Guardian
Chapter 1
Early Days
I was first born in the year sixteen-seventy-five in Amesbury, a small town just north of Salem, Massachusetts. Gabriel, the son of the local law enforcer, was four years older than me. We had grown up together, and spent our childhoods playing and laughing with each other. He was my best friend, and we were pretty much inseparable. But back then, when we were so young, I had no idea of the true depth of Gabriel’s feelings for me.
I was only twelve years old the first time he kissed me; I had reached that special age in every girl’s life, which for me meant quite a bit more than it does for everyone else. I had just learnt about my destiny in life, about who I was to become, and I needed someone to talk to about it. As fond as I was of my mother and as much as I loved and adored her, she was too close to it all— it was already her life. I wanted an unbiased opinion, someone to bare my soul to, and Gabriel was my closest friend, my confidant. I had always been able to talk to him about anything; we didn’t have any secrets between us. I knew that he was the one I needed to see.
I headed across our tiny town, which was so small that it didn’t even have its own doctor. Instead, when people had ailments, they came to see my mother, who was known in our small town as a healer. People came to her with their sicknesses, and more often than not she was able to help them. She never charged for her services, but sometimes people would return with some cheese or a small cut of meat in thanks.
But that life of human healing was really just a ruse. In truth my mother was a protector, a Guardian called the Venatorcustos, just as my grandmother had been before her. I had always known what my mother was; she had never kept it secret from me. I knew all about those she protected and those she destroyed, those who weren’t really human but were supernatural. These were the Crudelitas. It didn’t matter to her that they were considered to be monsters; provided they weren’t evil, she would protect them. After all, it was in their nature to kill people—most of them had to in order to survive. But that didn’t give them a right to be vindictive or malicious about it, or towards each other. And if ever they were, well, that was when they would have to deal with the wrath of my mother.
But even though I had known the truth of it, I wasn’t prepared to learn that I was also a Guardian, or to understand that I would have to deal with it all as well—that I would have to decide who was to live and who was to die, who was evil and who was just trying to survive. I wasn’t prepared to have all the faded memories of my mother and my grandmother floating around in my head as if they were dreams. I was only twelve years old—still a child, really—and I simply didn’t know how to cope with it all. More importantly, I didn’t want to have to cope with it all.
I just needed my friend, but when I looked into Gabriel’s eyes with such longing, he misunderstood; he leaned towards me and touched his lips to mine, just the softest movement, and the sweetest gesture. No lust, just pure, unashamed love, innocent and sincere. I can still remember the sound of the soft chirping from the birds outside the window. But that day, after he kissed me as I looked up into his eyes, mine filled with tears, and I turned and ran. It wasn’t really his fault, but I had to get away. I didn’t understand what had happened, or what it meant, or the sudden fluttering I was feeling in the pit of my stomach. All I knew was that I already had too much to deal with; I couldn’t cope with any more. I raced home and cried into the arms of my mother. She held me close and stroked my hair.
“What happened, sweetheart? What’s the matter?” she asked me gently. “Shush, shush, sweetheart, it’ll all be okay. It’s not that bad, I promise. I know it seems like too much to deal with at the moment, but I’m here for you. We can do this together; it’s really not as bad as it seems.”
“No, mother,” I stammered between sobs. “It’s not that. I went to talk to Gabriel about it, to sort it out in my head. But he kissed me. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him.”
Twelve years old wasn’t the same back then as it is now; I had no idea about boys. My body may have matured, but I was still only a girl—a girl who had just inherited incredible powers, abilities, and ancient memories. How was I supposed to handle love as well, when I didn’t yet know what it was?
My mother was angry. I didn’t even get a chance to explain that it was just a peck, that there was no force behind it. Before I could stop her, she raced off in a rage to speak to the Sheriff, a decision that would end up being the biggest mistake of our collective lives. That meeting turned out to be the catalyst that would ultimately end my mother’s life and take me away from Gabriel for centuries, leaving me to cope with a life spent in the company of Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Mermaids, Fairies, and Nephilim all on my own.
~
It was six weeks before I finally managed to get up the courage to visit Gabriel again. He hadn’t come to see me; he must have been embarrassed and scared after the severe reprimand his father, Peter, had given him. He hadn’t even waited until my mother had left before he started, the scolding wasn’t about the kissing, though. His father was mad because he thought Gabriel was falling in love with me, someone who he believed could never be good enough for his son—a Sheriff’s son. There was no way Gabriel would be allowed to marry the daughter of a healer—and a girl who was a bit of a vagabond at that. After all, I hung around with the boys and spent far too much time barefoot, and I even dressed like a boy at times. I was definitely no lady. No, Peter wasn’t angry about what his son had done, but who he’d done it with. Apparently I was okay as an acquaintance, good to know in fact, but I was not marriage material for his son. Not a chance—and he would do anything in his power to ensure that never eventuated.
