Niko stepped out of the tiny bathroom in a pair of Brad's long pants. As he pulled down the shirt, I saw the stab marks. They were purple and puckered, looking as if they still hurt. Niko gave me a smile.
"A warrior accepts all wounds as a badge of honor."
"Yeah, but they are pretty gruesome."
Niko merely smiled as he sat at the table in front of me. Brad and Anzide were outside, sorting through the rubble and continuing to clear away the mess.
"All of the vampires that inflicted those wounds are dead."
"Yes, I heard whispers about Andross. I would have loved to have seen that happen."
"He was the one that killed our family."
Niko sighed as he looked at the photo of Beatrice and Victoria.
"If I'd known that their fate would have been no different, I would not have sent them away."
"But in doing so, you started a path that led to my mother, Brad, and me."
"Everything in this world happens for a reason," he offered. "Even death is sometimes necessary, unfortunately."
Tucking the photo back into the pile of things that had been salvaged, Niko clasped his hands and looked at me. Since his return, which has been a grand total of ten minutes, he's been subdued but in a good mood. He was still happy, but there was something else.
"Are you alright?"
"I am, thank you. It was an interesting feeling to be dragged through the forest by an unknown source while the sensations of repairs wriggled through my body. I am fully repaired, and interestingly, the demon ensured that I did not need to go out and feed tonight. I suspect that he believes that Drakkus will be on the warpath once he realizes what has happened. That was a mighty fine agreement that you made, Evelyn. Be proud of your partnership with James. He has a good heart, despite his nature."
"Thanks. I was a little nervous, but he was completely honest, and Anzide was there as well, so I guess that helped."
"Ah, yes. The Nephilim. That was an interesting turn of events."
Niko had a wicked smile on his face.
"Yeah. Who would have thought that would happen, right?"
"Anyone with eyes in their head and, perhaps, a little knowledge about biblical creatures. They are designed to love all creatures, which is strange considering how harshly they are treated when they act on those feelings."
I said nothing but could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. He was my great-grandfather, and the subject was thoroughly embarrassing.
Niko leaned his head on one hand, assessing me and my flaming cheeks.
"You're an Eternal, Evelyn. There are not many choices for you in this world."
"I know. If it weren't for Andross getting in first, mom would have died because of one."
"Evelyn, I know that the subject of your father is a touchy one, but the powers that rule over your life will insist that you meet with him. He should be the one that trains you. I'm surprised that they're letting Anzide do it, to be honest."
"Yeah, the woman in the portal said that I should know him. He knew what he was doing when he had sex with my mother. He knew that she would die. How can I forgive him for that?"
"I don't see how you could."
Feeling low, I looked out the door and saw Brad as he walked to the pile of wood. He was pushing a cart full of external panels.
It was almost dark outside. I figured they'd spend another hour out there before the mosquitos became too much for them. Then it was going to get a little crowded in here.
"How am I going to defeat Drakkus?"
"By spending as much time learning from Anzide. Don't worry about the house. It can wait. I'm sure James will allow an extension of time for your education. After all, you're an Eternal. You can pick up anything and learn it much faster than the average human. Focus on the largest issue in your life and take each day as it comes."
Anzide appeared at the door.
"We have company."
"Good or bad?"
"I don't know. Brad said her name is Natalia."
"The woman from the Heritage Trust committee. She's the one that convinced the committee to take your house."
Niko thought about it and shrugged.
"It is not a name that I recall. If she's been a part of the process to keep this land in our name, then it is possible that she is an ally. Still, to be safe, I should hide."
That was a good call. There was no guarantee that her opinion was the same after all this time, and just because she'd petitioned to put the house into the trust's care, it didn't mean that she wanted Niko in power. Her reasons might be completely against Niko. Maybe she'd spent years searching the house while knowing exactly where Niko was.
When he was on the other side of the curtain, I gave Anzide a nod. Then I began clearing away all of the unnecessary items that were on the table. Until we knew what her story was, I wasn't going to trust her with a single piece of information.
