsh, but those boys have known from birth that they would grow to be warriors.  You have had a mere few days to adjust.

“Their training schedule was interrupted by the death of our leader, so things have been a little up in the air at the academy.” Kelton was quiet for a moment as he lost his train of thought.  Bartho
lomew.  There was so much to do. So much to find out.  His death must be avenged.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts and bring himself back to the present, he continued, “Tomorrow, training will resume as planned.  And you will be involved fully in that training.  Kayleigh?”  He turned to look at his mate and she nodded at him, her face now serious, and the victorious grin long gone.

“Aisline, anything you need, anything you want to know, you go to Kayleigh.  She will be your personal mentor.  And if you can’t find Kayleigh, you come and find me.”

“Ash, if you’ll come with me now,
we have much to prepare.” Kayleigh started out of the room, not looking back, confident that the new warrior would be following behind her.

And she did. B
ut she paused at the door to turn back to look at Master Warrior Kelton.

“Thank you.  I just needed to say that.
Thank you for having faith in me.” and she meant that with every fibre of her being.  He could have so easily taken it all away from her in the blink of an eye, but he’d given her a chance.  A chance to prove herself.  It went without saying that she would not let him down.

“I have faith in you, and I have faith in the choice of the warriors mark.”  He said in a soft tone as the door gen
tly clicked closed behind her.

Aisline hurried to catch up with Kayleigh as she strode back towards her bedroom. 

“As we said, this will be your room for the rest of
your time at this academy. At least you don’t have to worry about packing all your things up again, which is a bonus.  It’ll save us some time because we have so much to do.  And it is yours to do with what you wish. Within reason, of course.  We try to discourage the boys from plastering their rooms with FHM centrefolds, and we have to ask the same of you.”

Aisline grinned impishly, “There won’t be
an FHM centrefold in sight. I can promise you that.”

“Funny.
”  Kayleigh rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but laugh.

Kayleigh knew this room well.  It had been hers when she had first moved into the Sons, before she had officially moved in with Kelton.  Not that any of the students knew that they shared a bed.  Well, most of them had probably already guessed it, but no one had ever been rude enough to call them out on it.

“We will need to take you to the laundry area to get you kitted out as best we can.  You will need full combat gear, training gear and some casual things.  Anything that we can’t find down there, we’ll have to send out for.”

Aisline was trying her hardest to concentrate, but the excitement was getting the best of her and she couldn’t help but dance a little jig around the room.

“Thank you, Kayleigh, if it wasn’t for you…” she trailed off as emotion thickened her throat.

“No need to thank me.  Once Kelton has made up his mind, there’s no changing it.  I just voiced what he was already thinking.  He believes strongly in the choice of the warrior mark, and he knows that it has chosen right in you.  And we know that even though your family are
n’t descendants of our deceased leader and that no one of your blood line has ever been chosen to bear the mark of the warrior.  So, Kelton believes that there must be something extraordinarily special about you.  He trusts in the mark, and he trusts in you.”

They stood there in the empty hallway, the laundry room long forgotten, as Kayleigh gave this impassioned
speech.  Aisline had no words. She was utterly speechless.

“
Wow.” was all she could mutter.

“Come on, honey,” Kayleigh chuckled,
“Let’s get you started.” Smiling gently at her again, she put a friendly arm around her shoulder to pull her forward.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” 

“Why did Warrior Kelton chose you in particular to look after me?  He said something in the beginning.  I did wonder why you were trying to choose someone else.” Ash asked. 

“Well, I guess that was my own insecurities coming through.  I thought you would be best having a warrior for a mentor.  After all, I’m not a fighter.  But, I’m happy to help out the best I can, and I know that we can muddle through this together.”

Aisline smiled, “I’m pleased with the choice.  But, was it just because you were the first person I met?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled th
at you got the job as my mentor. I think it’s amazing.  But, he did mention something about us having things in common.  What did he mean by that?”

They were both quiet again as they stood still and Aisline had feared that she had asked the wrong question.  She should had just been happy that she had Kayleigh to turn to and left it at that.  Curiosity killed the cat and all that.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”  Ash whispered and put her head down, afraid that she had offended her new found friend.

“No, no.
I can understand why you asked.  It’s just that it is very personal, and something that is extremely difficult for me to talk about.”  Kayleigh said, her brow furrowing.

“That’s okay. F
orget I asked.  It doesn’t matter.  Honestly it doesn’t.”  Aisline didn’t want to cause this woman any emotional pain by making her speak of something that was obviously so difficult for her.  After all, she was hoping that Kayleigh could be the person that she turned to in her time at the academy for guidance and advice.  She didn’t want the fact that she had opened up her big mouth and asked an awkward question about something that was clearly so personally challenging that she had burnt her bridges and pushed her away.  Kayleigh could be more than just a mentor to her She could be a good friend to her.