I walked around the building, behind the cells, and knocked tentatively on the door to the residence where Gabriel and his father lived. I was grateful when Gabriel himself answered my knock.
“Hannah! I’m so glad to see you! I didn’t think you’d ever want to see me again.” He glanced behind me nervously. “Can we go for a walk? I don’t want my father to come back and find us.”
“Sure,” I replied, hoping to avoid Peter myself, the man had always made me uneasy, he scared me.
We walked in silence down the worn track behind the ominous jailhouse building. It didn’t lead anywhere except deep into the forest, but we had gone this way so many times in the last seven years that we’d been friends, that we had worn a trail. We stopped before we got too far and sat down on a mossy tree that had fallen a few years earlier. It created a seat that had been the site of a number of our conversations over the years. Gabriel was the only guy I think I’ve ever known who was happy to just sit and talk about nothing. But that day our talk would definitely be about something. And depending on how the conversation developed, Gabriel could end up knowing more than he ever believed possible.
“Hannah, I’m so glad you came over. After your mother came, I didn’t think you would want anything to do with me ever again.” He stopped and looked at me, suddenly becoming aware that I still hadn’t said anything. “You don’t, do you? You just came over to tell me in person, right?” He looked distraught at the thought.
“No Gabriel, that’s not—”
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it, really. I just wanted to see what it was like. I should have asked you first, but I didn’t know how. I know we’re just friends, but I was curious, and you seemed like the best person to try it with. I’m sorry.”
Now I was really confused. It meant nothing? He had just been curious and thought he would experiment with his best friend? Well, that was just great. I knew I wasn’t ready for what I’d thought he might be feeling, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t felt a little bit flattered by it all. I mean, Gabriel was definitely the most handsome boy in town. All the girls said so. He had shoulder length, wavy, blond hair and tanned skin. His deep blue eyes were piercing, so much so that sometimes I felt like he was looking right through me. He was six foot tall, even at sixteen years old—and back in the late seventeenth century that was tall. His stocky build was well toned, and he had excellent proportions. Yes, Gabriel was definitely a catch by anyone’s imagination.
But of course he wasn’t interested in me as anything more than a friend. Why would he be? What had made me even consider the idea? A wayward kiss? I shook my head at my being so stupid. He was the Sheriff’s son! What would he want with me—a nobody for all intents and purposes—when he could have any girl in town? My family had no money and no prestige; apart from what my mother collected from her healing. We survived on father’s small carpentry jobs and the veggies mum grew with great abandon, and which always got just the right amount of rain and sun. But no amount of vegetables would help me win the Sheriff’s son. He would more than likely end up wed to the preacher’s daughter, or the banker’s youngest, who had just turned fifteen, she was very pretty.
Not that I wasn’t pretty. At least, from the glances I’d stolen from my mother’s small looking glass once in a while, I thought I might be. I had long, very curly light brown hair and blue eyes. Well, they were blue most of the time; if you paid enough attention, they changed slightly depending on my mood. They had a green tinge when I was upset and a brown edge when I was sick. They became a very deep blue, almost purple, when I was angry. I was an average build, slightly more athletic than feminine from all the time I spent roughing about with the boys, but I had filled out nicely in the last few months. All of the boys in town had started to notice me. But despite all that, Gabriel obviously didn’t find me very pretty. His father would be delighted.
“It’s alright, Gabriel. I truly do understand. You just caught me off guard. I wanted to talk to about something important and you just—”
“I know, I know,” Gabriel cut in, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. How many times can I apologize? You’re my best friend and I don’t ever want to lose that. Not for anything. Nothing could be worth losing my friendship with you, ever. The last six weeks have been torture, Hannah. Life just isn’t the same without you.”
“It’s alright, Gabriel. Settle down; I’m here now, okay? And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. We’re friends forever, all right.” As the words left my lips, I realized that even if my forever was going to be a lot longer than his forever, I truly meant what I said. “But what exactly did my mother say?” I asked. Gabriel had heard the conversation between her and his father, and I needed to know what was said.
“Oh, she went right off, asking my dad what sort of son he had raised, and how I dared even to contemplate doing such a thing. She said that you are no more than a child who trusted me as her friend, and then told him what a terrible friend I’d turned out to be.” He paused, watching for my reaction. “I can’t tell you what my dad said in reply. He was cruel; you know how he can be at times. And I would never dishonour you by repeating the things he said.”
