The Prophecy

17: Monsters?

When another knock came at my door, I had every intention of ignoring it like I had all the others. I continued to sit there, lost in thought, waiting for whoever was at my door to finally give up.

"Ari, it's me," my uncle said through the door. "Will you open the door, please?" I continued staring at the closed book lying between my legs, paying him no mind. "It's about your mother, Ari."

My head jerked towards the door, and without thought, I got up, stumbling slightly since it was the first time I'd moved in ages. Flicking the lock open, I went back to my spot on the floor. Uncle Ben entered cautiously, and I heard him lock the door behind him. He bypassed the couch and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of me.

I glanced up and met his worried blue eyes and sat, waiting for him to start. There was little doubt that he could plainly see the devastation on my face.

"How much did the evil witch tell you?" He asked softly.

I wanted to chuckle at his description, but I couldn't find it in myself to do so. I was caught off guard that he knew, though. I knew he was human like my father was. At least I thought he was, but then again, I always thought that Lucien was as well. I looked him up and down suspiciously, and his lips twitched.

"Yes. I'm human," he said simply, putting my mind at ease. Obviously, my doubt had been clear on my face. "What did she tell you, Ari?"

I shrugged like it was no big deal. "That vampires and werewolves are real. That vampires hunt our family, that our family hunts vampires, and that as the oldest, it's my responsibility to take over," I paused to take a deep breath before saying the hardest part. "And that I'm surrounded by both werewolves and vampires."

"That's what I was afraid of," he mumbled with a sigh.

"What do you mean? Is it not true?" I asked, clinging to a tiny sliver of hope his words had caused.

He shook his head rapidly, ripping away any hope I had. "No, that's pretty much accurate. That's not all of it, though."

"I don't know if I can handle anymore right now. I'm barely handling this," I mumbled back immediately, and he nodded in understanding.

"I wasn't here to tell you anyway."

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he wasn't. Nobody had ever felt inclined to share anything with me before. I'd spent all night wondering why the woman had chosen to tell me now. Was it because I was surrounded by supernaturals? Or was it something else?

"Your parents didn't want you to know any of this until you were close to your eighteenth birthday," he said by way of explanation.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm only a few months away. So, right on time, I guess."

"No, they wanted to wait as long as we could," he replied, shaking his head sadly.

I wondered what that meant, catching onto his careful wording. Why was it important to know before my birthday, but they planned to hold out as long as they could? Was something going to happen on my birthday? I didn't ask. I didn't want to know anymore right now.

I quickly changed the subject just in case he changed his mind and decided to give me more answers. "You said it was about Mom?"

He sighed. "Since there was always a threat of danger, she took precautions. In case anything ever happened, she wrote some letters to be given to the three of you at certain times. There was always a possibility that something could happen to them. That's why they had this house in your name. If anything happened, Lucien and I were to bring the three of you here and just lay low, waiting for your eighteenth birthday. I don't know why they chose this specific town, so don't ask." He paused to run a hand through his hair anxiously. "Anyway, one of those letters was to be given to you if Sara ever came to talk to you about vampires or taking over the coven. When she showed up, and you suddenly holed up in here, not answering the door or the phone, I figured that's what had happened."