“No, Aisline. I
t’s fine.  Honestly.  I just haven’t spoken of this much, and only to a couple of people before you.  Kelton and Bartholomew knew.  Nobody else knows and no one must find out.”  She glanced nervously around them, as if to make sure there was no one else listening.

This was starting to sound a little ominous.

“I wouldn’t breathe a word to anyone.  You can trust me. I wouldn’t tell a soul.  You don‘t have to tell me though.  I understand.” 

In a way, she didn’t want to hear about it now.   Before, when she had asked, she thought that maybe it would be some simple story, like about living in a school of warriors and coping with being surrounded by them 24/7.  But now?  Now she feared what she was going to hear.

“Come, let’s go and talk.” Kayleigh said as she steered her back towards Aisline’s room.  “We need somewhere quiet and private.”

Once they got back inside and the door was firmly shut behind them, Aisline quickly sat down on one of the sofas.

“Kelton must trust you a lot, or else he wouldn’t have mentioned it.  It is obvious that you would wonder what he meant by it.”

Moving to kneel in front of Ash, “I must have your word.  On your honour as a warrior, that you will never ever repeat what I am about to say to you.  Li
ves will be at risk if you do. Mainly mine.  You must give me your word, now.”

Kayleigh grasped hold of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes, asking for loyalty and understanding.

“I promise, on my life.  And you have my word as a warrior of this race.”

Kayleigh
nodded and turned slightly, sighing loudly.  Standing to take a couple of paces to sit down on the opposite sofa, she sat down heavily back down on the plush, ivory sofa, sinking into its softness.  Looking over at Aisline, she indicated that she should get a drink now if she needed one.

Ash grabbed a can of Pepsi and waited quietly, only the bubbles popping
in the can could be heard.

“Aisline.  I’m not what you think I am.”

Well, that wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.  It didn’t make any sense.  Aisline looked at her questioningly.

With an emotionless look in her eye, Kayleigh leaned forward.

“I am Lamia Mortuorum.”

Chapter Sixteen.

“Eh? What do you mean? I don’t understand?”

Kayleigh could have smiled at the obvious confusion on Aisline’s face if the situation hadn’t of been so serious.  That was the last thing she had expected her to say, obviously.

She was risking a hell of a lot telling this girl the truth about herself.  They had only known her for a very short length of time.  But, there was something about her that both she and Kelton trusted instinctively.  She would not betray their confidence.  And sharing her own horrific story with her may help her to put her own adjustments into perspective.  There are always worse cases out there than your own.

“Aisline, I am Lamia Mortuorum.  I was made this way.”

Aisline looked dumb struck.  How could this
be?  Kayleigh must be joking. Although why she would joke about something quite as sick as this, Aisline had no idea.  She didn’t look like one of those evil creatures, not in the least.  She looked the same as everyone here.  There was nothing that screamed ’monster’ about her.  Typically, the Mortuorum only had one set of fangs in place of their canines.  The Lamia Matris have two sets, the canine pair being slightly larger and longer than the secondary incisors.  She truly didn’t understand what she was being told here.  How could this be?

“Let me explain it all to you, from the beginning.” Kayleigh took a deep breath to gather her courage.

“I was human.  I was married to a wonderful man and had three amazing children with him.  My life was perfect.  It was everything I had ever wanted.  We were happy.  I was happy with my life.  And then, one night, everything changed.”

Kayleigh took a deep breath.  This was more difficult for her to think about and talk about than she imagined it would be.  Articulating the nightmare she had lived through?  Not easy.  She hoped that she could remain detached and keep the emotion out of her voice, but she knew now that she had started, that wouldn’t happen.

This was her life they were talking about.  The end of her life.

Her previous life was something that she refused to think about for the most part.  It was too painful to think about all that she had lost during her transformation.  She was happy here in her new existence here.  She was happy with her relationship with Kelton.  Thinking of her past and everything that she had lost was extremely painful for her.  It brought all the wounds back raw.