I could only imagine. His father could definitely be a very cruel and intolerant man at times. “Gabriel, relax. It’s okay, I promise—”
“And now I’m being rude again. You had something you wanted to talk to me about that day. Did you still want to talk about it? I promise just to listen,” he said, attempting a grin for the first time that day.
I still needed to tell him everything because my secret had been building inside me all these weeks, but I didn’t know where to begin. Should I start with, “My mother is over six hundred years old”? Or perhaps, “I can control the elements with my mind”? We lived in a time when most superstitions were considered real, so telling him that Vampires, Wizards, and Werewolves existed probably wouldn’t be such a surprise for him. But would he believe me if I told him I was the only creature on this Earth, with the exception of my mother, who could destroy a supernatural being with only my mind?
I contemplated explaining that I have the ability to create a simple spell that can make me reverse my age by ten years at a time, meaning that I could, in theory, live forever. But then I reconsidered, for spells were probably not the best thing to mention to a Sheriff’s son in the late-seventeenth century, at a time when Witches were feared and heresy was a crime punishable by death. Not that I was a Witch. In fact, I definitely was not, for they are an entirely different creature, and much less powerful. But that didn’t mean I would be able to justify myself if ever I was accused of being one.
So, sitting on the mossy log next to Gabriel, I started with the basics—what I thought he already knew. I began by telling him that my mother was a healer, and that I would one day take her place. I had just inherited her abilities, and now I was expected to protect the innocent and punish the evil. He seemed to be taking all that information in stride, so I pressed on, telling him that the evil I would punish was truly evil. Not humans, only Crudelitas. The supernatural. I snuck a glance at him, and saw that he was listening intently without any judgment in his eyes. Encouraged, I decided to spill the rest of it. I gave him a rundown on some of the things I could do, just the most basic of my talents. The rest he could learn in time.
~
It was almost dark by the time I had finished. We sat silently for a long while. The dew had set in around us and it glistened on the leaves of the trees and shrubs in the rising moonlight. It wasn’t quite a full moon yet, but it was close to it—only another night or two to go. It was at the stage where the average person would be unsure if it was full yet or not. But I knew, not because of what I could see, but because of what I couldn’t feel inside me—what I couldn’t yet hear inside my head. The agonizing cries of the Werewolves as they fought against their very nature were still silent for the moment. Most Werewolves hated what they were, what they had become, and that their only basic instinct was to kill. I had only truly experienced one full moon so far—the full moon after I’d found out my fate—and it had been terrifying hearing their thoughts, their fears, their anguish, and their pain. My mother had soothed me through that first night, telling me not to worry, but confirming that I’d hear their cries every full moon for the rest of my life.
“Wow, Hannah. That’s quite a bit to take in,” Gabriel finally said.
“Gabriel, you can’t tell anyone,” I begged. “Not any of it. Not ever. Please! Promise me.”
“Hannah, I promise. I know the consequences of what would happen if any of what you just told me got out. Could you imagine what someone like my father would do with that information?” He answered his own question with a shiver. Then he looked at me sideways and lowered his voice. “I always believed you were some sort of a gift from God, but I never imagined you really were an Angel,” he gushed.
“Oh, Gabriel, don’t be ridiculous! I’m no Angel. You should know that better than anyone. Besides, they are an entirely different species altogether. They control all that happens. Everything we do everything we are. They are God, Gabriel. It is by their bidding that I am on this Earth to do my work. They control our destiny.”
He laughed. “But you can use your thoughts to destroy any supernatural creature, right? You can protect us all from their kind.”
“Gabriel, it’s not like that. I won’t go around destroying innocent creatures just because they are different from us.”
“But Hannah, they’re an abomination. They don’t belong on this great Earth. They are not human!”
“Gabriel, they are still God’s creatures. They’re still children of the Angels.”
“How can you even say such a thing, Hannah? They are evil. They kill people,” he shouted at me.
“And so will a bear if it feels threatened or is hungry. Should I go around destroying all of them as well? And what about cougars and mountain lions while I’m at it? Am I supposed to destroy all the predatory animals on this Earth?”
“Exactly, Hannah—they’re animals and animals are creations of God. They’re not evil beings hell bent on killing everyone in their wakes.”
“And those Crudelitas that are hell bent on destroying everyone and everything in their wakes are the ones I will destroy. But most of them, Gabriel, are just trying to survive. They got thrown into their lives by circumstance. Not because they chose it, but because the Angels chose it for them. They still have a soul, Gabriel, and I won’t be responsible for destroying that. I won’t destroy a soul without a damned good reason,” I said with all the conviction I felt in my heart.
“What do you mean, they have a soul? How can you know that?” he asked.