She appeared at the door, smiling at me.
"Hello, Evelyn."
"Uh, hi. Come in."
Brad and Anzide were behind her, neither giving me a single clue about what was going on.
"Take a seat. Sorry, we don't have much else at the moment."
"Yes, I heard, and it is unfortunate but understandable. It doesn't matter. Houses can be rebuilt."
Natalia paused for a moment, looking at me as if I was something rare. She was the rare one here, a vampire going against Drakkus.
"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here."
Yep, I think we're all wondering that.
Natalia was a pretty woman. The long brown hair was neatly pulled into a ponytail that draped over one side. She offered a smile, but I could see that there was a hint of sadness in her deep green eyes.
"I should have identified myself when you appeared at the meeting, but I wasn't sure who I could trust. This town has many who are on both sides of the fence and will happily jump it to ensure that they survive. You've seen it already, haven't you?"
Regretfully, I nodded.
"I'll start with my return to this town. When I arrived, Niko was missing and Drakkus hadn't been able to get into the house."
"But he put Niko behind the wall, didn't he?"
"I think that he ordered someone else to do it and they walked away, thinking that their leader would be able to enter without issue. There were a few followers who were holding out with the hope that Niko would reappear which became a form of a blockade that stopped him. No one knew where Niko was which I found to be rather dubious. I recently learned that the vampires who put Niko behind the wall were murdered by Drakkus as a punishment for his inability to enter the house. Whispers state that the blockade was strong, ensuring that he could not enter. I think that Drakkus, perhaps Andross as well, were the only ones who knew where Niko was. I only recently learned of the truth when it was too late. This time Niko truly was dead and,"
She paused, looking like she had so much regret. The tears welled in her eyes, ready to drip free. She cleared her throat, giving me a grim smile.
"I returned to Hades a few months after the incident and made casual enquires. What I got were rumors that he'd fled the town in search of his wife and daughter, abandoning the coven. It was plausible and when I could, I ventured to the surrounding towns to search for him. Knowing that Niko would always want this land to remain the coven sanctuary, I formed a plan to ensure it remained that way. I applied for a position on the board and managed to convince them to take the house into their care. It stopped Drakkus because of one little ruling. Until Niko was declared dead and his line was no more, the house could not be sold or removed from the Corbin family. Drakkus has never truly trusted me or even liked me, for that matter. I stopped him from complete control, and the only reason that I survive is because I know how to hide."
Natalia smiled. It was dark, devious, and truly decadent. With the rich red lips pulled tight into the smile, I knew that she was more than what she seemed. A vampire? Perhaps, though I doubted it.
"So, how do you hide?"
Natalia pressed her lips tight and then let out a soft sigh.
"Okay, but you can't tell anyone the truth. If Drakkus knows it, then he's going to figure out a lot of things."
"Sure. Secrets kept."
It was the strangest thing that I'd ever seen. Before me was a woman that went from being a pretty brunette with deep green eyes to a completely different brunette with those lovely emeralds shining brightly at me. Her face was slender now, her cheekbones a little more defined. The skin was paler, but the rest of Natalia remained the same. I'm sure a lot more changed, but I wasn't about to ask her to prove it.
"You're a shapeshifter posing as a vampire."
"I am, and I bet you're wondering why."
"Yeah, I have to say that I am intrigued."
Anzide was quiet as he leaned against the kitchen counter, but Brad, he was frowning with narrowed eyes. Natalia looked at him and tilted her head.
"Something wrong?"
"I know you from somewhere."
"Yes," she said with a growing smile. "You do. You might have been a toddler when you last saw me, but you were a bright child."
"Wait, you knew Brad when he was a kid? Did you know my mom as well?"
Natalia nodded, and I felt like I had been winded.
"I'll go back to the beginning so that you can understand things a little better rather than this beating around the bush. My name is not Natalia. It's Beatrice."
