Nathanial had guarded countless witches in his day. He always took his duty seriously, and he never lost a charge. He had close calls a few times before. He'd also had devious little witches run and hide from him, being too stubborn to be guarded.
Despite all that, he'd never been terrified for a charge. Not once. It simply wasn't an emotion he felt for them. But when he woke up and didn't feel Lettie anymore, he'd never been more scared.
He knew she'd gone into the void, they'd been practicing all week, and she knew her way in and out of it just fine. However, it didn't matter. He didn't know she was safe when he couldn't feel her. That struck fear in his cold hard chest as he'd never felt.
He didn't want to take his eyes off her when she appeared again. He nearly yelled at her for frightening him so much but luckily regained control before he did.
As she stood there safe and sound in front of him, telling him she belonged with him; he was overcome. Emotions he'd thought were long gone ripping through him, and all he could do was kiss her. Word failed him, but he had to show her what he felt, and he'd never felt so connected to anyone. He was just about to deepen the kiss when he heard the helicopter. Talk about terrible timing.
Once Lettie darted to the cave, he readied himself for whoever decided to raid that perfect moment.
He had an odd feeling... could it be Nyx, the vampire that trained him? Did he still use this place as a training ground? Lettie had ironically recently asked about him, but Nathanial thought finding him would be impossible.
Nathanial stood firm while waiting for the helicopter to land; if it was Nyx, he was not worried; if it was anyone else, he was. He should have told Lettie to make herself disappear if she needed to. Instead, he made her promise never to go in without him; he'd said that in a moment of panic and shouldn't have. She may need to use her power at any moment.
Case in point, now, he thought as the helicopter landed.
He stood still and watched as a huge man dressed in black with a hood up exited first. His feeling may have been right on. Was it him? It sure looked like him. A petite woman wearing a hooded cloak exited next, and they walking started toward him. It was like Deja vu.
No way...her too? How?
"Impossible," Nathanial murmured as the one, and only Prue Graves came to stand before him. She dropped her hood, revealing her hair black as night as it cascaded down her shoulders. She had not aged a day. There was not even one wrinkle on her golden bronzed skin. Her amber eyes held a glimmer this time, unlike the desperation they'd stored back when he'd known her.
The man lowered his hood next, and he recognized Nyx, the vampire that taught him to be the controlled machine he is today. Nyx was the opposite of Prue; he was nearly seven feet tall and husky. His icy blond hair was cut short, and his blue eyes were piercing against his pale skin.
He stood silently next to Prue; he had always been a man of very few words.
"So now you know. Greta was not the only rebel in my bloodline," Prue said as a smirk crossed her lips.
"You turned," Nathanial stated the obvious.
"You aren't that shocked."
"I used to think Greta was you reincarnated, Prue, but... how?" He asked with a tilt of the head; this was beyond forbidden. A witch turned into a vampire; this was breaking the rules of rules.
"Nyx helped," she offered with an amused look; she'd changed a lot from the witch he'd once known. She was always a strong-armed, bossy little thing, but she'd always been so serious in those days. She had to be; there were wars upon wars ongoing at the time.
Prue peered past Nathanial to the cave, "come on out, faery girl, I know you're here. I saw you in my memory."
"You what?" Nathanial asked as Lettie slowly stepped out.
She knew Lettie was fae? This would explain why Greta, in her dying moment, told Nathanial where to be and when. Did this all connect? How?
"Lettie, this is Nyx, the vampire that trained me and Prue; she's the witch I made my oath to," Nathanial explained.
"You're an Olin witch?" Lettie asked.
"Graves, but the surname changed as time went on; the blood, however, remained," she said wistfully, "until it didn't anymore."
"You two were in the dream Nathanial pulled me into," Lettie said as she studied the two of them.
"It was more than a dream," Prue told her. "I was just minding my own, and suddenly, my memory changed. The day we needed so badly to get Nate up and at it, a girl suddenly walks into the cave, wearing jeans, and wakes up a vampire from his coffin. After that, I had a pretty good idea of who you were and where I'd find you."
"I went back?" Lettie asked with wide-eyed horror etched on her face.
"I don't think so; Nyx here didn't see you," Prue mumbled as she paced, "I retained very little magical ability after I turned; however, some did linger. It must be due to my premonition about you long ago. Connected me to your mind somehow."
"You had a premonition about me?" Lettie asked.
"Yes," she nodded, "and I am the only one who did. I knew there had to be a reason I saw it and no one else. Yes, I was a powerful witch, but there were more powerful ones than me. I had the vision shortly after finding you, Nathanial." She turned to look at him, "I knew it mattered. So, I took my secret to the grave."
