Black Swan

Deepening Shadows

The next day, after Zara's attack on her, and Lucas telling her that he was a vampire, Selene found herself on a familiar porch in West Savannah, standing before her was Ms. Rosamund Clarke—a family friend who was close with her mother and knew her mother's secrets. The older woman's home had a distinct smell of flowers, tea, and dried herbs.

Selene remembered a flash of a memory; her mother, Seraphina, holding her hand as they approached this very porch on a random Sunday morning. She used to be scared of Rosamund's house as a child because the spirits would wander around the edges of her yard, begging and crying, trying to get Rosamund to help them cross over. The spirits would ignore Selene as they didn't think of her as someone that could help them. But inside the home, it was warm and silent—a safe haven.

Selene had come here seeking clarity. Answers. Sanity. Rosamund knew of her ability to see spirits, "haints," as folks around here called them. She was a root worker—a conjure woman—and had long served as spiritual midwife for those trapped between life and death. When Seraphina had revealed her children's bloodlines years ago, she had trusted Rosamund to be their godmother and keep watch over them.

"You done let a vampire come into yo' house, ain't ya?" Rosamund asked afer she opened the door, her eyes narrowing behind thick glasses as she stared the younger woman down. Rosemund had aged gracefully. Slightly gray roots with braids that had light brown highlighted braids, a freckled face with light brown eyes, and a plump body. Her voice was high pitched and sweet sounding, but she always had a way of commanding authority when she spoke.

Selene hesitated, then nodded, the fear and exhaustion sinking into her bones. "I didn't know what he was. Not at first. And now...my friend is a vampire."

Rosamund studied her a moment, then turned and motioned for her to follow. "Come on in, 'fore these haints think they can come in too." They moved into the living room, where glass jars lined the shelves and an old radio hummed gospel music softly in the corner. "These vamps comin' for you cause you got somethin' they want... You have a gift cause you not a human, baby," she said, gesturing to a row of thick, leather-bound books.

Selene sat, heart thumping. "Then what am I?"

She watched Rosamund open the book, and flipped to a certain page, "You the offspring of a dhampir and a nephilim," Rosamund said with finality. "Your daddy was half-vampire, half-man. Your mama was half angel. That blood makes you powerful, but it makes you a target, too."

Selene blinked. The words felt like water in her lungs, and it was getting harder to breathe. That explained everything. It explained why she could heal exceptionally fast, and see those spirits roaming around aimlessly. And why Malik had a way of manipulating people to sway in his favor, and how he could tell if they were lying or not.

Rosamund went on, she then turned the page to a hand-painted page depicting angelic beings and shadowed red-eyed creatures entwined in battle. "These unions were forbidden. Your mama and daddy? They were supposed to be balance-keepers. But children like you and Malik ain't meant to exist, not according to the order of things. You carry both light and dark. Angels don't like that. Demons don't like that either. And vampires? They see you as an enemy, traitors to the vampire community. So supernatural forces gon' come for you and your brother. You gotta root yourself in protection."

She stood up and stepped into the kitchen and returned with a small mason jar filled with layered ingredients: sea salt, crushed eggshells, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon bark, and honey thick and golden as molasses.

She then sealed it with white wax from a white candle. "Keep it by your door, child" she instructed, pressing it into Selene's hands. "It will guard your home when the creatures of the night come for you."

Selene stared at the jar, its contents swirling with quiet energy. "Will it be enough?"

Rosamund looked her dead in the eyes. "Not by itself. But it's a start, you got more power in you than you realize. Power in your blood, your voice, you gotta pull that power out of you."

Outside, the wind picked up, and thunder cracked in the sky. It was about to rain again, and she needed to get home soon before the storm started. She said goodbye to Rosamund as they hugged each other, and she went into her car on her way home. She needed to get ready for work, and hopefully see if Lucas would meet her there. They needed to talk.