“I was just coming home from Christmas shopping one day.  The car was piled high with a ridiculous amount of gifts for all my family.  I still remember smiling to myself, thinking of my sons beaming faces when they opened up all of the presents that I’d bought for them.  They were an adorable, spoiled pair and their excitement was becoming unbearable as Christmas was drawing near.  I know that you celebrate Christmas time, but it is nothing compared to how the humans do it.  It’s a really huge thing, and everybody goes all out, food, presents, decorations, trees, the whole shebang.  Religion has very little to do with the holiday spirit these days, I must say.  It’s all a commercial buzz.  Anyway, I was running through lists in my mind of all the things I had yet to do, like buying the turkey, wrapping the presents, making the stuffing, all the usual things.  And that was when the car came out of nowhere and rammed into mine, sending me spinning off of the road.”

Aisline gasped.  She had not expected anything like this at all and she sat, rapt, waiting to hear the full horror of the story that was this woman’s life. 

“Unfortunately, my death had been planned.  It wasn’t some random, untimely accident.  The other car belonged to someone whom I had considered to be a very close friend.  Which was an immense shock when I found out, I can tell you.  I thought she was someone I could turn to. Someone I could trust.  Obviously, she wasn’t what she had appeared to be.  All she wanted was to get me out of the way so she could get her claws into my husband, Michael.”

Pausing to wipe a rogue tear from the corner of her eye, Kayleigh straightened up a little in her chair and tried her d
amnedest to put on a brave face.  She’d lived through it and come out the other side.  Tears of self-pity would do neither of them any good now.

“What would have been t
he worst night of anyone’s life just got even worse.  My injuries didn’t kill me, but the smell of blood lured one of the Lamia Mortuorum to where I was and, well, I don’t need to put in words to you what happened next.  It’s clear really,” she spread her hands, “They changed me.  They tried to add me to their ranks.”  Her voice was very bitter, but that was more than understandable after everything that she had been through. 

“I still don’t r
eally know what happened next. That bit is still a blur for me to be honest. I just remember the change being very painful.  It was all very confusing.  It’s nothing I could ever explain to anybody in words.  It was just a blur of red hot pain.

“We know that there are plenty of times that the Mortuorum go out and change a random human just for fun, and then they leave them to their own devices to wreak havoc in our city, and that might have been what happened to me.  We just don’t know.  They might have left me or they may have been disturbed and frightened away,”

“Anyway, that doesn’t really matter.  What matters is that Kelton was out on duty that night.  And he was the one who found me.”

Aisline let out an involuntary gasp and Kayleigh gave her a wry smile.

“Yes, exactly.  I was extremely lucky that he didn’t just kill me on sight.  Something stopped him, thank goodness.  He still can’t say why he didn’t slaughter me on sight.”  Kayleigh chuckled lightly.  The sound was a little off, but this was not surprising given the intensity of the conversation at hand.  What was abundantly clear though, was that she had come to worship Kelton.

“Oh, Kayleigh.” Aisline was on the verge of tears herself.  This was one of the most harrowing tales she had ever heard, made all the worse that it was true. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you.”

“It worked out for the most part.  Kelton understood that I was confused about what had happened and what I had become.  He took the time to teach me the right way.  Which wasn’t easy, believe me. It wasn’t easy at all.  Far from it.  The pain was unbelievable.  The bloodlust in the beginning was totally out of control and I didn’t think that I would ever be able to conquer it.  It was all I could think about.  It controlled everything about me. There was nothing left but the bloodlust.

“Kelton was convinced that I could get over it, but in the beginning I didn’t share his optimism.  With his per
severance and faith, I did it. But only with his help.  Everything I am today, I owe it to him.

“He explained everything to me about both of the races and all about the ongoing war.  It sounded like some really off fairy tale, like a story I’d heard when I was a child.  Even with the bloodlust rolling through me, it wasn’t until I was coherent that I understand what Kelton had been telling me.  Vampire.  Vampires were real.  That was what I had become.  I couldn’t imagine the sort of job he had and it really hammered home how close to dying I had come.  After all, he chased down monsters like me, and I understood first-hand the kind of thing I would have done to quench my thirst for blood.”

Kayleigh tried to smile again, “Kelton always said that he saw something different in me from that very first moment, and I guess he was right.  I’m not like them at all.  I have much more in common with you than I do them.  I don’t have their temperament.  I don’t have their bloodlust, at least not any more.  I am able to stand the sunlight a little better than you, which I guess is a bonus.”

She grew serious again and leant forward.  “Most importantly of all, I am not Lamia Mortuorum in here.” and she placed a hand over her heart.

“But how does no one else know about this?” Aisline blurted out. 

