CH 1-10

Summary

“Cassandra, a dream is a dream. We create our own futures.” My mother scolded me. If only she were right, but I knew she was wrong. When I closed my eyes I was in hell. No future. I’d been born to die. I’d always hated cemeteries, they gave me the creeps— especially since dad died. I wished mom had never dragged me here, even if I was just as curious as she was about our mysterious past. I wandered through the unkempt cemetery feeling discouraged that no one was tending the place and keeping it up— so the dead would be remembered. “Don’t go too far, Cassandra!” Mom hollered over her shoulder at me as she continued to scribble into her little notebook. “I won’t,” I mumbled as I continued to explore. Just ahead of me there was a really hot guy crying over a tombstone. His dark hair and green eyes gave me the chills. Poor guy. I instinctively walked up to him and gave him a hug, which was super out of character for me, but I understood pain and loss. As my arms touched him a burning sensation came over my body. “Cass, it’s time to go!” “I’m so sorry.” I went to tell the guy, but I was standing all alone, my arms throbbing where I had touched his skin. “I hate cemeteries!” I hissed as I made my way back to my mom. “I need to get out of here.”

1 Hook

Sweat seeped out of my pores, dripping and running off me and onto my sheets— melding them to my body— creating a cocoon of sweltering chaos. It was always the same, or it had been since I went to visit my great grandmother’s grave last month. From the day that I stepped into Saint Mary’s decaying and overgrown cemetery, I hadn’t been able to sleep.

My mother, Mariah, had only recently discovered that her grandmother, my great grandma, had been buried in the cemetery at Saint Mary’s. She had only discovered it recently because since doing one of those fancy DNA kits she had become obsessed with researching the background of the women on her side of the family. Why the sudden obsession with our heritage now? Well, that was a question she had yet to answer. It wasn’t like she had cared before… When sleep came to me, dreams plagued me— no, I shouldn’t call them dreams— dreams made them seem trivial, happy, ‘lah-dee-dah’, carefree… These were nightmares, and not even that. This thing in my head was a recurring nightmare, the one and the same over and over and over— it plagued me.

Panting I sat up, groping in the darkness for the lamp on my nightstand— I grasped the knob and light flooded the space around me. The floor fan at the end of my bed rotated letting a blast of icy air hit me. I looked around even though I knew nothing in my room had shifted while I had been sleeping— trapped in my nightmare. Cinnamon, my cat, was rolling around on the floor with a ball of yarn I’d rolled into a ball for my newest knitting project. My bookshelves, my desk, my pile of dirty clothes wadded up in a pile behind my bedroom door— everything looked exactly as it should. When I closed my eyes it all disappeared and I was there again, and there was anything but normal, anything but okay.

“Cassandra?”

I shivered, my fan sending another icy blast at my sweat soaked skin. It hit me as a wall, sending my chocolate brown hair flying— at least the parts of my hair that weren’t glued to my neck with sweat. The heat of my nightmare dissipated. I realized there was no way I should have been that hot, my room was a literal icebox.

“Cassandra, honey? Are you ok?”

I blinked, and turned in the direction of the voice, my mother was looking into my room through my open doorway— I was her exact copy in every way. People often thought my mother and I were twins, and not just because of our hair color. We were the same height, had the same eye color, the same voice, we even looked the same age… At first I didn’t even think anything of it, until I saw a picture of my grandmother when she was young. Talk about freaky genes.

“Mom.” I paused, yet again another night I was unsure of what to say, what to tell her— this time. “I’m fine.”

Mom stared at me. She frowned and pushed her locks behind her ears with a look etched upon her face telling me she knew I was lying. “Ok. But I want you to know that I am worried about you. I want you to know that I am here for you should you ever want to talk. You know that right?” Each of her words was forced, woolen sounding.

I nodded.

Mom had been there for me the first night the nightmare had come. I had woken screaming, my temperature off the charts. Mom had burst into my room, pulling me into a hug. She’d wiped my tears away, held a cold cloth to my forehead as my temperature slowly returned to normal. I hadn’t even cared that she treated me like a child despite my sixteen years. I wished that she would comfort me as she had that first night. I hadn’t told her what I’d seen as I wept in terror in her arms that night, and I haven’t told her still, even though the nightmare persisted.

The screaming and crying had now faded. I was unfazed when I woke night after night— my concentration instead focused on trying to distinguish if the nightmare stayed the same or if it was changing. It took all my emotional energy to notice each detail of the nightmare. Every time I woke up drained and sweat soaked. Usually the surroundings in my nightmare stayed the same, but some things were always altered— tonight I woke up horrified at something else. I had been the one who had changed in the nightmare.

“Mom?” My voice felt scratchy. I took a deep breath and felt the itching go all the way down my esophagus and into my lungs and back up as I released it. I must have been screaming this time though- if my throat was this scratchy, no wonder my mom was checking on me again, my cheeks flushed, how embarrassing.

“Yes babe?” She hadn’t moved from her perch at my door, like she was afraid, like she was afraid of me.

I noticed yet again that she was pulling away or pushing away from me. It stung. I wanted her comfort, not her distrust. I wanted her arms around me, I wanted her to be there, as my mom. Why was she not running to me? Why was she pushing me so far…far away? “Do you think that it’s possible to see the future in your dreams?”

Mom bit her lip, in the dim light I could see her posture change— she looked frightened but I hadn’t given her any reason to be— I hadn’t asked anything that would warrant that response. I hadn’t even told her any aspect of my nightmare. Did she already know what I saw? Had I said anything that first night in my feverish delirium? I swallowed the lump in my throat. Gosh. I really hope I didn’t. That would be sure to end me up in a counselor’s chair or worse— the looney bin. Neither sounded all that appealing.

“Mom?”

“Hun,” Mom paused, her fingers curling into fists around her loose tee shirt nightie. She trembled, then began to pick loose paint off my door frame, looking for all the world as if she couldn’t be bothered by the fact that yet again, I had woken with this nightmare. Her hair fell forward again and hid her face. “You have to be brave— and remember that a dream is a dream. We-”

“We make our own futures.” I interrupted. “I know, I know.” I rolled my eyes. It was a common saying in the Pirot home. So much for a helpful answer. I stifled my urge to lash out at my mother. Instead I took a deep chilling breath as my fan rotated past my face again.

“Yes.” My mother’s fingers again played anxiously with the bottom of the hem on her nightie. “Well, I better get back to Ray.” And that was it, it was as if I had been dismissed, pacified, checked on and now— now I was ‘fine’ I wasn’t important anymore.

I sighed, letting go of all the frustration pent up in my chest. Ray was my stepfather. I liked him well enough, and I wanted to like him more for my mother’s sake— but I couldn’t make myself, and I had tried. My biological father, Eli, had passed away from lung cancer ten years ago when I had only been six years old. My mom had been my rock, she had raised me to be strong and independent like her… That was until last year when she had met Ray. Their relationship had been a ‘rocketship romance’. They had met at a legal conference in Washington and had hit it off— both of them working in law, both interested in seeing that the unjust paid for their ‘crimes.’ Ray was a lawyer that had been working in Vancouver at a different law firm than my mother who was a legal secretary, and a damn good one. He’d somehow managed to secure my mother a position at his firm and she had taken it. After that it was history. She started ‘working’ late hours, which had turned into drinks after work with Ray, and even later nights spent at his place— leaving me on my own at our house at fifteen years old— for sometimes a whole week at a time. Eventually he had moved into our place, my mother realizing how missing she’d been from my life and how illegal that was… He’d proposed six months after meeting her, and they’d gotten married two months after that.

Mother claimed she had been ‘swept off her feet.’ I called BULL. CRAP. I didn’t believe it for one minute. There was no way my mother, my confident rock of an independent mother had been replaced by this sniveling, weak, shy, subservient woman who was at a man’s beck and call. This wasn’t love. This was— I didn’t care how nice Ray seemed. No one could be that nice if the person they claimed to care about acted like this, turned into a shadow of themselves. I wanted to throw up. My mother was still hovering in my doorway like a trapped bird. I nodded and she fled from me, slamming my door shut as she left. A ghost.

Ray hadn’t seemed like a bad guy. But how could he be good? I felt the irritation I’d just pushed down deep inside of me rise up again. When Ray had married my mom he had kept our last name— mom was clear that had been a deciding factor when she had said yes to his proposal. The other thing he had done was to put in legal forms to adopt me. I was surprised. I hadn’t been expecting him to care about me— the teenage daughter of his new wife. Yes. He had been anything but above suspicion of being a bad guy. He had been kind, gracious, and generous. It was my changed mother I hated, and I blamed him for it. I mean why else would she be acting this way towards me? Had he turned her against me, knowing that I would leave for university in a few years? Perhaps he was hoping I would never come back if my mother and I weren’t on good terms?

I twisted in my cocoon of tangled sheets, yanking them off my body. I slid out of bed— numb now to the chill in my room. There was no point now in trying to go back to sleep. I glanced at the clock on my wall above my desk. Three in the morning on the dot. I turned on my desk lamp, letting more dim light flood my room. I needed to talk to someone. I needed to hear a friendly voice. A voice who would remind me I was sane. I pulled my wooden desk chair out and collapsed into it, pulling a knitted afghan onto my lap that had been hanging on the back of my chair, okay so maybe I was a little cold. I reached for the top desk drawer and pulled it open, throwing the contents onto my desk I pressed down on the panel at the bottom of the drawer releasing a hidden space. A space I had only found in the last year, which hadn’t been useful until recently.

I stared at my hidden journal. This desk was the only thing my mother had kept when my father passed away, it had been his. The cherry wood shone in the dim light. I loved this desk. I pulled out the journal and flipped it open to a new page, scribbling the date at the top with a red pen. I kept records of the nightmare in this journal. It was the only thing in this particular journal. I had found it in my bookshelf, but it wasn’t mine. The cover was scarlet leather, it had blank pages but looked ancient, and yet new. Mom probably had bought it from Indigo or Chapters or some cute little hole in the wall boutique spending way too much on it and put it in my room forgetting to tell me. She had started showering me with gifts at about the same time Ray had waltzed into her life, and the gifts had been getting more and more pricey lately. I guess it made her feel less guilty for how little time or attention she now gave me. I stared at the blank page— I should probably write down what happened this time, to my change… I bit my lip hard. Not yet.

Picking up the corded desk phone I begged my mother to keep even if it was old and out of date, I dialed on auto pilot. There was only one person who I could talk to right now, only one person who might understand my need for a friendly voice. Melanie. The phone was ringing. I crossed my fingers, hoping Melanie was still awake and that she had her phone on her.

“Hello?” Melanie’s reassuring friendly voice came bounding across the line.

THANK GOD.

“Melanie! It’s Cass.” I picked up my pens and started doodling on the empty dated page. I let go of the breath I’d been holding and felt some of the stress leave me.

“Cass! What’s up?” She paused. “You do know what time it is right now… Right?”

I looked down at my journal— I’d begun to draw a face. I scowled. I should put the pen down. “Yeah, sorry.”

There was a beat where neither of us spoke. I dropped the pen I was holding and picked up a new one. Probably not a good idea.

“The nightmare?”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see that over the phone, my hand now moving over the paper of its own accord.

“I’m so sorry Cass. Have you told your mom about it yet?”

“No. Mel— I can’t.” How could I tell my mom that when I closed my eyes I would wake up in Hell? Like not even a metaphorical Hell, but actual literal Hell with the capital ‘H.’ There was fire and brimstone and screaming and then I was there, standing on a black marble precipice, in a tower of black stone looking out on the chaos as if I was its queen, as if I was Persephone… looking out over a lake of fire waiting for my dark evil king, Hades.

“Well you should.”

This was a lot coming from Mel. I hadn’t even told her about the nightmare. I mean I might have mentioned a thing or two but not everything. I couldn’t. How does one tell your best friend that you feel like you’ve suddenly become the Lady of the damned and that tonight… I had seen his face, the king of the underground, and instead of being filled with terror, I had been pleased to see the one torturing souls of millions, more than pleased I was-

“You should have seen mom’s face though!” I gripped the phone with my hand tighter, pushing away my circling thoughts from tonight’s latest episode of ‘Cass doesn’t get to sleep.’ “It’s like she already knows what I saw, and I swear I haven’t said anything.”

In the background I heard a bell ring. A silver bell?… Ridiculous! I had no way to tell what type of bell was ringing.

Mel sighed. “Well that sucks.” The bell was still ringing. “I hate to do this— to cut conversation short, but I have to. I have to go, call of duty. Please insert my massive eye roll here.”

I giggled. Oh Mels.

“BUT I’m home this weekend! We can talk then, ok? Also before I go, I sent your mom that application I was telling you about. The one for Acroft High! Fill it out and when I come home we can drop it by the school together!”

The bell in the background was ringing like crazy.

“Right.” I whispered.

“Okay really really gotta run unless I want to be in trouble or worse— fired! Much luv!”

The dial tone told me she was gone, but I clutched the phone for a tad longer, wishing so much that Melanie was home right now, not out in the middle of nowhere at that big fancy house she worked at. What a life! Serving the rich and powerful, while being treated like crap. Mel was so much better than that! She should have gone to university this year… I felt guilty— I think the only reason she was sticking around was because of me and the situation with my mom… I rolled my eyes as I slowly put the phone down, my eyes dropping to the journal page I had been— doodling on. I gasped as I saw what I had drawn— A face. His face—Red eyes. His red eyes— And wings. A set of terrifyingly huge black feathered wings. I slammed the journal shut, throwing it back into its hidden hole, cramming everything back into the drawer as fast as I could.

My eyes stung. Tears begging to be released. “Oh Mels!” I muttered to the empty room. “What am I going to do now?”

I pushed myself off the chair and stared at myself in the mirror on my dresser. I looked like my mother exactly how she’d looked before she’d fled my room earlier. Cursing, I threw my pencil case at the mirror, and the girl there copied my movements. Taking a moment to calm down I found myself thinking about the application Mel had been talking about. I’d seen it on an island in the kitchen. I padded out of my room down the dark hallway into our way too modern kitchen. Light from the early dawn filtered into the room from the windowed wall. The application sat exactly where I had seen it earlier and yet the brown envelope stared at me like a viper.

“Acroft High huh?” I sniffed. “Well bad boy, let’s get acquainted over a cup of coffee. No point sleeping now.” I snatched the envelope, a buzz of electric charge zinging through me. “What the?” I dropped the package for a moment. Weird. I picked it up again, but nothing happened. Well, I suppose I should find a pen and get this thing filled out. “Hello, bright future.”

2 Acceptance to Acroft

Dear diary,

I went with mom to St. Mary’s today. Mom found out that our great grandmother (or something like that) was buried in the cemetery there. Mom never met her grandmother— my great grandmother, apparently, she died when she was really young, not even my grandmother knew her very well. I’m not a fan of cemeteries. Cemeteries give me the creeps, but I am more than a little bit curious about my family and our past. Everything involving my family’s history seems somehow shrouded in secrets, though why seems out of my grasp. My mother and I and my grandmother are the most normal down to earth people I know- so why the secrets? Who knows. I barely even know about my grandma besides a few visits to her hospital room when I was a kid— and my mom never talks about her childhood or growing up… I keep hoping that once I’m ‘old enough’ she’ll finally trust me, finally tell me what is so bad that she and everyone else in my family had to keep secrets.

The last time I went to a cemetery was to see dad’s grave and put new flowers on his tombstone. I try to go as often as I can. I like to sit there and talk to him- tell him about mom and her sometimes wild ideas or attempts to cook. When I was younger mom took me on dad’s birthday and on the anniversary of his death- she doesn’t like to talk about him either- so I spent a lot of time with my nose in a book as a kid- until I met Melanie. Mel, she didn’t care that we didn’t own a TV or that we were constantly moving around, and sometimes when my mom went back to school to study law, I’d spend weeks at Mels’ strange house filled with all kinds of people, family and friends, who all loved to talk about their lives. Sometimes, it made me crave those silent moments in my house when Mom was busy and I could read to my heart’s content.

Saint Mary’s Cemetery is a lot different than where dad is buried, it looks like no one ever visits and I swear I saw a tombstone that said 1675 or something like that on it. All the tombstones are breaking, or covered in ivy and ferns— super typical of a creepy place like you might see on some TV show, I mean it’s not at all a nice place like where dad is buried. Even Saint Mary’s Cathedral, in the distance, looks like it’s abandoned and broken. I bet it’s infested with bats and spiders, and while I don’t believe in ghosts, I bet they’d haunt a place like this. GROSS.

I shouldn’t say no one was there— I did see a man at another grave near ours, mom didn’t seem to notice him, but I couldn’t help but see him. The guy was crying and looked so distraught. Mom was examining a gravestone and comparing it with her notes and I was done with feeling creeped out by the silent heaviness of the air so, while she was making notes in her little black notebook I went over to talk to this guy, but when I got there I found I didn’t know what to say so instead, I hugged him. Might have been the air but there was almost an electric shock that went through my body as I hugged him. Weird. I can’t even remember what he looked like now, it almost felt like a dream. I think he was wearing a hoodie? Maybe his hair was blonde? I think he had blue eyes? Normally I’m much more attentive to details, but this time- I don’t know, I just can’t seem to remember. Anyways, when mom called my name, I patted the guy on the back and jogged back toward her and we headed home. On the way back I really wanted to dig in my mom’s purse to see what she had written in her black notebook— she was awfully quiet and refused to answer my questions about great grandma so I eventually gave up and we drove the rest of the way home in silence.

Ray was at work when we got back so I didn’t have to try to be nice to him. Even though I feel like I am always nice to him. Mom didn’t even try to cook, but let me uber-eats a pizza to our place with her visa. She ate a few slices and disappeared into her study with her little black notebook, and told me to enjoy my evening and thanked me for coming with her. I still don’t even know why she wanted me there, she barely spoke to me either on the way there, or the way back.

I found this journal in my bookshelf when I got home— it’s beautiful! Mom must have picked it up for me, it’s burgundy leather bound. She must have finally gotten tired of me scrawling diary entries on napkins and forgetting them around the house, or maybe she just wanted me to write my own secrets down in a little book like she did. As if I would ever have secrets to write down! Ha! Anyways I don’t really care about the reason for her generosity, I’m just grateful. What a weird day. Well I’m about to go to sleep, it’s been a long day and I’m exhausted. Wish me good dreams!

Much Love,

Cassandra Pirot

---

I was shaken awake. My head felt groggy, my cheeks numb— I must have been drooling, my face was damp, and my back felt awful. Where was I?

“Cassandra!”

I sat up completely disoriented. It took me a second to realize I was in the kitchen sitting exactly where I had been the night before trying to fill out that damn application. No wonder I felt like crap— I had slept in a kitchen chair all night long, my face plastered to the counter. I blinked. It was incredibly bright out now, light pouring into the kitchen via the windowed wall that out looked on Burrard Inlet. How long had I been asleep? As my eyes focused, I realized that it was Ray who had woken me. He looked concerned, his dark hair tousled, and his green eyes studying me from behind thick wire frame glasses. He wasn’t in his normal business attire yet which meant it couldn’t be past nine o’clock. He looked fresh as if he had just been from a run; gray tee, black sweats, forest green hoodie.

“Are you quite alright?” He picked up a mug from the counter and took a sip of its steaming contents, which smelled amazing.

I breathed in the coffee scented aroma as my stomach grumbled. When was the last time I ate? Yesterday at lunch?

“Cassandra?”

“Sorry Ray. I must have nodded off. Lost track of time.” I rubbed my eyes. I must look like a crazy person— my hair sweat caked and my tee nightie. I should go change and maybe shower. I probably smelled ripe…

“That’s quite alright Cass— but I really hope you know the importance of self care.”

Yup, he knew I looked like crap. Great. I sighed.

“In any case, I took the liberty of repackaging that darn application. I’m really impressed that you are so studious and interested in attending such a prestigious school— hopefully this will be followed by an even higher interest in education when you apply for university— what do you think about UBC or perhaps you’d be more interested in studying abroad? I could recommend several excellent universities in England— I have family ties there, and I’m sure they would love to take you in. I myself studied law in Australia…”

I shrugged. I hadn’t thought about university yet. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. All I knew was I wanted to leave— travel? Maybe. I wanted a life full of adventure and excitement as far away from Ray as possible.

“Well, we’ll get there, I suppose. You are one smart cookie, just like Mariah.”

I cringed as he mentioned my mother, hoping it wasn’t too visible.

“However young lady, sleep is also just as important. Don’t you agree?” He paused, but I didn’t feel inclined to answer— so he continued. “I also took the liberty to refresh your coffee cup.”

Ahhhh damn it. He knew me so well… or was it he knew my mother this well and just guessed my tastes would be the same as hers? Right now I chose not to care, basking instead in the glorious scent of roasted coffee beans and cocoa.

“Thanks.” I mustered the strength to say, before grabbing my mug and taking a swig. It was hard to not like him in moments like this.

“Yes. Well, let’s just not tell your mother about the coffee. You know how much she despises you drinking it— though for what reason is beyond me.” He shrugged. “Why I was drinking coffee at the age of twelve and that certainly didn’t stop me from growing to my potential.” He grinned.

