The Sons of Satrina: A Sons of Satrina Novel (16 page)

Whatever happened during the process of the change, the body took on the form of a fully grown adult Lamia, the time of their life when they are at their prime, which is generally twenty seven or eight.  The Lamia didn’t actually start the aging process for several decades after that, even centuries.  It was a dose of physiological magic that no one had ever been able to explain.

Kayleigh smiled cheekily as she gestured to herself, “If only my old friends could see me now!” and laughed as she sat back down.

“Oh, yeah.  And what happened to your friend, the would-be murderer?”

Kayleigh put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed gently, “One thing at a time.  Firstly, you asked about my family.  Let’s start there.  As I said, I was married to a man called Michael for seventeen years.  We had a daughter, Nicole, who had turned sixteen only the week before my fatal ‘accident’.  And then we had twin boys, Christopher and Matthew, who were six years old. I had everything I could ever have wanted.  Up until that night, my life was perfect.” She smiled fondly at the thought of her children.

“Evidently, it was a little too perfect and had created a bit of jealousy, and Julia wanted what I had.  Literally.”

Aisline looked over at her with an indignant expression on her face.  Damn, she wanted to go out and find this so called bitch of a friend and personally rip her head off for her betrayal.  How very dare she put Kayleigh through this?  How dare she put her in this position?  How dare she take a mother away from her children?  What had happened in that monsters life to fuck her up so royally that she opted to pull a stunt like that?  She belonged in a metal hospital at worst, a grave at best.  That woman was the scum of the earth. She was even lower than the Mortuorum, which was saying a lot.

“What happened?”

“Well, that is not exactly something that I am proud of.  That was my one and only lapse into Mortuorum insanity.” Kayleigh ducked her head at the memory,   “I managed to escape from Kelton, which was quite a feat in itself, I can tell you!  Then, I went back and I got my revenge on her.”  Kayleigh did look remorseful, but Aisline jumped up and punched the air.

“Hell yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

Kayleigh couldn’t stop the laughter that exploded from within her, and she had to quickly remember that this was an impressionable young woman in a life transition that she was speaking to and tried to put a halt on the joviality, which wasn’t easy to do when Ash’s reaction had been so comical.

“As I said, it isn’t something that I’m exactly proud of, b
ut it is a part of my past. If I’m telling you it, I may as well tell you all of it.”

Aisline was still grinning from ear to ear, pleased to hear that Kayleigh had managed to avenge her own death.  That sure would have been amusing to see in a morbid kind of way - Kayleigh coming back from the dead would have been quite a sight to behold!

“Anyway, I just couldn’t seem to let go of my old life.  For me, immortality is a cursed blessing.  Kelton tried his hardest with me, but my humanity was still too strong in my blood to just walk away from them without a backwards glance.  The Mortuorum usually lost their humanity when they lose their life, but mine remained with me and in a really big way. 

“Obviously, I couldn’t let them see me.  After all, they all thought that I was dead.  For heaven’s sake, they’d mourned for me. I couldn’t do that to them.  I had to watch as they learned to cope without me.”

Aisline felt a lump forming in her throat again as she thought about what Kayleigh and her family had been through.  To lose their mother and not know that she was still out there, watching over them?  It was heart breaking.  How much that they had been through, all because of one single jealousy motivated individual.

And she could understand the feeling.  She had been ripped away from her
family. Or thrown out and abandoned by them, however you want to put it.  But, just because they had given up on her, that didn’t stop her from feeling and it didn’t stop her from loving them.  They were her family and she wouldn’t give up on them.  She would wait.  Aisline wanted to get on with her life here and be independent, but there was still a part of her that craved her family life that she had only left a few days previously. It sure had been a harsh reality check for her.

“So, I did all I could and helped them in other ways that they couldn’t see.  I even encouraged a relationship between my husband and my true best friend.  She had always been there for me through thick and thin, sickness and health, and she was devastated by my ‘death’.  Our kids had always gotten along so well that it seemed natural.  I knew that Michael would cope better with someone there for him, and their relationship that had started out as a friendship blossomed into something more.”

Wow, Aisline thought to herself.  She had never known anyone in her whole life who had had so much to go through, and showed so much courage and strength.  She had not only helped her family mourn her death, but she also helped someone else to step into her shoes.

“Obviously w
ithout them knowing, I was even at their wedding.  It was a beautiful day, and they said some truly beautiful things about me.  It was nice of them to keep me alive in their own way, which was really strange to hear, me standing there, solid flesh and blood and all.  But I wanted to make sure that they were all happy and well, and they were.  My children all flocked around Jenn and she is the best step-mother that a kid could wish for.  Sometimes, it does hurt to see it, like on birthdays when I should be the one making the cake, or Christmas time when it should be me and my children decorating the tree, but I have to keep going back to check on things. No matter how much it hurts.  They are my family, born of my flesh and blood.   If I’m not there to raise them, then the least I can do is protect them the best way that I can, from afar.”

