Bloodlines Read online

  “Maybe they know them though; Lucian said their families had always lived in Massachusetts. And he knew about Edward Putnam.”

  “I don’t know what to say to you.”

  “Is your laptop charged up?” I asked, getting an idea.

  “Yes.”

  “Good, you go on yours and look up Jake and the Culver family; I’ll look up Lucian and the Turners on mine.”

  We were up most of the night looking through old records and tracing their family trees. I lost count of how many cups of coffee we both drank to keep us awake.

  “Lily, I think I’ve got something,” I said, taking the laptop over to her. “Look, it says their families took over the original homes of the Cutler, Tudor, Richards and Goodie families twenty years after the witch-hunts were over.”

  “Yes, so…?”

  “Well, don’t you think that’s a little strange?”

  “No, not really,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Argh, look, it says here that for the twenty years the houses were empty. No one tried to sell them and then suddenly all these families moved in within the space of two weeks.”

  “Right.”

  “So houses like them wouldn’t just be left to rot.”

  “So what do you think happened?”

  “I…I don’t know,” I admitted, defeated.

  “I think you need to get some sleep; it’s past four.”

  “So do you.”

  “No I’m OK. You get your head down and let me carry on for a while. Would you mind if I used the book?”

  “Feel free if you think it will help. Thanks, Lily.”

  “No problem I’m actually enjoying this.”

  I lay down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

  ***

  I was woken abruptly about 9 a.m. by Lily shaking me.

  “I’ve found something.” she kept saying. “Come on, wake up.”

  She dragged me over to the sofa and put a cup of coffee into my hands.

  “OK, listen to this,” she started, getting rather excited. “In April 1712 four families moved to Salem and into the houses of the Cutlers, Tudors, Richards and Goodies. The townspeople didn’t associate with them because they thought all the women had given birth to illegitimate children.”

  “Why?” I asked, sipping my drink.

  “Because none of them had their husbands with them. It was just women and children. They were shunned by the church and everything. Then people got nosey and found out that their husbands had all died fighting.”

  “So?”

  “Keira, there wasn’t a war going on or anything. But people never questioned them. I looked the date up on the internet myself and there was no battles going on anywhere near here. Anyway, then I looked further into the families in the book, and found out all their wives’ names. There was Louisa Putnam, Martha Cutler, Alice Tudor, Sarah Richards and Josephine Goodie. When I looked at the names of the women that moved into the houses, I found Martha Culver, Alice Turner, Sarah Rickman and Josephine Goodwin. As you know Louisa was killed. Now, this is the part that I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on sooner. Look at the surnames: Tudor – Turner, Culver – Cutler…” she said, showing me the two pieces of paper she had written them down on for comparison.

  “Richards – Rickman…and Goodie turned into Goodwin…” I said, seeing the pattern for all my bleary eyes.

  “Exactly. They were the families who originally lived there. They must have fled after the death of their husbands, maybe to protect their children since they were destined to be the same as their fathers. Then returned with a slight change of name hoping no one would suspect or remember them, all except for the Putnams.”

  “That’s quite clever really. Twenty years is a long time; they would have aged quite a lot.”

  “So you were right. They are the guys you’re looking for. That’s why you must have felt drawn to Lucian and his house,” she told me

  “Lucian I understand, and when him and Jake were together the pull was even stronger, but why the house?”

  “I can answer that, too. I remembered what you were saying about the house so I looked into it. Originally the Putnams and the Cutlers lived in the same house. Then the Putnams moved to the house we went to the other day. But it was John Putnam’s family that first bought Lucian’s house for both the families. That was where he first settled when he was young. So you have a family connection to it.”

  “I can’t believe you found all that out.”

  “Well, it wasn’t plain sailing but after a while everything just fell into place. You’ve got powers, but I’ve got some too. They’re just a little bit more normal.”

  “I think maybe now’s the time to tell them I know who they are,” I smirked

  “And tell them who you are, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I sleep first?”

  “Yeah, I’m going back to bed for a bit anyway. I want to be wide awake for this.”

  “Good.”

  Chapter 5

  Confrontation

  The next thing I knew it was 2 p.m. I got Lily up and we grabbed something to eat, then headed straight into town. We looked everywhere for either Lucian or Jake but they were nowhere to be found. I also couldn’t remember how to get to his house, which was really frustrating. We searched until after five then finally gave up and went back to the motel.

  “I don’t know about you, Keira, but I’m starting to crave loud music and beer,” Lily said, doing a dance in her seat in the car.

  “We can ask Sarah if she knows anywhere good in the new town.”

  “Can we go tonight? We might even see them.”

  “Why not?”

  When we got back Sarah told us to get a taxi to the main street. That’s where the best bars and clubs were. So we got something to eat, got changed and headed out. We both looked nice but casual; I had flared black jeans on with a nice open-backed top, my long leather coat and a pair of high-heeled knee-high boots. My hair was down and I even got adventurous and put a bit of mascara on. Lily had a nice denim skirt on, also with knee-high, high-heeled boots, a strappy red top and a denim jacket to match her skirt. Her hair was half up and half down and she had all her make-up on. She always made an effort when she was going out.