I automatically wondered where my mother was, she might walk in and see me with coffee and then go on some rant about how statistically speaking it was bad for teenagers with underdeveloped brains to be drinking coffee, alcohol etcetera… I darted a quick look down the hall, that was the last thing I needed right now.

“Your mother left for the day. He continued as if he could read my thoughts. “I thought I would take you down to Acroft myself before I head to the office, see if we can’t expedite your acceptance. One of the partners at my firm mentioned he has sway with the school.” He looked away from me, put his coffee down and walked over to the stove.

My stomach dropped. I had been planning on taking it in on Monday with Mel on her day off from working in that stinking creepy country house. I needed to go with Mel. Mel had been a student there until she graduated last June. She knew the campus, knew the staff— I didn’t want to go with Ray, not even if he had connections within connections.

“Hungry?” Ray asked. He put a full plate of hot breakfast food in front of me. Steaming hash browns, French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon… maple syrup.

“Wait. Are you bribing me with coffee and breakfast?” I blurted out.

Ray laughed, a deep cello-like sound. Well I hadn’t been expecting that. I thought he might be angry with me for accusing him of bribery.

“Look Cass. I talked to your mom this morning before she left for work and we both agreed that you haven’t been having a very easy go of it recently. What with all the nightmares and your friend Melanie away so much— this is me trying to help you— the coffee, the breakfast, me taking you down to Acroft. I hear they have a program similar to I.B or A.P… Whatever the kids are calling it these days. They don’t offer it to just anyone but I wanted to see if we could get you in. I mean you’re so studious— I thought-we thought you would be happy.”

“Oh.”

“Besides, I thought you might want to go back to school early— the program I’m talking about starts mid August, which is only two weeks away, instead of you having to wait till September— another full month before you get to kick that studious brain of yours into gear; and there’s no telling how much information you might be losing if it’s not active…”

I almost laughed as I shoveled food into my mouth between sips of coffee, my munching the only noise in the room. Ray did have a point, it hadn’t been an easy summer… scratch that— it hadn’t even been an easy year. I had been studying and staying long hours at Vancouver’s Public Library, reading ahead in History, English Literature… Science. I wanted to be ahead, my teachers had known that and had given me an outline for most of the subjects we were going to be learning so I could do just that— be prepared to be successful. I was rarely home, and when I was, I was plagued by the nightmare or how much my mother had changed since meeting Ray.

“Soooooo—” Ray began, watching me eat my food with enthusiasm.

“So, thanks Ray.”

“And I’ll take you down to Acroft?” He adjusted his wireframes, his eyebrows raised.

I finished putting the last of the French toast into my mouth, and jumped out of the chair I’d been camped out on for the last few hours. I swallowed the not fully chewed food and walked over to Ray, giving him a big hug. It was out of character for me, so he looked and felt shocked as I wrapped my arms around him.

“Yes.” I released him quickly, and smiled. I know he meant well, and in a way I should be glad. I would be completely out of the house if I got into the program and when I was home for the weekends I would get to hang with Melanie, so I wouldn’t ever have to be home. Basically Ray was offering me freedom on a silver platter and that sort of outweighed my frustration of not waiting to go to Acroft with Melanie. I’d text her and she would be fine, we’d still hang out on Monday, everything would be ok. “I just have to shower and then we can leave?”

“Sounds great hun.” Ray smiled and reached out to tousle my hair. “I’ll meet you in fifteen minutes down by the car.”

Yet again as I left the kitchen I wondered, who did he see when he looked at me? My mother or me? I shivered, not really wanting to know the real answer to that question. I dashed into my room to grab something to wear. I pulled open my wardrobe closet and stared at its contents. I needed to be quick, fifteen minutes was barely enough time to shower, do my hair and makeup… Let alone pick something decent to wear.

“What does one wear to try to be accepted into a new school?” My fan swept by as it rotated— I hadn’t turned it off yet. I walked over and switched it off and then I walked back to my wardrobe. When I looked up I saw it. A dress, a dress that I never would have bought myself. It was just as scarlet as the journal I’d found on my shelf— crazy coincidence or was my mother on some buying binge and forgetting to tell me. The fan must have blown some of my other clothes out of the way so I could see it. I shivered, I sure hoped that was the case. I pulled the hanger down and stared at the dress… at its intricacies. It was too fancy really for such an occasion but I only had ten minutes till I had to be in the car.

“Crap. Well I guess this will have to do.” I muttered. I took the dress with me and my makeup bag— as if I had time.

I locked the bathroom door and stripped off my tee nightie and boy short undies. I took a minute to look at myself. I was nothing fantastic, and knowing what my mother looked like I didn’t have too much more growth in me. I was already the same height as my mother a full five feet and four inches and I had been since grade eight. I sighed as I turned on the shower and stepped in. It was relieving really to have a cold shower after the night I’d had. I started thinking about it— the nightmare. I still hadn’t written it down, I’d have to remember to do that before tonight.

I closed my eyes and turned my head towards the stream of water spewing at me out of the shower head— so cool, so fresh— so HOT! Why was it hot?? I hadn’t turned on the heat… So hot. I opened my eyes and lava was everywhere. I screamed. The shower was disappearing, I was in a lake of lava but my skin wasn’t melting. I screamed in agony, every bone on fire, everything in me telling me that this shouldn’t be possible. I reached for the faucet as it started to disappear, yanking it hard trying to turn it off.

As the water stopped the crazy lake of lava disappeared and I was once again in my bathroom under a freezing cold stream of water. I jumped out of the shower as if it was going to bite me— suddenly aware that Ray was pounding on the door.

“Cassandra? Cassandra!!!!”

I wrapped a towel around me as I shook, then I walked over to the door unlocking it, opening it an inch— just far enough to see Ray’s concerned face. He was dressed in a suit now, his hair slightly less messy, but his green eyes were wide with fright.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded. I wanted to tell him not to worry but my throat was raw from screaming.

“I heard you screaming…” His eyes searched my face.

“Sorry. I slipped in the shower, I thought I was going to fall, maybe hit my head…”

“Oh.” He breathed. “That’s good, I mean not good but-” He ran his hands through his hair. “I thought something even worse had happened to you.” He cleared his throat. “You were screaming bloody murder.”

“Sorry.” I whispered.

“Well. Get dressed and let’s go. It has been fifteen minutes now.” He tapped his watch. “I’ll head down to the car.” He nodded and left.

I shut the door and didn’t move. I stood frozen in place. What had just happened? I had never had anything like this happen to me before. I mean the reoccurring nightmare was one thing— this craziness— this had never happened before. My flip phone vibrated, text from Ray probably. I forced myself to move, made my legs move, made my arms reach for the dress. I pulled it off the hanger and over my head. I didn’t know what material this was— spandex? It was certainly stretchy.

I blushed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I’d never worn something like this before. What was my mother thinking, buying this for me? It had thin straps on the shoulders— swooped down drastically barely covering my bust leaving my entire neck to navel exposed. That wasn’t even the whole of it-it crisscrossed in the back, dipping so low down my back I was afraid that if I moved the wrong way someone would see my tush. I really should change— this dress wasn’t even really a dress— it was more straps on straps on more straps.

My phone was vibrating again. Ray must be getting impatient. My hand scooped up my phone as I realized Ray was calling me not texting me. I answered the phone.

“Okay young lady, it’s been almost twenty five minutes. Let’s get a move on.”

I stifled my urge to reply ‘yes sir.’ “Ray I’m so sorry— I haven’t had time to do my hair…”

“Cassandra! I have an appointment I can’t reschedule, that trumps time to do your hair unfortunately. Throw it up in a bun or ponytail. I don’t care. Get your butt down to the car now.”

I flipped the phone shut. Great no time to change. No time to fix my hair. No time to process the crap that was happening… I pulled my hair into a high bun, and dabbed on some red lipstick. I guess this would have to do. I left the bathroom in a mess. If Ray wanted me to get my butt down to the car then I would get my butt to the car— he would have to excuse the mess.

My black purse is always near the door these days, so were several pairs of my shoes. I threw my phone into the purse, shoved some black pumps on and left the house. I loved the area we lived in. Gastown was in the middle of everything—and it was also easy to get to and from, that was if you didn’t mind constant construction and an endless stream of visitors. Ray had pulled the car around. The black town car was, for all of its luxuries, very business-like. I made my way down the steps. It was chilly here, buildings on either side of the street blocking direct sunlight, casting too many shadows. I shivered. I should have grabbed a sweater. Ray laid one on the horn. He must not have seen what I was wearing yet.

I opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. Ray’s eyes bugged out when he saw me. He looked like an owl, his green eyes that big behind his wireframe glasses.

“Cassandra.”

“Ray.” I tried to speak calmly.

“What the devil-” Ray began.

Someone let their horn rip. Ray’s mouth tightened to a line as he pulled the car away from the curb. We didn’t speak as he drove. I chose to not look at him at all as I stared out the window watching Vancouver slip by. I wished I had changed. I was probably going to get an earful when I got home, but I would tell mom if she didn’t want me to wear things like this then she shouldn’t have bought it for me. I stared at the wall we’d been driving alongside. It was old, covered in ivy and roses. Big trees peeked out from behind the top of the tall wall.

“This is it.” Ray murmured. He turned the car into a driveway— it was blocked by a pair of huge iron gates. Ray rolled down his window and reached over to a very hidden keypad. “Ray Pirot and Cassandra Pirot for an eleven o’clock interview with the dean.”

The black gates rolled backwards and we drove inwards. It all felt so official, and if I was honest, a tad spooky and dark, as if I was entering Mordor… I suddenly missed Mel, so much. She had gone here to Acroft High School. It couldn’t be half bad if Mel had come here. Right? After all, she’d never told me any horror stories, only good things- when she had bothered to tell me anything about it. I still didn’t understand why her parents had yanked her out of public school at the end of grade seven and put her into this swanky private school- I thought she had been insane to leave me all on my lonesome. She’d wanted me to come there then, but mom couldn’t afford the tuition with her going back to school and her being a single parent. I vaguely remembered an argument my mother and her parents had about them possibly helping me go there, but my mother was too vain to accept charity to pay for her daughter’s education. In her words, she was going to raise me and raise me right- teaching me to only do things I could pay for, and she was going to be my example. Well, now- thanks to her fancy job, and Ray’s money, we could finally afford to send me here, for my grade twelve year, go figure. I guess it’s all about where you finish school and not where you started… Hopefully this would help me get into a good university.

“Now Cassandra.” Ray’s tart voice broke through my thoughts. “Despite what you are wearing I expect the highest of character and behavior from you. Do you understand?” I suddenly wondered if this dress had been bought for my mother, and had ended up in my wardrobe by mistake. I shivered and felt ill- I had never seen my mother wear a dress like this, and honestly I hoped I never would.

The gates shut behind us, trapping us in. The car made its way up the wooded drive into a freshly paved parking lot. Three big buildings faced us, tall and imposing. I was suddenly contemplating making Ray get us out of here. What kind of school was walled in and gated to this extreme measure? What kind of students went here anyways? I mean, Mel was normal- but what about the rest of the people who attended here?

“Of course.” I whispered.

“The Dean, Sir Desmond Melrose, is apparently a hard man to impress.” Ray pulled the car into a reserved spot. “Let me do the speaking, only speak when spoken to. I know these types. Old fashioned hierarchists… They’re only interested in two things— power and the money power can bring.”

We both exited the car.

“So what you’re saying is that they are charging you an arm and leg for tuition and you want to make sure it is worth your while?”

Ray chuckled. “Something like that.”

“So do you know where we’re meeting this mysterious dean?”

“Well— the secretary wasn’t super clear on that matter…” Ray stood up straighter and tugged nervously on the lapel of his suit jacket, glancing around as if even he was having the same heebie-jeebie feeling I was about this school.

The door of the center building opened and a woman in a navy blue suit with curly red hair made her way towards Ray and I. She looked young— twenty or so, I noticed when she approached us. Too young to be working here… Perhaps she was an intern or summer student working for the school before she headed to university?

“Mister Pirot and Cassandra Pirot, please follow me. Dean Melrose has been expecting you.” The woman’s voice was tittered with some foreign accent I couldn’t place— Slovakian? Well, she did look European, maybe she was on a foreign work exchange visa to learn English better?

Ray and I stared at the woman. “I’m sorry— you are?” Ray floundered. “I don’t remember speaking to you on the phone there was someone else, I’m trying to remember her name…”

“Yes, unfortunately the secretary, Ainsley, called in sick today and most of the staff are on leave for a few more weeks. I am Dr. Gristman. I teach some of the advanced program courses here at Acroft.” She smiled, it wasn’t a friendly smile. It actually creeped me out. “It is really bad to keep the Dean waiting.”

Ray nodded, but I couldn’t make myself respond. This woman was a doctor who worked at the school teaching advanced program courses?? Yeah, stinking right! I smelled a rat— no one this young could have-

“Come Cassandra. Let’s not make a bad impression.” Ray rolled his shoulders and grinned at Dr. Gristman. “Pleased to make your acquaintance Dr. Gristman! You will have to excuse our tardiness— we’ve had a little bit of a rough morning.” He turned to glare at me. “However we are very excited to meet with the Dean after such a short notice.”

Dr. Gristman nodded and turned to begin to escort us into the school building. I couldn’t handle it any longer. Was Ray really going to turn a blind eye to how young ‘Dr.’ Gristman looked? Or perhaps he thought every woman looked as young as my mother…

“I’m sorry. You’re a doctor? Aren’t you a bit young to be a doctor?”

“Cassandra!” Ray hissed.

“No it’s alright.” Dr. Gristman replied. “Cassandra dear— if I may call you Cassandra?” Her green eyes blinked. “I have a very high IQ— in fact I skipped through grades like a frog jumping lily pads. I graduated from Acroft when I was thirteen and went straight to university to become a doctor. I hear you are also very intelligent. Perhaps in time you will have a similar story.”

I didn’t believe her. There was no way she was telling the truth. Ray seemed convinced.

“Come on Cass.” He murmured as he nodded with his head that we should follow Dr. Gristman into the main school building.

I would text Melanie when we left— I’d ask her about Dr. Gristman. I’d get the truth. For now I followed Ray and Dr. Gristman into the school building. Ray walked alongside Dr. Gristman, I trailed behind as her black heels clicked in the empty hallway. For all appearances the school looked normal. Not that I should have expected anything else— save for the heebie-jeebie feeling in my stomach. The hall we were in was lined with lockers and what looked like empty windowed classrooms beyond that, and there was a school office off to one side. It was the office we headed to now. The office door was opened, fluorescent lights on, computers whirring but no secretary sat behind the desk— in fact the office seemed vaguely empty.

“You will have to excuse us for the lack of staff.” Dr. Gristman muttered, leading us through a door beside the secretary’s desk. “The offices are through here.”

I loved how she gave no excuse for the lack of staff and then on top of that continued on as if there was nothing strange about it. I rolled my eyes. What kind of place was this?

We followed Dr. Gristman past a series of smaller offices, all dark, until we reached the end of the long hall. Dr. Gristman knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Dr. Gristman opened the door for us and ushered us in. “Dean Melrose will see you now.”

Ray squared his confident lawyer-like shoulders and walked into the Dean’s office, my application in his hand. I hesitated.

“If and I say if-” Dr. Gristman hissed at me. “You get accepted into Acroft High, Miss Cassandra Pirot— do not expect any kindness from me. Teachers here are to be respected and revered.”

“Cassandra?” Ray’s voice floated through the open doorway. “Are you coming?”

I straightened my shoulders trying to ignore the glare from Dr. Gristman who had yet to leave.

“Well.” She paused. “Get in there.” She grabbed my arm as if she intended to shove me into the office, but dropped it just as quickly, her eyes narrowing to slits. She stepped away from me. “How long have you been marked?”

I frowned. Marked? I looked down at my obviously unmarked skin. What was this woman’s problem? “Marked?”

“You are a scarlet woman.” She said it in a way that made me feel it couldn’t be a good thing.

Ray’s head popped out of the office. “Cassandra Elizabeth Pirot— shift. Get yourself in here now.”

“I will— I just need to ask Dr. Gristman something first.”

“Cassandra, Dr. Gristman isn’t here.”

I was about to argue with him when I realized that he was right— she had disappeared. I sighed and followed Ray into the office.

“Here we are.” Ray took me by the shoulders and pulled me to his side. “Dean Melrose, Desmond, may I have the pleasure of introducing my daughter, Cassandra Pirot.”

I tried not to stare but it was difficult. Dean Melrose was even younger looking than Dr. Gristman— he had to be in his early twenties at the latest. He was tall, muscular and well built, with yellow, yes, yellow eyes and thick platinum hair. He seemed to be trying to grow a beard without much luck. This was not what I had expected— I had expected an old man with gray hair and a pot belly sticking out beneath an expensive suit jacket.

“Cassandra.” Melrose stepped forward and put out his hand, which I took. He frowned for a brief moment before letting go of my hand. “So lovely to meet you.”

“Thank you Dean Melrose.” I tried to curtsy in the scarlet dress.

“I am hoping Cassandra that we will get to know each other well enough to dispense with these silly formalities.” Melrose pursed his lips, he almost down right pouted.

“Does this mean?” Ray grinned as he opened his mouth.

“Yes. Consider your daughter accepted.” He paused. “I do hope to see you at the court, Ray. I haven’t played squash in years, but I’m always up for a challenge.” He winked at me before turning a massive grin at Ray.

Ray looked like he could have been walking on clouds of cotton candy. “Thank you so very much Desmond.

“Do you mind if I have a word with your daughter?”

Ray shook his head. “Be my guest! I’ll meet you at the car Cassandra. Thank you Desmond— I mean, Dean Melrose.” Ray turned and left the office. “I’ll have my secretary phone to set up a game.”

I’ve never felt so alone.

“Cassandra. I am very curious about you.” Melrose’ head tilted in a way that looked so unnatural it creeped me out. “I have never seen someone who was marked allowed to go out and about so freely before— at least not without… But I am sure this will be rectified soon.”

This was the second time in a matter of minutes that someone had called me ‘marked’ but what did it mean?

“I’m not sure I understand Dean.”

“Maybe it is nothing. How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

Melrose nodded, and paced the floor in front of a massive oak desk. “And how many Pirot women are there?”

“Sir?”

“Just answer the question please Cassandra.”

“Just my mother and I.”

“Are you certain?”

I was confused by this conversation. Of course there had only been my mother and I. Pirot was my father’s last name. There had been no women born on my father’s side of the family for four generations, perhaps more. I shook my head.

“There is no one else.” Unless he was talking about the women born on my mother’s side of the family, but… they weren’t-

“You are certain?”

“Yes.”

“Well. Take care Cassandra.” He stopped pacing and smiled at me, completely changing topics and dismissing me. “I’m sure you will feel safe here— try your best to fit in. Don’t ask too many questions, keep your head down and you’ll stay out of trouble. Dr. Gristman should have a list of required texts and supplies at the front office. Hurry along now, I’m sure your father is waiting.”

I wanted to tell him that this was insane, and that my father, my real father, was dead— Ray was my stepfather— but instead I nodded, ever the meek little lamb, and left the office, dragging my feet behind me. When I reached the end of the long hallway from Dean Melrose’ office and again entered the front office Dr. Gristman was standing waiting for me with a stack of papers.

“Take this.” I reached out and noticed that she was trying desperately to avoid touching me. “Everything you need to know is in these papers. School schedules— lists of supplies etcetera. I’m sure Dean Melrose explained this?”

I nodded.

“If you could see yourself out, that would be great.”

I clenched the papers in my fist and spun towards the door and hopefully some sanity.

“Oh and Cassandra— Scarlet really isn’t your color. Stay away from it and anything that goes bump in the night.”

I ran from the office down the hall and out of the building. I took a deep breath and made my way to Ray’s car. I had to call Melanie— I had to ask her what was going on.

“Congratulations Cassandra!” Ray congratulated me. He grinned the whole drive home. “I’ll be home at around six or so— but I think we, all three of us, should go out for dinner and celebrate. I’ll even let you pick the restaurant! Although perhaps let’s not tell your mother about this dress escapade…”

I slipped out of the car, grateful that was all he was going to say on the matter. “Thanks Ray.”

“Hey, that’s what fathers are for right?”

I was glad my back was to him. I didn’t want Ray to see the sadness on my face. Ray could pretend all he wanted that I was his daughter and he was my father but it would never be— legally I was now his daughter but it would take a miracle for me to ever call him dad.

“Yeah.” I whispered. “It is.”

Ray drove away as I walked to the door of our house. I let myself in and kicked off my pumps and dropped my purse. I flipped open the phone, found Mel’s number and hit the dial.

“Cass?”

“Mel, we need to talk.”

3 Anything but Normal

“Cassandra!”

Story of my life: people screaming my name, or at least it had been for the last two weeks. Good grief. I slipped from bed, throwing on a cotton robe over my thin tee shirt nightie before making my way to the kitchen.

“You hollered mom?”

My mother had been ecstatic that I had been accepted into Acroft High and had spent the last two weeks helping me ‘prepare’ by buying everything in sight. I had all my school supplies plus some— and my room was bursting to the seams with piles and piles of new clothes. Today was the first day of my new school and I was hoping it was going to go well, but I was also nervous as heck.