“Everyone has a soul, Gabriel. I can see it—I can see their auras. Whether they are human, Vampire, Werewolf, Warlock, or hunter, every creature on this Earth has a soul—at least, almost every creature. I have seen some humans in my mother’s memories without one, but they are few and far between, and seem to be inherently evil. But I have never met a Crudelitas without a soul, so does that make them better than humans then?”
“How can you even ask such a thing, Hannah?” Gabriel was incensed now. “Maybe you are just an evil Witch. You’re right, you are definitely no Angel!” he stated as he got up off the log to leave. “Come on, we should get back before your mother sends her friends to hunt us down.”
“Gabriel, that’s not fair. Please don’t get angry with me like that,” I replied, imploring him with my eyes. Couldn’t he see that I was still the same person?
“I’m sorry,” Gabriel said, softening. “You’re right. I know who you really are, and who you have always been and will always be. I know how pure of heart you are. I know you are anything but evil, and if that’s what you do and what you believe, then it can only be for the greater good. But I still think we should turn back before my father comes looking and causes any trouble.”
~
We headed down the path and Gabriel walked me to my door before he headed back to the lonely jailhouse and his father. The warm candlelight glow coming from the windows made me glad to be home. Our cottage was small but always warm and inviting. It was adorned with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden, and the two front windows let in the sunshine for most of the day so it looked bright and fresh. The earthen floor was flattened to near perfection, and somehow my mother kept it cleaner than I can manage to keep my modern carpets these days.
There was one main room with a big hearth in a back corner. The other back corner was sectioned off to create two small bedrooms, one for my parents and one for me. There was a table and four chairs that my father had crafted from forest timbers that we used for eating and family discussions. It took pride of place in the centre of the room. Dad was really good with his hands, so we had a lot more furniture than most people at the time, and even our beds, although very small, were up off the floor. I wish I had managed to keep a few of my dad’s old pieces; their simple construction was both elegant and welcoming. I remember how I used to just sit and touch the smooth texture of the wood grain. There was no such thing as varnish back then, but my father had sanded the wood so smooth it felt like glass.
I would sit at the small sideboard that sat against the wall under the side window as I did my lessons. I was well educated for the times—one of the few in town who was fully literate. Dad spent a lot of his time teaching me to read, write, and do sums while my mum raced around the countryside fighting Crudelitas. We spent many quiet afternoons going over old newspapers that my mother had managed to pick up for us along her travels.
Mum was quite often gone for months at a time. I sometimes begged to go with her, but she never allowed it; she said that the Crudelitas were not proper company for little girls. Even though we knew she was dealing with the supernatural, we didn’t have to worry about her while she was away, since my grandmother had set up a network of supernatural assistance. She’d organized for a small group within each faction to help control minor problems. A police force, for want of a better description. We referred to them as Custas, and they had the Guardian’s backing when it came to dealing with members of their own kind who refused to follow the rules. Even though a few of them have been a bit overzealous in upholding the laws at times over the years, my mum didn’t have to concern herself too much with disciplinary actions, provided that it didn’t directly harm humans and that it didn’t get out of hand.
My grandmother set up the first Custas over two thousand years ago with a group of Vampires who’d approached her. They’d had a problem with one of their own and requested permission to deal with it in their own way, without consequence. After assessing the situation, my grandmother agreed and struck up a deal with them for ongoing disciplines. It worked so well that she then contacted some of the other Crudelitas to start to put other agreements in place.
The Vampires have always been some of the most civilized of the supernatural beings, so they are generally quite easy to deal with—especially compared to Werewolves, who are impossible when they are under the influence of a full moon, although in their human state they are very genial and have readily agreed to just about any rational proposition we have put forward over the years.
As I walked into our small cottage, I was greeted with the smell of dinner stewing over the fire.
“Hi, sweetheart. How did it go with Gabriel?” my mother asked kindly.
“Quite well this time, mother. He wants to apologize to you for his father’s remarks.”
Mum clucked her tongue. “That Peter is such a rude and intolerant man. He doesn’t deserve to wear the badge of the law. Thank goodness his son seems to have more sense,” she said as she turned back to the stew.
“Not much, though,” I supplied. “It is going to take some convincing before he will truly believe that all Crudelitas are not evil and sadistic creatures,” I finished.
“Unfortunately, Hannah, most humans are narrow minded like that, but it’s not our problem to sort them out, my girl. The Angels will deal with them at the appropriate time; we just have to look after the Crudelitas.” She put her wooden spoon down and turned to face me. “In fact, I have to go to New Orleans tomorrow to deal with a wayward Vampire. Do you want to come with me?” she asked.
I felt a big grin spread across my face. The next day I left to deal with my first troublesome Vampire.
