Chapter 4: Chapter Four

My head was spinning as Bernard walked out of the room. What had just been agreed? If I had magical ancestors, did that mean I would get superpowers now too? And if so, did that also mean I’d have to give up my life and devote it to their Order?

I needed answers and turned to Sol to get them.

“Start explaining what all this means.”

“As I said, I suspect you have supernatural ancestry – it’s the most logical explanation not only for the effect Catherine has had on you, but also the fact you can sense the difference in members of the Order. It’s our duty to find out exactly what your ancestry is, and then it will be down to Bernard to decide if your abilities should be activated.”

My eyes grew wide. “What?”

“Mortals with supernatural ancestry often have latent, inaccessible abilities,” Lettie explained, as she stood and gestured for me and Sol to do the same. She led the way to the back of the lab where she’d taken samples of my blood before.

Knowing what was expected of me, I dropped down onto one of the chairs and Lettie sat on the other.

“But these abilities can be unlocked given the right circumstances,” she said, as she drew three more vials worth of blood. “Once I’ve properly analysed your samples, we’ll have a clearer idea of what we’re working with and then a decision about what to do next will need to be made.”

I glanced back at Sol. “What does she mean?”

“Well, usually, if we encounter someone benign -- that’s to say, non-hostile like Catherine -- who has supernatural abilities, we invite them to join the Order. But in your case, it’s a little different. You don’t actively have abilities, but you could have.”

“Who decides if they’re activated? Surely it’s my choice, right?”

“Well, actually, if the activation is performed by the Order, it will be Bernard’s choice. If he agrees, we’ll move to the next step, but if he doesn’t—”

“I’ll be stuck knowing liches and vampires and who knows what else exist, and that I might be descended from something similar, but I can’t do anything about it? Oh, and my boss wants to suck out my soul. This is bull shit. This greatly effects my life, and I don’t even get to choose if my abilities are activated or not?”

“I didn’t say that. I meant that for them to be activated by the Order, Bernard must agree. If he doesn’t, you will be free to do as you wish, even if that means seeking out other paranormal beings to activate your abilities for you,” Sol replied.

The only other supernatural being I knew was Catherine, but I’d sooner cut off my own arm than admit to her that I knew what she was, let alone that I might be paranormal too. But then what else would I do? Pretend like this never happened? Or spend the rest of my life searching the world for someone who was willing to activate my abilities?

Screw that! I wasn’t about to sit around and wait. I’d make Bernard agree to the Order activating my abilities, and if I could, I’d use them to help defeat Catherine, too.

Before either Sol or Lettie could stop me, I stormed out of the lab and marched to Bernard’s office, opening the door without knocking.

Bernard didn’t seem surprised to see me, and instead gestured towards the chair opposite me.

“Sol told you that you might have latent abilities, didn’t he?” Bernard said simply.

Well at least he was being straight with me. Deciding to do the same, I replied, “Yes, and I want you to activate them and let me help you defeat Catherine.”

Bernard raised a brow. “You want to join the Order?”

My eyes widened. “I didn’t say that.”

Bernard folded his arms across his chest, looking everything like the bear nickname Sol had given him, and I couldn’t help but wonder, was he a shape shifter?

“We only activate the abilities of members of the Order.”

I scowled at him across the desk. “So what? I either join your secret organization or my powers stay locked away forever? Bull shit.”

“You’re welcome to ask another paranormal being or organization to unlock your abilities for you. Perhaps they won’t ask for the same commitments the Order has to to ensure everyone’s safety.”

My nostrils flared. “The only other paranormal being I know is Catherine. Do you really want me going to her and admitting I might have abilities?”

Bernard continued to stare at me steadily across his desk, finally saying, “This conversation is pointless, anyway. We don’t even know if you do have paranormal ancestry. And even if you do, we have no guarantee that your latent abilities would be useful to us.”

I snorted. “That’s all you care about, isn’t it? If I might be useful or not? Well, you’ll be begging for my help when Lettie gets my test results.”

Without giving Bernard the satisfaction of having the final word, I stalked out of his office, and made my way back to the lab.

“I don’t know how either of you can stand that guy,” I said, flopping back down into the chair in Lettie’s medical area.

“When you’ve been alive as long as I have, you learn not to let anyone bother you,” Lettie said.

Curious, I asked, “How long have you been alive?”

“I was turned on the seventeen of August, 1869.”

“Holy crap. So you’re like over a hundred and fifty years old? But you hardly look any older than I do!”

Lettie smiled, her fangs glimmering and her purple eyes shining. “I was twenty-four when I was turned, and will forever remain that way, no matter how long I live.”

“Hmm… having paranormal abilities might have it’s advantages,” I mused.

“Not if it means watching everyone you love grow old and die,” Lettie said sadly.

I bowed my head. “I’m sorry.” Trying to lighten the mood, I looked up at Sol and asked, “So, are you like a hundred years old too?”

He laughed, his voice rich and warm. The sound caused the hairs on my arms to raise, but not in the same way seeing Lettie for the first time had put me on edge.