“Darling! I just wanted to make sure that you’re good for today!” She stood and walked over to me, pulling me into an embrace.

Two other strange things that had happened since I had been accepted at Acroft— one; the creepy nightmare hadn’t come back and two; my mother started acting more like her old self, her old self before she had started seeing Ray. I hadn’t told her about all the weirdness about being ‘marked’ whatever that was supposed to mean, or the strange conversations I’d had with Dr. Gristman or Dean Melrose…. Or about my nightmare. It was enough having my mom act like my mom to quell my fears and anxiety.

“Okay mom! Okay!” I laughed as she continued to squeeze me. “I can’t breathe!!”

Ray walked into the room smiling ear to ear. “Ahhh my girls.” Even Ray had been more tolerable.

“Alright luv. Get dressed, eat and then go learn. Be my sweetie pants!” She released me and swatted my behind lightly. “Go.”

The program that I had been accepted into was academically advanced, more so than A.P apparently. It ran longer school hours and even a longer school year starting mid August and ending at the beginning of July. They took off half of December and half of January as a winter break. I had to admit I was excited to excel at learning. I loved to grow— academically speaking. That was how I ended up standing outside Acroft High that morning mid August at eight o’clock exactly.

I had been given a gate key amongst my papers. I stared down at it now, terrified. I had tried to memorize the map for the school and the location of my homeroom. I played the phone conversation I’d had with Melanie over in my mind yet again as I swiped the gate key and it swung open for me.

“Cass?”

“Mel, we need to talk.”

“Okay! Give me a second— I’m fixing some buttons on a dress.”

“What?”

“Oh, ummm… it’s nothing. The girl I am basically a nanny for here likes to pop all the buttons from her dresses when she is mad.”

“What? Really? I mean how is that possible? She must be super strong!!!” How old was this girl anyway? Like young or a preteen or?

I had reached the main school building. I veered to the left and instead entered the older school building. It felt dusty here. If I remembered correctly I had to go up one flight of stairs and then all the way down the hall to the left.

“Uhhh yeah she is. I usually run the opposite way when she has a tantrum— BUT I know she doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just in her nature— it’s all part of growing up, learning how to control her emotions so she doesn’t rage… she’s really not that bad, it’s her brother that you have to watch out for, he’s the absolute worst. I avoid him at all times, if possible.”

It was always strange for me to listen to Mel talk about the people she worked for— there was a tenderness in her voice that was laced with fear and perhaps a tiny bit of respect.

“They were having a huge party this weekend— it’s sort of an annual thing that falls on the twins’ birthday but since they’re kids they never get to go… this made Marissa really angry. I mean the girl I watch, I mean nanny, I mean-” Mel took a deep breath, “sorry, it’s been a weekend. I can’t wait to come home for a bit. I can’t wait to have nothing on my plate, but being with my family, seeing you and us just going to lounge on a beach somewhere and laugh at all the people who forgot to wear sunscreen and turn bright red like lobsters.” She laughed but I could hear a tiredness in her voice that sounded like what she needed was a giant nap, “and of course, oh my GOD, coffee. What this family has against a proper pot of coffee, I’ll never understand.”

Who were these people really? Mel never gave me a straight answer when I tried to ask, and I found that super frustrating. Why wouldn’t she tell me, and why couldn’t I visit her? Even if they were rich, especially since they were rich they wouldn’t even notice me.

“When are you coming home? Wait- they don’t like coffee?” Poor Mel. “Did you get to go to the party?”

There was a strange silence on the phone, as if Mel was contemplating telling me more but didn’t know if she was either allowed or could trust me. “Nooooo.” She finally said, so quietly that it sounded like she was even further away from me than just some fancy house somewhere, I didn’t even know where this house was? It might as well have been on Mars. “I didn’t make the guest list, but it’s okay. I was given the evening off and I spent the night in my room, catching up on some reading.”

Interesting. “But, the kids, I’m sure they had a birthday party all of their own right?”

“Well— not that I was aware of.” Again there was hesitation, followed by a lengthy pause. “I mean who doesn’t throw their child a birthday party? Right? Even if they are-”

“Are?” What was Mel trying to actually say?

“Twins.”

“Right…even twins deserve a birthday party.” What? “Well, that’s not why I called.”

“Oh! Is this about the application for Acroft.” The excitement in her voice was incredibly audible— and was there relief in her tone, relief that I had changed the topic?

“Sort of.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you when I get home tomorrow. I don’t have to be back here until September first. They’re giving me three weeks off and I’m so excited to see you!”

“And to see Tom, I’m sure!”

“Well— Tom was here this weekend,” she paused, “but enough about Tom, back to you and your application to Acroft!”

“Ahhh yeah.” Well, Tom was allowed to visit, but her best friend wasn’t? WHO were these people? “About that. I already filled it in.”

“Great, then we’ll take it down together. I want to show you around, and if you’re accepted, which I am sure you will be then— well, I’ll have some things that I need to explain… things that are super important for you to know going into a school like this that could be detrimen-”

I had to stop her before she kept going. “Mels. Ray took me to see Dean Melrose today.”

“What? Without me?”

“I’m sorry Mels. I know how much you wanted to go with me— but he was so excited and I figured you’d forgive me…”

“Cass. That was very dangerous. You both could have…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Well that didn’t sound like ‘nothing’ to me!”

“Seriously. Cass— Please tell me you aren’t doing the excel program…”

“Ummm.”

“Withdraw Cass. Do it now.”

“No. I want to do it.”

“There are things you don’t know about-”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“I want to know Mel.”

“Then withdraw.”

“No. I can’t Mel.”

“Fine, your funeral.” Mel had hung up the phone. She hadn’t visited me on Monday and hadn’t been answering her phone since. I missed her but unless she explained herself our friendship was on hold- I mean, she was the one ghosting me. As far as I was concerned I hadn’t done anything wrong besides have a heebie-jeebie feeling about the place and say yes to starting school half a month early. I wish she had just told me what was on her mind… What did she mean by, ‘my funeral?’ I shook my head, this was ridiculous and I should just stop thinking about it.

My feet stopped moving. I was standing in a darkened hallway— I had no clue how I had gotten here. There were cobwebs along the ceiling and dust in the air. The hall lights flickered above me— they were the only ones on… How had I missed that?

“Ugh— Hum.”

I jumped.

“Are you coming in?”

I don’t know how I had missed seeing the girl beside me. I looked her up and down— she was beautiful, the kind of girl I had often wished I looked like. This girl had incredible hair, long chocolate locks that fell wisping down her back and reaching her knees. I noticed that her face was heart shaped, and so were her red lips. Now this girl was the kind of girl who made boys swoon… and it felt like she knew that. Also- what an outfit! Her electric blue crop top and short acid wash denim skirt with cowboy boots looked like she was about to head to some kind of concert- and she was super tattoo’d. My mother would kill me if I dressed like that or God forbid, have that many places on my body inked.

“I’m Violet Worthington.” She made no move to shake my hand but smiled at me instead.

“Cassandra Pirot.”

“Nice to meet you, Cassandra.” Violet’s voice was warm and friendly, I believed her when she said she was happy to meet me. “Shall we go into the classroom? I don’t want to be late on the first day of classes.”

I nodded and fell into step beside her.

“I’ve met professor Flimheart. Have you?”

I followed her into the classroom. “No— is he nice?”

Violet laughed. “Well I suppose. I heard that he has quite the temper. Best to stay on his good side.”

The classroom looked like it had once been a science lab, high desks, stools instead of chairs— hollow desks to put text books. Violet made her way to the front and sat by the window.

“Sit with me?”

I smiled, well it looked like I had just made a new friend, and timely too, since Mel was being so dramatic and ghosting me for no reason. As I made my way to sit next to Violet there was a kerfuffle of sounds behind me. I didn’t look until I was seated. The class was filling up quickly. Fifteen of us now sat in the classroom. Fifteen of the strangest looking students I had ever seen- a lot of them had bright neon hair, lots of tattoos and were dressed like they were heading to a rave rather than school. This was the honors program students? I blinked a few times and swallowed, before swivelling my stool to face the front of the classroom.

“Stick with me and you’ll be fine.” Violet took my hand and gave it a squeeze— her hand was freezing.

I was about to tell Violet she could borrow my cardigan if she wanted to warm up when a big booming voice interrupted me.

“Good morning class.” Everyone turned to look at the man speaking. Professor Flimheart was a short squat man with eyes that resembled marbles— those contacts must have cost him a fortune. I mean to make it look like his eyeballs were all one color… Wow. “As many of you know from last year, this program is very strict. I only allow the brightest and the best to continue— I will be watching your grades very closely. If I feel your grades are not up to par you will not be continuing in this program come next semester. Do you all understand?”

The classroom remained perfectly quiet as if no one dared to speak but at the same time, it felt like there was an energy in the room that spoke volumes, fourteen yeses somehow resounding in the stillness. I took a deep breath to remind myself that I was very much alive and having crazy thoughts, thoughts that I should shake now if I wanted the heebie-jeebie feeling this school was giving me to go away. Professor Flimheart climbed up onto the teacher’s podium behind a desk very similar to the ones we, his students, sat at.

“This year we are proud to add Cassandra Pirot to this class.”

I felt fourteen pairs of eyes turn to stare at me.

“Cassandra is from a long line of Pradora’s who have attended this school in the past. It is an honor to have her in this class, considering her rich and colorful history. Please make her feel welcome.”

What was he talking about?

“Um professor? What do you mean Pradora? My last name is Pirot.”

“Yes, I know. But if you do some research into your family, you will find that the maiden name on your mother’s side of her family is Pradora. And we have had many such women from your family line, all Pradora’s of course, attend Acroft High.”

Well, that was news to me. I would have to ask my mom about that, perhaps she had some helpful notes on our family scribbled down in that notebook she was always carrying around.

“Again, welcome-”

The classroom door burst open, everyone including myself turned to look at who was late or interrupting class.

“My apologies professor.” A tall blonde boy muttered. “I had to convince Dr. Gristman to let me transfer to the day class.” His blonde hair was long, flopping over his eyes, emerald green eyes.

“Yessssss. Well. Please take a seat. If you must.” Professor Flimheart looked flustered, his jaw bulging at the interruption… Or was it the tall blonde? “Every morning I will do roll call— anyone not here during roll call will be marked as late earning you detention, detention is served over lunch break unless you are of course excused from detention— which is only under very rare circumstances. If you ever need to switch to the evening class you must ask for transfer papers and it must be approved through Dean Melrose and transfers are only allowed for the most trying cases.” He created his throat.

What the hell was that about?

“We shall begin with a roll call. Please answer ‘present’ if you are here— Violet Worthington,”

“Present.”

Professor Flimheart continued to call roll, but I didn’t really pay attention— my mom had gotten me a flip phone a while back, it wasn’t the newest or coolest iPhone like most kids had mom was all about teaching me to earn the right to things, she didn’t want me to grow up to be a spoilt brat, not that I minded. I had a retro iPod that I’d bought off ebay and it basically did everything the iPhone did— but my phone was my only connection to Mels— she wasn’t very technologically savvy and had yet to figure out Zoom or FaceTime or even Whatsapp… and she was a terrible texter, always forgetting to respond to messages. I wish I’d been able to see here before she’d gone back to that stinking mansion she worked at. Why the heck did she have to be so strange? She wanted me to come to Acroft— I was at Acroft and now she was mad? I flipped my phone open then closed… Should I text her? Melanie and I had never fought and not gotten over it— she was my best friend and-

“Tom Fairweather.”’

I looked up. I knew that name! Tom was Mel’s boyfriend! I looked around the classroom— Melanie had gone out with a guy in the grade below her? Wow— well, that was gutsy, I’d have to tease her about being a cougar the next time I saw her.

“Present.” Tom’s voice was buoyant— jolly even. Mel had yet to introduce me to her boyfriend. I had bugged her for the past year about meeting him and teased her horribly about how he must be an ogre if she didn’t want me to meet him but she had been super stubborn and resistant to introducing him to me until she was sure things were going somewhere. I turned ever so slightly in my seat excited to see him to get to meet someone else who I might actually be able to be friends with— a connection to my best friend, but there was someone directly blocking my view, the tall blonde with amazing green eyes, and it would be really obvious if I leaned to the side that I was looking around him… I sighed. I’d have to go try and meet Tom later maybe during our class breaks.

“Mark Farrelli.”

“Present.” The blonde boy I was still sort of facing muttered.

Everyone in the classroom shifted uncomfortably in their seats as his name was uttered by professor Flimheart. I couldn’t tell why, he was a normal looking handsome guy who definitely didn’t deserve the glares and gasps of horror the rest of the students in the room were giving him.

“Ahhh yes.” Flimheart’s voice caught my attention and I turned back towards the front of the room. “We have another new student in this class on hand this semester— another whose family has also been long attending our illustrious school.” He paused and his eyes came to rest on me. “How interesting.”

More like how creepy, that you even looked at me with that weird stare… I shivered.

“This year is already shaping up to be quite a spectacle. Let’s hope it does not end in unprovoked violence and bloodshed.”

WAS THIS GUY ON CRACK?… Unprovoked violence? Bloodshed? OMG PEOPLE. CALM DOWN.

“Shall we continue?” Professor Flimheart glared at me as if I had spoken out loud even though I knew I hadn’t. “And lastly we have our new student— Cassandra Pirot.”

“Present.” I whispered.

Violet’s cold hand squeezed mine gently, and she gave me a reassuring smile. It helped— if only a tiny bit.

“Classes are forty minutes long with ten minute breaks in between classes.” Students nodded, and I realized he was only going over this for my benefit. I tried to pay close attention, and also not look too eager or earnest as I scribbled down notes in a small flip notebook I had stashed in my purse. “School texts are to be left on premises at all times— please make sure not to write in the books, most of the texts we are using are extremely old and valuable this semester. If you need a text for your homework you may ask the secretary to photocopy that specific page and nothing else. Photocopied pages must be returned to the school once we are finished covering that given topic.”

Wow— I couldn’t take the books home? What if I wanted to read ahead?

“This semester we will be covering; Ancient Civilizations, with a stress on facts, legends and myths— we will be picking up from where we left off last July for those of you who were here at that time— this means we will be starting in the Roman era… Along with Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Our final course we will be focusing on this semester is a Philosophy course newly developed by our own Dean— he will be coming to teach that course which we will only have twice a week— Mondays and Fridays during the last block. l will be teaching all your other classes.” Flimheart glanced at a pocket watch hanging from his suit jacket. “Now class, that has been enough of an introduction— we will take a break now and then come back for our first class together.”

The silent room became a zoo— students stood and stretched, some even left the classroom taking these last few minutes of freedom while they could.

“So what do you think?” Violet asked me.

“Welllllll— it is a little odd.” I noticed Violet’s eyebrows were raised. “ I mean it’s not odd— it’s just not what I was expecting…”

Violet laughed. “Yes, I suppose this is different then the school you were last attending?”

“Yes. A lot actually.”

“I hear you! When I first came here three years ago I felt the exact same thing! Except I’ve been in this program the entire time so I wouldn’t even have noticed anything was strange.”

“You’ve been in this program for three years?”

Violet nodded. “Professor Flimheart wasn’t always the teacher. Dr. Gristman used to teach us— she did double duty teaching both the class during the day and the evening classes.”

A part of me really wanted to walk around the classroom and meet some of the students in my class but I also really wanted to hear the info on Dr. Gristman. Meeting Tom or that Mark dude would have to wait.

“Why the heck are there classes at night?”

A masculine voice cleared behind me. “Because there is.”

I spun on my stool and found myself looking at Mark.

“I don’t think I was talking to you.”

Mark rolled his eyes— Violet looked terrified. “Mark, leave her alone.”

“Hey, I’m just telling the truth.” Mark put his lanky hands up on either side of himself in a shrugging motion.

“Okaayyy. So if there needs to be one… a class at night— why did you suddenly switch out of it?”

“I’m afraid that’s none of your business.” Mark flipped open his notebook and focused on that instead of myself or Violet.

I had the sudden feeling like I was being dismissed. It flipped me off. What a jerk.

“Don’t mind him.” I looked to my left— a girl with bubblegum pink hair had moved from the row behind and seated herself next to me.

“And you are?” Dang, that girl must pay a pretty penny to keep her hair so bright and vibrant. I wasn’t even sure it was her hair- maybe a wig? It was so perfect looking.

“Irene Inverness.” She nodded at me and also like Violet didn’t offer her hand to shake mine… Interesting. “Violet!” She continued as if I was a mere bump in the road. “So glad to have you back with us!”

Back with us? Where had Violet been? I looked to my right— Violet blushed.

“Do tell!!” Squealed Irene. “What is Viktor Worthington really like behind closed doors? Everyone is dying to know.”

Viktor Worthington? Wasn’t Violet’s last name Worthington? Hold the phone— what is going on now? Violet seemed to pick up on my confusion.

“I’m sorry Cassandra— I should probably clarify so you don’t think the worst of me.” Violet’s face went almost as purple as her namesake, behind me Mark snorted and Irene, well, I glanced at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Humans.” She muttered.

Okay— enough with the creepy creep.

“I wasn’t always a Worthington, in fact until last year, I was Violet Flagstone.” She paused. “I was in the night class because my brothers— well, they are a tad protective, even if they are younger than me— it’s hard to stand up to the four of them. I wanted to come to the day class, and they wouldn’t hear of it! I suppose it’s quite alright though. If I hadn’t listened to them I never would have met Viktor.”

“Okay— so you met a cute boy?”

Both Violet and Irene burst into laughter. “Sure. I guess you could call him cute… I call him many other names, but that’s besides the point. My parents and my brothers all hated him.”

“Why?”

“Well idiot.” Irene growled. “If you just shut up you’d understand.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Anyways.” Violet continued. “I had never done anything to dare go against my parents wishes— they had such high expectations-expectations they placed on all five of us— and when I was around Viktor it was like all of it faded away and I could just be me. I loved that about him. We dated in secret for six months— but I knew after those first few months that he would be the only one for me. When he proposed, I said yes!”

I felt my jaw drop. Proposed?

“We eloped— went to Europe and stayed with family friends for the first few months— then we traveled for the rest of the year before finally coming home to live with his family. I don’t regret it, but my family— the Flagstones, have completely cut me off. It is a small sacrifice with a great reward.”

Okay— there was so much in that story that didn’t make sense or I didn’t want to process. I needed to go for a walk, clear my head— work through these strange goings on… maybe call Mel and make her talk to me. “Soooo wait— you took a whole year off of school?”

Violet nodded. “Technically speaking I should have graduated by now— I’m here because I want to finish school. Viktor, however, was almost finished school when I met him… He runs his own business with his brothers now.”

Beside me Irene sighed. “How romantic. If only I get so lucky. I still don’t understand why your parents were so pissed.” Irene, pulled out a pink sharpie and started drawing stars and crescent moons on the desk. “After all, the Worthingtons are just as old a family as-”

“Irene.” Violet cut her off mid sentence, and snatched the sharpie out of her hand. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to hide something or if she was mad that Irene had been drawing on the desk with permanent ink.

“Right, sorry.” Irene mumbled and turned to look at me as if I was something worth studying, and I felt shivers run down my spine, guess Violet and Irene were hiding something- but what? Also, how was that story romantic in any way? I could never imagine doing something so wild behind my mother’s back- first of all she’d find out, and second of all, she would kill me if I ran off and eloped against her wishes.

“Class!” Professor Flimheart tapped a small gavel on his desk calling us back to order. “I have been more than generous with your first break— please take to your seats. We will begin with Ancient Civilizations— Irene, please be so kind as to distribute these books here.” He gestured to a pile of books I hadn’t noticed before sitting on a stool beside his podium. “Once you have your books please turn to page two hundred and seventy three.”

The rest of the day was a blur; classes flew by— Irene, despite her strange attitude towards me, turned out to be a great partner in several debates we had throughout the day, and Violet was an excellent lab partner. I ignored Mark for the most part and I managed to introduce myself to almost all the other students in the room except for Tom— he always ducked out of the room at break times. Three o’clock rolled around so quickly that I couldn’t quite believe I had finished my first full day at Acroft.

“And that will be all for today, class.” Flimheart’s nasally voice concluded. “I will see you all here bright and early tomorrow morning.”

There was a flurry of action as the students sprung to life and filed out of the room. I slid my text books into the desk. Violet had been anxious to leave right away and had already slipped past me, Irene following close behind her. I wasn’t quite sure if they were friends or frenemies, or if Irene just worshiped the ground that Violet walked on- I’d have to ask Mel if she knew any of these students, and I’d have to ask her about Tom, now that I knew he was in my class. I just had to get her to talk to me. I sighed as I put my purse over my shoulder and tucked my stool under the desk. I almost jumped when a hand reached out and tapped my arm—

“Hey,” Mark’s voice made me turn around. At the front of the class Filmheart was packing up his notes into a black suitcase, but other than the Professor, it was just Mark and I left in the strange classroom.

“What?” I hissed, suddenly annoyed that this hoity-toity dude was talking to me. I mean come on, there is good looking and then there are the idiots who know it and treat everyone else like trash- and I had a feeling Mark was the latter.