Kayleigh took a deep, shuddering breath and turned to look at Ash, tears swimming in her eyes.

“So, now you know.  We have both had a lot to deal with, and I hope that by telling you all of this that it will help to put your own situation into perspective.  Hopefully, it will give you the strength to go on.”

Aisline nodded and gulped back a sob.  It was a heart wrenching story and, although the situations wer
e different, she knew that there were similarities in there.  The big difference was that Aisline could walk back into her family home, be seen, be heard and hopefully again one day, be loved.

“When did all this happen?” s
he said in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“Not as long ago as you think.  The time has flown by so quickly, it’s untrue.  But I have managed to be there for most of the major events in their lives.  After all, the Mortuorum side has given me the advantage of less sunlight aversion than the rest of you.  Like, when my daughter got married, that was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.  The boys are both grown men now, studying law and medicine.  And I even have three grandchildren!”  The delight in her eyes was obvious and although she had never held those grandchildren in her arms, the bond between them was, evidently, as strong as ever.

“Even though Kelton disapproves, I still go back to check on them all now and again.  I just can’t help myself, it’s something that I have to do.  It soothes me.  No matter how much it hurts afterwards.  And that’s what he hates seeing, how much pain I am in from losing them.  But, it helps me to see that they’re succeeding in life.  We are all happy, in our own particular ways.”

They were quiet for a minute or two.  Neither of them knew what to say next. 
             

Aisline still couldn’t quite get her head around the fact that the woman next to her was still standing, still functioning.  And not because she was Mortuorum and shoul
d have been killed on sight. Ash didn’t believe that for a second.  Which was something that could make her re-think her whole belief system, although that would be something to dwell on at a later time.  It was a miracle that Kayleigh was sane, strong and something to admire. To come out the other side of all she had suffered, appreciating her new life and yet making sure that her death didn’t wreck the lives of others? She really was a miracle.

“Anyway, that’s my life.  You have a lot to deal with yourself now and you have to work out what you want to do, for yourself.  I can’t decide that for you and neither can Kelton. And you can’t let the mark decide for you either.  Just like I didn’t let the way that I was changed determine who I was.”

Aisline nodded and looked down at her hands.  She was wringing them in her lap just like her mother would have done.

A steely resolve spread over her and with a forced grin on her face, she turned to Kayleigh and said, “Let’s get started then.”

Chapter Seventeen.

Kayleigh and Aisline gathered up everything that they could find in the school that might be useful for a female warrior, which was pretty damned difficult when everything in the place was fashioned to fit the frame of a male over six foot tall and built like a brick shit house.  Everything swamped her. But seeing as she was the only training female in the place, cover up may not be such a bad thing. 

So when they ran out of places to look, they headed back over to the library to purchase the rest of it online.  EBay was a Godsend to them.  After going through her own limited wardrobe that she’d brought with her, they had more than enough for her to be able to use for the time being.

The place was quiet as all the trainees were still in their intensive combat training as they had been for the past few days, helping the pre-grad’s work toward their final date, which was looming thick and fast.  Their graduation date had been brought forward after Bartholomew’s death - they needed their warriors out on the streets.  Kayleigh had explained it all to Aisline as they worked and she was pleased that she had some time to get used to the school without the prying eyes of the rest of the student body.  It would at least make the transition a little easier, although everything was still daunting.

“Well, I think that’s about all we can do for now, don’t you think?  I’ll have to check with Kelton to make sure we’ve got everything, but I can run that by him later. I think this is enough to go on with.  Let‘s just hope they hurry up with the deliveries.”  Kayleigh said as she scanned through their extensive shopping list of things they’d gathered together and ordered. It was mind blowing the things that she needed.  Ash hadn’t really thought about i
t, but the list seemed endless, especially when Kayleigh kept retrieving her pencil from behind her ear to add another item to ever growing pile.

Aisline was quietly thinking.  This was getting all very real, very quickly.  Before, everything had been so rushed that she’d been running on pure adrenaline for most of it.  The times when she had been alone, none of it had seemed real.  Now, here she was buying specialist combat boots, getting measured for clothes, testi
ng hand grips on weapons that were especially made for each individual and next, she was going to be heading off for a medical.  This shit was getting scary.

“Right, are you ready to go?”  Kayleigh asked her after they had grabbed a quick bite to eat back in her room.  Leigh thought it would be best for her to avoid the rest of the trainee’s until she took that first step into combat training.  There were plenty of rumours going around the academy about the mystery girl with the mark, and she didn’t want anything to ph
ase her.  This was huge. She thought that Ash was handling it so well and she didn’t want anything or anyone to set her back.