  We walked past a few bars, then, when we went to walk past one called Rusty’s, I felt a strong pull in my gut.

  “We need to go in here,” I told Lily.

  “Why?”

  “I can feel something.”

  When we walked in it was quite busy and there was a queue at the bar.

  “Can you do something about that?” Lily asked.

  “Of course.”

  A second later the barman was with us and I ordered our drinks.

  “Keira, I think I know what the pull was.”

  She pointed to the corner and Lucian, Jake and the two other guys we saw at the house were sitting there.

  “Right!” I said with a cocky attitude.

  I passed Lily her drink and she followed behind me while I walked over to them. They all stared at me.

  “Mind these,” I shot, throwing our bags and coats on to the table.

  “We were just leaving actually. Sorry, Keira,” Jake said politely as he stood up.

  “Sit!” I barked, my eyes bronzing over for a moment.

  He tried to fight it but he had to sit down. The others went to stand but I raised my hand and they were forced to sit.

  “Now…stay!” I smirked.

  I grabbed Lily’s hand and led her to the dance floor. We started dancing and a few guys started dancing with us. Lucian and the others still couldn’t stand up. I kept looking over and laughing at them, Lily found it highly amusing too. Halfway through the song I saw the tall one reaching for my bag, so I made his drink lift itself off the table slightly and pour out in his lap. He went berserk and glared at me. The others were trying to calm him down. I shook my head at him with a smirk, then carried on dancing. We left the
m stuck there for around fifteen minutes, by that time we had finished our drinks and were ready to move on to the next bar. We walked over to their table and grabbed our things.

  “Thanks,” I smiled.

  “Release us!” the tall one commanded.

  “And which one are you, Danny or Tyler?”

  They all looked at each other, probably wondering how I knew their names.

  “Danny,” he finally answered.

  “Well, Danny, it’s like this – I didn’t appreciate being attacked by you. I have done you no harm at all and that’s what I get. I didn’t like that at all and I believe that revenge is sweet. So if you think this is bad, and the little shove against the tree was bad, ha, I’ve not even started with you yet!”

  “Are you ready?” Lily asked, fighting hard not to laugh.

  “Yes. See you guys around,” I turned around and walked out of the bar.

  “When are you going to release them?” she asked.

  “When we get inside the next bar.”

  “Why can’t they free themselves, if they have power too?”

  “I have no idea. I didn’t use a spell so they should be able to.”

  “I thought you were going to tell them who you were.”

  “I will,” I confirmed. “Do you really think they won’t come for me now I’ve done that to them?”

  She didn’t answer me and she didn’t have too. The look on her face said it all; it was a cross between ‘oh my God why have you done that?’ and ‘I should have known you would do that.’

  We went in another bar across the road and sat at one of the tables. She noticed the bronze glow go across my eyes for a second and guessed that I had released them. To my surprise they didn’t come in the bar after us and, to be honest, I was a little annoyed. We went around a few more bars on the main street and saw nothing of them, but we did have a good night. We left the last bar just after one and decided to walk back to the motel. It was a nice night and it was only about a twenty-minute walk. We went through the park to cut out the main street again and resist the temptation of having another drink. We were having a giggle about things when I saw Danny, and then the others came into view. I was going to ignore them but Danny blocked our path.

  “Oh for God’s sake, what now?” I asked.

  “I don’t find you amusing,” he replied.

  “And?”

  “Revenge is sweet, didn’t you say?”

  “I think you know you can’t take me,” I laughed.

  “I went easy on you last time.”

  “So did I.”

  His eyes turned black and he grinned at me. When I saw the color of his eyes I wondered if these really were the right guys.

  “Keira, can’t we get out of here?” Lily asked, getting worried.

  “This won’t take long.”

  Then out of nowhere three more figures appeared all wearing hooded robes, the same as Lucian and the others had worn. Lily started pulling me backwards and away from them all. She got me about fifteen feet away from them, and then I stood my ground.

  “Keira, please think of me. I don’t want to be killed.”

  “You won’t,” I told her.

  All seven of them were standing together now and developed energy balls.

  “Fine, you want more, I’ll show you more,” I said, passing Lily my bag.

  They all threw the balls at me at the same time; I cancelled them all out by sending a shockwave out towards them. They levitated above it. I’ll show you, I thought to myself, and a twenty-foot high wall of static electricity circled me and Lily. Then I shot bolts at them all, all at the same time. I told Lily to stay inside the circle as I levitated above it. The others watched me.

  “Enough!” Lucian shouted.

  The three hooded figures disappeared and the others returned to normal. I returned to the ground and the circle of electricity disappeared. Lucian walked towards me and my eyes went white again instantly.

  “I don’t want to fight you, Keira, and these guys won’t do anything,” he told me.

  “And what you say goes, does it? Only up to now the lanky shit over there seems to have been in charge.”

  “Only because you knew my voice.”

  “Why have you been attacking me?” I asked.

  “We don’t know who you are, yet you have power like us and all of us feel drawn to you. We had to find out if you meant to attack our families. I brought you to my house to see if you would try anything.”