“Look I feel like we got off on the wrong foot and I would love to rectify that, if I still can?”

I found myself sighing, it was probably going to be a waste of time, but he could try to change my opinion. “And how would you go about doing that?”

“Can I buy you coffee and explain myself?”

Well— I weighed the possibilities, on one hand this guy was an arrogant jerk; but on the other hand, if I grabbed coffee with him it also meant I was delaying my going home and right now I didn’t want to go home. How was I supposed to explain this place or these people to my mom— to Ray? That would sure be a fun conversation. Hey mom and Ray— everyone here dresses like sluts but it’s ok— because they get married at sixteen. Oh yes, and the professor is insane, going on about history as if it is all a myth and talking about bloodshed etc… They would want me to withdraw. I still wasn’t sure if that wasn’t the right thing to do.

“I guess so.” Hopefully grabbing a coffee with Mark wouldn’t be something I regretted tomorrow.

4 Questions and Answers

I followed Mark out of the empty classroom and back out of the creepy cobweb infested building. Outside it was freakishly hot, and the parking lot was almost empty— except for a blue mini, which Mark headed towards.

“Woah— where exactly are we heading? I never agreed to getting in a car with you! Can’t we walk to a coffee place? I think there’s a Brekka nearby or a Star-”

Mark turned and grinned. “Yes, isn’t it a glorious day?” He took in a deep breath, “I can just feel the sweat dripping off my arms, a walk in this temperature? Now, why didn’t I suggest that? Air conditioning, who needs a short drive to a coffee shop with air conditioning in the middle of the summer?”

Wow. I rolled my eyes. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I pulled off my cardigan, my yellow flowered cotton dress sticking to me. I sighed, “Yeah, yeah.” I pulled a pair of shades from my purse, and glared at him. “But I just met you and getting into a car with someone you just met is super creepy.”

“Well, it can be.” He kept walking towards the parked blue mini. I could sense him baiting me, did I trust him? “And yet- I’m going to tell you exactly where we’re going.” Mark called over his shoulder as he beeped his car unlocked. “We’re going to this cafe, well, honestly its a diner- it’s called Gustos. If you want you can maps it right now, and then decide if you want to come with me.” He shrugged, “your choice,” and got into his car.

I pulled my Ipod out of my purse, I had connected to the wifi in the cafeteria earlier at lunch, and typed in Gustos into my google maps- it was a ten minute walk, three minute drive. I had Vancouver maps offloaded, so even if I disconnected to the wifi now, I should be able to still hit go on the directions. I sighed, I was burning up in the sun, soon I would look like the lobster red people Mel and I used to laugh at from the beach. A three minute drive AND air conditioning sounded better than my half an hour walk home. I hit start on the directions and walked over to the blue mini, and slid in. The car was warm from sitting in the sun, “well? You promised air conditioning.”

“You’re one smart cookie, eh?” He chuckled.

“People like to tell me I am.”

“Well look— I meant what I said back in the classroom. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot and I do want to fix that. Gusto’s, serves the best cuppa joe you’ve ever had. Plus it’s a tad more— inconspicuous of a place for me to explain myself.”

“Again, air conditioning?” I challenged, as I flipped down the sun visor and slid open the mirror. I looked like I was melting. I had never been one to back away from a challenge… But mostly that had been challenging myself to learn more— not go somewhere with a random stranger who hadn’t proven to be the nicest guy I’d ever met. I wanted to ask questions and I wanted answers to those questions. I mean it wasn’t like my day could get any weirder. Right?

Mark started the car— country music and the promised air conditioning blasted at us. “My apologies again it seems.” Mark adjusted both settings quickly before pulling us out of the lot, down the drive and off the school property. “My brother usually takes the car.”

“Your brother?” I followed our progress on google maps as Mark drove. After a minute of driving straight he turned down a tiny road offshooting the main road we’d been driving on— this road looked more like an alleyway than a road, but the map was showing he was going in the right direction, in fact we were almost there.

“Yes.” Mark glanced at me before pulling the car off to the side of the narrow lane and putting it into park. “I have several brothers.”

“Oh?” The way Mark had stated that he had brothers, almost made it seem like he was asking me if I had met any of them. What a weird strange man.

We got out of the car. This area felt sketchy. I looked both ways before crossing the alley and following Mark. According to the directions on the map, we were almost on top of Gustos.

“Yeah.”

We walked down a cobwebby, dusty covered sidewalk, I suddenly wondered how many stars on yelp this diner had. Maybe Mark thought it was great but it was actually a one point five star rating… My desire for good coffee was strong, not coffee that was going to taste like warm beans.

“Actually— I have one in particular that you should know about.”

“Oh?” I asked as I looked up from my map directions and almost tripped on a pile of rags… It started to move and I wanted to freak out, scream and start running as fast as I could. It was probably what I feared most… A rat. WHY had I come?

Mark grabbed my arm and steadied me. “Watch out— it’s bad luck to wake a watcher.”

“I’m sorry, a what?”

We’d gone as far as the covered walk had allowed, my google maps said we had arrived, I looked around, we were standing facing a huge wooden door that led somewhere… Hopefully somewhere non-sketchy, but I now had many doubts, and prepared myself for the fact I was about to drink warm bean water.

Mark threw a glance over his shoulder at the pile or rags that was still moving. “A watcher, um— a soothsayer??”

I shook my head, this dude was a serious nerd. I was nerdy in a book sense, but I had a feeling Mark was seriously into Dungeons and Dragons or something, and I didn’t speak that type of nerd.

“Hmmm… a seer?”

“I’m sorry, are you speaking another language, and if so— is it code for gaming nerd talk? Cause I definitely don’t do that sort of thing… Video gaming or role playing are not me— I’m the library loving A+ student…”

“Look I’m trying to explain to you who and what he is in the way I know how— which by the way I don’t usually have to do… At least not this century.”

“HUH? I think you lost me.”

“All you need to know is he’s the guy who tells you mysterious things about your past and future— Like a prophet.”

“Ahhhhh, now we’re getting somewhere! I know what a prophet is.”

“Great. Glad to know I can still be ‘current.’”

Current? Mark was the same age as me! “You do know that prophets are human beings, not piles of rags lying on the ground. I mean that-” I pointed over my shoulder. “Wasn’t a human.”

Mark raised his fist and knocked on the door, it swung inward at his touch. “But Cassandra— of course he isn’t human.”

I wanted to argue about that and many other things but as the door opened I found myself facing a bizarre sight and I felt oddly faint.

“None of them are.”

In front of me a sight too crazy to behold— it was like one of those scenes from a fantasy movie where vampires and fairies and werewolves and everything that goes ‘bump’ in the night appears and you want to scream but you’re caught up in the, ‘how is this possible?’ I had to be seeing things right? Maybe Mark had put a hallucinogen—in my green tea when I had run to the bathroom during our last break— but wouldn’t that mean Violet was in on it? No! Violet was too kind to do something like that. Right? I mean I wouldn’t put it past Irene, and her strange way of muttering ‘human’ under her breath a few times today, but would she really go so far as to poison me?

Mark grabbed me by the elbow and steered me toward a booth at the back, I gripped my Ipod tightly in my hand not wanting to drop it- these things weren’t made anymore and I didn’t want to have to go through the trouble of finding someone to replace it or find another one. Everything stilled as we entered the diner, as if our presence was unwelcome, unwanted, and aggravating. “Nothing to see here folks. Go back to your business— we mean no harm to anyone.”

“I’m sure you don’t!” A blonde boy stood up from the booth in the back and waved us over. He was tall, broad shouldered and every bit as handsome as Mark, in fact they almost looked like the same person— it was freaky. It was like they were— TWINS! “What in the heavens were you thinking!” The boy snapped.

“Now, Toph. Don’t get mad…”

“DON’T GET MAD! Oh, I am beyond that! Do you know how many council rules you are breaking right now?”

“Look.”

Mark shoved me at his shadow self— who caught me with ease. “She’s marked.” He murmured as he slid onto a blue plastic bench.

Toph— or whatever his name was, shoved me into the blue bench beside him and also sat. “By who?” Toph spat.

“Okay— look… I don’t know what’s going on here or who you are or even who you think I am, but I am sick of people talking about being ‘marked’ or whatever. Look at my skin!” I thrust my arm in front of Toph. “There is nothing there!”

“Cass… You might not be able to see it, but we can— and that means so can everyone else.” Mark muttered.

“Great. Just what we need.” Topher hissed.

“Topher, come on— she needs our help just as much as anyone from our world. We have a duty to-”

“Yeah, yeah— protect those in need.” Topher spat.

“Cassandra.”

“Yes, Mark?”

“This is my brother, Christopher. I would say he was my better half but I would be lying.” There was something in his tone that suggested a lot more about their relationship than he was willing to share.

“Are you two twins?” I managed to squeak.

“Yes.” They muttered in unison.

“You know what they say about the power of two?” Christopher asked me.

I shook my head.

“It means Mark and I can do anything if we are in it together— on our own we are only half as strong. Which is why they don’t let both of us attend Acroft at the same time… there’s also a lot of other things about the power of two, I mean twins, that are alluded to act-”

“Look.” Mark interrupted. “Cass, I know I said I would answer your questions.”

“Really, Mark? You promised her that?”

“Yes, Toph. She needs to know what she is getting into.”

“I want to know.” I tried to interject.

“Okay— so long as it only pertains to what she needs to know and no more.” Hissed Christopher. “Otherwise, I’ll take this to our father.”

“Unless it is father who-”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Why would he come out of hiding after so long?”

“You never know. It is possible, there is so much he doesn’t tell us.”

I felt chills run down my spine. I just wished someone would tell me what was going on. To be honest I hated this herebie-jeebie feeling, and maybe it would go away if some of my questions about the weirdness of Acroft was answered.

“Cass— when was the first time you had the dream?”

I felt my jaw drop. How had Mark known about my nightmare?

“Look Cass?” Christopher glared at me. “It’s very important that you tell me-I mean us— the truth. Every detail you can give us will help us track down your-”

A look from Mark silenced Christopher. “Too much. Too soon.” Mark muttered.

“I don’t remember the exact date, but I remember where I was before I had the nightmare. If that helps.”

“Nightmare?” Mark looked confused, Christopher however didn’t, he grimaced, and turned away.

“Well, yes. I would call it a nightmare.”

“Soooo-”

“Right. It was after my mother and I visited my great grandmother’s grave at Saint Mary’s Cemetery, you know the one— it’s super old and the cathedral there is falling to pieces… It’s kind of sad really— it looks like it was once a beautiful place and if it had been kept up-”

“Saint Mary’s? Are you sure?” Christopher and Mark shared a strange look and remained quiet for a very long time.

“But that means…” Sputtered Mark.

“Oh don’t get your wings in a knot.” Snapped Christopher. “I guess, I can’t say that I’m super surprised.”

“But you just said-”

“Well, perhaps I hoped I was wrong.”

“Too much. Too soon. Isn’t that what you said earlier?”

I scowled as the brothers squabbled. I was getting such a headache and if I hadn’t had the creepy nightmares over and over or experienced that weird trance or vision or whatever in the shower I might have already walked away. I rubbed my temples and felt the room blur. Gross. I must be getting a migraine. My vision was getting even worse, so I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“Hey Cass— you alright?”

I tried to nod. “Stupid headache that’s all.” I opened my eyes but instead of Mark I was looking at a being with glowing red eyes and black wings, he was back. I screamed. It had been weeks since I’d seen his red eyes and black wings, but I had never seen them in the day, when I was awake.

“Greaaat, the hallucinations have started.” Christopher’s sarcastic voice cut through my panic.

I blinked and found I was looking at Mark’s concerned face, and that everyone in the diner was also staring at me.

“Toph— she’s so young.”

“No— it’s just you’ve never seen the game up close. I have. Trust me, I have, and it’s not pretty.”

“Then why?”

“Survival.” Christopher paused and for a brief moment I saw concern and sadness on his face. “And we must survive. No matter the consequences.”

What was this insanity? Why were they talking about me like I was a child- we were all the same age, and what were they talking about, survival? The game? What wasn’t pretty? And what consequences?

“Toph?”

“Take her home brother. I’ll go talk to Father. There is nothing we can do once it is set in motion.”

I slouched on the blue plastic bench, my head pounding. I needed a nap to wake up from this day-mare. That’s all this was, right? Tomorrow I would wake up, and find that I had been so anxious to start at Acroft that I had imagined the neon haired students, the marble like eyes of Professor Flimheart- the monsters in this cafe or diner or whatever it was… I closed my eyes, feeling so tired, and like I had aged since breakfast.

“And what if the ’marked’ evade?”

“They die.”

“And if they succumb?”

“They die.”

“Then the game is broken. No one wins.”

“Oh contraire, we win.” Christopher stood. “I’m sorry my brother said he could help you Miss Cassandra. Unfortunately you are a pawn in a game that only my father can move— and if I’m not mistaken, you just made your move.”

“What?” I snapped my head up and looked between Mark and Christopher, trying to understand what was going on but after a brief moment of the twins staring at each other in silence, Christopher pushed himself up off the blue plastic bench turned on his heels and left, the patrons parting before him like he had the plague— and maybe he did, with the attitude and manners he had.

“Let’s get you home.” Mark stood and stretched.

I stared at him, he had been so rude to me in class all day and now he was decidedly nice… It felt strange, less strange than the day but still very strange.

“Or maybe you need that cuppa joe first? You look as tired as I feel… Hang on— I’ll be right back. Two cups to go!” As Mark darted through the patrons to the diner counter I worked up the energy to push myself up off the blue plastic seat. What the heck was going on? I would try and call Mel when I got home— I would keep calling until she answered. “And here we go!” Mark passed me a steaming to-go cup full of liquid energy, and hooked his arm through mine. “Let’s get you home.”

5 Saint Mary’s Secret

Mark led me out the monster infested cafe and down the covered creepy walkway back toward the alley where his blue mini was parked, waiting to take me home— but home was the last place I wanted to be right now. Going home now would just mean I would have to keep more secrets from my mom and Ray and I wasn’t sure I had the capacity at the moment to keep anything else from them.

“Wait!” I grabbed Mark’s arm.

“What is it Cass?”

“You didn’t flinch when I touched you.”

Mark shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Cassandra, there are some things that I am not going to be able to answer, and you are just going to have to be okay with that.”

I sighed.

“Look, I’ll put it this way— everyone can see the mark on you, but they might not know what exactly it is, so it makes others like me curious about you— but when they touch you, they can feel the mark and they instantly know what it means.”

“Okay, so what does it mean?”

“Cassandra….”

“Right— too much, too soon.”

“So can we go now?”

“Look Mark.” I shivered in the chill of the shadow that this covered walkway created, and stared at the pile of rags that Mark had referred to as a ‘Prophet.’ Were they all crazy— I mean I had seen weird things in Gusto’s Diner… or was I crazy? “I’m not quite ready to go home yet.”

“Alright— then where do you want to go?”

My mind spun— where felt normal? No where. Who did I want to talk to? Mels— but she was still not returning my calls. Forget about normal— I should be focusing on where I had first started to feel like things had changed, and that had all started when I had visited my great grandmother’s grave just outside of Saint Mary’s Cathedral.

“Take me to Saint Mary’s Cathedral.”

“Wha-I mean why?”

“That’s where it all started.”

“And?”

“And if I want answers that’s where I need to go.” I looked up for the first time from the pile of rags and saw Mark’s face— what I saw there didn’t make sense. “Are you going to be okay with that?”

“Yeah. I’ll be alright. I’m just not sure how I feel about taking you there.”

“Mark?”

“I guess you can’t avoid the truth forever.” Mark tossed me a halfhearted smile which didn’t reach his green eyes. “Let’s go then.” Mark turned and began to walk toward his car.

I took a deep breath and followed him, pausing by the pile of rags. “If you really are a prophet— tell me what’s going to happen?”

The rags shifted and almost to my horror, took shape as an old man with a long white beard. I shuddered.

“Do you really want to know, daughter of Adam?”

“I-”

“Then, I shall tell you. Your end is near— but it will bring about not only the life of another, but your own.”

“That sounds like-”

“And then you shall save others like yourself whose end would have come too soon. It is a weighty fate that you have set in motion Cassandra, do not underestimate your life and its value. You will bring change that will start a chain of events leading to the beginning of the end.”

“Geez. I’m almost sorry I asked.”

“Go now— learn your history.”

I turned and ran— my heart throbbing, my body trembling. This guy was a coot! My end would be the beginning? The beginning of the end? What was his problem?! I raced down the last bit of sidewalk, crossed the alley and threw myself into the blue mini. Mark had already started the car, and country music was blasting out of the speakers. “What took you so long?”

I shrugged. “Let’s just go, please?”

Mark grunted, but grudgingly pulled the mini away from the curb and onto the road. We didn’t speak as Mark drove, he seemed far away in another world, something clearly bothering him. Nothing that had been happening these last few months made sense. I watched the outside blur as if it were merely paint being dragged along a canvas. I knew it was happening again but I didn’t want to believe it— the day-mare. I looked at Mark and saw a being, not a person, with enormous black wings and symbols swirling on pale white skin. I wanted to scream but my throat was dry.

“What are you?” I managed to whisper.

“We are the Nephilim.” Mark pulled the car to a stop and looked at me. In this trance-like vision his eyes were dark blue marbles ringed with red, he blinked.

“Are you human?”

“No.” Even before Mark’s answer my eyes closed and I felt my body meet the darkness of unconsciousness. “Welcome to Saint Mary’s.” Was the last thing I heard.

In the darkness of my mind I could see the man— if he was a man. Tall and imposing— pale flesh covered in swirling symbols, he walked towards me, his black feathered wings fluttering with each step.

“Help me.”

“Cassandra?”

I peeled my eyes open. I was sitting in the cemetery against one of the gravestones. I shivered. How did I get here?

“I hope you don’t mind— I thought you needed some air, so I carried you here.”

In the distance Saint Mary’s Cathedral loomed, its decaying roof sagging as much as I was slouching against this cold stone.

“So your great grandmother was a Pirot?” Mark motioned to the gravestone in front of me.

I nodded. “My mom found out about her a while back. She did this DNA ancestry test, hadn’t really cared too much before that about our past but after that? Suddenly she seemed obsessed with our family line— but she never told me why.”

Mark brushed the ivy off the cracked tombstone.

“I never even knew there were other Pirot women in my family.”

“There is a lot you don’t know.” Mark muttered. “Look.”

Mark had cleared away a lot of the ivy and brush that was covering the top of the stone, and where he had cleared showed my great grandmother’s name.

“Cassandra Pirot.”

I shivered.

“Died at the age of sixteen.” Mark murmured. “When you think that you know everything.” He shook his head. “And now you?”

“What? What me?… Does it say how she died?”

“The only inscription is— Marked – Scarlet.”

“What does it mean?”

“What I feared.” Mark wiped dirt off his hands. “Feeling good enough to walk?” He reached out his hand and helped me to stand.

“I guess so.”

Mark nodded and walked away from me— I followed him down the aisle of graves. It felt spooky— I’d never been a big fan of cemeteries, even the air tasted stale, but my legs appreciated moving. We were headed in the direction of the Cathedral.

“I actually help take care of this place.” Mark’s voice sounded loud in the quietness of this place. He ran his fingers along the edge of the tombstones. “I know how most of them died— but I don’t often get to see how they lived.” He paused. “I know their names— I watch people come and weep over their dead, but I have never experienced death. I often wonder what it would feel like if someone I knew died.” He looked at me quizzically. “I guess I’ll know now.”

“Wait— why are you looking at me like that? You aren’t talking about me are you?”

“Cass. Something you need to understand is that you are from a line of women whose fates have been tied to ours since the beginning. I knew your great grandmother.”

“What? That’s not possible! You’re like the same age as me… aren’t you?”

“I don’t know why I didn’t connect the dots, but when I saw you it was like the awakening of a memory, I didn’t want to believe it… but here you are, and how can I dismiss you?”

“Mark— what are you talking about?”

“I’m surprised that your mother and grandmother escaped, no one else from your line has since Eve. And I suppose I should have realized sooner— Pradora… hmmm. So she changed it, trying to hide…”

We’d come out from the tombstones now and were standing in the green grass in front of Saint Mary’s. From this close it looked even more imposing than I had thought it would. I found my thoughts wandering to what secret’s Saint Mary’s Cathedral hid. The decaying building had been standing in the city for so long and yet no one did anything to fix it— it was kind of sad. The building would have been beautiful, and yet looked like it had barely made it through some sort of war.

“What you are saying is impossible.”

“For you? Yes, I suppose in your mind what I am saying wouldn’t make sense.”

“Can we put aside all the weirdness for one second and go explore this church?”

“I guess.”

“Don’t you want to go explore with me?”

“Look Cassandra, I should get you home, while it is your home. To the people who love you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Race you!” I took off at a sprint choosing to ignore Mark and focusing instead on how fast my legs could move, and the fire running through my lungs as I breathed in the cold damp air. It had been too long since I had a good run— and my muscles screamed at me as I did. I skidded to a stop before the imposing wooden double doors of the church— huge iron rings were the only handles. I found, now that I was standing before the ancient grandeur of these oak doors— I was not as keen or set on entering, besides— if it was half as unattended as the rest of the cemetery…

“Are you really certain that you want to— are you alright Cass?”

