I want to dedicate this chap to YukineRyomi and mellita_dsouza for being so supportive and positive comments. Thank you so much yukineRyomi and mellita for liking my book. I hope you like this chap as well. Enjoy.
*****
Caroline's POV
Few hours back.
"Have you seen this girl anywhere?" I asked a man in early 70's.
His olive face was full of wrinkles with silver dirty hair and his body was as thin as a skeleton that was draped with baggy clothes.
He had creepy blue eyes that looked too big for his face.
All in all, this man shooted creeps down my spine.
He snatched my hand that was held a photo of Elisa and grinned a toothless grin.
"Let go of me." I said as I tried to pry my hand off his death like grip. For a skinny, old man, he had a hold of an arm wrestler.
"So you are finally here. I've been waiting for you so long." He said in a hoarse voice.
"What the hell? Let go now." I said. I was getting angry and confused now. What was he talking about?
"Don't tell your mom about it. She won't believe you. I live there." He said pointing his shaking finger towards a century old Victorian house.
"Leave my hand now Sir, I really don't wanna hurt you." I said in a stern voice.
"No, listen to me child. Come straight here after--"
"Can't you hear what she is telling you, Sir? Let go of her hand this instant." A hard voice said behind me.
The old man immediately snatched his hand back and scurried off to his house with his walking stick.
I rubbed my hand, which was strangely hurting way too much.
What was with him?
"Thank you very--"
I turned around to come face to face with the most beautiful turquoise blue eyes I've ever seen. They were so beautiful that I was already lost in them. His eyes were not only turquoise but they also held a different kind of shine and aura that spoke of goodness.
"No need to thank me dear." He said coming closer to me and taking in deep breaths.
I snapped out of his gaze and checked out his other features.
He had glazed hazelnut curly hair that reached till his ears and looked like he just woke up from his deep sleep.
He had full lips with straight angular nose and his forehead was covered with strands of hair blown by the wind that I so wanted to swipe back.
He was taller than my 5"3 pathetic height because I only reached till his shoulders. So he must be around 5"9 to 6"0.
He had a muscular body that outlined his shape from his white button down shirt with lean, long legs covered by dark jeans.
All in all, he was impossibly beautiful to be a human.
He was a vampire.
Too bad he can't get me.
"I finally found you." He said and smiled from ear to ear.
"Listen Mister, thank you very much for... I don't know... scurrying that man off." I said and pushed past him towards my home.
It was getting late and--
Suddenly he snatched my hand and turned me around bringing me towards his chest.
These close proximity between us was mushing my mind because I couldn't concentrate on anything else but his blissful lips.
Old Caroline would have flirted with him or even kissed him but this new Caroline is gonna kick his ass.
"Listen Vampire, I may look like a sweet snack but I suggest you find someone else because you really don't wanna loose your teeth, do you?" I asked with a way too sweet smile.
His eyes widened and a sexy smirk was forming on his face.
"You've got a mouth, don't you? I like that. How do you know about vampires? Anyways, now I don't have to explain that vampires exist or chase you when you flee in fear or spray holy water on me. Let's get straight to the point honey: you're my mate. So that means you're mine for lifetime. You may know that--"
I punched his jaw with as much power as I can muster.
That actually worked, he clutched his jaw, "sorry 'my so called mate' but I'm nobody's. Too bad you have to live alone for eternity. All the best." I said as I dashed away in the direction of my home.
"I love winning challenges, sweetheart and you're my biggest challenge!" He shouted as I glanced behind to look at him one last time.
He may follow me follow home that's why I blended in with the crowd to mask me and my scent causing me reach my home whole 45 minutes late.
"You're late Care." My mom's voice came from the kitchen.
"Sorry mum." I said as I dashed up to my room locking the door behind me and sitting on my study desk chair, staring at the photo of me and Elisa hugging each other.
I will find you Elisa.
It was all my fault. If I hadn't left you that night, you would still be here and we would still be going to the school together.
Since the night Elisa got kidnapped, I left the school. My dad was very furious but I wouldn't listen. I told him that when Elisa comes back, we would go together.
We promised each other that we would finish high school together. It is a promise I intend to keep.
My mom convinced my dad but now it was too late. We have to start our senior year again. But that's okay, as long as I have my best friend with me, I would even visit hell.
I didn't know how my gaze shifted from that pic to a candle on my desk but what it did was enought for me to land on my butt.
The candle lit up by itself.
What the hell?
I stood up and stared at it to see if it was a figment of my imagination but no! There it was, raging in flames.
No no, that's not possible. Something is wrong.
I blew it out and at the same time the lights in my room went out.
Oh my God! No. I'm scared of darkness.
"MOM!" I shouted.
"Care, the lights went out. The whole city is in darkness. Not only our house. Can you find a candle?" She shouted back at me.
