Pacing restlessly, Jem let out a long sigh. A week had passed since Luna’s naming ceremony; a week had passed since Anna’s great escape and for the entire time Stefan had ordered everyone to be confined to their rooms until all the missing prisoners were recaptured. They had received daily updates from Stefan or Meryn, who was assisting with the search, on the progress pf tracking down the missing vampires.
There had been twenty-one prisoners held in Level Zero. Within a few hours, seventeen of them had been found and returned to their newly re-enforced cells. The few who remained unaccounted for were deemed highly dangerous, with Anna named as the most dangerous of all. Her cell had been thoroughly searched but no clues to indicate how she managed to escape were found. To all intents and purposes, it looked as though she had just walked out the door. With all the Level Zero guards dead, there were no witnesses. Under questioning, the recaptured prisoners claimed that one of the guards had unlocked their cells. None of it was making any sense but Stefan was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Possibly the only positive to come out of the previous week was that Jem’s thirst had abated. With no one allowed to hunt, the servants had provided the vampires residing in the castle with blood on a daily basis, as well as wine. He had been relieved to discover that the animal blood that was being served was sufficient. It was still early days, but Jem was hopeful that his mother’s injections had calmed his Rabbia Sanguigna once and for all.
A knock at the door startled him back to the present. Without waiting to be invited in, Meryn entered the room.
“Mother,” greeted Jem. “Is everything ok?”
He noted that she looked tired and more than a little flustered.
“Better than it was a couple of hours ago,” she replied sinking down into one of the fireside chairs. “We recaptured two more prisoners. That just leaves two to find. Anna and a vampire called David.”
“Could they be together?” asked Trine passing the older woman a glass of blood infused wine.
“Unlikely but they may have left together,” she replied. “The search of the castle is complete and as of an hour ago Stefan has allowed some of the guests from Luna’s naming ceremony to leave. He’s also said that you’re free to move about the castle again but that no one is to leave to hunt.”
“Hallelujah!” declared Jem, his relief evident for both women to see. “Being trapped in here has been almost as bad as being in prison.”
“Well, you’re free to roam the ramparts again,” said his mother, empathising inwardly with her son’s frustration. “Stefan has invited you all to supper. He has Luna’s naming day gifts in his study ready for you to open them.”
“I’d almost forgotten about those,” admitted Trine, glancing over at her daughter who was asleep in her crib.
“I’m going to get some air,” declared Jem. “I’ll meet you at supper.”
“Be careful,” said Trine, inwardly still anxious at the thought of Anna being on the loose.
Breathing cold clean air stilled Jem’s restless soul. He paused halfway between their rooms and his mother’s tower. With each deep breath, he felt a growing sense of inner calm. He stretched his wings out behind him as he stretched his arms overhead, arching his back slightly. Gradually he felt the tension at being confined indoors begin to ease.
Gazing out over the snowcapped mountains stretching as far as the eye could see, Jem wondered where Anna was and how she had managed to escape, He had said nothing about hearing her voice in his mind. If her magic had been truly bound, she wouldn’t have been able to communicate with him. Part of him knew he should tell his mother, and another part refused to betray the dark angel.
Dusting snowflakes from his shoulders, Jem arrived at Stefan’s study a few minutes after his mother and Trine. He smiled when he saw Luna sitting on her grandfather’s la with her favourite bunny. When she saw him, she shrieked in delight.
“Someone is turning into a Daddy’s girl,” laughed Stefan, tickling the baby to make her giggle.
“Definitely,” agreed Trine smiling over at Jem. “How was your walk?”
“Cold,” replied Jem, stating the obvious. “Was good to be outdoors though. Good for the soul.”
“Just be cautious,” counselled Stefan, his tone filled with concern. “We’ve still no idea where our friend is or how she got out.”
“We are not spoiling this evening by talking about Anna,” interjected Meryn sharply. “This is family time and time for the young ones to open Luna’s gifts.”
“Exactly,” agreed Stefan. “Jem, would you be so good as to refill everyone’s glass, please, then you can start opening gifts?”
Once they started to unwrap the gifts, they were soon surrounded by a growing pile of varied items. There were several pieces of jewellery, an ornate hairbrush, comb and handheld mirror that looked to be several hundred years old, multiple jewellery boxes and three rather creepy looking China dolls.
Picking up a small rectangular parcel, Jem said, “I wish people had put gift tags on these.”
“That’s forbidden,” replied Trine, who was sitting on the floor among the discarded wrapping paper with Luna propped up on the floor in front of her.
“Why?”
“Not all vampire families are wealthy,” began Meryn, “It helps those who can only afford a small gift to save face amongst their peers.”
“I guess that makes sense,” admitted Jem, tearing the dark blue paper from the gift he was holding. It fell away to reveal a blue leather-bound journal. Instantly he recognised it for what it was. “Mother…”
“Oh!” gasped Meryn as he eyes fell on the book, “How on earth?”
“She must have been at the naming ceremony,” commented Jem, passing the book to his mother.
“But how?” asked Meryn, accepting the book from him. As soon as her fingers touched it, she could feel the book’s energy.
“What’s going on here?” asked Stefan, baffled by the cryptic conversation going on around him.
“Anna must have been at Luna’s naming ceremony,” said Meryn calmly. “This gift proves it.”
“How?”
“It’s her mother’s grimoire.”
Coral McCallum 