I swallowed the urge to cling onto Mark like the scared little girl I knew I was on the inside.

“Cass? We can turn back now— there’s still time.”

What was he not telling me? What was this church hiding? There had to be a reason that Mark didn’t want to go in… unless he was more cowardly than I was.

“We’ve already come this far… what’s a little more?” I reached out to touch the wooden door— it was smooth, worn down by the wind and rain. “What mystery do you hold?” I whispered, as I gently began to push on the door, which swung open under my touch as if its hinges had been oiled recently instead of being left to rust and decay like the rest of the building. Weird. “Well— that I wasn’t expecting… were you?”

“Cassandra. We should leave.”

“Stop being such a baby.” I muttered as I took a step into the open doorway.

It was dusty— so dusty I had to blink and wave my hand in front of me so I didn’t breathe it in. Dust floated down from the rafters above— probably caused by me, opening the door and creating a breeze… unless they were falling cobwebs. I shuddered at the thought of the possibilities of creepy crawlies, hopefully Mark wasn’t afraid of those too. I squinted to look past the dust— there were wooden pews covered with white sheets on a white and black tiled floor— columns of marble broken— some standing, others on their sides, broken in two. Light streamed in from a few high stained glass windows depicting knights with swords drawn charging— angels with wings stretched out with glowing halos… it was dazzling.

“Wow— Mark! You have to come see this!” I’d walked into the center of the church— and stood under a vaulted ceiling— my voice echoed as I spoke, the acoustics would have been incredible for singing… I tried to imagine a congregation filling the pews and belting hymns— and almost was able to envision it… almost— because I looked up and was entranced with the artwork spreading across the roof. I gasped with awe—

“It’s supposed to be New Jerusalem.” Mark called from where he still was standing in the doorway of the church.

“What?”

“You know— New Jerusalem? Heaven on Earth? Eden?”

“How do you know that’s what I’m looking at if you’re still standing out there?”

Mark didn’t answer but I didn’t really care— I was too curious about the rest of the room. I walked reverently up the stairs to the podium— where the priest or preacher or whatever they were called, would have stood. I turned to look out at the room from this vantage point. It truly was a magnificent space— not really that mysterious like I thought it would be though, which was a tad disappointing.

“Alright Mark. I’ve had my fun— we can go now.”

“Cassandra.”

I froze. How was his voice here?

“Sorry— did you say something Mark?”

“Nope. Can we leave now? I should really get you home and-”

I stepped down the stairs, right onto a tile that looked like it was about to fall off the step— there was a grating noise from behind me—the sound of stone on stone. I cringed in horror, not sure I wanted to see what was happening behind me and yet desperate to know… if only Mark-

“Mark?”

Mark was standing beside me. “We should go now.” Mark took my hand. “Please?”

“But-”

“Don’t turn around— just walk with me, and everything will be fine.”

“Cassandra-”

“I can’t just leave without knowing what that sound was!”

“Some things are better to remain in the dark about, you have to believe me.”

I shook my head, that was such a lie. There were so many things I wanted to know about— it was one of the reasons I spent my time at the library, studying… I wanted to know all of life’s mysteries and how to solve them. I turned my head slightly— just enough to look over my shoulder; and that’s when I saw it— the passage into the underground, finally, this church was revealing a secret… I only hoped I was brave enough to find out what it was.

6 Face to Face

My Dearest Cassandra,

I was not expecting to meet you again for some millennia— I must admit I was shocked you came back so quickly, and what with the human race becoming more and more childish and marrying at such a later date— I fear this may be the last time we meet, my love. There is no child to continue your legacy, not this time. You told me once this day would come, that we would forever part ways and God would again forgive your sins— setting you free to live in the pearly white of my beloved heaven— while I was cursed to roam in torture for all generations in hell. Our love story has been going on for centuries— and too soon it will be over for the last time. I am not ready for such purgatory.

When I saw you in the garden I was overwhelmed at the sight of two of you standing so close— and realized that your grandmother hid you from me, for the tale of our love has been passed down through the centuries! Your grandmother in this body has ignored the rules of our game— she has not just changed your name, trying to hide from me— but not passed on the instructions to your older self, the woman masquerading as your mother. It makes me sick to think that she has taken our love away from us— but perhaps this is why you have been born again, my sweet sweet angel, twice in one century— for we are forever twisted together since the fall of Adam. Oh daughter of Eve, how I have loved you— and what price I have paid for it, what price is still to pay for my deceiving you— my love. You are as an angel— light to the blackness of my soul, a shining beacon reminding me that I have lost Eden forever… damned to live in shadows, hidden away from the world.

I knew you would come to me if you saw my tears— my remorse at the pain of your heart— being born twice, and not knowing why but always knowing something was amiss. I have looked into your grandmother’s sin. So much folly was bound in her heart as to keep your history from you. Telling that man— your father instead of you— and it went with him to his grave. There is still time— I have given you a new mark my love, to remind you of us, of who you are. Soon, yes so soon you will come to me and I will make you mine again— innocence shall be gone when I take you as I first did, in the beginning when everything was new— and you shall belong to me— and your seed shall increase my children and your death shall wound my heart again.

If it is the last that I shall see you in this life— I want to make it such a last as to break heaven and hell— then I shall rage in war until it is finished— either I will be imprisoned or I shall rule, no more hiding. No more shadows, just night— blackness, fire and smoke forever more.

With all the love my dark heart can give,

Lucas Farrelli

---

“Cassandra, come back here!”

Mark and I had argued about me going down the steps into the darkness below to explore the secret chamber that had opened when I had stepped on a loose tile for at least ten minutes. I had a feeling he knew more about Saint Mary’s then he was willing to say, and I was tired of being left out of the loop. Eventually I had pulled out my iPod to put on its flashlight and ignoring Mark, started down the stairs— with Mark on my heels.

“So glad you decided to join me.”

“This is not a good idea. Look Cassandra— I’m telling you, turn back and go home— see your family again while there is still time!”

“Oh, I will, you dolt. Once I figure out what is going on down here I swear I will turn around, alright? I just have to know— maybe this has something to do with my nightmares.”

“If that’s not the understatement of the year then I don’t know what is.” Mark mumbled so incoherently I had to guess what he might be saying.

“Sorry what?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m sure you would have ignored me anyways.”

I reached the bottom of the descending dark staircase and found myself at a wooden door similar to the one leading into the church above. I reached out and pushed the door, and just as the door upstairs had, it swung open with ease. I’m not sure what I was expecting to see but it hadn’t been an intricate hallway lined with statues of marble, or torches casting an eerie glow for as far as I could see. The same black and white marble tiles as from the church above covered the floor. What was this place? I stepped into the hallway, my feet itching to walk down its paths, to see how long this underground palace extended but instead I looked to my right where bright light shone out of an open doorway.

“Cass, please.” Mark reached out and took hold of my arm. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I shook his hand off. “In a minute.” I took another step towards the room. “Just as soon as I look in there… won’t take more than five minutes. I promise.”

“CASSANDRA!” Mark hollered.

At that moment something happened I did not expect, there was a shadow blocking the doorway, a shadow caused by a tall man with red eyes and black wings. I knew instantaneously who he was. He was the man from my nightmare. I screamed and fell backwards into Mark’s arms.

I don’t know how long I was unconscious for, but when I came to I found myself alone, sitting on a large burgundy armchair facing a blazing fireplace in what appeared to be a library. From behind the chair I heard tinkering of some sort, and despite my fear of seeing that man again, I slowly peeked over my shoulder to see what might be happening. The room I was in was very strange— the half I was sitting in was an old fashioned library with built-in shelves, a desk, books, a fireplace and armchair… the other half of the room? It looked like a science lab out of a horror movie or from the set of Frankenstein. I shivered. The tinkering I heard? The man with black wings pouring ambiguous liquid into a beaker over a Bunsen burner.

“Ahhh, you’re awake.”

While I wanted to respond I really didn’t know what to say. The man slowly turned to face me, his black wings flitting slowly, small black feathers falling as he moved. He was wearing black pants, but was shirtless, black tattoos covering his skin in a Sanskrit language. I couldn’t tell how old he was, just as I hadn’t been able to tell that in my dream. I should have been repulsed, instead all I felt was a horrible curiosity and a sense that I was very much a mouse in a trap. “Cassandra. Finally we meet, face to face.”

“You’re real?”

“I am.”

“Who are you?”

There was a look in the man’s red eyes that was akin to sorrow— if he was capable of feeling such a thing. “Ahh, my dearest. It pains me to think that your wretched great grandmother hid your grandmother and your mother from me, and now that the story of your heritage was so unjustly hidden from you.”

He knew of my family? How did this-this strange creature from my nightmare know about my family? What did he mean my great grandmother had hidden my grandma and my mother from him? “That’s not the question I asked.” My voice wavered; I could feel a chill spreading over me. “Who are you?”

“I am Lucas.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of you. What are you?”

“Of course you haven’t.” Lucas took a step towards me, his wings spreading further open, stretching and filling the room. “Your past was hidden from you.”

I stood. I had to get out of here. Mark was right, I should never have come. If I was quick I would be able to duck under Lucas’ wings and make a run for it.

“I am the father of the Fallen.”

“Fallen from where?” I boldly stepped towards him, looking for a way to duck under his wings. “Heaven?”

Lucas laughed, but it was hollow sounding. “Yes.” His wings had almost completely unfolded, filling the open spaces in the small room, he took another step towards me. If he hadn’t had wings or red eyes I might have thought he was quite handsome, and not older than twenty at the most. “Yes.” Lucas repeated, as I realized we were standing face to face. “And if you hadn’t been here to guide me through the centuries it would have been too much for me to bear.”

If I was going to leave it would have been then, but I was frozen in place.

“You do not remember me, but I know a way to show you.” Lucas’ wings closed about me and his arms pulled me into a tight embrace. I closed my eyes expecting to see flames to feel the lava that always accompanied this man in my dreams but instead I felt cool skin against my own and a heartbeat thumping away. “Breath deeply, and let go.” I had no idea what that meant but I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

I opened my eyes. I was standing in a beautiful garden, so beautiful it hurt to look at. There were massive palm trees, huge magnolia bushes, tall grass— everything looked bigger and brighter, younger even. I skipped along through the grass towards a pond, my hair flowing out behind me in the cool breeze. It felt so good to be alive! I came to a stop by the water and looked down at my reflection; there were flowers braided in my hair, and I was naked, but I didn’t care. I laughed and ran into the pond sending water flying everywhere.

“Cassandra!”

I turned to see a man with white wings standing at the edge of the water, he was so bright that he was glowing. I knew it was wrong, but he was mine. I lifted my arms and he flew towards me, picking me up from the ground and soaring into the blue sky above.

“I love you Luc.” I wrapped my arms around him as we flew.

The image faded. I blinked and found I was standing in a hut, a broom in my hand and a fur skin dress tied loosely hanging off me. Whatever was the point of sweeping a dirt floor— it would never be clean. With a sigh, I put the broom down and went outside. There was a man and boy there. I knew the man was my husband and the child my son, the man was sending my son off with relatives. The boy looked back at me once, tears in his eyes— but I knew what had to be done. My mother had told me this day would come. I could still hear her soft whispers and feel her arms about me.

“When he comes, you must send everyone away. There will be death, yes. It is our curse.”

I had seen him in my dreams. Calling me. Telling me it was time. I knew my husband was going to die. He had to die so I could be free… free for him— for Luc. I felt no remorse, only a solemn sadness that I would not see my child grow into a man, but he could not die, our line must continue.

Again the image faded and when I opened my eyes I was sitting on a bench dressed in a pale pink toga. I giggled. Father had sent my first husband to war, he was an ignorant oaf, and the maid was raising my daughter. I was free to go to be with the one I loved. I put my hand on my abdomen. I hadn’t told anyone I had married Luc, but I would not be able to hide for much longer that I was pregnant with his child. I was going to tell him tonight. I felt a swell of pride that he would certainly feel as well, since I felt certain it was a boy child.

I closed my eyes— and over and over again all I saw and felt was images from the past, pictures frozen in time of women who looked exactly like me, all loving the same man, Luc or Lucas, as he was calling himself these days. Only I knew the truth— Luc wasn’t short for Lucas, it was short for Lucifer. The last image I saw that burned into my eyes was of my great great grandmother as a seventeen year old, she was very pregnant lying on a bed alone— the midwife just out of sight.

“I don’t know what’s wrong, Cass. It should be a normal delivery, but you keep telling me it doesn’t feel the same as your first and I have yet to see the appearance of the little man. Perhaps he’s just taking his time?”

“No, he’s coming. Bring Arabella here. I want to say goodbye.”

“Now don’t talk like that!”

“Please?”

There was a rustle of cloth and then a small girlish face in my view. “Goodbye, my love. Remember to tell my story, it must be passed down. It is our curse, but someday it will end and we will be free. Remember, mama loves you.” There was an ache so strong it made me gasp. “It’s time.” I could hear the midwife passing Arabella on to someone beyond the confines of this room.

“You really shouldn’t talk like that.” The midwife was chiding me. “Scaring your daughter so. I’m sure your new husband will be back soon and he’ll look after all four of you and—”

There was a ripping sound and a burning sensation of pain as a tiny fist pushed its way out of my abdomen. The midwife was screaming. The fist was followed by black wings and an infant’s first cry. I fell lifeless onto the table.

There were tears on my face that I didn’t remember crying.

“There, there, my dear. Hush, it’s alright. It’s alright.” Lucas rubbed my back, but it did not ease the suffering of what I had just seen.

I knew now that my family was cursed. I wondered if that was really why my father was dead. Was Lucas ready to swoop in and take her? Is that why she had married Ray so quickly? Why she had suddenly been so interested in our family heritage? I shivered. Why she acted like she already knew what I’d seen in my nightmares? I wanted fresh air; I wanted to be as far away from here as possible. Wiping my tears away I looked up.

Lucas stood transformed— his arms were still wrapped loosely about my waist, but his wings were gone and his eyes no longer rimmed in red. I blinked, had I imagined it all? The guy who was standing here with me had blonde hair, blue eyes and pale tattooed skin, not topless, but wearing a white tee with a black leather jacket, in fact, if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was Mark.

“What?” I stammered.

“You don’t really expect me to go out and reveal my true form to everyone do you?”

“But-”

“Shhh.” Lucas whispered. “Let’s go meet your parents. I’m sure they would love to meet the most important man in your life.” Lucas released me from his arms and took my hand. “After all, this should be a most intriguing conversation. Don’t you think so?”

7 Loving [the Devil] Lucas

I don’t remember much of what happened after that. My mind and body didn’t want to connect as if they both knew if they did, chaos would ensue, never had I experienced this disconnected feeling— not even when my father had died. The day my father had died I had sobbed almost inconsolably, so had my mother, but I had still been able to connect to my emotions. Somewhere deep within me I’d known that the pain of loss wouldn’t last forever so I clung to happy memories of my father. Here? In this situation?

So many memory fragments floated around in my head that I ached, and none of them were my own memories! In a strange contorted way each memory fragment echoed the one before, the same twisted sense of happiness, where so much pain, death and sorrow ensued. How had my ancestors put up with this? What had the original Cassandra back in the Garden of Eden given up— to be with such a monster and why? I closed my eyes and saw him again as she had— an Angel, a being of pure light. How had he ended up here— Fallen and distorted, a twisted memory of what was supposed to be good?

We left the basement, finally— and I had never been more grateful for fresh air blowing in my face, or the freedom to think my own thoughts, not have someone else’s memories imposed upon me. I tried to swallow the fact that my life was a ticking time bomb. I felt a surge of pride for my grandmother, who, even though she had looked exactly like myself had been so cleverly named Arabella— like the last Cassandra had been trying in her own way however subconsciously to rebel, to break the curse over my family. My grandmother also was brave, she had named my mother Mariah— as if she knew that she would be the one to break the line of women drawn in by this evil man. I wondered how she had managed to hide from Lucas, and hide my mother from him as well. If only she had told my mom in some part, the truth so my mother wouldn’t have named me Cassandra— wouldn’t have exposed me to the evil and horrors of things that go bump in the night. Now I understood all too well why my family’s favorite saying was, ‘A dream is a dream. We make our own futures.’

How many of my ancestors had lived and died by this saying? Or had it been something that my grandmother had made up— knowing that someday this phrase would bring comfort to me in this hour… In this case, it didn’t matter. My dreams were not dreams, and I could not make my own future, my future was not my own, I would die, and with my death, the line would be ended— our curse lifted. Perhaps this was creating a new future?

“You seem troubled.”

We’d left Saint Mary’s Cathedral behind us and made our way into the heart of the city. I’d often walk these streets, often thinking about leaving it all behind, traveling far far away, as far away from Ray as I could— ironic that I would never get to do the very thing I longed to, but I would still be as far away from Ray as possible. I just hoped Ray would be able to keep my mother from diving too deep into herself when the time came… “I’m a dead woman walking. Did you really think that I would feel anything other than trouble?”

Lucas didn’t reply.

I didn’t want to die. I also didn’t want to marry the devil. I just wanted to be free. I wanted the pain of all the women in my head who were supposed to be me to be gone. I wanted to-

“Soon you won’t feel anything at all my love.”

That was not what I wanted to hear.

We walked past a group of middle-schoolers who started snickering because Lucas and I were holding hands. If only they knew his touch creeped me out and for all his good looks? Lucas, was the Devil— who had killed… “How many?”

“What’s that?”

“How many have you killed?”

“Cassandra I really don’t think that it’s necessary to hash out the details, I mean, it’s just so trivial. You understand, don’t you?”

I stopped walking, my feet didn’t want to move anymore, we were only a block from where I lived. “I need to know Lucas. How many women from my family have you killed?”

“The world is only a young sapling, dearest.” A pedestrian with a penny board under his arm walked by and looked at Lucas like he was a crazy person— I mean what twenty old man used the word ‘dearest’ to his girlfriend? Like zero to the millionth? “I mean, the world isn’t ageless. Neither are people. Our journey started six thousand years ago.”

Six thousand years? He’d been killing women in my family for SIX THOUSAND YEARS? The man was a maniac! How did he ever expect that I, like all my relatives, would fall for him? There was no way-

“I suppose we should go over how we met.” Lucas’ voice startled me from the silence of my thoughts. “I mean how you and I in this current lifetime met.”

“I suppose.” Although I would have loved to know how he’d met my original namesake, and what had convinced her to willingly give herself to Lucas.

“Well— we did meet in the cemetery, we could just run with that. The less of a lie it is to tell, the better I’m sure you would be able to make it sound true.”

I felt my eyebrows raise.

“Don’t look at me like that. It is true a lie rarely escapes your perfect lips.”

This was pathetic. Did he think those lines were actually going to work? I lied all the time! Small lies, yes, white lies but I knew how often they came out of my mouth. Who did he think I was? I was not my ancestors, I hoped he knew that.

“I suppose this will be our last hurrah, seeing as you will leave no human children of your own to carry on your line.”

“You do realize I’m almost sixteen, right?” Although I did feel glee about him never laying a hand on anyone else from my family. That I would be the one to take him down, that in my death there would be a small victory. “People in this millennia don’t usually get married until their in their twenties, sometimes later— if at all…”

“Yes. Mark and Christopher have been updating me on all the current things of your time. I am much too busy to do so myself— I have many other, shall we say, priorities… It seems to me that the technology of this age has turned healthy adults who should in their own right be taking over the world, into children.”

I felt a little insulted that he thought I was a child, and that so was everyone else my age— we weren’t children, just because we weren’t married and had kids yet. “Isn’t that a little harsh?”

“Harsh?” Lucas laughed. “Every time we meet my love, you get younger and younger but your age never changes. You are always sixteen when we meet, and you have been, every time married and every time you’ve had a child already. This is the first time we have met that you have not experienced the world.” His green eyes seared into me as if he was trying to see my soul.

“Times are not like that anymore, and they haven’t been for a long time.”

“Pity. I was hoping we could continue our love story for another several thousand years— but since the world has become so childish, it is not to be.”

“And how does that work exactly?” I thought of Ray and my mother, it was unlikely that they were to have any children of their own— and if they did it would be a miracle. I mean I was almost seventeen… Why would they even bother? It would be like having a whole new family and— “Does the child have to be mine for the ‘curse’ to continue?”

“Yes. And it is not a curse. It is a blessing for me to continually know you and love you time and time again.”

We had reached the apartment. “That doesn’t seem like a blessing— if I have to die over and over again.”

“Oh, my love.” Lucas reached out with his free hand and gently caressed my cheek. “It is more painful for me than you could ever feel from death. I assure you I have barely gotten over you by the time I finally get to see you next.”

Really? He thought that was more pain than having a monster rip their way from inside to be born and then leave me lying there broken and lifeless? That was messed up.

“Not as messed up as a broken heart.” Lucas muttered, as if he had been crawling around in my skull and knew every thought that hid there. It made me feel as naked, as naked as the first of my ancestors who had fallen in love with the devil— but unlike her, I disliked the feeling. We climbed the steps and Lucas knocked on the door. “Remember Cassandra, you love me— you just haven’t discovered it yet.”

