Page 71 of When Bones Whisper
“It all started with my father, you see. He was the Earl of Derby and I was the youngest of nine. I hated the brute,” he said, the bulb in his throat bobbing. “After my mother and brother died from the sweating sickness, I fled him and came across a troupe of performers. We went from town to city performing various plays. I took to the stage like a fish to water. I loved to entertain, to slip into a different skin each night and to feel the applause. After the pain of losing my family, I found another.” His eyes gently shut. “It was exhilarating until the plague hit a small town we were performing in. The other players all died, and I too was on death’s door.” He glanced at the sky, the stars melding into the blue of his eyes. “That’s when I met Gertrude. She was a noble’s wife, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw her working in the hospital, tending to the sick. It was no place for a lady, but unlike many others, she was never afraid of coming close to the diseased.”
Charlotte’s heart skipped a beat, sending a wave of numbness washing through her limbs.
“In a way, I was ready to meet my end,” he continued. “I didn’t want to die, but everyone I loved was gone. Until, one night, when the man in the bed across from me passed in his sleep. It was common then, to witness so much death. Only he didn’t stay dead. Later that night, he returned as a walking corpse. There was no intelligence or awareness in him. His eyes lackedany color and his skin was gray and gaunt. It was terrifying to see, but Gertrude was delighted. It was only later that I found out she was the one creating these monsters, after bringing them back from the brink of death to be her loyal soldiers. They were nothing but empty vessels manipulated by the strings of her power, loyal only to her, their master.”
“She was using necromancy,” she said, horrified. The practice was frowned upon, even among witches who used sacrificial magic. It rarely went right, and more often than not, souls did not want to return to this world once they passed on. Even if they did, it wasn’t pretty.
“Yes,” he said. “I was so close to death myself and knowing what my fate would become, I tried to flee but I was too weak. Then Nathaniel came,” he said, a ghost of a smile forming over his thin lips. “He was so powerful, in everything from his stride to the way he commanded the witches there. He discovered what she was doing, how she had become possessed by the idea of growing an army, no matter the cost. See, witches were mercilessly persecuted then, so I understood her desire to protect her own. It was not her motives, but her method. To bring someone back from death, you must sacrifice an innocent. Someone pure of heart.”
“No adult is innocent,” Charlotte said.
“Exactly.”
Her stomach churned. “Oh, God.”
“She wanted to protect her family but also gain more power and she didn’t care who she had to kill to get it. It wasn’t just her. Nathaniel’s ex-betrothed was helping her too. They both soughtimmortality without resorting to vampirism. Fortunately, Nathaniel killed them, including his mother. We have one rule: we do not feed upon children. For the longest time after, Nathaniel would meticulously track his prey, only feasting upon those he deemed deserving.”
“Yet he hunted my bloodline,” she pointed out, the only thing he’d done that she actually struggled to reconcile with.
“He became desperate to become mortal again. Believe me, he hated himself for it. Then, one day, something changed and whatever shred of morals were left in him was gone.”
“What changed?”
“He thought he'd killed the last of your line and when the curse didn’t break, he lost all hope. He traded his soul to murder hundreds of your ancestors to break it, and it was all for nothing. After that, he fell into darkness, and I walked into it with him. After all, he saved me and countless others. I looked up to him. I still do.”
Her heart shattered as the scenes formed in her mind’s eye from Alexander’s words. “How is Gertrude alive?” Charlotte asked. “You said you believed Nathaniel killed her, but she might have found a way.”
“She must have.”
“Nathaniel said it could be a trick.”
“I do not believe it is, but I can hope, because if not, then we are doomed. I have lived many lifetimes and have never come across evil like that since.”
Charlotte jolted back when the doors opened. Alexander jumped to his feet, planting himself between her and the door, but it was only Zachariah.
“What happened?” Alexander asked, his voice rising an octave.
“We need you!” he stated, wild-eyed and pushed his fingers through his dark-blonde waves and out of his face. “Gertrude’s threatening to kill everyone unless Lord Sallow brings the girl.”
“What about the protections?”
Oh no.
“They didn’t work,” he replied.
“Where are they?”
“At the entrance still. Fortunately, the guests are distracted.”
“Stay here,” Alexander ordered.
“Wait–” she called out, but he was already at the doors, opening them before she could argue.
This was all her fault. If she’d know the woman who cursed her family would return, she would have taken her chances with Nathaniel. Judging from everything Alexander had said, Gertrude was far less merciful than her son.
The doors slammed shut behind them and Charlotte rushed forward, relieved to find they’d left them unlocked in their haste.
A thrum of magic ran through her when she splayed her fingers over the polished wood. There were innocent people inside. While Nathaniel and the vampires could withstand the Avery’s powers, people like Hartley couldn’t. Then there was Duke. She wouldn’t leave without him either.