****
Early Days
I was first born in the year sixteen-seventy-five in Amesbury, a small town just north of Salem, Massachusetts. Gabriel, the son of the local law enforcer, was four years older than me. We had grown up together, and spent our childhoods playing and laughing with each other. He was my best friend, and we were pretty much inseparable. But back then, when we were so young, I had no idea of the true depth of Gabriel’s feelings for me.
I was only twelve years old the first time he kissed me; I had reached that special age in every girl’s life, which for me meant quite a bit more than it does for everyone else. I had just learnt about my destiny in life, about who I was to become, and I needed someone to talk to about it. As fond as I was of my mother and as much as I loved and adored her, she was too close to it all— it was already her life. I wanted an unbiased opinion, someone to bare my soul to, and Gabriel was my closest friend, my confidant. I had always been able to talk to him about anything; we didn’t have any secrets between us. I knew that he was the one I needed to see.
I headed across our tiny town, which was so small that it didn’t even have its own doctor. Instead, when people had ailments, they came to see my mother, who was known in our small town as a healer. People came to her with their sicknesses, and more often than not she was able to help them. She never charged for her services, but sometimes people would return with some cheese or a small cut of meat in thanks.
But that life of human healing was really just a ruse. In truth my mother was a protector, a Guardian called the Venatorcustos, just as my grandmother had been before her. I had always known what my mother was; she had never kept it secret from me. I knew all about those she protected and those she destroyed, those who weren’t really human but were supernatural. These were the Crudelitas. It didn’t matter to her that they were considered to be monsters; provided they weren’t evil, she would protect them. After all, it was in their nature to kill people—most of them had to in order to survive. But that didn’t give them a right to be vindictive or malicious about it, or towards each other. And if ever they were, well, that was when they would have to deal with the wrath of my mother.
But even though I had known the truth of it, I wasn’t prepared to learn that I was also a Guardian, or to understand that I would have to deal with it all as well—that I would have to decide who was to live and who was to die, who was evil and who was just trying to survive. I wasn’t prepared to have all the faded memories of my mother and my grandmother floating around in my head as if they were dreams. I was only twelve years old—still a child, really—and I simply didn’t know how to cope with it all. More importantly, I didn’t want to have to cope with it all.
I just needed my friend, but when I looked into Gabriel’s eyes with such longing, he misunderstood; he leaned towards me and touched his lips to mine, just the softest movement, and the sweetest gesture. No lust, just pure, unashamed love, innocent and sincere. I can still remember the sound of the soft chirping from the birds outside the window. But that day, after he kissed me as I looked up into his eyes, mine filled with tears, and I turned and ran. It wasn’t really his fault, but I had to get away. I didn’t understand what had happened, or what it meant, or the sudden fluttering I was feeling in the pit of my stomach. All I knew was that I already had too much to deal with; I couldn’t cope with any more. I raced home and cried into the arms of my mother. She held me close and stroked my hair.
“What happened, sweetheart? What’s the matter?” she asked me gently. “Shush, shush, sweetheart, it’ll all be okay. It’s not that bad, I promise. I know it seems like too much to deal with at the moment, but I’m here for you. We can do this together; it’s really not as bad as it seems.”
“No, mother,” I stammered between sobs. “It’s not that. I went to talk to Gabriel about it, to sort it out in my head. But he kissed me. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him.”
Twelve years old wasn’t the same back then as it is now; I had no idea about boys. My body may have matured, but I was still only a girl—a girl who had just inherited incredible powers, abilities, and ancient memories. How was I supposed to handle love as well, when I didn’t yet know what it was?
My mother was angry. I didn’t even get a chance to explain that it was just a peck, that there was no force behind it. Before I could stop her, she raced off in a rage to speak to the Sheriff, a decision that would end up being the biggest mistake of our collective lives. That meeting turned out to be the catalyst that would ultimately end my mother’s life and take me away from Gabriel for centuries, leaving me to cope with a life spent in the company of Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Mermaids, Fairies, and Nephilim all on my own.
~
It was six weeks before I finally managed to get up the courage to visit Gabriel again. He hadn’t come to see me; he must have been embarrassed and scared after the severe reprimand his father, Peter, had given him. He hadn’t even waited until my mother had left before he started, the scolding wasn’t about the kissing, though. His father was mad because he thought Gabriel was falling in love with me, someone who he believed could never be good enough for his son—a Sheriff’s son. There was no way Gabriel would be allowed to marry the daughter of a healer—and a girl who was a bit of a vagabond at that. After all, I hung around with the boys and spent far too much time barefoot, and I even dressed like a boy at times. I was definitely no lady. No, Peter wasn’t angry about what his son had done, but who he’d done it with. Apparently I was okay as an acquaintance, good to know in fact, but I was not marriage material for his son. Not a chance—and he would do anything in his power to ensure that never eventuated.