Ray opened the door as the last words left Lucas’ mouth. “There you are Cass! You mom’s been worried sick about you. Don’t you know how to send us a text to let us know you’re okay?… And who is this?”

Lucas stuck out his hand. “Luc Farrelli.”

Ray shook his hand but looked warily at me. “And how do you know my daughter?”

I cringed as the words left Ray’s lips. I was not his daughter! How many times did I have to tell him that?

“She’s my girlfriend.”

Ray didn’t even pretend to hide his shock. “I’m sorry what?”

“Can we come in?” Lucas kept his tight grip on my hand and pulled me around Ray and into the apartment. “Thanks.”

This was NOT going to go over well with Ray, I could already tell, tension was a high. I heard Ray shut the door behind us, and follow us into the kitchen, yup, trouble was brewing.

“If I may be so bold, what is this about, young man? I don’t recall ever seeing you before, and Cassandra has never mentioned you.” Ray paused, straightened his glasses and tie and looked over at me with massive concern scrawled across his forehead. “Cassandra, is this guy bothering you? I can call 911 right now, and have a restraining order written up. I have a judge who owes me a favor on speed dial.”

Restraining order? Now there was an idea… that would be hard to carry out if I saw Lucas in my subconscious while I slept, what would I do then? Imaginary call 911? I stared at Lucas again. In this form he looked like a troublemaking biker from some ‘cool’ gang. No wonder prim and proper Ray looked so worried.

“Look I don’t mean any trouble, I just thought it would be best to formally introduce myself to you since Cassandra and I decided we were officially dating, so I’ll be around more. Didn’t want you to seem as shocked as you are right now.”

WOW that sounded so ‘official,’ but not enough that I actually thought Ray would buy it— Ray was a lawyer, he had people lying to him right, left and center.

“Look dude.”

Yep, Ray saw through him. If Lucas had been a normal boy, he would be chewed up and spat out so fast he wouldn’t have known what to do, but Lucas was not a normal boy— he wasn’t even a boy. No, in this scenario I was more worried about my step-dad getting chewed up by the devil.

“Cassandra, as far as I know or her mother knows, has never had a boyfriend. If you knew Cassandra at all, you would know that she loves to study, excels at academics and wants to go to university. Quite frankly Luc—it is Luc isn’t it? You are completely out of her league.”

Oh oh. ‘If you knew Cassandra at all’? Ray had no idea what rage those words could spike in Lucas. It wasn’t that Lucas didn’t know ‘Cassandra,’ it was more like he didn’t know me at all. If I didn’t intercept I was afraid that Lucas would let loose on Ray and then my poor mother would be alone once again.

“Ray, it’s okay.”

Lucas stepped away from us and walked towards the window and stared out at the blooming sunset over the inlet.

“Are you sure?”

I wanted to tell him no— but I couldn’t risk my mom or Ray getting hurt by this evil maniac. “I’m sure.” For the second time ever, I gave Ray a small hug. “I promise.”

“Okay, but Cass, I know these guys— they walk all over you and when they’re done with you they leave you out in an alley bleeding and alone. I just want you to be careful.”

How right that was, but Ray could never know. “I will. Be careful.”

“Good.” Ray cleared his throat. “I was about to make lasagna, do you want to stay Luc? I’m sure that Mariah would like to meet the boy dating her daughter, and although we got off on the wrong foot, I’d like to get to know you as well.” Ray adjusted his wire frame glasses and stared at Lucas.

Lucas turned and nodded. “I would really like that.”

“Perfect. Well, this is going to take me a few minutes so you guys can hang out— but if you go into Cass’ room, the door stays open. Capeesh?”

I nodded as Lucas grabbed my arm and we left Ray in the kitchen. Lucas let me lead down the hall and to my room. The door was slightly ajar from this morning when I’d so eagerly left for Acroft and all the wonders it held. Has it really only been a day? It felt longer somehow, and I felt older. The fan was still oscillating, and my cat was asleep on the bed atop the massive pile of clothes my mother had purchased me. Lucas marched in and sat on the edge of the bed and began to pet my cat. I stood in the doorframe, not sure what to expect now.

“If you don’t like this form I can choose another.”

I shivered. Would I like Lucas in another form? Could I ever? I wasn’t sure.

“Any actor in the world— any boy from school… anyone, really.”

Sighing I walked into my room, leaving my door wide open and sat on the hard wooden desk chair.

“See Cass, the thing is— I’m the prince of this world. I can have whatever I want, and I want you.”

“I suppose I should feel flattered.”

Lucas jumped up and opened my wardrobe closet— hanging there was the scarlet dress. “Did you like my gift?”

I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked but I was. So, it hadn’t been my mother after all. It had been Lucas. “And the journal?”

Lucas nodded. “Beautiful gifts for a beautiful woman.”

“My mother is going to hate you.” I whispered.

“Rightly so.”

“I don’t want this.”

“I can ease your pain, my love.” Lucas walked toward me and knelt so his head was on my knees.

“How? I will never love you.”

“I can put another Cassandra’s memories in your mind, and she will merely continue from where we last met.”

The thought was appalling. “What would happen to me?”

“You would still be in there, but she would make all decisions and calls for you.”

It was horrible, completely awful. “Would I ever get to be me again?”

“When I am not around I assure you, I will let you be completely yourself, the Cassandra you are now.”

I stared down at his big eyes, human eyes looking up at me. If he had been human, perhaps I would have swooned, if I had been a different Cassandra, perhaps… but I knew too much— and I would never love him. If I was to survive the ordeal perhaps this was the only alternative solution. “Can I pick which version of Cassandra?”

Lucas looked shocked I was even considering it. “Yes, of course.”

I had been curious about the original Cassandra— I wanted to know why she had chosen this life, this curse, if I was going to die, I wanted to know why. Perhaps if she was in my head, I would get to see the whole story— know why I had to die. “Then I agree.”

“Cassandra?”

It was unfortunate my mother chose to enter my room right at that moment. I’m sure we looked very intimate, and my mother wasn’t one to endure PDA of any sort.

“Mom!” I jumped up and Lucas fell over backward, which was a very human response. “This is, this is…”

“I’m Luc.”

Mom stared at Lucas as if he was toxic. “Have I met you somewhere? You don’t look familiar, but you feel familiar… “

Yeah— in your dreams.

“Sorry, Mrs…”

“It’s Mariah, Mrs. Pirot just makes me feel old. And yes, you should be sorry. I can’t believe Ray just left you two to your own demise. Well, I’ll have to learn all about you I guess. If Cassandra has taken a liking to you, you must be decent enough, despite the leather jacket… Why don’t we all convene in the great room? Ray’s assured me the lasagna is almost finished, and I’d love to hear how you two met.” Mom sent me a death glare.

“Of course. We’ll be there in a minute, mom.” I was worried she might keep standing there waiting for us, but she nodded and very slowly left. “We aren’t done with this conversation.” I hissed at Lucas as soon as my mother disappeared.

“I’ll say we aren’t. You still have to tell me who you want in your head.”

“Well, I can’t do it right now, I have to be me still.”

“And you can. She’ll just be floating along in there until it’s time for her to take center stage. And we might as well do it now, since your mom and dad doubt our relationship.”

“How will that help us?”

“Every other Cassandra but you loves me. It’s unfair, but true. I still believe you will grow to love me but-”

“Cass, Luc! You two coming?”

“We have to go— they’re waiting!”

“Just tell me which one, Cassandra!”

“Fine, the original Cassandra.”

“What?”

“Well, you said I could pick and-”

“For the love of Lasagna-” Ray’s voice floated down the hall.

“Fine. I did say you could pick.” I noticed a funny look on Lucas’s face, as if he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to allow me to have the original Cassandra in my head for some bizarre reason.

“Seriously, Lucas, we have to get going.”

Lucas put both his hands on my temples and closed his eyes. “Relax.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to take slow deep breaths. It was hard since all I wanted to do was scream, yell and run like hell away from hell.

Lucas pressed harder. “I said relax, not run a marathon.”

A tingling sensation seeped through my bones, a chill like I have never known, it lasted only a moment, then Lucas was removing his hands from my face.

“You’re right, we should get going.”

“Wait, did it work?”

“What is happening?”

The voice in my head was new. Was it her? Cassandra?

“Luc? My Love, can you hear me? I can see you, but how? And why are you wearing black?”

Emotions poured out of me, emotions that were not my own. Yup, it was her alright. I looked at Lucas and saw him through the original Cassandra’s eyes and let her twisted love for him radiate out of me. “Let’s go face my parents, ‘my love.’”

“Yes, my love, set me free.”

8 Mental Meltdown

I stared at myself in the glass, Luc had told me it was called a mirror, it showed me my reflection much like the stillness of a lake could, but in more clarity and without disturbance of the wind or wildlife. I’d been dead for six thousand years, but when I blinked the girl in the mirror blinked. Was it really me? This body was young, and hadn’t aged a day— how was this possible? I should be bones or dust or whatever happened to bodies after their life was extinguished, and unless time had been frozen for a few thousand years, which I highly doubted— I’d been brought back from beyond the grave.

“Well, Cassandra,” I whispered to my reflection. “Six thousand years looks as good on you as nine hundred did on Enoch.” And I should know, I’d often watched him walk and talk with God. It had stung that I had been cursed— that I had been rejected because of my love for Lucifer or Lucas as he was now calling himself. Rejection was my biggest struggle. My first husband had been killed by my secret vampire lover— who had been my first flirtation with the dark, that was when I’d begun to walk away from how I had been raised.

We’d run away for a very long time, as I pretended to grieve for my husband and left my children in the care of his family. We wandered the Pangea, sleeping in caves, on rocks— under the stars. I would have come back sooner but I was pregnant with his children— however, I fell asleep one day and when I awoke the heartbeats and bump, where I knew they once lay, was flat, empty. I was distraught. My babies had been stolen from me. My mother had only lost one child— and that was because my brother Cain had killed him. I had been so full of remorse— at the thought, I’d lost precious cargo, that I told him I needed to be at my home— in my garden with my people. We had fought, I said things that I knew would hurt him, and he left. His father came to see me soon afterwards and told me how I had broken his heart, and how he was dead. Killed in some accident, along with his sister. I was so distraught— now two of my husbands lay dead. My children from my first husband being raised by another and the children of my true love being stolen from my womb. I ran to my parents, to the garden— but we were locked out of the garden by then.

Luc was my angel of light in the sea of pain and loss; he had fluttered into my life while I was dancing in the moonlight by the shores of the sea—contemplating taking my own life. I was not a mother, I was not a wife and I needed to feel wanted, loved— desired. He had looked at my form and taken me into his arms wrapping his white wings around me, whispering I was too beautiful, had too much to live for to cast it all away. I had let him into my garden and let him take me to new heights. It had been brief, our romance, we promised our bodies, our souls to one another and that had been the beginning of my end. If I had known what was to follow, the heartache, the blood, violence, and war I would have run and hidden, as my mother and father had when they disobeyed God. But— he had been my bright and shining star, and I had been ripe for the plucking.

There were many details that I did not yet understand, things which I was not allowed to know as the battle raged. I’d been very pregnant then with Luc’s seed, and the children sent me pictures of how I was to die. Two boys, twins— who I would never live to meet, for the children burst forth from my womb, clawing their way out of my very body, wings and all— as my mortal self expired. I put my hands over my abdomen— thinking of the many children I’d carried, lost, and loved— but there was nothing there, for this body had not yet carried a child, which raised all sorts of questions in my mind.

As I lay dying in a cave, my newborn Nephilim screaming, fluttering their black wings I heard God’s quiet voice. I was to be punished for consorting with the devil— I’d been cursed. There in the dark, He told me that my children would always be at war— the vampires and the Nephilim. I did not understand, I had lost my vampire twins, they had never been born, they hadn’t been given a chance to live. I had died with that question in my mind— what did it mean? My human children, whom I had barely spent any time with at all, were also cursed, that until I learned not to love the devil— they would carry the consequences of my actions and that death and violence would always follow them, until ‘that’ day— whatever that meant. Darkness had descended and I had been held captive in a dark tower above a cliff of burning lava ever since, left alone with my thoughts, left to rot, in hell.

In six thousand years, I’d had a lot of time to think. I’d been mourning, yes, mourning. I had loved so deeply and lost so much. For while I had loved Luc last, I had not loved him most— a fact I had never told him. I was in love with my vampire mate, and the what if’s of our life, had I chosen to stay with him, despite losing our children. It was he, Marcus, who had set me free from my dull human husband and brought me adventure and excitement— Luc had in the beginning but in the end, I was led into flame, trapped by what my passions had brought upon me. It would never have been so with my love, now I carried his memory around like an ardent bloom. I sensed him, somewhere quite close, which should have surprised me, but if I was alive, then why shouldn’t he be? I was tempted to find him— to forget about Luc and run to my lover’s arms. I could feel his broken heart, he held it wrapped around him like one might dive into a pond and try to stay under as the water caressed each part of you— killing himself slowly.

The world had been so young when I’d been alive then, and I was so carefree, and so much more innocent than I was now. Angels had walked on earth alongside humans, and there had been no need for these silly clothes like I was wearing now. Children were given supernatural powers and lives that went into the thousands or years, even my own father had been six hundred when I had been born, and I was not by far the last of his children. The world was now covered in the descendants of my parents, the angels had left, besides the fallen, Luc and his many followers and children— and only a few were gifted with the supernatural. Vampires hid from the world, the Fae and shapeshifters, the seers… it was so different now. The world had changed, it had grown cold— while I longed for what once was or could have been— frozen in time.

Luc tells me there was a flood? An ice age? There had been wars, famine, disease… That the Pangea separated into what they call continents… that the reptiles I once trained to fly me into the heights had died, that the sky had burst open and endless water, rain, had fallen, destroying almost every living thing. There were hundreds if not thousands of languages, where once we all spoke the same language. The temperature of the planet once warm, humid, tropical had been destroyed— cold now existed, ice, snow… it was a savage world I was brought back to, and yet I could still not figure out why. Why had I been brought back now? Why had I been brought back at all? The last thing I heard when I died was the curse on my family, there had never been mention of me coming back— had there?

Now a stranger was living in my body— MY BODY. It made me feel violated. Last night I watched her hold my beloved’s hand as she spoke kind words to a woman who also looked like me, and a man who was her husband. I was there but not there— able to see and not able to speak, although I did try. Oh, I know the stranger, the pretender heard me, she told me to shut up. What a rude child. Does she not know I am the daughter of Eve? They’d eaten and drunk and broke bread, their chit chat had been idle and meaningless— with only one exception. Luc portrayed a man who was in love, in love with the pretender— my copy. We would have words about that soon, there wasn’t time last night when he brought me to the surface to tell me about this world he’d brought me back to. I mean how dare he think that honoring my memory was to get involved with pretenders who looked like me and carried my name and-

“Ah, hello?”

Oh, great— here is the pretender now, waking up from her giant nap. “What do you want?”

“There was a reason I brought you back.”

“Excuse me? You didn’t bring me back. My love, Luc did.”

There was a knock on the door, and the pretender’s mother, my other copy, poked her head into the girl’s room. “You okay Cass?”

“Of course!”

“Just thought I’d make sure— I mean wow, you have a boyfriend!”

Is that what it was called these days? “Yes.”

“And were you just talking to him there? I mean I thought I heard you say something— but you wouldn’t be talking to yourself… right?”

I laughed. “Of course, why would I be talking to myself?” You crazy woman.

“Right, just checking. Ray and I are heading out to the movies— you want to come? I mean I know you’re all big and grown up now— Miss, ‘I have a boyfriend’… but it is nice to hang out with you. I feel like we haven’t spent a lot of time together this summer.”

“Mom, I actually have some studying to do.”

What? That wasn’t my voice! It was the pretender! “STOP IT!”

“YOU STOP IT! You’re the one in my body and ps. You’ve been dead for six thousand years.”

“See you later.” I managed to keep a smile on my face as the woman left the room. “Do not be absurd. I am the original— you are a pretender, a copy and nothing more. As for the six thousand years, I do think I’m taking it all in stride, do you not think?”

“Cassandra!”

I heard the door to this strange house close. “If I am just in your head, why am I the one who is speaking and not you? And what’s with all this?” I ran my hand down the fabric of what was called clothes.

“Uhhh… it’s a dress?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Look, you’re in my world now, and we wear clothes. Weirdo.”

“They’re constricting. And hello— have you seen this body?”

“Cassandra— don’t you dare try to walk around my house naked!”

“And why not— no one’s home.” I pulled the dress from my body and dropped it on the floor.

“Seriously, STOP.”

I stood there in the white under clothing, pouting. At least this felt less restrictive. I stretched— “Finally.”

From somewhere I heard a knocking sound.

“Are you going to get that?”

“Do I have to?”

“Well, I guess not… but if you do, please put on some clothes.”

I grinned at my reflection. “I don’t think so. I think I will get that door after all.” I heard her screaming at me, the pretender, but I didn’t care. I skipped through the house in these white things and threw open the door, it was Luc.

“Hello, my love!”

I watched his jaw drop in horror. “Cassandra— what in heaven are you trying to do? Where are your clothes?” He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the house, slamming the door behind him.

“I told you so.”

“SHUT UP.” I felt irritation begin to stir in my heart.

“What were you thinking?”

“You have changed my love.” I hissed as I followed him to my pretenders room. “You aren’t at all like you used to be. You used to love the sight of me standing before you— and in less than this if I might add!”

Luc tossed the dress at me. “Put this on. Now.”

“But-”

“No buts. The world has changed Cassandra. I told you that already. If you try to go about as you once did— people will not only stare and take notice, they will put you in a place where there are sick people, disturbed people— and I can’t let that happen.”

“Why did you bring me back?” My voice reached a pitch that was so high it might have been a squeal. “Oh, take me now like you used to.”

“EWWW… GROSS.”

“SHUT UP!” I shouted as I threw the dress, which hit Luc in the face and put my hands over my head squeezing my eyes closed. “SHUT UP YOU STUPID PRETENDER! SHUT UP!”

There was a flutter and I was once again surrounded by wings and cool arms like I once had been so long ago. “Oh, my dearest Cassandra.”

I opened my eyes and looked up, searching for those blue eyes that once knew my soul— and white feathery wings only to see eyes rimmed in red, and instead of white wings, black— dark wings, and I knew the truth, he was pure evil.

“I told you so?” My pretender muttered, reading my thoughts.

I wanted to jerk away, but he would know something was wrong, and that would be very bad instead, I let him pull me close to his pale white skin and rub his hand down my back.

“I never wanted you to see me this way.”

His hands were all over me and I wanted to scream. “Tell me why you’ve brought me back.” I gritted out through my closed teeth.

“This Cassandra, well, she is the last of your line, my love. The last version of you for me to cherish, but alas-” he moaned and buried his disfigured face in my hair. “She doesn’t love me as you did.”

The scream was so close in my throat, if he didn’t let go of me soon I would let it out. “Why did you bring me back?”

“She is the chosen— she will be mine, and you will make it so. You of all my loves are the gentlest, mildest at heart— you can make her choose to be my mate or I will take from her what is mine— but it will not bring me any joy.”

“HELP ME.”

“Can’t you just take her as you once did me?”

“There are laws now.” Luc’s hands dropped and he stepped away from me and began to pace the room, I felt the scream retreating now that I was no longer locked in his arms. “Laws that once never were, I have to marry her, you, I mean.”

I did not understand— but I did not have to. “What will you do for me if I help you?”

“NO Cassandra, Don’t help HIM! Help me get out of this.”

“She is the last in your line. When she dies you will be free to finally rest.”

“Will I be freed from the curse?” At last, I would be able to ascend to heaven, to rest in peace… it was too good of an offer to pass up.

“Yes.”

“Please don’t…”

“Very well. I will help you, on one condition.”

“Whatever you ask for, my love.”

“When you take her, I mean me— I want to see you as I once did, wings of white— eyes of blue… I never want to see this image ever again.” I waved my arm up and down at Lucifer’s demonic form. “Ever.”

“Whatever you wish.” Luc’s form trembled and shifted until he looked like himself, but without the wings. “I agree to your terms.”

“Now leave me. I am tired— and must prepare this one,” I tapped my head. “For what is to come.”

“Of course. I will locate the priest, then I will come for you.”

I nodded, then he was gone. I didn’t know he possessed such powers.

“How DARE you promise to marry me to that demon.”

“Stop whining. He promised me that the curse would end.”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Well, neither did I, but that didn’t stop it from happening did it?” My head hurt, I just wanted to cry.

“And I’m in school. I want to finish.”

“What is school?”

“OMG.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where you go to learn?!”

“Ah, you mean life.”

The pretender sighed.

I picked up the dress and put it back on, my mind still drawn to my vampire love. He was alive— six thousand years later? How was that possible? His father said he had died… I knew vampires had everlasting life— they had stolen the fruit from the Tree of Everlasting Life right before we’d been kicked out of the garden and the Seraphim with flaming swords had been put up to keep us all out. Yes, they had been human once— until they’d eaten of the fruit and been cursed, their curse was worse than mine. They would only be able to survive on blood— and God had forbidden his people to drink blood. They had been cast out, cursed to live and never die but what sort of life was that? I mean— “I have an idea, I think I know how to save you, and end the curse, but first you’re going to have to die.” This time, Lucifer, or Lucas— whatever he wanted to call me? He wasn’t getting exactly what he wanted, oh— I’d be the meek, mild submissive lamb, right up to the time I was slaughtered, but first, “it’s time to make a plan.” Yes, this time, I— Cassandra, would win. I grinned at myself in the mirror. This-this was why I had been brought back.

