The Vesper Creed

Chapter 9

Aizere's Point of View

The drive back to the main road was quiet, the only sound being the powerful hum of the engine and the soft purring of the cat in my lap. Victoria drove with a focused intensity, her hands steady on the steering wheel. I kept looking at her right hand, thinking about the mark that only I was supposed to be able to see.

As we reached the edge of town, Victoria finally spoke. She didn't look at me, but her voice was clear and serious.

"You are asking a lot of questions with your eyes, Aizere," she said. "The mark you saw on our hands... it is a sign of what we are. We are not just humans. This town has secrets that go back hundreds of years, and our families are at the center of them."

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the car's air conditioning. "What do you mean you aren't just human?"

Victoria glanced at me quickly, her gray eyes sharp. "The fact that you can see the moon and the rose is the only answer you need for now. It means you are one of us, even if you do not know it yet. You have a wall in your mind because of what happened four years ago, but you need to let it fall. You must find the truth by allowing your memories to come back slowly. Don't fight them when they surface."

My heart skipped a beat at her words. "How do you know about that?" I asked, my voice shaking. "How do you know what happened to me four years ago? I never told you about the accident or my memories."

Victoria did not look at me. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, but she did not say a word. The silence in the car became heavy and uncomfortable. I waited for an answer, my mind racing with a thousand different thoughts, but she kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Victoria? Please, tell me how you know," I pressed.

Instead of answering, she slowed the car down and turned into my driveway. The bright purple car stood out like a sore thumb against the quiet trees of my yard. My father was already standing on the porch, his hands on his hips and a confused look on his face as he watched the expensive car pull up.

"We are here," Victoria said simply, her voice cold and flat. "You should go inside. Your father is waiting."

She had completely changed the topic, acting as if I hadn't asked anything at all. I realized then that she wasn't going to give me any more answers today.

I stepped out of the car, clutching Snow tightly to my chest. Victoria didn't linger; she simply gave me a final, knowing look and sped away, the purple car disappearing down the street in a flash of light.

"Aizere?" my father called out, walking down the steps. He looked from the road back to me, his eyes landing on the white cat. "Who was that? And where did you get a cat?"

I swallowed hard, trying to think of a simple way to explain. "That was Victoria, a girl from school. Her family has to go away for a week, and they asked if I could watch their cat, Snow. She almost got hit by a car earlier, and I... I wanted to help."

My father looked at the cat, then at the empty road where the racing car had been. "A racing car? Those kids must have a lot of money. I didn't know you were friends with the Mikaelsons and their group."

"We're just in the same history class, Dad," I said, trying to sound casual as I walked past him into the house. "They just needed a favor."

I hurried to my room before he could ask more questions. I set Snow down on my bed, and she immediately began to walk around, sniffing the pillows. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at my own right hand. There was nothing there but pale skin, but after what Victoria said, I couldn't stop wondering if a secret was waiting to show itself.

The next morning, the school hallways were filled with the usual noise of slamming lockers and students rushing to get to their seats. I was standing at my locker, trying to shove my heavy history textbook into a small space, when a familiar voice made me jump.

"Aizere! Oh, thank goodness I found you," Lilith said, appearing at my side. She looked a bit tired, but her eyes were bright with relief. "I am so, so sorry for disappearing yesterday. Some family matters came up suddenly and I had to help my mother. I realized later that I didn't even have your phone number to text you. I felt terrible leaving you all alone on your second day."

"It's okay, Lilith," I said, giving her a small, tired smile. "I was worried, but Ruan kept me company for a while."

"Well, I'm making it up to you today," she said, checking her watch. "Our first class is cancelled because the teacher is out sick. And since the Founder's Party is next week, we are going downtown right now. The gown boutique just got their new stock, and we need to find our dresses before the other girls grab the best ones."

I didn't really feel like shopping, but the thought of sitting in the quiet library for an hour felt worse. We drove downtown to a small, expensive-looking shop with large glass windows. Inside, the walls were lined with rows of beautiful dresses in every color imaginable. The air smelled like fresh flowers and expensive silk.

As I stood in front of a long mirror, holding a pale cream dress against my body, Lilith watched me through the reflection. She noticed that I wasn't really looking at the fabric.

"Aizere, what is going on?" she asked softly, stepping closer. "You've been in a fog since we got here. You can tell me."

I looked around the shop. The lady at the counter was busy on the phone, and no one else was nearby. Out of a desperate need to share the weight of my secrets, I leaned toward her.

"Something happened yesterday, Lilith," I whispered. "I ended up at Ezrain's house. I saw them all together—Ezrain, Victoria, and the others. They have these tattoos on their hands, a moon and a rose. They told me only certain people can see them. Victoria said they aren't just human... and she said I might be like them, too."

Lilith's expression changed instantly. Her playful mood vanished, replaced by a look of intense seriousness. She didn't say a word. Instead, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back of the boutique, where the large, private fitting rooms were located. She pushed me inside one and pulled the heavy velvet curtain shut.

She stood in front of the door and raised her right hand.

"Protego," she whispered.

A faint, shimmering ripple of light moved through the air, like a bubble of water expanding to fill the small room. Suddenly, all the noise from the shop, the music, the woman talking on the phone, the sound of cars outside simply vanished. It was as if we were standing in a world of total silence.

"We can talk now," Lilith said, her voice sounding different in the quiet space. "That spell creates a shield. It makes it so that no one on the outside can hear a single word we say."

I stared at her, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Lilith... what was that? What did you just do?"

She took a deep breath and sat down on the small bench in the corner of the room. "Victoria wasn't lying to you, Aizere. There are families in Caxwell that have been here since the beginning, and we are not like the people you see in the grocery store or at the park. The reason I know about them, and the reason I can do this... is because I am a witch. I come from the bloodline of the Branson witches."

I leaned back against the mirror, my head spinning with the revelation. "A witch? Like... real magic?"

"Real magic," she confirmed, looking at her hands. "My family has protected this town and kept the balance between the different groups for generations. If you can see the mark of the moon and the rose, it means your true nature is starting to wake up. That accident four years ago did more than just take your memories; it put a wall around your power. But that wall is breaking, Aizere."

I looked down at my own hands, half-expecting them to start glowing. "So, if you're a witch... what are Ezrain and the others?"

Lilith looked toward the curtain, as if she could see through the shield she had made. "They are something much older and much more dangerous. But that is a truth you have to find for yourself. You need to let your memories come back, piece by piece. Just know that you aren't alone in this. I've been waiting for you to remember me since the day you got back."