"Oh," I said dryly.
"Yes, oh. How did I survive Andross?" she shrugged. "It's a rather awful tale, one that I'm not proud of, but I didn't expect that he'd kill the poor woman. It began not long after my darling Niko sent me away with Victoria. We moved to a town that wasn't that far from here. I couldn't bear to be apart from him, but Niko insisted that Drakkus did not get his hands on Victoria. We remained in the town, hidden and waiting for the day that Niko came to get us. Victoria grew up, fell in love, and married Edward. He was a lovely fellow, so very understanding of our situation and assured me that he would do everything in his power to protect Victoria and their children."
She wiped a tear away, her hand shaking as she tried to smile. It sucked that one psychotic vampire had destroyed a family like this.
"We parted ways for most of the time. It was a day not long after Bradley was born when I saw Andross. I told Victoria to take the children and run. To get as far away from the town as possible. Andross found the woman that I'd been posing as, assumed it was me, and killed her. I've never been proud of the fact that the woman had to die so that I could live, but if it meant that I could keep this property in our family, then it had to happen. When Andross was gone and the authorities collected the body, I insisted that they did an autopsy. Then, before they left town, I met up with Victoria one last time. I told her that I was returning to Hades so that I could turn the attention away from her. It was the only way that I could ensure that they'd have a normal life. I gave all the warnings that I could to Victoria and Nancy. I guess you were too young to understand what I was saying."
Natalia smiled as she shrugged.
"So, that's it. That's my secret. I'm your great-grandmother."
Well then, do I have a doozy of a secret to tell you. It's going to knock your socks off.
"When I saw you at the meeting, I knew instantly. I looked at you, and I saw myself."
I guess that was true. Niko did say that I looked like her, though he never specified who her was.
"Okay, so we've got a lot of things to get through here, but I've got to know, why now? Why didn't you come here after the meeting?"
"I didn't think that you'd believe me. You were faced with so many liars and vampires trying to pull you in all directions. I didn't want to add to that stress. I should have though. I should have come here and told you everything that you needed to know about me and the past. I'm sorry, Evelyn. It was wrong to hide from you. I guess the fears of the past will always be strong."
"Well, I killed Andross so you don't need to worry about him. Will you excuse me for a moment?"
She nodded as I got up from the table. I moved to the curtain, slipping into the small section between the material and the bed. Niko looked up at me, lost and sad.
I sat down, taking his hands into mine.
"She looks like me," I whispered. "So, I guess it's true, right?"
He gave me a vague shrug.
"How will you know if she's truly Beatrice?"
His mouth opened, but nothing came out. I stood, taking his hands with me. Hopefully, I could be the reassurance that he needed.
Moving through the curtain, I wanted to ask one last question before the big reveal.
"How do we know that you're not working for Drakkus?"
"It is a tough question that I will never be able to answer you and expect you to believe me. I am a woman of her word. I have never agreed with anything that Drakkus has done or what he wants. I am not working for Drakkus and never will. As I said, I am not his favorite person because of my actions. It's why Natalia Eastwell has never been pursued to be a part of his coven. Of course, he's frequently tried to kill me, but I outwit him. It's not that hard, to be honest. He's not the brightest spark around."
I felt a poke in my back.
"Okay, that's good. I ask because of the obvious and because of something that may not be obvious."
Brad and Anzide smiled. I couldn't help but join them. For this woman who supposedly was my great-grandmother, it was confusing. She frowned, watching as I pulled back the curtain.
I could feel Niko standing behind me, the shadow that was my lifeline.
Beatrice stared, the frown falling away in an instant, replaced with sadness.
"Niko?" she whispered as the tears began to fall.
I stepped aside for Niko, leaning against the bathroom door as they hugged. It wasn't my parents, it wasn't even my grandparents, but this was something equally as good. Piece by piece, we were getting there. When I saw the teary reunion, I felt the pain in my heart. I had to fix the issues. I had to bring this family back together again.