That was one part that was really confusing her.  There was nothing about Kayleigh that even whispered that she was different from anyone else of the Matris race.  Usually you could spot a member of the Mortuorum a mile off, but none of that was present in Kayleigh.  She was normal.  She was the same as everyone else Ash had ever met.  And as Kayleigh smiled over at her, Ash couldn’t think of any other polite way of asking her
, so she simply tapped on her pointed teeth in her own mouth with a little shrug of her shoulders.  All the Lamia could retract their fangs at will, but when they were living only among their own kind, like here at the academy, they didn’t feel the need to hide them.  If Kayleigh had walked around with her fangs hidden all the time that was when people would have started to talk.

Kayleigh smiled even wider, displaying her teeth that looked no different from Aisline’s.

“Well, that was something that Kelton and Bartholomew took care of for me.  Not personally of course,” she grinned, “After Kelton had taken me in, it wasn’t long before there were whispers and rumours that soon reached our leader and he was summoned to appear before him.  No one had any real knowledge of what had happened, just that Kelton was distracted from his duties.  However, knowing that it had to have been about me, I wasn’t bothered that Kelton was the biggest, most bad ass warrior that the Matris race had ever seen, I wasn’t letting him go and face his leader all on his own and take the heat over what had happened to me.  I wanted to be there when he explained it all.  And I can tell you, I was absolutely bricking it.” They both chuckled nervously, “Walking in there had me shaking in my boots.  It was a million times more nerve wracking than anything else I’d ever had to do.  This man had the power to demand my death and here we were, walking freely into his home, with only hope on our side.

“Luckily, though, Bartholomew saw the same thing in me that Kelton had and granted me immunity from assassination.  Obviously, it wasn’t quite as cut and dry as all that, but the outcome was better than we could have hoped for.  As long as I remain with the academy and with Kelton shadowing me, my life would never be in danger.

“Also, Bartholomew sent me to his personal dentist for a little cosmetic surgery to enhance my new dental look.  After all, if I was to live my life within the Matris community, I had to blend in and look like the rest of you, didn’t I?”

Aisline grinned over at her, “Well, I gotta say, they did a bloody good job!”

The momentary silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable this time. It was liberating.  They truly did have a common bond.  They were both fighting natures that had been thrust on them and were working with what they had to make the best of a bad situation.  Kayleigh was an inspiration.

Kayleigh visibly relaxed, knowing that her secret was safe with this girl. Likewise, Aisline was feeling reassured that she had someone that she could turn to now and in the future with whom she could share her deepest, darkest secrets without fear.  Between them, there would b
e no judgement.  Only trust and loyalty. 

“So, now you know.  Only Kelton, Bartholomew, the dentist and now you know anything about
my own little situation. Bartholomew took my secret to the grave with him.  I am trusting you with more than just a secret here - I am trusting you with my life.  Quite literally.”

Aisline crossed the couple of steps from her sofa over to kneel in front of Kayleigh and caught her hands up in her own, a gesture
beyond her years but heartfelt.  “On my life, from now until my death, your secret will remain in silence.  Never to be revealed.  Never to be spoken.  This is my solemn vow to you as a Warrior of the Sons of Satrina, and as a friend.”  The last part of the passionate speech was delivered a little hesitantly and a raised eyebrow, but she needn’t have worried, for Kayleigh leaned forward and swept her up in a huge, motherly hug.

“Thank you, Ash.  Thank you.” she said through tears.

Sitting down on the sofa next to her, Aisline smiled with her own tears brimming in her eyes, but waited for Kayleigh to dab elegantly at her eyes with a tissue before continuing.

“Wow, you’re so strong.  After everything you’ve been through, I‘d have been falling apart.  It’s really unbelievable.”

Kayleigh couldn’t speak as the tears continued to flow, the lump of emotion wouldn’t let any words passed its barrier.  This had been harder than she’d thought it would be, and she’d barely brushed the surface of her life.

“Can I ask you one more thing?  And then we don’t have to speak about it anymore.  You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, because it’s personal.  But I am curious.”  Aisline asked, hesitantly.

Kayleigh heaved in another bracing breath and nodded.  “Go ahead.  We might as well get it all out in one go.” She tried to smile bravely.

Ash admired her so much for what she had been through, and that she had come out the other side such a sane person.   It was bloody miraculous.  It also scared her a little to think what could be still lurking within Kayleigh.  The Mortuorum were an unpredictable bunch, and she just hoped that she was right and true in saying that she had it all under control.

“What happened to your family? Your husband and your children?”

Kayleigh almost looked like she had expected this question and smiled fondly as her eyes took on a faraway look.  The pain on her face gave way to warmth and love.

“As I said, I was married to a wonderful man called Michael.  We’d been married for seventeen years.  I was thirty seven when my human life came to an abrupt end, not that you’d think that now,” and she stood up to do a funny little twirl, making Aisline laugh.