9 Plans and Plots

Being alive is so very burdensome. I had forgotten after six thousand years of being dead, what it felt like to need to eat— to feel your stomach growling, demanding to be answered. I had forgotten what it felt like to need to sleep, to feel tiredness descend upon one’s very soul. And there were other bodily functions I had forgotten about; things one needed to do to take care of one’s self. I sighed. Life, if I could call it that— when I had been trapped in the black tower in the pit of hell, was much simpler— there I had simply existed, here I had to interact with other humans and pretend that I was someone I wasn’t. How was it possible that Lucifer had taunted and tainted so many women from my family line? I had known I was cursed, but I didn’t think God literally meant that the devil would kill all the women in my line… with the exception of Arabella and Mariah, he had slaughtered them all. Oh, of course he wouldn’t have called it that… no, HE thought he was doing us a favor, by bringing us back together, time and time and time and— no more. This wasn’t love! What he and I had had together, that had been once— a forbidden and quick love, but I had loved him. Now? A part of me craved him, after being alone for so long, to see one you loved? Of course, I would be crazy not to.

I sat up in the pretender’s bed, not having slept at all. I had begged her, the other Cassandra, to let me be in charge for a few days, just to get used to all these modern things I had never seen or heard of— like electricity, technology, the way people spoke… these slang words and colloquialisms, I could barely get my head around. Pushing myself up off the bed I walked over to the desk and sat, Mitzi, the cat jumped on my lap. This cat was so small, and yet, I couldn’t help but love her— she was the one living thing I felt like I could talk to, and she would just purr and allow me to be me, ancient and yet not, without judgment.

“Oh Mitzi! What am I going to do? I don’t know if the other me, I mean the other Cassandra will like this plan.. and I have no guarantee it will even work…” Mitzi looked up at me with her green eyes, her cat-like eyes, reminding me of Marcus, and she purred as I pet her. “But I have to try, don’t I?” Sighing, I put the cat on the ground and swiveled the desk chair, opening the drawer and pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. I had only recently learned how to write in this language, English, preferring the pictographs and symbols of my youth, which was a slight advantage now, knowing no one would be able to decipher my plans on this paper. The pens were wonderful, ink flowed out of them so smoothly and made it easy to keep records of what one wanted to say. Mitzi not annoyed or put off that I had placed her on the floor rubbed up against my legs purring. “Alright Mitzi, here is the plan.” I paused briefly, making sure that my duplicate, Cassandra, was not eavesdropping… “I was thinking about the vampires. They don’t die, I mean one can kill them, but they don’t naturally die. So,” Yes, so… now would be the tricky part, or at least the part Cassandra the last Cassandra in my line might not like. “As a scarlet woman, as I know from being the first of them all-” I squirmed in the hard wooden chair. “I have to die to be free of the curse, but I can only die if I am human.” Human… was I even human anymore? These humans that existed in the now seemed so different then my brothers and sisters— were they truly daughters and sons of Adam?

The fan, which I loved, oscillated and blew my hair and papers everywhere, sending shivers down my spine. I sighed and collected all the papers from where they had landed, again putting them on the desk in front of me. Mitzi jumped up and landed on the desk, planting herself on top of the papers I had just gathered. “That’s not helpful!” I scolded her, but as she meowed in return, my heart squeezed, and I knew I’d already forgiven her. I picked up the cat, put my pen on top of the papers in her place, and pulled her into a hug as I pet her, and she purred. I stood and began to pace the room, this little domesticated jungle cat in my arms. “So, if I am not human, then I won’t die.” I had been doing research on vampires, on this thing Cassandra had called a laptop— when I had been younger, and alive, I wasn’t aware that vampires could turn others to their race, I had just naively believed that they were born that way… after all, who would want a half life, even if it meant you would live forever. Now that I knew humans could be turned, the tiny thought I’d had the other day was taking a more definite shape. All I needed to do was to find a vampire willing to turn me, or this Cassandra— speaking of which, why had I been brought back? This Cassandra could have brought any of my past versions back, but she had asked for me? Was it because I was the only one who could figure out how to break the curse?

“What if I can’t find a vampire who will help me?” I fell backwards onto the bed, and Mitzi squirmed in my arms, not liking this change of positioning, I let her go, rather than suffer her murder mittens. I had been scratched by her a few times in the first few interactions I had had with her. Mitzi scrambled off the bed and went to play with a ball of yarn that was in the corner of the room. “Of course, there are lots of vampires at Acroft High…” Or I assumed they were based on what I had gleaned listening to Cassandra’s interactions with Mark, and the girls in her class. I could see their true form, what I didn’t understand was why Cassandra couldn’t. The girl, Violet, reminded me of my mother— Eve. I hadn’t thought about her at all in a long long time. I felt like no one really knew her, the real her, my mother. Sure, there were myths and stories, but my fierce independent mother had been reduced to a footnote in history. Of course, she was the mother of all living, all humans, but she was much much more than that. My mother was not mild and fearful, she fought hand in hand with my father when animals attacked us, once we were pushed out of the garden. She disciplined us when we disobeyed, and she led our family— equally alongside Adam, helping him in every way he asked or needed, sometimes without even realizing he needed what she supplied. I had rebelled often, being punished for my disobedience, but afterward, my mother had pulled me into her arms and sang to me our history, and how loved we were by God. As much as I wanted to think I was different then my mother, I knew a lot of who I was, and how I acted was because of her model of motherhood and womanhood. My mother was a survivor, and now I had the ability to not just allow my family line to survive, but also to break the curse set upon me. Yes, we were going to survive. I would finally be at peace… but was that what I wanted? To go into a peaceful sleep, and enter the pearly white gates? I threw a pillow over my face, just as the alarm on the clock beside the bed screeched, which meant it was morning, and the other Cassandra would be waking soon, and I would be pushed to the background again, forced to either sleep or listen to her inane thoughts, and conversations as she went to school… unless…

“Okay Cassandra.”

Ahhh, here she was already…

“I gave you the whole weekend, and now I expect you to-”

“Wait!”

“What now?”

“Yes, you gave me the weekend, but please, let me have a few more days!” I tried not to think about my plan, so she wouldn’t see or hear what I was going to try to do.

“And why the hell should I?”

“I just need a few more days to figure out the ‘bumps’ if that’s what you’d call them, in this plan. I mean, you do want my plan to work, right?”

I felt her sigh, even though she was just a presence in the back of my brain, and I was still in control of her body. “You know, you’d have to go to school as me-as Cassandra? You’d have to actually take classes, and learn things?”

“Actually, that’s exactly what I was hoping for!”

“Really?”

“Yes really,” I muttered, as I stood and went over to the wardrobe. I opened it and pulled out a pair of jeggings, and a purple tank top. “I was thinking it was time for me to see if I could pull off being you— and this will be a great test.”

“And this will help you?”

“Absolutely.” I made a face at the outfit I had pulled out of the closet and threw the ensemble onto the bed, searching through the closet for something else.

“I mean-I guess… as long as you don’t put me in clothing that’s-” she stopped short when she saw me holding up a floral dress with a sweetheart neckline and low scooped back. “Really?”

“What? It’s actually not that bad.” I held the dress up to myself and spun around, “I love the pattern, it’s like wearing a garden!” A giggle rose in my throat— I hadn’t laughed in, well in forever. I had forgotten I could laugh.

“Alright. Fine.”

I pulled the pink cotton nightie off and slipped into the dress, tying the back strap into a bow and then standing back to admire the way the dress fell, and swirled. “See? It has these cute little puffed sleeves, and it even goes just above my knee— there is no way you can tell me you think this dress is… what was the word you used?”

“Immodest.”

“Yes, that’s the word.” I closed the closet, and picked up the little gray purse I’d found yesterday when I’d been digging around in her stuff. “Does this go with the dress?”

“Um, I guess?”

“Perfect.” I opened the purse that Cassandra always seemed to use, and swapped over her wallet, lip gloss, keys, phone and iPod. “Also, thanks.” I waited for a reply, but my pretender seemed to be too annoyed with me to dignify me with an answer. “Look, I think we should lay down some ground rules.”

“Really— you want something else? I’m shocked.”

“It’s nothing really— just a trifle.”

Another sigh. “Just tell me Cassandra. I’m getting tired.”

My whole plan depended on Cassandra, my pretender, not knowing the details of this plan, so I couldn’t have her popping up whenever she wanted. “When I am you, and vice versa— I think we shouldn’t eavesdrop, unless we have permission.”

“You mean you want me to take a backseat in my own brain?”

“Please?” I bit my lip and held my breath. She had to say yes, she just had to.

“As if I have much choice. You’ll also not ‘eavesdrop’ on me when I’m me again?”

“Promise, cross my heart!”

“Fine. But Cassandra, don’t screw this up.”

I nodded, and I felt her fall away, back into the recesses of wherever we went when the other person was in control of this body. “Great. Part one of this plan is in progress, now-” Now, all I had to do was convince Violet I wasn’t crazy and to help me. Here’s hoping she is as kind and generous as she seemed. Out in the kitchen I could hear Ray or Mariah puttering around. My stomach growled. “Well, I guess it’s off to face the parents.” I left the bedroom and made my way towards the sweet aroma of coffee— that was one beverage that I truly loved.

Ray was in the kitchen, humming, he had obviously just come in from a run, he was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, and I could smell how sweaty he was. I crinkled my nose just as he turned to look at me.

“Oof— I smell that bad, hey?” Ray had a frying pan in one hand and a flipper in the other. “Well, let me just finish making breakfast and I’ll hit the shower.”

I nodded, and went to grab a mug out of the cupboard. Cassandra had mixed emotions about her step-father. When I looked at him, I saw a human, who might just possess some abilities to see or sense the supernatural, but that was it. He was, of course, a real leader and go-getter— he was a man who saw what he wanted and was not afraid to go get it. That was the real reason he had married Mariah Pirot. It was also the reason that he had adopted Cassandra, Mariah’s daughter— this man had always wanted a wife, and a family, and now he had both. He truly loved his step-daughter, that much was clear. What was not clear is why Mariah had acted the way she had— I could sense she was hiding things from both her husband and from her daughter, but what? I did not know. “Mom home?” I asked as I reached for the coffee pot.

Ray laughed, “don’t worry, you’re safe. Drink your caffeine little lady. I promise not to tell.” Ray flipped a pancake off the frying pan and onto a plate. “Also, eat up— I don’t want you starving on your way to school.”

I rolled my eyes, but grabbed the plate, and sat down on the bar stool and watched Ray hum as he continued to make a stack of pancakes. I slathered butter onto the pancake and doused it with syrup. “You really like cooking, don’t you?”

“Yes, I guess so.” Ray pushed his wire frame glasses onto his face, and glanced at me. “Someone has to make sure you ladies eat more than just takeout.”

“Thanks.” I am sure that was referring to the way that Cassandra and her mother ate before Ray came into their lives, but because I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, I refused to comment or make a witty remark in rebuttal.

“Are you enjoying school these days?” Ray turned off the stove top and leaning against the cupboard watched me carefully, his arms crossed against his chest. Ray was from what I had observed, an excellent lie detector.

I swallowed my mouthful, and washed it down with a giant gulp of coffee. “Yeah, I think I’m even making friends.” Well, that much was true.

“Look at you, branching out, a boyfriend, friends other than Melanie… What’s next, you moving out, or going to some fancy university?”

I laughed. All that was quite absurd. “One step at a time! Right?”

“Right. Well, I’m off to shower, then I’ll be heading into the office. Look, after work, your mom and I are heading to a corporate meeting, slash ‘party’ to celebrate signing this big client for the firm, so we won’t be home till late. You going to be okay here by yourself?”

Was I going to be okay? Of course, this worked really well with my plans. “Yeah, absolutely.”

“Awesome. I’ll leave some money for takeout in the drawer,” he pulled out his wallet and put a few twenty dollar bills in the drawer by the oven, “and you make sure to make good choices, okay? Like no boyfriend over while we’re out?” Ray gave me a death glare.

As if I wanted to see Lucifer, I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, Ray. And no problem. I was going to see if my new friends wanted to maybe hang out after school, I mean with Melanie gone, it might be nice to have a girls night!”

“Excellent.” Ray looked so relieved. “And hey, if those girls want to come back here, totally cool. Now, I’m going to hit the shower, and head to work, see you later, hon.” Ray started humming again and left the room.

Perfect. Everything was coming together really nicely. Now— off to school and see if Violet and Irene wanted to hang out— I’d love to see what vampires did for fun in their free time— and maybe just maybe then, I could see if Violet would help me. I grabbed another pancake from the stack Ray had left on the counter, and collecting the gray purse, left the kitchen and then the house behind me.

I didn’t mind the thirty minute walk to the school. There was so much to see, and so many different kinds of humans out and about. I watched business men, very similar to Ray, rush about— briefcases in hand, cellphones at their ears, serious looking faces… There were joggers about, and mothers with strollers and coffee cups from the local Starbucks in hand… everyone seemed to be busy, rushing, not looking at where they were really going, or what beauty existed around them. The commercial storefronts gave way to a more residential area, here, there were less people, but lots of houses, packed into narrow pieces of property, with lots of steps leading to shadowed front doors… I wondered what it might have been to grow up in this world, instead of my own— and as I did I heard a car horn honk at me, I looked up, and saw Violet waving out of a dark green sedan, she rolled down the window,

“Hey Cassandra! Want a ride up the drive?” I hadn’t realized how close I was to the school, but I must have been walking along the ivy-covered brick wall for some time, because the gate into Acroft was looking just up ahead.

“Sure!” I skipped over to the sedan, and pulled open the back door and slid into the car. The first thing I noticed now that I was in the car was that Violet wasn’t driving, “Oh, I didn’t realize you weren’t alone.”

Violet giggled, and the driver, a tall muscled vampire with dark brown hair and neon green eyes turned to look at me. “Hi.”

“Hi yourself.” I mumbled back, realizing at once I recognized that dark brown hair with the fine red highlights along his scalp. “I’m Cassandra.”

The vampire nodded, “yeah, my wife has been telling me all about you.” He smiled and flashed his brilliant white toothed grin at me. “I’m Viktor, Viktor Worthington.”

“Your Juliette Steinheart, I mean Worthington’s son?”

Violet and Viktor shared a look, clearly, I had said something that had given away I wasn’t Cassandra, or the Cassandra they knew… shit.

“You know who my mother is?”

“Ummmm….”

“Violet, I thought you said that Cassandra was a human who knew nothing about our world…”

“Well, yeah. I mean, that’s what I thought.”

“So, how does she know who my mother is, and her maiden name?”

I sighed. So much for pretending to be Cassandra. “Look, Cassandra is human.”

“And now she’s talking about herself in third person?”

“Viktor, I can call you Viktor, right?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. “I am Cassandra— human, marked by the Nephilim, that much is true.” I took a deep breath, “but I am also not.”

“What do you mean, not?”

“Violet, look into my eyes. I know you have the gift of foresight, and the ability to sense when something is false, you can read emotions, and even control them— please, you will be able to see if I am lying.”

Violet locked eyes with me, her jaw slightly agape. “How?”

“Please?”

Violet nodded.

“While it is true, Cassandra Pirot was marked by a Fallen, and it is also true that she transferred to the accelerated program here at Acroft, what you do not know is-” How did I say the rest? I struggled to find the words. “There is a curse on my family— a curse that every woman in my line must bear— we are born destined to die, to die at the hand of the Fallen. I come from a long line of scarlet women. In the beginning we were cursed by God for picking, for choosing… for loving the devil himself. This-Cassandra, the human who entered your world, she is the last in this line of women to bear the mark. She has no children to continue the line, but she is still doomed to die— and faced with the devil himself, and seeing no way out, she asked him if-if…”

Both Violet and Viktor were so dialed in, staring at me as if trying to figure out how to process what I was saying.

“She asked him, if, to bear the pain, she might be able to bring another past version of Cassandra back, so when the time came, she would not have to be the one to endure the mental and emotional pain of being taken— and the Cassandra she asked for? Me. The daughter of Eve, her original ancestor.”

Violet broke eye contact with me and looked at her husband Viktor. “She’s not lying babe, you know I can tell when people are lying… I don’t know how it’s possible, but she’s telling the truth. And now that I think about it, I can sense her presence, it’s not the same as Cassandra, this presence is ancient, powerful…”

Viktor grunted, “I don’t like it.” He looked away from Violet and stared me down. “That still doesn’t explain how you know my mother…”

“That-that is a longer story, and if we’re not careful we’re going to be late for school.”

“Okay, so let’s say we believe you, Cassandra. What is it you want? Why are you here?”

Viktor pulled the car up to the gate, and violet swiped her gate pass. The massive iron wrought gates swung open and Viktor drove the car up onto the ancient property of Acroft.

“I’m here because I need your help. I know how to break the curse, so Cassandra won’t die, and the rest of the women in my line can finally be set free and their souls finally allowed into the pearly white gates.”

The car slowed to a stop in the parking lot, Viktor looked at me from the rear view of his mirror. “And how could we help you with something like that?”

“I need you to help me become a vampire.”

10 After School Adventures

I played over the rest of the conversation from the car in my head through the rest of the day- Viktor thought I was crazy, to come between a marked woman and a Nephilim was apparently a really bad idea, and Violet felt my pain and frustration knowing that my last descendant was to die and that the souls of women from my line were either in hell or trapped in the void. They had both asked me what my plan was, but I told them I wasn’t sure, I hadn’t thought further than to ask for help. Viktor had told Violet and I to go to school and that he would talk to his mother, and see what they might be able to come up with— and to meet him tonight, at some place he called, Plumanara, where we would reconvene and discuss the topic further. Violet and I had agreed, somewhat hesitantly, because Mark Farrelli was in our class, and he was for all intensive purposes a spy. I tried to show no interest in the fact that Mark was one of a set of twins, and that he was Lucas’ oldest son— after all I had no intention of letting Viktor or Violet know I had born Lucas those children, at the dawn of the world— I had a sneaky suspicion that they wouldn’t like that bit of information. Turns out all my worrying was for nothing, Mark was absent, something to do with maintaining some werewolves in the night class, not that it mattered. The next time Mark saw me, aka Cassandra, I wouldn’t be at the helm… something told me he would be able to sense my presence, and that would ruin everything. Someday, I’d have to face all my children, but today didn’t feel like the right day to do so.

I stifled a yawn, if not for the fourth or fifth time that day, and Irene smacked me lightly, “psst. Don’t fall asleep again!”

Flimheart cleared his throat, and glared at us. I sighed. ‘School,’ and learning might be interesting for Cassandra, but I was bored out of my mind, being stuck in this stuffy classroom all day, when what I wanted was to be outside, wandering in the beautiful world, in nature. Human and supernatural beings alike seemed to be taking the gloriousness of the world for granted, and yet, we were the earth’s stewards… something this age of people and supernatural beings alike had forgotten. “Alright class, ten minutes and we’ll return with our final class subject of the day, the myth of the human who lived to be nine hundred, Enoch.” My head snapped up, as the classroom came alive, students rushing out to grab some fresh air, or chat with friends— I found I couldn’t move. “Ah, Cassandra, welcome back to class. It’s nice to see that we finally have your attention.” Flimheart sent me a fleeting smile and turned to scribble on the white board behind him. I didn’t have too much time to contemplate a reply because Violet grabbed my arm and steered me into the hallway where we met Irene.

“So, here’s the plan. Viktor is working at Plumanara tonight— Cassandra wants to see what all the hype is about, and I figured we should probably come clean with her…”

Irene shot Violet a guarded glance, “come clean?” Her voice came out as a squeak.

“Come on Irene, she already knows.”

“But we’re not allowed to talk about it. It’s against the rules to tell hum-”

“To tell humans that you’re vampires?” I finished for her.

Irene almost screamed, and jumping looked all the way around us, but we were alone in the hallway.

“Calm down Irene. You’re going to give yourself an ulster.” Violet rolled her eyes at Irene and then met my own again. “So, I am what they call a Pureblood, I can trace my ancestry back, well— probably almost as far as you can.” She blushed, and I knew what she meant. “While my dear Irene here? She is what we call a mixed blood, she wasn’t turned, she was born this way, but someone in his family was turned, hence the bright pink hair— it’s a birth defect.”

“HEY!” Irene cried, “I am not defected!”

“Sorry, Irene.” Violet said in a voice that was super sincere, she took Irene’s arm and patted it gently, “I didn’t mean to say you are. It’s how I was raised to think. Please forgive me, friend.” In a matter of moments Irene was calm. It was intriguing to watch her gift of emotional manipulation at work. “Anyways,” she continued, “there are now more of them, the mixed bloods, then there are of us— the Purebloods.”

I nodded. “And who runs the coven?”