"That's why you turned," Nathanial guessed.
"Eternal youth was appealing as well," she shrugged, "Plus, Nyx here didn't want to live without me, right, big guy?"
He just made a face and continued to stand silently still.
"But your bloodline," Nathanial questioned her, "You were so worried about it, you enlisted me to watch it all those years."
"I did, and you did an excellent job," she commended him, "I watched from the shadows sometimes."
Nyx turned to her, giving her a look, "we should hurry."
"We have a lot to talk about, but not here," Prue said, "Come with us. We have a safe spot and more allies too."
"I don't know." Nathanial said reluctantly, "other vampires?
"If you're worried about her tasty faery blood, don't be," Prue said, "Most of us are old school; we don't mess with another vampire's mate, no matter how good they smell. Those that are younger will be carefully watched around her."
"There isn't a better choice," Nyx added, and Nathanial knew that was true; they couldn't hide here forever.
"Are you the rebellion?" Nathanial curiously as he looked from the large blonde Nyx to the tiny raven-haired Prue.
"Are you serious, those thugs turning teenagers on the street? No way are we involved with that!" Prue exclaimed, looking utterly annoyed at having been accused of that.
"But." She added and then stepped closer. "We are going to take down the order, and we're going to need you two to help."
Lettie could now add riding in a helicopter to her list of awesome new things she'd done. As the loud, crazy contraption took off, she looked out the window, and watched as the valley disappeared. As cool as flying through the sky was, she still found the kiss she'd had topped it. If only it hadn't been interrupted; it was just getting good!
There wasn't a ton of room in the small plane. She was sitting very close to Nathanial, so close their legs were touching. Her heart fluttered, and all she could think about was his lips on hers. She was sure her cheeks were probably flushed, but luckily no one seemed to notice.
The helicopter dipped and dived around the various mountains and valleys until it finally found a deep valley. It was buried amongst very jagged cliffs like the one they'd just come from. Nothing but a plane was getting down to it, and even that was narrow!
Luckily Nyx was a good pilot, but as he maneuvered the helicopter down a narrow opening, she nearly fell over Nathanial. He quickly secured his arm around her holding her steady as the helicopter nosedived below.
They landed smoothly, but she was still dizzy as she stood, so Nathanial took her hand and led her off the helicopter.
"You have a whole commune set up," Nathanial mumbled as he looked around.
Sure enough, there were several little makeshift huts around the valley. In the center was a giant fire pit with various logs to sit around on. A few people, vampires, she assumed, were sitting there and chatting calmly. They looked up at Nathanial and then Lettie with intense curiosity but looked away quickly, and didn't say anything. Still her vampire held tightly to her.
"Every vampire here is taught the same control I taught you Nathanial," Nyx assured him.
"The huts are all built, so when you step in, there is a step-down, and they're partially underground. Protects us from the sun during the day; there's a cave due south as well." Prue started walking, and they followed.
"Hannah is out to feed and won't be back for days, you can use her hut for now," she continued as she led them to it. "We'll build one for you two before she returns."
"How do people get out of here?" Lettie asked, looking at the rocky cliff edges around them.
"Nyx built a lift in the cave. It's hidden, so when you want to use it, let me know," Prue explained. "There are humans here and werewolves as well. You cannot hunt, mind touch, or even ask any human here for blood. If they're here, they are either hunters or in a relationship, maybe even mated to someone. So don't ask."
"Not an issue," Nathanial said.
"yeah, I know, just a formality," Prue said. "Also, blood exchanges are to be done in private."
"Hunters?" Lettie questioned.
"Vampire hunters, many of them work with us," Prue explained. "They are trying to stop the punks on the streets, so we assist them with that. Also, they hate the order as much as we do."
"Why?" Nathanial asked.
"Let's talk about it," Prue said as she led them into the hut.
The front door was fastened from branches and swung open quickly. There was a small sitting area with a table and a few chairs. It had a dirt floor but was covered in leaves and such. There was one small window. Four large stairs were going down, and she noted a makeshift bed and dresser in the underground area.
The three of them sat at the little table, and the large Nyx stood in the corner, ducking down a bit so his head didn't hit the top of the hut.
"Hannah is about your size, faery girl, and very friendly. She won't mind if you borrow some clothes. Nate, I'll bring some by for you."
"Call me what you want, but her name is Lettie," Nathanial corrected her in a firm tone. Lettie wondered if maybe that was because he liked calling her that. She found herself biting back a grin.
"Olette, yes, I heard your name in my vision. It means winged one."