I walked around the building, behind the cells, and knocked tentatively on the door to the residence where Gabriel and his father lived. I was grateful when Gabriel himself answered my knock.
“Hannah! I’m so glad to see you! I didn’t think you’d ever want to see me again.” He glanced behind me nervously. “Can we go for a walk? I don’t want my father to come back and find us.”
“Sure,” I replied, hoping to avoid Peter myself, the man had always made me uneasy, he scared me.
We walked in silence down the worn track behind the ominous jailhouse building. It didn’t lead anywhere except deep into the forest, but we had gone this way so many times in the last seven years that we’d been friends, that we had worn a trail. We stopped before we got too far and sat down on a mossy tree that had fallen a few years earlier. It created a seat that had been the site of a number of our conversations over the years. Gabriel was the only guy I think I’ve ever known who was happy to just sit and talk about nothing. But that day our talk would definitely be about something. And depending on how the conversation developed, Gabriel could end up knowing more than he ever believed possible.
“Hannah, I’m so glad you came over. After your mother came, I didn’t think you would want anything to do with me ever again.” He stopped and looked at me, suddenly becoming aware that I still hadn’t said anything. “You don’t, do you? You just came over to tell me in person, right?” He looked distraught at the thought.
“No Gabriel, that’s not—”
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it, really. I just wanted to see what it was like. I should have asked you first, but I didn’t know how. I know we’re just friends, but I was curious, and you seemed like the best person to try it with. I’m sorry.”
Now I was really confused. It meant nothing? He had just been curious and thought he would experiment with his best friend? Well, that was just great. I knew I wasn’t ready for what I’d thought he might be feeling, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t felt a little bit flattered by it all. I mean, Gabriel was definitely the most handsome boy in town. All the girls said so. He had shoulder length, wavy, blond hair and tanned skin. His deep blue eyes were piercing, so much so that sometimes I felt like he was looking right through me. He was six foot tall, even at sixteen years old—and back in the late seventeenth century that was tall. His stocky build was well toned, and he had excellent proportions. Yes, Gabriel was definitely a catch by anyone’s imagination.
But of course he wasn’t interested in me as anything more than a friend. Why would he be? What had made me even consider the idea? A wayward kiss? I shook my head at my being so stupid. He was the Sheriff’s son! What would he want with me—a nobody for all intents and purposes—when he could have any girl in town? My family had no money and no prestige; apart from what my mother collected from her healing. We survived on father’s small carpentry jobs and the veggies mum grew with great abandon, and which always got just the right amount of rain and sun. But no amount of vegetables would help me win the Sheriff’s son. He would more than likely end up wed to the preacher’s daughter, or the banker’s youngest, who had just turned fifteen, she was very pretty.
Not that I wasn’t pretty. At least, from the glances I’d stolen from my mother’s small looking glass once in a while, I thought I might be. I had long, very curly light brown hair and blue eyes. Well, they were blue most of the time; if you paid enough attention, they changed slightly depending on my mood. They had a green tinge when I was upset and a brown edge when I was sick. They became a very deep blue, almost purple, when I was angry. I was an average build, slightly more athletic than feminine from all the time I spent roughing about with the boys, but I had filled out nicely in the last few months. All of the boys in town had started to notice me. But despite all that, Gabriel obviously didn’t find me very pretty. His father would be delighted.
“It’s alright, Gabriel. I truly do understand. You just caught me off guard. I wanted to talk to about something important and you just—”
“I know, I know,” Gabriel cut in, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. How many times can I apologize? You’re my best friend and I don’t ever want to lose that. Not for anything. Nothing could be worth losing my friendship with you, ever. The last six weeks have been torture, Hannah. Life just isn’t the same without you.”
“It’s alright, Gabriel. Settle down; I’m here now, okay? And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. We’re friends forever, all right.” As the words left my lips, I realized that even if my forever was going to be a lot longer than his forever, I truly meant what I said. “But what exactly did my mother say?” I asked. Gabriel had heard the conversation between her and his father, and I needed to know what was said.
“Oh, she went right off, asking my dad what sort of son he had raised, and how I dared even to contemplate doing such a thing. She said that you are no more than a child who trusted me as her friend, and then told him what a terrible friend I’d turned out to be.” He paused, watching for my reaction. “I can’t tell you what my dad said in reply. He was cruel; you know how he can be at times. And I would never dishonour you by repeating the things he said.”