Oh God! Everything around me was so dark that I couldn't even make out the shapes of furniture.
I stumbled and ransacked my desk till my hand landed on that candle.
The same one.
That moment moon chose to shine and I could now look at the wick of the candle.
What just happened was impossible.
Could I.....could I do it again?
Maybe, I should just try so that I can assure myself that it was not my doing and something else is wrong over here.
I stared at the candle's wick and just said one thing in my mind. 'Lit'
The candle came back to life aggressively.
I barely managed to hold it in my hand and not drop it down on the ground.
Oh my God! What the hell is wrong with me?
I have to tell mom.
I ran downstairs with the candle in my hand as I searched for my mother.
"Mom?"
"In here, Care." Her voice came from the hall.
I went in and saw her searching through the drawers, "You found it? Thank God! I was tired of stumbling around." My mom said as she took the candle from my hand.
"Mom?..." I started to explain everything but then I remembered that old man's warning.
"Don't tell your mom about it. She won't believe you."
Could it be true? What he said about my mom not believing it?
"Yes honey?" She asked but then I remembered something else.
"No, listen to me child. Come straight here after"
How did he knew what was gonna happen today with me?
Maybe..... Maybe I should visit him.
"Mom. I..I-ah... I got a call from Kate. I need to go. Love you. " I said kissing her cheek and ran out of the door before she could argue with me.
I ran and ran until I was standing in front of that old man's victorian house.
Maybe coming here was a very bad idea.
Ugh. Stop it Caroline.
I went up the porch stairs which were squeaking under my heels as I reached the front door.
Before I could knock, the same old man opened the door, "I knew you would come. Come in." He said.
It's now or never.
I stepped inside his house with closed eyes and prayed to God, I don't wanna die today by the hands of an old man.
"Don't be afraid Caroline." He said and I quickly opened my eyes.
"How did you know that my name was Caroline?" I asked.
"I know many things." He said and started forward.
I don't know how he was able to walk so easily in darkness where I was tripping every few steps.
"I knew this would happen one day." He said.
"But how?" I asked.
"Patience my child." He said as he led me into a giant looking hall full of chandeliers and along with it the room was decorated with candles.
It was beautiful. No one would have ever thought that a century old Victorian house is this beautiful from inside.
"It's beautiful." I said.
"Yes, it is. Now back to the task." He said.
Just as I was about to ask him what task he was talking about, he swiped his right hand from left to right like wipers and just like that every candle in the room blew out as if someone had remote controlled it to turn off.
I looked back at the old man with horror, "Who are you r-really?" I asked with a shiver in my voice.
He turned back to face me,
"I'm a warlord, my child. " he said.
"What? There are no warlords or witches in this world." I said with a laugh.
"But I'm, indeed a warlord child and you're a witch." He said in a low tone.
"Are you nuts--"
"Fine then, I'll believe you but first you have to lit every candle in this room without the use of matches or lighter. If you can't do it then I'll believe you." He said.
"That's..... That's impossible." I said looking anywhere but at him.
"Why then, how did you lit that candle in your room? And that also twice?" He got me there.
But I would prove him wrong.
No way in freaking hell would I be able to light hundreds of candles in this room.
"You're in for a disappointment." I said.
"We'll see. Now try it till I get something for us to drink." He said and went out of the room.
He's crazy.
I turned back to the room and took every candle's wick in my eyesight.
Just as before, I thought one word 'lit' as if my mind already knew what to do.
I waited and waited.
But nothing happened.
Not a single candle lit up.
Ha. I knew nothing is wrong with me. That means my house is haunted. Oh God! I need to convince mom to leave that house.
I turned around to leave the room, Mom maybe in danger.
A candle on the wall caught my eye and I looked up to see it glowing in a yellow flame.
No no... maybe, the old man forgot to blow this one out.
I glanced down to see my shadow. That's barbaric, the candle was at a distance, it cannot cause to form shadow this far.
I slowly turned around, my heart was pounding too hard.
Each and every candle in the room was lit up.
Each and every candle was back to life as they were never blown out.
I.....I did this?
I felt tears flowing down my cheeks, I was on the verge of passing out when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I glanced back at old man to see that he had a sad but at the same time happy expression on his face.
"Please tell me you were the one who did this." I practically pleaded him.
"I can understand your situation my child. Come, let me explain you everything." He said as he led me to a round coffee table situated at the end of the room.
I sat down as two mugs came flying from the entrance and landed directly in front of me and the man.
"Please start explaining. I'm so close to losing everything. It was one thing to learn about the vampires existing but completely different to learn that you're a Witch." I said.
"I wish that Rose was here to explain everything to you." He sighed.
Wait, "How do you know about my Grandmother?" I asked feeling the dread settle in the pit of my stomach.
"I'm your late grandmother's husband." He said and I stood up.