“Aisline?”  When she got no response, she glanced over at the young woman who was sat spinning one of her rings round and around her finger, and registered the look of alarm on her face.  “Honey, is everything okay?”

Ash looked up at her and slowly got to her feet, “I’m fine, I think.  It’s just that it’s all going a little bit fast now.  You know what I mean?”  She even tried to smile, but despite the positive effort, she still only managed a half-hearted grimace.

Kayleigh walked back over to her, “I can understand that, I really can.  Unfortunately, with everything that’s happening lately
, we‘ve got our hands full and we can’t slow the pace down.  We need all the warriors we can get out there.  And seeing as you are the very first female warrior in our history, we have to strike while the iron is hot and move fast.  While we still make sure we’re getting everything right.  It’s a bit of a juggling act.  Plus, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.  You never know, there may be more female warriors turning up on our doorstep.  You have to lead the way.  I know it‘s a lot to put on your shoulders, but we‘re all here to work together with you.  You are not alone here.”

Aisline nodded and stood up again, breathing deeply and evenly, hoping to suck in some strength and courage while she did it.  “So, I’m like a guinea pig here, huh?”  She was the kind of girl who often resorted to humour and sarcasm as an emotionally defence technique. 

Kayleigh chuckled, though there was little humour in the sound.  “‘Fraid so, sweetheart.”

She didn’t have any more words of comfort for her.  There was no point in mollycoddling the poor girl, or trying to tell her it was going to
be all smooth sailing from here when that was an out and out lie.  No one knew what was going to happen next.   And a lot of how things were dealt with would lie with Aisline herself.   Either she was going to suck it up and get on with it, or she wasn’t.  Kayleigh’s mind was whirling with ideas and lists of things that they needed to complete to get her sorted for training.  She just hoped that Aisline was up to the task.

Walking back through the corridors, they headed over toward the medical wing with Kayleigh leading the way.  This was one thing that Aisline really wasn’t looking forward to.  She had always hated needles and wasn’t relishing being poked and prodded.   A medical, was what Kayleigh had told her, but she hadn’t elaborated on it.  Great.

Plodding along in bright cerise yoga pants and a skinny tee, Ash felt like a bit of a fashion slob compared to Kayleigh.  The differences between them were as clear as night and day.  Kayleigh was wrapped in clinging midnight blue from neck to ankle, topped off with matching elegant heels.  Ash thought she must look like the poor relative here, as she trotted alongside her with her shoulders stooped and hair falling forward to shade her face.

Turning in the medical wing, everything stood out in stark and sterile white.  That wasn’t the first thing that struck her, though.  It was the noise. 

Here, voices and laughter rang out from every corner.  It was the first time that she had encountered any people here, apart from Kayleigh and Professor Kelton, outside of the cafeteria.  In there, she had expected it to be busy, maybe not so many of them all at once, but it had been expected.  Here?  She wasn’t prepared to face anyone, and she didn’t want to be the centre of attention all over again.  As if the medical wasn’t enough to contend with….

Suddenly, her heart started to hammer in her chest.  This place was full of boys, male trainee warriors, and male warriors.  She was in the minority here.  How many females actually were there on site?  Was it only Kayleigh and herself?  Were there anymore?  She was outnumbered drastically
in any case.  Would she be able to hold her own?  Aisline was no longer sure.  Her waning confidence seemed to seep out of the bottom of her feet and into the marble tiled floor.

This was about being a warrior - sex was irrelevant, in both sense of the word.  She was here to train, just like the rest of them.

Aisline wasn’t sure if she was ready for the whole warrior thing now that it was here, and that was what scared her the most.   Her confidence had taken a sudden knock now that it was all coming real.  Could she really do this?  Was she just setting herself up for a fall?  How much of a fool could she really make out of herself?  A big one, probably.  The thought made her shake.

Walking down the corridor, she couldn’t hel
p but peek into the rooms to see what all the noise was about.  You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat and all that.  All she could see were groups of young men, waiting around in line - for something.  She couldn’t see what, though.  She didn’t have the time to find out, either, as Kayleigh was already striding off down the walkway and Ash had to hurry to catch up with her.

When they got to the end of the hallway, Kayleigh knocked on a door and opened it, poking her head in before ushering Aisline into the room.

Ash was surprised, and pleased, to see that the Lamia doctor was female.  At least there was another female here to add to her personal army. 

