Page 60 of Taken By the Vampires
“You don’t understand. There’s a story. Handed down from Ginevra’s daughter to us,” Mom said.
I gasped. I hadn’t thought about it, but Ginevra must have had a child. We were the result of that. A child who grew up without a mother. Given what I knew of Ginevra’s heart, that might have been a good thing.
Gravel pinged the underside of the truck and I spun down the road. I was getting there, but I needed to know everything before I saw them again.
Before I had to decide.
“Tell me the story.”
“It’s the reason our family has been stuck in Conway for centuries. Because of the curse. The way in which it was cast. With that curse…Ginevra stole her daughter’s power. And that of her daughter, and so on. She did a great wrong. Cursed her own family in doing so.” Mom gasped for breath. She held out a hand as I reached for her. “Don’t stop. We need to. Get there.”
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the wheel. Anger surged through adrenaline. I stayed silent, not wanting to exhaust her even more. It was taking everything she had to tell me the story.
“I had given up hope. Too much time…had passed. Ella. So sorry I didn’t tell you.” Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “I had…lost all hope. Didn’t think. It would be you.”
I drew in a steeling breath. “So much time has passed. I would have thought the same thing too, Mom.”
“Ginevra robbed us of our powers. Robbed us of ever leaving…that evil town. It’s taking the life…out of me to feed it. It would have done the same to you.”
I had to wonder why my ancestors had never left Conway. Although the views were spectacular, that was the only good thing about it. Light flickered behind me. Red and blue mixed with the stark white headlights. Shit. Gary had alerted the sheriff. Of course, he had. I eased on the gas, nudging the truck faster than I dared.
“We’re being followed, Mom. Tell me about the Vampires.”
She showed no shock at my mention of what they were. She really did know the story. “They were innocent beings. They should never have been attacked like that. Their Father killed. They can heal, Ella. They are good. Not like fables.”
My fingers twisted on the wheel, guilt gnawing at me. I knew they were. I just knew they were and yet I’d still left them to their fate. I was as bad as Ginevra in my own way. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, apparently.
“They are also made for you. For all of the evil done in the past, Fate has intervened to set things right. You all are…being rewarded,” Mom said.
The lights behind us were gaining. They were going so fast. Faster than I dared. We were nearly at the break. I could only hope we’d get there without them discovering the track. Sweat broke out beneath my armpits, sticky and slick. The same sweat coated my palms and I rubbed them one by one on my thighs.
“I don’t know about Fate, Mom. I don’t think I believe in that.”
“Listen to your heart. Really listen. It doesn’t lie, honey. This is a shock. That is all. You didn’t know anything about them. If I had…told you. You would have…accepted them already. Curse would have…ended.”
Mom was failing. She slumped against the seat, her body jerked about by the jolting of the truck. “It’s not your fault, Mom. Just… hang on. Hang on until we get there.”
Red and blue lit up the truck’s cabin, but a familiar sweep of trees flashed past. There it was, coming up. I slammed on the brakes, the engine whining and groaning as I struggled to shift down the gears. “This is going to get rough.”
I swung the wheel and my shoulder hit the door as I steered the truck over the ditch, through the trees and into the hidden track that I hoped would lead me to salvation.
Chapter Forty Two
Mom was thrown about, her limbs flying like a rag doll. Rocks thumped the undercarriage and branches screeched against the side of the truck.
I couldn’t care less.
I’d been gone too long. Left too late.
Damn it, I should have saved them before I left!
My burdened heart thumped inside my chest and something oily settled inside my stomach. If only I had known. I’d been kept in the dark all my life. Might things have been different if I’d known, or would my ability to always look for the bad before the good outweigh anything I might have done differently?
My body tingled with a different tension. I’d only been gone a few hours, but I wanted to see them again. Desperately. Fear made my muscles tremble.
Fear I was too late – for everyone.
Please, God. Please let me see their faces again.