"What the hell? My Grandad died before my Grandmother did." I said.
"Please sit down my child. Your mother told you many lies. I was not dead. Your mother just wanted to keep you away from me because when I tried to convice her that we're witches, she thought I'm crazy. That's why after your grandmother's death, they kept you away from me. They didn't even once allowed me to look at you." He said with utter sadness as he waved his fingers, opening a drawer, an old gold photo frame came towards me and landed on my lap.
I picked it up and tears started falling from my eyes and fell down on the glass as I saw the newly married couple.
The young woman in photo was my grandma.
I had many photos of my Grandma through years, I used to look at them secretly, without telling my mom that I found grandma's photo album in the attic.
And the sturdy man next to her looked like this old man.
That means....
"Grandad?" I said looking up at him.
"I guess I have no need for this glamour now." He said.
I looked at him in confusion but soon my confusion turned into fear.
My grandad ran his hand from his face to down his body which turned him to look like the man in the photograph.
My grandad just changed his look from early 70's to mid 30's.
Fuck.
Gone was his frail skin replaced by clear olive skin with jet black hair and baby blue eyes.
"I think I need a psychiatrist." I said clutching my temple.
"Don't stress out Caroline. Just drink that tea." He said in a husky voice.
I complied to his wish and gulped down the now cold tea in one gulp.
Something was wrong.
"It tastes different. What was in it?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"That tea contained the antidote that needs to bring out your dormant powers." He said smiling at me.
"What! What if it poisons me?" I said outraged at him.
"My dear Caroline, do you really think I would harm you?" He asked in a sad voice.
I didn't mean it.
I felt my body going numb as darkness began seeping in the corners of my eyes.
I gave in.
****
I woke up in the same chair and the young man in front of me was actually my grandad.
This is gonna be so awkward.
"Welcome back to the world Caroline." He said smiling at me.
I felt different.
I felt something running through my blood.
It felt warmth. I felt warm overall.
"I feel warm overall." I said to him.
His smile grew bigger, "Those are your powers Caroline. You can feel them flowing through your blood, don't you?" He asked and I nodded my head.
"Why did my mom refused to believe you?" I asked him.
"We are different witches Caroline. Not every generation in Pierce family is a witch or Warlord. It skips every generation. Look at it, your grandmother was a witch, then it skipped a generation and now you're a witch." He explained me and everything clicked in the place.
"Plus, you're the most powerful witch because when you lit all the candles, I thought you'd lit one or at most two but you surprised me by litting each and every one of them." He said.
"But how does that justifies I'm powerful?" I asked him.
"It takes great great deal of concentration just to lit a single candle, tell me what did you think before litting them." He asked me.
"I just thought one word, 'lit'. At first it did not work but when I turned around, voila, whole room was raging with brightness." I explained him.
"See. That proves it. Your powers were coursing through your blood even when they were dormant. Something must have triggered it. Tell me Caroline, have you felt any strong emotions lately?" He asked me and I nodded my head.
"Yes, my best friend went missing and all of it was my fault. I'm a complete mess, all I've felt lately is guilt and guilt and what if's questions." I said as my eyes started tearing up again.
"Tell me everything from beginning." He said softly and I told him each and everything in detail, all the while he listened to me and nodded his head in between.
"You're actually friends with a vampire?" He asked with a fearful expression.
"Yes, why?"
"Caroline, vampires and witches are enemies since the beginning of time, even though I don't have any dispute with them. But I never approached to a vampire." He said.
"Well, the one you met today claims to be my mate." I said to him as I remembered his deep turquoise eyes.
My grandad actually blanched when he heard this.
An idea suddenly occured to me.
"Grandad, if I'm a witch, then can I locate a particular person?" I asked him excitedly.
"You called me 'grandad'. This makes me so happy, oh! And yes you can but you need a single drop of blood of the person you want to locate." He said to me with a happy expression.
Shit!
Another idea formed in my head.
I stood up from my chair, "I need to go grandad, I've an awesome idea and strangely I know how to put my powers to use." I told him.
"That's because you unintentionally know your powers by heart. Go Caroline. And please come back to meet me." He said rising as well.
I went to him and hugged him tightly, at first he was confused but later he engulfed me in his warmness.
"Yes, I will. BTW, what is your name? It feels really awkward to call you grandad when you look no older than 35. Wait! Does that mean you're immortal?" I asked him.
"My name is xavier and yes I'm immortal and so are you. I'll explain more about witches later. Now go." He said laughing.
I ran out of the door and made my way towards Kate's house.
I'll find you Elisa.
I will find you even if I've to search the corners of hell to bring you back.
******
Hello my beautiful readers.
I hope this chap was not crappy. Would you like Caroline's POV in future?
Do you know that running scared is ranked #2 in the vampire's list.
OMG!
Thank you so much!
Until then hugs and see yaa.