I could only imagine. His father could definitely be a very cruel and intolerant man at times. “Gabriel, relax. It’s okay, I promise—”
“And now I’m being rude again. You had something you wanted to talk to me about that day. Did you still want to talk about it? I promise just to listen,” he said, attempting a grin for the first time that day.
I still needed to tell him everything because my secret had been building inside me all these weeks, but I didn’t know where to begin. Should I start with, “My mother is over six hundred years old”? Or perhaps, “I can control the elements with my mind”? We lived in a time when most superstitions were considered real, so telling him that Vampires, Wizards, and Werewolves existed probably wouldn’t be such a surprise for him. But would he believe me if I told him I was the only creature on this Earth, with the exception of my mother, who could destroy a supernatural being with only my mind?
I contemplated explaining that I have the ability to create a simple spell that can make me reverse my age by ten years at a time, meaning that I could, in theory, live forever. But then I reconsidered, for spells were probably not the best thing to mention to a Sheriff’s son in the late-seventeenth century, at a time when Witches were feared and heresy was a crime punishable by death. Not that I was a Witch. In fact, I definitely was not, for they are an entirely different creature, and much less powerful. But that didn’t mean I would be able to justify myself if ever I was accused of being one.
So, sitting on the mossy log next to Gabriel, I started with the basics—what I thought he already knew. I began by telling him that my mother was a healer, and that I would one day take her place. I had just inherited her abilities, and now I was expected to protect the innocent and punish the evil. He seemed to be taking all that information in stride, so I pressed on, telling him that the evil I would punish was truly evil. Not humans, only Crudelitas. The supernatural. I snuck a glance at him, and saw that he was listening intently without any judgment in his eyes. Encouraged, I decided to spill the rest of it. I gave him a rundown on some of the things I could do, just the most basic of my talents. The rest he could learn in time.
~
It was almost dark by the time I had finished. We sat silently for a long while. The dew had set in around us and it glistened on the leaves of the trees and shrubs in the rising moonlight. It wasn’t quite a full moon yet, but it was close to it—only another night or two to go. It was at the stage where the average person would be unsure if it was full yet or not. But I knew, not because of what I could see, but because of what I couldn’t feel inside me—what I couldn’t yet hear inside my head. The agonizing cries of the Werewolves as they fought against their very nature were still silent for the moment. Most Werewolves hated what they were, what they had become, and that their only basic instinct was to kill. I had only truly experienced one full moon so far—the full moon after I’d found out my fate—and it had been terrifying hearing their thoughts, their fears, their anguish, and their pain. My mother had soothed me through that first night, telling me not to worry, but confirming that I’d hear their cries every full moon for the rest of my life.
“Wow, Hannah. That’s quite a bit to take in,” Gabriel finally said.
“Gabriel, you can’t tell anyone,” I begged. “Not any of it. Not ever. Please! Promise me.”
“Hannah, I promise. I know the consequences of what would happen if any of what you just told me got out. Could you imagine what someone like my father would do with that information?” He answered his own question with a shiver. Then he looked at me sideways and lowered his voice. “I always believed you were some sort of a gift from God, but I never imagined you really were an Angel,” he gushed.
“Oh, Gabriel, don’t be ridiculous! I’m no Angel. You should know that better than anyone. Besides, they are an entirely different species altogether. They control all that happens. Everything we do everything we are. They are God, Gabriel. It is by their bidding that I am on this Earth to do my work. They control our destiny.”
He laughed. “But you can use your thoughts to destroy any supernatural creature, right? You can protect us all from their kind.”
“Gabriel, it’s not like that. I won’t go around destroying innocent creatures just because they are different from us.”
“But Hannah, they’re an abomination. They don’t belong on this great Earth. They are not human!”
“Gabriel, they are still God’s creatures. They’re still children of the Angels.”
“How can you even say such a thing, Hannah? They are evil. They kill people,” he shouted at me.
“And so will a bear if it feels threatened or is hungry. Should I go around destroying all of them as well? And what about cougars and mountain lions while I’m at it? Am I supposed to destroy all the predatory animals on this Earth?”
“Exactly, Hannah—they’re animals and animals are creations of God. They’re not evil beings hell bent on killing everyone in their wakes.”
“And those Crudelitas that are hell bent on destroying everyone and everything in their wakes are the ones I will destroy. But most of them, Gabriel, are just trying to survive. They got thrown into their lives by circumstance. Not because they chose it, but because the Angels chose it for them. They still have a soul, Gabriel, and I won’t be responsible for destroying that. I won’t destroy a soul without a damned good reason,” I said with all the conviction I felt in my heart.
“What do you mean, they have a soul? How can you know that?” he asked.