Kayleigh introduced her as Doctor Marilyn Phillippe.  She was like the rest of the mature vampires, appearing to be approximately twenty seven/eight years old with jaw length bobbed champagne blonde hair, piercing sky blue eyes, sharp high cheek bones you could ski off and a comforting, friendly smile.

“Come on in and sit down.  We’ve got a bit of time to talk before we do the examination.” Dr Phillippe said, indicating the other chair in the room as she smoothed down her hair.

“I’ll be back with you shortly.” Kayleigh said as she smiled at the pair of them and backed out of the room before Aisline could protest. 

Aisline was relieved that she felt so at ease immediately with Dr Phillippe and that she didn’t mind Kayleigh bailing on her.  Perhaps it was just because she was another female here in a male dominated world, or maybe it was because of that smile.  Whatever it was, Ash felt fine.  Sitting down in the plush cushioned chair, she fidgeted with her hands while the doctor looked her over.

“So, how are you feeling?”

It took Ash a couple of minutes to think about that one.  Fine? Nah.  How did she feel?  She really wasn’t sure.  Confused? Alone? Exhilarated?  Excited?  Floundering? Scared?  She wasn’t at all sure.   It was all so fresh and new and all so very different from anything that she had ever encountered before that she couldn’t compare it to anything.  There was nothing in her life that she could ever come close to this experience, so she didn’t know where to start.

So, she just said the first thing that popped into her head.

“What’s happening down the hall?  What are all the trainees doing?  They are trainees, aren’t they?”  It was obvious from the younger age of them that they were trainee warriors.   Plus, it was as good a place to start as any - after all, it would take the heat off of her! Ash wasn’t comfortable talking about herself.

Dr Phillippe chuckled, “They’ve all been down here for their medical exams and now their off for a fate worse than death for some of them - the dreaded haircut.  I don’t think they were too impressed at being pulled out of combat for something as boring and girly as having their hair chopped off.”

Aisline looked thoughtful for a moment again, before looking sharply up at the doctor. Doctor Phillippe couldn’t help but laugh again when she saw the obvious question crossed Aisline’s face.  “Forgive me, I shouldn’t laugh, but you’re like an open book - so easy to read.   You look distraught at the thought of losing your hair.   Am I right?”  Aisline nodded, a sheepish grin spreading on her face, “In answer to your question, no. They won’t be asking you to cut your hair.  Kayleigh and I have already discussed that and we are going to have a stylist come in and teach you how to bind it for combat.”

Aisline breathed a visible sigh of relief, and she didn’t mind at all that Dr Phillippe had found her reaction amusing.  At the thought of having to cut off all of her hair, she nearly threw a shit fit!  That was one thing that she hadn’t thought
much of as of yet, but as soon as the thought had flitted through her mind, she’d been distressed.  As much as she wanted to be one of the guys, she knew a buzz cut would look horrendous on her.

Her hair was long and luscious and silky to the touch.  And as much as she wanted to be a warrior, she would have fought tooth and nail to keep it.  She was thankful that Kayleigh had already covered it.

“Anyway, back to the first question.  Good dodge by the way,” she gave Ash a knowing smile,   “How are you feeling?  You can talk to me, you know.  Everything that you say to me in here is confidential.  It will stay within these four walls”

“I’m….. Adjusting, I guess.  Everything is happening so quickly that I haven’t had much time to think about it so far.”

That was all she could think to say.  It was the truth after all.  The only down time she had had to herself was when she was sleeping, unpacking or reading, or trying to convince herself to be courageous.  Any time that she had felt rational thought creeping in, she had shelved those thoughts to the back of her mind, blocking out any fear she felt.  It was easier to just go with the flow rather than try to analyse every little thing she encountered.  Thinking about it too much would frighten the life out of her.  She’d rather take it all lightly.

And t
he time for thinking was over. Now was the time to start her new life.  It was the time for action.

“And how did your parents take it?”

The pain that etched itself on Aisline’s face was evident.  The doctor had hit a nerve.  This was another thing that she had refused to think about, only fleetingly when speaking with Kayleigh, because it was too damn difficult.  It was all too raw right now.  Her parents had abandoned her when she had needed their support the most.  No.  She couldn’t think about them at all.  If she did, her walls of bravery would crumble.

“I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Dr Phillippe sat back in her chair and studied the young woman in front of her.  So much had happened to her in such a short space of time that it must have had some sort of psychological effect on her.  Looking at her, she seemed strong and together, but she didn’t want the poor thing drowning under the stress of such a drastic change to her life.

If only she could open up a bit, it might help her.

“I can’t force you to talk.  The only thing that I can say is that sharing your fears is a healthy thing to do.  Bottling things up leaves them to fester and rot you from the inside out.  Rationally talking through any problems you have can actually help.  I want you to know that when you are ready to talk, my door will always be open to you.”