  “I’ve been trying to find you, but not to attack you. You called out to me,” I said, calming down completely.

  “It’s you?” Lucian gasped.

  “I swear you look disappointed.”

  “Not disappointed, just shocked.”

  “Why?”

  “We didn’t think you would hear us. We didn’t even know if you existed,” Jake added.

  “And plus the fact, and I’m not being funny, but you’re a girl,” Tyler said.

  “You called my name so you must have known I was a girl. What’s wrong with that anyway?” I asked defensively.

  “We didn’t call your name; the power did. How could we have called your name when we didn’t know if you existed?”

  “And the point about me being a girl?” I asked again, folding my arms.

  “Everyone throughout the history of the family who’s had the power has been male. That’s why we didn’t realize it was you. It has always been passed to the first-born male,” Lucian told me.

  “OK, OK. Look, a couple of weeks ago I was living a nice simple life. I just had a gift, if that’s what you can call it. Now I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I don’t know who you are or why you were calling out to me…”

  “We will explain everything.”

  “Without attacking me or Lily?”

  “Yes.”

  “Err, excuse me,” Lily interrupted. “Can I just ask who put the spell on me last night?”

  “That was me, I’m afraid,” Danny confessed.

  “Oh right…Keira?” she turned to me with wide eyes and folded arms.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, looking at him and smirking. “But a promise is a promise. Lily, what would you like?”

  He looked at the others; none of them knew what was going on.

  “Paaaaain!” she said slowly and nastily.

  When he saw my eyes turn he realized. I raised my hand and he rose with it.

  “How many?” I asked Lily while keeping him suspended.

  “Three please…and make them big ones!”

  So I shot three large energy balls at him. You could see the pain on his face, and then I just let him fall to the ground.

  “Thank you,” she said like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

  He stood up and an energy ball appeared in his right hand.

  “Listen, I really don’t like you as it is, so I’ll have no problem slamming you repeatedly off every tree in this park.”

  “Really?” he said cockily.

  “OK, tough guy, come on, one on one,” I snapped, moving Lily aside.

  “PUT IT AWAY!” Lucian shouted at him sternly.

  That was when I realized Lucian really was in charge. Danny made the ball disappear and turned his back on us.

  “Why don’t you come back to my house, both of you; it’s not far from here. Then maybe we can talk more.”

  “OK, just keep him away from me, for his sake,” I said, pointing to Danny.

  We walked in silence, but the guys kept looking at me, especially Danny. He was watching almost every move I made. When we got to the house we all went into the reception room we had sat in last time.

  “Where are your parents?” Lily asked him.

  “They’re here somewhere. If you’ll excuse me a minute I just need to talk to them,” he said and left the room.

  Lily and I sat down with the others. Danny was still watching me; well, actually he was more scowling at me.

  “What’s your problem now?” I asked
him bluntly.

  “Same as normal – you!”

  “Oh ouch, please, you’re breaking my heart with your harsh words,” I mocked, clutching my chest and putting a sad look on my face.

  The other three were giggling.

  “Just remember something,” he said nastily, “These guys won’t always be here to keep me away from you.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  Tyler and Jake instantly stood up between us.

  “You shouldn’t talk to a lady like that,” a female voice said. “Especially when she’s one of us.”

  I turned around to see a beautiful, tall, woman with long dark-hair entering the room.

  “Hi, Evelyn,” the guys said. Danny lowered his head.

  Lucian walked over to Lily and me.

  “Mom, this is Keira and her friend, Lily – Keira, Lily, this is my mother, Evelyn,” he said.

  “Nice to meet you,” we both smiled.

  “The pleasure is mine, my dears,” she said before walking over and taking my hands. “I am so glad we finally all get to be together.”

  I just smiled at her again.

  “Now, I will get my chance to spend some time with you, and you will get to meet my husband, Michael, soon. At the moment he’s ill in bed. But for tonight I will leave you children to get to know each other.” She kissed my cheek and said goodnight to everyone before leaving the room.

  Once again everyone sat down. We were all silent for a moment and I started to feel a little uncomfortable.

  “So is this why you brought us here?” Lily asked. “So you can stare at Keira in silence?”

  “Sorry,” Lucian said. “We have all wondered what it would be like if the fifth bloodline were here. We all said we would have so many questions to ask you. But now that you’re here it’s like – what do we say?”

  “Just ask me a question each then to start if you want,” I told them.

  “Why? It’s not like you’ll answer any of them,” Danny said.

  “Actually you’re wrong, I just won’t answer yours.” He threw me an evil look so I smiled sweetly at him. “Go on then, cause I’ve got questions for all of you,” I told them.

  “OK,” Tyler started, “I’ll go first then. Why did you wait so many years to find us?”

  “Well, I could ask you the same thing. But the answer is simple – I didn’t know there were other families. I never asked about the family history; I was very ignorant I suppose,” I told him. “I just assumed it only affected my family and that, if there was anyone else out there like us, they would have been close to us. It was only when I dreamt about you all and heard you calling that I decided I needed to learn.”