No, there was something different about Sol entirely, and I wasn’t talking about the fact he had the same uncanniness the other members of the Order I’d met had. Yes, there was this supernatural air about him, but honestly, he was hot. Tall, muscular, with dark hair and tattoos decorating his arms. What wasn’t there to like? At least if I did have to join the Order or something like that, it’d mean I’d get to spend more time with him.

“No, I’m only twenty-six. But part of my supernatural heritage means I’ll live longer than mortals. People of my species typically live to their hundreds, though they do show signs of age. If my dad is anything to go by, I’ll probably hit my fifties and appear to stop aging there.”

I noticed the tinge of sadness in his voice and I realized everything Sol had told me about himself thus far hinted at the fact he’d lost his parents.

Once more, I tried to direct the conversation in a more positive direction, and asked, “So, what are you then? I already know about vampires and liches, and you mentioned something about werewolves and shapeshifters.”

Sol reached for Lettie’s copy of Edmond Beecham’s Order of the Ancile Definitive A-Z of Supernatural Entities and flicked through the pages. “Here,” he said, showing me an entry entitled “Fortium -- The Strong Ones.”

“The Strong Ones are descended from demi-god, and possess extra-ordinary physical abilities, including enhanced strength, speed and stamina.”

I looked up at Sol and smirked. “Enhanced stamina, huh?”

I heard a small giggle escape Lettie’s lip, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. Sol frowned, but the colour spreading across his cheeks told me he wasn’t angry at me.

I forced my face back into a serious expression and said, “Sorry. Go on.”

“Throughout history, there have been many Strong Ones, some you might have heard of, such as Heracles, Beowulf, Gilgamesh and Samson,” he explained.

“Wow. That’s pretty cool. So, is Bernard a Strong One like you too? That would explain how strong he was.”

“Nah, Bernard is a shifter. He has the ability to turn into a bear, and with that comes enhanced strength. But, unlike me and other Fortium he can’t wield Reverard.”

“That’s the metal imbued with magic, right?” I asked, remembering what he’d told me earlier.

Sol grinned and I felt a fluttering in my heart. “You actually listened?”

“Don’t sound so shocked. I’m part of this now, I want to learn. So, what can you do Lettie?”

The vampire-slash-scientist turned to me. “I also have enhanced strength, speed and stamina, but of course, Reverard is deadly to me. I couldn’t even wield it if I wanted to. But vampires have other abilities; I have a small measure of telepathy, and I can fly.”

My eyes widened. “You can fly? That’s so cool!”

You are reading story Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One) at novel35.com

Lettie smiled and I caught a glimpse of her fangs, though strangely, I was growing used to seeing them now, and she didn’t seem so scary as she once had. I wondered, now I knew about the paranormal world, would Catherine seem less scary too the next time I saw her?

I shuddered remembering how she’d sucked the life out of Pierre Beaufort, but the unease faded, as an idea came to mind.

“Wait, if Reverard is dangerous to paranormal beings, does that mean we can use it to defeat Catherine. You can just stab her with your sword, right?”

Sol smiled and shook his head. “Unfortunately, not. The problem is, liches often have soul jars – an object containing a portion of their soul – making them invulnerable unless it’s first destroyed.”

I sighed. “That figures. And I assume finding her soul jar isn’t going to be easy?”

“Exactly. It will be well-hidden and guarded with dangerous dark magic. Bernard has been searching for it for most of his adult life, and when I came of age, I stared helping him.”

I turned to Lettie, as she was the oldest member of the order I knew, and asked, “And you don’t have any idea where it is?”

“No, I’ve searched too. I’ve seen many things since been turned, but I lich is a rarity.”

I remembered what Sol had previously told me about Catherine being alive since the sixteenth century. Knowing Lettie had been alive since the 1900s was weird enough, but knowing Catherine was around five-hundred years old blew my mind. How many people had she sucked the life out of to extend her own.

Before I can say more, Lettie’s computer started beeping to alert us to the fact her vast database of paranormal-being DNA had found a match with my blood.

I sucked in a breath.

Lettie stared at the screen, her eyes widening and her brow furrowing as she read. She gazed at me quickly, and I could see the shock in her eyes, before she beckoned Sol closer. He read what was on the screen, and his face soon matched Lettie’s expression of surprise and awe.

“What? What is it?” I demanded, my heart hammering in my chest.

They’d found out what my paranormal ancestor was, and judging by the looks on their faces, it was something huge. For a moment I worried, could I actually be related to a lich like Catherine or something?

Sol reached for the Definitive A-Z of Supernatural Entities, and flicked through the pages to somewhere near the begging.

Well, that was a relief. If I was a lich, surely the entry about it would be further along in the book, right?

He handed to book to me, the page open at the entry for Celestials.

“Descended from the children of angels, Celestials are a rare species of paranormal beings with the ability to direct the life-force of themselves and others around them. Often called the antithesis of demons like succubi, incubui and liches, instead of absorbing another being’s life-force to extend their own, Celestials can use their own life-force to heal. Powerful Celestials even have the power to bring other beings back from death. The Celestials are said to be the ones who imbued Reverard with its unique magical properties that make it an especially strong weapon against demons and other dark paranormal beings.”