“Well, there isn’t one answer, per say. Each family house takes care of its own, but we have a council which meets in France and sets down rules that we all must live by.”

“Like keeping your secret from humans…”

“Yes.” Irene buttered, still not looking happy I was learning all of this information.

“And those rules are enforced by one family per continent.”

Continents, yes, Lucas had told me that the Pangea had broken up, so these land masses were called continents, good to know. “And which family oversees this continent?”

“The Steinhearts.” My heart lurched in my chest, I could see Marcus’ face in my head… but certainly it couldn’t be- “Led by Marcus Steinheart.”

So it was true, he was alive after all this time? But how? I suppose I shouldn’t ask, if I was here now, and Lucas and Juliette and Silvaneous— anything was possible. A little bell sounded from our classroom, and Mr. Flimheart’s voice floated to us down the hallway. “Please return to the classroom, break is over. Let us resume our class with our conversation on Enoch.”

Violet, Irene and I headed back towards the classroom. “There’s one last thing,” Irene whispered, glancing over at Violet suspiciously, “they say that there exists an inner council made up of only Purebloods— ruling from Turkey. No one knows who sits on that council, but they shadow rule our whole world— not just vampires, but Fae, shapeshifters, werewolves, witches and the like.” Violet filed into the classroom, as Irene grabbed my arm, “just promise me you’ll be careful.”

I nodded. Irene couldn’t really think that Violet would know anything about the inner council just because she was a Pureblood, did she? After all, Irene and Violet were friends… weren’t they? Irene, seemingly convinced that I had heard and would heed her warning, let go of my arm and gently pushed me into the classroom. I made my way to my seat, as Flimheart began to monologue.

“We don’t have a lot of time, so we’re going to dive right in. Enoch was a human being who, according to myth and legends— both those written in many scrolls, books and even in the human Bible, existed near the dawn of humanity. Enoch was a man descended from the line of Adam, he was for the purpose of our discussion today, a mere human. Books and scrolls all agree that he was what was referred to as righteous, in all that he did— some even saying that he walked and talked with God. He was granted an extremely long life, nine hundred years, to be precise, and yet did not die. How is this possible you ask? Good. You’re all paying attention. It was rumored that Enoch did not die but was taken up to heaven by God himself and spared death.”

“Wouldn’t that make him a vampire?” Someone from the back of the classroom called out.

“No, Tom. It wouldn’t, but, good question.”

Good question? Were these people stupid? Enoch was human, but everyone lived longer back then, lives not being cursed till later. Till after the war. And it wasn’t a myth, it was true— I had seen Enoch many times walking with God and talking with him.

“How is it possible?” Flimheart asked the silent classroom, he turned to look at me, as if he sensed my displeasure. “Cassandra, perhaps you have thoughts.”

“Yes, professor, many thoughts.”

“Any you’d care to share?”

Not really, was what I wanted to say, but if no one else was going to share, then sure— I had a mouthful. “Look. You say, it’s crazy that Enoch, a human, walked and talked with God, lived till he was nine hundred and then was no more… right?”

“That is what has been posed to the class.”

“Okay— well let me counter. Enoch lived at a much different time than our own— the human mandate to take care of the earth, to steward it and govern it, that was the mandate then. Humans lived a much different life, there was no such things as technology, or electricity— it was simpler. Much more clear. And there weren’t distractions to take away from that call— care for the earth. In caring for the earth, as we must assume Enoch did, he was being ‘righteous’ where as many who did not care for nature, but rather what they could bend nature into their will to do— they build great cities and monuments to themselves, but Enoch, he gave glory and thanks to his creator, so yes he was righteous.”

“This is hypothetical, isn’t it Cassandra?”

I wanted to stick my tongue out at him and tell him off, but I managed instead a weak smile. “Of course, professor. But— if I may continue?”

“By all means.”

“So we have this man, righteous, walking and talking with God. In addition to this, add in the fact that humans in general lived much longer lives, sometimes surpassing six hundred years old in their lifetimes, their lives not numbered to one hundred and twenty, as they are now. So then we may posit that if such was the case, then yes, Enoch, a human— could have lived to nine hundred years old, quite simply.”

“Interesting hypothesis. And how then do you explain away the fact that he didn’t die? Would you say, like Tom, he must have been a vampire?”

“No, sir. I simply conclude that God blesses those he wants to and curses those he wants to— and some, a very few rare ones are granted such favor as to not have to die a mortal death.”

“So you attribute Enoch’s not dying to him having unmerited favor with God?”

I nodded, and bit my lip, flabbergasted. How could this professor claim to teach if he didn’t even know his own history? Perhaps even the origin of the vampire history was now always considered a myth or legend… where did they think they came from? And did thy not see that they were cursed?

“Anyone else want to comment, disagree— chime in?” Not a muscle moved in the classroom, no one even spoke. Professor Flimheart cleared his throat, “alright class, if that is the case, we will dismiss early today. Please do not forget that there will be a quiz on the readings for Human Myths and legends this coming Thursday. Have a wonderful Monday afternoon.”

I got the impression that being let out of class early was a rare occurrence, from the amount of movement and hoops and hollers. Violet took my arm, and gave it a squeeze, only flinching a little bit when she touched my mark. I followed her and Irene from the classroom, down and out the building and into the main school building. This building was clearly newer than the one we had classes in — it smelt of linoleum, plastic and paint. “Where are we going?”

Violet and Irene led me into the heart of the building where we found a cafeteria— it was gorgeous here— vaulted ceilings of glass and steel, tables of various shapes, but all seeming to fit together in some kind of pattern in the cafe. At one end there was a good bar, where I assumed all the non vampire students would grab their lunches, and on the other, various vending machines. In the middle of the room a group of rambunctious werewolf teens were hanging out, Irene steered us toward them, “Now, Cassandra, Irene, play nice.” From within the group I could see Tom sitting on top of a table and eating an apple, looking for all the world like he didn’t care about anything.

“Tom.”

“Vi.” Tom grinned, as if the two were old friends, but I could tell that was anything but the truth. “And you brought the marked girl.” Ouch. Suddenly I didn’t have a name? That hurt.

“You’re rude.” I spat back.

Everyone froze, the entire group of werewolves and Violet and Irene…

“And you’re ballsy.” Tom looked me up and down, “I suppose I should have guessed that any friend of Melanie would be.”

Ahhh yes, I had forgotten how I’d known Tom’s name, my shadow self was friends with his girlfriend, who was by all information I had, a human.

“Look Vi- I promised Mels that I’d keep an eye on this one here, but she’s not supposed to know I am, and knowing what I know— about the-” he leaned forward and whispered, even though no one else was speaking, and his whisper carried in the empty cafeteria, “mark, I’ve been keeping that from Mels, but I don’t know how much longer I can lie. And she’s going to be coming home soon— like back from the Steinhearts place. That’s why I’ve been avoiding her, so look, I’d appreciate it if-”

Violet sighed. “I understand Tom, Mel was my friend too— but there is a lot at stake. You aren’t the only one with someone you care about at Steinheart Manor.” She paused, and I wanted to ask what she meant, but she took a deep breath and pushed on. “You’ve been picking up shifts at Plumanara?”

Tom nodded, “yeah— trying to get enough money together to get out of my parents place. You know what it’s like living with the pack— I guess you guys call it a coven, hey? But that’s not why you asked, I guess… what’s up?”

“Look Tom, Viktor is supposed to be working the door tonight, but I need him-we,” she gestured at Irene and I, “need him to help us out with a delicate situation. Think you can take his shift?”

“It’s not a full moon, is it?” Tom pulled out a little silver flip phone, and stared at the screen, “nope, no full moon, so yeah, we’re good.”

“I thought you could turn whenever you wanted to, what’s a full moon to do with anything?” Irene pipped in, finally finding some of her courage and sassiness.

“I just get grouchier— and trust me, if you had to bounce at Plumanara when you were hormonal, you’d understand… sometimes I want to rip every throat out when-” Tom shut his mouth as he took in Violet’s glare. “Right, but that would start an international crisis, what with the council, so don’t worry— I’m cool. You tell Viktor, I got him covered.” Tom cleared his throat and checked his phone again, “would you look at that, I better head if I’m going to grab a decent steak before my shift at the club.” The werewolf teens howled in dismay. “Sorry my dudes. Yo, if you’re going by the house for dinner would you mind telling Carl that his oldest isn’t coming home? Thanks.”

The rambunctious teens guffawed and slapped Tom on the back, muttering all kinds of farewells and other random sentences, then amid the chaos they slithered off, leaving Tom with Irene, Violet and I.

“Carl is still doing nightly dinners for the kids with no pack?”

“Yeah, dad’s all about loving and such. In fact he’s even going to be renting out his penthouse to some hoity-toity vampire brat. Don’t look at me like that Vi. I don’t hate vampires, most of the time.” Tom pushed himself up off the table, and again locked eyes with me, “Please, for the love of God— don’t tell Mel I know.”

I nodded. I’d let my shadow self deal with that, whenever she got around to it. For as much as Cassandra knew, she would never have even met Tom.

“Thanks.” Tom ran his hand through his hair, “okay, I’m gonna hit up Gusto’s now. Man really knows how to make the perfect steak. And look— whatever you’re planning concerning Cassandra, know this Vi— I’m not going to stop you, but a lot of people are going to have questions— and if you’re not careful, it won’t be me starting an international incident, it will be you.”

“Got it. Thanks, Tom, really.”

Tom flashed a grin, again I could sense it wasn’t fully genuine, then he lopped off in the direction of the parking lot.

“What’s going on?” Irene hissed once Tom was out of earshot— and why did you have to go to the wolves for help?”

Violet tossed me a look that screamed to not say anything, I nodded. “It’s nothing. Come on, we’re going to hit up Worthington Manor before Plumanara. Are you still good, Irene?”

Sighing, Irene nodded, and all four of us made our way to the parking lot. In the lot a limo was waiting, Violet headed straight for it. I had never been in a vehicle like this. I had barely been in any vehicles really… Violet opened the backdoor and plunged into the dark recess inside, followed by Irene. “You coming, Cass?” Irene’s mood seemed to have shifted back to jovial the moment we’d left the school building, and now her pink head was all I could see from the interior of the car. I skipped the last few steps to the limo, and slid onto the bench seat beside Irene, who pulled the door shut beside me. “At least, let’s try to have a good time tonight?”

“Of course!” Violet grinned, “Besides, it’s Cassandra’s first time going to Plumanara! It has to be fun!”

Irene squealed, “AMAZING!” As I watched the school slip out of view, the car moved so smoothly on the street that it almost seemed like a dream that we were moving at all. Houses and businesses blurred past, a stream of color— and from somewhere within me, I wondered if I had had this thought before? Watching the world fly past like a stream of color. No, that was. impossible.

Violet took my hand, as we headed down a private road that took us into a forest-like area, where the road was suddenly bumpy, even for the limo, and I realized it was because it was made out of dirt. “My mother wants to meet you.” I felt a surge of fear run through me, and then right out of me into Violet, as peace replaced the fear I just had been feeling.

“Thanks.” I whispered.

We arrived at a pair of iron wrought gates, the driver having to get out of the car and open them, and once we were through, get out to close them behind us. I had a sense that we were heading into a little universe all unto itself, a private ‘garden’ if it were. There were trees planted on each side of the gravel drive, and beyond that a massive lake, surrounded by weeping willows. We drove for what felt like miles, until we approached a massive house, more like a mansion. There was a roundabout with a gleaming marble fountain in the center, shooting crystal clear water into the sky, and cascading down like rain. The limo pulled around and came to a stop before steps leading up to the house. Irene was already out the car the moment that it stopped, having obviously been here many times. Violet gave me a small encouraging smile and I followed, my anxiety returning. So, I was finally going to meet Juliette, again, after all these years. This was bound to be wildly exciting, informing and terrifying.

Violet and I made our way out of the car and up the stone stairs together, I could hear lots of excited voices from the top, near the house. Looking up I saw the massive doors of the house thrown wide open, and there just in the open door, a woman I never thought I would see again. Juliette Steinheart. She was just as I remembered her, but older. Obviously no one else would have even noticed, she still looked young— it was her soul that had aged. We reached the top of the stairs, Violet gave my arms a squeeze, and then walked into the house and closed the door behind her, leaving me with Juliette.

“So,” Juliette whispered, her long auburn hair blowing in the slight breeze, her bright green eyes narrowing as she took me in, “I had an interesting conversation with my son earlier today.”

I closed the distance between us, walking the last few steps to the house, and pausing to stand in front of Juliette, I looked up and we locked eyes, she gasped.

“Cassandra?”

I didn’t know what to say. I had never been close to Juliette— she had always been against Marcus taking up with me— and when it was rumored that he had killed my human husband to be with me, it had increased her dislike of me. It had never been my intention to come between Marcus and Juliette, but I also remembered not caring, and only wanting to be with him, the man I loved. “It’s been a while, Juliette.”

“Yes. It has.” Juliette’s mouth tightened to a line, “walk with me.” She turned away from the house and we walked along a gravel path beside the house. Everything was green here, rows of hedges along the house blocked view into the bottom windows running alongside the giant mansion, and ivy blossoming with small white flowers grew up the sides of parts of the brick. Juliette was a few paces in front of me, leading away from the house, she walked down a few marble steps, with winged cherubim statues on either side of the path. This path continued downwards down many steps, each lined with winged cherubim statues, leading toward the lake I had seen beside the house on the way up the drive. It was so much more than it had appeared from the drive, hidden under the weeping willows was a pathway, leading around the lake, and a garden. “Yes, welcome,” Juliette looked over her shoulder and smiled at me, as if sensing my thoughts. “Do you like what I have done with the garden?”

It almost felt wrong to talk here, in a place so serene. “Yes,” I found myself whispering in awe. “It is so beautiful.”

We continued to walk for a while, neither speaking— birds sang their songs from the trees above, I could hear frogs, crickets, even the fish leaping from the surface in hopes of catching something skimming the water above— it was the peace of nature I had truly been longing for. Juliette strode around the bend in the path just in front of me, I quickened my pace to catch up, when I saw her taking a seat on a well loved wooden bench. I followed suit and sat, waiting for whatever wrath or comeuppance she might throw at me— which would be fully justified-

“It’s taken me years to coax life into this garden, to build a home— to live. Without fear.”

“Juliette-”

“”I thought you’d find it more peaceful here than in the house.”

“Juliette, I know-”

“You know nothing.” Juliette’s calm demeanor vanished, like it was merely a glossy coating over a painting. “You destroyed my brother— you and my Father made him into the monster he is today.” I shivered beneath Juliette’s green eyed glare. “And then? You know the worst part? You chose to love the Devil himself… and ignited a war, a war which took out so many supernatural beings we might as well have not existed in the first place. Your lover, Lucifer was killed, along with my grandfather and the Fallen were punished, you were cursed, and the Angels took their leave, but not without putting down protective shields to stop humans from sensing supernatural beings, or from having supernatural powers themselves… it was a mess.”

Something wasn’t right, I felt my face frown before I even knew I was doing it, “your grandfather?” Yes, something was very wrong indeed, “You didn’t have a grandfather.”

“What?”

“Juliette, I know that I have made my fair share of problems, not just for you— but for-” I thought of all the women born after me, all the women who were cursed because I’d been selfish… “for my descendants, for Marcus and-” I took a deep breath, “something has gone wrong with time. You never had a grandfather, it was always Silvaneous, he was the first, along with his family, they were the first-”

“The first to what?”

My God, did she not know? Had Silvaneous really hidden their origin from her? “Juliette, do you really not know how your race began?” Juliette gave me a blank look, and I realized she had no clue what I was talking about. “Look, one day soon, if I survive— we must have a conversation about this.” What did I mean? Had I suddenly decided that I would be the one who stayed in this body, and not Cassandra? She had been the one I was trying to save, that’s why I was brought back, right? “I’m running out of time.”

“Why are you here Cassandra? Who brought you back? … Does Marcus know?”

I took Juliette’s hands in mine, they were cold as ice— when had that happened, anyways, that vampires no longer felt warm to the touch? “I am here to break the curse on the women in my family, and to finally give them peace, allowing their souls to enter the white gates. This body that I am in? It is the body of my last descendant, my namesake. She is you know and can sense is marked, but I have found a way to break the curse and corrupt the seed of the child.”

Juliette jerked her hand out of mine and stood. “No one, and I mean no one comes between a Nephilim and his mate. Viktor asked me if or how we could help you— but I can’t, no I won’t allow him to turn you-”

“Juliette, I am not asking to be turned right now. I am asking if you would help me turn slowly.”

“That isn’t possible Cassandra. I think you should go— enjoy your time left before you are taken by the Fallen scum-”

“But don’t you want to know the best part? The reason that you’re going to help me?”

“Cassandra, the only vampire stupid enough to help you now would be Marcus, and if you go to him, and turn his world upside down again, I swear I’ll-“

“You’ll what Juliette? You never were the violent type.” Sighing I stood, “I don’t want to fight. I can’t change the past, but I want to make it up to you— and save myself in the process. You want to know why I am here? I am here because my namesake, asked to know more about the women in my family, asked to not have to mentally or emotionally deal with being taken— by Lucifer.”

Juliette’s voice caught in her throat, she spun to face me, her already pale features going ashen as she raised her delicate hands to her lips to cover her surprise.

“There is something wrong here Juliette. I spent hours researching things online over the weekend— nothing adds up. From the manuscripts to the scrolls and books— there isn’t even one mention of this war you keep alluding to, even though I remember its beginning stages, right before I died. Someone has altered history, locked the war in a vault, a time vault. History is wrong. Lucifer didn’t die, I have spoken with him, he’s alive and well, and has been killing off every woman in my family line for six thousand years. Yes, I used to love him. Perhaps I always will— but Marcus… I thought he was dead, or I never would have done what I did. Your Father lied to me…” Even thinking about it made my eyes well up with tears, “oh, God.” I fell to my knees, and let myself sit there for a moment, drowning in all the emotions I hadn’t ever thought I would feel. I looked up at Juliette, she looked like a bird that might take off at any moment. “Please, Juliette. I beg you. I need your help. There is a way, a way where I would drink some vampire blood a little at a time. I know it says that to be turned you have to be drained of blood, and so everyone assumes that a vampire has to drain you after you’ve drunk some of theirs, but it isn’t true— you just need to have vampire blood in your system when you die. If I am to die again, carrying a demon spawn, then at least it won’t be a pure Nephilim baby. It will have vampire blood, and Lucifer will think I’ve died, while the transitioning is complete— all I need from you is permission for Viktor or Violet or anyone really to give me their blood, and then to come get me from St. Mary’s cemetery, when the time is right.” My mouth felt dry and my eyes stung holding back tears, if I had to beg, then beg I would.

Juliette paced, “You’re asking a lot of me and my family Cassandra— and what do I have to go on? Your word? It hasn’t been so reliable in the past. Lucifer alive? Of course there have been rumors… but I always dismissed them.”

“There is more.” I croaked, my throat parched. “It has been rumored that Marcus has a set of twins…”

“Well, yes. I’ve only just met them recently.” Juliette’s eyes widened, almost popping out of her skull. “Vincent and Marissa? No, they can’t be,” she strode over to me and grabbed my chin, examining my face, looking for something- “Oh, my.” Her voice was so soft, I could barely hear her, “so, it is true. I can’t possibly understand how, but it is true. Marissa looks exactly like you.”

I swallowed the lump beginning to form in my throat. There was so much more I wanted to tell her, my sister-in-law, but now was not the time. I needed to earn her trust, and this was the way to do it. “Look Juliette— I’ll leave, but if this is the plan, if you say yes… It won’t just help me, but it will help me save all the women that those cursed Nephilim mark.”

“You mean if you survive.”

“Yes. And I promise that if I survive, I won’t interfere with Marcus, unless he comes for me— I promise I will leave him alone. This will be my penance, saving women who like me, who were marked for death.”

“You promise?”

“I do.” I guess that was what I had decided, I had decided that I was going to stay here and fight, this world needed me, Cassandra, daughter of Eve, to find out not just what had gone wrong with time, but to save innocent women’s lives. Cassandra, daughter of Mariah— unfortunately her story was almost over. I sighed, she wasn’t going to be happy with me, but at least she’d finally be at peace.

Juliette reached down, grasping my arms, and lifted me up, as if I were nothing more than a toy. I had forgotten how strong vampires were. “Then yes, I will help you Cassandra. Now, let’s get you back to the house, you’ll need something other than this floral dress to wear, and I am sure Violet will have just the thing. Let’s not keep them waiting, besides, if we’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future, then you should meet a few of my older children, you’ll forgive me if I only introduce you to those members of my family, I have a feeling we should keep your resurrection to ourselves for the foreseeable future.”

“Thank you Juliette.”

Juliette nodded and hooked her arm in mine, “Tisk, it’s nothing, after all, what are sister-in-law’s for? Come, I’m sure they are all wondering what we could be talking about for so long. We mustn’t keep them waiting and more than we have to.” At that we turned and headed back towards the house, and I couldn’t help but smile— my plan was in place, now to figure out a way to keep it a secret from Cassandra Pirot, until the right time, and hopefully by that time I’d be able to explain why she had to die, so I could live, until then— it was time to live, and live as I never had before.