“Everyone has a soul, Gabriel. I can see it—I can see their auras. Whether they are human, Vampire, Werewolf, Warlock, or hunter, every creature on this Earth has a soul—at least, almost every creature. I have seen some humans in my mother’s memories without one, but they are few and far between, and seem to be inherently evil. But I have never met a Crudelitas without a soul, so does that make them better than humans then?”
“How can you even ask such a thing, Hannah?” Gabriel was incensed now. “Maybe you are just an evil Witch. You’re right, you are definitely no Angel!” he stated as he got up off the log to leave. “Come on, we should get back before your mother sends her friends to hunt us down.”
“Gabriel, that’s not fair. Please don’t get angry with me like that,” I replied, imploring him with my eyes. Couldn’t he see that I was still the same person?
“I’m sorry,” Gabriel said, softening. “You’re right. I know who you really are, and who you have always been and will always be. I know how pure of heart you are. I know you are anything but evil, and if that’s what you do and what you believe, then it can only be for the greater good. But I still think we should turn back before my father comes looking and causes any trouble.”
~
We headed down the path and Gabriel walked me to my door before he headed back to the lonely jailhouse and his father. The warm candlelight glow coming from the windows made me glad to be home. Our cottage was small but always warm and inviting. It was adorned with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden, and the two front windows let in the sunshine for most of the day so it looked bright and fresh. The earthen floor was flattened to near perfection, and somehow my mother kept it cleaner than I can manage to keep my modern carpets these days.
There was one main room with a big hearth in a back corner. The other back corner was sectioned off to create two small bedrooms, one for my parents and one for me. There was a table and four chairs that my father had crafted from forest timbers that we used for eating and family discussions. It took pride of place in the centre of the room. Dad was really good with his hands, so we had a lot more furniture than most people at the time, and even our beds, although very small, were up off the floor. I wish I had managed to keep a few of my dad’s old pieces; their simple construction was both elegant and welcoming. I remember how I used to just sit and touch the smooth texture of the wood grain. There was no such thing as varnish back then, but my father had sanded the wood so smooth it felt like glass.
I would sit at the small sideboard that sat against the wall under the side window as I did my lessons. I was well educated for the times—one of the few in town who was fully literate. Dad spent a lot of his time teaching me to read, write, and do sums while my mum raced around the countryside fighting Crudelitas. We spent many quiet afternoons going over old newspapers that my mother had managed to pick up for us along her travels.
Mum was quite often gone for months at a time. I sometimes begged to go with her, but she never allowed it; she said that the Crudelitas were not proper company for little girls. Even though we knew she was dealing with the supernatural, we didn’t have to worry about her while she was away, since my grandmother had set up a network of supernatural assistance. She’d organized for a small group within each faction to help control minor problems. A police force, for want of a better description. We referred to them as Custas, and they had the Guardian’s backing when it came to dealing with members of their own kind who refused to follow the rules. Even though a few of them have been a bit overzealous in upholding the laws at times over the years, my mum didn’t have to concern herself too much with disciplinary actions, provided that it didn’t directly harm humans and that it didn’t get out of hand.
My grandmother set up the first Custas over two thousand years ago with a group of Vampires who’d approached her. They’d had a problem with one of their own and requested permission to deal with it in their own way, without consequence. After assessing the situation, my grandmother agreed and struck up a deal with them for ongoing disciplines. It worked so well that she then contacted some of the other Crudelitas to start to put other agreements in place.
The Vampires have always been some of the most civilized of the supernatural beings, so they are generally quite easy to deal with—especially compared to Werewolves, who are impossible when they are under the influence of a full moon, although in their human state they are very genial and have readily agreed to just about any rational proposition we have put forward over the years.
As I walked into our small cottage, I was greeted with the smell of dinner stewing over the fire.
“Hi, sweetheart. How did it go with Gabriel?” my mother asked kindly.
“Quite well this time, mother. He wants to apologize to you for his father’s remarks.”
Mum clucked her tongue. “That Peter is such a rude and intolerant man. He doesn’t deserve to wear the badge of the law. Thank goodness his son seems to have more sense,” she said as she turned back to the stew.
“Not much, though,” I supplied. “It is going to take some convincing before he will truly believe that all Crudelitas are not evil and sadistic creatures,” I finished.
“Unfortunately, Hannah, most humans are narrow minded like that, but it’s not our problem to sort them out, my girl. The Angels will deal with them at the appropriate time; we just have to look after the Crudelitas.” She put her wooden spoon down and turned to face me. “In fact, I have to go to New Orleans tomorrow to deal with a wayward Vampire. Do you want to come with me?” she asked.
I felt a big grin spread across my face. The next day I left to deal with my first troublesome Vampire.
****