I felt warm all over, and my whole body tingled like I had pins and needles or something. For a brief moment a bright, white light engulfed me, blocking out my view of Sol and Lettie.

The comforting heat in my body grew into a blazing inferno, and I cried out, feeling like my whole body was on fire.

And then nothing. There was only darkness.

----

When I opened my eyes, my body felt heavy, and a light sheen of sweat covered me. I was laying in a comfortable bed in a room that looked like it belonged to a fancy hotel or something.

The next thing I realized was that I wasn’t wearing the clothes I had been earlier. Someone had changed me into a pair of silk pyjamas, that were slightly too big for someone with my petite frame, but definitely belonged to a woman.

I gazed around the room, and there at the foot of the bed, Sol sat with the woman – Jenn was it? – who had greeted us at the front door. He looked tired and haggard; his usually tanned skin pale. While Jenn didn’t look quite as worn, there was a distinct air of worry around her.

She noticed I was awake first, and nudged Sol, who instantly sprang to his feet and rushed to my side.

“Roxie, thank the gods. You’re okay,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“What happened to me?” I croaked. “Where am I?”

Jenn came to stand by Sol’s side, and she gently took his hand. There was definitely a familiarity between the two of them, but it didn’t seem romantic.

“You’re in my room. I also changed you into something more comfortable while you rested,” she said, offering me a small smile. “How are you feeling?”

I pushed myself up into a seated position and stretched. “Like I’ve just gotten over the flu. What happened to me? Was it something to do with seeing Catherine feeding?”

“We’re not quite sure,” Sol said gently. “We don’t know if it’s connected to Catherine, or because you’re in such close proximity to so many paranormal beings here, but your latent abilities surged. The power is trying to come out.”

My mind flooded of memories of what had happened just before I blacked out. The heat. The bright light. The revelation I was descended from Celestials.

“Am I going to die?” I asked weakly.

“Only if your latened abilities aren’t unlocked. If they remain bound, you will keep having surges, until eventually it burns out your lifeforce,” Jenn explained.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “But you can unlock them, right? Bernard will agree to it if it means I’ll die otherwise, won’t he?”

Sol bowed his head. “It’s not that simple. Unlocking the abilities of a Celestial requires strong magic. Magic the Ancile don’t currently have.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? You’re a Strong One¸ Bernard can turn into a bear and Lettie is a vampire,” I glanced at Jenn, sensing a faint shimmering light around her. “You’ve got powers too. I can almost feel them. What are you?”

Jenn’s eyes widened, and then she laughed, her tightly coiled hair bouncing. “Sol was right about you. You really are special. I’ve never known a mortal who can sense abilities so easily. And, to answer your question, I’m a siren; I have the ability manipulate sound and sound waves with my vocal cords and create various sonic effects, including shattering objects, sound mimicry and even hypnotizing people with my siren song.”

“Well shit. That sounds intense.”

“It is.” Jenn laughed, and the sound filled the air with warmth, putting me at ease. I saw the tension drain from Sol’s expression.

I wasn’t sure if the change of atmosphere was because I was clearly okay after blacking out, or if Jenn had done something with her voice. Either way, the weight had lifted off my chest. Though I was worried what not having my abilities unbound would mean for me in the long-term, I didn’t feel the same fear and urgency I had after seeing Catherine feeding.

“As I was saying you all have these amazing abilities. Surely one of you can unbind my power, right?”

“While there are members of the Order well-versed in the Arcane Arts, and who might be able to unbind the abilities of a lesser paranormal-being, only the most magically advanced can unbind the abilities of a celestial,” Sol explained, and I caught a dark shift in his eyes. He exchanged a glance with Jenn, and her demeanour changed too.

There was something they weren’t telling me.

“What is it?”

Sol raked his hands through his hair. “There is someone with the magic we require—”

For a moment my heart hitched. It was Catherine, wasn’t it? Hadn’t Sol and Lettie already told me she had powerful dark magic?

“He was a student of the Order at the same time Jenn and I were,” Sol went on, and relief flooded through me.

I thanked the gods it wasn’t Catherine. But that still didn’t explain why Sol appeared so tense, and Jenn look … heartbroken?

Bowing her head, Jenn said, “When we all graduated, he abandoned the Order. He abandoned me.”

Shit. This powerful magic user was Jenn’s ex or something? No wonder she seemed so upset. And if Jenn and Sol were as close as their body language suggested, it was safe to assume this guy had been Sol’s friend, too. Yeah, no wonder they were both stressed out.

I felt terrible that to unbind my abilities and save my life, Sol and Jenn were being forced to drag up unpleasant memories of the past and seek out a man who’d betrayed them both.

“And there’s no one else?”

“No one. Morgan comes from a long line of powerful arcanists. Only he has the power to do what’s needed to save your life. And unfortunately, we haven’t seen or heard from him for almost five years.”

Crap.

You can find story with these keywords: Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One), Read Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One), Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One) novel, Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One) book, Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One) story, Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One) full, Liches, Legends and Love (Order of the Ancile Book One) Latest Chapter