"Is that fate's way of taunting me for not giving me wings?" Lettie asked, and both Nathanial and Prue laughed at that.
"I like you, Lettie. But I believe you do have wings," Prue said with a knowing smile, "Just not in the traditional sense."
"What does that mean?" Nathanial sat up taller, instantly going into protective mode.
Prue gave him a hard look, "Nate, you can trust me. I once saved your life and humanity, remember?"
"For a five-hundred-year cost," Nathanial shot back.
She shrugged, "price of doing business with a witch."
"So anyways, it all happened after I found Nathanial. The wars were winding down, and, the order, was being formed. However, I knew not to trust Lilith. I thought that's why I got the vision. I understand now, it must have been due to my connection to your future soulmate."
"What was the vision?" Nathanial asked.
"I saw her face clear as day, and I heard her name in my head," Prue informed him, "it said to protect her and protect the earth."
Lettie's eyes widened as Nathanial leaned forward.
"As soon as I saw her, I knew that the big premonition of the world ending was a lie or embellished." Prue continued. "I always suspected it was made up to cease the wars and give Lilith control. This confirmed it."
"The true visions were much different than what was told," Nyx added, "it was not very clear; in some visions, there were barren lands, famish, and tons of death, while in others, the earth was lush and harmonious. It seemed to all be based on her choice."
"What do you mean, her choice?" Nathanial asked. "Who is the, her? Lettie?"
"Nope," Prue said, "somehow they never saw Lettie; only I did."
"So who then?" Lettie asked.
"Jael had a secret child with a secret lover," Prue said, leaning in, "the father of all fae and an Angel. Talk about forbidden!"
"What!?" Nathanial's eyes went eyes wide in shock.
Lettie gasped; Jael said his last child; could that be her? Could it be the beautiful voice she'd heard?
"After multiple witches had the vision, it was confirmed by a warlock that had always worked with Jael but made a deal with Lilith after he disappeared." Prue confirmed, "her name is, Lailah, she's naturally immortal, and she can open and create realms. She was not included with the rest when the angels were struck down to hell because she was part fae. She's the one that fooled Lilith into thinking Jael was dead."
"Lilith knows now, though, that Jael is alive?" Lettie asked.
"Yes, as soon as the vision came out, she knew," Prue said, "and I bet she was pissed."
"An angel and a faery?" Nathanial questioned, "damn."
"Right?" Prue said, "it seems not just witches are rebellious."
"So Lailah is my mother," Lettie said, "Jael had said his final child. I heard her voice once too, in the void"-
She stopped talking abruptly, forgetting she wasn't supposed to mention that. Prue and Nyx didn't look shocked, even as Nathanial sat taller.
"It's okay, Nate," Prue assured him fast, "we know what she can do. That's what I meant about her wings. Creating realms is surely better than flying."
"I don't know," Lettie mumbled, "but I do know I felt like I trusted her when I heard her voice."
"When I saw you, I knew you were her future daughter. I just knew it somehow," Prue continued, "obviously, she didn't choose to end the world, not if she brought a child into it. I assume her choice had to do with Jael. He's been in a realm all these years; he is plotting, no doubt."
"Jael said she foolishly mated with a human and ruined his plans," Lettie told her.
"You spoke to him?" Nathanial asked her.
"Briefly, in the void, he wanted me to come to him, and I wouldn't," Lettie said.
Prue was nodding, "Lilith and company have it out for her. They've been hunting her forever. They want to find her and lock her up; they'll say to save everyone. But really, it's so they can use her."
"For what?" Lettie asked.
" To get to the fae that Jael has held up with him." Prue looked to Nathanial, "and if they get a hold of Lettie, they'll use her, either to do that, or as a bargaining chip to get to Lailah."
Lettie frowned, "he wasn't lying. There is other fae with him."
"Yes," Nyx spoke in his deep voice, "Lilith would never have made them extinct; she loved the blood. She's always aimed to capture and enslave faeries for their blood."
"How do you know all this?" Nathanial asked him.
"I used to work alongside her," Nyx admitted, "she never cared for anyone except Jael, and when he never returned her affections, she grew to hate him."
"They were soulmates," Lettie mumbled, "how can they hate each other?"
"They say there's a fine line between love and hate," Prue commented.
"I guess," Lettie muttered. It didn't make a lick of sense to her. "Who is the bad guy here, Lilith or Jael?"
"They both are," Nyx said.
"So what do we do?" Lettie asked.
"We take the order down," Prue mumbled, "but first, we have to save the fae without letting Jael out."
"How?" Lettie questioned at the same time as Nathanial asked, "why?
"Because if we don't, the earth will die."