The Darkness

Chapter 56

We had been at my Uncle’s Silas house for over an hour.  Celeste was currently in the kitchen helping my aunt with cleaning up after our lunch.  I had retired to my uncle’s study to talk about things I found out from Sean.

“Care to tell me what’s really going on, nephew?” Silas Wright was a no  nonsense man, direct and to the point.  He always seemed to be able to read me and others just by observing.  His uncanny ability to read people served him well on the council.  He was my father’s older brother and he had two sons, Printz, who he was grooming to take over his seat when the time comes.  His youngest son Deacon was currently in law school in California.

“Where do I start? It seems I found out more than I bargained for.” I paced in front of his desk that he was sitting in and running my hand through my hair pulling at the roots.

“What’s that?”

“Celeste is the  granddaughter of the missing councilmen carson.”

“Elijah Carson?” His voice tightened and he raised slowly out of his chair.

“Yea so it would seem.” I stopped pacing looking directly at him.

“How did you find out? How many people know this?”

“Sean Carson told us.  Do you know him?”

“Yes, how does he know?” Disbelief was evident in his voice.

“He went to school with Celeste and met her father.  He is the one that told him about his connection to the Carson’s family.  He is the human son of Elijah.  Did you know him?”

“Of course, Braden was Elijah’s only son.  I felt bad about how they treated him when he arrived.  He was bullied and there were attempts to kill him.  I didn’t condone any of that, but I was way too young to do anything about it.  By the time his father found out, they left.”

“He hid all of this from Celeste and her mother.  He changed his name and has lived as a human until his death.”

“He’s dead? What about Elijah?”

“They are both dead.”

Silas walked around his desk grabbing my shoulders. “Celeste is the last in his line. Son you gotta get her out of here.”

His urgency alarmed me but I needed to know why. “Is there something more to this?”

“Colin, if Celeste is the last direct descendant of Elijah that means she has rights to be on the council.”

“Hold on, I thought that only fell to the sons?”

“That’s true and has always been that way. But there are provisions if there are no more sons then the daughter inherits the seat.  And I will tell you right now, that if they find out who she is, they will not hesitate to prevent her from taking that seat.”

“You got to be kidding me.  Celeste doesn’t have any desire to be on the council.”

“It doesn’t matter; she is by our laws entitled to that seat.  There is no way they want a woman on the council let alone a human one. Does anyone beside you and Sean know of this?”

“That’s it.”

“Let’s keep it that way.” Silas patted me on my back bobbing his head up and down.

“Okay, we’re leaving right now.”

“I’m sorry that you have to leave.”

“Hey we will see you at the wedding?”

“Of course, you’re parents are due back the day after tomorrow. You should let your dad know what is going on.”

“One more thing, Sean said they were rumblings that the council is thinking about taking the pack from me.  Is that true?”